Myungsuk and Insoo stepped onto the sunny street from the subway, Myungsuk smiling ear to ear. He'd ridden the subway several times now and felt like an expert. As long as he had his mask, headphones, and Insoo and he was all set.
All week Myungsuk had been buzzing from meeting Insoo's friends. He'd been texting Zara about Galactica to the point that Insoo said he was jealous. Needless to say, Myungsuk cuddled him hard after that. Even thinking about it made Myungsuk giggle.
But now, it was time for Myungsuk to introduce Insoo to someone. They reached the grand skyscraper and walked in. Looking around, he spotted Byungsoo by the front desk. Myungsuk grinned and hurried over, pulling Insoo along.
"Hello, Byungsoo," Myungsuk greeted. He spun around to Insoo. "This is Byungsoo. Hyung's secretary," he explained.
Insoo nodded his head at him. "Nice to meet you," he said, his voice quivering. Myungsuk raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.
As they got to the empty elevator, Myungsuk studied Insoo. His hand was shaking and his face was pale. Myungsuk pouted and pulled down his mask to kiss Insoo's shoulder. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. He didn't want Insoo to be scared because of this. If he had known, he would have contently lived his whole life never introducing Insoo to Daehyun.
"I'm sorry," he muttered and Insoo turned to him, looking over Myungsuk's expression.
Insoo took a deep breath and shook his head. "It's okay. I want to meet him. I do. I'm just nervous."
Myungsuk pouted before nodding. That was understandable. Myungsuk was nervous to meet Insoo's friends. "I'll be beside you the whole time," he whispered, smiling. "You can depend on me."
His heart fluttered when Insoo pecked his cheek, giggling too much to care about Byungsoo sniggering.
Byungsoo opened the door to the firm and led them past the many desks full of busy people in crisp suits until they stopped at Daehyun's door. "I'll let him know you're here," Byungsoo said and stepped over to his desk, pressing a button on the phone.
"Yes, Byungsoo?" Daehyun asked over the line and Insoo stiffened. Myungsuk nuzzled his arm.
"Your 2 o'clock is here," Byungsoo said.
"Okay," Daehyun said. "They can come in whenever they're ready."
"Got it," Byungsoo said and dropped the line with a smirk. "Well?"
"Are you ready?" Myungsuk asked Insoo.
Insoo took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be," he said with a sheepish smile.
Grinning, Myungsuk turned the handle and stepped inside. "Hello, Hyung, we're here," he announced.
Daehyun smiled warmly and stood up from his desk, buttoning the top button of his blazer. "Hello, Myungsuk," he said and walked around. He stood in front of them, his expression hard and stoic. "You must be Insoo," he said, casually and held his hand out. "It's nice to meet you."
Insoo's body instinctively leaned forward to bow but paused when he processed Daehyun's extended hand. His eyes widened and a palpable moment later, Insoo shook his hand robotically. "I-it's nice to meet you too," he said, unable to look Daehyun in the eyes.
"Hm," Daehyun hummed and pulled back. "Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to the couches. Nodding, Insoo and Myungsuk sat on one couch while Daehyun sat across from them.
Daehyun crossed one leg over the other and leaned back, his hands folded on his knee, watching Insoo silently. Insoo looked down at his own folded hands, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Looking back and forth between the alphas, Myungsuk didn't need pheromones to know what was going on. He'd seen enough movies.
"Hyung," Myungsuk scolded. "Stop sizing Insoo up and be nice!"
Daehyun stared at him, taken aback as Insoo gasped. "Myungsuk, it's okay. Please don't–"
Insoo paused when Daehyun chuckled. "I didn't realize I was being so harsh," Daehyun said, fondly shaking his head. He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Well, you were," Myungsuk huffed, puffing out his cheeks.
"You're right. I'm sorry," Daehyun said and his expression was back to the normal Daehyun Myungsuk knew. Daehyun turned to Insoo and raised his eyebrow. "Is he bossy with you too?"
Insoo blinked at the question before he broke into a grin, nodding. "Sometimes. But I like it. It's easy since I don't have to plan our dates."
Daehyun chuckled and Insoo finally smiled. The warm bubbly feeling washes over Myungsuk again. Myungsuk slid off his shoes and hugged his knees, scooting back as he watched the conversation continue. Insoo was still stiff and polite, but at least colour had returned to his face.
