By the time Rae finished work and headed home the next day, the new residents had started coming in. Hoseok and Yoongi were already settled in, helping themselves to appetizers the house chef had prepared. The Kims were being shown to their rooms by the housekeeper.

Rae unclasped the belts on her shoes as she ascended the stairs to see her guests, as was her daily routine. By the time she crossed the foyer connecting the main gate to the living area, her glossy black court shoes were in her hand.

"Good evening, Hoseok, Yoongi." Rae met them at the dinner hall cum open kitchen on the ground floor of her mansion-esque parental house.

"Good evening, Rae," Hoseok greeted her. "I'd have shaken your hand. But.." She smiled, looking at his raised plate of food.

"I'll do it on your behalf." Yoongi put down his glass of wine and produced his hand.

"You seem to be in a better mood today," she remarked, shaking his hand.

He pretended to wince a little, and said, "your kappa taught me a hard lesson yesterday."

Rae sighed. "Rule 1 of this household, gentlemen - we do not use temporals so often here. If you'd be so kind to refrain from using them, I'd be very glad. I don't enjoy making people do things." Yoongi nodded, a little flustered at the subtle mention of her alpha voice.

She was not trying to threaten him. She had never used her alpha voice on anyone, only attempted once. On her ex-husband, but it had flopped massively. "Please let the chef know if you have any requests for tonight's dinner. We'll eat as soon as Jungkook arrives."

Rae washed up and put on a pink wrap dress to go, meet her daughter. In the hallway, however, she was met with Seokjin. "Miss Smith." He bowed slightly, wet locks of hair falling gracefully on his forehead. "I was just about to come see you."

"Oh!" She put on a smile, "Is there a problem? Do you not like your room?"

"Oh no, no, nothing like that. Just wanted to thank you for giving us this opportunity."

"Oh! Not a problem at all, Seokjin. Please don't get hyped about something so trivial. I'm glad you chose to stay. Are your brothers settled in nicely?"

"Yes, they are."

"That's nice."

Letting an awkward moment pass, she chose to leave. "I'm actually supposed to be meeting my daughter. So if there's nothing more, I'd see you and your brothers at dinner. Please help yourselves to the appetizers and the booze."

He bowed again, before turning and leaving, his fingers balled up in a tight fist in front of his chest.

"Hey." Rae quietly opened the door to Dakota's room. The teenager seemed unaffected, as she continued screaming at her computer.

"Bro, bro!" She kept up her repetitive beckoning. "Bro, build a roof. Build a freaking roof. It's gonna climb over the wall. Ewww.. I miss my wolf."

Someone from the other side screamed back, "bro, I think I have a potion."

"Go outside and kill the fucking spider."

"I thought we had a deal about curses," Rae interrupted. She had been seated on her bed for a while now.

"Yeah, I'm not breaking the deal if I'm not cursing you."

"Right. We have guests, baby. Didn't Lou give you the nice shirt?"

"I'm not gonna wear that." She didn't even have to look at her mother for the latter to know how annoyed her presence made her.

"And, why not?"

"It's pink."

"And we'll be twinning."

Dakota finally looked back at her mom with an "ugh". Her muscular athletic legs remained close to her chest and her focus remained on her game of Minecraft.

"Come on, honey, we'll look so pretty together."

"Are you telling me I'm not pretty?"

"No, of course not. But, these are your home clothes. And like I said, we have guests."

Dakota let out a displeased sigh. "But they'll stay here. They'll eventually see me in my home clothes anyway. And you have the patience to wear these nice, chiffon and silk dresses at home. I don't."

"Okay, if you want to meet Jung Hoseok for the first time in your shabby, creased t-shirt, be my guest."

"Woah, hold up!"

She looked at Rae for a while, dumbfounded, before unmuting herself on the screen to say goodbye to her friends. Then she got up from her position to immediately look for the pink shirt. "Hobi is one of your omegas?"

Rae nodded.

"Please tell me you're not gonna marry him."

The older woman giggled. "I'm not gonna marry any of them."

"Why? Wouldn't Mr. Smith be disappointed?"

"What can I do? They're not really my type."

"Seriously?" Dakota asked, finally taking the shirt out of her cabinet. "Can I tell you if I feel like one of them could be your type?"

"Of course, honey, you can tell me anything and everything."

The younger scoffed and remarked, "sure."

"You can tell me everything, Dakota. You choose not to. There's a difference."

****

It was way past 11 and Jeon Jungkook was still not there. Rae had urged her other guests to get on with dinner anyway a couple of hours earlier.

She had introduced the new residents to her daughter, who seemed to be mildly amused by the wide array of personalities who'd be living with them henceforth.
She had, very shyly, expressed her admiration to Jung Hoseok and politely asked for a picture together. And, when Rae put her in between herself and her favorite stand-up comedian at dinner, Dakota could barely concentrate on the food.

