#mingjoong

Hongjoong used the key that had been given to him that morning to open the door and heard a wooden chime clunking against itself and the glass of the door from inside the small storefront--like a gift from the same pack that had granted him permission to move into their territory and has leased him this storefront.

The chimes one each business told you who they belonged to: wooden chimes were indicative of werewolves, glass for vampires, and earthen metals like iron meant to indicate neutral ground like the library.

He could hear footsteps approaching the back door and opened it just in timme to find the surprised face of one of the other werewolves that worked on the block. He was wearing an apron that read Café de Amor, a ridiculous name in Hongjoon's opinion. The coffee shop was named for being a spot notorious for werewolf mates meeting.

"One iced medium banana milk latte with two pumps of hazelnut. And a strawberry scone," he held the items out to Hongjoong while maintaining his absurdly deep bow, both arms perfectly outstretched to present the offerings.

“No, thank you. I can’t pay anyway.” Hongjoong went to close the door, but as he turned a sharp voice cut him off.

“Wait! They’re on the house! Pack Alpha Bangchan will think you are rejecting his hospitality, please take it!”

“Okay, okay, damn.” The other wolf still didn’t leave even after Hongjoong took the food from him, staring at him expectantly.

He looked at Hongjoong’s face with an obnoxiously beaming smile that reminded him slightly of Wooyoung’s boisterousness before dropping his eyes to the items in Hongjoong’s hands and back up to his face.

Right. I have to take the first bite and sip in front of him to prove I’ve actually accepted it.

While the barista all but stared into his soul with anticipation, Hongjoong starred back with as neutral of an expression as he could muster while taking a bite of the scone.

He had to take a minute to contemplate the flavor, taking a second to lick his bottom lip while pulling the scone away and raising the disposable coffee cup to his lips. He caught the way the other wolf bounced on his toes, his eyes glancing down to Hongjoong’s lips when he licked the stray filling from them.

“What’d you say your name was?” Hongjoong asked around the lip of the lid, not missing the way the other wolf’s eyes sparkled.

“I didn’t say it, but it’s Mingi.”

“Right. Well, anyways, Mingi, I really need to start setting up,” he said before he paused to glance toward the other wolf’s right arm. “But I might be seeing you again in the near future for your next embellishment.” He closed the door with a smile and a wink, leaving Mingi stunned for a second before he put everything together.

He’s the new Pack Embellisher.

In werewolf culture, it’s customary for them to get embellishments–a form of permanent art placed on the body to represent the most important stories of their lives. The first one is received at the age of fifteen when the secondary sex first presents itself, though some wait until six months after the fifteenth birthday to make sure the presentation is correct.

Hongjoong knows that tonight he has to attend a welcome ceremony on pack grounds for his arrival as is customary, but he asked they not make a huge deal about his presence, so they decided to combine it with the welcome home celebration that they held annually for the pack members that returned during mid-November.

During the ceremony, everyone would witness the retiring Embellisher tattoo the pack emblem onto Hongjoong to symbolize that he is one with the pack, his status emphasized by the placement.

—

“It is with great honor and pride that tonight I welcome all of our returning pack members home to the place of their birth or discovery of their found family. And to add to our joy, we have found another to add to our pack that will be taking over for Pack Embellisher Lee Seojoon. Please rise and step forward Kim Hongjoong!”

While Hongjoong was making his way towards the makeshift stage, he kept thinking to himself how if this wasn’t a big deal, then what did an actual ‘big deal’ celebration look like?

“I will now turn the ceremony over to Pack Embellisher Lee Seojoon.”

Hongjoong watched as Bangchan stepped off to the side to join the rest of his immediate pack that waited nearby while a frail looking old man emerged seemingly from nowhere and made his way onto the stage.

“Young man, it is with great honor that I am able to bestow my responsibility to the pack onto you. Please hold out your right hand.”

Hongjoong figured as much. The mechanism–tools–of your labor were where the embellishments would be placed. And his hands were just that.

Someone else came from the same general area where the old man had, but they were carrying an old looking wooden box that had a depiction of a wolf howling at the moon delicately carved into the lid.

Hongjoong’s eyes met with the girl that was carrying the box, presumably the old man’s next of kin and who was intended to take his place before he came along. But females may not have this responsibility because their delicate hands are designed for other things, not to mention that this particular female bore the embellishment of an omega. The ꭥ seemingly to have been beaten harshly into the skin over her heart and littered with missing spots of ink and scars that made it look like she had tried to dig the ink from her skin.

She opened the box to present the old fashioned tools and Hongjoong felt himself wondering just how badly this was going to hurt while he stared at the chisel.

