If You Think the Coffee Sucks, Wait Until You Meet the Owner
Chapter 3: Foster home situation

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A week passed with Yang Jeongin living in their apartment.

He fit in with them like he’d been made for it. Half the time, he played the straight man to their jokes and the other half, he egged them on with his wheezing, infectious laughter. He talked about comics and fashion with Jisung, video games and movies with Chan, and music with the both of them.  He was shaping up to be a huge fan of Jisung’s work and Jisung drank up the praise like a thirsty plant.  He seemed to be a genuinely sweet and considerate person and the longer he stayed, the more Chan liked having him around.

Not to say there were no issues.  From Jisung’s perspective, he kept getting ganged up on by two neat freaks who loved strict schedules and scolding him for leaving towels on the floor. Chan, meanwhile, no longer had the freedom to walk around stark naked or to play on Jisung’s computer throughout the night when he had insomnia. Jeongin undoubtedly had problems caused by the tight quarters too, but he was largely close-mouthed about them -- so much so that it was starting to make them fret about how he was actually doing.

There was one other issue with the lack of privacy and it wasn’t one Chan was proud of. He’d never thought of himself as a stereotypically carnal alpha; there were plenty of times when he was the one who only wanted to be held or wasn’t in the mood for sex. A week wasn’t even the longest they’d gone without since getting together, but he couldn’t deny he was getting… antsy. The fact that he was attracted to Jeongin and that Jeongin now smelled like both him and Jisung — like he belonged to them, with them — was not helping the situation.

He could tell Jisung was feeling it too. The stupid part was they could just ask Jeongin to leave for an hour or two. He was literally an adult; he was more than capable of amusing himself outside the apartment for an afternoon or whenever.  

But… well.  Chan couldn’t say that Jeongin was clingy, exactly, at least not in the physical affection sense, but he did seem to want to be around one or both of them all the time.  He even insisted on coming with them when they had another joint closing shift and spent the whole-ass nine hours cooling his heels in the coffee shop.  No one who wasn’t getting paid should want to do that.  He was so polite and accommodating that Chan knew if they did ask for alone time, he’d give it to them, but his clear reluctance to be on his own made them both unwilling to bring it up.

Which brought them to the situation they were in now.

“I don’t see why we can’t bring him along,” Chan said, barely audible over the patter of the shower, “I’m sure Binnie would adore him.”

“Binnie will go feral over him, that’s not what I’m worried about,” Jisung said, casually disrespectful with the man in question not present.  He turned around so he could rinse his hair, the water cascading down over his well-defined shoulders and chest.  Chan leaned back against the slick tiles to better enjoy the view.  “His parents are supposed to call him today.”

Chan hissed in a breath. “Ah, that’s right.”

“Yeah, so that’s gonna be a whole situation.” Jisung ran his hand through his hair a few times, slicking it back.  “I dunno if he plans to tell them this time or not.”

“He hasn’t told me either way,” Chan said.  He put his hands on Jisung’s slim waist and shuffled them around in the narrow shower stall until he was the one under the spray.  “It’ll be rough on him even if he doesn’t.”

“Right, which is why I don’t think we should take him out anywhere.”  Jisung picked up the conditioner and squeezed out a small dollop to work into the tips of his hair.  “Also like, Binnie-hyung’s a great guy, but he’s not, like…”  He paused, holding out both hands as if he was cradling a watermelon in them. “Warm.  Approachable.”

Chan wiped shampoo and water out of his eyes and made a maybe-yes-maybe-no noise.  He didn’t recall finding Seo Changbin all that unapproachable.  He was more mischievous and rowdy than anything else.  Which, Chan supposed, could be off-putting to some people.  He found it charming, personally.

“I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s good idea to introduce them when Jeongin’s having a time of it.”

Jisung had a point and of the two of them, he was the one who’d known Changbin the longest.

“Mmmaybe,” Chan conceded. He held onto to Jisung’s hips to switch them around this time, pressing his thumbs into the divots alongside his hip bones. “Or we can ask Jeongin and see which he prefers.”

“Tch," Jisung scoffed, “Sure, the reasonable option. Good ahead, make me look like the weird, clingy one.” He smacked his hand in the middle of Chan's pecs. “Listen.”

