บท 23: Alpha Friend 2

"So… do you come here every day?" Haneul asks as he looks around the research group's room, noting the refrigerator where Joseph probably keeps all his banana milks. There is only three people in the whole room, two being themselves. With all the furniture and resources here, the room is almost like a private library and yet, there are only a few people which is such a waste. "What… do you guys even do here?"

Upon hearing the question, Joseph turns his head around and scans the room, silently scoffing a bemused laugh at the situation, "Research, I guess. I think the group gets busy from the end of the year."

"Research? What kind?" Haneul finds himself interested in the subject. He had free time so he followed Joseph back here when they met at the library yesterday and now, he is here again, enjoying the relaxing ambience of the room. Too bad he can only access here in the presence of the foreigner hence why he had to ask if Joseph would be here before coming.

"Erm… social etiquettes and stuff." Haneul reads the titles of the books on the shelves. Unlike what he expected, the titles are as boring as they look with no intention of catching the eyes of new readers. Just, straight to the point. Widening his eyes which almost closed from boredom, he looks at what the other omega is doing; reading his writings. "Your Korean sucks."

"Ouch." The man playfully responds, "Well, mine thesis is gonna be in English so no worries."

Smiling at the answer, nodding his head just because, Haneul starts to flip through the other's notebook, trying to find something fun to do. Granted he came here to relax, but that is only because he has nothing else to do and spending time with someone seems better than being in his room all alone hiding from people. He still hasn't bought a concealer, and he is still a bit shaken from what happened. He doubts he will be going to the club for a while hence his mission to find a new hobby. "Seph, what do you do during your free time?"

"Hrmm… reading?" Joseph answers which earn him an earnest eye roll.

"Heol, really? Like, right now? This," Haneul points to the papers scattered on the table, "is your hobby?"

"Urm, yeah. I mean, not really. I joined a few clubs but stopped after meeting my girlfriend the-"

"Woah." Haneul stops the man from continuing. Joseph just mentioned something really interesting and he wishes to skip through it? Not going to happen. "Girlfriend?? Alpha?"

Joseph stares at him, closing his eyes a few times probably not understanding his eagerness. "She's a beta."

"What?" Haneul almost screams at the reveal. A male omega and a female beta? That is like the rarest pairing he ever heard. How do they have sex? Well, obviously he knows how they would have sex but how do Joseph even get off? How is he getting through his heat? Should he ask? He is really dying to know.

He should.

But wait, this guy actually has a girlfriend? First of all, he looks like a total nerd, and he is, an actual nerd with weird habits. And second, his Korean is a bit funny, he wonders how Joseph flirted with his girlfriend. Did he use weird Korean pickup line? That would have been so fun to watch.

Shit, he just imagined Joseph trying to pick up chicks at the bar, with his weird accent. And oh god, why is he imagining the man holding banana milk instead of a beer?

"Ouch." Haneul hisses, realizing he has been laughing hard at his own imagination, causing the cut on his lip to open. Licking the wound, and calming himself down, the long-haired male turns to face his companion. He can see that Joseph is curious as to why he is enjoying himself enough to hurt but he cannot bring himself to say it, it will be too cruel.

But… he still wants to know what Joseph's girlfriend looks like.

"She's Korean-American."

"Ahh…" So, he didn't have to use weird Korean pick-up line after all. What a bummer, that was a fun thought. "So, you guys do American things together?"

"Define American things." Joseph asks, to which Haneul can only lift his shoulders. Since they are both from the States, he cannot imagine them doing Korean things like karaoke and going to saunas, eating pork ribs… the usual stuffs.

…not that, he ever did that himself.

Now that Haneul thought about it, he never tried any of that either. He never had the chance to experience it because, for obvious reason, most people at the shelter weren't as eager to have fun as they were trying to recover and survive each day, which was the reason why he decided to search for 'fun' outside the shelter – a decision which led him to the alphas he knows whom, also for obvious reason, are much more interested in sex than hanging out in public places.

So yeah, he never experienced the 'Korean things' either.

"Hey Seph…" Haneul speaks up after a long pause, carefully considering what he is about to suggest, "Do you wanna do those stuffs together? I mean, you can bring you girl if you want to…"

"She's travels a lot so it's fine. But sure… sounds interesting. I've always wanted to go to saunas and do that double side buns. We can sleep there right?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Realizing how much he knows about those stuff makes Haneul doubt himself. It sounded like a really good plan - both getting to experience what everyone did during their childhood for the first time without judging the other but, at the same time, neither of them knows how to do it. People play games at the sauna, dance at the karaoke, eat a certain way at the barbeque but neither of them has a clue how to enjoy it the way others do. Not to mention, he will be going with this person whom he just hangs out with out of convenience, what if they fail to understand the excitement of the activity and end up being in an awkward situation?

"I guess, we need to find someone with experience?" Joseph suggests before leaning against his chair trying to think of someone he knows who would join their outing. Seeing that, Haneul starts to wonder as well despite his lack of network. He has no close friends on campus, but he knows a few of them who seem to be experienced in this field. The only question is, will he be able to tolerate being with them for a long while?

Who should he ask?