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Lee Minho was good at pretending that everything was fine.
He woke up, brewed coffee and made a spread of breakfast like he did everyday. If anyone were to tell Han Jisung that something was wrong with Minho, he would believe they were telling lies.
And as Minho’s alpha, it was Jisung’s job to make sure he protected Minho from any and all bad things that were thrown their way in this cruel world.
So, when Minho called off of work- which was very rare, Jisung didn't think twice that something was wrong. When Minho called off again and faked a fever, Jisung made sure to make soup for his boyfriend and tea in hopes to break the fever. When Minho called for a third time- this time for a ‘pulled’ muscle in his back, which his dance studio proceeded to give him a week off for rest; Jisung started to worry.
Nothing changed with Minho’s routine. Minho was always just… the same. Every morning he woke up. He brewed coffee, and he made a spread of eggs and fruit for Jisung. He poured two cups of coffee; one black and one flavored sweetly with caramel creamer. He packed Jisung a lunch for his long twelve hour day at the studio, and even made sure to add extra snacks for his two partners. He’d wake up Jisung, watched his mate as he devoured the breakfast - as always- and followed him out the door with a huge kiss goodbye.
But on this particular day, Minho never brewed the coffee or cooked their breakfast. Instead, he called off for the fourth time this week and laid in bed until after Jisung ran out the door late for his work meeting.
Jisung found it strange. It was not like Minho to spend his days wallowing around in self pity, but he’d figure that if there was anything Minho wanted to talk about, he would.
Minho laid in their king size bed. Alone. His nerves on edge, like always, but more so today. He checked his dance schedule again; co-teaching with Choi Woosung. Woosung was higher up in the chain of command for the school. He helped teach classes and helped students with whatever they needed. He wasted no time in calling off sick for the day. He could not fathom the thought of working side by side with Woosung. His skin crawled at the thought of his hands on his waist or arms for different choreographies and watching the teenagers they teach repeating the moves- even if they did not have the same motive as Woosung had.
Minho did not allow himself to have such negative thoughts around Jisung. According to his family, an omega's job is to always please an alpha. His morals, thoughts, and feelings did not matter as long as his or any alpha were happy with his presence. Besides, Minho had the idea in his head that Jisung was normally too busy to notice anything off or different.
His breaths were heavy, his anxiety spiking at the thought of just being in the same room with Woosung. He blamed himself. He wondered if Jisung would even care about the assault that took place by another alpha.
Hours had passed while Minho was lost in his thoughts. He could not even force himself to get out of bed for a glass of water. He was a failure, a disappointment to all omega’s in the world. He could not figure out what was wrong with him. He should consider himself lucky that not only does he have a very loyal mate, but also has the attention of another alpha.
Minho, an only child, grew up with a super conservative family. His father was a big muscle man of an alpha. And well, his mother was petite and very beautiful. She was the perfect example of an omega. It was always taught to him as a kid that every born male should be an alpha. They should have big muscles and be the protector of the family. His family expectations for omegas were household chores; the cookies, the cleaning, the raising of children. And for his parents, those ideologies worked. The first heartbreak Minho felt was the day he presented as an omega. His father cried. His mother was too stunned to speak.
Of course they knew male omegas exist- but it did not make it easier for his family to accept his presentation, his secondary gender. His father was harsh with him. He wanted Minho to be tough, to act like an alpha despite his signed gender. Minho’s father hid his presentation from everyone they knew. Minho’s father went to the lengths to even hide the sweet smell of vanilla that lingered around Minho.
The second heartbreak he ever felt was when he told his parents about his mate. Not only admitting that his mate was another man, but that the alpa did not have the same ways of thinking that Minho’s father did. The two alpha’s could never bond a relationship, even if it would make Minho happy.
On the other side, his mother always taught him that under no circumstance was he allowed to disobey and displease an alpha; any alpha. Alphas ruled the world. Nothing they did was wrong… ever. When they accepted the fate of their son as an omega, they had made him believe he was only ever good for one thing. His own pleasure in life did not matter, as long as the alphas surrounding him were pleased with him in every way. His mother taught him how to apply makeup to his face and how to maintain perfect body image.
