Work Text:
Apparently not even one day could go smoothly in the Kim household. After a horrible night shift at work, all he wanted was to get some sleep.
"Taehyung, get up! Come on, son. You have cigarettes, your dad said. You little rascal! Shoot one cigarette to your dad. He's out of them."
Taehyung groans and pulls off his blanket. "Why does he need a cigarette first thing in the morning?"
"Honey, it's three in the afternoon!"
Taehyung grumbles, then gets up and enters into the bathroom to brush his teeth as he stands in front of the mirror, observing his disheveled golden hair, his sleep swollen face, all he can think about is how much he wants to leave Daegu. Somewhere in the big city, somewhere away from the expectations of his parents and the familiar faces that don't give him a pass on the street with their absolutely stupid and uncalled for comments.
Taehyung simply does not belong in Daegu, particularly not in this city. He would prefer to live abroad, ideally in a place where he won't be subjected to the same expectations as this one, or on a farm where no one will ever touch him.
Too much is expected of omegas in their society without giving anything in return.
Traditional society.
Taehyung throws his toothbrush into a cup, rinses his face and walks out of the bathroom, nearly bumping into his mother in the hallway.
He walks out of the house in a slump as he shoves his hands deep in the pockets of his baggy trousers, pushes open the low fence door with his foot, and goes out, looking around. He sees Uncle Choi, who is very opportunely smoking a cigarette, sitting on a stool outside his house.
"Hello, Uncle Choi. How are you doing? Shoot me a cigarette?"
Uncle Choi looks at him, and shrugs.
"Sorry, son, I only have one."
Taehyung smiles like it was nothing and grabs the cig from uncle Choi's hands.
"Ah, that's just enough for me. Thanks. Have a good day!"
He comes back to the house, now with a cig in his hands. That's the kind of rascal he is.
He takes a puff of his cigarette and walks into the backyard where his father usually basks in the sun. He takes another puff, sits down on the bench next to his father and looks at the blooming magnolia in the garden, then holds out the cigarette.
His father sighs and wraps his fingers around the cigarette. "Thank you, son, but smoking is bad for you."
"Yeah, tell yourself that ."
Mr. Kim, his father, grins and takes a deep puff.
"Taehyung, I love you very much, you know that yourself, but have some manners." He says as he exhales.
Taehyung sprawls on the bench and spreads his legs as wide as possible. That's his answer.
"You know that I'll support you in anything. I'm just really worried about you, son."
Taehyung sighs and turns his body towards his dad. "Don't worry, old man, I'm bound to survive somehow. I'm no different from an alpha, except that I can give birth to a byproduct."
Mr. Kim scratches his forehead with the thumb of the hand in which his cigarette is clutched.
"Tae, I know. I know this, but society is not aware of it, especially in Daegu. Any alpha who comes to this house to find a mate runs away in terror. Our house already has a bad reputation, you know?"
Taehyung understands. But there's nothing he can do about it. What to do when Daegu is full of stupid chauvinists?
"'Dad, the last alpha asked me if I was a virgin. Do you think that's a normal question to ask? Asking that on the first day of meeting someone? Such alphas humiliate their partners for the rest of their lives."
"No, Taehyung, I don't think that’s normal. What did you say to him?" He asks, irritation in his voice. But not at Taehyung, at the stupid alphas.
Taehyung throws his hands up . "Well, of course I told him I'm not a virgin!"
He takes the cigarette from his father's hands, takes one last drag, and throws the cigarette into the ashtray.
His father looks at him, obviously about to say something, but hesitates. Taehyung doesn't usually have the patience to wait, but this time he waits, looking expectantly at his old man for a minute, two.
His father sighs and finally speaks.
"'Tae, no matter how much you kick around now, one day you will still have to face the reality you know?”
And Taehyung wants to kick, wants to fight back until the end.
"Yeah, yeah," he stands up from his seat, shaking the nonexistent dust off his pants. "I know. See ya."
He walks into the house, shuffling his feet. He drinks water in the kitchen and stares out of the window in silence. Then he decides something for himself, puts a toothpick in his mouth, grabs his shopper and leaves the house. In the garden, Mrs. Kim is standing at the doorstep, watering the flowers.
"'Tae, I'm begging you, at least put some decent clothes on . Who would look at you like that!"
Taehyung examines his wide leg pants, crumpled white t-shirt tucked into his pants, flip-flops, and striped shopper. So what?
"I don't need anyone looking at me."
His mother waves her hand and returns to the flowers.
Taehyung walks out,opens the fence again with his foot and looks around. He sees a familiar car coming towards him and starts waving frantically.
"Hey, dude! Stop the car, bro!"
“Bro” is Park Bogum and his alpha acquaintance, stops the car.
"Bro? You're the bro yourself, Tae. You can call me whatever but 'bro'?"
Taehyung shrugs slightly, opens the front seat door and plops into it, turning his body to face Bogum.
"What's your problem, dude?" At the word "dude," Bogum simply raises his gaze to the sky, questioning God about something. "I don't know what you don't like. Give me a ride to Aunt Baekseung's store."
"Tae, I'm going the other way. Why don't you walk yourself?"
"No, that won’t work, so why don't you give me a ride? You can brag later that you rode in a car with a stunning omega."
Bogum shakes his head and starts the car. "Yeah, as if no one in town knows you."
Taehyung pouts his lips and shakes his head innocently. Bogum just rolls his eyes and tells him to buckle up.
***
Taehyung buys candy at Auntie Baekseung's store and goes home, this time by foot, because Bogum drove at full speed as soon as Taehyung got out of the car.
When he comes home, he hears his mother's muffled voice, apparently proving something to his father once again. He walks over to the living room door and listens.
"Honey, you don't understand. With such manners and temperament, he'll be alone forever! No alpha would want to be with an omega like that. Not one! Don't you understand? Taehyung will be single for the rest of his life..."
And he doesn't really want to hear anything else. He knows what comes next. It's all coming full circle.
He goes into his room and lies irritably on his bed, staring at the ceiling. God, how he just wants everyone to get away from him. Can't he live without constant rebuke? He just wants to enjoy life. Eating, drinking, smoking, traveling, dancing, partying. He doesn't care about the alphas at all. The alphas just need him to fulfill their needs. The alphas don't even think about the fact that omegas have needs too.
Taehyung recalls the last alpha asking him if he was a virgin. He is sure the other alphas who asked him if he was a virgin would have asked him the same thing, only later. This one didn't bother and asked him straight away, good for him.
All the alphas are assholes. Well, almost all of them. The ones who aren't assholes are his friends.
He closes his eyes and thinks about dropping everything and going to Busan to see his grandmother. She's always understood him, always sympathized with him and comforted him.
He's fed up here in Daegu. He was sick of his job at the insurance company, where customers were not smart enough to ask:
"Can I have my crown paid in with my insurance?"
"No, unfortunately, your insurance doesn't cover that ."
"But someone I know did it with insurance!"
"‘Someone you know’ has two hundred thousand won supplementary insurance! Buy the additional insurance and put in your crowns for good. Bye!"
He is fed up with the alphas who never missed a chance to throw at him:
"Look at that doll! Wanna go for a ride?"
"Unless I want a ride on your stupid ass, asshole!"
"Hey, are you out of your mind to say that to an alpha?”
"Did you think hard about what to say to me? Get the fuck out!"
He is tired of his parents worrying too much about his future, although there's nothing wrong with just being yourself. And being single.
Who even came up with the idea that you had to be with someone to be happy? Taehyung is happy alone. He would be just as happy with someone else, but no one he wanted to be with was around.
Taehyung firmly believes that if you can't be happy alone, you won't be happy with a partner either.
He opens his eyes and throws the covers off of him. He stands up abruptly and almost falls over from the way his eyes have darkened, but walks confidently to the table. He takes out a piece of paper, a pen, and then scribbles in sloppy handwriting. Folds it in triplicate and throws it on the desk.
He looks around the room, pulls a suitcase out from under the bed, opens the closet and starts throwing in the things he needs for his spontaneous decision. Then he goes to the bathroom, takes what he needs and throws it into another compartment of the suitcase.
He's ready.
He's going to Busan.
Oops, except...
He picks up his crumpled piece of paper from the table, quietly makes his way to the living room, places the paper on the coffee table, and quietly walks to the front door.
He takes one last look around his parents' house, and then quietly closes the door behind him.
