Chapter Text
"Lix?" Chan asked incredulously, eyeing the glossy paper in his hands, "What the fuck is this now?"
Felix shrugged, flopping himself on the couch as he whipped out his phone and began scrolling through his foryou page.
"Happy Birthday, hyung, go get your dick wet." He said, not even sparing a glance in Chan's direction, who now stood with his mouth slightly agape.
"Wha-what", the elder stuttered, "Fuck you. I do get my dick wet FYI" flopping down on the sofa next to the blonde.
Felix rolled his eyes. "Not like that though, hyung, and you know it." the younger sighed, putting down his phone and looking at Chan with a fond gaze.
Chan did. He did know it. It was kind of odd that he had gone 24 years of his life, about 6 of which he had clearly known the nature of his secondary gender, without once having a rut.
And although it might be to blame on modern-day society, where from the beginning alphas were taught to keep their deepest instinctual behaviors buried, instead opting for them to present their calm and collected, leadership values, Chan thought that perhaps something must be wrong with him.
As much as society pushed rules and regulations on them, taking every precaution to protect the others from the strongest of their instincts, some of those instincts simply couldn't be buried. They were natural. Necessary.
They were there for a reason. Put there by mother nature to make sure the bloodlines kept going strong, to make sure everyone had a place in society. Omegas went into heat, Alphas into rut. And if Mother Nature deemed them to be a good match, they would become mates. It was just how it was, kind of beautiful actually.
So yeah, maybe there was something wrong with Chan.
See, he had never had actually felt any urge to rut at all. Yes of course, he had sexual desires, fantasies, needs,... the whole spiel. But never once did he feel the urge to uncontrollably fuck an omega into a mattress. It's not like he hadn't tried either. He had had quite a few fulfilling relationships; with omegas, betas and even other alphas. But that primal need, - as his friends had described it to him countless times - just hadn’t ever happened to him.
“Look, Hyung. I know it might be a bit weird, but I really think this Health Retreat could help you. If not, at least you can have a few weeks of relaxation at best. What’s the worst that could happen?” Felix said softly.
“I don’t know, Felix.” Chan sighed, slumping a bit, “I have work, and-”
“Hyung.” Felix spoke sternly, “Stop making excuses. You know your work can definitely make an exception for this. Also, I’m pretty sure it’s unhealthy for someone to go too long without experiencing their first time.”
Maybe, Chan thought.
“Are you sure this wasn’t too expensive though, Felix?” Chan asked, looking up at the younger and smacking the coupon on his palm.
Felix rolled his eyes for the nth time in their conversation, “Of course not Channie-hyung. Just take it and go for fucks sake.”
“Okay.” Chan said after a moment of silence.
“Thank you, Felix.”
“Of course.” the younger said, leaning over to give his best friend a tight hug.
-x-
So just about a week later, Chan stood in front of a fairly beautiful looking villa, with typical resort-esque palm trees adorning the entrance, about a two-hour drive away from home.
Great.
Gulping softly, Chan pocketed his phone after messaging Felix he’d arrived, and made his way up to the reception.
“Hello sir,” the woman at the desk greeted him, “How may I help you today?”
“Uh, hi.” Chan replied nervously, fidgeting through his back pocket to pull out the little envelope with the coupon felix had gifted him.
“This is my ticket- uh, coupon? I don’t know. My friend gave it to me and I called to book a place starting today?” he rambled.
Flashing a bright smile, the receptionist took the small paper from the desk.
“That’s okay, sir.” she said, typing the code into the computer.
Chan looked around the beautiful space, watching as a few people passed by, laughing within their conversation.
They looked relaxed. Right. Right?
“May I have your name?” the receptionist interrupted his thoughts.
“Ah yes, Bang Christopher Chan.”
“Okay, thank you.” she mumbled as she tapped away on her keyboard, “and your partner? Will they be arriving shortly?”
“My partner…?”
She looked up from the computer at Chan with her eyebrow raised. “You are here for the Nature's Way program, yes?”
“Y-yes.”
“Yes, well, this is usually kind of like a couple’s retreat since the goal is to help you… uhm - yes.” the receptionist stuttered as her ears turned slightly pink, "so you do need a partner to participate. It's written in the regulations normally."
Fuck, Chan thought. I’m going to fucking kill Felix.
