Archive of Our Own

Seungmin had been a late bloomer. It was rare for a secondary gender to present long after puberty, and Seungmin hadn't popped his first knot until late in the summer before his first year of college.

Ever a planner, Seungmin had an idea of his living arrangements before arriving on campus. As a presumed beta, he was supposed to share a double with his former high school acquaintance, Kang Yeosang. He had spoken to the beta a few times over the course of the summer, and Seungmin had been prepared for them to cohabitate peacefully at the university.

At the last minute, his dorm arrangements had to be changed. For safety purposes, all first-year dorms are split by secondary gender. As a newly presented alpha, he needed to find a space in the alpha residences. There had been very little input in the process for Seungmin, and he was assigned to a room with Lee Minho without ever speaking to him.

Much to his chagrin, Seungmin only met Minho upon moving in on the day before classes were set to begin. He can remember the minute he walked into the small room, weighed down with a box of his personal belongings and an overpacked backpack, and saw Minho for the first time. His black hair was longer then than it is now, hanging around his face in soft tufts. He was sitting cross-legged on one of the small dorm beds pressed against the dingy walls, scowling down at his laptop.

Minho's woodsy fragrance filled the space, and Seungmin felt self-conscious about his more atypical sweet-almond smell. He was too bright, too sweet for an alpha. Back then, he'd thought maybe over time it would shift into something a bit more typical, but his scent has remained steady—Marzipan and vanilla, bright and saccharine.

"Hi, I'm Kim Seungmin," He greeted, putting down the box he had been carrying and reaching out his hand for a shake. "You must be Lee Minho."

Minho looked up from his computer with his lips slightly parted, revealing a pair of bunny teeth at the front of his mouth, and gave him a look that Seungmin immediately interpreted as hostile. "Your shoe is untied."

It was not the most auspicious of beginnings. But, as it turned out, Minho is just really bad at first impressions. Seungmin always thought he had that market cornered. It took them most of the first week to realize that they didn't hate each other. After a couple of late nights in which Minho cried about missing his cats, and Seungmin cried about missing his bedroom at home, they became best friends.

It took a few more weeks after that for the two young alphas to get comfortable enough on campus to start attending social events.

Minho had been the first to expand their friend group beyond the two of them. Minho is a dance student in a very competitive program. What he lacks in social graces, he makes up for in raw talent. Seungmin had attended a few of his practices, awestruck that his sometimes-painfully-awkward roommate can move with such grace and power.

Minho's prickly exterior was no match for his classmate and fellow dancer Lee Felix, whose sunny disposition is as bright as his bleached-blond hair. When Minho introduced him to Seungmin, Felix had immediately pulled him into a hug, the omega's embrace surprisingly strong for such a petite frame.

His citrus-tinged aroma reminded Seungmin of Australian Gold sunblock, which was oddly appropriate since Felix himself had grown up in Australia. Seungmin liked him immediately, his chatty demeanor a perfect foil to the quieter, more sarcastic energy of Seungmin and Minho. Felix quickly adopted his "two Mins," and even though Seungmin didn't feel quite like an alpha yet, he thought he might recover from being blindsided by his body.

His little circle had grown beyond the pair of dancers as his time at the school progressed. Seungmin reunited with his former classmate, would-be roommate Yeosang, around Halloween. Yeosang had invited Seungmin and whoever else he wanted to bring to meet him at a party off-campus, hosted by one of the juniors in Yeosang's visual arts program. That night was the night that Seungmin often looks back fondly at as the night that set everything in motion.

Felix had dressed up as slutty princess Elsa, eyes rimmed with kohl and lips painted a glossy pink. Minho had opted for a black robe and a Scream mask that spent most of the night hanging limply in his hand. Seungmin wore jeans, a baggy t-shirt, and a cap featuring his favorite baseball team, hoping to garner very little attention from his peers.

When they got inside the packed house, Seungmin was struck by the barrage of scents that tend to circulate in enclosed spaces where horny, drunk young adults gather. Betas did not have strong natural fragrances. However, unless they were wearing some sort of scent blocker, alphas and omegas typically were surrounded by a cloud of their pheromones. When emotions ran high, that cloud could grow, and the smell inside a college party could often be almost stifling in its potency.

Over time, as a new alpha, Seungmin has become more adept at reading scent. You can often identify an alpha by their deeper, more musky odor. An alpha would typically be characterized by fragrances that are woodsy, spicy, and dark.

