Only when she glanced away from Jason did she see another entity.

"Seokjin, hi," she greeted. The older man was fumbling with his room keys in front of his door when he noticed them. A bewilderment similar to that of Jason's spread across his face, and Rae was quick to notice.

"This is Jason Grey, my chief diplomat. Jason, this is Kim Seokjin, Mr. Hyun-seok's eldest son, head chef at The Orientum."

The two men bowed & shook hands.

"How are you?" Jason chimed, as their hands parted. An even more bewildered Jin gazed back. Rae was about to say something, but stopped when he spoke.

"Great," his reply was almost a whisper, "what about you?"

"I'm good too."

The silence that followed made the alpha very uncomfortable & wanting to leave. The air among the three of them was acute with awkwardness, almost tangible.

"I brought a casserole from our brunch menu, Rae," Jin finally spoke to her. "And banana bread. I'd have brought more if I knew you had a guest."

Rae informed Jason about the omega situation as they sat across the breakfast counter, ravishing the food Jin had brought.

"I hate your father." He kept shaking his head in disbelief. "He's on his death bed, and denying Dakota her rights still hasn't left his mind, huh? Asshole!"

Only a moment after her name was spoken, the teen girl appeared out of nowhere, creeping up behind him and hugging him.

"Hi," she exclaimed in glee. "How are you? I missed you."

Jason gasped. "My pretty little duckling!" He held her at an arm's length. "I missed you too."

Rae's eyes wandered from the jovial conversation to the men standing in the back. Namjoon and Taehyung stood near the couches, presumably on their way to the library. Surprise daubed their faces, just like it did with Seokjin, when they noticed Jason.

She lowly hummed to herself and swiftly picked up her phone. Sending a quick text to Moira, she went back to listening to Jason and Dakota.

"Will you be here for my birthday?" Dakota sounded so innocent, it left smiles on their faces.

"I'll try, duckling. And, if I can't, I've already got you a present to compensate for it. It's with Mr. Wales."

They spoke at length about the very cutting edge set of bow and arrows Jason had got her from Nandura, but none of that went to Rae's ears. Her eyes kept lurking in the space between them and the Kims still standing where they were.

Namjoon had struck her as interesting ever since he demanded to leave, and more so, when he didn't back down from his point of no-payment that one night. It was unusual for Rae to not be abided by - that too, by the son of a loyal beta.

She was concerned that all of them would just get in line, trying to appease her and win her affection, even when she had explicitly told them not to. All her woes faded when literally none of them tried to pull that off. Even Seokjin stopped after a while, and did it only when his father's presence was announced.

The ones younger to her were happy calling her noona. Hobi and Yoongi just wanted to be friends with her. And, Namjoon's motive was hard to understand, but he didn't seem to want anything to do with her. At least, not to her.

So, why were they here?

An entire generation of omegas forced by their parents? And, for what?

Were they still so afraid of her father, even when it was her in power now?

Well, Rae thought to herself, who was she to complain? She was also keeping them in her house to not make her father angry; but, she had her reasons.

Her eyes fluttered back to the tall man. He was incredibly handsome. His brother beside him was too. All of the omegas were, she reminded herself. But he was.

His monolidded eyes were like those of a dragon - not in a destructive, fiery way, but more smoldering, a reminder of ancient times, almost soothing but overwhelming at the same time.

Incredibly handsome, and even a little intimidating, if she was to lose her alpha pride and say that about an omega.

Dakota's words from the past week had not left her yet. "He's really cool," she had said, when asked about her new tutor. "He promised to bring me a comic book version of Macbeth so it's easy to learn the plot. And when we were going through Pride & Prejudice, he used you as an example of a woman Elizabeth would look up to. Oh.. oh.. and he hates Romeo & Juliet. Says they were dumb. I think he's your type."

"Dakota," Rae spun back to reality when she realized how long it had been. "Don't you think Mr. Kim has been waiting for you for quite some time now? Go on, study well."

