#[ been interesting so far though a Lot is similar to seoul which to be expected so feels like what im used to | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

glassbangtan · 5 years ago

Text

Jungkook is Typing... {Jungkook x Reader}

Words: 21.1k

Summary: You and Jungkook met online when you were only fourteen years old. Neither of you thought meeting up would be a possibility, until you’re hired as Big Hit’s new editor.

Genre: mild smut, angst, fluff.

Warning: sexual scenes (but nothing graphic)

Notes: masterlist

---

You and Jungkook met online.

This is where most people roll their eyes, close the book and move on. It's this little pinprick of information that makes people turn a blind eye and assume the absolute worst.

In truth, you never really blamed them for this mindset.

You were only fourteen when you started getting into online gaming, and it wasn't like it was some massive deal at the time. Everyone was doing it; World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, Minecraft Online were all common topics of conversation amongst your year ten class, with people sharing server pins and usernames in a similar way to how they used to share sweets when the teacher wasn't looking. It was no surprise to you – or anyone else – when you asked your parents for a computer for Christmas, and quickly got hooked on the game Prisons of Terror.

It was all you ever talked about, because – in truth – it was all you ever did. You got home from school, threw your bag on the floor and darted to your room. Some days, you didn't even bother saying hello to your mother in fear of someone logging onto the online server before you and getting all the weaponry you'd stashed away in an unlocked chest. You simply could not let that happen. Over one hundred and twenty five hours of hard work were not going to waste just so you could make idle chat with the woman who lived downstairs.

Your parents never questioned it – as stated, this wasn't some new phenomenon, and you didn't have a problem. You were quite capable of logging out of the game when the server was quiet, and you only spoke about it when someone else was willing to engage in conversation. Other than that, most people saw you as a fairly capable, intelligent fourteen year old – normal.

But this little passing fling with Prisons of Terror grew when GoldenJeon entered the server for the very first time. You remembered the date, remembered flicking your eyes up from your homework with the game still running in the background – hardly anyone was playing, so you'd decided to at least be a little bit productive as you waited for some of your other friends to come online. Never before had you seen GoldenJeon written across the bottom of the screen.

You narrowed your eyes, leaned forward and quickly typed into the chat: Who are you?

He didn't reply. You left it at that. He was probably just there to try it out, too nervous to speak to anyone until he found his footing in the game and was finally able to open up a little bit more.

A few days later, he appeared again.

You were quicker with your curiosity this time, barely letting his name disappear from the chat before you were repeating your previous question.

GoldenJeon is typing...

But then he stopped, and there was no response given.

Maybe it was this constant game of back and forth that piqued your interest, that had you pondering over the person behind the strange username. His characters skin consisted of the gear of prisoners, which has always been a strange thing to pick when playing this game. Most people are drawn to the powerful looking players, the guards, the people with swords and crossbows slung across their backs – your own was a person in a guards uniform, your weapon consisting of two circular blades strapped to your shoulders.

Your curiosity heightened to levels you could no longer control, and you opened up a new, private chat with GoldenJeon and started texting.

Innocent questions at first; asking him who he was, how long he'd been playing the game, who the hell gave him the password for the server you were so familiar with at this point.

And he texted back.

He gave you answers, the conversation flowing so much easier than you'd ever expected it to. His silence in the beginning had unsettled you to the point where you'd ridiculously convinced yourself he didn't like you – even before he'd spoken to you. He was ignoring everything you said, so what else were you supposed to believe?

But the two of you texted like best friends outside of the ring of the game you'd grown so addicted to. He sent emojis, and after a few months of constant back and forth, he started sending you little pictures of his dog and the doodles he did during class, and you granted him the same thing. You were never much of an artist, but you put a lot of effort into the drawings you sent him, and also put a lot of effort into making them look effortless, just like he did.

GoldenJeon: got bored in class again. Teacher nearly caught me this time. {ATTACHED IMAGE}

He was talented. There was no denying that. Even at fourteen, there wasn't a sense of jealousy that came with this acknowledgement, but a simple sense of pride. You often tilted the phone to your friend, Yul, and let him see the fresh, simplistic art work GoldenJeon had sent you that day, and Yul would hum and compliment him, and you'd sit there smugly as if to say yep, he's my friend.

After a few weeks, GoldenJeon became somebody else. He became Jeon Jungkook, a student in Busan – miles away from where you lived, but close enough to startle you. Both of you lived in Korea – that had to count for something.

The start of it all was a bumpy road, but looking down at your phone now, you can't help but grin at the realisation that it really was all worth it. Though you and Jungkook are yet to meet in person, not a day has gone by in the past four years where he hasn't sent you some bizarre song, or some scribbled doodle on the back of his notebook. Not a day has gone by where he hasn't sent you a good morning text and asked you how you are, what you've eaten, what your plans are for the day.

He's your best friend, but telling people that earns you a few confused glances, so you tend to refrain as far from that conversation as humanly possible.

Jungkook: I'm bored. Please cheer me up before I walk out and fail this entire class.

Y/N: tough day?

Jungkook: The worst day. I forgot we had a test.

Y/N: what a Jungkook thing to do.

Jungkook: Fuck off and cheer me up. I'm keeping you around for one thing and one thing only.

Y/N: to cheer you up?

Jungkook: Exactly.

Challenge accepted. Standing in line at Starbucks, you shamelessly lift your phone high above your head and take a selfie, sticking your tongue out and throwing up the peace sign for added effect. You hit 'send' to Jungkook and stuff your phone back in your pocket, turning round to retrieve your coffee and head back to work.

Jungkook goes to a weekend performance club in Seoul. This much you know, as you get updates from him on the daily about how his classes are going and how life is now that he's basically an independent man who can do whatever the hell he wants; as well as being a student, he's also a trainee.

He told you about his dreams of becoming an idol on multiple occasions, but you'd heard it all before. Growing up, every single person in your class wanted to be an idol at some point; rising stars like Big Bang and EXO inspired the youth to strive to become as rich and famous as possible – but it always died away, and that's what you thought was going to happen with Jungkook.

You really should have known better.

He was only fifteen when he texted you saying he'd passed his audition. Confused, you'd asked him what he meant, only for him to send you a picture – “photo credit to my mum!” - of him standing in front of a sign with the words Big Hit plastered across it. You leaped out of your chair, squealing with happiness, immediately pressing 'CALL' to continue your freak out with him on the line; he'd started crying, you'd started crying, and that phone call will forever go down as the one that cost you the most money as it lasted for over four hours.

He was still working hard. You got the updates. You comforted him when it all got too much. You helped each other out.

Your phone chimes, signalling Jungkook's response.

Jungkook: Okay good. I think I can push through now. Wish me luck. Love you loads and all that.

You grin.

Y/N: love you too. Don't kill anyone. Xx

The conversation disappears and you are finally able to sink yourself back into reality – work.

Whilst Jungkook is a thriving trainee, you're an intern at a publishing house. Whilst Jungkook spends his days singing and dancing, you spend your days going through unedited manuscripts and marking them up with red pen.

Your boss, Mr Grey, is standing by your desk when you walk in, which is already the first bad sign of the morning. His arms are folded, his grey (yes, grey) moustache freshly waxed. You swallow back a laugh, giving him your best grin as you walk past him to your desk, pretending that his presence in your office is a normal, everyday occurrence.

You already know you're in Big Trouble. Mr Grey never steps foot outside of his office unless someone is in Big Trouble.

“Are you sure you need that caffeine this morning?” is the first thing he asks, as it usually is. Mr Grey is on a health kick. Even though you know it's temporary and he's been through this with you a million different times before, he will still chastise you for any and all unhealthy lifestyle choices you make in his presence whilst he is trying to slim down.

You take a small sip of your hot beverage, clap your lips together and say, “Definitely.” You set your folder down on your desk before turning to him fully. “How may I help you this morning, sir?”

“I need to speak with you about an important matter,” he replies. You pause, waiting for him to elaborate, but his eyes have suddenly turned shifty and there is not a single hint in his posture to reveal whatever riddle he has just spoken.

You look around cautiously, half expecting Soobin from the next office to jump out and spray you with Silly String, or perhaps throw a can of paint in your face. You honestly wouldn't put it past Mr Grey to want to poison you somehow.

When nothing seems out of place, you turn back to your boss and say, “Okay. Do you want to sit down?” You gesture towards the seat he is stiffly standing behind, and he nods before slowly lowering himself onto the worn out cushion. You follow his lead, shuffling a few papers around because that's often all you need to do to look busy around here. You then intertwine your fingers over a thick folder and glance at him, waiting for him to usher the conversation along.

He inhales and rubs a single finger along one of his bushy grey eyebrows. “There has been an opportunity given to me recently that I unfortunately cannot take for myself, so I've come here to ask if you would like to take the chance in my place.”

He says it just like that. The previous silence, the drawn out dramatics just look stupid now, and you can't help but stare at him blankly as the words settle in. You haven't been there for very long, and you're still barely full-time. You're still considered an intern by most people, and still have a lot to learn – so why is he offering you something like this when there's hundreds of other worthy colleagues who would know what to do with this opportunity so much better than you?

“Right,” you say slowly. “I'm gonna need a few more details, I think.”

“It requires travel.”

“I don't really think I can aff-”

“All expenses will be paid by the agency. They'll organise a flat and transport when it's needed. They've been very generous with this offer, which is why I think it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

Your heart is thumping. This is real. This is serious.

“What is this offer?” you ask, trying to keep your voice steady but failing miserably.

“A well-known company is writing up a catalogue for future employees and they want an editor flown out to make corrections on hand if they need it.”

You blink. “That's . . . Unheard of. Why don't they just send the manuscript out?”

“Because that takes too long, and they don't have that amount of time,” Mr Grey explains. “Plus, they're already in partnership with another editing agency, but this agency doesn't have enough staff free at the moment to take on the job. That's why they came to me.”

“So you'll be shipping me off to another editing agency? I'll become part of another team?” You raise your brows, slowly lean back in your chair. “You could have just sacked me, Mr Grey. It would have done the same thing.”

Mr Grey rolls his eyes – he never has any time for comments like these. It's part of the reason you find it so difficult to find even ground with him. “You'll be coming back eventually. This is just a temporary job, a favour for a friend.”

You sigh. “This is a lot to take in, sir.”

“I understand,” he replies, before he starts standing up. “I'll give you time to think about it, and when you-”

You launch yourself over the desk, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back into his seat before he can get much further. “Jesus, Mr Grey, slow down. I never said I wouldn't take the bloody offer.” You grab a pen from the Worlds Worst Drinker mug on the corner of your desk. “What do I sign and when do I leave?”

---

The train station is bustling with people, but you had been expecting nothing different when you were told you'd be shipped off to Seoul.

Seoul, South Korea. A place you'd once only dreamed about stepping foot in. As you'd grown older, the idea of visiting the capital became more and more intimidating, and you've since grown quite fond of your tiny little area. You'd heard the stories, seen the pictures of the crowded streets and the smoke that always fills the air, but hearing about these details and being amongst them are two very, very different experiences.

You step off the train at long last, shoulder immediately shoved by a passer-by who is too busy looking down at his phone to notice you standing right in front of him. You frown, quickly pull your timetable out of your pocket and look down – you're meant to be meeting your colleague. According to the timetable, this mystery person was meant to pick you up in their car and drive you straight to the building you'd be working at – which, at this moment in time, you have not yet heard the name of.

You look around for any sign of somebody professional looking – sadly, that seems to be the majority of Seoul. You're surprised to see that half of the people bustling around look like they're on their way to work, wearing nice suits or long coats that hide whatever professional gear they're wearing underneath.

“Y/N L/N?”

Your eyes shoot up, heartbeat thumping because you know, just from the sound of the unfamiliar voice, that things are finally starting. There is no backing out of this. You can't just turn around and get back on the train – you've taken the offer, and you're stuck.

You turn on your heel, placing your professional grin on your face. Standing behind you is a fairly small man with a tiny black moustache, wearing an oversized grey hoodie and a beanie. Little black hairs trickle from the edge of his hat and poke him in the eyes, but he does nothing to shift them out the way.

He certainly wasn't what you had been expecting. He's shorter than you by a few inches. He's wearing casual clothes, even on a Wednesday afternoon. He looks like any normal human being, even a little laid back.

“Mr Son!” you exclaim. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Please, call me Sungdeuk,” he says. “I hope the train ride wasn't too bad? I know they can get a little crowded and uncomfortable.”

As he speaks, he grabs for your suitcase and starts down the platform. You blink, ponder over whether or not to follow him before you're nearly tripping over your own feet trying to catch up.

“Uh, yeah. It was a – uh – experience,” you reply. “I'm just glad I got here on time.”

“I assume you know all about the kind of work you'll be doing?”

“Mhm!”

You cringe even as the noise leaves your lips, because in truth, you have absolutely no idea what it is you'll be doing. What little you've been told barely seems to cover the surface, and you're still carrying around many questions in which you know will need answered eventually – when you get to that point, you'll make sure to ask, but for now, it's safer to just pretend you're prepared.

You and Sungdeuk make your way into a large Range Rover that is parked outside the station. Sungdeuk gets in the front seat whilst you clamber into the back, and immediately a cold bottle of water is passed to you over the back of Sungdeuk's seat.

“Kept chilled, just for you,” he says, winking in the rear view mirror.

You smile and grab for the drink, but your stomach is reeling with nerves and you know for a fact you won't be able to keep anything down, liquid or not. And so, you mess with the lid, curling your fingers around it until the clasp bites into your palm, until the condensation is sinking into your jeans and making the leather seats damp.

Neither of you speak for the majority of the drive, and Sungdeuk seems perfectly fine with that. He barely even glances at you, too busy leaning his head against the headrest with his eyes closed, like he's living in his own fantasy world. Even the driver is perfectly content with the silence, but it itches at your skin. You should be talking. You want your first impression to be chipper, friendly, curious. You want your new boss to think you're actually interested in whatever it is you've been signed up for.

Cautiously, you lean forward and poke your head between the passenger and driver seat. “Uh, hi.”

Sungdeuk creaks open one eye. “You alright?”

“I was just – uh – I have a question.” You may as well slip a question in now.

Sungdeuk turns to look at you. “Go ahead. I thought you were told everything.”

“I was told most things,” you lie. “Except for – you know – who I'll actually be working for.”

Sungdeuk stares at you, waiting for the non-existent punch line. You suddenly want to curl up in a ball, perhaps throw yourself out the window.

He purses his lips when you stay silent, features completely straight. “You don't know who you're working for?”

“I'm sure it was in the contract,” you hasten to say. “I might have just missed it. You know what, sorry for bothering you.” You wave a dismissive hand, already leaning back in your seat and pretending you didn't even speak up in the first place. “You carry on doing what you're doing, and I'll just sit back here and-”

“We're here anyway,” he says, grinning at your sudden flustered state. You don't even have a chance to be embarrassed, as you lurch forward and look out the window, just as the massive gates open into the car park behind a large grey building. Lights are on in almost every single room, and there's a sign on the door that reads, in big, bold letters:

BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT.

And you want to scream.

There's no way. There's absolutely no way this is real life. You've decided. You've come to the conclusion that maybe you hit your head on the train and now you're actually dreaming this entire thing. You're in a coma somewhere. A doctor is poking at you this very minute, but you won't wake up because-

“Y/N?”

Your eyes snap up. “Hm?”

“We going in?”

You swallow thickly and gather your wits, trying to calm the race of your heartbeat. Your phone burns a hole in your pocket – you want to text Jungkook so bad, because you can already guess his reaction. He's going to be mortified. The safe little friendship the two of you have is going to be destroyed as soon as he sees you walk in them doors, because he can no longer hide behind the distance that was always such a comfort blanket between the two of you. Sure, it was a pain in the ass sometimes. Sometimes Jungkook would just go on huge rants about wanting to cuddle you because he couldn't sleep, and its them moments where the distance can honestly just fuck off – but at the same time, you have a pimple growing on your forehead that Jungkook would never be able to see.

Not until now.

Nonetheless, you know you can't just set up camp in the back of the Range Rover, so you gather your bags and follow Sungdeuk into the lobby of the building. He's chatting away, giving you a brief tour of the area you can see, but you're not even paying attention.

On the wall, the posters glare at you.

“Who is Bangtan Sonyeondan?” you ask, not even realising you're cutting the man off.

He lowers his hand and follows your gaze to the poster you're currently inspecting; it consists of seven men, all of whom you recognise because Jungkook idolises each and every one. He texts you about their daily runnings almost every single day, and you find it kind of strange that you know Namjoon's favourite cereal to have in the morning, as well as the fact that Seokjin shrunk his favourite pink socks the other day.

But it's Jungkook who your focus is trained upon, because you recognise him immediately. The brown hair, the dumpling cheeks and the baggy clothes. He's staring into the camera with such a serious look on his face, and half of you wants to burst into a fit of giggles whilst the other half of you wants to burst into flames.

“They're the group,” Sungdeuk says.

You raise a brow. “The group?”

“The only group Big Hit is representing at the minute,” he confirms. “They've been together for a few years now. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them.”

You swallow. You have heard of them – probably on a much deeper level than Sungdeuk can even begin to comprehend.

He moves on with the tour, leading you through winding hallways, explaining each and every detail as he does so. You meet a few people on the way past; a few producers, a few choreographers, a few people who are messing with broken cameras and lights. The building just seems to get more and more complex the longer you walk, and it isn't long until Sungdeuk is leading you directly to the training room.

Thankfully, it's empty for now.

“And this is my place,” he says, stretching his arms out. The room is only small, but it's brightly lit and there's a glowing neon sign in the corner that reads BTS. Beneath it are a pair of shoes that look as if they had been discarded not long ago; with your limited knowledge of fashion, you're able to identify them as Balenciagas.

“This is where the boys come to learn their choreographies and practice some of their old stuff,” Sungdeuk continues to explain. “I sent them on their break so I could come and get you.”

You smile warily. “So what is it you actually do around here?”

“I'm the production manager,” he replies. “But I'm also the lead choreographer. I come up with the dances, teach them to the boys and send them on their way. They're quite independent that way – they don't need me holding their hand through everything.”

You chuckle. “I heard Hoseok does a lot of the training. He tends to just take over.”

Sungdeuk laughs. “Yeah, he's a really good-” He freezes. You glance at him over your shoulder. His eyes are narrowed, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Wait. How do you know about Hoseok?”

Aaaaaand, you've already fucked up.

Your brain runs at a million miles per hour, because there's a legible answer there somewhere. You can lie. You can come up with something – anything - but god, your hands are now sweaty and he's staring at you with his head tilted and he probably thinks you're such a crazed stalker.

You open your mouth to reply, to say anything, but the words are cut off by the sound of booming laughter and the door opening. It squeaks, and you make a mental note to bring some WD40 with you next time you're here.

But until then, you have to calm down, because Jungkook is there and he's taller than you imagined, and he's captured your eye already meaning there's absolutely no getting out of this mess.

Sungdeuk greets the other boys – all six of them, fuck sake – but Jungkook stays rooted to the floor. In his hand is a coffee. In his other hand is a water. He's wearing a bandanna and an oversized hoodie, and it takes everything in you not to melt into the floorboards right here and now.

“Everyone, meet Y/N L/N,” Sungdeuk announces, one arm wrapped around Namjoon's waist, the other pushed towards you. “They're the new editor for the Big Hit catalogue.”

“Ay, you found someone!” Taehyung exclaims, walking towards you with those long, intimidating legs that are neatly covered by a pair of striped trousers. He wraps an arm around your shoulders and tugs you tight against him. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. I'm Taehyung.”

“Nice to meet you,” you mumble.

“Awk look; they're already nervous,” Seokjin teases, peeling his jacket off his very, very broad shoulders.

“Don't worry. We don't mind a few typos,” Yoongi chimes in.

You try to laugh, but it sounds forced and honestly not worth the effort. Even the boys seem to notice the dry, false side to the giggle as they all turn to look at you, a crowd of raised eyebrows turning to look at you all at once – but again, you can't take your eyes off of Jungkook for even a second.

This is the person you've been talking to since you were fourteen. This is the person who calls you in the middle of the night because he doesn't know what to get from the fridge. This is the person who sends you countless videos on Snapchat of him trying to figure out how to fit the sheet back on his bed in the morning, most of which end with him saying, “Seokjin will do it.”

He's standing in front of you, and he's real, and you're still not entirely convinced you're not dreaming.

Until he speaks.

“D-don't be nervous,” he says. “You'll do a great job. I know you will.”

Oh yeah. You're definitely going to melt into the floorboards at any given moment.

---

“I can't believe this-”

“I swear to god I didn't know it was Big Hit I was gonna be working for.”

“You're here. How are you here?”

“I took a train, Jungkook. A train! Do you know how terrified I am of fast moving vehicles?”

Jungkook closes his eyes, tilts his head back against the wall you've accidentally pushed him against in your panic. You aren't even sure how you've done it, but in your hectic panic, you've ended up basically shoving him against the wall as soon as the two of you are away from the large group of excited, older men.

You take a step back and awkwardly rub the back of your neck. “Look, I'm being serious. I didn't even know what company had hired me until Sungdeuk pulled up outside the Big Hit building. I wasn't searching for you or anything.”

Jungkook cracks an eye open. “You know I'm not even meant to be in contact with you.”

This draws you up short. “What?”

“After I joined Big Hit to be a trainee, they made me sign this massive contract thing. It said I had to cut all ties with certain people, and I signed it and said I would.” He bites his lip and looks away, as if confessing to his crimes makes him somehow not worthy to look into your eyes. “And then I texted you the same day about going online for a few hours.”

Your chest hurts. Physically aches. “You were meant to cut ties with me?”

“I didn't take it seriously!” he hisses, tugging at his hair. “I was fifteen, for gods sake. It wasn't until Hoseok started telling me all the things he had to do to make up his contract that I started realising I should probably be – you know – paying attention, too, but I liked texting you. It became kind of routine, so I never stopped.”

You hollow out your cheeks. Not even a full day into business and already Jeon Jungkook is overwhelming you; you're not even surprised.

