The sun was already high when Haneul dragged the trash bin out of the café.
The morning air was cold, sharp, scraping at his skin.
He threw the waste into the corner dumpster, wiped his hands on his worn sleeves, and turned back inside.
Behind the counter stood Han Su, counting coins from the drawer.
And next to her an old man.
An Alpha.
He had been coming here for days, sitting in the same corner, always staring too long at Haneul.
When Haneul entered, the man's eyes followed him again.
There was something in that gaze hungry, wrong, heavy.
The man handed Han Su an envelope.
She opened it. Her eyes lit up with greedy relief.
Then she turned to him, lowering her voice as she whispered something to the man.
Haneul couldn't hear, but he could feel it the shift in the air, the way her tone sweetened unnaturally.
"Haneul,"
She called, forcing a smile.
"Come here."
He came slowly, still holding the bin.
"This,"
Han Su said, her tone trembling with fake excitement,
"Is the great, great Mr. Lee Won. He's been kind enough to make an offer."
The old man turned toward Haneul, extending his hand.
His fingers lingered too long when they touched, sliding along Haneul's wrist in a way that made his stomach twist.
Han Su's voice dropped lower, almost warning.
"From now, you'll be living with him. He'll take care of you. Good food, good place.
He owns a convenience store. You'll be safe there."
Safe.
The word didn't sound like safety it sounded like a cage.
Haneul's body began to shake.
The old man's grin widened.
"Come with me, little one. You'll be taken care of."
His hand reached again
but Haneul felt it before he even touched him.
The foul wave of the Alpha's pheromones, thick with lust and hunger.
Haneul could read him completely. His heart, his thoughts, his filth.
He pulled his hand back.
"No."
Han Su's face hardened instantly.
"Yaa! Behave, you little punk! Do as I say. Go!"
The old man grabbed Haneul's wrist.
"Don't make it hard," he said.
And then pain sharp, sudden.
The man's foot hit his stomach, knocking the air out of him.
Haneul stumbled back, coughing, clutching his abdomen, eyes filling with tears.
"Come here!" the man barked.
But Haneul twisted free and ran.
He didn't look back.
Not at Han Su's voice shouting behind him, not at the people watching from the street.
He ran until the streets blurred.
By the time the sun began to set, his steps slowed near a familiar road.
A memory flickered
that night, that car, that man with the calm eyes.
Taekyun.
His breath caught. His body screamed to rest, but his heart knew only one direction.
He followed the path, trembling, until the road curved toward the grand walls of the Kim residence.
His feet moved faster, desperate.
Everything around him looked the same stone, iron, trees but then he saw it.
The small pink doghouse.
The same one.
His eyes blurred as tears spilled down.
He ran straight toward it, past the startled guards, through the front gate before they could stop him.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
"Who are you....!"
"That Omega!" one guard shouted, recognizing him, but it was too late.
The Omega stumbled, holding his stomach, crying as he reached the main door.
"Please… let me in," he gasped, voice breaking. "Just once. Please."
The guards blocked him, unsure what to do.
Behind him, the same old Alpha appeared at the gate, shouting.
(Inside)
Taekyun sat alone in the dining room.
The evening was quiet, the sound of silverware faint against porcelain.
He was calm, collected.
His mind still tangled with business thoughts, with the cold echo of his mother's words days ago.
He didn't even look up when the door suddenly burst open.
Until.
"Haa… haa…"
That voice.
Broken, trembling.
His hand froze midair.
He looked up slowly.
And there he was.
Haneul stood in the doorway, pale and shaking, one hand over his stomach, tears streaking his face.
His eyes met Taekyun's like a lost child finding the only light left in the world.
Taekyun didn't move.
For a moment, he thought his mind was playing tricks.
That this Omega this fragile, reckless being would never dare come here again.
But the scent hit him before his thoughts could catch up.
That soft, trembling wave of pheromones that brushed through his chest, cutting deep into his calm like a blade.
Haneul's knees gave out.
"Please," he whispered, voice hoarse,
"Help me."
And that was the moment Taekyun finally stood
not by choice, but because his body moved before his mind did.