***
He's not leaving for Busan. This almost never happens with trains here, but this time the train is a full two hours late. It's a sign of fate, nothing else. Taehyung doesn't like such signs of fate. He sits in the station waiting room of the train station with his belongings, his phone is almost dead, his power bank, he simply forgot at home and all the power sockets in the station are occupied by those who came to the waiting room first.
Taehyung is bored. He really doesn't know what to do for the entire two hours, and he doesn't want to waste the remaining twenty percent of his phone battery on games. He gets up from his seat and strolls through the station, then sits on the curb and picks at pebbles in the ground. He has already regretted leaving home ten times.
in the light of the station lights he sees the reflections of the past day on the faces of passers-by. The sounds of rumbling trains and the voices of announcements merge into a strange chorus, and for a second he is even distracted from his boredom by watching the people. It would be nice to get a cigarette from someone, but it's a shame that there is no smoking in the stations - that way he could make a conversation with someone about cigarettes, at least. But as luck would have it, he even forgot his e-cigarette at home. Every now and then he glances at his watch and notices wistfully that time is slower than he would like.
But then - thanks to god - Taehyung turns his gaze to a lonely bookstore standing alone by the station.
He quickly gets up from his seat and runs there, bumping shoulders with some businessman in a suit, who curses at him, but Taehyung doesn't seem to notice.
All he sees is the light in the bookstore and a guy sitting there, not paying attention to anyone but playing a game on his phone.
Taehyung clears his throat loudly and the guy jumps up, almost dropping his phone in the process. The guy also clears his throat, embarrassed, and then gets up from his seat, puts his phone in his pocket, and looks at Taehyung, smiling tightly.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" He asks, fixing the books on the shelf.
Taehyung looks at the books and notices that there are up to five identical books in the front row.
"Not selling well?"
"Huh?" The guy interjects.
"I said, these ones in the purple cover aren't selling well?"
"Huh? Yeah. I mean, no. I mean, yeah. No one's interested in that kind of stuff." The guy is silent, then he catches on. "But the book is great! Very interesting. Just awesome."
They're awkwardly silent, and the guy looks anywhere but into his eyes, then raises his eyes to the ceiling, closes them only to have his lips move something like "idiot."
Taehyung clears his throat again, hiding his hands in his pockets.
"So what's this book about? What stuff do you mean?"
The guy's eyes light up.
"You should buy it and read it!"
Taehyung looks incredulous, but then takes the book after all.
"Okay. How much does it cost?"
"What, seriously?"
"Yeah, why? Is there anything unusual about me buying a book in a bookstore?"
"А? No, not at all. That'll be a thousand one hundred won."
"What, really?" Taehyung is genuinely surprised. "That cheap? Why?"
The guy shrugs, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, because these are the last copies of the book. In general. In the world. All the others are sold out."
"Didn't you say that no one is interested in this kind of stuff and this book doesn't sell well?"
Taehyung watches as the guy runs his hand over his face, lowering his gaze and starts picking the edge of a book with his finger.
Taehyung takes pity on him and offers him exactly one thousand one hundred won.
"Can I give you some advice?" He says, putting the book in his backpack. The guy remains silent, but Taehyung continues anyway. "Learn how to sell, bro, you're just terrible at it. If someone else were in my position, there's no way they'd buy the book. Alrighty, bye!"
He fixes his backpack and walks towards the station, and the guy doesn't say anything back.
Taehyung decides to not go to Busan after all.
***
On the bus on the way home, Taehyung starts reading the said book and somehow he can't stop himself from reading it until four in the morning.
He arrives home at ten o'clock at night when his parents are asleep, quietly opens the door and goes to his room. He changes his clothes, washes his face and quickly goes to bed to continue reading the book. The book whose main character seems to be just like him. Same hair color, same eye color, same habits, same looks, same dreams. Even the same situations that once happened to him were described in the book. An omega who doesn't fit society's idea of an omega. Doesn't want children, smokes, goes to parties, is sassy, rude, responds to everyone with straightforwardness, is not modest, and is not a virgin. This character is written with so much love, as if the author of the book himself was in love with the character he wrote.
Taehyung closes the finished book and runs his finger over the title.
"Daegu's gangjeong."
He and this character are even from the same city. Such coincidences simply don't happen. It's fate, no other way.
He has to find the author.
***
"Mom, my love, are you happy I'm back?" Taehyung asks, walking into the kitchen and hugging Mrs. Kim shoulders from behind as she makes pancakes.
Mrs. Kim sighs under her son's arms. "Why did you come back? Do you want to continue torturing us?"
Taehyung hugs his mom tighter and lets go, taking a step back to pour himself some water.
"No, at least not now! Maybe a little bit. But my little trip to Daegu Station wasn't in vain, because I found what you were looking for!"
Taehyung doesn't hear his father walk into the kitchen and sit down at the dining table.
"And what did you find?" his father asks.
Taehyung flinches a little, but then turns to his father and sits down in the chair across from him.
"A book! And in this book, the character is definitely me!"
"Just as restless?" Mrs. Kim asks.
"No! Just like me!" He picks up the book from the counter where he left it and opens to a page with a bookmark in the shape of a brightly colored candy wrapper. "Golden hair, eyes the color of melted chocolate, caramel skin. His long fingers held the cigarette as if it belonged there, and his plump lips enclosed the filter so beautifully that it was impossible to look away. V was undeniably handsome, but what made him even more attractive was his inner strength: he was against what society imposed on omegas, he wasn't afraid to show it or say it out loud, not afraid of being rejected and misunderstood, not afraid to talk directly about things that omegas weren't supposed to talk about. When asked if he was a virgin, he always answered no. He would have done so even if he were still a virgin. Why? Because he believed that his virginity didn't determine what type of person he was, but he could determine from a person and their reaction whether he would continue to have polite interactions with that person, or send them the fuck away. V has worked hard and studied hard to get into university, where omegas have a much harder time getting in than alphas. V doesn't give himself a hard time even when he wants to cry at injustice. V prefers bitter whiskey to sweet..."
"Honey, do you drink whiskey?" Mrs. Kim asks, turning to him.
Taehyung closes the book.
"Mom, is that all you heard?" He asks, looking at his mom resentfully. Mr. Kim sighs heavily.
"No, darling, I heard everything. Okay, you look like a character in a book, what's next?"
"I'm going to find the author!"
"Why?" his dad asks, surprised.
"Because he'll accept me for who I am. And I am the character he has written in his book! Weren't you afraid that I'd be alone? Well, looks like I won't be anymore. There's at least one person in this world who accepts me as I am!" He takes the book from the table and leaves the kitchen.
Mr. and Mrs. Kim sigh.
"Dear..." begins his dad.
"Don't say anything." his mom replies.
***
Taehyung goes back to Daegu Station to ask that bookseller about everything he knows about the author. He must know something, right?
When he gets to the bookstore, the guy is sitting there playing on his phone again. Taehyung clears his throat. The guy flinches and almost drops the phone. Deja vu.
"What can I do for you... Oh, hey. Did you like the book?" The guy asks.
"Hi. Yeah, I liked it. Very much."
The guy blinks. Looks kind of incredulous.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Is there anything unusual about me liking this book? You yourself said that the book sold well."
The guy is silent. Then he clears his throat.
"No, nothing unusual. I'm very satisfied. Very much. Delighted."
Taehyung looks at the guy suspiciously and then takes a look at the exact same number of the same purple books that were just as unsold a couple days ago. Not counting the one he bought.
"Doesn't anyone want to buy the world's last copies of this world-famous book, and at such a low price?" Taehyung asks.
The guy sniffles, adjusting his sweatshirt, tucking his hair behind his ears. So cute, you wouldn't believe he's an alpha.
"Yeah, it's just that everyone has already read the book. Absolutely everyone. In the world."
Taehyung looks at him even more incredulous.
"Yeah. Of course they did. Look, here's the thing," he starts and sees the guy looking at him with interest. "What author is this? J.S, I mean. I looked him up on the internet, but I couldn't find anything. Is that his pseudonym? Is this a brand new author? Do you know anything about him?"
The guy chokes on his saliva, but coughs it up and asks.
"What is it? Why do you want to know?"
"Can't I be curious about an author I like? Maybe I would like to read his books or send a thank you email. What's up with your service, dude?"
"Send...A thank you email?" The guy asks slowly.
"Yeah. You know, authors get sent that sometimes when readers like their work."