She also spoke at length with Taehyung. But the others seemed to be too old for her to hold a proper conversation with.

"Should I call his mother?" Moira asked Rae. She had not left for home yet, as was her duty to her guardian angel.

"He's 30 years old. He's not a child I invited for my daughter's play date, who didn't show up. He's a grown ass man."

"And you're waiting for him, because..?"

"Because, play date or not, he's my guest. It's my responsibility to make sure he's safe. Also, I wanna make it clear that this shan't be an everyday thing."

"Aahhh.. so you wanna discipline him?"

"Moira!"

Moira's face grimmed. "Anyway, on a far more serious note, shall I book you a GYN appointment next week?"

"Why?"

"Because, Rae, you promised me last month that you would go."

"No, I said I will go if my period delays again. We'll see about that. Oh! Do you hear a car?"

Only a couple of moments passed before Yvonne ushered Jungkook through the door to the living area. "Your guest, Madam Rae," she acknowledged before leaving.

The omega stood shyly, just a few feet away from the alpha and her friend, his duffel bag hanging from his shoulder. His all-black outfit, thrown in with a bucket hat of the same color, gave off an emo vibe that was no more relevant, but he made it look good.

"Is that all you brought, Jungkook?" Rae addressed him.

"Yes, Miss Smith."

"What about your art supplies? Are you gonna go back tomorrow to get them?"

"No, Miss Smith. My painting would probably be on hold for a while."

"Oh, why? Did something happen at work? Come, sit."

Jungkook looked up at her as she motioned at the spot Moira was previously occupying. He obliged, as Moira went to get him some food.

"You must be famished," Rae spoke to him again. "Now, what happened? I was going to ask you and Jimin to make use of the studio downstairs for work. And you're telling me you're not gonna paint? What happened?"

He shook his head. "Nothing really. I'm just mildly uninspired at the moment."

"And, does abstinence from your craft help with that?"

"Well.." He smirked a little. "We'll see. This is my first time being uninspired."

Rae hummed, still looking for a way to discipline him for arriving late, but she found none.

"If you don't mind eating alone, Jungkook," she spoke when Moira came back, "I'll be going to bed. I've had a long day."

He nodded, not looking up from the plate of food anymore.

"Moira, ask Lou to drop you. And, Jungkook, when you go upstairs, the first two rooms on the left are vacant. Take the one you want. Jimin will have to make do with the other."

"Has Mr. Park not arrived yet?"

"He should be here before lunch tomorrow. Good night, Jungkook."

"Good night, Miss Smith."

****

The Kims were gathered in Seokjin's room, still debating over their current circumstances.

"She asked me to call her noona."

"Yes, Tae," Namjoon sighed. "You've said that a hundred times." He sat on a swivel chair, his elbow rested on the arm, supporting his jutted chin.

The room was adequately lit; the walls had the tint of a flamingo's neck. The bed was big enough for two grown adults, and over the head was a painting of falling cherry blossoms. Beside it was a study table with a lamp and a few essential stationary items. On the side of the table were the curtained windows, shut but large enough to wash the entire room with sunrays at first light. On the other side was the washroom and in between them, a wardrobe.

The other guest rooms had a similar layout, and differed only in the color of the walls.

"No, I meant," Tae started again. "As a younger brother figure, I can try that swaying thing Father was talking about."

"Does our hyung want that?" Namjoon addressed Jin. The latter looked up at the mention of his name, irate.

"Joon, I can't afford the luxury of a romance, okay? You know that, because Father has made it very clear. I'm 40 years old, too old, I must get married. I can't sit around and wait for Jason my whole life."

"Fine, go ahead then. Court the alpha with your cookies and muffins."

"Namjoon, you know I don't want to do that either. I'm already coming off as creepy to her, and it icks me. I'm going to send her stuff only when I know Father is around, just to throw him off."

Tae laughed. "It's a shame you're in love with Jason. You and noona are so similar. Both of you are desperate to appease your fathers."

"Mr. Smith is dying," Jin replied. "Rae's problem will be solved in a couple of months. Sorry.. I didn't mean to wish death on our father."

His brothers both scoffed. "Well, you do you, hyung," Namjoon said, getting up to leave. "I'll go to bed."

"Wait, Namjoon, what about you?"

"What about me?" He sat back down, frowning.

"Yesterday, when you reminded Father about an omega's love being eternal, you were only talking about me. But what about your lo..?"

"No," he cut his elder's words short. "No, we're not going to talk about that. Not in this house."

With that, he stormed out of the room and into the hallway. His room was only two doors away, but he knew he couldn't just go in.

