Belated Bloom - Lay (EXOxLay)

Not So Secret

~ Debut ~

Yixing hated lying- it was a horrible nasty tool of vile, deceitful people. He hated it with every fiber of his being- it wasn't in his nature to lie.

Okay so maybe he might have told a fib or two when he was like six or something - but that didn't really count! It usually involved candy, and when candy is involved, all bets are off!
But this lie was special- it made him a beta to the rest of the world- and none of them would ever assume he could be anything else now. Lying was the only option he was given to continue to be apart of Exo- he had to be something to continue on, and Nons? They were the opposite- they are nothing.

Nons are viewed as failures to society. Like lepers they have historically been cast aside, by every culture- though, none of the others had lived in an era as accepting as he did now in the modern age he doubted he would be the one to change all that. and truthfully, he didn't want to! He just wanted to live happily with his family and Exo.

And it is such a rare condition that Nons aren't even considered a minority (one appearing maybe every 50 years or more). Nons are a gruesome rarity to the public- a faulty gene that no one wanted in their pack. Plus, historically Nons couldn't even function correctly to join a pack even if they wished; they were useless, scentless, and emotionally bland.

This sometimes confused him, he's sure at his age he would be considered a Non...but he could still smell scents, and had no social problems- if anything he was too passionate (for example his stupid back issues from over-training, or hugging Sehun too tightly when he acted just too darn cute not to be hugged to death!)...it was all a mess, but for now he had at least one solution- SM's beta facade.

Untested (AKA banned by most countries and denounced as dangerous to the public) black market pheromones - a few drops in his bath, twice a month, and PRESTO! SM had their new beta.

Sure, he knew it was untested but he needed this- he dreamed one day he could join a pack (preferably his Exo boys) but for that he needed a subgender. So, this was the solution, or "the bath from hell" as he so fondly dubbed his pheromone treatments.

The 'bath from hell' was one of the most excruciatingly painful things Yixing had experienced in his young life; it felt like dipping yourself in acid instead of harmless water- it was like a thousand bugs eating away at his skin- burning his pores and suffocating his senses all at once. Seconds seemed like minutes, and the minutes seemed like hours of none stop agony.

His first treatment ... let's just say it didn't go very smoothly.

He withstood ten seconds of the mind-boggling pain before throwing himself out of the tub and onto the floor to rethink all of his life choices up until that moment. Why was he even doing this? Why was he torturing himself? He tried to convince himself that telling Exo the truth could never be as painful as this medieval fuckery. But he knew that wasn't true, the truth would be the end of his career- then 'bye bye' Exo... the truth would hurt him and them more than the lie would, right?...at least that's what he kept telling himself.

He had to do this- take one for the team.

So he stepped back into that tub...whimpering the whole way. He wasn't proud of it but this was the only time he allowed himself to cry and scream in pain. Not just the physical pain but all of the emotional pain, all of the stress, all of the anxiety he'd been feeling the past year. The insane pressure he was under was immense and this was his tipping point, his breakdown, the most excruciating pity party ever.

In retrospect, it was the only time he would be able to make even a peep of pain during treatment- he would be back in the dorms soon which meant paper thin walls and nosey young roommates who could never know the truth.