Omegas tend to have lighter, sweeter smells, often described as fruity, floral, or sweet. When a pair mates, their unique blend of fragrance will symbolize that bond to potential rivals. It was innate biology, and Seungmin, with his unusually sweet smell that was more suited to an omega, absolutely hated it.

It's not that there was anything wrong with being an omega. Seungmin thought that omegas smelled amazing, and if he really looked within himself, he thought he'd like to have an omega mate someday. A perfect match for him. However, how was he, as an alpha, going to find an omega that would look at him with his confectionery-flavored pheromones and not find him lacking?

Seungmin had been swept up into games of beer pong soon after their arrival. He somehow ended up partnered with Han Jisung, an omega from Felix's economics lecture. The fellow freshman, whose sweet vanilla-marshmallow scent reminded him of a pudding cup, had been simply wearing a set of bunny ears.

Felix paired up with visual arts student Hwang Hyunjin, who had been dressed as a devil in a Lycra bodysuit. The alpha's handsome features were alluring on their own, and his rich cinnamon fragrance was powerful enough to turn heads. Seungmin envied him immediately, but he was so kind and funny that it was impossible not to love him. Minho watched from the sidelines, as he was prone to do, ears pink, his gaze shifted back and forth between the teams, lingering on the bunny more often than not.

They all got trashed, and it was as wonderful as it was awful. To the casual observer, their group may not have made the most sense, but that night had cemented their friendships in place. Seungmin can still feel Hyunjin's cool hands pulling his bangs off his sticky forehead as they did when he vomited his guts up back at Felix's dorm. They all took care of each other then, and two years later, as third-year students, they still do.

Except now, Seungmin is even moreso the odd man out.

He really should have seen this coming, looking back. Their core group of five was always destined to be two couples and Seungmin.

As far as Seungmin can tell, Jisung fell first, and then Minho fell harder. The two of them are truly some of the most oblivious people Seungmin thinks he's ever met. He's watched them dance around each other since that first night they all spent together. Neither of them seemed willing to make the first move until a month or so back, when Jisung's heat hit, and he mentioned he might seek an alpha's help to get through it. Minho lost his mind, and well, now Jisung's losing his voice in the next room.

Seungmin isn't sure he has spent a night alone at their shared off-campus apartment since Jisung's heat ended. Thankfully, Hyunjin and Felix allowed him to crash on their sofa while the two managed Jisung's cycle. The other couple had moved in together last semester after a surprise mating that Seungmin feels like he should have anticipated.

Felix's bold personality always seems to soften around the edges when Hyunjin is around. There was a tenderness between them, a mutual appreciation of the beauty of the world. The first time Seungmin saw Hyunjin kiss Felix, it looked like Felix almost glowed from within. Now, connected through their respective mating bites, Hyunjin's deep, toasted cinnamon fragrance blended with Felix's sweet creamsicle to create their own signature spiced citrus, marking them as connected as two people could be.

Seungmin wishes he only felt happiness for his friends. He really does. He feels guilty for feeling anything but joy for the four people he loves most in this world. But, he can't help that tiny seed of resentment from curling in his belly when he thinks about getting through this new school year as the fifth wheel to two of the happiest couples on campus.

From his place under his covers, Seungmin unquestioningly reaches over to his nightstand for his headphones and slams them over his ears. He needs to try to get back on schedule before classes begin on Monday.

This is a big year for him as a music student concentrating on vocal performance. He had completed most of his Gen Ed requirements and will now be taking the type of courses that were necessary to thrive in his field after graduation. He would need to be on his game to make the proper connections to land an internship next year, so he won't need to survive on open mic nights once he has his degree. The last thing Seungmin needs is a distraction- especially in the form of romantic wishful thinking.

With the help of his instrumental study playlist and noise-canceling headphones, Seungmin manages to get a few hours of sleep. He drags himself out of bed to take a piss and brush his teeth. Looking in the mirror, he frowns at the dark circles under his eyes. He's going to throttle Jisung when he sees him. He doesn't care how good Minho's knot is. There has to be a way for Seungmin to get some rest. Maybe he'll get Jisung a gag. Minho would probably like that.

He checks his phone and sees that it's already after 10. Hyunjin and Felix are down at the cafe just off-campus, waiting for him to meet them. Seungmin throws on some sweats and a hoodie, grabs his bag and keys, and heads to meet them. Caffeine sounds great right about now.

The cafe is one they've all been to before, though normally they sit in the small corner nook near the back. Today, Seungmin sees Felix happily waving from a large wooden table in the center of the room with his mate and another man Seungmin hasn't met yet.

