Chapter Text
Jinwoo was out running, trying to clear his head. Exhausted after completing two dungeons in one day and just wanting to get home, he almost missed Yoonho Baek, president of the White Tigers Guild, stumbling his way out of a little hole in the wall bar.
“Watch where you’re going,” Jinwoo said, managing to avoid being crashed into. He got a look at who almost ran into him. “President Baek?”
Jinwoo didn’t particularly feel any which way about President Baek besides the fact that he was definitely an alpha in all ways instinctual and physical. Different from his assessment of President Choi who had the confidence and smugness of an alpha with the ego boost of being a prime.
Managing to somewhat right himself, President Baek squinted, “Hunter Sung?” It came out pretty slurred though and he was not steady on his feet, Jinwoo having to grab him so he didn’t tilt too far over. “What’re you doing here?”
“I was just working out,” Jinwoo said. “Are you okay? Do you have a ride or way to get home?” He looked around at what was a mostly empty street, it was pretty late after all.
“I’ll get home eventually, just gonna walk there.”
Jinwoo side-eyed him, “Do you even know which way you live?”
“I live around.”
Sighing, Jinwoo looked at him again. He looked kind of pathetic, slightly slumped over, swaying on his feet, he also looked like he had been crying. Jinwoo didn’t really want to deal with this but he wasn’t sure who to contact and Baek didn’t look like he’d be of much help. He couldn’t leave him to wander the streets and although they didn’t have much of a relationship of any sort, he knew what Baek had gone through on Jeju Island both recently and in the past and how hard it had been for him.
“You can stay at my place tonight and sleep a bit until you sober up, but as soon as the sun starts coming up, you’re out.” He didn’t need anymore unwanted attention on his family, reporters often outside of their apartment; President Baek leaving his residence in yesterday’s clothes would definitely spark some sort of chaos.
Slinging President Baek’s arms over his shoulder, he supported most of his weight as he started what would be a long walk home, not being able to use his dash ability with Baek because that would surely end up in a vomit disaster. He also wasn’t sure if it would trigger Baek’s alpha somehow. President Choi had told Jinwoo that when he used his dash, it made Baek’s alpha perk up, thinking a strong omega was initiating a run. A run was an old, outdated tradition in which a group of omegas would participate in running out into a forest before being chased down and claimed by an alpha after a bit of a headstart. It had been a somewhat common way to mate back in the day.
The incident Choi had been referring to happened outside of The Association when Jinwoo dodged the press and both of the alphas offers to escort him home. Choi warned him that Baek had pretty good control of his alpha but he was all instinct due to his hunter abilities being so beastly. Choi had waved it off, commenting on how Jinwoo with both his hunter and Prime Omega abilities, would be able to handle Baek no problem, but that it was something he might want to take into consideration. Jinwoo did not want to deal with all of that, especially when Baek was drunk he’d probably only end up hurting himself.
The walk home was mostly silent, Baek mumbled to himself a bit but was mostly lax under the influence of the calming pheromones Jinwoo was pumping out so Baek didn’t stumble around too much. Being a prime omega meant that Jinwoo’s pheromones were extra strong and influential, especially over alphas—even alphas as strong as Baek.
Jinwoo dumped President Baek on the floor of his bedroom when they finally made it back to the apartment. He’d rather not have the alpha in his room, but he couldn’t leave him in the living room for his mom and sister to find. The questions he’d have to deal with would probably be worse than dealing with the press.
Jinwoo wasn’t completely inhospitable, finding a lightly scented blanket at the bottom of the bed to hopefully keep Baek calm and asleep and a pillow that hadn’t made it into his nest.
Baek was half conscious, vaguely helping move his body as Jinwoo essentially tucked him in. Red lashes fluttered, eyes barely open, as Baek tried to focus on Jinwoo. He gave up, letting his head sag back onto the pillow he mumbled, “Good omega. Strong omega.”
Jinwoo’s eyebrows raised but Baek immediately passed out and started snoring.
“Whatever,” he said to himself, turning to head to bed.
Jinwoo did not wake up when the sun rose, in fact, he didn’t wake up until he heard laughter from the kitchen. A man’s laughter. Jinwoo shot up, last night rushing back to him all at once. “Shit,” he threw himself out of bed, knocking down one of the walls of his nest which made his omega snarl and stumbled out into the hallway.
Chatter and laughter was coming from the kitchen and Jinwoo walked into exactly what he hadn’t wanted to happen, President Baek, Jinha, and his mom were talking. Was Baek making breakfast?
“Hunter Sung,” Baek said as Jinwoo entered the kitchen, “good morning, you’re just in time for breakfast.”
“Yeah I can see that. Why exactly are you making breakfast?”
