The egregious antithesis

Pro. THE BEGINNING

Prologue
THE BEGINNING

Chan drops onto the floor unceremoniously when Soonyoung calls for a break.

They had been practising the choreography for hours and although they had made undeniable progress everyone was tired. Having that elevated level of accuracy and synchronisation, which Seventeen is known for, requires a lot of hard work behind the scenes. So long hours in the practice room is nothing new for Chan.

Minghao walks over to the sound system to stop the music before Junhui grabs his hand to lead him to sit and Seungcheol passes the omega his own water bottle, having only finished half of it. Jeonghan is sitting beside him, head tucked into the leader's neck with the other's arm wrapped firmly around his waist.

Chan isn't sure why he does it, but he runs his gaze across the rest of the practice room. All the members are sprawled out through the large space in pairs or trios. All the alphas are fawning over the omegas, ensuring they hydrate and are all alright after the rigorous practice.

Soonyoung softly apologises to Seungkwan for being harsh while teaching, the omega huffing in annoyance but melting into his hug regardless. Mingyu and Seokmin are busy annoying Hansol, determined to not let the youngest alpha close his eyes for a moment's rest. Jihoon, on the other hand, is halfway asleep with his head on Jisoo's lap. The alpha is in some discussion with Wonwoo who brushes his fingers through the producer's hair unconsciously.

There's a familiar pang and Chan's heart constricts. This is a customary scene in Seventeen. The four omegas of the group are perfect in every way, so it's justifiable that the group's alphas are so attentive and protective of them.

After all, as an alpha, it is their duty to safeguard and nurture their omegas. That is their primal instinct, part and package of their basal urges. It is genetics and anatomy.

The fact that the same instincts don't transfer over to Chan is not a newfound discovery. He had noticed it long back - the debut lineup had been confirmed by Pledis first and it was decided that the members would be a pack and everyone had received the mating mark from Seungcheol on turning 18 and presenting - that the tenderness his alphas have for the four omegas is not something that he has had the pleasure of being subjected to.

And why should he?

Chan's sub-gender is a beta.

Not only is the purpose and position of a beta in a traditional pack a bit ambiguous (raising the question of their importance and need in the first place), but their numbers have become scarcer with the passing of time. Currently, approximately 20% of the werewolf population consists of betas and the number is on the decline. Survival of the fittest has chewed and thrown them out of the gene pool.

And with the falling census and social prejudice, it is predictably the least known and researched about sub-gender too. The maknae remembers the anticlimactic letdown he faced back when he had freshly presented as he tried to read more about betas to barely find much information other than the basic, well-known facts.

It has made things difficult because he had spent years since his presentation trying to figure out and understand what his inner wolf wants and needs. He is still unsure whether he has everything figured out yet. There are still sides and aspects of him, both physically and mentally, that leave him scratching his head. If it is due to him being a beta or just part of who he is, he doesn't know.