"Uh-huh, yeah. Got it. Nah, he doesn't have any more books, at least not any published ones. It's his pen name."
"Okay, what publishing house is he with? The book doesn't say anything. Does he have an e-mail or something?"
The guy is silent.
"Well, or pigeon mail? Anything? Do you know anyone who does?"
"I...," the guy starts, but his stomach rumbles obviously from hunger, and the guy blushes. "I'll ask the people I know. And the people I know know"
"Okay, kid, thanks. It'd be nice if you could actually find his contacts for me. I'd really appreciate it. Would you like to grab something to eat together as a thank you? When's your break?"
The guy looks at his watch.
"Actually... In four minutes."
"Great, then let's go eat some chicken. By the way, do you have a cig?"
***
"What's your name, kid?" Taehyung asks, leaning back in his chair contentedly after having eaten enough chicken.
"Jeongguk."
"And I'm Taehyung. And why do you work at a bookstore, Jeongguk?"
Jeongguk shrugged.
"I help my uncle in my free time while I write my thesis at uni. I have a full six months free of uni to write it, so I'm staying with my parents in Busan for that time, and I go to Daegu a couple times a week to help my uncle in the bookstore here. And when my thesis is done, I’m going to come back to Seoul."
"Where are you studying and what exactly?"
"At Seoul National as a software engineer. "
Taehyung whistled. "Smart kid. And how old are you, genius?"
"Twenty-two. What about you?"
"I'm your hyung, kid. I'm twenty-three."
"And what are you doing, hyung? Are you studying too?"
Taehyung smiles. "Look at you, what a polite little guy. No, I'm not studying. I started working immediately after I graduated high school because my grandma got sick. I helped my parents because the treatment was very expensive. But I wanted to study literature next year and become a literature teacher like John Keating of the Dead Poets Society. Only without the tragedies and layoffs."
Jeongguk smiles back and nods approvingly. "That's great, hyung. I hope it works out for you. You look like someone who inspires people."
With Jeongguk he feels comfortable. Surprisingly so. Not once in the entire conversation does he say anything that could potentially upset Taehyung in a conversation with alphas. Jeongguk is humble and quiet and could easily be mistaken for a beta because he doesn't puff out his chest like many alphas do, doesn’t boast about his accomplishments, never once mentions their ranks in conversation, and most surprisingly, he hasn’t tried to flirt with Taehyung. They talk as equals, Jeongguk listens attentively and doesn't comment on everything like the alphas usually do.
"Do you want dessert? Hyung will treat you." Taehyung says and pinches his cheek.
***
They exchange numbers and when Taehyung isn't exhausted from his night shifts at work, he comes over to Jeongguk's place to have lunch together.
"What do you work as, hyung?" Jeongguk asks, puffing out his cheeks up cutely as he chews on his beef.
"I work for an insurance company. In a call center. Unfortunately, I work with people who have insurance to go on holiday abroad, which means I sometimes have to work at night."
"Oh, and what's that like?"
"There are interesting cases, sure, but most people aren't the smartest creatures, you know."
Jeongguk nods, then leans back in his chair. "I understand. I'm studying software engineering, so all my relatives think I know everything. Like, literally everything. I can still understand when they ask me to fix a computer, I mean, they think programmers know everything about computers. But when they ask me to fix the gas stove? Bro."
Taehyung laughs gleefully, throwing back his head. He doesn't notice Jeongguk looking at him with admiration.
***
taebooty [12:02:30]:
how's my little kitty doing?
J.K. [12:05:35]:
Don't call me that, hyung
taebooty [12:40:23]:
:D
taebooty [12:41:29]:
look how rude you are. you need to be gentle and polite with hyung, hyung should be allowed to call you kitty, bunny! ^__^
J.K. [12:43:35]:
Hyung...
taebooty [12:44:34]:
do u want to go for a walk today, baby bear?
J.K. [12:45:21]:
You're the one who's a baby bear!
J.K. [12:45:40]:
I want to.
***
J.K. [20:06:36]:
Hyung, you left your cigarettes in my backpack
taebooty [20:07:26]:
:(
taebooty [20:07:50]:
i wont survive these days...
taebooty [20:08:29]:
i hope ive been a good friend to you and you’ll remember me, sweet sweet Jeonggukkie
J.K.. [20:10:35]:
Hyung, oh my goodness
J.K. [20:11:10]:
I'll bring you your cigarettes.
taebooty [20:12:34]:
what a service!!!
J.K. [20:14:21]:
( ◡‿◡ *)
taebooty [20:15:43]:
jeongguk??? whats that? are those emojis? did you get kidnapped???
taebooty [12:16:34]:
im coming Jeonggukkie ill save you baby!!!!
J.K. [20:18:21]:
( ╯°□°)╯ ┻━━┻
***
taebooty [19:02:30]:
i have your sweatshirt ;-)
J.K. [19:05:35]:
Hyung...
taebooty [19:40:23]:
its your fault, u didn't keep an eye on it :-D
J.K.. [19:41:29]:
( `ε´ )
taebooty [19:40:23]:
:v)
***
J.K. [12:10:22]:
Hyung
taebooty [12:40:23]:
im here, my baby star candy
J.K. [12:41:29]:
(¬_¬ )
J.K. [12:41:29]:
I got you the author's email.
J.K. [12:41:29]:
taebooty [12:42:23]:
god baby, you're the best!!! <3
J.K. [12:43:29]:
(/▿＼ )
***
Taehyung has been staring at the open page of his email for about fifteen minutes and can't bring himself to write on it... Justin Seagulll? Is that what his J.S. stands for?
He goes into the kitchen, makes himself a cup of tea and sits down at his laptop again.
Dear Mr. Segal,
No. Delete.
Dear Justin Seagull,
Should he write formally or informally? How should he address a man to whom he is eternally grateful?
Dear Justin,
Oh, God, no, Taehyung. This isn't "Atonement" for you. Not yet.
Dear Mr. Segal,
I would like to thank you for your wonderful book. I realize that there's at least one person in the world who understands me.
V's character is so free that he doesn't care what society dictates. He continues to live his life the way he wants, he remains as himself even in a society that doesn't accept him. And even in that society, he finds people who truly love him. He finds friends, he finds love.
I'm just like V. It's like the book was written by me. I'm an omega too, unfortunately.
I hope that like V, I find people who will love me no matter what.
And I hope that I find someone who loves me for who I am.
Your loyal reader,
Kim Taehyung
Taehyung feels his hands shaking. He quickly closes the laptop lid and exhales. Then he picks up his phone and opens the chat with Jeongguk. He has been bugging him about the author and the book for weeks.
taebooty [17:40:23]:
i texted him!!! i almost shit my pants
J.K. [12:43:29]:
I know
J.K. [12:43:29]:
Let's not get into details
taebooty [17:40:23]:
you know what? and what details?
taebooty [17:40:23]:
lets not get into details that I texted him or that I almost shit my pants?
taebooty [17:40:23]:
and what exactly do you know? that I almost shit my pants?
taebooty [17:40:23]:
or did you already know what I wrote to him? if yes, how did you know that?
J.K.. [12:43:29]:
Geez, hyung... What a mouthy one you are
J.K. [12:43:29]:
No details about how you shit your pants, please
taebooty [17:40:23]:
i didnt shit my pants, I ALMOST shit my pants! that's a big difference!!!
J.K. [12:43:29]:
Please let's not further discuss this topic
J.K. [12:43:29]:
And I know what you wrote to him
taebooty [17:40:23]:
How?
J.K. [12:43:29]:
Justin told me
taebooty [17:40:23]:
what??& take the call
Jeongguk sighs and takes a call from Taehyung.
"What do you mean he told you?" Taehyung asks with an exhale. Probably out of nerves, he went out for a smoke.
"Well, I have his contact for a reason. We... communicate. Sometimes. He's an old acquaintance of mine."
"Holy shit, Jeonggukkie. If he says something about me, tell me!!"
"Deal," Jeongguk sighs. Shit, he accidentally revealed that he knows that Taehyung wrote to ‘Justin Seagull’, and now he has to deal with it. Well, worse things happen.
"Are you in Busan today?" He hears Taehyung inhale the cigarette after the question and then exhale.
"Yeah, but I'm coming to Daegu for the weekend."
"Cool! Let's go eat the most delicious makguksu in the world." Not a question, but a statement. Taehyung’s style.
"That's impossible."
"Why?" Taehyung asks curiously. Jeongguk holds back a laugh.
