9-Friendship?
Yoongi made it through the years. He didn't know how he managed it, but he did.
He talked to his therapist more open, and slowly he understood the purpose.
He shouldn't develop unhealthy thoughts. Thoughts that could be harmful to him.
And therefore his therapist analyzed the people around Yoongi with him together.
At one point, Yoongi started to feel sorry for Hoseok who was trying so desperately to make Yoongi feel bad about himself.
And later he developed more hateful feelings towards Hoseok, realizing that he was the reason he was so shy around people.
Almost scared to be hurt again.
Therefore, Yoongi couldn't bring himself to care anymore.
Year after year, Yoongi became a bit more straightforward with his bullies.
Talked back or told them to back off when they were too close.
Luckily, the bullying in his class stopped completely.
Sometimes Bogum talked to Yoongi again.
He told him when he liked his shirt or asked him for help with some homework.
At first, Yoongi was confused, because Bogum could ask Namjoon instead, who was way better in school than Yoongi.
But this seemed to be Bogum's way of showing Yoongi that he was sorry.
Even though they didn't become friends again, they talked to each other more often and sometimes Bogum also stopped the people from Hoseok's class when they tried to steal stuff out of Yoongi's table again.
Yoongi saw Hoseok less often but that didn't mean that he stopped talking badly about him.
More and more kids brought Yoongi into question. Thinking he was weird and creepy.
Especially now when Yoongi started to ignore more classmates around him and seemed colder.
But it was easier than showing that he was affected by their words.
Through all this time, Namjoon and Seokjin always stuck to him.
Sometimes Seokjin still was a bit impulsive. Pushing other kids back when they tried to shove Yoongi.
But Namjoon always calmed him down. He was Yoongi's and Seokjin's best emotional support.
Yoongi noticed how Namjoon was friends with a lot of people in school.
He was likable, made others laugh, and showed interest in every activity.
People thought Namjoon was nice.
So at first, Yoongi was a bit scared Namjoon might leave him.
But his friend reassured him that he'd not leave his side. Ever.
Yoongi always felt safe when he was with Namjoon and Seokjin.
2005, February
During their sixth year in elementary school, everyone was a bit tense.
At the beginning of that school year, their biology teacher told them that they had sex education this year.
Yoongi was eleven. Compared to Seokjin, Yoongi didn't feel as if puberty would hit soon.
When they came back to school after New Years', Seokjin's voice changed. He was screeching ever so often and sometimes his voice broke mid-sentence and got very high again.
Then everybody laughed and Seokjin was a bit embarrassed about it.
From time to time, all of them forgot that Seokjin was much older than the rest of the class.
But when Mr. Kim, their biology teacher, and Mrs. Song entered their class with big cards and a box full of videotapes, everyone felt very shy and like a little child again.
During the past school years, Yoongi switched seats a lot.
He was sitting on the window side that year.
Namjoon sat behind him and Seokjin only sat two seats away from them, in the middle of the class.
Yoongi sat up curiously when Mrs. Song placed two square cards made out of cardboard on the blackboard.
On each card was a sign.
Yoongi knew them.
♂ and ♀.
Besides them, Mrs. Song placed three more with Α, Β, and Ω.
Yoongi was older now.
He already knew he couldn't choose between one of these second genders or being a firefighter.
Now he knew why his mother had smiled at him for this question.
In the end, it was faith.
Yoongi looked over to Seokjin who seemed focused on their teacher's words.
Everyone knew Seokjin was probably the first to present out of the three of them.
Namjoon, Seokjin, and him never talked about this though.
It was a weird topic.
And whenever Yoongi thought about what came with it, he also was too shy to actually raise the subject.
He didn't know if his friends wanted to exchange information about their bodies.
His parents were also a bit careful about that.
Sometimes they asked Yoongi if he had a girlfriend, but he always frowned at them.
He couldn't imagine having one. Yoongi didn't think girls were interesting and he also didn't feel any pressure about it.
Maybe that would change once he'd go to middle school.
Namjoon had a girlfriend for 2 weeks until she yelled at Yoongi for breaking her wax crayon.
After that, Namjoon didn't speak to her anymore.
Sometimes Yoongi felt guilty because of that.
Mr. Kim placed the videotapes on the floor and also walked over to the blackboard, smiling at his students.
"Good Morning, class.", he greeted them and everyone mumbled back a good morning.
Mrs. Song laughed. "Please, not too much excitement."
The class giggled and they all looked at each other. They were all obviously nervous.
