Chapter Text
Two years later:
As Seonghwa rinsed and dried the final plate from lunch, he realized he had yet to see San since the night before. San was admittedly a heavy sleeper, especially now that he often stayed up into the pre-dawn hours streaming video games for a devoted fandom, but the omega usually roused at the smell of food.
With some of their packmates at work and Jongho at school, Seonghwa had cooked and served a pleasant lunch for just himself, Mingi, Yunho and Daeeun. No San had ever appeared.
Afterwards Yunho had retreated downstairs for choreography work, while Mingi played with Dae in the living room. Seonghwa had kept an eye on the latter two the entire time he did the dishes. While their pup adored wrestling around with Mingi, there had been more than enough times where the hysterical, thrilling experience of being thrown around like a ragdoll ended abruptly in an accidental bump on the head.
Seonghwa folded his apron on the counter and watched them.
Mingi was currently holding Dae’s favorite toy, a stuffed purple starfish, high in the air, making the pup dance and leap on his tiptoes towards the fuzzy arms. Each time he leapt, Mingi’s hand would dart in and tickle the pup’s belly, making him squeal. The pup’s round cheeks were growing dangerously red, and there was no way to tell if this would end in squealing laughter or a burst of tears.
“Mingi-ah…” Seonghwa began.
Mingi recognized his tone and the starfish instantly dropped within Daeeun’s grasp. Dae gave an adorable growl that sounded more like a kitten than a puppy and pounced on the prize.
“Yeah?” Mingi’s deep voice rumbled as he turned to meet Seonghwa’s gaze, a smirk somehow both innocent and wolfish on his lips.
“I’m going to check on San-ah. You’re in charge of things.”
“Yessir. Ma’am. Hyung.”
Mimicking their pup who had taken to calling Seonghwa ‘ eomma’, Mingi enjoyed teasing him fondly, throwing in the occasional maternal pronoun with a cheeky grin. Seonghwa honestly didn’t care what the alpha called him, as long as he kept their pup in one piece for a short while.
—-----------------
He paused outside San’s door. He didn’t hear anything from inside, and a soft knock got no reply, either.
He pushed the door open.
“San-ah?” He called softly.
He heard a fussy, muffled sound of distress.
He squeezed past a computer gaming chair as big as a throne and went around the folding screen that San used to hide his bed from viewers. The screen was littered with fanmade stickers of a chibi-fied San, taped-up fan letters and drawings of a myriad different interpretations of San. The most popular trend was to draw their omega with the word “ rwa?” coming out of his mouth, his confusion-induced catchphrase from a tiktok that had made him go viral and launched him into a minor gaming celebrity.
While Seonghwa did not know if it had been a slow, steady growth or a single catalyzing moment that had launched San into internet stardom, all he knew is that San deserved the endless outpouring of praise he received and it was no wonder thousands of netizens had fallen for their endearing packmate. And San seemed to thrive under the attention, without getting too carried away or absorbed any more than usual with his games .
Currently, Choi San was sprawled face-first on top of what seemed to be a rather uncomfortable-looking nest in his bed. His sheets and blankets had been twisted and bundled up into a mountainous pile. Sticking out here and there was the sleeve of a familiar sweater (Seonghwa’s), a crumpled black workout shirt (Yeosang’s), the leopard-furred collar of a denim jacket Hongjoong had been looking for, and probably even more articles of clothing hidden within. Also scattered around the king-sized bed was a Nintendo switch, a tv remote, a pair of wired earbuds, and a plush that belonged to Dae. Seonghwa sighed and clicked his tongue. He quietly picked up each item and stored them away safely, then sat beside San, dipping the mattress. He ran his hand up the back of San’s neck and into his sleek hair.
San was wearing nothing but a thin tank top and shorts. His face was buried in a pillow that had Yunho’s t-shirt stretched over it in place of a pillowcase.
“Are you having a tough time, San-ah?” Seonghwa asked.
The drawn-out whine said it all.
This was the third time in a week San had turned his bed into a big nest he just couldn’t get comfortable in. He didn’t seem to realize he was even doing it. He was just restless and fidgety, pulling and tugging his bedding closer to himself to try and relax.
