Chapter Text
from a young age, people constantly would question seokjin’s subgender.
“you’re an alpha, right? you’re so strong and broad!”
“are you an omega? your scent is so sweet.”
it was tiring. he’d be discriminated somehow whether he identified as alpha with an omega’s scent or omega with an alpha’s physique.
he was 15 when he found out about suppressants, 16 when he was completely dependent on them, 17 when he first introduced himself as a beta, and 18 when he experienced a heatstroke in the middle of winter. he later found out that that was supposed to be his heat, but with his suppressant dependency, it became a mere, painful heatstroke instead.
flash forward into the present. seokjin was now nearing his mid 20s, suppressing his inner omega and his scent for about a decade, never having gone through a single heat, and identifying as a “beta”. it was just easier to be seen as a well-built beta.
though, he’s found it’s been getting more difficult to hide his true identity. his doctor that he frequents for his suppressants has told him as he ages, his heavy dependency has deteriorated his tolerance for the near-dangerous dosages. this added onto his stressful career as an idol, him falling sick was more common than it should be. luckily for him, he’s able to cover up his situation with the indirect help of jimin, bts’ “only” omega.
“hyung, are you alright?”
“mhm. you should go check up on jimin.”
“hyung, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“yes, have you seen jimin?”
“hyung, please take some medicine. you’re so pale.”
“i already have. has jimin eaten yet?”
that’s how most of his conversations with his dongsaengs went. at the mention of the petite omega, the alphas immediately drop the subject at hand to go tend to their omega instead.
you see, the five alphas and one omega of bts were all mated to each other. despite times changing, it is still seen as taboo for alphas and omegas to mate with betas, hence the only common relationship dynamics were alpha/omega, alpha/alpha, omega/omega, and beta/beta. so when the topic of mating came up, seokjin immediately excluded himself from the conversation. none of them ever brought it up to him after that, so he just had to deal with his inner omega, who would howl in pain, crying out for someone, anyone to mate him.
“hyung, have you seen my car keys?” yoongi had asked from the entrance of the bathroom. the strong, almost suffocating smell of jimin’s heat wafted into the bathroom. seokjin tensed up, an anxious feeling manifesting into his stomach.
“no, i haven’t.” seokjin forced himself to speak, and that was clear in the way he strained his voice. he let out a breath that he didn’t even realize he had held when yoongi left him alone.
seokjin was sure he had noticed it- his scent.
since jimin’s heat had started, seokjin had been feeling different. more needy for attention, the yearning for a mate was stronger, and his urge to mate was at an all time high. his scent was getting harder and harder to control. he locked himself in his room, waiting until he calmed down and had full control of his scent before leaving his room again. he wasn’t sure what was happening, but he knew that those suppressants he was so dependent on- yeah, they’re no longer working.
“hyung, have you been bringing an omega into the dorm?” namjoon had asked angrily the next day. seokjin looked up at him confusedly from where he sat on the couch.
“no, why?” seokjin put down his nintendo switch, giving the leader his full attention.
“your room reeks of an omega. i don’t know why the fuck you’re lying to my face as if you don’t stink of that omega you’re bringing around. it’s dangerous enough having you in the dorm during jimin’s heat, so why do you think it’s okay to bring a total stranger in? an omega at that!” oh. seokjin’s scent was stinking up the dorm, even when he resorted to using bandaids to cover up his scent gland.
“i-i’m sorry-“ seokjin started, but namjoon had cut him off again.
“don’t do it again.” namjoon sent one more glare before disappearing into the hallway, probably to go back to tending to jimin- their precious omega.
seokjin’s eyes teared up. would his life had been different if he had just told them he was omega? would he had been in that room, having his heat satiated by the people he loved most?
the last day of jimin’s heat had finally came. the five alphas had been ignoring seokjin for the past three days, all angry at him for “bringing an omega” into the dorm. little do they know…
but seokjin should be used to this. it wasn’t uncommon for them to completely disregard his existence to focus on their omega, but why… why does it hurt so much now? when the alphas walk passed seokjin without even a glance in his direction, his heart shatters a little more than before.
during jimin’s recovery and assimilation from his heat to his regular schedule, seokjin grew this urge- this strong, undeniable urge to nest. while the alphas helped jimin recover, seokjin would sneak into all of his bandmates rooms, “borrow” a couple clothing pieces, a blanket or a pillow, and used them in his nest. his first ever nest.
it wasn’t as pretty as the ones he’s seen jimin make, but it gave seokjin as sense of relief. the mismatched colors and fabrics made it feel cozy, comforting. it was perfect for him and his mismatched life.
seokjin was dozing off in his nest when someone slammed his door open. he jumped up, now wide awake as he stared at five, angry alphas who had murderous looks.