"So, since we ended our excursion about the ecosystem water last week, we will start with sex education for the rest of the year.", Mr. Kim announced and everyone started whispering.
Yoongi looked back at Namjoon who only shrugged at him. He tried not to show it, but Yoongi saw that he was also curious.
Both looked over to Seokjin who raised his eyebrows, lips pressed into a thin line.
Yoongi and Namjoon knew that Seokjin's family was very strict when it came to those things.
"During these next month, we will mostly talk about the female and male body.", Mrs. Song said and pointed at the female and male signs.
"By the end of the year, we might talk about second genders as well. But since you'll also continue to have sex education in middle school, we want to focus on the basics first."
The basics were already much to take in.
Within two school periods, Yoongi's brain was full of terms he also found again on the papers Mrs. Song gave them later.
At first, it was interesting what the female and the male reproductive system looked like.
But while the boys were excited and joked about whenever the word penis was said, the girls were embarrassed.
Yoongi didn't know how to feel. He felt neither embarrassed nor did he feel like making jokes about it.
He knew this was only the beginning for the rest of this year.
Namjoon seemed just as relaxed as Yoongi about it. Of course, sometimes they giggled. But they didn't need to yell words like others.
Seokjin on the other hand, sat on the chair very silently all the time.
His cheeks were always bright red and when Yoongi asked him about it one time, he just told them that his parents already explained most of it to him and he was a bit embarrassed about it.
On the same day, Yoongi asked his parents how babies were made.
His mom and dad looked at each other before they got flustered.
They knew he had sex education now. But apparently, they didn't expect Yoongi to ask it out of nowhere during dinner.
While they explained it to Yoongi, they tried to answer every question he had.
Yoongi was a bit disgusted, but also amazed.
He didn't know all of this was so complex. And most importantly he never knew the whole process was so gross.
Maybe it was his fault for asking so many questions.
In the end, Yoongi didn't finish his dinner that day though. He wasn't as excited about sex education in the next couple of weeks.
At the end of the sixth grade, they only talked shortly about the second gender.
Sadly they didn't get into detail.
But in summer 2005, school started again.
Luckily Yoongi, Namjoon, and Seokjin still went to the same school.
The school was now closer to Yoongi.
Seokjin and Namjoon now took the bus together while Yoongi walked to school.
A few other kids also walked the same way and Yoongi was never alone.
He was a bit sad though that he always walked on his own while others walked with their friends.
Their parents knew a lot of people in the neighborhood who greeted Yoongi in the morning.
At first, it was a bit uncomfortable but after a while, he got used to it.
Once Yoongi arrived at his new school, he walked over to the blackboards on the schoolyard.
Namjoon and Seokjin stood there already, but they couldn't find their names yet.
It only took Yoongi a second to find his own name. But then he saw that Namjoon and Seokjin were in another class and he immediately felt anxious.
What would he do if nobody would like Yoongi? Would he find friends? Would people dislike him?
No matter how many times Seokjin and Namjoon told him that everything would be alright, Yoongi felt helpless.
His legs almost shook when he entered his new class.
The kids all looked at him with curious gazes. Yoongi didn't know any of them. Not even some from elementary school.
He tried not to look as if he was creepy or weird. Even though he didn't figure out what made him look like that.
Yoongi stopped at the back of his class, looking around for free tables.
Apparently they were free to choose any seat so he took one close to the window.
He felt most comfortable with that and it felt weird when he emptied his backpack.
Three years without Namjoon or Seokjin in class.
Yoongi felt like crying again. For the first time in a while.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. He should talk to someone. Anyone really to maybe build a good foundation for possible friendships.
But before he could turn around and look at the kids around him, someone laid his hands over Yoongi's eyes from behind.
"Guess who.", a girl's voice said all excited.
Yoongi gasped. He didn't know any girls. Did he?
Maybe she mistook him for someone else.
"Uhm. W-Well...", Yoongi stammered embarrassed.
He didn't want to be laughed at on the first day.
His brain wasn't working at all and he felt panic rise in his chest.
"Oh, come on, Yoongi. You don't remember me?", the girl pouted and let go of Yoongi's eyes.
She stepped up to Yoongi's table.
Her long hair curled up around her shoulders.
Yoongi didn't recognize her face at first.
The bangs were new but he noticed her brown eyes and pouty lips.
Yoongi's eyes grew wide when he remembered her.
"Seunghee!", he yelled a bit louder than planned.
The other kids were looking at them but Yoongi was so happy, he jumped up and hugged Seunghee.
