"You need to conserve energy. Let us take care of you. That's literally our job right now." Hwan said when I protested, his platinum blonde hair falling into his warm brown eyes, his famous smile softer than usual, his hand finding my knee and squeezing gently.
"It feels strange. Just sitting here while you all work." I admitted, watching Tae-min and Jin-ho carry extra blankets into the nest room, my skin prickling with restless energy, my fingers drumming against my thigh.
"Get used to it. We plan on taking care of you for a very long time." Hwan's smile widened into something more playful, his sunshine-and-citrus scent brightening, his warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on my knee.
By late morning, the nest preparations were mostly complete, and a strange calm settled over the dorm.
"Movie?" Tae-min suggested, bouncing onto the couch beside me, his dark chocolate eyes hopeful, his cherry-red hair still disheveled from carrying blankets, his whole body vibrating with barely contained energy.
"That sounds nice, actually." I said, surprised by how much I meant it, leaning into his warmth without thinking, my head finding his shoulder.
They settled on a romantic comedy none of them would admit to liking, and soon I was buried under a pile of alphas. Hwan on my left, arm around my shoulders. Tae-min on my right, his head eventually drooping onto my shoulder as the movie progressed. Jin-ho on the floor in front of me, leaning back against my legs. Min-jun wedged beside Hwan with a bowl of popcorn. And Jae-won in the armchair nearby, watching us more than the movie, his expression soft with something that looked like wonder.
Pack,my omega purred, content despite the heat building under my skin.
"You're not watching the movie." I said to Jae-won during a quiet scene, catching his eyes on me instead of the screen.
"I'm watching something better." Jae-won said simply, his nearly-black eyes warm, his lips quirking into a small smile, his whole body relaxed in a way I rarely saw from the pack alpha.
Halfway through the movie, Hwan got restless.
"Okay, I can't sit still anymore. Keira, come here." Hwan stood abruptly, pulling me up with him, his platinum blondehair bouncing, his warm brown eyes bright with mischief, his grip on my hand firm but gentle.
"What are you doing?" I asked, letting him tug me to the open space behind the couch, my grey eyes narrowed with suspicion, my bare feet cool against the floor.
"Teaching you the choreography for 'Eclipse.' You wrote the song — you should know the dance." Hwan said, already positioning my arms, his touch gentle but insistent, his smile infectious, his sunshine scent wrapping around me.
What followed was chaos.
Tae-min and Hwan kept trying to out-dance each other, showing off increasingly complicated moves while I attempted to follow and mostly just spun in confused circles. Jin-ho eventually joined in, his movements precise and controlled where theirs were flashy, his amber eyes warm with quiet enjoyment. Even Min-jun got pulled in, his dance style surprisingly smooth, his hazel eyes bright with laughter.
"Come on, pack alpha. Show us your moves." Tae-min called to Jae-won, who was still watching from the doorway, his nearly-black eyes soft with amusement.
"I don't dance." Jae-won said simply, but he was smiling, his cedar-and-thunder scent warm with contentment, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Dance with me. Just once." I crossed to him, holding out my hand, my grey eyes challenging, my heart beating faster. Jae-won looked at my outstretched hand for a long moment, his nearly-black eyes searching my face, something vulnerable flickering in their depths. Then he took it, his fingers wrapping around mine, warm and strong.
"Just once." Jae-won said, letting me pull him to his feet, his voice rough, his nearly-black eyes never leaving mine, his cedar scent intensifying. There was no music playing anymore, but itdidn't matter. Jae-won pulled me close, one hand on my waist, the other holding mine, and we swayed together in the silence.
"This isn't really dancing." I murmured, but I didn't pull away, my head finding his chest, his heartbeat steady under my ear.
"It's enough." Jae-won's voice was soft, his chin coming to rest on top of my head, his cedar scent surrounding me completely, his arms tightening around me. The others drifted closer, not interrupting, just... being near. Hwan's hand found my shoulder. Tae-min pressed against my back. Jin-ho's fingers brushed my arm. Min-jun's warmth radiated from somewhere close.
Six people, breathing together, holding each other without words.
The afternoon sun slanted through the windows, warm and golden. We'd settled into a pile on the floor — limbs and blankets tangled together. I was sprawled across Tae-min's lap while Min-jun played with my hair, Hwan's head resting on my stomach, Jin-ho reading quietly in the corner, Jae-won's hand a constant presence on my ankle.
"Can I see them?" I asked suddenly, the question surprising even myself, my grey eyes moving from face to face. "Your soulmate marks. I've never... I want to really look at them."
The room went still. Something shifted in the air — anticipation, vulnerability.
"You haven't seen them yet?" Hwan lifted his head from my stomach, his warm brown eyes soft, his platinum hair mussed and sticking up on one side.
"Just glimpses. Never really looked." I admitted, my cheeks flushing slightly, my grey eyes dropping. "I want to see. Before... before everything."
Hwan sat up, his expression tender, and turned his left arm over, exposing his inner wrist. There, against his skin, was amark — a delicate branch with a single flower blooming from it, like a sakura but in teal. The color was filled in, soft and beautiful, but something about it looked... unfinished. No fine lines. No delicate details in the petals or branch. Like a painting waiting for its finishing brushstrokes.
"It colored in the moment our bond triggered. In the park." Hwan said softly, his warm brown eyes watching my face, his fingers tracing the edge of the teal flower. "When it's complete — when you mark me and I mark you — the fine lines will appear. The details in the petals, the texture of the branch. That's how you know a soulmate bond is finished."
