___________

A big thank you to Lucilia

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Jeongguk enters the university with a sullen expression on his face, his attitude anything but open. The soles of his black boots squeak on the freshly mopped and reflecting stone floor. Unhappy about entering this building, he snorts and tightens his grip on his backpack strip, which he slung over one shoulder. A bitter taste lingers in his mouth as he lets his gaze wander over the other students in the hallway.

He doesn't know many of them, but the familiar faces from his classes give him an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He hasn't been going to university long, but already being the focus of some was never his plan. Jeongguk is not the type of person who is comfortable with that. He would prefer to be left alone and not be constantly approached by others.

Sighing and shaking his head, he walks to his locker to take out the materials he needs for the next lesson. When he opens the locker door with a metallic creak, he instantly freezes. Anger literally runs through him, visible through his strengthened grip on the locker door. Unpleasant sweet smells hit him and finding Christmas sweets and heaps of letters where his materials should be but are buried makes him clench his teeth. It makes him feel downright sick.

Anger builds up inside him. Clearly, someone has broken into his locker and cracked his numerical code. Jeongguk doesn't understand how they did it. His lock is a combination of four numbers, all up to nine, including zero. 'What kind of asshole dared to do that? I didn't do anything wrong. Just to put unnecessary presents in my locker?'

There are also too many sweet and unfamiliar scents for Jeongguk to identify. The urge to slam the door and turn back home surges through his body, but he perseveres.

All at once, he moves forward and unceremoniously reaches into those heaps of letters. He growls discontentedly and, without giving it a second thought, runs to the bin that is not far away. In it, he lets all the unnecessary stuff disappear. Even the obnoxious sweets that make him scrunch his nose in disgust. His alpha is also anything but pleased and flattered by this. Fortunately, nothing was stolen.

It annoys him that someone was able to break in despite the combination and Jeongguk can't come up with anything that even begins to make sense of how they broke into his locker. Jeongguk makes a mental note to look for other methods to lock his locker and puts it on the list when he goes Christmas gift shopping today or tomorrow. Anger fades and gets replaced with anticipation for the Christmas holidays and seeing his parents.

It has been some time since he has seen them and he misses them immensely. He can hardly wait to go back to Busan and go to the beach. Seoul may be beautiful in itself, but he also misses that certain calmness and less hustle and bustle which is so common in big cities. After all the stress with the students, he deserves some time off and what better way to spend it than with his family?

Jeongguk takes his materials out of the locker and slams the door, with a low growl. Inwardly, he prays that no one will approach him today. He doesn't think he has the nerve to deal with it. Even taking scentblockers didn't help keep others away, so he stopped taking them again.

His prayer turns out to be unheard as he steps around the corner into the hallway where his English class is being held. Some of his course mates are standing outside the door, chatting animatedly among themselves. Among them is Doyun, a male omega who leans casually against the wall as he chats with others and immediately turns his head to him with a charming smile, making eyes at him. Jeongguk just imagines that he must have smelled his caramel scent and he mentally rolls his eyes as the omega approaches him.

Jeongguk clenches his hands into fists at the sickeningly sweet vanilla smell. Soon after, the aforementioned stands before him in a flirtatious stance. Doyun is holding what looks light-heartedly like a gift in his hands and Jeongguk is about to walk on. However, a hand that closes in the air just a few centimetres in front of his upper body prevents him from coming.

"Hello, handsome alpha," Doyun croons, taking a step closer. Suddenly, his smile pulls into a pout and he whines, "Aren't you paying any attention to me?"

Ah, Doyun must have noticed that he avoided his gaze.

"I never pay attention to you," Jeongguk says indifferently, trying not to breathe through his nose to make his head spin even more. "Is that all? I have to go to class."

"Wait, not so fast. I thought since it's almost Christmas, I'd like to give you a present-"

"Keep it, I'm not interested in the gift or you. How many times do you want to go over this?"

"Don't you think I'm pretty at all?"

Jeongguk rolls his eyes in annoyance and sighs, nostrils fluttering as he says with a smirk, "I think if you tried it with someone of your level, you'd really have a shot with an alpha."

"An alpha of my level? What are you... Hey, wait a minute!"