"I was so excited when I saw your name on the board.", Seunghee said and sat down on the chair next to Yoongi once they separated.
"I will sit down here, okay?", she asked and looked around if anyone planned to sit there but then placed her bag on the table as well.
Yoongi thought Seunghee looked so pretty with the bangs.
Her face changed a lot, but he still saw Seunghee.
Shortly after his happiness, guilt settled in his guts.
He didn't talk to Seunghee, Yeri, or Youngjae for an eternity.
Why was Seunghee so nice to him?
"You remember me.", Yoongi mentioned carefully.
"Of course!", Seunghee looked at Yoongi with a smile that reached her eyes.
"My mom has a lot of pictures from us and when I saw your name I wondered if it was you for real. I was so relieved I knew one more person here. Youngjae and Yeri are still in elementary school."
Seunghee still spoke softly and chose her words carefully. She took her time when talking.
Yoongi always liked Seunghee so he was glad to know someone already.
"Seunghee, why won't you sit with us?", a boy asked.
He came from the back of the class towards them.
It was a tall boy, his face was small and his eyes a bit droopy.
"Yoongi is my childhood friend! I was so excited to see him, I think I want to sit here."
Yoongi was so happy when he heard Seunghee say that he was her friend. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit.
"Yoongi, that's my friend Sunghyun. We became friends in elementary school and back there is Chungah.", Seunghee said and pointed back to a girl in the last row.
She had pigtails and bows in her hair. She looked similar to Sunghyun.
When Yoongi waved at her, she hid her face behind a book.
Yoongi smiled. She was probably shy.
"She's my sister.", Sunghyun said and smiled at Yoongi.
"Friends of Seunghee are my friends.", he added and Yoongi pulled up his shoulders.
He was so happy.
"Nice to meet you.", Yoongi smiled back.
When Namjoon and Seokjin stumbled minutes later in their class and told Yoongi that they only were down the hallway in another classroom, he had the chance to introduce them to Seunghee and to his new friends.
Apparently Bogum was also in Namjoon's and Seokjin's class.
At first, it was awesome that Yoongi sat beside Seunghee. But once sex education started again he was deeply embarrassed and couldn't look at her for the rest of the day.
"So. Does anyone know what these signs mean?", their new biology teacher asked.
It was a woman this time.
Ms. Baek was a young teacher, just in her thirties, and started teaching a couple of years ago. She was very motivated.
She had the same cards as Mrs. Song in elementary school.
But instead of the female and male signs, the second gender signs were staring back at Yoongi.
Seunghee raised her hand and Ms. Baek picked her right away.
"I think those are the three second genders.", she answered and Ms. Baek nodded.
"Do you also know what they are called?"
"Sure. Alpha, Beta, and Omega.", Seunghee said proudly.
When Seunghee needed to look at the blackboard she wore glasses.
Sometimes they slid down her nose and she needed to push them up, just like now.
The upcoming month, they explained every gender, read texts, and watched videos about them.
Ms. Baek said that these genders were very different from each other and would change their bodies and minds during puberty and afterward a lot.
Usually, everyone was supposed to present around the age of 14 or 15.
She also talked about people who presented later and called them late bloomers. But even those would present around the age of 17.
Alpha's were natural leaders.
They often studied after school to get a higher education and therefore a good job to provide for their families.
They were described as very strong and powerful. Not only influence wise but also in terms of their physique.
They'd protect themselves and other important people in their life at all costs.
Besides their strong preference for Omega scents in general, Ms. Baek said that an Alpha could find their mate in a place packed with Omega's by their scent within seconds.
Most alphas were male.
But sometimes women also presented as Alphas.
Sadly, those women couldn't get others pregnant but sometimes other male Alpha's were able to make puppies with them.
Apparently, getting a female Alpha pregnant was very dangerous and doctors often advised women against pregnancy.
But if their puppy was born, it would present as an Alpha all the time.
Alphas' eyes would turn red during their rut and days after. Once they were mated, their eyes would stay that color.
When Ms. Baek talked about Alpha's knot, Yoongi felt deeply uncomfortable.
He couldn't imagine this being comfortable for either the Alpha or anybody else, Omega or not.
Betas were the more neutral gender.
Yoongi felt comfortable when Ms. Baek compared the gender to them.
If they were going to present as a Beta, they might not notice many changes.
They'd recognize smells and scents easier but not really like an Alpha or Omega. Their noses barely picked up scents and won't be affected by them as well.
