Chapter 5 (1/1)

It was a horrible night for Jaehwan in which he didn’t get a wink of sleep, and all he wanted to do after Hakyeon finally relented and gave him the suppressants in the morning was curl up under his blankets and sleep.There was no such option, though, as Hakyeon herded them all to the company without breakfast, and Jaehwan felt horrible when Hongbin avoided making eye contact with him during the whole way there. He noticed Taekwoon was helping Wonshik walk, his face bruised, one eye swollen shut and lips split, but no one was aiding Hajoon and Jeojung, who looked just as bad.Hakyeon forewent the practice rooms, herding them towards a meeting room instead. He held Jaehwan back as he motioned the others inside, and Jaehwan’s heart sank. This would be the end of it, he just knew it. Now was the time he would be told to go home. He was too much of a risk to keep around, if the alphas went at each other’s throats over him.“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” Hakyeon ordered, but his voice was surprisingly soft as he squeezed his shoulder gently before hurrying down the hallway. Jaehwan would have expected him to be mad at him, but that didn’t seem to be the case. That was at least something, but Jaehwan was far from reassured by that small thing in his favour.Hakyeon returned eventually, led by CEO Hwang, who wore a carefully neutral expression. The CEO unlocked the door and motioned both Hakyeon and Jaehwan inside, following them and indicating for them to take the chairs next to his at the conference table. Jaehwan’s breath threatened to falter a couple of times, nervousness and nausea welling up inside him in waves, and he struggled to stay calm.CEO Hwang didn’t speak as he entered the room, walking up to the whiteboard on one end of the room, picking up a pen and starting to write. It took a while until he was done, and aside from the light tapping of the pen, no sound was made in the room, not even the rustling of clothes being heard. When he finished, he capped the pen with finality and turned around to face the gathered trainees.“When I hired you as trainees of this company, I assumed all of you had undergone enough school education to be able to at least read. Now I would like to know which of these points of your contracts and the company regulations were unclear…”Silence answered him, everyone avoiding his gaze.“First point. Wonshik, do us the favour to read that one out loud and prove to us that you are indeed able to read!”Wonshik jumped in his seat, blinking his one eye that wasn’t completely swollen shut open to focus on the whiteboard.“‘P-point 2 of the company’s regulation: The hierarchy of the staff and employees is exclusively determined by the leaderboard presided by the CEO and staff of his choice, independent of caste, physical strength or other achievements. Any kind of physical fighting to determine leadership or assert dominance is absolutely prohibited and will result in immediate annulation of c-contract.’” His voice faltered on the last word, and Jaehwan could almost see how his hopes and dreams fell and shattered on the floor under his chair.“I don’t assume your condition is merely an elaborate make-up act or was brought upon you by an unfortunate tumble down a flight of stairs; am I right?”Wonshik wasn’t able to look up.“No, Sir… I mean, yes, Sir. You’re right, Sir.”The CEO ignored him.“Jeojung, second point!”The addressed trainee clenched his hands to fists under the table.“Point Four of the company’s regulation: Independently of the hierarchy established by the leaderboard, all individuals are equal under the company’s regulation. Any discrimination, be it based on caste, gender, religion, race or other, will -depending on severity of the offense- result in consequences ranging from salary deductions, over suspension, to immediate annulation of contract.”CEO Hwang nodded slowly.“I see the ability to read is there. Now we’re coming to test the ability to understand. Hajoon, which parts of these two points seem to be the matter that make them hard to understand?”Hajoon averted his gaze.“None, Sir.”CEO Hwang hummed.“Right. I didn’t think so, either. I was actually quite sure we’d kept the regulations clear enough to be understood even with minimal brain capacity. Which makes it absolutely un-understandable to me how, despite the clarity of these regulations, it was possible for Hakyeon here to come home last night to find three of you involved in a blood-drawing fistfight, while two more felt the need to be hiding out from them in a god damned linen closet!” His voice increased minimally in volume, but the weight of the words rained down on them like violent slaps to their faces.Silence answered him for a moment, before Jeojung piped up.“It wasn’t our fault, Sir. The omega went into heat out of his room, there was nothing we could do-…”“What?! Jaehwan wasn’t even in full heat yet, but you didn’t even let us through to get him to his room-”“Hongbin, sit down!” CEO Hwang interrupted, and Hongbin sat back down, not even having noticed that he’d gotten up in the first place. He was still fuming, though.