His words fall on deaf ears. Jeongguk skillfully ignores Doyun and continues walking to the classroom, where he sits down in his usual seat in the back row. Unfortunately, this doesn't protect him from glances or unwanted attention. Nevertheless, he tries to make the best of it every time.

Restlessly, he chews on his pencil during English class. He has to grin as an annoyed groan escapes Doyun, who is sitting in the middle row. Most likely he is having trouble understanding English again and is therefore annoyed. How does Jeongguk know?

Doyun had been asking him for tutoring a few weeks ago, knowing full well that Jeongguk is good at English, or at least he had given that impression. However, Jeongguk turned him down because he had made sense of his plan, even if Jeongguk hadn't, he would have turned him down anyway and his premonition is confirmed again and again.

Fingers, flexing in turn, tap on the wooden table next to his laptop. Jeongguk bites his lip and keeps his gaze on the bright screen where they wander back and forth. His chest fills with schadenfreude as he feels an intense gaze burning on him. The fact that he is annoyed he skilfully covers with confidence and counters the burning gaze with a raised eyebrow.

Of course, it's Doyun and one of his closest friends. Jeongguk isn't a fool and knows what he wants to achieve with his puppy-dog look. But the look leaves him completely cold and he turns his attention back to the teacher with a snort. Doyun may not have realised it or may not want to admit it to himself, but he will never stand a chance with Jeongguk. Neither he nor anyone else in his circle of friends.

For this reason, Jeongguk gets a lock for his locker that same evening, one that can only be opened with one key, making sure he has both keys on him so no one can steal them. Internally, he grins triumphantly and goes into the Christmas holidays feeling exhausted and full of anticipation.

In the days that follow, Jeongguk prepares the presents in a festive mood, buys the necessities and admires the Christmas decorations in the city. Only a few more days and the first people will take the decorations down again. Too bad.

Just as he is cooking dinner for Jin and him, his mobile phone screen lights up with a message. His eyebrows draw together as he lifts it from the marble slab where he has placed it next to the cooking area. A queasy feeling settles in his stomach as he scans the unknown number.

Unknown number [6.41 pm]
It's almost Christmas and I have a present I wanted to give you. Can we meet?

Jeongguk presses his tongue against the inside of his cheek and squints his eyes. Tense, he clicks on the message on the screen, which fully opens the app and its chat history.

Unknown number [21.12. 03.27 pm]
Alpha, why did you just throw the presents in the trash? Were they not good enough?

Unknown number [6.41 pm]
It's almost Christmas and I have a present I wanted to give you. Can we meet up?

Jeongguk's grip on his phone tightens, fingertips turning white. Again, that unknown number has texted him. Before, he had ignored the message, but with the new text message, he can't do that anymore. Someone seems to have his mobile number now too, and he has no clue who it is.

His finger hovers over the three dots in the corner of the chat and Jeongguk decides to go through with his plan in the end.

Jeongguk [6.44 pm]
Leave me alone

blocked

Jeongguk breathes a sigh of relief and finishes cooking his dinner. With a light smile on his lips, he turns off the cooker and prepares plates. As soon as everything is ready, he calls Jin, coming briskly from his room. The dark chocolate scent of his brother fills the kitchen, which is how Jeongguk knows that Jin is already standing near him immediately.

"It smells delicious. Have you made one of our favourite dishes?"

His brother's mouth seems to be watering by the looks of it. His eyes literally gleam as he stares at the pan. Jeongguk can't thank Jin enough for teaching him to cook. If Jeongguk lived alone, he would live mainly on noodles.

"Yup, bulgogi with rice," Jeongguk replies, taking a portion of rice from the rice cooker before grabbing some meat from the pan. As he walks past, Jeongguk grabs his phone and puts it on the table next to him. Immediately afterwards, Jin also sits down at the table and licks his lips in joy after he digs into the food.

Jeongguk laughs as Jin lets out a groan and comments on the food. "This is so unbelievably delicious. Always said cooking was in your blood."

"As good as it tastes to you, I didn't want to hear any grown-up noises."

Jin snorts and looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "What kind of noises?"

"You know what I mean. Eighteen-plus noises," Jeongguk sighs, already preparing to be teased by his brother at any moment.

"Jeonggukie, people who are under eighteen do that too," Jin comments with amusement in his voice and shakes his head, whereupon his dark brown hair falls in his face, pushing it aside with his index finger. "...It's just that certain types of moaning are not PG. It often depends on the situation and the interpretation. We're both adults, you can say it."

