"Yeah?" My voice came out breathier than I intended, barely above a whisper.
"I'm going to kiss you now." His thumbs traced small circles on my hips through my shirt, the touch sending sparks across my skin. "Unless you tell me not to."
My heart stuttered. This was it — the moment I'd been dreading and wanting in equal measure. The first kiss. The first real step toward completing the bond. Everything in me that still remembered my mother's warnings was screaming to step back, to protect myself, to run.
I was so tired of running.
"Don't stop." I whispered the words against his lips, a plea and a permission all at once. I knew this could be moving to fast….but it just felt right.
Hwan's eyes darkened, the amber flecks seeming to glow, and then his mouth was on mine. The kiss started gentle — aquestion more than a statement, his lips soft and warm as they learned the shape of mine. I could taste vanilla on his tongue, could smell sunshine and something deeper, something that was purelyhim. The golden amber bond blazed to life in my chest, flooding me with warmth, with want, with the desperate rightness of finally,finallybeing close to him.
I kissed him back.
My fingers found their way into his hair, soft copper strands sliding between my knuckles. He made a sound against my mouth — a low rumble that vibrated through his chest and into mine — and pulled me closer. The kiss deepened, turned hungry. His tongue traced the seam of my lips, and I opened for him without hesitation, letting him in, letting him claim. When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. Hwan's forehead rested against mine, his eyes still closed, his hands trembling slightly where they gripped my waist.
"That was..." He didn't finish the sentence, just shook his head slowly, his nose brushing against mine.
"Yeah." I agreed, equally inarticulate, my heart still racing. A soft chime broke the moment — Hwan's phone buzzing in his pocket. He groaned, the sound rumbling through his chest, and pulled back just enough to fish it out and glance at the screen.
"Manager." He muttered the word like a curse, his expression flickering with annoyance as he scanned the message. "Schedule change for tomorrow. Needs confirmation." He typed out a quick reply, his jaw tight with frustration, then shoved the phone back in his pocket with more force than necessary. "Sorry. The joy of idol life — you're never really off the clock."
"It's okay." I meant it, even as part of me mourned the broken moment. The interruption had given me a moment to catch my breath, to process what had just happened. We'd kissed. I'd kissed Hwan. I hadn't run afterward. Progress.
"Keira." Hwan's voice was softer now, more serious, and he reached up to cup my face. His thumb brushed across my cheekbone, feather-light and impossibly gentle. "I want to scent-mark you. Just your wrist — nothing too intense. It's just... I want you to carry something of me with you. When you're with the others. So you remember..." He trailed off, suddenly uncertain, his confidence faltering for the first time since we'd started dancing.
"Is that okay?" He asked the question like he was bracing for rejection, like he wouldn't blame me if I said no. I thought about saying no. About protecting the last scraps of my independence, my boundaries, my fear. Then I thought about how his pride had felt bleeding through the bond. How vulnerable he'd been when he talked about the sunshine mask. How he'd held me while we danced like I was something precious.
"Yes." The word came out steady, sure, and I watched relief flood his features. He took my hand gently, cradling it like something fragile, and lifted my wrist to his lips. I felt the brush of his mouth first — a soft kiss pressed to the sensitive skin where my pulse beat. Then his nose brushed against my scent gland, and he inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttering closed. When he exhaled, I felt his scent sink into my skin — sunshine and vanilla and something warm and golden that seemed to wrap around me like a blanket.
"There." He murmured the word against my wrist, his lips still brushing my pulse point. "Now you smell like mine." The words should have triggered my fear. Should have reminded me of everything I was running from. But instead, they just made me feel... warm. Safe. Wanted.
"I should get you back." Hwan said it reluctantly, lowering my hand but not releasing it. His fingers laced through mine like they belonged there, like they'd always been meant to fittogether. "The others are probably waiting. If I keep you much longer, Jae-won will think I'm hogging."
"Are you?" I raised an eyebrow at him, a smile tugging at my lips.
"Absolutely." His grin was pure sunshine — but real sunshine now, not the mask. "But I'll share. That's what pack means." He pulled me toward the door, our joined hands swinging between us like we were teenagers on a first date. "Besides, you have four more of these one-on-ones to go. Can't have you playing favorites on day one."
"Who says you're my favorite?" I kept my voice light, teasing, and saw his eyes sparkle with the challenge.
"The fact that you let me kiss you." He said it smugly, but there was warmth underneath, real warmth that made my chest ache.
"Maybe I'm just easily kissed." I shot back, and he laughed — a bright, genuine sound that echoed off the mirrors and made something in my chest loosen.
"Somehow I doubt that." He pushed open the practice room door, holding it for me like a gentleman, his free hand gesturing for me to go first. "Come on, little omega. Let's get you home."
Home.
The word settled in my chest, right next to the golden amber bond.
When we stepped back into the dorm, I was acutely aware of the four other alphas trying not to stare. They were scattered around the living room — Jin-ho with a notebook in his lap, his pen frozen mid-word; Tae-min gaming on the couch, though his eyes had flicked to us immediately; Min-jun emerging from the kitchen with a plate of something that smelled like fresh-baked cookies; and Jae-won standing by the window with his tablet, his dark eyes tracking us from the moment we crossed the threshold.
All four heads turned when we entered.
All four sets of eyes dropped to my wrist, where Hwan's scent was now unmistakable.
"She danced." Hwan announced it proudly, still holding my hand, his chest puffing out with obvious satisfaction. "Actually danced. Told you she could."
"You bet on whether I could dance?" I looked between them, simultaneously embarrassed and amused, heat creeping into my cheeks.
