"Gentlemen," Rae stood up to greet the omegas as they walked into her office one by one.

Kim Namjoon
Kim Seokjin
Min Yoongi
Jung Hoseok
Park Jimin
Kim Taehyung
Jeon Jungkook

She had met them before on occasions. Their fathers were all prominent betas in the clan and she had never thought of meeting them under current circumstances. Neither had any of the seven.

Rae's father, the alpha before her, had become completely bedridden within a month of being diagnosed with terminal stage lung cancer. His last wish, as he claimed it to be, was to see his daughter married to an omega, as was custom. She had agreed to meet potential omegas solely because she was guilt-tripped into doing so. "You'll not disappoint me again." The old Mr. Smith had rasped at her, reminding her of what would happen if she disobeyed.

She had, after all, been a very disappointing daughter all her life.

Rae was a bright student, always envisioned to take up the family business after her father. In her freshman year at college, however, things changed when she had met Duncan Hill, a delta.

He was a sophomore, a literature and history double-major and inheritor of the family bookstore. Tall, with black hair permed near the ends, skin smooth and painted with melanin, and a determined jaw - he looked like he was out of a fairytale. And, a classic case of a romantic nuthead.

In less than 6 months, Rae found herself head over heels in love with him and pregnant. He had promised to be by her side throughout, and had done so when her father expressed his disappointment and asked her to leave.

Although alpha voices don't work on each other, the sheer shrill in his voice had scared Rae. She had left her home with Duncan, in search of a more accepting home for her coming child. The small apartment above The Hill's Bookstore seemed like a welcoming abode.

The priest who stood beside her during her parturition, had expressed disgust when the sun had moved from the alpha hour, and entered the delta hour. "This is the hour of the delta," he had said, in the typical all-knowing voice of a psi, "the next is the gamma hour."

And, ten minutes before the gamma hour, Rae and Duncan were handed with a beautiful daughter.

"A delta," the priest announced again, signing a birth certificate, "born to an alpha." His exasperated sigh faded in the background as Rae felt complete with her family.

"Dakota?" she asked her husband, wishing to name her daughter after her mother. He nodded.

***

"Please take your seats." Rae gestured at the seven chairs as she shook hands with the men who had just walked in.

"These are for you, alpha," Kim Seokjin placed a basket of baked goods on her table.

"Thank you," she replied, smiling, "and, please, don't call me alpha. It makes my skin crawl. Moira!"

She called to her assistant. A woman of averga height, thin with golden complexion and hair, and a very professional appearance had just walked in with a file in her hand.

"I believe you've had the chance to meet her. She's my most trusted among my staff."

A little cough from behind her made her smile. "And, these are Levi and Yvonne. Siblings, and my most trusted guards. Apparently, they'd either kill or die for me."

"And your daughter," the tall woman's rough voice but pleasing words made Park Jimin smile. Rae noticed that it was not his full omega smile, but definitely something to melt for.

"And my daughter," the Alpha repeated.

Moira took the basket away from her table and placed a file of papers in front of her. Rae quickly flipped through the bottom right corners of the papers to check the seven signatures.

"Now that you have signed these NDAs.." she started to speak.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Min Yoongi snapped her sentence short.

"Are you even an omega?" Levi from behind Rae stepped forward, in a threatening disposition, "questioning an alpha like that?"

Rae's raised hand stopped him, and Yoongi replied, "don't know, man. But, you seem to be a true kappa."

"They're my guests, Levi. You would not scare them unnecessarily," the alpha ordered. Levi grunted and stepped back.

Jung Hoseok, who sat beside Yoongi, put a hand on his knee to calm him down. Nothing in the room escaped Rae's eyes.

"Now, gentlemen," she started again, "I'd address a few issues first. And, then, you CAN question me. That okay?"

The seven men nodded.

"Okay. First of all, Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin and Kim Taehyung?" She looked up to meet 3 pairs of expecting eyes. "What the fuck?"

"Excuse me?" A response came from Kim Namjoon, the second omega from the Kim family. The younger one, Taehyung, squirmed back into his chair, without responding.

"I don't mean any offence," Rae continued, "but, what's the point of all of you coming here? You do realize why your father was contacted, right? For him to send one of his children to.. umm.. 'woo' me. It was inevitable that there'll be others from other families, and that you'll have to compete with each other to.. win me over.. or whatever."

Moira scoffed from where she stood.

"We were aware, Miss Smith," Namjoon replied.

"So you all consciously came, even though this could give rise to a family feud?"

The room fell silent as the Kims contemplated the answer. "Taehyung," Rae spoke directly to the youngest brother. "I'd like you to say something. You're 11 years younger than me. What were you thinking?"