“Ow,” Chan said mildly.

“I wanted to see if you’d be willing to go without me before we asked Jeongin to make any decisions. Don’t,” he continued with another, much gentler smack, “Act like I’m the only one who’s anxious about leaving him alone.”

Chan wanted to argue that Jeongin was the only one of them anxious about him being alone, but now that Jisung had said it out loud… okay, yeah. Maybe Chan had been feeling uncomfortable with the thought of Jeongin being alone, too.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” Chan said, trapping Jisung’s hand against his chest and stepping forward to nuzzle apologetically under his jaw, “I can go see Binnie by myself if that’s what you want, but —”

He pulled back to meet Jisung’s eyes.

“— do you really want to be with Jeongin when his parents call?” He kept his words light, non-judgemental.

Jisung’s two modes for dealing with other people’s distress was either flippancy or panic, usually with crying involved. He meant well and he cared deeply, it was just hard for him to handle his own feelings and piling someone else’s on top of them made it worse. He found other ways of being supportive and at least in this case, he didn’t have to put himself on the spot if he didn’t feel equipped for it.

Jisung huffed a breath and, to Chan’s surprise, said, “I can handle Jeongin by myself.  We’ve been bonding, it’s fine.  What I don’t think I can handle is asking Binnie-hyung to hook me up with those producers of his.”

Chan’s eyes went wide.  “Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve decided to put him out of his misery,” Jisung said, the tight, tensed lines of his neck putting lie to his glib tone.

Changbin had been trying to get Jisung to work with ‘his’ music producers for nearly as long as Bang Chan had known either of them, but from the beginning of his pursuit of musical stardom, Han Jisung had gone it alone.  

Or to put it accurately, his then-untreated anxiety and lack of familial support had always made any sort of collaboration, audition, or live performance near impossible.  That he was able to find an outlet via the internet and build a decent audience that way was a testament to his dedication and hardwork.  Unfortunately, while he was staggeringly talented in many areas -- singing, songwriting, rapping, composing -- Jisung struggled with the mechanical process of layering together music samples and instrumentals into a cohesive track.  He’d been stuck playing melodies on his guitar or rapping to simple beats.  And he’d admitted to Chan more than once that it limited how far he could take his music alone.  Music was, in so many ways, a collaborative venture.

Then Seo Changbin -- long-time friend and music hobbyist with a surprising number of friends in the idol industry for a guy trying to become a detective -- came round with a couple backing tracks of indeterminate origin and convinced Jisung to try toplining for them. The resulting demos so impressed Changbin’s connections that they’d been wanting to hire Jisung to write songs for them ever since.

It was a good gig for okay money, but Han Jisung balked.  

What he’d really wanted was for producers to work on his music for him , but that required money he didn’t have.  Hiring himself out as composer and songwriter would mean giving up control of his work, passing it off to other artists to edit and change.  It’d mean being a faceless name in the credits while the Real Idols gained recognition and fame off his creations -- the exact opposite of what he’d always wanted.  The entire concept had given Jisung hives and no amount of Seo Changbin’s whining or Bang Chan’s advice had moved him.  

Until now, apparently.

“That’s exciting, yeah?” Chan shook Jisung’s shoulders lightly, trying to impart the giddiness he was feeling.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jisung said, limply letting himself be jostled under the shower spray, “At least I can give it a try and make some money while I’m at it.”

“Hmmm-hm,” Chan agreed with no small amount of smugness at hearing his own words echoed back at him, “And if turns out you hate it --”

“I can always quit, yes hyung, I know, you were right,” Jisung said and pulled Chan into a full body hug, tucking his nose against his alpha’s scent gland, “I’m going to try it, but even thinking about telling that to Binnie-hyung is making my heart explode. I can’t do it by myself. Either you do it with me or you do it for me, it’s your pick.”

“I’ll do it,” Chan promised softly. He wrapped his arms around Jisung’s warm, slippery wet body and pressed his nose into his scent gland, breathing him in. Like this, Chan could pick up the acrid stress-scent leaking off him through the smell of the water. 

