Chapter Text
Yeosang jolts awake as his alarm blares, hand smacking his side stand until he finds his phone, thumb swiping up and turning it off. He groans, sitting up to rub sleepily at his eyes and groan in annoyance. It’s his work day.
Surprisingly Yeosang doesn’t completely hate his job. Of course he has days where he gets made fun of and chastised for being a beta, but it’s a lot better than most places. In fact, most places won’t hire him just because of his subgender.
So being a waiter for a small diner really isn’t that bad, he thinks as he stands up and stretches out his arms and cracks his knuckles with a sigh. He throws his work clothes on quickly, a dark blue polo shirt baggy around his waist as he pins on his nametag.
He goes through the motions of getting ready for work quickly, eating some quick cereal for breakfast and brushing his hair and teeth before he gets to the part he hates; putting on scent blockers.
As a beta, he’s not accepted very well. People deem betas as an inbetween of an alpha and omega, without the other subgenders' perks. They’re deemed as useless and boring, since they can’t have biological children and don’t have normal heats or ruts like everyone else.
Over the past few months, Yeosang has noticed an increase in his tips if he puts on a scent blocker, so he’s been buying more for work and sticking them on, despite the amount of discomfort it brings him. The blockers are sticky, and become itchy after a few hours. He also sprays on some omega-smelling perfume, (Strawberries, his favorite) as smelling and looking like an omega also brings him more tips. When he wasn’t hiding his subgender, he barely made any money, and now, especially alphas tend to tip very highly if they find him attractive.
With a loud sigh, Yeosang sets the bottle of perfume down on the counter, straightening out his nametag once more before he’s grabbing his wallet and trudging out of the apartment.
Here’s to a hopefully good day of work.
-
The walk to work is pretty uneventful, feet moving on autopilot as he navigates his way.
The chaos starts when he gets there. As he clocks in, the kitchen is bustling as it’s their busy hour on a Saturday. He quickly has to grab his apron and throw it on, sticking his notepad, pen and some straws into the pockets along the front.
“Yeosang! Can you get table 11?” He turns, looking at where the voice came from only to see his coworker Mina with a tray full of food and a gentle smile on her face. Yeosang nods, smoothing out his apron before he’s heading out.
The table that he is sent to is a semi-small booth in the corner, with four men sitting closely to one another. He admires them for a moment. Three of them have black hair, styled in all different ways, but the one that stands out is sitting in the middle, and has blonde and black hair, tied up in a cute ponytail with little strands of hair framing his face beautifully.
As Yeosang makes it to the table, he smiles gently and clears his throat to gather their attention. The one with the ponytail stops, giggling and shoving the man next to him, before turning and making eye contact with Yeosang.
“Hi, would you guys like to start off with something to drink?” Yeosang pulls out his notepad and pen, ready to start writing. They all look surprised at his deep voice, until one man on the end speaks up.
“Could I get a coffee?” Yeosang turns to him, smiling and writing down the order. After that, the others are quick to put in their order and then he’s rushing back to the kitchen and getting their drinks ready.
As he pours their drinks, he can’t help but think about how they look about his age. Most of the people they see are in their thirties or forties with kids, or the elderly, sometimes with their families. He shakes his head at the thought. He’s already been hurt by too many people, and likes how he’s living. He doesn't mind being alone, despite what others may think.
When the drinks are done, Yeosang carefully places them on a tray and balances it on top of one of his hands, pushing the door to the dining area open with his hip and making his way back to the table quickly. As he’s placing down the cups on the table, the man with black and blonde hair lifts his head,
“Is the steak any good?” Yeosang places down the last cup, standing up straight and contemplating for a second.
“Well, we are a diner not a steakhouse, and for good reason…” He cringes as soon as it comes out of his mouth, cursing himself for being a bit too blunt when the man bursts into laughter, cackling and smacking the person next to him in his fit of laughter.
The rest of the table laughs, smiling at him and Yeosang relaxes a bit. Thankfully they seem pretty chill compared to most of his customers.
“Well, in that case, I’ll take a burger,” The half blonde smiles, handing over his menu happily. Yeosang takes it, holding it between his arm and his side as he starts writing down the order, and they all order soon after.
