5 Ice-Breaking Race 2

Sangcheol lifts his head from his phone to see what the ruckus is about. His batchmates are excitedly whistling and catcalling, he wonders to whom. Still far away from the source as he is at the end of the line, he inquires to his friend in front of him, "The omegas are here."

Omegas? Are they near the omega dormitories? A brief referral to the map reveals that they are actually somewhere near the medical department, and their omega dormitories are further back. He doubts senior omegas will receive that kind of response because… that will be weird.

"Owh hell no. Dude, that's the omega!" Sangcheol looks at the direction his new friend is pointing. A group of omegas – freshman, based on the tags they are wearing - are doing some puzzles on the bench. He scans the group quickly before moving to the ones behind them to figure out if there is someone he should know. "Who?"

"That author! The pretty one!" Taeyong shakes his shoulder a few times, still pointing. Because they stopped walking completely, the line behind them followed out of curiousity and soon after, a few alphas gathered, just looking at the group like a bunch of desperate alphas. Everyone is excited, he can tell. The omegas are pretty so he can't blame them but, this is really a bit embarrassing. He really wants to go back to the orientation group.

Before he is able to move his legs though, his shoulder is pulled back by Taeyong who points to someone, 'subtly'.

"Dude he's looking!!!" The finger leads his eyes towards a long, brown-haired omega, who is, like Taeyong said, staring back at him. No, not him but at his model-like friend probably. She is, pretty, and embarrassingly, his handsome friend starts to try and court her despite their distance. Taeyong is busy trying to look cool it is almost funny. Trying to hold his laughter, Sangcheol has to look away as to not humiliate his new friend.

"Come on man." He shakes his head, patting the other to get his attention. He had his fun; they have to leave now or the seniors will come looking. Besides, if he leaves his friend like this any longer, the man may not leave for good if he gets even the slightest reaction from the omega.

Also, it is embarrassing to stay any longer. Because, in all honesty, he cannot comprehend why his dorm mates are all acting like rutting alphas. Well, they are, hormonal young alphas after all, but if a bunch of omegas can cause them to act like this, he worries about their future outside campus. They may not even try to control themselves. The mere thought sends shivers down his spine.

And, Taeyong… Sure, the omega he is aiming is attractive, but she is definitely not the prettiest in the group. At least, she is not beautiful enough to cause this kind of commotion. Which is why he is still confused as to why they are still here.

"What? You fucking kidding me? This is my chance!" Taeyong hisses, still trying to maintain his cool. He realizes the man is also trying to intensify his pheromones but before he can comment on that, someone from their group suddenly makes his way towards the omegas, shocking the others.

"You guys need help?" the guy offers, boldly walking towards the bench and sits with the omegas. Sangcheol can hear his friend clicks his tongue in annoyance, sensing a fight is on the way. Not wanting to deal with any complicated situation, Sangcheol taps his friend and pushes him slightly so the upset man will start walking away. Looking back, he sees the shameless guy sitting with the omega group, laughing as the omegas start chatting with him, secretly admiring his courage to do so.

He wonders where that confidence came from. He will never even think about approaching omegas like that. Because, maybe it is just him being territorial but if some stranger just suddenly decides to sit with his group uninvited, he will not be as welcoming as the omegas. He wonders if omegas are like that by nature, overly friendly towards other people just like Gyuri…

Gyuri.

How is she anyway? He wonders how many new friends she already made. If she is enjoying her orientation like he is…

Sangcheol misses her. It has been three days since their last phone call. His messages are also left unanswered…

"You, don't know who that was, do ya?" Taeyong's question breaks him from his thoughts. Sangcheol shakes his head lightly, still facing up front. He thought the omega is someone famous, considering she turned so many heads.

"That's fucking Haneul! The write of that book… What's the name again? Uh…" the taller of the two holds his own head, trying to recall.

"Owh… a celebrity…" Sangcheol murmurs, not really interested. If that is the case though, he really doesn't blame them for acting the way they did. It is not always that they get to see a celebrity. Things will probably die down after a while. He just feel bad for the girl, she must feel awkward as well, attending a university hoping to be like other normal student only to be crowded like that.

"Dude, he's so pretty in real life he really looks like a girl!"

"Who?" Sangcheol asks, wondering if he missed something. Who looks like a girl?

"Yoo Haneul, duh. Man, do you really not know him?" Taeyong looks at him weird, and holds up his phone. He then opens Instagram and shows Sangcheol that pretty author's page.

Sangcheol looks at the pictures in awe. So, the omega is a male omega, a pretty male omega, instead of a female. Now everything makes sense. No wonder he gets so many attention because although for a female he will be pretty, for a male, Yoo Haneul is really, really beautiful. "I really thought he is a she."

