[Joong]

Joong didn't lie when he said that he was disappointed by the cancellation of yesterday's events. He was so eager to meet his neighbor but sadly, the universe didn't allow them to meet yet and that's okay.

He came back to his cold and empty apartment, just to realize that his neighbor didn't come back to his unit last night and even this morning. So, in the middle of his sleepless night, he was texting his neighbor again. Because texting with his new neighbor is so fun and comfortable. Joong didn't expect that person to reply to him immediately.

The beam of smile was plastered on Joong's face all night long.

To : my only neighbor

It's okay, let's meet at another time. When will you come back to your apartment by the way?

From : my only neighbor

[Sent pic]

Joong was startled when he saw his new neighbor sent him a picture. It's not their face, but it was a picture of a delicate hand reaching up to the house ceiling. His new neighbor's hand is so pretty. Was he showing off his beautiful hand to him? And yes, Joong knew by then, his new neighbor is a man.

To be honest, he had the feeling that his new neighbor is a man from the way he replied to his messages. And he was so happy when he realized that his intuition was right. That's a man's hand, but way too beautiful and delicate compared to a normal man's hand.

From : my only neighbor

I'm under house arrest right now, i can't go out from my bedroom

Joong learned that his new neighbor had strict parents. And he was lying to them regarding his date of arrival in this country. So his parents were absolutely raging to learn that their only son was already back and not telling them. And even bought a private apartment for himself.

Joong has a lot of friends. Sometimes to help him go through his sleepless night, he texts his friends and even calls them. But this is the first time he feels so eager about waiting for the other person's side to reply.

He is so curious about his new neighbor and it's not about his scent anymore. He is so fun to chat with. It feels like Joong is already connected with him and he can't really describe why he is feeling this strongly towards someone that he doesn't even know how he looks and even his name.

He can only imagine him.

The chat continues in the morning, even when Joong is in the class. His professor almost kicked him out of the class because he was on the phone for almost 2 hours. His new neighbor was sending him a picture of his dog when Joong reluctantly put his phone back in his pocket because his professor was already glaring at him again.

It's the lunch team and Joong is sitting with Pond and Phuwin in Phuwin's faculty canteen. Phuwin is majoring in International Relationship, the building is only several walks away from Joong's faculty building (Joong is in business administration). Meanwhile Pond, an architecture student, needs to have some sweat to walk here in the middle of the day. But he never complains because it is Phuwin's place. It will be another different story if it's Joong's place. He will be complaining nonstop.

To : my only neighbor

Hey, what do you eat for lunch? I bought an omelet. That's my favorite food.

Joong is smiling when he feels his phone vibrate not too long after he sends the message.

From : my only neighbor

You have a quite simple taste. I'm such a picky eater. And yeah I already had my lunch. Thank you for asking! By the way, i can finally escape from my parents house this weekend since i already have a plan to visit my friend in the morning. I can meet you on Saturday night. Do you have free time by then?

"Damn, your smile is so creepy, man."

Joong looks up from his phone and sees his two friends looking at them with a judging expression. Especially Phuwin.

"I'm afraid that your smile will tear your face just from how wide your smile is." Phuwin gives him nasty comment.

"I can't understand why Pond is so obsessed with you."

Phuwin only rolls his eyes at Joong's words. Pond sits closer towards his boyfriend and puts his hand around his shoulder.

"Wait until you have someone to get addicted to."

Joong gives them a nasty look and then comes back to his phone.

"By the way, Pond. Our agenda this weekend is only in the morning, right?" Suddenly Joong remembers that he already agrees to meet Pond's highschool friend on the weekend.

"Yes, my friend just called me before that he already has a plan in mind for the night so he can't meet us all day long."

Joong nods. "He seems like a busy person."

"It's not like that though, he is an introvert and usually he didn't really have much enthusiasm to meet with other people. But he is weirdly excited for his night plan. I don't know who he will meet. But I will ask this weekend."

Joong doesn't really listen to Pond's words anymore. He is focusing on other messages from his new neighbor.

