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Drunk on you, the finest wine

Summary:

A job offer at one of Korea's top fashion magazines brings nationally acclaimed photographer Min Yoongi face to face with the one thing he's been avoiding for the past decade, which also happens to be the only thing missing from his charmed life.

Notes:

So hi everyone, it's been a little while! This fic has been my first REAL attempt at A/B/O dynamics, not counting the threadfic I did on twitter which didn't give me much room to explore this universe. So I really wanted to give it a shot and make it a good one. Hopefully you'll enjoy this!

Updates will probably be once a week!

Chapter 1

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

For the most part, Yoongi was happy with where he was in life. He had a stable job that he was good at and enjoyed. In fact, he adored his job. It had been his one goal as a child and not many people got to say they were living their childhood dream in their adult life. Apart from the enjoyment he got from it, it also helped that he was quite successful. Being well known in his field of work, he was frequently sought after by employers with a wide reach and deep pockets.

So when he got an email for a gig with one of the top fashion magazines on this side of the planet, he wasn’t that surprised or excited. Truth be told, he had worked with that company before.

It was a late night. Yoongi was lounging around in his apartment in a quiet little corner of Songpa-gu and absentmindedly looking through some shots he had taken of the cityscape from his building’s rooftop that day. Somehow, they never turned out how he wanted them to. His entire career up until that point, he hadn’t taken one not-work-related photo that he liked with no exceptions. He was a photographer. A damned good one. He knew how to take a nice photo. It wasn’t the lighting, or the composition, or anything else he could fix. It was just his picky mind that always ended up with the thought that something was missing. Despite that, people loved his work. It was why he was so successful. But still, it felt like something was missing when he looked at those photos. And he had no clue what it was.

Disregarding his personal artistic struggle, he had no problem taking photographs when he was paid to do so. That was play, this was work, and he had a clear line between the two in his life. It was partly why, as his assistant put it, he drowned himself in work all the time. It took his mind off what he could never seem to get right. Ultimately, his work brought him more satisfaction than a lot of people got from theirs. But it could always be better, no?

At the buzz of his phone next to him on the desk, he decided it was about time he stopped ruining his mood with these photos he didn’t even like. He deleted them all and picked up his phone with a deep weary sigh. Unsurprisingly, it was his assistant.

 

Kook:

Are you still awake?

Read [12:24am]

 

Yoongi weighed the pros and cons of answering that. He would have liked to ignore it, being as ready to just pass out in bed as he was and knowing it was probably work related. Maybe he could just ignore that until tomorrow…

 

Kook:

I can see you’ve read that

Hyung…

Read [12:25am]

 

Okay, that plan was a no go.

 

Me:

yeah im awake

what is it?

[12:25am]

Kook:

First of all why are you still awake go to sleep

Second check your email

[12:26am]

Me:

so am I supposed to check my email or sleep

make up your mind damn it

[12:26am]

Kook:

Hyung just check your email please

:<

[12:27am]

Me:

dont pout at me brat

fine

Ill check it

go to sleep

[12:28am]

Kook:

:>

Ill call you tomorrow

Goodnight hyung!

Read [12:28am]

 

Though begrudgingly, Yoongi did as told. He opened up his inbox and found what Jungkook had marked for him. An email from Reflection Korea.

Once Yoongi had read over it and familiarized himself with the requirements of the job, he realized why Jungkook had insisted he check this out. His assistant was a huge fan of the model doing this shoot. Yoongi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He reminded himself that this was what he’d willingly signed up for when he’d given Jungkook access to his work email. Fanboying.

Yoongi stared out the floor to ceiling window that made up the entire northern wall of his apartment's living area and thought about what he should do while observing the tiny flickering lights of cars speeding down the mostly empty highway. Indulging Jungkook was never a good idea. The boy was spoiled enough already and sometimes Yoongi felt as if he was the one working for Jungkook and not vice versa. But after all, it was a fact that Yoongi spoiled his step brother rotten.

Deciding to give it a chance, he read over it again and this time his eyes stopped on the paragraph containing information on the company employed creative team he’d be working with if he accepted the job.

First there was the model- Kim Seokjin. A well know face in the fashion world that had started out as a runway model and branched out into cinema. He was affiliated with dozens of charity programs and constantly raised awareness for class rights and equality. Yoongi had never met him personally, but he knew of the man and, scrolling through some photos of him on different interviews and casual outings, he decided he would be a good subject.

The spots for wardrobe stylist and hair and make-up artist were curiously left empty. Most likely they were still waiting on confirmation from the people in question. Otherwise, Yoongi saw some names he didn’t recognize a bit further down the list. Lighting and Space Coordinator- Jung Hoseok; Digital Technician- Kim Namjoon; Art Director/Company Representative- Choi Eun-Se.

Come to think of it, Yoongi did recognize Choi Eun-Se’s name. He had worked with her on his previous gig with this magazine. It had been two years ago, if Yoongi’s memory served, and the woman had requested his help with a very unconventional photoshoot that had included one enormous snake and a bucket of body paint on a very fidgety and nervous young model. The shoot had turned out long and draining, but the result was one of Yoongi’s most well-known works to date.

Maybe this was a pretty good opportunity after all. Glancing back up to where the concept of the shoot was described, Yoongi found himself breathing a sigh of relief at its apparent simplicity compared to the last one. It was a soft and airy concept- whites, blues, yellows- mild colors to go with this issue’s theme of the Winter Fairytale collection by an assortment of designers. It was uncomplicated and delicate. Yoongi liked it a lot.

He drafted a reply accepting the offer and marked it for Jungkook to look over in the morning.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Needless to say, Jungkook was excited about getting to meet his favorite model and he expressed it by barging into Yoongi’s apartment at 8am the next morning and making a ruckus that even Yoongi, who slept like the dead, couldn’t ignore.

“Hyung! You’re gonna do it?” He jumped into bed with Yoongi and wiggled under the covers.

Yoongi just grunted in response and hid his face in the pillow.

“Yay!” Jungkook exclaimed and burrowed his way to Yoongi’s neck despite the older’s deathgrip on his pillow. The brat was strong and Yoongi would have been just mildly exasperated  had he not started rubbing his cheeks and nose into his throat. Now Yoongi was really annoyed.

“Hey! Stop that!” He tried to push the younger away to no avail. Jungkook had an iron grip on him and continued nosing into his warm neck with a content sigh.

“Hyung!” Jungkook whined petulantly when Yoogni finally got away from him and scrambled off the bed to look at him disapprovingly. “Why won’t you let me scent you anymore?” The look on his face made Yoongi feel slightly guilty, but he brushed it off, flipped the duvet so it covered Jungkook’s head and, specifically, his heart crushing puppy eyes.

“Because you’re not a kid anymore, Kook,” he grumbled. “Alphas don’t scent other Alphas. The smell irks me.” He sat back down on the edge of the bed and observed Jungkook with the covers over his head.

The white-sheet-ghost spoke dejectedly, “But I like your scent, hyung.”

Yoongi smiled and tugged the covers off at that, Jungkook’s disheveled head of brown hair appearing from underneath. “I like your smell too.” It wasn’t a lie. Yoongi liked Jungkook’s woody scent. “But these fucking Alpha hormones are working against that.”

Jungkook nodded gloomily. Yoongi got up and went into the bathroom.

He didn’t want to upset his step brother. He loved Jungkook a lot, but his clinginess had been a problem from the very beginning. Yoongi was someone who greatly valued his alone time, but he’d had to sacrifice that for Jungkook, ever since his mid-teens, when his mother had married the boy’s father and they officially became a family. Back then, he’d been more than willing. Even though they were both Alphas, Jungkook had always been timid, and Yoongi fiercely protective of him. He still was, but now it came with a certain dose of exasperation.

Jungkook was old enough. He was a 23-year-old Alpha and Yoongi would be doing him a great disservice if he kept babying him. He knew that. But it still made his heart wrench every time he saw the younger’s sad face when he denied him a scenting or cuddles.

Yoongi himself despised all the stereotypes associated with Alphas (or Omegas and Betas for that matter) but it wasn’t about that. It was about Jungkook growing up to be an independent, functioning adult. It was partly why Yoongi had given him a job as his assistant right after the younger’s graduation a year ago. Mostly it was because Jungkook had a passion for photography just like his older brother and Yoongi had wanted to help him with that too.

But he knew that if Jungkook ever wanted to stand by himself, he had to stop clinging to Yoongi. And maybe the younger Alpha didn’t want that, but he needed it.

Jungkook was good at his job. He did what was expected of him and was always available when Yoongi needed him for work. Despite his shyness, he dealt expertly with email correspondence, or at least much better than Yoongi did. He had never regretted his decision to hire Jungkook and he probably never would.

The last thing he wanted was to hurt Jungkook, but he felt pulling away and making him stand on his own two feet was necessary sometimes.

 

 

《♡》

 



“I sent the email,” Jungkook said, munching on some sugary cereal for breakfast.

Yoongi hummed in response while toweling his hair dry after his shower.

“They’ve already replied,” Jungkook mumbled around the spoon in his mouth.

Yoongi’s eyes flitted to him in surprise. “They have? That was quick.”

“Yeah. Must be eager to get this contract with you. They said you can meet the creative team this Saturday.” Yoongi couldn’t help but notice Jungkook’s subdued tone of voice and it made him saunter over to the counter where the younger sat and hang his mouth open in invitation for Jungkook to feed him. The younger Alpha’s eyes lit up and he beamed as he spilled some milk down Yoongi’s chin while feeding him the spoonful.

Yoongi laughed and ruffled Kook’s hair fondly. “Tell them I’ll be there. And get me the Art Director’s number.” He pulled away from the counter and switched on the TV.

“Will do, hyung!” Jungkook cheered. Then his eyes landed on the TV screen and went impossibly wide. “That’s-“

“Kim Seokjin, right?” Yoongi finished for him. “Your model idol?”

Jungkook actually choked on his cereal. He nodded his head vehemently, wavy hair flopping on his forehead.

The man on the screen was on a morning talkshow Yoongi sometimes watched when he woke up early enough. He laughed and joked with the hosts freely and the way the camera was switching angle every once in a while let Yoongi take a good look at his facial features. It only cemented his belief that he would be a good subject to photograph.

He turned back to see Jungkook staring at the TV, transfixed, and smiled. Yoongi was kind of excited to do this job.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

As promised, Jungkook had gotten him the Art director’s number pretty quickly and Yoongi spoke with her to iron a few things out.

He learned that the photoshoot would most likely take place outdoors, though that was open for discussion at the team meeting that Saturday. Yoongi would have to bring it up. It was early spring , but the weather could still be cold as hell sometimes and that would be hard on the whole team. Not to mention it might affect his camera badly.

Yoongi also asked about the empty spots in the list of the creative team. Apparently, they hadn’t gotten confirmation from the people they had emailed yet. Though Eun-Se assured Yoongi that he would have a complete and skilled team to work with by Saturday. Yoongi wasn’t that worried. Decent stylists and hair and make-up artists weren’t that hard to find and Yoongi himself had worked with and still kept the numbers of a few. If it came to it, he could call in a favor from one of them. He told Eun-Se so, but she insisted that they were handling it and had already reached out to some other options.

She actually remembered Yoongi and thanked him for his previous work with her and for choosing to do it again. Yoongi thought back while listening to the sound of her voice through the speaker of his phone. Choi Eun-Se… She was a pleasant-smelling and ambitious Beta with an eye for detail. Yoongi thought he enjoyed working with her, but he couldn’t be sure if he was right or just being hopeful. No, what interested him more, but failed to come back to him, was whether he’d slept with her or not.

Yoongi was no stranger to one night stands. Rather early in life, he had officially branded himself a loser at love and decided to keep it casual. After one particular failed (disastrously failed) relationship and a few other cases of heartbreak, it was only natural that he was put off from serious relationships. Though even he hadn’t expected it would last this long. He was 32 and still an unmated Alpha. Class and social status wasn’t often talked about within work circles and that saved him from a lot of judgement, but to some extent, it still bothered him.

All in all, he knew it was about time he got serious when it came to settling down with someone. He just hadn’t found anyone yet. And besides. One night stands were fun as hell. Whether it was from bars, clubs, or straight off the street, Yoongi had picked up quite a few Omegas and Betas (one time even an Alpha… what a scuffle that had been) and though he liked to think past-Yoongi had had the good sense to not sleep with his employer, he couldn’t be completely sure. Her all business tone of voice was somewhat reassuring, but Yoongi treaded lightly just in case.

He was a pragmatic and, realistically speaking, sex was a necessity. Love wasn’t. That didn’t mean there was a complete absence of it in his heart. Just that the romantic kind was pushed back somewhere deep and secluded and he hadn’t found anyone who merited bringing it out quite yet. Maybe he was being unreasonable, but that was better than being heartbroken.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

When Saturday morning rolled in, Yoongi had to actively ignore Jungkook the whole way to the head office. During the entire 30 minute drive, Jungkook bounced excitedly in the passenger’s seat next to Yoongi and rambled on about being nervous to meet Kim Seokjin face to face, and getting to see Yoongi on the job and what not, so Yoongi worked hard to tune him out lest he crashed the car.

“It’s too early for this,” Yoongi grouched, glancing at his watch that showed it was 8:54am.

“I can’t wait!” Jungkook drummed his fingers on the dashboard and Yoongi smacked his hands away without looking over.

“You’ll just sit next to me and take notes. Got it?” He had to make sure Jungkook wouldn’t get carried away.

“During the meeting, of course!” he stated naturally. “Before and after that though, I’m free to talk with him, right, hyung? Right?”

Yoongi felt his assistant’s big round eyes boring into the side of his head even though he couldn’t see him. “Yeah, sure. Just don’t stray too far in case I need you and don’t pester the guy, okay? I don’t need my model going passive aggressive on me because my assistant insulted him or something.”

Jungkook just laughed mischievously and went back to fidgeting in his seat.

“You have your seatbelt on, right?” Yoongi questioned absentmindedly.

“Yes, hyung,” Jungkook mused.

“Good,” he said, but he glimpsed over anyway, just to be certain.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Reflection ‘s head office in Seoul was a tall building that seemed like it was entirely made of glass- dark tinted glass that looked almost like one huge mirror, true to the company’s name. Yoongi and Jungkook stepped through the automatic doors and were greeted by dozens of people milling about, talking on the phone and waving important looking papers around. A heavy mix of scents hit Yoongi right in the nose even through his face mask. Alpha, Beta, Omega, flowers, fruits, heat, rut, and every other possible smell was attacking his senses. This was the worst part of every job. His sensitive fucking nose. He had half a mind to turn around and exit the building, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Min Yoongi-ssi?” a woman of medium height asked with a jovial smile. “I’m Choi Eun-Se.” She  held out her hand and Yoongi took it promptly, shaking it and returning her smile under his mask. “If you would come with me, please.” He nodded and let her lead the way.

Yoongi recognized her now for sure. The grey pencil skirt and matching suit jacket fit her perfectly and gave her an air of adult attractiveness, but her wavy black bob and big eyes made her look open and approachable. She definitely seemed like the type Yoongi would go for. If he hadn’t done it before (or even if he had), he might do it now.

Her citrusy Beta smell took Yoongi’s mind off the nauseating mix of scents around him enough to follow her to some elevators in the corner of the ground floor. He glanced behind him more than a few times to be certain Jungkook was following them. The younger Alpha gazed around with starry eyes and Yoongi reached back to grab him by the elbow so he wouldn’t get lost.

They got into the lift and she pressed the button for the 5th floor, Yoongi found it incredible but at the same time quite relieving that no one else got on with them. It was just him, Jungkook and Eun-Se in the car as it ascended quickly. Yoongi finally took off his face mask and took a deep breath of Jungkook’s pine like Alpha scent that seemed to overpower the Beta’s. He knew it well so it was calming. New and potent smells sometimes messed with his head.

“You’re a bit early, but everyone else seems to have had the same idea and they’re all here already too.” Eun-Se turned and smiled at Jungkook. “You must be Yoongi-ssi’s assistant, Jungkook-ssi. Will you be joining us in the meeting?”

“Uh, yes!” Jungkook hurried to answer. He was good with speaking to people through mail and text, but face to face he was still shy. “I’ll be taking notes for Yoongi-hyu-“ he cut off suddenly and amended, “Yoongi-ssi.”

Yoongi chuckled quietly. It was adorable that Kook still made that mistake after a whole year of being Yoongi’s assistant. He watched as the younger Alpha’s cheeks pinked slightly and was surprised when Eun-Se didn’t hide her amused giggle.

“I’m sure you’ll be with us during the shoot as well?” The elevator doors dinged open and they went to exit.

“Yes! I’m actually Yoongi-ssi’s protégé as well, so I-“  

As soon as he stepped out, Yoongi was once again assaulted by a myriad of mixed scents. There was a cinnamon and amber Beta; some type of flowers- surely an Omega; a sugary sweet smell- also an Omega; peppermint- another Beta; and what was probably the most potent and saturated scent that had ever reached Yoongi’s nose- a heady peach wine with emphasis on the wine since it was mellow and sharp at the same time. It nearly made him dizzy with how strong it was and they were still an entire hallway away from the conference room. He popped his mask back on and blinked hard to clear his head as he trailed behind Jungkook and Eun-Se who were still bantering amiably.

This was going to be a huge bother.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Upon opening the dark cherry wood door, Yoongi was floored. He reached out and grabbed onto Jungkook’s shoulder to keep himself stable and felt the younger’s tense muscles under his hold. Jungkook must feel it too. That incredible Omega scent.

“Yoongi-ssi, are you okay?” came Eun-Se’s worried voice and some muffled voices from inside the conference room.

Jungkook twisted around a bit and put an arm around Yoongi’s shoulders for support. “It’s just the smell. He’ll be fine in a minute.”

Yoongi shook his head once violently, willing this haze away. “Sorry. I’m good now.” He straightened up and walked into the room with Jungkook’s hand still on his bicep protectively. He put a hand over his mouth mask to block out the scent as much as he could, not caring if it came off as rude. He had to breathe somehow.

When he looked up and took in his surroundings, he was greeted by a spacious area with a long dark wooden table surrounded by similar chairs in the middle of the room. Tall windows revealed a panoramic vista of downtown Seoul on one side, and soothing indigo blue painted walls made the space look professional, but unobtrusive. The five people already sitting at the table stood up and bowed politely. Yoongi tried to do the same, though rather stiffly.

“Please have a seat,” Eun-Se prompted and Yoongi took her up on it without much preamble. He sat at the head of the table with Jungkook to his right and the Art Director to his left. He looked down at the table and cleared his throat quietly, hand still covering his mouth and nose over the mask. It helped a bit.

“I’ll start then,” Eun-Se said as she got up and brought all the attention to herself. “My name is Choi Eun-Se. I’m the Art Director of this project and a representative of Reflection’s head editorial team, which means I’ll be supervising your work and making sure it’s in line with the concept for this issue.” She put her hands together in front of her chest in an honest and friendly gesture. Well, Yoongi thought. He had worked with far less pleasant Art Directors. “Who’s next?” She sat down and looked around the table expectantly.

“I’ll go!” the man next to her called, jumping to his feet. He was tall and well built, sort of like Jungkook, but not as much. His face looked mature and sculpted, but his eyes spoke of a free soul and so did his messy light brown hair and oversized flannel over a plain black shirt and jeans. “I’m Kim Taehyung and I’ll be your wardrobe stylist for this shoot! Before you say I look young, I’m 27 and I’m good enough to be Jin-hyung’s personal stylist for official meetings, so yeah, I’m good at my job. Don’t worry about it.” He waved a hand in the air flippantly as he sank back down into his chair with a satisfied smirk on his face. Jungkook snorted next to Yoongi.

“Alright, let’s just go clockwise,” the next person spoke, not getting up from his seat and oh, yes, Yoongi recognized this one. “Name’s Kim Seokjin, but you probably already knew that. I’m your model and the front cover face for this issue. Hope we can get along!” he sang with a blinding smile.

He looked even better up close. Yoongi noticed his hair was a different color from when he’d seen him on that interview the other day. It had been a platinum blond back then. Now it was a warm chocolate brown. Eyeing him shamelessly, Yoongi thought that if that Taehyung guy had dressed him for this meeting, then there was nothing to be worried about. The light milk coffee colored sweater and thin framed glasses were a great combination in Yoongi’s humble opinion and he kind of prided himself on his sense of style. His all black overcoat, shirt, and jeans were in great taste, no matter what Jungkook said. It wasn’t like the kid’s wood green parka, white-yellow Stussy shirt, light jeans, and beanie (an honest to god beanie) were superior in any way.

The next person in line, who was sitting straight across from Yoongi, stood up and his wandering mind was snapped back to the present. The man next to Seokjin was of a slighter frame and probably close to Yoongi;s height. He had fluffy honey blond hair and a long, dangling earing Yoongi couldn’t help but notice the swaying of. “Hi! I’m Park Jimin!” he chirped with a little wave to the table. His voice was melodious and Yoongi thought it suited him. The white turtle neck and black blazer he had on were another good choice, though Yoongi did notice a rather big rip in his jeans down towards his knees that threw him for a loop. What a combination, he mused. “I’m Jin-hyung’s personal hair and make-up artist and I’ll be helping out with the photoshoot! It’s great to meet everyone!” He beamed so wide his eyes seemed to disappear. Yoongi let himself return the smile, knowing it was safely hidden under his mask. Park Jimin plopped back down into his seat and rested his chin on his hands. That was actually adorable, Yoongi thought.

“Ooh, me next!” a man with red hair, bright eyes and a brighter smile called and sprung up abruptly. Yoongi was caught off guard by his colorful striped sweater and white bucket hat that went unexpectedly well together. “Jung Hoseok is my name and I’m your lighting and décor guy! Let’s have fun with this, yeah?” He put up a peace sign next to his face as if posing for a photo and sank into his chair with an infectious laugh. Yoongi let out a silent chuckle at the man’s antics and so did the rest of the people at the table.

The person next to him stood up and inclined his head politely. “Morning everyone, my name is Kim Namjoon. I’m your resident Digital Technician. I’ll be handling the digital copies of the photos and any sort of editing they might need.” An amicable smile stretched his lips and revealed dimples that looked like they’d been sketched on with a pencil. He had a pressed white shirt on with a skinny black tie and a grey checkered suit jacket, his grey, almost greenish hair swept off his forehead. It was by far the most professional attire around the table, excluding Eun-Se’s, and even then it wasn’t that formal. Seemed like no one had taken this meeting too seriously and Yoongi was glad for that. He didn’t want his team to be uptight and pissy.

After Namjoon came Jungkook’s turn, and Yoongi almost snorted when his assistant kneed the table in his nervous hurry to stand up. “Hello! M-my name is Jeon Jungkook and I’m Yoongi-ssi’s assistant and protégé! I’ll just be observing your work and helping when needed! Uh… Yoongi-ssi-” he looked to Yoongi and stiffened when he saw the elder’s amused eyes on him. He sat down and started tugging on his beanie, a blush coloring his cheeks.

Yoongi got up slowly, wondering whether it would be too rude to leave his mask on. He decided that yeah, it would be, but he’d do his talking first so he’d breathe in as little scent heavy air as possible. He cleared his throat and brushed his black hair out of his eyes. “Min Yoongi, photographer extraordinaire.” The one across from him- Park Jimin, right- giggled and Yoongi smiled. “Sorry for the mask. I have a... nose… problem,” he improvised, taking one last deep breath and tugging the black piece of cloth down below his chin. He turned his head in a half circle, hand indicating his face while holding his breath. He put the mask back on and could finally breathe again. “That was my face. Hopefully I won’t have to wear this all the time,” he mumbled the last part to himself with a dose of weariness. What he wouldn’t give for a normal fucking sense of smell.

Once introductions were done, they went over the formalities, exchanged numbers and emails, and Eun-Se showed them some moodboards and aesthetics she had compiled so they could get an overall feel for the concept. She also showed them shots of some of the clothes they’d have at their disposal, much to Seokjin and Taehyung’s pleasure. As he had intended, Yoongi brought up the question about shooting outdoors and how it might affect the contrast of his camera’s LC display poorly, therefore impacting the photograph quality. He noticed and liked how everyone tried to work the problem out together and how most, if not all of them, seemed to have some basic knowledge in what made for a good shot. It helped him a lot and he suspected he was going to like this team. They decided to have the shoot indoors as well as a short outdoor session and Yoongi was okay with that.

