Rumi Ryu didn’t think of herself as fragile, but she had learnt early that the world reacted differently depending on what you smelled like. Her scent was always there, vanilla and almond, the kind of Omega presence that attracted Alphas' attention, even more when they understood she wasn't mated. She never had wanted to, had seen Omegas being mistreated, bred and forced to raise their Alpha's pups without any other future. Rumi aspired to more. Celine, the Beta who raised her, had never spoken to her like she was breakable, just like someone who needed to understand when to step back before the world decided for her. It had worked. Mostly.

Her social circle wasn’t large, but it wasn’t empty either. Zoey was her best friend. She had met her at the fast food restaurant she worked at, and they had immediately gotten along. Just like Rumi, Zoey was an Omega, and her sea breeze and sunflower scent was comforting to Rumi. And then, there was Mira. She was the exception Rumi never quite knew how to categorize. A friend who had once been Beta, now designated Alpha after transition, carrying a scent of pine and grass, strengthened further by pheromone regulation that made her presence more controlled than overwhelming. Mira was the only Alpha-shaped presence Rumi didn’t instinctively brace against. Not because she trusted Alphas in general, but because she trusted Mira first, and only then the category she belonged to. That distinction mattered more than she admitted.

Work had always been difficult for the Omega. The café job had ended with her boss Jinu hitting on her, assuming she'd accept it because she was an Omega. He was a Beta, but disgusted Rumi as much as Alphas. She left before it went further. Music school hadn’t been better. She had liked it, at first, but instructors were all Alphas, and Rumi had felt trapped. So she stopped trying to fit into those spaces at all.

So when Mira told her she had connexion thanks to her model job, Rumi was more than enthusiastic to finally get a job. It was a role, for a movie directed by a friend of hers she trusted. According to Mira, Rumi would be the ideal candidate : she had long purple hair kept in a braid like the half-demon from said movie, and even had the “patterns” demons would have, as she had gotten tattoos some years ago after losing a bet to Zoey. There would be no romance and this convinced Rumi. If Mira had told her that friend of hers was an Alpha, she'd have surely refused.

And now, here she was, her turtleneck covering warmly her gland scent, even though she knew her vanilla and almond scent betrayed her unmated status. When she had first smelled your own pheromones, her first instinct had been to leave. Not that it was unpleasant, she had actually liked the chili spices and leather mixed scent that surrounded you. But it screamed Alpha, so Rumi's nose had instinctively scrunched. The only thing that prevented her to run away was that she needed a job, and that Mira had vouched for you. She wouldn’t have sent her somewhere unsafe. Or at least she hoped so. Rumi inhaled, staying wary. She could do it.

Hum...I’m here for the audition, I'm Ryu Rumi. Y-you must know my friend, Kang Mira ? She told me you were looking for an actor...