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Riki came running haphazardly into the cafeteria, almost knocking several innocent bystanders off of their feet. When he finally slid up to the table, he crashed into his seat, out of breath and grinning widely.
“Did you hear about the new exchange student?”
The rest of the table just looked at him with wide eyes. Sunghoon decided to be the one to indulge in Riki’s ‘Gossip of the Day,’ as the friend group would call it. He took a second to finish chewing the burger in his mouth before sighing.
“No, we have not. What’s so important about him?”
The smile on Riki’s face grew impossibly wider.
“He’s a male omega. He transferred here from Australia. He’s adorable, too- super soft and cute.”
Sunghoon felt his jaw drop, the half-chewed food in his mouth tumbling disgustingly onto his plate.
“A male omega?” He said incredulously.
Omegas were fairly rare nowadays. In the past, the low social rankings of omegas caused them great harm. There were years of genocide against omegas, and after that was deemed unacceptable, people still continued to abuse them. Omegas were taken as slaves, hate-crimed, and murdered. Over history, the number of omegas in the world gradually decreased until they were drastically lower than all other secondary genders. And that is considering all omegas. Male omegas had it even worse. Their scents were stronger, heats were harder, and they were more alluring to alphas. In fact, it could be said that male omegas were the ‘most omega’ out of any gender. During the times of harsh prejudice, male omegas were attacked more. By now, male omegas were practically endangered. Sunghoon had never even been in the same vicinity as one before.
Riki nodded so hard it looked like his head was going to fly off. “No joke, Hoonie. I saw him with my own eyes.”
Next to Sunghoon, Jay shook his head. “There’s no way. I’ve never met a male omega in my life. Aren’t they extinct or something?”
“Obviously someone doesn’t pay attention in history. They’re rare, yes, but not extinct. Now, stop gossiping about him. He’s probably had enough of that in his life already.” Sunoo snorted, shooting the three a dirty look.
Riki rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath about them ‘never appreciating the information he brings.’ The conversation moved on to Jay’s disgusting eating habits and Sunghoon, joining in on teasing the older alpha, forgot all about the special new kid.
Soon enough, lunch was ending. Sunghoon was the only one in their group who had a class at this time, so he waved goodbye and made his way out of the cafeteria alone. The hallway was pretty empty with most of the other students in a lecture or the cafeteria. It was only him and another boy who looked around his age. The boy was faced away from Sunghoon, wearing light beige shorts and a brown sweater that matched his hair. His head was swiveling from side to side and his hands shook restlessly. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the boy was lost. Sunghoon, being the stand-up student he is, decided to help out.
“Excuse me,” he called out, “can I help you with anything?”
When the small boy turned around, Sunghoon’s heart stuttered. He was adorable. His fluffy brown hair perfectly complimented his soft skin. He smiled brightly, eyes shining, and bounded his way closer to Sunghoon. There was something about him that reminded Sunghoon of a puppy dog.
“Oh hi! Actually, this is my first day I think I’m a little lost. Do you think you can help me find my lecture hall?” His ears turned red, obviously a little embarrassed. He made his way even closer to Sunghoon, and that's when the alpha picked up the scent.
Peaches and cream. A scent so sweet and undeniably appetizing that it couldn't belong to anyone other than an omega. This was the male omega Riki had been gushing about. Sunghoon could barely believe his eyes. It felt like he was meeting something supernatural, something that should be put in a museum. Something that should be extinct. Sunghoon all but shook the thought out of his head. It was social conditioning, he knew, to believe that male omegas were the lowest in society. But he was grown enough to make his own opinions, and looking at the endearing boy in front of him was enough to tell him that male omegas deserved a right to equality, so he tried his best to remain open-minded.
“Of course! What’s your schedule?” He asked.
The shorter male pulled it up on his phone and showed it to Sunghoon, revealing that not only did the two have the next class together, but they actually had most classes together. He let the omega know as much.
“You can just walk with me. I’m Sunghoon, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m Jake.”
News about Sim Jake, the male omega transfer student, spread around fast. Soon enough, everyone at the university was aware of him. Jake began making friends easily. Whenever Sunghoon saw him, he was always around a group of people, making them laugh or engaging them in deep conversation. He was the center of attention, which made sense. He was charming, cute, friendly, and from what Sunghoon heard, just an absolute ball of sunshine. Some people, however, still weren’t able to get past the whole male omega thing. Sunghoon heard it a lot around campus gossip- people trying to get into Jake’s pants, trying to see what it would feel like to be with a ‘true’ omega. Others were offended that Jake was at the university, making claims about how he should either be dead like the rest of his kind or a stay-at-home mom like an omega should be. Jake got hated on about as much as he got disgustingly hit on, but he never really seemed to let it bother him. He was a beam of optimism, always smiling and trying to make other people’s days better. Sunghoon expected that for the rest of his college experience, Jake would just be there. They weren’t ever going to be close or know each other that well. They would have a few classes together and conversate when needed, but Jake wasn’t going to be a large part of Sunghoon’s life- just a constant background noise in every corner on campus. He was, in fact, dead wrong.
---------------------
“Alright, gather around! I know most of you are aware already, but as of a few days ago, Jung Wooyoung has quit the team. A few days ago, a kid came out after practice saying that he’d played soccer before. I allowed him to try out right then and I was greatly impressed. I can confidently say that he is not only going to fill Jung’s spot but exceed spectacularly on this team. He’s one of the best midfielders I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching. We’re finishing up the paperwork today. He will officially be allowed to practice tomorrow, so I expect you guys to be welcoming. Great practice today, guys. See you all tomorrow.”
The huddle dispersed as the coach finished talking, making their way to the locker room to shower and change. Just as Sunghoon was about to follow, the coach pulled him aside.
“Park, as captain, I feel like you deserve some more information. We’re bringing on Sim Jake, an exchange student from Australia. He played back at home, and I’ve gotta say, he’s impressive. He’ll definitely raise the bar for this team and really help us compete this year. I’ve got high expectations for him.”
“That’s great, coach. I’m really glad you were able to fin-” Sunghoon froze. “Wait, I’m sorry. Did you just say Sim Jake?”
“Yeah. You know him?”