When he met Jisung and they had talked briefly the first time about their childhoods, he was disgusted with the thought of Minho thinking he was just a pawn for pleasure and to bare children- he worked hard to try to help change Minho’s mind from those poisoned thoughts. He showed Minho what love was. He encouraged Minho to say no, to speak up for the things he did and did not want. With Jisung, he felt free.
And although Minho knew Jisung's love for him was unconditional, he still thought back to his parents. His mothers voice boomed in his head, “Minho, if you do not please the alpha’s, they will throw you out- you will be alone. Mate or not, you shall never say no when an alpha is around. And lastly, you never fight back”.
So, that late night at the studio, five weeks before current time, when Minho bent down to pick up his duffle bag he froze at the touch of another man’s hands on his lower back. The touch was foreign. His skin crawled. He was quick to jump and move out of the way, cause maybe he was just blocking the other person's path of walking. But when the smell of coffee grounds covered his sweet vanilla, he knew he was in trouble. His scent spiked, though the signals of a distress omega was hard to tell from the strong scent of the alpha in front of him.
“Be quiet,” the words were harsh and the hands were rough, “you look so beautiful. You’re doing so good for me,” Woosung grunted.
He whined when the pain was unbearable. It was nothing like the intimacy he shared with Jisung. Jisung was slow and gentle- Woosung was rough and fast. The sound of skin slapping against each other stained his ears. He was disgusted. The more he fought back, the more rough Woosung was on his skin. On one side, his thoughts back to his mother- she’d be disappointed to know he tried to fight back. He was not going to lose his dignity without a fight. The other side of Minho heard Jisung’s voice- “you have a right to say no when something is happening that you do not like”, oh was he wrong. His no did not mean a thing to Woosung.
Jisung was out of town that night. It was approximately a seven hour trip by train and a four hour trip by car to get to Jisung- but Minho never achieved the milestone of acquiring a drivers license- especially since his mother engraved the rules of an omega into his brain. Omega’s, according to his parents, had no rights and that included driving rights.
He refused to let Woosung drive him home, he kicked and screamed when the alpha dragged him to his car. He yanked on the door and scratched at the window, but each time he acted up Woosung would blow a punch to his face. It wasn't until they were stopped at a red light that he opened the door and pushed himself out. He limped the rest of the way home. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone, “I’m okay, just a bit sore,” he whispered over the phone to Jisung, he spewed lies to him. Jisung did not ask what this soreness came from, Minho was a professional dance teacher after all. The knot that formed between them was too much for Minho, everything hurt. His mating mark burned with guilt.
He could not tell anyone about it. He felt horrible and nothing could mask the truth of his adultery. He made sure to perfect his make up to cover up any discoloration that imperfect his face.
For weeks he covered up the bruises from Jisung.
-
Things felt normal when Jisung came home from work. After all of the self pity and self loathing, Minho had finally taken his first step out of his bed to make sure he was showered and dinner was ready by the time Jisung got home.
“Hey guess what!” Jisung giggled over a candle-lit dinner cooked by Minho, he cocked his eyebrow up, “Chan and Felix finally had their pup!”.
Minho perked up, his chest felt ecstatic of excitement for Felix and Chan. Felix was a fellow omega. He was perfect, to say the least, he was everything Minho’s mom wanted him to be. He was petite, beautiful, full of life. His alpha was strong, very muscular, and provided everything for Felix.
Felix and Minho were pretty similar in a lot of ways. They both taught at the ‘Dance School of Seoul’. Felix taught the age group of thirteen to fifteen while Minho taught sixteen to eighteen, then helped them land jobs once they graduated from the school. Felix and Minho immediately got close after learning that their mates were also partners. For weeks they were inseparable. They'd made plans nearly every day to hang out during their shared lunch hour or even after work- of course after Minho had made sure his alpha was fed.
Minho smiled widely, probably the only real smile he's had for three weeks, “Felix must be so happy,” he grabbed his phone to send a text to his friend immediately, “Chan told you?”
Jisung nodded eagerly, “I was his first call, actually,” Jisung chuckled.
