Sunrise ||| Ateez

28

Jongho doesn't really care much for others. He's usually the quiet, timid type. He can come off as rude to most, but those that really know him, which is only his pack, know that he actually does show compassion and cares.

Especially here lately when it comes to San.

The beta has caught Jongho's eye ever since he joined this pack, but Jongho has never had the knowledge of what to say when it comes to showing someone you find interest in. San really did intrigue him, more than anyone has ever before. He's not sure why, but he'd like to find out.

The day San got hurt, Jongho has been trying to be there for him more and help him out. The first couple of times of him helping San stand, eat, write, anything were rough. The beta has a hard time trusting alphas, as far as Jongho knows, and snapped at him many times, "I don't need your help."

"Well clearly I'm the only one who is willing to stand up and help your sorry ass," Jongho growled back, and after that moment, San seemed to relax a bit more and allowed Jongho to help. It still took a few times before he became fully relaxed, not completely letting his guard down.

Bath time was where Jongho struggled the most.

With his crushed arm, San always had to wrap it up before getting in the shower and never allowed Jongho near him when he was naked. They've never hunted before together and they've never been around each other when they've shifted. It was almost as if San was self conscious of who seen him. One day, San struggled to wrap his arm in a plastic sack.

He growled and snarled as he tried to do it himself, eventually throwing the tape aside and getting up angrily to leave the room. Jongho followed him, grabbing the tape on his way and seeing the beta had set himself on the front porch of their house on the porch swing. Jongho clears his throat, San immediately turns to him before looking away, "What do you want?"

"To help," Jongho held up the tape and the bags, San snorts.

"I don't need your pity. Nor your help," San snaps.

"Really? Because I watched you fucking struggle to wrap your arm for thirty minutes San!" Jongho snarls back, noticing the way San whimpered and cowered away from Jongho's tone, "I'm.... I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help and you're not allowing anyone to help you. I'm willing to and you won't let me and it's just pissing me off at this point."

"I'm sorry," San whispers, before looking up at Jongho with his bright green eyes, "Can you....."

Jongho smiles slightly, nodding before sitting beside the beta and began taping the plastic around the cast. San was quiet the whole time, not saying anything until Jongho was done, "There."

"Thank you," San whispered again, swallowing, "I have a hard time depending on people.... with everything that has happened to me and I left, I..." San sighs, shaking his head.

"I know," Jongho whispered back, placing a gentle hand on San's shoulder. The beta flinches but relaxes almost instantly, "Sounds like both of our pasts weren't the greatest."

San snorts, "Your past couldn't have been as bad as mine."

"Really?" Jongho arches his eyebrow, "You never have given me a chance to tell you. So really, we don't know one another yet we think we do."

San was silent as he sighs, biting his lip, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Jongho chuckles, nudging San a little as he stands, "Quit saying sorry, come on let's go bathe you." San narrows his eyes and Jongho laughs as he holds a hand out for San, leading him inside.

****

The morning after Wooyoung and Seonghwa encountered the bear, the couple came out of their room with content smiles and fresh marks on their necks. Jongho's eyebrow raises at Seonghwa's fresh mark on his neck, "Hey, nice mark."

"Thank you," Wooyoung smiles, wrapping his arms around his alpha and Seonghwa bursts out into a smile, "I say his neck looks perfect with a mark on it."

"Only if it's yours," Seonghwa smiles, leaning down and kissing his mate.

Jongho nearly rolled his eyes but out of the corner of them he seen San's hurt expression before he leaves quickly. The other two didn't notice San's departure as Yeosang brought in their daughter, who was reaching for them and whining for her mother. Jongho makes his escape and follows the beta outside where he's on the porch swing again.

San sighs, "I knew you'd follow me."

"What's going on?" Jongho asks, "are you upset that they're finally mated?"

"Yes," San snaps, "I can't believe Wooyoung was so quick to forgive Seonghwa after everything he's done to him-"

"It's the humane thing to do San," Jongho interrupts, "Sure it's going to be a touchy subject for both but it's all in the past. They've moved on. Maybe you need to do the same damn thing with your past alpha that hurt you."

San stands abruptly, "You don't know anything about my past alpha! You don't know about the beatings and the rapes, or the fact because of him I lost my baby!!" Jongho's eyes widen and San sobs, "You know absolutely fucking nothing!!"

"You're right I don't," Jongho stops San from trying to leave, the beta tries to break away from him but Jongho grabs him and makes him face him, "But I do know this, you can either dwell on it for the rest of your life or you can fucking move on with someone that can make you happy."

San bit his lip before grabbing Jongho's face in his hands and bringing their lips together in a heated kiss. Jongho was froze at first as San moves his lips against his, eventually he melts into the kiss and holds San close. San pulls away and his eyes widen as he shakes his head, "I'm sorry, I-I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay," Jongho admits, pulling away, "We both need to move on from our pasts it sounds like."

"What do you mean?" San asks, frowning slightly.

Jongho sighs, "When I was little, and it was a while back ago when this happened, I was kidnapped from my pack and taken as a slave." San was about to say something but Jongho stops him, "It was them. The bears."

"I... they kidnapped you?" San whispers, his eyes widen.

"Slaughtered everyone I knew and took me and a couple other children. Many of them were used for sex, majority of them were used for labor. The couple I was sold to just used me for labor, but I slept in a kennel with no blanket, no pillows, nothing. And we were all kept away from one another, in case we were to plot against them all."

San looks down, before looking up at Jongho and cupping his cheek with a soft hand, "I'm sorry."

Jongho turns into the hand and takes in a deep breath, "I never learned to control my wolf or instincts. None of us did. Many of them were killed if they so much as showed any defiance to the bastards. One night, before they put me in my kennel, one of them had just finished beating me with a stick they were using to poke and prod at the fire place. My wolf took over and I killed them before they could even process what was going on. Luckily, it was just the two of them. I wouldn't be able to take down a whole clan."

San didn't say anything as Jongho finished his story, and the beta smiles softly before wrapping his arms around Jongho and sighing, "We sound like we're a fucked up pair."

Jongho chuckles, "You're telling me."

****
Written by jinjin0309