The wind was erratic and fluttery that night, just like how Rae had been feeling for quite some time. She couldn't really put a finger on why she felt that way, so she concluded it must be the anticipation of the Alpha-con, Dakota's eventual coming of age, her father's sickness, and..

She sighed when she realized the list of her worries was long. The curtain flapped behind her as she sat at the desk, noting down pointers for what she wanted to talk about at the conference.

Her phone vibrated near her notebook just as she attempted a relaxing stretch. It was Moira. Rae left her work undone, in suspense of what news was to unfold.

In the afternoon, when she had witnessed the disbelief on every Kim's face about Jason's existence, she had texted Moira, asking her to look into it. Although she didn't expect an answer so soon, she was glad to get the call.

"What did you find?" she asked immediately.

"A few things," Moira replied. "I did try to see if their families were related. But, I couldn't find anything there. You all did go to the same school, so.."

"We did?"

"Yeah, you, Jason, the Kims, Yoongi, Hoseok. But they were all senior to you. Even the younger ones went there, except for Jimin. Cause, you know, the Parks live in the other side of the city. So, I tried to find if something happened then. Something did. But it's not related to Jason, so I'll come back to it later. So, I thought maybe one of them dated his sister? And I started digging up their dating history. And.. so, do you wanna know the most interesting one first? Or the least interesting?"

"Moira! I don't have time for your dramatics now, okay? I'm working. Just cut to the chase, no?"

"The least interesting first then."

Rae scoffed.

"So, Taehyung has only dated one girl in high school but it was just a fling. Nothing more intimate than losing his virginity to her. They weren't in love, or anything. And the girl was.. is a psi. So, Hyun-seok was okay with that. Apparently, Tae is the son he is the least disappointed in. He is very vocally disappointed in all of them since none of them was born in a beta hour. And, he wanted one of them to take up his position at The Smiths after him, but they did their own things. But, Tae's dating history doesn't disappoint him, so he doesn't give him hell."

"How do the others disappoint him?" Rae placed a long Marlboro cigarette between her lips and waited for the more interesting Kim brother.

"Namjoon is the one who's more outright with his opinions against his father, so you get it."

"What about his dating history?" She asked, and immediately regretted sounding too earnest.

"He has dated quite a few people, all from different temporals, enraging Hyun-seok even more. But, interestingly, all this dating was to get over that one person he fell in love with in high school."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know. Nobody could tell me. Apparently they left the clan, or died. And nobody outside the family knows about it, and nobody from the family talks about it. I don't think his father knows about it either. Anyway, it's sad. He'll always be in love with them, and they'll probably never be together."

"Al..always?"

"Yeah, you know how omegas only fall in love once and that's it for them?"

"Really? I thought that was a myth."

"Apparently not. I mean, how could we know?"

Rae hummed, running a finger through the crook of her chin.

"So.." Moira continued, pausing in between words for more dramatic effect. "About Seokjin. He's disappointing.. because.. he fell in love with a rho. And.. by rho, I mean.. Jason."

Rae could feel her eyes widening, and she dragged a longer puff of smoke to adjust to the news.

"Hyun-seok tried very many ways to separate them. But, nothing worked. Jin and Jason were even about to move out and get a place of their own, when your father intervened. On Mr. Kim's request. I couldn't learn how the conversation went, but he didn't use his voice. Maybe threatened to. I don't know. So since then, they're apart."

"So, it's Jin?" Rae was still surprised. She sat back down at her desk. "And they're unhappy because of my father? When will I stop discovering new things to hate him for?"

She sat in silence for a while, Moira waiting on the other side.

"What do I have after lunch tomorrow?"

"Nothing important. I shifted everything to later this week, so you can prepare for the conference."

"Great. Tell Lou to be available around lunch tomorrow. I'll be eating at The Orientum."

"Noted."

"Also, I need you to fix me a meeting with Jung Areum. Tomorrow, or Tuesday. Before the conference, that is. Tell her I'll go over to their factory. And that it's urgent."