"It'd be a great pleasure to be affiliated with the Alpha," he replied, shyly, "no matter which of us brothers you choose."

"And, if it's none of you?"

"Have you already decided?" Seokjin asked.

There was a wicked desperation in his voice, and Rae took a mental note to talk about it later. She sighed.

"No. Anyway, this is not going to be a problem. There'll be no family feud. Let me speak to the rest, and I'll come back to what I mean."

Rae spoke to Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin and Jungkook in turns. She had already read detailed files about them. But if she had learned anything from going to therapy, it was the fact that the person in front of you could be completely different from the person in the file.

"Okay, so, the reason you all are here is because my father wishes for me to marry one of you," Rae said, as a matter of fact. "But I have no such plans. However, I must keep my father thinking that I'm taking this seriously. So, I'll act accordingly. As for you all, I'd like your parents to not be aware of this either. They're betas I can't afford to antagonize over whose son I chose to fuck."

"Hence the NDAs?" Yoongi caught on.

"Yes. I want you all to stay in my house, to help me put up the act for as long as it's necessary. You obviously have the liberty to deny. In that case, you're free to go right now. But, you're legally bound to not tell anyone outside this room about why you left.

As for if you choose to stay, you'll be given separate rooms. They're being arranged as we speak. Continue with your jobs from here. If you need some setup or arrangement to help you with your work, or any other activity you wish to take part in, feel free to ask me, or Moira. As long as it doesn't make the lives of me, my daughter and my staff miserable, we'd help you."

"I'd like to leave," Kim Namjoon raised his hand.

Rae looked up at him, honestly a little dismayed. "Sure," she collected herself and replied. "I hope we're clear on what you can or can't do once you're out of here."

"Don't worry, I have nobody to tell your secrets to."

"Which is all the more reason for you to stay." Hoseok filled in the silence as the alpha was a little taken aback by his words, "I'm sure we can be great friends over shared misery."

Rae eyed him at the last word, but let it slide.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Mr. Kim," she spoke to Namjoon, "do whatever you want to do."

"Namjoon-ah!" his older brother spoke to him. "Stay. What will you tell Dad if you go back and we don't?"

"Hyung," the youngest chimed in too. "Let's stay." Namjoon nodded.

****

Few noteworthy points from the files of each omega

Kim Namjoon

• Male omega
• Professor of Literature
• 37 years old
• Second son of Kim Hyun-seok (beta, financial advisor to alpha)
• Tall, with brown hair and eyes
• Very high IQ and EQ
• Receiving therapy for last 7 years to cope with stress
• Knows ice-skating
• Does not know how to drive

Kim Seokjin:

• Male omega
• Head chef at The Orientum
• 40 years old
• Eldest son of Kim Hyun-seok
• Tall, with broad shoulders; short, black hair brushed back, black eyes
• High EQ, known to be very caring; bakes for others during crisis

Min Yoongi:

• Male omega
• Psychiatrist, specialized in family psychology; has his own chamber
• 39 years old
• Only son of Min Alma (beta, pesident of MM, a charity organization)
• Short, wears glasses sometimes, black hair with fringes
• Can play the piano

Jung Hoseok:

• Male omega
• Stand-up comedian, and motivational speaker at TedX
• Son of Jung Han-jae and brother of Jung Areum (both betas, with family business in school laboratory instruments)
• 37 years old
• Average height, wears contact lenses
• Jolly personality

Park Jimin:

• Male omega
• Has an YT channel where he talks about skincare, makeup and dance; great dancer, performs with a local group
• 25 years old
• Youngest son of Park Sanghoon (beta, senior partner in alpha's business)
• Short, lean, with auburn hair
• Shy, caring

Kim Taehyung:

• Male omega
• Has a super-succesful clothing line, Taetra
• 25 years old
• Youngest son of Kim Hyun-seok
• Tall, broad shoulders, hair color & style change constantly
• Talkative, persuasive; has been approached by alphas of other clans but turned them down

Jeon Jungkook:

• Male omega
• Painter by profession; also good at sports
• 30 years old
• Son of Jeon Mini (beta, Education Minister of the clan)
• Tall, muscular, exercises a lot
• Shy, but can throw tantrums; receiving therapy from a very young age for anger management

****

"I'm doing what you wanted me to do, Dad," Rae spoke softly as she caressed her father's wrinkly hand. All her confidence and authority from before were gone.

"Good, good," his words were coughed up. "My little girl has finally grown up, all sensible and smart."

She drew in a sharp breath. "Would you like the nurse to take you for a walk?"