Jisung and Chan grew up together, they were practically brothers, so that news was not all that surprising, “They actually invited us to come over next friday night for dinner and to meet the little baby,” Minho’s eyes widened at the idea, "don't worry, I already said yes”.
Minho’s spirits were lifted for the first time that evening. Nothing could ruin his mood. Not when he scrubbed the dishes and dining room table spotlessly, and not even when he pushed Jisung onto his back and pulled down Jisung’s pants to show his nightly appreciation for the alpha- although he hated, he did it by choice though Jisung assured him that it was okay that he did not, the nightly routine.
-
Minho had finally shown up to work the next, although ten minutes late, he stretched and made sure the teens stretched as well. He started to play music, he played something with smooth beats, some kind of hip-hop song for the class to get hype and ready to dance.
“Hello class!” a voice ripped through his thoughts, Minho’s body shuddered at the deep voice behind him, “I’ll be accompanying the class everyday for the next week for every one’s quarterly review,” Woosung said and dragged a chair to the corner of the room.
Minho locked eyes with his predator, his omega curling inside him afraid to be alone. He did what he does best, he hid his pain with a bright smile, “thank you Mr. Choi, we will be sure to take great care of you in class,” Minho said bitterly through gritted teeth and stiffly bowed toward the older man.
Woosung smirked, he had Minho right where he wanted him.
During the switch of class Minho ran to the nearest bathroom, he hunched over the toilet quickly before bile rose up his throat. The burning sensation caused Minho to scrunch his face in disgust. He could not tell what the nausea was from, either the stress of Woosung or the fear of Woosung being so close to him.
He felt dirty. He fixed posture as he took deep breaths, in for ten and out for ten, his heart raced. He wanted to scratch his skin off, it had an itch that he could not satisfy. He was miserable to say the least.
After his last class, Minho had his bag packed and already slung around his shoulder. He did not want to have any excuse to be alone with Woosung once class ended. He dismissed his students and hurried behind them until, “Minho, we must talk about these performances,” Woosung said.
Minho’s shoulders tense, he forgot that at the end of the day Woosung was still at a higher authority position than he was, and one shall not disrespect their elders- especially if they were alphas.
“Ah, well the solo dances will begin tomorrow morning for our ‘a’ class students and the next for the ‘b’ students. We should be done by Monday at the latest,” Minho said as he stood still by the door, his hand almost touching the handle, he almost salivated at the thought of walking out of the room.
“Well, I’m talking about the overall observation of today. I’d like to touch base on specifics like techniques and songs-” Woosung moved his glasses to sit on his head and stared right at Minho, “why are you so tense? There is nothing to be afraid of,” Woosung said in a deep voice.
Minho’s warm vanilla spiked as the scent of freshly brewed dark roast coffee assaulted his nose. He was stressed, nothing about this situation was ideal for him. He wanted to be home in his safe space and he definitely wanted to be home in time to make sure dinner was ready and the table was set for when Jisung got home.
“Now Minho,” Minho did not notice Woosung moved to be beside him until he felt Woosung’s hand on his shoulder, and the boy jumped back in fear.
“I’m sorry,” Minho stuttered and opened the door, “I need to go,” he said, he felt Woosung’s hand pull him back- Woosung’s chest pressed tightly against Minho’s back, “I need to go, I need-”
Woosung’s breath tickled Minho’s ear. He squinted his eyes shut, he hated this so much. Wooyoung pushed Minho’s hoodie down a bit, revealing the bite that marked his significant other, “he’s one lucky guy,” Woosung whispered.
Minho shivered. He pushed Woosung back a bit, he hobbled out the door quickly. He shook his head at the older man, his shoulder and back burning from the sensation he did not want.
-
The rest of the week was silent for Minho. He’d come to class, listen to Woosung’s feedback and run out the door and back to his house.
He kept his composure at home. His smile never left his face as he did his usual chores and cooked each meal.
“You know I appreciate you,” Jisung said and took a bite of his pasta, “but it isn’t necessary for you to go through all of this trouble everyday. Let me take care of you,” Jisung said- Minho’s hand in his.
“Do you not like it?” Minho moved his head to the side, he wasn’t sure what Jisung was talking about.