Jeongguk rolls his eyes at the teasing tone his brother sets. He's not a little kid anymore. He knows that often the situation plays a big part. Still, he didn't want to hear Jin moan like he was doing something else.

Jin giggles and causes him to look up. "I can't help it if you think equivocate. I simply enjoyed the food."

Jeongguk purses his lips and looks at Jin unimpressed, as if to say, 'seriously?'. Instead of giving an answer, he opts to change the subject and ask Jin about how things are with Yoongi.

"Whatever," he clears his throat and pushes the food back and forth on his plate a little tensely. Actually, he's not really interested in knowing what's going on between Yoongi and Jin, but Jimin's sad and broken expression haunts him and won't leave him alone. Somehow Jimin manages to keep popping up in Jeongguk's mind. "How are things with Yoongi, your colleague?"

Jin probably didn't expect Jeongguk to ask him, choking on his food. It's also rather unusual for him to ask. It's not like Jeongguk doesn't worry or care about how his big brother is doing, Jeongguk simply has little interest in knowing about his dating life and generally doesn't have much interest in the topic as long as Jin is happy. Does that make him a bad brother?

He is torn about this. After all, Jimin is the one who has apparently liked Jin for quite some time and Jin just hasn't noticed. Jeongguk feels somewhat sorry for him. He certainly wouldn't feel any different if he were in the same situation as Jimin. Hopefully, Jin won't ask him what the kiss is all about.

"Pretty good, I think it's really leading somewhere. Yoongi is just so handsome, cute and I feel different, weird in a good way when I'm with him. His lips form into this cute gummy smile when he smiles, have you noticed? His scent, God, I just want to lay in his orange scent."

Jeongguk tries to muster an honest and happy smile, ready to show he's happy about it, but it fades quickly, knowing there's someone who would drop his head at those words and his scent would sour. Unease breaks over him. Ugh—is there not even a day when he doesn't think of Jimin? Ever since they were in the garden of lights, the omega has been constantly crossing his thoughts. He really needs to get a grip on this to stop it.

"-guk? Jeongguk your phone is flashing up with text messages," Jin remarks irritably, chewing down his last bite of dinner. He has narrowed his eyes at Jeongguk's phone, on which another push message appears. Jeongguk glances at the device, lowers his eyebrows and clenches his jaw as soon as he skims the notifications.

Veins in his throat throb with anger and his lips curl downward as disgust begins to tingle in his fingers.

"I'll be right back."

Quickly, he grabs the phone and runs to his room, pacing with a wave of emotion. Jeongguk resists the urge to pull his hair in frustration and growl loudly.

Instagram message
[thatboykim]: netfreak wants to send you a message [5 min ago]

netfreak [5 min ago]
did you just block me?

jk.97
you again
i will do it again if you don't leave me alone already

netfreak
all i wanted was to give you a gift for not seeing me 😦 and a chance to court you
you looked so hot when you built up in front of the brown haired omega

jk.97
you're sick
the fact that you're trying to reach me through other means only proves that you don't even deserve that chance
when I find out who you are...

netfreak
:O what then?
will you give me that hot look too?
i was about to whine

jk.97
i will report you for stalking or am i already doing it?
because the letters and messages are enough evidence for the police
so help you if the letters were also from you

netfreak
how will you prove it if you threw them away?

jk.97
how do you know I threw them all away and didn't save some?

netfreak
jeongguk i kept a close eye on you and saw you throw every single letter away
which by the way hurt my feelings a lot

Reading through the person's last message, Jeongguk holds his breath and a shiver runs down his spine, stomach churning. His gaze wanders forlornly to the window and he ponders what to do now. He may look tough, but there is only so much he can take, and this person is apparently sick in the head. They send mixed signals and trigger an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

Desperately, he searches for a solution. Could he fix the problem by putting Jimin's idea into practice? With any luck, it would keep Doyun off his back and others who won't leave him alone. However, Jeongguk will have to take care of the current person in another way, for better or worse. Discomfort and distress run through him and without hesitation he opens the message app, trembling hands hovering over the screen, tapping on an all-too-familiar name.

Jeongguk [7.04 pm]
i agree, i'll do it
we can have a fake relationship, but i have some conditions....