The egregious antithesis

1. THE BUILD-UP

Chapter 1
THE BUILD-UP

Chan pushes open the door to the recording room. Jihoon and Jisoo are inside already, probably waiting for his arrival.

"Hi hyungs."

The maknae isn't surprised by the less-than-enthusiastic hums he gets in reply. It's not like they will be happy to see him after a long day. The producer must have been here for a while already as Seungcheol, Jisoo, Junhui and Seungkwan are recording their parts today too. Chan is the last one for the day.

"Alright Chan," Jihoon calls, not glancing up from the screen as he continues to tinker with the equipment before him and adjust the settings. "You have your lyrics?"

The beta has to blink into focus as heat crawls up his spine uncomfortably. He feels off. Has been since yesterday. He had no wish to pull himself out of bed today but he had a packed schedule. And being surrounded by people all day exposed him to an array of scents that resulted in a rapidly developing headache.

He is not particularly worried, as it's not the first time he is facing these bizarre set of symptoms. He knows the drill already. But it still leaves him feeling like shit each time it happens. The youngest's mind is seemingly swimming through thick, sticky honey so it takes him a few seconds longer to compute.

Jisoo is already frowning at him and the maknae startles with the realization that he is yet to answer. "Yes hyung."

Jihoon huffs haughtily and Chan tries to tell himself that the older has had a long day like him too. His uncooperative attitude won't help anyone. He needs to push past whatever he is feeling and get his head in the game instead of sulking like a child. He pulls out the papers from his bag before approaching the omega.

Jihoon wordlessly grabs them and passes them to the alpha, sitting beside him, as he continues to layer the part they have already recorded. The omega adjusts his position so his thighs rest over the American singer's lap. Jisoo pens down some changes on the lyric sheets, writing over Chan's pencilled scribbles.

The beta's heart thuds loudly against his ribcage as he watches the easy interactions between his mates. Why is it so difficult for all of them to deal with him? Is he that bad? What does he lack? Why can none of his lovers handle him with affection and gentleness as they do with each other?

Not the time to spiral Lee Chan, he scolds, scrunching his nose as his mates' scents tickle his senses.

Jisoo hands him the updated sheet to the beta who goes over the changes with Jihoon once before he is sent to the recording booth. It takes a few seconds longer to fix the mic and headphones, his movements uncharacteristically clumsy. He gives a thumbs up and the backing track starts to play as Jihoon counts him in.

He follows the beat and starts singing his part.

It fails.

And it fails.