The rest of the night goes smoothly after that, his other tables being pretty friendly despite how busy it is. It starts to slow down after about an hour or two, the group of men still in the corner despite other customers already having left. They seem to be having fun, laughing and joking around, rarely ever calling Yeosang back to the table unless they need some drink refills.
He’s in the back putting an order in when Mina bumps into him, smiling from ear to ear.
“That table has been here a while, huh?” She moves to lean against the counter, raising her eyebrow at him suggestively.
“I know where this is going,” Yeosang sighs, tapping the computer to enter the order into the system.
“Listen, they’re around your age! And everytime they call you over to their table, they seem to find you funny. I just think you could be good friends!” Mina clasps her hands together, holding out hope that maybe Yeosang could put some effort into some kind of relationship.
“They seem perfectly fine without me,” He nods his head towards the table as they all laugh and poke at each other.
“Just give it a chance?” She pouts, sweetening her scent a bit and Yeosang whines.
“Maybe.” He grumbles, finally entering the whole order. He gives Mina a small smile and she cheers, rushing back to whatever she was doing before. She’s a very sweet omega, and wants the best for him, he just doesn’t know what that would be.
Yeosang grabs some drinks for a new table that came in, bringing it out and passing them out. When he turns around, there’s a hand in the air to catch his attention.
Of course, it’s the booth in the corner.
He shuffles over there, tray still in hand and smiles at them politely. The man brings his hand back down, his pack ring glistening in the light and Yeosang’s smile drops for a second, before he forces himself to smile again. This group is a pack. He should’ve known that.
Without drawing much attention to himself, he glances down at any hands on the table and they all have matching pack rings.
While packs normally still have pack bites, rings became a popular thing years ago and have stuck around. Most packs wear them just to show others that they are already in a pack and don’t plan on leaving, so anyone searching for new pack members doesn't bother them.
Yeosang’s fingers are bare. He has no pack.
Most packs don’t want betas. People don’t know a whole lot about the subgender and therefore say they are useless and no help. Sometimes betas have packs together but it’s rare because there aren’t many betas.
“Yeosang?” His head snaps up, lost in thought and he clears his throat awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” He forces himself to smile despite the storm going on inside his mind.
“We’re ready to pay,” The one on the end smiles sweetly, handing Yeosang the receipt and a card. He nods, taking the items and scurrying over to the kiosk to process their payment so they can leave. As he’s typing in the information, he can hear the other table distantly.
“I think we should come back here,” One of them mutters excitedly. The other men seem to groan and Yeosang can’t help but take a peek to see who’s talking. “The food is really good!” The half blonde defends, hands in the air. Two of the members glare at him suspiciously.
“You liked the waiter.” The third supplies, eyebrows wiggling as a tease. The half blonde squeaks,
“No! I mean he’s cute but….”
“Wooyoung, you’ve been eyeing him the whole time.” One of them scoffs. Wooyoung huffs defensively and shrugs.
“Fine. I like him. So what?” He’s pouting, and Yeosang has to turn his focus back to the kiosk so he doesn’t get too distracted.
That doesn’t stop the red dusting his cheeks, though.
-
Yeosang doesn’t actually expect Wooyoung and his group to come back. He expects them to leave and completely forget about the small diner, thus forgetting about Yeosang completely.
He was wrong.
Wooyoung comes back once or twice a week, always ordering the same thing; a strawberry lemonade and a burger. Sometimes he comes with the people he brought the first time, and some are new. Yeosang tries to not keep track, he really does, but he’s intrigued.
It’s the first time in months that he has been interested in someone, swearing to not go down that path ever again. Anyone he’s ever trusted, friends or more, has blown up in his face. He still tries to convince himself that Wooyoung is just a customer, and he’s only there for the food, but it’s hard to believe when Wooyoung requests him as their waiter everytime.
It doesn’t help that Yeosang learns something new about him everytime he comes in. He’s learned that Wooyoung is an omega, in a fairly decent sized pack with three alphas, and four omegas, that he loves dancing and is very social.
Today, he comes in later than usual, around 9pm with one of his alphas that Yeosang sadly hasn’t caught the name of. Wooyoung smiles when he sees Yeosang cleaning one of the tables, waving as they sit in their usual booth. Yeosang waves back, before he goes back to wiping down the table in front of him. He quickly gathers his supplies and brings them back to the kitchen before he’s approaching their table.
