For Hakkais_shadow: Missing the Music
For: hakkais_shadow
Author: llamachan
Title: Missing the Music
Rating: G
Pairing: Yixing/Jongin
Word count: 3,073
Summary: There are the haves and the have-nots in any world. Have-not Yixing is thrown into the world of the Haves, by virtue of his rare Omega blood. A/B/O verse.
A/N: There are the haves and the have-nots in any world. Have-not Yixing is thrown into the world of the Haves, by virtue of his rare Omega blood. A/B/O verse.
Some things, Zhang Yixing had reasoned, just weren’t fair. His mother constantly playing the old music he disliked, the time that Zitao had borrowed his favorite cap and never returned it, and the fact that ice cream always seemed to melt before he finished it. In the scheme of things, they were all minor complaints, nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a little bit of work.
Others were larger. The crowded housing of his district, which he tried so hard to ignore. That was the trick of living in the districts outside of the city-ignoring. Ignore the noise, the smells, and the fact that in order to even have a chance at a better life, they’d have to enroll in the School. School promised everything-a better chance for family, a chance to excel, a chance to have a place where there was peace and quiet and few worries. It was only available for a select few, ones who had known since birth that they were chosen. If they accepted their honor, they would be set. Honor, however, came with a price-the price of autonomy.
Yixing’s parents knew from his birth that he had been chosen, and the tests performed at his birth only confirmed what they already knew. The child that the new mother held in her arms was a rare, prized Omega. While they couldn’t afford the lush, pampered lifestyles of most Omega children, they did what they could, scrimping and saving enough to afford the entrance fees of the School. Perhaps it was too late for them-they were simply Betas, after all-but if one of the rich Alphas of the city noticed him and approved, then they could be happy in knowing that their beloved child was taken care of.
He had tested in-Yixing had always been smart-but the tests unnerved him. Someone always seemed to be watching, waiting, searching for any kind of mistake or slipup. While the tests were odd-being timed on how quickly he could fetch tea, or if he could find a small figurine hidden in an overly messy room, somehow he had passed them.
He slung his worn backpack over his shoulder and stared up at the gleaming front of the School, and immediately felt self-conscious. He wasn’t like the other students he saw on the manicured grounds, with pristine uniforms and perfect hair. He anxiously straightened his tie, which he had hastily knotted in a bow like he would his shoes. It looked nothing like regulations, and he tried to hide it under his collar as best he could.
There were whispers behind him, and his ears burned with shame. He didn’t fit the usual Omega profile-small and elegant, with a certain kind of grace that seemed to emanate from their every move. Yixing was tall and thin, all arms and legs that never seemed to know the right place to go or would obey Yixing’s silent pleading to, for once, act correctly. His height had stood out in his district, and most people had pegged him as an Alpha in the making-until they saw the bracelet that circled around his thin wrist. A rare Omega, and an anomaly at that. The buzz in the district was that he would be snatched up quickly, probably to some harem or another, but he wouldn’t have to worry; he could send his earnings home to his family if he wished.
The instructions he had received barely a month ago told him to proceed immediately to his dormitory for further instructions, and to be welcomed among his kin. Yixing didn’t exactly know what that meant-there was no way he could see any of these manicured boys and girls as his siblings, or as any sort of family. They were too pretty, too prim. He had a feeling that they would be receiving assignments to their respective Alphas before they completed schooling, and would be one of the ones with the fancy studded collars around their necks. The collared ones strutted around the grounds with pride, and as Yixing opened one of the huge, intimidating doors, their number seemed to multiply. They all seemed to ignore him, though, the few curious stares were masked with an air of politeness. A tall boy with oddly bicolored hair looked sympathetically his way, but even he wore one of the prized collars and moved with the same grace he had seen from the students on the outside.
He really wished he had learned to tie his tie properly, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Thankfully, the student dormitories were clearly marked, and Yixing marveled at the number of them. He had estimated that the students could easily fit into two, maybe three of the houses from his district, and here they each had separate dormitories, which looked large and airy from first glance, larger than anything he had seen before.
It was hard to believe that one of them, clearly marked ‘Boys-First Year,’ was his. Yixing took a deep breath and pushed open the door, ready to find the same spotless conditions and eerily handsome residents.