The newcomer is wearing a black tank and sweatpants, has short, cropped black hair, and has a dimple when he smiles. He's chatting animatedly with Hyunjin, and Seungmin can hear Felix's cackle from across the room at whatever they're saying.

Seungmin quickly orders an Americano and heads to join the group at the table.

"Hey Seungmin!" Felix greets him, beaming, "I wanted to introduce you. This is Chan, he grew up in Australia like me!"

Chan shakes his hand warmly, "Hi there, nice to meet you, Seungmin." His grip is firm, and his eyes are kind. No powerful scent except the clean, fresh smell of soap. A beta, then.

Hyunjin looks over at him, laughing. "Wow, you look like hell!" Seungmin scoffs, feigning offense. He knows it's not an insult- just a fact. He really does look awful. Between the stress of finalizing his course registry and the sexcapades in his apartment, Seungmin has been running on fumes.

"You can blame Jisung for that one," he counters with an eye roll and a smirk. "I'll be surprised if he has a voice left when we see him later."

"Oh, hey! He'd better have a voice! We were supposed to record something tomorrow," Chan interjects, with a chuckle. "And I guess that answers the question of where our new housemate has been off to."

Seungmin raises his eyebrows. He knew that Jisung had been moving into a new house with two seniors from his music production program, but he didn't realize that Felix and Hyunjin had met them. It's just another situation in which Seungmin feels like he's been left behind. He tries to quash that train of thought before resentment starts to curdle his stomach.

"So Jisungie moved in with you," he says. "I know he had said he was going to have two new roommates."

"Yes," Chan agrees. "You'll be able to meet Changbin at the party tonight."

"Oh no," Seungmin says, tone flat. "There's no way I'm going to a party tonight." He squeezes his eyes shut, already knowing what's coming his way.

Felix and Hyunjin immediately begin shouting over each other. Within the next ten minutes, somehow, he has cemented plans to meet over at their place around 9:00 PM to get dressed for the End of Summer Celebration at Jisung, Chan, and Changbin's apartment.

Changbin

"I'm just not feeling it anymore," Mingyu says, tossing the freshly knotted-up condom in the trash bin alongside Changbin's bed as he pops up.

"Fuck, Gyu," Changbin scoffs in disbelief, chest still rising and falling from exertion, "Can I at least clean the cum off of my stomach before we have this conversation?"

Mingyu goes on as if Changbin hadn't said anything. "It's not that I don't have fun with you, Bin," he grabs his shirt, which is tossed haphazardly on Changbin's computer desk chair.

"You're an amazing fuck. One of the best I've had." He finds his pants next. Briefs. Shoes. "It's just that I'm looking to start things up with an omega, who's more of an… omega."

Changbin grabs a wad of tissues from his bedside table to clean up, eyes rolling into his head. He should have known this idiot would misunderstand this whole arrangement.

"Two things." Changbin crosses his large arms across his expansive chest. "One: I am an omega, even if my arms are bigger than yours." Mingyu looks like he's going to protest at that, and Changbin holds up a finger to stop him from interrupting. "And Two: This," he gestures between them, "was never a thing."

He pauses for a minute to let it sink in. "We're not a couple, Gyu. You were just a good ride. I'm not looking for anything serious."

"Oh, uh, okay." Mingyu seems a little dejected, even if he was the one who just tried to end things with Changbin. Changbin figures that his pride took a hit.

That's what Changbin couldn't stand about alphas. They all seemed to think they were God's gift to humanity. They all seemed to assume their knots were enough to make them amazing in bed. He was sick of sleeping with alphas that thought just pounding into someone like a jackhammer before knotting them was the way to win every omega's heart. Sometimes fucking an alpha like Mingyu, he found himself wanting to get it over with so he could just go back to the studio and get some work done.

There may be a small part of Changbin that hopes that one day he'll be able to find his perfect mate, but Changbin doesn't care if that is years down the line anyway. He wouldn't be mating with some random alpha that thought they could knock him up and keep him at home to tend to the house. His personality wouldn't permit it, and he wasn't ashamed of that. He would rather wait for the person who makes his heart sing, who gets his blood pumping, and keeps him guessing.

As an omega, he definitely enjoys bottoming. His body is made for it, and there were few things more amazing than the feeling of being filled up during a heat. But he also gets off on manhandling his partners and taking what he wants. He loves topping, something most alphas he meets won’t stand for.