“Okay, so we just don't tell anyone that we know each other,” you say, as if the two of you haven't already put suspicion in people's heads by basically handling each other with bubble wrap the entire afternoon.

“But I was gonna – I was gonna ask if you wanted to go get dinner tonight,” he says. You raise a brow. He rolls his eyes, shakes his head. “As friends, you sleez.”

“Okay, okay, I was kidding,” you chuckle. “We can still go to dinner, Jungkook. You can just tell the guys you're going somewhere else, and then we'll meet up. Although, I don't really know my way around Seoul just yet so...”

“Do you know where you're staying?” he asks.

You pull a piece of paper from your back pocket and shove it in his hands; written in almost unintelligible handwriting is your new, temporary address. Jungkook's eyes light up when he reads it.

“Hey, that's not far from the dorms!” he says. “I can come and pick you up if that makes it easier. Then we can finally . . . you know . . . discuss what's going on here.”

The way he says it makes your spine tingle, like being friends is some kind of scandal. Apparently it kind of is, considering Jungkook was meant to cut all ties with you over three years ago and just casually decided not to, as if it was no big deal. Part of you wants to be flattered by it. The other part of you wants to slap him up side the head for thinking his friendship with you was more important than living his dreams.

“How long are you staying?” he asks, voice suddenly quiet.

“However long it takes for the catalogue to be made,” you reply, before awkwardly stepping forward. “Jungkook, I just want you to know that I'm not here for a holiday. I have work to do.”

Jungkook's head snaps up, eyes alert. “What? Of course. I know that. I was just – I mean, we've been friends for a long time, Y/N. I think it's about time I take you for dinner.” He raises a brow. “Unless you think this is weird. 'Cause we can always just go back to texting and sending each other stupid videos.”

You chuckle, glancing down at the floor where your toes are very nearly hitting against his. You don't step back, simply kick a rock up onto his shoe which he kicks back onto yours almost immediately. “No. I think this is good. It's like fate, isn't it? Even the universe can't keep us apart kind of thing.”

Jungkook scoffs. “Is this another one of them astrology things you always send to me?”

You roll your eyes, nudging Jungkook with your elbow. “I was trying to be sweet, you idiot.”

“You don't need to be sweet. I've seen you make a fake Instagram account to get a look at your ex-boyfriend's new page.”

“I was fifteen-”

He starts walking back towards the building. “I've seen it.”

“Jungkook, I swear to-”

“I've seen it, Y/N!”

---

You shouldn't feel nervous, but you do.

As you look at yourself in the mirror and try desperately to fix your travel-hair, you remind yourself that this is Jungkook. GoldenJeon. The boy you've known for years, the boy who knows you better than any of your real life friends do. There will be no awkward silences, because there is so much to talk about. There will be no flustered glances, because there is no reason to be flustered. There will be absolutely no tension during this dinner, because you and Jungkook have been friends for years. Just because he is now a physical form changes nothing.

These are the rules you set out for yourself as you slip on your shoes and head for the door of your new apartment. It's small, one bedroom, a tiny kitchen and a sofa. There's a generously sized television hung up on the far wall, and a picture of a house plant hung beside it; you're half tempted to take it down and replace it with a family picture, but something about that makes this place seem a little too permanent. You don't want to be getting attached when you know full well you'll be heading home in a matter of months.

Jungkook texts you to tell you he's outside at exactly seven pm. He's on time, something you weren't expecting considering he has a habit of being late to almost every single meeting he's invited to – he tells you these things on a daily basis, claiming he slept in or he forgot, or he got too caught up in his games.

But he's not lying. You step outside into the chilly night air of Seoul and are greeted by the sight of his warm smile and fluffy brown hair. He's wearing an oversized coat, his hands tucked into the pockets, his shoulders bunched around his ears. When he sees you exit through the front door, he picks up his pace to a penguin-like jog before jumping in front of you and bundling you into a hug you most definitely were not expecting.

“Do you see how early I am?” he asks. You can feel his lips moving against the crown of your head, and your face heats up.

“You're on time,” you correct. “And apparently in a very good mood.”

He pulls away, holds you at arms length. His brown eyes look so light beneath the yellow glow of the street lamps. It's a doe-like look, and it makes your spine tingle when it's trained on you.

“Of course I'm in a good mood,” he says. “I've already picked out the restaurant we're going to. It's called Frapuls.”

You raise a brow, letting Jungkook slip his hand into your own as he starts to lead you down the pavement. “Frapuls? I don't think I've ever heard of that before.”

“It's good. All sorts of food – burgers, kimchi, stir-fry – anything you want, they have it.” He looks over his shoulder. “I wasn't sure what kind of food you liked, so I just picked the one that had the most options.”

You smile. “Frapuls sounds perfect.”

The restaurant itself is small, sparcely populated. Part of you thinks Jungkook's decision to eat here had more to do with the fact that it isn't busy than because he was unsure of your food preferences – nonetheless, you're not complaining. Jungkook leads you into the tiny restaurant, mutters something to the man at the front desk before the two of you are led towards a table on the far side of the restaurant.

It's dimly lit, tiny little lanterns placed all around the room being the only source of light. It makes Jungkook's eyes a little darker, making you want to rip his bucket hat off his head just so you can be given better access to the doe-like brown eyes you had seen earlier on. However, when Jungkook looks at you from across the table, there is no more wondering; you can see his eyes perfectly fine, bright and round and questioning. He looks so curious, tracing your features, trying to figure you out – you can see it in his expression. He has questions, so many questions, but he says none of them until you cough and meet his gaze.

“You can ask me anything you want.” It's a bold statement, but you mean it.

Jungkook pulls back, spreading his fingers across his untouched menu. He licks his bottom lip and sighs. “There's just so many things that don't make sense.”

“Like?”

“Like how you're here. How I didn't know you were going to be here. How we managed to meet up after years of just texting online, and it wasn't even planned.” He shakes his head. “People in our situation literally go through hell to see each other, and it just fell into our laps.”

You bite your lip. “Would you say it's luck?”

“I don't really believe in luck.” Jungkook leans forward, folding his arms in front of him. “But I can't really put my finger on what else it could be.”

“A coincidence,” you suggest. “I mean, it's insane that the people from Big Hit decided to choose the publishing agency I work for to edit their catalogue. It's insane that my boss decided I'd be a good replacement for him.”

Jungkook raises a brow. “It's not insane. You're brilliant at what you do. I've been subject to plenty of late night distressed phone calls to be able to vouch for that.”

You scoff. “You of all people are not allowed to talk about late night distressed phone calls. I think I received at least one a week from you – I marked them on my calender.”

“I'm not that bad!”

“You definitely are. I have the receipts-”

Jungkook's hand snaps out and curls around your wrist before you can grab your phone.

“Alright, I believe you,” he says. “But that's not the point.”

You grin, twisting your hand out of his grip. “Look, maybe it's better if we don't question why we were lucky enough for this to happen. Neither of us know how long we've got together, so we might as well focus our attention on other things.”

Jungkook nods, looking down at his menu. “I agree. For example, you never told me how short you are.”

You very nearly choke on the air you're breathing.

Your eyes snap open, darting across the table to where Jungkook is now grinning down at his menu, pretending like this conversation starter is oh-so-normal, and not at all totally ludicrous.

“I'm average!” you argue. “It's not my fault you're a complete skyscraper of a human being.”

Jungkook raises a brow, still yet to look up from his menu. “I'm not even that tall. You're just taking the piss.”

“Is this your way of charming me?”

“I didn't know you wanted me to charm you in the first place.”

You grit your teeth, shifting your eyes back to your menu.

Jungkook, however, is on a roll. “Did you notice that I could put my chin on your head when I hugged you earlier? Is that not adorable?”

“I'm average,” you repeat.

“You're small. The sooner you realise it, the better. Then I can give you more chin-to-head hugs.”

It sounds promising. That single hug outside your apartment had been enough to fill you with so many butterflies that you were convinced you would float off like a balloon pumped with helium. His arms had been warm. You had convinced yourself that he'd hidden hot packs in the front of his coat, because nobody's chest could be that warm and welcoming in two degree weather. He'd even gone as far as to press his lips into the crown of your head, and you remember that vividly, because it was that very movement that-

“Can I take your order?”

You look up, cheeks heating up with the realisation that you had just completely zoned out, remembering Jungkook hugging you. Looking over, you can see Jungkook staring at you, his cheeks a vivid red colour and his eyebrows furrowed. You bite your lip, looking back up at the smiling waitress who is waiting patiently at your table with a notebook in her hands.

You order the pasta carbonara and a water, whilst Jungkook orders the steak and rice with an iced Coke to go along with it. The two of you don't mention the lack of alcohol – you don't trust yourself to get drunk in front of him yet, and if your thoughts are anything to go by, you need to keep your brain in check tonight.

Jungkook's look of confusion does not leave his face throughout the meal, even as the conversation develops a life of its own. The two of you bicker like an old married couple, Jungkook complaining about the amount of times he has to revive your character in Overwatch and you complaining that you always have to give him extra supplies in Minecraft, even though you've totally, one hundred percent outgrown Minecraft and only play it because Jungkook still likes it, and his character would definitely die if you were not there to make sure he keeps his inventory full.

You're not even surprised with how easy the conversation flows; it's like your texting, but with your mouths. The banter, the teasing, the sly jabs that are always so present in your text conversations do not take the back seat even when you are in front of each other – the only difference now is that you can see his expressions, can hear his laughter, can hear his scoffs of disbelief, and it makes your insides melt with each and every thing he says.

It's so much better than texting. It's so much better than patchy Skype calls. It's so much better than you could have ever imagined.

You speak for hours even after your meal has finished. You place your napkin over your empty meal, place your bag in your lap but neither of you move from the table; you just keep talking, shifting into a debate on whether Billie Eilish or Justin Bieber have the best new song out – Jungkook admits that he's taken a liking to Billie Eilish, but hastens to insist that Justin Bieber is, and forever will be, his ride-or-die.

You only leave the restaurant when the shy waitress glides over to you and tells you that the table you've been over-occupying for hours is needed. Jungkook has paid for the entire meal (plus a tip) before you even have a chance to find your purse.

You shoot him a glare once the two of you are finally outside again, subject to the cold winter air and the surprisingly busy streets of Seoul – back in your home town, the streets were basically empty at this time, but Seoul is different. Seoul is always alive, always bustling with people and chatter and entertainment. Even at this time of night, there are buskers seated on the pavement and dancers twirling through the streets, lights on in every household. It vibrates with an energy you've never known before, and it sends a ripple of excitement coursing through you.

Jungkook ignores your glare and continues walking, a dull smile playing on his features that you find difficult to miss.

“I don't wanna go back to the dorms yet,” he says without turning to look at you. You are forced to pick up your pace just to catch up with him, and when you do, you latch onto his arm so you don't lose him amongst the ever-thickening crowd. If it bothers him, he says nothing.

“What else can we do?” you ask. “It's getting late.”

“So?”

“So all the shops are closed.”

Jungkook raises a brow, glancing down at you as if your logic is extremely flawed. “Again, so?”

“Jungkook, we can't just-”

“Watch this.” He shrugs out of your grip and marches towards a nearby busker before you have a chance to even register what he is doing. You pause in the middle of the street, pulling your coat tighter to your body and watching as Jungkook and the young man with the guitar talk in hushed tones. The busker's eyes eventually light up and he shakes Jungkook's hand before the song he was previously playing is forgotten and replaced by a soft, melodic tone that you've never heard before.

When Jungkook turns back around to face the crowd, he looks nervous. You immediately know what he's going to do, and your heart races at the idea of it; you've heard him sing before. Some mornings he'll call you just so you can keep him company as he goes through his daily routine, and you sit back and listen to him hum as he brushes his teeth, belts out solos as he picks out his outfit for the day. You've heard him sing, but never like this, and you aren't sure why the idea of it excites you so much.

He doesn't bother with an introduction to the song. He just looks at you once, closes his eyes and starts singing, and suddenly the rest of the crowd no longer exists.

The little girl crying over her fallen ice cream no longer exists. The bickering couple beside you no longer exists. The dog barking in impatience no longer exists, and the only sound you can hear is Jungkook's soft voice flittering through the busy crowd, meeting your ears as if he's singing for you and only you.

The lights bring it all together. They shine behind him, illuminating the gold streaks in his hair, the outline of his jaw that has absolutely no right to be as sharp as it is. His body sways back and forth, and even though he's wearing the worlds biggest coat, zipped right up to his chin, you can still imagine his Adams apple bobbing every time he stops for a breath.

This is Jungkook in his natural element. This is where he's meant to be, where he worked so hard to be. For years, the both of you had always joked that he was a video game obsessive, that he was most comfortable in front of the computer, or PlayStation, or xBox just losing himself in a world that wasn't this one – but now you feel ridiculous even pondering over such a crazy idea. This is where he belongs.

Your throat closes over as the song does. Jungkook's voice fades away, and the eruption of cheers brings you back down to Earth. Everyone fizzles back into place, and you're suddenly overwhelmed with the unexplainable urge to break down into tears.

Jungkook's eyes meet your own almost as soon as he opens them. You grin brightly, clapping along with the crowd and he blushes before he turns, thanks the busker and makes his way over to you. Almost as soon as he is in front of you, he takes your hands in his and pulls you close.

“You look freezing. I should have kept us moving.”

“What song was that?” you ask, pulling away to look up at him.

He frowns. “You liked it?”

“I loved it,” you reply. “What song was it?”

“It's called Promise. My friend Jimin wrote it.”

“It was beautiful,” you say before you can stop yourself. Jungkook's blush grows more prominent, looking down to the floor in his attempts to hide it, but you can see right through it. You grin, place a hand on his neck and say, “I'd like to hear you sing some more.”

His eyes meet your own. For a moment, you think you've gone too far. His brows are furrowed, and he's silent for a moment longer than you're comfortable with, but he eventually grins and nods. “Of course.”

---

The first day of work is a hectic one.

The first few pages of the catalogue arrive on your doorstep at seven am sharp, followed shortly by a frantic phone call from Mr Bang Shi Hyuk, who you met a week ago and have still yet to hear talk in a normal tone. He's always busy, always bustling round his office, and you're certain you've never gotten through a phone call without him having to put you on hold to scold someone. This morning, his frantic call has an undertone of desperation to it as he asks you to get the freshly edited pages back to him by five pm – definitely not an impossible goal, but you know you won't be taking any breaks today.

And so, you set up camp at your kitchen table and get to work as soon as the coffee kicks in. Bundled in your fluffy dressing gown and a pair of slippers, you sip idly on different beverages, red pen in hand, glasses perched on the end of your nose. You order some food from a nearby delivery place, dig into it with one hand whilst the other continues to glide across the pages, correcting typos and sentences until everything sounds smooth.

You reach an area of the catalogue that describes Bangtan Sonyeondan, and put it to the side for later. You don't want to think about Jungkook right now – well, you do, but it probably won't be for the best. Any time you see something that reminds you of him, you want to stop, snap a picture of it and send it to him via your stupid little Whatsapp group – that is time wasted, and you can't afford it right now.

Seven am turns into four pm, turns into five pm, and you're stuffing the catalogue pages into the return envelope at the same time you're pulling your jacket on over your shoulders and sprinting out the door. You don't bother saying hello to the friendly door lady at the reception desk. You don't bother to check both ways before sprinting out the door and barrelling up the street towards the Big Hit building. The only thing you can focus on is the time slowly trickling away, and by the time you've crashed into the lobby of the Big Hit building, the time reads 5:01pm and you're already planning out your new CV in your head.

You groan, sprinting up to the front desk and slapping the envelope onto it. “Here. It's here. I wasn't late. I was just -” You pant, trailing your fingers over your rain soaked hair. “Please tell Mr Bang the pages are finished.”

The lady at the desk eyes the envelope and raises her brows, before slowly reaching forward and slipping it into the delivery bin beside her. “Thank you, Y/N. I'll email him now.”

“Like, right now?” you push. You stand on your tip toes and try to see over the desk. “Can I see what you write? Please tell him I was on time, I was just-”

Hands gently grip your elbow, startling you. Jungkook is grinning down at the receptionist as he pushes you away from the desk. “Don't mind us, Gertrude. We're leaving now.”

You shrug out of his grip, spinning around when he pushes you into a nearby hallway and closes the door. He turns back to you, raising a brow that holds so many questions, but your only concern at the minute is whether or not Bang Shi Hyuk is going to receive those pages on time.

You try to look over his shoulder. “Do you think he'll be mad at me?”

“You weren't even late,” Jungkook replies.

You pull your sleeve up and shove your watch in his face. “Can you see that? Five. Oh. One. He wanted them back by five, but I lost track and-”

Jungkook reaches up and tugs on your bottom lip. The action is so unexpected that you don't even continue speaking once his hand drops back to his side – you just watch his arm swing, eyes slowly narrowing.

“What did you just do?”

“Tried to calm you down,” he replies. “Or shut you up. Whichever way you wanna look at it.”

You frown, shifting your eyes to his. “I think I'm delirious. I've been sat at my kitchen table since seven this morning.”

“So I thought,” he says. “You weren't answering my texts, or my single phone call that I so kindly wasted my lunch break to make.”

You wince. “Sorry. I was busy.”

He waves a dismissive hand, but the guilt is still there; Jungkook always makes time for you, no matter how busy his life gets, and you can guarantee that his schedule is a lot busier than yours on days like this. You can see it in the way the sweat clings to his baggy black shirt, the way the ends of his hair are damp.

“Did you eat anything good today?” he asks.

“I had some Chinese takeout.”

“Gross. That's not good at all.”

“It was good.” You pat your stomach for added affect. “I had fried rice, chips, egg noodles – the whole damn heap. Ate it straight out of the bag, too.”

Jungkook crinkles his nose, and it's the most adorable thing you've ever seen. “I swear to god, I'm going to have to keep an eye on you 24/7. You're gonna end up giving yourself a heart attack.”

“I was stress eating,” you say. “I was burning the calories by stressing. It's like I haven't even eaten.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, loops his arm through yours and starts down the hallway. You follow him, a new-found skip in your step that it seems only Jungkook can rattle into your system.

He leads you right to the training room, where the rest of Bangtan are busy doing absolutely nothing. They lounge around, some of them laying on the floor, others sitting on spinny chairs that have absolutely no reason to be there. Namjoon is leaned against the wall; if you weren't careful enough, you'd mistake him for a house lamp.

“Look who arrived,” Jungkook announces, shoving you into the room. The other boys chorus out a “Hi Y/N,” before going back to their exhausted scrollings of social media. “One minute late.”

Jimin fake gasps. “Fired!”

“Don't even joke,” you grunt, slumping down next to Taehyung on the floor. He leans over and shows you his phone screen, and you immediately take over his game of Angry Birds. He lets his head drop back to the floor and his eyes promptly close, as if he had just been waiting for someone to take over his game so he could go to sleep.

“Hard day?” Namjoon asks.

You shrug. “Stressful day.”

“But at least you made it. Did you edit the pages Mr Bang sent you?” Seokjin asks.

“Barely,” you reply, and Jungkook scoffs, kicking your foot.

“You're being too hard on yourself. One minute late isn't a big deal – Mr Bang probably won't even get to reading them before he goes home tonight.”

“So why did the little bastard make me run down here to get them to him by five?” You raise a brow at Jungkook. “Answer me that, Oh Great One.”

“Because.” Jungkook sits down beside you, crossing his legs. “Having a deadline looks more professional than just telling you to get them in by the end of the day.”

“Can someone tell him that I don't care about professional?”

Seokjin sighs. “I've been trying to tell him that for years, Y/N. So far, no luck.”

You groan, the sound mingling with the angry chipper of a bird who has just failed to knock down a house full of tiny green piglets.

“It's done now, anyway,” Hoseok chimes in. He's barefoot again, his Balenciagas thrown carelessly to the side. “I say you celebrate.”

“Mm. I could always order more Chinese food-”

“Nope!” Jungkook exclaims. “Nope, nope, no. No more Chinese food.”

You frown. “Who made you the devil incarnate this evening?”

“You're gonna make yourself sick,” he says. “Celebrate some other way.”

“I wish we could join you, but I'm exhausted,” says Yoongi.

You wave a dismissive hand. “Don't worry. I am too, buddy. I'll probably just go home and get an early night.” You shoot Jungkook a glance. “Play a bit of Minecraft.”

His eyes light up, a tiny smile twitching on his face that he tries to hide by ducking his head down and messing idly with the drawstrings of your grey sweatpants; you didn't even realise you were wearing them. You were too busy trying to leave the house to actually pay attention to your appearance.

“Sounds like a night made for an elderly person,” says Jimin. “Right up your alley.”

You throw Hoseok's Balenciaga at him.

---

GoldenJeon is active, and you're ready to absolutely destroy him.

Gathering snacks and a drink of water (healthy), you settle by your laptop and start playing. The two of you agreed to meet up on a server called The Hunger Games, in which the players are put against each other until there is only one remaining player – for years, you and Jungkook have squabbled over this game, making it much more dramatic than it needs to be, but it's all for the right reasons. Jungkook will call you in the middle of the game, speaking through gritted teeth, warning you not to jump out at him because he knows you're prowling around the corner, just waiting for him to drop his guard. Neither of you even pay attention to the other players; if another player kills you, Jungkook kills them. It's how it works. You're Jungkook's only goal, and he is yours.

Jungkook calls you after the ten minute mark. Whilst he speaks through clenched teeth, you speak through a mouthful of marshmallow.

“Just tell me where you are, you piece of shit,” he demands.

“Ask me nicely.” On your screen, his tiny block player is busy scrambling through some chests. It would be so easy to sneak up on him, stab him whilst he's too busy looting for gear, but you stay back.

“Y/N, I swear to god, you're giving me anxiety,” he replies. “Just tell me where you are. I promise I won't kill you.”

“Aren't you sweet.”

“So?”

“I'm not telling you where I am.” You equip your player with your new weapon. “But I just want you to know that I've just found a diamond sword with full strength still on it, so I'd watch out.”

Jungkook groans. “I hate you. I hate this game. I hate that you're so good at this fucking game.”

