Chapter Text
He finally made it.
Nervously rubbing his neck, the feeling of the scent patch scratching at his hands, the omega looked up at the dorm building in front of him. He sighed as he climbed the steps to the building, the only things he held on to was his backpack with an old laptop and some notebooks and a small luggage with all the clothes he had, and maybe a small teddy bear, but no one has to worry about that. He memorized the room he was staying in, reciting it over and over in his mind. 307. 307. 307. 307. He was scared, but he wouldn’t let anyone know it. Finally finding the room, he noticed the door was ajar. That’s weird. He knocked lightly before slowly pushing the door open.
Three pairs of eyes looked up at him. And then he heard the voices.
“Oh my GOD! You are soooo cute. Hongjoong, your new roommate is SOOOO CUTE!” One of the boys bounded towards him.
“Wooyoung, calm down. You’ll frighten him,” another voice rang out, grabbing onto the first boy before he could jump onto the omega.
He shoved the boy off to the side, the more excited one grumbling about just wanting to meet his friend's new roommate. That’s when the omega saw the final boy sitting on a bed in the room. He softly smiled before getting up and moving towards him.
“Sorry about them. I’m Kim Hongjoong, the one who actually lives here.” The final statement being pointed towards the first boy, a small “Hey” coming from him as the second dragged him into the bathroom so the two roommates could have a proper introduction.
Hongjoong looked at him expectantly, his soft smile making the younger boy, who was still standing in the doorway, feel more comfortable.
“J-Jongho.. Choi Jongho,” the boy quickly whispered out. Hongjoong chuckled slightly.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Hongjoong stated. With that, the two in the bathroom bounded out.
“HI! I’m Jung Wooyoung! You seem young. How old are you?” The first boy asked, staring expectantly. “Um..20..” Wooyoung cheered! “Finally! I’m no longer maknae, take that Hyung!” The other looked fondly at the boy.
“Sorry about him. I’m Park Seonghwa. You look stressed. Don’t worry, it’s not that bad.”
“Exactly! The hardest part is being around Hongjoong hyung,” this caused Jongho to crack a small smile. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
“Where is all your stuff?” Hongjoong asked the youngest boy. Jongho fidgeted, but he didn’t say anything, just shrugged. The other 3 boys just looked at each other, sharing a look of acknowledgement.
Saying nothing, Jongho walked into the room, setting the small luggage and his backpack down on the floor next to the bed opposite to where he originally saw Hongjoong. His nose twitched, a mixture of cinnamon, pine, and citrus hitting him. He stalled slightly before continuing. The oldest two boys began discussing something off to the side of the small room, mentioning names Jongho didn’t care to remember at the moment. Wooyoung sat on Hongjoong’s bed, sitting cross legged, just observing.
Slowly opening the small bag, Jongho started to put away clothes in the small wardrobe at the end of the bed. There wasn’t a whole lot to put away. After that he reached into the bag, pulling the final two items out: a small black throw blanket, and a teddy bear he attempted to shield from the watchful eyes.
A ping caused everything to stop. Seonghwa checked his phone and frowned slightly, before looking back up and giving a soft smile to the omega. “Wooyoung-ah, baby, let’s go. San and Mingi are looking for us!” Wooyoung climbed off the bed before both boys pressed a kiss to Hongjoong’s cheek.
“Don’t worry, Hyung. We will tell them you say hi and miss them. Bye Jongho-yah! It was nice to meet you!” Wooyoung didn’t even let either boy respond before following Seonghwa out the door, pulling it fully shut for the first time.
The two roommates were left alone in silence. The younger boy had yet to say anything more, just reached into his backpack, pulling out his laptop before sitting on his bed and opening up the word document he often goes to.
~~~~~~~
Entry 43
I reached the room. My roommate’s friends seem kind, but Wooyoung-ssi has a lot more energy than expected. It’s so great to be away from everything. It’s like a fresh start. No one here knows who I am or anything that happened. I just hope it’s a safer place.
