Chapter Text
When Mingi was younger, he used to love the rain. He loved cuddling with his mother and brother during thunderstorms, building nests and blanket forts to pile together and read books or watch movies. Mingi cherished those moments, happy to be able to simply exist and be held by his mother during a time when the world around them seemed silent. He knew without a doubt that whenever the skies opened up and cried on them, he and his brother would get to help his mother build a nest in the living room and that was where they would spend their day. When his father would get home from work, he would join them and they would spend the night as a family.
As he got older, those moments became more infrequent. All of their lives got busier as Jihun entered high school and Mingi entered middle school. To occupy her free time, now that both of her pups had programs and clubs after school, his mother picked up a part-time job. His father had gotten promoted to a senior level position in his law firm and, as a result, wasn’t home as often. Mingi understood why he didn’t get to build nests with his mother, of course. That didn’t stop the fact that he desperately wanted to do so.
In hindsight, that was probably an indication of what he would present as at sixteen. Jihun had presented as an Alpha and while that hadn’t changed how he acted, he didn’t seem as interested in nesting as Mingi did. And when Mingi turned sixteen, he was probably the only one who was surprised that his scent turned a sweet watermelon instead of earthy as his brother’s had. Jihun’s grass scent wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t as comforting as his father’s beachy scent. And unfortunately for him, after his presentation Mingi never got to nest with his mother again.
The smell of rain hit Mingi full force as he stepped out of his brother’s apartment to head to work. He knew it was supposed to rain, but that didn’t stop his annoyance from growing as he opened his umbrella and picked up his pace. Rain was no longer something he looked forward to. There were no more nights of nests and blanket forts. No more hearing his mother read to him or cuddling up to his parents and brother as they watched movies together. Sure, he could do that on his own, but it wasn’t the same.
Besides, it was hard to look forward to the rain when he had to walk through it to get to the cafe he worked at. Jihun had told him multiple times that he didn’t have to work and that his brother would have had no issue in continuing to support him through his schooling, but Mingi didn’t want to be any more of a burden than he had been already on his brother. Especially not after the last four years.
The late July heat was usually sweltering but with the storm rolling in, the air was bitter against his face. The umbrella did little to actually keep the rain off his face and hair so by the time he made it to the coffee shop, his red curls were dripping with water and his exposed skin was numb. Thankfully for him, his coworkers already had a warm cup of cocoa waiting for him.
“You should have let your brother give you a ride.” Dahyun said as she helped him out of his wet jacket. The pretty Beta was a year older than him and they had worked together at the coffee shop for over a year now. She had worked there well before Mingi started there and always treated him like a little brother.
Felix was a year younger than him and had moved to Korea from Australia almost a year ago. The blond was supporting himself through school by working two jobs on top of his dance classes, one of which was the coffee shop. The other was a convenience store closer to campus. Mingi worried for him but no matter how much he or Dahyun tried to talk him into getting help, Felix brushed them off. Mingi tried not to worry, especially since it was Mingi who Felix called when he needed help with his heat or just wanted to have a nice relaxing night in a nest. During the school year, their dorms had been near enough to each other that they often hung out in one or the other.
“He was already gone when I left.” Which wasn’t a lie. Jihun had already left for work before the rain started and well before Mingi’s shift was set to start. It was the same shift he’d worked since he got the job at the law firm their father had worked at before he died. Mingi shook his head at the thought. If he spent any time thinking about his parents, he would end up in a fit of tears. Dahyun and Felix didn’t need to deal with his inability to keep his emotions to himself.
“I’m going to give you Jeongyeon-unnie’s and Momo-unnie’s numbers. Next time you need a ride, text one of them. Or just text me and we’ll get it figured out.” Mingi shrugged as he hung his coat up to dry, knowing full well he wouldn’t text anyone from Dahyun’s pack for help. No matter how nice and kind the nine of them were, Mingi felt weird accepting help from them.
