Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Night at Ecplise
The bass from the speakers pulsed through the marble floor of Eclipse, the most exclusive nightclub in Seoul. The lights flickered between violet and gold, catching on the crystal glasses and the sleek silhouettes of the city's elite.
Lee Minho sat in the VIP lounge, as usual, slightly apart from the rest, where tinted glass separated him from the crowd. He liked it that way. He could see everyone, but no one dared come too close unless invited.
His jacket, tailored black, was unbuttoned just enough to show his collarbone and the faint shimmer of a silver chain. He didn't come here for the noise or the company. He came because silence was worse, and because it amused him to see how quickly people bent around an alpha like him.
But tonight felt...off. Or maybe it was boredom.
He signaled lazily to a passing waiter. "One drink," he said, voice deep enough to catch over the music.
The waiter turned, and Minho's hand, midair, stilled.
The omega standing before him looked nothing like the polished servers Eclipse usually hired. This one had fluffy brown hair that curled slightly over his forehead, cheeks tinted pink from running between tables, and sharp, bright eyes that didn't seem afraid of anything. His uniform shirt was half untucked, sleeves rolled up, and there was a small smear of cocktail mix on his wrist.
And yet... His scent. God, it smells so good..
Sweet, sharp, like citrus tangled with faint honey. It hit Minho's senses immediately, sliding down the back of his throat and settling heavy in his chest. He shouldn't have noticed, not this strongly. His suppressants worked well, always had but for a split second, he forgot how to breathe.
The omega blinked at him, waiting.
Minho leaned back and, almost without thinking, let a faint smirk curl at the corner of his mouth. "One cocktail, please," he said, voice low. Then, just to see the reaction, he added a wink.
If someone asked for a cocktail, it's usually a sign to get intimate.
It landed perfectly.
The omega's brows shot up. His lips parted in disbelief before tightening into a glare. "Fuck you." he said flatly, voice soft but sharp enough to cut through the bass.
Then he turned, tray in hand, and walked away, tail of his apron swaying behind him as if punctuating the insult.
Minho blinked once.
What?
He'd been rejected before, rarely, and never this directly. Not by an omega. Not in his club.
A small laugh escaped him, disbelief mixing with the faintest spark of amusement. His beta bodyguard, who had been standing near the corner, tilted his head in question, but Minho waved him off. "Nothing," he muttered. "Just... unexpected."
He glanced back toward the bar. The omega was there again, moving quickly, taking orders, ignoring him completely.
And for reasons Minho didn't quite understand, he couldn't look away.
--
Of course, it had to be a smug alpha.
Jisung shoved a tray of empty glasses into the sink, muttering under his breath. He'd been working at Eclipse for two weeks, barely surviving the suffocating mix of pheromones and luxury. The tips were good, but the people? Not so much. Alphas liked to stare. Betas liked to talk down. And omegas like him were just there to look pretty and smile.
Except Jisung didn't do smiling. Not for jerks who thought a wink was a ticket to his attention.
He could still feel that alpha's gaze on him. The one from the VIP lounge, tall, broad-shouldered, expensive everything. And that scent. Sharp, deep, a little musky. It had rolled over the room like static, thick and commanding even when he hadn't said a word. It had taken every ounce of willpower not to flinch, not to let his instincts bow to it.
Instead, he told him off.
Because someone had to remind alphas that the world didn't revolve around them.
He scrubbed a glass too hard, muttering, "Cocktail my ass.."
Beside him, another waiter snorted. "You do realize who that was, right?"
Jisung frowned. "Some arrogant customer."
"That's Lee Minho. The Lee Minho. CEO of Lee MH Corp."
Jisung froze, towel in hand. "...The billionaire?"
"Yeah. The one who basically owns half of downtown. You told him to f-"
"I know what I said," Jisung cut in, heat rising in his cheeks.
The other waiter laughed, shaking his head. "You're dead, dude."
Jisung huffed. "Whatever.. He probably doesn't care. He's rich, he can afford to forget my face."
But as he said it, he knew he didn't believe it.
That look Minho had given him wasn't the kind that forgot easily.
---
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He didn't leave Eclipse right away. He told himself it was because of business messages, the dozen emails waiting on his phone, but he stayed long enough to see the omega from earlier moving between tables again.
He noticed things now. The way the Omega's scent changed when he was irritated, a sharper note, like fresh lime. The way his small frown smoothed when he focused on balancing a tray. The tiny mole near his lip that Minho couldn't stop staring at.
When their eyes met again, even from across the room, the omega rolled his eyes and looked away.
Minho actually laughed.
He didn't remember the last time someone had done that to him. Most people tried too hard, to please him, impress him, seduce him. But that omega... he'd done the opposite. And Minho found that strangely refreshing. Or maybe addictive.
"Sir, are you ready to leave?" his driver asked quietly.
Minho looked at the untouched cocktail on his table. He'd lost interest in it the moment the omega walked away. "In a bit," he said.
When he finally stepped out of the club an hour later, the cold night air hit him, clearing his head. Still, his mind replayed the moment, that quick glare, the snap of a voice that refused to submit. His inner alpha growled softly in approval, something primal stirring that he hadn't felt in a long time.
Interesting.
He pulled out his phone, thumb hovering over his assistant's contact. He didn't even know the omega's name. But it wouldn't be hard to find out. Eclipse was one of his company's partners, after all.
Minho slipped the phone back into his pocket and smirked to himself.
"Next weekend, then," he murmured.
---
ღ
By the time his shift ended, his feet ached and his head throbbed. The air outside Eclipse smelled better. Clean, cold, not soaked in alpha pheromones. He rubbed his neck and took a deep breath, pulling his jacket tighter.
He'd messed up. He knew it.
But, he didn't regret it, not one bit.
Because for once, he'd looked an alpha straight in the eye and didn't flinch. Didn't lower his head. Didn't apologize.
Still... the way that alpha had looked back, it wasn't anger. It was curiosity. And that was somehow worse.
Jisung shook his head, trying to push the thought away.
"He's a billionaire, Ji," he muttered to himself. "You're just a waiter. Forget it."
But as he walked home through the city lights, a faint trace of that scent still lingered in his senses,
warm, commanding, and annoyingly unforgettable.