“He’s an omega,” Sunghoon said, unexpected malice in his voice.
His coach raised an eyebrow. “I’m aware of that. Is there a problem?”
Suddenly, every douchebag, misogynist, horrid social construct that Sunghoon had ever heard was filling his head. Is this guy serious right now? There’s no way he’s adding an omega to the team. That’s fucking insane.
“I’m sorry, coach, but there is. We can’t add an omega to the team. That’s just not how it works.”
“I don’t think I’m understanding, Sunghoon.”
Sunghoon shrugged, trying his best to look nonchalant even though there was fiery rage coursing through his veins. “Omegas don’t play alpha-dominated sports, sir. They’re too weak and too slow. Not to mention, what are we supposed to do if he goes into heat with us around? He could make us act dangerous or irrational. What about if an alpha from the other team releases pheromones or uses his alpha voice during a game? He would become a non-factor. The cons outweigh the pros, sir.”
The expression on his coach’s face was unreadable. “Park,” he said, looking like he was carefully choosing his words, “I don’t think you’re understanding. Sim is one of the best midfielders I’ve seen play, and I’ve been coaching here for over 30 years. I don’t fucking care if he is an omega. I wouldn’t care if he was a goddamn dog. He’s an incredible player, so he’s joining the team. I would hope that you boys are strong and mature enough to handle yourselves around an omega in heat until we are able to get him away. That shouldn’t be a worry. It is also extremely illegal for any alpha to use any of their secondary gender gimmicks to try and gain dominance on the field, so that shouldn’t matter either. I made you captain because I believed that you would do anything to help better this team. If your commitment ends because of an idiotic prejudice, I’d be severely disappointed. Was I wrong to make you the captain, Park?”
Sunghoon swallowed harshly, shaking his head. “No sir.”
“That’s what I had hoped. Now, go shower and go home. Clear your head. And when you come back tomorrow, I better not hear any of this self-righteous alpha bullshit, you hear me?”
“Yes sir,” Sunghoon responded, before scampering to the locker room and far away from his intimidating, insane coach.
—------------------
On his way to practice the next day, Sunghoon’s mind wouldn’t stop running. Of course, he liked Jake; he was a nice guy. But that didn’t matter on the field. Putting an omega on a team of mostly alphas was a destructive decision. As much as society tries to pretend that they’ve become more open-minded, it’s not true. Sunghoon’s reaction to his coach yesterday was mild in comparison to how the rest of the team will react. He considered himself to be a progressive person, and he still pushed back against having Jake on the team. The rest of his teammates were classic, stuck-up douchebag alphas. A shiver ran down his spine when imagining their reactions. There was no doubt about it- today would surely be hell for Jake.
Sunghoon entered the locker room and immediately got sucked into some gossip huddle with Yunho, Lucas, Jay, and Heeseung.
“Coach seemed pretty fond of the guy. I don’t really care who it is, as long as he can play well,” Yunho was saying.
You’re going to be eating your words when you find out he’s an omega, Sunghoon thought bitterly.
“I bet it’s that kid that tried out last year- Mark something? He was alright, he just needed more practice. Maybe he got it.” The rest of the group nodded along with Lucas.
Just as Jay was about to give his theory, the coach ushered everyone out of the locker room and onto the field. And there, standing in the sunshine, a shy smile on his face, was Sim Jake. Part of Sunghoon was hoping that his coach had been kidding, but here the omega was, right in front of him. Sunghoon heard whispers behind him as the team walked towards the new player. He couldn’t make out what any of them were saying, but he bet he could easily guess.
The group got just a few feet in front of Jake and the coach introduced him. It was unneeded- they all knew who he was. What he was. There was a few seconds of silence after the introduction, and then the chaos started.
“You’ve got to be kidding, Coach. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding,” Yunghoon said.
“The omega? There’s no way. What could he do for us on the field- bear his neck in submission against every team we play?” Jaehyun growled out.
“He’s fucking 4 feet tall, Coach. I could step on him if I wanted,” Yunho deadpanned. “I’m not letting a weak player on the field.”
“I don’t care what you all have to say,” the coach yelled over everyone’s complaints. “He’s joining the team. If you hate it that much, you can sit on the bench and come up with some better complaints. I’m not listening to any of this shit, got it? Now shut up, it’s time to start practice.”
Once the coach threatened to take away their playing time, everyone quieted down. Sure, they didn’t want an omega on the team, but they still wanted to play.
The practice began with a 4v4 drill. Sunghoon’s team, unfortunately, was him, Yunho, Mingi, and Jake. Just seeing him standing there proved to Sunghoon that omegas shouldn’t be in this sport. He looked at least two heads shorter than the rest of the team and half the muscle mass. Sunghoon rolled his eyes, deciding right then and there that no matter what happened, he would not pass the ball to Jake. The coach blew the whistle and the drill began. About 4 minutes in, it was obvious that everyone else had the same idea as him. Sunghoon couldn’t deny that Jake was making perfect runs and always in the right space, he just never once got the ball. Mingi took on 3 players at once, deliberately ignoring Jake wide open next to him. Yunho actually had the guts to laugh when Jake called for the ball. Sunghoon threw Jake a glare every time they made eye contact. The three alphas had turned against the omega. As the drill went on, Jake made fewer and fewer efforts to shout for the ball. By the end of 4v4, Jake was dead silent, head hanging low. When he took a glance at the omega, Sunghoon’s heart panged. He looked so upset that for a second, Sunghoon wanted to comfort him. As soon as the crazy thought popped into his head, the alpha shook it out. Jake deserved this. Sunghoon’s team ended up losing spectacularly, as expected- they were basically playing with only 3 players- but it didn’t really bother any of them. In fact, they were all somewhat proud of how they were able to keep Jake from doing anything.
The coach blew the whistle again and they moved on to the next drill- 1v1s. Now, this was Sunghoon’s favorite. Being the captain of the team, he had a kind of power and authority that intimidated the rest of the team. This usually led to them being too nervous to really take him on 1v1, and he would win over and over again.