“What can I get you today?” Yeosang smiles, notepad and pen in hand. He resists the urge to just write down Wooyoung’s order since it seems to never change.
“A strawberry lemonade and burger, please.” Wooyoung smiles brightly, pushing his menu to the edge of the table for Yeosang to collect.
“I’ll take a strawberry milkshake and a burger,” The alpha looks at Wooyoung for a moment before handing the menu over. Yeosang nods, writing the order down before he’s moving to the kitchen for their drinks and to put in their order.
The night is pretty quiet, not a very busy time for the diner. Most nights people come in around dinner time.
When Yeosang walks back out with their drinks, he spots a new group at a table and starts walking a bit faster so they don’t have to wait. He gives Wooyoung and his alpha their drinks, before he’s walking to the other table and getting their order.
It seems to be a group of four alpha’s, and Yeosang feels his chest tighten with anxiety as he approaches the group. They all look up and smile at him, but something seems off.
Once he grabs their orders he scurries back to the kitchen, doing his routine until he brings the food out to Wooyoung’s table. They smile at him as he sets their plates down, Wooyoung smiling from ear to ear.
“Hey, beta!” Yeosang freezes, whole body tense as he hears them shout again. Did his scent blocker stop working? Did he forget to put on perfume today? He snaps his head around, body moving on autopilot as he moves towards them. “I’m surprised they hire beta’s here,” one of them snarks, laughing as he sits back in his seat.
“Probably couldn’t find a better place to work,” Another one barks, and Yeosang just stares. His hands are clenched in fists by his side. He can feel eyes on the back of his head, probably Wooyoung if he had to guess, but he doesn’t dare move.
“Did you need something?” He grits out, jaw tense as he tries to be polite.
“Is that any way to talk to an alpha?” One of them scoots their chair back with a loud screech and stands tall in front of Yeosang. “I think someone should teach you your place,” He snarls, pushing him. He falls back, landing on his feet but his body is frozen. It’s hard to breathe, his head feels fuzzy and he desperately wants to yell back. But he can’t lose his job.
“Stop,” He manages, eyes casted down at the floor anxiously.
“Does little beta boy want me to stop?” Another one of them laughs, getting up with a full drink in hand. He throws the drink onto Yeosang, who jerks at the cold beverage hitting his skin and he gasps.
“He said to stop.” Someone growls out from behind him, and Yeosang nearly whimpers in relief when he hears it’s Wooyoung. There’s a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back from the alpha’s and Yeosang flinches from the light touch, shirt sticky with soda.
The alphas laugh, and then there's another voice speaking, “I think you guys should leave.” There's authority in the voice, and as Yeosang turns to look, Wooyoung's alpha is standing tall next to him. He’s gotta be at least six feet tall. The men in front of him recoil a bit, before one of them speaks up,
“C’mon, let's go.” The rest of the group stand up in a rush, tossing their napkins down onto the table. As soon as they’re out the door, Yeosang lets out a sob, collapsing to the floor and hiding his face on his knees, despite them being sticky. It’s always the alphas that bully and degrade him.
“If only you were an omega,”
“Can’t you just pretend to be an omega, for me? Please?”
“You fucking stupid beta! You can’t do one simple fucking task!”
Yeosang sobs, clutching his legs tighter as his body shakes. He can’t hear, his heart is racing as he gasps for air. A gentle hand touches his shoulder gently, running up the back of his neck until it’s petting the top of his head in attempts to soothe him. At the first touch Yeosang jerks, but then a very light sweet omega scent reaches his nose and he’s relaxing, shoulders drooping as he cries into his knees.
“That’s it, you’re okay.” The voice belongs to Wooyoung, who is now crouched down next to Yeosang and rubbing his back lightly and pumps out more of his soothing scent. “Yunho, can you go ask the other waitress for some towels?” Yunho nods, frantically moving over to the other waitress who had just watched the whole exchange.
Yeosang is embarrassed. He feels disrespected and hates himself for his presentation, and he feels bad for bothering Wooyoung with this. He shouldn’t have been here.