“I mean it Min. I know you and Felix want to do everything yourselves but it’s perfectly okay to accept help from others.” Mingi merely glanced at her, exasperated, as he grabbed his apron to tie around his waist. Dahyun sighed as she moved around him to tie the straps for him. “You know, I introduced Felix to a friend of Jihyo-unnie’s. He’s been pretty tight-lipped about it but from what Chan-oppa has told Jihyo-unnie, they’ve been getting pretty cozy together. Chan-oppa has introduced him to his entire pack.”
“Felix told me. He seems happy.” Mingi wouldn’t admit that he was jealous. When he was younger, he wanted a pack of his own desperately. His mother told him all sorts of stories about growing up in a pack and it had fueled his desires. That is until his parents passed away and he and his brother were abused by the very pack their mother had once belonged to despite her desire for the pack to take the two in.
“You could be happy, too. We just have to put you out there.” Dahyun dropped the ties and picked up his mug to hand to him. Mingi took a long sip to keep from having to respond until she stared at him with that expectant look.
“Thanks Dahyun-noona, but I’m okay. I want to focus on school for now.” Mingi took another sip before taking the mug with him to the front counter. The café wasn’t too busy for a Wednesday night, which Mingi was thankful for. He didn’t have classes to deal with but because of that, he had taken on more shifts than he normally would during the semester. He was tired. More tired than he was willing to admit it. Especially because he had just finished a rather harsh heat alone, and it left him with a bone-deep exhaustion.
Working gave Mingi the ability to push his thoughts of his parents and his mother’s pack to the back of his mind. He and Felix worked diligently while Dahyun was in the back getting a head start on the pastry baking for the next morning. Mingi took customer orders while Felix made the drinks. So far that night, it was the typical customers they often got during the week. A few students who normally used the café to study but were now using the night to spend time with their friends. Mingi recognized a few of them from some of his classes and around campus. There were also some of the older adults who stopped in to unwind after work to meet up with friends or dates.
The noise in the café was soft enough to remain background noise as Felix and Mingi talked in between orders. Mingi talked about how Sunmi – his brother’s Omega girlfriend – had taken care of him during his heat, making sure he ate and kept hydrated in between his waves, and in turn Felix told Mingi all about Chan and the pack that he had started hanging out with recently. Chan was an alpha, along with two others in the pack – Changbin and Jeongin – and the leader of the Bang pack. The pack consisted of three Alphas, two Betas and two Omegas. If Felix joined, he’d be the third Omega. Mingi was about to ask if Felix was planning on joining the pack, or letting the pack court him, when the bell above the entrance sounded. Mingi looked up to see three people walk in, two behind the first. Deciding to drop the conversation for the moment, much to Felix’s relief, Mingi returned to the register to take the incoming orders.
“Welcome in! How can I help you?” Mingi forced a smile on his face as the first man – obviously an Alpha given the intense scent coming from him – walked up to the counter. He was older than Mingi, probably old enough to be his father, and the feeling he got when he looked at the man made him uncomfortable. The man gave his order but the lecherous smile on his lips had Mingi wanting to finish the transaction as quickly as possible.
“Can I get a name for the order?” Mingi tried to keep his smile up, but it was getting harder the more the man stared at him. It made him feel disgusting and dirty.
“Jaehui, beautiful. What’s yours?” The smile he was given was enough to make Mingi want to throw up. He quickly gave the total without answering the question and moved on to filling out the information on the cup. The Alpha held the money out and Mingi tried to take it but as soon as he reached his hand out, the Alpha took the Omega’s hand in both of his own hands, curling the money away from Mingi’s hand. When he didn’t let go, Mingi tried to pull his hand away, but the grip tightened with a bruising force. The grip hurt and there was no hiding the grimace on his face.
“Sir, please let me go.” Mingi raised his voice, alerting both of his coworkers and the customers in line behind the man. Dahyun came out from the back. Felix joined her as well and the furious look on their faces would have scared him if he wasn’t already afraid.