By the end, they were far from business discussions. Somehow it had come to Taehyung animatedly telling the story of how he, Jimin and Seokjin had met on a runway show a few years ago and the three of them had kicked it off immediately after Tae was mistaken for one of the models and almost sent out onto the runway in place of Seokjin who had been missing, the model himself showing up just in time to save him. When Yoongi asked how Jimin tied into this, the make-up artist blushed and said he and Seokjin had gone to the bathroom and actually gotten lost in the building, which was how Seokjin had ended up ‘missing’ in the first place. The three went to the afterparty, got hammered, and then crashed at Seokjin’s. After that they had become best buds and the model had hired them as personal assistants for when he had to attend important dinners and such.

The story had them all laughing earnestly like they had known each other a lot longer than they had. Yoongi decided then and there that he did like this team. He liked them a lot. At about 12:30 pm they realized this meeting had taken a lot longer than any regular old meeting should take and started getting ready to leave with a set time and place for the photoshoot on Tuesday, 10am at Yoongi’s studio in Songpa-gu.

Right as everyone was filing out the door, Yoongi noticed that he was becoming used to the smell. He still had his black face mask on of course, but he didn’t smell anything through it, as opposed to before when the scent assaulted his senses despite the extra protection it provided. He considered carefully while they all walked down the corridor and waited for the elevator, and when they finally piled inside, he decided to just screw it, pulling the mask off. He inhaled deeply and suddenly a lot of things became clear to him.

The cinnamon and amber Beta he’d smelled first was Hoseok. The unidentifiable flowery scent was now something more like roses and maybe jasmine- still a clearly Omega smell- and it was coming from Seokjin. Sugary sweet was now caramel, Omega for sure, and it wafted around Taehyung. There was Eun-Se’s citrusy orange Beta smell and Jungkook’s familiar Alpha pine aroma. Namjoon exuded a Beta scent of peppermint and ginger. And of course the aroma of peaches and wine that permeated the small space of the lift. That was coming from Jimin and it was unlike anything Yoongi had ever sensed on an Omega before.

Alphas usually had heavy, earthy scents. Betas were sharper, more noticeable. Omegas were mild and sweet, meant to provoke a caring streak in anyone- particularly Alphas. But this… this just smelled like all of that mixed with… heat. It had Yoongi hormones raging. He sincerely hoped it was only because the Omega had had a recent heat cycle and that it would be gone by the next time they saw each other. Though he suspected it was just how Jimin usually smelled. This was far too strong to be from a passed heat. It was like he was in the middle of an Omega’s nest… Yoongi knew how heats worked, he’d helped enough Omegas through theirs and the smell always seemed to waft away rather quickly once it was over. This was just… intoxicating…

The moment he felt a growl bubbling low in his chest, he popped the mask back on and coughed into his fist to cover the possessive noise.

Oh yeah. This was going to be a tough one.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

On Sunday, Yoongi got an unexpected call.

It was late afternoon. Yoongi was sitting at the office desk in the living area of his apartment, mailing some photographs to a client. Jungkook was lounging on his stomach on the black leather couch at the other end of the room, waving his legs in the air in a bored stupor. Yoongi had promised to pay attention to him after he was done with his work, but he could practically feel the younger Alpha’s petulant pout from across the room.

“Kook, just watch TV or something. I have to look through some more photos for this client,” he rubbed a hand over his face, half because he was tired and half to hide from Jungkook’s glare. “I don’t wanna have to deal with this headass anymore either, but he keeps insisting some photos are missing.”

That was when his phone rang. The default melody brought his attention to the screen where an unknown number was flashing insistently. Yoongi took it and answered with an all business tone. “Min Yoongi speaking.”

“Hi, Yoongi-ssi! This is Kim Taehyung from the yesterday.” His voice sounded even deeper over the phone and Yoongi was caught off guard.

“Uh, yes?” He turned his chair around so his back was facing the desk and the laptop with the annoying emails still open. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, actually I’m calling from Chim’s phone. Park Jimin? The make-up guy?” Yoongi definitely remembered ‘the make-up guy’. He cleared his throat and hummed in confirmation. “He wanted to ask you some stuff, but was too shy to call you, so I’m just helping out.”

Yoongi inclined his head curiously. There was some rustling on the other end with a muffled voice saying something like, “Break a leg.” It was most likely unintentional, but the next second there was a low hiss right into the speaker, “Fuck you, Tae.”

“Hello?” Yoongi asked, amused by the exchange he probably wasn’t supposed to hear. “Park Jimin-ssi?”

“Ah, yes, Yoongi-ssi!” Jimin squeaked nervously. “And please, call me Jimin!”

Yoongi leaned back on the chair and glanced at Jungkook, who was eyeing him with interest, but was still on the couch. The younger Alpha raised his brows in question. Yoongi turned his back to him and went back to the conversation.

“Alright, Jimin. You can call me Yoongi too,” he said in a friendly voice.

The Omega made a troubled sound. “I don’t know if I can do that. I mean, yo- you’re older than me, so-“

Yoongi cut him off with a laugh. “Okay then, call me hyung if you want.”

There was a few seconds of silence wherein Yoongi was close to backtracking in case he crossed a line or something, but it was broken by a shy little, “Okay,” that Yoongi barely even heard. He smiled at the cream colored wall and continued.

“So what did you want to ask me?”

“O-oh, right! Is there some sort of work station for me at your studio? Like some chair or vanity that I can use to work on Seokjin-hyung? And I’d also need a place to put all my stuff?” he reeled off. It was a good question actually.

“Don’t worry, there’s a station for your things in a separate room in the studio where you and Taehyung can work and Seokjin-ssi can have some privacy.”

“That’s great! But…” he giggled cutely, “I don’t really think Jin-hyung has a problem with privacy.”

Yoongi blinked. “Oh. Well, I guess it never hurts to be prepared. I’ve had some really shy models before.” He supposed it was a good thing. It was difficult when a model just couldn’t let loose in front of the camera. And honestly Kim Seokjin seemed the picture of self-confidence.

“Yeah, he’s quite proud of… all that,” Jimin quipped and made Yoongi chuckle.

“With good reason, I’d say,” Yoongi joked. Jimin laughed breathlessly on the other end. “He’s a world class top model.”

“I agree, but I won’t tell him you said that. He’ll get ideas.” He made a strange little squeaky noise while he laughed that Yoongi found fucking adorable.

“Just tell him I think he’s a nice subject. Always good to boost the model’s confidence and get on their good side,” Yoongi remarked matter-of-factly and Jimin made that tiny sound again. Amazing.

“I will! Thanks a lot for your help!” he cheered.

“Any time. See you all on Tuesday, yeah?”

“Yeah, hyung! Bye!”

Yoongi was a little late on the reply, just because he was surprised by the ‘hyung’ and how sweet it sounded in Jimin’s voice.

“Bye,” he said and ended the call, dropping his phone in his lap.

“That sounded like a fun conversation,” came Jungkook’s suspicious voice from behind him and Yoongi nearly jumped. “Who was it?” Yoongi turned around and found the younger Alpha lying on his stomach on the couch with his chin propped up on the armrest, pouting at him with narrowed eyes.

He smiled. “Just Park Jimin. He had some questions about the studio site.” He twirled the chair around, staring at one point on the ceiling as it turned in a circle and a half before stopping.

“The Omega with that weird scent? Oh my god, hyung, I’ve never smelled anything like that!” Jungkook sprung up to sit on his knees, eyes wide and curious. “I seriously thought you’d pass out, it was so strong!”

“Hey,” Yoongi retorted. “I wasn’t gonna pass out.”

“Really?” Kook deadpanned. “You use unscented detergent, body wash and shampoo because it makes you feel dizzy. And that,” he pointed to somewhere off to the side, “that was like a kick in the nose even for me.”

Yoongi held Jungkook’s eyes stubbornly for what felt like hours until he finally broke and turned away with a long sigh. “I’m gonna have to keep wearing that face mask, aren’t I?”

“It’s for the best, hyung,” Jungkok stated.

“But I like the guy, I don’t wanna offend him or something! It’s not like he doesn’t smell good, like, holy fuck, he really does.” Yoongi leaned into the backrest of the chair and spun around again. He was getting woozy.

“He won’t think that! He’ll just think all of their scents mixed together are too strong!” Kook tried to fix the situation, but Yoongi was a really headstrong downer.

“Seriously? There’s no way he doesn’t know he smells like a whole fucking meal,” Yoongi grouched.

Jungkook sneered with a faint blush dusting his cheeks. “Hyung…” he whined. “That’s lewd.”

“Come on, Kook, you know what an Omega in heat smells like.” He was getting frustrated and hot.

“You shouldn’t talk like that,” Jungkook reprimanded sharply.

Yoongi snapped his mouth shut.

He was right.

The older Alpha grit his teeth. “Sorry, Kook. I didn’t mean that. I’m just on edge.”

Jungkook nodded and got off the couch with a sigh. “I’ll go get something for dinner. Be back in a few.”

Yoongi sagged in his chair like a scolded child as the younger Alpha disappeared down the hallway leading to the front door. There was a rustling of clothes and a quiet click. Yoongi was now alone.

He rubbed his face and groaned into his hands, neck feeling a bit heated. He shouldn’t have said that. It was out of line, even if it was just his little brother he was talking to, it was too much.

Talk of scents was sort of like a taboo in day to day life. Scents revealed a lot of things about someone- personal things that were considered incredibly rude to mention in public. It was like being able to read people’s minds. You knew it, but you didn’t speak of it because what kind of society would that make? In this case, Yoongi though, people were just scared of getting too close to their primitive side. Because smell was so closely connected to heat and rut cycles and the act of scenting was considered extremely intimate and sometimes sexual; it was downright disrespectful to mention someone’s scent in front of others. It would basically be like announcing a person’s sex life to everybody within earshot. It was perceived as animalistic and vulgar. Yoongi understood. But it made life even more difficult for someone like him who was so well attuned to just that.

Commenting on classification was also frowned upon for the same reasons. Though Yoongi found it was a pretty big focus in bed. Especially the words Alpha and Omega were thrown around in the same way everybody seemed to resent in any other circumstances. Occasionally, when Yoongi was bored and contemplative, he thought it was all awfully hypocritical, indulging this ‘animalistic behavior’ one second and then ostracizing it the next. But he was a responsible and well-mannered citizen. He followed whatever rules he had to in order to live his life peacefully. Though they pissed him off from time to time.

In the end, they were all just animals, pretending to be sophisticated. He understood that and felt sorry for all those who didn’t

Notes:

Twitter: @daeguspeaches

Chapter 2

Notes:

Heyo, how are you doing? So my laptop is giving me some trouble, but I have some of this prewritten so updates will be normal for now. Pray that I can get it fixed soon :'(

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Hyung, wake up!” Jungkook screeched in Yoongi’s ear.

“Ah, what the fuck?!” the sleeping Alpha sprang up. Jungkook was sitting next to him on the mattress with a huge grin on his face. Yoongi grabbed his pillow and smacked him with it so hard he fell off the bed with a painful sounding thump.

“O-ow,” he whined piteously and straightened up so only his head was visible over the edge of the bed. Yoongi huffed and laid back down, turning his back to Jungkook and throwing the covers over his head.

“Do not ever wake me up like that again, you fucking overgrown house rabbit,” he growled hoarsely and squeezed his eyes shut with every intention of going back to sleep no matter how much Jungkook complained. “Who the fuck screams in someone’s ear to wake them up, Jesus fucking Christ, Kook.”

“But, hyung,” Jungkook meeped, “you have to get up… It’s Tuesday.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what day it is. You shouldn’t have woken me up like that, getting on my nerves from the second I open my eyes. Now I’m gonna ignore you all day because you’re an inconsiderate asshole,” Yoongi grumbled.

“But-“

“What?” he hissed and emerged from under the covers, squinting at the brightly sunlit room. He was too annoyed to go back to sleep now.

“You have a shoot today!” Jungkook snapped. “It’s 9am, they’ll be here in an hour! Geez, I’m such a good assistant and you take your shitty mood out on me! You don’t deserve me, hyung!” He got up from the floor promptly and stormed out of the room.

Oh…

“Oh shit.” Yoongi jumped out of bed and flung himself into the bathroom. “Oh shiiiiiiit.” He broke the Olympic record for fastest shower and somehow got toothpaste on his ear while he was brushing his teeth. He toweled off his hair, got dressed, made his bed, and jogged to the kitchen to make breakfast all in a matter of minutes.

When he got there, Jungkook was sitting at the counter, jar of peanut butter in one hand and a spoon in the other. He kept eye contact with Yoongi as he scooped up an ungodly amount and shoved it in his mouth, licking the spoon clean and going in again, all while staring Yoongi down passive-aggressively.

“What are you doing?” Yoongi sighed, rubbing his brow tiredly.

“Having peanut butter for breakfast,” Jungkook stated, lapping at another spoonful.

“Why?”

“To annoy you.”

“So you’re gonna stuff yourself with junk food because I snapped at you?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook mumbled with the spoon in his mouth.

Yoongi took a deep calming breath. “Jungkook,” he started slowly. “Put the jar down and let me cook you some real food.”

“Don’t wanna.” He continued scraping at the walls of the jar with his spoon, petulant pout on his face. “Also, I thought you were ignoring me today? You know, ‘cause I’m an ‘inconsiderate asshole’ and all that.’

“Kook, for fuck’s sake, I’m sorry, okay? You’re a great assistant and you’re right, I don’t deserve you. Just please put the goddamn jar down. You’ll get a sugar rush and fuck knows what I’ll do with you then.”

Jungkook just plopped another spoonful in his mouth.

“Oh, fucking- fine! I don’t have time for this!” He stomped past the younger Alpha to his fridge and threw it open.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you’re panicking so much,” Jungkook said while munching casually. “You still have, like, 48 minutes until they’re here. That was a really fast shower, hyung, you should be proud.”

“Jesus, even the fucking sticky peanut butter can’t keep your mouth shut,” Yoongi grouched.

“You know what, I’m gonna take this and go eat it somewhere else. Like on your bed…” Kook slipped off the high chair, padding down the hallway and out of sight quickly.

“Jeon Jungkook! I swear to god, if you get that on my bed, I will brain you with that jar!”

“Okay!” came from Yoongi’s bedroom and, oh god, he was going to pop a blood vessel if he didn’t calm down.

“Infernal brat,” he grit out and went back to rummaging through his fridge. “Should’ve never given him a key to this place. Hope he gets a cavity.”

 

 

《♡》

 

 

When the time came for the crew to arrive, Yoongi and Jungkook took the elevator down to the lobby and waited. Jungkook still did tiny things- leaving doors open, shoes scattered, empty jars of peanut butter lying around- just to fuck with Yoongi and get back at him for this morning and the older’s patience was wearing thin. He didn’t want to fight with Jungkook over something like this, but the boy was petty down to the bone and Yoongi knew he probably wouldn’t drop it any time soon. He thought about sending him home (more like giving the kid a time out), but with how excited he had been over this photoshoot, he figured that would just make things worse. So he settled for keeping his mouth shut and gritting his teeth. Maybe that would pacify Jungkook once and for all.

He tapped his foot to the black and white tiled floor in an impatient rhythm as Jungkook sat in a chair next to him, staring out the glass doors in anticipation. Yoongi checked his watch- an Everose gold Day-Date 36 Rolex, white dial, oyster bracelet, beautiful piece- and saw that they still had another 3 minutes until 10:00am. Looking at the pink-white band around his wrist, he remembered it had been a present from Jungkook for his birthday last year. The younger had insisted it wasn’t as expensive as it looked, but Yoongi still highly doubted it. Jungkook’s father always gave his son too many liberties… Nevertheless, Yoongi adored the timepiece and wore it everywhere, much to Jungkook’s glee. Right now though, it just reminded him that he should sort things out with him later. He sighed deeply and hung his head in something very close to guilt.

His eyes snapped up when he heard Jungkook’s chair’s legs scrape the floor loudly. He saw the automatic doors sliding open. Through them came Choi Eun-Se, smartly dressed in black, the neckline of her white shirt a deep ‘v’, hair flawless, and accessories suiting her perfectly. She spotted them immediately and headed over with a measured clicking of her heels against the tiles.

“Good morning, Yoongi-ssi! Jungkook-ssi!” she greeted with a bright smile, her orange-grapefruit Beta scent permeating the air as soon as she stopped in front of them. Damn, she was beautiful. Yoongi was reminded of his intention to score with her. He’d get on that as soon as the shoot was out of the way.

“Morning, Eun-Se-ssi!” Jungkook chirped next to Yoongi, body practically buzzing. Yoongi smiled to himself. He was still just a boy- excitable and eager to please.

“Oh, you can call me noona if you want to!” Jungkook abruptly went rigid and flushed. “You too, Yoongi-ssi. You’re at least 2 years younger than me.”

Yoongi couldn’t help it. He arched a brow, a smirk splitting his lips. “That right, noona?” He didn’t know why, but he felt challenged.

She just smiled sweetly and blinked up at him. “Yes, that’s right, Yoongi-yah,” she sang in a dulcet voice.

Okay, so Yoongi wasn’t alone in his interest. Good to know.

Yoongi looked over to Jungkook. He was staring pointedly at the floor, ears red. Eun-Se took the lull in the conversation as an opportunity to walk past them and settle down into one of the chairs in the lobby, her smell drifting to Yoongi’s nose again and making him recall the face mask pulled down under his chin. Suddenly his mood dropped.

They all sat down together and Jungkook took the chance to ask Eun-Se questions about her work. Listening to them, Yoongi realized Jungkook was quite knowledgeable in more fields than just photography. He had an interest in pretty much all forms of art: music, drawing, cinematography, fashion, dance… Yoongi often wondered if it really had been a good idea to give him this job. He’d graduated visual arts in college and Yoongi had figured he’d like working with him, but now he saw Jungkook and his admiration for Seokjin as a model and Eun-Se as a fashion magazine editor and thought maybe Jungkook’s codependency to Yoongi was stopping him from living his dream. Whatever that was. Jungkook had never expressed any one single dream for his future and Yoongi hadn’t ever asked in fear of making him feel pressured.

He needed to have a long talk with his brother soon.

He sighed again into his fist and closed his eyes, zoning out of the conversation when he heard something about ‘endless interviews with eccentric designers’.

He was forced to tune back in when another familiar scent wafted to his nose. Cinnamon, amber and… separately, ginger and peppermint? Both were Betas. Yoongi struggled with attaching names to the smells for a second, but once he turned to look at the entrance it came back to him. The first scent was Hoseok’s- the funny one with the red hair- and the second was Namjoon’s- the smart looking one with the cute dimples. The two were walking into the building together, carrying a bunch of bags and cases and laughing at something presumably Hoseok said.

Yoongi got up to help them with the baggage, for which they thanked him and handed him a heavy bag. They set everything down on some chairs and the two new arrivals sat next to Jungkook and Eun-Se, immediately starting a conversation that Yoongi was too slow to join in on.

“Wait,” he interrupted, looking around at the baggage skeptically. “What’s all this?”

Hoseok twisted around in his seat with a curious look on his face and pointed to one bag. “That’s Namjoon’s- a laptop and a bunch of cables and wiring. I don’t know what that’s about. Those,” he gestured to some 4 bags left, “are mine. I got a reflector, an umbrella, and LED and fluorescent flood lights,” he counted on his fingers and fixed Yoongi with a pleased smile when he was done.

“Okay, but I kinda already have all of those in my studio.” He narrowed his eyes in confusion when Hoseok waved him off.

“I’ve got some of the best shit on the market, don’t worry. Not that I’m implying your equipment isn’t high quality, which I’m sure it is,” he laughed sheepishly, “I just work best with what I know best.”

Yoongi saw Hoseok’s crooked smile, Namjoon’s amused grin, Jungkook’s bewildered look, and Eun-Se’s hand covering her mouth and holding back laughter. He knew this photoshoot was going to be interesting. And they weren’t even a full set yet.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Around 10 minutes later- 10 minutes late for the meeting- the last 3 finally arrived. Taehyung preceded the other two, a cheerful skip in his step as he waltzed in through the automatic doors and over to them with a boxy grin.

“Morning,” he sang, hood of his jacket on his head and a small suitcase strolling behind him. Yoongi felt his sweet scent make its way to his nose and suddenly thought of Jungkook’s spectacular sweet tooth that morning. And in general really- the kid shoveled chocolate into his mouth like a garbage disposal.

After him came Seokjin, flowery perfume permeating the lobby as soon as he entered, but not even a second later, Yoongi’s senses were assaulted by that overwhelming peachy Omega scent. The closer it got, the more excitedly the others talked, the more his head spun. While everyone was busy greeting each other, Yoongi doubled over in his chair, closing his eyes for a second and putting the mask over his nose before that smell drove him to do or say something crazy.

When he’d cleared his head, sense of smell now incapacitated, he stood up and went to meet the newcomers, so they could finally get this show on the road. He was met with the sight of Seokjin- flawless as ever with a denim jacket over a pink sweater and very distressed jeans. He said something to Namjoon and Hoseok making them both laugh, and patted Jungkook’s shoulder lightly, to which the Alpha almost had an aneurysm by the looks of it. Next to him, laughing with his eyes in little crescents, was Jimin. He had on a leather jacket and a big red scarf that covered his mouth and made his blond hair stick out a little because of the static electricity. Like a halo or something, Yoongi thought. He carried a black leather duffel bag in his hands. And his jeans. Were those even jeans? Yoongi wasn’t sure they weren’t painted on his legs. They fit him so perfectly that Yoongi saw stars.

Fuck… Thighs… That was a whole lot of thigh. Yoongi blinked. Glanced at Eun-Se. Back at Jimin. Then at the floor, eyes so wide they hurt a little.

“Hyung!” Jungkook’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw them all staring at him, amused. “Did you lose something?”

“What?” he deadpanned. Jimin busted out in bell-like giggles that made him double over and lean on Seokjin for support. The corners of Yoongi’s lips quirked up at the sight, sudden tunnel vision making him focus on the Omega’s cute sputters. This way he completely missed everyone’s confused expressions.

Tae then took Jimin by the shoulders and started pushing him towards Yoongi, to which the make-up artist squeaked indignantly, the rest following behind them. They all stopped in front of Yoongi in perfect synchrony. God damn, had they really all just met?

“So,” Tae started, hands still clutching Jimin’s narrowed shoulders and holding him between himself and Yoongi. “Where’s this studio of yours?” He had a teasing little smirk on his lips that Yoongi didn’t like nor trust one bit. He sent the stylist a suspicious look, but he just batted his lashes at him prettily and hummed coaxingly.

“Sixth floor,” he said as he looked from Tae’s grin to Jimin’s slightly pink cheeks and downcast eyes. “This way.” He turned on his heel with a gesture for them to follow and started towards the elevators.

“This is a nice building to have a studio in,” Namjoon remarked, looking around at the mostly monochromatic furnishings of the lobby as they walked.

“It’s just more convenient this way. My apartment is on the seventh floor, right above the studio.” He came to a halt in front of the lift and pressed the button which lit up promptly. Then he abruptly felt pin pricks on the back of his neck. He turned round slowly and found everyone’s eyes trained on him.

“That’s so cool!” Hoseok exclaimed.

“Nah, hyung’s just lazy and doesn’t want to move too much for work,” supplied Jungkook and Yoongi threw him a dirty look.

“Could we like… have a party after the shoot?” This time it was Taehyung and he said it with a certain dose of untrustworthy glee that, again, had Yoongi narrowing his brows at him. “Like a sleepover?” he chortled.

“Tae!” Jimin yelped indignantly, swatting the stylist’s hands away where they were still on his shoulders.

“That’s a bit forward,” Namjoon said as he rubbed his neck awkwardly.

“It is, Tae, mind your manners. But at the same time, I wouldn’t mind?” Seokjin chuckled.

“Now, now, I think that’s enough, children,” Eun-Se’s voice rang out and everyone started giggling in unison. Once again. How were these people not lifetime friends?

Yoongi observed them, dumbfounded, brows cinched and mouth hanging open. The elevator dinged behind him then, like a sign that he shouldn’t think about this too much. He just shook it off and entered the lift, another 7 people filing in after him, still cackling menacingly.