They also barely gave off any pheromones and therefore didn't seem to be as attractive to others like Omega's or Alpha's were to each other.
Beta's were also allowed to study.
Most of them took part in research because they were less emotional like Alphas or Omegas and thought logically most of the time thanks to their clear mind. Many also became teachers, doctors, or learned a craft since they wouldn't be distracted by other second genders and their scent.
They also weren't as impulsive.
When Beta got mated by another person, their eyes would turn golden permanently.
Females and males could present as Beta's.
Male Betas couldn't get anyone pregnant but female Betas. Even though, there were some cases where a male Beta got a female Omega pregnant, it's very unlikely.
If a female Beta mated with a male Alpha, their pup would later also present as a Beta all the time.
Omegas were beautiful.
Everyone was awed when Ms. Baek showed pictures of the most famous Omega models.
Usually, Omegas were treated with kid gloves and mostly got pampered. They got all the attention Betas lacked.
Sadly they weren't allowed to study.
If someone was presenting as an Omega, they'd most likely choose an educational path right after school. Like a nurse, kindergartener, dancer or entertainer and would then proceed with their education in provided schools and basically work from day one.
Female Omegas could easily get pregnant by Alphas. Higher chances were given during their heat. Especially for those who wanted more than one pup and wanted their kids to present as Alphas later.
Yoongi felt a bit of shame when Ms. Baek talked about their heat and the slick female and male Omegas produced.
Omegas sounded needy and unsatisfiable.
Male Omegas were infertile. They couldn't get pregnant nor get other Omega's pregnant.
They didn't even have anything similar to a uterus like a female Omega.
Ms. Baek explained that the male Omega's prostate was far more sensitive than the one of Beta's or Alpha's.
Omega eye's turned ice blue during heat and days after. And would stay that color once they were mated.
Yoongi thought male Omegas were doomed and he felt sorry for them.
If some men dreamed of a family and was an Omega, their fate was sealed.
Unluckily, male Omegas still went through unnecessary heats.
They weren't usually as painful as female heats.
Ms. Baek said that evolution may have bigger plans in the future.
Yoongi didn't understand what she meant with that.
One day, they talked about how the government wanted to avoid Alphas or Omegas mingling with Betas by developing a mating system.
Currently, there were more Betas and they wanted to grow the other part of the population as well.
Families with Alpha and Omega kids were compelled to go to their local department and register their children once they presented.
Then they'd match up families and find heat and rut partners for each other when they turned 16.
The family could then decide if they'd accept the offer or would want another choice.
In the past, many parents didn't like their children's partners.
Therefore they already started looking over the years and suggested the kid from the family they made arrangements with.
Yoongi wondered if his parents already talked to other parents or if they let the department handle this.
By the end of the year, Yoongi was sure he had a pretty good insight into the whole second gender thing.
Maybe he'd find out more over the years, once all of them presented.
It felt a bit dreadful that Yoongi would wake up one day, as basically another person.
And then he remembered that Seokjin was already about to turn 13.
Maybe he'd present soon.
But there was something which was still obscure to him so he raised his hand one day in Ms. Baek's class.
"Yes, Yoongi?", she picked him while she held a model of a female uterus in her arms.
"I have a question. What if someone had an Omega and Beta dad?", Yoongi asked.
He had thought of Taehyung and his dads these days and decided that it was impossible that those were Taehyung's biological parents.
Ms. Baek looked at him with sorry eyes when she answered his questions.
"I'm sorry, Yoongi. I don't think that's possible."
Even though Yoongi expected this answer, he sat in the oppressive silence.
He wondered if Taehyung would also sit in school, realizing that his parents weren't his dads.
The rest of the school year went smoothly.
Yoongi visited Namjoon and Seokjin often in their class.
They also found new friends.
Bogum now also joined them more often than not and Seunghee, Chungah, and Sunghyun sat with them during lunch.
They all got along perfectly.
Especially Chungah opened up over the next few weeks.
Sometimes they were a bit scared of the older kids on campus.
Some of them have already presented.
The Alphas were buff and mean. Full of themselves and they often only cared about themselves.
They were nothing like Ms. Baek had described them.
Usually acted selfishly and enjoyed the attention.
Granted, everyone was massaging their ego and thought they were so cool.
Omegas and Betas were running after them, trying to impress them or get their attention.
Yoongi thought it was ridiculous.
"Alphas suck.", Yoongi stated one day, when all of them watched two Alphas from ninth grade fight in the back of their school.