To : my only neighbor

Yeah I also have some planning in the morning but totally free at night. Wanna catch up on the Vietnamese restaurant? By the way, you haven't told me your name yet. I'm curious.

From : my only neighbor

Sounds good.

Hahahaha. You will know by Saturday. I wanna keep it a secret for now, it's fun.

***

It's night and Joong is facing the same bedroom wall again trying to get to sleep. He went to dinner with his classmates and then played some basketball with them. He is sure that his body is so damn tired but as usual, his mind can't shut down easily without a sleeping pill.

And it's already 2AM!

He reaches out to the table beside his king-sized bed, he needs to find that damn sleeping pill or he will become a zombie tomorrow.

It's when he feels his cellphone not far from the sleeping pill rings. A message at this time?

From : my only neighbor

I hope that you are sleeping right now, and I'm not waking you up from your sleep.

Sorry to text you at this hour, but do you ever experience trouble sleeping?

I do, every single day.

Joong reaches out to his phone and types something to reply to the message.

To : my only neighbor

Hey, are you okay? Do you want to have someone to talk to? Can I call you?

A message comes a little bit late than their usual chat conversation. But the moment Joong read a word yes on that reply, he immediately calls his neighbor's number.

It needs more than ten rings to finally someone picks up his call, as if someone on the other side of line is debating himself if this is a good thing to do or not.

"Hello? This is a gender reveal, I'm a man. Hope you aren't disappointed."

Joong's heart is skipping a beat when he finally hears his neighbor's voice. It's unexpected that his neighbor has a deep voice, not that deep like Pond's voice but definitely deeper than Joong's voice. The tone from his voice is so calming, Joong wants to hear his voice more.

"Neighbor? Another gender reveal, I'm a man too."

There is a cackling sound at the end of the line and Joong wants to hear his laugh more. It feels so good for his ears and his heart.

"I kinda noticed that too, I'm not good with women and i talked well with you in the past 2 days. I hope that I don't wake you up from your sleep."

Joong wakes up from his laying down position and walks toward his bedroom's balcony. He sits there and looks up to the night sky.

"I'm not sleeping yet."

There is a pause in their conversation. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Joong smiles. "Why aren't you sleeping?" He asks back.

There is another laugh. This time is a nervous one. "It's been awhile since i came back to this house, it gives me uneasy feelings so i don't feel like sleeping all night long."

Joong nods. He knows that feeling. The uneasy feelings that make you can't sleep and your mind is everywhere. It sucks.

"Wanna come back to your apartment? Maybe you can get a good sleep here. Peace is the most important feeling to have some good sleep."

Joong talks as if he knows how to get some good sleep.

"Yeah, and then my name can be on the morning news tomorrow. My parents will report my absence to the nearest police office."

Joong laughs again. His new neighbor's sense of humor really matched with him.

"I will be the suspect of your kidnapping, since I'm the last one to get contacted by you."

"Hahahahahaha." He is laughing again and Joong closes his eyes to feel the laugh. "You are so funny! I really like talking to you."

Me too.

"By the way, what is the reason behind this call on your side? Why are you talking to me right now instead of sleeping and having a good dream?"

Joong looks at the night sky once again.

Because you are not here. Because I can't sense your scent since that night. That's why I come back to someone that relies on sleeping pills to get some sleep.

It is still a big question for him, how can he sleep without a pill that night. The day he can sense his neighbor's perfume.

"I just finished watching some movies on Netflix, I like watching movies overnight." He lies, of course he lies. How can Joong say to his new neighbor whose he wants to impress so badly that he is a chronic insomniac?

"What a wise habit." He mocks him. "I hope that you don't have morning classes tomorrow."

Oh damn, Joong surely has.

"I have."

There is a rumbling voice as if someone just gets up from his position.

"Then what are you doing right now? I will end this call. Get some sleep! I'm still unemployed until next month, so I can sleep when the sun rises."

There is a panic feeling soaring from his heart, Joong wants to talk more with his neighbor.

"No! No. It's fine. I can handle that.. Please don't hang up yet. It feels good to talk to you."

"Ew.. are you a flirt? It won't affect me in any way though."