What kind of shit show was this?

 

 

《♡》

 

 

The studio had the same layout as Yoongi’s apartment. A short, wide corridor led from the front door to a spacious area of two levels which corresponded to the joint living room, kitchen, and dining space in Yoongi’s apartment. Another short hallway off to the side led to the closet and make-up room, or otherwise- where Yoongi’s bedroom would be- and of course the bathroom. The whole studio, including that ‘backstage space’, as Jungkook liked to call it, was painted white. One wall was a brilliant white screen that served as a background for the photographs and extended down to the floor of the lower landing that was separated from the upper by three steps and formed a small depression in the deck of the room. The floors were all grey hardwood, no carpeting, save for a single welcome mat at the front door. There were large windows on one entire wall, but they weren’t like the floor to ceiling windows Yoongi had in his flat, and, unlike them, these weren’t here just for the view the revealed. Their moderate size provided the perfect amount of natural light, while still allowing the blackout curtains to block the sunlight completely when a more specific lighting was needed. There were spotlights, strobes, and reflectors scattered around, a black desk and chair for digital equipment settled on one side, and a tripod sitting in the middle of it all, empty and waiting.

Yoongi loved his studio. He loved the layout of it and felt more comfortable here than he did in his own bed. He’d only had this space for no more than 2 years, but it was the best he’d ever worked with and he figured that came out of the satisfaction of having designed it himself.

He led everyone inside and was pleasantly surprised when everyone (except Jungkook, that brat) wiped their shoes on the door mat. It was a nice gesture, he thought, even though it wasn’t entirely necessary. They all followed after him in a neat line like preschoolers on a trip to the zoo while he showed them around, Hoseok and Taehyung playing the part especially well with the ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s they let out at the sight of his equipment. Yoongi spoke directly to Jimin when showing them the make-up room, finding the Omega’s incessant nodding at his every word adorable.

“You and Taehyung can use this space to you leisure. There’s a clothes rack over there in the corner,” he said as he pointed to the object in question and Taehyung immediately went over to it with a pleased smile, opened the little suitcase that had been strolling behind him until now, and started unpacking the clothes and accessories inside. “That’s all yours,” he told Jimin, indicating the black wooden vanity mirror set and stool pushed up to the opposite wall. Jimin’s face lit up at the sight and he thanked Yoongi before going to set out his things. “And that is for Seokjin-ssi.” He pointed at the corner of the room, closed off by a heavy curtain hanging from a rail on the ceiling. He was interested to see if Jimin’s claim about Seokjin’s immodesty was true and sent the make-up artist a look before stepping over and tugging the curtain open.  

Seokjin’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s like…” the model started with an unconvinced expression, “a fitting room?” He laughed airily and swept his hair back off his forehead. “Please. I’m a professional.” Yoongi thought he heard Jimin snort somewhere behind him. “Jiminie and Tae have seen me naked plenty of times. I’m not shy around them.” He then turned his head to the side and gave Hoseok and Namjoon each a very obvious once over before stating boldly, “Wouldn’t be shy around the two of you either.”

Namjoon and Hoseok’s eyes widened comically and their jaws dropped at once. They glanced at one another in confusion, then back at Seokjin, who chuckled quietly and planted a hand on his hip. “Yes, I’m talking to both of you.” The two Betas had no visible reaction to these words other than staring at the dark haired Omega.

“Yeah, Jin-hyung, go get it, my boy!” Tae whisper-shouted from where he was still hanging the clothes up. Jimin’s giggles sounded in the background and brought Yoongi back to the present with a snicker of his own. Eun-Se was observing the scene from the side with a crooked smile on her lips and Jungkook was staring just as blankly as Hoseok and Namjoon. Yoongi rolled his eyes and clapped his hands loudly to get all their attention.

“Alright. Let’s get to work,” he shook his head and lead the way back to the main area with a smile on his lips.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Yoongi was a patient man. Dealing with Jungkook’s shit provided plenty of practice for that and it helped a lot since he got asshole clients pretty damn often. He was a calm person, liked peace and quiet, didn’t raise his voice unless absolutely necessary. Mostly, he tried to tune things out and remain unfazed because he found that was the best response to any entitled douchebag’s complaints. But this was too much even for him.

At some point Taehyung had gotten bored and decided to play some music as background noise while Yoongi took Seokjin’s pictures. Jungkook, compliant and annoying as he was, offered to bring the massive Bluetooth speaker he had stashed in Yoongi’s apartment and the older Alpha hadn’t thought to stop them back then, deciding to let them enjoy themselves since they didn’t have anything better to do. Big mistake. It had quickly turned from tranquil piano music to the most generic EDM songs Yoongi had ever heard- loud, predictable, bass-heavy, and incredibly irritating.

Taehyung, Jungkook and even Jimin were having a blast goofing off and dancing around the room. Somehow they had roped Eun-Se into it as well, the Art Director swaying rhythmically in her seat behind the desk next to Namjoon, who had left his computer to process the photos Yoongi took automatically in favor of observing the younger three and cackling at them. Yoongi had already scolded Hoseok at least twice for getting distracted and messing up the lighting he provided with the reflector.

And now, as Yoongi was taking another shot, Seokjin’s carefully crafted stony façade finally cracked and he sputtered at the sight of Jungkook lifting Taehyung up bridal style somewhere behind Yoongi, ruining the photo at the last moment.

“God damn it!” Yoongi shouted, standing up from where he was crouched on the floor and going to place the camera on the tripod. He rubbed his eyes with a tired sigh and the whole room went silent around him. That insufferable bass finally ceased and the sharp prickle of the headache in the back of Yoongi’s head lightened slightly.

He opened his eyes and looked around. They were all staring at him in shock, Taehyung still in Jungkook’s arms. The stylist quickly pushed away with a sheepish look on his features as Jungkook set him down and stared at Yoongi with worried eyes. Hoseok, Eun-Se and Namjoon were frozen in place or fidgeting awkwardly, not looking up at Yoongi. Then the photographer’s eyes landed on Jimin and he could swear he saw the Omega shiver for a split second. Jimin seemed to take a deep breath. His entire body went rigid and before Yoongi realized, Taehyung was stepping up to him and embracing him tightly.

Right then, Yoongi felt Jimin’s scent even through the mask he was wearing and a sense of dread overcame him when he realized that Jimin was scared . He was completely still in Taehyung’s arms, face hidden in the taller Omega’s shirt as his hands clutched weakly at his sleeves.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Taehyung whispered with his brows narrowed. Jimin remained quiet and motionless as the tension in the room became almost tangible around them all.

Taehyung then glanced at Seokjin. Noticing this, Yoongi sent the model a look as well. Seokjin nodded wordlessly and turned to Yoongi who was beginning to get worried.

“Can Tae take Jimin up to your apartment? They won’t touch anything. He just needs a minute to calm down.” His voice was steady, measured so as to not alarm them any more, but it didn’t work on Yoongi when he glanced back at Jimin and saw the Omega clinging to Tae now.

“Uh, yeah,” he stuttered, tossing his keys to Jungkook without a spare thought. As the younger Alpha went to catch them though, Taehyung snatched them away in mid air, sending Jungkook a stern look, and ushered Jimin out of the room with an arm around his shoulders. Jungkook stared after them in confusion. The door clicked open and then shut a moment later.

They stood rooted to their spots for a few seconds before Seokjin broke the silence. “How about we take a break, huh? Then maybe we can get started on the outdoor shoot later?”

Hoseok sprang up from his seat next to Namjoon. “I’ll go- uh… order some food? Yeah? Okay,” and he scrambled out of the room, followed by Namjoon who gave them a quipped, “I’ll help out,” before they disappeared down the hall and the front door clicked for the second time in as many minutes.

“Guess I’ll go check up on the two upstairs?” Eun-Se said quietly.

“C-could I go too?” Jungkook muttered with big pleading eyes in Seokjin’s direction.

The Omega gave him a tight-lipped smile and shook his head. “Sorry, Jungkook-ah. It’d be better if you didn’t.”

Kook hung his head dejectedly. Eun-Se put a gentle hand on his shoulder as she passed him on her way to the door and he hummed in acknowledgement, but slumped heavily into one of the chairs at Namjoon’s desk as soon as she was gone.

Yoongi, now all alone with Seokjin and Kook in the room, leaned against a wall next to the older and breathed out through his nose slowly.

“Sorry about that. He’s just had some bad experiences and is wary of Alphas sometimes. It’s nothing personal.” Yoong nodded stiffly and tried to stomp down his curiosity. The reasons behind Jimin’s reaction were none of his business. Though he still felt bad for being the cause of it. “He mentioned liking your scent. Said it calms him down, so I figured sending him up to your place would help him. Sorry again for intruding.” Seokjin knocked his shoulder against Yoongi’s lightly and the Alpha looked up at him in surprise. He nodded again and ignored the little spark he felt in his chest at the words. Seokjin pushed off the wall and made over to Jungkook who was staring at the ceiling gloomily.

Yoongi was an Alpha. And as much as he resented the social norms which dictated that he should be ashamed of that, he also hated when that side of him made him feel things. He felt guilty for scaring Jimin- that was normal. But this intense need to go up there and comfort the Omega in distress and the almost primal hunger he felt when Seokjin said Jimin liked his scent … those were the aspects of his Alpha side he did not enjoy. He didn’t want to undermine or belittle the Omega in any way, so he decided he would just ignore it and keep his mouth shut. He supposed this was one thing he could agree with the public on. Sometimes it really was better to keep your hormones in check.

He tugged the mask off his face with a sigh. He could still smell Jimin’s peachy wine aroma, but something distinctly bitter overwhelmed the usually sweet scent.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Yoongi was a private person. He didn’t really have that many friends or people he kept in contact with and he generally preferred to stay at home than to go out. He was far from a loner, but he valued his alone time and knew how to respect others’ privacy. So why the fuck couldn’t he get Jimin’s earlier outburst off his mind?

He would not pry. He wouldn’t. But through the entire remainder of the photoshoot he found his eyes stuck to the make-up artist as he hovered around the site (a mostly empty park) with his pink nose and cheeks peeking out just barely over his big red scarf. He was back to his usual self now. Well, Yoongi didn’t know him well enough to compare to his ‘usual self’, but Jimin seemed relaxed and cheerful again. Still, worry contracted his chest and he couldn’t help but to keep an eye on the Omega.

He and Taehyung had stayed up in Yoongi’s apartment for no more than 5 minutes and when they had come back there had been nothing out of the ordinary, both of them coming to sit around the desk with the others. They hadn’t mentioned anything and everyone had just taken it in stride, choosing not to ask, but Yoongi still couldn’t quite let it go.

With his newfound fixation on Jimin, Yoongi started noticing things. How his eyes lit up every time he spoke to Namjoon, Hoseok, Eun-Se, Jungkook, and even Yoongi himself- the people he didn’t really know. How eager to please and diligent in his work he was, obviously finding great enjoyment in it and in receiving praise. The blinding smile Yoongi got when he complimented the make-up artist’s skills practically winded him.

He found himself so distracted by the sight of the Omega, he was actually scolded by Seokjin a few times for taking too long with the photos. He shook his head then and tried to focus, humming to himself quietly to drown out the sound of Jimin’s voice as he spoke with the rest of the crew.

When Yoongi felt his hands starting to go numb from the cold after a good hour of shooting outside, he skimmed through the photos he’d gotten and declared them finished.

“Finally!” Seokjin called as he got down from a tall rock with Namjoon’s help, tossing the enormous hood of his jacket back and sputtering when some of the fur lining the edge got in his mouth. “I actually hate this jacket. The only reason I’m wearing it is because the designer is a friend and I know it’s not real fur,” he ranted with a warning finger pointed in Taehyung’s direction.

“It’s one of the centerpieces of the collection!” the younger Omega whined, catching the piece of clothing as Seokjin passed by him and dumped it in his hands, only to go and get his own coat from Jimin and shrug it on.

“It is too big, isn’t it?” Jimin commented and got up on his tip toes to pick an invisible dust particle out of Seokjin’s hair.

“Size is never the problem.” The model paused and turned to stare pointedly at Hoseok and Namjoon who, once again, just froze in their spots. Jimin grimaced. “It’s just this fur, it gets everywhere.”

“Will let the designer know,” Eun-Se added, tapping something up on her phone quickly.

“Thank you!” Seokjin gestured to her dramatically. “Such a pleasure working with you!” He went and gave Eun-Se a hug, practically hiding her small frame completely in his larger one and making everyone laugh. Jimin’s giggles were the ones that stuck out in Yoongi’s mind.

He turned to see the younger doubling over with a wide grin on his face, squeaky noises spilling out of his lips as he hid his mouth with his hand. Without thinking, Yoongi held up his camera and snapped a photo of the laughing boy. No one noticed, too caught up in Seokjin’s antics.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

In Taehyung and Seokjin’s very loud opinions, they just had to have a celebration after finishing the photoshoot. Just as the sun was starting to go down- early as it did in the cold months- they settled into some restaurant not too far away from Yoongi’s apartment complex and just about ordered the whole menu.

“Ew, what is that?”

“Some sort of… seaweed stew?”

“Get that away from me right now. No. No! Taehyung!”

“You know, it’s- it’s actually pretty good, Jin-hyung!”

“It can be pretty good in the trashcan, 50 feet away from me.”

“You guys should try this chicken, oh my god, it’s-“

“Hoseok-hyung, watch the- wine…glass.”

“Oh, shit, get napkins, Namjoon!”

“From where? Do you want me to steal some from the old couple next to us?”

“I think some wine got in my seaweed soup. Hm, not gonna lie, that tastes even better.”

“Tae Tae, please. People are staring.”

“At what? My soup? I doubt people are that interested in a bowl of some swamp-water-looking shit, Chim.”

“I think we all need to calm down, yeah?”

“Noona, there’s hot sauce on your sleeve!”

“What?! Wait, can you-“

“Are you there, god? It’s me, Min Yoongi. Can you just… take me already?”

“Oh shut the fuck up, Yoongi! Have some fun, you sour pineapple.”

“Sour pinea- Are you shitting me right now? Jin-hyung, what kind of insult is that, are you fucking 12?”

“Hyung, stop cussing so much!”

“Don’t tell me how to live my life, brat.”

“Hyung, shut up, the waiter’s walking over here!”

“I- uh, sorry, Jimin, I’ll-“

“Good evening, gentlemen. And lady.”

“Uh…”

“Could I ask you to please be mindful of the other guests? We’ve received a few complaints.”

“Oh, yes, we’re very sorry.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Please enjoy your meal.”

“Kim Taehyung! Can you keep your mouth shut for 2 seconds?!”

“I’m- I’m sorry, I… Oh my god, this is priceless, I love you guys!”

“And we hate you, now zip it before they throw us out.”

“Aw, hyung…”

“They won’t throw us out. We just bought 80% of their menu.”

“Why did we even do that actually?”

“Dunno, couldn’t decide.”

“Seriously though, you need to try this chicken before I eat it all.”

“And my pasta’s pretty good too.”

“Hmm, I’d like some.”

“Forgive my rudeness, Seokjin-ssi, but… are you talking to Hoseok or me?”

“Yes.”

“So… both of us?”

“Yes, he wants to bang you both. Is that so hard to grasp?”

“Can you stop being so curt?”

“It’s how I show affection. You know this, Kook.”

“Well, it’s getting annoying.”

“Okay, let’s calm down there.”

“I need a potty break.”

Yoongi got up from his chair and headed for the bathroom down the hall, leaving everyone else at the table staring after him. As soon as he turned the corner and was out of sight and earshot, he slowed his step, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant. He listened to the muted piano music playing in the background and mixing with the unintelligible conversations from the salon he’d just left behind. It was a nice place. Rather high-end, but not overly fancy; well furnished with dark stained woods; red velvet wallpapers and carpeting; and dull, warm yellow lighting. A place for a romantic dinner. Not so much a circus troupe gone rogue.

Yoongi made it to the bathroom and was surprised to find it empty. White tiles covered the walls and floor and made the room seem even brighter thanks to the white ceiling lights, the shock making Yoongi squint. He went over to one of the porcelain sinks and leaned his hands on it, staring at himself in the pristine mirror.

Turning on the tap, he leaned down and splashed his face with cold water a few times. He felt a little hot and there was a sharp, sort of hollow pain in the front of his head, at the bridge of his nose, as if he had breathed in too much ozone. Only it wasn’t ozone. It was that fucking peach wine scent. It felt like it was boring into his sinuses every time he inhaled. The smell of the food and all the other people around drowned it out a little, but still not nearly enough.

He had taken off his mask in order to eat which got him a few jibes in the form of, “I think this is the first time we’ve seen your face,” from Hoseok and Namjoon and a wide eyed look from Jimin. Yeah. Jimin. Even now, as he was barely able to breathe, Yoongi kept his eyes trained on the Omega without even realizing, taking in his tiny mannerisms like how he held his chopsticks with short fingers; how he blew on his food at least 3 times before he took a bite, pursing his full lips; how he avoided seafood like the plague except for the shrimp, which he made Taehyung peel for him… It all stuck with Yoongi and he didn’t know why he found it so interesting, but he did.

And the whole time he had been staring at the boy, he had practically been poisoning himself with that incredible scent until it gave him a headache and ruined his mood.

He rubbed his eyes, flicking away the drops of water clinging to his lashes and pressing a cold, wet hand to the back of his neck to cool down. That Omega was driving him crazy and Yoongi just wanted to… he wanted to… do something . But no. He chalked it up to Jimin’s scent being so close to that of an Omega in heat and shook his head.

He dried off with a paper towel, throwing it into the trashcan with too much force and exiting the bathroom.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Not that Yoongi didn’t enjoy the others’ company. But he was really glad it was over. Once they had settled the tab (which Seokjin insisted on paying), they all shuffled out of the restaurant. Everyone, except maybe Yoongi, Jimin and Jungkook, was a little tipsy. The older Alpha had slipped his face mask back on and felt a little less on edge.

It was dark now, close to 10 pm. It had gotten colder and Yoongi slipped his hands into his coat pockets to keep some warmth in his fingers. The streetlight above them cast a muddy yellow-brown light over the sidewalk as they said their goodbyes and got around to calling cabs so they could go home for the night.

“Namjoon and I live-“ Hoseok hiccupped, “in Hongdae. Anyone else in th-that direction?”

“Oh, me!” Seokjin jumped.

“Great, we can share a cab,” Namjoon said as he swayed a bit on his feet and planted a hand on Seokjin’s shoulder, at which the model turned to Jimin and Taehyung and gave them an exaggerated wink. Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“I’m in Yongsan,” Eun-Se stated, tying her hair back in a short ponytail.

Jungkook nodded at her. “My place is close to Yoongi-hyung’s in Songpa-gu.” He then stepped up to the side of the road and hailed a taxi. “You go first, noona.”

“Thank you, Jungkook. Have a good night, everyone! I’ll email you this week!”

“Bye!” they all called in unison, just as another car stopped next to them and Seokjin went to open the door for Namjoon and Hoseok.

“You two?” he asked Jimin and Taehyung as he went to settle into the front seat next to the driver.

Jimin waved him off, setting his black leather bag at his feet. “Oh, we’ll-”

“Oh my god!” Taehyung screeched.

“What? What is it?” Jungkook shouted back, startled.

“I- I forgot my scarf!” He kneeled down to frantically look through the small suitcase full of clothes he had been strolling around with all day.

“Your scarf?” Yoongi questioned, thinking back and trying to remember if Taehyung had even worn a scarf to begin with.

“Well not my scarf, but you know? One from the collection? I have to give all these back tomorrow!” he whined.

“Oh,” Jin hummed. “Well, good luck with that.” And he jumped in the cab and was gone along with Namjoon and Hoseok.

“Jin-hyung!” Tae called, scandalized.

“I could give you my scarf?” Jimin offered, hands coming up to clutch at the ends of the fluffy red piece of clothing around his neck in the cutest gesture Yoongi had ever seen. He bit the inside of his cheek and willed himself to chill the fuck out.

Taehyung gave him a dead sort of stare. Then he turned to Yoongi. “Could we please go back to your studio so I can see if it’s there? Please, hyung?”

Yoongi blinked.

“I’ll come too,” Jimin stated.

Yoongi stared.

“Please!” Taehyung whined.

“Yeah, sure,” Jungkook answered.

Yoongi rounded on him with a severe look. “What?”

“Come on, hyung, just let him look for his scarf. I’ll even come help!”

“Oh no, no. You’re going back home and staying away from my apartment for the next 2 days at least.” He jabbed a finger into Jungkook’s shoulder and made the younger Alpha pout.

“Fine. But will you let him get his thing?”

Yoongi sighed and made sure to tell god that he was too old for this shit. “Yeah.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Taehyung bounced, going over to give Jungkook a peck on the cheek. Yoongi sneered. Kook blushed to the tips of his ears.

“Alright, get out,” the older Alpha grumbled and signaled to a taxi approaching them. As soon as it came to a stop he opened the door and shoved Jungkook inside. “And close your mouth, you infernal brat.” Jungkook didn’t. He just kept staring at Taehyung who was now clinging to Jimin until Yoongi told the driver his address and he sped away.

“So you’re both coming?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung said brightly.

“Y-yes,” Jimin stuttered, a faint color to his full cheeks.

“We’ll just get in, grab the goods, and get out!”

“I fucking doubt that.” Yoongi held up a hand to signal to an approaching cab.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

“Thanks so much, hyung! I’ll be back in a blink!” Taehyung said as he hopped on one leg to get his second shoe off and scrambled into the studio to the make-up room.

Yoongi sighed and leaned back on the door, head lolling against the wood to face Jimin who was blowing hot breaths into his cupped hands to warm them. Yoongi found the action adorable and couldn’t help but sigh at his own frazzled brain. Jimin wasn’t cute. He was just… Jimin. Yoongi wasn’t allowed to think he was cute this often. It wasn’t healthy.

“Sorry about this, hyung,” Jimin said softly and rubbed his pink nose with an even pinker little finger. Yoongi blinked slow and hard to get his thoughts in check.

“About what, Jimin?” he asked, voice coming out slightly muffled through the mask.

“About barging in here again.” He smiled apologetically. “Well, you know, after… after what happened today, I…” Jimin’s eyes flitted wildly around the small space of the hallway, focusing everywhere but on Yoongi. “W-we overstepped by going into your apartment today and now we’re back here this late… I just feel like we’re intruding.”

Yoongi watched Jimin fidget with narrowed eyes for a few seconds. He took in the younger’s downcast eyes and the way he clasped his hands together in front of himself, like he was trying to make himself smaller. He saw the Omega’s tongue run over his plump bottom lip for a split second.

Fuck it.

“Would you like to go up there again? With me this time?”

Jimin’s eyes snapped up.

“Found it!” sounded from the other end of the apartment but neither of them moved or even registered. Jimin’s eyes seemed to look for something in Yoongi’s features, running over his face as his teeth came to bite at his lip, pushing down harder and harder as he studied Yoongi until it was bloodless and pale. Yoongi worried he’d break the skin, but the make-up artist apparently had no such qualms.

They heard Taehyung’s booming footsteps approaching, but still didn’t break eye contact. Yoongi was the first to break when the stylist finally rounded the corner. “I found it!” he repeated cheerily, but Yoongi didn’t have time to react at all before he heard Jimin whisper a word only for him to hear.

“Okay.”

“Alright, let’s get outta here, Chim!” Taehyung quipped as he was putting on his shoes, a large, royal blue knit scarf bunched in his hand.

“Ah, I’m-”

“He’s not going with you,” Yoongi cut Jimin off.

Taehyung practically flinched at the sound of his voice. It was strangely rough, as if Yoongi hadn’t spoken properly in a while, and he felt it deep in his chest. He felt something else too. Something that wanted Jimin in his apartment, surrounded by his scent as soon as possible.

“Um…” Tae’s eyes jumped between Yoongi leaning against the door and Jimin wringing his fingers nervously at his sides. “Should I even ask?”

“It’s okay, Tae,” Jimin said in a small voice and sent his friend a reassuring smile. Yoongi preened behind his mask.

“Alright then,” the taller Omega said with a skeptical tone of voice and moved to grab his suitcase which was sitting on the floor next to Jimin’s bag.

