Yu-jun

“Move,” I order, my tone dry and cold as I glare at the students sitting at Sota’s table at Chikara Bar.

As the losers rush to obey, Sota frowns at my friends and me. “What are you doing? Why are you kicking my friends out?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” I scoff, sitting next to him while Eiji takes the seat beside me, Riku across from me, and Samuel and Min-ji sit on either side of Riku.

“Not for me,” Sota replies, his brows still furrowed. “Why are you even here? I thought you hated these gatherings—so much so that you’ve never attended one before.”

Staring into his eyes, I remark, “There is always a first time for everything—especially when you are involved.”

As Sota continues to gaze at me intensely—probably trying to figure out my intentions for showing up at this dump today—the shocked chattering from the crowd in the bar reaches my ears, irritating me.

“Eeek! I can’t believe the Yu-jun Yoon and his group of elite Alphas are here.”

“I’m so excited! This is the best gathering ever.”

“It’s my first time seeing the Elite Alphas up close. They’re all so gorgeous.”

“Do you think Yu-jun is here to keep an eye on his boyfriend?”

“Duh. That’s a given. Sota is super handsome, and most people would give anything to get under him in bed.”

“Yu-jun is the most handsome person I’ve ever seen! I want him to mark me so badly.”

“It’s the first time the Elite Alphas have come to one of our department’s gatherings.”

“No wonder everyone can’t take their eyes off them and is so excited.”

“It’s a bummer they don’t interact with anyone who isn’t in their elite group; otherwise, I’d be sitting on one of their laps by now, trying to drag them to a love hotel.”

“Can you believe that five of the most influential and promising young people in Asia are sitting right in front of us? Yu-jun Yoon is the heir to the Yoon Group, Eiji Akagi is the second son of the head of the Akagi Group, Riku Akabane is the son of that super famous fashion designer and that actor who’s won so many awards, Samuel Davis’ father is one of the executive directors of the Yoon Group, and Min-ji Kim’s mother is the chief marketing officer of the Yoon Group while her father is also an executive director. Could they be any more amazing?”

“Argh. I already want to get out of this garbage dump,” I grumble, regretting coming here.

“But why are you here? You haven’t explained your motives yet,” Sota presses, eyeing me suspiciously.

Eiji, without missing a beat, blurts out, “He’s here to take care of you and your rut.”

I let out a low groan, holding myself back from punching the idiot in the stomach. Although Sota doesn’t mind my friends’ teasing about our past and current relationship, I feel uncomfortable whenever they imply there is something sexual happening between us, especially since he is far from being one of my disposable sexual partners.

Sota stares at me, wide-eyed. “Is that true, Yuu? Did you come to this thing you absolutely despise just because I’m here?”

As I look at him, debating how to respond, he suddenly smiles fondly and chuckles, his eyes shimmering with what looks like love—though I don’t dare believe it because there is no way he loves me.

“Anyway, let’s order our drinks and food because I’m starving,” Riku interrupts, his stomach growling loudly on cue as if to back up his words.

“Do you want more beer and grilled chicken, Sota? Don’t worry about the bill,” I offer, smiling.

“Yes, please,” he replies, draining his mug of beer before shoving the remaining grilled chicken into his mouth—almost choking in the process.

“Calm down.” I chuckle, finding him adorable. “Don’t choke and die on me now.” I wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

“Just get married already, lovebirds,” Samuel teases, propping his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand. “You are all lovey-dovey whenever you are together, and it’s kind of irritating since neither of you will admit you are in love with the other.”

Sota and I immediately avert our eyes, choosing silence in response to his teasing and the rest of the group’s chuckles.

“Excuse me,” a girl says as she and two others—a girl and a boy—approach our table.

My friends and I exchange glances before deliberately ignoring them, our expressions hardening in unison.

The girl dares to touch my upper arm while insisting in a suggestive voice, “Yu-jun, can we sit with you? We’d love to get to know you and your friends.”

Disgusted, I slap her hand away without hesitation, making her cry out in pain as she stumbles back.

Samuel scoffs before barking, “How dare you talk to us? What gave you the impression that you could simply approach and speak as if we were acquaintances? You are nothing but a bunch of filthy commoners.”

“Don’t release your pheromones,” Sota suddenly whispers in my ear, his hot breath catching me off guard.