****

The receptionist at The Orientum became visibly flustered as soon as Rae walked into the establishment. "Madam Alpha, good afternoon," they greeted her immediately, all breathy & nervous, attempting to attend to her. A few serving staff members seemed to gravitate to her too.

"Please," Rae smiled, although in dismissal. "Don't forget your jobs over me. I'd be very pleased if you treat me like a regular customer."

A manager approached her just as she took a table opposite to the door, and she was about to throw hands. Only after a full 5 mins could she tell them that she was there to meet the head chef.

Jin got the news of Rae's arrival moments before the manager came to give him the same news. Since his meeting with Jason the previous day, he had been counting minutes before she'd come to him for a conversation. Honestly, he didn't expect it at his workplace. He took off his hat and apron before heading out of the kitchen.

"Rae, hi!" He greeted her with a standard, respectful kiss on the cheek and she returned it.

"I hope I'm not causing too much trouble. I just wanted to speak about something."

Jin sighed, as he took the seat opposite to her. "No, not really. Have you ordered yet?"

"No, I will. Later. Maybe we can talk first?"
He nodded. "Is it about Jason?"

Rae leaned towards the table between them, as if straining to hear a whisper, although he was pretty coherent.

"Listen," he replied to her surprise, "I don't know what he told you, but.."

"He didn't tell me anything. We've been friends for over a year, and all I knew was that he's heartbroken. Didn't know it was you, until I looked into it. He didn't tell me anything."

That shut him up.

"And I know I should have just minded my business," Rae continued. "And you can totally sue me for invasion of privacy, but trust me, I have no ill intentions."

Jin slouched a little in his chair, moving away from her. He looked deep in thought, when in reality, he wasn't. His mind was numb, with no thoughts per se. All he could see was Jason, and his handsome face and the days they had spent together in the different clans they went to.

Thoughts emerged as he recalled the time they met. He was an intern to a renowned Prakran chef, and Jason had just begun his career as Mr. Smith's diplomat. The latter was served honey-drappled skewered lamb in his hotel room; he had eaten - ravished it - and had immediately demanded to see the chef.

When they did meet, they ended up quickly bonding over their love for travel. Mere months had passed, before the shy Jin had found himself wrapped up and swept off his feet by Jason and his charms.

"Seokjin?" Rae's words barely reached him.
"Jin? Oppa?"

He fluttered his eyes back to focus on her, trying to anticipate what was to come.

"I'm so sorry about what my father did," her words were a complete tangent to what he was expecting, "I wish to make amends. Just tell me how. I can't bear the burden of my father's insensitivity, I'm sorry."

They spoke for a while, their hands entwined on the table in solidarity. Until a server came and noted her order; Jin thanked her and went back to his work.

Rae sighed and looked around. She took this opportunity at solitude to look around the restaurant she had heard so much about. She was yet to taste the food, but the ambience was beautiful. The aesthetics were all over, but not limited to the walls.

The base hue being red, letters from the Nef alphabet were drawn in black by unwavering, adept hands. A golden border ran along the edges of most of the letters. A huge, golden, unfolded Attan hand fan adorned another wall.

On her table, the napkin holder was made out of clay, and the intricate design resembled the one on the singular outfit she had bought from a trader from Attis.
Rae picked the small table ornament up and examined it. Yes, it was exactly like that. The hint of a seafoam green curtain - instead of the usual red - was a characteristic of the theatres at Attis. The actors stood at center stage, holding hands and bowing. She was fascinated by the work, and decided to look for a similar piece for the dinner table at home.

A commotion near the receptionist's counter made her put it back. She looked up to see a form, that made her cheeks heat up instantly. Kim Namjoon stood before her, chatting with the receptionist like they were a childhood friend. Maybe they were.

Rae raised a hand in acknowledgement, when he looked her way. He proceeded towards her, but bumped into the corner of a table and a server on his way, thereby stalling their meeting. And when she stood up on her toes to plant a peck on his cheek, he seemed to freeze in his stance. He gathered his fallen wits quickly and returned it, before she could speak.

