Chapter 27 #2
"No." Jin-ho shook his head, lowering our hands but not letting go, his thumb tracing circles on my palm.
"Your job is lyrics. This is something else.
" His dark eyes held mine, and I saw everything he wasn't saying — all those feelings he'd learned to hide in music instead of showing on his face.
We'd already talked about this, during our one-on-one.
How we both hid behind our craft. How we both understood each other in ways no one else did.
He leaned in slowly, giving me time to pull away.
I met him halfway. The kiss was soft. Unhurried.
Nothing like the desperate intensity of our first kiss in the studio days ago.
This was something quieter — a conversation without words, an acknowledgment of everything we already knew about each other.
"Okay, we get it, you're having a moment.
" Tae-min's voice broke through from the couch, teasing but fond, laced with amusement.
"Some of us are trying to game over here.
Keep the PDA to a minimum." Jin-ho pulled back with a quiet huff of laughter, but he didn't look embarrassed — just soft around the edges in a way I was beginning to realize was reserved for pack. For me.
"You're the one who wanted to be here." Jin-ho pointed out, turning to face Tae-min with one eyebrow raised, his voice dry.
"I wanted to hang out." Tae-min corrected, his fingers still moving rapidly over his Switch controls, not looking up from the screen, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration. "I didn't sign up for front row seats to the Jin-ho Feelings Hour."
"The Jin-ho Feelings Hour?" Hwan repeated, delighted, sitting up with a grin that threatened to split his face. "Is that what we're calling it? I love it. Very accurate."
"It's not—" Jin-ho started, a faint flush coloring his cheeks, spreading down to his neck.
"It absolutely is." I interrupted, finding myself grinning despite my best efforts to keep a straight face. "You literally just played me a song about your feelings and then kissed me. That's textbook Feelings Hour content."
Jin-ho's flush deepened, but he was fighting a smile, his eyes bright with suppressed amusement. "I regret letting any of you in here." Jin-ho muttered, but there was no heat in it, only fondness poorly disguised as exasperation.
"No you don't." Hwan said cheerfully, bouncing off the couch to drape himself over Jin-ho's shoulders from behind, his arms wrapping around the older man's chest. "You love us. You wrote a whole song about it."
"The song is about her." Jin-ho protested, but he didn't shake Hwan off, just sat there with his packmate hanging off him like an oversized golden retriever.
"The song is about finding your missing piece." Hwan corrected, his chin resting on Jin-ho's shoulder, his eyes meeting mine with knowing warmth. "And yeah, she's the center of it. But we're all in there. The harmonies at the end? That's all of us, hyung. All of us finding her together."
Jin-ho was quiet for a moment, something shifting in his expression — surprise, maybe, at being understood. Then he reached up and patted Hwan's arm where it was draped across his chest.
"When did you get so perceptive?" Jin-ho asked, his voice soft with reluctant affection, his head tilting slightly toward Hwan.
"I've always been perceptive." Hwan declared, pressing a smacking kiss to Jin-ho's cheek before releasing him, bouncing back on his heels. "You all just underestimate me because I'm pretty."
"No one underestimates you." I said, surprising myself with the firmness in my voice, the words coming out stronger than I intended. "Your brightness isn't a mask for emptiness. It's a choice. You choose to bring light into every room because you know how much darkness there can be."
Hwan went still, his eternal smile faltering for just a moment into something more real, more raw, his golden eyes wide with surprise.
"Yeah." Hwan said quietly, his voice losing its playful edge, something vulnerable flickering across his features. "Yeah, that's... that's exactly it." The moment stretched between us, heavy with understanding. Then Tae-min groaned loudly from the couch.
"Great, now we're having TWO Feelings Hours." Tae-min complained, but when I looked over, he was smiling, his game forgotten in his lap, his eyes bright with warmth. "Is this what pack life is? Just constant emotional breakthroughs? Because I'm going to need more snacks."
"I'll get snacks." Hwan volunteered, his brightness returning like the sun coming out from behind clouds, but I could see now that it was a choice — a gift he gave rather than a mask he hid behind. "What does everyone want?"
Orders were placed — chips for Tae-min, chocolate for me, nothing for Jin-ho who was already turning back to his computer with renewed energy. Hwan disappeared toward the kitchen, and the studio settled into a comfortable rhythm.
"Want to try writing something together?" Jin-ho asked, pulling up a new file, his fingers already moving over the keyboard with practiced ease. "I have a melody I can't find words for. Maybe you can hear something I'm missing."
"Play it for me." I said, settling deeper into my chair, ready to work. He played a fragment — something tender and yearning, strings layered over a gentle beat. I closed my eyes and let it wash over me, feeling for the edges of the emotion, searching for words to give it shape.
