Seunghyeon pulled up to the curb in front of the auditorium. "You ready?"
Myungsuk stared out at the courtyard full of people and squeezed the backpack in his lap. "Yes," he whispered but didn't budge.
Taeyong and he had worked on his hair and makeup all morning and it shocked Seunghyeon how similar he and Myungsuk looked. Seunghyeon touched his own face. He hadn't realized how rounded and soft his features were until he saw them on Myungsuk. He pursed his lips. He should have gotten some sharp features like Taeyong. Maybe people would take him more seriously.
"Ah, there's Insoo," Myungsuk said and waved as Insoo jogged to the car.
Seunghyeon rolled down the window. "Hey, Insoo."
"Hello, Seunghyeon-sunbae," Insoo said with a bow. He then turned to Myungsuk and his eyes widened, blinking before he smiled a dopey, cheesy smile. "You look great, Myungsuk."
Myungsuk bit the inside of his cheek and blushed. "Thank you. Um, you look great too."
"Thanks."
The two stared at each other and Seunghyeon rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Both of you get out of here," he said and unlocked the door. "I'll pick you up in a couple of hours. Okay, Myungsuk?"
Myungsuk nodded as Insoo opened the door and he stepped out. "Okay, Hyung."
Seunghyeon nodded and leaned over. "Insoo, take my number. I want updates from you," he said and squinted at him, letting a hint of aggression out with his pheromones. "You better take care of him."
Insoo stiffened and nodded. "Of course, sunbae," he said and bowed again.
"That's what I like to hear," he said and relaxed, smiling at Myungsuk. "Have fun," he said, starting up the car.
"I will," Myungsuk said and waved until Seunghyeon pulled away from the curb and turned out of sight.
Seunghyeon sat in one of the cafes on campus, abandoning his weak iced latte on the table as he leaned back against his chair.
He scanned the crowd over his phone, huffing when none of them were who he was waiting for. Running his fingers through his hair, he scrolled through his phone, ignoring the looks people were giving him.
Looking up, Seunghyeon spotted him. Sihoo grabbed his iced coffee and walked over, sitting down. "Hey," he said, with a familiar low rumble in his voice.
It was strange seeing him with long hair and baggy clothes. When they dated, Sihoo was straight out of the military with buzzed hair and tight clothes to show off his muscles. His looks were a real catch back then, but now... At least he learned not to wear his alpha pheromones like cologne.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Clearing his throat, Seunghyeon crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands on his lap, summoning Taeyong's friendliness. "How have you been?"
Sihoo gave him an unimpressed look. "Do you really care?"
Seunghyeon's cheap smile faltered. "Of course, It's been what? Five months?"
"It's been almost two years."
"Really?" Seunghyeon whistled. "Wow, time really flies." Running his fingers through his hair. "You didn't have to answer my text, you know," he said. Gods, he hoped Sihoo wasn't hung up on him. Maybe this was a bad idea.
"You were overly formal. And you wanted to meet on campus. I assumed it had to do with your school."
Seunghyeon eyed him for a moment before accepting his answer. He was always perceptive; hence why they didn't last long.
"You're right," Seunghyeon said, dropping the over-politeness. "Do you want to be my model for one of my pieces?"
Sihoo sipped his coffee, dragging out the silence. Seunghyeon drummed his fingers against his knees, bouncing his foot.
"What's it about? The painting," he asked.
"Oh, well." Seunghyeon scrunched his nose. "Actually, it's not fully decided. It's a set-piece between myself and a... classmate. So like, when we put our paintings together it'll make one scene," he explained. That was the only thing Kwangsun and him managed to agree on, which made figuring out what to paint harder.
"And?"
"And," Seunghyeon hummed before shrugging. "He needs his side to be more serious and sensual while I'm painting something happier."
"So a sex scene?"
"Huh?" Seunghyeon's eyebrow shot up and he leaned closer. "A what?"