"I'm sorry, I did it to Jin. I didn't want it to look weird."

Namjoon nodded.

"Are you hurt?" She asked again, referring to his bumpings.

"No, not at all." He let a beat pass, before asking, "do you come here often? I've never seen you here before."

"No, this is my first time. I came to see Jin oppa about something."

His eyes shot up at the honorific & he couldn't help wondering if she'd call him oppa too. He managed a smile, and was about to ask for his leave.

"Why don't you join me?" She asked, motioning at the seat opposite to her, ruining his chance.

"What about Jin?"

"Oh, we've already spoken. He said something about getting back to work."

"Okay, then." He cleared his throat.

Hanging his messenger bag carefully from the back of the seat, he took it. They spent a few moments in silence, on their respective phones, until a waiter came to take Namjoon's order, and another brought Rae's lunch. Seokjin had followed the latter, only to stop abruptly at the sight of his brother.

"Joon-ah!" he greeted him, patting his back, "I didn't know you were gonna come today."

"I didn't either. I was around here so I came."

"Did you order? The same pork ramyeon?"

The younger nodded, and was flashed a heartwarming smile before Jin left.

"Did you see that? I mean, I hope you didn't. That was the closest thing to an omega smile he had shown in a few years. What did you tell him?"

Rae smirked at her rice bowl, as he kept blabbering on. When she looked up, she brandished him a smile that'd have easily knocked the air out of his lungs if their temporals were switched.

"I came here to talk about Jason." She informed. Namjoon had looked away, but he immediately glanced back at the mention of Jason's name.

"How did you know?"

"Oh please, discretion is not a Kim thing. I could tell by all your faces yesterday that something was up. All I had to do was ask Moira to research."

"And what did she find for you?"

"Only what was necessary," a half-truth, "how they met, their plans, and my father's role in their separation. All I came here to tell oppa was that I wanted to undo the wrong."

Finally, he smiled. A little at first, which then, spread softly across his face.
Soon his ramen arrived, and they ordered beer for themselves. They spoke at length over food and booze about work, life after he shifted to her house, Dakota's new curiosity in literature and other things.

When she asked for the check, the manager appeared again, demanding her meal be on the house. "If you feed me for free, you'll soon go bankrupt. I can't allow that. Please, I insist."

When their cajoling failed, the manager set out to bring her the check.

"Maybe you'll let me pay for you," Namjoon interjected, a cool smirk playing on the corners of his lips. Rae looked at him for a while, trying to gauge his intentions. She didn't want to undergo another heated argument with him, where she'd be changing her mind in the end anyway. So, she gave in immediately.

"Okay," she said, as a waiter put the bill in front of her. "Only if you let me drop you.. wherever you're headed from here."

Namjoon glanced away for a second, and when he peered back, his face was etched with the most beautiful smile Rae had ever seen. It put two deep dimples in the middle of his cheeks, and displayed a perfect set of teeth.

But she could only admire it for a second, for her head hurt in the next and in the third, all she could see was darkness.

Namjoon was soon to realize what had happened, when she winced and her fingers moved swiftly to her temples. His smile was gone; his voice came down below his modal as he apologized again & again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't.. I didn't realize it would.. I'm sorry, Rae."

She shook her head to bring herself back to full consciousness. "No, no, it's not your fault," she said, mustering up a smile.
"I'll meet you out front," Rae breathed those words out, pushing the bill towards him.

The air in the car was dense with awkwardness. Whatever intimacy their conversation had built, it was all gone because of a smile. Namjoon kept mentally kicking himself all the way.

His long thighs easily reached the back of Levi's seat, while Rae sat comfortably, one leg twined over the other. Levi sat in front, giving Lou directions to the Osira Central University.

He sighed, bucking up courage to speak again. "I'm really sorry about.. back there. I didn't realize it'd happen."

"Namjoon, it's really okay," Rae put a palm on his thigh. "You shouldn't have to limit your smile for me. And, my mom was an omega. I know how this works. I should get used to it in a few days."

