"We're going to be holding a large meal in the dining hall to welcome all of you. The meal will be at 5 PM, we hope to see you all there with empty stomachs," Gyungho says in a friendly manner before all of the Park family bows and exits the stage.

Jongho and Hongjoong already left to go to the building the men are assigned to stay in when San, Yeosang, and Dongwoo turn to ask them if they want to head there.

"Well, looks like they're already ahead of us," Dongwoo chuckles and puts his arm around Yeosang, leading them to the building with San in tow.

Yeosang nods, unable to help himself from glancing back where he saw his old best friend.

Wooyoung watches as Yeosang looks back at him and he feels a pang in his heart, his breath getting caught in his throat as he looks at the way Yeosang's hair has grown out a bit and is now able to cover his eyes if it were to fall down. He admires the boy that held his heart for so long until he turns his head back around.

Wooyoung is stolen away from his thoughts when Sunghee rubs the small of his back, "Come on, baby. Let's go see where we're staying," Sunghee smirks and starts walking them towards the building.

Wooyoung tries not to look at the back of Yeosang and Dongwoo, but it's no use.

The boys all get settled in the place they'll be staying for the next month while they learn. San, Jongho, and Hongjoong all went to the group room to examine their sleeping situation, while Yeosang and Dongwoo had their own private room since they're mates.

"I'm glad that they gave us our own room," Yeosang smiles as he sits on the bed in the middle of their rather small room.

"I am too, I don't want anyone trying to make any moves on my Sangie," Dongwoo chuckles as he sits next to Yeosang, ruffling up his hair.

"H-Huh...?" Yeosang chokes out.

Dongwoo has never called him by 'Sangie' before. That's what Wooyoung used to call him... Yeosang bites his lip and tries to push that out of his mind while he's with Dongwoo. He shouldn't be thinking of his past feelings like that. Especially about someone other than his mate. He feels his wolf growling at him because of these thoughts not being about Dongwoo.

"You're mine," Dongwoo smiles proudly and kisses Yeosang's forehead, "My angel."

Yeosang blushes at Dongwoo's words, "I'm yours and you're mine," Yeosang nuzzles his face into Dongwoo's neck to give love to where he placed his mating mark on him a year ago.

"Your hair looks really nice long like this, Yeo. Have I ever told you that?" Dongwoo hums, biting his lip to withhold his gasps from Yeosang's actions.

"Mmm, I don't think so," Yeosang giggles as he comes up and places a soft kiss on Dongwoo's lips.

This is his mate, Yeosang thinks to himself. He knows he's going to have to interact with him normally through this month that they're all here. Yeosang honestly doesn't think he will have any issue because Wooyoung is his best friend still. It'll be just like how they used to be.

Yeosang never did confess to Wooyoung anyway... He probably doesn't even know Yeosang had those feelings towards him.

It's going to be okay.

Hongjoong snickers when he, Jongho, and San enter the group room they'll be sleeping in, "Looks like we will be spending a lot of time together, eh?"

Jongho scoffs and rolls his eyes, "The last thing I ever wanted was to have to live with you again. This is my worst nightmare happening all over again."

"Come on guys, it's going to be fun. Why do you guys fight so much anyway?" San asks, laying down on one of the beds with his arms behind his head to relax before it's dinner time.

"I'm sure you've noticed, but he's insufferable," Jongho announces, crossing his arms to close himself off.

"And I'm sure you've noticed that he's the one that always starts it," Hongjoong replies, sitting down on a bed across from where San is laying.

San smiles, closing his eyes as he listens to the two men bickering, "You two remind me of this old married couple back in Eclipse."

Jongho makes a disgusted sound, "Ew, why would you say that, man?"

"I just call it like I see it. You two sure you don't have history together?" San asks, a wide smirk coming across his face as he teases them.

Hongjoong makes a fake gagging noise, "You're making me sick," He gets back up from the bed and leaves the group room and goes out to the living area.

San laughs out loud when he hears Hongjoong leave the group room, "Now I can take a nap before dinner."

Jongho side-eyes San, finding a liking in his attitude, "Uh huh, I'll wake you up."

Later that evening, Seonghwa is sitting with his sister Areum in her room chatting with her about the guests that arrived earlier today.

"So father and mother are hosting a dinner tonight for them?" Areum asks, a weak smile on her face as she looks at her brother who's sitting in a chair by her bedside.

Seonghwa nods once, letting his sister do most of the talking like he normally does.

"I wish I could go and see everyone... Is Eunji going?"

Seonghwa shrugs, "I'm unsure."

"I can't wait until she's finally in our family. She seems like someone that's perfect to help you get out of that shell you've always been in," She giggles, but it sends her into a coughing fit.

"Everyone keeps telling me that," Seonghwa sighs, looking off out the window in her room.

Areum drinks some water and calms herself back down, "It's true, Seonhgwa. Why don't you like her?"