“I’m happy to do it. I’m so happy you’re going to take this chance, baby. I’ll do anything to support you,” he said seriously and kissed Jisung’s neck.

Jisung shivered, despite the heat of the shower and their bodies, and his scent sweetened delightfully. Chan kissed him again, tasting skin and water.

Before things could go any further and they were tempted to test out the sound and scent proofing limits of the bathroom, the door slammed open. They both jumped.

“I can’t hold it any more!” Jeongin shouted.

Chan instinctively moved to open curtain, afraid there was an emergency, and was stopped by Jisung just in time for the sound of liquid splashing into the toilet bowl. Aaahh, oh no. He peeled off of Jisung and turned around to face into the back corner of the shower stall.

Jisung shoved him lightly and said, “Sorry, Innie, we didn’t mean to take so long.”

Technically, getting them both washed quickly had been their excuse for showering together in the first place, but they’d been so caught up talking, Chan was pretty sure they’d long since passed whatever time-saving benefit they’d might’ve achieved.

“I swear this baby has been sitting right on my bladder,” Jeongin whined, “I was two seconds away from peeing in the trash can.”

“I’m sorry,” Bang Chan wailed, all but curling up into a ball of cringing embarrassment. He was playing it up, but he was honestly mortified at nearly peeping on Jeongin and at blocking his bathroom access. “Innie, I’m sorry!”

Jeongin only gave a dramatic, put on sigh, refusing to indulge him.

“Oh my god,” Jisung said. Chan heard the shower curtain rustle as he presumably stuck his head out. “Dude seriously, next time just let us know before it's an emergency. We leave the door unlocked for a reason.”

The sink turned on and Jeongin said, “I didn’t want to kill Channie-hyung with embarrassment.”

Bang Chan fake-sobbed out another apology.  Jisung pushed him again.  Jeongin finished washing his hands and left, the door thudding closed behind him.

“How is he so polite and rude at the same time?” Jisung asked.

Chan laughed.  “It’s part of his charm. Now look.” 

He took hold of Jisung’s shoulders. They needed to get a move on, but he wanted to make sure they were on the same page first. Jisung obediently widened his eyes and stared intently into Chan’s face. It was endearing and annoying at the same time.

“The plan is, I’m going to go meet up with Changbin like we’d arranged last week.”

“Hm,” Jisung agreed, leaning into his face closer. His pretty dark eyes were so big like this.

“We’re going to give Jeongin the option to come with and if he says no, you’ll stay here with him. Either way, I’ll talk to Seo Changbin about getting you work doing toplines. Good?"

“Hmmmmm.” Jisung dragged it out, head tilting from side to side like he might protest, only to dart in and kiss Bang Chan between the eyes. “Yes, good.”

Plans confirmed, finished washing and left the shower. Jisung was still vibrating with anxiety, no less stressed despite off-loading the task of talking to Changbin, so Chan made a point of helping him dry off and apply lotion.The omega always responded well to skinship and was visibly calmer by the time they were once again clean, dry, and properly dressed.

In the end, Jeongin dithered so much over whether to stay in or go out with them that Jisung announced he’d rather stay home and hoped Jeongin would keep him company. Jeongin accepted with visible relief and Chan good-naturedly tolerated the smug smirk Jisung threw at him when Jeongin’s back was turned.

Chan made it downstairs and half-way around the block when his phone pinged with a text.  The computer at the coffee shop was acting weird and the part-timers couldn’t log in for their afternoon schedules.  Rather than try and troubleshoot over the phone, he changed course from the subway station and headed to the shop instead.  It took about 20 minutes and three resets before the system magically started working as usual.  Chan was just relieved he didn’t have to sacrifice the rest of his day to sitting on the phone with the help desk.

As he was leaving out the back door, a figure caught his eye. 

An alleyway stretched out behind the building, connecting all the businesses that were housed in it. The coffee shop's next door neighbor was a jewelry store that specialized in watch repairs, followed by an optometrist, and finally, on the opposite corner from the coffee shop, a cute little bakery.  The bakery’s brownies and cookies were to die for and Bang Chang would bet his right arm the reason his shop could never seem to sell that many brownies or cookies was because anyone with sense knew the bakery had the superior goods.