“I’ll call you a taxi,” Yoongi offered, not one to leave a person by themselves after 10pm.

“It’s fine. I’ll call one and wait in the lobby,” he patted Yoongi’s arm, half in friendly gesture, half to get him to move from the door he was blocking.

They went down to wait with Taehyung, an almost palpable tension in the air as they rode in the elevator to the lobby. No one said anything, but Yoongi swore Jimin was standing closer than usual, breathing more heavily, as if tired. Or… as if he was taking in Yoongi’s scent.

Before the Alpha could think about it better, they arrived on the first floor and the doors opened. Taehyung strolled out with his suitcase trailing behind him and turned on his heel to block their way.

“No need, darlings. You go enjoy yourselves or whatever,” he smiled and waved a dismissive hand in the air as the doors dinged closed and hid him from view, Yoongi and Jimin still in the car.

Yoongi glanced at the Omega and saw him leaning heavily against the mirrored wall, looking up at him through his lashes. He took a deep, steadying breath and pressed the button to the seventh floor.

Notes:

Twitter: @daeguspeaches

Chapter 3

Notes:

DISCLAIMER: This is pure filth.
Well not PURE filth, I mean there is plot in this chapter, but yeah, tons of smut. Beware.

On another note, my laptop is still broken after a trip to the technician and I have no idea what to do. Still have a couple chapters' worth prewritten, but I hope to get my laptop working again soon so I can finish writing and posting it without breaking the schedule :(

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

As private as he was, Yoongi also considered himself a good host. He made sure to take Jimin’s jacket and hang it up on the rack, leaving him in just his grey sweater; he led him to the dimly lit living room and sat him down on one of the couches facing the windows and the view of the still buzzing cityscape they revealed. As he did this, he felt his hands give into the occasional tremor. He watched Jimin settle down and curl up on the couch like he was already at home there and felt any words he had thought of speaking die in his throat.

Oh.

Oh no.

He had the fucking jitters.

Min Yoongi, 32, nationally acclaimed photographer had the fucking-

“Yoongi-hyung?” The softest voice broke him out of his stupor and he looked at Jimin. The Omega was sitting comfortably on the creamy white couch whereas Yoongi was still standing next to it, frozen and… staring.

“Uh-“ He snapped out of it, taking a step back and knocking into an armchair sitting to the side. He steadied it and himself with one hand as Jimin flinched and gazed at him with worry and oh, man, Yoongi was gone already. Those eyes…

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I- sure.” He put up his hands in a placating gesture and shifted on his feet nervously. Nervously…

Jimin’s eyes locked on the floor again, his cheeks flushing slightly. Yoongi felt his own face heat up and scrambled to fill up the silence.

“Would you, um- like a drink? Some… wine?”

Jimin looked up at him and worried at his lip in thought. Yoongi swallowed. “Yeah, okay.”

The photographer wasted no time in making over to the small wine cabinet he kept in the corner of his kitchen. There was no wall separating the living area and kitchen so he felt Jimin’s eyes on his back the entire way there and as he kneeled down and looked through the few bottles he had stored away. In cold weather, red was best. He grabbed a bottle of Barolo Chinato he had been meaning to open for a while now and made his way back, stopping to take two wine glasses from the cabinet over the sink. Overall, he made it back to Jimin’s side in less than 45 seconds, a little short of breath.

Jimin chuckled and took the glass Yoongi was offering, scooting over to make space for him and, as such, backing into the corner, drawing his knees up his chest, and resting his chin on top of them. He had hot pink socks on, Yoongi observed.

“Hyung,” he called quietly and Yoongi looked up to find him waving his glass in the Alpha’s direction with a cheeky smile. “Will you do the honors?”

Yoongi smiled.

Opening the bottle was a bit of a feat. Yoongi didn’t often drink wine unless he had company, which was very rare except for Jungkook, and the younger Alpha wasn’t a fan of alcohol in general. Yoongi himself preferred going to a bar or some such and getting a nice plain whiskey on the rocks to nurse on as he searched for someone who seemed like they’d be a good lay… But now was hardly the time to think about that.

When he finally managed to get the cork out, Jimin laughing quietly the whole time, he made a show of pouring them both a glass, but not too much as he knew this wine was quite strong. It wasn’t widely consumed outside its homeland- Italy- but Yoongi had developed a taste for it after a trip to Torino a few years back, which had yielded some of Yoongi’s best landscape shots to date. He had gotten hold of a supplier once he came back to Korea and always had at least one bottle in his cabinet, though he drank rarely.

He watched Jimin’s tiny fingers wrap around the stem of the glass as he took a sip. Immediately the young Omega grimaced and shuddered slightly, making Yoongi chuckle and then go quiet when Jimin licked up a drop of red from the seam of his lips.

“It’s so bitter!” he whined, holding the glass at a distance as if afraid.

“Yeah, I like bitter things,” Yoongi supplied.

Jimin hummed in thought, now apparently much more relaxed than a few minutes ago, his knees still up to his chest on the couch. “You look like you do… Let me guess… Plain espresso?” he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes and Yoongi decided he definitely liked this side of Jimin.

“How did you know?” he answered in question, settling into the other end of the couch to face the younger, and leaning back on the armrest.

“You just seem like the type of person to enjoy strong, sharp flavors and smells. I on the other hand, prefer sweet things.” He took another experimental sip and sputtered with a whine. “Wow, this really is bitter.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yoongi said, keeping his eyes trained on Jimin. The Omega blushed and laid his chin on his knees again, averting his eyes to the windowed wall which revealed the city at night.

Yoongi eyed his glass then and realized he’d have to take his mask off in order to drink. It sent a wave of something like fear through him, but he reached up and pulled it off regardless, balling it up and letting it drop to the floor near where he had left the wine bottle.

The scent that immediately filled his nose was different. Not the usual overpowering aroma it was, but rather subdued. As if it was shying away from him, much like Jimin himself with his pink cheeks and shaky eyes. It let Yoongi breathe normally, but it was still present and thick. He took a sip from his glass and wondered what would get him drunk first: the wine or this scent?

“You can hardly tell it’s night, huh?” Jimin mused quietly. Yoongi looked at him and found him staring quite pointedly at him, probably because he had removed the mask. The younger then looked away while twirling the stem of his glass, making the burgundy red liquid slosh around and foam lightly.

“What do you mean?” Yoongi observed the man’s profile, noting his straight nose and how his lips looked even fuller from this angle.

“So many lights. From buildings, street lights, cars… it’s so bright, I bet we don’t even need the lights on in here.” He smiled to himself.

Yoongi thought for a moment, turning to gaze out the windows as well. Then he got up, wine glass still in hand, and went to turn off the lights, submerging the whole apartment in relative darkness. The living area, and specifically the couch where he and Jimin were sitting, was bathed in a muted glow filtering through the clear glass of the windows, as the Omega had suspected. Yoongi went to sit back down same as before and settled Jimin with a smug smile.

“Good?” he questioned, noticing the younger’s even darker blush even through the dim lighting.

“Yeah,” Jimin nodded. He put the lip of the glass to his mouth as if to drink, but he only let the liquid slosh onto his lips, making them appear a dark red before he licked them clean. Yoongi’s throat went dry.

He kept staring shamelessly for a while as Jimin’s eyes were trained on the floor and downcast bashfully. He seemed to be thinking hard about something, but all Yoongi could bring himself to register was how unbelievably beautiful the Omega in front of him was. His face was one to remember even if you just saw him passing by in a crowd. His features ingrained themselves in Yoongi’s mind until he saw visions of Jimin wherever he looked. Not that he wanted to look away in the first place.

He took another sip of his wine, the bitterness welcome as it spilled over his tongue. Contrary to the effects of the alcohol in it, the taste was sobering and made Yoongi aware enough to catch Jimin’s words.

“I’m sorry again about earlier today. You didn’t have to let us into your home like you did.” He still didn’t meet Yoongi’s eyes.

The Alpha looked over his curled up form. Jimin’s shoulders and chest rose and fell rhythmically, slowly. He was breathing deeply. That’s when it hit him.

“Seokjin-hyung mentioned you liking my scent. He figured you’d feel better surrounded by it.” He kept a blank face as he said this, gauging Jimin’s reaction. At the same time, his own body felt tense, wound like a spring ready to snap while waiting for the Omega’s reply.

Jimin hid his face into his knees, wavy blond hair falling forward and obscuring what little view of his eyes Yoongi had. “He said that?” he mumbled into the fabric of his jeans. “Well… he didn’t lie.”

Jimin then lifted his head, throwing it back so it lolled against the backrest of the couch, hair now a little messy. He looked at Yoongi from the corner of his eye, still obviously taking in deep breaths.

Yoongi almost snapped right then and there. The sight of the Omega like that and how he was blatantly indulging in Yoongi’s scent… he took a long sip of his wine and prayed the sharp taste would shock him into good sense.

“I do like your smell. It’s… different.” He looked down to where he was toying with the stem of his glass. Yoongi gazed at him pointedly. “Usually Alpha scents are… so overbearing and imposing. Heavy like they wanna suffocate you, dominate you even through your sense of smell.” He chuckled to himself, eyes flitting up to Yoongi for a split second, before they dropped back to the wine glass rested on the white couch cushions. “Yours is… lavender and… vanilla,” he said as he sniffed the air in Yoongi’s direction, eyes fluttering closed. “It’s calming, gentle, and sweet… and… I like sweet things.”

When he looked up through his lashes and locked eyes with Yoongi, the Alpha felt it like a punch to the gut, only all that force then went straight to his crotch.

He threw back what little wine was left in his glass and leaned over to set it on the floor, shifting stiffly in his seat as he tried to calm down.

Jimin, seemingly oblivious to Yoongi’s struggle, brought his own glass to his mouth, only painting his lips with the red liquid again and licking it off, consequently making the knot in Yoongi’s lower abdomen tighten even more. He continued speaking, completely unfazed, as opposed to Yoongi who felt sweat beading at the back of his neck.

“Being an Omega… an Omega with a scent like mine no less… it teaches you to keep a low profile around Alphas.” These words woke up Yoongi’s rational side and he managed to overcome his dick basically screaming at him. He breathed slowly to keep himself in check and listened. “I’ve had some unpleasant experiences. Nothing too scary thankfully, but… it’s made me cautious. That’s why I reacted like that. I know you didn’t know or mean to startle me.”

Yoongi’s mouth worked open as he tried to string his messy thoughts together into a coherent sentence. In the end all he came up with was, “I’m sorry I shouted. I don’t usually raise my voice like that.” He had the urge to reach out and take Jimin’s hand, touch him with the sole intent to comfort him. He wanted to. God, wanted to. But he stayed put and observed the blushing Omega.

Jimin nodded once slightly with a small smile. “It’s okay. You seem like a mild person in general.”

He then uncurled, setting his pink socked feet on the floor, and, leaning forward, put his mostly untouched glass of wine on the floor at the side of the couch. As he did so, the hem of his fluffy grey sweater rode up, exposing a sliver of skin at his lower back. Yoongi’s hands ached to touch, but he sat motionless and everted his eyes elsewhere. Jimin sat back up, leaning forwards a bit on his hands which he planted on the couch cushion between his knees and looked at Yoongi.

The picture of innocence.

“I like this couch a lot. It’s comfortable and the color is nice.” He stroked the creamy white upholstery with his thumb and smiled cutely. “Smells a lot like you too. This is where Tae put me to rest earlier.”

This time, he sent a pointed look to Yoongi as he said the words, lips quirking up in something different from his cute smiles so far. Almost as if he expected something. Yoongi went with it. He fucking grabbed that opportunity like a miner would gold.

“You liked it, did you?” he said lowly, pressing his tongue up to his canine and gazing at the pretty Omega in front of him.

“Yeah. I felt... safe surrounded by your scent.”

Yoongi’s pulse picked up rapidly.

“Safe? Is that how you feel now?”

“Hm, yes, but… no. I feel hot and stuffy. This sweater is too warm.”

Jimin began shifting, turning a little to face Yoongi head on and inching closer at an excruciatingly slow pace. Yoongi remained still, watching the Omega’s languid movements in awe as he came closer and closer until he was finally leaning over the Alpha on his hands and knees, their faces barely an inch apart.

“Want me to take it off, pretty thing?”

Jimin’s scent spiked and hit Yoongi like a brick. He breathed deeply, taking it in and drowning in it. The Omega panted slightly, lips hanging open a hair’s breadth away from Yoongi’s- shiny, pink, so soft, and kissable.

All Yoongi’s rational thoughts slowly flickered out.

He leaned forward and pressed their lips together gently, feeling Jimin’s breath ghost over his skin. He drew it out for no more than 2 seconds before he pulled away and then leaned in again just as softly. Jimin’s arms trembled where they held him up over Yoongi’s body and the Alpha brought his hands up, resting them lightly on his hips. As their lips glided over each other in a butterfly soft kiss, Yoongi gripped Jimin’s hips gently and pulled him down to sit in his lap- something the Omega readily complied with. His hands trailed up to rest on Yoongi’s shoulders, his thumb brushing against the exposed skin of the Alpha’s collarbone and sending goosebumps erupting along his arms.

Yoongi pulled back again. He looked at Jimin, at his flushed face and the way his already misty eyes fluttered open to meet his.

“Fucking gorgeous,” he growled low in his chest and dived in, capturing Jimin’s lips in a hungry kiss that made the younger yelp in surprise. He pushed and Jimin let him in obediently, arms wrapping around Yoongi’s neck so as to not tip back. Yoongi licked into his mouth, wasting no time in deepening the kiss, making it heated and wet, as his hands gripped the Omega’s hips more tightly through the sweater which was becoming more and more unwanted by the second.

Jimin wiggled in his lap, pressing up to him chest to chest and slipping his hand into Yoongi’s black hair to tug and play with the strands. Yoongi nipped at his lower lip, making the Omega moan quietly and loving the feeling of his teeth digging into the plush swell of it.

Yoongi liked this. Liked kissing. Even when it didn’t lead to anything more, he found great pleasure in getting to know someone’s taste, and right now Jimin tasted like bitter wine. Yoongi liked bitter things.

He disconnected their lips and elicited a whine of protest from the Omega on top of him, but that was quickly followed by one of pleasure when Yoongi attached his lips to his neck. He worked on the skin there slowly, scattering gentle kisses, nips, and sucks over the column of Jimin’s neck. The latter seemed to be enjoying it greatly if the stuttering of his hips against Yoongi’s was anything to go by. The older held his hips more firmly and steadied him while licking a stripe under his jaw. This had Jimin moaning brokenly and tightening his grip on Yoongi’s hair almost enough to hurt.

“Hyung,” he panted, struggling against Yoongi’s hands that restricted his movements.

Yoongi didn’t answer, just continued his ministrations, laving at the hot skin on Jimin’s neck and nosing into the neckline of his sweater to expose his collarbones. His hands slipped underneath the article of clothing to rub at the Omega’s hips, trying to keep him still, but Jimin was getting frustrated, needy sounds escaping his lips every time Yoongi’s tongue came into contact with his skin. A sharp bite to the juncture between his shoulder and neck had him flinching with a quivering exhale.

“Stay put, angel. Let me take care of you. Wanna draw this out… make you feel so good.”

He felt Jimin turn into putty in his hands. His muscles relaxed, all the tension leaving them in a moment with a low whine from his mouth.

“But I’m-“ he stammered. “I’m already…”

He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. Yoongi could smell it.

“You’re already wet,” he said, voice startlingly hoarse. Jimin whimpered and nodded in response. His eyes were screwed shut and his ears were a bright cherry red. Yoongi leaned up and dragged his teeth over the shell. Jimin shuddered. The smell of slick got even stronger. It was all wine now, the sweet peach muted and the sharp scent of fruity wine permeating the room and Yoongi’s mind. That fucking scent. It was driving Yoongi wild.

“Okay,” he breathed raggedly, resolve breaking more and more with each inhale of the Omega’s heady scent. In one swift motion he tugged Jimin’s sweater off, leaving the younger flushed and dazed from the sudden shift. His hair looked a fluffy mess and Yoongi took the opportunity to tangle his fingers into it. He tugged on the soft strands, making Jimin bare his neck with a moan and sucking on the skin there to leave a mark and scent the Omega at once.

“I- ah… need more,” Jimin panted, trying to grind forward again and succeeding this time. A beautiful sound spilled over his lips, followed by a moan from Yoongi’s own when he felt the friction on his cock. “Please… hyung… Alpha.”

Yoongi snapped.

He leaned forward, pushing Jimin backwards until his back hit the couch cushions and he gasped while wrapping his legs around Yoongi’s waist swiftly. Then the Alpha pulled back, tapping Jimin’s thigh to make him let go, to which the Omega complied, though with a piteous whine. Yoongi gazed at the expanse of skin before him, under him, and reveled in the thought that it was his for the night. That he got to touch this gorgeous creature, to make him feel good and moan prettily. He considered himself the luckiest bastard on earth right now.

“Come on !” Jimin swatted at him, not quite reaching, and Yoongi obliged.

He did quick work of Jimin’s jeans’ button and zipper and tugged them off along with his underwear, maybe a bit too keenly as he jostled the younger and made him squeal. Slick already coated his ass and the backs of his thighs and the smell of it made Yoongi dizzy for a whole few seconds. He felt completely drunk. “God, you’re so beautiful. What did I ever do to deserve you?” he growled as he leaned back down to lock their lips in a heated kiss, hands trailing over Jimin’s sides all the way down to his outer thighs and making him writhe and whimper. “Now turn over.” Jimin looked at him with big glossy eyes, uncertainty clear in his chocolate brown orbs. “Hands and knees, pretty thing. I promise I’ll take good care of you.” He pecked the Omega’s lips and drew back to give him space.

Slowly, Jimin turned over on his stomach, looking back at Yoongi and resting his head on the armrest. “I- I d-don’t-“ he stuttered, shoulders drawn together as if he were trying to hide from Yoongi’s gaze.

“Shh,” the Alpha leaned down and placed a kiss on the back of his neck. The intoxicating scent invaded his nose, but he kept drinking it in like a parched man. “It’ll be okay. I would never hurt you.”

Yoongi intended to make good on that. There was something about Jimin that made him want to take his time with the Omega- kiss him, tease him, open him up slowly, kiss him some more, all on their own time. He had the overwhelming urge to please, but to do so slowly and gently. And Yoongi rarely did things like that.

So he placed his hands on Jimin’s body and let them explore for a while. He traced the line of his spine, knob by knob, slowly going downwards with feather light touches that had Jimin squirming and arching beautifully. He thumbed over the dimples in his lower back and kneaded the soft skin. Then his hands slid around Jimin’s slim waist to his front, caressing over his taut stomach and the hard juts of his hip bones, down to the swollen and leaking head of his cock. He familiarized himself with every curve of the Omega’s body, as if examining the most exquisite sculpture, all while leaving soft kisses over his shoulder blades and neck and listening to him pant and whimper at Yoongi’s hands touching and tickling all over. His backside was drenched. Yoongi had underestimated the amount of slick and it was already dripping on the couch.

“Incredible,” he rasped right next to Jimin’s ear and made him flinch. He finally put his hands on Jimin’s buttocks and the younger gasped. Yoongi was pleasantly surprised by the fullness and squeezed experimentally, hands almost slipping on the slick coating the skin.

Jimin keened and pushed back against him with his spine arched. “Ngh… there, yes!”

Yoongi couldn’t keep the smirk out of his voice. “Here?” he asked as he jiggled the flesh before pulling his hands away entirely. His fingertips left light marks where he had squeezed, but those faded away in seconds before Yoongi’s eyes. He thought about how good it would look if those were longer lasting bruises and teeth marks instead.

“Ye-yes! Hah-” Jimin then pushed up on his knees, head still resting on his forearms on the armrest of the couch as he presented his ass.

It was the single most arousing thing Yoongi had ever laid eyes on. His mouth went dry. “Dear god, help me,” he growled and surged down.

Pressing his fingers into the flesh of Jimin’s ass with the sure intention of leaving marks, Yoongi spread him open and licked over his entrance slow and languid. Jimin choked on a cry and spasmed, a new wave of slick flowing out of him and coating Yoongi’s tongue. It tasted like his scent. Sweet and heavy to the point where it got bitter, but also acidic- much stronger than any wine or whiskey Yoongi had ever tried. It made his head spin.

He went on, teasing around the rim and licking up the wetness Jimin produced as he trembled and mewled weakly. When the Omega started pushing back, looking for more, Yoongi complied readily and really put his tongue to work, penetrating the ring of muscle just barely and making Jimin squeal. Spurred on by the sound, Yoongi pushed further and wiggled his tongue to lave at the Omega’s walls as far as he could go.

Yoongi wanted to drown in this taste, feel it sitting on his tongue for days. He wanted to have his hands on warm skin and soft flesh at all times. He wanted to hear these moans and whimpers, that melodious voice again and again forever.

He wanted everything Jimin had to give, and more. He craved it like a drowning man craved air…

“H-hyung! Please… Alpha! ” Jimin sobbed.

Yoongi almost choked on slick and had to pull back, the warm gooey substance dripping down his chin. He licked some of it from the corner of his mouth, wiped the underside of his jaw on his shirt sleeve, and took in Jimin’s naked, quivering body beneath him.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

“Fuck!” he hissed with a light slap to Jimin’s ass which left one fleshy cheek jiggling and faintly pink, a new wave of slick dripping down the Omega’s thighs thickly.

“Yes!” Jimin moaned brokenly, flinching at the sharp contact and whimpering. “A-ah- fu- fuck…”

By god, Yoongi just about came on the spot. He had never wanted anything more than this. His blood was boiling , head fuzzy and hot… This- Jimin - was so fucking perfect…

Yoongi closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He fought the scent of Jimin’s arousal and tried to calm down, lest he do something to hurt the Omega in his lustful haze. He had promised he’d take this slow and easy…

“Jimin, baby…” he said quietly. “Let me kiss you.” He draped his body over the younger’s back, leaning down to catch his lips. Jimin complied immediately, stretching his neck back to give Yoongi access.

The kiss was soft and languid, almost innocent in a way. It was in complete conflict with how Jimin pushed back, pressing his ass to the front of Yoongi’s jeans, drenching them and rubbing against his clothed erection. The Alpha groaned and bit onto his lips, hands on his hips pulling them flush together as Jimin moaned raggedly.

The kiss was supposed to slow things down, but it didn’t work. Rather, he was spurred on further by Jimin’s incessant rutting against him, to the point where he felt the wet slick seep through his pants and underwear and he could almost slot his hardness perfectly between the Omega’s cheeks.

“Fucking hell… wait a second, baby boy.” Yoongi drew back, heart squeezing at the tears in Jimin’s eyes and the sound that slipped past his lips. For a second he was mesmerized by the sight of the younger’s lips- so plush, red, spit slick, and kissed raw. By him . By Yoongi…

He shook himself off and pulled away from Jimin entirely, leaving the Omega displayed naked and trembling as he himself stripped down. It only took him less than 10 seconds as he was aching in more ways than one to touch Jimin’s body again.

Then he heard Jimin let out a high-pitched whine, bordering on a sob, and was on him in the blink of an eye. He kissed him gently, a soothing hand on his waist to calm him. “What is it, baby? Are you okay?” he whispered, nuzzling into the younger’s neck and drinking in the scent of sweat and fermented peaches.

“I- I can’t… anymore… I n-need you… Hah!” He shivered full-bodied when Yoongi positioned the head of his cock right at his hole. He slumped forward with a broken little sound. “Fuck me.”

Yoongi was a patient man. He could take a lot. It was an asset in bed, as he greatly enjoyed riling his partners up and teasing them until they begged…

But even he had a breaking point. Truthfully, he had reached that point a while ago. The only thing keeping him even moderately composed was his fear of hurting Jimin.

All of his inhibitions evaporated as soon as those words left the Omega’s mouth.

He pushed in with one swift, sudden motion that had Jimin choking on a scream. And he stayed still, hands on the younger’s hips and breathing raggedly, forehead resting between Jimin’s shoulder blades. It took everything, every ounce of self-restraint he had in his body to remain motionless and let Jimin get used to the stretch. The squeeze around his cock was something out of this world.

Move! ” the Omega then commanded and Yoongi felt him shaking. He felt the slick gushing out of him despite the already tight fit, Jimin’s rich smell permeating all his senses. He moved.