"It sounds like wanting something you're afraid to have." I said slowly, the words coming before I fully formed the thought, my eyes still closed. "Like standing on the edge of something beautiful and being terrified to step forward."
Jin-ho's fingers stilled on the keys. When I opened my eyes, he was looking at me with that intensity again, that focus that made me feel seen down to my bones.
"Yes." Jin-ho breathed, the single word heavy with wonder. "That's exactly it. How do you do that?"
"I don't know." I admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "It just... comes. Like the music speaks and I translate."
"Write with me." Jin-ho's voice was soft but urgent, and it wasn't a question — more like a plea, his dark eyes intent on mine. "Not for work. Not for deadlines. Just... create something. Together."
So we did.
For the next two hours, we built something from nothing — Jin-ho playing fragments on his keyboard while I scribbled lyrics on scraps of paper, passing ideas back and forth like a tennis match. Tae-min offered occasional commentary from the couch.
"That line needs to be sadder." Tae-min called out, not looking up from his game, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"More longing in the second verse." Tae-min added a few minutes later, his voice floating across the room.
"Can you make me cry?" Tae-min asked eventually, finally setting down his Switch to watch us properly, his eyes bright with interest. "I want to cry."
Hwan returned with snacks and stayed to watch, unusually quiet as he observed us work. Min-jun appeared at some point with tea, as promised, setting cups beside us without interrupting the flow, his movements silent and careful.
"It's beautiful." Min-jun said quietly, his hand finding my shoulder and squeezing gently, his voice warm with something I couldn't name. "Both of you. What you make together."
Then he was gone, and we were back to work, and I lost track of time entirely until Jae-won appeared in the doorway.
"It's past midnight." Jae-won announced, his voice carrying that pack alpha authority that somehow wasn't demanding, just informative, his broad frame filling the doorway. "You should rest."
I looked up, blinking, surprised to find that hours had passed without me noticing. The song we'd been building was nearly complete — rough, still needing polish, but whole. A skeleton with flesh.
"We're almost done." I said, but even as the words left my mouth, a yawn cracked my jaw, undermining my protest.
"You're done for tonight." Jae-won corrected, crossing the room to stand beside my chair, his hand finding the back of my neck and rubbing gently at the tension there, his fingers warm and strong.
Pack alpha, my omega sighed, going soft and pliant under his touch. Taking care of us. Always watching.
"The song will still be here tomorrow."
"He's right." Jin-ho admitted reluctantly, saving the file and leaning back in his chair with a stretch that made his spine pop. "We did good work tonight. We don't need to finish it all in one session."
Tae-min had fallen asleep on the couch at some point, his Switch still clutched in his hands, his mouth slightly open, soft snores escaping with each breath. Hwan was curled up beside him, also asleep, golden hair spilling across the cushions like spun sunlight.
"They crashed an hour ago." Jae-won said, following my gaze, a hint of fondness softening his voice. "I didn't want to disturb you."
"You were watching?" I asked, something warm curling in my chest at the realization.
"Someone has to make sure you take care of yourself.
" Jae-won said it simply, like it was obvious, like he hadn't just admitted to standing guard while we created, his thumb still tracing soothing patterns on my neck.
"You forget to eat when you're working. Forget to sleep. Forget everything but the words."
"You noticed that?" I couldn't hide my surprise, twisting slightly to look up at him.
"I notice everything about you." Jae-won's voice was low, meant just for me, his dark eyes holding mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "It's becoming a problem."
"A problem?" I echoed, tilting my head into his touch.
"I'm supposed to be the pack alpha." Jae-won's lips twitched with something like self-deprecating humor, though his eyes remained serious. "Watching over everyone. But lately all I can see is you."
Before I could respond to that — and I definitely needed to respond to that — he was stepping back, his hand leaving my neck, all business again.
"Come on. Bed." Jae-won's voice shifted back to pack alpha mode as he moved to the couch, gently shaking Hwan awake with a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone. Nest. Now."
The next few minutes were a blur of sleepy alphas shuffling toward the nest room, of brushing teeth and changing into sleep clothes and collapsing into the pile of blankets and pillows that had become home.
I ended up in the middle again, surrounded by warmth and scent and the steady rhythm of five heartbeats.
Home, my omega murmured, settling deep and content. Pack. Complete. Safe.
Jin-ho was behind me, his arm around my waist, his breath warm against my neck. The song we'd written together played on loop in my head, fragments of melody and words weaving through my drowsy thoughts.
"Thank you." Jin-ho murmured against my hair, so quiet I almost didn't hear it, his arm tightening around me. "For today. For understanding."
"Thank you for sharing it with me." I whispered back, my hand finding his where it rested against my stomach.
"The music. The real you." His arm tightened around me, and I felt the bond between us pulse with something warm and content.
The last thing I heard before sleep took me was the soft sound of my own omega purring, vibrating through my chest like a song of its own.