Joong laughs. "How can you be sure of it?"

"I give you my secret, I never get attached to someone.. deeply and romantically. I don't think I will experience that in the near future."

Joong really wonders who this guy is? It perks his excitement more to learn that someone as comforting as him is never into a relationship.

"You never know."

"Try me, then."

Joong smirks.

Is it possible to get infatuated with someone just from :

His scent
His way of replying and talking, it's so comforting
The imagination of him

Because he thinks he started to get infatuated with his new neighbor. And it's only on day 3 since the Vietnamese restaurant event. The feeling is so strong, it really confuses Joong.

Is Joong this lonely to get infatuated with someone he doesn't know his name and look yet?

"You are interesting, neighbor."

His neighbor laughs again. "I told you, what if I'm someone in the middle of their 70s. I'm positive you will block my number after our meeting on Saturday."

"Why do you keep bringing this? I'm not believing your words."

It feels really nice to have someone to talk to, someone comfortable to talk to.

They keep talking for more than two hours already. They literally talk about everything, but nothing too personal. His neighbor talks about his experience of studying in Germany and how different it is to live there compared to their country. Then Joong talks about his favorite movie, sports, and also how he spends his life watching his close friend who already has a boyfriend. He didn't mention name but somehow his neighbor also shares the same experience of becoming a love counselor to his friend even though his friend knows that he has never been in any relationship.

One thing that is amazingly good he takes notice from his new neighbor is, he never talks about their second gender. He doesn't get curious on what second gender his neighbor is. And Joong also doesn't want to talk about that.

Sometimes it irritates him how most people, especially omega, only looks at him for their desire and lust only. It's like they only want to connect with him through their second gender's instinct and never really want to know who the real Joong is.

But his neighbor seems to get really interested in Joong in the human form. And Joong on the other hand, also feels the same.

Joong is back on his bed again because he feels cold, it's dawn already, it's when he feels someone is getting quieter and quieter.

"Neighbor?"

Joong doesn't hear any replies and he assumes that his new neighbor is finally falling asleep. He can only hear his breathing rhythm and it's crazy to say it sounds like music in Joong's ears.

He doesn't hang up the call, he closes his eyes and tries to focus on his neighbor's sounds of breath.

1... 2... 3...

Joong feels at ease. Listening to his neighbor breathing is so calming it calms Joong's nerves and without much power, he falls asleep at 5 AM.

***

"Father, father, where are you? Mom? Where am I? I'm so afraid. I wanna go home."

"Hush... hush.. I'm here, Nong Joong. Phi is here. You don't have to be afraid."

"Look at you comforting other people when you are also on the verge of crying."

"Can you shut up? It's your fault we are in this condition right now."

TUK TUK TUK

"Hush.... Hush...."

"He is coming."

TUK TUK TUK

"He will kill us this time, Phi!"

"No, he won't. I will protect you no matter what."

"Stupid, you should protect yourself first."

TUK TUK TUK

"He is there...... right behind this door."

Joong wakes up. This damn dream again. He feels so restless and is still trying to breathe normally. Everytime he gets this terrifying dream, he always has a headache, like.. what the point of sleeping if you have a bad dream?

It can't be called resting at all.

Joong wakes up from his laying down position and shakes his head. He often dreams about being chased from someone he doesn't recall the face is. He doesn't want to think too much about that because it's only a dream. But it gives him the irritated feeling when he wakes up.

Just like right now.

He searches for his phone and shocks when it's already 11 AM. Damn he surely missed his morning class.

The irritated feelings grow stronger after that. He needs to search for his morning coffee.

***

Thursday and Friday passed like the other days, but something to excite Joong waited for him at the end of the day.

Since that call on Wednesday, he called his new neighbor again the other day. But this time in a different range of time. He called earlier, when he was having his dinner, when he was on his way to get back to his apartment, and when he was watching his night show.

And today is the day.

It's finally Saturday and he will finally meet his neighbor at 7PM in that legendary Vietnamese restaurant.

But before that, Joong is preparing himself to go out to Pond and Phuwin's condo to meet them and Pond's friend.

