"enjoy your drink, and thank you for coming to 'sweet delight'!" the omega stated for the nth time of the day, trying his best not to make his smile fade.

once the boy that had grabbed his drink was out of the small café, shotaro allowed himself to sigh loudly and rub his aching stomach.

he felt considerably better than the day before, but his tummy still hurt a lot because of the heat. he had taken a painkiller to lessen the pain in the morning, but it hadn't been enough time since the last take for him to take a new one - and having a painkiller overdose wasn't on his plans for the day.

"everything alright, sho?" his female co-worker asked, throwing the omega a smile.

"yeah..." the boy smiled back at her.

"do you want to take a quick break to rest a bit? i can see that your heat is tiring you a lot." she added.

"i-i... it's very kind from you, but i don't want you to be alone to deal with customers." the omega stated, fidgeting with his fingers.

the truth was that shotaro really needed a break right now, and he would do anything to go sit down for a few minutes. but sadly, this wasn't an answer his inner omega could give. an omega would always try to argue and make sure to do the things that arranged others the most. they cared about others before themselves, even if it put their life in danger. this explained why there were so few omegas; the natural selection made the species disappear a bit more everyday.

"shotaro, there are absolutely zero customers. go take a break." the girl crossed her arms over her chest, knowing how shotaro was after a few years of working with him.

"a-are you sure that-"

"yes i am. break for you, right now."

the omega bowed. "thank you, i will be quick." he added before taking his apron off and walking towards the kitchen's door.

"don't you dare coming back here in less than 15 minutes." the co-worker informed before shotaro disappeared in the kitchens.

the omega walked through the kitchens were some other co-workers were preparing spare food for later on, when a high flow of customers would walk into 'sweet delight', eager to taste the delicious sweets they proposed.

shotaro didn't bother to stop by their side, and he simply flashed them a small smile before heading to the very back where a room with a few lockers and benches for the workers were located. he laid down on one of the benches, closing his eyes while heaving out a sigh in an attempt to make his body rest a bit before he worked hard again. sadly, before he could fully think about falling asleep, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"hello..." shotaro mumbled his eyes still closed.

"hello sho, is everything alright?" a male voice that shotaro recognised to be hawoon's replied.

"yes, it's just the heat..." the omega stated. "i'm doing okay. did you need to tell me something?"

"i was calling you because i had hika on the phone a few minutes ago, and she said she was supposed to come and get you after work, but she just told me she wouldn't be able to do so because something came up at work and she has to stay longer." hawoon explained.

"oh, okay..." shotaro breathed out, his desperation almost bearable in his voice. hikari was supposed to drive him back to their house after work, but it seemed like shotaro would need to walk back home on his own - something he definitely didn't need on a heat day when his whole body was hurting.

"do you want me to come and get you like the other day? i could ask to leave work early so that-"

"no, no, no, it's not necessary! thank you so much hawoon, but it's fine." shotaro cut the older male immediately. "i can go back home by myself, don't worry."

"are you sure? i want you safe and sound, and i'm ready to ask my boss to leave early for that." the male insisted but shotaro dismissed him again.

"yes, i promise you. don't leave work early for me."

a sigh was heard on the other side of the line.

"okay, but text me when you get at home safe, okay?"

"sure." shotaro smiled. "thank you, hawoon."

"see you later, shotaro. take care."

"you too."

a beeping sound signalled that hawoon had hung up, and so, shotaro allowed himself to sigh loudly as he put his phone back in his pocket.

he didn't like the idea of going back home on his own very much. one of the reasons that had motivated him to go to work today was the fact hikari had told him she would drive him back home. of course, he was aware that an omega in heat was an easier prey than any other omega for an alpha or even a beta who wanted to take advantage of someone. he would simply need to put his pain aside the time of the walk that separated his workplace form his home.

after keeping his eyes closed and shutting his mind off for a few minutes, shotaro slowly came back to the real life and awoke himself by rubbing his tired eyes. he checked the time and realised it had been seventeen minutes since the beginning of his break.

without thinking much more, the omega rushed out of the break room through the kitchen to get to the counter, tying his apron around his waist at the same time.