Namjoon chuckled beside him and Seokjin also snorted.
"Yeah. They are acting so tough. I bet when they go to high school they will feel so tiny again."
"I don't know. I think they are cool.", Seunghee said then and watched the fight with amazement in her eyes.
Yoongi was convinced Seunghee would become a pretty Omega.
It was very obvious.
She'd probably idolize others Alpha's soon as well.
Yoongi looked back at Seokjin when he saw him stare in another direction than the fight.
He wondered what was so interesting until he followed Seokjin's gaze and saw a group of pretty girls.
"On which one are you crushing?", Yoongi asked with a cheeky grin and Seokjin's cheeks and ears turned bright red.
"Shut up. Nobody.", he mumbled and stuffed his face with his lunch.
He didn't try to be too obvious, but his eyes landed on a brown-haired girl over and over.
She had short hair, a cheeky smile, and an attitude.
Yoongi never thought that would be Seokjin's type.
"What's her name?", Yoongi asked and stared at his friend until he started to talk by himself.
Her name was Jihye. She was in their class and was one of their best students at school.
Sometimes she talked with Namjoon because they were the best in class and had some kind of rivalry going on, Seokjin couldn't understand completely.
He seemed to like her a lot but she didn't seem to notice him at all.
Seokjin didn't want to be bothersome so he looked at her only from afar.
After that day, when the three of them met up, Seokjin couldn't stop talking about her. He thought she was so pretty and interesting and he wanted to get to know her better.
Namjoon never said anything about her but told Seokjin to give it a try.
All of them were so excited. This was the first time anyone of them was seriously interested in a girl for longer than a couple of weeks.
Yoongi was convinced Seokjin would talk to her soon.
Sadly she was very cold towards him and didn't give him a chance when Seokjin finally asked her to be his girlfriend.
Instead, she seemed to take a liking to Namjoon who told her he wasn't interested.
Afterward, there was a weird mood between Namjoon and Seokjin which Yoongi couldn't seem to fix.
Whenever they met, Yoongi always felt a weird tension between both of them.
But Seokjin always seemed a bit more sulkily and Namjoon just rueful.
In December 2007, their ninth school year, Seokjin didn't come to school one day.
Yoongi knew what was going on.
Seokjin was turning 14 that month. He was feeling sick days ago.
Namjoon and Yoongi called Seokjin's parents one day. They just wanted to make sure.
And indeed.
Seokjin was in rut.
"Are you okay?", Yoongi asked after Namjoon and he sat on the edge of Seokjin's bed for a while.
Seokjin looked like shit.
He had deep and dark circles under his eyes. He was sweat-soaked.
His whole room smelled like sweat and something else Yoongi couldn't really identify.
Seokjin's mother apologized several times that Seokjin wasn't looking decent.
He didn't let his mother come into his room once. Only opened his door to pull water and food inside.
Seokjin's father gave him space. He knew how his son felt.
His Alpha son.
"Yeah. These past days were horrible.", Seokjin said and ran his hands through his greasy hair.
"I didn't know it was that bad. I felt so angry the whole time.", Seokjin explained and shook his head.
Yoongi noticed that Seokjin's cupboards were completely empty. His stuff scattered on the floor.
His wooden desk chair was missing one leg and the snow globe Namjoon and Yoongi gave him last Christmas, laid on the floor under the desk.
Luckily it didn't break.
"That's why your room is a battlefield?", Namjoon asked and Yoongi chuckled.
Seokjin also smiled a bit.
He seemed tired though.
"I didn't want to...but I felt like I couldn't channel it any other way. So I grabbed whatever I could."
Seokjin looked through his room with exhaustion. He didn't seem to bother moving just one bit.
Yoongi was scared to ask what happened exactly. He didn't want to be noisy. So he just chewed his bottom lip.
But Seokjin seemed to sense his curiosity.
He wondered if he now couldn't hide anything from him anymore.
"This whole rut thing is shit. It just hurts and my dick didn't go down for hours. It's nothing like our teacher told us."
Seokjin said it so casually, it made Namjoon and Yoongi smile.
"How long did the rut last?", Namjoon asked and Seokjin took a deep breath.
"Around 4 days. The two in between were the worst."
"Why's that?", Yoongi asked.
"The first day I still had some energy and strength in my body. But the second day I was just drained. I didn't sleep at all and the third one was hell."
"And at the fourth you just-- Like... Did you have time to calm down?", Namjoon asked, sounding insecure.