“I don’t have a partner, though,” Chan spoke shyly as he rubbed his palm on the back of his neck, “it’s okay I can just leav-”. He grabbed his small suitcase off the ground as he spun on his heel in an attempt to get out of there as soon as possible.
“Hold on, Mr. Bang. I believe we may have some options for you- let me just go and check with my superior,” the receptionist spoke kindly, halting Chan in his movements.
“Please take a seat. I’ll be back with you as soon as possible.”
“Okay, thank you very much,” Chan said with a tight-lipped smile.
After the receptionist headed out to the back, he made his way to the side of the reception; where a comfortable-looking peach-colored sofa sat. The small lounge corner had a small glass coffee table - antique perhaps? - and two royal-looking deep brown settees placed next to it.
Settling himself into the sofa, Chan pulled out his phone as he waited for the receptionist to come back.
Nice hyung. Have fun!
Felix’ last message showed up in his notifications.
Hey Lix-ah, did you check the rules for the retreat before you bought the coupon?
The younger replied within seconds.
Yeah
I kinda just skimmed over it though
dumbass
what did I do now?
you ’ re supposed to bring a partner …
wdym?
how else am i supposed to get through my rut?
with a fleshlight?
fuck. makes sense …
are you gonna come back though?
dunno, maybe.
the receptionist lady said there might be some options for me …
options?
idk
damn … sorry hyung
it ’ s okay
it was stupid anyways
:(
don ’ t say that! maybe you ’ ll meet someone there.
Chan sighed as he locked his phone. What were they gonna do? Have him spend weeks with a stranger? There was no way he’d even come close to reaching his rut if that were the case.
This was a waste of time, he thought to himself as he took a deep breath.
Chan’s phone buzzed and he flipped it over to look at the small pop-up notification at the top of his screen.
lmk what happens. i ’ ll treat you to dinner if you have to come back already.
sorry hyung!! <3
Chan breathed a sigh as he let his head fall back against the soft plush of the sofa. Maybe he’d just stay here for a few days and just enjoy the resort, take it as a vacation perhaps? He considered.
He felt tired, the two-hour drive catching up to him as the evening started to hit. The orange glow of the sun shone through the tall glass windows and beautifully illuminated the marble and gold accents of the reception hall.
He had immediately left after his work hours were over, and the night before he had barely slept, trying desperately to figure out what to pack for the trip. Chan took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, crossing his arms and keeping an ear out for the receptionist to call his name.
Just as he was about to drift out of consciousness, with the warmth of the sun painting his closed eyelids pink, a deep scent of sandalwood started drifting around him. It was salty, and smelled incredibly fresh, making the blonde crack an eye open to find out where exactly it was coming from.
As he adjusted his eyesight to the glare of the sun, Chan’s senses figured out that it was from the man that stood by the receptionist. He was wearing loose-fitted white clothing, definitely suited for a resort, and the sun cast a pretty glow with the shine of his dark brown hair. He couldn’t see the stranger’s face, as he was turned away from the lounge area.
The soft knitted sweater draped over the man's broad shoulders as he was hunched over the reception desk, laughing together with the receptionist about something.
Is he a visitor perhaps?
The auburn-haired man grabbed a few documents from over the receptionist, before leaning back on the table and flipping through the small packet of papers.
Ah. Not a visitor then. Staff.
Chan raised a brow as he studied the man. His scent enthralled him, pulling him in somehow- weird. His eyes were a soft brown in the sunlight and a small sliver of his teeth was visible as he smiled again throughout his conversation.
"Mr. Bang?" the receptionist called him back, snapping him out of ogling the stranger.
Chan got up, quickly picking up his hand luggage as he clumsily strolled back to the reception-area. The sandalwood scent of the man grew stronger as he approached, and it felt incredibly intoxicating, making his head spin as he got closer. The brown-haired man looked at him through his eyelashes, accentuating his cat-like eyes as he raised an eyebrow in Chan's direction.
He let out a short cough in an attempt to gather himself, before looking back at the receptionist as she started speaking.
"So, I talked with my superior, and unfortunately we cannot offer you the Nature's Way program since there are no unmatched Omegas or Betas in the program available." She spoke as her eyes softened in slight remorse, "We are very sorry for that."
"Oh- that's okay. Don't worry" Chan spoke softly, feeling bad that the receptionist might feel bad.