“You spend too much time worrying,” you say. “As soon as the map loads, you're trying to get away from me. Why don't you actually try and figure out where I'm going before you run off in the other direction?”

“Because if I stay close to you, you'll kill me!”

“That's the point!”

Jungkook groans again, and you can imagine him tugging on the blanket he always has wrapped round his shoulders when he's on his laptop. “You need to cut me some slack.”

“You've been looting plenty of chests recently, Mr JK. It'll be easy for you to just find me and kill me.”

Jungkook pauses. “How did you know I was looting chests?”

You grin. “A hunch?”

“You son of a bitch.” His character spins around and looks directly at you. You let out a squeak of surprise at the same time Jungkook gasps, but you don't give him mercy. You dive out of your hiding place and slam the space button so many times your finger starts to hurt from the pressure; your character bashes Jungkook's character with their fancy new diamond sword until eventually the words GoldenJeon has left the server appear on the bottom of the screen.

“Y/N!” he cries out. “You didn't even-”

“I won, is what I did,” you holler, throwing your arms in the air, doing a little dance on your mattress. “I won again, I won again, I won again.” You put your hands back to the keyboard. “Another game before we go to sleep?”

“No, you know what?” He sounds stern, and you're no longer sure whether to continue the teasing. “No. This is totally unfair. I'm on my way over.”

You freeze, not sure whether you heard him right. “You're what, sorry?”

You can already hear him shuffling around on the other side of the phone, probably grabbing his coat, or maybe a baseball bat. “I'm coming over. Get the kettle on, by the way. I have to walk, and it's fucking freezing.”

“Jungkook, it's twelve am,” you hiss. “Stay where you are or so help me-”

“See you in five minutes, you little traitor!” And then he hangs up, leaving you in a sudden state of panic.

Whatever triumph you'd felt at winning the game has melted away and been replaced by an immediate sense of urgency. You jump out of bed, blankets flying left, right and centre. You don't bother going for your wardrobe – Jungkook has seen you in your pyjamas plenty of times before (thank you, Skype). Instead, you head directly for the kitchen, slapping the kettle on on your way past before you busy yourself with tidying up the mess you'd made this afternoon. Broken pens and pencils scatter the table; old takeout boxes litter the counter; your washing up basket is filled to the brim. You quickly toss a pair of underwear under the fridge and hope to God Jungkook doesn't decide to go snooping.

You've barely emptied the bin before the door to your apartment is opening and Jungkook is suddenly there, in all of his fucking glory, with the most hard expression you've ever seen. You swivel up, drop the bag and say, “If you're here to kill me, I want you to know that it was all fun.” You pause. “But I still beat your ass in that game.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, and before you can process what is going on, he's crossed the threshold of your living room and is standing right in front of you. He wraps his arms around your waist and tugs you into him, startling you enough for a squeak to escape your throat.

Jungkook leans down, his lips so close to your ear, your throat, the hinge of your jaw and suddenly you want to drag him into you and lose yourself in that warmth you were lusting over only a few weeks prior.

“I've never been able to do this before,” he says, voice gruff.

“D-do what? Kill me?”

He nuzzles his nose into the crook of your neck, and Jesus take the wheel, you've had it.

“I've never been able to just come over to your house when I want to.” If it's possible, his voice is even lower. “Never been able to call you a son of a bitch to your face, because you should have told me where you were.” He nips your collar bone. If the world wasn't spinning fast enough already, it sure is now.

You grip the counter behind you, breathing heavy. You want to continue the teasing, to make light of this situation, but your head is running at a thousand miles per hour and holy fuck is this really GoldenJeon holding you like this?

“Jungkook, what are you doing?” you ask, breathless.

He stops, detaching his teeth from your throat but he doesn't move away. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No!” You're eager, and that much is clear in your words. “No, please don't. I just want to know why.”

“As I said,” he says, leaning down to bare his teeth against your flesh again, “I've never been able to do this before.”

“I didn't know you wanted to.”

“Then you're very, very oblivious.”

“Not as oblivious as you. That's probably why I was able to kill you fifteen minutes into the first match.”

He growls. His hand snaps down and grabs the back of your thigh, hitching your leg onto his hip. You squeal, tossing your head back just as he lifts you up and props you up on the counter. You bang your head against the cupboard. Jungkook pulls back, eyes wide with that concern you know so well, but you don't let him spoil the moment. You grab onto the back of his neck and drag him forward, slamming your lips against his before you lose your god damn mind.

Because that's what it feels like. All of this is so sudden, so unexplainable and strange, but you're going to be driven absolutely insane if it doesn't continue. Your stomach clenches. You swallow his breathy pants, acknowledge how his lips twist, how his hands hesitate before he finally clamps them on your thighs and slowly drags them up until they're teasing the waistband of your unflattering pyjama trousers.

“Shy little Jungkook,” you whisper into his mouth. “So confident a few seconds ago, and now you can barely touch me.”

“Where do you want me to touch you?” he asks.

The question hits you like a ton of bricks. Your eyes flutter closed. His mouth trails hot, open mouthed kisses along your jaw as he waits for your reply, but you're not sure you can gather enough air to give him one at this moment in time.

His grip tightens on your thighs. Your legs jerk, but he holds you down. “Tell me where you want me to touch you, Y/N.”

“Everywhere,” is your reply, because you can't think of one specific body part this is burning hotter than the others. “Just – Just stop messing around.”

Jungkook chuckles. His tongue darts out, dabs at the hinge of your jaw before disappearing, and you want to scream with how slow he's taking this, like he's savouring every moment even though you're trying to scoot closer to him, trying to capture his lips with yours again.

“Do you want me to touch you here?” He curls his fingers around your leg, his fingertips moulding into the flesh on your inner thigh.

You shake your head, pursing your lips. “Somewhere else.”

He raises a brow, slowly lifts his hand to your mouth. His thumb scrapes along your lower lip, and you resist the urge to do that thing you've seen in movies where the girl sucks the mans thumb into their mouth – is that even considered attractive in real life?

“What about here?”

“Not good enough.”

He tilts his head, starts to smirk. His hand drops from your lips, glides along your chin and disappears into the front of your pyjama top. “Here?”

He's not close enough. Your only response is a strangled groan, to which Jungkook laughs and slips his hand lower, lower, lower until his fingers are moulding the area you need to him to be.

You groan, tilting your head back when his hand traces the underside of your breasts. “Fucking hell, Jungkook, took you long enough.”

He leans forward and kisses you. It's desperate. Now that he's heard your response to his hands, he can't get enough. He wants to please you. He wants to take this as far as he can, and he shows this by hitching both your legs around his waist, picking you up and stumbling from the kitchen.

“Where's the bedroom?” he asks, breathless.

You point in the general direction he's referring to before pressing your lips to his. No more talking. He could stumble into the bathroom for all you cared, and you'd have him in the bathtub with absolutely no complaints.

It's your luck that he kicks open the bedroom door and presses you into the mattress. His lips detach from yours for only a second as he strips off his shirt and you strip off yours; he gawks down at your exposed chest, shakes his head and says, “No bra?”

“It's midnight,” you say. “I haven't had a bra on since seven pm.” You grab his shoulders and pull him on top of you. “Now please stop talking.”

He laughs, peppering kisses along your jaw that leave you squirming and warm and satisfied. If he were to just spend the entire night kissing you, you'd go to sleep in bliss. His lips work like electric shocks, startling you every time he makes contact, every time his tongue slips from his mouth and joins with your flesh. You feel hickeys burn into your skin, but you don't worry about them now because God, you're too far gone. Tomorrow doesn't exist. It's tonight and only tonight, and it's you and Jungkook and everyone else can go the fuck to hell for all you care.

He whispers in your ear. His voice is rough. The soft spoken, excitable boy you used to talk to on the phone every night has melted away into something ravenous and hungry, and his hips are grinding into yours with only his jeans and your pyjama trousers as a barrier, until there is no longer a barrier and it's just bare skin against bare skin.

He asks if you're ready. You say you are. He asks if you're sure, and you say you've never been more sure about anything in your entire life, and in that moment, you mean it. He kisses you, and it isn't the kiss you give someone on a one-night-stand. It's soft, holding memories and feelings and his body slides against your own and your groans contaminate each others mouths. You get loud; Jungkook gets greedy. You beg for more, and Jungkook tells you you're doing so well, so, so well. You unravel in each others arms. Jungkook falls to the side of you, nuzzles his head in your sweaty neck and you hold him so close because you don't want this moment to end.

“Tomorrow isn't real,” you whisper into his hair. He nods his agreement, panting against your flesh. His breath tickles your new hickeys. You reach up, press your fingers into the forming bruise.

Jungkook presses a soft kiss to the skin. He's loopy. You look down and see that tired smile playing on his face, the sweat drenched ends of his bangs hanging in his eyes. He shuffles up the pillows, wraps his arms around you and pulls you into his chest.

You don't think he realises what he's saying when he whispers “I love you,” into your hair.

You look up. His eyes are closed, his breathing even. Jungkook is peaceful, but his words play on a loop in your head for the rest of the night.

---

When you wake up, Jungkook is nowhere to be found.

Your heart immediately lurches into your throat; this can't be happening. You know Jungkook well enough to know that he would never just use someone like that before taking off – so he's either parading around your house, or he's dead.

You slowly sit up, tucking the quilt under your arms in a pointless attempt at sparing your dignity. The sheets are stained with sweat and . . . other stuff, and you internally groan at the idea of having to wash them; your new washing machine is complicated enough with clothes.

You make a promise that you'll deal with them later before slipping out of bed and tugging your dressing gown on. You slip into a pair of slippers and head downstairs.

Immediately you are greeted by the welcoming scent of cooking bacon. It's only when you walk into the kitchen and glance at the clock do you realise what time it is.

“Six am?” you mutter, startling Jungkook. He stands by the hob, swaying his hips to a song that is playing softly from his phone.

He spins around, face lighting up at the sight of you, even though you're certain you look nothing short of bedraggled right now. Whilst he looks fresh as a daisy in a black shirt that is tucked lazily into a pair of belted blue jeans, your hair is knotted and your breath stinks, and you have absolutely no qualms about any of it.

“Apparently,” Jungkook replies. “I was hoping to make you breakfast in bed.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” you say. “But also, you're a guest. You shouldn't have to make breakfast.” To prove your point, you grab the tongs out of his hand and nudge him with your hip. He chuckles, giving you the benefit of the doubt by over dramatically stumbling out of your way. You roll your eyes and start poking at the mostly cooked bacon.

“At least now you'll be able to say you helped,” Jungkook says.

You grin. “I'm nothing if not completely useless.”

“Only sometimes.” He presses a kiss to the back of your neck, and it is this movement that brings you back to last night; the kissing, the sex, sharing a bed.

The I love you.

You'll be damned if you bring that up to him, though, because judging by the look on his face, he doesn't even remember saying it. He sways around the kitchen like he's lived there his whole life, a goofy smile on his face that has your chest constricting, because you're fairly certain it's you that has put that smile on his face. He grabs two plates from the cupboard above your head and lays them on the counter, before he goes back to watching as you poke the bacon.

“How do you know when it's done?” you ask.

Jungkook blinks. “It's been done for a good two minutes. I thought you just liked yours crispy.”

You hiss, quickly turning the hob off. “You could have said something!”

“Give it here.” He takes the pan from you and starts scooping the bacon onto the plate. You follow suit, grabbing the bowl of scrambled eggs he'd prepared earlier and adding a decent amount to each plate. Jungkook then spoons the beans and adds the toast to the side, and the two of you are prepared.

You eat on the sofa, because of course you do.

Jungkook eats bent over his plate. You don't know why you notice this, or why you're so intrigued by something so small, but you struggle to take your eyes off him. He presses the edge of the plate into his chest and bends forward, his eyes not leaving the TV as he struggles to rip a bit of fat from his bacon.

You watch his Adams apple bob, remembering the feel of it beneath your lips. You regret not trailing your fingers along the column of his throat. You regret not unravelling him, completely taking over in the way you so desperately want to now; you had been so caught up in the logistics of what was happening that you didn't take a moment to focus on what you wanted to do; you realise now that you want to watch his eyes roll into the back of his head. You want to see him come apart.

You swallow thickly and turn back to the TV, cheeks burning. You need to remind yourself that you have other things to worry about besides what happened last night; the work hasn't just stopped because Jungkook decided it was a good time to show up and completely ravish you.

Jungkook finishes his breakfast before you. As he nibbles on the last remaining bites of his toast, he turns and glances down at your plate; it's nearly empty, and yet he still raises a brow. “You feeling okay?”

Your eyes shoot up. “Yes. Why wouldn't I be?”

Jungkook stares at you for a moment longer, urging you to tell him the truth. When you look back down at your plate and ignore his seemingly endless gaze, he sighs, sets his plate down on the coffee table before shuffling closer to you. “Is this about last night?”

You let out a breath. “I really thought you weren't gonna bring that up.”

“Do you want me to leave it?”

“No!” You grab his arm. “No, Jungkook, of course not. I really think we need to talk about it, but I just . . . I wanna know your feelings on it first.”

Jungkook narrows his eyes, tracing the lines of your face, the same trail he traced with his fingers last night. “I thought I made my feelings pretty obvious, considering I was the one who initiated it in the first place.”

“That doesn't mean anything,” you murmur, looking down. “I could have been bad at it, you know.”

A noise not unlike a croak escapes Jungkook's throat. It slowly morphs into a laugh, his hand coming down upon your knee and squeezing.

When you don't join the laughter, his smile fades and he stares at you. “Wait. You're not serious, are you?”

You throw your hands up in frustration. You hadn't even realised this train of thought was so prominent in the back of your head, but there's no denying it now. “Look, all of it was very unexpected. I didn't have time to – like – practice my strategy or anything.”

“You didn't need to-”

“Yes, I know that, but it would have helped,” you hiss, before groaning and slumping back against the plush sofa cushions. Your plate remains abandoned on the coffee table. Jungkook looks down at it, picks up a piece of bacon and takes a bite.

“I definitely came.”

He says it so casually that you very nearly miss what he's said at all. Your eyes burst open, cheeks burning with this news that isn't really news because you know what happened – you were there. You made it happen.

“You made it happen,” Jungkook continues, as if reading your mind. “And you definitely came.”

“Oh god.”

Jungkook grins. “I think I have the qualifications to vouch for that.”

“You're a dick.”

His grin only grows. He leans over and presses a kiss to the space just below your ear; you hiss and pull away, hand snapping up to trace the edge of the hickey you'd forgotten was there. Jungkook pushes the hair from your shoulder and lightly touches it, biting his bottom lip to fight off the smile that is surely threatening to show on his face.

“Lovely,” he says.

“I'm gonna have to cover this now,” you grumble. “Do you know how difficult it is covering a hickey?”

“No, considering you didn't give me any.” He shakes his head. “I feel like I'm missing out.”

“Poor baby.”

He shrugs, swings his legs round and stands up. He grabs the plates off the coffee table and starts towards the kitchen, but not before saying a casual, “We'll try again next time,” that hangs in the air even as the sound of the tap water shatters the delicate silence.

You grin, biting down on your bottom lip. Butterflies are attacking your stomach. Memories of last night are lodged in your brain, and you know for a fact that there is absolutely no way in hell you'll be getting any decent work done today.

---

Jungkook leaves for the dorms at seven. On his way out the door, he bends down and picks up a thick yellow envelope, handing it to you.

“I think that might be the new catalogue pages,” he says.

You hollow out you cheeks, taking the envelope from him and tossing it carelessly over your shoulder. “Tell Mr Bang I'll get it to him as soon as possible.”

“Mm, no,” he says, pressing a kiss to your lips. “Then the old man will know I've been here overnight, and that is awfully suspicious.”

Despite knowing this would be the case, your heart still quivers a little. You hide it by rolling your eyes and ushering him out the door. “Fine then. Leave the hard work to me. You go and prance around your practice room for a few hours, and call me as soon as you get a chance.”

Jungkook spins, planting his hands on the door frame. “One more kiss?”

You narrow your eyes. “You're gonna be that guy.”

“I believe this is called the Honeymoon Phase.” He kisses you, small and soft but it ignites something in you you've never felt before. Jungkook feels it, grins against your mouth before slowly pulling away and clicking his forehead against your own. “I'll see you later, yeah?”

“We'll see,” you whisper, before you grip his waist and spin him round. “Now go! I'm not being the reason you're late.”

“Alright, alright. Tell me how you really feel.” His voice and laughter fade into nothingness as he disappears down the hallway. You watch him leave, gripping the collar of your dressing gown like some kind of wife sending their husband off to war. You only turn and head back into your apartment when you hear the lift ding closed.

---

You love your job. You really do. There is a power that comes with correcting other peoples mistakes, and you are not ashamed to admit that you have been thriving off it from the moment you picked up that red pen and started slashing marks into the pages.

But this is a whole different ball game.

You're hunched over your kitchen table, your third cup of coffee half-empty beside you, doing nothing to help the exhaustion. Your body is slowly beginning to realise that you were not made for being woken up at six am. Your muscles are sore, and your eyes are getting tired before you've even gotten through the fifth page of edits.

You lean back, scraping a hand through your unwashed hair that is still sweaty from last nights mishaps. You told yourself you would take a break to clean up and pull yourself together, because going another day in this state is going to drive you to breaking point, and yet three pm is rolling around and you have yet to move from your kitchen table.

The pages are littered with images of Jungkook. With Bangtan being the only group involved with Big Hit at the minute, they're using their maknae's adorable smile and doe eyes to the best of their abilities. It makes your job ten times more difficult, as you have to stop every few seconds to send a picture of Jungkook's face to your Whatsapp group with a teasing caption that Jungkook always chooses to ignore in favour of asking you how you're getting on.

Not good, you want to tell him, but you don't. He's working just as hard as you; it would be cruel to distract him with your own pointless stresses.

And so you lose yourself in the world of literature for a few more hours, until the last page is glaring up at you and your hand is cramping, and you're refilling the ink on your sixth red pen. Five pm rolls around, and once again you're shrugging your jacket on and bolting down the street towards the Big Hit building.

Mr Bang is standing in the lobby.

You freeze, one hand braced against the glass door, the other clutching the envelope tight to your chest; well, this is most unexpected. Though you and Mr Bang have spoken on numerous occasions these past few weeks, most of those conversations were had via phone call. You had convinced yourself that the small man in front of you lived in his office.

He turns when you enter, immediately smiling an oddly cute smile that lights up his whole face and crinkles his dark brown eyes. He nudges his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and steps towards you.

“I was just about to call and ask where you were,” he says.

You shove the envelope in his direction. “All done!”

“Great, great.” He tucks the envelope into his coat pocket. You resist the need to wince; he better not crinkle those god damn pages, or so help you- “The edits aren't the only reason I was looking for you, though.”

Your brain short circuits, and you aren't even sure why.

Today has honestly been the day from hell. Your head aches, and your hand is cramped, and all you want to do right now is curl up on your sofa with a glass of wine and drink everything away. Instead, you place a smile on your face and say, “Oh?”

Mr Bang sighs, looks around as if checking for anyone eavesdropping before he steps closer to you and lowers his voice. “Have you and Jungkook fallen out?”

Okay. That certainly wasn't what you'd been expecting.

You raise a brow, flicking a glance over the big boss's shoulder. Gertrude quickly lowers her head, pretending she hasn't heard anything, but it's obvious in the tilt of her head and the shy little smile on her face that she knows exactly what Mr Bang is asking about.

You look back at him. “I don't – I don't think so. Why?”

“Well, I told him I was going to offer you a job in one of the offices here so you don't have to keep running back and forth from your apartment,” he says. “Jungkook told me not to.”

It takes a minute for you to untangle what all of this means. It's the most absurd thing you've ever heard. It doesn't make any sense, because you and Jungkook slept together and he held you, and he said he loved you and there's no way in hell all of that changed in the space of a few hours.

But Mr Bang is serious. His eyes shift to the floor when you stay silent, and you watch as he slowly sucks in a breath.

“I don't like it when my employees go against each other,” he says. “I asked Jungkook if everything was alright and he refused to tell me anything. He's young, so I didn't push him, figured I'd let him figure it all out on his own. But I just want you to know that whatever this feud is – you can't let it get in the way of your work.”

“There is no feud,” you burst out. “I mean, not really. Nothing you need to be worrying yourself with, anyway.”

Mr Bang's eyes light up. “Really? That's fantastic, Y/N. How about you come and join us for dinner then?”

Before, the idea would have lit something inside you. The idea of sitting beside Jungkook and laughing with your friends would have excited you to no end, but you replay Mr Bang's words on a continuous loop and find yourself unable to gather that same excitement.

You stuff your hands into the pockets of your jacket and say, “I think I'm gonna have to pass. I'm exhausted.”

Mr Bang nods as if he understands. “Of course. I'll send the next few pages over tomorrow, then. Get some rest, Y/N.”

You turn on your heel and exit the building. It feels permanent. You want it to be permanent. You want to walk to your apartment, pack up your stuff and never come back. You feel like a teenager, moping over some boy, suddenly willing to change the directory of life just because this certain someone slipped up and hurt your feelings.

But that emotion is there. You grip the material of your pockets and inhale the cold air of Seoul, ducking your head down in case anyone were to notice your gritted teeth.

---

It's nearly eleven when the knock echoes through your apartment.

You're draped across the sofa, a glass of wine in your hand, the TV blaring re-runs of Friends. You've been sneering at Ross Geller for the past three hours, and quite frankly, you are in no mood to be disrupted.

You stay silent and hope the visitor takes the hint.

It's never that easy, though.

The knock sounds again. And again. On repeat until you eventually throw your head back and push yourself off the sofa. You slam your glass of wine down and barrel towards the door, throwing it open to reveal GoldenJeon in all his glory.

Your drunken state wants to spit on him.

He's grinning from ear to ear, hands in his pockets, hair a tussled mess. Even in your state of tipsiness, you still reach out and flatten a strand against his temple; you pull your hand back just as quick, tucking it under your armpit as if to restrain yourself from touching him further.