Mingyu is just one in a line of so-so fuckbuddies he has played around with during the last three years. He is hot, Changbin would give him that, but he'd never have let Changbin take him like that. At this point, he'd be just as happy getting off without alphas and using a knotting dildo during his heats. Biology doesn't make sex good- the right chemistry does.

Mingyu pulls on his shirt and stands awkwardly near the door, staring at Changbin. He's still lying on the bed, thighs still covered in slick, spent cock soft against his belly. Changbin raises an eyebrow like, Yes? Now what?

"Is it cool if I still see you at the party later?" Mingyu asks, as if Changbin gives a shit what he's up to tonight.

Changbin shrugs, "Sure, bro. Bring that hot omega with the tiny waist from the dance team with you. Dino? Just my type." He says it just to be a dick, honestly.

Maybe he'd feel bad if Mingyu didn't just imply that he was a shitty omega.

Mingyu looks a bit confused but nods and leaves quickly, clicking the door behind him. Changbin rubs his hands over his face. He almost forgot about the fucking party that he was supposed to be co-hosting tonight. At least it might allow him to find a new hookup.

Seungmin

Seungmin arrives at Hyunjin and Felix's apartment ten minutes after nine, showered and bare-faced, as he had been instructed. Hyunjin wrenches open the door before bodily dragging Seungmin inside and practically tossing him onto the sofa.

"This is the year, Seungmin-ah!" Hyunjin exclaims. Felix stands behind his mate, makeup case in hand, and gazes affectionately at the alpha.

Hyunjin looks at him expectantly, like he's waiting to be asked. Seungmin, feigning annoyance, beckons for him to continue. "The year for what, Hyunjin?"

"The year we make you hot and find you your dream omega!" Hyunjin exclaims, with the same level of enthusiasm as if he just told Seungmin that he won a lottery.

If Seungmin loved his friends any less, he would have left by now. He massages his temples like he's trying to ward off a headache to buy himself time to answer. He knows Hyunjin and Felix, and he's certain they mean well. "I don't know how to tell you both this. But I'm not looking to find an omega."

Hyunjin scoffs, "You cannot lie to me, Kim Seungmin! I know your romantic little heart is in there somewhere. There's an omega out there who will see you for who you are and get you out of that shell that you wrap around yourself."

Seungmin isn't sure how to tell Hyunjin that he's not even sure if he wants an omega anymore.

Hyunjin, for all his eccentricities and delicate beauty, is perfectly suited as an alpha. He has an authoritative nature, easy confidence, and a strong, powerful build.

He doesn't want anyone but Felix, but before they were mated, he could have had practically any omega drooling for him and begging for his knot. Before he came to terms with his relationship, Hyunjin had helped multiple omegas through their heats and had partners during his ruts as well. By all accounts, being knotted by Hyunjin had been an extremely memorable time. Felix certainly hadn't made that a secret either.

Seungmin can't say that he has anything to offer an omega looking for someone like Hyunjin. He is more lanky than strong, with a narrow build smaller than many omegas, and, of course, he has his unique, unusual pheromone scent. When he thinks of how some of their alpha classmates look and smell, he doesn't see how any omega could view him as a suitable mate.

More than that, he isn't sure if that is what he wants. Part of him likes the idea of being taken as much as taking someone else. Even since being able to produce a knot, he has often humped his pillows while imagining a faceless figure holding him down by the back of the neck and pressing him into the mattress as he came.

He feels Felix plop down next to him on the sofa, then place the makeup carrier on the coffee table. He squeezes Seungmin's hand with his tiny one.

"We just love you, Minnie. We want to see you happy and settled with the right partner because, well, we're happy and Minho and Jisung are happy now, and you deserve to be happy too." His emotional friend smiles at him, his eyes a little shiny. Seungmin caves, almost instantly. He can never withstand Felix's sad puppy eyes. He doesn't think that the love of his life will be at the party tonight, but he supposes it won't kill him to make his best friends happy.

"Alright, Lix. I'll let you guys make me up pretty."

Changbin

Changbin is drunk. He wasn't planning on being wasted tonight, but he figures he already got fucked earlier, and he's not looking to hook up with anyone new tonight. Dino from the dance team did arrive, but it looks like he's got his hands full with some guy named Wonwoo. Changbin didn't need to muddy things up with Mingyu even more than they already were, anyway.

Changbin heads to the kitchen to grab another drink and laughs when he sees Jisung and his boyfriend, Minho, making out against the counter.

Chan and Changbin had met Jisung in a music production course they had last spring. The three of them had gotten along like a house on fire, and when their friend and third roommate, Yoongi, had graduated and moved out, they asked if Jisung would like to move in. As it turned out, Jisung had been eager to get out of the shared dorms.