"Because I make the most delicious makguksu in the world."
Taehyung breathes in surprise and then laughs. Jeongguk really likes his laugh, he wishes he could hear it more often.
"Then you owe me a makguksu, sweety. But we can still go eat the makguksu I’ve mentioned. My treat. Since it's not the tastiest in the world, it's definitely the tastiest in Daegu, Jeonggukkie baby."
Jeongguk presses the phone tighter to his ear and smiles even wider.
"Deal, hyung."
***
Dear Taehyung,
Thank you for writing to me personally about your feelings about my book. I'm glad you liked it.
I'm also very glad that there is a person like V in the world. Due to societal pressure, many people fit in and become the same. People like you, Taehyung, are unique. Society hasn't broken you.
Society breaks everyone, but especially the omegas. Don't say you're sorry for being an omega. Omegas are beautiful and strong, but society is ruthless. Rest assured that one day this society will change because of omegas like you.
I am, unfortunately, an alpha. The "unfortunately" is appropriate, in my opinion. What do you think?
Sincerely,
JS.
***
Taehyung is found in the garden by his father. He sits down next to him and looks at his son, who is clearly not smoking his first cigarette. "Will you shoot your dad a cigarette?"
Taehyung looks at him, nods, and hands over the half-empty pack.
"What's wrong, son? Something bad?" Mr. Kim asks, lighting a cigarette.
Taehyung shakes his head. "No, on the contrary. I'm just a little... nervous? And I can hardly believe my luck."
"What do you mean?"
"I already told you about how I read a book where the character looks and behaves very much like me."
His dad nods, indicating that he is listening.
"I wrote to the author of that book. We've been emailing each other. He understands me. He could be my person.”
His father sighs. "You haven't met him, you can't know for sure."
"No, Dad," Taehyung puts out his cigarette and turns to his father. "You don't have to see someone to realize that they understand you. That's not absolutely necessary, especially when I read his book and know he really thinks the way he wrote in his book, in his characters. He's not the type of alpha chauvinist who asks stupid questions or thinks I'm inferior just because I'm an omega."
"He's an alpha?" Mr. Kim asks. Taehyung starts to get angry.
"Dad, does it really matter! Whether he's a beta or an omega, I wouldn't care as long as he understands me!"
His father sighs. "I understand you, son, but..."
They hear the doorbell ring and turn their heads in sync. Taehyung pats his father's shoulder and gets up to open the door. He knows it's Jeongguk because they agreed to go to the movies.
"Hey, hyung!" He sees Jeongguk's big smile and how cute his nose wrinkles when he smiles. He's relieved and his mood gets better.
"Hey, Jeonggukkie!" Taehyung moves closer and wraps his arms around him. He feels the way Jeongguk tenses up under his arms, but then relaxes and hugs back. He smells nice, clean, with a light perfume and minty bubble gum. Taehyung really likes it.
"Are you hungry? I can make japchae for a quick meal." Says Taehyung, breaking the hug.
"No, hyung, thank you. I ate too much junk food yesterday, so today I'm just eating light food."
"What, and no popcorn?" Taehyung frowns.
Jeongguk shakes his head. Then he pokes a finger at his abs. Taehyung wouldn't be surprised if all eight packs were in there, not six. Jeongguk does look like a wet dream.
"If I want this to stay that way, I have to discipline myself."
Taehyung pokes a finger at his stomach, too. He has a soft flat stomach, but no six or eight pack abs.
"Ggukie, you can't restrict yourself from eating!".
"I never restrict myself from eating, hyungie, don't worry. I was really full yesterday and I don't want my stomach to hate me for it, so don't worry."
Taehyung gives an "I'm watching you" gesture and walks into the living room to get his bag. It's hot outside again, so he takes the red bandana from the bag and gathers his hair around his forehead with it, tying it at the side instead of the back like he usually does. It looks really stylish, like everything Taehyung does.
Jeongguk stands there, shuffling from one foot to the other, watching. He looks at Taehyung's bare feet, then at the comfortable light jeans, the black cotton T-shirt. Then looks at his face as Taehyung adjusts his bandana. On his lips.
"Does it look okay?" Taehyung asks, biting his lower lip and looks at Jeongguk from under his eyelashes.
"Y-yeah. It looks great."
"Then let's go, kid."
Kid.
***
Dear JS,
Changing society is a big responsibility, but I will do my best :)
Yes, unfortunately you are an alpha, but even among alphas there are good ones!
Like you.
Or my friend Jeonggukkie. He's great, so great that I would never say he's an alpha if I didn't know.
In our society, both alphas and omegas are under pressure. Of course omegas are under more pressure but alphas also have a harder time. Except some (many haha) alphas think they can act like assholes and make stupid excuses for it. Why do they think it's okay to ask omegas if they're virgins? Why do they even care so much about it in the first place? Stupid.
Sorry for that. It's a sensitive topic for me.
Why did you decide to write this book? Weren't you afraid of being judged?
If anything, you don't have to answer this question.
Sincerely,
Taehyung
***
Dear Taehyung,
I believe that alphas have the power to change their behavior. In any case, they have it easier than omegas, so I won’t justify the behavior of my fellow subgendered alphas.
Glad to hear that you have a decent alpha in your circle.
Asking someone about intimate things is unacceptable. Especially when it comes to things like virginity. It's a term often used to intimidate, harass, and humiliate. So if someone asks you something like that - run away or punch them in the face (I'm against violence, by the way, but sometimes it still feels good, right?). It's important for stupid alphas to put themselves above others, to show that they are better at least somewhere, because they have not achieved anything else in life, and here you can find a virgin omega and show who is the master of the house. It's terrible. I don't think people like them belong in normal society.
It's okay, Taehyung, you can talk to me about anything that’s bothering you.
I decided to write this book because I'm tired of reading books about omegas who are always in trouble. These are wild fantasies of alphas who believe omegas are incapable of anything. Don't get me wrong, I think it's okay to be weak, too. It's okay to want to care, it's okay to be weaker than someone else. But not when who you are and what you are capable of is defined for the entire subgender.
One of my friends is an omega and I'm so tired of seeing him treated like one, even though he constantly hits those who mistreat him with his fists.
I wasn't afraid of being judged, but I was afraid that not many people would be interested in reading what I wrote. And so it turned out to be, unfortunately. But I believe that society will change and one day my book will be a bestseller :)
Regards,
Jay.
***
"God, I'm such an idiot," Jeongguk whispers. They sit in their small printing shop and watch as completely tasteless wedding photocards are printed for their regular client. "It was meant to brie" and two pieces of cheese in wedding outfits holding hands. Ew.
It's a good thing he didn't tell Taehyung that he co-owns a small print shop with his friends, Jimin and Yoongi, otherwise Taehyung would have made fun of him for those cards.
"What is it, kid?" Yoongi, one of his closest friends, asks.
"I fucked up with an omega I like."
This reached the ears of Jimin, who was sitting nearby.
"What are you talking about? An omega you like?" He scooted closer to them, letting his chair legs squeak on the floor.
"Shit, well yeah. Anyway, he read my book. He really liked it because he said V is just like him. He’s really exactly like him, that's pretty much how I imagined V when I wrote the book. Except even in my imagination, he wasn't so fucking handsome. You should have seen Taehyung..." he starts dreamily, but he's interrupted by Jimin.
"Taehyung?"
Jeongguk takes up a stack of printed postcards and puts them in a box.
"Yeah, that’s the omega I told you guys about. The one I go to Daegu to see. He's very much similar to V, not only in appearance, but also in his habits and character. I don't believe what I'm saying, because such coincidences like that don't happen, but it's true”.
They are silent, waiting for Jeongguk to continue, but he doesn't.
"So what? Why are you an idiot?" Yoongi asks.
Jeongguk sighs. "Because Taehyung really liked the author, and I didn't say that I was actually the author because I didn't want any extra attention. And I was embarrassed to say that for several reasons."
"What reasons?"
"When Taehyung came up to me a couple days after he bought the book, I thought he came up to me to tell me how terrible the book was because he's literally the only person besides you, Namjoon-hyung, Hobi-hyung, and Jin-hyung who's read the book. So I was reluctant to say anything to him from the moment I saw him, but when he said that he was excited about the book and wanted to talk to the author, I... Panicked. Because when the most beautiful man in the world stands in front of you and says he likes your book, then... It's very hard to believe that! Anyways, I couldn't tell him it was me. I gave him an old email of mine and he writes to me there as the author and I write him back."