What he found behind that heavy oaken door was indeed a large room, with plenty of private spaces. Each bed had a name neatly inked on the headboard, and Yixing couldn’t get close enough to see it, as other nervous first-years huddled about the entrance.
These weren’t the Omegas he had seen outside. He counted ties askew, shirts messily buttoned, and more than one stain on the hems of suit jackets. One boy tried to hide his face as best he could-had he been crying?
There was no use pushing against the crowd, he discovered, as he saw a thick rope holding them off from the room itself. There were probably rules, he decided. He didn’t mind waiting, and positioned himself next to the crying boy. Yixing knew he wasn’t much, but at least to one of his fellow first-years, he could be a welcoming face.
If they were to get through this, they had to stick together.
“Let me welcome you all to The Omega School,” a clear, carrying voice announced, silencing all the nervous chatter between the first-years. An elegant young man stood in front of them, uniform perfect and an elaborate collar around his neck. “My name is Wu Yifan, and I am the boys’ prefect. You’ll be seeing a lot of me around the School, even though it’s my last year.” He flashed a beatific smile at the new students, and while most boys looked more at ease, Yixing didn’t quite trust him.
The boy next to him swallowed hard, trying to stop his sniffling.
“At the end of your time here, you will be assigned to an Alpha, if you have not been so assigned already. You can identify an assigned student by the collar around their necks. Despite being chosen, we still need to finish our training.”
He looked around the group expectantly, clearly looking for a chuckle or at least a nod of agreement. Yixing stared at the older boy, confused. Was this supposed to be funny?
“By the end of your training at the Omega School, you will be well and truly prepared to begin your life as the ever rare, ever desired Omega,” Yifan continued. “This is the most exclusive of the Omega Schools in our lovely city, thus making your group even more desirable to the most elite Alphas.”
Yixing didn’t want to be desirable. He just wanted to go home. The only thing keeping him rooted in his spot was his duty to his family-and the sniffling boy beside him.
“We’ll start your training right now,” Yifan continued as he appraised the unruly group before him. His eyes lingered briefly on Yixing, and his lips curled up into a small smirk. “You. Step forward.”
Yixing warily followed the instruction, the small crowd parting for the tall boy to face this Yifan character. Yifan beckoned him closer, then spun him around to face his fellow new students.
“What we have here is a perfect example of an unpolished Omega,” Yifan announced. “A diamond in the rough, but even those must be cut and polished to perfection. Starting with your tie, of course.” In what seemed like seconds, Yifan had undone the loopy mess that Yixing had created and fixed it, explaining each step and stopping to correct other Omegas who had no idea what he was talking about. Yixing kept an eye on the upset boy, who was starting to look less distressed and more confused as Yifan pulled out several of their classmates to scold and fix their appearances.
“There,” Yifan nearly preened in satisfaction as the last boy had his pants hem straightened. “Now you’re all presentable Omegas who I’m happy to call brothers.”
But we all look the same! Yixing wanted to cry out. With now perfect uniforms, hair corrected into acceptable styles, shoes shined and backs straight, they now were a near-identical Omega army. Was he the only one dismayed? He couldn’t tell from the expressions on his fellow students’ faces.
“Now I’ll leave you to settle in and get ready for orientation and your first classes,” Yifan announced, making it a point to adjust the ostentatious collar around his neck as he glided out of the room. The door closed with a loud bang.
“That’s over,” Yixing muttered, just as the formerly distressed boy jabbed him sharply in the ribs and shook his head, then pointed.
Yixing followed the boy’s finger to the sign hanging on the wall, its edges yellowed from use.
SILENCE ON SCHOOL PROPERTY AT ALL TIMES.
With a begrudging look at the sign, Yixing made his way to his bed and began to unpack his things-silently.
He noticed that, as the day extended into weeks, the rule was obeyed. Speaking could only happen in classes, and only after raising one’s hand, standing up, and being recognized (even if that never happened. This small freedom was apparently a lie.) Silence was the rule in the wide corridors, which while they could be completely filled with students, managed to maintain the eerie quiet that held onto the entirety of the school.