“Jaehwan, why were you not in your room when you were going into heat?”Jaehwan felt his heart stop, speeding up immediately afterwards.“I-I-… I didn’t know-… I wasn’t due for another week and a half, and I didn’t feel anything… I was washing the dishes with Hongbin when he noticed it was starting. And then I wanted to get back to my room, but-…” He broke off.“But what, Jaehwan?” CEO Hwang urged on, and Jaehwan wanted to hide under the table. He swallowed heavily.“Everyone… almost everyone was in the living room, and I-… I was scared. Hongbin went to try and get everyone out without raising suspicion, but-… Not everyone left. When I left the kitchen-… I couldn’t reach my room.”The CEO nodded slowly.“You weren’t let through?”Jaehwan sunk in on himself further.“No, Sir…”“Who blocked your way?”Jaehwan bit his lip, trying to avoid everyone’s gazes while he’d much rather bite his own tongue off than denounce the alphas in question. He had no choice, though.“Jeojung, Hajoon and Wonshik, Sir.”A loud bang had him jump as Jeojung jumped up and hit the table with his flat hand.“This is ridiculous! What even is the purpose of all this? What’s the point of having an omega around at all when we’re not allowed to use him even when he’s in heat?! He’s an omega, for crying out loud, he’s supposed to please us!”For the first time, they heard the CEO growl, the tone deep and low and more dangerous than any of them had ever heard, making Jeojung sit down quickly, bowing his head.“The point of having Jaehwan training for this company is for him to become not just an outstanding singer, but an all-round well versed performer; as in stage performer, with the focus on his singing, dancing, performing, acting and entertaining skills. Just like the rest of you. His caste is of no relevance to any of those points, and he is in no way supposed to do anything beyond that.”Jeojung wasn’t backing down completely just yet, though, gathering some form of courage from somewhere once again to confront CEO Hwang.“Maybe not as employee of this company, but according to the laws of nature-”It was the CEO’s turn to slam his hand onto the surface of the table, fixing Jeojung with a scathing glare that had him shrink back in his seat real quick again.“According to the laws of nature it is an alpha’s first and foremost duty to protect those weaker than them! Without expecting anything in turn, and never to exploit or force themselves upon them!” He leveled his glare on each and every single one of them before standing back up straight with a sigh.“Jeojung. Hajoon. Wonshik. I expect you to return to the dorms and pack your things. You are no longer trainees of Jellyfish Entertainment. The rest of you, you have an English class to attend. I expect you to work hard.” He turned to leave, but someone spoke up, halting him in his steps.“Sir, may I say something…?”CEO Hwang turned around with a questioning look, his expression impassive but not unkind.“Yes, Nakhun?”Nakhun cleared his throat.“As far as I understood, Hongbin and Jaehwan were hiding in the linen closet, but… there is no way to keep the closet closed from inside. If someone had wanted to get to them, there would have been nothing stopping them… Unless someone outside the closet had kept them from it.”The CEO furrowed his brow.“What are you trying to say, Nakhun?”Nakhun shifted in his seat.“What I’m trying to say is… That fight, it happened because someone was trying to hold the other two back from getting to the closet in the first place. That someone being Wonshik.”A surprised murmur went through the room, mixed with a scoff or two and Wonshik’s own soft mumble as he shook his head.“Let it go, Nakhun…”The CEO cleared his throat, and silence returned to them.“Is that true, Wonshik?”Wonshik didn’t lift his head.“Yes, Sir. It doesn’t change that I fought, though, Sir.”CEO Hwang walked back to his spot at the head of the table, motioning everyone to sit down again.“You are right, it doesn’t. And it also doesn’t change that you stayed in the living room and blocked Jaehwan from getting to his room, either. May I know why?”Wonshik averted his gaze sheepishly to the table in front of CEO Hwang instead of looking at the man himself.“I heard Taekwoon mutter something about heat earlier last night when he passed me as I was leaving the bedroom. I figured it obviously had to do with Jaehwan, though I couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary myself. Later, Hongbin went and tried to convince everyone to leave the living room with some excuses, and Nakhun and Daewon left, but Hajoon and Jeojung stayed. I’d… I’d noticed before that they acted weird around Jaehwan sometimes and got worried they might do something-… something. I thought that Hongbin alone might not have much of a chance to defend Jaehwan if it came to it, so I stayed. I wasn’t trying to block Jaehwan from reaching his room, and I’m very sorry that I ended up giving that impression and may have become the reason any of this happened.”CEO Hwang rose a questioning eyebrow, humming to himself.