Hongjoong tried incredibly hard to mask his pain throughout the agonizing process, but saw minimal success when he realized later that almost everyone had seen the way his jaw clenched while his hand was practically hammered into the wooden board it had to sit on.

Bangchan would come over later to apologize and suggest a store for Hongjoong to go to to pick up aftercare supplies for both himself and to store at his shop. He knew he should probably listen to Bangchan and check out the store, but he wanted to focus on the festivities for now.

When Bangchan took the stage again, Hongjoong wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t what he said next.

“Now that the feast has ended for the most part, we shall start the Mating Run. Omegas take off first, followed by Betas, and the Alphas last.”

Hongjoong felt his ears go red as the scent of coffee beans and musk flooded his senses like it had this morning when the omega from the coffee shop had come to the back door to deliver the latte and scone.

“You know the rules: if someone says ‘no’ after you’ve caught them, you have to obey the command. This is designed for the unmated members of our pack, but if the mated members wish to participate like my personal pack and myself, you may only chase after your mate or mates unless you and other parties have agreed otherwise.”

Hongjoong watched as Bangchan made his way back to his personal pack, taking the time to greet his Luna, Minho, first, and extending the offer of participation to the rest of his pack. Hongjoong continued to watch as only two of the members denied the offer, one of them backing away while gently shaking his head, one hand coming up to hold a protective stance over his stomach.

Hongjoong has a pretty good idea of exactly what that means: that omega is probably pregnant and that the other pack member staying behind with him is either the Pack Omega, likely the Den Mother to the larger pack, or he’s the fathering alpha, seeing as most betas are sterile making the likelihood of them having children incredibly rare.

“Hongjoong? Are you going to participate?”

Hongjoong bristles at the sound of Bangchan’s voice so close behind him, not having sensed the movement. He can hear the rustling of clothes knowing that everyone is stripping to near or absolute nudity in preparation for the Mating Run.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he says as he turns towards the line of trees, watching as the omegas take off first, their nude bodies fading into the darkness.

The air was permeated by the smell of omega pre-heat, it being late November now, means the majority of their heats were fast approaching.

Hongjoong had to turn away from Bangchan to prevent his eyes from wandering lower as he took off his belt.

“The offer still stands if you’re unmated by late Spring. You know just as well as anyone else how bad an alpha’s rut can be without a mate to satiate it.”

Hongjoong remembers Bangchan and his pack clearly extending the offer for him to join them during his next rut, so that he would have company. He knows it was because Bangchan had taken a liking to him, which caught the attention of Pack Luna Minho. That led to Bangchan’s entire immediate pack taking an interest in him. Hongjoong found it overwhelming and took off after most of them had left the room. He knew that could’ve been seen as offensive, but he was getting overwhelmed and it seemed that none of them took it personally considering they were still talking to him like they were interested.

Hongjoong found himself stripping from his tanktop and jeans while lost in thought while lining up with the other alphas at the treeline of the woods, taking a deep breath and finding the smell of coffee and musk invaded his senses all over again, a hint of black cherry and rose petals faintly mixing with it.

—

Hongjoong let his thoughts wander while his primal side took over to hunt for the source of the coffee smell, but as he wandered deeper into the woods—he was listening to the sounds of the others having finally caught their willing sexual prey—he began to feel like he was being watched from above, the scent of black cherry becoming stronger, laced with a hint of spice that he hadn’t picked up on previously. Nonetheless, he continued with his search for the coffee-scented omega he had encountered earlier in the day.

He eventually found him, not even trying to hide, but lounging on a temporary nest setup that was no doubt one of multiple throughout the woods the Mating Run was taking place in.

“Found you, Omega.”

He turned around with wide and hopeful eyes, having recognized the voice from earlier in the day.

“Hongjoong-ah…” He breathes out a shallow breath before swallowing, feeling Hongjoong’s eyes stare at his prominent Adam’s apple. “You came.”

Suddenly, the black cherry scent became stronger, now accompanied more heavily by the spice and flowers. Hongjoong watched the omega for any sign of discomfort, wondering if he also felt the feeling of being watched from above. Nothing indicated he did, so he moved forward to come to the edge of the makeshift nest, asking for permission to enter.

“Mingi-ah…Omega? May I come in?”

Mingi doesn’t answer, he just pulls Hongjoong into the nest by his jaw where he is covering most of his body up.

He’s really big for an omega. That’s what Hongjoong thinks to himself as Mingi’s hands swallow his face when bringing him into the nest.

When their lips connect, Hongjoong is enjoying the flood of coffee and musk into his senses while he pushes out his natural scent of fresh citrus and spice for Mingi, seeing the omegas pupil continue to expand even though his eyes were half-lidded.