CHAPTER TWO
"Anyway, have you heard the news?"
"A soul bond is when a soul is deliberately and tightly bound to something to the point where each of them has a part within the other. Soul bonds also tend to be very rare, really. And to be soul bonded to someone means giving yourself to them whole—in mind, body, and spirit."
(Source: coincidence.wikidot.com)
"Soul bonding," Jimin mutters to himself, fingertips following the words he reads. "Why are we studying soul bonding? I've never heard of cases like this that'd actually happened. I thought they said it's just fiction, a story only the ancient generations believe," he added, carefully turning the page of the book perched on his lap. "I mean, is that really even possible for two individuals to have their souls tied to someone's? How?" There's peanut butter bread suddenly pressed at the corner of his lips, and he distractedly opened his mouth to have a bite without withdrawing his eyes from the book. It's actually fascinating to learn such things, but somehow still very impossible to believe, he thinks.
There's a rustling of plastic beside him. He knows it's a bag of Taehyung's favorite Cheetos even without looking. "I don't know, Minnie. But I know that this topic will be tackled not even in the next two months. Why are you reading this one, anyway? It'll probably be in finals but that's still like 5 months away."
He nods his head. "I have nothing to do, Seokjin wasn't here and you have to finish your Statistics and I am bored."
"Don't you have cooking class?"
Jimin groans at the words, turning to face Taehyung with narrowed eyes. "And that, too. I don't like it. I don't want to be in that class like ever. I won't ever set foot in that room. No."
Taehyung smiles brightly at him. Jimin wonders why when there's absolutely nothing funny. "You know you can't just do that, Minnie. You're one of those grade conscious kids out there I know and you'll not gonna let a cooking class ruin your grades, don't you?"
"First of all, I am not grade conscious," he bring his eyes back to the book, "But I have a position to maintain and pride to protect. And secondly, cooking class, seriously? Just because we're omega doesn't mean we'll have to stay at home and do house chores all our life. We could also do what betas and alphas' can."
There's a beat of silence and Jimin panics a little inside, wondering if he had somehow offended the other boy. He meant nothing bad at that, but he had always been a man of reasons (and equality). He was about to spit excuses to worm his way out of the situation when one of the alpha's large hands is suddenly on his left shoulder—weight oddly sending his nerves on another wave of panic—probably smelled his conflicted, stubborn emotions.
"Hey, it's fine," he says, voice gentle as if afraid he would startle Jimin if he didn't. "You know, that cooking class wasn't just for omegas. They said we all need to take that class whatever the sta—" Taehyung cuts himself off midsentence and even without looking at his face, Jimin knows he's hesitating, maybe watching his reaction towards the word, too.
And so he just nod twice; a silent permission that it's fine to continue and say the word even though it is honestly not. The word has always sends him unpleasant feeling, eating him from the inside and setting nausea down his stomach until he feels the urge to vomit. He hates the word very much.
The alpha clears his throat, still hesitant before he continues, "—status. Because when we finally found our mate and settled down, it's not only the omegas that have to show efforts of caring for the partner. It's applied to all."
Jimin stays silent, staring at the page of the book in front of him and thinks about Taehyung's words.
-----
The familiar tinkle of the bell above his head signals a new customer, and is immediately struck in the face by the delicious, sweet and strong coffee aroma. He smiles secretly to himself as he walks to his usual table; good for two people tucked behind the coffee shop but can still see the front door, pressed on the glass wall giving him a good view of watching what was happening outside while he's inside.
He power-walks there straight after the annoying cooking class, his nose getting extra sensitive after a good 10 minutes with unfamiliar alphas and betas in the rather confined room, different scents mixing with the smell of flours and sugar in the air. And if Jimin thinks he could at least handle the scent of omegas, well, he's entirely wrong. Because there are a few (read: a ton, a lot) of giddy and nervous omegas next to alphas and betas that couldn't help but emit faint pheromones and his tolerance was flat-out reduced to size of hairbreadth after another 10 minutes of staying in there.
So now he's here, trying to drown out all other and random scents around him by the sweet smell of coffee, vanilla and caramel and cookies. His nose needs a rest up and this is the perfect place for that.