The figure Chan spotted was pacing around by the bakery’s back door, holding a mobile with one hand and chewing on the thumbnail of the other.  From a distance, he looked young and almost delicate in an oversized t-shirt, with a thin, boyish frame and a small face under an over-long mop of black hair. 

Chan had started seeing him back there about three or four years ago.  Not often, maybe only two or three times a month, at different times and on different days.  It’d taken Chan quite a few months to realize it was the same person every time.  He had to work for the bakery, but Chan had never seen him at the counter any of the times he’d gone round to check out the competition.  One of the bakers, maybe, or a stock clerk who only helped out occasionally, which would explain why Chan saw him so infrequently.

The guy completed another circuit around the alley and paused at the sight of Chan, his hand with the mobile wavering.  The two of them had never exchanged more than a few words of greeting or been close enough to smell each other through the haze of dumpster trash and cat pee that saturated the back alley, and not for lack of effort on Chan’s part.  Every time he tried to approach, the guy bowed and high-tailed back into the bakery.

Chan didn’t make a habit of forcing his company on people who didn’t want it, so with a twinge of regret for his perpetually unsatisfied curiosity, he stuck to waving from a distance.  The boy waved back and stood watching as Chan deliberately turned the other way to exit the alley.

He took the subway to the cafe they’d planned to meet Seo Changbin at. It was set in a sprawling open-air shopping center speckled with quaint little sitting areas and an array of potted blushes and small trees. The area was more upscale than Bang Chan’s usual stomping grounds, but since Changbin always insisted on treating them, he was the one who picked where they went. 

Changbin was already at a table when Chan arrived and stood to greet him.

All genders and dynamics had societal expectations for their appearance and behaviors.  Betas were no exception. Where omegas were supposed to be soft and diffident, betas were meant to be calm and self-assured, stepping in to handle any crisis with grace. The pinnacle of beta beauty was a tall, willowy figure, with long limbs and refined, mature-looking features.

Seo Changbin did not meet many of the usual beta beauty standards. He was on the short side and built more stocky than willowy.  His small eyes were heavy lidded and his long, sharp jawline and prominent chin were barely softened by full cheeks. It did tend to give him a dark, brooding appearance when he was at rest, so maybe Jisung had a point there.

But his body was, in a word, amazing. His commitment to fitness showed in the thick muscles that padded his shoulders, chest, and arms, giving him an imposing presence even when he was just sitting around.  Bang Chan had always had a fondness and appreciation for buff boys and Seo Changbin fit the bill nicely. Seeing his big bare arms and welcoming smirk was enough to have his heart fluttering.

“Hey man, sorry I’m late,” he said, taking Changbin’s hand and letting himself be reeled in for a shoulder bump and a mutual, friendly neck sniff.  

Changbin had accented his own robust scent with a perfume that smelled of fresh clean soap and obscured his pack’s scents.  He still lived at home with his birth pack, but he was too old to be claim-marked by his alpha-sire, so there was nothing to hide the fact that this cute beta Chan liked was single.  Chan sighed internally at the reminder.  There was no way Seo Changbin didn’t have alphas and whole packs lining up to court him and any one of them was bound to offer better prospects than Bang Chan the coffee shop manager.

When they parted, Changbin’s expression turned complicated. 

“Hyung,” he started and stopped, hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck.

Chan waited a moment, but he didn’t continue.  He’d have to speak up later if he needed to, because Chan was too excited about his news to hold it back any longer.

“Jisung-ah is sorry he couldn’t make it, but I’ve got something really, really great to tell you!”

“I can tell,” Changbin said, shifting awkwardly, his smile odd and strained.  “Congratulations, hyung.”

Chan blinked, his planned announcement derailed in confusion.  Congratulations for what?  Chan hadn’t told him anything besides a text message about Jisung not coming.

“I’m really excited for you, I am, I’m just -- ah!”  he half-shouted it, causing people in the seats near to them to jump.  “I can’t just accept this!”

Huh?  “Huh?”

Changbin leveled him with a serious glare.  “Hyung, I’m sorry, but what were you thinking?  I never expected you to be so irresponsible!”