"My mate tells me that you're actually younger than Myungsuk," Daehyun said.
"Yes, only by three months though," Insoo explained.
"So, what about the military? When do you plan on going?" Daehyun asked. Myungsuk tilted his head and blinked up at Insoo.
"Oh," Insoo shrugged, glancing over at him. "Probably when I graduate," he said with a shrug. "My dad didn't want me to go right after highschool since they thought I'd be going to a foreign university."
Daehyun raised his eyebrow. "Your parents must be quite well off then. How come you didn't go abroad?"
"I didn't send my application last minute," Insoo said, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I just didn't want to go. For a while I regretted the hasty decision. Especially when they found out." he said, scrunching up his nose. "But now I know it's the best decision I've made," he said, smiling at Myungsuk.
Myungsuk bit his lip and giggled, pressing his nose against his shoulder.
Daehyun hummed, cracking a smile. "I was never one to listen to my parents at your age either," he said. "Though, it probably had to do with growing up in New York."
"Oh yeah. Myungsuk told me you're American," Insoo said, sitting up. "You lived there with your two alpha mothers, right?"
Daehyun cracked a smile. "Yes. That's right."
Insoo smiled, nodding to himself before speaking up again. "Was it hard learning about omegas? Since you come from an alpha-only family?"
"My family isn't only alphas," Daehyun corrected and Insoo furrowed his brows. "My grandmother's an omega. So I had some idea."
Myungsuk nodded. "Daehyun's grandma was actually Taeyong-Hyung's mentor since we don't have other omegas in our family," Myungsuk added, stifling a laugh. "Hyung would say that without her, we'd be like cats that act like dogs," he said.
"That's pretty funny," Insoo said chuckling, his smile dropping for a split second before he turned to Daehyun, sitting up. "Then can I ask what Myungsuk was like as a kid?"
Daehyun smiled and nodded, glancing a fond look at Myungsuk. "He was an adorable kid. Very chatty and clingy."
Insoo laughed. "So the same?"
Myungsuk furrowed his brows. "Hey."
Insoo grinned and snuck a kiss on the top of his head. "It's a good thing."
Myungsuk squinted his eyes at both of them before wiggling his toes. As Daehyun told more childhood stories, Myungsuk watched Insoo's bright expressions, purring softly under his breath.
The three of them stepped out of the office and Insoo bowed and Daehyun stopped him. "Don't be so formal," he said and held out his other hand. "I'm glad we finally got to meet."
Insoo looked up at him in awe before nodding, shaking his hand. "Me too."
Myungsuk stood on his toes, grinning. "I was worried you were going to act like General Ima when Giya introduced Sukki to her."
"From Galactica?" Daehyun asked, amused.
Insoo nodded. "Yeah. Ima was really rough on Sukki," he said before holding back his tongue.
Myungsuk giggled. "You paid attention," he cooed.
"Of course," Insoo said and rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling. "I mean, it's not a bad show."
"Very true," Myungsuk mused. "It's the best."
Daehyun smiled warmly and held his hand over Myungsuk's head. Myungsuk leaned into it before Daehyun patted him.
"Mr. Kim, your next appointment is here," Byunsoo said from his desk.
Daehyun nodded in acknowledgment and turned back to Myungsuk. "Get back safe, okay?"
Myungsuk nodded. "I will," he said and stepped forward, right into Insoo's back. He squeaked and stumbled back. Blinking, Myungsuk slapped his hands over his nose from a sharp scent of distress. "Insoo?"
"What are you doing here?" A gruff voice asked. Myungsuk looked over and spotted the older man standing a few feet away, squinting at Insoo with a deep frown, deepening his wrinkles.
Insoo was frozen, the colour drained from his face as he stared ahead. "Uh, I-I," Insoo stammered, blinking rapidly and averting his eyes. "Um, appa, I was just–"
Myungsuk's eyes widened and he gaped. Appa?
"I asked him to meet with me, Mr. Cheung," Daehyun said, placing his hand on his shoulder, patting it. "I have a lot of connections with the university and Insoo's name came up frequently as a bright student I should know," he explained, nonchalantly.
