Hwan had collapsed onto the couch, his perfectly styled hair already disheveled from running his hands through it. Tae-min was sprawled beside him, eyes closed, looking like he might fall asleep at any moment. Jin-ho stood by the window, staring out at nothing, his shoulders tight with tension. Min-jun was rubbing his temples, the gentle smile gone, revealing exhaustion beneath. And Jae-won sat in the armchair, elbows on his knees, head bowed.
They looked drained. Emptied out.
Our alphas,my omega whispered, something protective stirring in my chest.They gave everything to the camera. Now they have nothing left.
I moved before I could overthink it.
"Water." I said, pressing a bottle into Jae-won's hands, my voice soft but firm as I crouched beside his chair. He looked up at me with surprise flickering across his features, like he'd forgotten I was there. "You need to hydrate."
"Keira—" He started, confusion coloring his voice, his brow furrowing as he tried to process the role reversal.
"Drink." I pressed, already moving to Hwan, handing him a bottle too, my fingers brushing his as I pulled back.
"What are you doing?" Hwan asked, accepting the water automatically, his brow furrowing with bewilderment, his golden eyes tracking me with tired confusion.
"Taking care of you." I said simply, moving to Jin-ho next, gently guiding him away from the window with a hand on his elbow, pressing a bottle into his grip. "You just performed for two hours. You need rest."
"We're supposed to take care of you." Tae-min said from the couch, but he accepted the water I handed him without protest, his voice rough with exhaustion, his usual energy completely depleted.
"Why can't it go both ways?" I asked, settling beside Min-jun and pressing a cool bottle against his temple where he'd been rubbing, watching him lean into the touch with a small sigh of relief, his eyes fluttering closed.
The room went quiet.
"No one..." Min-jun started, then stopped, his voice thick with something I couldn't name, his hand coming up to cover mine where I held the bottle.
"No one what?" I prompted gently, keeping the bottle pressed to his temple, my other hand finding his and squeezing.
"No one takes care of us." Jin-ho finished quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, his dark eyes fixed on me with something like wonder, the water bottle hanging forgotten in hisgrip. "We're alphas. We're supposed to be the strong ones. The providers."
"That's stupid." I said flatly, and watched several pairs of eyebrows rise in surprise, startled expressions appearing on exhausted faces. "You're people. People get tired. People need care. Being an alpha doesn't make you immune to exhaustion."
"She's right." Jae-won's voice was rough, something vulnerable flickering in his expression as he watched me move around the room, his usual composure cracked, his dark eyes following my every movement. "We're not used to... this."
"Then get used to it." I said, pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over Tae-min, who made a small sound of contentment and curled into it immediately, his body relaxing into the softness. "You're my pack too. That means I take care of you when you need it."
My pack. The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning.
Let us care for them,my omega urged. Our alphas. They need us too.
"Your pack." Hwan repeated, his voice soft with wonder, his golden eyes tracking my movements as I adjusted his blanket, tucking it around his shoulders with careful attention.
"Is that okay?" I asked, suddenly uncertain, my hands stilling on the fabric, my heart beating faster as I waited for their response. "To call you that?"
"It's more than okay." Jae-won said, his voice rough with emotion, his eyes suspiciously bright as he met my gaze, his hand reaching out to catch mine. "It's everything."
The evening settled into something quiet and domestic. I made them eat — real food, not just snacks — and enforced a no-work rule that they protested weakly before giving in. We ended up back in the nest, all six of us, though this time I was the one pulling them close instead of being pulled.
"The song." I said into the comfortable silence, my fingers carding through Hwan's hair where his head rested in my lap, the strands soft and still slightly stiff from styling products. "Mina called. They want it for the album. Maybe as the title track."
"What?" Jin-ho sat up, his eyes widening, his usual composure cracking into genuine surprise, his whole body going alert.
"The one we worked on yesterday." I smiled at his expression, warmth spreading through my chest at his reaction, at the way his face transformed with joy. "They loved it."
"Of course they did." Tae-min said, his voice muffled against my shoulder where he'd burrowed in, his breath warm through my shirt. "You're brilliant. We've been saying that."
"This is huge." Jae-won said, and the pride in his voice made something flutter in my chest, his dark eyes warm on mine, his hand squeezing my ankle where it rested near him. "Keira, this is your first potential title track."
"I know." I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face, joy bubbling up despite my best efforts to stay calm. "I know."