“Irrespo --”

“You and Jisung are already having a hard time!  Did Han Jisung really agree to this?  And what happened to your beta?  Why can’t I smell them at all?”

Chan spluttered.  “My - my what? What beta?!”

“Exactly!”  Changbin beat his fist on the table.  “Did they run off?  I’ll track them down and drag them back, see if I won’t!  No real beta just abandons their omega and baby!”

Suddenly the pieces clicked.  Changbin had smelled Jeongin on him.

“No, no!”  Chan held out both hands, waving them in a desperate attempt to calm the now raging Changbin.   “It’s not mine!”

Out of the corner of Chan’s eye, a girl blatantly turned her chair around to better watch the show.  For the love of fuck.

Changbin stuck a finger in his face.  “Don’t try to dodge responsibility!”

“I’m not!  Oh my god.”  He wrapped both hands around the one Changbin was pointing at him, holding on when Changbin tried to yank it free.  “It’s not like that,” he insisted, lowering his voice, “He’s not my omega and it’s not my baby.  He’s just someone Jisungie and I are helping out for a while.”

Changbin’s eyebrows jolted up.  “Does he know that?  You're all over with his scent.”

Chan couldn’t stop a guilty flinch.

Some scent mixing was unavoidable when you were living in each other’s pockets, but there was a line.  A line Jeongin had trounced over within the first three days and that Bang Chan and Jisung had failed to call him out on.  Sort of like the privacy situation, they’d floated along just not addressing it, because if they did, Bang Chan would have to admit how much he liked having Jeongin’s scent on him, and Han Jisung would have to admit why he was letting his alpha smell like another omega.  Luckily for them, everyone at the coffee shop knew about the Jeongin situation and none of the customers had pried.  (Unless you counted the time Lee Minho said “Thanks, appa” when Bang Chan handed him his iced americano, but there was a 50/50 chance he was just trying to be funny.)

Changbin caught the flinch and his scowl deepened.  He opened his mouth for more scolding, but Chan covered it with his hand.  

“ Please let me explain.  Privately,” he added, casting a look around.

A few of the people who’d been watching had the decency to turn away, but the one girl just picked up her drink and sipped at it shamelessly.  Changbin realized they’d been making a scene and his ears went bright red.  He ducked away from Chan’s hand.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” he muttered.

They traveled further into the shopping complex, eventually finding a mostly-deserted sitting area next to a waffle stand.

Chan told the story of meeting Jeongin and letting him crash with them until everything with his family was sorted out.  Changbin listened to the whole rundown in silence, arms folded over his chest.

At last he said, “I can’t believe you got baby-trapped by an omega you didn’t even sleep with.”

“That’s not -- “ Chan had to close his eyes against the anger that surged up inside him and pulsed at his temples.  Changbin didn’t know Jeongin, he reminded himself.  “That’s not what this is.”

“Ai, hyung,” Changbin whined, acting cute now that he could tell he’d touched a nerve, “I swear I’m not saying Yang Jeongin is a bad guy or that he’s trying to trick you, I’m just worried.”

Chan made himself take a deep breath.  “Don’t be, okay?  It’s going to be fine.  We’ve got this”

“Do you?  See, this is my problem.”  Changbin stabbed the table with his index finger to accentuate his points. “You let this omega into your home the first day you meet him.  You don’t give him any kind of a time limit for how long he’s welcome or when he needs to make progress with his family situation.  Okay, okay, you want to be compassionate, you don’t want to pressure him, I get it.  But then, you let him mark his territory all over you. Han Jisung lets him mark his territory all over you and that’s not something omegas just put up with.  None of you are treating this like a temporary situation.  But you want me,” He tapped his chest. “to believe this is no big deal and that you’re going to send him on his merry way without issue?  Come on , hyung.  Be honest with me, please.”

Chan’s irritation seeped out of him.  He sagged on the table, hiding his head in his arms.  Changbin was right.  He was completely right.

“I like him so much, Bin,” Chan said, admitting it out loud for the first time, “I’m pretty sure Sungie does too.  If he wasn’t pregnant -- “

He stopped himself.  In another world where he crossed paths with Yang Jeongin before an unplanned pregnancy turned his life upside down, would Bang Chan have made a move?  

Probably not.