“Hm… Interesting. Jaehwan, Hongbin, can you confirm what Wonshik claims? Has there been… ‘weird behaviour’ from the parties in question? What about the fight, how much of it could you follow from inside that closet?”Jaehwan let out a pained moan, hating his position with a passion at the moment. It was Hongbin who eventually answered.“Hajoon goes along with whoever chooses to pick on Jaehwan; first Jon, now Jeojung. And Jeojung has been practically eye-fucking -sorry, Sir- Jaehwan since day one whenever Hakyeon isn’t around, to the point Jaehwan has been hiding from him in empty rooms and bathroom stalls, which he’s found it funny to trap him in by waiting in front of the door. As for the fight… I-… I don’t know exactly. Wonshik might be saying the truth… No one came close to opening the door until Hakyeon arrived, that much is true.”Jaehwan nodded, silently agreeing with Hongbin.“When I came home, Wonshik had Jeojung and Hajoon cornered on the opposite end of the dorm from the closet…” Hakyeon interjected quietly, and CEO Hwang stroked his chin in thought.“Wonshik is a fucking fool who’s been having a massive puppy crush on that piece of omega ass from the very first day and has never learned how to share, that’s what’s fucking going on!” Jeojung eventually spat, rising from his chair so forcefully it tilted over and clattered to the floor. “I’m fucking done here! Fired or whatever, I’m leaving. I’m not here to have an omega dangled in front of my face day after day and not be allowed to even fucking touch it! What kind of bullshit…!” He stormed out of the room, rudely shoving past Daewon and Nakhun and distracting everyone from the flush that covered Wonshik’s face in the span of a few seconds.Out of seemingly nowhere, a security guard appeared in the door just as Jeojung reached it, securing the trainee with a few expert moves and keeping him from leaving.“I think… Oh, for heaven’s sake! Wonshik, go see the doctor for now. You two…” He pointed at Hajoon and the lightly struggling Jeojung. “I still want you out of my sight as fast as possible. Go pick up your things and return whatever you’ve been given that belongs to the company to my office afterwards. And the rest of you, to that English class! Now! Jaehwan… One word, please.”He dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and once again chairs scraped against the floor while the security man escorted both Jeojung and Hajoon out. Jaehwan stayed behind with CEO Hwang, anxiously chewing on his lips and shifting restlessly on his feet. When the door closed behind the last of the leaving alphas, CEO Hwang sighed.“Jaehwan… I am aware that it has been out of your control, but… Has your heat cycle always been this irregular?”Jaehwan shook his head, avoiding the CEO’s gaze.“No, Sir. It’s always been regular before…”CEO Hwang hummed.“Have our doctor figure out why it has become irregular, then. And a way to detect your heat with enough anticipation to avoid incidents like that of last night. Oh, and one more thing, Jaehwan…”Jaehwan, who had nodded at the first part of the CEO’s orders, looked up fearfully.“It is not your fault that these trainees had to leave -I am actually quite grateful you’re helping me weed out the foul ones- but it doesn’t change that that means I’ve lost three very talented trainees so far. I expect you to train hard and give your everything -and more!- to help make up for it; understood?”Jaehwan’s heart sank, but he nodded.“Good. Now, off with you to that English class, too!”Jaehwan bowed hastily and hurried out of the room and down the hallways, trying to catch up to the rest of the group. He almost made it, slipping inside the room they used for language classes just as everyone else was sitting down. Hakyeon gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head, keeping his gaze down.Later that day when they had a small break, though, Hakyeon took both Hongbin and Jaehwan aside into a small, empty practice room.“I’ll have you know that I still expect an explanation of what the hell you two were doing- actually, no, I know very well what the hell you were doing, but I would still like to know what the hell you were thinking!”Both Hongbin and Jaehwan avoided each other’s and Hakyeon’s gazes. Hongbin was still the first who spoke up, though.“I’m sorry… I… I gave in without thinking, I-”“It’s not Hongbin’s fault!” Jaehwan interrupted him, gaining surprised looks from both Hongbin and Hakyeon. He stammered a little.“It’s not. I-… My heat came faster with all those heated alpha pheromones around, and I just… Hongbin tried to resist, but it got too much for me, and I wanted Hongbin to kiss me. And more. And I don’t regret anything.”Hakyeon gaped at Jaehwan, and Hongbin didn’t look any less surprised. Jaehwan cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting a little uncomfortably on his feet and crossing his arms in front of his chest.“What? You have no idea how hard a heat can be on a person. Hongbin kissing me was helping, and if I had to go back, I would do everything just the same. It was the best thing I had ever happen to me in a heat so far!”Hakyeon chuckled incredulously, without any humour, and rubbed a hand over his face, while Hongbin simply stared at Jaehwan, a light blush creeping up his face before a very content grin started to settle on his lips as well.Looking from one to the other, Hakyeon groaned, sounding defeated.