𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫 || 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐖𝐨𝐧

Chapter 11

Wonwoo was glad for the distraction Mingyu provided him, whether that was running twice a day or boxing or whatever else the alpha had up his sleeve. For that first week, it was just about routine and trying to wear himself out, physically at least. The second week, things got a little more targeted. Mingyu would ask him to relive certain memories, the bad ones, and try to provoke that anger inside him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He looked from the alpha to the punching bag and crossed his arms.

“You can’t keep burying your feelings. If you do, they’ll have a stranglehold on you when you least expect them to. This way, you get a say in when and where.”

“But what if I lose control? What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t.”

“I punched you the last time.”

“I provoked you, and you weren’t trying to hit me.”

“Exactly. I was out of control, and you got hurt. It’ll happen again.”

Mingyu stepped forward, into his space. “I can handle myself. You need to trust that. Jun and Minghao are within earshot. If they hear us yell, they’ll come running.”

Wonwoo paced away from the alpha, uncomfortable with what he was being asked to do and unsettled in his own skin.

“Any memory?” Did Mingyu want him to dredge up the worst of them, the ones that kept him up at night?

“Something lower on the scale. Let’s not try to move mountains on our first try. You want to bring the memory to the fore, see how it makes you feel, and then use the punching bag to release those emotions.”

Wonwoo reluctantly walked back toward the alpha and the waiting bag. He lowered his hands to his sides, clenching his wrapped fists.

“Minhyun was always trying to trip me. It didn’t matter where we were or what was going on, he’d do whatever he could to knock me on my ass. And when he managed it, he’d call me ‘clumsy omega’ really loudly, so everyone around would hear and look our way while I picked myself up. I was constantly on edge around him, waiting for the next time he stuck his foot out. My concentration was always divided between what we were doing and what he was doing.”

“What did the rest of your team do?” Mingyu’s voice was impressively neutral, with no sense of judgment or even anger on Wonwoo’s behalf.

“They looked on and laughed. Thought it was funny.”

“And how did that make you feel?”

Wonwoo stayed silent, turning his head away.

“Close your eyes,” Mingyu told him. “Play the memories over in your head and let yourself feel.”

He didn’t want to do it, his hands still held in tight fists. But he wasn’t going to get better if he didn’t try something. Mingyu had been right so far, and he needed to trust that the alpha knew what he was doing.

The memories rushed over him, and he let go of his tight hold on the feelings they brought forth, almost gasping as they swallowed him whole. Shame, embarrassment, fear, frustration. And beneath it all was a horrible, burning anger. He opened his eyes, his shoulders heaving, the furious energy pent up inside of him.

“Let it out, Wonwoo. The bag is right there.”

His body felt heavy with it, like he couldn’t move, but he knew if he didn’t, the anger would hurt all the more finding its own way out. He took a step forward, then another, raising his clenched fists. And then he started boxing. The energy peaked as he rained down punches on the heavy bag, sending it swinging away only to punch it again as it came back. Mingyu stepped around carefully and grabbed hold of it, steadying it for him.