"This place... it still looks exactly the same, even after six long years," Qixian murmured, his voice barely above a whisper as he scanned the familiar surroundings. A wave of nostalgia, tinted with something heavier, washed over him as he took in the architecture.
"This place is absolutely stunning, isn't it, Qixian?" Haoran chimed in, his eyes bright with excitement as he took in the scenery. He seemed completely unaffected by the long journey, radiating an energy that Qixian couldn't quite match.
"Uh... yeah, it really is..." Qixian replied, forcing a small, distracted smile.
"It's already late, and the sun has long since set," Yichen interrupted. "We can do a proper tour of the grounds tomorrow. For now, let's just find our rooms and settle in for the night."
"About that, guys..." Sihan said, his expression a mix of sheepishness and mischief as he dangled two silver keys from his fingers, the metal clinking softly in the quiet air.
"Why are you only holding two keys?" Yichen asked, his brow furrowing as he did the math.
"Yeah, what gives?" Haoran added, looking between Sihan and the keys.
"Well, the concierge mentioned they only have two rooms available in this wing—it's strictly two people per room," Sihan explained, avoiding Qixian's eyes.
"Fine. Then Hairan and I will share a room," Qixian stated immediately, reaching for one of the keys. It was the safest option.
"Actually... I think I'll go with Sihan," Haoran decided, stepping closer to his partner.
"But why?" Qixian asked, his heart skipping a beat.
"Because Sihan and I are partners, Qixian. It only makes sense," Haoran explained gently. "Besides, you're an Alpha, you can handle sharing a space with Yichen for a few nights. It's not like you guys are strangers."
"But..." Qixian started, the word dying in his throat. 'But I'm an Omega!' he screamed internally. 'I'm an injured, suppressed Omega! And now going to share a very small space with a high-tier Alpha?!' He didn't dare say it out loud, though he felt so in trouble, his gaze darting nervously toward Sihan as if asking for help.
"Ah, Haoran... are you sure about this?" Sihan tried to intervene, catching the sheer panic flashing in Qixian's eyes.
"It suits me just fine," Yichen interrupted, his tone final. He reached out and took the second key from Qixian's hand. "Let's go?"
"See? It's perfect!" Haoran clapped his hands, oblivious to the silent crisis unfolding in front of him.
Qixian and Sihan stood there, momentarily lost for words, as the decision was finalized by the two most stubborn people in the group. There was no room left for argument without revealing everything Qixian had fought to hide.
In the end, Qixian found himself following Yichen into their shared room. The atmosphere was thick with an unspoken tension that made the hair on Qixian's arms stand up.
'This is a disaster. A total, unmitigated disaster,' Qixian thought as he practically collapsed onto the bed. Yichen had insisted he choose his side first, but the courtesy did little to settle his nerves. "Ugh, whatever. I'm too exhausted to worry about this right now," he grumbled into the pillow. "I'll just sleep and hope I don't wake up to a fucking mess."
__________________
As the morning light hit the estate, Haoran was already up and eager to explore, pulling Sihan along for a tour of the grounds.
"Aren't the other two awake yet?" Haoran asked, glancing back toward the hallway leading to Yichen and Qixian's shared room.
"Who knows? They'll stumble downstairs eventually," Sihan replied dismissively, giving Haoran's hand a firm tug to keep him moving.
About ten minutes into their exploration, Haoran pushed open a heavy set of double doors and gasped. "Woah!"
"Hey! Haoran! You can't just barge into—" Sihan started, but his words died as he stepped into the room behind him.
"There's a full music room here!" Haoran announced, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "Isn't this incredible?"
"I have to admit, it's an impressive space," Sihan said, flipping a series of switches that flooded the room with warm, ambient light.
"I had no idea a beach house would have a setup like this," Haoran said, his eyes wide as he wandered among the instruments.
Sihan caught a whiff of two familiar scents approaching and peeked his head out into the hallway. "Yichen! Qixian! Get in here!"