He frowns when he sees the state you're in. You have no idea what you look like, but you're purposefully scowling to the best of your ability, arms folded, the glass of wine bright and full on your coffee table – it wouldn't take a genius to figure out just what is going through your mind right now.

“Are you okay?”

“Why are you here?” you demand. “I didn't invite you.”

Jungkook's frown deepens. A crease forms between his eyebrows. “Since when did I need an invite?”

“Since you started showing up uninvited and interrupting my relaxation time.” You try to slam the door on his face, but he wedges his foot between the frame and pushes it open again.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he says, poking his head through the tiny gap he's created. “Are you gonna explain to me what the hell is going on?”

“No. Go away.”

“I'm not leaving until you tell me why you're mad.”

“I'll literally call the police.”

“No you won't.”

You purse your lips, turn on your heel and B-Line towards your cell phone. Jungkook shoves the door open and follows after you. You pick up the phone, but Jungkook is quicker; his fingers curl around your wrist and it is with barely any effort that he plucks the phone from your hand and tosses it onto the couch. He keeps your wrist in his grip, staring down at you with a set of eyes that – any other day – would have you pouncing on him in two seconds flat.

“Let go of me,” you say.

He does.

“And get out.”

“I'm so confused right now. I thought we were okay.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Is this about last night?”

You groan. “For crying out loud, Jungkook, I'm drunk. Why can't you just take the hint and piss off?”

He flinches. There's a tiny glimmer inside you that wants to apologise, wrap your arms around him and tell him you didn't mean it, but then you hear Mr Bang's voice in your head and your senses draw back to you.

“You didn't join us for dinner,” he says. It's almost a subject change. Again, you want to spit on him.

“I don't think you'd have been too happy if I showed up,” you reply. You take another swig of your wine. “Apparently you only really like me when I'm underneath you.”

Jungkook's eyes widen. His hands twitch by his side, and he reaches up to deftly rub at this throat. “What are you talking about? You know that's not true.”

“So why don't you want me working in the same building as you?”

There is no way to make that sentence sound intimidating, no way to get your anger across without sounding childish and needy; you and Jungkook spent one night together. If he thought it was a mistake, you would respect that – but he didn't need to cut you off from your work, didn't need to come crawling back when he was in the mood. If he found regret in last nights endeavours, it would be so much more merciful if he just left you alone.

His face softens. It's an expression of realisation, the fact that he's been caught out dawning on him. It's enough to make tears rise to the surface, and you blame the wine but it builds in your chest, grabs at your throat. Jungkook sees it – he lurches forward. You don't even fight when he wraps his arms around your waist and tugs you into his chest, his chin taking perch on the top of your head.

“No,” he says. “No, I didn't mean it like that. Y/N, I didn't mean it like that. I said it to protect you.”

“Protect me?” You jump away from him, stumbling but managing to catch yourself on the sofa at the last moment. “How could that protect me?”

“We're not meant to have what we have,” he says, running his hands through his hair. He's trying not to touch you. You're trying not to throw yourself into his arms.

“What is that, Jungkook?” you ask. “What do we have that is so special? Because last time I checked, all we've done is slept together and played a few rounds of Minecraft.”

“That's not true. We've got more than that. You're more than that.”

You grit your teeth, turning on your heel. Your wine sloshes, drenches your wrist but you don't even care. It triggers you to take another swig, then another, and another until the glass is empty. “You know what? I don't think I wanna play this game. I've never let a man dictate how a relationship works, and I'm not about to do it now.”

Jungkook groans. “I'm not dictating-”

“Telling your boss to keep me off the fucking premises so you can keep our friends-with-benefits subtle-”

“And we're not friends-with-benefits!” Jungkook steps forward, grabbing your wrist before you can reach for the bottle of wine. You glare at him, hoping and praying that your eyes look menacing enough right now; you want him to know how angry you are. You want him to see how bad he's hurt you.

His eyes trace your own. He's looking for forgiveness, but you won't give it to him. His lower lip trembles and he sucks it between his teeth.

“I don't want us to be friends-with-benefits,” he whispers, fingers still curled round wrist. “I got carried away last night, but I didn't show up just to have a quickie and then leave. I want – I want more.”

You stare back at him, unsure of what to say. There are so many responses that are playing on the tip of your tongue, but none of them seem right. Not when his eyes look like that. Not when he slowly leans forward and presses a kiss to the flesh just beneath your ear – right over a hickey he sucked into your skin the night before.

You shiver, wrist sliding out of his suddenly slack grip.

“Tell me if you want more,” he whispers.

You close your eyes, tilting your head to the side. Your drunk and angry and turned on, and at this point it's too late to turn back. You do want more – you want it all. You want everything he is offering, but you know better.

You step away from him. He looks at you, analyses the way you're standing, the way you fold your arms over your chest because you're so scared you'll crack again, so scared you'll reach out and touch him and lose yourself entirely.

“I want you to leave,” you croak out. The words are acidic. They're a betrayal, but you have to say them.

Jungkook's features harden. He looks down at the ground, brushes his foot against the carpet only once before he nods and says, “So that's it then? There's nothing I can do to make this better.”

“You can't expect me to like this arrangement,” you reply. “I'm not sneaking around with you. I've got too much going on as it is without stressing over being caught with you.”

Jungkook nods, but you're not entirely sure he understands. Maybe he hides a ton of stuff from Mr Bang. Maybe sneaking around is his forte, but you haven't had as much experience as him in this line of work. You're not ready to put your entire career on the line to be with someone who clearly doesn't care about you enough to want a real relationship.

And god the thought hurts. The realisation hurts. Before, you failed to realise just how much of an integral role Jungkook played in your life, but looking at him now and knowing it will be the last time you'll ever be able to talk to him like a normal human being – it breaks something inside you. Little fourteen year old Y/N L/N is screaming in the back of your head, asking you what the hell you're doing.

You push them away.

Jungkook says nothing when he turns and walks out the door. He doesn't look back at you, barely utters a goodbye. He certainly doesn't apologise. He leaves you numb, watching the door swing closed behind him. You listen to the lift opening, closing, going down. You force yourself to stay rooted to the spot, resisting the urge to scramble to the window so you can watch him cross the car park.

You have to let yourself believe that he is nothing more than another chapter in your life – necessary for your story, but you have to move on to know the conclusion.

---

The pages are getting few and far between.

Months have passed. You still see Jungkook everyday, but it's not how it was. He doesn't smile when he sees you. He doesn't text you to find out if you got home safe. If he can avoid looking at you at all, that is exactly what he does.

In the beginning, you didn't want things to be awkward. You smiled at him, asked Yoongi if he was okay, made sure to check up on him when you could, but it got tiring after a while and you lost the motivation eventually. Jungkook wasn't giving you the same enthusiasm, so you no longer saw a point in trying.

It's your last few days in Seoul. You can feel the end approaching, even though none of the Bangtan boys nor Mr Bang himself wants to admit it. Mr Bang lengthens the deadlines on your edits just to keep you around that little bit longer. The Bangtan boys invite you out for dinner, but you decline because you know Jungkook will be there and you don't want that kind of hassle.

All in all, you are disappointed to say your last few months in Seoul have been terrible. Full of stress and avoidance, life truly did not give you an easy time of it.

But your days are coming to an end. You stand by your bed now, looking at the packed bags. A lump grows in your throat; you swallow it down, swiping a hand beneath your eye in any attempt to hide the tears that are threatening to rise to the surface. No one is with you – it would be easy to just break down, because God only knows when you'll next get a chance, but you don't want to. Not even within the comfort of your own company. Crying means admitting you've been affected by the sudden shift in your life. Crying means admitting you got attached.

Stupidly, obsessively attached.

To a boy who was meant to be nothing more than a few texts on your phone screen.

You busy yourself by reorganising everything yet again. It's the fifth time you've done it, and each time has been completely unnecessary. Your clothes are folded beautifully, your toiletries packed away, your sheets and work gear all tucked away neatly; you just need to do something. You finished the last few pages of the catalogue yesterday evening, sent them out and fled the Big Hit building before Mr Bang could make you emotional with any kind of farewell speech. You just needed out of there. Once you get back to your actual office, back home, you'll be fine. You'll be able to start over.

It's as your reorganising that you realise you've missed something.

How you missed it is completely beyond you, considering you've been through this five times already. You shoot up, spin around and glimpse your laptop on your desk, untouched for three days now. You've been too busy to even think about logging on and catching up with your gaming; besides, you didn't want to game. Not if Jungkook wasn't on the phone, yelling at you for the most trivial of things.

But now seems a good a time as any.

You slowly open it up, press your password in and wait for the Minecraft game to load up. It's ten at night, so nobody you talk to will be active; the game will be full of complete strangers, will be no fun. You'll sign out of it in a few minutes and go back to moping round your apartment, but at least you can say you've tried. It's a step in the right direction, a sign that maybe the spell Jungkook cast over you has melted away a little bit.

You click on the server you so frequently play on, and look through the list of people active.

GoldenJeon.

You should delete it. The whole game, just get rid of it. It's no fun without Jungkook, but after the fight you had, it's no fun with him either. You don't want to play at all, so what's the point of even having it on your laptop?

Despite these thoughts, the sense of them, you're unable to do anything but stare at his name. Your little character waits for the timer to start, signalling the beginning of the game, but you're not even preparing yourself for it. You're just staring at his name, blinking in gold letters.

And then your phone chimes.

Even though he hasn't texted you in weeks, you know it's him. You glance over, catch sight of his name, and you ask yourself why you even kept his number in the first place.

Jungkook: Please don't surprise me this time.

You bite your lip. That son of a bitch; he knows exactly what he's doing. He's prodding at your competitive side just to get a reaction out of you.

But he's done it now.

The timer counts down from three. As soon as the sirens go off, your hands are glued to the mouse and keyboard, and you're latching your view on Jungkook as his tiny little box character makes a dash directly for the woods; fool. He has no weaponry. Whilst everyone else headed straight for the chests in the centre of the map, Jungkook turned the other direction, thinking he would be doing something good by getting away whilst everyone else was distracted.

However, you are not one of them distracted people.

You sprint after him, even as your brain screams at you to just turn the bloody thing off and get back to being an Adult.

You follow him deeply into the match, your phone chiming away at the side of you; it's Jungkook having a crisis, begging you to not follow him this time. You know he's only saying this because you will – you'll follow him, you'll kill his character and then you'll be reminded of the last time you did it, when Jungkook realised he could come over and yell at you in person if he so pleased.

His character sprints through the map, gathering supplies and you follow him until he finally comes to a stop and you calculate your chances of survival if you were to just whack his head off now. You make your character crouch, duck behind a door frame as he shuffles around an abandoned house made out of bedrock (bedrock!).

Your phone rings. You click ACCEPT without even thinking.

“Where are you?” His voice his gravelly. It hurts to hear it.

“Now why would I tell you that?” you ask.

“I don't know why I never learn,” he grumbles. “You do this to me, you know. You make my head go somewhere else, and I can't use my common sense.”

Your heart thunders. “It works in my favour, so I don't really mind.”

“Are you gonna pop up out of nowhere again?”

“Would you like me to?”

Jungkook pauses. “I would. I really would.”

“But then you'll be out of the game,” you tease. “Poor little Jungkook, losing another round of Hunger Games because he can't think straight.”

He growls. It startles you, distracting you for a moment too long. Your eyes snap down to your phone, and you're positive it's only for a brief second, but by the time you look back up at the laptop screen, your character is being beaten bloody by GoldenJeon's stone pickaxe.

Y/N has left the game.

Jungkook doesn't laugh, doesn't yell in victory like you do every time you win. There's a single breath of humour-filled air before he says, “Got you.” And then he hangs up.

You sit there, staring at the end credits and trying desperately to catch your breath; what the hell just happened? What the hell just happened?!

He called you, is what happened. He had the nerve to pick up the phone and call you as if nothing had been going on these past few weeks, as if he hadn't ignored you, as if he hadn't completely ripped your heart from your chest and forced you to end things with him.

You grit your teeth. This is what he wants. He wants you to play right into his hands so he can get the control back, and you're not about to let him get away with it.

So you stand up, grab your coat and march right out the door.

You know where the dorms are. You've been invited over more times than you can count, have broken Taehyung's heart by declining these invites, but you can't think of a better reason to make an appearance now. You shrug your coat on as you march down the street, turn the corner and head straight for the front desk.

You're recognised and let inside almost immediately. You don't realise your relief until you're halfway up the stairs, heart thundering in your ears – this scene is so familiar. It's been reversed, but it's so familiar, and it makes your heart rate speed up to a rate you're pretty sure is considered unhealthy.

You had won the game last time. Jungkook has marched into your apartment.

Jungkook won the game this time. It's only fair for you to give him the same courtesy.

You rack your knuckles against the door and wait for someone to answer. It takes two seconds, and there is nothing but undeniable relief when it's Jungkook's grinning face that appears in the doorway and nobody elses.

You slam your hands into his shoulders and push him backwards. “You son of a bitch. I wasn't even ready!”

Jungkook loops his arms round your waist and tugs you into him. You're so lost. You're so worked up and he looks so good, and he's just beaten you at a game you prided yourself on winning each and every time. He did it to tease you. He did it so this would happen, and you've walked right into his trap.

But god, he smells so good, and his hair is slightly damp from a shower, and you're honestly prepared to make a fool of yourself if it means getting a glimpse of his toned torso one more time.

“Sorry,” he says. “But I believe I won that round fair and square.”

“You used a distraction tactic,” you hiss. “We never use a distraction tactic!”

Jungkook raises a brow, tilting his head to the side. “I don't remember distracting you.”

“You being on the phone at all was distracting enough.” You bundle your fists in his shirt, debate pulling him closer. You eventually decide against it and instead flatten your palms against his chest. “And then you kept making that stupid fucking noise, and I couldn't . . . I couldn't concentrate.”

Jungkook's eyes flare. “I can't help it if you get distracted just by my voice.”

“It wasn't your – Stop that!” You slap his chest and groan. “The point is, we need a rematch. That game wasn't fair, and you know it.”

His hands tighten on your hips. You want to scream.

“I really didn't take you as a sore loser,” he says.

You scoff. “Don't act like you didn't come marching into my apartment when I won the last round.”

That does it. The reminder settles between you, and you don't pull away even though you know you should. Jungkook's eyes – if possible – turn darker. Your breath hitches. The world is spinning too fast. You just want him to kiss you. You don't want any of this back and forth, teasing, talking in low voices – you just want him.

You knot your hands in his shirt again. This time, you do pull him closer, but not by much. It's a little jerk that has his chest hitting lightly against your own, but he still isn't close enough for your liking.

He inhales deeply. “I can't believe you're here after what I did.”

You close your eyes. “We don't have to talk about that.”

“I don't want to just sleep with you, Y/N.” He pulls away then, rakes his hands through his hair as if trying to restrain himself. “I told you on the day we argued that I don't just want to be friends-with-benefits. I want to be able to talk about things with you.”

There are cotton balls in your mouth. It's hard to speak, so you just stare at him, hope that gets your point across.

He bites his lip. “Is that what you want, too? Is that why you're here?”

Is that what you want?

On that first night, the first night Jungkook slept with you, you thought that was what you had. You'd never taken Jungkook as the type to have sex with someone and then just . . . leave, and that isn't what he did. Waking up to him cooking breakfast and his scent on your pillows felt almost natural.

So of course you want it. You want him – not his body, but him. All of him.

You swallow thickly and step closer. “If we're gonna make this work, we have to sort a few things out.”

He nods too quickly, too enthusiastically. It rips your heart out of your chest. “Of course.”

“I'm going back home in a few days,” you say, and Jungkook's hopeful expression fades. “I don't know – I don't know what that means for you. I don't know if that will make things easier. I don't know if me not physically being here will suddenly make Mr Bang let you date me, but-”

Jungkook groans low in his throat. “I don't care about Mr Bang. I care about you.” He steps forward and cups your face with one large hand. “I made a mistake. I was so caught up in my contract that I didn't even stop to think about how Mr Bang would take my own feelings into consideration.”

Your jaw drops, eyes snapping up. “What are you talking about?”

“Mr Bang knows we – we talk,” Jungkook stammers.

You step out of his grip. “He knows you went against the contract?”

“In the beginning,” Jungkook says. “He was disappointed, but he's known me since I was fifteen. I guess he took pity on me, because I was a mess when I went into work that day and told him. I'd just reached my breaking point.”

“And he was okay with it?”

“As I said, he was disappointed. Thought he could trust me and all that.” Jungkook winces. You place a comforting hand on his arm, knowing how hard it must have been for him to have disappointed one of the people he looks up to. “I said I was sorry, and then he – he asked me how things between you and I were going, and I got really confused. He said it as if we were together.”

You bite your lip. “Okay...”

“I turned round and told him you'd ended things because you didn't want to be sneaking around, and he just looked at me like I was insane. He asked me what I was doing, told me to talk to you and then he let me have the day off.”

You swallow the golf ball sized lump in your throat, not sure what to say but knowing for a fact that you are really gonna have to thank Mr Bang for this.

Jungkook rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “So I went home, logged onto Minecraft to see if you were there – you weren't, but I waited.”

“You waited.”

“And then you came online and I took my chance.”

“You did indeed.”

Jungkook lowers his voice to a whisper. “And now you're here.” It's almost like he's talking to himself, even though his eyes are burning holes in your own. “You're here and you're not saying anything.”

You don't need to say anything. There are no words that can possible portray what you're feeling right now, so you do the next best thing. It's straight out of a cheesy romance movie, but you've learned from the best and you launch yourself into his arms, kissing him with the need and desperation that has been building in your system for weeks now.

Jungkook grunts into your mouth, his hands gripping your waist. The two of you stumble until the back of Jungkook's knees are hitting against the arm of the sofa and he's falling backwards into the plush cushions; he doesn't let go of you, and your body ends up right on top of his own.

You kiss him again, and again, and again. Not just on the lips, but everywhere. Peppered kisses behind his ear, the tip of his nose, the corner of his mouth, his chin, his cheeks. Everywhere until he's giggling and trying to push you away from him.

“You still played unfairly today,” you pant, exaggerating each word with a kiss to his forehead. “I want revenge.”

“I'm excited to – hey! - find out how you get that revenge,” he replies, crinkling his nose up when you go to press yet another kiss there.

His fingers are just starting to grip onto your belt loops when the door behind him opens. Jungkook's head snaps up, his hands tightening to keep you in place. Taehyung and Namjoon walk in, side-by-side, but immediately stop and raise their brows when they see the position you are currently in.

Jungkook wriggles beneath you. You shoot upright, struggling to find your footing again. Jungkook grunts when you're forced to shove against his chest to get off the sofa. You turn to the two members of Bangtan and grin as Jungkook flops back onto the sofa and groans.

Namjoon is the first to speak. “Hey Y/N. . . I see you took Taehyung's invitation.”

“I did!” you exclaim, and then quieter, “I did. It's a lovely place you've got here.”

“Apparently we've also got a lovely maknae,” Taehyung says, wriggling his brows, and Jungkook buries his head in the sofa pillows. “I always knew something was going on with you two; you're the only person I know who can distract Jungkook long enough to break him away from his work.”

You raise a brow, flicking your eyes down to the boy in question. He peeks at you with one eye, half of his face still pressed into the cushions, and grins an embarrassed grin. You smile right back, pushing down a laugh.

“Come on, Tae,” Namjoon chuckles. “Let's leave them alone for a bit. I think they have a lot of catching up to do.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes, mouths Use protection before he and Namjoon turn and leave the room. You glance back at Jungkook, raise a brow.

“He's totally lying, of course,” he assures, voice muffled.

You chuckle and bound back onto the sofa, circling your arms round his torso and going back to pressing loving little kisses to every part of his face you can think of.

---

Jungkook presses his chin into the crown of your head and sighs yet again. “You're still so tiny.”

“I'll literally start walking home now.”

He groans, pulling you closer to his chest. “Don't say home. You're home is meant to be with me.”

You close your eyes and tilt your head back. It rests in the hollow of his throat. You want to live there.

“I'll visit you,” you say, even though it's not enough. It'll never be enough. “We managed to keep in touch since we were fourteen – this isn't anything new.”

He sighs again. “I know. We'll make it work, just like we always do.” His arms tighten on your waist. “I'm just gonna miss this, that's all. I'm gonna miss you – you in your physical form.”

“In what way do you mean physical form, Jeon Jungkook?”

He leans down and nips your earlobe with his teeth. “Whatever form you're offering.”

You chuckle and shake your head, beckoning him away. He goes back to resting his chin atop your head, the two of you looking out for the train that will soon be pulling up to take you home. Your bag is packed, but Jungkook placed it a few feet away because he didn't want to admit that all of your stuff was in there – that means permanent, apparently. Packing up your stuff means there's no option to come back. Looking at your suitcase, filled to the brim with the clothes he's seen you in, the clothes he's ripped off of you, made him uncomfortable.

“I feel like adults are meant to handle this type of thing a lot better,” he says suddenly.

You look up; his chin slides to your forehead as he refuses to move. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “Like – relationships. Love. Stuff like that. I should have grown out of my mine, mine, mine phase, but the idea of you just . . . walking away is literally ripping me open.”

You bite your lip. “Jungkook...”

“I get it if you don't feel the same way. I'm not asking you to.” He shrugs again, grabbing your chin and tilting your head back so he can put his chin back where he is most comfortable. “It's only been a few months and I already feel like you should just be by my side all the time.”

“I wish I could be.”

“You do?”

“I don't think I've ever clicked with someone like I click with you, Jungkook. I feel just as awful about leaving.”

He sighs. Again. If you made this into a drinking game – drink any time Jungkook sighs – you would be falling head first into the train tracks by now.

He hugs you impossibly closer, and the two of you fall into a thoughtful silence. In the distance, the whistle of the train sounds and you close your eyes, as if in doing so, you can somehow transport somewhere far, far away, with only Jungkook to keep you company.

But reality is a bitch, and it slaps you in the face when the train pulls up and people start piling onto the carriages.

