Chapter Text
When Seonghwa turned around, he saw a man holding him lightly by the shoulder. Behind him stood a man who was taller than himself. The man seemed like an alpha, but Seonghwa couldn't smell him. Was he wearing scent blockers?
The omega seemed frozen in place.
“This is private property. What are you doing here?” the man asked harshly, looking back at the garden gate. “Were you trying to break in?” The alpha's voice became increasingly threatening. Seonghwa's breathing quickened. He didn't know how to get out of this situation.
++++
Since Jungwon had reached the 15th week of pregnancy, he had developed a strange sleep pattern. He had strange dreams and then often had to go to the bathroom. After that, sleep was almost impossible.
His gaze fell on the clock next to him. It was almost three in the morning. His feet hurt, and it made him angry that Jongseong was able to sleep peacefully. Especially not after their argument.
Actually, it had been idiotic. Jay had put the ultrasound picture of their baby somewhere else, and Jungwon thought he had thrown it away. He then accused his Alpha of not really wanting their baby and of not loving him. Sunoo and Jake had to mediate between them.
It had been so stupid, but Jungwon knew that his hormones were to blame. He just hoped inwardly that this horror would end soon.
Quietly and secretly, the omega got out of bed. Jay wouldn't notice anyway because he was a deep sleeper.
Knowing that Heeseung was still out, he wanted to check on him. As he did so, he glanced out the window in the hallway, and his eyes widened.
What was Seonghwa doing here?
++++
“And that's why I came here,” Seonghwa explained, picking up his smartphone again, which the Alpha had been holding. The Alpha nodded. Although their first encounter had been rough, it turned out that it was possible to talk to the Alpha.
He seemed annoyed. "Jay, his Alpha, would never hurt him. It was just that Jungwon's hormones exploded too quickly, but they sorted it out," the Alpha reassured him, and Seonghwa looked relieved. He had so many bad thoughts in his head. Thank God the younger man was okay...
Suddenly, the front door opened, and Jungwon, dressed in his pajamas, came out with his big, curious doe eyes.
“What are you doing here?” the little omega asked, horrified and concerned. After all, it was already past three in the morning.
Before the elementary school teacher could answer, it was the Alpha who spoke. “It's here because of you. You wrote to him about your fight with Jay and were being a little dramatic.”
Jungwon's mind began to race. It was as if he couldn't remember writing a message. Then it clicked. “Oh my God, Seonghwa! I'm so terribly sorry!” The omega immediately burst into tears.
Seonghwa remained calm. The alpha next to him moved and took him in his arms. As he whispered words of comfort, the omega finally calmed down.
Seonghwa, however, was just relieved that the other was okay.
When the pregnant omega returned to his boyfriend's apartment and his nest, he witnessed a moment that instantly melted his heart.
His puppy was cuddled up to his alpha, and both were sleeping peacefully.
Without disturbing the moment, he lay down peacefully with them and enjoyed the warm feeling in his chest.
++++
“I want to name him Yeosang,” Seonghwa said firmly as he lay with Hongjoong in his nest that evening. His hand rested on his growing belly, and for a moment, everything seemed so peaceful.
Hongjoong just hummed and gently pulled the omega closer. “You can name him whatever you want. He's your son,” Hongjoong explained and closed his eyes again. “I will never dictate how you name our child.”
Seonghwa was silent and rubbed his belly. His thoughts revolved around the fetus inside him. Yeosang sounded good. At his last appointment, they had been told the sex, and Hongjoong had been happy. He acted as if he were the father and asked all kinds of questions. He also accepted without hesitation when Seonghwa's doctor told him that he had to wait until the puppy was born before giving him the pair bite to avoid complications. At times, Seonghwa was a little afraid that his Alpha wouldn't be able to catch his breath. However, the doctor was patient and answered all of his questions.
The ultrasound photo was framed and now stood next to a photo of Yunho in the living room. The love and devotion Joong gave to the puppy inside him and to Yunho were truly breathtaking. It was as if the Alpha was destined to be the father of the two.