I exhale sharply, forcing myself to stay calm. If I let my oppressive, aggressive pheromones loose, these three pieces of garbage would be on their knees, submitting to me regardless of their second gender.

“Get out of here,” Riku thunders, his voice shaking the room and scaring the shit out of everyone in the bar, including the staff.

The three students bolt back to their table, trembling and crying—a clear warning to anyone else foolish enough to try approaching us. At least now, no one will dare interrupt us again.

“Why are you all so rude? Can’t you be a little friendlier?” Sota scolds, visibly upset by our behavior. He always yells at us whenever we put those lowborns in their place.

“Why would we be friendly toward those things?” Eiji laughs, flicking his hand in a dismissive gesture. “It’s not like hurting their precious feelings will affect our lives in any way.”

Samuel, Min-ji, Riku, and I nod in agreement, our shared disdain for those outside our world speaking for itself.

Sota sighs. “It’s funny how you’re all nice to me when I’m one of those commoners you look down on so much.”

Min-ji chuckles. “That’s because you are the one our Yuu has chosen as his official partner.”

Sota frowns, turning to face me, suspicion and hesitation clouding his eyes. “Official partner? How many partners do you have?”

I shoot Min-ji a murderous glare before turning back to him, my lips curving into a gentle smile as I reply, “Min-ji must be referring to my sexual partners, though I wouldn’t exactly call them that because I tend to sleep with them once and never acknowledge their existence again.”

His frown deepens. “I’m aware of your wild sex life, but isn’t your official partner Ai Sato? Everyone knows you’ve been engaged since you and I broke up in high school.”

“The mere mention of that Omega’s name pisses me off. I don’t know how you can speak so calmly about her when she is one of the reasons we broke up,” I grumble, scowling.

He shrugs. “Meh. It’s not like I can pretend she doesn’t exist when she’s in movies I like and on social media. There was a time when I absolutely hated her for breaking us up, but I’ve already dealt with my emotions and am fine now. Besides, being tied to the past won’t change the present or the future. I might as well just move on and carry the lessons I’ve learned.”

“What do you intend to do when your rut starts? You were relying solely on suppressants until last month, but your doctor told you to hold off on them from now on and endure it with a partner, right?” I shoot him a side glance, doing my best not to sound or look anxious.

“Are you offering to spend his rut with him, Yuu?” Min-ji teases, smiling mischievously.

“I bet Yu-jun bribed Sota’s doctor to stop him from taking the suppressants so he can finally make a move on him,” Eiji jokes, laughing.

Riku jumps on the “let’s-make-fun-of-Yu-jun bandwagon” and adds, “And I bet he’s got like three packages of condoms and two tubes of lube in his car, just in case Sota’s rut starts before they get to the hotel.”

I glance at Sota, worried that my friends are crossing the line. To my relief, he is blushing and chuckling while listening to the teasing. I don’t know if he is already drunk and doesn’t fully understand what they are implying or if he just doesn’t care that they might be right about me being his partner during his rut.

It’s complicated and confusing. A part of me wants to take the risk and offer to spend his rut with him at the hotel, which, in my opinion, would be a win-win situation—I would get to have sex with someone I am comfortable with, and Sota would get to spend his rut with someone he knows. But… I cannot do it. My mind keeps telling me not to get romantically or sexually involved with him again. I’d rather ask one of my friends to help him than do it myself. I don’t want him being with some loser from uni, but I don’t think I would mind if he got with Eiji or any of the other three.

“I wouldn’t mind spending my rut with you, Yuu,” Sota suddenly declares, causing my friends to torment us more.

I gape at him, stunned and speechless, unable to come up with a proper response. Although I know in the back of my mind I should clarify things and tell him I am here just to stop him from doing anything stupid with some loser, I cannot bring myself to utter a word.

“Good. Our drinks are finally here,” Min-ji exclaims, clapping her hands at the sight of the waitress placing more beer, sake, soft drinks, skewers of grilled chicken, tuna-mayo salad, white rice, fried potatoes, and fried fish on the table.

“For such a trashy place, the food isn’t half bad,” Riku sneers, tentatively bringing a piece of fried fish to his mouth.

“Let’s have some fun, then. Cheers, everyone.” Eiji raises his glass of soft drink and clinks it against ours as we cheer to kick off our Friday night.

* * *