“Yeosang?” Wooyoung tilts Yeosang’s head up, finally emerging from his knees. His eyes are red and puffy, lips curved down into a frown. Wooyoung smiles at him gently, brushing his sticky hair out of his face. “Are you okay?”
If Yeosang didn’t feel so badly, he would’ve laughed. Is he okay? Absolutely not. He’s so tired of everyone thinking so little of him, that he is useless and boring. That he isn't worth anything. He tries so hard to be useful and help people and all they do is hurt him. He shakes his head minutely and Wooyoung frowns. The omega pauses for a moment, until Yunho is handing him some towels and helping Yeosang off of the floor.
It’s awkward for a moment while they all stand there looking at each other. Nobody really knows what to say and Yeosang is looking down at the floor with shame, while he tries to soak up the pop in his hair. It’s then that Yeosang notices the rotten honey scent coming from himself and frantically covers his scent gland with the towel. Nobody was supposed to find out he’s a beta.
Tears gather in his eyes once more and Wooyoung’s eyes widen, panicked as he tries to help.
“No! It’s okay, there is nothing wrong with being a beta!” He tries weakly. Yunho sets his hand on the omega’s shoulder to comfort and smiles at the beta in agreement. Yeosang shrugs, keeping the towel in place as he silently cries.
Suddenly, Mina is emerging from the kitchen and walking over in a hurry. “Go home. I’ll close tonight,” She smiles brightly despite the worry laced in her scent. Yeosang doesn’t even put up a fight, nodding weakly and starting to head back to the kitchen to clock out. Then there's a shout,
“Wait!” When Yeosang turns around it's Wooyoung, scent nervous as he approaches silently. “Do you need a ride?” The beta freezes, scent still sour as he stares at the alpha and omega. “That sounds bad- I mean, you’ve had a rough day and-” The tall alpha cuts him off,
“What he's trying to say is, we would feel better if we made sure you got home safe.” The alpha supplies. Yeosang hesitates, shifting on his feet anxiously as he stares at the floor. He barely knows them besides being his regular customers, but Wooyoung has been nothing but nice to him since they met.
“Let me grab my things.”
-
Soon, Yunho and Wooyoung are leading Yeosang to a black SUV, and the beta stops when the omega opens the car door.
"Oh, I don't wanna get your seats dirty…" His voice trails off, hands fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.
"Pfft, don't worry about it. Seonghwa will grumble about it, but he actually loves cleaning." Wooyoung smiles, Yunho chuckling as he walks to the driver's door. Yeosang gets into the back seat alone, while Wooyoung sits in the passenger seat.
Yeosang tells them his address smoothly, watching Wooyoung enter it into his phone so he doesn't have to give them directions.
Once the beta is buckled and curled up in the backseat, he speaks up. "Who's Seonghwa?"
"Seonghwa is one of our alphas," Yunho answers, fingers tapping against the steering wheel as he drives. Yeosang hums, watching Wooyoung fiddle with the radio settings and then pout when there isn't anything good on.
"I told you I'd buy you an aux cord," Yunho teases. Wooyoung slouches in his seat, crossing his arms and staring at the alpha.
"We don't even drive that far," The omega huffs, blowing at a strand of hair that fell in his eyes. The alpha laughs as he makes a turn, shaking his head in disbelief while Wooyoung pouts next to him.
It's silent for the next few minutes, besides the occasional bickering coming from Wooyoung. Yeosang is relaxed in the backseat, body practically melted into the seat as his eyes grow tired.
"So, Yeosang, do you have a pack?"
The beta jolts in his seat like a bucket of ice cold water had just been poured on him and he blinks his eyes at the back of Yunho's seat blearily.
His chest tightens with anxiety. Should he trust them? Would they judge him for not having a pack of his own? He's spiraling-
"You don't just ask someone that!" Wooyoung smacks Yunho on the arm and the alpha yelps, hands almost falling off the wheel in his surprise.
"Okay! I'm sorry, I'm just curious!" He defends, eyes glancing at Wooyoung nervously. The omega looks like he could tear off the alphas head if looks could kill.
"Uh, no- no pack…" Yeosang's voice trails off, subconsciously playing with his ring finger, where his pack ring would be. The thought makes his scent spike with anxiety, his normal honey scent turning a bit sour at the thought.
"Ignore him, he doesn't think before speaking." The omega chides lightly. The alpha rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he makes another turn.
