Chapter 28 #2
"I get it." I said, surprising myself with how much I meant it, the words coming from somewhere deep and true.
"The creative work I do — it's not physical like this, but it consumes me the same way.
I'll disappear into lyrics for days, forget to eat, forget to sleep.
Lose track of everything except the words. "
"We noticed." Tae-min said dryly from the floor, tilting his head back to grin up at me, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "Jae-won-hyung had to literally drag you to bed last night."
"That's not—" I started to protest, heat rising to my cheeks, but Jae-won was already nodding.
"You have the same look." Jae-won said, moving closer until he could lean against the couch behind me, his hand finding my shoulder with easy familiarity. "When you're deep in the work. The same intensity we get during a performance. Like the world narrows down to just the thing you're creating."
"It's why she's good." Jin-ho said simply, and the casual compliment made warmth spread through my chest, my breath catching at his certainty. "Her lyrics have that intensity. That obsessive attention to detail."
"Artists recognize artists." Min-jun added, his smile gentle, his eyes soft with understanding. "We knew, the moment we read your work, that you understood something most people don't. The cost of making something real."
The moment stretched between us, heavy with understanding. Then Hwan bounced to his feet with renewed energy, the solemnity breaking like a soap bubble.
"Okay, enough feelings for now." Hwan announced, reaching down to grab my hands and pull me up, his grip warm and insistent. "Break time's almost over, and I want to teach you something before we go again."
"Teach me what?" I let him pull me to my feet, stumbling slightly at the sudden movement, my balance thrown off by his enthusiasm.
"Dancing." Hwan's grin was back in full force, sunshine bright, his whole face lighting up with mischief. "Just a little piece. The easy part of the chorus."
"Hwan, I can't—" I started to protest, already feeling my cheeks heat with anticipated embarrassment.
"Anyone can dance." Hwan was already tugging me toward the center of the room, ignoring my protests completely, his determination unstoppable. "You just have to let your body move. Stop thinking."
"That's literally the opposite of what I do." I planted my feet, but it did nothing against Hwan's determined pulling, my sneakers sliding on the smooth floor. "I think. That's my whole job."
"Then this is a vacation from your job." Hwan positioned me in front of the mirror, standing behind me with his hands on my waist, his touch warm and steady through my shirt. "Just follow my lead. I'll go slow."
The other alphas had moved to the edges of the room, watching with varying degrees of amusement.
Tae-min was openly grinning, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Jin-ho had his arms crossed but his eyes were soft, one corner of his mouth twitching.
Min-jun looked like he was fighting a smile, his dimples barely visible.
Jae-won just watched, his expression unreadable but his attention absolute.
"Okay." Hwan's voice was close to my ear, his breath warm on my neck, sending shivers down my spine despite the warmth of the room.
"The chorus starts with this." He guided my hips to shift right, then left, a simple swaying motion, his hands gentle but sure.
"Feel the beat. Don't count it, just feel. "
The music started — slower than before, a practice tempo. I tried to follow Hwan's guidance, letting him move my body into positions that felt foreign and awkward.
"Relax your shoulders." Hwan murmured, his hands sliding up to press them down, his touch somehow both corrective and soothing. "You're too tense."
"Because I don't know what I'm doing." I muttered back, catching my own reflection in the mirror — flushed, uncertain, completely out of my element.
"You don't have to know." Hwan's hands returned to my waist, steadying me, grounding me in the moment. "Just feel. The music will tell you what to do."
I closed my eyes, trying to block out the visual of my own awkwardness. Focused on the bass thrumming through the floor. On Hwan's hands, warm and sure. On the scent of him surrounding me, mixing with the traces of the others still lingering in the air.
Warm, my omega noted. Safe. He's teaching us. Patient.
I let my body sway. Let the rhythm move through me instead of trying to control it. My hips found the beat, guided by Hwan's gentle pressure.
"There." Hwan's voice was warm with approval, his hands squeezing my waist in encouragement. "You feel it now?"
I opened my eyes. In the mirror, I saw myself moving — not gracefully, not like them, but moving. Hwan behind me, guiding but not forcing. And around us, four alphas watching with expressions that made my breath catch.
Want. That was what I saw in their eyes. Want and tenderness and something like awe.
"Not bad." Tae-min called out, grinning widely, his voice carrying across the room. "A few thousand hours and you might be ready for a backup dancer audition."
"I think I'll stick to lyrics." I stepped out of Hwan's hold, suddenly too aware of everyone's attention, my skin prickling with self-consciousness. "But thank you. That was... fun."
"Anytime." Hwan's smile was brilliant, his golden eyes dancing with warmth. "I'm an excellent teacher. Very patient. Very hands-on."
"Too hands-on." Jae-won cut in, but there was no heat in it, his voice carrying a hint of dry amusement. "Break's over. We still have two more songs to clean up."