"I never said I didn't like her."

"You didn't have to," Areum says, "It's quite obvious."

Seonghwa hums as he watches the sun start to go down, seeming a bit more distant than usual.

"Sorry... You just seem off today, brother. Has something happened?" Areum questions, becoming concerned and dropping her playfulness for a moment.

Seonghwa lets himself look back at his sister with unreadable eyes, "I'm unsure."

Areum nods, knowing something is wrong, "Just know you can talk to me about anything," she says, but she wants him to take his time, "Now, go have a nice dinner."

Seonghwa nods, putting a hand on her bed to lift himself up and he leaves her room without saying anything else. Has something happened? Seonghwa sighs while he begins walking to the dining hall. Yes, something has happened... Seonghwa thinks when he walks into the room, seeing many of the guests sitting around the long table already.

He spots San.

He's surrounded by a few men that he saw standing with him earlier today in the crowd, but he quickly whips his head away, seeing his father coming up to him.

"Seonghwa, come here, you can sit among our guests for tonight. I want for you to mingle," Gyungho smiles, leading him to a seat and Seonghwa sits down in the spot his father put him in, nodding.

He mentally curses at himself when he looks in front of him and sees San sitting right across from him.

Just his luck.

San's been feeling a mix of emotions in his body ever since he arrived in Chrysalis, so he didn't think anything of it when it started acting up now. He's soon surprised when he goes to turn to his other side to talk to Yeosang and Dongwoo and he sees Seonghwa sitting across from him.

San smiles softly at his fated mate, catching his gaze for a moment before Seonghwa looks away from him.

"Seonghwa," His name escapes San's mouth, leaving an even wider smile on his face.

Seonghwa feels compelled to look back at him when he hears San call his name, meeting his deep brown eyes once again, "Hello," Seonghwa tries to be civil, knowing it would seem suspect if he were to just not respond to the man.

San plays with his utensils as he continues to look into his fated mate's eyes, "You look wonderful tonight."

Seonghwa's eyes widen at San's sudden confession, feeling his ears turn red from the embarrassing statement. He grits his teeth and looks down to his plate, hating how he felt so trapped in San's presence. His wolf begs for him to look back up at San, but Seonghwa refuses, pushing his wolf's desires down like he has been for the past year.

San hums contently, letting his head rest on his hand as he takes in the sweet aroma of lavender he knows his fated mate is giving off. Yeosang nudges Dongwoo to look at what's going on, as there's clear tension in the room. When Yeosang brings his head back around, he sees Wooyoung and Sunghee sitting in front of them, beside Seonghwa. Wooyoung is seated in front of Yeosang and Sunghee in front of Dongwoo.

Jongho and Hongjoong come soon after and sit down on either side of the table, Hongjoong beside Dongwoo and Jongho beside Sunghee.

The meal starts once everyone arrives and soon, everyone's plates are full and they're having a good time eating and talking amongst each other.

Except for Yeosang and Wooyoung.

Dongwoo and Sunghee are busy talking and getting to know the people next to them, leaving Yeosang and Wooyoung to sit silently across from one another, exchanging glances every now and then.

Why is it so awkward between them...?

Yes, the two of them haven't seen each other since the day they were mated off, but they were best friends for so long. Why has it gotten to this point? To the point where they cannot even figure out words to say to one another?

Yeosang nervously looks over to San, only to see him still looking towards the Park's omega boy across from him. He's unsure of what to say, but he doesn't want to sit through this meal in silence.

"Is that him?" Yeosang manages a whisper to San, hoping to not alert the boy San's been staring at.

San breaks the contact with Seonghwa when he hears Yeosang's voice, looking over to the boy with a smile, "Hmm?" He questions, not having heard the question very clearly.

"The mate you were talking about. Is that him?" Yeosang motions over towards Seonghwa with his eyes and when he does that, he sees San nod once, about to say something back when they hear the sound of a chair scooting back and someone standing.

It's Seonghwa.

"I'm going to excuse myself," Seonghwa says to the table and bows before leaving the dining hall.

"Seonghwa, you're going to miss dessert," Hyejin chimes in, but her son has already left, so she sighs as she sits back down, "Dessert is his favorite..."

The gears in San's mind start turning when he hears Seonghwa's mother say that. He has a plan.

Hongjoong has been getting along with Dongwoo really well since they have similar rankings within their packs.

"I've been trying to land the spot of head alpha, actually," Hongjoong says proudly and Dongwoo seems impressed. He knows he will never be the head alpha of Riverside, but he's content with that. He'd much rather just be with Yeosang and focus all of his time on that.

From across the table, Jongho scoffs, "Like you'd get the position."

Wooyoung turns at the words, knowing they seemed like fighting words. Do these two already have beef with each other? Wooyoung looks down at his empty plate, waiting for the dessert to be brought out so he will have something to do again.