Seonghwa rested his palm against his forehead. His skin was a bit warm; not quite the fever of a heat but not normal, either.
With a groan San pushed himself out of the crumpled nest and flopped onto Seonghwa, curling up half in his lap.
Seonghwa stroked the edge of his ear.
“Did you get any sleep last night?”
San shrugged. “It’s hard.”
“I know you don’t want to, but I think tonight you should try half a dose of suppressant just to see if it will help.”
“I want a puppy,” San whimpered.
“I know you do, but you’ve got one right out in the living room.”
San pouted -almost glared- at him, looking offended that Hwa could even suggest he didn’t love the puppy already in the living room. Then his expression crumpled.
“I wan’ another,” he mumbled, rubbing his cheek on Seonghwa’s thigh.
“We’ll have another,” Seonghwa soothed. “These things just can’t be predicted.”
The lack of more pups definitely wasn’t for lack of trying.
Mingi, Yunho, and Jongho all gave their omega plenty of love, whether he was in heat or not. Seonghwa and Hongjoong indulged as well, although as time went by their shared feeling of being guardians to their younger pack members sometimes had them hanging back- although there were frequent exceptions.
San didn’t share any of the same sort of hangups.
The omega’s hand snuck to the front of Seonghwa’s pants and tugged at his fly.
“Gimme.”
Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Come here.”
He helped San sit up. The omega grumbled thinking he was being rebuffed, until Seonghwa pulled San’s hips snug to his. The omega practically purred and slid his thighs around him, straddling him. His hands settled on Seonghwa’s shoulders. His palms were hot even through his shirt.
Seonghwa slid his fingers beneath his clothes, fingertips skating down the ridge of his spine, dipping beneath his waistband. San shuddered, his weight shifting to invite more touch. His hips pressed insistently. His scent bloomed, having sweetened into the spring scent of lilies ever since carrying Dae.
Seonghwa slid two fingers inside him and stretched them out. When San opened his mouth in a little gasp, Seonghwa kissed his parted lips. The inside of his mouth was sweet and needy as he kissed him back, arching and pulling Seonghwa even closer. The omega’s hand clenched at the back of his neck was a reminder of how strong he was, the result of spending too much time with Jongho, Yeosang, and Yunho in their gym. His tongue twisted and dragged against Seonghwa’s, as if trying to pull it into his own mouth. Seonghwa obliged, lifting the back of San’s shirt off his body as he kissed him deep.
San shimmied out of the top and threw it aside. Then he grabbed Seonghwa’s wrist and pulled his hand to his firm chest. Seonghwa couldn’t deny how nicely it was filling out, and was more than happy to stroke the shape of each pectoral muscle, squeezing them in his hand. San gave a liquid moan and pressed his body against his palm, wherever it touched.
Seonghwa could smell the slick.
They didn't have to speak. They moved together like they shared one mind. San lifted his hips so Seonghwa could finish undressing them both just enough to get by.
The omega hugged his shoulders and tucked his head into the crook of his neck, then sank down on him. His body parted slowly to make way for Seonghwa’s cock. He was smooth and tight and slippery around him. His inner muscles squeezed .
"Good, San-ah," Seonghwa said. "Work for your puppies."
San moved his body with purpose and determination, as if he could get the results he wanted with sheer willpower alone. At some point his mouth latched onto Seonghwa's neck, onto the place where his mating-bite scar was all but obscured by the tail of the tattooed wolf that descended down his back.
Seonghwa moaned and clenched his hands on San's hips, jerking upwards to meet him. San’s moans joined his, the sound tingling along his skin.
"Ah… San-ah…" Seonghwa’s nails pressed deeper into the omega's skin, riling him up more. He felt the sticky hardness of the omegas cock start to push against his own belly, leaving a trail of pre.
He pressed his forehead against his. ‘ Come on…’
San exhaled a cry and shuddered from his thighs down to his toes. Seonghwa held him tight and with a few last pushes upward he filled the omega up with everything he had.
He couldn’t knot him; couldn’t breed him thoroughly the way he was meant to be, but San had no complaints. He swooned dreamily against his shoulder. Seonghwa could smell and feel the difference in the tension of his body, so much less wound up than it had felt before.