I miss the littles. I worry for them, but I have to put myself first. It’s okay..it’s not selfish… I’m not selfish…
~~~~~~~
Hongjoong didn’t engage in conversation with the boy. He didn’t want to force the younger to engage if he didn’t feel comfortable. He did, however, take note of the scent patch. His heart ached at the thought of the boy not feeling comfortable enough to allow his scent to take over the small shared space. He breathed, realizing the room smelled like a mixture of his, Seonghwa’s and Wooyoung’s scents, and his eyes widened. The younger boy hadn’t said anything about it, but he knows that he’s probably slightly panicked. Hongjoong opened the small window in the middle of the room.
Jongho watched the older’s movements with his eyes. He didn’t say anything, nor did he move, just watched. He only looked back at his document when Hongjoong turned around from opening the window. Hongjoong felt his eyes the whole time. There was another ping, breaking the blanket of silence in the room. Hongjoong saw the younger boy Jump, but he kept that to himself.
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packmates
Jung Wooyoung: everyone…
Jung Wooyoung: hyung’s new roommate is so cute
Jung Wooyoung: but im worried hes gonna explode from anxiety
Park Seonghwa: baby… leave him alone
Jung Wooyoung: hyung you saw him
Jung Wooyoung: :(
Song Mingi: Wooyoung. Stop it.
Jung Wooyoung: oh………..
Kang Yeosang: damn mingi that was…
Choi San: that was sexy mingi do it again
Me: Guys stop
Me: It's quiet in here..
Jeong Yunho: yeosang said you could come over if it gets awkward
Jeong Yunho: but you have to scent us both or we’ll eat u
Jung Wooyoung: omg hyung scent me too im On my way!
Jung Wooyoung: ugh that shit is so annoying
~~~~~
“I’m going out. Could I have your number, so we can be in contact?” Jongho blinked back a look of shock before swallowing and pulling out an old phone.
Hongjoong didn’t say anything as he added his number to the phone and sent himself a quick text before saving it under the name “Choi Jongho” to match the rest of his contacts. He then slipped on his shoes and started his very quick journey down the hall.
Yunho and Yeosang’s room was to be expected. Room 314 was very similar to the set up of room 307. When Hongjoong knocked on the door, the two boys opened the door together, big smiles on their faces, their eyes shining like puppies being presented with a treat. He quickly gave the tallest of the two a hug allowing his pine scent to seep onto him. He then turned to the other boy, and was hit with a lavender scent, throwing him off because usually the boy’s scent was more muted.
“Oh, honey,” he said as the other wrapped his arms around him. He scented the other boy before moving into the room.
Yunho left the door cracked, assuming the rest of the pack was going to slowly appear. They always did that, left the door open for the others when they felt safe to do so. They wanted their pack to know they could always come in if they needed a place to go. Typically, it was always in Hongjoong’s room, but they decided to move it to Yunho and Yeosang’s room when the oldest found out he was going to be getting a roommate. Hongjoong sat down on one of the beds, the other two sitting together across from him. Soon enough the others bounded into the room, Mingi and Wooyoung first, followed by Seonghwa and San 20 minutes later.
“No you don’t understand, he had almost nothing. Barely any clothes and the only items for his bed he pulled out were a small throw blanket and…” Wooyoung shook his head trailing off. He remembered the bear, but chose not to say anything when he remembered how Jongho had tried to hide it. “...nothing, just the small blanket…I feel so bad for him. Hyung, you cannot-no you will not let that poor boy freeze, right?”
“Doll, you know I would never, ever, let anything happen to anyone if I can help it. He hasn’t really spoken to me, and I don’t know if he will get comfortable. Right now, I just want to make him comfortable…but…I saw a scent patch. He doesn’t seem like an alpha but I can’t help but wonder…” Hongjoong trailed off.
“Wait, hyung, you don’t think…” San finally spoke up from his place on the floor, the beta’s head in Seonghwa’s lap. Everyone looked at him.
Hongjoong just sighed and put his head in his hands. He hated speculating, but he knew nothing about the kid.
~~~~~
Me: Hey! You hungry?
Seen 7:43 pm
~~~~~
Hongjoong frowned at the lack of response, but he still brought his quiet roommate a chicken sandwich anyways. The room was empty, but the light in the bathroom was turned on. Hongjoong set the bag down on his roommate’s desk before shuffling to his own. He put his headphones on and began working on the project he had started. When Jongho exited the bathroom with a brand new scent patch on, neither boy said anything. Jongho saw the bag on his desk and gave a slight smile, and Hongjoong paused his music to listen to Jongho eat.