Joong doesn't really give much attention to how he suits up. He only wears his dark jeans, black t-shirt, and his white sneakers. A casual thing to wear.

He promises Pond to arrive at 11AM, they will have lunch together at Pond and Phuwin's place before going out to a nearby mall to watch Hunger Games at the cinema. What a basic way to bond with someone else.

Joong arrives late at 11.15 AM, he is parking his car in Pond's basement and walks faster to Pond and Phuwin's apartment floor.

It is on the 15th floor if he's not wrong.

When he reaches the floor, something welcomes him. Something that successfully stops his walks.

This scent.

The bland of rich vanilla and warm coconut, a slight fragrance of aloe vera, lily of the valley, and chamomile.

No way.

Joong walks faster to the source of the scent. He looks up to the closed door and knocks it eagerly.

One minute later a familiar face shows up in front of him. Joong looks at Pond in disbelief and walks past him. Pond says something but he doesn't catch anything.

His focus is all on the scent... and the person who produces this scent.

It is him, right there.

Standing tall, gracefully. From his back, Joong can see that he is frozen still. Before, he was having a chat with Phuwin in the living room area, but when Joong comes into the room. He stops talking.

"Your name is Dunk?"

Joong calls him, he wants to see him so badly.

When he hears Joong's voice, he turns his body around and now faces Joong. Stunned at his place. His eyes, it's so damn pretty, locks at Joong's eyes.

And Joong.... Joong has lost his mind.

It feels like gravity tries to pull him to the other person. Nothing matters anymore. The only important thing is him and him alone. Joong wants to do everything and become anything to keep him safe, to protect him, to fulfill whatever he ever wanted.

It's the first time his alpha instinct makes him feel this way.

All his senses are numb and open at the same time. His heart beats faster, his mind is all over the place. All he wants is to be near him, all his connection these past 4 days now makes sense to him. Why can he feel so much at ease and peace if he interacts with him but at the same time his feelings toward him are so strong and deep?

Dunk.

He takes another breath and that scent is hugging him tight, making Joong speechless on his feet.

And he is sure of two things; his neighbor is beyond his imagination. He is the prettiest human being his eyes ever laid off and no... it's not his perfume. It's the first time in a while he can smell an omega's pheromones.

Joong hears a whimper. His omega is whimpering in front of him. His body is shaking and his eyes are losing his focus. His beautiful eyes are not looking at Joong directly again. And Joong hates it so much.

And the next second he is falling to his knees and this time Pond is much faster to catch him than Joong.

When he sees Pond, an alpha, is touching his omega. Joong sees red.

"Don't touch him." Joong growls.

Pond is looking back at Joong angrily. "Phuwin gets out of this room. You can't handle this." Joong gives a little attention to Phuwin who is now standing far away than he stands before. His body is also shaking but not as bad as Dunk's.

"Why are you releasing your pheromones like this? WHAT ARE YOU DOING, JOONG?!"

And the next second, he sees Dunk is fainting in front of him. Joong quickly takes Dunk's body from Pond. He hates seeing his omega being touched by other alphas, at this state, his logical mind is shutting down he doesn't even remember who Pond is.

These strong feelings, Joong has never experienced before.

"Let go of him."

Pond glares at him. "Where do you want to take him to? He is my friend."

When he hears that, Joong's ears are ringing. Joong hates hearing that. He hates when Pond says a possession of Dunk.

Pond once again tries to get Dunk's fainting body into his embrace and Joong looks at him angrily.

"Don't touch him."

Pond is shocked by the way Joong commands him and steps backward.

Joong uses that chance to carry Dunk's body and walks out from this place.

Before he reaches the front door, he says something to his best friend. Something that can shock him, but at this point, he needs to know this so he can stop being too near with Dunk. It's for his safe of mind.

"Pond, your friend, Dunk, is an omega."

And Joong walks away from that place with his omega on his arms.

To Be Continued

***

Soooooooo, what do you think of this chapter? kindly give me some comments, so i know how my stories going on in the reader's point of view ^^ thank youu, see you next chapters