The alphas moved back into formation, the playful atmosphere shifting seamlessly into professional focus. I returned to my couch, but something had changed. I wasn't just watching them perform anymore.
I was understanding them. Understanding the discipline it took to do this day after day. The physical toll, the mental exhaustion, the constant striving for perfection. They weren't just idols. They were athletes and artists and perfectionists who had given up so much for their dreams.
Somehow, they'd made room for me too.
The music started again, and I watched them dance, watched them sweat and strain and perfect their craft. My omega purred quietly in my chest, content in a way that had nothing to do with proximity or touch.
Pride, I realized. That's what this feeling was.
Pride in them. In what they'd built. In who they were.
And maybe, just a little bit, pride in being theirs.
They ran through the remaining songs with the same relentless perfectionism. By the time Jae-won called an end to practice, they were all drenched and exhausted, muscles trembling from the sustained effort.
"Good work." Jae-won said, and even that small praise seemed to mean something to them, their shoulders straightening slightly despite their exhaustion. "Clean up, then dinner. We've earned it."
Tae-min collapsed dramatically on the floor, arms and legs splayed out like a starfish, his chest heaving with exaggerated breaths. "Someone carry me." Tae-min pleaded to the ceiling, his voice pitiful and theatrical. "I can't move."
"You can move just fine." Min-jun nudged him with a foot as he passed, his voice fond despite the scolding tone. "Up. Shower. You smell like a gym locker."
"Rude." Tae-min didn't move, his eyes still closed, his lips twitching with suppressed amusement. "True, but rude."
Hwan was already beside me again, offering his hand to help me up from the couch, his smile softer now, less performance and more genuine. "So? Still intimidated?"
I took his hand, let him pull me to my feet, our fingers intertwining naturally. "A little." I admitted, tilting my head to look up at him. "But also impressed. And maybe a bit proud?"
Hwan's expression softened into something genuine, something vulnerable flickering beneath his sunshine exterior. "Proud of us?"
"Is that weird?" I suddenly felt self-conscious, heat creeping up my neck. "We've only known each other—"
"It's not weird." Hwan cut me off, his hand squeezing mine, his voice firm with conviction. "It's the best thing anyone's said to me today. Maybe ever."
"Don't exaggerate." I tried to pull my hand back, but he held on, his grip gentle but persistent.
"I'm not." Hwan's usual playfulness was gone, replaced by something earnest, his golden eyes serious in a way I rarely saw from him.
"People admire us. Fans worship us. But proud?
That's different. That's..." He trailed off, searching for words, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Family. That's what family feels like."
Pack, my omega whispered. He's right. This is pack.
"Hwan, stop hogging her." Tae-min had apparently found the strength to stand, because he was suddenly draping himself over my back, his sweaty weight pressing against me, his chin hooking over my shoulder. "I want to bask in the pride too."
"You're getting sweat on me." I protested, but I didn't push him away, something warm unfurling in my chest at his closeness.
"It's affectionate sweat." Tae-min declared, his voice bright with mock solemnity, his arms wrapping around my waist from behind. "You're proud of us. That means you have to accept our post-practice grossness. It's in the pack bylaws."
"There are no pack bylaws." Jin-ho appeared on my other side, not touching but close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him, his voice dry with amusement. "And if there were, I would have written them, and that wouldn't be included."
"New bylaw." Tae-min countered immediately, his voice carrying the confidence of someone who absolutely believed in his own nonsense. "Just added. Article one: omega must accept sweaty pack hugs after dance practice."
"Seconded." Hwan said cheerfully, raising his free hand like he was voting.
"Motion denied." Jae-won's voice cut through, but when I looked at him, he was fighting a smile, his stern expression cracking at the edges. "Showers first. Then you can smother her."
The alphas dispersed toward the showers, still bickering good-naturedly, their voices echoing off the practice room walls. Min-jun lingered, offering me a small smile, his presence a calm center in the chaos.
"Thank you for watching." Min-jun said quietly, his voice meant just for me, his dark eyes soft with something I couldn't quite name. "It means more than you know. Having you here."
"I liked being here." I meant it more than I could express, the words feeling inadequate for the fullness in my chest. "Seeing what you do. Understanding it better."
Min-jun's smile widened, just a fraction, his dimples deepening. "That's all we wanted." Min-jun said, his voice warm and certain. "For you to see us. Really see us." He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear with gentle fingers, the touch feather-light. "I think you do now."
Then he was gone, following the others, and I was left standing in the empty practice room, surrounded by their lingering scents and the echo of their music.
I did see them now. Not just as alphas or idols or even potential mates.
As people. Complete and complex and trying so hard to be worthy.
Ours, my omega said, soft and certain. They're ours. And we're theirs.
For the first time, that thought didn't scare me at all.