He stroked San’s back and let him rest. He hoped this would help their restless omega, who seemed stranded in some endless preheat marked by the ticking of his biological clock.
Seonghwa used some wet wipes to clean up and then fluffed San’s pillows and shook out the blankets, leaving the nest a much more inviting place for him to rest.
"Try to get a little sleep now. Mingi and I are taking care of Dae."
"M-mingi?" San worried.
"Everything’s okay, San-ah. They’re okay."
He covered San with a light blanket and turned on his desk fan, giving him a contrast of warmth and coolness to hopefully help him settle down.
--------------------
Seonghwa was pleasantly surprised to find Mingi cross-legged on the living room floor with his back against the couch and Dae dead-asleep sprawled across his lap, drooling in peaceful slumber. Seonghwa couldn’t help but see San represented in miniature when looking at the pup, down to the slight dimple near the corner of his mouth.
Mingi was slowly eating chips one at a time from a big bowl, holding each chip in his mouth until they softened, so the crunch wouldn't stir his charge.
Suddenly Mingi stopped mid-chew and craned his head towards the front window, furrowing his brow.
Dae stirred fussily, his small fists clenching and his face wrinkling up.
Seonghwa quietly drew nearer, trying to steal a glance at what had caught Mingi's attention, when an arm came around his waist.
The touch didn't startle him. He had felt Yunho drawing closer, having apparently finished up his work downstairs. He leaned back into him, enduring the nosing at his neck and the investigative sniffs as he figured out what he and San had been up to.
At that point Mingi was back to pensively eating chips and Dae was still sleeping, so Seonghwa turned to face Yunho’s chin. Yunho smiled and shifted his stance so Seonghwa could look at his eyes, instead.
“We taking Daeya out later?” He wondered.
“Yes. He’s in the middle of a nap but afterwards we can go,” Seonghwa said, nodding over his shoulder towards Mingi and their pup.
Yunho followed his gaze and his expression was transformed with a firm smile of pride. Daeeun did not have to be doing anything even slightly impressive for the alpha to look at him like that. Every time Yunho laid eyes on him it was like seeing him for the first time.
Seonghwa offered a perfunctory little smile and patted the alpha’s chest. “Get cleaned up.” The polite suggestion came after he caught a whiff of fresh sweat from the alpha’s clothes, the result of grueling, repetitive choreography. Recently the alpha had slowed down on instructing his classes, preferring to spend more time at home helping to raise Dae, but he still kept in shape and honed his craft, and when needed assisted the idol group that he had grown close to as a mentor.
And anyway, his studio still made money. He had employed two junior instructors and rented out the space for practice.
Seonghwa found that the more he was home, the more he wanted him to stay there. He was a constant hardworking, positive, and dependable presence in the home.
He and Yunho had taken to walking with Dae every afternoon to a park a few blocks away; and that too was a comfortable ritual that Seonghwa didn’t want to give up anytime soon.
“Get cleaned up? I could say the same thing to you,” Yunho said, squeezing Seonghwa’s sides where he knew he was ticklish, drawing out a compulsive smothered laugh.
“Fair enough.” Seonghwa pushed Yunho’s hands away but kept his fingers locked around his wrists. “Get the shower warm for me?”
“You’re so tempting, Mr. Park,” Yunho murmured in a deep tone. But Seonghwa caught the way his gaze flicked back to Dae, something dark and alert in his attention now. “But stay here. With him.”
He wasn’t sure if he was meant to stay with Mingi or Dae, but he nodded, content to comply with the alpha’s request.
He sat down on the floor across from Mingi, shaking his head when the alpha offered a chip. Mingi’s hair was getting shaggy, long in the back and brushing his cheekbones towards the front.
“What were you looking at, out there?” Seonghwa asked. It wasn’t the first time he had noticed Mingi watching out their window so intently. But it was the first time asking about it.
“Birds.”
“What color were they?”
Mingi stared at him, cool light catching the dark gold hue his eyes sometimes had.
Seonghwa stared back. ‘ You can tell me.’
Mingi looked away.