He hadn't yet gotten together with Minho then, but Changbin knew that Minho was living in an apartment of his own with a roommate. Changbin felt bad for that guy, honestly. If the couple of times that Jisung and Minho got it on in Jisung's room were any indication, it was unlikely that Minho's roommate was getting much rest.

Jisung pulled back from his alpha boyfriend and turned to greet Changbin. "Hey, hyung! Are you having fun?"

"Jisungie, long time no see," Changbin teased his friend, "I guess you've been holed up over at Minho's place."

Minho was fairly quiet, not too large either, but he was strong and had an energy that made him seem dangerous under the right circumstances. (Like if anyone ever hurt Han Jisung.) Changbin liked the guy. He smelled a bit like woodsmoke, but there were worse things.

Jisung turned pink with embarrassment, and the vanilla-marshmallow of his own scent deepened. Changbin liked Jisung's smell. He himself had been told his pheromones held a note of dark chocolate. It was a bitter scent for an omega to be sure. Most chocolate-toned pheromones favored more milk chocolate. It was just another way that Changbin defied the norms of his secondary gender. If people didn't like the way he smelled, they could fuck someone else.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around that much, hyung," Jisung apologizes, looking genuinely contrite. "I just moved in, and I've been… erm, busy."

Minho mutters something that sounds a lot like "That's one way to put it" over the rim of his glass just as he takes a sip.

Changbin laughs, looks at Minho, who is biting his bottom lip in amusement, and laughs harder. "It's all good, Sungie. I'm happy you're finally getting your back blown out. I thought I'd have to hear about you pining about how much you wanted Minho to kn-"

"Hey!" Jisung interrupts, conveniently waving his open phone messages right in Changbin's face. "Felix is here! I have to introduce you to the rest of our friends."

Seungmin

Seungmin is immediately annoyed upon arriving at the party.

For starters, he loves his friends, but the glittery makeup they brushed onto his lids has his left eye tearing up. He's got the beginning of a headache at his temples from the lack of uninterrupted sleep last night. When the Uber had pulled up outside of Felix and Hyunjin's apartment, the driver had clearly been a homophobic prick, face showing disgust at the three men in makeup.

Now, as the boom of the bass pulses through his body, Seungmin remembers why he really doesn't like parties. The sensory overload has him wanting to leave and head to the library instead. It's not that Seungmin can't unwind and have a few drinks. It's just that he prefers a more intimate crowd these days. He'd rather be sitting around a table or cozying up on the couch with a couple of beers. The space is crammed with wall-to-wall people, and it's a lot.

The apartment itself is nice. Seungmin sees a few posters on the walls, and it's clear that some effort was made to make it feel like a home. There is some actual furniture: a large, well-worn sofa and a pair of mismatched chairs, more than likely from a secondhand store. They are pushed towards the walls to make room for some cheap folding tables currently being used for beer pong.

"Hey, I'm going to go grab a drink. Do you want anything?" Felix shouts over the music. Hyunjin is already pulling him away towards the kitchen, where it appears he has some acquaintances he wants to say hello to. Seungmin shrugs, "Whatever they have is fine."

He spots Yeosang over by the crowd, and he hasn't seen him since the end of last year. Seungmin figures this party might be more tolerable if he isn't just orbiting around two couples, so he goes to say hello.

Seungmin startles when a slim, muscular body slams into him from the right and sloshes beer on his pant leg and shoes. Motherfucker. Can this night get worse?

"Party Foul!" A shout from his right has him turning to see his alpha friend, Hongjoong, standing by Yeosang and the gathered group. They're all looking like they started early, eyes hazy and movements slow. Hongjoong himself is wrapped around a taller and very beautiful man who appears to be scenting him territorially, eyes half-lidded.

He takes a minute to appraise the person who bumped into him. He knows him vaguely as another alpha, Wooyoung, whom Seungmin has met before. Seungmin doesn't know him particularly well, but he also doesn't have much affection for the man whose vibe has always screamed "arrogant chaos demon." He also has one of the strongest voices in their program, which has made him a rival several times when competing for choral solos. With his pants currently splashed with alcohol, Seungmin isn't exactly feeling warmth towards the man.

Wooyoung doesn't apologize, picks his beer up as if Seungmin was to blame for knocking it on his own shoes, and walks off, hips swaying.