"Eh! Do I look like I want to take a walk? I have a month more at best. I want to lay down for the entire time."

"Dad, you'll get bed sores this way."

"I'll get bed sores if I want bed sores."

"Right," Rae rolled her eyes. "I'll go. I haven't seen Dakota since morning."

"Dakota is dead." the dying man almost rose from his death bed at the mention of that name.

Rae simply put a hand to his forehead and said, "not your wife. I'm talking about my daughter. Good night."

The clan Rae governed resided in the city of Osira. Being not too close, nor too far from the sea, the eastern outskirts of Osira were just right for agriculture. And since the main income of the clan was based on both food and drug crops, this was a privilege.

The Osirans were one of the few clans to have legalized the use of both medicinal & recreational drugs. This step had skyrocketed the Smiths' business. They were originally a pharmaceutical company, with an R&D department working on designing less potent versions of the then illegal drugs.

The joint effort of nearby clans of Prakra, Nandura and Attis had got the majority approval for distribution of opium and cannabis at a conference of the Alphas. But these cities were at a disadvantage of growing their own drug crops. And Rae's grandfather had jumped at this opportunity. And within a short period of time, Osira was in an opulent trade with Prakra, Nandura, Attis and many other curious clans. However, there was always disapproval from alphas of prejudiced clans.

Hence to keep them at bay, the Smiths agreed to only trade drugs tested and approved by an agency comprising of scientists from all clans. The agency was thus considered unbiased.

Once the drugs proved to be safe for consumption, the trades became smoother with less dismissal. Under Rae's governance, the pharmacies that sold their products were asked to keep tabs on regular users, and limit their consumption on a weekly basis. This reduced the banal judgement to almost nothing. But there was still some resistance keeping the Smiths from their peak.

****

"I don't understand why you have to live in her house," Kim Hyun-seok questioned his sons at the dinner table. "Couldn't she just choose one of you and be done with it?"

"Maybe she prioritizes romance, or a healthy relationship with who she chooses." Namjoon defended her, surprising for a person who wanted to get away from her only a couple of hours ago.

"She did mention getting close to us before she makes a decision." Seokjin lied.

"Bullshit!" the beta seemed enraged.

"Why are you even sending all of us?" Namjoon asked. "Your ulterior motive is to get her to choose hyung anyway."

"And why should it not be? He's a 40-year old omega, still nowhere close to getting married and settling. This does look like our only chance."

"You know it wasn't."

"You mean that rho was an option? You make me laugh, Joon. I'm sure even your brother won't agree with you. Jin, put some sense into him."

The older brother looked into the younger's eyes and subtly shook his head. Joon ignored his dismissal and tried again. "Dad, you know an omega's love is eternal."

"So? What would he get out of his love for that rho. He'd have travelled around the world, trading for the alpha. And, my son would sit at home with his eternal bullshit! I don't want to hear another word from any of you. You'd go as you must. You'll do your best to sway the alpha towards your brother. That's it! Is that understood, Namjoon?"

"Yes, Father," he replied, looking away.

****

"Kookie, look at me." Miss Jeon sat at the edge of her chair and urged her son. She was a tall woman - tall even when she sat, her ankles crossed right above the floor, twitching with the beat of a song in her head, or maybe with anxiety.

"Yes, mother," Jungkook took his eyes off his new project and cast them upon her.

"Being invited to the alpha's house is a big deal. Make the most of it. None of your foreparents had this opportunity. Please, please be your best self."

Jungkook lowly hummed, looking down at his feet. His therapist had taught him this.

Look away from the one who's making you angry.
Slowly count backwards from 10.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

"Please be an omega."

"But, I'm not."

"Kookie, please."

"Mother, she seemed nice. I don't know if I should delude her by convincing her that I'm an omega."

"There'll be no lie, dear. You are an omega, you were born in an omega hour."

"But I'm not. I'm a gamma." Little pools of water formed on his lower eyelids as he struggled to convince his mother, for the umpteenth time. "I've excelled in archery, javelin, basketball. I have an aim that never misses. Isn't that what they say about gammas?"

Mini drew in a sharp breath. "Fine, Jungkook. Do whatever you want. If she gets to know about your identity crisis, and decides to send you back, don't come back."

With that, she stood up, and left. The tears from Jungkook's eyes trailed down his cheeks and he wiped them away. He tried engaging his concentration back on his painting, but it did not work. The bristle brush hovered over the canvas, scared to touch, too afraid to make a mistake.

**A/N: Note that the ages, and some characteristics may not correlate with the real people. I changed a few things for convenience of the story. However, overall personalities of Bangtan would still be there.**