He missed the noise, he realized. He missed the commotion of the slums, the camaraderie forged through hard living, hard work, and a shared dislike of those who lived in the city. The laws were strict in his home: obey every mandate from the City, bring all Omega-class children to Omega School at the age of eighteen, the rest of you never leave your district or face harsh consequences. But somehow, despite all of that, the rule of quiet at the school seemed harsher than any facet of district life.
He wanted to go home, but he knew the consequences. His family would be hunted out, tortured, and executed, or worse.
He had the option, however, to leave the building and sit on the grounds, as long as he didn’t leave the property without permission (only granted to Omegas with Alphas, anyway). Yixing had found a little-used corner of the grounds, under an enormous oak tree. It was there where he was comfortable; the only place where he could hear the wind rustle or a bird sing. It became his ritual on sunny days to sit underneath that oak with a good book and lose himself for an hour or two, until the bells rang for dinner.
An hour had barely passed when he heard the sure scrape of boots coming towards him. Only second year and up were allowed boots. Yixing figured that they had less of a mind to run away. He tilted his head back to see another Omega student, impeccable in his school uniform and navy tie, identifying him as a second year student. There was no collar around his neck, which Yixing found interesting-most upperclassmen had them, after all.
The older boy simply smiled and sat down next to him, pulling out a book of his own.
Yixing’s mind raced with questions, and he found himself unable to concentrate on his novel, despite the upperclassman next to him blithely reading, without a care in the world, seemingly uninterested in communicating with him.
Yixing spent the next hour in stunned silence, until the bells rang for supper.
This strange little ritual continued daily-Yixing would sneak out on his break and the upperclassman would join him, small smiles slowly progressing to friendly waves, although they didn’t dare speak. Slowly, he was finally becoming comfortable among his fellow students. It hurt being one of the ones who weren’t purebred elite-his kind were few and far between, and while he could tell from the nervous glances they all gave each other who was from the slums, they had no communication. The school saw to that.
Seeing the same student over and over again helped. Rain or shine, there was the older boy, a quiet smile on his face and book in hand. A collar never appeared around his slender neck, despite the number of Alphas who came to choose their Omega, and Yixing couldn’t see why. His friend was tall and handsome, and other, less attractive Omegas were snatched up. He had to be a good student, otherwise he would have been kicked out of the school long ago.
He liked the little way his friend’s hair flopped over his face, and how he’d blow the stubborn strands out of the way while they read.
No. He shook his head to clear himself of the thought-any attraction between Omegas was forbidden and punishable. Yixing was there for a reason, and one reason alone-to support his family in the slums.
He ducked his head and hid his face inside his novel, trying to hide his burning cheeks.
Yixing was finding it harder to concentrate on his studies, and despite the threat of his grades slipping, he ventured out to the tree every day.
Even the day that it snowed, the boy was there, patiently waiting under the now-leafless tree whose branches weighed heavily with snow. Despite the freezing ground and stinging winds, they still silently sat together.
The boy had brought a blanket, which the two huddled under together. Yixing tried not to think about it, but that boy was getting closer to him, close enough to warm Yixing more than the blanket ever could.
It was forbidden, but calming.
Even when the snow melted, the boy sat that close to him. Selection was coming up, he knew. They would both be required to attend, and Yixing feared the end of his little slice of paradise within the foreboding walls.
Spring arrived, and the leafless tree now sported tiny buds. As the air grew warmer, more students walked the grounds, cleaning and planting and making everything spotless for the visiting Alphas. Yixing lost his precious free time with work and extra classes, unselected Omegas forced into more training to make themselves desirable. Sitting, standing, following all orders in absolute silence.
Omegas were to be envied, they were reminded. Subservient, meek Omegas with no voice were highly regarded, and the most dedicated would be selected.
Yixing searched for his friend on the eve of Selection, and yet he was nowhere to be found.
The day of the Selection itself, the hall was crowded. The entire school had shown up for the big announcements, divided into collarless and the collared, along with their Alphas. Yixing spotted the smug Yifan, the lone student with speaking privilege, lording over the rest of the collared with his Alpha, supposedly a prominent member of the city society. There were others he recognized-the guy with the weird hair and his tiny Alpha, the artist kid and his.
Among his uncollared group, his friend was still nowhere to be found. Yixing barely paid attention as the ceremony began, more interested in finding his friend instead of listening to the so-called ‘lucky’ Omegas being placed.