"Idiot." Yoongi and Jimin exclaims in unison.
"So what are you going to do now?" Jimin asks.
Jeongguk shrugs, closing the box of postcards. "Well, at some point, Taehyung will get bored of emailing with the author, right?"
***
Taehyung doesn't get bored. Not after a week, not after two weeks, not after a month. After the first two weeks, Jeongguk thought about not responding to Taehyung anymore, but seeing how excited Taehyung is about emailing the "author" when they meet, he doesn't want to ruin his happiness. Plus, their emailing has reached a very... interesting stage.
Hey Jay,
Ggukie and I went to the amusement park today and oh my gosh, Ggukie is afraid of heights! He's so cute, but you know that since you know him too. He's like the little bro I never had.
I'm starting to study for my university entrance exams, because oh my god, the entrance exams are so hard.
Jay, I'm sorry to ask you this. Would you like to meet sometime? Jeongguk mentioned that you live not so far away from Daegu. I understand if you don't want to meet, but I'd really like to see you. I feel like you understand me like no one else.
Love,
Tae
"’Little bro?’?! ‘Love, Tae’?!" Jeongguk shrieks. Yoongi jumps up in surprise, dropping a stack of other awful postcards, this time also featuring two cheeses with "You make such a gouda couple" written on them.
"Kid, why the fuck you’re yelling?" He asks, pulling up his pants and crouching down to pick up the postcards scattered on the floor.
"Taehyung wants to meet. With me, but not by me. I have to think of something. God, it’s so fucked up, hyung."
"Well, then meet him yourself and tell him everything." Yoongi shrugged, getting up and walking over to the table of boxes. "What's the problem?"
"I can't, Taehyung has completely different feelings for me. Different ones for the other me too!"
Jeonnguk gestured vigorously with his hands and almost tore the hair on his head.
Yoongi just watches him.
"Kid, you're confusing me."
"Shit, he has one way of feeling about me as an author and another way of feeling about me as me. Me, Jeon Jeongguk, the ‘little bro’. This is so fucked up, I've never had my heart broken like this before. If I come out, it'll break Taehyung's heart, and I don't want that at all."
"You should have thought about that before."
"Hyung, I didn't think it would go this far."
He really didn't think it would go this far. All he wanted was for Taehyung to talk to his favorite author, to make sure that it was someone in the world who understands him.
Jeongguk understands him too, right? Jeongguk, who's by his side almost every day.
"Hyung."
"No."
"Hyungie."
"Jeongguk, no."
"Hyung, please, I’m begging you."
"I said no."
“Then I'll tell Jimin that you–"
"Okay! Geez, okay, kid."
Jeongguk grins and looks at Yoongi, arms crossed.
"I see you fear the wrath of someone you once called shorty."
Yoongi shrugs. "Even though we're of the same height, he's still a shorty. But he's got abs of steel and a good punch."
Jeongguk couldn't agree more. He had witnessed Jimin's daring self-defense more than once, and more than once he had witnessed Jimin defend the honor of his omega friends, beta friends, and even alpha friends. He knew Jimin wouldn't touch any of his friends, and he's sure Yoongi knew that too.
"Hyung, you just need to meet him and show him that you're not who he thought you were. Act like a disgusting slippery alpha."
"That's dumb. What's the point of all this when you yourself said that you don't want to break his heart?"
Jeongguk took a breath.
"I want him to separate me from the author of the book. It sounds stupid, but I don't want him to start treating me any differently if he knows I'm the author of the book. Even if his attitude towards me gets better, if he falls in love with me, whatever... I don't know, I don't want that. I want him to like Jeon Jeongguk. Not Justin Seagulll."
Yoongi raised an eyebrow, closing the box of folded cards.
"Justin Seagull is Jeon Jeongguk"
"You don't understand," Jeongguk runs his hands over his face, rubbing it until it's red. "That is me, but Taehyung already knows us as different people. He has different feelings towards me and Justin Seagull. He has a lot of respect for Justin, I think he even thinks about Justin being his hyung. And here it's just me. Jeon Jeongguk who wants to be loved for who he is. Justin Seagull is my alter ego. It's still not me."
It's hard for Yoongi to understand Jeongguk's thought process. Apparently, there is something important to him in all of this that Yoongi can't quite understand. What makes sense for Yoongi is: go and say to Taehyung, "Hey, I'm your favorite author. I wrote a character who's exactly you. Let's hold hands, run off into the sunset, and love each other for the rest of our lives?". Makes sense, right? It just makes sense.
But it only makes sense for Yoongi, not Jeongguk.
"Okay. What should I do? Dress up like a peacock, and go and bullshit your pretty boy?"
"Yes. But wait. First we have to..."
***
First, they have to prove to Taehyung that the author is really Yoongi. So Jeongguk places Yoongi against a white wall, takes a quick photo of him so that Yoongi looks surprised and disheveled, and then redesigns the layout of his book to include Yoongi's photo and an "about the author" column on the back cover. Jimin looks at the whole thing and cackles.
Jeongguk makes a single copy of the book for Yoongi to give to Taehyung in person when they meet so that Taehyung can see that yes, his one and only, favorite author is sitting in front of him. Who is not Jeongguk.
Yoongi just walks around in circles, sighing and grunting like an old man.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell him it's you?" Jimin asks again as he sits on the table and watches the circus going on.
"Yes I’m... I'm sure." Somehow not too confident, says Jeongguk.
***
Dear Taehyung,
You and "Ggukie" are really close. Have you considered seeing him as more than that?
You'll definitely succeed, Taehyung. Don't stop and pursue your dream.
We can meet. You can suggest a location. I'm willing to come to Daegu.
Jay.
"That's a bit dry you wrote to him." Yoongi comments on his letter.
Jeongguk shoves him in the shoulder.
***
Dear Jay,
Ggukie is very nice and incredibly handsome, and I'm sure he'll find the right person for him, because I... I feel like my heart is busy with someone else.
Let's meet at Ryu Coffee Roasters on Saturday at 12 noon? On Gongpyeong-dong.
Love,
Tae
***
"Your lover isn't completely hiding to whom his heart belongs to." Yoongi smirks.
Jeongguk falls face down on his folded arms. God, this is a nightmare. His heart is breaking into pieces more and more by the second.
"Alright, alright little one." Yoongi pats him on the shoulder. "I'll make sure he's all about me...about you? About me? Anyway, I’ll make sure he’ll forget about his feelings"
Jeongguk sighs.
Dear Taehyung,
It's possible that you're missing out on a lot. Think about it.
I'll be waiting for you at one of the free tables. So let you recognize me, I'll put my book on the edge of the table.
Jay.
***
"Oh God," Jimin whispers quietly. "What has he dressed himself in?"
Jeongguk, on the other hand, just presses his fingers against his eyelids, trying to keep the emerging hysteria at bay.
Yoongi is sitting at the table with his dark hair pulled back and is wearing a suit with a white shirt and a tie, and a leather jacket on top of it all. He has dark glasses on his nose, even though he's indoors. Besides a book on the table, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter rests next to his hand.
"Fuck," exhales Jeongguk. " Fuck . What's he up to?"
Jimin tries really hard not to laugh out loud.
They sit a couple tables away from Yoongi. Jimin is wearing a silk shirt and jeans, and that would be okay, but he’s also wearing a long silver wig. Jeongguk is wearing a hat, glasses, and a glued-on mustache, and he's also changed his style to a more... Grandpa-ish one. So he's wearing wide pants and a jacket two sizes bigger, which is big even for him in the shoulders.
Jeongguk sees Taehyung enter the coffee shop, a stunning looking Taehyung in a cream cardigan and light colored jeans. He's all glowing, it's like he's made of magic dust and he's so... Jimin sees Jeongguk staring, so he lifts the menu so that it covers his face.
"You're too obvious. He'd recognize you even if you swapped bodies with someone else because your puppy dog look couldn’t be confused with anything."
Taehyung searches for the right table with his eyes, looking for a book. And he finds it.
He walks over to the table, says something quietly with a smile on his face, watching Yoongi's reaction.
Yoongi looks at Taehyung from under his brow, then nods nonchalantly to the chair across from him. You can tell by Taehyung's expression that he's slightly taken aback by this, like he was expecting something else.
"Are you Justin Seagull?" Taehyung asks a little louder, so Jeongguk and Jimin are able to hear it.