Maybe if he was still a single guy in his early twenties, back when dating was about trying things out and maybe enjoying some no-strings sex, but that wasn’t the case anymore.  He was a mated alpha looking to build -- or settle into -- a pack and that came with higher expectations for everyone involved, including himself.  As prospective pack alphas went, he didn’t have much to offer.  Yang Jeongin had been a medical student with a bright future and an alpha already on tap.  Chan would’ve taken one look at him and assumed he had no chance.

It was a discomforting thought.

“But he is pregnant,” Changbin said, saving him from going further down that rabbit hole.

“He is,” Chan echoed into the crook of his arm, “And we can’t afford a baby.  We can’t even register as an official pack and get help that way.”

From a social standpoint, a “pack” was any collection of individuals who declared themselves as such.  From the standpoint of the South Korean government, a “pack” was a legal entity consisting of a breeding trio -- an alpha, beta, and omega -- their additional mates, and any dependent children, elders, or special needs adults under their care.  All three dynamics had to be represented in every pack because some religious group hundreds of years ago convinced everyone that packs existed for the sole purpose of reproduction and no one had shaken the perspective since.

Just like there were support systems for omegas who’d been abandoned or abused by their packs as long as they could prove it, there were resources for impoverished packs that had children -- as long as they were legally registered as packs.

“So it doesn’t matter what our feelings are, this can’t last.  It’s not feasible for us and it’s not fair to him.”

Changbin’s scent turned mournful. 

“Of course your feelings matter.  It’s your feelings I’m worried about.”  With all his righteous indignation drained away, he sounded small and vulnerable.  “I’m sorry hyung, you didn’t deserve me being an asshole about this.”

Chan lifted his head and despite the situation, he couldn’t stop a fond smile at the sight of big buff Seo Changbin huddled sadly in his chair.  

“It’s okay, Binnie, I know you’re just looking out for us.  I’m sorry, too.  You didn’t deserve to get nose-blasted with my business like that.”

A pout pursed Changbin’s sculpted mouth.  “Don’t make it sound like you were going to keep this from me after I already apologized.”

“What?  No, no way,” Chan insisted, though his scent was screaming ‘guilty as charged’ in all directions, “I’d have told you some of it, seriously.  I meant to bring Jeongin along today, actually, but he wasn’t up for going out.  That’s why Jisung stayed behind, too."

Changbin rolled his eyes.

“Hannie stayed behind because he never wants to leave the house,” he said, using Jisung’s online handle, “And now he’s got a breeding omega and breeding omegas also never want to leave the house.  Channie-hyung, you need to make them get outside and spend time apart or they’ll start feeding off each other’s anxieties.  That’s a real risk when you’ve got more than one omega in a pack.  Hannie might go into heat early, too.”

Chan squinted at him suspiciously.  “...is that for real or is it one of those grandma tales you’re always telling?”

“It’s real!  They did studies!”  Changbin picked up his mobile.  “I’ll send them to you.”

“Don’t.”

 Changbin kept tapping at his screen.  “You need to start reading up on these things.”

He’d rather jump off a bridge.  “I seriously don’t.”  

He stretched out his hand to take away Changbin’s mobile.  Changbin dodged him.  

“Bin, it doesn’t matter.  We can’t -- “  Chan groaned and rubbed at his face.  He was getting annoyed with having to say it over and over again.  “I’m not letting this go on much longer, okay?  Don’t send me anything.”  Don’t tell me about what I can’t have.

Changbin exhaled loudly, tossing his mobile back on the table.  “I can’t believe you’re just giving up.”

“What?”

“You heard me.  Ah, it’s so hard, ah, I can’t afford it.  If you like someone, just go for it.”

Chan’s teeth clicked together.  “Changbin -- ”

“Hyung.” Changbin’s demeanor shifted, losing that edge of playful immaturity. His gaze was solemn as he stared into Bang Chan’s face. “You keep telling me you can’t afford the baby, but you haven’t said anything about not wanting it.  Stop thinking about the money for a second.  Are you willing to be a father to a kid you didn’t help make?  For serious?”

Chan’s throat tightened and he swallowed.  He didn’t have to think about this one. He’d already played this game with himself.