Namjoon decided to pace the corridor for a while, to collect his thoughts. These rooms were on the right wing of the house, presumably the guest wing. At the end of this section was a huge conference room that Rae often used for meeting her advisors and other staff members on weekends.

On the opposite side - what Namjoon assumed forbidden already - was the residential wing. Dakota's room, Rae's room and her parents' room were lined up, one after the other. This wing ended in another large room, that was recently converted into a kind of a sanatorium for Mr. Smith. A nurse stayed nearby 24/7, & attended to his medical needs.

Rae's parents' room was converted to accomodate one guest, and Yoongi having arrived first, had taken it.

Namjoon walked up to the massive staircase and peered downstairs. On the couch in the living area, Rae sat with who seemed like Jeon Jungkook to him. A duffel bag on the floor, and a lone glass of white wine rested on the coffee table - he took in all the details minutely. Like he'd later recall it and paint a picture. Or, write a poem. When he saw Moira coming back with a plate of food, he sighed and left for his room.

****

The next day, Park Jimin arrived, as promised, before lunch. He had brought with him equipments and makeup products to potentially fill up the entire studio that Rae was offering both him and Jungkook to use.

In the absence of either Rae or Moira, the housekeeper attempted to help him. Hoseok and Jungkook, who were at the house, also decided to help him set up at his new studio.

"Oh, Jimin-ah! Do you mind me calling you Jimin-ah?" Hobi asked as he watched the younger set his makeup products up on a table provided by the housekeeper.

"No, hyung," he replied.

"You have so many products," Hobi continued. "Do you use all of them on your videos?"

"Yes, depending on the look I'm creating for that video," Jimin answered.

"What kind of videos do you make?"

"Makeup tutorials, mostly. Sometimes, I get brand deals and I promote their products. And, other times, I tell stories about my dance group while putting my makeup on."

Jungkook had been standing across the room, shy to communicate. But he took a chance. "I liked your recent story, about the accidental split."

Jimin's eyes shot up, smiling. "You watch my videos?"

"Sometimes."

"Ah, Jimin-ah, Jungkook-ah!" Hoseok began again, "you guys talk. I'll go, I've got to meet some people."

The two nodded in unison.

Jungkook became even more shy when he was left alone with Jimin. The former swayed his feet over the marble floor, with his hands in his pocket, averting Jimin's glance as much as possible. From the other side of the room, he only wished to observe his actions. Engaging in a proper conversation was not happening any time soon.

When he took out his phone to take a picture of the table, Kookie asked, "where are you going to upload that?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm going to send this to Madam Alpha to thank her for letting me use this studio. Aren't you supposed to be using it too?"

"Yes, would it be inconvenient?"

"No," Jimin giggled. "Of course not. This studio is huge. Set up wherever you want."

****

Rae came back early that evening, Levi following behind with a wooden furniture in his grasp. The housekeeper, Mr Wales, welcomed them in, answering her questions as they kept pouring.

"Where's Dakota?"

"She is in her room, Allison has come over. They were practising in the backyard a little while ago."

"Have the guests all come back?"

"Mr. Kim came back 10 minutes ago."

"Which one?"

"Namjoon. He came back from the University. Jungkook and Jimin didn't leave. Hoseok said he'll back before dinner. So did Yoongi, Seokjin and Taehyung."

"Okay. Can you ask Jungkook to come into the studio once?"

"He's already there, Madam."

He was. He hadn't left ever since Jimin had come in. It was mostly awkward silences, but he still stayed. Jimin was setting up his tripod and phone, presumably getting ready to record when Rae came in.

"Good evening, Madam Alpha," he left his work half-done and greeted her, bowing, "umm.. Madam Rae."

Jungkook greeted her too.

She greeted them both, before locking eyes with Jimin.

"Are you sure that's all you need, Jimin?"

"Yes, Madam.. Rae."

"Wouldn't you need a mirror for your makeup tutorials?"

"I did have one back at home, but it was too heavy to bring. I can do with my phone's front camera."

"How about.." Rae moved to a nearby wall, "we set up a mirror here? With a cabinet on the bottom where you can store your stuff, & that'd give you a little space on the top to put your tripod on."

"The table is good enough, Madam. I don't need a mirror."

"Yes, but I insist."

Jimin visibly blushed under the alpha's gaze. He quietly nodded at the suggestion. "Thank you, Madam Al.. Rae."

Rae patted his head a little. He was the same age as Taehyung, and hence, made her feel a similar affinity for him. "Taehyung calls me noona. If it's not very uncomfortable, you can too."

She shifted her attention to Jungkook as he agreed. "Jungkook, I know you told me yesterday about being uninspired. And, I'll admit I don't know how the psyche of an artist works. But, I thought that maybe a blank canvas can inspire you to paint on it? Levi!"

