"hikari, hawoon... this is mister kang, nct's manager. mister kang, this is hikari, my older sister, and hawoon, her boyfriend."

"nice to meet you."

hawoon and hikari stood in the doorway, their mouths agape and their eyes widened at the sight of nct's manager bowing to greet them.

nct was by far their favourite kpop boy group, and meeting their manager was an honour for them; never had they imagined that they would end up meeting him personally.

"h-hello m-mister kang..." they both let out with a stutter.

"i am sorry i came back home late, but i was with mister kang and we didn't see the time pass." shotaro apologised as he fidgeted with his fingers. "can we go in?"

hikari blinked a few times before waking up from her daze. "oh my god, of course. please, make yourself home." she said.

"thank you." namkyu smiled before following shotaro inside.

"i brought mister kang here because he needed to have a talk with you, and it is a bit urgent so yeah, i hope you don't mind... i'm sorry i didn't warn you, my phone didn't have much battery." the omega apologised again.

"it's no problem shotaro." hawoon assured. "we'll talk in the living room. can i get you something to drink in the meantime?"

a few minutes later, hikari, hawoon, shotaro and namkyu were seated around the living room, taking sips of their drinks while waiting for someone to start talking.

"so... how come you and mister kang met?" hikari was the first one to speak.

"mister kang came at 'sweet delight' and he waited for the end of my shift because he needed to talk to me." shotaro explained.

"yes, i'm sorry i brought him back home so late, but i showed him around sm entertainment a bit and it took us longer than expected." namkyu added, making the couple widen their eyes again.

"you visited sm entertainment?!" hawoon exclaimed while staring at shotaro.

"yes, i did..." the omega said in a shy voice.

"i'm sorry, but i can't help being confused." hikari frowned. "why would nct's manager come on a random afternoon to 'sweet delight' to make shotaro visit sm entertainment?"

"well... i'll let mister kang explain everything to you..." shotaro spoke again, his cheeks flushing slightly.

hikari and hawoon both faced nct's manager to hear his explanation.

"so, you already seem to know that i am nct's manager. and if you know that, i believe that you are aware that nct are a kpop group made of 22 alphas." namkyu started.

"yes, of course." hawoon nodded, very professionally – as if he wasn't dying on the inside as his mind processed the fact he was having a conversation with the manager of his favourite group.

"however, you may not know that nct aren't easy to deal with every day. an alpha is a really stubborn and territorial creature that has anger issues. now, imagine what 22 of them living together would look like."

there was a small pause during which hikari and hawoon seemed to realise how hard it may be to deal with all of those alphas when being a beta.

"effectively..." hikari nodded.

"to make it short, we try to have them being the more civic possible on stage, but when they are off-camera, they keep fighting verbally or physically, and i'm pretty sure a few of them would have died if it wasn't for my punishments and threats." namkyu described nct's behaviour, tiredness hearable in his voice.

"i don't understand what shotaro could have to do with any of that..." the beta girl stated with a brow raised.

"well..." namkyu gave shotaro a glance. the boy wearing pastel purple was sitting crissed-crossed on the sofa, one of his hands clasped around his glass of violet syrup and the other holding the straw that he kept biting with his teeth. he looked cute, baby-ish, innocent and pure – the total opposite of any nct member. "shotaro happens to work as an assistant in a media studio, and also at the 'sweet delight' café. and something really weird happened the two times nct met him."

the couple was back at staring at shotaro with wide eyes.

"YOU MET NCT?!" they exclaimed.

"yeah... they were filming a show one day and i had to give them their mics... and the second time was at the café, when i fainted and my co-worker called hawoon to pick me up. there were a few members here, but hawoon was too focused on me to notice them..." shotaro explained in a low voice.

"you were next to them and you didn't notice them?!" hikari gasped, slapping her boyfriend's shoulder. "are you stupid?!"

"i was worried about sho!" hawoon rubbed his arm. "and now i want to know what weird thing happened with nct after meeting with him."

hikari stopped hitting her boyfriend and looked at the kpop manager again.

"yeah, huh... from the moment nct met shotaro, and for a few hours long, nct have been huh... changed...?"

"changed?" hawoon raised a brow.

"yeah." namkyu nodded. "abnormally calm. no more fighting, no more insulting each other, and listening to each and every of my order without me needing to threaten them to death."

"are you trying to tell us that shotaro has a calming power on them?" hikari asked.

"i'm not sure, but the elements match. he could be what tames them." namkyu nodded. "and after a few hours, the boys start getting angry and agitated again, and it gets worse every time. that's why i came to see shotaro today. i wanted to make an offer to him."

hawoon raised a sceptical brow. "an offer?"

"a job offer." namkyu specified. "just for a week. we'll see after a week if it works or not, but i would need him for a week to make a test."

"and what does this job consist in, exactly?" hikari asked.

"just living with nct, and accompanying them wherever they go."

hikari and hawoon looked at each other before glancing at shotaro who was still taking baby sips of his violet syrup.

"why him?" hawoon asked.

"because he has that effect on nct that no one else has." namkyu replied. "as you said, he can tame them."

"he's an omega. what do you think will happen when 22 alphas will see him?" hikari crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly getting protective of her little brother. "i don't want him to be in a hostile environment or taken advantage of."

"of course, i understand, and it's my job to make sure of that." namkyu nodded. "but don't forget that they're alphas. one of them could be his mate..."

the beta girl sighed. mister kang was right. shotaro still hadn't found a mate, and she knew he needed to find one. mate-less omegas were endangered and risked a lot, which is why shotaro was particularly motivated to find one.

"and..." she started. "have you asked him what he thought about that?"

all heads turned towards shotaro, making the youngest boy blush.

"w-well... i-i'm ready to try... for a week..." he stuttered. "m-mister kang said he would pay for this month rent for us if i worked for him, so i want to try."

"shotaro..." hikari sighed. "i told you money wasn't an issue. don't force yourself to do so because of money."

"b-but... one of them could be m-my mate..." the omega pouted making all three betas melt on the inside at his cuteness.

there was a long pause during which no one dared to speak.

however, the silence was broken by nct's manager.

"i brought him to sm entertainment to show him the environment and the other idols. nct were at their dorms, punished for some stupid thing they did yesterday, but i didn't want him to accept without catching a glimpse of what it was like." he explained. "he already told me he was ready to try, but he imperatively wanted your opinion on this to definitively accept or refuse the offer, which is why i am here now."

the couple looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, almost as if they were communicating silently. their expressions were neutral and unreadable for shotaro who was fidgeting with his fingers and nervously biting on his lips.

"i-it's just for a week... it d-doesn't hurt to try..." he stuttered out. "a-and if i don't like it, i can stop..."

one last look into each other's eyes and hikari and hawoon had taken their decision.

"okay, as long as we get daily updates and that we are sure that none of the alphas try anything on you." hikari said quickly.

"you'll have daily updates, and i can even drive him here or to your workplace once a day for you to see him in you'd like." namkyu nodded. "and i will personally make sure that none of the members try anything."

"and... shotaro mentioned a payment..." hikari tried again. "i'm sure you are aware he would need to take a break from his work places to work for you."

"of course. i will send you right when you sign the contract a compensation for the job loss as well as half of the rent for this month." namkyu nodded. "the other half will come at the end of the week."

"perfect, then." hikari smiled. "well, if shotaro is ready to work for you, we are ready to let him."

the adults turned towards shotaro whose hands were trembling slightly in apprehension.

the omega gave the three betas a gummy smile before nodding.

"i-i am ready." he told cutely. "i-i'm ready to try taming nct..."