You turn, quickly wrapping your arms around his shoulders and kissing him, putting everything you can into the way your lips mould against his. He groans against your mouth – he always does – and he tightens his grip and you hope to God he just refuses to let go. You two can just live here, in this underground station, tangled in each others arms forever. You'll become statues, a part of the structure and nobody will bother you again.

But the conductor calls a warning,and you know you have to go.

You pull away. Jungkook's face falls, and his thumbs swipe beneath your eye. You didn't even realise you were crying until he shakes his head and says, “Soon. We'll see each other soon.”

You nod, biting your bottom lip. You say the first thing that comes to mind, which might not be the best strategy considering this is the last thing you'll get to say for quite a while, but nonetheless, it's a perfect parting confession.

“I love you, GoldenJeon.”

His eyes widen. You panic, because that was certainly not what you planned on saying. He reaches towards you, but you press a final kiss to his lips, grab your suitcase and dart off towards the train only seconds before the doors close behind you.

As the train speeds off, you turn in your seat. Jungkook is still stood on the platform, one hand raised to his lips and his eyes lowered to the floor.

---

You're in your pyjamas again. Boring, stupid old pyjamas. You'd left them behind for a reason – you're wearing them now because you're trying to get back into routine. You have to be at the office tomorrow. You have to look Mr Grey in the eyes and thank him for the opportunity even though he was the one who ordered you home. You shouldn't feel angry, but you do.

You press PLAY on your movie once again, having paused it to go and gather some ice cream and your laptop. You and Jungkook have only texted the odd time since you got home, with him claiming he wants to give you time to rest and you promising him that you were definitely, one hundred percent in bed and only seconds away from falling asleep.

Turns out, falling asleep without Jungkook's arms around you is a lot more difficult than you'd originally anticipated.

It's so weird. It's a phenomenon, considering you fell asleep without him your entire life. But now that you'd got a taste of just how luxurious sleep can actually feel, it's difficult to go back to square one.

You click on the tiny little Minecraft icon and watch the screen load. It's almost instinctive when you log onto the all-too-familiar server. Again, it's much too late for Jungkook to be online – he told you he was doing some late night editing for one of his Golden Closet Videos, and you've seen him when he starts editing; he won't be looking away from that complicated editing screen for another few hours at least. His attention will be nowhere near Minecraft.

It loads up, and of course, the little shit has lied to you.

GoldenJeon is online.

You narrow your eyes, hoping and praying he doesn't notice the little Y/N is online that appears in the corner.

But he's GoldenJeon. He notices everything.

Your phone chimes. You wince, cautiously looking over as Jungkook's name flashes on screen.

Jungkook: You weren't asleep for very long.

Y/N: you weren't editing for very long.

Jungkook: It's gonna be very difficult for me to come over and have sex if you win this match, you know. You didn't think this through.

Y/N: i'm sure phone sex will be just as sexy.

Jungkook: Let's give it a go.

The match begins, and you win. It's no surprise – at this point, you're fairly certain Jungkook is just letting you win because he wants an excuse to come over.

Or in this case, an excuse to call you.

You pick up before the first ring is even over. Jungkook laughs at your eagerness before saying, “Miss me?”

“More than anything. Now talk dirty.”

“I love you.”

You freeze.

“Oh, did you like that one?” he teases. You can hear him grinning. You want to smother him – or kiss him. Either way, you can do neither. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“Jungkook-”

“I've loved you since I was fourteen years old and you were just a weird little character on a shit, low budget game.”

“I don't want you to talk dirty any more. Please keep making fun of me before I combust.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Tell me you love me back.”

“I said it first. You know I-”

“Say it again. We're having phone sex, remember?”

You bite your lip. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

He inhales shakily. You can hear it, the rattle in his chest, the way he bites his bottom lip. You can imagine him tilting his head back in that way he does so often when you insist on walking downstairs in one of his shirts, or nothing at all if you're feeling particularly playful that day.

“You're right, you know,” he whispers.

“About?”

“Phone sex really is just as sexy as the real thing.”

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peace-coast-island · 4 years ago

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Diary of a Junebug

Kicking back at a seaside resort

Feel the wind in your hair and bask in the warm sunlight. Dive into the crystal clear water and immerse yourself in the world below. Float as far as the waves will take you.

I think Aqua Shores is becoming one of my favorite vacation spots. I’ve heard good things about the island for years but never got around to looking into it until a few months ago. It’s a bit hard to get there so that’s why it’s not overrun with tourists. Thanks to Isabelle and Tom Nook, we got a great vacation package deal that has made all the travel worth it!

While relaxing by the pool, I ran into two familiar faces - Dae and Marisol. They reside in Tokyo but visit Peace Coast Island once a year to host a big art exhibition at Seashore Path College. Dae Jeong is a big name in animation as she’s a producer, animator, writer, and founder of Sound Stories - an independent animation studio known for making strides in queer media.

Her wife, Marisol Alon, is a storyboarder and producer who’s the showrunner of the award winning show Flames of Amber, a must watch if you’re interested in fantasy, drama, and comedy. It’s kinda like a mix between a magical girl kind of show but aimed towards an older audience and a sitcom that tends to lean on the serious side. It’s one of those shows where it’s a mix of self-contained episodes and season long overarching plots. Season three, which is airing now, has been knocking it out of the park so far and we’re only like eight episodes in so far. It’s got dark humor, touching moments, wholesome slice of life stuff, stunning animation, and well developed characters - I can’t recommend it enough!

Dae’s the kind of person who built her life from the ground up. Having grown up in a family that disapproved of her lifestyle - specifically her interest in art - Dae is also an advocate in making the arts more accessible as well as helping those who are discouraged from expressing themselves. She’s one of those big figures - celebrity doesn’t fit her, though she might be considered one - who’s not performative when it comes to social justice. Despite what her detractors say, her activism hasn’t ruined her career, it made her stronger and more vocal. She’s the reason why animation is able to make big strides in queer and Asian representation.

It’s no question that I’m a big fan of Dae and Marisol. They’re also very much down to earth, the kind of people who like to keep it real. They mean what they say and say what they mean - even if it means putting their careers on the line. Basically if they were straight white men they wouldn’t be getting as much unwarranted criticism or be picked apart by haters.

Dae’s not one to back down from her opponents. She grew up in a super conservative, predominantly white suburban town, which explains a lot. She was born in Seoul and adopted at the age of two by a white American couple, to which she became known as Dani. Her parents adopted her because they were unable to have another child so they opted for “a poor exotic orphan” to make themselves look good. As a result, Dae never felt like she fit in with her family because they forced her to be someone she’s not.

From mocking her interests to clearly favoring her brother, it’s no wonder Dae resents her foster parents. It’s a sore subject for her but one she feels like it’s important to talk about as there’s a lot of people who grew up in a similar upbringing. It wasn’t until she left for college when Dae finally began to embrace her Asian side after years of being ashamed of her heritage.

Dae’s relationship with her foster brother is an interesting one. Jace was the golden child, the good looking athletic star who was popular and charismatic. Dae describes her relationship with him as complicated. While they weren’t exactly close, Jace was the only one who usually treated Dae like an actual person instead of a trophy or an emotional punching bag.

While things between Dae and her family were always strained, it reached a breaking point when Jace was diagnosed with cancer and lost his leg, ending a promising future as a basketball player. Her parents took their anger out on Dae while expecting her to act like a therapist as they cope badly with the circumstances. Jace also pushed Dae around but he would come to her defense at times if their parents go too far. While the parents were falling apart, the siblings came to a middle ground.

The years from Jace’s diagnosis to his death were the best in terms of their relationship, Dae once said. Maybe having cancer changed him as it knocked him off the impossibly high pedestal his parents put him on. With no one to turn to as their parents were too busy being shitty people, they reached an understanding over who their enemies were. They weren’t friends, but at least Jace admitted that the only reason why he stuck his neck out for Dae was because he found her “useful” in the war between their parents.

Jace was the reason why Dae was able to leave for good. Her parents were always against Dae pursuing art so they did everything they could to discourage her. Dae taught herself digital art so she won’t have to deal with her parents finding her art and destroying it. She worked hard to get scholarships since she’ll be paying every cent herself so she secretly joined competitions with Jace’s help. Eventually her effort paid off and she received an offer to study animation in Leeds. Knowing that it was her ticket out, Jace offered to help pay for her tuition as well as an apartment. He also made sure that their parents wouldn’t get in her way and for that, Dae is forever grateful.

In Leeds, it was like Dae was given a second lease on life. Free to be herself and pursue her dreams, she stopped being Dani and went back to her birth name. There, she met Marisol and they began dating a few years later. Jace checked in on her a few times over the next year before he died.

After graduating college, Dae and Marisol worked at a studio in London for a couple years before moving to Tokyo. Dae’s got an impressive array of works like Firefly Garden, Unknown Mysteries of the Seas, The Garden Palace, Neighbors, Northern Winters, and Carousel Dreams. Her whole career’s pretty much a middle finger to everyone who told her that she was destined to fail.

She's said that a part of her wants to go up to her foster parents and tell them to fuck off. But if they knew how successful she was - as in how much money she makes - they’d exploit her, bleed her dry, and destroy everything she worked hard for. Dae meant it when she said that she’s never going back.

It’s good to see Dae and Marisol kicking back at the pool. They’re here for their tenth wedding anniversary, taking a much needed vacation from their busy lives. It’s their first time at Aqua Shores too, having arrived a couple days before us. Both are trying not to do anything work related during their vacation, which is a bit of a challenge, especially for Marisol. The relaxing atmosphere does help a lot though.

After spending a good part of the day chilling by the pool, I invited Dae and Marisol to have dinner with us at the May Harbor Diner. So we enjoyed a beachside dinner while watching the waves and exchanging stories. I think Daisy Jane was a bit starstruck at first but by dinner she was comfortable enough to talk about art with Dae and Marisol. They both gave her a lot of helpful advice on getting her art out there, which was super nice. Dae later told me that she sees a lot of herself in Daisy Jane and I can see that too.

We stayed out until around eight and our group split up. Daisy Jane, Dae, Marisol, and I went on a ferry for an island tour that was about an hour long. At night it’s almost like Aqua Shores transforms into a different place. It’s a different kind of peaceful, like wandering the streets when most of the world is asleep so time moves differently in a way that makes you super aware of it. Too bad it’s hard to take decent pictures of the scenery - I tried and while the pics aren’t terrible, they really don’t do the island justice.

The lights are so gorgeous to look at, like who would’ve thought that street lights can be so pretty?

Then we hung out at the pool until 1, where we talked about Flames of Amber and binged on a few episodes. It’s fascinating hearing behind the scenes stuff from Marisol, especially in a casual setting instead of like a convention or something. Dae talked about what it’s like running an animation studio, which was fun to learn about. She and Marisol are so passionate and honest about their work, it makes me appreciate and respect them even more.

Before heading out, we got the next two days planned out - scuba diving and riding a hot air balloon! Plus there’s a new episode of Flames of Amber tomorrow so that’s another thing to look forward to.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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blackpinkofficial · 6 years ago

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[ARTICLE] EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BLACKPINK.

Coachella has a long history of overlooking women, and 2019 shows some big changes: not only are Western women getting more of a chance, but Japanese and South Korean bands too. As Blackpink takes to the stage in California, we take a look at perhaps East Asia's biggest girlband

t has probably not escaped your notice by now that K-Pop is kinda big worldwide. BTS are getting the kind of fawning adoration in London and New York that The Beatles once got, and other bands are taking part in the Korean Invasion too: Blackpink, a relatively young South Korean girlband, will become the first K-Pop act to ever play Coachella.

It’s worth noting Coachella has expanded its vision to other parts of Asia as well: Perfume will also be the first Japanese pop act to play the huge California festival. But Blackpink are particularly notable as they have achieved staggering success since their debut single, 'BOOMBAYAH', in 2016: the sort of success only a few bands, like Girl’s Generation, knew before them. But where their predcessors failed to break the western market, Blackpink look set to become international superstars.

K-Pop might not be your thing: it draws a lot on western pop tropes, is almost impossibly slick, and as an industry it isn’t without its fair share of problems. However, if the music or the atmosphere isn’t for you, it’s still worth getting to know one of the biggest girlbands in the world: Blackpink are perfectly engineered to get stuck in your head, and are a fascinating insight into what pop music is today.

Backstory

Blackpink, like a lot of South Korean pop music, came out of the country’s particular system of training: a kind of pop music conservatoire. YG Entertainment, the group’s Korean team, house their own training program which the band members began to join around 2010. YG tried potential band members out all across the world, which shows in the international lives of the four members: Jisoo is a South Korean native, as was Jennie who went on to spend time in New Zealand and is fluent in English; Rosé, who lived in Melbourne, auditioned in Sydney; Lisa auditioned in her native Thailand. The preference is for young, ethnically Korean performers fluent in the language but that’s flexible: Lisa didn’t speak a word of Korean before coming to train.

Arriving in Seoul, the band estimated that there were between 10-20 aspiring performers all going through the same training: 12 hours a day, seven days a week, learning to dance, sing and rap. Monthly tests helped to prove people’s strengths and eliminate the weakest in the pack: one scored an A, B or C. There are plenty of videos out there on YouTube of people who flunked out of the training to become a K-Pop star.

The members all started at different times: Jennie joined in 2010, Lisa and Jisoo in 2011, and Rose in 2012. They debuted in 2016. It was hard training, difficult for those who had moved away from home, but the four bonded, and are all close friends. Which is good when you only get one day off a fortnight.

The members

As previously mentioned, there are four members: Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé. Jennie often leads off songs and is a solid thriple-threat; Jisoo and Rosé are usually the ones bringing you vocals; Lisa is a top notch rapper.

Becoming an 'idol' in South Korea also carries with it the burden of needing to seem astonishingly perfect. One could argue this might be why bands like SixBomb go through extensive plastic surgery (they featured both their before and after appearances in the video for their song ‘Becoming Prettier’) or why the lead singer of boy band SHINee was found dead in his apartment in 2017 with a note saying he was “broken from inside”. It also leads to their members having to portray images that are jointly virginal and also deeply available: one of the first big scandals involved Jong Hyun back in 2010, back when South Korea's paparazzi started to boom. K-Pop fans can be known to be particularly judgmental of acts: take for example the infamous ‘black ocean’ of 2008, when the ur-Girls Generation, SNSD, came on stage to a purposeful blackout of the entire audience’s glowsticks as a protest. You can hear them fighting back the tears as they perform to what looks like an empty stadium.

Blackpink seem interested in getting away from that expectation. “We always wanted to be out there, to be more true to ourselves and a little more free,” Jennie told Billboard earlier this year. “Even we can get things wrong sometimes. We want to just show them the real us.”

K-Pop idols are known for often being very fluid as to how many creative projects they have on the go: bands like After School, for example, where members ‘graduate’ and new ones enter, also features sub-groups Orange Caramel and A.S. Red & Blue. Girls Generation, LOONA and other big bands also have sub-groups and solo careers. Blackpink is no different: though they’re still going strong, Jennie has also released her first single as a solo artist. It’s sort of like the Avengers all having their own movies: a way of maintaining the brand without over-working the main unit.

Songs and albums

Like most K-Pop bands, Blackpink had a debut performance of a debut single which was the litmus test over whether they would be a bop or a flop. That single, Boombayah, is a personal favourite: it’s probably the most dynamic and poppy of their universally dynamic and poppy music, not dropping into anything sultry or slow. It’s also got a great dance routine (part of the fun of K-Pop) and the video became the fastest debut music video of a K-Pop act to reach 100 million views on YouTube.

Their 2018 single 'Ddu-Du Ddu-Du' is the highest-charting K-Pop single in the US Billboard charts, and is a bit more sexy and vicious. New single, ‘Kill This Love’, continues a very similar vibe: lots of horns, easier to grind to than throw shapes to.

It’s interesting to hear how the most successful parts of western pop music have been absorbed and fused with East Asia’s own highly successful, high octane pop industry: their songs always feature rap, but their choruses are often sounds rather than words (‘ddu-du ddu-du’, for example, is effectively onamatopeia for a machine gun bullet round) so anyone can sing along.

When it comes to albums, Blackpink have so far released two EPs: Square Up in 2018, and Kill This Love in 2019. In Japan they released an EP Blackpink and a studio album Blackpink in your area. A lot of songs overlap between these various releases, but your safest bet to get the whole is to listen to Blackpink in your area.

Live performances

As mentioned before, choreography is a huge part of what Blackpink do: K-Pop bands are known for their specific, tight group dance routines that are the same every time they perform the song that it goes along with, and the bands tend to release rehearsal footage on their YouTube channels so people can learn the dance too. It’s also rare to watch people cover the songs without the expectation being they also do the routine alongside. It’s hard to stress how popular these routines and the choreography videos are: within two days, the ‘Kill This Love’ choreo video had over 14m views.

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Generally, the songs work to give each of the members a part that shows off their talents as rappers, singers and/or dancers. Though the band don’t have writing credits on their songs, they do have an input into their material, including making sure each of them gets the best part for them. Any performance will give you a good idea of what each brings to the table, though perhaps ‘BOOMBAYAH’ will do this most comprehensively: it was, after all, their first outing.

The videos

If you’ve never seen a K-Pop video, you’re in for a bloody treat. Whether it’s the crispness of SHINee’s ‘1 of 1’ (don’t watch if you don’t want to buy a suit after watching) or the stern, sassy dance video to CL’s ‘Hello Bitches’ (choreographed by Parris Goebel, who also did Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ and Ciara’s ‘Level Up’) they are real production numbers.

youtube

Blackpink are no exception, though even in a few short years the vision of their videos has grown a lot: while the video for Boombayah serves you early 00s Rihanna, or even Britney and Madonna’s ‘Me Against The Music’, 'Kill This Love' is just a huge camp treat that sits somewhere between ‘Bad Romance’, ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’ and the Pussycat Dolls’ ‘Don’t Cha’. It also contains the classic turn-of-the-millennium image of a woman crying while driving a car, a trope I’m glad to see the return of.

Who should I listen to next if I love Blackpink?

Take the plunge into K-Pop! It's a vast and varied world, but there are lots of brilliant girlbands who will bring something new to the table for you. Spotify has a lot of phenomenally good playlists to delve into it, so just listen to a few songs and see what it is you like and work from there.

190412 GQ MAGAZINE

#blackpink #article #ot4 #190412

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krreader · 6 years ago

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the wrong victim | chapter 1

pairing: jeon jeongguk x reader fandom: bts ; (mentions of got7) ; (mentions of exo) warnings: non idol!au ; gang!au ; kidnapping ; language genre: angst ; crack ; crime ; smut

summary: in which jeongguk accidentally kidnapped the wrong person and begs you to play the part of the one he actually had to kidnap, just so he could become a member of the famous Bangtan Boys. And, well, you were always a sucker for boys with a tragic past.

a/n: listen, gang!au’s are a treasure that I’ve been meaning to explore for a while now. I never really knew how I wanted to write it and never with whom, because the usual members you think about when you say gang!au (at least for me) are Yoongi and Namjoon. But I already have on-going fics for both of them so I was like: ‘meh’. this idea popped up in my head while I was studying for the economics exam (don’t even ask how) and I immediately knew that it was the right one. So this is going to be a lot of humor, as you were probably able to tell and even though kidnapping is a serious topic, that I don’t want to downplay in any way, I thought it was a good plot! Also, pleeeease note that all of this is an AU, including how JK’s parents are portrayed!!! Nevertheless, I hope you guys are going to enjoy this story and all its’ chapters!!!

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When he was a boy, he wanted to be a firefighter, a pilot, a magician and the typical other things that every boy growing up wants to be. He was as naive as the rest of them, to think that any of his dreams in his youth, would turn out to be reality one day. Because how often did that actually happen?

To cut it short, things had never been easy for Jeon Jeongguk.

His childhood wasn't the best, his parents definitely weren't either and he had been alone, always so alone, in his life. He had barely made it through school and not with grades that he could study.. well.. anything. His parents weren't happy about it, in fact, they had been so upset with their 'failure' of a son, that they threw him out on the street, even though they knew that he had nowhere else to go. They knew that he wouldn't have a lot of options and would either have to steal, or do worse things to get by.

The fact that they didn’t care, only makes it more clear of what kind of parents they were.

Looking back a month, when all of this had happened, he never thought that things would turn out this way.

He had thought that he would die somewhere in an alley, maybe because someone had killed him, maybe because he had starved to death, maybe because of an infection. But none of that happened. Only on the second day of his 'new life' living in the streets of Seoul, he came across a very interesting young man. One, that was maybe two or three years older than he was, in a leather jacket and a lollipop in his mouth, walking down the street like he was owning it, when his eyes landed on Jeongguk, who leaned against a wall and quickly lowered his head.

The stranger had mustered him for a couple of seconds, cocking his head to the side and letting out a long sigh. Because he knew this look that Jeongguk had on his face only all too well. He has had that same look on his face only two years ago. And then someone had helped him. Someone offered him a way out. A way that didn't mean dying on the streets. And on that day, he had promised himself that if he ever had the chance to do the same for someone else, he would.

That's how Taehyung met Jeongguk.

That's how Jeongguk met the rest of the Bangtan Boys.

And that's how he was now trying to become a full member of their ‘little’ gang.

“I don't know, Namjoon,” Jimin said, studying every little detail on Jeongguk's face, “I think he's too young.”

“I was as young as he was when you guys recruited me.”

“You were different. You had talent and could steal stuff in less than five seconds,” Namjoon was leaning back in his chair, biting on the back of his pencil. You could literally see the wheels turn in his head.

“Well, maybe he's got talent too! Tell them, Kookie! Anything you're good at!”

In less than a month, Taehyung had quickly become Jeongguk’s best and probably only friend. Maybe it was the fact that they both came from similar backgrounds, or that they were so close in age, but he knew that whatever would happen with him, he could always, absolutely always count on Tae. But it was only Tae that he could count on, so far. He was still intimidated by the rest of them and quickly lowered his head when all of them were now staring at him, “I.. uh.. I can sing.”

Jeongguk wanted to mentally slap himself for giving answer like this. What would they, a dangerous gang who did all sorts of illegal stuff, would care about singing? Unless they needed an entertainment program, probably not at all.