That is how it went for the first few matchups. They played it ‘king of the court’ style- two players would go up against each other, and whoever would win got to stay and play again. For the first 3 rounds, Sunghoon dominated. None of the players got even close to beating him. And then, it was Jake's turn. Sunghoon didn’t even realize who was up against him until Jake was dribbling at him. He felt himself smirk a little. This was an easy win. When Jake was about 2 feet away from Sunghoon, he cut left. Sunghoon, being the incredible defender he was, easily expected that Jake was going to cut back right straight after, and jumped towards that side, expecting to intercept the ball. Then, Jake’s feet moved. Fast. Way faster than Sunghoon expected, way faster than his eyes could even keep track of. And then Jake was on his left side, speeding past him with incredible ball control. Sunghoon, unstable on his feet, wasn’t able to catch up with Jake until he was already past the endpoint. The alpha stood there, jaw dropped in disbelief because there was no fucking way that Sim Jake just beat him in a 1v1. When he turned back around, the rest of the team was in the same state as him. For a second, it looked like they had respect for the omega. That second was short-lived.
Yonghoon whistled loudly and shouted, “Damn, omega, who’s dick did you have to suck to be taught a skill move like that?”
Yunho laughed. “I bet he let some old coach fuck him just so he could learn one little skill move. Is that all you know Jake? Or did you whore around enough that you got a few more up your sleeve?”
Sunghoon let out a sigh of relief. The team didn’t have any less respect for him, they just assumed that Jake only knew one skill move. Sunghoon let himself believe that idea too. Jake probably learned one thing, got incredible at it, and never bothered to learn anything else. When Sunghoon looked at Jake, he saw the small smile falling off his face. Sunghoon still hadn’t moved out of the drill, forgetting that he even lost. Jake looked up at him, unshed tears in the omega’s eyes.
“Please move, Sunghoon. I have to continue the drill,” he spoke softly, obviously trying to keep his voice from cracking.
The alpha just threw him a smile. “I don't think so, sorry!”
He watched as Jake’s eyes grew wider, his expression morphing into one of incredulity. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t want to leave. I want to continue the drill. I am the captain, Jake. And you are a newbie omega with everyone on the team against you. So please, tell me how you plan to be the one in the drill when everyone here wants you out. And not just out of the 1v1s, Jake. You’re lucky I’m letting you stay on this field right now, so go get in the back of the line. Now.”
A single tear slipped down Jake’s soft cheek. Sunghoon watched as the fight left the omega. He just put his head down and walked towards the line. The captain grinned, clapping his hands loudly and yelling, “Alright, who’s next?”
—------------------
Luckily for Sunghoon, the practice ended before he was able to go against Jake again. The omega had left practice without even changing or showering, head still hanging low. Sunghoon had no doubt that he was definitely crying right now. There was another pang in his heart at the thought of Jake sobbing, all alone, but he just ignored it. Jake should be able to handle himself. If he wants to give in to his weak, omega-ness, that would be his fault. An alpha would be able to take all that teasing and not think twice about it. This was just further emphasizing the fact that an omega was not cut out for this.
Sunghoon walked out of the locker room last, as usual, and made his way back to his dorm. He tried to stop thinking about Jake. He put himself in this situation, Sunghoon reminded himself. He knew what would happen if he joined the team. He made this choice. With that, Sunghoon blocked all thoughts of the omega and continued on his way.
Sunghoon turned the key in the door and pushed it open. He entered his dorm, exhausted from the day's events and wanting nothing more than to just faceplant into his bed and sleep for the rest of his life. He dragged his feet towards his room, the tunnel vision making him miss the fuming beta on his couch.
“Park Sunghoon!” Jungwon cried out furiously.
The alpha almost had a heart attack at the surprise voice.
“Jesus Christ, Jungwon. What the hell are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What am I doing here? I’ll tell you what I’m doing here. I’m here to get a little insight into that asshole brain of yours!”
Sunghoon, still extremely tired, did not understand a word that the beta was saying. “What?”
That only seemed to make Jungwon even angrier, because he got up from his spot on the couch and stood directly in from of Sunghoon, poking a finger into his chest.
“Where the hell do you get off, treating Jakey like that?”
The alpha froze. Since when were Jungwon and Jake close enough for nicknames? Jungwon must’ve taken his confusion for defiance because he shoved his finger even harder into Sunghoon’s sternum.
“Huh? Tell me why you thought it would be okay to treat anyone like that. Let alone someone who has never done anything wrong to you or anyone else, ever. It’s like committing a hate crime against a golden retriever, Sunghoon. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I don’t- I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
Jungwon's expression changed, seeing something on Sunghoon’s face. He pulled his finger away from the older and took a deep breath to calm down.
“Look, Hoonie. I understand that you’re probably trying to fit in. The rest of your teammates are misogynistic bastards who thought it would be okay to treat Jake like that just because he’s an omega. But you’re the captain, Hoon. It’s your job to keep everyone on your team in place. And that means defending the omega that’s getting mercilessly tormented. Jake is no different than the rest of you guys, and you have to stop treating him like he’s the fucking omega plague , you hear me?”
It took Sunghoon a second to find his voice again. “Yeah, I hear you. You’re right, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I acted like that.”
“It’s alright,” Jungwon sighed. “Just, fix it, okay?”
Sunghoon nodded. “Can I ask how you knew?”
Jungwon’s eyes narrowed, and some of the heat from earlier sprang back into them. “I ran into him as he was leaving practice. I could tell he was upset from his body language alone- head down, slow movements, heavy steps. I mean, you know Jake. He’s usually a ball of energy. It scared me to see him like that, so I got closer to him and called his name to see what was wrong. And oh god, when he looked at me Sunghoon, I mean, I’ve never seen anyone look so sad before. He was sobbing and had an expression like a kicked puppy; it was horrible. I immediately tried to comfort him and ask what was wrong, but he could barely get words out. When he was finally able to tell me what happened, he was super vague about it. It wasn’t hard to figure out that he didn’t want me to get mad at you. Told me that ‘a guy on the team’ told him no one wanted him there, and ‘a guy on the team’ wouldn’t stop giving him dirty looks and not passing the ball to him. I didn’t want to believe it was you, but he was putting so much effort into keeping you anonymous that it made it obvious. So I came here to confront you.”