Seungmin squeezes his eyes shut and takes a few deep breaths. It isn't a good idea to make a big deal out of being knocked by a shitfaced person.

He cracks his neck, decides to brush off the contact, and heads over to the crowded side of the room.

Hongjoong greets him over the blond head of his date. "Hey, Seungmin! How's it going, sweet thing?"

Seungmin has never had the balls to tell Hongjoong, who's easily one of the nicest alphas he knows, that he doesn't love the nickname referencing his unusually sweet scent for an alpha.

Hongjoong is kind and fairly mild-mannered in general, but when tested, he can be aggressive, and Seungmin doesn't feel like he wants to bother opening that can of worms with someone he sees infrequently. Still, between being bumped into and having his fragrance mentioned, his hackles are raised. He should have insisted on staying back. Everything is getting under his skin tonight.

"Hey Joong. What are you guys up to tonight?" Where is Felix with the drinks? Seungmin is eager to loosen up.

Jongho, another alpha, pops up from seemingly nowhere, with a manic glint in his eye. "Mingyu here was talking shit!" That gets a round of laughter from the gathered bodies. Seungmin keeps catching whiffs of pheromones flowing. Florals, vetiver, and tobacco, even someone who smells like pineapples. His head is starting to swim, and he hasn't been here for ten minutes yet.

A man he doesn't know, pretty and tall and definitely an alpha, says, "No, really, I was telling him, you're hot, but I'm looking for someone who wants to be fucked, not someone who's going to try to boss me around like I'm the omega." The man, Mingyu, seems to have an audience of admirers gazing at him like he hung the moon and stars, and Seungmin wants to roll his eyes.

Seungmin isn't interested in getting involved in a conversation about fucking when he knows nothing beyond his own right hand and thoughts of a mysterious body pressing him down into the bed.

"I've heard he'll fuck anyone, though," a red-haired beta chimes in. "My frat brother Soobin fucked him during his heat last year, and he practically kicked Soobin out after. Really rude about it too. Said he doesn't 'do commitment'."

"Like we don't know that," a female voice pops in. Seungmin doesn't know most of these people, and right now he's pretty sure he doesn't want to be a part of this conversation.

"He's been homie hopping his way through the entire vocal and dance department for the last three years," says a shorter beta male, taking a deep pull of his bottled soju.

"Probably because he can't keep anyone's attention for too long. Who wants to mate with an omega that smells like bitter chocolate and prefers fucking to getting a knot?" Another man, an alpha, joins in the gossip.

Seungmin hears the oooooohhhh from a few members of the surrounding crowd. He doesn't know who they're talking about, but it seems this mystery omega has gotten around and isn't leaving a great impression.

"That's low, man."

"True, but harsh."

Hongjoong cuts in, "Hey, listen, that's enough. We're at Changbin's house, drinking his beer. Lay off."

Seungmin's eyebrows raise at that. They were talking about Jisung's roommate, the fourth-year music production student that Chan had been speaking about earlier. He hadn't heard that the omega was known for being easy. Seungmin rarely knew about anyone's hookups as he'd been without any real action himself, except for some kissing.

He feels a tap on his shoulder, and there's Felix with a bottle of beer for him, effectively ending his reveries about Changbin and his reputation.

"Hey, Min, come hang with us over here. I think Jisung wants to get a game of pong going."

He hears one more nasty comment as he turns to follow into the kitchen area. "He's a slut. Even if he found an alpha that wanted him, he'd toss him out the next day."

Trailing behind Felix, he heads over to meet Hyunjin, Minho, and Jisung and aims to get drunk enough to forget he's at this stupid party.

Changbin

Changbin finally gets to meet Felix and Hyunjin. It's a shame that the two are already mated because they're somehow both exactly the type of guys he'd try to bring home with him. Hell, if they were at a bar and not his good friend's besties, he would consider seeing if they were interested in a third.

After Jisung and his friends go to play beer pong, Changbin gets distracted by Wooyoung walking into the kitchen. His on-and-off-again hookup and friend is clearly plastered.

"Binnie Baby!" Wooyoung calls, waving his empty beer. "I spilled!"

Changbin chuckles at the alpha, who constantly surprises him. The thing about Wooyoung is that, if you looked at him, you might think his delicate bone structure and large doe eyes were signs of an omega, but then you get close to him, and his brute strength and powerful sandalwood fragrance become apparent. His mere presence makes most omegas want to fall to their knees.

Most. Changbin doesn't like to kneel unless it's to make a pretty boy cry with his mouth. Which, admittedly, he would consider Wooyoung as a candidate for.