Seonghwa tried another tactic. “I’m glad he’s behaving for you today, our Daeya.” He spoke softly, trying to keep the pup from catching the sound of his own name.
“Yeah,” The reply was short and gruff. Mingi raised his hand like he wanted to ruffle the pup’s hair, but restrained himself before he did.
There had been a few times the last year where they could not convince the pup to step a single toe into a room where Mingi was; or times when Dae looked at him like a stranger; and even an instance when they had been playing together only for Dae to suddenly let out startled pup sounds and scramble away in fright.
He never reacted that way to anyone else but Mingi.
The pack always tried to brush past the moment and cheer Mingi up, while whisking Dae elsewhere. No one knew what to do. No one wanted to talk about the reason why.
Seonghwa knew each time it happened it hurt the alpha a little more, yet made the good moments that much more precious.
“Do you want to walk with us?” Seonghwa asked.
“No.” Mingi didn’t even pause to think it over.
“You used to walk with us. A lot.” Admittedly, it was because Yunho used to ask him. Lately he didn’t ask him anymore.
“I’m tired,” Mingi protested. They both knew he had spent most of the day on the couch or in bed, with a couple breaks to eat and engage their pup with easy, thoughtless play.
Seonghwa took a few moments to decide his next words: “Are you going to be okay?”
“He’ll wake up if you make me keep talking,” Mingi said sullenly.
Seonghwa went quiet, for the time being.
--------------------
Late September brought all sorts of afternoons- they could be cloudy with a luke-warm mugginess, have occasional gusts of chilly, sprinkling rain, or clear skies full of golden sunlight as hot as summer where it hit their skin. Yunho and Seonghwa made sure they were prepared for any condition, loading up Dae’s stroller with raincoat, water guns, sunscreen and a shovel for digging buried treasure- to name just a few of their supplies. Dae toddled beside them as Yunho pushed the empty stroller, knowing on the journey back he would be pushing Dae’s weary form as well.
Today the weather was undecided, dapples of mellow sunlight piercing down through shifting clouds. Seonghwa’s scarf trapped just enough warmth to keep him cozy. His mind drifted as he watched the top of their little pup’s head, admiring how the shifting sunlight brought out a deep reddish hue in his soft hair, only ever visible when they were outside.
They travelled the tree-lined streets at a leisurely pace. Dae gripped Seonghwa’s hand, stopping sometimes to pick up certain bright leaves that had fallen to the sidewalk, making a growing fan of them.
Neither Seonghwa nor Yunho rushed the pup as he ambled along from one distraction to the next. They had learned he didn’t respond well to that, easily confused and frustrated when his train of thought was interrupted.
Which was why Seonghwa leveled a wary look on a woman who was jogging closer in her active wear, suddenly slowing to a walk and angling towards them, eyes going wide with admiration at Dae.
“Oh my, how old’s your pup?” She crooned, addressing Seonghwa and Yunho as she crouched down to Dae’s level. She reached down and pinched up the leaf she had guessed he was reaching for, offering it to him. She was wrong. Seonghwa could easily tell that that particular leaf would never have passed Dae’s floral vibe-check.
“He’s about two and a half years old now,” Yunho offered with a reserved smile, polite and gentlemanly.
Neither of them instructed Dae to do anything in particular. He did not have to greet the woman if he didn’t want to. She was a stranger that had approached him without invitation.
He looked at the leaf she held and then twisted to look back at them, a baffled expression on his face.
He didn’t retreat or hide behind them. He was brave.
But he wasn’t reckless.
Seonghwa’s lashes lowered as he offered the pup a single, reassuring thought: ‘ We’ll protect you.’
It was hard to say if the message made it to the pup in those exact words, or if it was more like a warm, comforting sensation that made him feel safe; either way he let go of Seonghwa’s hand to pluck the leaf carefully the woman’s fingers, murmuring what sounded like “ ten-kyu ”.
The woman nodded but her smile began to fade. Maybe she was expecting Seonghwa and Yunho to gush over him or encourage him to talk to the ‘nice lady’ or chat with her and ask her about her own pups.
Maybe in another life they would have been those sorts of parents.