Sunghoon knew that his mouth was slightly open, but his brain was thinking too hard about what the beta just told him to focus on basic body functions like closing it. Sunghoon was an absolute asshole to Jake, and the omega still tried to make sure that he wouldn’t get in trouble. The image of Jake crying popped up again, and Sunghoon felt sick to his stomach about the fact that he was the one to cause that. He was the one to make Jake so sad. Jungwon was right, it was like hate crimeing a golden retriever. He vowed to never make Jake sad ever again. He told Jungwon that, too.
“That’s a good idea. If I ever hear that you hurt Jake again, I’ll come over here and cut your dick off,” Jungwon said with a smile that told Sunghoon he was not kidding. The alpha shuttered.
Jungwon made his way towards the door. Just as he was about to leave, Sunghoon called out,
“Hey, Jungwon? When did you and Jake get so close?”
The beta turned around with a fond look on his face. “We have a few classes together, and we got partnered up for a project. Honestly, just meeting him for the first time, I knew I was going to have to be best friends with him. I think he might just be the greatest person I’ve ever met. So, we just hung out more and more, until I officially made him one of my best friends. And now I know for sure that Jake is the most wholesome, adorable, magnetic person I’ve ever met, and I’d do anything to make him happy. You should spend some more time with him, alone. I promise you, you’ll come to the same conclusions as me. Goodnight, Hoon,” Jungwon said, and then walked out the door.
—------------------
Sunghoon woke up late in the afternoon, sleeping half the day and lazing around for the rest of it. It was a Saturday, and he decided to take advantage of the fact that he didn’t have to get up for classes. When he eventually had enough energy, he grabbed his phone off the bedside table. The clock at the top reported it to be 7:00 pm. He had several texts from friends, reminders, and social media alerts, but his still sleepy brain didn’t want to respond to all of them, so he just scrolled through, trying to find anything important. There was a text from Juyeon, the soccer team’s resident party planner, inviting each player to his dorm tonight. Everyone except Jake, that is. Sunghoon sighed, remembering his conversation with Jungwon last night. He did want to protect Jake, but part of him thought that maybe the omega was better off not going to this party. He had only been in one practice with them, and the tensions were still high. Sunghoon decided that he would make sure Jake got invited to the next party, giving him a chance to prove himself and get to know them better before throwing the omega into a dorm room with a bunch of huge, drunk alphas.
Sunghoon checked Juyeon’s invitation again to see that the party started at 8:00 pm. He sighed, knowing that he should get up and get ready soon to get there on time. He pulled himself out of bed, took a shower to wash off the grime that accumulated during his lazy day, and then threw some pants and a hoodie. He brushed his teeth before grabbing his keys and driving over to Juyeon’s dorm.
When Sunghoon entered the dorm, everyone else was already there. The team was gathered in the living room, sitting on every possible resting place Juyeon had. There were several people on the floor, a few on the couch, 2 on the table, and Yonghoon, who decided to park himself right on top of Juyeon’s TV stand, pushing the TV to be dangerously dangling off the edge. A few of them greeted him when he made his way over, but most of them were wrapped up in a heated conversation. Sunghoon took a spot on the floor next to Heeseung before phoning a curious ear in on what they could be so passionate about.
“I’m telling you, Yunho, you’re looking at the wrong kind,” Lucas was saying. “You just need to find the good people.”
“I’ve tried looking for the good people,” Yunho shot back, “there are none. Porn is porn, buddy, and none of it is as great as the real thing.”
Sunghoon rollled his eyes. Of course what they were talking about so intensely was porn.
“Oh come on Yunho. You don’t get the ‘real thing.’ The last time you had sex was last year with your old girlfriend. There’s no way you don’t rub one out to some porn.”
Yunho smiled, wiggling his eyebrows. “No, I use my brain, you barbarians. I can come up with some seriously more appetizing sex myself than some porn site could ever show me. Trust me.”
“Actually, he’s right,” Yonghoon agreed. “And you know who gives some great spank bank material? That little omega trying to join the team.”
The rest of the players chorused agreements.
“Oh, hell yeah. He’s so fucking adorable. What I would give for a chance to just bend him over and fuck him ‘till he cries,” Juyeon said wistfully.
“Have you guys seen his tiny waist? Like goddamn, I could wrap my hands around it so easily. I just want to pound him into the mattress,” Jaehyun added.
Mingi whistled through his teeth. “He smells so fucking good too. Like peaches and cream. I bet he tastes the same. God, I would eat him out for hours without any complaints. I want to make him scream on my tongue.”
Sunghoon sat there, frozen and rigid as the team continued spouting off their desired sexual fantasies about the omega. They just kept getting worse and worse, each alpha describing some in-depth, kinky porn plots that they want to live out with Jake. It was fucking disgusting. He wanted to get up and yell at all of them for objectifying someone as innocent and pure as Jake, but he was stuck in his spot, unable to speak or move.
It was only when Lucas’ commented, “I would fuck him hard, make him sob while he begs me not to cum inside again and again, and then get him pregnant,” that someone finally put a stop to it. Someone that wasn’t Sunghoon.
“Alright, that's enough,” Heeseung said, standing up. “He may be an omega, and he may be extremely fucking attractive, but he’s still our teammate, and we need to treat him with respect. Just move the conversation on to a different subject, please.”
The room was quiet for a second, everyone a little surprised that Heeseung stood up for Jake.
“Hey man, it’s not our fault he oozes sex appeal,” Yonghoon said, smiling. “But we’ll stop. You’re right, he’s still our teammate.”
Yonghoon then started a different conversation- something about his asshole teacher. The rest of the team joined in, and soon enough, they had all forgotten about the previous conversation in favor of vulgarly insulting their least favorite teachers. Sunghoon was still just sitting there, a little breathless. He turned his head to look at Heeseung, who was currently nodding alone with something Mingi was saying about setting their advanced chemistry teacher on fire. Sunghoon focused on the other's face for a little longer, looking for something. He didn’t know what- really just anything to tell Sunghoon why he had defended Jake. Maybe the two of them were close. Really close. Something ugly twisted inside of Sunghoon at the thought of Jake laughing at Heeseung’s jokes, Jake hugging Heeseung, Jake kissing Heeseung. Sunghoon averted his eyes away from the older as if that would knock Heeseung from his mind completely.