All of them talked about it in school already but experiencing something like this was a bit more exciting.
So of course Yoongi and Namjoon wanted to know everything.
"I think I passed out at one point. But on the fourth day, I just laid there in pain. At least I wasn't feeling the heat and rage anymore."
Yoongi swallowed and nodded.
He didn't know what to say.
"I'm happy you guys visit.", Seokjin mumbled softly and fumbled with the fingers in his lap.
"I'm sorry for the mess though."
"Oh. Don't worry. It's normal...I guess.", Yoongi said and looked around the room again.
Seokjin chuckled nervously.
Beside Yoongi, Namjoon wriggled on the bed.
"Will your parents go to the department with you soon?", Namjoon asked finally.
Seokjin groaned when he heard the question.
"We didn't talk about it yet. But I think they have someone in mind already. So when I turn 16 they will probably introduce me to her."
All three boys sat on the bed gloomily.
They couldn't imagine that their friend would soon have a partner for his rut. Maybe someone Seokjin would spend the rest of his life with.
Yoongi leaned down to pull something out of his bag.
"We figured you wouldn't celebrate your birthday. But we still bought you something.", he said before he laid the package in Seokjin's lap.
Their friend looked a bit surprised and then showed them how happy he was by smiling brightly.
"Thank you. Thank you so much.", Seokjin said softly before he opened up.
Namjoon and Yoongi bought an album of Seokjin's favorite singer. They also got a shirt from that artist and Seokjin's eyes sparkled when he saw it.
He pulled it up to see the motive and he was so excited.
"That's so cool. Thank you!", Seokjin said and pressed the shirt against his chest.
"You two are the best!"
Yoongi and Namjoon looked at each other with proud smiles.
They picked a good present.
"I'm kind of nervous to go back to school.", Seokjin admitted while he stroked his new shirt.
"Oh- Why?", Yoongi asked.
He thought that now, that Seokjin was an Alpha, he didn't need to be scared of anything .
"I wonder if the others might see me in a different light and then act differently. I don't want that, I think.", Seokjin seemed seriously worried.
"We won't act differently.", Namjoon promised.
"We will stay friends, right?"
Namjoon raised his hand. Around his wrist their friendship bracelet.
Yoongi looked at it. They needed to redo the bracelet already.
The wool has been dirty and ripped at one point.
Besides, they all grew too big for the scope of the bracelet.
Seokjin also showed his own and then Yoongi joined.
All of them grinned at each other.
But a couple of months later, Yoongi wasn't sure how strong a braided promise of friendship could really be.
When Seokjin came back one week later, something weird happened.
Namjoon stood in front of his table alone for lunch.
Yoongi looked at him with confusion in his eyes.
"Where is Seokjin?", Yoongi asked, looking at the door and back at Namjoon who shrugged.
"He just left.", Namjoon said and he looked obviously disturbed. "I don't think he will eat lunch with us."
"What? Where did he go?", Yoongi asked again.
Seunghee already listened to their conversation and looked at Yoongi with worry in her eyes.
"I don't know. He talked to Bogum all day and they left just now without telling me anything."
Yoongi frowned at Namjoon's words.
That didn't sound like Seokjin at all.
"Let's look for him.", Yoongi announced and stood up without his lunch box.
Yoongi and Namjoon walked around the campus.
Seunghee followed them with Sunghyun and Chungah.
They all wondered why Seokjin suddenly changed his mind.
It took them quite a while to find him.
They searched all of Seokjin's favorite places until they found him at the benches close to track and field.
Seokjin stood there with Bogum and a couple of older students.
They were all Alphas, obviously. Broad and tall and most importantly, loud.
Yoongi frowned when he saw how they play-fought with each other.
Seokjin and Bogum didn't fit into their group for now. They were small and slim.
Soon that would change for Seokjin.
Yoongi knew he'd soon start to grow a lot. His shoulders would get broader and muscles would start to build in his body without him working out a lot.
Yoongi looked at each and every person. They weren't from their school.
They were older and probably in high school already.
He wondered what they did on their campus.
"Jihye.", Namjoon gasped.
Yoongi leaned over to Namjoon who had another perspective and maybe saw other people.
And really.
Jihye was standing beside one of the older guys.
She was there with her friends.
But she paid attention to the Alphas only.
She giggled about whatever they said and touched them when they were jostling with each other out of fun.
Yoongi knew what was going on.
Seokjin was now officially an Alpha, which meant he was suddenly becoming popular amongst the students.