The two stragglers perked their heads up, looking at Sihan with varying degrees of curiosity. Yichen looked intrigued and entered without hesitation, but Qixian hesitated. 'This place... I feel nauseous just standing on the threshold,' Qixian thought, forcing his leaden feet to follow Yichen inside.
"This is an enormous music room," Yichen commented, his gaze sweeping over the grand piano and the soundproofing on the walls.
Qixian remained silent, hovering near the doorway as if he were ready to bolt at any second. To ground himself, he watched Haoran pick up a silver flute from a velvet-lined case.
"Do you guys remember the day the three of us first met?" Haoran asked softly, running a finger along the instrument.
"Right, you never actually told me the origin story of your trio," Qixian said, trying to mask his growing unease with conversation as he finally stepped further into the room. "And you are a scholar?"
"Ah, yes, I'm a scholar!" Haoran answered. "And about our story,... well, let us enlighten you," Haoran said, lifting the flute.
"We were all members of the high school music club," Sihan began. "Yichen was the club president, I was the vice president, and Haoran was a lower-grade class representative."
"So you and Yichen have actually known each other the longest?" Qixian asked, his eyes darting toward the exit again.
"Since we were in diapers," Yichen confirmed with a nostalgic smile. "We've been best friends since childhood."
"I only really became part of the inner circle because we were selected as the best candidates for the competition," Haoran added.
"The Group Instrumental Music Competition? The one where every prestigious school in the country sends their best?" Qixian asked. He remained standing, his eyes scanning the room like he was looking for a hidden trap.
"That's the one," Sihan added. "The stakes were incredibly high for our school's reputation, so we were under a lot of pressure to win."
"We spent so many hours practicing in rooms exactly like this that we eventually became inseparable," Haoran said.
"So the flute was your..." Qixian gestured toward the instrument in Haoran's hands.
"Yes, I was on flute, Sihan was on guitar, and Yichen was on the grand piano," Haoran explained. "We had a drummer too, but we never really clicked with him. He was just so..." He trailed off, searching for a polite word.
"Ignorant," Yichen filled in bluntly. "Always acting like his pedigree made him superior to everyone else in the room."
"Total trash," Sihan added with a scowl.
Haoran chuckled at their shared hatred. "They really, truly hated that guy."
"Ah, I can see why," Qixian murmured, a small, pained smile flickering on his face.
"Hey, don't laugh! Because of his ego, we almost had a massive falling out," Sihan protested.
"It was a mess," Yichen admitted. "He tried to drive a wedge between us. Luckily, one of our classmates overheard him bragging about his plan and told us. It's the only reason our friendship survived."
"And despite both of them having a crush on me at the time, they managed to stay friends without any major conflicts!" Haoran added with a bright smile.
"No major conflicts? Haoran, we almost came to blows the day you joined us!" Sihan argued, amused. "You're the only reason we didn't beat each other up, you were constantly forcing us to sit in the same room until we stopped being idiots."
"Well, I don't consider a few days of silent treatment a 'huge conflict,'" Haoran countered, bringing the flute to his lips.
"I actually watched that competition," Qixian said suddenly, his back turned to them as he looked at the violin. "The winners were an incredibly talented group."
"You saw it? You really thought the winners were that impressive?" Yichen asked, his interest piqued.
"Yeah... they were something... special," Qixian answered, his voice tight.
"Well, surprise—that was us!" Haoran announced happily.
"Really?" Qixian asked. He didn't turn around, his shoulders tense.
"It was. Did you participate that year, or were you just in the audience?" Haoran asked curiously.
"...It's been a few years. I don't particularly remember the details," Qixian lied, his gaze fixed on a violin bow resting on a nearby stand. "But I definitely remember the winners had something the other groups lacked."
"It's good to know we made an impression on you," Sihan commented.
"Want to hear the piece we played?" Yichen suggested, moving toward the piano.
"Maybe..." Qixian whispered, his fingers twitching as he looked at the bow in front of him.
"Then listen carefully! This one's for you," Haoran said, his eyes sparkling as he prepared to play.