The party began to dwindle down a little before 10. Sunghoon had been able to get out of his own head for the rest of the event and actually enjoy himself. However, when he got home that night, his mind started racing again. He felt like a terrible person for not standing up to the rest of his team about Jake. He had promised Jungwon and himself that he would treat Jake better, and yet, he did absolutely nothing while his teammates made horrific speeches about all the things they would do to the omega if given the chance. And not only that, but Heeseung had beat him to it. The older alpha had protected the omega in front of everyone, practically claiming Jake as his . Sunghoon knew that he was being dramatic and probably no one else saw it that way, but there was just something about it that felt off to him. Something that made Sunghoon want to scratch out Heeseung’s eyes for even implying that he was closer to Jake than Sunghoon was. He didn’t know what it was, but he did know that the feeling was wild and dangerous. It scared him.
—------------------
Sunghoon entered the locker room before practice on Monday, eyes down and headphones in. When he looked up, his eyes met Jake’s from across the space. It surprised Sunghoon a little to see the omega in here- an enclosed place filled with musty alphas and stinking of dominant pheromones. But Jake seemed to be rather enjoying himself, laughing along to what someone was saying. Sunghoon moved his eyes away from the omega to notice the alphas around him. Yunho, Heeseung, and Jay were all surrounding him, making him look unbelievably small. It didn’t seem to matter to him, though, because there wasn’t a trace of anxiety on his face. There wasn’t any reason for him to be nervous- the three alphas were actually being welcoming, joking around with Jake and making him look a lot happier than he had been at last practice. Sunghoon could feel jealousy creeping up inside of him at the sight, but he pushed it back down. He had no reason to feel that way- he and Jake were mere acquaintances. The four players exited the locker room together, Yunho slapping Jake on the back and chuckling loudly at something the omega had said. Sunghoon had to take a few breaths before walking out behind them.
Once they joined the rest of the team on the field, the coach began explaining the drill for today. They were playing a scrimmage. He divided the team in half- Sunghoon on one, and Jay, Jake, and Heeseung together on the other. It annoyed him a bit to see the two alphas look so excited with the prospect of having Jake on their team. Yunho, having decided that he liked Jake, noisily complained when he was put on Sunghoon’s team and reached out for Jake like he was in a Romeo & Juliet parody while he was getting pulled away. It made Jake giggle a little, and Yunho looked extremely pleased with himself at the reaction he got. Sunghoon resisted the urge to dramatically roll his eyes, and the scrimmage began.
Early in the scrimmage, it became glaringly obvious that they had all greatly underestimated Jake. The first time he got the ball, he had faked out Lucas, getting past the tall defender effortlessly and making a perfect pass to Juyeon that resulted in an easy goal. Juyeon had actually complimented Jake after the play, a newfound respect for the omega. Right after, Yunho was dribbling the ball forward when Jake came out of nowhere, knocking into the alpha hard enough to make him unsteady on his feet, and swiped the ball from him. He made a skill move to get around Yonghoon, and, with a perfect shot into the corner of the goal, scored. This time, Juyeon was actually excited enough to jump on top of Jake, almost knocking him over. The rest of Jake’s team was smiling brightly. That’s all it took for them to like him? He just needed to be good? Sunghoon thought back to the comment Yunho had made before they had met Jake. “ I don’t really care who it is, as long as he can play well ,” he had said. Maybe he really was telling the truth. Sunghoon felt a little lighter at the idea that the team would be more respectful to Jake from now on. He didn’t want that proud smile on Jake’s face to leave.
The scrimmage was close to ending now, and all of the players were sweating viciously and breathing hard. Sunghoon’s team was losing 1-5, and Jake was still doing incredible. Sunghoon didn’t think that the omega had made one mistake. His foot skills were undeniably impressive, his passes were on point, and his defensive tackles were calculated and effective. The coach had been right- Jake was going to help them significantly during the season.
Sunghoon’s team began getting more and more disgruntled as they got farther behind. They began resorting to messier tactics. Their “passes” became just kicking it up as far as they could and hoping that their forward would get there. It wasn’t working, and neither were the unnecessary fouls they had begun committing. Sunghoon watched as Jaehyun grabbed Jay by the arm and pulled him back in an attempt to get to the ball first. A play like that would surely be a red card in the game. Sunghoon scolded him quite loudly and reminded the rest of his team that playing dirty only made them look more like losers. A few of them took it to heart, but the rest of them ignored their captain and continued as they were. Sunghoon knew it was a matter of time before someone got seriously hurt.
Heeseung had stepped in front of Lucas’ shot, stealing the ball from him and quickly passing it up to Jake. Sunghoon stood his ground as Jake dribbled towards him, eyes determined. Just as he was about to step up and defend the omega, Jake was falling. Lucas, having come from behind and burning with fury, had stuck his foot in front of Jake’s and pushed him in the back as he was going down. Jake hit the ground. Hard. Heeseung immediately ran up to the omega, Jay close on his heels. When Jake rolled over, there was blood pouring down his face, dripping onto his shirt and staining it a crimson red. Sunghoon felt nauseous and vaguely heard Heeseung freaking out. His blood pressure was roaring in his ears, blocking out every noise other than his own breathing. His alpha instincts were screaming at him to attack Lucas for what he had done to his omega. Sunghoon’s brain, muddled with rage, didn’t even comprehend that Jake wasn’t his omega. He stormed up to Lucas, shoving him backward.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Sunghoon knew that he was really a sight to see at that moment, eyes insane and pheromones wafting off of him in intimidating quantities. Lucas’s expression morphed into one of fear and he took a couple of steps back from the captain.
“I- I’m sorry Sunghoon. I wasn’t thinking. It’s my mistake.” His words only fueled the fire inside of the captain.
“Your mistake? That wasn’t a fucking mistake, Lucas. That was deliberate and dangerous. That’s got to be one of the stupidest goddamn things you’ve ever done. I better not ever see dirty shit like that ever again, you hear me?”
