Chapter Text
The university cafeteria was a chaotic symphony of clattering trays, loud laughter, and competing pheromones. Taki sat at a secluded table tucked away in the corner, a single piece of dry toast sitting untouched on a paper napkin in front of him.
He was starving, but the mere thought of taking a bite made his stomach twist into painful knots. Three weeks had passed since the night at Maki's penthouse. The marketing presentation had been handed in, earning them the highest marks in the class, and Maki had instantly reverted to his ice-king persona—treating Taki like an invisible ghost whenever they passed each other in the corridors. Taki’s lie had worked perfectly, but the physical reality of his pregnancy was becoming harder to mask by the day.
A tray slid onto the table opposite him, shattering his thoughts.
"You haven't eaten a single bite of food all week, Taki."
Taki looked up, startled. Euijoo sat down across from him, his eyes filled with intense, localized concern. The soft, comforting scent of sweet tangerine and honey drifted across the table, instantly settling Taki’s frayed nerves. Because Nicholas was currently tied up in an elite fraternity meeting, Euijoo was unescorted, allowing his protective, older-brother instincts to flare completely.
"I’m just not very hungry, Hyung," Taki mumbled, adjusting the cuffs of his oversized hoodie. "Studying for finals is taking a toll."
"Don't give me that," Euijoo said softly but firmly, leaning across the table. He lowered his voice so the passing students couldn't hear. "I know what an omega looks like when they're stressed, and I know what they look like when they're trying to suppress a gag reflex every time someone walks past with hot food. Taki... you smell completely different. Your wildflower scent is heavy. It's sweet. It’s distinctly nesting."
Taki’s breath caught in his throat. He looked around wildly, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Hyung, please, not here."
"Come with me," Euijoo commanded gently. Leaving his own lunch untouched, he grabbed Taki by the wrist and guided him out of the noisy cafeteria, weaving through the crowded hallways until they reached the deepest, quietest rows of the university library’s basement archive—a place where nobody ever came.
Once they were hidden between two massive shelves of ancient history journals, Euijoo turned to face him. He reached out, gently pulling down the hood of Taki’s sweatshirt to look at his pale, drawn face.
"Talk to me," Euijoo pleaded, his sweet tangerine scent wrapping around Taki like a warm blanket. "You can trust me, Taki. You know better than anyone that I understand secrets. Nicholas and I... we live a lie every single day just to stay together. Whatever you're going through, you don't have to carry it alone."
The kindness in Euijoo's voice was the final thread snapped in Taki's fragile defense system. The heavy armor of lies, desperate actings, and terrifying isolation he had worn for weeks crumbled to dust.
A choked sob escaped Taki’s lips. He buried his face in his hands, his small shoulders shaking violently as tears poured down his cheeks. Euijoo immediately stepped forward, pulling Taki into a tight, fierce embrace, letting the younger boy cry into his chest.
"I'm sorry," Taki wept, his voice muffled by Euijoo’s shirt. "I'm so sorry, Hyung. I didn't mean for it to happen."
"Shh, it's okay. What happened?"
Taki pulled back just enough to look Euijoo in the eyes, his hands trembling as he finally, inevitably, lowered them to cup his own flat stomach.
"I'm pregnant," Taki whispered, the truth hanging in the quiet air of the archive like a fragile glass ornament. "I'm almost two months along."
Euijoo’s eyes went wide, a gasp escaping his lips. He instinctively looked down at Taki’s belly, his hand rising to cover his mouth. "Oh, Taki..." But before he could even process the shock, his protective omega instincts clicked. "Who did this to you? Was it... was it an alpha from the scholarship dorms? Do they know?"
Taki shook his head, a fresh wave of bitter tears spilling over. He choked out a broken, humorless laugh. "I wish it was someone from the dorms. That would be so much easier."
Euijoo froze. He stared at Taki, tracking the profound, terrifying despair in the younger boy's eyes. Suddenly, the memory of the convenience store weeks ago flashed in his mind—the way Taki had looked at Maki, the aggressive spike in Maki’s mint scent, and the absolute panic that had radiated off Taki in the lecture hall.
The realization hit Euijoo like a physical blow. His hands dropped to his sides.
"No," Euijoo breathed, his voice barely a whisper of pure shock. "Taki... it's not... it's not Hirota Maki, is it?"
Taki couldn't speak. He just locked eyes with Euijoo and gave a slow, miserable nod.
"The night I had the seizure on the street," Taki confessed, his voice cracking. "He saved me. And then... the night after, we were both stupid. It just happened. He thinks I took the emergency pill. He suspects something is wrong, but I lied to his face. I told him my medication was making me sick and that I hated him."
Euijoo gripped Taki's shoulders, his mind racing at a million miles an hour. As the secret boyfriend of a billionaire heir, he knew exactly what the elite families were capable of. "You lied to him? Taki, if the Hirota family finds out you are carrying their direct heir—the future of their entire dynasty—they will take that baby from your arms before it can even take its first breath. They will ruin your mother. They will erase you."
"I know!" Taki cried out quietly, clutching his stomach tighter. "That's why he can never know. Nobody can ever know. I have to hide it, Hyung. I have to finish this semester and disappear before I start showing. Please, you can't tell Nicholas. If Nicholas knows, Maki will find out."
Euijoo looked at the terrified, broken boy in front of him—an innocent omega trapped in the jaws of a world too big and cruel for him. He pulled Taki back into a fierce, protective hug, his tangerine scent flaring with absolute loyalty.
"I won't say a word," Euijoo promised solemnly into Taki's hair. "Nicholas will never hear it from me. We are going to protect this baby, Taki. I swear to you, you are not alone anymore."