Sihoo rolled his eyes. "Don't act so shy. It's weird," he said and glanced around. "No one's listening," he added before leaning in. "So you and your classmate are painting two halves of a sex scene?"
Seunghyeon gaped and shook his head. "No, no, no. We're not. You're wrong. We are not doing that," he rambled. Seunghyeon painted suggestive pieces many times. But the thought of painting one with Kwangsun. Seunghyeon shuddered. "Urgh, gross."
Amused, Sihoo smirked. "What's this? Have you finally closed your legs?"
Seunghyeon paused and shot him a glare. "That's none of your business."
"I'm just curious," Sihoo said and leaned forward, lowering his voice, the faintest hint of his pheromones wafting. "Have you finally found someone good enough to share your heat with?"
Seunghyeon gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter." This was a bad idea. Dammit, this wouldn't have happened if he could find a professional model.
"You can't run from alphas forever, Seunghyeon. It's in your nature to want one," he said, reaching across the table to touch his knee.
Seunghyeon jumped up, his body vibrating with adrenaline. "I– have to go," he announced and fumbled to grab his bag. "I have to go get my brother."
Sihoo grabbed Seunghyeon's wrist as he walked past him. There were a million things written on his face and Seunghyeon wanted to hear none of them. "You have a brother?"
Seunghyeon gulped.
"Actually, he has two."
Kwansun walked over with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his coffee. What was he doing here? Either way, Seunghyeon was glad to see him.
Sihoo tightened his grip and Seunghyeon flinched. "You had two brothers? Why didn't you tell me? We dated for three months!"
"Hey, take it easy," Kwangsun snapped and shoved Sihoo's arm away. Seunghyeon broke free and rushed behind him.
"Don't touch me!" Sihoo sprang up from his seat and grabbed Kwangsun's shirt. "Don't mess with me. I served in the military," he growled, his pheromones soaked in metallic grittiness that stopped the whole cafe. Seunghyeon gulped and cowered behind Kwangsun.
"And I was in the Navy," Kwangsun said, maintaining eye-contact. "So, you better calm down," he said, casually. Seunghyeon glanced up. Why wasn't Kwangsun releasing his pheromones back? Was Kwangsun not phased at all?
Sihoo growled, his pheromones burning Seunghyeon's nostrils and making his eyes water.
"Sir, if you don't calm down, I'll call the police." The barista held their phone up and Sihoo looked up, paused, and then sighed, gritting his teeth. He dropped his hand and glared at Kwangsun's half-smile.
"Thanks," Kwangsun chuckled, brushing off his shirt. "I hate it when my shirts stretch out. Don't you?"
Seunghyeon gaped and Sihoo looked like he wanted to rip Kwangsun's head off. Seunghyeon tugged Kwangsun's arm. "Let's just get out of here," he mumbled.
Thankfully, Kwangsun didn't protest and Seunghyeon dragged him out of the cafe, keeping his head low when he felt everyone's eyes burning into his skull.
They walked through campus for five minutes in complete silence, staring ahead at the petal covered path. His hair stood on end all over his body and he growled. Why hadn't he calmed down yet?
"You okay?" Kwangsun finally asked.
Halting, Seunghyeon sighed and turned around. "You don't have to follow me, you know."
Kwangsun shrugged. "You said 'let's go'." Seunghyeon raised his eyebrow and Kwangsun sighed. "Look, are you okay? Do you want to talk about what just happened?"
"It's fine. I had it under control," Seunghyeon tsked.
"I'm sure you did"–he rolled his eyes–"but I just saw you and I just," he shrugged. "I didn't stop to think. We're friends, after all."
Seunghyeon pursed his lips, before rolling his eyes. He continued walking, his pace slower. "We're not friends."
Letting out a laugh, Kwangsun caught up with him. "Right. We're rivals," he teased, nudging his shoulder.