When Levi came in, he had a folded easel under his arm, and in the other, a medium canvas. He set it up by the wall opposite to Jimin's side of the room, and Jungkook kept looking at it in awe.

"If you make a list of the paints and colors you use," Rae said, "I can get them too."

"No, no," he replied, shy yet smiling. "I have abundant at home. I'll go back and bring them. Thank you so much, Miss Smith."

"Not a problem." Rae smiled, reaching up to pat his head too, before leaving.

****

The week passed by too quick. The omegas were settled in long before Rae had anticipated. Mr Wales had also become used to their morning schedules, breakfast requests, the time of their return, and even their midnight snack routine. It was Saturday before Rae knew it, and she sat with Moira in her room, discussing next week's events.

"You have a board meeting on Tuesday," Moira stated from her notes.

"Ugh! That means Kim Hyun-seok and Park Sanghoon at the same time?"

"Yes, and you're worried because..?"

"Because of their sons being my apparent suitors?"

"Jimin calls you noona, and he has already mentioned that obsessively in both the videos he uploaded this week. I'm sure his father has already given up on the hopes of his son marrying the alpha."

"And, the Kims?"

"Ick! I don't like that area of your life. But, Taehyung calls you noona too. So, he's not a problem. What about the others?"

"Seokjin's initial aggressive flirting has reduced a lot. He doesn't send me anything anymore, and the conversations are also curt and contained."

"What about Namjoon?"

"I.. honestly don't know. We've not spoken much, and it seems like he ignores me on purpose."

"The audacity!"

Rae rolled her eyes. "And, he came home way past dinner the last two days. I mean, as per his file, the university is his only job. What could he be doing till 11?"

"Maybe he goes to his therapist?"

"What therapist counsels till 11? Yoongi comes back before 8."

Moira sighed. "Anyway, moving on with your schedule, you have to meet your father's lawyer on Thursday or Friday, whatever's convenient. And, let me tell you, he'll be meeting with Mr. Smith on Monday first. So, expect some talk about his will."

"Put that on Thursday."

"Great. Also, the week after, you have Alpha-con. I'm telling you beforehand, because you're holding it for this year. So, here or office?"

"Do I also have to provide lodging?"

"No, you can express interest in paying for their hotel reservations, but they'll most likely deny."

"Not Victor."

"That reminds me, he'll probably give you a really hard time this conference. However, Jason will be meeting you on Sunday."

"He's coming back?"

"Yes, and he asked me to inform you that he has some 'bangers'."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know, Rae. That's lingo he caught on at Nefelibata. Anyway, here or office?"

"Office. Victor would not leave a chance to call my house a harem if he sees 7 omegas."

Moira had just left and Rae decided to relax a little. A free weekend was all she had been looking for the whole week. Last weekend was the annual sport's meet at Dakota's highschool, followed by the meeting with the omegas.

Dakota had won gold medals in archery and the 100m race. She had finished in 12.4 seconds, making a record in her school. These were the instances that reinforced the fact that, although she was born a delta, she actually identified as a gamma. And, that scared Rae all the more.

Working with Miss Min Alma at her charity for minorities, she had seen many such individuals who had been facing temporal identity crises and the kind of discrimination they faced every day. Most of them had been abandoned by their families just for coming out, and the society didn't treat them any better.

Alma's organization took in as many of these abandoned people, and employed them or raised them. A significant part of the Smith's business profits went to this charity organization to help with their philanthropic activities.

Dakota assumed her mother never accepted her being different, but that was not true. She was only scared of how others would treat her.

The weekend after the Alpha-con would be Dakota's 18th birthday. And, it would also be 8 years since the day Duncan died. Dakota had not seen a happy birthday throughout her teenage years.

Crammed up in a house that antagonized her very existence, she started hating her life. When Rae decided to take that one day off from pleasing her father so that he wouldn't throw them out again, Mr. Smith made sure she had more work that she absolutely could not budge. If Dakota had any sort of attachment to her grandfather before, she had none anymore.

Rae opened up the window in her room, shaking off the memories. The wind gushing in was chilly, as she looked out at the front yard. It was not just a yard, it was a royal estate by itself, with a series of fountains flanking both sides of a stone pavement leading from the house to the outer gate.

She could see the front door of the house from this angle. A dome archway, giving way to a foyer that eventually came into the living area through another door.
She could see Levi on guard with one of his subordinates. Soon, they would change shifts with his sister and her subordinate.

Rae pulled her favorite Ottoman near the window and sat down on it, lighting a cigarette. Only a few puffs in, and a loud rap on her door brought her back from her reverie.