"Yes, pretty, I'm Justin Seagull. You can look at the back of this book, here." He says pushing the book closer to Taehyung.
Taehyung picks it up from the table and turns it over to look at the back of the book that had the photo in it.
Jeongguk sees Taehyung looking surprised.
"There was no picture in my book."
Yoongi snorts. "Of course, baby, since it's the only copy. I’d rather remain anonymous."
Taehyung nods understandingly.
Yoongi starts snapping his finger in the air, clearly beckoning for the waiter. Taehyung's face visibly grimaces at this.
Jeongguk and Jimin do it too, even though they know it's part of the plan. They're not used to seeing the normally polite Yoongi like this.
The waiter comes over to take their order, and Taehyung opens his mouth to order when Yoongi interrupts him.
"Babe, I know better what to order. We'll have two Americanos and two New York cheesecakes. And make it quick."
The waiter quickly writes everything down, nods, and steps away from the table to hand the order to the barista. Yoongi shakes the invisible dust off his shoulder, and then reaches for the pack of cigarettes, pulls one cigarette out with his lips, and says:
"I hope you don't mind that I placed the order for you...".
He speaks further more quietly and slurred, so Jeongguk and Jimin can't hear him, but they see him raise the lighter to his face and light the cigarette. Taehyung has a look of utter shock on his face, you can tell he doesn't know what to say. It's obvious that he didn't expect this.
Taehyung doesn't have time to open his mouth to say anything before a waiter walks up to them.
"I'm sorry, but smoking is not allowed here. This is a coffee shop," the waiter says.
Yoongi looks at the waiter without putting out his cigarette.
"That's exactly the point, this is a coffee shop. People usually smoke with coffee," Yoongi retorts.
"We are not stopping you from smoking, but not indoors or in a public place.”
Yoongi exhales smoke and shakes his head. "No, kid, you're forbidding me to smoke. Do you even know who I am?"
Taehyung sits there, covering his mouth with the palm of his hand. Jeongguk feels like Yoongi may have gone too far.
"No, sir, I don't know."
Yoongi plops a wad of cash on the table. Jeongguk's jaw nearly hit the table. Where did he get a wad of dollars from?
"I'm the king of this town, so I can do whatever I want here. Run for the ashtray, kid."
Says Yoongi, flicking the ashes into a half-empty pack of cigarettes. Jeongguk exhaled with relief. Even though Yoongi had gotten into the image of a gangster, still his upbringing doesn't allow him to go that far.
"Sir, I'll have to call the police..."
Then Taehyung can't take it anymore and gets up. "No, I apologize. I'm really sorry, please don't call the police. We're just leaving now. Here," he takes out some money from his wallet. "Take it. It's money for our order."
And Taehyung hurries to leave the coffee shop. Yoongi sighs, stubs out his cigarette on the pack, gets up from his seat, and follows Taehyung.
Jeongguk and Jimin remain seated, not moving, because if they were to get up and follow Taehyung and Yoongi, it would look suspicious. So, they watch them through the glass doors and windows.
Taehyung says something to Yoongi, gesturing actively, and Yoongi answers calmly. Taehyung crosses his arms over his chest, nods at what Yoongi says and then takes the book from his hands.
They continue talking for a few minutes more before leaving.
Jeongguk turns his torso towards Jimin and looks at him questioningly. Jimin looks back at him in response.
***
"What circus did you stir up there, hyung?" Jeongguk asks as soon as Yoongi walks through the door of the print shop. Jimin didn’t wait and went home to sleep, so Jeongguk waited for Yoongi alone.
Yoongi shrugs. "You asked me to make sure Taehyung no longer has feelings for your alter ego.”
Jeongguk presses his fingers to his eyelids. This gesture has become a habit over these past couple of days.
"Yeah, but you literally wanted to have the police come after you, hyung.. That's too much. And you even made Taehyung pay for our order."
"Hey, kid, don't have such a low opinion of me. I put the money for the order into the book I gave him. He just didn't know about it because he wouldn't have accepted money directly from me. I suspected that was how he would react. Quite a healthy reaction to a situation like that."
Jeongguk stands there, opening and closing his mouth, not knowing what to say.
"What did Taehyung say to you?" He finally asks.
Yoongi stands there for a while without answering. Then he scratches the back of his head.
"Actually, he asked for another meeting. He said that he just couldn’t believe I'm such an asshole."
Jeongguk groans in frustration. "God, we’re so fucked, hyung. What should we do?"
Yoongi frowns. "What can we do? We need to meet with him again."
"And you're going to put on this circus again? Just don't overdo it, I beg you."
Yoongi rolls his eyes, takes off his jacket and sits down. "I didn't mean to overdo it. To be honest, I don't even want to act like that anymore, kid. It would be great if you confessed, because I didn't think this circus would last longer than a few hours. But now you either tell him that you're the one who made this mess, or I'll act less and less like an asshole, and then I'll stop altogether, and eventually Taehyung will really fall for me. Finita la commedia.”
Jeongguk ponders. God, he's such an idiot. He's really made such a mess that now he has to deal with it himself. But he needs time because... Because now he needs to figure out what to do so Taehyung doesn't think he's a liar and just a terrible person.
"Hyung, do whatever you want. Just give me time."
Yoongi spreads his hands. "Okay. Just make sure you don't run out of time."
***
Dear Jay,
Thank you for tonight. I'm still not quite used to the fact that you... are a bit rougher than I thought, but tonight was a lot better than our first meeting. I can see that you're not what you appear to be, so I hope you will open up to me over time. And tell me your real name.
I'm sure you became the way you are for a reason. Something happened that made you so defensive around other people.
Taehyung.
"You see, he stopped ending his letters with 'Love, Taehyung’. We got what we wanted. Can you finally take this damn box of postcards out of my hands?"
Yoongi came to the bookstore to deliver postcards featuring views of South Korean cities for sale, but he stumbled upon Jeongguk, who immediately read an email from Taehyung.
"Yeah, hyung, but he still thinks that you haven't fully opened up to him and he's waiting for it. He's hinting that he wants to keep seeing you. Fuck.”
"Yeah, but everything is okay. Why are you so sad, kid? He's already starting to wonder if he even needs this Jay."
He sees Jeongguk placing his index finger on his lips, and he falls silent. He turns around and sees Taehyung walking towards them. Damn.
"Jeonggukkie! Oh, and who's with you? Jay? Hi!" Taehyung approaches the bookstore, looking brighter than the sun. God, how can someone be so…
But there is some concern on his face.
"Hi, Taehyungie-hyung. Is everything okay? Are you going somewhere?" Jeongguk asks, while observing out of the corner of his eye as Yoongi attempts to make his appearance more casual to fit the image in front of Taehyung.
"I... Yeah. I was going to my grandma's, but then my mom called and said my dad turned his head the wrong way while assembling the wardrobe and now he can barely move. Don't ask how it happened. So, here's a question: does anyone know how to assemble a wardrobe?"
Jeongguk and Yoongi exchange looks.
***
Jeongguk closes the bookstore fifteen minutes early, and everyone sets off together to help Taehyung assemble his wardrobe.
Honestly, Jeongguk has no idea how to assemble wardrobes, but he hopes to learn something along the way.
At Taehyung's home, as always, there's a delicious aroma wafting through the air. Taehyung often complains that Mrs. Kim doesn't care about his figure at all - she bakes buns and pies that Taehyung just can't resist.
Jeongguk can't resist either. And neither does Yoongi, even though he is not a big fan of sweets.
"Thank you for coming to help us, boys. Have some pie while it's still warm, and then you can deal with the wardrobe," Mrs. Kim says, putting down the plates of chocolate cake slices and glasses of milk in front of them, then heading off to bring Mr. Kim a glass of water.
Taehyung eventually explains what happened: Mr. Kim was assembling the wardrobe, then suddenly turned his head at the sound of a bird's cry and, well... Now he can't turn his head anymore. Mrs. Kim has already scheduled a visit to the orthopedist for him in the morning, but it would still be nice to assemble the wardrobe that is standing in the middle of the living room.
It finally occurs to Yoongi that he's supposed to be an alpha male.
"Any self-respecting alpha," he says, grimacing slightly. Luckily, only Jeongguk notices, "knows how to assemble a wardrobe. So, give me the tools, and I'll prove it to you."
He takes a toothpick between his teeth, combs his hair back with his fingers, and gets up from the table.