Seonghwa may have been able to move on from the past years, to successfully medicate any traumatic side effects away up til now- but it wouldn’t undo what had been done.
And now he didn’t trust strangers.
He didn’t trust most people.
And although he would raise Dae to be polite, he wouldn’t encourage his pup to trust in those he had no reason to, either.
With no warm welcome incoming, the woman bowed and wished them a good day, before moving along down the sidewalk. Dae watched her retreat a good distance away before dropping the leaf she had given him as if it had been paining him to hold onto it.
Seonghwa threw Yunho a humorous look, which Yunho threw right back at him. “Knew that was coming.”
--------------------
Dae barely waited for Seonghwa’s approving nod before he took off towards the pirate ship.
Adrift in a sea of sand, the pirate ship dominated the child’s play area in this quiet corner of the park, the only other occupants two pups on some nearby swings with their parents watching. Seonghwa led the stroller to a nearby empty bench as Yunho jogged towards the pirate ship, flinging himself childishly at the chain rigging and warning Dae that he was about to be boarded.
Seonghwa watched them for a few minutes with a mild smile on his face. With Yunho, Dae was always unconditionally safe. He couldn’t even count the amount of times the alpha’s dad reflexes had kicked in, allowing him to catch or stop the pup at the last second to keep him from harm.
That trust in Yunho allowed Seonghwa to relax enough to pull out his phone, check the household calendar (Jongho had some drycleaning that was ready to pick up tomorrow), update their grocery lists, and make himself a memo to get San a doctor’s appointment scheduled if he didn’t start feeling back to his normal self soon.
Then an image popped up in their group chat, a photo snapped by Hongjoong.
The image showed Yeosang seated at one of Hongjoong’s keyboards in his studio, looking very much like a professional pianist with his spine straight and his slender fingers poised over the keys, the sharp profile of his face regal as a prince’s.
--------------
Hongjoong: My cute student learning so well. Look forward to it ;)
---------------
Seonghwa saved the photo to his phone. He was proud of the omega.
Yeosang had stopped his gigs modelling for college art classes soon after they had their bonding ceremony. And it wasn’t long after he quit that he tentatively approached Hongjoong. He asked if there were things he could do to help Hongjoong with his own work, explaining in a flustered way that Hongjoong would be doing him a favor because he was spending too much time sitting around the house doing nothing.
Within a few days, Yeosang became an invaluable personal assistant that Hongjoong announced he would never again do without. Yeosang helped him with scheduling, keeping on task, and running small errands- but he didn’t stop there. Inevitably he was starting to learn some simple sewing and styling tasks, helping Hongjoong even with production of his clothes. On other days he helped out at the recording studio, learning how to navigate the software and troubleshoot the hardware, and had started learning piano under Hongjoong’s instruction when he showed an interest in the instrument.
Yeosang seemed very alive ; more curious about the world and enamored with what he was learning. Seonghwa could see his bond with Hongjoong growing deeper and it was more often that he came home in a friendly, talkative mood, full of new things to discuss. And with the way he was spending his rare spare time in the gym with San, Yunho, and Jongho, his body and muscles were flourishing just as much as the rest of him.
And the most charming part was that Yeosang had no idea how devastatingly fascinating all of this made him.
They were just lucky he was theirs.
Seonghwa sent a reply:
---------------
Seonghwa: Our Yeosangie can’t be stopped. :>
Wooyoung: Debut album when? (┛✧Д✧))┛彡┻━┻
--------------
Yunho’s footsteps approached in a hurry. “Hey. I was instructed to bring the digging equipment.”
Seonghwa looked up to see the alpha’s flushed and grinning face, so handsome.
“Ah, I see. Let’s not make him wait.” He leaned down and unzipped the lower compartment of the stroller, digging around. He instantly grew confused, not finding the shovels in their normal pocket. He guessed one of his packmates had fooled around and taken the toys to play with Dae, and simply thought it not worth the trouble to return them to the correct spot.
“I know we have them… somewhere…” Yunho crouched down to help, and after emptying half the stroller’s contents onto the bench and sidewalk they finally found them.
