Chapter 69 - The Brief Happiness 5

'Wha…?' Wonho stared at Haneul who now has a deep frown, before averting his gaze left and right, trying to recall what he just heard. 

Not broken? It can't be… He was with Minw- The alphas were around-

…owh. 

Wonho bursts out laughing at a realization. This is a joke. A prank. The three of them are playing with him to celebrate his bond breaking. Nice one. They got him. This is funny. Haneul is a really good actor. Chansol too!

'No, Wono.' Haneul moves to the hysterical man's bed and brings his hands up to touch the other but Wonho recoils. He doesn't like this situation. This is enough. They got him. There is no need to keep on acting or he might actually have a breakdown. 'Wono, it's back to normal. I thought you kn-'

'You should stop. That's enough playing around.'

'Wono-yah. Your bond-'

'I SAID STOP! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!' The loud voice stuns both the omegas that they froze, not uttering a word. The only sound that can be heard is Wonho's agitated breaths.

A few seconds passed before Haneul moves closer to the younger in another attempt to cool him down but again, is pushed away harshly. Holding onto his protector tightly, Wonho gets up from his bed in a hurry. 'Wono, calm down.'

'CALM DOWN?' Wonho turns his front to face Haneul but backs away slowly until he hits the wall. 'It's broken. I know it is. I slep-' 

His knees go limp suddenly and his legs give out. Wonho hits the floor, leaning against the wall, holding both sides of his head to stop his brain from pulsing so hard. Everything hurts. 'The fuck you know? What the fuc-'

The air is tensed. It is heavy.

'Is that why the three of you kept looking at me weird? What the hell?' He doesn't know how to take this. After all this time? After one whole year of him locking himself in his room, avoiding the people in fear of stumbling upon his mate? He had been taking every precaution there is and more! He changed his course! He stopped his part-time job! He did everything!! It is weak enough for him to attract other alphas just a week ago! Back to normal? BACK TO NORMALL???!

'Wono. I'm sorry. I thought you are trying to hide it from Jun and Mengyao. We thought…' Haneul tries to hug his distressed junior but before he can get close enough, the man manages to get up and lock himself in the bathroom. The former barely made it to the door before hearing the clicking sound.

Shit. This is worrisome. He is afraid Wonho may lose it and do something bad to himself. Haneul places his ear against the door to analyze the current situation. He hears the exasperated breaths which sounded close enough, so he knows Wonho has his back against the door. 

Haneul closes his eyes, trying to remember if there is anything inside that Wonho can use to hurt himself. It is not looking good. There are shavers. 

'Wono-yah… don't do anything stupid!' He screams and leans back against the door, trying to figure out what to do. He hears the shower and bites his thumb, nervous.

That does not sound good. 

Pacing back and forth, Haneul keeps on biting his nail. He is too afraid to do anything hastily, scared that it may cause Wonho his life. If Wonho is filling the tub with water, it will take a while before he starts cutting himself; if he is planning to.

Haneul thinks hard on whether he should tell Sangcheol about it. He cannot break the door by himself, he knows that much. But what if Wonho does anything stupid while he is out to get his mate? He needs to be here to persuade Wonho to come out.

'Arghh! Stupid!' he hisses at himself when he notices the phone. Why didn't he think of it sooner??

Click.

Haneul looks up from the dial, at the shuddering figure who is out of the bathroom. Wonho is drenching wet and is heading straight to his bed. Panicking, Haneul grabs a towel and bathrobe, and pulls the shivering omega close to him in a tight hug. 

'Who?'

'I don't know. I never smell this scent before…' He rubs the towel around, trying to dry the other.

'I met someone… from that night. He was there waiting outside during my heat and tried to take me away…'

'It could be…'

'And another was riding in the same bus as me… He ran away when he saw me.' Wonho turns his head towards Haneul, his eyes pleading for answers. The latter drops his gaze, feeling guilty because he cannot give the man the answer that he is seeking. 

'How? Am I not even allowed to go out anymoreanymore??'

'No. Wono…'

'ONCE! IT'S ONCE IN SIX MONTHS!! What should I do now…' Wonho falls back on his knees, supporting his front weight with his palms. He is in extreme distress, Haneul notices. His pheromones are all over the place, strong but with fear. An attribute unique to his junior. 

'It's not that… Wono, you need to be exposed to his scent -' Haneul bites his lips, deciding he should stop. He doesn't know why he even bothered trying to explain. Wonho doesn't want to know how, he probably doesn't care. It is already too late. It already happened and none of them were there with him when it did. None of them were there to warn him. To look after him. 

The older male rubs Wonho's upper arms, showing his support. He wants to say things are going to be fine, or that he understands him, but he cannot because he doesn't know. They went through similar nightmares but his is very different. He was never marked, and when he finally did bond, it was mutual with someone he really trusts. He knows things will get worse now that Wonho finally had his first heat and yet he cannot offer any support.

'Who? Since when??' Wonho is trying hard to speak in between his broken sobs. It is painful to watch the man desperately gasping for air. He wants so badly to calm the poor man, but nothing seems to work. Wonho needs to relax. He needs to rest, or he may go mental. They will discuss about this later, with the other two, including the betas if Wonho let them but not now.

#####

It took a few hours of intense crying but Wonho finally calmed down.

No, he was finally tired enough he passed out.

Leaning Wonho against the wall, Haneul grabs his phone to call Sangcheol to his room. The alpha helps carry Wonho to bed after Haneul dried his hair and changed him into new pajamas. Now, both the couple sit on the floor, leaning against Wonho's bed.

'You know who his mate is?'

'I think I do…' Sangcheol sighs and kisses the top of Haneul's head. He recognizes the base of the scent, but it is too soon to make conclusions. He needs to make sure.