“Oh, for fuck’s sake… Listen, I-… If you’re in this together, then I really don’t fucking care what the two of you do behind closed doors, but… It’s not going to start during a heat. Suppressants or not, Jaehwan is still under the influence of the heat and not thinking clearly in that aspect.”“I am thinking clearly!” Jaehwan started to protest, but Hakyeon quelled it with a simple raised hand.“You’re not. At this point you would agree to be fucked by almost everyone if told the right things, even me-”“I’d agree to be fucked by you any day, not just in heat!”Hakyeon sputtered, gasped, and stumbled over his words, while Hongbin laughed out loud at Jaehwan’s interruption.“No, you’d not! This is you in heat speaking, and not the normal, rational you, Jaehwan! You would never even think to say something like that if you weren’t in heat! Holy shit, Jaehwan, what-… Ah, forget it! You’re not going to sleep around or- or kiss around, or anything during this heat. If the two of you still-… Well, agree to some arrangement or something after this is over and before the next, then fine, but not this time! Hongbin, I expect you to be the responsible one here, did you hear me? This is not funny!”Both Hongbin and Jaehwan chuckled at Hakyeon’s flustered form, and Hakyeon groaned.“I hate you. Both of you. Come, out with you, we have practice in two minutes!”Hakyeon shoved them out of the door into the hallway, and then brushed past them, towards the dance practice room.Hongbin and Jaehwan stayed behind, though, sobering up slowly as Hongbin turned to Jaehwan with a questioning look.“Why did you tell Hakyeon you wanted me to kiss you? You didn’t-… I mean, I didn’t ask, before-…”Jaehwan shrugged.“Because it’s the truth. You may not have asked, but I wanted you to kiss me anyway. I wasn’t resisting you, was I?”Hongbin scratched the back of his neck.“Well, no, but… Your heat was hitting pretty hard, and…”“And I would have resisted anyone else who would have tried to kiss me, or even just hold me… Except Hakyeon, actually; I was serious about that.”Hongbin gaped at him, and Jaehwan punched his upper arm.“Don’t look at me like that! He’s hot; both of you are! And I’m just a simple, but very horny guy, ok? Come, we’re getting late, and I’d rather not have Hakyeon skin us alive.” He grabbed Hongbin’s hand and dragged him after him towards the practice room. Hakyeon shot them both a warning look, just before the dance instructor entered the room as well.They worked hard, and as the day progressed, it became harder and harder on Jaehwan as the suppressants’ effect lessened. By the time they went back to the dorm, Jaehwan was ready to puke, or pass out, or jump something; or all of the above. He ended up settling for a shower, ate just the bare minimum for dinner, and then made to retreat to his room, when a call stopped him.“Jaehwan…!”Jaehwan froze; it was Wonshik, and he was approaching him.He took a deep breath, locating Hongbin and Hakyeon with his gaze, and finding both of them watching the exchange closely already. He relaxed a little, reassured that the two alphas he trusted wouldn’t let Wonshik do anything… inappropriate to him.He couldn’t have been more confused if Wonshik had suddenly sprouted a second head, though, when the alpha suddenly dropped to his knees in front of him, bowing deeply until his head touched the floor.“W-what-…?” He stammered, but he didn’t get further before Wonshik started talking.“I’m sorry, Jaehwan. I never meant to scare you or make you uncomfortable, and I realize I did both yesterday. I offer you my most sincere apologies, and I can only hope you will accept them.”Jaehwan gaped at the alpha on the floor, opening and closing his mouth like a fish on land as a fierce wave of heat washed over him and his mind swam.“I-I… Get up, Wonshik, please. I-… I don’t know, I-… Just get up! I- I accept your apologies, just- don’t do something weird like this ever again, please!” He turned around then and rushed towards his room, letting the door close behind him with a loud bang.He didn’t see how Wonshik sat up and back on his feet, looking after him forlornly, nor how Taekwoon patted his shoulder once as he walked past the still kneeling alpha, nor the amused look Hongbin trailed from Wonshik to his door to Hakyeon, and neither how Hakyeon rolled his eyes as if praying to the heavens above and then slumped forward, letting his head thump against the surface of the table with a groan.All Jaehwan was aware of was his heat, and that same knotting feeling in his stomach that overcame him every time he caught Wonshik looking at him from afar. He groaned, collapsing onto his futon, and prepared himself mentally for another night spent awake and frustrated. If only Hongbin-… He groaned again, turning to bury his head in his pillows as the thought alone was enough to let another heat-wave wash over him.Damn Hakyeon; damn him straight to hell!