"But- if you'd like to use up your coupon; you could participate in our simple Retreat program. It will give you access to all the facilities we have here for about a week- just not including the guided classes we offer during our Nature's Way program. If not, we could also refund you or offer a coupon for a different time."
Nodding, she spoke "Please take your time to decide. There is no hurry.", before walking off to the back.
Chan leaned over the desk, looking at the small brochures in his hand. If he was honest with himself, he had kind of been excited to finally experience the thing his friends couldn't stop raving about.
Oh well. Might as well just enjoy the sun for a few days, Chan thought to himself. The thought of driving back home after just reaching here sent a shiver down his spine.
"You smell disappointed" the man next to him spoke, just as the crunch of him biting into an apple hit his ears.
"Excuse me?" Chan replied.
"You smell disappointed…" he spoke again, this time with his mouth full of fruit.
It was kinda cute.
"Yeah?" Chan said, raising an eyebrow to the stranger, a small smile ghosting his lips, "can my scent give that away?"
Swallowing the bite in his mouth, the brown-haired man replied, "yeah, with a trained nose, you can read Alphas like gigantic, font 75 lettered books"
Chan chuckled at the man's comment.
"Hi Mr. Bang," he spoke, stretching out his unoccupied hand, "I'm Lee Minho."
Chan quickly caught Minho's hand, giving it a firm shake and feeling how relatively small it felt in his own, "Please call me Chan."
"Nice to meet you." he replied, turning himself so he leaned back against the receptionist's desk again.
"Having a hard time picking a resort?" he asked.
"Yeah, my uh- friend bought me the Nature's Way resort to help me with my rut and- fuck."
Red quickly crept up over Chan's neck, reaching the tips of his ears and dusting his cheeks as he swallowed thickly.
"Fuck- sorry. That was definitely TMI" he spoke in a strained voice.
Chan felt a soft hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. I work in the Nature's Way program, you're not the only one" Minho said with a soft and kind smile.
"Seriously, don't worry at all!" he giggled slightly, "I know all about it- it's my specialty!" he said with a wink.
Chan still couldn't believe he'd done that. Perhaps the sandalwood scent was a bit too soothing, and Minho's presence a bit too comforting for the blonde. Or maybe he was just a dumbass.
"O-oh okay. Thank you."
The receptionist returned, smiling at the pair in front of her.
"I see you've met Mr. Lee, our resident instructor," she said, smiling.
"Yes," Chan said, fiddling with his earlobe as he looked between the two, "He is very nice..."
"That he is." the receptionist replied, "Have you been able to make a choice, Mr. Bang?"
"Uhh, I-"
Minho interrupted him before he could even utter a word. "Isn't Mr. Bang in for the Nature's Way Resort?"
“Yes,” the receptionist replied, “but he, unfortunately, doesn’t have a partner,”
Chan winced slightly at the use of words.
“I’m sure we can figure something out,” Minho replied, trailing his hands over Chan’s shoulders as he made his way to the back of the reception, “If Mr. Bang would be okay with that?”
"Chan." he said hastily, "You can call me Chan. And yes, I'd like to try- whatever it is."
"Okay then, Chan." Minho spoke as his fingers typed away on the keyboard, "We will register you then, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."
The receptionist handed him the keycard to his room and a small brochure with the calendar, questionably side-eyeing Minho slightly, who kept his eyes on the computer screen in front of him.
"Uh- alright, thank you. Will I be doing the course alone- or will I get a partn-"
"You will be able to meet your partner tomorrow at the morning Partners Yoga class" Minho cut him off, with a smile on his lips. The scent of sandalwood in the air became slightly denser than before, the sweet scent lingering all over the reception area, immediately relaxing the blonde as he listened to Minho.
Chan looked back at him with a tight-lipped smile. "Okay. Thank you. See you tomorrow."
"12th floor, on your right," the receptionist said as she gestured towards the elevator.
"If you need anything, please let us know."
Chan grabbed his bags, sparing one last glance towards Minho before walking towards the elevator.
Minho looked up as well, just as the little ding announced the arrival of the elevator, and Chan could've sworn he saw the brunette wink at him.
Probably not.
Chan walked inside the elevator and turned around to face the doors as he let out a little chuckle.
He did, didn't he?