The pull back was slow and languid. Yoongi wanted to make sure Jimin felt everything, every ridge and line and the swell of his cockhead as they dragged over his walls and caught at the rim. Jimin’s exhale was one continuous breathy moan as Yoongi took his time pulling out completely and leaving the Omega empty again. Then he pressed in once more, just as slowly.

Jimin’s legs gave out. Yoongi had to hold him up by the hips and he felt the muscles under his skin tensing and spasming, trembling with the effort of trying to remain still and not slump down on the couch. Yoongi held him, his grip strong yet gentle as he fucked into him slowly until he bottomed out. The slick was now all over the fronts of his thighs and it smelled heavenly. Jimin smelled heavenly. Yoongi just couldn’t seem to get enough of it, so he stopped still for a moment and doubled over, chest pressed to the Omega’s back. He inhaled deeply at his neck and the felt the vibrations of Jimin’s quiet sounds where he touched his lips to the skin.

“You’re amazing, baby. Doing so good,” he mouthed under Jimin’s ear. He latched onto the skin and sucked lightly as he pulled out again, this time at a more solid pace, and listened to Jimin’s labored breathing.

“F-faster,” he stammered, pushing back to meet Yoongi’s hips on the next inwards thrust and making himself moan. “Nhg- so…good, Alpha.”

Yoongi’s skin erupted in goosebumps at how wrecked the Omega’s voice sounded. He adjusted his pace by pulling out and slamming in harshly, jostling Jimin’s whole body and eliciting a cut off whine.

The squeeze was incredible. The friction made Yoongi light headed. Jimin’s sounds made him want to go faster and harder, just so he could hear them again and again. He was so lost in the sensations, praise and curses alike spilling out of his mouth with each breath while he established the rough push and pull just fast enough to satisfy the writhing and whimpering Omega, but also slow enough to make this last as long as possible. He barely had the presence of mind to regulate his thrusts and not just fuck into Jimin brusquely.

Between the pretty words and compliments, he left kisses on Jimin’s skin: some soft and brief, others hot and open mouthed so that he felt the thick tang of peaches and wine sitting heavily on his tongue. He pressed one to the hot flesh with each thrust, going all around and making sure to cover every inch of exposed skin with his lips and his own scent.

He then drew himself up, face level with Jimin’s, and the younger immediately understood his intentions, turning his head and submitting his lips into a slow, passionate kiss. His mewls were drowned out, swallowed by Yoongi’s mouth. They broke away and the Alpha took in his features: his face flushed and glistening with sweat, brows pinched together, lips swollen red and hanging open, eyes screwed shut as he focused on the feeling of Yoongi so deep inside him…

Yoongi wanted to claim him.

He wanted to bite down and mate this Omega right fucking now.

He couldn’t stop the rumble deep in his throat when he nuzzled into the juncture between Jimin’s shoulder and neck. The stretch of skin was so enticing with that scent that drove Yoongi insane oozing from it heavily. The feeling of his walls squeezing around the Alpha’s cock, such a tight, perfect fit… His instincts were screaming at him to bury his teeth in the Omega’s neck and hold him down, claim him as his mate and shower him in his own Alpha scent to keep everyone away…

All those primal, beastly instincts… He resented them.

With new vigor and a growl he quickened his pace. Jimin choked on a sob and whined loudly, now barely able to hold his hips up.

“Can-“ Yoongi grunted with his face still burrowed into the back of Jimin’s arched neck. He could feel his release building in the pit of his stomach and he was approaching it quickly. “Can I… mark you? I won’t bite.”

Jimin’s responding whimper and shaky nod was more than enough for Yoongi and he got to sucking on his skin with fervor. He started with his throat and neck, sucking hard and fast to leave many small, but dark bruises peppered all over. When he was done with his shoulders as well, he moved lower and worked over the line of his spine, thrusts never faltering. He left bruises down the dip of it where he could reach and by the time he was done, he was seconds away from his oncoming orgasm.

“Jimin… I’m- coming,” he growled into the Omega’s ear.

“Yeah… m-me too, A-Alpha,” he said, voice raw and breaking in several places. “I’m good… I was g-good…right? I- was so good to you, Alpha.” He moaned into his forearms on the armrest when Yoongi bottomed out one last time and finished inside him.

“Oh fuck , yes, baby.” Yoongi barely got the words out as his vision went white for a second. “You did so well. Such a good little Omega, taking me perfectly. So loud and sensitive.” As he came down from his high, he smoothed a hand down Jimin’s back, awed by the beautiful arch it created. “Tell me, baby boy…” He leaned down, now soft but still burrowed deep inside the Omega, and whispered into his ear. “Who’s the one who fucked you this good?”

Jimin came with a loud cry of Yoongi’s name then, tensing and tightening around Yoongi’s cock which made him hiss at the oversensitivity. Jimin’s breath caught and he took his sweet time coming to as the Alpha above him came back to reality and took in the mess they had made.

Slick everywhere: on the couch, on their clothes which were in a heap on the floor, drying stickily on their skin and making the flesh of Jimin’s ass and thighs glisten prettily. They were both covered in it. Also in sweat. And in Jimin’s case, in red-purple bruises like big dark freckles all over his back. There was also probably come on the couch. Shit. There was no saving this upholstery. Between slick, come, and both their scents reeking of sex seeping into it… maybe the entire couch had to go…

Yoongi focused on the situation at hand when Jimin stirred with a quiet moan. He suddenly felt heavy where Yoongi was holding up his bottom half and the Alpha was starting to really feel the effects of what was probably the longest single round fuck of his life.

“Pulling out, sweetheart,” he said in a gravelly, used voice and Jimin made a tiny sound in acknowledgement before wincing and yelping loudly when Yoongi did as warned.

“O-ow,” he whined, shivering slightly at the sudden emptiness.

Yoongi set his hips down on the couch gently so he was lying flat on his stomach, and then laid his body on top of his, though not quite letting all his weight rest on the Omega.

“You were amazing, pretty thing,” he said as he turned Jimin’s face gently and pecked him on the lips once, twice, three times, before Jimin giggled and broke the sequence.

“You too,” he murmured lowly, “Alpha.” Yoongi felt a wave of heat rush through him. He stomped it down though, and it was quickly replaced by fondness.

“Now let’s get cleaned up and to bed,” he said without much thought.

“Okay,” Jimin answered with a tired smile.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

With a brain high on endorphins and dopamine, Yoongi spared little thought for how… unusually tender inviting Jimin to his bed like this was. Given that most of his sexual encounters happened on his bed, he rarely had to prompt the other person to lay down and rest there in a gesture somehow even more intimate than what they had just done. Had he been more sober he would have recognized it as a sign of getting attached. Jimin on the other hand reveled in being taken care of so thoroughly and didn’t mention it if he noticed the way Yoongi looked at him. He was happy to be pampered and Yoongi was happy to spoil him, so they both just enjoyed the moment and pushed the knowledge that this was supposed to be just a casual fling to the very backs of their minds.

That would come back to bite them both in the ass.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

“Your pillows are so fluffy,” Jimin sighed as his head hit the pillow, hair fanning out on the white case, and he curled into himself for a moment before stretching his whole body out, not a trace of embarrassment in the positively sinful way he groaned.

“Hang on. I’ll go get something to clean up with,” Yoongi turned away from the sight of Jimin lying naked in front of him, pale white light streaming in through the windows and highlighting the curves of his body which Yoongi had been touching so freely not 5 minutes ago. He looked down at himself, just as naked with drying slick all over his hips and thighs. God, he needed to clean up right now. Though he suspected the scent of peaches would linger even after that.

“Actually,” Jimin cut his train of thought off and yanked him by the arm, back to the bed and on top of himself. “Don’t do that just yet. No point if we’re just gonna get dirty again.” He flashed Yoongi a mischievous grin and leaned up on his elbows to kiss the Alpha who was hovering above him. Yoongi’s arms nearly gave out, first, because of Jimin’s words, second, because of the incredible feeling of his plush, swollen lips pressing against his for a split second and then disappearing. He trailed down, looking for the Omega’s lips, eyes still closed, but opened them again when he heard Jimin’s giggle. He almost collapsed forward when one of his arms was removed from under him and Jimin rolled over to the other side of the bed, escaping Yoongi’s hold.

“But not right now, let me catch my breath properly first.” He laid on his side and regarded Yoongi with hooded, gleaming eyes and a smirk. The Alpha let out a breathless laugh and shook his head with the words “You’re unbelievable” spilling form his lips quietly as he lowered himself on the sheets and turned to face the Omega.

“We don’t have to do it again if you’re tired, you know,” he murmured, burying his face in the pillow where Jimin had just been and inhaling the faint scent that now stuck to it. It was far sweeter and mellower than it had been earlier. With a warm wave of fondness washing over him, Yoongi realized the smell no longer made him dizzy nor burned his nose.

“I know. But I still want to.” The hungry look he gave Yoongi made the older’s hair stand on end. God, this Omega was something else. It wasn’t the first time Yoongi had gotten a particularly enthusiastic partner, but it was the first time he felt just as enthusiastic, if not more so. It was through sheer force of will that he kept from getting hard again, on the spot.

“I really liked it. And I usually hate that position,” Jimin said and laughed sheepishly, tucking his hands underneath the pillow.

Something akin to dread clawed up Yoongi’s throat. “Do you? Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-“

“No, don’t worry! I usually don’t like it because… well, I feel sort of helpless like that,” he laughed in that small, uncertain way again and Yoongi’s heart squeezed. “And I’ve had a couple not so great experiences where I just ended up sore all over.” Yoongi felt cold. Had he hurt Jimin? Had he made him uncomfortable? He should have asked him what was wrong the moment he saw the apprehensive look on the younger’s face when Yoongi told him to turn over.

Fucking idiot!

“I’m sorry,” he sighed and rubbed over his face with a hand, his libido now completely dead.

“No!” Jimin called, a little loudly, and made Yoongi jump. The younger was leaning up on one elbow, looking down at Yoongi and worrying at his already raw lower lip. “You…” he started and then cut himself off, eyes scattering around the darkened room, anywhere but at Yoongi’s. “You didn’t hurt me.” The words were so quiet Yoongi barely caught them. What he did catch though, despite the scarce lighting, was the dark color that bloomed on the Omega’s cheeks. “I liked it. It… it felt good.”

Jimin’s boldness from earlier was all but gone now, leaving a bashful, pretty little thing, curling in on itself under Yoongi’s scrutiny. The Alpha felt hot arousal taking hold of his mind and fuzzing it up, along with the increasingly acidic smell that began emanating from the Omega. He gulped and remained perfectly still, observing Jimin as he started fidgeting under his gaze.

“What else do you like, baby?” he said gruffly and saw the way the Omega’s body tensed at the words.

Jimin’s mouth fell open and he panted lightly. A brief glance down showed Yoongi the flushed head of his cock already straining against his abdomen. Yoongi didn’t move a muscle. Just did his best to keep his breathing even as he felt himself getting hard.

“I-“ Jimin breathed. “I like… having my mouth full.” His tongue darted out to wet his lips as his chest started rising and falling in a steadily more pronounced manner. “And being on top.”

Yoongi couldn’t stop himself.

He groaned low in his chest and had his mouth on Jimin’s in half a second flat. With an almost startled squeak, the younger immediately tangled his fingers into Yoongi’s hair and opened his mouth for the Alpha to explore.

Yoongi pushed, attempting to climb over Jimin, instinctually wanting nothing more than to pin him down and fuck him into the mattress, but was stopped when the Omega put a warm hand on his bare chest and pushed back. A little surprised, Yoongi let himself be thrust down on the bed and watched Jimin straddle his hips, slow and deliberate.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I like being on top. Alpha.” He smiled a wicked grin and leaned down to catch Yoongi’s lips again, nipping playfully and making Yoongi moan. His hands grabbed Jimin’s hips and shifted him forcefully, pulling him down so his ass was flush against his stiff cock, and eliciting a low whine from the Omega as he licked into Yoongi’s mouth with fervor. There was a wetness already leaking out of Jimin and onto Yoongi’s dick and hips, so warm and fragrant, Yoongi had half a mind to just lift Jimin by the hips and bury himself into his heat at once.

He didn’t get the chance to do so as the younger grabbed both his wrists and took his hands off his body, pinning them down on the pillow on either side of his head while he broke their kiss. He panted once, twice before smiling at Yoongi and grinding down with purpose.

They both moaned in unison, Jimin’s melodious voice harmonizing perfectly with Yoongi’s low tone when they felt the Alpha’s cockhead brush against the Omega’s slick entrance. Jimin looked at Yoongi and chuckled, sweat beading his forehead as he wet his lips and let go of the older’s wrists. He felt that wonderful friction on his length again and threw his head back with a hiss of pure pleasure.

And then it was gone.

Jimin’s weight lifted off him and his eyes flew to the Omega who now hovered above him on all fours, face level with Yoongi’s crotch. He looked up at the Alpha with exaggerated pleading eyes and a pout before opening his mouth and blowing a cool breath on Yoongi’s cock head. “Can I suck you off?” he asked in a quiet, raspy voice while Yoongi inhaled sharply at the cold sensation on his flushed dick.

“Holy fuck, baby, yes, yes .” He barely got the words out. His mind was a mess, all he knew was how fucking stunning Jimin looked as he licked at his tip lightly and proceeded to wrap his lips around it. “God, shit,” he breathed raggedly, feeling the heat of Jimin’s mouth envelop him and his tongue prodding slightly at first, then swirling around the head and digging into the slit.

Fuck! ” he spat, one hand pressed to his mouth, the other flying to grasp at Jimin’s soft hair as he sank down slowly and extended the warm sensation all the way down Yoongi’s length and almost to the base. “So good, baby boy. You’re so good .” Jimin hummed at the praise, sending vibrations through Yoongi as well and making him moan raggedly while he tightened his grip on the Omega’s hair.

Jimin took his time bobbing up and down at a moderate pace, taking Yoongi deep, almost all the way, expertly every time. He sank down, brought the head to his throat, swallowed around it, and pressed his tongue flat to the underside when he moved back up. He popped off with an obscene sound once in a while to wipe up the line of saliva and precome dripping down his chin while keeping his dark eyes locked with Yoongi’s and nearly giving the Alpha a heart attack. Yoongi was going slowly insane with Jimin’s leisurely pace and the need to just fuck up into the wet heat of his mouth. He had a sneaking suspicion Jimin was going at such a maddening rhythm to get back at him for his earlier slow pace, but his thoughts could only go in one direction so that train was lost quickly.

The Omega seemed to be having a great time, moaning, whimpering, and breathing hard through his nose, loathe to leave his mouth empty for longer than a couple of seconds. He sucked and licked, making sure Yoongi could hear all the sounds he made along with the smell of his slick which was so strong, Yoongi was sure it had already drenched the sheets. Yoongi felt Jimin hum around his length one last time before he pulled off and left him stiff in the cold air. Yoongi hissed at the feeling, but leaned up to look at Jimin when worry made its way through the haze in his mind.

“You okay, baby?” he breathed heavily, gazing at the Omega kneeling between his legs, his mouth still inches away from the Alpha’s dick. Jimin looked up at him with sad eyes and Yoongi loosened his grip on his hair, hand sliding down to cup his cheek and caress his thumb over the warm, flushed skin. He wiped away a tear that clung to Jimin’s eye lashes. “What is it? Do you hurt anywhere?” he asked and powered through the ache that settled deep in his navel as he rushed back from the edge Jimin had brought him so close to. The Omega was more important than that.

Jimin looked down to his cock dejectedly and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip that had Yoongi’s breath catching in his throat. Then he met Yoongi’s eyes again and started shifting, moving up the Alpha’s body so they were face to face again. Jimin hovered above the body underneath him and nibbled on his lip, expression clearly distressed.

There was dread swirling in Yoongi’s stomach and he tried to swallow his worry down before he spoke. “What’s wrong, Jimin?”

The younger’s spit-slick lips worked open and closed a few times, the conflict he was obviously feeling stopping the words from leaving his mouth.

“I-I wanna ride you,” he muttered. Yoongi went rigid and his cock jumped, sending a prick of pain through him. “But I wanna… I wanna have you in my mouth too…”

Yoongi’s jaw dropped.

Jimin looked at him expectantly, eyes squinted as if he had said something wrong and Yoongi just… he… He just couldn’t anymore with him. He chuckled incredulously, concern melting and feeding into his arousal even more.

“So you can’t decide if you want to ride me or suck me. Is that it?” he asked, voice betraying how unbelievably turned on he was by the Omega’s dilemma. Jimin’s responding whimper as he ducked his head away and hid his face from Yoongi’s sight made the Alpha laugh lowly. A new rush of winey peaches reached his nose and he knew Jimin loved when he was so forward. When he spoke without any reservations when Jimin was too shy, just like Yoongi loved it when Jimin used that pretty mouth of his to say the dirtiest things. That mouth… Shit.

Well. Yoongi was more than happy to indulge the Omega’s apparent slight oral fixation.

The younger shivered when Yoongi placed a hand on his lower back and slid it down to his ass, cupping the full cheeks and squeezing once, just to see Jimin’s body arch back beautifully. “Well then,” he whispered as he brought his hand to the cleft of Jimin’s ass and lightly ran a finger over his hole. It came away sopping wet. “I see no reason why you can’t have both.” Jimin’s starry eyes met Yoongi’s with a shaky exhale from his red lips. He looked surprised and hopeful and Yoongi wanted nothing more than to give him everything he could ever want.

“Now,” he said as he slid his hand back up and put slight pressure on Jimin’s lower back. “Sit down, baby boy.”

And Jimin obeyed. He obeyed like the good boy he was and sank down on Yoongi’s cock, taking him like a dream. A high-pitched whine rushed past his lips and his hands grasped at Yoongi’s shoulders. The Alpha half moaned, half growled, tugging the pillow away from behind his back and scooting back to lean on the headboard, consequently jostling Jimin and making him whimper in response to the sudden shift inside him.

He was seated flush on Yoongi’s lap, taking him in down to the hilt and arching up in such a lovely manner. Jimin was complete and utter bliss on all of Yoongi’s senses: the otherworldly sight of him perched on top of Yoongi; his heady scent that the Alpha was becoming steadily addicted to; the feeling of him circling his hips experimentally; the sounds he produced when the cock inside him rubbed at his walls, filling him up so perfectly that he could barely breathe…

It was all so much at once and Yoongi felt like he was burning alive from it. From Jimin . And it only got better as Jimin began moving, setting up a steady pace of up, down, slow figure 8, and up, and down again , each breath punctuated by a moan and each shift accompanied by his blunt nails digging into Yoongi’s shoulders. The Omega worked his hips expertly, going brutally fast, until the older had to slow him down lest they both finish before they really got the chance to enjoy it.

He wrapped an arm around Jimin’s waist, stilling him as much as he could and pulling a frustrated whine from the Omega on top of him. “Slow down, slow down, shh,” he murmured and put his thumb to Jimin’s mouth. The Omega went still and his eyes fluttered open to focus on Yoongi’s hooded eyes. The older tugged Jimin’s lower lip down with his thumb and let it pop back into place. When he brought it away, there was a thin, gossamer strand of saliva clinging to the pad of his finger, connecting it to Jimin’s mouth. The younger’s eyes traced it, then flew to Yoongi’s in silent question. “Go ahead, baby.” He pressed the thumb back to Jimin’s lips and the Omega wasted no time in taking it into his mouth with a weak whimper.

He resumed his movements, this time more measured and deliberate, making sure to catch every angle possible as he sucked and lapped at the Alpha’s thumb messily. Yoongi let himself revel in the sensations, the warm feeling in his chest different from that in the pit of his stomach, though he didn’t have the capacity to acknowledge it right that moment.

Jimin’s thighs began to tremble as they took him up and lowered him energetically, until he was too tired and had to resort to gyrating and grinding as he whined and mewled around Yoongi’s fingers in his mouth which had now become two. The Alpha’s free hand roamed his body, frequently stopping at his hip to adjust his position, but otherwise exploring and appreciating freely what Yoongi had already committed to memory. When he took the Omega’s straining cock into his fist, Jimin cried out sharply, biting down on the fingers in his mouth and barely managing to move his tongue around them to enunciate, “No…just… W-wanna come on your cock inside m-me.”

Yoongi let him go faster than he had thought possible and used the rush of arousal to buck up into Jimin and make him scream beautifully. He switched things up, hand slipping out of Jimin’s mouth to get a steady grip on his waist, legs bending at the knees and feet bracing on the bed for leverage. With an almost blinding hot desire to see Jimin unravel as far as he would go, he thrust up, again and again, making Jimin moan and whine and sway precariously, so lost he could barely even keep his balance. Before long, it got too much for the Omega and he toppled forward, forehead resting on Yoongi’s collar bones while his hands clung to the Alpha’s shoulders. Yoongi felt his hot, wet pants against his chest and murmured pretty words into the younger’s messy hair.

“Ngh- close!” Jimin called after a particularly hard thrust. Yoongi registered his own impending orgasm through the haze of pleasure and the tunnel vision that only let him focus on making Jimin feel good. He was close too.

He cupped Jimin’s cheek gently and lifted his head so their faces were level. The tears in Jimin’s eyes sparked something in his chest that prompted him to kiss the younger, slow and lazy, full of affection that made him realize… There was definitely something more here.

His thought was cut off by Jimin breaking the kiss and keening as he came in the little space between their bodies. In his daze, the Omega sagged onto Yoongi and nosed into the skin where his neck met his shoulder. His tongue darted out, as if to mark the area, after which he pressed it down flat to the skin, sloppy and still high off the orgasm, and then bit down forcefully.

Yoongi gasped and groaned, hips involuntarily bucking up with his release deep inside the Omega. Jimin let out a pained sound, probably oversensitive and achy, but he kept his teeth in Yoongi’s skin. The Alpha rode out his high, felt everything they had been building up to rush over him in the span of a few seconds, and when he came down from it, he was assaulted by the feeling of Jimin’s teeth still on him. It wasn’t a mating bite. It was not, Yoongi assured himself once he realized it hadn’t breached the skin. At most it would bruise. A perfect outline of Jimin’s teeth on his shoulder…

No , Jimin was barely even half-conscious right now, he had only done what his instincts told him to do. Mark his Alpha. His Alpha, fuck… No, Yoongi was getting ahead of himself. Now was hardly the time to overthink meaningless things, with his flaccid cock still inside the Omega who was falling asleep on top of him. He needed to get Jimin to let go and to clean them both up before he passed out, otherwise this would not be pleasant when they woke up in the morning.

“Jimin? Baby? Hey. You’re gonna have to let me go for a bit, okay?” Jimin moaned sleepily, but detached his teeth from Yoongi’s shoulder, making him hiss at the sting of it. The Omega tried burrowing into his chest to settle in for sleep, but Yoongi jostled and woke him up when he tried to lay him down on the bed, slipping out and making him whine in protest at the emptiness. Jimin tumbled out of his lap and onto the bed with a broken whimper. “Shh, I’m sorry!” Yoongi winced and put a hand on Jimin’s hip to massage it soothingly while the younger swatted at his shoulder.

“Fuck,” Jimin said brokenly and Yoongi found himself momentarily transfixed by the way the word fell from the Omega’s lips lazily. God, he looked so good like this…

The Alpha snapped out of it quickly enough and, finally clear minded, he saw the complete mess they had made of the bed sheets. And each other. Again. He sneered and looked to Jimin who was just turning over onto his stomach to relieve some of the pressure he still felt in his hips.

“You okay?” he asked, placing a hand on Jimin’s back and rubbing circles into the slightly sweat sticky skin.

“Mhm,” Jimin responded, curving his spine the tiniest bit to meet Yoongi’s touch and wincing. “Hurts a bit. ’s a good sort of pain though.” He giggled and shot Yoongi a smirk from where his face was smushed against the pillow.

Yoongi took yet another moment to appreciate the Omega’s body, fingers traveling up his spine to trace the dark bruises he had left there not long ago along with the new marks that were blooming over his hips and ass cheeks.

“You bruise like a peach,” he chuckled and Jimin smiled, wiggling his ass and hissing in pain again.

“What time’s it?” the Omega muttered.

“Sometime past midnight,” Yoongi offered and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. “Wanna go take a shower?”

