Chapter Text
1
🍕
Presenting as an alpha was supposed to solve all Han Jisung’s problems.
Fast forward.
It didn’t.
Not even a little bit.
The Incident happened six months after his public presentation announcement. The company made countdowns for each member to maximize fan engagement, which of course led to people having an opinion one way or another. Fans and haters went crazy because Jisung, stage name J.One, was going to present as an omega.
Everyone knew it except Jisung’s own body, which decided to go completely rogue. The same thing happened to Changbin when he presented as a beta. Everyone was certain he would be an alpha like Chris.
Apparently, their biology didn’t get the memo.
Jisung was probably the least alpha to ever present as one, but it wasn’t like he had any choice in the matter. His DNA made the decision, and that was that. Some fans were happy, understanding it was outside of his control.
Some fans were pissed because they had boxed him in as an omega, and they were convinced it was some type of elaborate plot to fuck with them. Which was just as insane as it sounded.
One of those fans was an actual psychopath.
The Incident occurred because there was less than stellar security at the airport, which even fans had noticed, and they were completely unprepared for the number of people waiting to swarm them. Jisung had never been so scared in his life. As the youngest member of 3Racha, he usually stuck close to Chris and Changbin, but that day the airport had been so crowded that they were separated. There were people everywhere, and Jisung couldn’t see Chris.
There were so many people that he couldn’t even smell him.
That was when Park Jihoon struck. The alpha seemed to materialize out of the crowd and had his hands on Jisung before he could react. He instinctively tucked his neck, protecting his scent gland. His hoodie was oversized, bless, so the alpha couldn’t get a good grip on him. If he hadn’t been going to the gym with Chris and Changbin or had decided to wear the fitted jean jacket his stylist suggested without the hood, he would have been on the receiving end of a permanent mating mark.
Permanent, read: FOREVER.
With a fucking lunatic who was convinced he was an omega.
It was a shitshow for Jisung and for the company. Fans were pissed at Jisung for not beating the guy’s ass and at the company for putting him in that position in the first place. According to the online forums, it was split almost evenly, which was annoying, but what could he do? In the court of public opinion, he was an alpha, and alphas were meant to be the protectors.
Focus groups later said they laid the majority of the blame on the company, and security should be tighter. 3Racha was getting bigger, and other idol groups had been harassed before. Usually, omegas because society was fucked. But it wasn’t like Jisung was the picture of what society considered an alpha.
After The Incident, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Jisung’s anxiety skyrocketed. Having alphas around him that weren’t familiar sent him into panic attacks. Chris mitigated things the best he could, ensuring they had private entrances and exits, and he was glued to Jisung anytime they were traveling, but it came to a head when they had to reschedule a performance because one of the stylists happened to be an alpha, and Jisung got stuck in a dressing room with him.
The stylist didn’t do anything, but it was enough to cause a category five meltdown. They were given three days off to rest, which Jisung used to rot in his room and eat his bodyweight in noodles and cheesecake. When he got a meeting invite for nine a.m. the day they were scheduled to return to the studio, he spiraled into Meltdown 2.0.
It meant one of two things. They were going to fire him, or they were going to put him on hiatus until they figured out how to deal with him. He was valuable, and whatever they did would set a precedent for the rest of the industry.
Jisung couldn’t imagine they found a solution to the issue. When Chris and Changbin confirmed they had the same meeting, it all but solidified Jisung’s notion that the company had decided on something they could live with.
Jisung had to hope he could do the same.
The three of them were quiet on the elevator ride up to the tenth floor. It seemed even Changbin caught the vibe that this was serious. The beta only offered calm reassurances instead of jokes or random outbursts. Jisung thought he might vibrate out of his skin. Or vomit. Or pass out.
Or some combination of the three.
Chris pushed into the boardroom first. He kept his shoulders squared, ready to take on whoever he needed to if it meant protecting the members. Jisung followed, and Changbin came in last. The order they walked in never mattered until The Incident. Now they kept Jisung in the middle whenever they could. Jisung warred with himself internally because he was an alpha, but he was also the maknae of the group, so he was used to being taken care of by his hyungs.
“Sit.” Their manager said, gesturing to the chairs. Jisung waited until Chris made a move to sit down and then sat beside him. He would follow Chris’s lead because he had never led 3Racha astray so far. The table was huge, made to seat at least twenty people. With the manager and his assistant standing, it made Jisung feel like he was on trial. His anxiety spiraled even more when he made eye contact with the man standing behind his chair.
He looked more like a model than security hired by management. He was so still he looked like a statue. Or a Greek god. Or a painting. Jisung couldn’t decide on anything except he was devastatingly gorgeous. He had dark feline eyes that made Jisung want to agree to anything he said. His mind managed to pick up on the two other men, one blond, one brunette, that were standing on either side.
All three were devastatingly handsome in suits that looked more expensive than anything the stylists had ever put him in.
Or they’re vampires.
What if they want to steal my organs?
Then I can’t make money that makes literally no sense.
I could be being sold to aliens.
Oh god, what if I am an alien and they’re taking me home?
Get a fucking grip!
The manager spoke, directing Jisung’s attention to the front of the boardroom, interrupting his doom spiral.
“We would like to discuss some changes we’re implementing to ensure the safety of 3Racha. We understand recent events have left lasting impressions.” The manager said carefully. “We understand emotional wounds can take time to heal, which is why we are changing the way we approach security.”
Jisung wished the beta would just say whatever it is he was going to say instead of speaking in management riddles. His leg was bouncing up and down so rapidly that Changbin put a hand on Jisung’s knee, squeezing the muscle of his thigh. Chris shot him a look that read, “You good?” Jisung gave a slight shrug to say, “ I don’t know yet.” He crossed his arms over his chest and focused on keeping his body still.
“We hired the best security team in Seoul. They’ll be your shadows, so to speak, and are tasked with keeping you safe. I need you to listen to them and take their direction when they give it.”
Wait? I still have a job?
“So, we aren’t going on hiatus?” Chris clarified.
“No, we had a trauma informed specialist give a recommendation for security. I know Mr. Han has had a difficult time with certain sub genders since the incident, so we wanted to ensure his comfort above all else.”
Certain sub genders.
The unspoken part of the statement was alphas.
“What are their qualifications? How do we know Hannie won’t be put in the same position the next time we swarmed at the airport?”
“Because Mr. Bhang, no less than half of their qualifications require a security clearance that no one in this room, apart from the three of them, possesses.” The manager shrugged. “Former clients include the President, various senators, and high-ranking military officials.”
“So, what we got is Jason Bourne?” Jisung scoffed.
The room was silent.
“You will be briefed by your security specialist before your next flight. We’re releasing a statement to the public that you have a new security team. I expect their debut will give off the impression that we are not allowing the safety of any of our idols to be at risk.”
“So, this is a CYA move?” Chris asked.
“Call it what you will. This is for your benefit, and it is not up for negotiation. Your itinerary for Japan will be covered by your assigned specialist. If you have questions outside of that, send them to my assistant.”
The manager was gone before anyone could protest.
“What the actual fuck?” Jisung said. “I thought I was getting benched.”
“They can’t bench a third of 3Racha.” Changbin said. “Especially when you produce half our songs.”
Their manager’s assistant, who was on her second week at the company, looked frazzled. She cleared her throat to get their attention.
Jisung wasn’t sure if she would last any longer than the others. From what he saw, their manager was a real dick.
“Han Jisung, your security specialist is Lee Minho. Christopher Bhang, your security specialist is Lee Felix, and Seo Changbin, your security specialist, is Hwang Hyunjin. Your flight leaves tomorrow, so they’ll brief you on what to expect. I’ll give you the room.”
As soon as she disappeared through the door, the team of three checked the exits and secured the room.
“Room is secure, perimeter established. Listening devices disabled.” The Greek god said. His hair was slicked back away from his face, but a few pieces escaped. Jisung wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or by design, but it was hot as fuck. The three synchronized their movements as they approached 3Racha, standing on the other side of the table. The Greek god stood in front of Jisung, so he assumed that was Lee Minho. The blond stood in front of Chris, so working under another assumption, he figured that was Lee Felix, which meant Hwang Hyunjin was standing in front of Changbin.
He wondered if being hot as fuck was one of the prerequisites for their job. Their scent blockers were good enough that he couldn’t get a read on their sub genders. He assumed they were all alphas because that was the overall vibe.
He really didn’t want to be up close and personal with one.
