Chapter Text
The morning air inside the university’s botanical conservatory was thick, damp, and heavy with the scent of blooming orchids and wet soil. It was usually a ghost town during finals week—the perfect place for an omega to hide.
Euijoo stood near the back glass wall, pretending to read a textbook, but his eyes were constantly scanning the glass pavilion doors. A few paces away, hidden safely behind the broad, fan-like leaves of a massive tropical palm, Taki sat on a stone bench. He had a textbook cracked open on his knees, his fingers nervously tracing the edge of the premium white vitamin box tucked inside his canvas bag.
"The coast is clear, Taki," Euijoo murmured softly, his sweet tangerine and honey scent releasing a small wave of reassurance. "Take the neural-stabilizing vitamin now while you have some water."
Taki nodded quickly, pulling out a small blue capsule. He swallowed it down, letting out a shaky breath as he adjusted the thick folds of his oversized cream sweater. "I still feel sick every time I think about Nicholas’s lie, Hyung. My chest feels so tight."
"We just have to blend into the background for two weeks," Euijoo whispered, stepping closer to the palm tree to block Taki from view. "Just fourteen—"
The heavy iron doors of the conservatory suddenly groaned open.
A sharp, violent draft swept through the humid greenhouse, instantly obliterating the floral atmosphere. The unmistakable, dominant scent of crushed mint and smoky vetiver flooded the glass room like an oncoming storm.
Maki walked in. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, his silver hair catching the morning sunlight filtering through the glass ceiling. He looked entirely focused, his dark eyes instantly locking onto Euijoo standing by the orchids.
Behind the palm leaves, Taki’s heart stopped dead. He clamped a hand over his mouth, pulling his knees tightly against his chest, completely paralyzing his body so his cream sweater wouldn't rustle against the plants.
Euijoo stiffened, his fingers gripping his textbook until his knuckles went white. He forced his scent to steady, putting on the performance of his life as Maki stepped up to him, stopping just two feet away.
"Maki," Euijoo said, his voice flat, trying to channel the defensive anger of an omega protecting a secret. "What are you doing here? Nicholas isn't with me."
Maki didn't look angry. In fact, his expression was softer, filled with a heavy, somber gravity that Euijoo had never seen on the billionaire heir's face before. He looked down at Euijoo's completely flat stomach, his eyes dark with a complex mix of guilt, responsibility, and deep respect for his best friend's situation.
"I know Nicholas isn't here," Maki said, his voice dropping into a quiet, respectful murmur. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small, sleek black card, holding it out toward Euijoo. "Take this."
Euijoo blinked, his tangerine scent spiking with genuine confusion. "What is that?"
"It’s a private medical clearance card for the Hirota family wing at the Kyoto Central Hospital," Maki explained smoothly, his mint scent pulsing softly, entirely devoid of its usual icy edge. "Nicholas told me everything. I know about the baby, Euijoo. And I know you're trying to hide it from the Wang family because of... your financial situation."
From behind the palm leaves, Taki gasped silently, his eyes widening in absolute terror. Maki was trying to protect a baby that didn't exist, using the very resources that should have belonged to his own child.
"Maki, I can't take this," Euijoo stammered, stepping back, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how a poor omega would react. "Nicholas is already handling it. We don't need your family's charity."
"It's not charity, it's a shield," Maki pressed, stepping forward and forcing the card into Euijoo’s trembling hand. "The Wang elders have eyes everywhere, but they can't touch the Hirota medical wing. If you go there, the doctors answer only to me. They will give you the best prenatal care, premium supplements, and complete anonymity. Nicholas is my brother. If he’s risking his inheritance for this child, I am going to make sure that child is born safe."
Maki’s alpha instincts were completely misdirecting his energy. His biological urge to provide, protect, and defend a developing life was screaming at him, but because of the lie, his brain had mapped all of that intense, protective power entirely onto Euijoo. He was standing there, radiating a fierce, brotherly guardianship over his best friend's phantom mate.
"Just... make sure you eat," Maki added quietly, his eyes lingering on Euijoo’s waistline one last time. "Nicholas is losing sleep worrying about how pale you look. Take care of yourself."
Euijoo swallowed the burning lump in his throat, slowly closing his fingers around the black card. He had to play along. He had to look grateful, or the entire illusion would shatter. "Thank you, Maki. I... I appreciate it."
"Don't mention it to Nicholas. He’s too proud to ask me for help," Maki said, turning on his heel. He walked back toward the glass doors, his mint and vetiver scent slowly receding from the pavilion.
The heavy iron doors hissed shut behind him, leaving the conservatory dead quiet once more.
The moment Maki was gone, Taki stumbled out from behind the massive palm leaves. His face was completely bloodless, his knees shaking so violently he had to catch himself on the edge of the stone bench. He stared at the black medical card in Euijoo’s hand, a sudden, devastating wave of heartbreak crashing over him.
Maki wanted to protect the baby. He was willing to defy elite protocols, break hospital rules, and use his family’s untouchable power to keep a child safe—he just had no idea that the child was his own, and that the omega carrying it was currently shivering in a cheap sweater, hiding in the dirt behind him.
"Taki," Euijoo whispered, turning around with tears in his eyes, holding the card like it was a piece of hot coal. "He’s... he’s completely invested. He thinks I’m the one."
Taki dropped his head into his hands, a quiet, broken sob tearing through his throat as he clutched his stomach. "He’s trying to be a good friend... while I'm being a monster. The lie is getting too big, Hyung. It’s going to kill us all when it breaks."