"Heol. Ryuu, you really need to watch TV or read books. What do you even do on your free time anyway?" Taeyong asks, calling him by his nickname as they finally reach the rest of their group. Slightly running as a respond to their seniors calling them, Sangcheol replies, "Gym," earning him a playful punch from the other male.

Taeyong is right. Though Sangcheol doubts he will spend his free time stuck in front of the television, he agrees that he needs to at least keep up with current news.

At least, so he will not confuse pretty males with females anymore.

#####

Too focused on solving the puzzle to notice the alphas' scents, it took a few excited catcalls to finally get Haneul to turn his head around. Greeted by the sheepish smiles of some of his teammates, the male omega peeks behind them to see a group of alphas passing through, probably being guided around campus by their respective seniors. Haneuls's dormitory had theirs yesterday together with a few other groups from different parts of campus that they bumped into, but those alpha/beta groups weren't as annoying as these ones. He wonders which department this group is from.

Done observing the group, he returns his focus back to the puzzle, determined to solve it as soon as possible. There are three wooden blocks they have to assemble; they have only succeeded in solving one in fifteen minutes. He really wants to be done with it so he can return to his room, and eat. All this running is draining him out.

"Seriously?" He sighs when he notices his teammates are not even trying anymore. Instead, they are giggling while poking the block, as if turning it around and simply stacking them will help. Lifting his head up to warn them, Haneul's eyes catches two figures standing a few distance from his group. One of them suddenly got excited while pointing towards him before trying to act cool, which somehow Haneul finds amusing, considering his already tall stature and handsome face. To his right, another man slightly shorter than the other with a more muscular build has his eyes squinted as he tries to scan around. As soon as he spots Haneul and their eyes meet, the man smiles.

Sweetly. His dimples prominent on his porcelain skin-

Wait, he knows that smile. He saw it somewhere before…

That dimple… those eyes…

That alpha!

That pretty alpha he saw a few years back! The pretty alpha with a pretty smile. He almost cannot recognize the man since his face changed a bit from back then. If his memory serves him correctly, the alpha is sweet-looking. Now, he looks more… manly.

…but to think that he remembered that face from a few years ago…

Finding his mouth curving upwards involuntarily, Haneul breaks their eye contact and hides his face, feeling his cheeks warming up. Frowning in confusion, the omega again, tries to look at the alpha. The man now has his body turned sideways, his left hand covering his mouth, his eyebrows curved upwards in a failed attempt to cover his laughter.

Fuck he is cute.

Haneul wants a taste of him.

Just a taste. Enough to stop this weird tingly feeling he usually have when he fancies someone. A night will be enough to stop his desire.

… well, most of the time.

"You guys need help?" The sudden voice, loud enough to signify the position of the person near the group interrupts him. Based on the scent, it is obvious one of the alphas broke away from his group to try his hands on one of them. Feeling his mood completely destroyed as the alpha takes a seat beside him, uninvited, Haneul gives him a side-eye before completely ignoring him to return to his puzzle. Probably liking the cold treatment he is getting in comparison to the excited squeals of his team members, the blond man turns his body towards the disinterested omega.

"Owh, this puzzle." The rude alpha takes the wooden pieces in front of Haneul and starts to place them accurately on top of each other, smirking as he takes the final two pieces from Haneul and completes the puzzle. The arrogant smug, he wants to wipe it off so badly. The others lifting his ego by whining about the damn thing makes the situation almost unbearable. Not wanting to entertain the alpha by arguing with him or showing interest, Haneul rests his head on his hand, eyes wandering around… searching for the man with the sweet smile…

...he is already gone.

Blowing out softly, Haneul starts to fiddle with his phone while his eyes lock with his senior. He is hoping she will ask the alpha intruder to leave their group alone by teaching him about the game rules and what not but she doesn't care. The other two groups are stuck just like them, and another one just came. She probably just someone, anyone to solve the puzzles and let her leave her post.

Another block is placed in his hand followed by claps and cheers of admiration, and Haneul looks down. "And this, is how you do it." The alpha winks at him to which he replies with a smirk of his own.

Egoistic bastard.

Owh well, at least they are done puzzle. There is no way he will thank the guy though, they never asked for his help, and he was just doing it to boost his ego anyway. The damn alpha got what he came for, they owe him nothing. Ignoring the alpha, standing up to report to the senior to receive the next clue, he remembers something important. "Hey, which department?"

"Engineering." Another wink, and this time, Haneul lifts his upper lips slightly, showing disgust. Without sparing another second at the place, he makes his way back to their department area, where the last clue will be given.

Engineering eh? At least now he knows where he can find the cute alpha.

And he knows the perfect chance they can meet…

He cannot wait for that day to come.