He thought he might be able to make an exception for Lee Minho.
“We’re going to cover some of the changes that will be made. Your previous team was inexperienced, ineffective, and to be frank, dangerous.” Minho began. “The airport situation was completely avoidable. We give our word that will not happen on our watch. We take our jobs seriously. Your safety is our top priority.”
Felix and Hyunjin nodded, their faces stony and serious.
“Tomorrow we will walk through the main portion of the airport. I understand the recent incident is fresh enough to be uncomfortable. We want to do this to show fans and the public in general that they cannot approach you. And the consequences if they do.”
“Do you understand Han was almost bitten?” Chris interrupted.
“Intimately.” Minho said. “No one will get that close again. I give you my word.”
“I don’t know you.” Chris countered.
“You don’t need to know me. You can review my qualifications.” He pulled his phone up and tapped a few times. “Even with the redacted material, you can see I am more than capable of keeping Mr. Han safe.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t need to like it for me to operate at my full professional capacity.” Minho turned to Jisung. “Tomorrow, I will brief you on the ride to the airport. I understand you have been through a traumatic experience. You will not have another tomorrow.”
Jisung had no idea what to say, so he nodded.
“Are you okay with this, Ji?” Changbin asked.
“I mean, I don’t see how I have a choice.” Jisung whispered.
“Five minutes.” Hyunjin said, his voice soft like silk.
Silk laced with cyanide.
“Tonight you’ll return to your rooms where you’ll pack and prep for tomorrow. You are expected to be ready to walk out the door at seven a.m. Delays mean adjustments. Do not be late. Adjustments mean we have less time to vet routes, traffic, control detours, and it can lead to mistakes. Mistakes mean things don’t go according to plan.” Minho said sternly. “I want everyone in the van by ten after seven.”
“This feels like the military.” Jisung muttered.
“Two minutes.” Felix said, his voice so deep Jisung did a double take. He looked like an angel with freckles. His blond hair was tied back into a messy bun that somehow looked intentional.
Like an evil elf.
Jesus.
“We’ll escort you back to your apartment.” Minho said.
“We’ve managed to get back and forth to our apartment fine this entire time.” Chris said.
“We operate under the tenant we don’t get ready. We stay ready. Allow us to do our job so you can do yours.” Hyunjin said darkly. He had an undercut, with his dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. Jisung wondered if they would get a brand deal once the fans started making edits of the security team.
“Uh. Okay.” Chris gave Jisung and Changbin a look that said I don’t like this, but we have to deal with it.
It might be temporary. The company had done stranger things to gain public approval.
Minho took point on the walk from the company to their apartment, leaving Felix and Hyunjin behind 3Racha. The three communicated sporadically about the route, clearly having some type of wireless device in their ear that was invisible.
Jason Bourne type shit.
Somehow it wasn’t as cool as it looked in the movies.
Once at their apartment, the security team swept the apartment and then provided them with panic buttons for their nightstands.
“If someone breaks in, you press the panic button. When I say it calls the cavalry, it calls the cavalry. Do not press it on accident.” Minho explained.
The gremlin that lived in Jisung’s brain told him to press the fucking button no less than twenty times after Minho handed it to him. He had no idea how he managed not to. It was such a monumental act of self control that Jisung thought he deserved a fucking award.
The security team programmed 3Racha’s phones with their contact information.
“If you need to leave for a midnight snack, call. If you need to go for a walk, call. If you need to go meet someone, call. Your door is fitted with a sensor. We will know when you leave. It will simply take us longer to find you.” Minho gave each of them a look. “If I have to play hide and seek across the city because one of you scheduled a booty call, your movements will become much more restricted.”
“We get it. Call if we want to leave. Ever.” Chris’s tone was bordering on annoyance.
“Day or night.” Minho reiterated.
“Day or night.” Chris repeated.
Minho looked at each of them with enough weight to sink an aircraft carrier. “Day or night.”
Jisung squirmed under the intense scrutiny.
“Seven a.m. tomorrow, do not be late.” Minho said, and then they were walking out the door.
“Dude's intense.” Changbin said after the door shut.
“Good luck, Ji.”
“Fuck off.” Jisung groaned. “It’s bad enough he’s an alpha.”
“How could you tell? They have to be wearing state of the art blockers; I couldn’t smell a thing.” Chris said.
“I mean, I’m guessing. He’s built like a brick shithouse.” Jisung shrugged.
“We shouldn’t assume other people’s sub genders, Jisung; it’s rude.” Changbin poked him in the side.
“Yeah, I know.” Jisung grumbled. It was rude. Most people still argued that Jisung looked so omega. Not to mention they said Changbin was more alpha than Chris.
It was fucking annoying.
Chris clapped his hands. “Let’s get packed. I don’t want to be on his shitlist because we’re late tomorrow.”
“Looking at you, Jisung.” Changbin muttered.
Jisung couldn’t argue. He was always late. It was probably why Lee Minho made such a point about telling them not to be.
Fuck.
Jisung trudged to his room to pack and dutifully put his bag by the front door. He set five alarms and hoped for the best.
🍕
His best turned out to be just enough. He woke up on the fifth alarm, and because Chris was shaking him,
“Do you want Security Specialist Lee to come in here and get you? Get your ass up!”
Jisung put on a company approved airport outfit that consisted of baggy jeans, a hoodie, and a hat. He shoved a mask in his pocket and grabbed glasses.
The hoodie was half the reason The Incident didn’t result in a mating bite. He wasn’t going to tempt fate and wear something else.
Three sharp knocks on their door came at two minutes to seven. When Chris swung it open, he was faced with the security team. They were all in black suits and black Ray-Bans, which seemed to be their uniform of choice.
Jisung wasn’t sure they could get more cliché if they tried.
“Time?” Minho said. Felix and Hyunjin sounded off. Jisung suppressed the urge to comment that this was not a fucking Mission Impossible spinoff.
“Let’s go.” Minho led the way, sandwiching 3Racha between the security team. They walked to the van without incident.
“Wait.” Minho said, motioning them to stop. Jisung’s mouth dropped open when the first van departed. How were they supposed to get to the airport? He was opening his mouth to ask when a second unmarked black van pulled up. Minho motioned them forward with a sharp gesture. The security team stood aside as 3Racha got inside and did a final check before joining them. The driver was dressed similarly to their security team.
“Route A is compromised.” The driver said. Minho cursed under his breath.
“I have a bad feeling about B, take C.”
A bad feeling? Is this Star Wars?
Jisung wanted to jump out of the van. Instead, he looked out the window and tried to focus on the landmarks he recognized.
“Understood.” The driver said, like Minho had said the most reasonable thing in the world.
The van took off, taking a route that wasn’t even close to the normal route they usually took to the airport.
“Copy, check CCTV at the second intersection.” Minho said.
Is this really necessary? Jisung recalled the feel of the alpha grabbing at his neck.
It might be.
“I want you all to stay immediately next to your assigned specialist. That means within four inches. If something happens, stay with your specialist. Do not try to play hero. We enter. We walk. We do not stop. I cannot stress enough, you need to allow us to do our jobs.” Minho said, his tone betraying nothing.
Jisung wondered if he ever got nervous.
They pulled around to the VIP drop-off, where their usual company van was swarmed with media and fans. Their driver parked so the circus couldn’t see them as they exited the side door. The security team got out first and ushered 3Racha inside. Each was within inches of their assigned specialist, just as Minho requested.
Jisung still couldn’t catch a hint of Minho’s sub gender. He tried not to freak out that he was an alpha. He could be a beta.
Minho wouldn’t assault him.
He was being paid to protect him, not to give him a permanent mating bite.
Right?
“Stay with me.” Minho said low enough it was only for Jisung. Feline eyes pinned him to the spot. Jisung nodded, feeling a bit dumb. Minho had probably dealt with worse things, so Jisung tried not to let it bother him.
They started to move, and like a ripple the fans surged toward them. It was complete chaos. People were screaming, scents were going wild, signs were being flung in the air. Jisung’s breath was coming fast, his eyes growing dark at the edges. This was a bad idea. A really bad idea.
I should go back to the van.
Minho was in constant motion, surveying the crowd. The term keep your head on a swivel had never made more sense.
The security team pushed forward with the rest of the staff. Minho strong-armed several people, sending them stumbling backward into the mass of people. Felix and Hyunjin did the same. One came back for seconds, and Minho sent him careening to the ground. The man snarled, and when he came back a third time, Minho grabbed him by the neck and picked him off the ground.
