Chapter Text
Kim SeungMin lived surrounded by glass, concrete and silence. His world was made of marble columns, spiral stairs, and windows so high that they seemed to try to compete with the sky. On the top floor of a luxury skyscraper, life was programmed, clean and sterile. The dinners take place at 8pm sharp, the conversations were about investments, and the affections, if they existed, were always timed.
He looked at the reflection in the mirror full body, adjusting the button of the black blazer. Nothing in it seemed out of place: the hair impeccably combed, the tie in a neutral tone, the shining Italian shoes. A perfect omega, as his father demanded. And yet he felt disconnected from his own skin.
The oak door opened behind him, without even a polite knock.
XXX : Will be late (said the low and cold voice of Mr. Kim, the father)
SeungMin : And the world will end for this? (he replied, without turning his eyes from the mirror)
The man entered the room with determined steps, dark tender, stern expression. He was the kind of alpha who never screamed, didn’t need to. The tension in his presence was enough to double anyone. Less Seungmin.
Mr. Kim : Your mania to confront everything is a serious character flaw
SeungMin : Maybe it’s just what remains of my personality after years being molded as a puppet (finally answered turning)
The father clenched his fists, but kept the tone controlled.
Mr. Kim: It’s an omega, Seungmin. Our name has a weight. SeungMin has obligations
SeungMin : I have wills, Dad. And that scares more than anything, doesn’t it?
The silence that followed was heavier than a scream.
Mr. Kim: Go to dinner, as arranged. Park Ha-yoon will be there (his voice sounded like a sentence)
SeungMin : Oh, sure. 'Cause me mating with a rich businessman alpha is going to seal your legacy, right?
The answer made Mr. Kim’s jaw harden.
Mr. Kim: Stop being weak, Seungmin. A rebellious omega has no place in this world. One day, you will thank me for everything I am doing
SeungMin : And one day, I hope to forget that it’s my father
The slap did not come. Mr. Kim just turned her back and left, leaving behind the door ajar, the strong smell of cologne and a rage that grew in Seungmin’s stomach like liquid fire.
Half an hour later, Seungmin was walking down the garage with hurried steps, trembling hands and heart beating in the rhythm of an engine about to explode. The security guards of the building looked surprised when he got into his father’s car, a dark, shiny Audi, still with the smell of new leather.
He didn’t know exactly where he was going. He just knew he had to get out of there. Far from forced dinners, gold alliances, stifling expectations.
The car sped down the avenues as if it felt its urgency. It passed through neighborhoods that I knew well, then through less familiar areas. The clock already marked 22h and the city began to change.
The lights were less corporate, more raw. The asphalt seemed more alive, irregular, vibrating with something that Seungmin could not name.
That’s when the GPS stopped working. The screen blinked, locked and died.
SeungMin : Great (mumbled, reducing the gear)
He was lost. But for the first time that night, he felt a kind of relief.
The street he turned to seemed out of another world. It was an abandoned industrial area, with stacked containers, crumpled walls and dim lights. But soon realized that he was not alone.
Cars. Many cars.
Motorcycles, neon lights, people gathered in groups, some on the hoods, others with energy cans in hand, laughing loudly. Electronic music made the ground vibrate and the smell of gasoline and adrenaline filled the air.
Seungmin parked in a more distant area, looking at everything from afar, like a stranger about to invade a sacred ritual.
He was about to turn around when someone hit the window glass with his knuckles. Seungmin turned her face and found the most carefree and confident smile she had ever seen.
ZZZ : Are you lost, sweetie?
The man clearly an alpha, wore a black tank top that marked the muscles defined. Tattoos covered part of his arms, and the dark hair was slightly messy, as if he had just come out of a race. A piercing shone on her eyebrow.
The omega has lowered the glass only enough to answer.
SeungMin : I don’t talk to strangers
ZZZ : So lucky for you that I have plenty of time to stop being weird (said the alpha, leaning on the car) I’m Changbin. And this one... is the city’s favorite hell
Seungmin raised an eyebrow, defiant.
SeungMin : It looks more like a zoo. Full of people showing off.
The alpha laughed, genuinely surprised by the audacity of the omega.
Changbin : Wow, the prince is sharp. I like that.
SeungMin : And I don’t like alphas who find themselves irresistible just because they have muscles and a strong smell.
Changbin pretended to be offended, taking his hand to the chest.
Changbin : Woe, you have broken me now.
SeungMin : Don’t try. I don’t fall for that kind of charm.
Changbin : All right. So let me try another one. (leaned a little closer to the window) I didn’t ask for anything. Just found strange an omega so well dressed wandering around this side of town. This is no place for... people like you.
SeungMin : That’s good. I’m also tired of "people like me".
For a moment, Changbin’s eyes changed. The mockery gave way to something more serious, more attentive.
Changbin : OK, prince. Then come and see. It doesn’t hurt to look. Maybe you even like it.
Seungmin hesitated. I could turn around. I could just call the family’s trusted driver and get out of there. But there was something in Changbin’s eyes, a mixture of danger and freedom, that lit something inside him. Something he barely recognized, but desperately wanted to know.
Turned off the car. Opened the door.
SeungMin : All right
Changbin : As soon as you speak (smiled)