Chapter 18: The Reason to Frown 1

The clock shows a quarter past eleven, reminding Haneul on how long he had been sitting at the bar drinking his boredom away. Friday nights are supposed to be lively; he is hoping for that but it seems, in this part of the city, every day is Friday. Sure, it was fun at first, but he got used to the atmosphere. Nothing excites him about this place anymore. Back at the old club he used to frequent, they hold themed events once in a while. Here, people just dance. The DJ changes every day but the sounds are the same. The people coming here? Below average which makes his alpha hunting harder than he thought. So hard that he had to go through his last heat alone. For the first time in years, he had to endure the humiliating and traumatizing experience alone.

"Still no one?" the bartender with whom he had made acquaintance with asks, knowing fully well his intention and interest. Haneul always makes sure he knows the staffs of the place he will frequent so they can be his alibi if anything is to happen. Over the years, he learned that these people matter the most especially if he is to be accused of anything, which he was, one too many times by the alphas he rejected.

Shaking his head as an answer, Haneul smirks in acknowledgement as his friend gives him the 'signal'. An alpha is walking towards them, and based on her expression, a good-looking alpha. Winking at the staff, the young omega turns towards the newcomer, giving him a disinterested look but inwardly assessing him.

Above-average at best, but with a hot body. Confident, that is for sure which makes him appear to be even more attractive than he actually is. But obviously, Haneul can always see pass through it. "Been watching you. Haneul right?"

"Yup. And that was not creepy at all." He starts his act, making the man work for him. The man chuckles at his reply, it is a cute one, but a calculated gesture. Not that he cares, there is no way he will find a genuine person here anyway. "Well, I heard about you and uh, your adventures."

Haneul clicks his tongue in annoyance. It is no secret he despises pretenses but a little teasing never offends him. Being honest about wanting to fuck him is, and bringing up his past to back it up, even more. As if he is nothing but a sex object they can do whatever they want to whenever they want. This guy, just ticked all the boxes.

"Too bad. Not feeling adventurous tonight." Haneul gets his point across and turns back towards the bar, not wanting to waste his time on the alpha before his hand is pulled lightly, but firmly back.

"I can show you a good time." The man persists, to which the omega again, rejects. "Maybe I have something that might change your mind." The man pulls out something from his pocket to show the latter, his eyes lurking around, aware of the surrounding before stopping a few seconds to a corner of the second deck. Tracing his view, Haneul notices a group of men on the upper deck, observing them both. It is so unnerving he has to quickly shift his gaze to avoid getting caught staring. His eyes lands on the small tube on the alpha's hand.

Drugs. Of course. There is no way he is getting into this mess. "No thanks."

"I'll let you have a taste…" The man tries to trace his face gently, licking his lips before Haneul pushes it away, glaring at him. "…for free. Then we can-"

"Piss off." Another push, countered by a forceful pull and the younger male has enough. The alpha is practically begging him to take the drug and sleep with him, it seems he won't stop no matter what Haneul does. He needs to get his point through clearly – with a slap.

"I said no."

Fuck. The man is really pissed right now, his nostrils doubles in size as he smirks to maintain his calm. That is not what scares Haneul, he is used to this situation but most alphas will not go as far as using their pheromones on him over a mere rejection. This man is practically threatening him, the air around him starts to feel heavy.

"Take the fucking thing." Haneul leans against the table, trying to fight the urge to surrender. His eyes catch a glimpse of the group of men on the second floor, they seem to be interested in their current situation. He doesn't know what to make of it, but he is not planning to wait and find out. Whether the men are friends, or foes, Haneul needs to first make sure the alpha in front of him leave.

"You're gonna ruin everything." The man hisses.

Taking his phone out despite the warning from the other, Haneul takes the man's picture before it is slapped away from his hand. And in just a millisecond, a palm lands on his cheek. Although a bit shaken and hurt, Haneul quickly grabs a bottle from the counter and without thinking, smashes it on his attacker's head, sending him screaming on the ground. Honestly, Haneul is numb of his senses right now. The only thing he can hear is the ringing in his ears and inaudible voices as if he is under water. Everything is blurry, lights like one of those bokeh photos.

Feeling a slight pat on his shoulder, Haneul gasps as he returns to reality. "Haneul, go. Hun'll take care of him."

Nodding his head one too many times, he decides to comply. Taking his phone from the ground, Haneul opens the photo and shoves in to the alpha's face. "If I see you again, know that this is gonna go to the police." Turning it back towards himself so he can open another application, he then shows the other his address book and scrolls them.

"I know every fucking policemen here, fucker."

#####

"Urnhh!" His mouth hurts so bad right now. It is throbbing and he swear he feels heat emitted from it. Groggily dragging his feet to the bathroom, Haneul stares at his reflection. He looks like a nightmare. His left cheek is red, and his lower lip is cut from him accidentally biting it during the impact. This isn't the worst he ever gotten though, so at least there is that.

Looking left and right for something he can use to cover it up, Haneul realizes he has nothing of such stuff. It feels a bit weird, he used to get hit a few times back when he was experimenting with older alphas after his rescue, but somehow he was able to cover it up perfectly. How did he do that again?

Oh yeah. From most people at the shelter who had been through the same ordeal as him. They are used to carrying around concealers with them so he always used theirs. Haneul sighs, this is the first time he got hit in years, which is why he never bothered to buy a concealer for himself in the first place. And damn, it hurts like hell.

How the hell will he go to class like this? People will start talking, lecturers will call him to the side and ask what happened, he can even imagine the school councilor giving him a visit. It is, of concern for his scholarship anyways.

Haneul slaps his forehead at a sudden realization that today is Saturday. He doesn't have classes which means he doesn't have to bother hiding it. Because he has no place to be and no one to meet.

… yeah. He has no one to meet. And no place to be…

Because obviously, unlike all the weekends he had been spending since he started college, there is no way he is going to return to the club tonight. Not after what happened last night, and not looking like this. He will look so pathetic and desperate, and that is not the image he wants to show his potential sex partner. So, unlike all the past Saturdays and Sundays, today he will be all alone. But it is fine, he will probably be too focused on recovering that he doubts his mental problems will even have the chance to bother him.

Maybe. Well, now that he thought of it, he should find something to do anyway. Just to be sure.

What should he do? Having no free time for himself for almost two months, Haneul almost forgets what he used to do back at the shelter. He remembers being busy, but it is hard to recall doing what exactly.

…oh. Helping the volunteers, playing with the children, helping preparing for events… something he cannot really do here. Because there are no children, and this is not the shelter. And, he is here all alone.

So, basically, he has nothing to do. Should he just stay in bed and sleep? Will that trigger his depression? He wouldn't want that, not when he is already out of bed and done washing his face…

Laying his head on the table, Haneul starts to bring out the new phone he bought last month using the scholarship money. The ones from his books are for his future career so he promised himself not to touch it. Opening the usual Youtube to check for interesting videos which he watched for a while followed by other websites, the young student closes everything out of boredom. Scrolling through to see what applications he had installed and opening it one by one out of curiousity, he finally decides to view his gallery, hoping to find something he can reminisce. He has yet to transfer all the pictures from his old phone, having been too lazy to set it up but it doesn't matter. He is just interested to see what he has been doing these past few months since he entered college, hoping to find some idea for what he should be doing today.