Flashes went off.
Minho was looking up at the man. Jisung was sure this moment would go into his spank bank.
A problem to deal with on another day.
Phones were up recording the moment into immortality. Jisung tried to make his face look normal because he knew he would be in the fucking edits.
Minho growled and threw the man, who smelled like an alpha, to the ground in a heap. When he turned to check on Jisung, his fangs were extended, making him look half feral.
It was so fucking hot Jisung’s body forgot he was about to have a full blown panic attack.
Minho circled his fingers around Jisung’s bicep and pulled him forward. When Jisung managed to look at him again, his fangs were retracted. He was magnificent.
It didn’t narrow anything down all sub genders had fangs. They made it through security, separating to go through the metal detectors, and then they were blessedly away from the masses. Minho stuck close, his hand falling to Jisung’s elbow as they walked. Once they reached their gate, the security team set up a perimeter.
“Mr. Han?” A young man in a suit knelt in front of Jisung. He had a kind face and looked way too young to be part of the security detail.
“Yeah?”
“My name is Kim Seungmin. I’m a trauma informed specialist. I understand a threat was intercepted, and I want to check in and see how you’re doing.”
Weird.
A threat was intercepted.
It sounded like such a professional way to say he was almost publicly assaulted again.
“Uh, okay, I guess. Minho handled him.”
“Are you comfortable with how Minho handled him?” Seungmin asked.
Why wouldn’t I be when the alternative is assault at the minimum?
“Yeah, the dude didn’t have a chance. It was kind of impressive.” Jisung admitted.
“Straight out of a video game.” Changbin said.
“Yeah, that was insane.” Chris agreed.
“Okay. That’s great. I want you to take this and play for about twenty minutes. Then I’ll check in again.” Seungmin handed Jisung a small cellular device.
It had Tetris loaded.
“You want me to play Tetris?” Jisung asked slowly.
“It helps reduce flashbacks after traumatic events.” Seungmin gave him a kind smile. “Indulge me.”
“I guess it can’t hurt.” Jisung said and started tapping blocks.
🍕
By the time they landed in Japan, SecurityRacha was trending on every social media platform.
Minho was being biased at such a high number. Jisung wasn’t sure if he should be jealous or impressed.
“This one says, ‘ I want SecurityRacha to bend me over and breed me.’ Chris said around a mouthful of chips.
“Han’s bodyguard can body slam me.” Changbin snickered.
“SecurityRacha has a massive aura.” Chris laughed.
“Whoa.” Changbin dropped his phone. “You guys.”
Chris and Jisung gave him their attention.
“This says omega Lee Minho is showing sub gender norms are a thing of the past by absolutely bodying an alpha as 3Racha are nearly overwhelmed at the airport. They posted the photo where his fangs are out, he looks terrifying. Holy shit Sung, you’re looking at him like you want him to have your babies.”
“Omega?” Chris’s mouth dropped open.
“Holy shit.” Jisung blinked stupidly. “Wow. Also, what the fuck Changbin?”
“I mean you’re an alpha so,” Changbin shrugged, “it makes sense.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Jisung demanded, knowing exactly what it meant because Jisung did have delusions of Minho having his babies and also Minho was the scariest person of any sub gender he had ever met.
Changbin rolled his eyes, probably knowing all of it.
“They probably paired you with Minho because he’s an omega. You get anxious around alphas you don’t know.”
“Thanks, but now I have anxiety for a different reason.”
“You can’t bang your security specialist.” Changbin said seriously.
“Thanks for the pep talk?” Jisung leaned back in his chair. “Fuck my life.”
“Minho looked like he would tear the dude’s throat out.”
“It was so hot.” Jisung sounded dreamy.
Both Chris and Changbin dissolved into giggles.
“Shut the fuck up.” Jisung said, hiding his face in his hands.
If he Googled Lee Minho, that was between him and the private internet tab he opened.
Finding out his bodyguard was not only an omega, but an omega with multiple boxing titles he successfully defended against the other sub genders, did something to Jisung he wasn’t prepared to dive into. He also was a dancer and had won several competitions. Jisung saved enough videos of Minho’s body rolls that he was probably on a government watch list.
Allegedly because it was a private tab.
🍕
The next morning, the security team met them outside their hotel room. Jisung wondered how many suits they had, or if they wore the same one.
Dry cleaning had to be a bitch.
The drive to the venue was uneventful. The security team accompanied them to the dressing room, secured it, and then set up a perimeter.
It seemed like complete overkill, but Jisung wasn’t going to argue. Not when alphas on underground betting sites were still commenting they could turn Jisung into an omega.
It was infuriating.
And apparently, the cost of being a public figure.
Jisung liked soundcheck because they could interact with a smaller portion of fans. It reminded him of the days when 3Racha was first starting out.
Minho apparently hated all of it because it was a security nightmare.
He stopped Jisung backstage. “I’ll be watching here. We have people from our team placed around the barriers and some in the crowd. If anything feels off, you come back here.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t care if it’s a bumblebee or a mosquito, it feels weird you find me.”
“Okay.”
Jisung felt better knowing Minho and apparently some elite team of his minions were looking out.
Once soundcheck was done, they returned to their dressing room to get ready for the show. One of the staff members was being escorted out by a fox eyed man in a suit. When Jisung asked Minho why, his only answer was that he failed a background check.
That sounded like the biggest crock of shit he had ever heard. Any staff member had to go through multiple background checks to qualify for an interview. Jisung let it go because the look on Minho’s face told him that was the best answer he was going to get.
Before they got ready to go back onstage, Minho pulled him aside again. His expression was pinched with concern, the first indication Jisung had seen that Minho even felt emotions.
“This is a huge arena. Do not run from me, do not get off the stage. Do not go off plan.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m not kidding, Jisung. If you go off plan, I will personally glue you to the stage for the next leg of your tour.”
“I won’t, Minho.”
It was like the omega didn’t trust him at all.
Minho gave him a hard look but then nodded. “I’ll be here. You find me if anything—”
“Feels off, yeah, I get it.” Jisung nodded and walked to his position, feeling like a chastised child. He wondered if Minho already had children or if he was born with the lecture gene.
He would get along fabulously with Jisung’s mother.
As they worked through their set, Jisung started picking up the energy from the crowd. Some of the signs asked for SecurityRacha, which Jisung thought was hilarious. When they moved further down the stage, Jisung realized the barricades were placed farther back than they normally were. It meant even the fans in the pit weren’t as close as they usually were.
It was irritating.
He threw hand hearts and waved, but it wasn’t the same. The fans paid a fortune for these tickets, and they felt so far. Even the carts wouldn’t get them that much closer.
So much for the company mentality of being available to fans.
Jisung started to get what Chris called the itch. It happened every now and then. Jisung’s ADHD gremlin brain would get the best of him, and he would bolt. It hadn’t happened since a show in America. He had been in trouble for weeks after, but it had been worth it.
Especially the edit when one of the staff slipped chasing him. They weren’t injured, which was the only reason he didn’t feel terrible.
He figured that was why Minho made a point to tell him not to go off the stage.
Jisung really didn’t like being told what to do. It was more of his more endearing qualities.
During an instrumental break, he made eye contact with Chris, who appeared to be realizing the same thing Jisung had. He motioned with his eyes to the barricade and made a what the hell gesture.
Changbin was in his own world in a dance battle with a fan and flexing because he was always flexing.
Jisung quirked an eyebrow at the side of the stage that was only a four-foot drop to the floor. If he made it, it was a few steps to the barricade, and then they could run along the side of the pit. He could get so much closer. Maybe even slap some high fives out. Chris gave a slight shake of his head to say no, so Jisung pouted at him. He knew this was all being caught by fans and would be turned into some insane edit, but he didn’t care.
It was bullshit that the barricades were so far back.
Just as Chris was mouthing Jisung no, he made his choice. He took three huge steps and leapt from the corner of the stage. He landed on his feet, which was more than he hoped for. It wasn’t as cool as Chris would have looked, but not everyone was half kangaroo. Suits turned toward him, and it was in that moment he realized Minho’s team was huge.
The voice of reason, overtaken by the feral gremlin, cautioned him that he may have fucked up.
The suits were all staring at him like some scene out of The Matrix.
