Break My Stride

Two

The starting line was already bustling; everyone desperate to catch a scent they liked and latch onto it like...well, dogs with a bone. He hadn't bothered to check the numbers this year, but it had to be a record breaking turnout. He'd guess upwards of ten thousand or more, just by how many bodies he had to try to squeeze through to get here. The annoying thing was that half of them probably weren't even running. They were just family and friends of people that were, here to show their support as the races started. Most would go home for the night and come back tomorrow. Still, they could stop acting like this was some god damn county fair, at least. There were even booth setups for merchandise and food.

Yoongi sighs morosely and follows the sounds of Taehyung and Jimin hollering like monkeys and calling his name. Most of the group - minus Jungkook again - have all claimed their spot on a set of park benches. They made it look like they were just going to a damn picnic with tablecloths and cushions for the wooden benches. Most of them were working through some of the food the vendors were selling and Taehyung slung an arm around his shoulders as he tore into a corndog.

"So, you excited for today? You look well prepared, hyung," Taehyung grinned slyly since he knew full well Yoongi was certainly not excited for today.

Yoongi ignored him and instead asked whoever would answer, "Where's Kook? Already sniffing out his mate?"

"No, he said that would be pointless because his mate's a cheating cheater that plays dirty. He said the chances of them covering their scent were high. He's making sure his den is ready," Seokjin scoffed.

Yoongi accepted the drink Jimin handed him and chuckled. "Sounds like I might actually like them."

"You have no idea," Jin said with a snort, glancing up and down at Yoongi in a way he couldn't decipher. But then again, he didn't really want to since Jin thought being vague made him mysterious and therefore more attractive.

Hint: it didn't.

"So where's his den?"

Although, calling it a "den" in this day and age wasn't really accurate. No longer did the big bad Alpha cart you off to a hole in a mountain or a shack in the woods (unless that's what they wanted - who was he to judge?). It was simply a place that the Alpha had bought prior to their first run so they'd have a home ready for their mate. It could be anything from a shitty apartment like Yoongi's to some fancy house in the city. No matter what kind of place it was, as soon as an Alpha presented, they usually began working on their den. Jungkook must have known his future mate for quite a while for them to already have a den together. Jungkook usually isn't that sly - it's amazing he was able to keep something this from the whole group.

"You know that place on Rural? That monstrosity that I thought was Victorian but you said it wasn't? That it was...Italian?"

Yoongi's whole world came to screeching halt as he stared at Jin, his heart pounding so hard he was sure everyone else could hear it.

"Italianate," he whispered, praying to whatever powers that be that Jin didn't mean that house.

"Yeah, that's the one. Everyone in the family was so excited and happy for Jungkook that they basically threw money at him. He had enough to pay for the house in cash. I told him he should bulldoze it and rebuild since it's in a great part of town, but he said his mate would want to fix it up."

Yoongi suddenly felt like crying, but he settled for collapsing onto the bench and clenching his fist.

"I've been saving up for that house since I was sixteen. I'm going to kill him."

Seokjin was sporting the most annoying smirk of all time, clearly enjoying Yoongi's misery for some reason.

"Focus on the run. You can kill my little brother later."