“That's great, but not very helpful, Jeongguk,” Hobi said, his voice as soft as everything else about him. Or at least that's what you'd think, if you didn't really know him. That’s what you’d think about most of these six guys. What he had thought. And then he really got to know them and realized just how dangerous and scary they could actually be, if they wanted to.

“Okay but listen,“ Taehyung started, leaning his forearms onto the table in front of them that they were all sitting at, “Imagine this: all of us are good at one thing, right? That's what makes us the best gang in Seoul. Myself, good at stealing. Jimin-hyung, good at spying. Hobi-hyung, our assassin. Yoongi-hyung, amazing hacker. Seokjin-hyung, the one that stitches us up. Namjoon-hyung, the best leader there is out there. But tell me. What do we not have yet?”

“Pizza. I called an hour ago,” Yoongi got up, an annoyed look on his face and walked over to the couch, picking up his phone again.

Taehyung rolled his eyes, “No, hyung. We still haven't got a playboy! The one that can seduce the women!”

“If you’re upset that you’re not getting any, we can call a hooker for you,” Namjoon said with a chuckle, the rest of them, all but Jeongguk, joining in.

“No, hyung. I don’t mean it in that way. Remember when we had that big fight with GOT7? Where they wanted to steal the exact same thing that we had wanted? Remember why we failed and they didn’t? Because they had Jackson. And Jackson knows how to get a woman to do anything he wants for him. We didn’t have a Jackson back then. But now we have a Jeongguk. A cute, yet sexy guy, who can charm every girl with his singing and cuteness, but also make her think he could pin her against the nearest wall. That’s exactly what a woman wants!”

Jeongguk? A playboy? How? He had never even had a girlfriend, how was he supposed to seduce women?

“No offense,” Seokjin started, “But he doesn't look like he's experienced in that field.”

“No, no, I'm sure he is. Right, Kookie?”

Jeongguk knew that this was his only chance to prove to them that there was a reason for them to add him to the group. That he was valuable. His chance to be in this gang and to be a part of something for once. To, maybe, if he was lucky, find a real family in Bangtan. He couldn't fuck this up by telling them the truth about his non-existent sex life. Especially not when all of them were looking at him with so many expectations.

So he mustered up all the courage and confidence that he had when saying: “Sure.”

“See? I told you!” Taehyung clapped him on the shoulder, but Namjoon wasn't so quick to believe him.

“Then prove it to me.”

Ah, shit. He should have expected something like this. He had realized it when he had first arrived here, that it wouldn’t be easy to earn Namjoon’s trust. But now Jeongguk had already begun playing this game, so that he couldn't get out of it anymore. He would have to keep that act up of the playboy up, until he was actually as confident as he pretended to be. Or until they realized that he was just fucking around and threw him back out on the streets. It was either the one, or the other.

And he’d rather take the first option.

“How?” Jeongguk asked.

Namjoon considered a couple of ideas, before scribbling down something on a piece of paper, ripping it off and walking around the table to give it to him.

“You want to be a part of this gang? You want to prove to me that you are of value and that we need you? Then I want you to go to that address and kidnap this girl,” he casually continued to chew his gum, like he had just asked him to get Chinese take-away.

“K-Kidnap?” now that was another thing. Jeongguk knew that they were doing shady things here and that most of them were wrong. But when they suggested him to be the playboy, he thought this was about him only seducing women. Not kidnapping them!

“Yes. I don't actually know her, but I heard that EXO has shown an interest in her. Apparently she’s.. quite the beauty. And see, we could use a pretty face around here.”

“What.. what do you want to do with her when she's here?” he gulped hard, gripping the piece of paper a little tighter in his hand.

Namjoon shrugged, “Nothing. Maybe ask her to clean. And if she wants to fuck one of us, that's great. But we're not going to harm her in the ways that you might think we will. We're assholes, but we're not those kind of assholes.”

Jeongguk let out a sigh of relief, because that would not have been something that he would have gone through with. Even he had a limit, as much as he wanted to do this. Not that he thought kidnapping was right, but it would save his ass.. and if they promised not to harm the person..

..if he could maybe even protect that girl?

“Alright. I'll do it.”

“Are you okay, love? You sure you don't want me to come around?”

You smiled when you unlocked the front door and closed it behind you right after again, “I'm fine, mom. You don't have to worry about me, I promise. I'm doing great so far..”

“I know, it's just..-” you could hear your mother sigh from the other end of the phone, “I'm just really worried about you, (Y/N). I have a bad feeling. Call it mother's intuition.”

“You always do, mom,” you took off your shoes and your coat and walked into your kitchen straight away, “But I'm really okay.”

“Just promise to call me every once in a while, alright? And make sure that you eat and drink enough. Oh, and do your laundry properly, please!”

“Will do,” you grinned, shaking your head a little and taking out some juice from the fridge, “Love you, mom.”

“Love you too, honey. So much.”

And with that, you ended the phone call and shook your head with a smile, whispering to yourself, “Mother's intuition,” like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Why would anything happen to you? And how could anything happen to you?

You weren't exactly the type of girl to go out and party every night, so the risks of something happening to you – at least in that sense – were so slim. No, you'd rather enjoy your night with a good movie and then fall into your bed, exhaustion taking over you a couple of moments later.

But see, there was one thing that you forgot. One thing, that every child often liked to forget when it came down to their mothers.

The intuition of a mother was almost always right.

Those were your last thoughts when someone suddenly pressed a cloth against your mouth and nose from behind when you were about to walk into the living room and you were beginning to pass out.

The last thing you heard was a soft voice saying: “I’m so sorry. I promise, I’ll take care of you.”

How reassuring. Not that you were in any way to thank him.

And you didn't know how long you were out when you at one point opened your eyes again, this time sitting on a chair, ropes tied all around your body, so that you had no way to escape.

“Fuck,” you mumbled, while slowly waking up. You tried to move, but the restraints were too tight around your body. And the previous unconsciousness was still weighing heavily on you, so you gave up only after a few sorry attempts of freeing yourself.

“Are you okay?”

Not that you had any experiences with kidnappings, but you were pretty sure that that's not how it worked. You were still a little dazed when you raised your head and found a young boy staring at you with wide eyes, worry written all over his face.

“You don't look like a kidnapper,” you blinked a couple of times, trying to get the blurriness away.

“You don't act like a kidnapped,” Jeongguk cocked his head to the side and studied you for a moment. He had expected this to be different. He had expected you to scream and cry and beg him to let you go. But you just looked like you were drunk.

Maybe he shouldn’t have left the cloth in the chloroform for that long?

But the longer you looked at the boy, the more you realized nervous habits that you hadn’t expected from a kidnapper. Again, you were no expert, but he was fidgeting with his hands and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He kept biting his lip and he looked really uncomfortable in this situation. And not just uncomfortable. But scared as well.

“What is this.. a gaming show of some sort?”

“Wh..- why would it be a gaming show?”

“Because there is no reason for anyone to kidnap me,” you snorted, “Seriously. None,” maybe your mom had set this up. Maybe she wanted you to see that the city was dangerous and to come back to her. You wouldn’t put it past her to do that, to be honest.

“Well.. I was told that there was this gang that liked you and my gang, or.. you know, the gang I want to be a part of, wanted to get to you first.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, blinking at him a couple of times, before saying, “Dude.. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“The.. other gang? EXO? They wanted to..,” but the more he explained, the more confused you actually looked. Namjoon had told him that you knew EXO, that you have had dealings with them before, actually. So why would you..- ”Oh god.. please tell me you're Kim Soomin?”

“No. I'm (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Kim Soomin moved out two weeks ago. I moved in three days ago.”

Jeongguk didn't know whether he should laugh for kidnapping the wrong person, or cry. Because how could he so royally fuck up this one thing that was supposed to be so easy, or so Namjoon had said.

Kidnapping the wrong person, who does that.

And while he was self-loathing, you started remembering how weird this whole deal with Soomin had been in the first place. One of the reasons your mother had warned you about it. You had actually found out about the apartment through a friend, who had gotten the info from her friend and so on and so on. And the weird thing about it was that the apartment was in the middle of the city and it had been so cheap, that you had thought there was mold in it or something, because of how badly she wanted to get rid of it. And because of how quickly. But there was nothing. It was in a perfect condition, the location was great, and the price even better.

But it seems like she knew exactly what would have happened to her if she had stayed. And that bitch actually put you in harm’s way, even though you had nothing to do with it? Just to get out of whatever she had been caught up with?

Oh, if you ever got out of here, you would have a little word with her.

“I am.. SO sorry,” Jeongguk started, but he heard the laughing of the other members, so that meant they had come back and that meant he was here with a girl that wasn't the one Namjoon wanted and THAT meant, he wouldn't be able to become a member of the Bangtan Boys. And so even though he knew what your answer would be, he turned back around to look at you and said with a pleading voice, “I need you to help me and play Kim Soomin.”

You snorted after staring at him in disbelief for a couple of seconds.

“Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me. First you kidnap the wrong person, then you want me to play the person you were supposed to kidnap? What kind of rookie are you?”

“Listen,” he knelt down in front of you, his voice barely a whisper now, “I will do absolutely ANYTHING you want. Anything. If you just play the part of Kim Soomin for me for.. just for a little while. I promise you that nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Why do you even want to be a part of a gang? You don't look like the kind of guy who should join assholes like that. You should be out there and party with your friends, even though you should be studying for your next medical exam or something.”

“Because..,” he looked back, finding the rest of the guys already approaching you. Good thing this empty warehouse, that they turned into their base was so huge, so it would take them a couple more seconds to get to you. But he could already hear their excitement when they saw you and him, “Because I don't have a choice. It's either this, or die on the streets. And I don’t want to die.”

“What, am I supposed to pity you know? You kidnapped me!” you hissed that last part.

“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE YOU,” he whisper-screamed, while getting up and scratching the back of his neck nervously. Taehyung wrapped an arm around his shoulder and licked his lips when he looked you up and down.

“She's.. really pretty.”

“No, she's hot,” Namjoon said, grinning cockily.

“And you're a piece of shit,” you cocked your head to the side, “Glad we all said what we’re thinking right now. This is very therapeutic.”

“Oooh, not even afraid, this one. I knew Kai had good taste when it came down to women,” Hobi knelt down in front of you, “You're Soomin, huh?”

“I'm the girl that’s about to spit in your face, if you don’t keep your distance,” you didn’t know why you were like this. Maybe it was your body trying to compensate for the fear. Because even though you acted confidently, you surely weren’t.

“Fuck me, she's fantastic,” now even Yoongi clapped Jeongguk on the back, “Guess we just found ourselves our 7th member, guys.”

Everyone started clapping while Jeongguk, again, scratched the back of his neck, this time, out of bashfulness.

Just when you were about to tell the truth and ruin their little moment, because why the fuck wouldn't you, Taehyung said: “See, I told you you wouldn't have to die out there. I told you you'd find a family in us. And I told you your parents were idiots for abusing a son that is clearly not an idiot, but a hero!”

Great. Abused boy, who just wanted to belong somewhere and who desperately tried to fit in somewhere, maybe even find a family, plus, looked at you like he was actually sorry for what he did and regretted it and would do everything for you, if you could just play this part for a little while? If you could - in a way - save him from a life on the streets?

You couldn’t believe it, but you actually began to pity him. Because not only was he stupid enough to abduct the wrong person, but he has also had a difficult childhood.

Or maybe the chloroform had been worse than you had thought it to be and you were still high when you decided what to do next.

“Fuck,” you sighed and closed your eyes, already making the decision of playing Kim Soomin in your head, because this guy right here didn't even know how to look at name tags on doors, apparently.

“What was that?” Namjoon asked.

“I said, fucking untie me. Your rookie already kidnapped me, there's no reason for me to be tied up anymore, unless you’re into BDSM. And quite frankly, I’m not, so: Untie. Me.”

“What.. do we not have to tell you the whole: 'If you'll try to run we'll murder your family' thing? I always love that part.”

“Is that what you're going to do?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I'll just promise to hunt you down for the rest of your life, if you run away,” he wanted to touch your cheek, but for some reason, Jeongguk jumped in between you two and he looked up at his new leader.

Good thing he actually kept his promise of ‘protecting you’.

“Uh.. I think I tied the ropes really tight. If you want her to do some cleaning, she's going to need her hands right?”

Cleaning? That's what you were here for? They could have fucking hired you, they didn't have to kidnap you.

“Good thinking,” Namjoon clapped him on the shoulder and turned around, “We still have that dirty bed in the basement. She can sleep there for now. Make sure you handcuff her, though. I don't trust her, yet.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, you hissed to Jeongguk: “Cleaning?! You wanted to kidnap Kim Soomin because you wanted her to be your maid?! What the fuck is wrong with you, that is so weird!”

“No! Well.. kind of. It's a complicated story. She’s involved with our rival group and we just wanted to score them off,” he knelt down behind you and began to untie the ropes, “Anyways. Thank you for playing the part. I don’t know why you did it and I don’t understand why you did it.. but thank you.”

“Yeah, you owe me big for this, rookie. And just so you know, if you do anything that I don't like, I'll tell them the truth.”

“Deal,” he smiled and helped you up, “Come on.. I'll show you the basement.”

“Yeah, see, that's the first thing that I don’t like. I'm not going to sleep in a dirty ass bed. If you want me to stay here and play your little prisoner, I'll be sleeping in a nice and comfortable one with lots of pillows and a soft blanket.”

“But.. there's none left.”

“What about yours?”

“Then.. where am I supposed to sleep?”

“The dirty ass bed, obviously. Keep up, rookie.”

This was his own fucking fault. As happy as he was that he was now a full-fledged member of the Bangtan Boys, he couldn't help but think it wouldn't be for long. Because eventually, you would tell them. And they would kick him out at once, if they didn’t do worse, because of how he lied to them about all of this.

So he had to do whatever it took to convince you to stay for as long as possible. For as long as you needed to.

“Fine.. Come on then.”

Everything in your body screamed to run, now that you were free from your restraints and it was only the rookie left.

But you didn’t. For some, weird and fucked up reason, you followed him, knowing what a horrible idea it was.

#bts imagine #bts x reader #jungkook imagine #jungkook x reader #jeongguk x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagine #jeongguk imagine #bts #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan #reader #jeon jeongguk x reader

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cocona · 7 years ago

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hey! i wanna at least try to get into kpop, to see what all the fuss is abt, and youre the first blog that comes to mind abt that stuff. do you have any recs!? or comments?? anything really, i'm interested in what you have to say

i have recs!!! first of all ty for asking me abt it hdgfs !! i’ll make u a list !! i will try to stay concise but i have bolded n linked the most important stuff since i tend to blabber a lot! there r groups i purposely didnt recommend! also! i advise you to look up who did what if you want to know why idcs abt certain artists that r big in kpop (like big//ba//ng, su//ju, bl//ock//b, ma//ma//moo & so on) tl;dr: kpop basics (spotify) + @tearera (my kpop sb)

i’ll start w some RECS but jsyk kpop as u might have heard of it is mainly composed of groups! which is why i’ll start w groups then soloists! of course u can check out most of them on spotify (u can listen to their playlist of the most famous songs atm!). please notice that the kpop industry is very ‘classic’ when it comes to concepts (cute r for gorls! badass r for boys!) so um. yeah. yikes. if i had to argue abt all the things i find wrong in this industry this post would become a manifesto, u can always pm me if u want to hear me complain lmao

GIRL GROUPS

honestly…. TWICE are the first one that came to my mind when i thought of ggs to rec. they’re a 9 member group labelled under jyp entertainment n have debuted in 2015 with the bop like ooh aah… that u can listen to! their genre is mainly cute songs but dont be fooled!! they have extremely powerful songs & lyrics as well! some good starts with their music are LIKEY (2017, a bop, great melody, great rapping, one of their ult feel good songs, played @ the olympics), TT (2016, queens of halloween!), and also their most recent song WHAT IS LOVE (2018, iconic!! gay!! bop!! sweet!! great album!!). as twice are the kind that can set you off by their cuteness and playful vibes, i recommend you to check out some of their side tracks. personality wise, the girls r very fun and sweet! they’re all angels and i love them all THIS MUCH!! if u want to know, sana & dahyun r my favourite members!

also queens, but from sm entertainment this time, Red Velvet are a 5 member gg who have debuted in 2015 with the song Happiness (at that time they were only 4 but the youngest member, Yeri, joined later on!). some very famous songs of theirs are… basically all their title tracks but i’d mainly recommend Russian Roulette, Dumb Dumb (also my fave rv music video!!), Peek-a-boo (what’s better than lesbians witches slaying men and eating pizza), Bad Boy (honestly… one of their best songs… title track of their repackaged album…good shit if u will). of course! there are some side tracks i will recommend! i will frankly say that i listen to a lot of their music and they’re my favourite musically! some faves in no particular order are automatic, cool hot sweet love, huff n puff, something kinda crazy, about love, kingdom come, little little and talk to me! they have very versatile genres and have two main themes of music, the red and the velvet, though these mix often! rlly! their music really good. they have amazing choreographies too!!!!

the third gg i will rec are one that have not debuted yet, it’s LOONA! get ready bc they are a 12 member group with one girl for every month. each girl was revealed every month staring from 2016 with a single album composed of one song and one side track that usually features another member! as this group has yet to debut, i cannot show you anything with all twelve members but! they work with units, there are three: loona 1/3, odd eye circle, and yyxy (tune in for their debut scheduled for may!) that each have an album. 1/3 r more of a cute girly concept, while odd eye circle have played strongly on the girl crush & rnb concept. we have yet to see what yyxy has for us n im frankly v excited!!! my fave singles are Around You (hyunjin), Let Me In (haseul), Singing in the rain (jinsoul, best girl), Eclipse (kim lip), and Heart Attack (by chuu!! also best girl). they have already released a lot of music so go ahead & listen to it! their music videos have a plot and it’s one of those theories fandom (loonaverse)! the positions that all the members will have wasn’t been revealed yet!

then here’s a list of ggs that’s not as detailed bc it would be too long: clc (they r…the girls….), exid (vocals, social criticism, sexy), blackpink (5 songs out but theyre all top notch), f(x) (v good music! bring them back from the war), gfriend (cute & refreshing concepts! v tight choreographies! sweet girls!), aoa, & many more! groups i dont rec bc i dont stan but that u should know of: snsd, 2ne1; that have disbanded but shouldnt have: sistar

BOY GROUPS

ok i stan two boy groups so that’ll be quick! i’ll also rec plenty of music!

the main group i stan is BTS aka the bangtan boys and yes… they’re everywhere… they deserve it tbh… so theyre a 7 member boy group and they’re the first kpop group i ever stanned! they have released a lot of songs already but i’ll just mark something! bts are known for their cinematography and plot in their music videos as well as their politically/socially engaged songs. they debuted in 2013 with the youth-conscious song no more dream and um. forget the mv. the message is what’s important. secondly! my favourite eps & albums are DARK&WILD (forget abt war of hormone), The Most Beautiful Moment in Life pt2, WINGS, and Love Yourself 轉 Tear (which will be released on May 18th so stay tuned!). here’s a beginner’s list to bts & their music videos: spring day, blood sweat & tears, run, fire, i need u, and intros: singularity, serendipity. i cannot recommend bts songs bc i’d be unable to pick some, but here is my bangtan favourites playlist and spotify’s This Is BTS! n their most known song atm, still on charts, DNA. another thing!! they dabble in a lot of genres! there is a constant symbolism in most of their songs and music videos, which is why there are theories! also, here are my fave choreos (x x x) & non-official releases (x x x)! also! j-hope recently released a mixtape! check it out! it’s v good! the bad thing is that the fandom is massive n it is filled with young fans so a lot of fan-created content is cringey. apart from that! theyre lovely as a band n i’m not ashamed to say that they bring me most of my joy these days!

then there is… NCT. ok, let’s dive into them. nct is the acronym for Neo Culture Technology, they’re currently an 18 member boy group but hey! don’t be scared! they too work in units and have only released one song which features all 18 of them! it is likely that the band will expand later on & that the name NCT will become a brand (like akb48 u know). so far! there are three units! NCT DREAM (based on age, with the youngest members who r still minors), NCT U (the first unit to have debuted, aka nct united, a rotative unit with no fixed genre or members list) and NCT 127 (seoul based unit, fixed, with 9 members). they’re known for their experimentative and diversified sound, which goes from ballads to… this. while each unit have their distinct genre and vibe, they’re all under the same label of nct! and um, check out spotify’s nct playlist if u want! here r some songs that are basics! bolded r the faves! jsyk i hated their music & their clothes @ first bc it’s so unique so dw if u dislike them!

127: cherry bomb, limitless (gross hair but spectacular song), touch, back to u, 0 mile, sun & moon, angel

dream: my first and last, we young, go, dunk shot, trigger the fever, la la love

u: the 7th sense, boss, baby don’t stop, without you, yestoday

solo tracks/sm station: dream in a dream & new heroes (ten), around (taeyong)

the last group i’ll present in length n that u should know about is SEVENTEEN. they’re a 13 member boy group & work in units as well but mainly promote w all the members! they’re the fun, sweet, talented, heartfelt refreshing boys we all love tbh! so! seventeen debuted in 2015 with the bop adore u and since then it’s been great song over great song… they also have great choreos! they’re the easiest group to listen to imo bc their songs are mostly light and very similar to what you can hear on teen top radios! then, they get stuck in your head very easily! here are some songs u can listen to that will make your day! mansae, very nice, pretty u, clap, don’t wanna cry, change up, n there are many more! some of my faves are when i grow up, trauma, still lonely, rocket, crazy in love, lean on me, and uhgh rlly all of their songs tbh! three units better known as teams: hip-hop, performance and vocal, with a leader in each. they put up great performances!!

then there is shinee, mostly nicknamed the kings of kpop, i’d make a very long desc but! i suggest you to see for yourself as the fandom is v helpful!

here are some boy groups that i rec but wont go in length with: pentagon (i stan!), monsta x (edm, powerful dances), shinee, exo (great vocals, great choreos, v good music), astro (bubblegum but v heartwarming! vocals), day6 (rock band, great songs), wanna one & many more! rlly um bgs arent the thing that’s lacking in kpop!

a bit in the middle: KARD (mixed group!!! great music & genderless, breaking the usual hardcore is for boys & cutesy is for girls concept)

SOLOISTS

more of a solo person? check out artists like hyuna (ex member of both wonder girls & 4minute), iu, heize (a personal fave!), sunmi (ex member of wonder girls), taemin (member of shinee), amber liu (current member of fx! also released a mixtape recently!) hyolyn or dean… tbh there r many! these r just the ones i can think off the top of my head! theyre honestly easy to listen to so just look up their names on yt & u should find some good things!

if u read all of this!! uhh kudos to u!! it was v long n i didnt expect it to be that long!!