Taehyung blinks in surprise and then nods towards the living room.
Everything in the living room is exactly as Mr. Kim left it. Tools on the floor, screws, and wooden parts of the wardrobe as well.
Jeongguk and Taehyung rush over to help Yoongi, but he just waves them off, indicating with his hand that he doesn't need help.
And he assembles the wardrobe together in just half an hour by himself, as if he had spent his whole life assembling wardrobes.
Mrs. Kim enters the living room and claps her hands.
"Who will get such a good son-in-law..." she says, glancing at Taehyung. Some things never change.
Then Mrs. Kim waves her hand and calls them all into the backyard.
There, they find a tray of lemonades waiting for them, along with Mr. Kim, who has somewhat recovered during this time and decided to come down for some fresh air. He can't turn his head towards the guests, so he turns his whole body.
"Hello, boys. Thank you for helping with the wardrobe. This is the trouble I've got into, as you can see. The human body is so fragile."
Taehyung shrugs. "We didn't assemble the wardrobe, dad. It was all Jay." He points to Yoongi.
"Someone here has golden hands!" Mr. Kim smiles.
Yoongi picks up a glass of lemonade from the tray and takes a sip. Then he shakes his head.
"Oh, come on, Mr. Kim. I'm just glad to help."
"Oh, what a polite boy," Mrs. Kim says.
Jeongguk frowns. What's actually happening here?
He looks at Taehyung and sees that Taehyung is already looking at him.
Taehyung looks away and picks up a glass of lemonade.
"I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight. I've never turned my head so carelessly before," Mr. Kim sighs.
Yoongi puts the glass of lemonade back on the tray and stands up, and walks towards Mr. Kim.
"May I try something?" he asks. Mr. Kim looks at him questioningly, then just shrugs in agreement.
Yoongi carefully takes Mr. Kim's head between his palms, runs his hand along his neck, pressing with his fingers, checking something. Then he lightly presses his fingers in the middle of the collarbone.
"Does it hurt here?" he asks. Mr. Kim hums affirmatively. Then Yoongi runs his hand along the axis of his shoulder blade and presses in the right spot. “Here?"
Mr. Kim hums affirmatively again.
"You need to press on these points, where I pressed, for about one to two minutes each day. If you have a tennis ball, you can use it to massage these points. You'll feel much better in a couple of days."
Mrs. Kim, Jeongguk, and Taehyung look at Yoongi in surprise. Yoongi just shrugs in response.
"My uncle is a manual therapist."
Mr. Kim massages the point in the middle of the clavicle that Yoongi pressed on.
"It seems that when I massage here, it gets a little easier. Thank you, son."
"Son?" Jeongguk's head starts spinning.
He hears Taehyung choking on his lemonade.
***
"He called you 'son'! Hyung, I’m doomed. We have to stop all of this or..."
"Or what, Gguk? You've cooked up this mess yourself and now you're telling me we need to stop because you realize it's gone too far? I couldn't just sit back and not help Taehyung's parents. I know how to assemble furniture, and my uncle is a manual therapist. I couldn't just do nothing."
Jeongguk sighs and drops his face into his hands. "I understand, hyung. You've done everything right. It's just that I don't know what to do anymore. Taehyung likes you, you impressed his parents. I can't impress him with anything because I don't know how to do anything like you do! All I can do is be there."
"Isn't that enough?" Yoongi asks.
"No, that's not enough! I can be there, but he won't let me be as close as I want to be, you know? I can be there, but it's not enough just to be there. It sounds horribly selfish. It sounds very alpha-like, just like Taehyung hates. God, I'm an alpha that Taehyung can't stand. A toxic alpha who wants everything for himself. He'll hate me even more when..."
"Okay, okay, stop." Yoongi holds up his hands. "You're getting carried away, dude. Calm down. You never did anything to make yourself look like a toxic alpha in Taehyung's eyes. You made a mistake by not telling him you were the author. But you're just a scared kid in love for the first time, and now I get it. Relax, we'll sort everything out."
Then Jeongguk flinches slightly at the sound of a notification. He checks his phone and sees a new email from Taehyung.
Hey, Jay,
My parents would like to meet you again. Honestly, I would like to meet you again too.
Would you like to come over for dinner on Friday at 7:00 p.m.?
Taehyung
Jeongguk flips his phone face down and runs his hands over his face.
"We're definitely not sorting this out."
***
Jeongguk finds himself increasingly feeling like he should let Taehyung go. Let him go, become a good friend, then become the best man at his and Yoongi's wedding, then the godfather of their children, then... Then die alone, because the love of his life is in love with his best friend, because he was a coward and didn't confess that he was the author of the book. And that he should have fallen in love with him?
It's punishment for his stupidity. It's a big lesson for his whole life. He doesn't even know if anything can be fixed, so he just decided to cook himself some spicy noodles and sadly eat it while watching "Blue-Eyed Samurai." He was so engrossed in the plot that he jumped when he heard the notification sound on his phone.
taebooty [20:15:43]:
ggukie?
taebooty [20:16:34]:
im getting sad vibes from you.
J.K. [20:18:21]:
You're too far away to feel them, hyung.
taebooty [20:20:43]:
you're not far enough for me not to feel them.
taebooty [20:20:56]:
what's wrong with my baby??
J.K. [20:22:21]:
Don't call me baby.
taebooty [20:23:56]:
why ??:(
J.K. [20:24:21]:
Because you're the only baby here.
J.K. [20:34:10]:
Tae? You there?
taebooty [20:35:56]:
yeah. yeah. now im here, jeongguk.
J.K. [20:36:10]:
Jeongguk? Seriously? If not baby, then Jeongguk right away?
taebooty [20:37:56]:
yup.
J.K. [20:38:11]:
That won't do, baby.
taebooty [20:39:56]:
jeon jeongguk... don't call me that.
J.K. [20:40:13]:
Why?
taebooty [20:41:56]:
there's a very weighty reason.
taebooty [20:43:56]:
anyways. r u ok? want to watch a movie together?
J.K. [20:45:13]:
I'm busy today. And all weekend.
taebooty [20:46:56]:
With what?
J.K. [20:47:13]:
stuff.
taebooty [20:48:56]:
...
taebooty [20:49:10]:
well, okay.
J.K. [20:50:13]:
How are you, hyung?
taebooty [20:52:10]:
good, just that jay isn't responding to me for some reason :( i invited him to dinner with my parents
J.K. [20:54:13]:
He'll definitely respond, hyungie. Don't worry.
taebooty [20:55:12]:
okay :)
Damn, he forgot to reply to the email. He decides to finish the episode and reply afterwards, so it doesn't seem too suspicious. He continues to glance at his phone hoping that Taehyung will send him a text that can distract him from thinking about replying.
Jeongguk doesn't know what to say. It would be right to refuse, it would be right to tell him the truth, but he's so afraid that Taehyung will be disappointed. God, he made the biggest mistake of his life. He will repeat this to himself until the end of his days.
He decides to text Yoongi.
J.K. [21:40:13]:
Hyung
kitty-hyung [21:48:56]:
It’s your bedtime, kiddo. Sleep.
kitty-hyung [21:49:10]:
What do you want?
J.K. [21:50:13]:
What should I do about Taehyung :(
kitty-hyung [21:52:10]:
Tell him that Jay will come. Then you'll come and tell him the whole truth, Jeongguk. I'm not participating in this circus anymore.
J.K. [21:54:13]:
It'll break his heart :(
kitty-hyung [21:55:10]:
No, what'll break his heart is you continuing to lie to him. The truth will come out eventually.
kitty-hyung [21:56:45]:
Jeongguk, you're terrible at lying.
kitty-hyung [21:57:37]:
I understand why you did all this, but it's time to end this circus, kiddo.
Yoongi's right. It's time for Jeongguk to start acting like an adult. It's time to take responsibility for his actions.
Dear Taehyung,
I would be happy to come to dinner with you and your parents.
Love,
JC
***
For most of Friday evening, he struggles with what to wear. In the end, he settles for the simplest outfit he has and does not even worry much that his hair didn't turn out the way it should have. He tucks his damp hair behind his ears, but as he steps out onto the street, the strong wind still manages to tousle his hair in every direction.
He buys sunflowers at a flower shop near Taehyung's house, then spends another fifteen minutes sitting on the curb outside Taehyung's house, gathering his thoughts.