Jisung took off like a shot, running down the line of the barricade. Fans were screaming and reaching for him. He smacked as many of their hands as he could, laughing as he ran. His in ears and the noise from the crowd prevented him from hearing his pursuers’ steps, but he knew he had to have at least one person behind him. He rounded the first corner and hit full speed along the straightaway. Muscles flexing, lungs expanding to full capacity, his blood was hot with the chase.
The crowd was going insane. He had enough time to do three laps if he wanted before his next rap verse was due.
He also had to make sure he could breathe, but that was beside the point.
Jisung was living. He could do this all day. In fact, he just might to prove a point to the company and to Minho.
Minho didn’t own Jisung.
On the next corner, Jisung hit a brick wall dressed in an impeccably tailored suit. He let out a big oof as the wind left his lungs.
“Spicy ramen secured, retrieval pattern Charlie four.”
Jisung shook his head to clear it.
Minho.
Spicy ramen?
What the actual fuck?
Minho was unreadable as he pulled Jisung along the barrier. Several other suits caught up flanking them as Minho escorted him back toward the stage. Instead of taking him to the main stage, Minho pulled him off to the backstage area and secured his microphone. After ensuring it was off and that there were no eyes on them, he leveled Jisung with a deadly glare.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that little stunt was?”
“I’m just—”
“I said do not leave the stage. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order.” Minho ground his teeth. “I cannot keep you safe if you do not follow the rules.”
“They’re all fans, I don’t—”
“Right. Like the people at the airport.” Minho pressed his lips into a thin line. “Leave the stage like that again, and I’ll handcuff you to a chair.”
“Explain that to the fans.”
Minho leaned in, glaring.
A flash went off behind them.
“Handle that.” Minho said. Two suits went after the person with the camera.
“Do you see how one deviation from the plan causes a ripple effect? We deviate, and people can die. People don’t die on my watch.”
“It’s not that deep. I’m an idol—”
“Go back on stage. Stay on stage. Or get benched.” Minho stood back and handed Jisung the microphone.
He stayed on stage for the rest of the show.
🍕
The drive back to their hotel room was awkward. The paparazzi photo of Minho and Jisung had been auto loaded to the cloud and posted to a popular idol news site so even though Minho’s team secured the device, the damage was done.
It looked like Minho was about to eat Jisung. The photo was labeled Omega Security Lead puts Alpha Han of 3Racha in his Place. An In-Depth Review of Omega-Alpha Dynamics and How They Impact our Culture.
Jisung wasn’t sure he wanted to read it. It was probably like most of the articles he read about himself, illustrating how not alpha he was. As if there was a box every person within the sub gender fit neatly inside.
It didn’t help Jisung’s eyes were huge and he was looking up at Minho in the photo. Jisung was pretty sure his idol image was already fucked, but this had to be the icing on the cake.
After they showered, he had a tense call from his manager where he was reprimanded again and told to stay on stage and to listen to his security specialist.
Minho’s threat to bench him wasn’t unfounded. His manager said he would be put on hiatus if he didn’t behave.
Apparently, his manager was thisclose to sending Jisung on an all inclusive vacation to the middle of nowhere.
“This is such bullshit.” Jisung complained once he was off the phone. Chris and Changbin wisely said nothing.
The next two shows went off without a hitch. Jisung stayed where he belonged. The security around the barricade quadrupled, and there was a net so if he tried to jump off stage, he would have to awkwardly roll out of the net to the floor and risk getting caught in it.
Minho was an asshole.
Annoyingly professional, but an asshole nonetheless. He somehow knew what Jisung was going to do before Jisung did, anticipating his gremlin behavior with the ease of someone who had known him for years instead of a few weeks.
And because he was Jisung’s security specialist, he never got a break.
When they left Japan to return to Korea, they had two more shows lined up. They were also allotted two personal days, which meant one thing to Han Jisung.
The Club.
Maybe two because it also meant a break from Minho breathing down his neck.
Changbin would probably be down. Chris was a wildcard, but Jisung wanted to get out and have fun. Plus, Changbin’s friend Wooyoung was the best bartender and always had them on the VIP list. And the bar Wooyoung worked at was for idols and celebrities, so meeting fans was a rarity.
Jisung was only seeing pros. The cons list was empty.
They got ready, pumped to be doing something other than rehearsing for the first time in months.
Chris posted a message to Bubble and then proudly stated, “We’re off the clock!”
Classic Chris behavior after thirst trapping his fans into the next realm.
They picked comfort casual because none of them expected to pick anyone up. They just wanted to blow off steam in a place that wasn’t owned by the company. Jisung had a nagging feeling he was forgetting something when their Uber arrived, but he chalked it up to being nervous because the security team acted like they were part of special forces.
It was ridiculous even if Minho was hot.
Jisung was not going to focus on how Minho had wormed his way into his most scandalous fantasies.
Not jacking off to my security specialist.
It was one time, sue him.
Maybe twice after he saw the edit of the swapping from the fangs out airport photo of Minho throwing the rogue fan to the photo of them backstage, to Jisung face planting into the omegas chest when he ran off stage.
It wasn’t his fault the edit was fire.
That was between him and whatever higher power ruled the universe, and his private internet tab.
Their Uber dropped them off at a private side entrance where Wooyoung’s friend San was waiting. He ushered them inside and took them straight to the third level bar Wooyoung was working at.
It was like the VIP for VIP’s which made zero sense to Jisung, but it meant there was hardly anyone up there.
“My man,” Wooyoung fist-bumped Changbin. “You have a day off and you decide to slum it with me?”
“My choices have always been questionable, Woo.” Changbin said with a smile. Wooyoung nodded even though Changbin was the most responsible out of the group.
They perched on barstools and accepted the drinks Wooyoung prepared.
“Slow night, you’re lucky. Last night we had a group get kicked out for being too rowdy.”
“We literally cannot have more press.” Chris groaned. “I mean it Sung, none.”
Jisung put his hands up. “I’m not doing anything!”
“Except jumping off stages mid-set.” Changbin muttered.
“That was one time!”
“One time this week!” Changbin gave him a look.
“Okay, well, I’m not doing it again.” Jisung shrugged.
Changbin rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. Jisung finished his drink and ordered a second. He would stop at three because he was a lightweight and because he didn’t need to confess his undying love to the other members of 3Racha.
He cringed at the memory of Chris recording him telling Changbin he was his brother and he would do anything for him for half an hour before he passed out.
Embarrassing.
“I gotta take a leak.” Jisung said, standing. Once he was upright, he really felt the alcohol. Giggling, he walked toward the bathroom. He thought someone was following him, but he was going to the bathroom, so it made sense that other people would have to go. It’s a popular stop at any bar, right?
He peed forever and went to wash his hands. He was reaching for the faucet when something slammed him into the wall. The weight was heavy, pulling at his hoodie, and then it just disappeared so quickly he almost fell over. Jisung shook his head, looking around and saw a man in all black throwing rapid punches at another larger man.
The big dude looked pissed.
Jisung gulped.
The smaller man was pummeling the angry looking guy. He threw out a wicked combination and caught the bigger man under the chin, clacking his teeth together. Jisung watched his eyes roll up and then the man was crumpling to the floor.
When the man in black turned around, Jisung was looking into furious eyes he recognized.
Minho.
Jisung gulped.
“What did I tell you?” Minho seethed. “I told you if you leave to call me.”
Minho was wearing a backwards hat, so Jisung could not be responsible for understanding anything he was saying.
“How much have you had to drink?” Minho demanded.
“Like two?” Jisung shrugged. “You’re so fucking hot.”
Jisung froze.
He was not supposed to vocalize that he was thirsting after his security specialist.
“I’ve dealt with cocky alphas before.” Minho gestured to the crumpled body on the floor. “If you think because I’m an omega you can make some move, you’ll regret the day you were born.”
“I’m not trying to make a move. You scare the shit out of me.” Jisung whispered.
“Good.” Minho rolled his shoulders. “Let’s go.”
“But—”
“You’re done. We’re going home.” Minho stepped over the man, who was groaning and rolling on the ground. Jisung followed because he was only a man.
“Spicy Ramen secured.” Minho said quietly.
And because Minho was wearing a backwards hat.
🍕
The entire security team chastised them for an hour when they returned to the apartment.
“It’s our day off, we thought you were off too!” Chris tried to explain.
“Save it.” Felix cut him off.
“Excuses don’t work on us.” Hyunjin added coolly.
“You were told what the expectations were, and you deliberately refused to follow them.”