She retracted her hand to herself, and they sat on silence for a while. It was still a few turns to his workplace when he asked, "I have always been curious. How is the dynamic between an omega parent & an alpha child? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Rae smiled a little. "It's absolutely normal. The smile doesn't affect until the child reaches a certain age, you can say.. it's like, puberty. And, the first ones hurt a lot. But the effects gradually wane."

He hummed at the information, and they spoke no more until they reached the University. He thanked her, and Lou for driving and Levi for the accurate directions, before leaving.

Only after he was out of sight, did Rae realize the breath she was holding all the way and let it go.

****

The passing hours made Rae more and more nervous. This wasn't her first Alpha-con though. Her father had accompanied her to a conference only once, and let her go alone the years after. But, there was never so much at stake. This time, there was so much that could be turned against her, against Osira.

A knock on the glass door of the cabin muddled with her concentrated pessimism. She looked up to see a smiling Hoseok. "Ah, Rae! I was standing outside for 2 minutes, you know. You looked so deep in thought, I was scared to disturb you."

She smiled back and offered him a seat. "What are you doing here?" Rae tried hard to hide the suspicion from her question, but the undercurrent was hard to avoid. Luckily for her, Hobi didn't notice. Or, pretended not to.

He replied with glee, "you're going to meet my noona, no? I thought I'll tag along. That's okay, right?"

She nodded.

She sat, working for a little longer, Hobi waiting on the other side of the table, on his phone. It was all quiet, when suddenly the door jolted open, giving way to Moira's very dramatic entrance.

"Victor's car just rolled into the parking lot." She informed.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Rae rose from her seat, quickly arranging her stuff. "Hobi, let's go. We need to get out of here. Right now. And, listen.. keep looking at the ground, avoid eye contact with anyone."

Hoseok chuckled as she literally dragged him out of her office, and towards the elevator. All the way down, she kept talking, often mouthing curses at the other alpha.

"We'll just walk out of the gate, okay? Lou and Levi will be waiting. No looking at anyone. I'm guessing, he should be in the elevator by now. Still, there's no guarantee with that scum."

Victor Wang was a demanding personality. When he walked in to the building, all eyes were on him. Either on the layered suit he wore that was absolutely inappropriate for the weather, or his ridiculously expensive gold watch, or his gold-rimmed glasses, or his menacingly handsome features.

A neatly trimmed stubble tried hard to hide his prominent jawbone, but it moved rebelliously as he spoke at the reception. The receptionist asked him to wait at the seating area, promising to inform Madam Rae's assistant.

With a loud ding, the elevator door opened up right in front of the reception, giving Rae only one more chance to call him "shitstain" under her breath, before meeting eyes with him.

"Rae," Victor took one look at her face, and stood up, opening his arms invitingly. Rae returned the smile, but stood just a little out of reach for an embrace.

"C'mon, Rae, didn't you miss me?"

"Didn't notice you weren't here," she huffed, Hoseok tailing behind her. "Why are you here? The conference is tomorrow. Still didn't learn how to not come early?"

When he looked up, he had a vicious smirk along his thin lips. "Oh, you and your jokes! Rae, I missed you. So, I'm here today. I think we both know we have things to talk about."

"No, I know nothing of that sort. I'll see you.."

"Wait," he stopped her mid-sentence, and looked past her to where Hoseok was standing. "Is that Jung Hoseok?"

Hobi looked up at the mention of his name, visibly uncomfortable under Victor's gaze.
"Is he.. is he one of your omegas?"

Rae's eyes widened at this, and he barked out a laugh. "Oh please, Rae. The Osiran alpha houses 7 eligible omegas and the world won't know about it? You're not the only one with a rho, you know."

She ignored him and averted her glance towards Hobi. He didn't look like he'd tolerate the other man's nonsense just because he was an alpha, and she was thankful for it. She planted her feet strongly between them, and stayed there. She'd protect him no matter what.