"s-sorry, i took a bit too long..." the omega spoke to his co-worker, slightly out of breath as he appeared behind the counter after running.

however, his face got decorated with a frown as he noticed that the girl behind the counter was having a conversation with a customer that seemed particularly annoying.

"i'm sorry, sir. i'm not sure i understand-"

"it's him! there he is!" the customer suddenly exclaimed as his eyes fell on shotaro.

the boy wearing pastel purple blinked in confusion while staring at that man he didn't know who was pointing at him in a rather impolite way.

"huh..." the girl turned around, a small smile appearing on her face when she saw shotaro. "oh, shotaro!"

"y-yes?" the omega approached the counter to get included in the conversation.

"this man was searching for you apparently. he claims that he needs to talk to you." shotaro's co-worker explained.

"yes, hello, shotaro." the man smiled. "my name is namkyu, we met a few days ago, i don't know if you remember."

"h-huh..." the omega stuttered, searching in a memory for a scene in which this mysterious man appeared. now that he thought deeper about it, it is true that his face was familiar to shotaro, but where could they have met? working as a waiter in a café, shotaro met dozens of people everyday.

"i am nct's manager, you know? the kpop boy group." the man whispered as he leant over the counter to make sure not to catch the attention of other customers.

"oh, yes. i do remember." he said with a blush. 

how could he not?

he had fainted a few days ago because of his pre-heat and the strong smell of alpha pheromones in the air, and the first thing he had seen after waking up was his face from up close.

"shotaro, i'm sorry but i'll need help." his co-worker informed him, and only then shotaro noticed that she had started taking orders for the line of customers that had arrived all at the same time - not surprising considering it was mid-afternoon and everyone wanted their little snack and refreshing drink.

"oh god, i'm sorry to bother you." nct's manager told shotaro. "we can have this conversation later. i can wait until you finish working if you don't mind."

"huh... no, i don't..." the omega hesitated.

"thank you, it is really important for me to have this conversation with you." the man sighed in relief. "i'll be sitting at the table over there, can i?"

"sure." shotaro nodded, genuinely concerned by what nct's manager could have to tell him. "would you like huh... something to drink? or to eat?"

"just an iced americano with whipped cream, thank you." he replied.

"okay, i'll bring it to your table."

α

"i'm back!"

a second after these words left the boy's mouth and the front door was slammed shut, hikari appeared with her hair completely messy and her eyes widened.

"where is shotaro?!" she exclaimed, making hawoon frown as the boy was taking his shoes off.

"he isn't there yet? i thought he finished work around two hours ago." the beta said. "and he told me he would come back home on his own."

"he wasn't here when i came back." hikari bit her nails in nervousness. "and he still isn't!"

"okay, let's not panic. there has to be an explanation." hawoon tried calling his girlfriend down. "have you tried calling him? or his workplace?"

"he doesn't answer. i didn't try the workplace yet." hikari gasped before she pulled her phone out in a hurry, looking on the internet for the number she could dial to reach 'sweet delight'.

she called the café, waited for someone to answer and had a quick talk with the employee that had picked up the phone before hanging up when she had been told what she needed to know.

"so? what did they say?" hawoon asked, hoping to be told something relieving.

"shotaro left the café at the end of his shift with a man." hikari's face was turning paler every second.

"w-what?!" hawoon stuttered, his heartbeat accelerating in his rib cage.

"oh my god, HAWOON!! he could be getting abused or taken advantage of, or worse! raped!" hikari screamed in a mix of korean and japanese, all of her senses alert because of the news she had just heard.

"let's call the police to warn them. we'll see what they can do and- "

hawoon and hikari were interrupted in their panic by the doorbell ringing. both betas exchanged a glance before rushing to the front door and slamming it open, the person standing on the other side of it allowing them to let out a loud sigh of relief simultaneously.

"oh my god, shotaro! you scared me so much!!" hikari exclaimed in japanese as she pulled the omega in a hug.

"sorry, hika..." the omega answered in the same language.

and it's only when she pulled out from the hug that she noticed an older male standing by her brother's side. and this time, a gasp slipped past her lips as she pinched her arm a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"s-sho... what are you doing with nct's manager?!?!"