"Wooyoung, it looks like you need some more!" Changbin winks and gives his most winning smile. It's fun to flirt even if he knows he's likely not taking anyone to his room with him tonight.

Wooyoung leans in, the devil in his gaze. "You need to catch up with me, baby. Where's the tequila?"

Changbin grins and wordlessly hands him the bottle from where it sits on the counter. What the hell, why not?

"What do we think? Body shots?" Woo wiggles his shoulders in a seductively silly dance.

Changbin smiles. "Only if your abs are available."

Seungmin

Seungmin is very, very drunk.

Jisung and Minho kick absolute ass at beer pong, sinking cup after cup. Hyunjin and Seungmin are forced to drink it all up as they lose, with Felix (the traitor) helping Hyunjin and leaving Seungmin to fend for himself.

At some point, Chan comes over with Jell-O shots that one of his sorority friends had brought, and Seungmin finds himself squeezing the lime-flavored gelatin into his mouth with the rest of the gang. It burns on the way down, but soon his crappy mood from earlier is fading away. It is hard to be mad about your day when you aren't even sure what day it is.

One of the girls that Seungmin saw earlier shouts that she wants to dance, and soon the Bluetooth speaker is turned up louder, playing club hits, and bodies start moving to the music.

The sweet, floral, and fruity scents rolling off the dance floor have Seungmin shivering a bit. There is sex in those smells- an attempt to lure the attention of nearby alphas. Sweat rolls down his neck, and for a moment, Seungmin wishes that he could be among those pretty and delicate omegas, sending out a beacon in the same way.

He wants to feel skin on his, to finally know the feeling of being weighed down by someone's body, to feel hands on his waist and chest and ass.

He shudders and knows that his own almond scent is radiating with his drunken arousal. He is an alpha, and he is supposed to be hooked, not be the hooker. Wait, what? He's starting to feel his head swim with nonsense.

"Dance with me, Minnie!" Minho drags him by the arm. His often-standoffish friend is clearly a few sheets to the wind himself and is swiveling his dancer's hips to the sound of the music. Jisung starts grinding between Hyunjin and Felix, laughing like a maniac, gums exposed in a wide smile.

Seungmin shakes his shoulders and moves to the rhythm, letting the bass thump through his limbs. He shuts his eyes and twists to the music, feeling it carry his worries away. There are more bodies around him now, smells and sounds everywhere. He can taste them on his tongue. The larger alpha from earlier comes over and wraps his arms around a small omega girl to his left.

The pheromones they are releasing are so powerful that he feels his head spinning and almost topples into Minho and Jisung, where they are now dancing together. The room is full, but it's clear that they are in their own little world. Seungmin looks away, feeling an unwanted pang of envy at what they have.

He turns to see his other two best friends frantically making out while they dance. Hyunjin, with his notoriously low alcohol tolerance, is giggling into Felix's mouth, and Seungmin suddenly feels all of the annoyance of his day crashing back into his body.

He is alone again. Alone, with no boyfriend of his own, he's destined to watch all of the people he loves locked in their own little worlds that he'll never be able to experience. He is an alpha who probably shouldn't be one at all. Maybe when he was made, the universe forgot to put him together right. It gave him the knot, sure, but it forgot about all of the other things that an alpha is supposed to have.

He isn't dominant and strong. He is lithe, flexible, and lanky. He doesn't have a strong musky pheromone to scent a sweet, pretty omega with. He smells like candy. He will never find someone he could actually mate with, and he wishes he didn't care. He wishes it didn't bother him, that he could be normal, date people, and not feel like he was put together wrong.

Seungmin needs some water. His saliva is starting to feel thick in his mouth, and his stomach is beginning to twist. The room ripples a bit in front of him.

He heads in the general direction of the kitchen, hoping he'll be able to find some water. When he walks into the room, he sighs.

There are a couple of people doing body shots. Seungmin spots Wooyoung lapping liquid from the defined collar bone of a muscular man with one of the tiniest waists Seungmin has ever seen. A couple of giggly women go to try to do the other side. There are two tall men, half-dressed and all over each other, in the corner. The taller one has a white button-down shirt still hanging open, and the other is still holding a wedge of lime in his fingertips as he kisses over the former's neck.

Seungmin looks toward the area near the fridge, hoping he'll find a stack of cups to grab some water, but he freezes. He sees a man he's never seen before.