Jimin frowned, then grinned wickedly. “Sure. Might have to carry me though.”

Yoongi snorted and slapped his ass lightly, making the Omega yelp and swat him on the arm in indignation.

He could get used to this.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Dreams were a thing that visited Yoongi’s sleep rarely. When they did, he tended to forget them as soon as he opened his eyes. And while tonight heralded another dreamless sleep for him, the prior activities had tired him out enough to let him actually rest while sleeping, as most of the time he woke up even more tired than he had been when he fell asleep.

He even awoke all by himself, when the sun was just peaking over the horizon, mostly obscured by the tall buildings visible from the bedroom windows. The still pale light streamed in from behind Jimin’s back where he lay on his side next to Yoongi, giving his sleeping form the softest halo that just solidified Yoongi’s belief that he was an actual angel sent from heaven above. He slept silently, completely at ease in a near stranger’s bed and that made Yoongi smile. The thought that Jimin trusted him so much made him feel warm inside and after last night’s events, maybe he shouldn’t be this surprised that Jimin had developed some sort of sympathies for him, but he was… pretty damn happy right now.

Yeah. He was happy. Content. Well rested. Not to mention the first thing he woke up to was the prettiest person he had ever seen, sighing sleepily, all curled up in his sheets. (Clean sheets- he had changed them after their shower last night.)

It was still pretty early. He had time to catch another hour or two of sleep, seeing as he hadn’t rested this well in god knows how long. He’d go to sleep now, wake up again later, and get up to make Jimin and himself some breakfast. Then maybe they could talk things out and… well… talk things out.

Yoongi couldn’t help but be a little hopeful. His eyes fell closed and he draped his arm over Jimin’s waist, bringing the younger in closer as he ducked his face into Yoongi’s neck, seeking warmth in his sleep.

This was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He had forgotten how nice it was.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

When Yoongi woke up next, Jimin was gone.

The sun was shining through the windows, warming the rumpled white sheets where he had been. But Jimin himself was gone.

Yoongi got up to look around the house: in the bathroom, the kitchen and living room… He was nowhere and his clothes, shoes, and bag were missing too. He only found two wine glasses- one empty and one half full- sitting in the kitchen sink, the bottle of Barolo Chinato on the marble counter.

Yoongi collapsed back into bed. The scent of peach wine that still clung to the sheets only fed into the hollow feeling in his chest.

Notes:

Twitter: @daeguspeaches

Chapter 4

Notes:

My laptop is fixed, hopefully I'll be able to make next week's update. :')

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The house reeked . Wherever Yoongi went he could still smell Jimin; so much so that he had to resort to wearing a face mask in his own apartment . He had Jungkook take his soiled bed sheets to the dry cleaners (with no little amount of disgusted protest from the younger Alpha) while he tried to clean the absolute mess that was still left on the couch. That poor couch.

Sex was nice. Sex was fucking awesome. Clean up… not so much. Yoongi didn’t think he had ever had this much cleaning up to do. And with the thought that Jimin had just up and left without a word still sitting and turning putrid in his mind no less.

This was going to be a bad day. A bad fucking week.

He had taken care of the wine glasses first as they were easiest to deal with. Throwing Jimin’s nearly untouched wine down the drain spiked a note of bitterness in his chest that he didn’t appreciate. Yeah, bailing on him like Jimin had done was a pretty damn shitty thing to do, but Yoongi really, really didn’t want to resent him for it. He just… He didn’t know what he wanted: whether to call Jimin and tell him he’s a dickhead or ask him to talk and sort things out… Yoongi only knew he felt like shit. So he busied himself with attempting to clean the couch. Keyword: attempting.

After a solid hour of struggling, when Yoongi had already resigned himself to the idea that this couch just had to go, his phone rang from his bedroom nightstand. He froze. He didn’t really feel like going in there right now. Scratch that, he would not go in there right now. Fuck he’d probably ask to sleep over at Jungkook’s tonight because he was a bitter bitch and a classic wimp. Too many memories in that bedroom… and scents.

Shit, he sounded like a one of those old ladies who always complained about today’s generation.

He actually got lost in his thoughts and didn’t even notice when the phone stopped ringing. What snapped him out was it starting to ring again.

“Fucking insistent,” he grumbled, a little over 80% sure it was Jungkook calling to complain about having to take his dirty sheets to the cleaners. Little shit was more than capable of blowing up his phone until he answered.

He dropped the rag he was trying and miserably failing to clean his unfortunate couch with and dragged his feet over to the bedroom. He grabbed his still ringing phone off the nightstand and jogged back out of the room, pointedly not looking at the still unmade bed. He was dealt an emotional blow here, okay? Sue him for getting his feelings hurt…

He made his way to the balcony quickly, so that he could take off his mask to talk and still keep his brain functioning properly. He didn’t even check the contact name as he picked up, already getting irritated by the default melody of his phone.

“What?” he snapped into the speaker as a car honked on the highway bellow.

“Oh, why are you so cranky in the morning?” Seokjin’s voice came from the other end, a little husky, probably just woken up.

Yoongi checked his wrist watch, not sure what time it was, but certain it wasn’t morning anymore. “It’s 1pm,” he said dryly.

“Is it?” Seokjin yawned audibly and Yoongi huffed in mild annoyance. “Well, I’m just waking up, so it is morning for me. Wanna come over for some breakfast?”

“Lunch,” Yoongi corrected and leaned on the balcony railing as a sobering chill went up his spine. It was still pretty cold, even with the sun high up in the sky, trying its mightiest to warm the earth up.

There was a fuss on the other end, a thud and Seokjin’s muffled voice yelling something and then babbling as if to a baby. Yoongi drew the phone away from his ear, looked at it pointedly and brought the speaker back to his mouth.

“Hello? Hyung, you okay?” Another car honk made Yoongi glare down at the mass of multicolored vehicles stuck in traffic.

“Oof, yeah. Namjoon just tripped over my cat. It’s okay, darling, he didn’t mean to! He’s just a clumsy ass!” A loud, suffering meow was heard from his side and Seokjin immediately switched to that cooing baby voice Yoongi had heard and wondered about earlier. “I know, sweetie, I’m sorry! Namjoon is sorry too! Here!”

Yoongi heard a surprised yelp and what was probably Namjoon’s voice asking, “What the hell do you want me to do? I already apologized!” and Seokjin hissing, “Kiss her head or something, you dipshit! You can’t just bulldoze my cat like that and expect to get away with just an apology!”

Yoongi seemed to remember the model mentioning something about a cat at last night’s dinner. Namjoon had pointed out he was annoyingly allergic to cats.

“I’m fucking allergic, hyung! Do you want me to sneeze on everything you own?”

“You little-“

“Still here, just so you know,” Yoongi deadpanned, letting an involuntary smile curve his lips. These idiots were a nice distraction, if nothing else.

“Oh-“ Seokjin floundered for a second and Yoongi took it he dropped his cat or something and then let it go because he would crack up if Seokjin kept this up and Yoongi was decidedly irritated today. So no laughing. “I can’t believe I brought these things into my house, willingly. Namjoon has already broken a glass when he went for water during the night, and Hoseok- poor guy tried so hard, I appreciate that- but he burned the toast he just tried to make and now my house stinks like an arson site,” the Omega droned on, voice getting progressively more whiny as he went and pushing Yoongi closer and closer to that breaking point. He would not laugh, damn it!

“Wait, I thought you took those two to their apartments or whatever last night,” Yoongi wondered aloud. He wouldn’t admit it, but his mood was already a little better. “Oh, don’t tell me you-“ he groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. He shouldn’t have let a thirsty Omega deal with two piss drunk Betas…

“What?” Seokjin asked, surprise in his voice. “Did I what?” He gasped suddenly and his volume almost broke Yoongi’s eardrum. “Yoongi! No, I did not sleep with them, you jackass! They were completely hammered! They fell asleep in the taxi, so I couldn’t ask them where either of them lived. Decided it would be best to just haul them over to my place. They slept on the couch!” he emphasized and Yoongi winced- half because of the loudness, half because of flashbacks. “I can’t believe you’d think for a second that I’d-“

“You were drooling over them both all day yesterday and you were pretty drunk yourself last night, cut me some slack!” Not that all of Yoongi’s flings had been sober and completely judgement-inhibiting-substance-free, but he did try to make explicit consent a priority.

Jimin was pretty sober last night. Right?

He shook himself off and registered Seokjin speaking into his ear. Though he only caught the tail end of it, he got the gist. “-call the others and you all can come over for some breakfast or… brunch or whatever. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Yoongi shivered again and came to the conclusion that he’d have to end the call soon if he didn’t want to catch a cold out here. “No, I haven’t,” he answered truthfully. Jungkook had actually come in that morning with the intention of getting Yoongi to cook him something, but, upon getting kicked in the face by the smell of sex that permeated the entire apartment, had forgotten about any semblance of food. “But, wait, didn’t you say your place smelled like charcoal or something? Are you trying to kill us or rope us into helping you clean?”

Seokjin gasped theatrically. “How dare you?” Yoongi couldn’t keep from snorting this time. Damn it, Seokjin. Then the Omega switched back to his usual carefree tone. “Nah, Hoseok already cleaned that up. I made sure of that.”

Yoongi sputtered. “You didn’t make him cry, did you?” he asked, mostly as a joke, but still a little worried because Seokjin was the type. He seemed like a bitch, basically.

“Of course not, what do you take me for? I just told him and Namjoon to clean up by the time I was out of bed, or there would be consequences.” Yoongi was shaking with silent laughter by now. “I actually meant the fun kind of punishment, ‘cause, you know. I still wanna tap that. But they probably thought I meant I’d sue them or something, since the stove and pan Hoseok had used were spotless when I went to check, and I’m talking pristine, like cleaner than they were when I bought them, Yoongi!” Yoongi actually collapsed in a heap on the tiled balcony floor with how hard he was laughing. “Those men are a dream, I’m telling you! Definitely keepers, the both of them!”

“You’re a fucking slave driver,” Yoongi wheezed, holding his stomach. “You’ve already turned them into your lackeys!” Then he lapsed into quiet cackles again.

“What can I say? I ooze charm.” And, damn, Yoongi had to agree. His bad mood was as good as gone and he hadn’t laughed like this in god knows how long.

The next thing he heard was a loud, vicious meow somewhere on Seokjin’s side, followed by a barrage of muffled curses. Seokjin growled and apparently didn’t take the phone away from his mouth in time as he nearly blew out Yoongi’s eardrum a second time with a screech. “Will you two let my cat fucking live?!”

Yoongi hissed in pain and slumped against the metal railing, weak wheezes and chuckles spilling past his lips. “Shit, my stomach hurts, hyung. And please stop screaming into my ear?” he begged, voice wry and ragged.

“Fucking morons!” Seokjin concluded with a sigh.

“I thought they were, and I quote, ‘a dream’ and ‘keepers, the both of them’,” Yoongi said to tease the Omega.

“They’re hot and fucking adorable. I guess the clumsiness is just something I’ll have to deal with,” Seokjin huffed irritably. The comment made Yoongi smile, not out of amusement, but something quite like fondness. It was cute. “Now would you please get over here before they do something stupid again and I murder them in cold blood? And bring Jungkook too! I’ll send you the address in a sec.”

“Alright, sure,” Yoongi chuckled. “Need us to swing by for some groceries or something?” He got up from the floor and rubbed at his cold nose with the back of his hand. He needed to get inside soon.

“No, I’ll just make these dumbasses go,” the Omega said cheerily and Yoongi snorted.

“Like I said, slave driver,” he replied pointedly.

“Yeah, yeah, you sour pineapple, just get over here!”

And the call cut off. Yoongi sagged against the glass balcony door and laughed quietly to himself for another 2 minutes before he decided that he really needed to get inside already. Fuck, it was cold.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Honestly, Yoongi was already tired and he wasn’t even at Jin’s place yet. His stomach still hurt from laughing like a maniac earlier, and his nose was starting run from all the time he spent out in the cold only in some pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He had called Jungkook and told him to come back soon since they were going to Seokjin’s for lunch (Breakfast? Brunch?), to which his assistant had cheered loudly, once again making Yoongi’s eardrum suffer. He’d made it back to the apartment with a bag full of his clean white bed sheets in under 10 minutes. Yoongi had been impressed. Jungkook had laughed at his nowhere near successful attempts to clean the couch properly and suggested just looking for a new one. Yoongi had sighed in defeat and told him to just get ready to leave for Seokjin’s. To which Jungkook had retorted that Yoongi was the one still in his pajamas.

Yeah, Yoongi was already fucking tired.

Following the directions the model had sent to Yoongi’s phone proved a little difficult, as he lived in a pretty busy part of the city. Hongdae and its shopping districts never calmed down, so Yoongi made it a point to not go there very often.

Seokjin’s apartment complex though, was hard to miss, as it was made up of some of the taller buildings, clearly quite high-end. And it was a fucking labyrinth. He and Jungkook had no clue where they were supposed to park the car, let alone which building housed Seokjin’s apartment, and so they had to call the Omega, who laughed a disturbingly evil cackle when Yoongi told him they were practically lost inside the complex grounds, and then sent Hoseok down to show them the way.

When they finally found each other, the Beta eyed the tiny potted cactus Jungkook was holding and made a face in confusion which, honestly, Yoongi felt the same. He had no idea why they’d brought that either. Kook had insisted they bring some sort of gift even after Yoongi told him Seokjin didn’t want them to bring anything. And still, somehow, they’d ended up in some little flower shop. The younger Alpha had fallen head over heels in love with the miniature cacti displayed on one shelf on the wall and that had been that. They’d brought Seokjin a fucking cactus.

Yoongi was so tired.

Hoseok laughed at that. He laughed a lot. Like the entire way up to the Omega’s apartment, he cackled like an idiot and Yoongi didn’t know whether to join in or smack him upside the head. Ultimately he chose the former, but Hoseok still got a smack on the head once Seokjin opened the door and saw him laughing maniacally. As Yoongi was trying to get accustomed to the heavy scent of roses and jasmine pouring out of the apartment, the model saw the little prickly plant in Jungkook’s hands and actually snorted in the young Alpha’s face.

“Oh, no, I’m-I’m sorry.” He tried to compose himself and took the little pink plastic pot from Jungkook- whose eyes were getting bigger and sadder by the second- to examine the cactus and assure them that he loved it.

This was already a disaster. Yoongi sighed and pushed Jungkook inside the apartment when Seokjin stepped away from the door.

“No! Kitty, come back!” They heard a voice coming from further inside as they kicked off their shoes. As soon as Yoongi got his socked feet out of his sneakers, his toes were attacked by a white ball of fluff that Seokjin called (screamed) ‘Mickey’. Next thing he knew Kim Taehyung was on the floor in front of him, trying to get a grip on the fur stain, catching it by the tail and getting three claw marks on his forearm for his trouble.

“What the fuck is happening?” Yoongi asked, through Tae’s whining, the cat’s hissing and Seokjin’s yelling at both of them.

“Taehyung, for the last fucking time, leave the cat alone, can’t you see she doesn’t like you?!” Seokjin shouted and scooped up the cat in his hands, letting it climb onto his shoulder and sink its claws into his shirt. He turned his back on Yoongi and Jungkook who were still at the door to (loudly) address Taehyung and Yoongi found himself with a clear view of one absolutely terrified white Persian kitten which hissed and swung its claws at his face. He dodged it and then proceeded to flip it off because he was back to his sour mood and he was fucking tired.

“But she used to love me, hyung!” Tae whined and made a grab for the cat which Seokjin leaned out of the way of and, in doing so, nearly dropped Jungkook’s cactus from his free hand.

“Not since you decided to play ‘Lion King’ with her when you were supposed to be watching her that one time! Now get out of the way and let Yoongi and Jungkook come in, you dipshit!”

Taehyung’s face suddenly appeared in Yoongi’s field of vision which had been obscured by Seokjin’s back. His eyes immediately focused on Yoongi and narrowed, then traveled to the frazzled Jungkook and to Hoseok who was still outside, unable to enter since the two Alphas were in the way.

“Where’s-“ he started and then Seokjin put a hand on his shoulder, turned him around, and pushed him further into the apartment while grumbling something about being surrounded by idiots, which Yoongi wholeheartedly agreed with.

They actually managed to calm down and sit at the table to have a proper breakfast/lunch/brunch and Yoongi found Seokjin’s French toast pretty damn good. Seokjin sat between Hoseok and Namjoon and fed them both bites of his own toast once in a while, at which they both seemed a bit confused but also stupidly pleased. Jungkook sat next to Yoongi, clearly spooked by all the excitement earlier, but also enjoying his food and showering Seokjin with compliments for his cooking and his tastefully decorated apartment. Yoongi agreed; the light color scheme and vintage looking furnishing made it feel homey and comfortable- a far cry from Yoongi’s modern, mostly monochrome setting. The Omega was flattered and responded by thanking Jungkook for his present- the cactus- which he had placed in the middle of the table.

A few minutes into the meal, Yoongi had noticed they were missing people. Namjoon informed them that Eun-Se had some sort of meeting and couldn’t make it, while Jimin was… busy.

“Those were his exact words,” Namjoon defended when he saw Yoongi and Taehyung’s matching incredulous expressions aimed at him.

Suddenly Tae turned to Yoongi with a face equal parts confusion and anger. Yoongi stared at him with wide eyes, suddenly worried.

Thankfully Taehyung had the good sense to lay off and their little exchange went mostly unnoticed or at the least unaddressed. They finished their meal through banter and laughing, though Yoongi and Tae both kept rather quiet.

The other four quickly got around to talking about something Yoongi wasn’t paying attention to, too occupied with thoughts of Jimin who he had previously actually managed to forget about, somehow. He was busy? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was he…Was he actually really busy or was he just avoiding Yoongi? And the fact that apparently his best friend, Taehyung, had no clue either was more than a little worrying.

Fuck, he should have just called Jimin this morning. Even if it would have been fucking mortifying, he should have made sure Jimin was at least okay after last night. This was horrible. He knew sleeping with colleagues was a shit idea, but he’d thrown that out the window as soon as Jimin had shown any sign of interest. And it would have been at least marginally okay if only he didn’t have this heavy feeling in his chest that went past guilt and self-deprecation and got suspiciously close to disappointment. Catching feelings was the absolute worst thing he could have done. And here he was… in his feelings and sulking.

Shit, he was such an idiot. A textbook sucker for romance, even though he’d suffered from that more than enough to put him off the notion of a real relationship. He had promised himself he’d stop wearing his heart on his sleeve a long time ago, yet here he was, with his heart cracked.

“Hyung?” Jungkook called quietly, placing a hand on Yoongi's shoulder and startling him out of his thoughts. He looked at his brother and saw concern on his face, then realized he was pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead so hard it was beginning to give him a headache.

“Yoongi-hyung, can I talk to you for a second?” Taehyung asked from across the table, outwardly collected, but Yoongi knew there was only one direction this could go. He nodded and got up from his chair to follow Tae out of the kitchen anyway.

This was what happened when Min Yoongi let his feelings get the better of him.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

“Where the fuck is Jimin?” were the first words out of Taehyung’s mouth when he stopped and turned to face Yoongi in the dimly lit corridor leading to the front door.

“That’s what I wanna know,” he retorted, leaning back against the wall and settling Tae with an unreadable expression. “I woke up this morning and he was gone.”

“Gone?” the Omega asked disbelievingly, eyes wide. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest- a closed off, hostile stance. Yoongi was directly in the line of fire, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now, he was just… tired.

“And you didn’t call or text him or anything at all?” There was definitely accusation in his voice, which did not help Yoongi’s rising sense of guilt, but he hid that with an exasperated sigh.

“I don’t know how many casual fucks you’ve had in your life, but you’re generally not supposed to try and contact the other person if they book it while you’re still asleep.” Taehyung winced. Yoongi’s eyes dropped to the floor in something very close to shame.

The Omega shifted on his feet uncertainly, the scathing note in Yoongi’s voice clearly having confused him. What, did he expect Yoongi not to care? Of course he fucking cared. Shit all this discussion was going to do was irritate him even more. He didn’t need Taehyung’s judgement.

He straightened up and started back towards the kitchen, but Tae caught his arm and he stopped him in his tracks with a sigh. “You didn’t-“ he began tentatively, hand light on Yoongi’s bicep in an almost cautious manner. “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

Yoongi turned wide eyes on him and found the Omega pressing his lips into a thin, pale line. The building anger in his stomach all but evaporated when he saw the worry in Tae’s eyes. “No,” he said softly. “I made sure he was comfortable and didn’t do anything he didn’t want me to do. There was… a small thing, but I swear I didn’t hurt him.”

Taehyung’s grip on Yoongi's arm tightened for a second as he looked at Yoongi, most likely trying to discern if he was lying or not. Yoongi wasn’t. He told the Omega as much.

“Okay,” Tae said quietly and let him go. “I’m sorry I was so quick to assume. I’m just… protective.” Yoongi nodded and tried not to think about the implications of what had made Tae protective of Jimin, just observed Taehyung’s soft, concerned eyes.

“Let’s go back,” the Alpha suggested.

“Yeah,” Tae agreed.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Yoongi’s first ever serious relationship had crashed and burned spectacularly. And that hadn’t been any high school puppy love. Before that, he’d had plenty of relationships where he didn’t really expect anything to come out of it, but kept it up because why not. The first person he had thought he could genuinely fall in head-over-heels-love with had come along in his senior year of college.

It had started out as nothing serious, mostly outward attraction, silly teasing, and a burning love for photography on both their sides. But then as time went on, Yoongi had realized he’d actually like to try for a serious relationship and the other person had felt the same. At least at first.

Things had started getting even better from there. Yoongi had felt truly happy, no longer just motivated by physical attraction, but something which was rapidly blooming into the closest thing he had ever felt to love.

And then that person had cheated on him and dumped him, all in one night. 10 months (yes, Yoongi still remembered) thrown to the wind along with Yoongi’s heart, which he had since then learned to not give away so carelessly. But despite that, he had still ended up on the shitty end of another 3 breakups.

And so Min Yoongi had decided relationships weren’t for him and he made good on that by regarding all potential romance with his dick and not his heart. That resulted in the frankly disturbing amount of one night stands he’d had in his life and, for him, that was all fine. He honestly preferred being seen as an anomaly as an unmated Alpha over 30, while still getting more than enough ass, over trusting someone to not break his apparently fragile heart. Like he always said: sex was a biological necessity; love wasn’t.

So what the fuck was this thing with Jimin all about?

 

 

《♡》

 

 

“Hyung?”

“Yes?”

“What did you do with the couch?”

Yoongi looked up from his laptop where he was sitting on his desk in the living area. Jungkook was just walking into the apartment with a bag with his own laptop slung over his shoulder and a plastic bag with some groceries in his hand, followed by his familiar pine scent. He looked between Yoongi and the empty space where the couch had been, bracketed by two smaller couches and an armchair.

“I’m having the upholstery changed,” Yoongi responded, going back to the email he was typing out.

Jungkook set the plastic bag and the one with his laptop in it on the kitchen counter, eyes never leaving Yoongi who was pointedly not looking at the younger and sort of blindly staring at his computer screen, trying to read over the email before he sent it. He could practically feel the nosiness radiating off Jungkook and he could already tell this was probably going to be an extremely annoying attempt to better his mood. Which wouldn’t work. Yoongi was past it. Jungkook just couldn’t seem to accept that not everyone was always as cheerful as him.

And as expected the next words out of the young Alpha’s mouth made Yoongi want to go to his bedroom and lock the door, no matter how childish that might be. “What happened the other night, hyung? And yesterday with Tae-hyung at Jin-hyung’s place? He seemed… angry with you for some reason.” Yoongi’s eyes snapped up to him with an expression that he hoped showed how much he did not want to talk about this.

Okay, so he was still pretty bitter about it.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Kook,” he said flatly, giving up on proof reading the email and just hitting send.

“But you’ve been so sullen since then. Is there anything I can do?” Jungkook asked in his best make-Yoongi-feel-bad-for-not-spilling-his-guts voice, achieving just that and making Yoongi sigh.

“No, seriously, there’s nothing wrong. It’s nothing big and it’ll blow over soon.” He closed his laptop and leaned his elbows on the desk, turning to look at his brother who was now sitting on a bar stool, picking at a fraying thread on his sleeve, clearly nervous. Why was he nervous?