“Jinwoo, be nice to President Baek, he’s your guest,” Jinwoo’s mother chided lightly. “He was just telling us a funny story from one of his raids and he was kind enough to offer to make breakfast.”
“Please, Mrs. Sung, we can drop the formalities, I am in your home after all. I was just making breakfast to express my gratitude to you and your family for letting me stay the night and use your washer.”
“Is that one of dad’s sweatshirts?” Jinwoo asked, looking at what Baek was wearing now that he had mentioned it.
“It is, even with all that muscle you’ve gained you still have that lean omega build,” his mom said, “it was the only thing that fit while his shirt gets washed.”
Baek looked a little silly in his dad’s old well-worn sweatshirt with his nicely tailored pants that fit his ass just right, not that Jinwoo was noticing that in particular or anything.
“The beer didn’t agree with me much,” Baek said laughing lightly.
“Uh huh, so are you leaving after breakfast then?” Jinwoo asked.
“I can if you’d like,” Baek said. “Though I was hoping to chat a bit just the two of us after we eat.”
Jinwoo could feel his mother’s disapproving look for his poor manners. Even as a recessive omega like Jinwoo had been before everything happened, his mother was the picture of omega grace and hospitality. She was warm, welcoming, nurturing, but she did not raise her pups to not have manners.
“Fine,” Jinwoo said. “After.”
Breakfast passed without incident and Jinwoo wouldn’t tell him, but the food was actually really good. Baek was a surprisingly good cook and Jinwoo’s omega definitely noticed, preening about how good alpha’s food was and how well he got along with his family. Jinwoo shut that down immediately once he noticed that’s where his thoughts were going. He did not have time for relationships and he most certainly did not have time for being in a relationship with Baek. Although Baek didn’t sport a mating bite or a ring, what were the chances an alpha like him was single or even looking for a relationship. He probably still dicked around like a knotheaded alpha, pulling all the prettiest omegas and never settling.
Wait, why was he thinking about Baek and his maybe, maybe not relationship status?
His mother insisted on cleaning up after they finished and shooed the alpha and omega away to talk. He knew exactly what his mother and sister thought and the idea of how long it would take to dispel their suspicions was already giving him a headache.
In the daylight and after such a nice breakfast, Jinwoo cringed a little at the state of his room when they walked in. Beer cans on the desk, clothes and books all over, his nest disheveled after his rush to get up in the morning.
Baek looked around the room, his face staying neutral even as Jinwoo’s omega cried that alpha wouldn’t like him because he couldn’t keep clean or build a proper nest like a good omega.
“I like your nest,” Baek finally says.
A lie, his omega whispered, alpha lies to please us. His omega decidedly likes that. He chose to comment on his nest, a light way to indicate a more intimate interest. An omega’s nest was very personal and alphas, good alphas anyway, often sought permission before entering an omega’s nest because of how territorial they could be about it.
Jinwoo was a little insecure about his nest, something he hadn’t dealt with when he was a recessive omega. Jinwoo had been like his mother, nurturing and fiercely protective, but without some instincts like nesting or bodily functions like heats. Not proper ones anyway, his heats came about more like a cold, making his body temperature go all over the place and putting him in a groggy haze in which he just wanted to sleep. Having an omega, a very demanding prime omega, now meant his omega instincts were sharp and he had to adhere to them. He hadn’t been able to sleep properly until he had built a nest and even then he made a wimpy one, enough to vaguely satisfy his omega but certainly not good enough to be seen by anyone let alone an alpha. His heats on the other hand? He hadn’t had one yet but he felt like something was on the horizon and that it was only a matter of time. His heat wouldn’t start though if his omega felt unsafe or unstable and Jinwoo really hadn’t been making that a priority, so maybe he’d be safe for a while more.
“I knocked it over this morning when I heard you in the kitchen,” Jinwoo says to Baek.
“I apologize,” Baek said. “For intruding and making you take care of me last night.”
“You didn’t make me take care of you, I chose to help you.”
“Well thank you anyways. And I do like your nest, I like all the blue.”
Jinwoo’s entire nest was varying shades of blue, from his sheets to his blankets and pillows, and even the few articles of clothing he had acquired from his mom and sister. It was unintentional but Jinwoo ended up really liking that about it.
“I can also give this back when my shirt’s done in the wash,” Baek gestured to the sweatshirt.
Alpha looks good, omega says and Jinwoo pointedly ignores that. “You can borrow it for now, it’d probably be better if you didn’t leave in yesterday's entire outfit anyways.”
Baek nodded and shuffled uncomfortably for a minute, scratching the back of his neck, his scent showed his hesitation and? Unease? “Do you think we could talk about Jeju island?”