He's shirtless, his abs glistening with a trail of what must be the remnants of liquor or spit. His hair is darkest brown or black- it's hard to tell in this light. The slightly wavy locks cling to the sweat on his forehead, falling attractively into his eyes. He has a full face with cheeks that look plush enough to bite. His lips are full and pouty, and they're slightly open as he looks back at Seungmin.

He also happens to be standing in front of the cups.

Seungmin walks towards him and can't stop his eyes from roaming over all of his bare skin. He's soft in just the right places, but also strong and muscular. He's not tall, but something about that makes Seungmin like the way he looks even more. He has to look upwards for their gazes to meet.

Seungmin starts when he suddenly feels an arm hook around his neck from the side and pull him in. "Hey! Sweet alpha, it's you! You've gotta do a body shot with us to make up for my drink!"

Changbin

Changbin is really feeling the alcohol now. Tequila, salt, and lime are still burning his tongue as he leans on the counter. San is in the kitchen now with Wooyoung and a couple of girls from the dance team, aiming to lap over his neck, and Changbin's pretty sure one or the other of them is going to end up taking him home. His friends Mingi and Yunho are in their own little world, as usual, and Changbin is pretty sure this is just foreplay for them.

He takes a minute to collect himself when someone he's never seen walks into the kitchen. He's taller than Changbin, and he looks long, with legs wrapped in snug-fitting black jeans. His waist is slim, and he's wrapped in a silky-looking shirt that Changbin instantly thinks he'd like to run his hands all over.

However, his face is what really strikes Changbin. His eyes are lined with a bit of glitter in the corners. His mouth is shiny and plush. His cheeks are rosy- from alcohol? Or the heat?

There's a boyish charm to the man that reminds Changbin a bit of a lost puppy.

As their gazes meet, it's like an electric current runs between them, something tangible in the air.

Changbin wants to get his hands around him. His slight build looks like he would be easy to manhandle to the bed and take.

As the stranger steps closer, eyes hooded and somewhat guarded, he catches the first whiff of his scent. He smells like sweet almond oil, a hint of vanilla, and cream. Like marzipan candy. Changbin drools a little bit. God, Changbin hopes he doesn't mind being fucked by another omega. Although Changbin certainly wouldn't mind him doing the fucking either.

It looks like the newcomer is about to say something when Wooyoung, the menace, swings an arm around his neck, seemingly scaring the shit out of him. "Hey! Sweet alpha, it's you! You've gotta do a body shot with us to make up for my drink!"

"You're an alpha?" he says in disbelief. God, he's never smelled an alpha so sweet, radiating such absolutely omega energy. Changbin thinks he must have done something right for the universe to drop a man who smells like sugar and has a knot right in his lap.

The thing is, though, the man doesn't smell like candy anymore. There's something bitter now, like the pith of a lemon. Changbin isn't sure what happened, but the man looks at him like he's shit in his cornflakes. Wow, he looks pretty when he's annoyed.

Wooyoung clearly doesn't notice, grinning like he doesn't have a care in the world. The new alpha shrugs off Wooyoung's arm and grumbles, "It's Seungmin actually."

Seungmin. So this is Jisung's friend and Minho's roommate. Changbin is surprised he hasn't met him before. He shakes his head a bit to clear it.

"Seungmin. I've heard about you," he says, laughing a bit. "You're Minho's roommate. Wow. An alpha that smells like an omega." He's really, really drunk, and this guy is very, very hot. "I'm Changbin."

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Seungmin practically snarls at Changbin. His posture is aggressive now.

"Whoa," Changbin flinches. What the fuck is this guy's problem?

They're all just here to have a good time. Changbin is drunk, but he can't imagine that anything he could have said merited this kind of response from someone he barely knows.

"Hey, chill, dude, I'm just saying what I heard."

Seungmin clenches his jaw. "And I heard you get around, dude, so maybe we need to stop meeting expectations and shut our fucking mouths."

Changbin pulls back as if somebody has slapped him. Did this guy just imply that he was a slut? What the actual fuck?

"Whoa, buddy, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you don't get to talk to me like that." He might be shorter than Seungmin, but Changbin is muscular and intimidating when he needs to be.

Seungmin takes a step back, bumping his slight frame right into San, who is drinking watermelon soju. The drink spills over both of them, and Seungmin curses, shaking the drink off like a dog. He really does remind Changbin of a puppy.

If he weren't so drunk, he'd probably think better of it, but he laughs, head thrown back and belly shaking. Seungmin bristles, looking over at Changbin with a clenched jaw. "Fuck off."

He turns and stomps out of the room. Changbin's mouth hangs open as he watches him go.