“Alright, be back. Wait-”
The sharp tone of that ‘ wait’ grabbed Seonghwa’s attention. Yunho was scanning the playground ship. The other two pups from the swings were playing on the monkey bars made to look like a gangplank off the side of the ship. But Dae was nowhere.
Seonghwa grabbed Yunho’s arm, holding it tight. “Wait, it’s alright...” he soothed.
He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. It took no longer than an indrawn breath for him to open his eyes again and glance towards a stand of towering pine trees not far from the ship, casting their shadows across half the park.
“He’s just by the trees. He’s okay. Let’s go.”
“I still don’t know how you do that…” Yunho goggled at him but followed along as they left the stroller and tramped through the grass towards the trees. The lowest limbs of the pines were well above their heads, allowing them to step beneath canopies of green needles while dry, shed needles crunched under their feet.
Seonghwa could hear the pup mumbling before they even reached him.
Dae didn’t seem surprised when appeared through the branches.
“What are you doing, Daeya?” Seonghwa crouched down beside him. He was sulking and kicking at the dirt.
“Dey tookit.”
“Took what, baby?” Seonghwa wondered, holding out his hand.
Dae set his own hand on his palm. “My thipp .”
“They took your ship?”
Dae nodded.
“Do you really want that whole entire ship for yourself?”
Dae nodded again, more adamantly.
“Sounds like something Hongjoong would whine about,” Yunho joked.
“Well what if we help you convince them to become your crew members, huh? A captain needs a crew.”
Dae thought about it, twisting back and forth. Then finally nodded.
Yunho found a damp leaf that he used as an eyepatch, making Dae giggle, and together the two went to take back his ship, Seonghwa following their trail.
--------------------
That evening Seonghwa prepared dinner because Wooyoung called to say he would be late.
They didn’t often have Changbin over to care for the home anymore. The issue wasn’t that they didn’t appreciate his services. And once in a while he would even make an appearance at an outing or social event as their invited friend. But things had shifted, and it was an unspoken agreement that their pack needed their privacy, needed their secrets kept safe.
So these days, as for meals, it would most fall to Seonghwa. He had been a decent cook from the beginning, and when Wooyoung had a rare free afternoon he would teach him new techniques or recipes or general gastronomic trivia, always happy for an excuse to boss Seonghwa around.
And if Seonghwa was ever concerned about not having food ready on time, he could always find a few idle hands to help him. Even San would help, working carefully and methodically on whatever task he was given with good results to show for his time.
Mingi would commonly loom into the kitchen as well, investigating what tasks were preventing food from being prepared faster; but he was more likely to get bored quickly when given something to do. Many times he would give up on tedious food preparations and resort to setting the table and then wandering away and flopping onto the couch.
Seonghwa did his best not to attract the alpha’s notice when he inevitably went to the table to rearrange the settings more to his liking, taking time to touch the shimmering gold streak in the wood where the table had at one time been mended.
Mingi tried. He didn’t ask for more than that.
He was chopping parsley for the top of their kimchi pasta when Wooyoung burst in the house, yelling before both feet were even through the door.
“Guess who’s the new sous chef of the most exclusive French fine dining establishment in all of Seoul?”
“Is it Chef Ramsay-sunbaenim?” San piped up.
“No!” Wooyoung yelled in exasperation, only for Yunho to ask: “Is it that guy with the hair? Flavortown?”
“NOOO!”
As usual the volume in the house had tripled within moments of Jung Wooyoung entering the vicinity. A faint reflexive smirk pulled at the corner of Seonghwa’s lips as he waited for the alpha to finish bickering with his packmates and explain his announcement.
Wooyoung had started a trend of moving from one job to the next like a passing ship, having had so many positions in the past six months that Seonghwa had trouble keeping them straight.
That didn’t stop him from being supportive. Why wouldn’t he, when each new job seemed more prestigious than the last?
After roughhousing with his packmates in the living room, Wooyoung finally made it to the kitchen, rubbing at a pink bite mark with one hand and carrying a slightly battered pastry box with the other.
“Here, they gave me this as a congratulations for being accepted.”
Seonghwa opened the box, greeted with a small cake that looked more like a piece of modern art than something edible, but he guessed would probably taste like heaven in cake form.