“you… didn’t i tell you to stop bringing that omega around?!” namjoon yelled, stomping into seokjin’s room. the elder coward into the corner of his bed, pressed up against the corner of his walls.
“but you don’t listen, do you? and what is this? a fucking nest?!” the four other alphas walked in, their anger seemingly growing at the sight of their clothes being used as what they think to be an unknown omega’s nest.
“hyung, we thought you were fucking better than this.” jungkook spoke up from behind namjoon, picking up a shirt that belonged to taehyung.
it all happened in a blur. the five alphas began to take apart his nest. grabbing items that belonged to them, throwing items that belonged to seokjin on the ground, growling profanities at him. his sobs grew in volume as he tried to grab the pieces of his nest back from the alphas, but they just snatched them out of seokjin’s hands.
“STOP!” jimin’s frame emerged from behind the alphas. seokjin’s blurry vision could barely make out the omega’s concerned look.
“omega, are you okay?” jimin softly asked, crawling into seokjin’s bed. it was like time had stilled. seokjin could hear the alphas freeze. the said omega released a sound that was half a whine, half a sob.
“i’m sorry. am i a bad omega?” seokjin cried, looking at jimin with a desperate expression on his face. the younger omega looked at him with a solemn and sympathetic look, shaking his head.
“no, omega. you’re the best.” jimin pulled seokjin into a hug, allowing him to cry into his chest.
“alphas, leave us alone. leave your things here too.” jimin’s glare could be heard in his voice. seokjin heard the alphas trudge out of the room, clearly confused, still a little angry, and a tinge of hurt knowing that their omega was mad at them.
“those stupid alphas. couldn’t even smell your distress, ruined your nest, and called you names.” jimin growled in anger. he always had a feeling seokjin wasn’t a beta. he just never brought it up since it would be kind of awkward to just accuse your hyung of lying about his subgender.
seokjin cried into jimin’s chest, his hands holding onto the younger omega’s shirt like his life depended on it. he sobbed out apologies, whimpering about how he’s a “bad omega”, and how he just wanted everyone to be happy.
“shh, it’s okay, omega. i know you only had good intentions. how about we rebuild your nest, yeah? i’ll help you.” jimin cooed, pulling back to look down at his hyung. it was a heartbreaking sight- his seokjin hyung, who always wore a smile, was now practically inconsolable.
with the help and encouragement from jimin, seokjin rebuilt his nest. he curled up in the center of it, still sniffing out apologies to the younger omega.
“i’m sorry. didn’ mean to hurt you.” seokjin looked up at jimin through half-lidded eyes. the younger frowned, leaning down to press a kiss to the elder’s forehead.
“don’t worry, hyung. rest, okay? i’ll be here when you wake up, omega.” that seemed to calm seokjin down, for he was fast asleep when jimin looked at his face again- his puffy, hurt-filled face. god, jimin would do anything to make sure seokjin never felt like that ever again, to always have a genuine smile on his face.
“how stupid can you all be?! you can sniff the slightest change in my scent, but when seokjin-hyung is sitting in front of you, crying his eyes out, and has his scent practically drowning all of you, you don’t think to have a civil conversation with him?!” jimin screamed at the five alphas, who now sat in the dorm’s living room. they all wore similar expressions, solemn and self-pitying.
“how can you five call yourselves alphas when you barged into an omega’s nest and completely trash it?!” jimin was furious. the most furious he’s ever been.
“hyung-“ jungkook reached out to touch jimin. the older growled at the alpha, slapping his hand away.
“you will not touch me. you will not scent me, talk to me, or even dare look in my direction until you five have apologized to seokjin-hyung. you will make it up to him and beg for his forgiveness.” with that, jimin walked back to seokjin’s room.
when seokjin woke up, he woke up to a tense atmosphere. he could feel the tension in the dorm, and he just couldn’t help feeling guilty. he knew it was his fault. he should’ve left when he could’ve, should’ve never built this stupid nest, should’ve never joined bts, should’ve killed himself when-
“omega.” seokjin’s head turned to the side, his eyes meeting with jimin’s. the smile the elder received wasn’t reciprocated.
“how are you feeling?” jimin asked when seokjin didn’t say anything.
“okay.” seokjin looked away, staring at the wall across from him instead.
“why did you hide it from us? your subgender.” there it was. the topic seokjin was absolutely dreading.
“it was easier to hide than explain why i’m an omega built like an alpha.” seokjin quietly confessed after a few beats of silence. strong arms wrapped around his body, petting his head.
“you’ve been so strong, omega. i’m sorry you had to go through all of that alone. it must’ve hurt so much.” jimin mumbled into seokjin’s hair, sniffling a little bit. the elder dug his head into jimin’s neck, letting out a quiet sob. his composure was slipping, but he was no longer worried about it. he had jimin, at the very least for now.