#i rlly...didnt want it to be long jsdghs i should just have made u a google doc n u could have checked it out #i hope im not too late n that u didnt forget abt this n exposed my kpoppie ass #i'll update the spotify playlist asap !!!#ily n i hope u had a great day!! there are some amazing songs out there even if some r cheesy or repetitive! i hope u find ur way through!#if u ever decide to start looking into a group in particular of course!!!#feel free to ask me more if u want more info !!!!!!!!!!!#k-pop #kpop #💌#p.

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officialkmi · 7 years ago

Video

youtube

“Grow Up” by Stray Kids

I did not expect this video, lemme tell ya, lemme tell ya. This is, by far, my favorite Stray Kids song so far. Mainly because of the message that comes with it. Lucky for us fans who love to cry, JYP provided English subtitles on the video when it was uploaded so we can cry at the video and at the song, which serves to encourage us and reassure us in times when we’re feeling down.

This video is on their “I am NOT” album, meaning it’s the same album as “District 9.”

Overall Sound

This song’s sound itself definitely fits the meaning of the lyrics. I’m a firm believer that a song with lyrics like this should have a sound to match. There are exceptions, of course, but I don’t think Stray Kids would be able to fit into that exception list.

To me, the sound of this song perfectly fits the feel of the lyrics. I'll go more into why when I go into when I’d listen to this song.

I’m really happy they did this MV without any fancy effects or things like that. It’d really take away from the song, I feel. I also like how they used white rather than black for the wide screen look. They also add smaller touches like the group’s name and the song’s name on the sides of the video.

There are a few interesting touches to the video as well. It can be theorized that the video is related to the District 9 one. Those who read my District 9 review may recall that I said that video tells a story while leaving it open enough for more music videos to connect to it. This video features some things that definitely seem to connect, such as the very obvious sign that says “District 9″ in the video. There’s even a bus, though this bus is yellow and has a nose that sticks out rather than the flat nose and white-gray color of the other bus. That can easily be explained as them switching buses because the other ran out of gas or they simply didn’t want the bus from the place they fled to for whatever reason (in case they were tracked, followed, etc.). Switching buses could be explained. Besides that, it could also explain story-wise why the nine boys are the only people you see any sign of. You could always argue against that, but let’s not get into that for today.

Lyric Meaning

The lyrics are honestly what make this my favorite Stray Kids song to date. Songs like this are very important to me. They’re encouraging the listener, telling the listener, “You’ve done well.” For many people, they listen to music as an escape. I’m no exception. To know that the words, although I can’t understand them exactly, are words of support is reassuring to me. Sometimes I make a playlist of just songs with words and meanings like these because I need the reassurance. To get it from my idols is even more welcoming.

I’d listen to this song if...

This song is one I bought on iTunes despite expecting the album because of the words. It’s perfect for days when I’m feeling a bit depressed (or a lot depressed) and need a bit of reassuring. It’s a song that I can listen to before work to wipe out all the vicious words of my sister. If a customer yells at me and gets me down, I can remember the words and try to calm myself. If I am having a hard time with a supervisor, I can listen to it on my break or after I get off so that I can go out with a straight face and feel reassured that I’m doing just fine.

I feel as though, back when I had two managers at my old job verbally tear me down during my shift for personal info that they learned about, if this song had been out, it would have been the song I turned to on my ride home. I probably would have looped it with GOT7′s “Just Right,” which was the song I did turn to that night.

You might like this song if you like...

Obviously, GOT7′s “Just Right” because I mentioned it in the “I’d listen to this song if...” section. While “Just Right” has a more upbeat sound, the music video is extremely bright and flashy, and it seems to be nothing like “Grow Up,” both songs have a message of encouragement. While “Grow Up” tells you that you’re doing fine, “Just Right” tells you that you’re okay as you are. That night I mentioned, I listened to this song on repeat and sang along best I could while crying the hardest I’d ever cried. This song is why I want to meet GOT7 so I can one day tell them the impact they’ve had on me. Similarly, I think I’d like to meet Stray Kids and tell them how important “Grow Up” has become to me in such a short time.

Although the song has no full-member studio-version and there is no music video, I will always say “5tar” by A.C.E because it is very similar in its words of support. The sound is much slower and, just hearing the incomplete version made me cry without reading the lyrics. When I read the lyrics, it really struck me again. Fans of A.C.E may be aware that Chan isn’t able to release a complete version until he’s done with his work in the UNIT because he made it to the final nine. He surprised fans who went to the Fan-Con in Seoul, however, and appeared during the performance. You can see this right here, and there is a video focused on him once he appeared which features his added ending. It became even more emotional because his voice cracks near the end as he starts to cry. Both “5tar” and “Grow Up” are songs that I feel like people who struggle with depression may be comforted to listen to.

"Smile Flower” by SEVENTEEN is another song I listen to when I’m sad and need to be lifted up. For fans who followed SEVENTEEN from the start, watching the video is even more emotional. It’s easier if you watch it with subtitles on the speaking part, though, which is why I’ll go ahead and link a video that provides those. Both of these songs are a comforting feeling. While “Grow Up” is telling you that you’ve done well, Vernon says in the “Smile Flower” MV that the song is saying, “Even if we got separated, not being together and being sad cause of it, we should think always think of each other and smile brightly together. Spring will come, with that smile.” So both songs serve as a comfort to someone, just like “5tar” by A.C.E does as well.

Finally, I’m gonna grab a song by some of the Stray Kids members - “For You” by 3RACHA ft. Felix. For those that don’t know, 3RACHA is Changbin (as SPEARB), Bang Chan (as CB97), and Han (J.ONE). The song doesn’t have the same sound as any of the songs on the list, but it has a similar message as “Grow Up.” The second line CB97 even has is, “If it’s you, you can do it.” It’s a song which encourages the listener and the music really fits it somehow. The guitar makes me feel like I’m in a drama during a montage as I try to do my best at my latest video or if I’m trying to lift my mood after being beat down again verbally at work or at home. It’s perfect for a car ride, too, when feeling these emotions because it just fits the feeling, y’know?

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jungnoir · 7 years ago

Text

college boyfriend!joshua

a/n: special thanks to @choco-seventeen for giving me the idea of barista!josh which ended up being the best idea ever,,, get rdy to die yall

here it is, our long awaited gentleman of seventeen!! requested by this darling~

i’ve never written anything for josh (which is appalling) and seeing as he’s now,,, like a bias,, i mean i kinda have to don’t i

i’m going to pretend that a straight week of searching for joshua scenarios did not help encourage this

so, lovely josh has always had a love for animation

ever since he was a baby, he’s always found a joy in watching cartoons, so his parents always put on some colorful children’s movie for him whenever he got fussy, or when he’d wake in the middle of the night from a terrifying dream and he’d need some calming down

this kind of comfort of seeing characters of all colors, shapes and sizes gave joshua an abundant imagination as a child. he always found he liked the fantastical feeling of animation that live action didn’t really provide him

anything could happen in animation, and anyone could be anything and look anyway that they liked, which was part of the appeal for him

as he got older, he was exposed to anime (lol) and he found that he enjoyed the more mature animation just as much as the kind marketed for children

and he didn’t discriminate either! he could watch anything from tokyo ghoul and death note to your lie in april and haikyuu!!

but his favorite kind of animation lied in the love of studio ghibli films

something about the wonder of each film enthralled joshua so much as a teen, bringing him the nostalgia of his childhood that he loved so much

to all of his friends in high school, they had always expected joshua to get a stable, lackluster office job and stay in california with his family, which, originally, was the plan

but the films had inspired him to take a leap, so after applying to a few universities in seoul and getting accepted to the good majority, josh finished up two years of college in california before packing up everything he had and all the money he’d saved from odd jobs through his high school/college career and booked a flight straight to seoul, south korea

he obviously wasn’t flying completely blind, as he did have a friend living there already by the name of vernon

long story short on how the two met, bonding over xbox live can lead to long-lasting friendships ok

after a few years of friendship, countless nights of Skype calls and planning to meet one day, joshua had taken the first step and vernon’s family were more than happy to let joshua stay with them until he could get onto his own two feet (not that there’s any rush!! vernon totally doesn’t mind having an older brother around)

joshua was no stranger to korea either, having been taught korean since a young age by his parents, so he was pretty much set to start his new life in korea, even if his parents were pretty sad to see him go so far and so soon

they knew joshua had been a good kid his whole life, and he was making sure every connection and plan he had for his new life was laid out just right so he wouldn’t make things hard on himself and his family, and that was all they could really ask of him

for the summer before school started in korea, vernon takes to making sure joshua is settled in and at least semi-good at making his way around seoul without a problem

there was that one time,,, where he did get lost for like five hours and showed up back at the chwe house with an assortment of baked goods and sweets and exclaiming that “this stuff is so much better than the stuff in california!!”

vernon: you realize that we all thought you were dead right

josh: *blink blink* hm? :)))

but i mean before vernon knows it, joshua is freakishly adapted to life there and he’s suddenly like a local, making friends with literally everyone he meets because everyone is so fascinated by the american boy!! yet it’s funny cause the way josh saw it, vernon was v similar to him in a lot of ways, so he was a lil overwhelmed to find all of vernon’s friends were like !!! a foreigner !!! tell us everything

and sure, vernon hadn’t been to america since he was about five except to visit family, but they were all sooooo excited to hear about things from joshua’s perspective compared to the younger boy’s

so josh obliged, always talking about his experiences overseas and the other kids would be like :o or :D because!!! to josh that was all just boring everyday stuff to him but to them this was all so cool and interesting, and the way they felt about america was the same way josh felt about korea tbh

after a year in college in seoul, joshua was well settled down at the school

since he’s like,,, one of the best english speakers in school (save for a handful of other students who were bilingual their whole lives, foreigners, or just really good at the subject asjdijisa) he’s always willing to help his friends out with english class projects and he coaches them by speaking to them in english at random intervals

like they’ll be having a completely korean conversation and then all of a sudden josh is like “explain the plot to howl’s moving castle in english” and they’re like o shit here we go

but it’s really helpful??? they all get amazing grades bc of his pop quizes

all hail english professor hong jisoo

but, ok, everyone is so confused because that’s….. not what he goes to college for

like he’s verbalized that he loves learning and that being an english teacher in korea would be great for him bc he loves to show people the joy of learning! but animation was his first love

he’s v passionate about it, and he’s made several short films where the characters were stylized after his friends and their experiences (with their permission of course)

he actually did one on jun’s story of coming to korea for the first time as a chinese transfer student and entered it in a small film contest and won!! and jun was so happy that he cried ok

joshua was on skype with jun to jun’s family back in china and they were all gushing about the film after josh emailed it to them

basically if joshua ever needs to flee to another country, jun’s home is open jun’s mom said joshua has privilege of jun’s room before jun does

despite being really good at animating though, joshua is actually kinda shy about showing his work. he’s even shy showing it to his friends with the exception of vernon and jeonghan, the latter of which passive-aggressively convinced joshua to do it and is now joshua’s biggest hype man

“jisooooo. jun got a movie and I didn’t??” “…what would a movie about you even be about? you don’t do anything but sleep” “it could have been about how much you love me!!”

to placate him joshua showed all the lil drawings of chibi!jeonghan joshua had done over the year and jeonghan wouldn’t stop smiling and hugging josh all day jfc

jk jk tho jeonghan is super supportive and whenever people ask him (or don’t. they usually don’t ask but whom the fuk cares jeonghan says) about joshua, jeonghan just guuuushes about the boy and all of his great art and shows them joshua’s v tentative instagram page of his art. there’s only a few pics of outlines and some small clips of films he puts together, but jeonghan will gas his boy up so bad you’d think joshua already had an oscar

on the side, joshua has a job at the campus coffee shop

and like,, idk if you understand just how much of an accumulator of revenue that boy’s face is??

joshua is pretty humble so whenever his friends tease him and say that most of the customers that come to the coffee shop are there for his face, he downright refuses

but i mean,,, it’s true,, the majority of customers come during joshua’s shifts

and if josh isn’t working, it’s like a funeral home

it gets so bad the school is like “do u wanna like work here forever bc we’re totally down with that”

josh is like “lol no”

but he’s really good at his job and not many ppl notice that!! some jealous dudes think the only reason ppl even buy coffee from the shop is bc josh is serving it and they’re deluding themselves into drinking it, but josh is actually an amazing barista

u kinda get creative with coffee when you’re living off of it to graduate ajsiodha

he’s also king of latte art don’t fight me on this

he was playing around in the back one day on his break when he got an idea to make some art in a latte, bc he was at a creative loss with his art on paper, and he just made this v simple couple of hearts here and there, and then suddenly he was making all kinds of designs that ppl loved

his favorite is a little cat design that is so friggin cute ok. everyone loves it

everyone except you,,, who had no idea this was even a thing

between classes on certain days, you have about two hours of free time to yourself, so you like to escape to your favorite coffee place to study and relax

you usually didn’t like to go during this certain time in the day bc the shop was always bustling with customers and you really rather preferred to be in a smaller crowd. so basically, you’ve never seen joshua

you haven’t even heard of him bc you’ve always been pretty in your head when it comes to your studying time

u basically zone out the minute you can smell the coffee beans

but a friend of yours held you up in your last class, so your two hour break diminished to fifteen minutes, and you still hadn’t had your coffee

you practically bolt toward the coffee shop, but your eyes bug out of your head when you notice that for once, there’s a huge crowd of students there, something that never happens when you’re there

so like, groaning internally, you force yourself into line before anyone else can get in front of you and delay you even further

but like… the line is moving at snail’s pace

you can barely see up front, all you know is that someone is taking their sweet time making coffees

in fact, 70% of your time is swallowed up just waiting for the line to move up

you’re jittery, knowing class starts soon and you already don’t have that much time to book it to your next class at this rate, but you have to have your coffee

finally,,, you reach the front….. and….

“hi there! what can I get you this lovely afternoon?”

in the words of jeonghan again, whom the fuk-

“u-hhuhhhuuu hhh ????”

windows has shut down unexpectedly

this beautiful specimen of a man is smiling down at you without a worry in the world, blinking softly with the longest, prettiest eyelashes you’ve ever seen on a guy

his hair is short and well kept, roots dark and colored with highlights of chestnut throughout

he’s in the uniform but that’s really only black slacks and a half apron; he’s wearing a really nice baby blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and his collarbones are just slightly exposed with only two buttons undone at the collar- !!

“do you need a minute?” he asks, looking concerned at your vacant expression

that seems to snap you out of it (or maybe the frustrated swears from behind you do), and you sheepishly apologize, spitting out the first thing that comes to mind, which is definitely not your usual order, “small latte, please”

his eyes light up when you answer, “would you like the art too?”

you furrow your brows and he stares at you for a good moment before he realizes,, wow u really don’t know about his latte art? that’s literally all ppl come here during his shift for

but he does notice he’s never actually seen you during his shifts before

hmm. interesting

“i… i do latte art. it’s kind of… sort of a thing? i don’t know, um, would you like me to make you something in particular?” he says, suddenly a little flustered

you know. you know deep in your heart that you have zero time to spare and that you really shouldn’t be late for this class… but also,,, why the heck not

“surprise me!” you say softly, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding

joshua perks up and he nods (probably harder than he should have) and quickly puts in your order for your latte

you quickly scoot to the side and another boy takes over in his place as he turns to make your coffee, and you can’t help but watch his calm, gentle hands as he prepares it

there’s no rush in him, no sloppiness detected, and you can tell he takes pride in his craft

he pours the steamed milk with no difficulty, pouring it with such smooth precision that it hypnotizes you, even as he’s half turned from you and you can barely see what he makes

it’s only when he’s done and handing over your coffee with a smile that you realize,, you’re holding a mug

you forgot to ask for a to-go cup!

but like,,, if you put it in a to-go cup now, it’ll ruin his art

yet, you’re so late for class already……..

he looks at you with even more concern when he just catches you staring at the small tulip etched into the surface of the coffee, and he’s about to ask if you’re alright when you suddenly smile at him and say “you’re beautiful”

in ur mind, you’ve just told him the art he made in your coffee was beautiful

it takes u like,, eight seconds to register that is not what you said AT ALL

but by the time you realize your mistake and wordlessly try to motion to the cup he’s already laughing gently behind his hand, eyes locked on yours, and when he’s done he says “i’m sorry, i’m not making fun of you… you’re just… very sweet. i hope you enjoy the coffee”

part of u still wants to correct yourself, maybe save some of your pride, but instead, you simply sigh and accept his compliment that low (high) key makes your heart beat a little faster, and you quickly whisper a “thanks again!!” before skedaddling

and josh just watches with a soft smile, and can’t seem to get the strange new customer out of his head even after his shift

he doesn’t even mention that you’ve stolen the mug when his co-worker asks about it in bewildered confusion

“just say I broke it” he tells him, and goes back to work like nothing happened

the next day, you come in much earlier and find that the shop is void of a crowd, much to your relief and quieter dismay

holding in your hands the mug that you had washed and stared at in disbelieving horror the whole night in your dorm, you walk up to the counter and hold out the mug to the cashier, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion when you start to ashamedly explain exactly how you had snuck out one of the mugs

but before you can even get anything out, josh suddenly appears from the back, tying his apron just as he spots you and he goes “oh!! hey, mug stealer”

your face flashes in mortification

“i swear it was an accident-” “don’t worry, no hard feelings. I already covered for you so I mean, it’s practically yours anyway. you didn’t have to bring it back”

but you still hold it out, sighing “it made me feel bad, ok? i can’t look at this shame cup anymore”

joshua snorts bc

shame cup

ur too fucking cute for him

“ok, well, let’s make it not so shameful” he says, carefully taking the mug from you and going over to the coffee machine “latte, right? same as usual?” he throw over his shoulder

the girl at the cashier actually knows you, has served you for the last few years, so she shakes her head and tells him that’s not your usual, which makes him a little surprised and he apologizes, saying that he’s since switched around shifts with someone else so he’s still adjusting, so he’s about to ask you what you usually get when you blurt “latte’s fine!”

and ok, yeh, you’re not getting a latte for him of course

obviously

he just smiles that beautiful smile and gets to work, and the cashier gives you a small, very indiscreet wink much to your chagrin

you shuffle to the side and watch joshua work again, smiling as he gets ready to pour the milk, when he asks what kind of art you’d like

“can I have… wait, what are you good at?” “hm, well, my favorite is a kitty” “kitty it is!”

he quietly makes your kitty, lip tucked between his teeth and you can tell he’s working hard

he sets the cup before you (this time in a foam cup, just in case you have to run and didn’t remember to tell him again), and watches with pride as you beam at the art, your eyes shining

before you even think about it, you’re whipping out your phone and snapping a photo of it for instagram, before you realize you don’t simply want to credit “random handsome campus barista” for something as beautiful as that

“what’s your name?” you ask, and joshua tells you, and you quickly type down his name in the caption before tapping the photo to add a tag “do you have a instagram?”

and though he rarely ever uses it unless jeonghan prompts him to, joshua spells out his username for you and you tag him successfully, posting the photo just as joshua��s back pocket vibrates with a notification

“thank you so much, joshua. you’re really good at this you know”

and josh hears it from everyone a lot. all of his customers and co-workers compliment him often so it’s not like he’s unaware of his talent

but there’s just something about the fact that you complimented him that makes him blush, but he just bows a little at you and thanks you softly as you depart to find a table to start studying

of which,,, u do not do lol

even tho it’s barely 10 posts, you spend quite a while looking through joshua’s instagram

they’re mainly shots of his art, of which you soon find out that his major is animation and film development

the captions are v minimalist, but in the comments to his friends and others who’d found his insta, he’s cutely gushing with lots of exclamation marks and the like about how his work is coming along, having casual convos about the others and how their lives are going, and responding to compliments with v heartfelt thanks

because he doesn’t post much, you check the posts he’s tagged in and see a bunch of candid, secret pics of him from all kinds of funny angles, most from students and some parody ones from his friends

by the time you decide to check how much time you have left until your next class, you find you’ve got about a half hour to cram whatever you were going to study within two hours into half of one and get to your lecture on time

so as fast as your legs will allow, you quickly hit follow on his instagram and stuff everything you have back into your bag before sprinting out, missing joshua’s small goodbye and wave in your haste

he smiles anyway, and later when he gets off his shift, he checks his notifications and finds he has a new follower… you

he totally misses everything his professor says looking through your instagram for a good hour and a half

so it goes on like this for a while, you getting your coffee from josh now that half his adoring fans are usually in class when you go to see him, and the two of you casually chatting about this and that

he talks about his major, you talk about yours, and a pure friendship forms

with josh, you really feel like you can talk to him about anything and he understands

he speaks slow, soft, uses pretty words but they’re never overrated. he talks to you with the utmost respect and attention, 100% focused on you whenever you’re around. you’re honestly surprised no one has snatched him yet, what with how much of a catch he is

and like,, you know that anyone would kill to date him because not only is he talented and beautiful and a certified dorkozoid, he’s considerate, kind, feminine…. he almost feels untouched by this world and everything in it

maybe that’s why, you usually think. he’s a catch. anyone would be lucky to have him and you’re having regular chats over coffee and you can tell ppl are jealous

but he just feels too good for you. for anyone

you can’t think of one person on campus that would be good for him. not necessarily that there isn’t anyone… it’s just… who?

as months pass and winter gets colder, you find yourself feeling the effects of being single ten times more

so your friends are like!! are you still head over heels for that barista?? let’s set you up on a blind date to get your mind off it!!!