Felix held eye contact with Chris until Chris dropped his eyes to the floor.
Minho was relatively silent, but his glare spoke volumes. It was almost worse than if he was yelling at them.
Jisung could not believe he told said out loud he thought Minho was hot.
Idiot.
He counted himself lucky he only had two drinks. Anymore and he might have divulged to jerking off to those saved edits.
Like Minho sensed Jisung was thinking about him, he stood and waited for the group to give him their attention.
“We’re making some changes to room assignments.” Minho announced.
Chris snapped to attention. “You can’t do that.”
“It’s done.” Minho said with an air of finality that left no room for argument. “You’ll be rooming with your specialist until this tour is completed. Then we’ll reevaluate based on your behavior.”
“I am not rooming with you.” Changbin stated, looking straight at Hyunjin. “We have our own rooms for a reason.”
Hyunjin smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
“Take it up with your manager.” Minho said. “The changes have already been made.”
“This seems excessive.”
“Me chasing you across town to a club at almost eleven p.m. is excessive. You could have told us. We would have secured the floor. It would have been safe.” Minho brought a hand up to his face. Shadows dusted his knuckles.
One had what looked like crusted blood.
Jisung gulped in a breath.
“Everyone, go to bed. No one leaves this apartment without clearing it with one of us first.” Minho said. When no one moved he pointed to the bedrooms.
Jisung stomped to his room, where he found another double bed had been added on the opposite wall.
Of course, Minho’s bed would be right by the door.
Do I need to clear it with him if I have to piss?
Minho followed Jisung into the room.
“Lights out in ten.”
“Last time I looked, I don’t work for you.” Jisung huffed.
Minho stilled.
“I may work for you, Mr. Han. But you would do well to remember I’ve saved you from an unwanted mating bite twice in the last seven days.” Minho cocked his head. “Unless you want to become someone’s bitch?”
Jisung’s breath stuttered. He hated that term. He had been on the receiving end of that term more times than he could count.
“Maybe all my hard work is for nothing.” Minho continued.
With no idea what to say, he scurried out of the bedroom and practically ran to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and used the toilet and then stalled until it was time to return to his bedroom.
Minho already had the light off because Jisung was one minute late. He used his phone flashlight to navigate to his bed.
“Stay in bed.” Minho said, startling Jisung.
Jisung stuck his tongue out in Minho’s direction but didn’t reply.
🍕
The next morning, Jisung woke up alone. Except for the perfectly made bed, there was no sign the other man had been there at all. Jisung hadn’t been around too many omegas, but from what he understood, they liked soft things. Jisung flushed, realizing he was stereotyping his security specialist.
He trudged out to the coffee machine and found the asshole sitting at their kitchen table with Felix and Hyunjin.
All three were drinking black coffee.
Silently.
Jisung made himself a cup of coffee, added sugar and cream, and retreated to his bedroom.
He scrolled on social media, avoiding some of the worst sites for a while. Then his curiosity got the best of him, and he couldn’t help but indulge and look.
People were placing bets on how submissive Jisung was.
If they could bitch him.
God, he fucking hated that term. It was derogatory to any sub gender.
Is that why they hired Minho? Jisung went cold. How much traction had the betting pools gotten?
Was that why so many alphas approached him?
Jisung searched the forums, his anxiety rising.
2 billion won to whoever can bitch Han Jisung from 3Racha. We want exclusive streaming rights and access to breeding him.
Jisung’s blood was ice water.
His breath came too fast.
The phone slipped from his hands, falling to the floor with a muffled thump.
The room tilted, and his eyes went dark around the edges. Ears ringing, he tried to make his breath slow down.
Nothing was working.
Access to breeding him.
Breeding.
Someone was shaking him. Jisung tried to focus, but his brain was too foggy.
Minho?
Minho was an asshole. Why was he here?
He was gone, which should have made Jisung feel better, but it didn’t.
Someone wrapped around Jisung from behind, pulling his back flush against their chest. Hands were on his chest, feet on his thighs, and they were counting.
“Come on Jisung, breathe in...one, two, three, four, five, hold, breathe out...one, two, three, four, five.”
Jisung was crying. He did not care.
“I got you, breathe with me. Feel my chest and breathe with me.” Minho’s voice was so close to his ear. “I’ve got you. I told you I won’t let anything happen to you, don’t make a liar out of me.”
Jisung followed Minho’s breathing pattern until he was closer to being in control.
Minho extricated himself from Jisung and picked his phone up from the floor.
“What made you upset?” Minho asked, handing over the device.
He looked concerned.
Almost worried.
“I read…I was looking at forums and they said…” Jisung’s eyes welled up. “They were talking about paying to see me…bred.” He didn’t want to say the other word. Not in front of Minho. Not when the omega community had dealt with the vitriol from the other sub genders since the dawn of recorded history.
Minho’s expression went cold. “It’s not happening.” He promised. “I won’t let it happen. Why do you think they hired me?”
“Two billion won is a lot of money to see me…you know.”
“Bitched?”
“God. Yes.” Jisung made a face.
“Do you understand why I didn’t want you to leave the stage?” Minho asked, his tone serious.
Jisung nodded.
“And why I don’t want you to leave without telling us?”
Jisung nodded again. He felt like an ass.
“Why didn’t they tell me?”
“Your anxiety.” Minho said simply. “They thought it would be better if you didn’t know.”
“Is that why you were so worried about the route when we went to the airport?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. And why you bodied that guy once we were inside?” Jisung quoted the article because there was no other way to put it. Minho had been unreal in the best way possible.
“Yes. They need to know getting close to you isn’t possible unless they come through me, and they won’t be getting through me.”
Minho was confident, Jisung would give him that.
“Okay.”
“No more going rogue?” Minho asked.
“No. No more going rogue.”
Minho gave Jisung a crooked smile, revealing teeth that made him look almost like a bunny.
If bunnies were evil Jason Bourne reincarnations.
Jisung thought he might agree to anything to see Minho smile again.
🍕
The security team debriefed while Chris and Changbin tried to pick a movie. Jisung wasn’t invested because his attention span was basically on vacation to Neptune. Chris kept apologizing for not deciding to stay home.
Jisung kept telling him he would have left without even if he did.
Changbin agreed and tried to mitigate the apology barrage.
And so, they went in circles.
When it was time for bed, Jisung managed to forget he was sharing a room with Minho. He was sitting up on his bed scrolling on his phone. His gym shorts did literally nothing to disguise his thighs.
Jisung was staring at his upper lip, memorizing how it pouted out more than the bottom, when Minho made eye contact. He was looking up at Jisung through his eyelashes. Jisung froze like a deer standing in the middle of the fast lane.
“You good?” Minho asked.
Jisung wasn’t even in the same galaxy as good.
“Yup, good. Yeah.” He tripped over nothing trying to get to his own bed.
He definitely pretended not to notice the corner of Minho’s mouth tilting up.
Each morning, Minho was up before Jisung, reviewing the schedule for the day with Felix and Hyunjin, and drinking black coffee. Jisung knew some people favored routines, but this was ridiculous.
SecurityRacha followed them to vocal lessons, dance practice, and the recording studio. Jisung was starting to feel like they needed to rename 3Racha because there were 6 of them.
Their next day off, Chris wanted to go out. Changbin also wanted to go out, and Jisung was the odd one out. The thought of being around drunk alphas in a bar made him want to projectile vomit.
Chris was disappointed, but he understood why Jisung didn’t want to go out to a bar. Even with the security team there, his anxiety was too high.
Minho offered to go out and get some liquor so Jisung could have a few drinks at home.
Jisung enthusiastically took him up on the offer.
“There are sensors on the door. Jeongin will be waiting outside until I return. You won’t get away from him.” Minho leaned in closer. “I trained him.”
“Okay.” Jisung managed, his brain short circuiting from being that close to Minho.
While his security specialist was out, Jisung surged through the streaming services while Chris and Changbin got ready.
“You’re sure you don’t want to go?” Chris asked, conflicted.
Jisung knew if he pushed it, Chris would stay home. It wasn’t fair to him with as hard as he worked for 3Racha. He deserved to go out and have fun and not stay in the apartment to babysit. He wasn’t the one being discussed online because he acted like an alpha.
“I’m good.” Jisung assured him. “Go get laid or whatever.”
Chris made a face but allowed Changbin to pull him out the door. Hyunjin and Felix followed, and then Jisung was alone.
Not truly because he knew the fox eyed specialist was outside the door.