“Hey man, let him go.” Before either could make a move to help Mingi, the taller of the two customers behind the Alpha – the one with brunet hair – stepped forward and violently grabbed the man and pulled him away from the counter. The man finally let Mingi go and the money scattered across the expanse of the counter.
Immediately, Mingi cradled his hand to his chest as he took a step back from the counter. Dahyun immediately pulled him into a hug as she glared at the Alpha. The man pulled his arm from the hold the brunet had on him while glaring at him.
“Let go of me, fucking asshole.” The brunet glared back but didn’t escalate the situation as he stepped back to his companion.
“Hey! You don’t get to treat my employees or customers like that!” Mingi hadn’t even heard Taehyung come out of the back until he heard his booming voice from behind him. Taehyung gently pushed Mingi and Dahyun back further and nodded at Felix to stay where he was as he walked up to the counter. “Leave peacefully or I’ll call the cops.”
Mingi watched tensely, with Dahyun rubbing his back as comfortingly as possible, waiting for the man to move – to either leave or start a fight. Everyone reacted as the man lunged for the counter. The man who had first pulled him off Mingi grabbed him again as Taehyung jumped over the counter to help him. Customers in the seating area of the café were watching, some out of their seats as if they were ready to intervene and more who looked confused and frightened. Dahyun pulled Mingi into the back room, away from the enraged Alpha. Before the door closed behind them, Mingi could hear Felix on the phone. Likely with the police. That was all Mingi could remember before his thoughts spiraled out of his control.
Taehyung sighed with both relief and irritation when Seokjin and his partner, Byun Baekhyun, left with the enraged Alpha in handcuffs. He turned his attention first to his patrons. Most had gone back to their own business, but a few were getting up to leave. Taehyung couldn’t blame them much; he would leave after an altercation like that as well. He skipped over the two who were standing off to the side where Changwoo had pulled them to in order to get their statements, and finally to Felix. The blond Omega was trembling as he set the phone down and went back to making the few drinks that were ordered.
“Felix,” Taehyung waited until the blond looked over at him. “Go take a break. I’ll handle everything here.”
Felix looked grateful as he set the cup he had picked up back down. He quickly shuffled into the back, where Dahyun and Mingi still were. As much as Taehyung wanted to check on his employee, he knew Mingi was in good hands with Dahyun. Finally, he turned his attention to the two men standing by the counter, now released by the officer.
“Thank you for your help. If you still want to order, I’ll be happy to take it.” The shorter of the two – if Taehyung had to guess which he tried not to make a habit of doing, he would say the man was an Omega – stepped forward with a shy smile.
“We have a fairly large order. I’m sorry in advance.” Taehyung returned the smile before waving his concerns away.
“Do you need to check on your employee? We can wait.” The taller man – an Alpha if Taehyung entertained a guess – offered as his gaze fixated on the door leading to the backroom. Taehyung smiled at the offer, but shook his head.
“Mingi’s in good hands with Dahyun. He’d be upset if I made you wait after helping him like that.” And it was true. Mingi had a heart of gold and he definitely would be mad if Taehyung focused on him rather than their customers. And so, with two uneasy smiles, the two began their list of drink orders. By the fifth drink, Taehyung almost regretted sending Felix on a break. Seven drink orders and four pastries later, Taehyung rung up the items and gave the total – with each drink discounted and the pastries rung in free despite the protests from the two – and set the last cup down. His eyes raked over the seven drink orders briefly. Two iced Americanos and two iced caramel lattes. One ice vanilla latte, one hot cappuccino, and one mocha latte. Three muffins and a slice of cake – curtesy of Felix’s incredible baking he had elected to share with Taehyung and his café. Taehyung was going to throw an extra slice of cake in for free.