Frowning at the lie, Myungsuk tugged at his sleeves.
Insoo nodded. "Yes. A professor of mine introduced us," he added. "I had no idea you knew him."
"Of course I know the members of the Kim family," Mr. Cheung snapped and Insoo complied, pressing his lips into a thin line and hanging his head.
Mr. Cheung let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hope he did not embarrass me too much. You must forgive him."
"There's nothing to forgive," Daehyun said. "He's very intelligent and well-spoken."
Insoo blinked at Daehyun and stood up straighter.
Mr. Cheung side-eyed him with a hum before his eyes landed on Myungsuk. Myungsuk gasped and looked away, grabbing the person closest to him, which was Daehyun.
"Who's that?" Mr. Cheung asked, tilting his chin at him.
Daehyun and Insoo turned around, Insoo staying in place, shielding the majority of Myungsuk from view.
"This is my brother-in-law," Daehyun said, using his arm to guide Myungsuk behind him. "He stopped by today."
Gulping, Myungsuk quickly bowed his head before pressing into Daehyun's side, hiding his face.
"I see." Mr. Cheung said. "Yes, I do recall your mate only has omega siblings. What a shame for the parents."
Daehyun opened his mouth to retort, but Insoo stepped ahead. "It's not a shame. They're a very good family," he blurted out.
Mr. Cheung blinked before frowning. "Do you know this family? This family of omegas?"
"I, uh," Insoo gulped and glanced at Myungsuk. He turned back to his father and shook his head. "I don't."
Myungsuk squeezed his eyes tight, whimpering against Daehyun's back.
"I think this is hardly an appropriate conversation to be having right now, Mr. Cheung," Daehyun said, his voice bold yet steady.
Mr. Cheung frowned and after a moment, sighed. "Right. Of course," he said before turning to Insoo. "My driver is downstairs. You go and he'll take you home."
Insoo held back as frown and nodded. He turned to Daehyun and Myungsuk, and bowed his head. "Goodbye," he said and forced himself to turn away, dragging himself out of sight.
"Well, we should start our meeting," Mr. Cheung said.
Byungsoo jumped up from his desk. "It's this way," he said and led Mr. Cheung down the hall.
Once out of sigh, Daehyun gritted his teeth, growling. He shook his head and turned around, holding Myungsuk's shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asked, placing his hand on Myungsuk's cheek.
Myungsuk bit his trembling lip and shook his head. "What happened?" he whimpered. His brain was muddled trying to make sense of it all. He knew Insoo's family was strict, but Mr. Cheung was plain mean; to the point where his Insoo was trembling. Myungsuk hated seeing Insoo so scared and he hated himself more for not helping.
"Shh, it's okay," Daehyun said softly and hugged him. "We'll talk about this at home. Can Byungsoo take you home? Are you okay with that?"
Myungsuk nodded weakly, Daehyun's words muffled by the static ringing in his ears.
Sighing, Daehyun finally pulled back, saying something to Byungsoo before walking away.
Replaying the scene over and over like a looped nightmare, Myungsuk didn't remember the ride home.
----
Taeyong sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe Insoo is from that Cheung family."
Seunghyeon nodded, crossing his legs. "I know. I thought he was normal and middle-class."
"So did I," Daehyun said, leaning against the dining chair and tsked. "He looked like he was going to be sick when his father walked in. I don't know what Mr. Cheung would have done if he knew he and Myungsuk were dating."
"I wonder if Myungsuk knew about his situation," Taeyong said. He rubbed his temple. "At least he managed to sleep," he added, checking the time on his phone. Myungsuk had slept through most of the day, it was already well past dinner.
"I just feel bad for Insoo," Seunghyeon confessed and Taeyong furrowed his brows at him. Seunghyeon shrugged. "He's just a kid too, you know."
Taeyong crossed his arms. "Well, he knows what kind of family he comes from. He should be able to stand up to his father if he wants to do things his way."
"Taeyong," Daehyun said with a deep frown. Taeyong pressed his lips into a thin line, waiting for his rebuttal. But instead, Daehyun sighed, shaking his head. "Give it time. He's still young."
"Yeah..." Taeyong sighed. As if time would do anything other than morph Insoo into another version of his father. A heartless, cold Alpha.