Minho returned when Jisung settled on watching Howl’s Moving Castle instead of anime because it was his comfort movie, and technically, Minho was on the clock. It wasn’t like he was doing it for free.
Minho seemed to be at least okay with watching Howl’s, which Jisung found incredibly hot. He couldn’t lust after someone that hated his favorite movie. When he got up to make his second drink, he sat close enough to Minho that their thighs were touching. Minho didn’t move, which Jisung took as a win.
He wished he could smell his scent, but asking for that would be a bridge too far. Minho would probably fold him up like a pretzel and not in a sexy way. So Jisung maintained his horny silence, thanking every higher being in the universe for scent patches. He would have been choking Minho out otherwise.
“Are you enjoying your movie?” Minho’s voice was so close to Jisung’s ear that he shivered.
“Ye…yeah.” Jisung offered what he hoped was a normal smile.
Minho’s smirk made him think it was not.
After the conclusion of Howl’s, he put on a new anime series he had been meaning to watch. Around episode two, Chris, Changbin, Hyunjin, and Felix returned. The specialists were sober. Chris and Changbin were clearly buzzed. They plopped down around Jisung and Minho, asking questions about the series Jisung had no answers to.
He was too busy studying Minho. The sharpness of his nose. The curve of his jaw. The way his jaw moved when he swallowed.
Jisung could have written a dissertation on his jawline.
By the time four episodes finished, he had exactly five drinks, which meant the now drunk gremlin that resided in his skull decided it was a good time to voice his opinion on matters related to Minho. Jisung may have poured heavily. That was between him and his gremlin.
“How are you always so hot?”
Changbin choked on his drink.
Chris’s mouth dropped open.
Hyunjin’s face remained impassive.
Felix closed his mouth, focusing on the television.
Minho cocked a brow. “It’s a gift.”
“It’s unfair.” Jisung sulked into the couch cushions. A few minutes later, Minho took his red Solo cup and replaced it with a water bottle.
Jisung made a face. He struggled to uncap it, resulting in Minho taking the water bottle and removing the cap for him.
“My hero.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Jisung finished the water bottle but snuck into the kitchen to retrieve his drink. Once he finished it, his depth perception went on vacation.
He stumbled back into the living room. All five men turned to look at him.
“I really love you guys.” Jisung said, making a wide sweeping gesture. “Even you.” He pointed to Hyunjin. “Even if you make me think you’re a vampire.”
Hyunjin scoffed.
“And you’re an elf.” He tried to wink at Felix, had no idea if it was successful, and then pointed at Minho. “You’re like an evil bunny. So cute, I want to bite you, but also, I think you would hunt me for sport.”
Minho closed his eyes for a second. Drunk Jisung took this as a silent request to continue.
“You’re so pretty, I can’t think straight. I don’t know what I would do without you. Probably get kidnapped…I’m not a kid, though, so idolnapped?” He swayed, but Chris was there to steady him.
“Hyung, I love you and Bin.”
“We know, Sungie.” Chris was steering him to his room.
His and Minho’s room.
“I don’t want to sleep alone.” Jisung whined.
“You won’t be alone. Minho will be here.”
“He won’t sleep with me, though.”
“When you’re sober, I’m never letting you hear the end of this.”
“Specialist Lee, are you going to—” Hyunjin was saying in a tone that sounded almost playful.
“Section eighty-six point four, subheading C.” Minho said gravely.
🍕
The next morning, Jisung woke up with a raging hangover. He was warm, much warmer than he expected to be. He nuzzled into it, finding comfort even though his head was ringing like a church bell beckoning parishioners for mass. Jisung groaned, willing the throbbing behind his eyes to stop.
“There’s water and headache meds on your nightstand,” Minho said. He was close, really close.
Jisung opened one eye. A feline shaped dark eye was looking back at him.
Minho.
Oh god.
I’m in his bed.
Because the now hungover gremlin was diabolical, Jisung said, “You're so warm.”
Minho smirked. “Apparently, you like to cuddle when you drink.”
Jisung was going to die.
“Sorry.”
“I’ll have to put it in my report. You made me break a rule.” Minho said pointedly.
Jisung groaned. His manager was going to have his ass.
“A rule I wrote.” Minho continued.
“What is the rule?”
“Section eighty-six point four, subheading C, no intimate contact with clients when they are incapacitated.”
“I won’t tell if you don’t?” Jisung managed to open his other eye.
Minho shook his head.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
“I feel like I was in a cage match.”
“You almost were.” Minho helped him sit up.
“Oh god.” Jisung’s dark chair scent bloomed past his scent blocking patches. Of course, they would stop working right fucking now.
Minho inhaled, his pupils expanding and contracting. His face remained impassive.
“No more alcohol.”
If Jisung wasn’t mistaken, Minho’s voice was strained.
“What about—”
“Jisung.” Minho’s voice was more strained than Jisung had ever heard it.
“No more alcohol.” Jisung grumbled.
Minho looked relieved.
“I put headache meds and a bottle of water on your nightstand.” Minho gestured across the room. “Before you relocated.”
Jisung felt like going for broke. Minho hadn’t kicked him out of bed yet. He laid down and snuggled into Minho’s warmth.
“I’m too sleepy.”
Minho tensed but didn’t remove him.
A few hours later, there was a knock at the door. Minho’s arm tightened around Jisung protectively.
He wants me.
Jisung’s gremlin had to be on drugs.
When Hyunjin pushed the door open, he took in the two of them and raised both brows.
“Dinner is ready.” Hyunjin’s professional tone gave nothing away. The asshole left the door open so anyone passing by could see Jisung was in Minho’s bed.
And Minho had his arm around Jisung.
“Come on.” Minho said sitting up. “You need to eat and hydrate.”
Jisung grumbled but followed Minho into the living room. Hyunjin and Felix were eying Minho with what looked like humor. Minho put a hand up to fend them off and took his usual seat at the table.
“Did you confess your undying love to Minho?” Changbin asked, waggling his eyebrows. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked about as good as Jisung felt.
“Probably.” Jisung grabbed a bottle of water. “It’s hard to say.”
“When you didn’t come in with me, I assumed you commandeered Minho’s bed.” Chris rasped.
“I uh, well. Yeah.” Jisung took a long drink of water to distract himself.
“You didn’t.” Chris looked scandalized. He peered over Jisung’s shoulder at the security team and then back at Jisung.
Lowering his voice, he said, “Did you sleep with Minho?”
“Not like that.” Jisung waved his free hand. “Just like, you know. Sleeping.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t murder you.” Changbin laughed too loudly.
Jisung winced. “Fuck off.”
A dense sounding thud came from the other room. When Jisung looked around, the three specialists were silent, seated where they normally were.
Weird.
For the rest of the day, the team prepped for the next show in Seoul. Hyunjin didn’t like the venue, but it was too late for the company to change it. Something about too many entrance points and not enough cameras.
Felix didn’t like the delivery routes because they allowed too many vendors access.
Minho didn’t like the backstage area. Specifically, the hall that led from the green room to the stage.
It was basically fucked and knowing that made it one hundred times worse.
“They’re just doing their job.” Chris assured him. “They have to be thorough.”
Jisung thought that was a likely story. He spent the rest of the day nursing his hangover and watching anime he wasn’t paying attention to.
That night, he managed to stay in his own bed, which brought forth feelings that were half relief and half disappointed.
Mostly relieved because he woke up harder than he had since he first presented.
Disappointed because Minho was gone when he woke up.
🍕
He hit his breaking point at eight p.m. on his third night off. Instead of walking out the door, which he couldn’t do because Felix was sitting right next to it pretending to read a book, he walked up to Minho. He had his face buried in his laptop, but Jisung knew he was aware.
He ignored Jisung because what else would he do?
Of course, he was going to force Jisung to speak to him.
He pulled at the hem of his hoodie, building up his nerve.
Minho was wearing what seemed to be his “casual” uniform of black joggers, a black hoodie, and a black backwards hat.
The hat was going to be the death of Jisung.
“Minho?”
“Mmm?” Minho didn’t look up from his computer. His knuckles were still bruised and scabbed
Wounds he earned from protecting Jisung.
“I want to go get ice cream.”
Minho sighed, tapped a few more keys, and then closed the laptop.
“Is it part of your approved diet?” Minho asked.
Jisung’s jaw dropped open.
Minho snorted. “I’m kidding, let’s go.”