Lucas shook his head yes, voice not working. Sunghoon was about to discipline Lucas even more when he spotted Jake out of the corner of his eye. His wrath instantly faded.
The omega was standing on the sidelines, flanked by Heeseung and Jay. The former was holding a wad of paper towels onto the lower half of Jake’s face, but Sunghoon could still see the way Jake’s eyes scrunched up in pain. Forgetting all about the offender next to him, Sunghoon jogged over to where the three were standing.
“How bad is it?” He asked, directing the question to Jay.
It was Jake, though, who answered him. “It’s not bad at all. They’re just being dramatic.” His voice was muffled.
Heeseung rolled his eyes at the shorter. “We are not being dramatic. You look like a fucking crime scene, Jakey.” The comment made Jake laugh, and then flinch a little as the action jostled his injuries. Heeseung wasn’t wrong, either. The whole front of Jake’s shirt was drenched in blood, the towels already being dyed red, and from what Sunghoon was able to see, his ears and neck had dried blood on them. It looked quite horrifying.
“Jesus Christ, Sim. That doesn’t look good.” None of them had noticed the coach walk up, too focused on the gory omega in front of them.
“That’s what I’m saying!” Heeseung shouted, throwing an accusatory eye at Jake. The omega immediately fired back, claiming Heeseung was just too squeamish around blood. The two began bickering, completely ignoring everyone else around them. The coach coughed loudly, interrupting the two.
“If you’re going to argue like a married couple, at least get a room,” he grumbled. “Now, would one of you please tell me the injuries so I know if I need to take Sim to the emergency room?”
At the first comment, Sunghoon felt himself go green with envy. The two being mentioned didn’t even address it. Instead, Jake just pushed Heeseung’s hand away, revealing his face. There was still an uncomfortable amount of blood dripping down his chin. From what Sunghoon could see, Jake had a badly busted lower lip. In addition to that, the bridge of his nose was already bruised. The blood from his nose combined with the blood from his lip is what created the horrific scene in front of them. Jay made a disgusted noise when he saw the injuries, causing Jake to punch him hard in the shoulder. Jay, being the drama queen he is, over-exaggerated the injuries and acted as if the omega had shot him. The coach just rolled his eyes, waving a hand at the writhing alpha on the floor and turning back to Jake.
“Looks like a broken nose and busted lip to me,” he said, inspecting his player’s face even closer.
“I don’t think it’s broken, coach. Just a little bruised,” Jake replied. The coach gave him a look, nonverbally asking how he came to that conclusion.
“I’ve had a broken nose before, sir. I promise you this feels different.”
The coach sighed. “Alright, I believe you. If it gets any worse, though, you’ve got to promise me that you’ll go to a doctor. We can’t have you playing with a broken nose.”
Jake nodded frantically, his fluffy hair bouncing up and down. It made Sunghoon want to pet him. “I promise,” he said.
Just as the coach walked away, Heeseung whirled on the omega. “Why have you had a broken nose before?” He asked, face filled with worry.
Jake laughed, patting the alpha on the shoulder. “Relax, Hee. This just isn’t the first time I’ve been fouled in soccer.”
Jay cracked his knuckles. “If anyone does something like this again, we’ll take care of it. Don’t you even worry about it.”
“No, you won’t,” Jake said, eyes narrowing. “I don’t need you getting all alpha-y because some guy pushes me on the field. I can handle myself.” He was pouting now, making him look more adorable than intimidating.
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Jay said with a smile, patting the shorter on the head and walking away.
“Hey! Jay, I’m serious! Jay!” Jake ran after him, hurling insults at the older. Jay seemed to find it utterly hilarious and just taunted the omega even more. Sunghoon turned around from the two of them to look at Heeseung, who was staring off at his arguing friends, a fond smile on his face. It brought the question into Sunghoon’s mind once again- was there something more going on between Jake and Heeseung? He was just about to ask when the older turned to him and spoke first.
“Man, you really laid into Lucas, didn’t you? I’ve never seen the guy look so scared before.”
“I mean, you would do the same, wouldn’t you?” Sunghoon mumbled. For some reason, he felt like he was being studied with Heeseung’s eyes on him. He schooled his expression into something emotionless, scared that the other alpha might spot the internal conflict of his feelings for Jake on his features. But Heeseung only smiled.
“Yeah, I would,” he said softly. With that, Heeseung walked away, leaving Sunghoon there to wonder what the hell that tone meant.
—------------------
Jake, having proved himself, became well-liked on the team. It was actually crazy how quickly the alphas switched up their opinions, but Sunghoon wasn’t complaining. For the first time in a few weeks, there was finally calm on the team. No tension, no anger, no bad blood. Lucas had apologized to Jake as soon as he saw him again, getting on his knees and begging for forgiveness. Being the shining ball of positivity that he is, Jake immediately forgave him. The team was getting along better than ever. Jake had actually ended up helping to bring them closer together, much to Sunghoon’s surprise. Everything was going great, and Sunghoon had actually been able to push down his feelings for Jake, whatever they were. And then, his heat hit.
Jake had been acting strange all practice. He was getting tired way too easily, and his movements were getting sloppier the more it went on. He had tripped several times, barely able to pick his feet up off the ground. Sunghoon could tell that most of the team was worried about him. Several players had checked up on him, and each time he just brushed it off, claiming he was just ‘tired.’ Sunghoon didn’t believe it one bit. They were standing in line for a shooting drill when Sunghoon heard a whimper behind him. The alpha turned around to see Jake leaning over with his hands around his stomach and face scrunched in pain.
“Jake? Are you oka-” Sunghoon’s sentence cut off abruptly when he got a whiff of the air. The potent scent of peaches and cream was filling the area around them, smelling sweeter than it ever had before. It took everything in him not to pull the omega into his arms and shield him from all the other alphas.
“Oh shit, Jake. You’re going into heat,” Sunghoon said, plugging his nose to keep himself level-headed.
The omega nodded, groaning again. “Go get- go get Heeseung.”
Sunghoon froze. “What?”
“Please, Sunghoon. Go get Heeseung.”
The alpha didn’t let his brain wander onto what this could mean. Jake was in pain, and right now Sunghoon would do anything to stop it. He ran over to the other side of the field where Heeseung was shooting on the second goal. Sunghoon grabbed the older’s biceps tightly, not saying a word as he pulled him towards Jake.