The ranks of the yet to be selected began to thin. Yixing’s bunkmate, the kid who was close to tears their first night, was the first one called to receive a heavy, elaborate collar that didn’t suit his thin neck in the slightest.
The names continued, mostly second and third years whom Yixing had only seen in passing.
“Zhang Yixing,” the headmaster read out. “First Year Zhang Yixing, please approach.”
No. No no nonononono NO.
Yixing swallowed hard and stood up, his feet heavy. Despite his mind screaming for him to run back to his tree, back to his little slice of paradise, the unquestioning obedience of his training overcame him.
He didn’t want this. Not his first year, not his second, not ever.
He stood on the hastily taped X on the stage and only listened as the headmaster read out the same speech he had dozens of times before.
“You have been chosen to be the exclusive property of Alpha Kim Jongin,” the man intoned. “Alpha, please rise and recognize your property.”
Property? Yixing wanted to scream.
“I refuse.”
The voice behind him was warm and strangely familiar. “Zhang Yixing is not property,” he continued. “I would much rather he accept the appointment.”
“This is highly unusual,” the headmaster muttered. “First year, please turn around and give your response to this Alpha.”
Bewildered, Yixing turned around to face this Alpha, this Kim Jongin character-only to face his floppy-haired friend, no longer in uniform and extending a simple collar.
Alpha. He’s…
“I have a large library and a tree,” Jongin said quietly, too low for anyone to hear other than Yixing. “And a desire to hear you speak.”
His voice was quiet and hoarse from disuse, but the tiny smile tugging the corners of Yixing’s mouth was answer enough.
Some things, Zhang Yixing reasoned, were not fair. The mandatory silence rule in the school, the jealous stares of his classmates as they stared enviously at the collar around his neck, neatly tooled leather that didn’t weigh him down like the heavy jewels around others’ necks. The long walk to Kim Jongin’s home, nestled in the heart of the palatial residential district sucked when it rained hard.
But he still trudged on until he turned the corner and saw a thick, leafy tree peeking over Jongin’s tall fence. Sun, rain, or snow, Jongin would be standing there, waiting to greet him.
And Yixing would run the rest of the way home.
Author: llamachan
Title: Missing the Music
Rating: G
Pairing: Yixing/Jongin
Word count: 3,073
Summary: There are the haves and the have-nots in any world. Have-not Yixing is thrown into the world of the Haves, by virtue of his rare Omega blood. A/B/O verse.
A/N: There are the haves and the have-nots in any world. Have-not Yixing is thrown into the world of the Haves, by virtue of his rare Omega blood. A/B/O verse.
Some things, Zhang Yixing had reasoned, just weren’t fair. His mother constantly playing the old music he disliked, the time that Zitao had borrowed his favorite cap and never returned it, and the fact that ice cream always seemed to melt before he finished it. In the scheme of things, they were all minor complaints, nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a little bit of work.
Others were larger. The crowded housing of his district, which he tried so hard to ignore. That was the trick of living in the districts outside of the city-ignoring. Ignore the noise, the smells, and the fact that in order to even have a chance at a better life, they’d have to enroll in the School. School promised everything-a better chance for family, a chance to excel, a chance to have a place where there was peace and quiet and few worries. It was only available for a select few, ones who had known since birth that they were chosen. If they accepted their honor, they would be set. Honor, however, came with a price-the price of autonomy.
Yixing’s parents knew from his birth that he had been chosen, and the tests performed at his birth only confirmed what they already knew. The child that the new mother held in her arms was a rare, prized Omega. While they couldn’t afford the lush, pampered lifestyles of most Omega children, they did what they could, scrimping and saving enough to afford the entrance fees of the School. Perhaps it was too late for them-they were simply Betas, after all-but if one of the rich Alphas of the city noticed him and approved, then they could be happy in knowing that their beloved child was taken care of.
He had tested in-Yixing had always been smart-but the tests unnerved him. Someone always seemed to be watching, waiting, searching for any kind of mistake or slipup. While the tests were odd-being timed on how quickly he could fetch tea, or if he could find a small figurine hidden in an overly messy room, somehow he had passed them.