"Is it like a weekly thing? One of them gets to follow you around each day of the week? You're still doing that 'I wanna know you before we fuck' thing?"

He continued guffawing, which enraged Rae even more. "I'll see you tomorrow, Victor." She turned to leave, but he stopped her with a grip on her wrist. Loose, but a grip nonetheless.

"What?" she snapped, jerking her hand free.

"My offer still stands, Rae," his voice suddenly deepend. "But maybe my patience won't. Imagine Osira and Ika together, Rae! We'd be so much stronger, others would cower before us."

"I don't share your ideals, Vic."

"You don't have to. Just share my bed. Again. And we can make little alpha babies, and they'll have the biggest army and the most resourceful land. And, if I dare spill a secret, I have devised a way to get us even more soldiers in the next few years."

**TW: Slight homophobia**

"And, how did you do that?"

"I shouldn't take whole credit for this, but.." Victor paused to lick his lips, and continued again. "Get this. I'm going to pass a law that'd prevent men from marrying each other and women from marrying each other."

Rae's eyebrows tied a tight knot above her nose, as she contemplated what came out of his mouth. "What do you mean?" She was clearly irritated at this point.

"What a waste it is to lay with someone you can't procreate with! I'm going to put a stop to that. So, every wedding would ensure at least 1-2 new soldiers to the army of Ika."

He beamed with pride, almost righteously.

"Are you insane?" Rae's voice rose, sharp and almost painful to any passerby. She grew more & more aware of Hobi's eyes boring into the back of her head. The receptionist avoided doing the same professionally but she knew she was listening.

"People marry because they want to, not to provide you with soldiers. If you don't understand that, maybe you're not that good an alpha as you Ikans proclaim to be. And.. and, people have been marrying whoever they want to, since the dawn of humankind. You can't change that now."

"Why not? You're trying to take down the Temporal system too. Aren't you? You and your daughter, and your little charity. I saw Miss Min in Ika this weekend. Are you planning to reform my clan too?"

Rae was furious now. She knew she had to get out of there for her own sake, and to keep herself from kicking Victor's balls.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Victor," she said those last words, before turning and leaving, dragging Hobi with her.

**Trigger end**

Hobi & Rae came back home to a little party. Rae had spoken extensively with Areum about the issue at hand, and in return, the latter provided her with the necessary evidence that could turn the tide in her favor.

Something gleamed in Jimin's hands, as the others stood around him. Jungkook, Allison, Yoongi, Mr. Wales stood in front of her, but Rae's eyes settled on Dakota's arm, that snaked around Taehyung's neck. She crunched her nose at it, wondering if she was really that close with the 3 younger omegas.

Yoongi noticed them first. His eyes flickered between Rae and where her eyes were fixated, and the clairvoyant in him predicted the counseling he'd have to do shortly.

"Rae, Hobi," he called at them, and the rest of the eyes moved to them instantly. Dakota's arm slid away from Tae.

"Noona!" Jimin rose from his seat and held up the object in his hands. It was a golden plaque, with what looked to her like the YT play button. He sprinted to her, glowing, "they sent it to me for getting a million subscribers."

His eyes had narrowed to slits, leaving her guessing whether he could see at all. It was a bright smile, full and sweet, almost like a beam of light. It was undoubtedly his omega smile. But, Rae wasn't affected at all. She softly touched his face, squeezing his cheek between two fingers.

"Congratulations, Jimin," she said, smiling hugely back at him, "you deserve it."

Jimin's smile grew a little shy, he hid it behind his long sleeve and turned back to look at the others. Jungkook stared back at him, his eyes piercing, but earnest and with a kind of a romantic warmth.

"Jimin-ah! Won't you show me the plaque?" Hobi's words made him turn again.

He flitted towards one of his hyungs now, and Rae decided to speak to Dakota. Although the arm was gone, she had not left Tae's side. Yoongi noticed, and spoke before Rae could.

"Jimin's plaque is not all the good news though, Rae. Dakota has something very important to tell you."