Sunghee puts his hand on Wooyoung's thigh and squeezes tightly, "It'll be out soon, baby," he whispers to him. This causes Wooyoung's face to turn a deep shade of red, feeling embarrassed at him saying that right in front of Yeosang. Why should he care, though? Sunghee is his mate.

Yeosang's eyes widen when he sees this take place, feeling his stomach begin to ache as he listens to them talk to one another. Yeosang's unable to take his eyes off the couple, especially when Wooyoung turns his head over to look at Sunghee and reveals his reddish purple-looking marks all over his neck along with the mating mark.

They're... Quite rough with each other, Yeosang thinks to himself, trying to look away from the scene, but he can't. He doesn't like seeing what he's seeing but something inside of him refuses to let him look away. Yeosang knows he would never be that rough with Wooyoung... God, what is he thinking? He would never be with Wooyoung like that in the first place to even be thinking such things.

Yeosang's wolf is getting angry at him the more thoughts he has about Wooyoung, just like earlier today when he saw him for the first time in a year. Dongwoo seems to sense something is wrong, so he gently takes Yeosang's hand in his and gives it a small squeeze to let him know he's there.

Yeosang's heart aches terribly as he feels his mate's hand in his, while he's staring at another. Yeosang feels the strong conflict within himself. His mind, or rather, his wolf, is saying one thing while his heart is saying another. He's learning to despise this feeling, begging for something to distract himself with.

His prayers are soon answered when the dessert arrives.

Finally, Yeosang thinks.

Hongjoong and Jongho calmed their bickering down after remembering they're eating with the leaders of Chrysalis. They cannot be doing this here.

After those few days when Hongjoong and Jongho were locked up together in the training building, and after... that night... they've seemed to be at each other's throats even more. They never once spoke about what happened that night to anyone. They never brought it up to each other, either. They both seemed to have collectively agreed that whatever happened that night to stay a secret they'll keep for the rest of their lives.

They remember how Daesung laughed when he heard of the two alphas both getting letters to come to Chrysalis, and he was quick to send them off. He's been trying to knock some sense into the two of them for much too long, so he's hoping by sending them off to Chrysalis, they'll have a better chance of rehabilitating their relationship.

When the dessert is served, San keeps his uneaten and puts a napkin over it while he talks with all of the others until they're finished their desserts and decide to go back to their building.

They're all sitting in the living area before going to bed, San sitting with his covered plate, Yeosang and Dongwoo cuddled up on the left side of the couch while Wooyoung and Sunghee are on the other side, Sunghee's face hidden in Wooyoung's neck. Hongjoong and Jongho went to bed early, saying they were both in food comas.

San chuckles at the couple on the right side of the couch, "I think you two need to get back to your room, don't you think?"

Wooyoung hums in embarrassment as Sunghee continues to kiss and suck on his neck, having to bite his lip every time he brushes against his mating mark so he doesn't make too much noise.

"I like showing my baby Woo how much I love him after dinner," Sunghee says, getting a bit muffled against Wooyoung's neck.

Wooyoung flinches at the nickname as he always does and his eyes trail off over to Yeosang, seeing him already looking.

Yeosang is surprised by how different Wooyoung seems now that he's with Sunghee. Wooyoung's always been such a confident and outspoken individual, but now... He's flipped a complete 180 degrees. Yeosang begins to worry for Wooyoung, wondering why he isn't like he's always been.

Has Sunghee changed him?

San stands up and excuses himself, "I'll see you all tomorrow," he says before heading to the door to leave the building.

"Where are you going, San?" Yeosang asks quickly, wondering if he's going where he thinks.

San smiles longingly, "I'm going to see someone..." He clutches the covered plate of dessert and leaves, walking towards the building where the Park's stay.

Once San leaves, Sunghee stands up and takes Wooyoung's arm a bit more aggressively than Yeosang or even Dongwoo would like to see, "Come on, baby, let's go to our room."

Wooyoung smiles up to his mate and nods, standing up with him, not seeming bothered by the grasp.

Yeosang and Dongwoo watch them enter their room and close the door, both of them looking at each other when the couple is gone.

"They're... an interesting match," Dongwoo says, unable to think of anything else to say.

Yeosang nods, restraining from looking too long at the door where Wooyoung and his mate just went into, "I guess so."

Dongwoo smiles and ruffles Yeosang's hair as he stands up, "You know I'd never be that rough with my Yeo, right?" He says, picking Yeosang up in a bridal carry, holding him securely as he walks them to their own room.

San finally gets to the door he narrowed down to be Seonghwa's and he quietly knocks on it. While waiting for an answer, he looks down at the covered dessert, hoping it hasn't gotten too cold from the night air.

After a few moments, the door slides open to reveal Seonghwa.

Seonghwa's eyes widen when he sees San at his bedroom door and looks down at his hands.

Did he bring him dessert...?

End of Chapter Sixteen