He slung his worn backpack over his shoulder and stared up at the gleaming front of the School, and immediately felt self-conscious. He wasn’t like the other students he saw on the manicured grounds, with pristine uniforms and perfect hair. He anxiously straightened his tie, which he had hastily knotted in a bow like he would his shoes. It looked nothing like regulations, and he tried to hide it under his collar as best he could.
There were whispers behind him, and his ears burned with shame. He didn’t fit the usual Omega profile-small and elegant, with a certain kind of grace that seemed to emanate from their every move. Yixing was tall and thin, all arms and legs that never seemed to know the right place to go or would obey Yixing’s silent pleading to, for once, act correctly. His height had stood out in his district, and most people had pegged him as an Alpha in the making-until they saw the bracelet that circled around his thin wrist. A rare Omega, and an anomaly at that. The buzz in the district was that he would be snatched up quickly, probably to some harem or another, but he wouldn’t have to worry; he could send his earnings home to his family if he wished.
The instructions he had received barely a month ago told him to proceed immediately to his dormitory for further instructions, and to be welcomed among his kin. Yixing didn’t exactly know what that meant-there was no way he could see any of these manicured boys and girls as his siblings, or as any sort of family. They were too pretty, too prim. He had a feeling that they would be receiving assignments to their respective Alphas before they completed schooling, and would be one of the ones with the fancy studded collars around their necks. The collared ones strutted around the grounds with pride, and as Yixing opened one of the huge, intimidating doors, their number seemed to multiply. They all seemed to ignore him, though, the few curious stares were masked with an air of politeness. A tall boy with oddly bicolored hair looked sympathetically his way, but even he wore one of the prized collars and moved with the same grace he had seen from the students on the outside.
He really wished he had learned to tie his tie properly, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Thankfully, the student dormitories were clearly marked, and Yixing marveled at the number of them. He had estimated that the students could easily fit into two, maybe three of the houses from his district, and here they each had separate dormitories, which looked large and airy from first glance, larger than anything he had seen before.
It was hard to believe that one of them, clearly marked ‘Boys-First Year,’ was his. Yixing took a deep breath and pushed open the door, ready to find the same spotless conditions and eerily handsome residents.
What he found behind that heavy oaken door was indeed a large room, with plenty of private spaces. Each bed had a name neatly inked on the headboard, and Yixing couldn’t get close enough to see it, as other nervous first-years huddled about the entrance.
These weren’t the Omegas he had seen outside. He counted ties askew, shirts messily buttoned, and more than one stain on the hems of suit jackets. One boy tried to hide his face as best he could-had he been crying?
There was no use pushing against the crowd, he discovered, as he saw a thick rope holding them off from the room itself. There were probably rules, he decided. He didn’t mind waiting, and positioned himself next to the crying boy. Yixing knew he wasn’t much, but at least to one of his fellow first-years, he could be a welcoming face.
If they were to get through this, they had to stick together.
“Let me welcome you all to The Omega School,” a clear, carrying voice announced, silencing all the nervous chatter between the first-years. An elegant young man stood in front of them, uniform perfect and an elaborate collar around his neck. “My name is Wu Yifan, and I am the boys’ prefect. You’ll be seeing a lot of me around the School, even though it’s my last year.” He flashed a beatific smile at the new students, and while most boys looked more at ease, Yixing didn’t quite trust him.
The boy next to him swallowed hard, trying to stop his sniffling.
“At the end of your time here, you will be assigned to an Alpha, if you have not been so assigned already. You can identify an assigned student by the collar around their necks. Despite being chosen, we still need to finish our training.”
He looked around the group expectantly, clearly looking for a chuckle or at least a nod of agreement. Yixing stared at the older boy, confused. Was this supposed to be funny?
“By the end of your training at the Omega School, you will be well and truly prepared to begin your life as the ever rare, ever desired Omega,” Yifan continued. “This is the most exclusive of the Omega Schools in our lovely city, thus making your group even more desirable to the most elite Alphas.”
Yixing didn’t want to be desirable. He just wanted to go home. The only thing keeping him rooted in his spot was his duty to his family-and the sniffling boy beside him.
“We’ll start your training right now,” Yifan continued as he appraised the unruly group before him. His eyes lingered briefly on Yixing, and his lips curled up into a small smirk. “You. Step forward.”