The lack of reaction makes Yeosang's head spin. Normally when he tells people he doesn't have a pack, he gets made fun of and degraded. Then again, even if he did have a pack, he would still be looked down upon for his subgender.
The suffering seems to never end.
Yunho parks the car, right in front of Yeosang's apartment building. As soon as the car stops, the beta is undoing his seat belt and pushing the door open. His movements are a bit frantic, desperate to get home and to his safe space.
"Thank you for everything," Yeosang manages to get out, and the other two are watching him with worried glances. "Bye!" The beta slams the car door shut before he's running up the stairs to his apartment and scrambling to unlock the door as tears gather in his eyes.
Once he has the door shut behind him, he crumbles. He slides onto the ground, back still against the door as he wraps his arms around his knees. A sob escapes his throat, honey scent now burnt as he gasps for breath on the floor.
Why can't people just leave him alone? That's all he wants. He doesn't want his subgender, he doesn't want a pack, he just wants to be alone. So nobody can hurt him ever again.
Yeosang cries himself to sleep that night, old memories haunting his dreams.
-
The next week is a bit of a blur for Yeosang. He’s basically on auto-pilot, waking up, going to work, going home and repeating. He’s exhausted, mentally and physically, so when it’s his last day of work for the week, he’s almost relieved. Almost.
The only thing is, he hasn’t seen Wooyoung, or any of his pack, the entire week. He shouldn’t really care as much as he does; Wooyoung is just a customer like everyone else and shouldn’t be special to Yeosang. Yet, all he can think about the entire day is that Wooyoung is nowhere to be found. He even asks Mina if she’s seen the half blonde omega at all.
“Nope,” She frowns, tilting her head at Yeosang curiously. “Miss him?” She smirks, playfully nudging his shoulder. The beta scoffs, crossing his arms defensively and pouts.
“Definitely not,” He scoffs, moving back to the drink area to continue working. Behind him, Mina smiles knowingly.
Yeosang does his best to not let his anxiety get the best of him, but he can feel it lingering and getting worse as the day goes on. His chest gets tighter, hands more clammy as he thinks about all the different possibilities of why Wooyoung hasn’t showed up this week.
Logically, Yeosang knows the omega could be sick, or busy. But Yeosang has too much trauma with being abandoned to be able to believe it. Maybe Wooyoung realized that hanging around a beta wasn’t the best idea, or maybe his pack told him to stop coming. It could also be that he is specifically a beta without a pack. They could believe that since he doesn’t have a pack, there must be something wrong with him. There has to be a reason nobody wants him.
That wouldn’t be wrong. Yeosang has never really fit in, even before his presentation. Once he graduated he had looked for people who would accept him, but every single time he was let down; whether it be small offhand comments about his subgender, or straight up abuse.
At the end of Yeosang’s shift, he takes one more look around the restaurant to see if he can spot the omega’s half blonde, half black hair but he has no luck. All of the tables are pretty much empty, ready to be cleaned before he closes up. He goes through the motions of cleaning as fast as he can without leaving things messy, sweat dripping down his forehead when he’s done. Mina left a bit earlier than usual, leaving the beta alone to close.
Once everything is cleaned and put away, Yeosang goes to make sure the front door is locked. As he’s locking it, a figure appears in front of the door and he yelps, jumping back and looks up at the person's face.
Wooyoung.
It’s raining and the omega is drenched, hair and clothes soaked. Yeosang clumsily unlocks the door, opening it and flinching when Wooyoung falls into his arms. The omega smells like a mixture of many different scents, but he can pick out Wooyoung's sweet Oreo scent easily- except, it smells more sour than usual.
“I’m sorry- I- You’re about to close but they wouldn’t let me come see you and-” The omega rambles, face hidden in the crook of Yeosang’s shoulder. The beta cuts him off,
“Slow down,” Yeosang soothes, rubbing the omega’s back awkwardly. Wooyoung takes in a breath before he speaks,
“Yunho was in rut.”
Oh.
All of the tension that Yeosang had been carrying around all day bleeds out of him when Wooyoung holds him tightly, explaining himself.
“I didn’t want you to worry! But Yunho wouldn’t let me go out until now and I-” Yeosang pulls him over to a table, pushing him down into a chair and Wooyoung whines as he lets go.
