"Couldn't sleep either?" Hwan's voice came from behind me, soft and careful, not wanting to startle me, his footsteps quiet on the tile floor. I turned to find him leaning against the doorway, his platinum blonde hair a mess, his warm brown eyes still heavy with interrupted rest. He'd pulled on a t-shirt at some point, but it was inside out, the tag sticking up at his collar.
"No." I admitted, wrapping my arms around myself, my voice rough from the sleepless night, my eyes puffy from crying. "Too much in my head." Hwan crossed the kitchen, stopping close enough that I could feel his warmth but not quite touching, giving me the choice. His eyes — warm brown with those distinctive flecks of gold — searched my face with quiet concern, taking in the dark circles and the tension in my shoulders.
"Want to talk about it?" Hwan asked, his voice gentle, no pressure beneath the words, just an offering, his head tilting slightly as he watched me. I hesitated, then nodded. The questions had been eating at me all night. Maybe saying them out loud would help.
"What if I'm not enough?" The words came out smaller than I intended, fragile and uncertain, my eyes dropping to the floor between us. "For all five of you. What if... what if one omega isn't enough to satisfy a whole pack? What if you get bored, or frustrated, or?—"
"Hey." Hwan's hand found my chin, tilting my face up gently until I met his eyes, his touch feather-light and careful, his golden-flecked gaze soft but intense. "Look at me."
I looked. His eyes were bright even in the early morning dim, filled with something fierce and tender all at once.
"You're already everything." Hwan said, his voice low and certain, his thumb brushing along my jaw with reverent softness, his expression open and earnest. "Do you understand that? You're already more than we ever hoped for. More than we ever expected. One week with you has been better than years of waiting."
"But—" I started, my voice cracking with doubt, my hands twisting together nervously.
"No buts." Hwan cut in gently, his other hand coming up to cup my face, cradling it between his palms like something precious, his warm brown eyes never leaving mine. "You're not a puzzle piece we're trying to fit into our lives, Keira. You're the missing part that makes everything else make sense. Five alphas, one omega — it sounds unbalanced, but it's not. You're the center. The heart. Without you, we're just... circling."
He means it, my omega whispered, something warm spreading through my chest. Can feel it through the bond. I could. The bond between us pulsed with sincerity, with warmth, with something that felt terrifyingly like love.
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, my eyes searching his face for any sign of doubt, my fingers unconsciously gripping the hem of my shirt.
"Because I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Hwan said simply, his golden-flecked eyes holding mine without wavering, his thumbs tracing gentle patterns on my cheekbones, his voice steady despite the weight of the words. "You're it, Keira. You're what we've been waiting for. And if it takes the rest of our lives to convince you of that, then that's what we'll do."
The tears came before I could stop them — but they weren't sad tears. They were something else. Relief, maybe. Or the beginning of belief. Hwan pulled me into his arms without hesitation, his chin resting on top of my head, his sunshine-and-citrus scent wrapping around me like a blanket, his embrace warm and secure.
"One fear down." Hwan murmured into my hair, his voice warm with gentle humor, his arms tightening around me in a reassuring squeeze. "How many more to go?"
I laughed despite myself, the sound watery but real, my face pressed against his chest. "Too many to count."
"Then we'll tackle them one at a time." Hwan pressed a kiss to my forehead before releasing me, his warm brown eyes soft with affection, his hands sliding down to hold mine. "That's how you eat an elephant, right? One bite at a time."
"Did you just compare my existential crisis to eating an elephant?" I asked, my voice steadier now, something like amusement flickering through the exhaustion, one eyebrow raising despite myself.
"I'm not a morning person." Hwan grinned, his sunshine returning in full force, his whole face lighting up with that famous smile that made fans stop and stare, his shoulders shrugging with exaggerated helplessness. "My metaphors suffer before coffee."
The second conversation found me later that morning. I'd retreated to the living room with a book I wasn't actually reading, my mind still turning over questions I didn't know how to ask. Jin-ho appeared in the doorway, silent as always, a cup of tea in each hand.
"You looked like you could use this." Jin-ho said quietly, crossing the room to offer me one of the cups, his striking amber-honey eyes observing me with that careful attention that always made me feel seen, his movements unhurried and deliberate. "Chamomile. Good for overthinking."
"Is it that obvious?" I accepted the cup, wrapping my fingers around its warmth, grateful for the small comfort, my grey eyes meeting his unusual golden-amber ones.
"Only to people paying attention." Jin-ho settled into the chair across from me, his silver-grey hair falling across his forehead, his posture relaxed but attentive, the steam from his own cup curling between us. "Which, for the record, is all five of us. Constantly."
We sat in silence for a moment, sipping our tea. The quiet with Jin-ho never felt awkward — it felt like a conversation in its own language, comfortable and undemanding.
"Can I ask you something?" I said finally, my eyes fixed on the tea in my hands, steam curling up between us, my voice hesitant.
"Anything." Jin-ho said, his voice low and steady, his amber eyes patient on my face, giving me space to find the words.
"The completed bonds." I hesitated, trying to find the right words, my fingers tightening around the cup, the warmth seeping into my palms. "What if they change who I am? What if I become... different? Less myself and more just... yours?"
Jin-ho was quiet for a long moment, considering the question with the same careful attention he gave everything. When he spoke, his voice was thoughtful and measured, his amber-honey eyes distant for a moment before focusing back on me.
"I used to wonder the same thing." Jin-ho admitted, his gaze fixed on some point beyond my shoulder before returning to my face, something vulnerable flickering in his expression. "Before we found you. I worried that having an omega would change us — that we'd become possessive, controlling, that the alpha instincts would override who we actually were."
"And?" I prompted, leaning forward slightly, desperate to understand, my hands tightening around the warm cup.
"The bonds don't change you." Jin-ho said, his voice quiet but certain, his striking amber gaze holding mine with gentle intensity, his posture shifting toward me. "They just... makeyou more you. Whatever you already are, the bond amplifies. If you're loving, you love deeper. If you're protective, you protect fiercer." He paused, his lips quirking into a small smile, a rare flash of humor crossing his usually stoic features. "If you're stubborn, you become absolutely impossible to argue with."