According to his mother, this was necessary. He needed to keep his alpha happy.
“You do so much for me,” Jisung sighed, “let me cook for you one night,” Jisung said again.
“No, absolutely not,” Minho protested and pushed Jisung’s hand away, “it is my duty-“
“Min, we talked about this,” Jisung took a sip of water, “we should be taking care of each other. It’s not your responsibility to feed me everyday and make sure the house is spotless. That is a very… old way of thinking. This relationship is a two way street”.
Minho was foreign to the concept of Jisung doing anything that isn’t being happy and taken care of, “I don’t like that idea”.
Jisung shook his head, “please”
“Fine,” Minho argued back, fine he thought again.
“Now tonight, let me take care of you,” Jisung said and pulled Minho up from his chair and into the bedroom.
Minho’s heart beat was too loud for himself to handle. He felt like he could feel his pulse in his ears, he wasn’t sure if he was nervous.
“Just relax,” Jisung said soothingly and unbuckled Minho’s belt, “is this alright?”
Minho nodded, he was unsure why Jisung had to ask. If this is what Jisung, this is what Jisung got.
“Please, Minho,” Jisung whispered, “we talked about this,” Jisung said again.
“Yes,” Minho let out a shaky breath.
Jisung kissed Minho passionately, he traveled his kisses down Minho’s neck, to his abdomen then down to his hip. Minho shivered, he loved Jisung. Jisung did things to Minho’s body that he liked.
Slick oozed out of Minho naturally just from the touch of Jisung’s hands. He yelped in response, he was embarrassed.
“Minho, you’re so fucking beautiful,” Jisung moaned, “you’re doing so good for me,” he said again.
Minho paused his squirming and it almost felt like his slick dried instantly. He sat up at the feeling of bile rising. He pushed Jisung aside and ran toward the toilet, he gasped for air as he gripped the sides.
“Minho?” he heard Jisung’s voice, it was so small.
Minho threw up once again, his stomach clenching in response. Sweat beaded his forehead, the same words Woosung said circling his head. Except this time it was Jisung. Jisung was safe, Jisung was soft and gentle. Jisung never wanted to hurt Minho.
“Are you okay?” Jisung bent down to Minho’s level, he brushed the hair that was sticky against Minho’s forehead, he rubbed his back with his other hand.
“I just-“ Minho began and shook his head, “I’m sorry,” Minho whispered.
Minho’s sweet vanilla scent turned sour, his body was overheating, “hey, it’s okay,” Jisung cooed into Minho’s ear, “whatever you need, I’m here for you”.
Minho nodded and whispered an appreciative thanks to Jisung. Jisung led Minho to the shower, he then left Minho to pull out clothes for him per Minho’s request and as he waited for Minho to finish up- he did the dishes and cleared the table.
Jisung racked his brain for what went wrong. He hoped he didn’t push Minho too far. He sighed as he dried off the dishes.
Later that night, he held Minho close to him. He never left his side.
-
For the rest of the week leading up to Felix’s dinner party, Woosung left Minho alone besides a few winks here and there.
Minho was extremely grateful for it seeing as his body has been on edge lately and nothing felt right. He needed his body to rest from all of the stress around him.
Felix had a giant spread across their dining room table when the couple arrived. Minho and Jisung sat across from Felix and Chan as they dug into their dinner.
Jisung and Chan talked about their studio time and different songs they were in the process of writing while Minho and Felix talked about dance; of course.
After dinner, Felix and Minho cleared and cleaned the table and dishes as Chan brought Jisung up to see and meet the baby.
Once the dishes were done, Minho jumped up and down, “baby, please!” Minho demanded as he heard Chan and Jisung come back down the stairs and into the living room.
Minho followed Felix up to the nursery. It was painted a light pastel pink with a few small murals around the room. Minho stared at awe, and glanced down at the cooing baby in the crib, "She's so small,” Minho whispered, his eyes watered at the sight.
“She’s perfect,” Felix whispered back and picked the baby up, Felix bounced her slowly.