The door slams open, startling both of them, and Yeosang doesn’t know what comes over him but he stands in front of the omega and growls. Wooyoung peaks his head around the beta’s side, only to see one of his alpha’s in the doorway.
“Sannie,” Wooyoung whines, leaning his head against Yeosang’s hip. The beta doesn’t move, staring at the alpha, San, and waiting for his next move.
The alpha doesn’t move for a moment, looking at Wooyoung and then back up at Yeosang. San smells like a strong thunderstorm, and if Yeosang’s nose is right, the alpha is angry.
San’s expression softens when Yeosang moves to the side, allowing him to walk closer, stopping when the beta tenses. “You scared us!” San frets, reaching his hand out to pet the top of Wooyoung’s head lovingly. The omega leans into the touch, keening as he leans into Yeosang’s side.
“M’ sorry,'' He pouts, feeling guilty. “Just wanted to see Yeosangie,” He explains. San sighs, running his hands through Wooyoung’s wet hair and looking up at the beta again. Yeosang’s face flushes at the nickname, blush creeping up his neck.
“Thank you for letting him in,” San finally smiles in thanks, and Yeosang can barely keep eye contact with the alpha, body stiff and breathing labored. He’s never met San, and alpha’s have made him uncomfortable since his last boyfriend. Yeosang steps away, Wooyoung whining at the loss of contact.
“I’ll g-get a towel,” He rushes off, scent blocker itching the side of his neck in an attempt to release his upset scent. He mindlessly scratches at it, trying to not pull it off while he grabs a towel from the closet.
When Yeosang returns, San is hugging Wooyoung and scenting him, nose pressed in the crook of the omega’s neck possessively. Wooyoung notices his presence and straightens up, pushing the alpha out of his neck and getting a weak growl in return.
“Shush, you big baby,” Wooyoung graciously takes the towel from Yeosang and tries to dry himself off, throwing the damp towel on top of San’s head when he’s done. The alpha huffs, pulling the towel down and glaring at the omega, who cackles.
Yeosang is a bit surprised at Wooyoung’s interactions with his alpha’s. They seem so much more calm and playful than all of the alpha’s Yeosang has ever met. They’re always too dominating, always think they have to be in control and don’t let their omega’s do as they please. They are only there for their alpha’s benefit, but Wooyoung seems to genuinely enjoy being around his alphas- and testing their patience.
If Yeosang had done most of the things Wooyoung has, talking back to his alpha’s, throwing things on them, bickering- he would’ve been yelled at, maybe even punished. The beta doesn’t know what to do with this information. It’s odd, to say the least.
“Yeosang?” The voice brings the beta out of his own head, thoughts racing as he glances back at Wooyoung once more. “Would you want to hang out sometime?”
Silence.
He feels dizzy, anxiety building up in him as his chest tightens. His mind is screaming to not trust him, to not give him his phone number, but his mouth moves automatically;
“Sure.” Yeosang takes out his phone and unlocks it, handing it to Wooyoung. The omega practically beams, gently taking the phone and entering his information. The alpha chuckles at the display of excitement, shaking his head as if this is something he experiences often with the omega.
When he gets his phone back, he checks his contacts to see a new number under ‘Woo <3’ and flushes.
This omega really is something.
-
Yeosang has to talk himself into texting Wooyoung. He keeps thinking about it every time he looks at his phone, and eventually, he forces himself to send a simple message.
4:24pm
Yeosang:
Hey, this is Yeosang
Woo <3:
Hi!!! I was waiting for you to text me!
The beta chuckles, fingers hesitating over the keyboard. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to start the conversation, because Wooyoung is sending another message quickly.
Woo <3:
Would you like to hang out on Sunday?
There’s a new ramen place if you’d like to go!
Yeosang:
Just us?
Woo <3:
Of course! I’ve noticed your aversion to alphas.
I wouldn’t invite anyone without asking first!
Does 4 sound okay?
Yeosang:
Thank you. 4 sounds good.
They sort out the rest of the details, agreeing on meeting there despite Wooyoung wanting to pick Yeosang up. At least the omega seems to respect his boundaries.