Yixing warily followed the instruction, the small crowd parting for the tall boy to face this Yifan character. Yifan beckoned him closer, then spun him around to face his fellow new students.
“What we have here is a perfect example of an unpolished Omega,” Yifan announced. “A diamond in the rough, but even those must be cut and polished to perfection. Starting with your tie, of course.” In what seemed like seconds, Yifan had undone the loopy mess that Yixing had created and fixed it, explaining each step and stopping to correct other Omegas who had no idea what he was talking about. Yixing kept an eye on the upset boy, who was starting to look less distressed and more confused as Yifan pulled out several of their classmates to scold and fix their appearances.
“There,” Yifan nearly preened in satisfaction as the last boy had his pants hem straightened. “Now you’re all presentable Omegas who I’m happy to call brothers.”
But we all look the same! Yixing wanted to cry out. With now perfect uniforms, hair corrected into acceptable styles, shoes shined and backs straight, they now were a near-identical Omega army. Was he the only one dismayed? He couldn’t tell from the expressions on his fellow students’ faces.
“Now I’ll leave you to settle in and get ready for orientation and your first classes,” Yifan announced, making it a point to adjust the ostentatious collar around his neck as he glided out of the room. The door closed with a loud bang.
“That’s over,” Yixing muttered, just as the formerly distressed boy jabbed him sharply in the ribs and shook his head, then pointed.
Yixing followed the boy’s finger to the sign hanging on the wall, its edges yellowed from use.
SILENCE ON SCHOOL PROPERTY AT ALL TIMES.
With a begrudging look at the sign, Yixing made his way to his bed and began to unpack his things-silently.
He noticed that, as the day extended into weeks, the rule was obeyed. Speaking could only happen in classes, and only after raising one’s hand, standing up, and being recognized (even if that never happened. This small freedom was apparently a lie.) Silence was the rule in the wide corridors, which while they could be completely filled with students, managed to maintain the eerie quiet that held onto the entirety of the school.
He missed the noise, he realized. He missed the commotion of the slums, the camaraderie forged through hard living, hard work, and a shared dislike of those who lived in the city. The laws were strict in his home: obey every mandate from the City, bring all Omega-class children to Omega School at the age of eighteen, the rest of you never leave your district or face harsh consequences. But somehow, despite all of that, the rule of quiet at the school seemed harsher than any facet of district life.
He wanted to go home, but he knew the consequences. His family would be hunted out, tortured, and executed, or worse.
He had the option, however, to leave the building and sit on the grounds, as long as he didn’t leave the property without permission (only granted to Omegas with Alphas, anyway). Yixing had found a little-used corner of the grounds, under an enormous oak tree. It was there where he was comfortable; the only place where he could hear the wind rustle or a bird sing. It became his ritual on sunny days to sit underneath that oak with a good book and lose himself for an hour or two, until the bells rang for dinner.
An hour had barely passed when he heard the sure scrape of boots coming towards him. Only second year and up were allowed boots. Yixing figured that they had less of a mind to run away. He tilted his head back to see another Omega student, impeccable in his school uniform and navy tie, identifying him as a second year student. There was no collar around his neck, which Yixing found interesting-most upperclassmen had them, after all.
The older boy simply smiled and sat down next to him, pulling out a book of his own.
Yixing’s mind raced with questions, and he found himself unable to concentrate on his novel, despite the upperclassman next to him blithely reading, without a care in the world, seemingly uninterested in communicating with him.
Yixing spent the next hour in stunned silence, until the bells rang for supper.
This strange little ritual continued daily-Yixing would sneak out on his break and the upperclassman would join him, small smiles slowly progressing to friendly waves, although they didn’t dare speak. Slowly, he was finally becoming comfortable among his fellow students. It hurt being one of the ones who weren’t purebred elite-his kind were few and far between, and while he could tell from the nervous glances they all gave each other who was from the slums, they had no communication. The school saw to that.
Seeing the same student over and over again helped. Rain or shine, there was the older boy, a quiet smile on his face and book in hand. A collar never appeared around his slender neck, despite the number of Alphas who came to choose their Omega, and Yixing couldn’t see why. His friend was tall and handsome, and other, less attractive Omegas were snatched up. He had to be a good student, otherwise he would have been kicked out of the school long ago.