At 18:59, he rings the doorbell. The door opens immediately, as if Taehyung had been standing there waiting for him to arrive. Well, not for his arrival, but for "Jay's" arrival, but still.
Taehyung doesn't look surprised. He doesn't even ask what Jeongguk is doing here, or where Jay is.
He smiles and steps inside, leaving the door open. Jeongguk takes it as an invitation and follows suit.
The house smells delicious. Jeongguk kicks off his shoes and looks at Taehyung, who's looking at him.
He clutches the bouquet tighter to himself, hoping to find support in it, but then loosens his grip and offers it to Taehyung.
"This is for you."
Taehyung takes the bouquet and murmurs a barely audible "thank you." He runs his fingers over the sunflower petals, smiling. Then he turns around and goes deeper into the kitchen.
Jeongguk follows him, afraid to say anything because he doesn't quite understand what's going on.
Taehyung places the sunflowers in a vase on the table, which is set for just the two of them.
"Where are your parents?" Still not fully understanding what's happening, Jeongguk asks.
Taehyung takes a bottle of red wine and a corkscrew from the table, removes the foil from the bottle's cap.
"They went to visit grandma."
"What about dinner?"
"I planned for a dinner for two from the beginning, Ggukie," he says, twisting the corkscrew into the cork.
"Why aren't you surprised that I came instead of Jay?" Jeongguk asks again, still puzzled.
"Because," he pulls the tab and extracts the cork, "I already know everything."
Jeongguk chokes on his saliva and coughs. He knows everything ? He knows everything?
"Have a seat, Ggukie." He pours white wine into the glasses. Jeongguk just watches, unable to say a word.
Jeongguk sits down. He feels like he's in a horror movie, and the only reason Taehyung is so calm is because he’s about to kill him. He doesn’t move, he tries not to breathe so that the predator—Taehyung—doesn’t pounce on him.
"So, don’t you want to tell me anything, darling?" he sits down, sipping the wine. A little bit of wine remains on his lips, and he licks them. Jeongguk isn't looking there . He swears he is not looking there .
Jeongguk… doesn’t want to say anything. He’s ready for Taehyung to devour him.
That’s how they switched places. In their society, the predator is the alpha, and the omega is the prey. Screw society, Jeongguk is ready to be Taehyung’s prey.
"Don't tremble like that, kitten. Let me help you," he takes another sip of wine, puts the glass on the table, and makes himself comfortable in the chair, watching Jeongguk from under his eyelashes.
"My introverted Jeonggukkie got scared that a beautiful omega liked his book, so he didn't say that he was the author out of fear?"
Jeongguk just nods. He takes the corner of the lace tablecloth and starts fiddling with it.
"And then you decided to give me your old school email so I could write to my favorite author because you saw how much I loved the book?"
Jeongguk nods. Then he chokes on air.
"How did you know about the email?"
"Because, Jeongukkie, the first thing I did when you gave me that email was Google it. Did you know that if you Google someone's name, username, or even email, you can find information about them? I'm not a stalker, but I'm just an ordinary curious person. So, that email was listed on a blog you ran in school for the computer club."
Jeongguk wants to bang his head against the table. Why did he forget that?
"I knew straight away it was you, but I wanted to see what you'd do. And you just stayed silent and tortured yourself, cutie. Then Yoongi told me that you are just a silly little guy who thinks no one will accept him as he is."
"Yoongi told you everything?" Jeongguk asks in surprise. He hadn’t expecting expect it from Yoongi.
"Yeah. After we left the café. I told him that I knew you were the author, and he told me how you were suffering and didn't know what to do."
Jeongguk takes a long sip of wine and sighs.
"I'm sorry, hyung. I really didn't know what to do. At first, I panicked and then I didn't know how to untangle this mess. I didn't mean for it to happen like this. Then I even thought you were in love with Yoongi. And your parents liked him too, so I thought maybe it was time for me to let you go."
Taehyung looks at him and then starts laughing.
"Oh, baby. Have you seen yourself? I only bought that book because you were there, looking at me with those puppy eyes and answering awkwardly. I thought alphas like you don’t do that. I thought you would reveal your true alpha nature, that you were just pretending. But that’s just who you are. A puppy in the body of an alpha who is every omega's wet dream. And you smell so good, honestly, it drives me crazy, baby."
Jeongguk understands but he is also a little confused. It seems like a confession, but not quite .
"You... I..."
"To be honest, your emails only piqued my interest. You wrote to me in such a way that I even forgot for a moment that you were younger than me, wanted to call you 'hyung.'" He takes a strawberry from the table, pops it in his mouth, and chews slowly, never once taking his eyes off Jeongguk. "What are you doing to me? I'm going crazy for you. You can't imagine how hard it was to control myself every time I was around you. But I'm a good actor, unlike you, Justin Seagull."
They stare at each other without breaking eye contact. Taehyung bites his lip, directing his gaze to Jeongguk's lips as Jeongguk grips the edge of the tablecloth even tighter.
It's unclear who stood up first, but their lips met at the same time. Taehyung ran his fingers through Jeongguk's dark locks, while Jeongguk cupped his soft cheeks and pressed lightly with his thumbs. They kiss deeply from the start, their kiss tastes of sweet white wine and strawberries. Jeongguk had imagined that kissing Taehyung would be very sweet. He likes it.
He kisses his top lip, then his bottom, pulling it into his mouth and tasting it. Holy shit, he'll go crazy if...
"If you taste this good everywhere, then I'll go crazy too," he whispers, breaking the kiss.
Taehyung kisses him again, breaking the kiss with a wet, obscene sound to whisper:
"Why don't you try?"
***
"Honey, why are you so happy? We should leave you alone more often, huh?" his mother asks as soon as she enters the house. Jeongguk had left right after a quick morning of sex and breakfast that he brought to Taehyung in bed. What a sweetheart.
"Did you put some alpha in their place already? Is that why you're so happy?" his father asks, taking off his shoes.
Taehyung sighs dreamily. "Yeah, you could say that. Fuck all those alphas."
His parents look at him even more suspiciously. They sit down on the living room couch, seemingly waiting for Taehyung to explain.
"Spill it," says Mrs. Kim.
Taehyung stretches contentedly and then lies down on the couch.
“I now have someone to take on the world with. Take that, ha."
Both parents make extremely surprised sounds in unison.
"And who is this lucky person?" his mother asks with some disbelief.
"Jeonggukkie!"
His parents sigh with relief, placing their hands on their hearts.
"Oh, Jeonggukkie is such a polite and kind boy, and it's clear he comes from a good family. I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Kim jumps up from the couch and hugs Taehyung.
His father just smiles and nods approvingly.
"He doesn't mind that you smoke? And drink?" his mother asks.
"He doesn't care, mom. I don't smoke that much, and I hardly drink. Only at parties. And he knows that. He really doesn't care."
"And the fact that you're not a virgin, as you always say? Doesn't that bother him?"
"Mom, what nonsense? Why should that bother him? He didn't even ask. Normal people don't ask questions like that. Moreover, he wrote about it in his book."
"In what book?" his father asks.
Taehyung smiles with his charming boxy smile.
"The one I read to you aloud!"
Both parents clutch their hearts again.
***
Dear Taehyung,
I know I was (and still am) silly, but I really felt how much silly I had become when I met you. I looked at you, and all thoughts disappeared from my head. Every time you're around, I'm ready to stick out my tongue like a puppy and chase every stick you throw. Do you remember you said I looked like a puppy? I do. Just around you.
I realized that you appeared in my dreams long before we met. I wrote a book about a person who once came to me in a dream and said I would love him unconditionally.
He was right.
I love you.
Will you stay with me forever?
JK.
Jeongguk closes the laptop and smiles, then bites his lip to keep from smiling even wider. He's so in love. And it's so mutual. Taehyung whispered so many things to him last night.
His scent still lingering on Jeongguk's skin and...
His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a notification.
taebooty [22:15:43]:
ggukie?
taebooty [22:16:34]:
i got into SNU for philology yaaaay!!!
taebooty [22:17:43]:
get ready to clear out your bachelor pad because it won't be gonna be a bachelor pad for much longer <3 <3 <3
taebooty [22:18:34]:
you got a big bed in there??
taebooty [22:21:11]:
Jeongukkie?
But Jeongguk is already on his way to Taehyung's place, ready to hug him, breathe in his scent which smelled like white peaches, and then kiss him, deeply. And to lay the whole world at his feet.