Shaking his head, Seunghyeon flicked his eyes up. He had to admit, getting away was a lot easier with his help. He opened his mouth, but the time to thank him passed, so Seunghyeon closed his mouth and kept walking, adjusting his bag on his shoulders.
"That guy was my ex," Seunghyeon explained.
"I figured," Kwangsun nodded. He paused, glancing over. "The same ex whose car you bashed in?" he asked, chuckling.
Seunghyeon groaned. "I never did that. None of my ex's had cars." He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe people believe that. Where did that even come from?"
Kwangsun chuckled. "I never believed it," he pointed out and nudged his shoulder against his. "But maybe it's because you have a badass attitude."
Pursing his lips, Seunghyeon glanced up. "I do?"
"Oh, definitely."
The corner of Seunghyeon's lips turned up and he hummed. "Eh, no need to correct anyone then."
The two of them chuckled until it faded, along with the weight on his chest. Seunghyeon followed a petal fluttering down from a tree and sighed.
"I broke up with him 'cause he wanted to share my heat."
Kwangsun raised his eyebrow. "Seriously?" He frowned. "And I guess you didn't want to?"
Seunghyeon nodded. "Yup. I might've considered if he signed a heat contract but," he shrugged. "He thought it made it 'less sexy' 'cause that's not how it was done back in the day."
"Gross." Kwangsun shook his head. "Alphas like that should know that's not up for debate."
Seunghyeon glanced over, pleasantly surprised Kwangsun agreed with him. "Honestly, I don't get why they think heats are some super sexy thing. If the alpha doesn't take care of the omega, it's painful for everybody. Honestly, sex outside of a heat is better and safer. Though, people treat it like some accomplishment."
Kwangsun nodded. "I get that. I mean, your art explains that it's not a fantasy, but a huge responsibility. It makes more sense now."
Pursing his lips, Seunghyeon straightened his shoulders at the compliment. "I try to capture the truth."
Kwangsun chuckled. "A truth untold."
The two kept walking, Seunghyeon watching the cherry blossom petals drift from the trees and onto the path. With his chest lighter, he replayed the scene from the cafe and sighed. He shouldn't have done that to himself. Seunghyeon ran his fingers through his hair.
"Hey," he started. "Have you found a model yet?"
Kwangsun shook his head. "Nope," he said, tucking his hands into his pockets. "It's super embarrassing asking friends if I can paint them a little naked. Have you?"
Seunghyeon cracked a smile and nodded. "True," he hummed and shook his head. "No, that's why I met my–" Seunghyeon sighed. "No model would agree 'cause we have no idea what we're going to do. I'm kinda out of options."
"Ah, right. That too." Kwangsun stayed quiet until he sidestepped in front of Seunghyeon. "Do you want to be my model?"
Seunghyeon blinked. "What?"
"Be my model," he repeated, grinning. "And I'll be yours. Wouldn't that be so much easier? We don't have to pay each other and we're always around just in case we decide 'fuck it' and start all over."
Seunghyeon pursed his lips. "I will cry if I have to restart an oil painting."
Kwangsun smirked his Cheshire smirk and wiggled his eyebrow. "What do you say?"
He did have a point. They were running out of time, and neither of them could find anyone. Plus, Kwangsun wasn't that bad when he wasn't actively being annoying. "Sure. Works for me."
"Great," Kwangsun said, breaking into a genuine grin. "So, when do you wanna take pictures? Do you know a place? We might actually get some ideas then."
Seunghyeon nodded, Sihoo's idea lingering in the back of his mind. "True." Better than staring at a blank paper. "I have a place we can go actually," he said and pulled out his phone, smiling. Things were moving again. "And lemme check when I'm free."
He unlocked the screen and his smile dropped. His phone was on silent and he had seven missed calls from Insoo. Seunghyeon furrowed his brows, a pit dropping in his stomach. Seunghyeon dialled back, pressing his phone to his ear, gnawing at his bottom lip.
Kwangsun furrowed his brows. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
He opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, the phone picked up.
"Sunbae, I need your help."