[Book III] The price of happiness [ENGLISH]

Chapter 1: In front of you

No TW

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Hyunjin looked at his reflection in the mirror of the dance training room. Sweat had impregnated his clothes, making scattered dark spots on his loose top. His hair, once tied in a sloppy bun, had gradually escaped from the elastic and fell in waves on his shoulders. He took a deep breath, before moving and grabbing the water bottle at the foot of the wall, quenching the thirst due to the practice.

He finally picked up his stuff, deciding that this was enough for today. He had to return before the others worried about his disappearance. The young man covered himself properly, before leaving the building. The fresh wind of February attacked him immediately, making him shudder, while the sweat on his body cooled.

Outside, the street lights were already on, lighting the almost empty pavement. Taking a look at his phone, Hyunjin ignored the many messages from his pack to watch the time. He sighed when he saw that it was already almost 7:30 pm. He was going to miss dinner with the others again tonight. It's not like he's really planning on attending anyway.

The omega quickly typed a message for his pack alpha, telling him not to wait him for dinner and that he would come home late. Then he picked up his phone and began to walk slowly towards the house.

It had been almost a month since the attack on their pack and everything was back to normal. Or almost everything.

In a few days, his deal with Seungmin will end, and he still didn't know what to do. The beta had begun to put distance between them, not coming so much to huddle against Hyunjin and not looking for his company as in the past. The omega would be lying if he said he wasn't hurt by his behavior... He knew Seungmin was just trying to protect himself by acting like this. He knew that he had already given up on a possible them, especially since he had seen that Jeongin was interested in him.

The youngest, meanwhile, had also stopped making advances to Hyunjin. Since the omega had explained the situation to him at the New Year's Eve party, he had distanced himself slightly. Of course, they always interacted a lot, but Hyunjin could sense that there was now some kind of restraint on the part of the youngest. He had already expressed that he didn't want to impose himself on Hyunjin and that he preferred the omega to make a choice by himself rather than because of a stupid agreement.

He sighed, feeling overwhelmed. On the right hand, the boy he had loved for more than a year was fleeing him for what he thought was Hyunjin's good. On the other hand, the boy he had begun to appreciate had become passive, leaving the choice to Hyunjin.

It was impossible for him to make that choice. He was lost.

His phone almost indicated 9 pm when he finally reached the front of the house. The march had been useful and had allowed him to empty his mind. He passed through the door, finding the house silent, plunged into the dark. A breath that he didn't think to hold, escaped him. He didn't want to talk tonight and was relieved that his pack was somewhere else than in his path.

He already knew that Changbin and Felix were confined in the Alpha shed. Their period having begun the day before. He had watched with a mocking eye, Minho lecture them and give them all the contraceptives that their house possessed. Felix had listened wisely, while Changbin had wanted to flee the room throughout the discussion.

Minho and Jisung must have been in the eldest's room, which had become their room somewhat since Minho had been wounded. The omega hadn't really asked him to move his belongings, but Hyunjin assumed that Jisung had invested the room, in view of the capharnaüm which he had perceived from the corridor.