“It’ll take me a bit to get them out.” He started with the drink orders that had been waiting. After calling those names out, he started on the large order. By the time he finished both Americanos and was halfway through making the first iced caramel latte, Mingi and Felix returned from the back. Taehyung spared the two a glance, mostly looking to see what state Mingi was in. The Omega still looked upset, with tears staining his red cheeks that told Taehyung that he had cried and holding his hand close to his chest, but he looked determined to finish his shift. Taehyung had seen that same look on his face when he talked about how hard he was working to support himself instead of relying on his brother. With that in mind, Taehyung handed him the cups for the last three drinks. Mingi took them without question and began making them, albeit slowly. Felix read the order receipt and started collecting the pastries for the group. Taehyung whispered softly to him to add an extra slice of cake on the house and Felix nodded with a soft smile. Taehyung allowed himself to look Felix over too and was happy to see the blond had stopped shaking. Together, the three of them got all of the drinks made and placed in two carriers.
“Yunho?” Taehyung called out the name on the order as he and Mingi placed both carriers and the bag with the pastries on the counter. Both men stepped forward to grab the items and their shy smiles turned into genuine smiles when they saw Mingi behind the counter.
“Are you okay?” The shorter one asked as he picked up one of the carriers. Mingi nodded shy, his cheeks an even brighter red than they had been before.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” The other said as he grabbed the rest of the items. Mingi simply shrugged, likely unable to gather his voice. It looked like Yunho, the Alpha who had paid for the order, was about to say something so Taehyung offered an out for the shy Omega next to him. He gently suggested that Mingi gather more of the caramel syrup from the back before his entire head turned red. And then he watched as Mingi waved a shy goodbye to the two customers and turned to follow instructions. Taehyung and Felix watched the two leave before turning to each other. Felix was giving him a knowing look that had Taehyung roll his eyes.
“Hyung, we didn’t need more caramel syrup.” Taehyung shrugged as he decided to start on their nightly cleaning.
“No, but Mingi’s too out of it to hold a conversation, and I don’t think they realized that.” As thankful as Taehyung was for the Alpha for helping his employee, Mingi’s safety and mental wellbeing were more important to him.
“I’ll take over the register for the rest of the night.” Taehyung nodded his agreement. There was only an hour left of the night and he would be damned if he made Mingi take orders when he was likely still uncomfortable. The back door opened soon after and Mingi returned empty-handed. The smile on his face told him he knew exactly what Taehyung had done.
“There’s no way I can convince you to go home early, is there?” Mingi shook his head. An hour until closing and then another half hour to finish closing, Mingi could power through that. Taehyung sighed. “Fine, then I’m giving you a ride home.”
Mingi didn’t argue as he began filling the depleted cups. Taehyung cleaned for a bit before leaving the two Omegas to do their tasks alone. In the kitchen, Dahyun was washing the dishes that remained from her last round of baking. He noticed that the muffins were still out to cool. Before jumping in to help her finish cleaning the back and putting everything away for the next morning, Taehyung pulled out his phone to shoot a quick text to his pack to let them know he was dropping Mingi off at home before coming home himself. He knew there would be questions when he got home, especially when he saw Seokjin typing something, but instead of dwelling on what his pack would say, Taehyung put his phone away so he could go back to work.
An hour and a half later, the café was closed and Taehyung was locking the door to the café behind him. Dahyun offered them her goodbyes as she split from them and went to Jeongyeon’s car, waiting for her in one of the front parking spaces. Taehyung waved at the two women before turning to Felix.
“Do you need a ride home? You’re not too far from Mingi.” Felix smiled, but shook his head. Before he replied, another car pulled up in the space in front of them. If Mingi had to guess, it was probably the Alpha his Omega friend had been seeing.
“Chan-hyung is going to take me home.” Felix waved at the two, pulled Mingi down to press a small kiss to his cheek, before jogging to the car. Taehyung’s smile was wide as Mingi’s cheeks flushed red again. He was sure that Felix had probably told Chan and his pack all about their friendship but he was still embarrassed by the caring act.