“Congratulations, Wooyoung-ah. Are you happy?”
“Didn’t I sound happy?” Wooyoung asked, coming up behind him and perching his chin on Seonghwa’s shoulder. His arms wound over Seonghwa’s and took a gentle hold of his hands, correcting his knife grip and helping him finish the parsley with a perfect chopping technique.
“You certainly sounded excited . I asked if you were happy .”
“I’m happy,” the alpha dismissed, giving Seonghwa a peck on the cheek as his hands withdrew. “Dinner smells amazing.”
“Put your new schedule on the calendar, Mr. Exclusive Sous Chef-sunbaenim,” Seonghwa nodded towards the oversized family calendar hanging in the kitchen, dense with scribbled notes. “And hopefully my simple pasta won’t offend your palette too much.”
Wooyoung made a sound between a growl and a giggle and bit his shoulder before sashaying over to the calendar.
Hongjoong and Yeosang were last to come home, greeted warmly by everyone else who had gathered waiting for dinner.
Jongho and Yunho had returned from the basement earlier with Dae, who had taken a bit of an obsessive liking to warbling along with Jongho’s karaoke machine, endlessly amusing them with his personal renditions of their favorite songs. They already had a brick-sized external hard drive just to hold the countless videos of Daeeun not only performing, but doing a hundred other mundane things that were extremely endearing because he was theirs. Their pup was simply too adorable for his own good.
San had joined everyone in the living room as well, venturing out bleary-eyed and throwing himself into the nearest nesting chair, yelling for someone to be his blanket.
All in all, a somewhat standard evening.
Wooyoung devoured his dinner the fastest. He gave his compliments on the food, scraped his dishes and threw them into the dishwasher, and then practically sprang over the back of the couch in effort to claim a seat before the newest episode of his favorite drama started. The show had become a pack favorite, for more reasons than one.
An hour later on the dot, Wooyoung was yelling again. “Everyone come on ! It’s time!”
Seonghwa had finished cleaning the kitchen right on time. He was tired, having gone overboard rearranging the entire tupperware cabinet, but that didn’t stop him from following the alpha’s beckoning call, wandering into the living room just as the drama’s closing soundtrack began to play.
The rest of the pack was all here, spread out across the floor and couch and the nesting chairs. Yeosang stirred from a catnap he’d been taking in San’s lap. Hongjoong sat intently on the couch with one leg crossed over the other, having incredibly watched the entire episode without once glancing at his phone. Dae was trying to grapple with Mingi’s pink-striped sock, refusing to give up even though the alpha wouldn’t stop bobbing his foot just out of reach.
Jongho was miming conducting the song coming from the surround system, holding back a small, mischievous grin.
Wooyoung whipped out a lighter and waved it back and forth in time with the ballad that poured out smooth on top of long violin notes. “That’s our Jjongie!!” he crowed.
Seonghwa caught the radiant smile that broke out on their head alpha’s face, and the way Yunho’s eyes were glued to the tv screen, listening appreciatively as if this was his very first time hearing their youngest pack member’s hit drama single.
“Do we have to do this every single time?” Jongho mumbled, the apples of his cheeks glowing red and his arms crossed over his chest. “Isn’t it like episode twenty-four already?”
“Ev-ery time!” Wooyoung confirmed, pumping his fist towards the ceiling. Yeosang and San cheering sleepily along. “Ev-ery time! Ev-ery time!”
Seonghwa looked at them. All of them. As a pack, they seemed happy overall. Blessed. Content. And for the most part they were.
But here and there were things that troubled him. Little concerns that shouldn’t be ignored, that needed tending like a yellowed leaf on a house plant. Just because they had overcome more trials in the past few years than most people went through in their entire life didn’t mean they could relax now. As a pack they were a living, breathing, loving entity that needed constant care and nurturing, and always would.
At the moment his yellowed leaf was Song Mingi, sitting at the edge of the couch but seeming as if he were sitting on the opposite edge of the universe as them, holding his chin and looking away from them, looking out the window again, utterly still in a way that was almost unnatural- except for the bobbing of his foot, which he did not even seem to notice was under threat of attack.