The Claimed Omega

Wonho waits on one of the benches in the park for the other three to arrive. He just got back to campus today, and tomorrow will be the first day of the new term, so he just wanted to meet up with his friends before each of them get busy. And he is sure all of them are already here because, obviously, classes start tomorrow.

He wanted to get back earlier but his mind was still a bit messy and he didn't want to put too much pressure on himself on trying to recover that quickly. The shelter really helped him a lot so he decided to push his stay as long as he could. It was the best choice he made for himself in a while.

Sensing the familiar scent, Wonho turns back at his senior who has a few cans of beer in his hands. 'Are we getting drunk?'

'Tomorrow's your first class. Are you crazy?' Sangcheol scolds him, making him laugh lightly. From the plastic he has on the bench, right below the table, Wonho takes out the snacks he bought earlier to go with the beer.

'I knew you're gonna bring that.'

Sangcheol points at him in disbelief and screams, his face bright. As he places the plastic on the table, he looks around for the other three. 'Did you ask Junjie?'

'He's banging someone tonight.' Wonho answers monotonously, not even surprised anymore.

'Damn that kid.' Sangcheol comments like an old guy. Handing a soda to his junior, the alpha suddenly states, 'Listen, when Chansol's here, don't mention bond, couple, don't even mention orange or any kinds of fruit, okay?'

'What happened?' Wonho munches on the peanuts slowly, more curious about the new gossip. Sangcheol closes their distance and starts to lower his voice for some reason.

'Both of them had problem with their parents because of the accidental bond thing.'

'Shit.'

'And the Bae kid's heat is coming and they don't know what to do. He's been asking me bout it but it's so weird! You know? I don't wanna imagine anything!' Wonho is about to ask about the 'don't know what to do' part before realizing how innocent both of them are. They were playing basketball when they mated for god's sake! Nobody bond while arguing over basketball game! At least, based on his research on the internet, everyone mates during sex.

'They never did it. Don't bring it up or he'll ask you for advice.'

Of course.

As if on cue, both Mengyao and Chansol comes and quickly takes their seats around the table. The beta grabs a can and sips it while the younger alpha lays his head on the table, his dark circles obvious on his white skin. Wonho looks at Sangcheol who shakes his head vigorously. Grabbing a beer, he passes them to the depressed alpha, 'Cheer up.'

Sangcheol widens his eyes in anger, to which Wonho only tilts his head and lifts his shoulders. He notices Mengyao looking at them, so they try to laugh it off. If he asks about it, they will have to mention it, and Chansol will ask for advice, which they do not want to give.

'What happened to your protector?'

Wonho unconsciously puts a hand on his lower right neck, on the barely visible scar, forcing a small smile at his friends. He threw it away. Because he doesn't need it after all. He is still bonded, and the protector was from Minwoo… 'It's hot so I took it off.'

Hearing the obvious lie, both the alphas chug on their beers, nervous on behalf of the omega. Wonho realizes the strange reactions and tries to convince Mengyao about it, 'it's okay. We don't have to wear it all the time.'

Sangcheol and Chansol's faces are so tensed at this point, they will give anything away. And it is obvious Mengyao is finding it hard to believe him. 'Are you sure?'

'Yeah. It's only dangerous during heat.' Sangcheol adds to help him out but the second the words got out of his mouth, Chansol's expression changes back into depression. Wonho glares at the oldest as he hits his own head. Now they will have to tell him about heat. Great.

'Junjie-hyung's at my house right now.' The beta interrupts randomly, saving them from Chansol's desperation. Wonho looks back at his junior, thankful but confused at the same time. He is sure his best friend told him he will be with someone tonight. The horny guy must be borrowing Mengyao's place for his 'sleepover'. Feeling sorry for his junior, Wonho is about to suggest kicking his friend out before realizing the other male is still staring at all three of them, as if waiting for another reaction.

He has a sad smile none of them ever saw before today.

'You guys gonna keep this from us? I thought friends tell each other everything. I guess betas are different kind of friends.'

'What are you talking about?' Wonho can only lower his head, sensing what Mengyao is talking about. It is about him, obviously.

'Why didn't you tell us? We congratulated you. You made us feel like fools.' Nobody says anything. The two alphas realize the tensed atmosphere but understand that it is not theirs to break. This is between Wonho and the betas. And Wonho has no clue how to explain himself either. It was never his intention to hide it from both the betas. It wasn't even his intention to tell anyone in the first place. Had the other three been betas, he would have kept it a secret from everyone.

'Just so you know, Jun went to see Minwoo yesterday.'

They hear a shocked, muffled gasp and turn towards Chansol who has his eyes closed in frustration. 'Chansol you-?'

'It slipped! Okay? I didn't mean to.' Chansol pleads to Wonho, 'Hyung, I-'

'No. I should be sorry. I, just didn't want to worry you guys.'

'But they knew.' Mengyao whines, accusingly.

'Cus we can sense it. Mengyao, Wono didn't know about it till we told him either.'

Everyone sighs at the awkward tension yet again. Recently, all their outings had been filled with silence, but it is not something that can be helped. Things just happen to be bad right now. 'I know we don't have sixth sense or whatever you guys have but don't push us away like this again. Or I'll go back to China.'

Wonho looks at the young Chinese who finally relaxes as he opens the wrapper in front of him. It took them a few second to notice the childish threat at the end due to the man's weird Korean but they finally did, and it is even funnier because of the lagged reaction. Laughing loudly, Wonho sends a death glare towards their youngest who takes a big gulp of the beer in fear.

'And you might wanna check on Jun. He got beat up pretty badly. Minwoo's no joke.'

'What happened?'

'What you think happened.' Wonho sighs. This is probably the main reason, amongst all others, why he didn't want to tell Junjie. Because Junjie thinks with his fist and that always gets him in trouble.