“I mean it, hyung! You can talk to me about- about anything! I’m not a kid and I wanna help!”

“Jungkook, what is it? Why are you so insistent? I told you I’m fine!” Yoongi said, patience thinnig as he got up and walked over to the counter to lean down on his palms across from Jungkook. “Are you okay?” he asked, eyes trained on the younger Alpha’s slightly pink cheeks.

Jungkook huffed at him disapprovingly, obviously put off that Yoongi was trying to change the subject. Though Yoongi wasn’t. He was genuinely worried. “I’m- I’m okay. I just want to know what’s troubling you because you’ve been snappy and downright miserable since the other day and I’m annoyed that you’re not telling me!” He flailed his arms in front of him, not meeting Yoongi’s eyes, and started unpacking the groceries.

Yoongi glanced down and found something he didn’t expect in the bag. Crunchy peanut butter. Yoongi’s preferred type. What in the…?

Now this was particularly strange since Jungkook was usually the one to do groceries, just because he didn’t ‘trust Yoongi to not forget the most important things’. And by that, Jungkook usually meant the ungodly amounts of sugar he fed his sweet tooth with. Which lead to him getting all the things he liked and none of the things Yoongi like, though the older didn’t care much as he didn’t need sugar to survive like Jungkook did.

So Jungkook buying Yoongi’s preferred flavor of anything at all could only mean one thing.

He was guilty and/or trying to make up for something.

“Alright, spill it,” Yoongi stated with a tired sigh. This kid was so much trouble sometimes, but usually he was just too hard on himself. It was probably something minor that he had just made into a huge deal in his own panicky little bunny-rabbit mind.

Jungkook blinked up at him in surprise. “W-what?” He looked around wildly, eyes wide, as he realized he’d been caught for…whatever it was. He was so transparent, Yoongi couldn’t keep from snorting.

“Something’s up, I know it.” He held up the jar of peanut butter that had been Jungkook’s downfall and brought it all up in the younger’s face. “Crunchy? You have never bought a jar of crunchy peanut butter in your life. You officially declared war on me when I told you I liked it better than creamy. When you were 11 you hid all the spoons in the house when someone bought crunchy instead of creamy.” Yoongi settled his brother with an expectant look as he set the jar down on the counter between them.

Jungkook’s eyes bulged as he examined the label, scent spiking in clear panic. “No, I-I didn’t! It was… a mistake! Yeah, they must have switched them and I just didn’t check what I was getting!” he tried to amend as Yoongi rummaged through the plastic bag and found even more incriminating evidence.

“Plain dark chocolate? You hate this.” Yoongi loved it. “And popcorn? Jungkook you hate popcorn!” Once again, Yoongi loved it. Yeah, this was proof enough that Jungkook was hiding something and felt bad for it. Yoongi knew his little brother.

“But it’s so awful, like it gets between your teeth and makes your fingers all greasy! I don’t know how you eat it, hyung! I just-” he groaned and rested his forehead on the counter, folding in two to do so.

Yoongi moved the groceries out of the way and observed the back of Jungkook’s head where he could tell the younger had woken up only recently since he still had bed head back there. He tried to smooth the strands down with a gentle hand wich made Jungkook sigh contently.

“Just tell me, Kook. Whatever you think you did wrong, we can sort it out.” He continued carding his fingers through his brother’s hair lightly, feeling his scent become more relaxed by the second.

Finally, after another minute or two of coaxing, Jungkook turned his head so his cheek rested on the counter, and looked up to meet Yoongi’s eyes.

“I know what happened,” he said quietly.

Yoongi bristled for a second, but kept his cool. “And what happened?”

“I know Jimin-hyung stayed over that night. I mean, if his scent all over those sheets you made me take to the cleaners wasn’t enough… I talked with Tae-hyung yesterday and he told me.” There was a note of sadness in his voice that wasn’t quite pity, but it came very close to it and Yoongi stiffened involuntarily.

“Yeah. He left in the morning, but that’s fine, Jungkook. Like I said, nothing you need to worry about.” He kept massaging the younger’s scalp. He knew Jungkook was only trying to help. It wasn’t his fault Yoongi was still touchy on the subject, which he was, no matter how much he tried telling himself he wasn’t.

“You sure?” his brother asked warily and Yoongi smiled.

Jungkook had been there for all the times Yoongi’s attempts at a relationship had failed. He’d been the one to suffer Yoongi’s sour moods and depressive episodes and he’d also been the one to help Yoongi through them all. He knew how this was affecting his older brother and was only trying to help as he always did. Yoongi truly appreciated that. He really appreciated Kook’s good natured nosiness and the little things he did to make Yoongi feel better. Case in point- the bag full of stuff he himself hated but knew Yoongi liked.

Yeah, Yoongi really loved him.

“I’m sure, kiddo,” he said finally. Then he ruffled Jungkook’s hair until the younger whined and slapped his hand away. “So you just knew and wanted me to tell you so you wouldn’t feel guilty that you found out behind my back? Sneaky little-”

“I was worried! And it’s not like I went to Tae-hyung just to snoop!” Jungkook straightened up and tried to fix his hair with an indignant huff.

“You didn’t?” Yoongi questioned, intrigued. “What did you go to him for then?” He narrowed his eyes at the younger Alpha curiously, watching his cheeks turn pinker by the second.

“Well, I…we…” he stammered and Yoongi laughed because his brother couldn’t lie for shit, but it was always entertaining watching him struggle. “Don’t laugh! We- uh… I asked him out,” he finally stated with determination that made Yoongi’s eyes widen.

“You did?” he repeated, eyebrows raised. “Okay. And what did he say?”

Jungkook flushed. Yoongi snorted. “He said… Saturday,” he answered meekly and then punched Yoongi on the shoulder with way too much force when he saw the older’s shit eating grin.

“Oof,” Yoongi winced, returning the punch, but much more lightly. “Word of advice. Don’t put out on the first date.” He winked and Jungkook punched him again. “What? I’m just trying to help!”

“Just… I’ll tell you how it went, okay?” Jungkook said as he got up and started putting the groceries away.

“Fine,” Yoongi conceded.

“And enjoy this crunchy garbage while you can. Might just… disappear while you’re sleeping. Or something.” He snickered, placing the jar of peanut butter in the cabinet over the stove.

“Hey, watch it, brat! I have Taehyung’s number and a shit ton of your embarrassing stories to tell.” He held up a warning finger to Jungkook as the younger narrowed his eyes in thought.

“Peace?” he offered.

“Peace,” Yoongi said with a smile.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Eun-Se emailed that same evening as Yoongi was preparing dinner and Jungkook was sitting on the kitchen counter, alternating between reading over the business offers Yoongi had gotten in the past week on his laptop and observing with interest as the older rushed between chopping vegetables for the salad and making sure he didn’t burn anything on the cooker. Cooking was a skill Yoongi hadn’t been particularly keen on learning, but had ended up picking up when Jungkook had moved out on his own for college, given that ‘on his own’ had meant 2 blocks away from Yoongi’s flat from back then and that the kid would have starved if the older hadn’t gone over every other evening to cook for him. As it was, Jungkook still had no clue what half the appliances in his own kitchen were for since he ate at Yoongi’s place every god damn day.

“Oh, look, hyung! Eun-Se-noona just sent you an email about meeting to evaluate the final product tomorrow!” Kook chimed, turning the computer around so Yoongi could see the screen while stirring the stew on the stove.

“Oh, yeah? Tomorrow? What time?” he asked, giving up when he couldn’t quite read the tiny text from where he was.

“9am, head office, same as last time,” Jungkook said as he reached over to where Yoongi had been cutting the vegetables and grabbed a cucumber to pop in his mouth. “These are too watery,” he stated with a grimace while chewing. “You shouldn’t buy cucumbers in winter and spring. They taste horrible,” he said while Yoongi tried tasting his stew and ended up burning his tongue.

“Ugh, just learn to cook for yourself if you’re gonna complain,” the older grouched and dropped the ladle as if offended by the temperature and how it made his whole mouth go numb.

“Aw, no! I love your cooking!” Jungkook assured him with an (annoyingly) adorable smile.

“You only say that ‘cause you’re too lazy to learn,” Yoongi said, wiping his hands on the kitchen towel and leaning back next to the stove.

“No, I say it because I don’t wanna chance burning my apartment down,” the younger concluded and yeah, okay, Yoongi supposed that was a pretty valid reason. He laughed quietly to himself and moved the stew off the cooker when he thought it was done. “Go set the table, Kook. I’ll be right there.”

“Sure!” Jungkook chirped and jumped off the counter to do as Yoongi had asked.

Jungkook went home a while after dinner as he always did and sent Yoongi a text to tell him he’d gotten home safely how Yoongi had trained him to do. The younger lived some 2 blocks away and it was only about 8:30pm, not to mention the neighborhood was pretty safe and well-lit. Because of that, Jungkook had been a brat at first and refused to let Yoongi know when he got home to ease his nerves since he was ‘a big boy now’, but Yoongi had still somehow managed to drill it into his head. (There had been threats of a sugar free diet involved, seeing as Jungkook relied on Yoongi for food and the older wasn’t above using that to get his brother to do what he wanted.)

Grabbing his computer, Yoongi settled into the armchair in his living room and opened up the email from Eun-Se Jungkook had bookmarked for him to read. As Kook had said, they were expected at Reflection ’s head office, tomorrow, 9am sharp, much to Yoongi’s displeasure as that would warrant him getting up at 8.

It was supposed to be a short meeting, not entirely necessary even. They could just be notified of the editors’ final choice for the cover photo via email or, if they really didn’t give a damn, they could just buy the issue and see for themselves. Yoongi would probably still buy a copy as he usually did when he did magazine front cover shoots. Eun-Se said in her email that since they’d gotten unexpectedly close in the time they’d spent together, she’d figured it would be nice to meet up one more time before the deal was officially over. Yoongi himself had nothing against it. He actually even looked forward to it when he pushed back the thought of how awkward seeing Jimin would be. He pushed it way, way back and decided that he definitely needed a distraction.

There was this sort of game he liked to play. A guessing game, just to make sure his critical eye was working propperly and he could adequately see things from the client’s perspective. When he had to take a bunch of photos with only one that would be chosen as the final product, he like to sit down and sift through the load of them and try to guess which one the client would pick. Usually there were way too many photos for him to pick right, but most of the time he got the right series of shots which only had very slight, near unnoticeable differences between them.

So he pulled up the folder he had on his desktop and started scrolling through the 500-some photos of both the indoor and outdoor shoot. Of course, like any other artist, Yoongi spotted more than a couple of mistakes and things they could have altered slightly to make a photo look better, and while that put him off, it also gave him something to keep in mind for his next shoot. He knew that was what digital editing was for though, and was certain Namjoon had done his part in making the photos look even better. (Without touching up the model, Seokjin’s face because that would probably be an argument and a half, Yoongi knew.)

He was especially proud of a few of the outdoor shots they’d taken with Seokjin leaning against a tree in the park. He was also wearing the coat with the fur lined hood he had hated so much and, given that it was one of the most important pieces in the collection, as Taehyung had so passionately informed them, Yoongi was pretty sure it would be one of this series.

Despite having taken his pick of the whole lot already, Yoongi decided to look over all the photos in the folder just to examine his own work and see how it could be improved. When he reached the end though, he paused, eyes trained on the very last photo, pulse kicking up.

Oh…right. He’d taken that candid photo of Jimin laughing.

Doubled over, wide smile on his face, eyes curved into cresents in his glee.

Ah, fuck, he was so gorgeous.

Yoongi let his head thud softly on the backrest of the armchair and sighed. Why did this have to be such a nice shot? It was so…different. It was somehow nothing like the rest of the photos he’d just gone through. It had none of the professional stiffness, it wasn’t forced… And Yoongi suddenly realized that was what had been missing.

All the photos others would praise and pay him for that he never felt any connection to beyond the purely professional kind… The emotional investment they all lacked and that he couldn’t seem to find within himself to give… This was it. The perfect shot.

But why did it have to be Jimin?

It just left a bad taste in his mouth. Fruity, sweet, bitter, acidic- all of those. And he didn’t want to think about it.

He wanted to call Jimin, text him, talk to him somehow. But it was equal parts his pride and his anxiety that stopped him from doing so.

He’d have to face the man himself tomorrow.

Shit.

Yoongi closed his laptop with a bit more force than necessary. He sighed again, deeply, and willed himself to think about something else. He looked around the room for anything to keep his mind from wandering back in unpleasant directions, but his eyes unwittingly stopped on the empty space in the middle of the room where the creamy couch used to be.

For a second he could swear he smelled peaches and wine.

“For fuck’s sake,” he growled to the empty room and jumped up from the chair, leaving the laptop on the plush seat. He stalked over to the balcony door, which he threw open, and stepped outside in the crisp night air.

Leaning on the railing, he looked to the many lights of the city that illuminated the darkness and chased it away. It was so bright. Didn’t really feel like night. Strange how he hadn’t noticed it until Jimin had pointed it out.

He sighed again, weary of his own brain that seemed to be actively working against him.

“Fucking mess,” he murmured, shivering from the cold.

And this was why Min Yoongi didn’t do relationships or anything at all that could lead up to one.

He needed to learn to follow his own rules.

Notes:

Twitter: @daeguspeaches

Chapter 5

Notes:

Hey I'm sorry I missed last week :( My laptop was out BUT now it's finally good so it all just depends on my motivation to write this....

(Also, stream LY:Tear)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Let it be known that Jungkook was an early riser. A very early riser, no matter how late he stayed up, as opposed to Yoongi who couldn’t wake up early to save his life even if he slept for 12 hours straight. The young Alpha also took an evil sort of pleasure in waking Yoongi up in the most horrible ways despite the fact that that usually got Yoongi angry with him. The older just assumed he did it so he could act like a brat and make Yoongi feel bad for getting mad at him at the same time.

Friday morning was no different in that aspect as Jungkook barged into Yoongi’s apartment with just a few minutes till 8 am. He waltzed into the bedroom, singing something awful, and started hitting Yoongi with the extra pillow until he retaliated and Jungkook ended up pouting on the floor again.

“Why do you always hit me that hard?” he whined as Yoongi rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them. “Even if it’s just a pillow, it hurts, hyung!”

“Then try waking me up like a normal fucking person for once and maybe I won’t be a dick back at you,” Yoongi grumbled and threw the covers back so he could get up and start getting ready.

Kook just humphed and buried his face in the pillow he was still holding, while Yoongi wobbled his way over to the glass bathroom door. “Smell like you,” the younger chimed contently.

Yoongi paused and glanced back at him. “Don’t say that,” he sighed tiredly and slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead so his thoughts wouldn’t wander back to…

Jimin.

“You don’t let me scent you, so I’m just gonna scent your extra pillow. How about that?”

Yoongi was about to snap at him, but stopped to consider. “Fine,” he said and went into his bathroom to take a shower. Jungkook’s scent would be a nice distraction. He still sometimes thought he could smell Jimin around the apartment. Most of the time he wrote it off as his imagination, but when he thought about it, it wasn’t impossible with how strong the Omega’s scent had been that night.

In a subconscious gesture, he brought a hand up and pressed in to his shoulder through the fabric of his sleep shirt. It stung. He winced just barely and went to check.

Teeth marks. Right. Oh fuck.

Yoongi needed to take a cold shower and get his head on straight.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Yoongi shouldn’t have been surprised. He noticed it practically the second he walked into the building. Jungkook was too busy shooting off texts on his phone next him to take notice of the falter in the older’s step when Yoongi realized he could smell everything but that scent he had been preparing himself for the entire drive there (or, more realistically, since last night when he’d learned they’d be meeting). He shouldn’t have been surprised. But he was.

The disappointment worming its way into his chest was quickly stomped down and replaced by irritation. Jimin was avoiding him, actively at that. But Yoongi was done and he wouldn’t let that get to him.

He resumed his walk through the lobby, bypassing the information desk and a curious administrator, to catch up to Jungkook who still hadn’t noticed his absence. The upside to this was that he wouldn’t have to wear a face mask during the whole meeting. Not that he needed it anymore. He was fairly certain Jimin’s heavy scent wouldn’t affect him as strongly as it first had. He had… gotten used to it. But he had decided to wear the mask just in case. When they stepped into the elevator- which was empty save for the two of them- he took it off and stuffed it in his pocket. Immediately he was assaulted by an almost nauseating mix of smells, but he blinked away the tears that sprung to his eyes and sucked it up because he was fucking annoyed and being strict with himself helped.

They were the last ones there this time as well. They took their seats around the familiar oblong darkwood table, Jungkook with enthusiastic ‘hello’s to everyone there and Yoongi with a slightly forced smile. He caught Taehyung’s eye where the Omega was sitting on the opposite end of the table and thought he saw a flash of something he couldn’t quite place. Well, there was only one thing it could be about, wasn’t there? He looked away, hoping he got the message across that he was not in the mood for that talk right now, and turned to Eun-Se who had started speaking about her meeting with the Editing Department and how things went.

They had ended up choosing one of the pictures Yoongi had guessed, but he couldn’t really bring himself to feel as satisfied as he normally would have. He smiled and thanked everyone when they commended him on his work, chuckling politely when Seokjin started complaining about them using the photo with the much disliked coat and how that would make everyone think he was into fur lined clothing when he very much wasn’t. A tragedy really.

Eun-Se’s people had apparently been very pleased with all their work; her pride in that was obvious in her smile and the way her citrusy scent flared. Namjoon and Hoseok, who were seated on either side of Seokjin (and rather close, Yoongi noticed; he had them already), were ecstatic when she told them she had forwarded their business information to the Japanese branch of Reflection as they had reportedly been struggling to find Lighting and Digital technicians. Seokjin was, of course, highly praised by the Board of Directors for his stunning visuals and the natural manner in which he posed, which Yoongi agreed with. Taehyung only smiled when he was complimented for his work as well, clearly not his usual energetic self (Yoongi tried not to care), but perked up when he heard Jimin’s name.

“And Jimin!” Eun-Se began, but stopped when she looked around and realized the make-up artist in question wasn’t there. “Oh, right. He informed me he wouldn’t be able to make it.” Yoongi rolled his eyes and got a light kick from Jungkook, who was sitting next to him, under the table. “Well, the directors loved his work as well, and one of our designers showed interest in contracting him for an upcoming fashion show!”

Something a little like pride sparked in Yoongi’s chest and he let it wash over him. It was a good feeling. He was happy for Jimin, his hurt feelings notwithstanding. When the sweet scent of caramel hit him, Yoongi turned to Taehyung to see him absolutely beaming in delight- the most openly expressive he had been all day that Yoongi had been witness to. Two seats to his left, Seokjin looked conflicted between happiness and worry, likely because he might be losing the stellar make-up artists he had had all to himself up till now. Finally, the model settled for a resigned smile and shot Taehyung a look which the younger returned, preening.

Seeing this exchange made Yoongi smile his first genuine smile today, the flutter of emotion in his stomach, which he thought he had squashed down, resurfacing. He suddenly wanted so badly to see Jimin again. His chest felt tight. He hated this.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

The meeting ended a little over an hour after it began with Eun-Se’s promise to send them all the 20 photos which were deemed the best in their newly edited format so they could add them to their portfolios if they wanted. As everyone filed out of the room, still talking animatedly, Yoongi was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It was Taehyung, looking a bit like a scolded child. Yoongi turned to him, letting the others get ahead of them, and raised his eyebrows in question.

Taehyung removed his hand and started speaking quietly. “I need to talk to you about Jimin,” he muttered, glancing at something behind Yoongi- probably the rest walking ahead.

The Alpha barely kept in his sigh, not wanting to be crass with Taehyung like last time since this was hardly his fault, but still exasperated. “It’s fine, Tae. You and Jimin don’t owe me an explanation.” He went to turn around and be on his way, more than done with the conversation, but the younger’s hand on his shoulder stopped him again.

“Please, just let me say what I have to say and you can do or… not do , I guess, whatever you want.” His eyes were pleading, big, and brown, and somehow so similar to Jungkook’s that Yoongi had to do a double take. Oh, they were growing on each other so quickly.

He turned his head to see where the rest of their group was and found them at the end of the hall, still speaking and waiting for the lift, while a lone figure- Jungkook- waited by the door of the meeting room and observed Yoongi and Tae with a curious and somewhat disapproving expression. Yoongi looked back to Taehyung and found him smiling sheepishly at Jungkook. Yoongi bit the inside of his cheeks so he wouldn’t grin like an idiot.

But as for Tae’s offer… He wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn’t want to let himself get roped into something that would just fuck things up even more. He had declared himself officially done with this whole thing. But the nagging little mess of feelings in the back if his head spoke otherwise and, with this new prospect of just…. Jimin, it pushed him closer and closer to the affirmative.

He looked at Taehyung for a long moment, weighing his options and fighting the Omega’s adorable puppy dog eyes.

“I just don’t want you to resent him,” the stylist said softly.

Yoongi blinked. Resent Jimin? No… he didn’t. He… Did he? Did he resent Jimin? He didn’t want to. He was hurt, but he didn’t want this to be what he remembered Jimin by.

“Okay,” he said, a bit dazed and in his own head.

“Okay?” Taehyung repeated with wide eyes, the corners of his lips tugging up in a smile he was clearly trying to fight.

“Yes, Tae,” Yoongi affirmed and shook his head a bit to clear his thoughts.

Taehyung spasmed in joy, fistpumping in the air before he took Yoongi by the elbow and started leading him toward the group which was just walking into the elevator. They passed by Jungkook in a hurry, confusing the young Alpha and making him scramble after them, frazzled.

“Sorry, Kookie. We’ll talk later,” Taehyung threw over his shoulder at Jungkook, pulling Yoongi after him and nearly making him trip over his own feet. “Hold the doors!” he shouted ahead, startling the others and prompting Seokjin to put a hand out to stop the lift from closing with a curious half smile on his face.

They got in, Yoongi and Jungkook stumbling, and made everyone laugh as the doors slid closed and Taehyung buzzed with excitement next to Yoongi. He sighed and hoped this wouldn’t end in disaster.

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Sinking lower into his seat, Yoongi checked his watch for the time and looked around impatiently. Why was this café so packed? Yoongi had needed to put his mask back on because of the huge amount of scents in the coffee shop, thus depriving himself of the aroma of freshly brewed coffee he actually adored. Taehyung had gone to get them both a drink without even asking Yoongi what he’d like to drink, mind you, and had been at the register for over 12 minutes now. Yoongi was counting.

He was starting to get uncomfortable, feeling like everyone was watching the guy sitting alone at a table in the back. Maybe if it were less full, it would feel as cozy as was obviously intended when decorating. It was a little hole in the wall place Tae had suggested with small, red tinted wooden tables, red brick walls, and colorful club chairs strewn about in no particular order.

Yoongi twisted in his chair to search for Taehyung, considering just getting up and going to find him, but calmed down when he saw the younger making his way through the labyrinth of furniture with two paper cups in his hands. He smiled brightly, apologing to one girl he had accidentally knocked into and continued shimmying awkwardly towards Yoongi and his table. A thought entered Yoongi’s mind that Tae looked good in this chaos. It sort of suited him and he seemed to take it in stride even when he ran into one less than polite guy, who Yoongi would have scoffed at and ignored, but the Omega just smiled and apologized again. Tae handled himself well, thrived even, in busy surroundings as it seemed. Yoongi on the other hand was the complete opposite, preferring peace and quiet and getting stressed easily.

His train of thought travelled back to Jungkook and Taehyung’s date tomorrow. Perhaps the Omega would be a good influence on his brother, would get him to come out of his shell and try socializing more.

A steaming cup was thrust in front of his face and Yoongi shook his head, blinking rapidly in surprise. He took it in both his hands, enjoying the warmth, and turned back towards the table and Tae who was just taking his seat opposite him.

“Sorry it took so long. There was this guy in front of me who couldn’t decide if he wanted a chocolate or strawberry donut,” Tae laughed and took the lid off his cup to add a packet of sugar, mixing it into the drink. The steam hit him in the face and made him sigh contently. “The coffee here is amazing, hyung. You’ll love it!”

Yoongi eyed his cup, unsure since he had no idea what Tae could have gotten him, then glanced up at the stylist when he heard him let out a hiss through his teeth.