“Have a good night!” Taehyung called out as Felix slid into the front seat of the black car. Mingi saw Chan wave at them both before pulling out of the parking lot. His distraction now gone, Taehyung guided Mingi to his car on the far side of the parking lot. Mingi remembered how upset Taehyung had been when his old car – a ragged old heap of junk that barely worked on a good day – finally kicked the bucket and he was stressing over having to find a new one. He also remembered how happy he had been when one of his Alphas had bought him a brand new one, despite insisting it wasn’t necessary. Apparently, Namjoon disagreed after he and Yoongi saw how upset not having reliable transportation had made the Beta.
“Be honest with me, Mingi-ah. Are you okay after what happened?” Taehyung didn’t bring it up while they were working, because he knew Mingi didn’t want to draw attention to it and Dahyun was one step away from leaving to find that Alpha herself, but he had seen the bruise forming on the back of Mingi’s hand from how tight the Alpha had been holding him.
“My hand hurts and I’m still a little on edge, but I’ll be okay. I promise hyung.” Mingi would have to make sure to put ice on his hand when he got home, but he knew it would be okay in a few days. Hopefully.
“We can press charges if you want. Seokjin-hyung can pull the tapes and get his name. What he did was assault.” Taehyung hated seeing any of his employees harmed. His entire team, all twelve of them, were like his siblings and he cared for them deeply. Even though it hadn’t been his fault, and he had no real way of preventing it, Taehyung still felt responsible.
“His name was Jaehui.” Taehyung hummed. Mingi didn’t even know why he was telling the older man that information. Pressing charges usually meant he’d have to talk to the police, and that was not something Mingi was in the mood to do. He shook his head. “It’s okay, hyung. I just want to forget about the whole thing.”
“If you change your mind, tell me. Either way, I’ll be pulling the tapes to get a still of his face. He’s banned from the café.” Mingi smiled at the information. He didn’t reply as they pulled up to his brother’s apartment building. Mingi took off his seatbelt but was stopped from leaving before he could open the door. He looked at Taehyung, confused.
“Put some ice on that. If you can, come in tomorrow and I’ll have some cream to help with the bruising. And get some sleep. You look like you’ll keel over any second.” Mingi smiled and let out a small huff of laughter. He nodded and finally opened the door to leave.
Taehyung didn’t drive off right away, instead waiting until Mingi was inside the apartment building. It was something he did any time he gave any of them a ride home. Mingi offered him another wave before he opened the door to the building and disappeared through it.
Tired and emotionally exhausted after the events of the night, Mingi opted for the elevator instead of climbing the three flights of stairs to his brother’s apartment. As he walked down the hall to the apartment, Mingi felt a sense of dread build in his stomach. Jihun would know something was wrong as soon as he saw him and he knew his brother cared about him too much to have fallen asleep without the younger home. Unlike Dahyun’s protective tendencies, Jihun was much more likely to actually go out and find that Alpha and hurt him just for daring to lay a hand on Mingi. It was a trait that Mingi had found cute when it wasn’t directed at him specifically.
He remembered when Sunmi had been harassed by her neighbor to the point where she was so afraid of the Alpha she didn’t even want to go home. Jihun had left the pretty Omega with Mingi while he went to collect some of her stuff so she could stay with them and when he came back there had been blood on his knuckles and shirt. Sunmi and Mingi had both freaked out while cleaning the wounds. It was only after Sunmi went to sleep later that night that Jihun told Mingi what had happened – how the Alpha harassing her had broken into her apartment and Jihun caught him. A fight had ensued as Jihun struggled to call the police and, in the process of dialing the number, Jihun had punched the man and broke his nose.
At the time, his relationship with Sunmi was still relatively new. If that was the lengths Jihun was willing to go for someone he’d only been dating for a few months, what lengths would he go to for his own brother? Mingi didn’t want to find out.