A sigh of contentment leave past his lips as soon as his body hits the cushioned chair, leaning his back against the seat. It's not after another couple of minute when a familiar faint smell of book pages and burnt caramel hits his nose, forcing his eyes to open and peering at the boy standing next to his table.
"You look like shit," was the boy's greeting before sitting across from him, sliding a large cup of his usual drink—a mochaccino with extra pump of milk and whip cream—in front of him.
"Thanks." Completely brushing off the greetings from the boy, he opts to reach for the cup with both hand, wrapping his little fingers around it and absorbing the warmth.
"What happened this time?" the boy asks, carding his gray hair with slim pale fingers before putting on the black snapback backwards, forehead on display before leaning back on his seat, one arm on the table as his fingers starts tapping unfamiliar rhythm on the flat surface while the other rests on the back of his chair by the crook of his elbow.
Min Yoongi, a beta, the only other wolf Jimin associate himself with outside the Kim brother's circle. He met the senior two years ago when he was still a freshman, first day of school and looking lost in the campus as he tried to find his lecture room without the help of Taehyung and Seokjin.
(Taehyung almost throws a fit at the rejection if not for his brother calming him and Jimin tugging him in a side hug.)
He bumped onto the boy on the third floor's hallway, rounding the corner at the same time. His first impression of the gray haired male was: cold, intimidating and maybe an asshole because he didn't even regards Jimin with a mere glance of acknowledgement. And then he tried to get a proper look of Yoongi and saw his eyes droop and he wonder if the boy's actually sleep walking that time with hair still a bit wild from sleep and cat-like eyes peering at him in slit. Yoongi still denies that he's asleep that time every time Jimin brought the memory back until now. The 'maybe an asshole' impression quickly changed to 'maybe actually quite nice' when the boy asked him if he needs help after noticing his schedule paper in hand and offer to walk him to his class.
(Taehyung frowns at him for a good 5 minutes—because the alpha couldn't stay mad at him for long—when he first told him about this and only stops being upset after Jimin allows him to scent him to drown out the faint smell of burnt caramel clinging on his uniform.)
Jimin brought the cup to his mouth, sipping his drink and humming at the sweet taste. Yoongi learned after the third time of Jimin ordering the same drink that he likes the coffee Yoongi personally made himself. It's just that, the beta happened to make it tastes just like Jimin wants his coffee to be.
"It's the mandatory cooking class."
Yoongi actually has the audacity to smirk at him. "Isn't that cute? Park Jimin in a kitchen."
"It's not funny," he hissed, trying to hide his frown behind the large cup.
"You're taking the class with Taehyung?" Jimin shakes his head no. Yoongi nods once in understanding before leaning in, elbows resting on the tables. "Well, that's a problem," the gray haired beta says quietly and Jimin wonders if he's talking to himself rather than him. But still can't help cocking a questioning eyebrow at the words.
"A problem?"
The beta looks at him like he's searching for something. "You gonna be paired up?"
"Maybe?" he answers, tilting his head a little to the side. "I don't think it'll gonna happen until the next three meetings, Ms. Ailee was still trying to introduce us to this and that. I am not paying attention that much 'cause I am not enjoying the class." He finished, taking a sip of his drink. Just reliving what he had experienced in that class earlier sends him nausea. He wouldn't last in that class with 30 other scents trying to give him severe headache.
"Ms. Ailee? The female alpha handling the class 3-A?" He nodded his head, watching in slight amusement as Yoongi's eyebrows slowly knitted together as if thinking of something deeper out of the conversation. Jimin's genuinely confused. "She likes her class doing activities and projects usually in a group of two so you definitely gonna be paired up." Jimin actually groans lowly at the information, Yoongi smirking at his reaction. "Anyway, have you heard the news?"
He perks up, brows furrowed. "What news?"
"About the transferee kid—the son of the school's owner, he'll probably arrive in campus tomorrow," Yoongi says and Jimin released an 'oh' under his breath as he brought the cup back on his lips, completely uninterested but slightly curious to when the senior had started listening to school gossips.