An Idol for the Omega

Chapter 1: The Airport, Take One

Jae

"Aargh..." Yawning quietly behind my mask, I subtly stretch out as many muscles as possible from my seated position. I could stand up, but as the flight nears our destination many of the other first-class passengers are awake and I'd rather not have awkward stretching pictures captured. They are mostly my fellow group members, our three managers and our eight-person crew, but there are still plenty of others not associated with J.A.M.M.I.N.

Not counting my hyung, slumping over in his seat next to me. He managed to snag the window seat when we boarded and now looks more comfortable than me, his petite frame relaxed comfortably in his seat. Looking at us, it's obvious we're not really brothers.

Alec-hyung is only around five-foot-five, which is pretty tiny for an American man. His light brown wavy hair is worn short, leaving it just long enough on top to flop over his forehead. If his eyes were open, they would be wide and innocent looking, sort of a bluish-gray color. He has cute little features, and usually makes anyone that meets him to feel protective over the gentle man.

At six-foot-two, no one feels to need to protect me. Even with most of my work outs being made up of choreography and cardio for stamina, to keep up with our physically intense performances and live shows, my frame seems to easily pack on lean muscle. The tabloids have dubbed me, Lee Jae Bin, "The Manly One" of J.A.M.M.I.N., due to my height, muscular build and rather square and hard-cut features. My voice being one of the deepest in our industry only adds to my perceived persona.

I met Alec when he was an exchange student during his high school years, starting when he was fifteen. He stayed with my parents and me for two years, during which we grew really close even though I was only eight then. Alec was always there for me over the years, despite being mostly long distance. He was the first one to support me when I wanted to audition to enter the music world, nearly seven years ago.

Now, at twenty-three, I'm part of a group that has been at the top of the charts the past three years. We have outrageously loyal Korean fans, as well as an overwhelmingly large international presence. Through it all, I've kept close to my hyung through phone calls and emails. Alec also usually visits twice a year, staying up to two weeks visiting me and my parents. This time though, it's been a year since he last came and could only stay a week.

His visit lined up with the preparations to start our North American tour, which allowed me to get this extra time on the long flight to SEA-TAC airport. While he did spend a few days with my parents and then the rest of his trip staying with me in our dorms, tagging along during our group's preparations, I feel like we haven't fully caught up.

Alec told me all about the small vet clinic he purchased almost a year ago and how he's been working hard to modernize it, even expanding it to include a treatment center for wild animals.

"Wild animals? Like what?" I'd asked. I knew he'd relocated to a small, wilderness-heavy region in Washington, much different from where he'd been working as a vet in Wisconsin the past few years.

"Oh, just... larger... animals." He'd hedged around the specifics, making me curious but not nervous. From what I'd heard about Alec's boyfriend, the protective man wouldn't let my hyung do anything dangerous. Alec coming out to me was very unexpected as he'd only ever dated women before, but he said that he fell for Christopher and not just a man. I completely support my hyung in whatever he does in life, but I agreed with him not telling my more conservative parents.

I know that Christopher is going to be at the airport when we depart to pick up Alec, but I won't be able to meet him. Though we didn't promote our travel plans, there is still expected to be media and fans when we deplane, making it impossible for me to show any connection to Alec. The company, Alec and myself all want to avoid any media misunderstandings. We'll soon be saying our good-byes on the airplane, walking out of here like strangers.