Jisung wanted to say something snarky, but he wanted ice cream more.
They walked two blocks to a convenience store that Jisung had gone to alone more times than he could count.
That was before.
Access to breeding him.
Jisung shivered.
“Cold?” Minho asked.
Jisung shook his head no and took the pint of ice cream he no longer wanted to the counter. Minho shadowed him while he paid and followed him out the doors and into the night.
“It will get better.” Minho said as they walked.
“What do you mean?”
“All of this,” Minho gestured vaguely to Jisung, “the forums and everything. It will go away.”
“I hope so.”
“It will.” Minho sounded so sure. Jisung wondered what it was like to move through the world and not be afraid of it. Minho turned every stereotype about omegas on its head. He could defend himself and everyone around him.
When they were back inside the apartment, Jisung stored the ice cream in the freezer and went to bed.
He lost his appetite.
🍕
It was a little embarrassing for the security team to follow them to dance practice. Jisung thought most of that was because he knew Minho had been a dancer at some point in his life.
A few times Minho offered him suggestions, but only when there was no one else around. It was like he was afraid people would see him treating Jisung like a person instead of a client.
Jisung didn’t really mind. Minho’s suggestions were solid. He tried not to freak out when Minho put his hands on Jisung’s waist and helped him roll his body forward during one of the more sexual moves.
“Your instinct will be to roll back, but if you roll forward, it sends a more emotional signal.” Minho whispered. His grip lingered a few seconds longer, and then it was gone, leaving the ghost of his touch behind.
It only made the gremlin go crazier.
🍕
Several weeks went by before their schedule cleared enough for them to have a few days off in a row. This time, Chris cleared their plans with the security team.
“Is Minho okay with this plan?” Jisung asked, not even trying to hide how freaked out he was.
“The place is small, already dripping with security, and their DJ is fire.” Chris explained. “They had time to vet it.”
Jisung figured it made sense. They gave the team enough lead time to make whatever plans they needed to. He was nervous about going out, especially after reading what people were saying about him on the forums.
Changbin reminded him how easily Minho handled the airport situation.
And the bathroom situation.
He wouldn’t be involved in another incident because he had Minho, and Minho had time to plan.
Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he picked jeans and a black fitted shirt. His muscles, which Changbin teased him were only for looks, looked good. He did his hair and met the other in the living room.
Minho had been specific about their departure time, which came as a shock to no one.
Jisung expected the security team to be dressed in their usual suits and was surprised to see they were dressed to blend in.
Minho had leather pants on that were going to haunt Jisung. They were going right up with that fucking backwards hat. He had the sleeves of his long sleeve black button up rolled up to the elbows.
The man was built.
Jisung was weak.
He had eyeliner on and glitter around his eyes. It was completely at odds with the Minho he had seen up to this point.
“Ready?” He asked.
Jisung nodded, following him out the door. He would have followed him into quicksand. Minho led them to a plain black SUV. Their driver didn’t speak, clearly having already received instructions.
Once they arrived, Minho told him he was not allowed to go anywhere alone. He agreed because Minho looked like he was ready to have a stroke.
Jisung wanted to go home, but he didn’t want to ruin the night.
They passed a man in a suit Jisung thought he had seen before. It was hard to say, with the suits, dark glasses, and blank expressions, they all looked kind of similar. Minho led them through a side door and shadowed Jisung as he walked through. He autopiloted to the bar.
“What are you drinking?” Minho asked from his side.
“Beer is fine.”
Jisung did not want to get tanked again and confess his undying love to anyone.
Minho ordered a beer and water.
Jisung really wanted to go home.
Chris and Changbin talked to a few people they knew. Felix and Hyunjin were close, but not as close as Minho was.
It made sense. They weren’t being discussed online the way Jisung was. Like property.
Like something to own.
“Are you okay?” Minho asked.
“Uh, yeah.” Jisung said awkwardly. “Great.”
Minho didn’t push him. Jisung finished his beer, not arguing when Minho brought him another. The strobe lights flickered prettily across Minho’s face. He set his water down, crossing his arms over his chest as he surveyed the room.
Jisung thought there wasn’t much that wouldn’t make Minho look pretty. It was horribly unfair if Jisung were completely honest.
Chris and Changbin were dancing with friends. Felix and Hyunjin were blending in, staying in the periphery but on guard.
“Excuse me,” an alpha was in Jisung’s space.
Too close.
He instinctively curled toward Minho.
“Are you together?” He asked, speaking to Minho.
Fucking classic. He was practically hanging off Minho, and this asshole assumed Jisung was in the friend zone.
Never mind it was true.
Not even the friend zone, more like the employee zone?
“Yes.” Minho said, his tone frigid. The alpha put his hands up and moved on.
“You’re okay.” Minho murmured. “I would have broken his neck before he made a move.”
Jisung flushed. Not very alpha of me.
“Yeah.” He managed.
“Come on.” Minho said, taking Jisung’s glass and setting it at an empty table. He pulled Jisung by the hand to the dance floor. Minho placed them so Jisung’s back was to the wall, and Minho was between him and the crowd.
“What are we doing?” Jisung asked.
Minho smirked.
“Dancing.” He said and started to move.
Jisung’s Google search had not prepared him for how graceful Minho was. He moved like he was made for music instead of violence. Jisung stood still like an idiot, enraptured by his security specialist that was still managing to keep an eye on the crowd.
A beta started his approach, giving Jisung a hungry look that made him feel ill.
“Can I?” he asked suggestively.
“No.” Minho answered, cocking his head at the newcomer. “Unless you want to leave with fewer appendages than you came in with.”
The beta backed off. Minho took that as his cue to touch Jisung to lay a visual claim. Any logical thoughts in his brain took a first-class trip straight out of the solar system. Minho was close, invading his senses. His own dark chai scent was growing heavier. Minho had to notice but acted like he didn’t. He was standing beside Jisung now, his arm casually around his waist.
Being so normal about it.
Because Minho was a professional.
Jisung thought he was three rabid raccoons in a trench coat cosplaying as a human.
Minho’s hand was gripping his hip.
The light touch turned Jisung’s body into a live wire. His hands were small, but Jisung had seen firsthand how capable they were.
When Minho leaned in so Jisung could hear him, his brain went offline for so long Minho was looking at him with real concern.
“Huh?” Jisung managed.
“Let me know when you’re ready to go.” Minho repeated, slower.
“Oh, okay. Anytime really.” Jisung said.
Minho gave him a curious look and nodded. He must have given some kind of signal, because moments later Felix and Hyunjin brought Chris and Changbin to their corner.
“You ready to go?” Chris asked.
Jisung nodded.
The security team coordinated their departure, which thankfully went exactly as planned. They were back inside the unmarked SUV and returned to their apartment before midnight.
It was the tamest night out 3Racha had probably ever had.
Minho told him lights out in ten minutes, but when Jisung crept through the bedroom door twenty minutes later, the light was still on. Minho gave him a once-over and then rolled on his side facing the wall. Jisung climbed into bed and faced Minho. The gap between them was six feet, but it might as well have been six hundred.
He wished he knew how to bridge it.
🍕
The next day, they lounged around the apartment. Jisung worked on lyrics. He wanted to finish at least two songs before the end of their tour. It was ambitious, but he had done it before. It kept his mind off the forums and Minho.
Who, of course, was sitting right next to him.
They ordered takeout and watched a cheesy comedy as a group. Jisung wasn’t paying much attention to the movie because a certain security specialist kept distracting him by existing.
The day after, they had to be on site by noon to get ready for soundcheck at the venue the security team hated. Minho looked calm, but he always did so there was no way to read him. Hyunjin looked angry, which Jisung learned meant he was worried, and Felix looked tired.
Chris and Changbin were subdued when they walked to the car. Everyone was on high alert, which made Jisung wonder if there was any more information being withheld for his mental health. He wondered what it meant that the collective decided he couldn’t handle the truth.
Once at the venue, Minho stuck to Jisung like glue. Before soundcheck, he was lectured for five minutes straight and made to promise he would not leave the stage.
“Jisung, I’m not kidding. This venue is shit.” Minho moved to grab Jisung’s arm, thought better of it, and dropped his hands. “Please.”
Jisung promised he was cured of his gremlin activities.
Soundcheck went off without a hitch. They changed into their stage outfits, had their makeup touched up, and then they were taking their places. Minho was barely visible along the side of the stage, observing everything. Jisung gained momentum, leaning into his cocky stage persona and engaging with the crowd like it was second nature.