“Hey? Sunghoon? What are you doing?”
Sunghoon ignored him in favor of getting him to Jake. As soon as they were in the vicinity of the omega, Heeseung smelled him. The older alpha’s eyes went wide and quickly he kneeled down in front of Jake.
“Shit, Jakey, you’re in heat, aren’t you?”
The boy in question just nodded, eyes shut tightly. “Help, please?”
Heeseung scooped the omega onto his back. “Of course. Hold on tight we’ll get you home, okay?”
Sunghoon watched as Heeseung briskly walked away, murmuring words of comfort to Jake. The rest of the team had been observing the whole interaction. They had gathered into a group, talking amongst themselves quietly.
Once Heeseung and Jake were out of sight, Juyeon was the first to speak up. “Is Heeseung really spending Jake’s heat with him? Lucky bastard.”
The group chorus agreements, a few commenting how they saw it coming, and how the two of them were probably mates. It made Sunghoon want to rip his hair out. Heeseung could just be bringing him home, Sunghoon reasoned with himself. Just because Jake asked for him doesn’t mean they’re sleeping together. Maybe Heeseung is just going to take care of him. These thoughts were the only thing keeping Sunghoon sane as he desperately tried to ignore the images popping into his head of Jake in heat.
As soon as practice ended, Sunghoon called Heeseung. The older didn’t pick up. He’s probably making him food. Or hydrating him. Or scenting him. Sunghoon felt like he was going to throw up. No matter how many ways he tried to convince himself, the truth was glaringly obvious. No. No. It doesn’t mean they’re sleeping together. It’s not true. I won’t believe it until I hear it from Heeseung, he decided.
Sunghoon spent the next three days doing everything he could not think about Jake. Both the omega and Heeseung were absent at each practice. Every time Heeseung didn’t show up, Sunghoon’s stomach twisted into more knots. He was still trying to convince himself that they weren’t doing anything together, but the comments from the rest of his team were not helping. As much as they all loved and respected Jake now, they couldn’t help but talk about his heat. Throughout the practice, they would spout off little remarks sexualizing the omega. A few of them included Heeseung as well, forcing the image into Sunghoon’s mind of the two of them together. He hated every second of it, and this time, he really did put an end to it. He told off the whole team, saying that anyone who wanted to continue talking about it could run laps around the field to sweat off their horniness. They all quieted down after that, but the damage was done. Sunghoon was unable to focus for the rest of the practices.
Finally, on the fourth day, Heeseung was in the locker room. Sunghoon walked in and felt a breath of relief when he saw him. He looked around a little, trying to find the omega that had to have come back as well. Heeseung must’ve noticed him because he called out.
“Hey cap, Jake’s still a little tired, so he won’t be back today. He told me to tell you that he’s very sorry and promises to be back tomorrow.”
With his back to Heeseung, Sunghoon was able to let a look of anger flash across his face. There was something about Heeseung’s message that rubbed him wrong. He let out a deep breath and slammed his locker shut, maybe a little too hard. When he turned around, there was a smile on his face.
“Thanks for letting me know. Tell him to take his time and only come back when he’s one hundred percent,” he forced out through gritted teeth. The rest of the team had exited for the field, leaving only Sunghoon and Heeseung in the room. The older walked over to the captain, probably hoping to walk out with him. Except, as Heeseung got closer, Sunghoon smelt something. A scent that was definitely not Heeseung’s own, but smelt so insanely strong on him that it very well could’ve been. It was a familiar smell. Sweet. Appetizing. It was peaches and cream. The gears clicked in Sunghoon’s head and he grabbed the older by the shoulders, slamming him into the lockers.
“Sunghoon, what the fuck?” Heeseung asked with wide eyes.
“Did you fuck him?” Sunghoon growled out. His eyes were a dark red and glowing in the dim light of the locker room.
“I-” Heeseung paused, choosing his words carefully. Sunghoon was dangerous right now, and he didn’t want to do anything to make him worse.
The younger’s grip tightened to a painful point. “I asked you a fucking question,” Sunghoon spat.
Heeseung felt rage building inside of him. Who did Sunghoon think he was? “I don't know what you want me to say, Hoon! You obviously don’t want to hear the answer.”
The captain’s eyes got even brighter. He slammed Heeseung into the locker with each word. “Did. You. Fuck. Him.”
The older alpha grab Sunghoon’s wrists and shoved him off. “Yes, okay! I did. He asked me to. He wanted me to. He begged me to. Is that what you want to hear? I fucked him, Sunghoon.”
Sunghoon went blind with rage. Before he knew it, his fist was colliding with Heeseung’s face. The older, pushed back with the force of the blow, spat out blood. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he growled. He was about to lunge after the younger when a shout rang through the locker room.
“Heeseung, Sunghoon, what are you two doing in there? Get out onto this field before I bust both of your asses,” the coach yelled. Sunghoon took one more seething look at Heeseung before walking out.
Heeseung sat there for a moment, incredulity coursing through his veins. He had never seen Sunghoon act like that. It was terrifying- someone so level-headed going absolutely batshit over some unknown cause. The older alpha took a few deep breaths before making his way onto the field.
When he got there, it was glaringly obvious that Sunghoon hadn’t cooled down. There was a look of fury on his face and he reeked of irritation and unstable power. None of the other players were within several feet of him, probably trying their best to avoid getting into a brawl with him. Heeseung approached the team, and Yunho turned to him, gasping.
“Holy shit, Hee. Did he punch you?” He whispered. Heeseung ran a hand over the already-swollen cheek.
“It’ll be in our best interest to avoid him. I don’t know what’s up, but something set him off,” Heeseung said in lieu of an answer. The teammates around him nodded.
The rest of practice was hell. Sunghoon usually ruled with a pretty iron grip, but it was even worse today. Any small mistake someone made was punished with extreme workouts for the whole team. The alpha barked out harsh insults at everyone, even if they were doing mildly good. Sunghoon was taking out his anger on the team, and scaring the shit out of everyone while he did so. By the time practice was ending, every player was exhausted, miserable, and had significantly lower confidence in their abilities. Sunghoon didn’t seem to notice, still blinded by rage.