“Yeah,” he said, “Yeah, I am.”

It was stupid.  He was only twenty-five, he hadn’t done his military service, he wasn’t ready, it scared him.  And he still wanted it. 

“Okay.  So you like Yang Jeongin.” Changbin began counting on his fingers. “Your omega likes Yang Jeongin.  Yang Jeongin put his scent all over you, so he’s got to have some kind of feelings about you.  You’re willing to take responsibility for his baby even though it’s not yours. Those aren’t feelings that just go away, hyung.  

“When you -- when you meet someone,” he said, going from counting his fingers to playing with them, oddly shy, “And you want to make them part of your life like that, that’s not something to give up on. It’s rare and it’s precious. I know money is a problem, but you have options. You know people. You know me. You think I wouldn’t help you out?”

Guilt bit at Chan again. “Ah, Binnie, I couldn’t —”

“You should, you really should.”  He rubbed at his wrist, disturbing the silver chain wrapped around it. It was one of a pair and both were chunky and expensive looking.  They had to be expensive, because Seo Changbin’s entire, deceptively casual outfit was top to bottom designer brands and cost easily as much as Chan’s monthly rent.  It was unlikely his jewelry was any less pricey.

“All I’m saying is it doesn’t have to be hopeless.  At least talk about it with him and Hannie, okay? Who knows, maybe he isn’t as interested as he seems, maybe it’s just hormones making him latch onto whoever is available.  But I don’t want him to leave and you realize later you missed out on something special.”

Changbin stopped there.  They sat quietly for a long moment.  Chan chewed over the words, potential protests rising and dying in his throat.  Everything he could think to say was either a repeat of what he’d already said or made him sound like a coward too afraid to take risks.  He did not want to see himself in that light, not when he was being completely realistic.

Finally, he groaned and threw himself back in his chair.  “I hate you.”

If nothing else, Changbin was right that they needed to talk about what was happening between them.  Get everything out in the open and stop coasting along with feelings unspoken.

Changbin laughed obnoxiously.  “Cause I’m right!  Come on.”  He kicked at Chan’s chair leg.  “Tell me when I can meet your new omega.”

“Never, if you keep that up.”

And like that, the heavy atmosphere lifted and they fell into easy, familiar banter.  After a bit, Chan remembered what he’d been so excited to tell Changbin about in the first place.

“You’ve still got those producers wanting to commission a topline writer?  Because Jisungie is ready to take on some jobs.”

“Really?!” Changbin shouted.  

There was a clatter and a soft swear from the waffle stand.  Bang Chan called an apology over his shoulder.

“Fucking finally.  I’ve got people lined up around the block.” Changbin hauled his messenger bag up into his lap and threw back the flap. 

“...by around the block, you mean?”

“I’ve got two people,” Changbin said. He rummaged around inside the bag and pulled out a USB drive.  A little pink piglet charm dangled off the end loop.  “I'll have to talk to them to see if they’ve got anything available right now.  It may take a few weeks, depending on where they’re at with other projects.  But this.”  He wiggled the USB drive.  “Hannie can start on right away.  Ah!”

This time, Chan jumped, nearly dropping the drive he’d been taking from Changbin.  He juggled wildly to keep it from falling and finally managed to clasp it against his chest.  Unconcerned with his blight, Changbin took up his mobile and tapped at it, looking increasingly pleased with himself.

“What are you doing?” Chan asked warily.

“Sending Hannie an advance for his services.”

Chan frowned, mouth pursing in confusion.  “Aren’t there supposed to be offers and contracts for that first?  You haven’t even talked to your people yet.”

“So it’s ‘thank you’ money or whatever.  Who cares?  Don’t act like you can’t use it.”

They were reaching the dregs of Chan’s big shopping spree from last week and it would be nice to have some cushion for the next one.  He swallowed down his protests.  “Thank you.”

Changbin hummed and wiggled his shoulders, almost disgustingly cute in self-satisfaction.  He tapped twice more and pocketed his mobile.  “Let’s go eat, hyung, all this relationship drama is making me hungry.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jisung texted him a screenshot of a money transfer notification with a startling number of zeros.

[what the fuck did you tell him???]

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