Like he wasn’t an anxious mess.
They made it through five songs before the piercing sound of feedback shrieked through the sound system.
The crowd groaned, and 3Racha stilled, looking for the source. Staff were moving, checking cords and amplifiers, looking for anything that could be causing the racket.
It cut off abruptly, leaving the stadium with only the ambient sounds of the crowd.
“There are four bombs planted inside the arena. You have three minutes to evacuate.” A low computerized voice said.
Jisung whipped his head to Chris, who looked horrified.
Panic surged through the crowd.
They were rushing.
The entire stadium was moving. It looked like a living being.
And it was heading straight for the stage.
Jisung ran at Minho, yanking his in ears out. They flopped around his chest wildly. He dropped his microphone, not caring where it ended up.
“With me.” Minho ordered.
“What about Chris and—”
“Felix and Hyunjin have them. You are with me.” Minho was yanking him down the hallway, the illusion of choice gone. This was Minho’s element, and Jisung was meant to follow.
Fans were already there.
How were they already back here?
There were too many people.
“This is no good. Fuck. I hate this fucking layout.” Minho cursed again and dodged into a small alcove.
“What do we do?” Jisung asked, clinging to Minho’s arm.
“I’ve got you. I promise.” Minho had a sleek handgun out, his eyes darting through the crowd. Jisung was pressed behind him, his back against the cool wall. He had a moment to be thankful he wasn’t dressed up in something difficult to move in.
“Hallway is compromised. Evac plan delta is no good. Echo? Negative, we won’t make it.”
Sweat beaded along Minho’s hairline.
Another surge of bodies flooded the hallway.
This area was supposed to be secured.
Panic was creeping in.
Minho pivoted, his body jolted, and then he was grabbing Jisung, yanking him through the crowd to a service door. He unceremoniously threw Jisung at the door and practically fell through it after him, landing in a heap.
The omega was heavy as fuck. His muscles were absolutely not for show.
“Minho?” Jisung croaked.
Minho shook his head and forced himself into a seated position. Wincing, he shoved Jisung further into the room and crouched in front of him, gun pointed at the open door. There was no way out. No windows, no other doors. Just a few shelves with random merchandise from previous shows.
“Hand him over, or we’ll find use for you too.” A garbled voice said from the hallway.
Find use for you too?
Because Minho was an omega?
Jisung’s skin crawled at the same time his protective instincts flared. A low growl thrummed in his chest, rattling his ribcage. A sharp look from Minho cut it off. He cocked his head, listening for something Jisung couldn’t hear.
Minho scooted forward, keeping his body out of sight from the doorway, until he could kick the door shut. Keeping his eyes locked on the doorknob, he grabbed at a large shelf and started manhandling it in front of the door. Jisung stumbled to his feet and grabbed the other side, helping position it. Minho slumped against the wall. Something was dripping.
Red.
Blood.
Minho was bleeding.
“Minho?” Jisung asked.
“Flesh wound.” Minho gritted out.
Jisung was so fucking sure.
“Spicy ramen is overcooked.” Minho muttered. “I’ve been hit.”
Jisung wished Minho would speak in terms he could understand.
“What does that fucking mean?” he demanded. “I hate spicy food.”
“It means things have gotten complicated.” Minho said.
“Hyung.” Jisung had never been so terrified.
Something rammed into the door hard, rattling it in its frame. The shelf squealed as it shifted several inches.
It wouldn’t keep them out.
Access to breeding him.
Bitching him.
And taking Minho.
Jisung was going to throw up.
“I don’t want them to take me, Minho.”
Minho urged Jisung away from the door.
“They won’t take you.” Minho promised.
He crouched in front of Jisung, leveling his gun at the door. Hot tears burned Jisung’s eyes. He should be protecting Minho. He was the fucking alpha.
“They will come through the door.” Minho said quietly.
Jisung tensed.
“And I will kill them.” He looked at Jisung and then back at the door. “They will not take you.”
The ramming continued. The shelf teetered and then fell over, crashing loudly against the concrete floor. Jisung gripped onto the bottom of Minho’s suit jacket.
Minho didn’t object, so Jisung thought it was fine. He had no idea what the protocol for this level of fuckery was.
The door swung all the way open, slamming against the opposite wall. Three bodies rushed inside. The first shot rendered Jisung almost deaf. He saw the muzzle flash several more times. Bodies dropped, flopping awkwardly as they fell.
Empty eyes stared at him.
A singular bloody hole marred the skin, perfectly centered.
Another two rushed and dropped.
Minho reloaded.
He was talking, but Jisung couldn’t understand what he was saying.
He wondered if Seungmin would suggest Tetris again. Maybe there was something different when people were attempting to abduct, force a sub gender change, and breed you.
Minho was standing now. There was a puddle of blood where he had been crouched. It was dark against the concrete. It wasn’t supposed to be there.
He was pulling Jisung toward the hallway, where men in suits had several people in handcuffs. They were dressed like fans, some even had merch on. Minho led Jisung past them. They walked to the end of the hallway to the greenroom.
Minho sat Jisung down and got him a bottle of water.
“Can you drink this?”
Jisung nodded mutely.
“Drink.”
Jisung did because Minho asked. He might do anything for him. People came, someone patched Minho up. He was wearing some type of body armor, but the shot hit him in the fleshy part of his left bicep. One of the suits tried to talk to Jisung, and Minho pointed to the door with a glare that would have made Jisung evaporate on the spot.
When Seungmin showed up, Minho allowed him in. He did suggest Tetris. Jisung didn’t take the device until Minho asked him to.
Minho was pulling him out of the room. Jisung went and dutifully got in the unmarked black SUV when Minho prompted him. They didn’t go back to the apartment, which was fine.
Jisung did not care.
Minho led him through a side entrance into a hotel and took him in a private elevator. He asked Jisung to wait by the door while he cleared the room. Then he led him to the bed.
“Han.”
Jisung stared at him. He had a small mole on the side of one nostril. Jisung wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before.
“Jisung.” Minho was frowning at him, his eyes showing something suspiciously close to concern.
Minho was even pretty when he frowned.
“Sung?” He sounded worried.
Sung. He called me Sung.
It was enough to bring Jisung back.
“Yeah?” Jisung managed.
“I thought I lost you.”
“I’m right here.”
Minho looked at him like he was crazy. That was fair. “You’re in shock.”
“It’s not every day you see your incredibly hot bodyguard take out like a million people.”
“It was seven, and it was necessary.” Minho looked worried. “I can call Seungmin.”
“Will he prescribe more Tetris?”
“Probably.”
“Pass.”
Minho considered Jisung for several long moments.
“Come here.” He leaned forward and put his arms around Jisung.
A hug.
This is nice.
He smells good.
It wasn’t his scent, but some type of cologne. Jisung thought drowning in it might be an okay way to go.
He leaned into Minho’s body, mindful of his wound, wrapping his arms around his waist. The fabric of his suitcoat was stiff with blood.
Minho’s blood.
“This is highly unorthodox, and if you even suggest it happened, I will tell them you hit your head.” Minho said harshly.
When they finally broke apart, Minho’s ears were tinged red. He gave Jisung sweatpants and a shirt that had the tags on them. Minho told him to shower, and when he emerged, he realized there was only one bed.
“Do you want me to sleep on the couch?” Jisung asked.
“No.”
“You were shot.”
“Barely.” Minho snorted. “Take the bed, Jisung.”
Jisung was too tired to argue. He climbed into the bed and fell into a dreamless sleep. When he woke up, Minho was seated at the small dining area staring at the door.
He had his gun out. His hair was mussed like he kept dragging his fingers through it. He was still wearing the stiff suit coat.
The one with his dried blood.
Jisung felt horribly guilty. Minho had been shot protecting him, and Jisung had slept while Minho stood watch.
“Felix will be here soon. I’m going to get a few hours of sleep, and then we’re going to move to a secure location.”
“Okay.”
“No room service, but Felix will bring something.”
“Okay.” Jisung flopped onto his back.
“I know you’re hungry. I can’t risk a breach.” Minho explained unnecessarily.
“Okay.” It made sense. Jisung reached for his phone, annoyed when it wasn’t on the nightstand where he left it.
“Your phone could be compromised. I had to disable it. Felix is bringing you a replacement and some more clothes.”
Fuck my fucking life.
“Okay.”
Jisung wanted to scream.
🍕