Jihye grabbed Seokjin's arm and said something to him with a smirk.
Yoongi knew the face Seokjin made.
His sparkling eyes and dreaming smile.
He was gone.
He was gone and he wouldn't come back to Yoongi and Namjoon.
Over the next month, they watched Seokjin grow. It was crazy.
Some other kids also presented.
Some Omegas, some Alphas, and some Betas which tried to get in with other groups.
And everyone in their school year was running after Seokjin.
Jihye along, making heart eyes at him and Yoongi thought it was disgusting.
Seokjin was still no match to the Alpha in high school, but he was popular in middle school.
Everyone knew that he'd grow even taller, would get more muscles, and would end up a handsome Alpha.
Sometimes, Yoongi heard Omega girls talk about Seokjin's rut partner and they wondered if they could get to know his parents.
Yoongi felt deeply uncomfortable with what happened in the second half of the ninth class.
Their oldest friend didn't talk to them anymore.
Namjoon tried to cope with it.
Sometimes he tried to talk to Seokjin during class but there was always someone interrupting who was more interesting for Alpha Seokjin .
At first, he was scared Seunghee would also leave them when she presented as an Omega by the end of the school year.
But she stuck to them.
Even though it was obvious that she wanted to follow Seokjin when he was passing their classroom;her gaze longing and absent.
Yoongi wondered when he'd present. Would he become an Alpha too?
The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was unlikely to become an Alpha.
Not only was his body thin and fragile, but his mind was also weak.
Of course, Seokjin was an Alpha. He had always protected Yoongi back in the days.
However, now whenever Yoongi got bullied by kids because he was only known as the friend Seokjin didn't want anymore , Seokjin wasn't there to push someone back when Yoongi fell on the floor in the middle of the hallway.
"I'm scared Seokjin will forget about us.", Yoongi mentioned on their last day in middle school.
Namjoon and he gathered all their stuff and they were the last ones in their classrooms.
His friend didn't answer him right away, but once both of them had everything they needed and walked along the hallway, Namjoon finally spoke again.
"Don't worry, Yoongi. A bond like ours doesn't break that easily."
Sometimes, Yoongi didn't know if Namjoon was a dreamer or a believer.
But at this moment he was convinced his friend was dreaming.
2008, 2nd July
Yoongi woke up sick.
He was feeling bad.
Hot and his stomach was hurting.
It was deep inside as if something was ripping apart inside of him.
But instead of being worried and going into the hospital with him, his mother sat by his bed, changing the cold compresses around his calves when the fever started.
The next days, she rubbed his back and belly when it got worse and at one point Yoongi asked his mother why she wasn't helping him.
He was begging her to do something but she only looked at him with the saddest smile yet and told him, "It will be over soon."
At first, Yoongi was sure his mother was crazy, but once his fever went down and the abdominal cramps stopped, he laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Then he understood.
He just presented.
It felt as if his body had tried to present as something decent, but everything inside of Yoongi fought against it. The Beta inside of Yoongi fought and won.
When he laid on his bed and realized this, he looked at his mother who had her hand on Yoongi's chest and rubbed her thumb along his skin.
"Did you know?", he asked her.
He wondered if his mother knew it.
Because sometimes Omega parents knew and felt it for a long time.
He wanted to know if he disappointed his parents.
"We knew.", she said and lifted her hand to run her thumb along Yoongi's cheeks.
"Don't worry. It's good. It's okay like this. That's you."
"Are you disappointed? What's with daddy?", Yoongi asked, his voice breaking at the last word.
"Of course we are not disappointed, Yoongi. You are our baby. Daddy loves you.", she said and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead.
Yoongi felt tears come to his eyes.
He cried after days of pain.
He finally cried and couldn't stop once reality set in.
Not even when his parents laid down with him.
Not when his Omega mother scented him and told him that he was beautiful and that they loved him.
Not when his Alpha father hugged him close and told him that he was proud and glad.
Yoongi thought those were lies.
He expected more from life.
He always told himself that he didn't want to find a woman one day that wanted to live with him.
That Yoongi didn't want pups.
Yoongi had thought scenting someone wasn't interesting.
He had thought that it would do nothing for him if someone would scent him.
But when Yoongi finally realized that nobody would ever mate him and would want to build a happy relationship,
Yoongi understood he lied to himself all along.
He just wanted to go back to a couple of days before. Maybe even back to elementary school.
When his biggest worry was that someone stole his homework or called him ugly.
Now, Yoongi's own body was telling him he was worthless.
