
hayden recognizing that brett likes this "give and take" thing bc brett doesn't actually lose anything from giving the stuff he usually gives (bc he has so much of it); hayden appealing to brett's way of thinking and being like an ACTUAL equal give and take would be you giving your feelings (Bc then brett is ACTUALLY giving something in this exchange - also more romantically, hayden wants his feelings reciprocated <3)
meanwhile as someone who always wants freedom and likes being in control brett hates having his choices limited, which is why when he hears this his instinct is like "are you trying to force me away by putting things in such forceful terms?" so hayden proving that NO he's not trying to force brett away by MAKING OUT WITH HIM but then giving him the nipple pinch to say "you're not off the hook yet" DELICIOUSSS

tbh I LOVE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!!! i struggle a lot with like understanding what characters are trying to say and analyzing the deeper meanings so whenever i see people (like you) in the comments who actually explain whats going on and in a way that i can understand i genuinely feel like jumping around with excitement
its honestly so nice seeing people elaborate in the comments because then im able to understand whats actually going on and im not left confused!! thx so much for this explanation of what hayden was talking about, i am like. FINALLYYYY UNDERSTANDING IT LOL

While it's true their original agreement he doesn't lose anything (monetarily), Hayden at the time didn't lose anything either because he hadn't developed feelings for Brett. They both satisfied their primal urges. Brett was there for him every time Hayden was in rut. He tries his best to come back ASAP after his away game & even though part way into it he realized his injury from the game hasn't healed yet/ or that he was more injured than he'd thought. So his end of the bargain is that he gets to get fucked ROUGHLY by an alpha who's willing to be with an alpha. And Hayden gets to take out his overly strong sexual aggression that no omegas can deal with. So yes, initially it was a mutually beneficial relationship. For Brett he thinks that treating Hayden well, such as gifts, & taking him to the family function & introducing him to the producer, & asking him to come to the after party, was as close as he was willing to go. Hayden starts to feel like he's losing out, though once he developed feelings. The one with the feelings ALWAYS loses no matter what.

looove how we get to see more of what blondie said about Brett having an arrogant, disdainful air bc he thinks everything is under his control and finds ppl boring - you can always tell when he's locked in and calculating when his blue eyes go matte. But hayden is always the one that throws him out of control and genuinely surprises him - like when hayden told him he had bonded to him. brett was STUNNED! (and then he regained control when he saw that blondie had shot himself in the shoulder ie. everything was under his control)
much has been said about brett, i wanna offer some appreciation for hayden! despite being the guy "who fell first" and being a romantic, he is calm and proactive when he talks to brett about establishing his boundaries, about being more capable of reading brett than brett is aware of.
also the delicious exchange where brett (who thinks of relationships as transactions) being like: now i owe you a huge debt vs. hayden saying "you don't owe me because I CHOSE to do this" (also establishing his own agency against brett's transactional viewpoint). this author is just TOOO GOO

From what I've seen of Omegaverses, bonding is a bond formed by two individuals. I've never seen a one way bond before. Whether mutual or not (like willingly or unconsciously) it's always a tie between two parties. But in this case the bond is only form from one side. Though I guess it's the equivalent of bonds that has an alpha neglecting an omega so in that case they are PHYSICALLY bonded but not EMOTIONALLY bonded. Whereas in this sense it seems more emotionally based. But yeah, it doesn't seem to have an adverse effect (not having the bonded partner around).
omg have to give it to the author for that nasty nasty sex i've never seen it done so well like when you're SOO into each other you're kind of desperate and ugly for it if you know what i mean...also just personality chemistry wise i really enjoyed jaehyun's backstory that was such loving affirming communication mwah orange haired angel my sunshine too precious for teh world
i skipped the other 3way chapters tbh but i'm interested in the kind of manipulative black hair guy who's been stirring things up..wish he bottomed bc i love seeing assholes being made to bottom but seems like that might not be the case :(