He was better than his ex. Much better. Hongjoong celebrated every new milestone in Yunho's life, and the alpha was by Seonghwa's side every step of the way during her pregnancy. His ex was hardly ever there for him. He just bragged about having gotten him pregnant. He wasn't really interested in Yunho. “When he's older, I'll show him how a real Alpha behaves,” he said with a mixture of pride and arrogance. What would he have done if Yunho had later turned out to be an Omega?
But with Hongjoong, it felt right. The Omega happily snuggled up to the Alpha.
Could Seonghwa just be happy?
++++
“It might sound a little silly to ask you this out of the blue, but would you mind if Taehyung and I looked after Yunho from Saturday to Sunday?”
The question came as a bit of a surprise and made Seonghwa turn away from the children's clothes. Yunho had had another growth spurt, and some of his clothes no longer fit him. He would like to know how tall his son would be when he grew up.
“Why the sudden question?” Hwa asked, watching the Alpha in front of him closely.
Jungkook had asked him today if they could do something together. It was Wednesday, and on Wednesdays, Seonghwa didn't have any club activities to supervise with the children. Since he wanted to go shopping in town anyway, he could combine both activities.
Jungkook suddenly seemed a little shy. That was how the omega had seen him the last time at school when he had seen a pretty omega. Not that Kookie had ever been into him. To him, Seonghwa had always been a little brother.
The alpha blushed slightly. “Taehyung and I think looking after Yunho would be good practice for future puppies,” Jungkook said firmly, and the omega fell silent.
His cousin Jimin had told him about the miscarriages. Seonghwa had heard about one of them. As far as he knew, it must have been the first one. That happened shortly before his ex took his friends away from him. It was truly awful. Kookie was devastated. Jimin had told him about two more. One very early in the pregnancy and one a little later. After that, the couple hadn't talked about having children anymore, but apparently they wanted to try again, and who was Seonghwa to stop them?
“Sure. Yunho is easy to care for, but he has rarely slept anywhere else so far.” Seonghwa refused to mention the name of his ex-mother-in-law and the name of his “mother.”
The tattooed man suddenly looked happy and breathed a sigh of relief. “That means a lot to TaeTae and me,” Jungkook smiled and turned back to the children's clothes. “I also think it will be good for your relationship. When was the last time you had sex?”
A blush spread across Seonghwa's face quickly. His gaze darted quickly through the aisles. Fortunately, no one was within earshot, or at least no one turned to look at them. Seonghwa lightly hit him. “Kook! You can't just say something like that!” Seonghwa grumbled and grabbed a T-shirt.
The man just laughed and kept reaching for other things.
Seonghwa also turned away from his childhood friend for a moment and looked for suitable clothes for his pup.
Chan was rushing. He just wanted to quickly pop into the art store and get some new pens for Hyunjin. Since the mall was on his way to work and the Alpha was starting a little later than usual today, he thought it would be a good idea to get it done right away.
But there was a Karen at the checkout, which was significantly disrupting the flow. Now he was running late and had to hurry.
Chan
Got your pens. I'll bring them to you tonight.
(sent)
Satisfied, the Alpha put his phone away and continued on his way. He would soon reach the mall exit and then finally drive to work. Maybe if he drove a little faster than the speed limit, he could still make it in time for a cup of coffee.
Chan isn't the one to snoop around, especially when he has things to do and pens to buy, but who isn't just a little bit interested in what other people are doing when you see someone familiar? So when he passed by a store where Jungkook and Seonghwa were buying what appeared to be baby clothes together, it made him glance at the two with curiosity. None of his business, of course, so he wasn't going to approach them, but Chan does have a keen eye, so a suspicious-looking figure, who was also looking at the two, was easy to spot. And this guy didn't seem like the friendly type.
Just as Chan was about to approach Hwa and Kook, the strange man turned away from them.
That was really strange.