When Sunday rolls around, Yeosang is a bit of a mess. Actually, he’s a big mess. He can’t decide what would be appropriate to wear, although this is definitely not a date. Wooyoung just wants to get to know him as a friend.
The word friend seems foreign to him. He doesn’t have friends, and he can’t even be sure that Wooyoung will stick around after this. After all, Wooyoung could just be seeing if he actually likes Yeosang; which in his opinion, is unlikely.
After what feels like hours of going through his closet, he decides on a black band t-shirt and some dark blue ripped jeans, with a small bell choker and a few rings.
His defense for trying to dress cute is not to look good for Wooyoung, it’s just the first time the omega is seeing him in something that’s not his work clothes. He also puts his hair up into a half ponytail, it being long enough for it, and makes sure to put on his scent blocker and perfume on, just in case.
He gets an uber, not wanting to walk to the restaurant. The ride goes smoothly, the driver not saying much as they drive.
Once they get there, Yeosang’s anxiety spikes. It doesn’t look too busy as he gets out of the car, eyes darting around to look for a particular head of hair. He’s a few minutes early, so he decides to sit on the bench in front of the building to wait just like they had planned in case one of them was late.
The quiet helps him calm down, the only noise really being the chatter inside and the cars humming as they drive by.
He’s on his phone when he hears footsteps and a happy, “Sangie!” He looks up, startled as he sees Wooyoung running over to him excitedly. The beta stands just as Wooyoung makes it there, and the omega is pulling him into a tight hug.
“Hi,” He wheezes out, wrapping his arms around Wooyoung to hug him. When they pull back, Yeosang can’t help but look at him in awe. The omega is wearing a striped white and black sweater, along with a black skirt and a choker that looks more like a collar if you really look at it, hair half up in a ponytail.
Just friends. He must like dressing up, that’s all.
“You look so nice!” Wooyoung smiles, and Yeosang flushes, struggling to make a reply.
“You look good too,” He manages, giving an awkward smile as he tries to hide how flustered he truly is. Wooyoung grabs his hand, pulling him into the restaurant and sitting them down at a booth in the corner. They sit across from each other, looking at the menu diligently.
“So, uh, was your pack mad when you got home?” Yeosang can’t help but ask. He’s been worried about it since he last saw Wooyoung. The omega laughs, setting his menu down and shrugs.
“A bit,” He mutters, shyly messing with the choker around his neck. “Hongjoong was the most upset I think? He’s our head omega, so he’s very protective over us.” Yeosang tilts his head, confused.
“Wouldn’t your…head alpha be the most upset?” His voice trails off, nervous. Wooyoung rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, giving a small smile.
“Well actually, we don’t have a head alpha?” Wooyoung lets that sink in for a moment before continuing. “We have our head omega, Hongjoong, and he basically is the one who does his best to make sure we are all taken care of and whatnot,” He explains. Yeosang raises his eyebrows in surprise, sitting back in his seat and tapping his leg anxiously.
He’s honestly never heard of a head omega. Most packs rely solely on a head alpha, omega’s not deemed as strong enough. Sometimes, they have ‘head omega’s’ which are basically the second in command, but they are mostly on the nurturing and comfort side of things. Alpha’s are always the one in charge.
Or so he thought. Wooyoung seems to go against everything he knows.
“I’ve never heard of a head omega,” Yeosang admits sheepishly. The omega laughs, leaning forward against the table and smiling.
“We are a pretty different pack from what everyone expects,” Wooyoung replies, “Seonghwa is the closest thing we have to a head alpha, but even he enjoys having a head omega instead.”
They continue talking, eventually ordering some drinks and ramen, and they continue to talk about Wooyoung’s pack. Yeosang learns that there are three alphas, four omegas (Including Wooyoung,) and supposedly, his pack has some quirks that most packs don’t, but he doesn’t go into detail. Yeosang doesn’t talk about his past, about his issues with alpha’s or why he’s alone, and Wooyoung seems to respect that. He doesn’t ask any invasive questions, only asking about Yeosang’s hobbies or interests.
Yeosang still can’t quite wrap his head around Wooyoung or his pack. They seem so different from anyone he’s ever met. As a beta, he has even had bad experiences with omega’s, so to have an omega be so open and nice to him is strange.