The team scuttled back into the locker room as soon as possible to get away from the alpha. Sunghoon, still trying to work off steam, spent the next 20 minutes taking powerful shots into the goal. One bounced off the goal post, coming back and slamming him in the stomach hard enough to knock him over. As he lay there on the floor, the day’s events finally became more clear in his mind. To say he was embarrassed was an understatement. Not only did he punch one of his best friends in the face, but he completely overworked and humiliated his whole team. All because a boy who he wasn’t even dating slept with someone else. Sunghoon slapped himself on the cheek. He had no right to decide who Jake was and wasn’t allowed to be with. For all he knew, the omega probably still thought Sunghoon hated him. And yet, here he was, acting like a teenage, possessive, hormonal alpha. Stupid, stupid, stupid Sunghoon. Stupid, stupid, stupid-
“Sunghoon?”
The small voice had him sitting up quickly, making eye contact with none other than the boy he was just thinking about.
“Jake?” The omega just smiled in response, but Sunghoon could see a bit of worry on his beautiful features.
“Why are you laying on the floor?” He asked.
Embarrassed, Sunghoon really didn’t want to give a truthful answer. Instead, he just shrugged and patted the ground, offering Jake a seat. The older took it and dropped down next to him.
“What are you doing here?” Sunghoon asked. “Heeseung said that you were still tired.” He unconsciously let some venom into his voice.
Jake didn’t address it, though. He just gave the alpha a small, questioning look before answering. “I started feeling better after he left. I felt bad about not coming to practice, so I thought I would come out here and work on some skills.”
Sunghoon almost verbally chuckled. Jake would be the kind of player to work out straight after going through a difficult heat. The omega really had no chill. It was probably part of what was responsible for him being so good.
Sunghoon stared forward for a moment, trying to gather up the courage to ask the question on the tip of his tongue.
“Jake?”
The omega hummed in response.
“Why did you let Heeseung help with your heat?”
In corner of his vision, Sunghoon saw Jake turn to look at him with wide eyes. The omega’s open and closed his mouth a few times, unprepared for the question. He continued staring at Sunghoon, probably hoping for the alpha to turn and look at him, but Sunghoon was mortified that he even asked the question in the first place. He knew his ears were already a flaming red, and if he made eye contact with Jake, they would only be worse. The omega ended up turning and looking forward into the distance as well when he answered.
“I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible,” he mumbled. “I wanted to get back to practice quickly. Heats last way longer if you don’t spend them with an alpha, and I trusted Heeseung enough not to do anything that I didn’t want.” He started picking at the grass with anxious fingers.
Sunghoon had no idea what compelled him to say what he did next.
“Why didn’t you ask me?” This time, he turned to look at the boy next to him. Jake’s eyes became comically large, and a pink dusted his cheeks.
“I don’t- I mean, I didn’t think-” the omega stuttered through several beginnings of a sentence. Sunghoon, taking mercy on him, waved a hand in the air.
“Forget it. Nevermind.”
The two sat in silence for a little longer before Sunghoon sighed and dropped his head into Jake’s lap. The omega flinched a bit, then instinctually began carding his fingers through the alpha’s hair.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured into one of the omega’s soft thighs. “I treated you horribly, and you didn’t deserve one second of it. I was scared, and selfish, and an asshole. I'm sorry.”
The sun began setting, bathing the two of them in orange light. Looking up at Jake, Sunghoon’s heart stuttered. He was shining. Sunghoon thought that he must’ve been absolutely insane to think he would ever be able to curb his feeling for the omega. Sitting here, in the middle of the field as the light faded around them, Jake’s fingers carding through his hair, and his cheek squished against the omega’s thigh showed him that a life without Jake would be torture. He wanted to stay here forever, breathing in peaches and cream and being intoxicated by the feeling of Jake surrounding him.
The omega pursed his lips. “Why were you scared?” he asked, voice shaking a bit.
Sunghoon let his eyes slip closed. “Because I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.”
Jake’s hands froze in the Sunghoon’s hair and his breath got caught in his throat. “What?”
“You’re my mate, Jake. I think I’ve always known. You’re my true mate.” There was silence between them- not a breath, not a heartbeat, nothing.
And then, Sunghoon felt something wet drip onto his cheek. Then another. And another. And another. When he opened his eyes, Jake had one hand covering his mouth and tears rolling down his face. Sunghoon sat up quickly, concern coursing through his veins.
“Jake? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
The omega looked at him, sobbing. “Do you really mean it?” He asked. “You’re not kidding, right? You really mean it?”
Sunghoon cupped Jake’s face into his hands, wiping off tears with his thumbs. “Of course I do,” he said softly. As soon as the words left his lips, Jake was throwing himself into the alpha’s arms. Sunghoon held him tightly, burying his face into the older’s neck.
“I love you, too,” Jake choked out. Sunghoon pulled back, looking at the omega in amazement. Jake nodded frantically, and Sunghoon laughed, tears springing to his eyes as well. He ran a hand through the omega’s hair, pushing it back from his face and putting their foreheads together. Sunghoon ran comforting hands down Jake’s back.
“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.
“Please do,” Jake replied.
When they connected, fireworks sprung behind Sunghoon’s eyes and serotonin rushed his brain. It felt just as he thought kissing your soulmate would feel, and he never wanted it to end. Jake’s lips were plush and soft, and his mouth tasted as delicious as he smelled. Sunghoon tightened his grip around the omega’s waist and pulled him in closer, deepening the kiss. The omega moaned softly into his mouth. Sunghoon smiled against his lips before diving in again, licking into Jake’s mouth and trying to drown himself in everything Jake. They pulled apart eventually with heaving chests. Sunghoon opened his eyes to look at Jake, and the omega did the same. When their gazes met, Jake smiled at him, white teeth showing and eyes still a little damp. Sunghoon’s heart skipped a beat. Looking at the omega, beautiful in the setting sun, lips red and swollen, confirmed everything Sunghoon had already known.
He was deeply, incorrigibly, desperately, in love with Sim Jake. And he was going to spend the rest of his life with him.