Minho and Felix caught up about many things. It’d only been two weeks since the two saw each other and they felt like they had so much to tell each other, “how are the evaluations going? Who did you get to do them?” Felix asked and sat slowly down onto the rocking chair beside the crib.
Minho followed the motion onto the couch opposite Felix, “Choi Woosung,” Minho said with a shrug.
Felix scrunched his face in disgust, “no way,” he scoffed, “I hope I don't get him for mine,” Felix said again.
Minho tensed at the reaction. He tried his hardest to calm his nerves, he did not want to risk his scent spiking and turning sour- especially with the two alpha’s, with great smell, in the room below them, “why do you say that?”
Felix shook his head, “I hate him. He’s actually disgusting and creepy,” Felix stifled a laugh and held the baby out for Minho to hold.
Minho happily grabbed the baby and squeezed her tight, almost like he was protecting her from the conversation. He stared down at her for a second. She was the most precious thing in the world. She was so innocent and so pure from the world. If Minho could, he’d shield her away from anything and everything bad in the world- although she already had her two fathers for that.
Felix finished his rant about Woosung, his foot hitting Minho’s softly, "don't you agree?” but frankly, Minho did not hear a single word from Felix, besides "he's too touchy”
Minho swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up, “he did it to you too, didn't he?”
Felix cocked his eyebrow up, “do what?”
Minho shook his head. He understood. It was not an easy question to answer or even, “you know… it,” Minho shrugged.
“Sweetie, what is it?”
“He was touchy with you too?”
“Minho,” Felix whispered, “what did he do?”
Bile raised in his throat, he swallowed it harshly, “its my fault, I cheated on Jisung,” Minho whispered, “he-” Minho paused and looked at the glossy eyes before him, “he told me I had no choice, and he's right. My mother always told me when it came to alpha’s- us omegas needed to comply, no questions asked. Therefore, I cheated on Jisung,” Minho glanced down at his hands.
Felix gasped, he stood up and quickly put the baby back into the crib. He rushed fell on his knees before Minho, “Minho, that’s not cheating. He raped you,” Felix’s voice cracked, tears welled in his eyes.
“Raped me?” Minho questioned, a strong word with powerful feelings that Minho had no idea existed. The word brought pain, brought a harsh reality to what has happened to him and what he’s been through.
Felix took a deep breath and a sob broke out. The poor omega in front of him did not even know what happened to him was wrong, “when?”
“Six weeks ago”.
Below the nursery Jisung and Chan sat dumbfounded, Jisung’s mouth agape- in Chan’s hand he held the baby monitor that they kept in their living room. The two alphas shared eye contact, “oh my god,” Chan whispered.
“Minho,” Jisung choked. He stood up abruptly, he fought the heavy grip on his upper arm fighting him to run up the stairs to Minho, “let me go,” Jisung screamed and struggled against Chan’s grip- it was no secret Chan was stronger than him.
“Jisung, listen to reason. They don't know we just heard their conversation-”
“He’s mine!” Jisung growled, “how dare he touch what’s not his,” Jisung screamed.
“Jisung please”
“He’s an alpha. It’s our job-“ the two all heard from baby monitor once again, “my mom always told me that we should never say no, especially to an alpha. We are there to fill them with pleasure,” the silence covered with static.
“Minho, that’s not-“ they could hear the silent sobs of Felix.
“It was not on purpose. I didn't know you had a baby monitor in here,” Jisung spat back, “Minho was raped, Chan. This is no longer a secret he should keep-“ Jisung stood still, he stopped protesting, “if this was Felix, what would you do?”
Chan paused and looked up at Jisung, “I’d kill him,” he said with no hesitation no emotion on his face, “and I wouldn’t think twice about ripping his throat open,” he said again, he released his hand from Jisung’s arm.
Jisung nodded, in this exact moment he understood. He would do the same, well will do the same. Though, he’s not sure he’d want to spend his entire rest of his life in jail- but anything to help Minho get the satisfaction of bringing his rapist down.
“We’ll get him,” Chan whispered.
Jisung nodded once again, “Choi Woosung,” he glanced at Chan.
Chan grabbed his phone, “we’ll find him”.
Sometimes, it only takes less than a week for chaos to begin.