He was just some Beta who'd study so he'd experienced some kind of joy in his pathetic life.
It took him several days to calm down.
He was so upset, he didn't eat for days.
Even though all of his friends asked for him to come outside during vacation, Yoongi couldn't bring himself to care.
Just when Namjoon sat down beside Yoongi, he seemed to feel something again.
His body has been empty. Sadness washed over him and didn't leave anything.
Omegas weren't doomed.
Betas were.
"You look like shit.", Namjoon said out loud when he looked at Yoongi.
The corner of Yoongi's mouth twitched up a tiny bit before his expression died down again.
His eyes burned, his body hurt and his heart was heavy.
He didn't know if he'd ever laugh again.
"I thought Seokjin looked bad back then but you look as if you didn't sleep for a week."
Namjoon chatted with Yoongi and he welcomed it.
When Namjoon nudged Yoongi to move to the other end of the bed, he slipped under the blanket with Yoongi and they looked at each other.
"Being a Beta is good. It's okay.", Namjoon said but Yoongi only frowned.
He was repeating what his parents already told him.
"Imagine how pissed Seokjin will be that you are not affected by his scent."
This made Yoongi snort.
At one point during these last couple of days, Yoongi hated Seokjin for presenting as an Alpha. He was angry.
But most importantly, he was jealous.
Then Yoongi thought it was ridiculous to hate Seokjin. He didn't choose to present as an Alpha.
And then he was back at just hating himself.
"Think of all the good things that come with being a Beta.", Namjoon said and pushed both his hands under his ear.
"What would that be?", Yoongi asked warily.
"You can study some cool shit. You don't need to think of heats or ruts. People won't think you are easy because you are an Omega or want to fight you because you are an Alpha. No offense, but if you were an Alpha, even I could fight you."
Yoongi smiled at the offense. Namjoon was probably right.
"I feel like Alphas and Omegas are weaker than Betas. Betas are fucking cool."
"Now you are lying.", Yoongi mumbled.
"No really! Imagine giving into someone just because you like their scent? That's weak-ass behavior."
Usually, Namjoon didn't speak like this. He didn't use swear words or talked badly about others.
"You don't need to say that to make me feel better.", Yoongi said, avoiding Namjoon's eyes now.
"I'm not. I'm stating facts.", Namjoon said back.
Yoongi didn't talk back to that.
He just kept thinking about it.
Namjoon tried to make him feel better and it took Yoongi some time to accept his fate.
At first, Yoongi was afraid to go to high school.
Maybe others would tease him and call him worthless or redundant.
But on his first day, he noticed two things.
Nobody gave a shit. He wasn't involved in drama.
In their first week in tenth grade, Yoongi and Namjoon saw Alphas fight and suppress each other to show everyone who was stronger and better.
And Omegas ran after Alphas or bitched at each other because they liked the same Alpha.
Yoongi watched the scene with horror. He was glad he wasn't part of it and whenever Yoongi met another Beta in the hallway, they smiled at each other and then went their way.
He didn't know why he worried so much.
Besides, Namjoon and Yoongi were in one class again.
They kept in contact with Seunghee, Sunghyun, and Chungah.
Therefore they knew they were in the same school.
Sadly they were in another class and when Namjoon and Yoongi walked over before their first teacher showed up, they saw someone else.
In front of Seunghee's classroom, Bogum and Seokjin stood with a group of other Alphas.
Bogum presented during summer holidays too, apparently.
Now both of them fit more into the group of older Alphas.
Neither Seokjin nor Bogum turned around to look at them.
Yoongi felt a bit disappointed but Namjoon just shrugged it off as Alpha pride.
They only talked briefly to Seunghee.
She seemed excited for the next three years and talked with them about club activities.
Just when Sunghyun and Chungah appeared in the doors of the classroom and asked her to follow them, she ended their conversation.
The siblings presented as Alpha and Omega.
They didn't see them often anymore afterward. Yoongi had the feeling they were avoiding them even.
Slowly, everyone presented and Namjoon was one of the few kids that didn't present yet.
Namjoon said several times that he wasn't stressing over it.
He figured he'd become a Beta too and nothing would change for him much.
And Namjoon was right.
Two weeks after his 14th birthday, Namjoon didn't come to school for a while.
Yoongi didn't doubt that his friend presented.
And when he visited, Namjoon looked just as shitty as he did back then.
But Yoongi thought it was nice that when he entered Namjoon's room, he was able to catch a soft scent which reminded him of mowed grass.
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