He liked the little way his friend’s hair flopped over his face, and how he’d blow the stubborn strands out of the way while they read.
No. He shook his head to clear himself of the thought-any attraction between Omegas was forbidden and punishable. Yixing was there for a reason, and one reason alone-to support his family in the slums.
He ducked his head and hid his face inside his novel, trying to hide his burning cheeks.
Yixing was finding it harder to concentrate on his studies, and despite the threat of his grades slipping, he ventured out to the tree every day.
Even the day that it snowed, the boy was there, patiently waiting under the now-leafless tree whose branches weighed heavily with snow. Despite the freezing ground and stinging winds, they still silently sat together.
The boy had brought a blanket, which the two huddled under together. Yixing tried not to think about it, but that boy was getting closer to him, close enough to warm Yixing more than the blanket ever could.
It was forbidden, but calming.
Even when the snow melted, the boy sat that close to him. Selection was coming up, he knew. They would both be required to attend, and Yixing feared the end of his little slice of paradise within the foreboding walls.
Spring arrived, and the leafless tree now sported tiny buds. As the air grew warmer, more students walked the grounds, cleaning and planting and making everything spotless for the visiting Alphas. Yixing lost his precious free time with work and extra classes, unselected Omegas forced into more training to make themselves desirable. Sitting, standing, following all orders in absolute silence.
Omegas were to be envied, they were reminded. Subservient, meek Omegas with no voice were highly regarded, and the most dedicated would be selected.
Yixing searched for his friend on the eve of Selection, and yet he was nowhere to be found.
The day of the Selection itself, the hall was crowded. The entire school had shown up for the big announcements, divided into collarless and the collared, along with their Alphas. Yixing spotted the smug Yifan, the lone student with speaking privilege, lording over the rest of the collared with his Alpha, supposedly a prominent member of the city society. There were others he recognized-the guy with the weird hair and his tiny Alpha, the artist kid and his.
Among his uncollared group, his friend was still nowhere to be found. Yixing barely paid attention as the ceremony began, more interested in finding his friend instead of listening to the so-called ‘lucky’ Omegas being placed.
The ranks of the yet to be selected began to thin. Yixing’s bunkmate, the kid who was close to tears their first night, was the first one called to receive a heavy, elaborate collar that didn’t suit his thin neck in the slightest.
The names continued, mostly second and third years whom Yixing had only seen in passing.
“Zhang Yixing,” the headmaster read out. “First Year Zhang Yixing, please approach.”
No. No no nonononono NO.
Yixing swallowed hard and stood up, his feet heavy. Despite his mind screaming for him to run back to his tree, back to his little slice of paradise, the unquestioning obedience of his training overcame him.
He didn’t want this. Not his first year, not his second, not ever.
He stood on the hastily taped X on the stage and only listened as the headmaster read out the same speech he had dozens of times before.
“You have been chosen to be the exclusive property of Alpha Kim Jongin,” the man intoned. “Alpha, please rise and recognize your property.”
Property? Yixing wanted to scream.
“I refuse.”
The voice behind him was warm and strangely familiar. “Zhang Yixing is not property,” he continued. “I would much rather he accept the appointment.”
“This is highly unusual,” the headmaster muttered. “First year, please turn around and give your response to this Alpha.”
Bewildered, Yixing turned around to face this Alpha, this Kim Jongin character-only to face his floppy-haired friend, no longer in uniform and extending a simple collar.
Alpha. He’s…
“I have a large library and a tree,” Jongin said quietly, too low for anyone to hear other than Yixing. “And a desire to hear you speak.”
His voice was quiet and hoarse from disuse, but the tiny smile tugging the corners of Yixing’s mouth was answer enough.
Some things, Zhang Yixing reasoned, were not fair. The mandatory silence rule in the school, the jealous stares of his classmates as they stared enviously at the collar around his neck, neatly tooled leather that didn’t weigh him down like the heavy jewels around others’ necks. The long walk to Kim Jongin’s home, nestled in the heart of the palatial residential district sucked when it rained hard.
But he still trudged on until he turned the corner and saw a thick, leafy tree peeking over Jongin’s tall fence. Sun, rain, or snow, Jongin would be standing there, waiting to greet him.
And Yixing would run the rest of the way home.