Cedarwood

Mina often wondered why she was like this. It wasn't like it really mattered to her, if she was being honest. The secondary genders never really gave her the sense of fulfillment as the others had.

But maybe she was only questioning it because her parents had been worried. At the usual age of when others presented, hers never came. Or that was what her parents thought. Especially her father.

He was adamant that she was simply a late bloomer. Because as per his words ‘he would rather have an omega daughter than a beta’.

Mina had always wondered why that was such a bad thing. If anything, she enjoyed the freedom of not worrying about the troubles of heats and ruts. The mind retching torture of finding a mate and biting marks, producing and raising kits of her own.

All of that was just a hassle for her to even think. And she never enjoyed being around people. The mix of scents made her gag from time to time, so she believed being a beta was a good idea for her future. She was okay with the thought of dying alone.

Until she met her.

Son Chaeyoung. Mina learned that she was years younger than her, she was graduating from an engineering course in one of Seoul’s prominent universities. As expected from an alpha.

Mina met her through mutual friends. Momo, who was also a beta, decided to have her friends over for a little get together. It was safe because no one was in heat or close to their ruts, and some were on suppressants, so that was the only reason why Mina agreed to go.

Momo invited Sana, Nayeon and Jihyo. All friends that Mina has made during her time in college. And she liked all of them.

All three of them were omegas. But the only one who showed a different demeanor was Jihyo. For an Omega, she wasn’t hesitant to be dominant over alphas. It was out of character, and a lot of alphas and omegas didn’t like it. But Jihyo didn’t care, she said it was better to be like that than be pushed around and used as a toy.

Omegas and Betas deserve respect too. Mina couldn’t help but agree. But she was never going to be like that. Too much of a hassle, too much energy.

But Mina usually found herself in situations like this whenever Momo had everyone over, all their friends were hanging out in her apartment. Mina always noted that Momo’s apartment smelled like cherry blossoms with a hint of vanilla. Nayeon would talk about the alphas that she had been with, and Sana would chime in. Jihyo would just add when it was necessary but most of the time she was lecturing the two omegas for always tangling themselves with pathetic alphas.

Mina never really had much to give in a conversation. Just an answer or two. Everyone knew that she didn’t enjoy social interactions to a certain degree. They respected her space and Mina respected them enough to spare her personal time for them when they asked for it nicely. It was a fair trade, and she was glad that her friends were completely fine with it.

However, when Jihyo met Jeongyeon, who recently became her mate, their meetups at Momo’s apartment felt more… crowded.

The mix of scents were making her sick. But she kept it in because she respected Jihyo, and Jeongyeon was a nice person. But after a while, her friends had been encouraging Jeongyeon to invite her friends to their hangouts as well.

Mina wanted to raise a brow that most of Jeongyeon’s friends were younger. One was already working, and two were still in college.

Of course, her friends couldn’t resist eyeing the one they wanted.

“If Tzuyu is single, I might climb her like a tree.”

“Dahyun is cute, I think she’d treat me right.”

“What do you think of Chaeyoung, Mina?”

Mina shook herself out of her reverie, a cup of Momo’s mixed drink in her hand and she blinked at her friends.

“Excuse me?”

“Chaeyoung,” Sana repeated. “The engineering student.”

They were looking at her with expectant expressions, but Mina couldn’t give a positive reaction. She tried to keep it neutral. Tried.

She shrugged. “I don't know. She’s nice enough, I guess?”

“Right, she’s not interested. Such a shame,” Sana said after a sigh. There was no hint of insult in her words, but the way it settled in with Mina didn’t feel good.

“Why?” she couldn’t help but ask. This was the first time she wanted to press a topic that involved her.

Sana’s face lit up like she caught a fish on her hook. She leaned forward on her seat to cutely blink at Mina. Her eyes would shift towards where Jeongyeon was with Jihyo and her friends. And the Chaeyoung in question. “Didn’t you notice the way she was looking at you?”

“Mina doesn’t pay attention to things like that,” Momo dismissed it quickly and Mina was thankful for that, at least she didn’t have to feel bad about explaining things.

Sana rolled her eyes and then leaned even closer. Sana was an omega who had a weird need to touch people. Mina knew her friend was dying to rub herself on her and she was resisting it.

“But don’t you want to know? Chaeyoung doesn’t seem like an arrogant alpha.” Sana made sure to keep her words hushed even if she was excited to talk about it. “In fact, I think Jeongyeon is the only one who’s a typical alpha.” Then she pondered, a finger tapping on her chin. “I wonder if Tzuyu is like that too.”

Momo rolled her eyes and huffed. “Okay, I think I know where this is going.” Then Momo looked at Mina. “She wants you to strike up a conversation with Chaeyoung.”

She grimaced. “Why?”

“So that you can make a friend.”

“A friend?” Her and Sana asked at the same time.

Momo let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m saying this in a way where it benefits both of you. Mina, it’ll be nice to meet more people. Chaeyoung is a nice person, she was nice to talk to.” Then she looked at Sana with a squint. “Mina will only take the risk if she wants to.”

“But that’s not fun!” Sana whined. “And shouldn’t Chaeyoung be the one to introduce herself first?”

Mina immediately got up when she was happy that her cup was empty. She could leave and get a refill. Or maybe escape to the bathroom first.

She didn’t say a word, she left when Momo and Sana wouldn’t stop arguing.

As she walked across the living room, she noticed Nayeon was busy talking to Dahyun, and Jihyo was standing next to her mate as they were discussing something with Tzuyu. Mina noticed the way Jihyo was twirling her finger on Jeongyeon’s locks. She must really like her then.

Mina made her way to the bathroom and as she was about to grab the knob, she was startled when someone swung it open so quickly. She dropped her phone.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Chaeyoung apologized immediately as she picked up Mina’s phone from the floor. But paused when she noticed the little trinket that was dangling. “Isn’t this Snowball?”

Mina blinked, she wasn’t expecting Chaeyoung to know about Overwatch. She nodded. “Yes, it’s Snowball.”

Chaeyoung smiled, and gently handed Mina’s phone back to her. “Do you play?”

Of course she did, she was addicted to the game. But she kept in her excitement and simply nodded again. “I do.”

“Nice, me too!”

Mina couldn’t keep eye contact with the alpha, but she didn’t fail to notice the sharp teeth and the mole underneath Chaeyoung’s lip. They were cute.

For an alpha, she had a small stature, but her scent was strong. There was no mistaking she was an alpha.

Then Chaeyoung jumped. “Oh right! I’m sorry.” She then offered a hand. “I’m Chaeyoung.”

Mina didn’t like handshakes. She didn’t like touching other people either. Maybe because she didn’t like the way they could tell she was a beta with just being near her or even touching her.