And honestly, Yeosang finds himself wanting to trust Wooyoung, and possibly his pack in the future. He can’t deny that he is terrified of it, though.
“So what do you do when you’re not at the diner?” Wooyoung asks, taking a bite of some kimchi.
“Oh, uh- sometimes I play video games, or skateboard.” He shrugs shyly, slurping some ramen from between his chopsticks. Wooyoung perks up, looking interested.
“That’s cool! I’d probably fall on my ass,” The omega admits and Yeosang can’t help but smile. “I work at a clothing store since I enjoy fashion. When I’m lucky people ask for my help,” Wooyoung chirps excitedly, wiggling his eyebrows. Yeosang laughs,
“They’d be lucky to have your help,” The beta motions to Wooyoung’s outfit and the omega beams at him, cheeks turning a light shade of pink and his oreo scent growing sweeter at the compliment.
“I’m always available if you ever want my help,” Wooyoung winks, and Yeosang turns bright red, groaning and covering his face with his hands.
“Oh, so I haven’t dressed nice enough?” Yeosang plays with the bell on his choker, raising his eyebrow and tilting his head at the omega. Wooyoung stammers,
“No-Yes, that’s not what I meant!” He squeals, face turning a bright red as he blushes. Yeosang chuckles, taking a sip of his drink and winking at the omega. Wooyoung trills happily at the attention, scent turning content as he talks with Yeosang.
The rest of the meal goes well, Yeosang getting more comfortable around Wooyoung the longer he’s around him. They seem to get along very well, despite the occasional flirting that makes them both almost too flustered to speak. It’s when they’re leaving that Yeosang really gets nervous.
Wooyoung pulls him close, giving him a long hug and tucking his head in between the crook of his neck and sniffing. The omega doesn’t say anything about the scent blockers as he pulls away,
“There’s a nice park nearby, come with me?” Wooyoung grabs Yeosang’s hand, looking at him with hopeful eyes. Yeosang smiles at him, nodding and then he’s being directed down the street. Wooyoung swings their hands in between them, scent happy and content as they walk. It only takes a few minutes to get there, them talking on and off as they make their way. “I come here often,” Wooyoung admits.
“Do you normally bring your pack with you?” Yeosang asks as they sit down on one of the benches. The sky is a pretty color, pinks and oranges blending together. Wooyoung hums,
“Sometimes?” He sighs, crossing his legs, hand still holding Yeosang’s. “It can be hard to get all of us to go somewhere at once, so sometimes I bring one or two of them. Normally San and Mingi join me.” Yeosang nods, squeezing the omegas hand gently. They both sit there in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's presence before Wooyoung is speaking up again.
“What if I told you I want to court you?” Yeosang’s head jerks to face the omega, nearly giving himself whiplash in the process. He stares for a moment, jaw dropped as he tries to collect himself enough to respond. He wants to court him? Why would anyone want to get to know him better and possibly date him? Should he even take such a risk? Wooyoung could just end up being like everyone else, just leaving him behind eventually.
“I-what? Me?” He raises an eyebrow and Wooyoung laughs.
“Yes, you silly. I’ve liked you since you waited on me for the first time,” The omega admits, turning a bit more so that they are facing each other directly. Yeosang hesitates, mind racing with many different possibilities.
But what does he truly want?
He can’t deny it, he wants to be loved. Although he can live fine by himself, he knows he doesn’t need a pack, he desperately wants one. Maybe Wooyoung can show him what love really means.
“But- what about your pack?” Yeosang mutters, playing with Wooyoung's hand as he keeps his eyes down so he doesn’t have to make eye contact. He hears Wooyoung chuckle,
“My pack is very open about relationships. We are polyamorous, so we all basically date each other. Of course we have members we drift to but,” Wooyoung shrugs, “Jealousy isn’t much of a thing with us.” He explains gently.
Once again Yeosang is confused and speechless. Wooyoung continues to shock him every time they talk. He’s heard of polyamorous packs before, but they’re not very common- at least that’s what Yeosang has heard. He wouldn’t really know.
“I’d…like that?” It comes out more like a question, and Wooyoung tilts his head and raises his eyebrow at the beta. Yeosang swallows nervously, “I would like you to court me.” He corrects. Wooyoung squeals, pulling the beta into a tight hug.
Maybe things could be good.