The sound of the radio hit Mingi as he slid his key into the door. Before he could stop himself, he pushed the door open and entered the apartment. From the kitchen, he could hear Sunmi giggling at something his brother was saying. The smell of jjigae hit him as he kicked his shoes off and placed them neatly on the shoe rack and Mingi’s stomach rumbled. He’d been too anxious during his short break to eat and had nearly thrown up when Dahyun tried to get him to eat one of the muffins she’d made. Quickly, Mingi hung up his still-damp coat, cursing himself mentally when he realized he’d left his umbrella at work, and made his way to the kitchen where Jihun and Sunmi were.
“I’m home, hyung.” Mingi called as he walked into the small kitchen to see Sunmi standing at the stove and stirring the stew. Jihun was at the sink washing up whatever dishes they had used already. Both of them looked over at him with smiles and greetings.
“How was work?” Sunmi had always supported Mingi’s desire to provide for himself and always showed an interest in how his shifts went. She also worked at the café, usually the early morning shifts so she would be home before Jihun was, so she knew all of his coworkers, anyway. Mingi bit his lip as he moved to the fridge to grab some juice before answering. Except, he grabbed the door handle with his injured hand and let out a hiss of pain. That caught both his brother’s and Sunmi’s attention. Sunmi saw the forming bruise first.
“Mingi-yah, what happened?” She set the ladle down and rushed to his side to get a better look at his hand. The water shut off and seconds later, Jihun was by his side too, looking over Sunmi’s shoulder at his injury. There was no hiding it and Mingi knew it was better to tell them the truth before either went to Dahyun or Taehyung directly.
“An Alpha…I don’t really know what he wanted, but he wouldn’t let me go. Hyung had to call the police to get him to leave.” A growl sounded from his brother’s throat before he could stop it. Mingi flinched and withdrew his hand from Sunmi’s hold. The older Omega let him as she turned to his brother and hushed him with a single look. Jihun looked at him apologetically as he took a deep breath to calm himself.
“Did he get arrested?” Mingi didn’t know the answer to that. He shrugged.
“I was in the back with Dahyun-noona after he tried to lunge over the counter. He tried to start a fight with Taehyung-hyung and a customer, too.” Mingi bit his lip as he tried to keep the tears from starting again. Jihun pulled him into a hug and hushed him softly. Sunmi had her phone out, likely asking Taehyung for more information. After a few minutes, she handed her phone to Jihun and carefully pulled Mingi from his arms.
“Come on, let’s get you changed into something comfortable and settled on the couch. We can get some ice put on it to reduce the swelling.” Mingi looked down at his hand and realized that it was, in fact, swelling. Before he could panic, Sunmi took his other hand and gently guided him to his room. She was quick as she stripped him of his work uniform and helped him into a pair of sweats and a hoodie. He would be embarrassed if not for the fact that it wasn’t the first time she’d helped him do this very thing. She’d helped him clean up after his heat when he was too tired and sore to move. Moments later, she was helping him sit on the couch with a blanket over his lap. Jihun walked in with an icepack wrapped in a towel. He put it over the bruise gently. Mingi hissed at the feeling. The tears spilled over before he knew it.
“It’s okay Min. Tae will take care of it and you’ll never have to see him again.” Jihun wiped his tears with his thumbs before leaning over and pressing a kiss to his brother’s forehead.
“I’ll finished dinner and the dishes. Why don’t you two turn something on?” Sunmi suggested as she raked her fingers through Mingi’s red curls. Jihun nodded as he settled next to Mingi and reaching for the remote. Sunmi stood from where she was crouched and returned to the kitchen. Nearly twenty minutes later, she returned with two bowls of stew. After setting those down, and gesturing for Jihun to remain seated, she returned to the kitchen to grab another bowl and drinks for them all.
The rest of the night was nice. The three of them watched a movie as they ate. Sunmi washed up the remaining dishes before sending them all off to bed. Mingi was falling asleep on the couch, despite the pain in his hand, as the anxiety of the day fully caught up with him. Jihun and Sunmi helped him to bed and Mingi was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.