“’s hot,” he panted with his tongue sticking out. “Careful.”

Yoongi nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to his drink. He popped the lid off and was suddenly hit by the strong smell of coffee, even through his mask. He hummed, realizing it was an Americano. Tae handed him one of the stirrers he’d brought and Yoongi looked up at him, pleasantly surprised that he’d somehow gotten his choice of drink right.

“Nice guess. I usually drink Americano or plain Espresso,” he said stirring the boiling hot coffee.

“Glad I got it right!” the younger chimed with a boxy smile that Yoongi returned behind his mask. “It was pretty easy to guess actually. You seem like the kind of person to enjoy bitter things.”

Yoongi’s stopped stirring his drink and fixed Tae with a wide eyed stare.

“Did Jimin tell you that or what?” he asked, almost bristling.

“What? No! He didn’t tell me-“

“He said the exact same thing the other night,” Yoongi countered with a harsh tone, making Taehyung furrow his brow and huff in annoyance.

“Don’t take your shit out on me, hyung,” he warned. “I’m just the mediator here.”

Yoongi watched him for a second, feeling his temper simmer down as quickly as it had flared. “Sorry,” he muttered as his eyes dropped to the tabletop in shame. Tae was right. Yoongi shouldn’t take his frustrations out on him when he was just trying to help. Or… whatever he was doing.

“Just hear me out quietly, okay?” the stylist offered with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, I’m not a kid,” Yoongi smiled timidly. He put the lid back on his cup and brought it up to his mouth, but then remembered he’d have to take his mask off in order to drink. Seeing this, Taehyung snorted and Yoongi shot him an unimpressed look before uncovering his mouth and taking a sip. “Mh, this is good,” he drawled, covering his mouth with the mask again. It was really good, and also very hot, but that was how Yoongi liked it.

“I know! Jin-hyung, Chim and I come here pretty often since their drinks are amazing! But,” he laughed and leaned in conspiringly towards Yoongi who did the same, if a little confusedly, “people started noticing Jin-hyung around here, so now it’s always packed with people waiting to spot him.” He looked at Yoongi with a lopsided smile before drawing back and chuckling in his low voice.

Yoongi smiled too and shook his head. Only Taehyung would find it funny that Seokjin, Jimin and he weren’t allowed some peace and quiet even for something as simple as enjoying a good coffee. A real social butterfly, this one.

“But anyway,” Taehyung began and snatched Yoongi’s attention with the sudden change in his tone from playful to serious. Maybe slightly concerned, looking at the apprehensive expression on his face before he cast his eyes down to his paper cup. “We came to talk about Chim.”

That was a rather sudden turn in the conversation, Yoongi thought. His amusement drained away quickly and he leaned back in his seat. “Let’s talk then,” he said flatly and, when Taehyung didn't start immediately, decided to take a sip of his coffee to give the Omega time to regroup and gather his thoughts.

Tae nervously mimicked the action, wincing at the temperature again, but managed to get his bearings and started speaking. “So I talked to him the other day. He didn’t wanna tell me anything at first, said it was too embarrassing,” he smiled wryly and Yoongi’s eyes widened in not-quite-surprise. “He gave in eventually though, and I realized… you’re misunderstanding things.” The Alpha’s brows shot up and, seeing his shocked expression, Tae scrambled to continue. “What I mean is…Ugh, it would be so much better if his bitchy ass just spoke to you directly, but he doesn’t want to, and now I’m stuck trying to fix both your shit when I could be getting it on with Jungkoo-“

His mouth clamped shut. He glanced at Yoongi uneasily and was met with a flat stare from the older, who was unimpressed, but not opposed. They’d get to that part too. He just nodded for Taehyung to continue. The Omega breathed out and in again and opened his mouth. “As I was saying, you think Jimin… used you or something, right?”

Yoongi’s eyes narrowed in consideration and he brought his drink up to his mouth, removing the mask. “Not really, no,” he said before taking a sip and replacing the mask over his mouth and nose. He didn’t feel used, as Taehyung had put it. They’d both wanted it- Yoongi and Jimin- that much was clear. Rather than that, Yoongi felt disappointed, but he knew full well it wasn’t with Jimin. Just…generally. With his shit luck. “What’s your point?” he asked, sensing a prickle of a bad mood and doing his best to stomp it down.

Tae gave him an unconvinced look and took a drink of his coffee. “Chim told me it was the best night of his life,” he stated straightoforwardly, almost making Yoongi choke on air. “He loved it and he didn’t want to have to leave like that, but he didn’t know what else to do. See, you’ve probably noticed he’s a skittish little thing most of the time. He’s never had a one night stand in his life, so he isn’t familiar with the aftermath.” He was gesturing animatedly in front of himself at this point, but Yoongi wasn't looking at him. He was staring at the table, taking everything in. “Basically he just panicked and ran away and now he really wants to call you, but he’s super shy and painfully awkward so he won’t do it himself. Which is why I’m here since I’m such a great fucking friend.”

The air around them was still, Yoongi processing and Tae waiting for him.

So it was just a misunderstanding? Jimin actually liked him? Well, like … maybe not that far, but he didn’t hate Yoongi? And he wanted to talk with him?

The Alpha snorted a laugh and brought his hands up to palm at his face. This was ridiculous. Taehyung watched him, worry growing by the second, until Yoongi looked up and fixed him with a stupid grin. The stylist beamed and they both lapsed into laughter, shaking with the effort to keep the volume to a minimum. They still attracted weird looks when Tae doubled over and nearly slammed his forehead into the table in his hysteria, but Yoongi couldn’t care less about that right now. This was amazing!

He couldn’t believe he’d spent the last two days sulking over nothing.

“Okay, okay,” Taehyung wheezed, breathing heavily and still giggling. “You’re both dumbasses, but Chim’s the bigger one, so you’re gonna have to call him first.”

Yoongi shot him a disapproving look. “Why me?”

“Because he’s stubborn as all hell and he just won’t do it! What do you think I’ve been telling him these past two days? He just will not do it!” Tae said, trying to sound serious, but cracking up towards the end, consequently making Yoongi snort loudly and hide his face in his hands. “Aw, don’t be shy, hyung!” he cooed as he petted Yoongi’s shoulder, snickering.

The older wiped tears from his eyes and tried to calm down as his head was beginning to hurt from all the laughing. “Fine. I’ll do it,” he offered with an exasperated sigh, smile giving his amusement away. Tae grinned and vibrated in his seat, while Yoongi took a sip from his now tepid coffee. “But he probably won’t answer since he has my number saved,” he noted, clicking his tongue. “Unless he’s deleted it?”

Tae shook his head. “Nope, still has it. I’m sure.” Hearing that made Yoongi…happy. Just a little bit. Tae hummed in thought and looked to the ceiling for answers. Then his eyes snapped back to Yoongi’s, bright and excited. “We’ll just call him from my phone!”

Yoongi’s brows shot up. He gave the stylist a look that showed just how uncertain he was that this was a good idea. “That doesn’t seem like something a ‘great fucking friend’ would do.” He wanted to talk to Jimin, but he wanted to do it right.

“Shut up! I’m not gonna give you my phone and let you call and say whatever you want to him!” Tae said, scandalized by the insinuation. “I’m gonna call him here and put him on speaker. That way I can monitor your oblivious asses and remain unchallenged as Chim’s bestest best friend!” He shot Yoongi a glare for even suggesting otherwise and the Alpha laughed heartily.

“If you’re sure it’s a good idea… I mean, I wanna try this out, but-“

“But nothing! Stop second guessing shit and go for it! Where’s the guy that swept my Chim off his feet the other night, huh?” Tae questioned harshly.

“He’s not here. It’s just me and my insecurities,” Yoongi deadpanned, earning a stern look from the Omega sitting across from him.

“Shut the fuck up and talk to him,” Tae said drily, finality clear in his tone as he whipped out his phone and started dialing.

Yoongi’s pulse suddenly spiked. “Oh, wow, wow, stop! You can’t just-“

“Too late, it’s already dialing.” The younger put the phone up to his ear and gave a reassuring look to Yoongi who was quickly starting to panic.

The Alpha looked down to his cup and fumbled with it nervously, trying to take to a sip and choking a little on it when Tae suddenly said, “Hey there, Chim!” signaling the make-up artist had picked up. Yoongi managed to clear his throat as Tae watched him with amusement. “Look, I’m gonna put you on speaker for a second,” he said and did so, bringing the phone away from his ear and setting it on the table between them.

“What? Tae, why?” came Jimin’s voice from the other end. Despite the bustle and noise in the coffee shop, Yoongi heard him loud and clear and his heart fluttered in his chest. Jimin…

“Just listen, okay?” Tae said and gave Yoongi a nod when Jimin agreed, though hesitantly.

Yoongi’s throat closed up. It took him two tries before he found his voice. “Jimin?” he said, hoarse- from choking or from nerves, he didn’t know. The line was quiet, not a sound since Jimin’s confirmation earlier. Yoongi thought that couldn’t be a good sign. Even so, there was a flicker of hope in him, and in any other case he would have kicked himself for it, but right now he wanted to be hopeful. At least a little bit. “It’s Yoongi. I think we need to talk.”

A crackle was heard from the other end that Yoongi thought might have been a sharp inhale. He looked up at Taehyung with uncertain eyes and the younger just motioned for him to keep going, biting his lip in suspense.

“Yoongi?” Jimin said at last. For some reason it made Yoongi break out in a dumb smile.

“Yeah,” he said with a light chuckle. “I think… Would you be willing to meet with me? Or, I don’t know, talk? On the phone? In private?” He cast Taehyung a knowing look which the Omega frowned at.

“I- I’m not so sure.” Jimin’s voice sounded small and Yoongi immediately backtracked, worried he was coming on too strong.

Just take it easy, Yoongi. Take it slow. Like last time.

No, not like last time, you idiot!

Yoongi barely stopped himself from slapping a hand to his forehead and just shook his head to clear his less than helpful thoughts.

“Okay, wait,” he said, trying not to sound pushy and frantic. His heart was beating so fast. “Jimin, I’m sorry. I like you. A lot.” Taehyung jumped a bit and gave him a wide eyed look. Yoongi pressed his lips into a thin line. That was too much, wasn’t it?

“H-hyung, I-“ Jimin stuttered, but Yoongi cut him off, his anxiety suddenly spiking.

“Would you like to model for me? I mean a… a trade for portfolio shoot?” he said quickly, making Taehyung hiss a sharp “What?!”

Even Yoongi himself had no idea where that came from.

He just sat there and looked helplessly from Tae to the phone, which was deathly quiet. And then, without another word between them, he heard the sound of the call hanging up. The phone flashed Jimin’s contact- a picture of him laughing with what looked like kimchi sauce on his mouth- and then went black as Yoongi and Tae stared at it.

It was the latter who spoke up first. “That was-“ he exhaled heavily, putting his phone away and leaving Yoongi to stare blankly at the table. “Hyung, you are… a disaster, ” he snickered and Yoongi’s eyes flew up to him. Tae’s face dropped and he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I mean. I think you just overwhelmed him. Telling him you like him and then asking him to model for you?”

Yoongi did slap his palm to his forehead this time. Hard. He groaned. “I’m such a fuck up.” Tae snickered again and Yoongi gave him a harsh look.

“I’d tell you to try again. But that depends on whether or not Chim decides to answer. You’re on your own from here.”

Yoongi just deflated and laid his head on the table, thumping his forehead against the top once. “How is it possible to be so bad at… people?” he asked the table, or the heavens, or Tae. The Omega snorted and patted his shoulder.

“It’s okay! It’s part of your charm! We can’t all be good with people,” he said, probably intending to comfort Yoongi somewhat.

Yoongi rolled his head on the wooden surface to look at the stylist who took a sip of his coffee that was most likely cold by now, and grimaced. “I don’t suppose you can teach me your ways?” he said, only half-jokingly, but Tae barked a loud laugh anyway, shaking his head. Yoongi sighed deeply. “Then teach Jungkook? He’s not as awkward as me, just kind of shy.”

Tae stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes at him. “Way to change the subject. Subtle,” he chimed.

“What? We explored my train wreck of a love life, so it’s only fair you spill some details on yours too. Besides, he’s my brother I’m just making sure you-“

The Omega sputtered and made Yoongi jump up in surprise. “He’s your brother?!” Tae asked, eyes bulging.

“Yes?” Yoongi offered. “Well, step brother. My mom married his dad when I was 15 and he was 6. They actually divorced again some 2 years later, but Kook and I were pretty close by then so we stuck together. We have ever since.” He leaned back in his seat, suddenly feeling a bit less like shit at the rush of fondness remembering these things brought him. They’d had to constantly go between Jungkook’s dad’s place and Yoongi's mom’s house, which proved complicated, but they’d made it work.

“Oh… I didn’t know that,” Tae said with a small but genuine smile which Yoongi returned.

“Ask him about it on your date tomorrow if you want,” he said and managed not crack up at Tae’s indignant little sound. “But if he starts talking about me he probably won’t shut up, so maybe don’t. He’s still sort of a kid when it comes to his big brother.” Yoongi laughed lightly, seeing Tae’s eyes soften even more.

“I don’t know why, but I find everything about him utterly adorable. Somehow this just adds to that,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, hyung. I’m gonna take good care of your precious baby Kook.” Tae winked with a smug grin and went to take a sip and then sputtered and coughed. “Ew, this tastes like shit when it’s cold,” he grouched and Yoongi laughed.

The Alpha shook his head in resignation and just hoped Jungkook and Taehyung’s date would go better than his…failed attempt.

He didn’t think he’d give up on it just yet. He had no idea how to fix things, but he wanted to try. Just one more time.

But how?

 

 

《♡》

 

 

Somehow, Yoongi didn’t feel as bad about his situation as he probably should. Yeah, he’d screwed up; yeah, Jimin had hung up on him without a word, but there was a glimmer of hope in him now that he knew Jimin didn’t harbor any real negative emotions towards him and that night they spent together.

He found himself excited, anticipating, even though he knew he was getting ahead of himself and there was nothing to be this excited about. He still had to get Jimin to talk to him somehow. The flutter in Yoongi’s chest was the same as he’d felt that night, the near forgotten feeling of wanting someone in a deeper way.

It kind of scared him. He hadn’t felt this vulnerable in years.

The hopeless romantic, the stupid optimist in him was surfacing and Yoongi felt like he was in danger, like he could so easily  get his heart broken again, but all his rational thought was pushed back in favor of hope and want. He wanted to see Jimin. He wanted to smell him, to hear his voice and his laugh, to be in his soothing but also exhilarating presence… He wanted Jimin.

And now that he knew there was a possibility that Jimin wanted him too…

Yoongi let out a breathless, disbelieving chuckle. He registered the sting of his drying eyes and realized he had been staring at the ceiling, slowly turning in his desk chair for who knows how long. He snapped out of his trance and blinked rapidly, laughing again at how fucking gone he was. He straightened up from where he’d slouched on the chair, almost to the point of sliding off. What time was it? Last he remembered, he’d been texting his mother about his completed contract with Reflection as it was her favorite fashion magazine. He’d closed his eyes for a brief moment to rest and he’d somehow ended up getting lost in thought for… almost an hour, he realized as he checked his wristwatch.

It was close to 10 pm- early by his usual standards, but he was feeling rather drained for some reason. Maybe it’d be a good idea to catch some more rest tonight; get mentally prepared for Jungkook’s date tomorrow. Also, that might factor into his exhaustion, Yoongi thought. Jungkook and Taehyung were already excitable and tiresome enough by themselves. What would Yoongi do if he suddenly had double the mischief around his house from now on? He’d die an early death, that’s what.

Or… Perhaps Jungkook’s focus would shift to Tae.

Thinking of that possibility sparked a mix of relief and… jealousy, maybe, in Yoongi’s chest. Realistically, he knew this would change nothing. Just because Jungkook had found someone else to love, didn’t meant he’d stop loving Yoongi. And for all that the older Alpha complained about Kook needing to be a responsible adult… Yoongi still considered him his little brother, the crybaby kid that would follow him around the house, gripping his sleeve and chattering away about all things colorful and cheery.

He remembered when their parents had announced they’d be getting a divorce. Jungkook had been inconsolable, sobbing and refusing to acknowledge the idea of having to leave Yoongi’s side. They’d made it work in the end, Yoongi going over to Jungkook’s every day after school and Jungkook staying at Yoongi’s house on the weekends.

Truthfully, Yoongi was just as attached and codependent as Jungkook was. He didn’t know if that was good or bad thing. Probably leaned more towards bad, he thought, but, with how in his feelings Yoongi was with current issues, he let it slide and ran a thumb over the glass face of the watch on his wrist with a fond smile. He’d talk with Jungkook about this.

Yoongi sighed and shook his head. This was turning into a sappy pity-party and he really just needed some sleep to restart his frazzled brain.

Just then, his phone on the desk next to him signaled an incoming message. Yoongi turned the chair so he faced the desk properly and took his phone. He had notifications for 2 texts from his mother congratulating him and assuring him she’d be bragging to her friends about him, and another one from Taehyung, timestamped a minute ago.

He opened the message and blinked his tired eyes hard when the light made his vision go blurry.

 

Taehyung:

hey so i may have just saved your nonexistent love life

Read [10:03 pm]

 

Yoongi stared and tried to process. His heart rate sped up a little at the implication, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up for nothing, so he shot off a message to Tae, hoping he was assuming right.

 

Me:

taehyung dont fuck with me

whatre you trying to say?

Read [10:04 pm]

 

The Read stamp appeared almost immediately, but the stylist took his time tapping out his response. The indication that he was typing taunted Yoongi until he got impatient.

 

Me:

come on I know you can type faster that that

unless its a fucking novel

Read [10:06 pm]

 

He was going to continue, but Taehyung’s message coming in stopped him.

 

Taehyung:

don’t freak out

chim might text you soon

DO NO FREAK OUT HYUNG istg

•••

 

Yoongi’s mouth was hanging wide open as he read. His pulse was drumming in his ears as he waited for Tae’s next message. Just as he received it, his phone screen lit up and the familiar default ringtone started.

Jimin.

Wasn’t it supposed to be just a text?!

Yoongi nearly dropped his phone. Well, he did drop it, only on his lap, and fumbled like an idiot for an entire 3 seconds before he got a proper grip on the device and managed to answer the call.

“Hello?” he called into the speaker, voice almost breaking as his stomach twisted into a knot.

There was a short silence on the line which thankfully gave Yoongi some time to get his bearings.

Then Jimin’s voice spilled over the speaker. “Hyung? It’s me,” he said, as if Yoongi had deleted his number and wouldn’t recognize him. Or maybe he was just as nervous as Yoongi was. He wanted to believe the later and imagined the soft blush of the Omega’s cheeks.

“Yeah, I know, Jimin,” he answered, smile in his voice. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Yoongi cracked up and pressed his fist to his mouth to hide the sound. A moment later, Jimin snorted and Yoongi gave up keeping it in.

“Hi, Jiminie,” he said again, through quiet, gleeful laughter, and thanked the universe for the bell-like giggles on the other end of the line. His heart felt close to bursting with happiness.

“Hi, hyungie.” Jimin let out a long breath, clearly trying to rein his laughter in. When he spoke again Yoongi could still hear the smile in his voice. “Are you doing okay?”

Yoongi’s ridiculous grin turned into a mild curve of lips and he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to enjoy the melodious sound of Jimin’s voice. “I’m good, Minie. How are you?”

“I’m okay too.”

To any outside listener, they would seem like the picture of awkwardness. Yoongi didn’t feel like that though. And he could hear in Jimin’s words that he didn’t feel like that either. It was just… comforting listening to each other’s voices like this, not really saying anything, just hearing it and enjoying.

It was so foreign, this sensation of ease that came just with the knowledge that Jimin was there, on the other end of the line. Yoongi didn’t think he’d ever experienced this before, but he thought he understood. It wasn’t the overwhelming feeling of fondness he felt so used to- that was an entirely new concept he’d have to explore- rather, it was just Jimin who was so comforting. Like something had clicked into place with the first word out of the Omega’s mouth.

Yoongi considered the idea of soulmates and thought this was something like that. Or at least he hoped so. He’d be the happiest person in the universe if soulmates were a real thing and he were Jimin’s. If Jimin were his.

“How did the meeting today go?” Jimin spoke softly, almost whispering and Yoongi wished he could bottle the sound up and keep it forever.

“Good. It was nice. They chose a nice shot.” He hummed contently and heard Jimin mimic the noise so it turned into a harmony of their voices. He smiled to himself. “One of the collection designers showed interest in your skills. Did Tae tell you?”

“Ah…” The light, breathy sound caught Yoongi’s attention. It was little more than a noise of acknowledgement, but it sounded so sensual. Yoongi’s eyes snapped open and he shuffled in his seat, leaning forward on the desk. “He did. It’s an amazing opportunity.”

“Are you gonna do it?” Yoongi asked and hoped Jimin wouldn’t notice the ragged edge to his tone.

“I don’t know yet. Jin-hyung says I should.” That surprised Yoongi a little. Thinking back, he remembered Seokjin seeming a little worried about losing his prized make-up artist. But he’d apparently settled on urging Jimin to grab the chance. “But it’ll be in Italy. I don’t know if I’m ready to travel that far.”

“Won’t Tae and Jin-hyung be with you?” Yoongi questioned. He, too, was a little wary of leaving Jimin to travel to a completely new place all on his own. But maybe that was the Alpha hormones talking.

“Yeah, there’s that. But, you know, fashion shows are so hectic. I don’t work well under pressure. Can’t even imagine what it’s like for the models.”

The silence that followed was heavy with words unsaid, but Yoongi knew exactly what it meant. His chest twisted tightly with nerves.

“What I said earlier today…” he began and waited to gauge Jimin’s reaction. When the Omega didn’t speak, Yoongi continued. “I really meant it. I think. I want you to be my model.”

In truth, he didn’t know if he had meant it. It had come out as a desperate attempt at holding Jimin’s attention. A little overeager, Yoongi knew. It had scared Jimin off, after all. But here it was again and, now that he reconsidered, Yoongi thought it might not be a bad idea.

He envisioned the photo of Jimin laughing breathlessly- beautiful, happy- that was sitting in the folder on his laptop, and imagined having a hundred more of those shots. That would make his career. The emotional connection to his work he had been seeking- this was it. It was Jimin.

“Yoongi-hyung,” Jimin murmured into Yoongi’s ear. “What would it mean if I accepted? What would we be?”

The Alpha’s breath caught for a second. “Whatever you want, angel.”

“No,” Jimin rejected quickly. “This isn’t just about me. I need to know how you feel about this. Tell me what you want. And I’ll tell you. Okay?”

It was confusing. Yoongi was ready to give Jimin everything, but the Omega wouldn’t accept it. Instead, he had to know what Yoongi wanted in return. Yoongi wasn’t sure if he understood. But his heart felt so full of warmth right that moment.

“Jimin, I want you,” Yoongi stated with conviction. He heard the Omega take in a sharp, stuttering breath. “I just know that… I can love you with my entire being. I think I already do, a little bit.” He chuckled sheepishly. “If you’ll let me… I will love and cherish you more than anything. That’s all I want.”

The line went quiet and Yoongi waited. His heart was a continuous, rapid rhythm in his ears, and his stomach was butterflies and hope and dread, all at once.

Then Jimin spoke and it was all calm.

“I want…” His voice wavered. “I want that. And I want you. I want you to hold me and talk to me. I want to kiss you and be with you and I want to be able to love you.” Jimin inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Is that okay?”

Yoongi might have felt his eyes prickling, but that was of little importance right now.

“Yes, baby. It’s completely fine. You can have all of that and more.”

“Yay,” Jimin cheered quietly, voice shaking, but so happy. “Then yes. I will do this photoshoot for you. I wanna see you.”

Yoongi’s heart soared. “Me too,” he whispered through a chuckle.

And in the end, Yoongi thought this was perfect.

Yoongi was a giver by nature. He just took pleasure in knowing the other person was happy, that he made them happy. He knew that was why he had always been the one worse off when push came to shove and things fell apart. But Jimin wasn’t just a taker. He had offered Yoongi his love in return, refusing to just receive.

Yes, Yoongi thought. This was perfect .

Notes:

Twitter: @daeguspeaches