you’re only like 60% against it

because honestly, even though you’d do anything to work up the courage to date joshua, you wouldn’t mind getting a little dolled up for someone and having fun on a date

so your friends set you up with some guy who’d meet you at this italian place in the city on friday, and you anticipate the day, even telling josh about it when he has time to listen

“ahh… heh, a blind date? you must be super excited”

instantly you can tell something is off with the way josh talks, but he still keeps that pleasant smile, even tho it doesn’t quite reach his eyes

for the next few days leading up until friday, josh feels a little more reserved to you, not as open as usual and somehow always a little out of it when he talks to you

even when you ask, he just smiles (and it is nothing like his real smile) and tells you he’s fine

so come friday, you’re all dressed up and you happen to walk past the campus coffee shop and see joshua going in for a late shift, so you wave to him on your way and

fuck

he can’t even manage to say anything, completely speechless as he sees how absolutely stunning you look

and how he wishes you’d turn into the shop, grab his hand and tell him you were excited for your date

but instead, you’re meeting someone else, and all he can hope is that they care about you half as much as he does. even half was a feat

he suddenly catches up to you before going in, grabbing your hand, and you blink up at him in confusion when he says “be careful. text me when you get there please? so i know you got there okay. and… and text me, or one of your friends on your way home, please. you don’t know who this guy is or what he might do. just… have fun. be careful.”

you look at josh, his eyes showing such worry and concern for your well being that you pull him into a quick hug, smiling into his chest as he lets out a sigh, “of course. i’ll be good. plus, i have a pocket knife and a full can of pepper spray just in case he tries to get one over on me”

he chuckles, feeling a lot more relaxed as he hugs you back, “let’s trust you come back with that can still full and that knife still clean, alright?”

eventually, he has to send you off, and you head to your date

you arrive by 6:55, having been told that he’d be there by 7, and so you anxiously look around, knowing you were supposed to be on the lookout for a guy in a navy blazer

but… all the guys in navy blazers are there with someone already

by the time it’s 7:30, the waiter has come by twice, asking if the other member of your party is coming

and by 8, you’re sure he’s not

so you begrudgingly order dinner, eat it in angered silence, and don’t even bother to text your friends he didn’t show. you get your leftovers boxed and order one slice of strawberry cheesecake and leave, your eyes stinging and your heart hurting, but you get back to the school just fine

and at first, you were going to just head back to your dorm.

but you walk past the coffee shop, and you look through the windows to see it’s still open and josh is still inside, cleaning up and shutting down for the night

before you can think, you’re rushing inside, glad he hadn’t locked the doors, and as soon as josh looks up in surprise to see you, he’s shuffling out from behind the counter and scolding you with “you never told me if you arrived or not. why are you back so early? you look sad, (y/n). what happened? what did that bastard do-” “I have cheesecake. you want some? take it or leave it”

you look hurt, but you keep up the stony expression and he just quietly nods, following you to a booth in the very back

he says nothing as you take out the cheesecake, says nothing as you go into the back and grab two forks and hand him one, says nothing as you take the first piece and sigh, over-exaggeratedly praising the dessert

he says nothing because he knows better. instead, he just listens as you begin to babble about the day, about how excited you were for today all week, how your friends had gassed up your blind date so much and how you had spent two hours eating by yourself, too embarrassed to cry or even tell your friends

he watches as you quietly struggle to pick up a strawberry, the sauce drenched fruit slipping off your fork as your hand trembles with words unsaid

so, he slides out of the booth and into yours, slips an arm around your shoulders, and makes you put it down

“it’s okay. i’m here” he says softly into your ear, and you let it all out into his shoulder

all of your tears and makeup stain his shirt but he couldn’t care less, his only priority in holding you close and comforting you

he wants to beat up your blind date, make them feel terrible for ever passing up an opportunity to spend a night with you because gdi, you were amazing and lovely and he wished he was in that bastard’s shoes

you guys stay like that for a while, you simply relishing in his comfort and joshua wishing he could help you feel better, yet not knowing how

but then he gets an idea

“do you want me to show you how to make latte art? you mentioned you were interested once”

at first, you’re kind of like??? now of all times?? but you also can’t help wanting to get your mind off things, so he helps you slip out of the booth and leads you to the back in the kitchen

there you see his sketchbook and laptop up, seeing he had been working on something before he’d gone to clean up

he goes to get some coffee together while you look over his work, smiling when you see he’s intricately drawing a character at a booth in what looked like a coffee shop, but as you look at it longer, something starts to click

“josh?” you ask, and he hums, filling up a cup with some coffee “Is… is this me?”

he glances back at you and his eyes widen some when he sees what you’re looking at, but he turns back around to play it off before you can say anything “ah, yeah. i needed to warm up so… i thought of you and drew”

“this looks way too detailed for a warm up” you say with a smile, tracing your fingers over the drawing, half of it colored in, the other half still white parchment paper and blending in to the colors where they end

josh snorts, making his way over to you and closing the notebook, “look at you. you know me too well, it seems”

you simply nudge him and he places the coffee cup before you before handing you a metal cup of steamed milk, “so, we’re going to start out with making a simple heart. it’s really important how you guide your hand. i don’t expect it to be perfect, so just try, freely”

he hands you the cup and you nod, turning the spout toward the cup and trying to carefully pour in the shape of a heart, but it becomes a deformed swirl too soon

josh still smiles, telling you to attempt to fix your mistake, but you continue to find it hard, somehow making the swirl more prominent

“josh, please help me” you whine with a small smile, and he nods with a laugh, reaching his arms around you

and,,, you’re caged against the counter, his hand coming to rest above your own where you hold the milk, and his head leans down to whisper into your ear how you should pour, murmuring “it takes a bit of practice, but once you get it, it’s satisfying”

you can’t even focus on the damn coffee bc he’s so close sasjhnasi

he keeps whispering in your ear, helping you try to fix your mistake, and then he grabs a toothpick and starts to trace the swirl into something of a shape, looking a lot better than before

“see?” he whispers by your ear, smiling even as your heart beats so hard you bet he can hear it against your back “not so bad”

you turn your head slightly, only able to move so much with his arm around you and body behind you, keeping you practically pushed up against the counter

he just looks at you for a moment when he sees the look in your eyes, mouth going a little dry

it must be the moment, or maybe the mix of emotions you’d released earlier, because you can’t find the nervousness from before anywhere near when you knead your fingers into his shirt and pull him in to kiss

his lips taste like coffee and stolen sweets, and he moves his body only to turn you around for better access to your mouth, his large hands closing around your hips and squeezing

he’s careful but he is not shy. he kisses you like he’s been wanting to all night, and if you asked him, he’d tell you he had

you get so caught up in his heady kiss that even when he lifts you onto the counter and pulls himself between your legs, you don’t stop to laugh or marvel at his strength you didn’t know he had. you just thank god that he’s closer

after a few moments, he ends up pulling away, your lips chasing his with a frustrated whine that has him nearly buckling under his weight “my boss will kill me if we make out in the kitchen”

“then let’s take it somewhere else, dummy”

joshua has never locked up the coffee shop faster

after that day, he finally asks you out, and of course, you say yes

your friends apologize to you, feeling absolutely terrible for what happened with the blind date, but you honestly couldn’t care less bc if you hadn’t been stood up, you may have never gotten the chance to kiss joshua

everyone, and i mean everyone can tell there’s something different about josh come monday

he’s so much more peppy, so much more friendly, he’s practically beaming like a ray of sunshine,, like more than usual

and it’s so obvious why when you come in, stealing a kiss from him when he gets your coffee to you before you leave

josh’s co-workers are like??? is this allowed?? wtf is this allowed????

joshua’s boss doesn’t care cause it’s FRICKIN CUTE

a majority of joshua’s suitors back off when they find out he’s taken, but of course they continue to come bc josh is amazing at making coffee and no one is petty enough to stop coming just bc he’s taken lol

if joshua was an amazing friend, he’s an even better boyfriend ok

turns out that one drawing of you in the coffee shop was not the only one

he draws you often, and his favorite you to draw is a cute lil chibi version which he swears is so cute bc like,,, u small

boy literally giggles whenever he thinks about it

you: it’s really not that funny josh-

joshua: YOU’RE SO SMALL

actually made a chibi ver of himself and animated your chibi selves to kiss

he sent you the video and you look at it before you go to sleep every night bc it’s so cute

is always hyped for animated films and you can never get him as excited for live action films

he goes absolutely nuts for disney and stuff but he’s also a fine tuned indie animated film connoisseur of course

sometimes he’ll be like “so i watched this film last night called blah blah blah and it was about blah blah blah and…” and you don’t know wth he’s talking bout sometimes but you just listen to him babble bc u love him

scolds u if you haven’t seen a particular movie/anime/cartoon and then proceeds to force you to watch it

but you actually end up liking them?? and some of them become your comfort movies just because they remind you of josh

will send you animated couples and be like “this is us”

even if you two have nothing in common with the characters? it could just be a cute scene and he’ll link it back to you two

jeonghan LOVES you…. and also will fight you for joshua’s attention but he still loves you

he prides himself on being “joshua’s best friend” but then you meet vernon and vernon is like “he was my best friend first” so you go from a love triangle to a love square

if you added in all of joshua’s admirers it’d be like a love…. enneacontakaipentagon

(that is a thing)

since it’s a lot to go back to america to meet josh’s family, you instead meet vernon’s family in place of them, who despite only knowing josh for a year feel like he’s their second son

they gush about how much they love him and his influence on vernon and vernon’s lil sister and it’s just,,, so precious

but you can tell he gets homesick sometimes, and when family holidays come, he gets particularly sad

vernon’s family works hard to make it easier on him so they set up a skype date with his family every holiday and you watch josh as he talks about how his graduation is coming up, how he can’t wait to visit them, how he misses his mom’s home cooking and how nice life is in seoul

he introduces you to them over skype as well and they’re so kind and lovely!! they absolutely spoil you with love and attention and only have lovely things to say about you

then one day, you get a call from vernon’s mother

she tells you that secretly, they’ve been setting up for joshua’s parents to come visit, and they want you to keep it secret, as well as keep joshua out of the house the day they arrive so he doesn’t catch on

which,, proves harder than you expect

even on spring break your lovely boyfriend only wants to stay in and catch up on shows with you so you have to literally drag him out of the house to hang with jeonghan and vernon at the mall

while you’re all out, joshua just happens to see a shirt while you’re all shopping

it’s a tank top with the word “california” written across it

and usually, josh would just ignore little things like that, but as he stands there, he starts thinking of home and his family who he misses like crazy

it’s not like him, but a few tears slip past his eyes before he wipes them away, attempting to hide it before one of you saw

you did, but you don’t say anything, instead hooking an arm with him and leading him elsewhere, practically bursting with the need to tell joshua what was awaiting him at home

you manage to keep it secret though, even as you smile wider than ever on your back to vernon’s house

of course,,, josh is highly concerned

“why are you smiling so much? what are you hiding?” “dang boy, can’t a girl just smile a lil bit” “not like that. your smile is too big. it’s creeping me out”

if you weren’t driving you might’ve socked him in the arm

you carefully pull up to the house and joshua’s eyebrows furrows when he notices vernon’s parents’ car is parked somewhere different than it was when you all left

“v, did your parents go somewhere?” he asks, but vernon simply shrugs and follows a grinning jeonghan out of the car, leaving just you and him alone

he stares at you for a bit, the smile still on your face, and then looks back at the house, the wheels turning behind his eyes

“what are you waiting for? i don’t know about you, but I wanna meet the hongs sometime this week, thank you”

his eyes widen a little bit and you’re laughing as he tumbles out of the car, rushing toward the front door as you trail behind, hearing a chorus of elated screams before you enter the house

when you do, you see josh all wrapped up in between his parents, all three of them crying into each other as jeonghan, vernon, and vernon’s family watch with smiles just like yours

for the rest of the day, you spend it with josh and his family, catching up on all that they’ve missed along with getting to know the hongs personally

they’re just as sweet in person as they are over skype, and they absolutely love poking fun at josh to you whenever they get the chance

the sound of josh’s embarrassed “mooooooom” in the background as she tells you about josh’s anime phase and how she’d seen an episode of one of those shows and had to have a talk with him afterward

you: what were you watching, josh?

josh:… i have since refined my taste

by the time the night ends, you’ve got enough embarrassment fodder to last you months

“please don’t take anything my parents said seriously okay. they live to make my life terrible” he tells you over the phone that night, after vernon’s family told you it was getting far too late and you should be heading home

highest of keys, josh was hoping you’d stay so late that they’d let you sleep over but knowing he had two (2) sets of parents in the house now, they’d probably make vernon sleep between you two and that’s the closest you’d get throughout the night

“i don’t know about that. those baby stories were comedy gold” you grin into the phone, laying on your back and smiling up at the ceiling

he scoffs, “just wait till i meet your parents. they’ll tell me all the crazy stories and i’ll have so much blackmail i won’t even know what to do with” “isn’t it funny how i met your parents, who live in california, before you met mine who live here?”

he smiles into the phone, “’s okay. makes us a unique couple. i was starting to think we were far too daydreamy. almost feels like a movie.”

“i’m surprised you haven’t turned it into one, actually” you say, playing with your shirt hem as sleepiness starts to creep up on you and you let out a yawn

“i promise one day i’ll make a movie about us. now go to sleep, i’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

you yawn again but oblige, and you say your goodbyes before hanging up and laying down to fall asleep, a content smile on your face

but then your phone vibrates under your pillow not twenty minutes later

confused, you pull it out, and find a video message from joshua

carefully, you open it, unsure of what you’ll expect, but find a seemingly quickly drawn stop motion video of chibi!you and chibi!josh kissing each other’s cheeks

you smile tiredly, shaking your head at the boy, but as the video comes to an end, a speech bubble appears above chibi!josh’s head, his eyes turning into hearts as he speaks to chibi!you “i’ve been debating on when to say this for a while, but i’m proud to be the first of us to say it: i love you”

the video ends, and you giddily dial josh’s number once more, the boy picking up just as quickly as you had called

“yes?” he says softly, voice tinged with slight worry

but you just chuckle, “jerk. i wanted to say it first. now let me go to sleep… i love you too”

#svtnetwork #majwrites #joshua hong scenarios #joshua hong imagine #joshua hong au #hong jisoo scenarios #hong jisoo imagine #hong jisoo au #joshua hong #hong jisoo #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen au #college boyfriend joshua #college boyfriend jisoo #college boyfriend seventeen #i know i said i was taking a break but!!! i was inspired and this was already like 2/5 done

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lubdubsworld · 7 years ago

Text

The unfaithful Wife

Chapter 4

Jiminstayed perfectly still while the car pulled up in front of the daycare and I bit my lips, trying to think of a way to make this work without upsetting Jin Soo. Jimin looked stubborn and angry and somehow, I was being pushed into becoming the guilty party. I didn't know why it hurt so much. But for now, I had to think about Jin Soo.

"It would help if I had just a minute with him.." I tried again and Jimin gave me an impatient look.

"I'm not going to barge in and demand attention and love from him. I know kids need time. I'm not a complete idiot, so don't talk to me like that." He snapped.

I sighed and nodded. He got out of the car and came around to hold the door open for me . When we went in, Jin Soo was the only kid there and Jimin's eyes softened naturally.

"Hey buddy..." He said softly.

"Hi uncle." Jin Soo said brightly, remembering him from yesterday.

Jimin stiffened again. But then he smiled.

"Jin Soo... Do you like toys? Trucks? Guns?" He smiled. Jin Soo's eyes went wide.

"Yes." He breathed, stunned to hear his favorite things in one sentence.

Jimin turned and gave his chauffeur a quick nod who promptly went out.

"Would you like to have a ... Daddy?" He smiled, before sinking down to his knees till he was almost eye level with Jin Soo.

I fidgeted, nervous.

"My Daddy lives in a castle and someday he'll come to meet me." Jin Soo said promptly with a proud smile.

Jimin's breath hitched. He turned to look at me and I looked away. Suddenly his fingers reached out and gently touched mine. I pulled away, scalded. And then realized that he was probably playacting for Jin Soo's benefit.

"I expected that you would have told him he didn't have a father or something.." He whispered, face oddly blank. I stared at him, suddenly feeling very lonely. And hurt.

"Of course not. I wouldn't have kept him hidden forever. I would have told you... someday." I said, realizing as I said it , that it was true.

"Well, I'm from a castle. And i want to be your daddy.... Can I?" He said, turning to Jin Soo like he hadn't heard my response. Jin Soo looked alarmed, looking at me for reassurance. I'd never felt so torn in my entire life.

"It's... alright... He'll be a nice daddy.." I choked out.

There it was done.

Now no one could undo it.

I felt like i was sinking into a quagmire of regrets already.

Suddenly the chauffeur reappeared, carrying what looked an entire shopping mall worth of wrapped gifts. Jin Soo's eyes went even wider if that was possible.

"I know Daddy hasn't been there for a long time, so i thought I'd make up for it. " He said, reaching out and ruffling Jin Soo's hair before gathering him into his arms. My breath caught in my throat. Resentment rose like a living thing, choking off my airway.

"You can't buy his affection..." I hissed before I could stop myself.

"You have a five year headstart... I deserve this much..." He snapped back.

And it was working, i thought in disbelief watching the way jin Soo's face lit up with excitement as he saw all the packages.

"We can't do this here though. Would you like to come to Daddy's castle?" Jimin said with a bright smile. I felt my breath catch at the sight of it. He still had the most beautiful smile on the planet , I thought miserably. I was doomed. I then kicked myself mentally. Granted it had been five years, but had I forgotten everything he had put me through?? He had wrecked my life.

Feeling a bit more stable, I watched Jimin as he carried Jin Soo out of the daycare while I followed limply, already feeling like the third wheel. Jin Soo was mine, I thought despondently. I'd raised him all by myself. Carried him myself, through a nightmare pregnancy that had nearly killed me. I didn't want to share his love with anyone. Least of all the man who had thrown me away without a second thought. I stared at jimin and tried to understand what was going through his head and failed. It was obvious he wanted to be with his son, seemed to actually care for him but ... he could have another one. With a woman he loved.

I climbed into the car behind him, watched him as he spoke easily with his son, now together, they looked breathtakingly alike and similar. The same lovely wide smile, enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat and half-moon eyes that sparkled. Jin Soo looked like he belonged with Jimin. Like he'd always belonged with him and i could feel panic build up inside me. I felt like the intruder all of a sudden. Like i was the pnly thing wrong with the picture perfect happiness .

When the car pulled up to the huge Park Mansion, smack-dab in the middle of Seoul. I felt something very much like nausea creep up my thorat. i had the best and the worst memories of my life here and i'd never once thought I'd be coming back.

Suddenly, Jimin reached out and took my hand in his.

"I've got a different home now. We won't be living here." He said, as though he could read my mind.

I nodded numbly.

Living.

We were going to be living together.

It made no sense.

He hated me. I was supposed to hate him and well, really the entire thing was supposed to be over before it ever began.

"I don't think..." He gave me a look of warning, nodding at Jin Soo and I swallowed my own words. I couldn't talk in front of my perceptive son.

The car drove past the huge Manor and then further into the estate, past rolling meadow, artificial woods and lakes with fauna and flora to rival the world's best . After nearly twenty minutes , we pulled up in front of a modest two-story house, set at the end of the lane.

"You'll have drivers on call at all times. There will be staff to take care of jin Soo and you can drive to your bakery from here." He said briskly, carrying Jin Soo out and directing the chauffeur to bring all the packages in. I hesitated, still feeling like I'd stepped into some sort of an alternate reality. I watched him move and then slowly followed, legs feeling like lead in my shoes.

When I stepped in, the last person I expected to see was Jimin's sister, Jin Hee. I stopped short, heat flooding my face as she stared at me, a mixture of awkward sympathy and concern on her face.

"Min Hee... It's nice to see you.." She said hesitantly and I felt like death. The last time I'd seen her, I'd been branded a prostitute by her mother and kicked out of the house. Bile rose in my throat and humiliation threatened to choke me. Resentment for my husband came in waves. Why on earth was he doing this to me??..

"Please.. don't look so stricken. What's in the past is in the past.... I'd love for us to move on. We were friends back then, weren't we?" She said desperately and I tried not to pull away as she wrapped me in a hug, her arms easily going around me.

"You've become so thin.. Min Hee.." She said disapprovingly and I couldn't trust myself to speak. Suddenly the sound of pattering feet made me lookup and I found myself staring at adorable twin boys, maybe a bit smaller than Jin Soo. Jin Soo too was looking at the newcomers with great interest.

"They're my children. Their father.... well, he isn't in the picture anymore. i stay here with Jimin, i hope you don't mind." She said nervously and I shook my head.

"Of course not.. I.. I won't be here for long anyway..." I stopped when Jimin shot me a glare that could kill.

"She means that we may be going on a honey moon for a few weeks at least. Start fresh." He said loudly.

I tried not to clench my teeth. Honeymoon? Over my dead body...

"That's a wonderful idea. I think you guys .. I mean I've always thought you're meant to be together and well, everyone makes mistakes. What's important is that you love each other and your son, enough to want to move on."

Jin Hee made both of us sound like saints.

I wanted to burst into tears and tell her the truth. That her precious brother had blackmailed me into this.

"We do. By the way, did the designer come?" Jimin asked, standing up and shrugging out of his jacket. I felt my eyes widen as I took in the increased breadth and width of his shoulders and chest, the soft fabric stretching taut against his muscled frame. i didn't have to touch him to know he was probably hard as a rock in all the right places. Even now, he looked every inch the rich, sophisticated CEO that he was. I felt shabbier than ever considering my own stick thin figure and lank hair.

"Yes. He's left a lot of dresses in the fitting room. Min Hee can try them on..." She smiled brightly.

I frowned.

Try them on?

"I'll take the kids to the play room.." She said brightly and Jin Soo waved cheerfully before rushing away with his new friends, Min Ho and Ji Hoo.

I waited till she was out of earshot before turning to Jimin.

"I don't want you to buy me clothes.." I said automatically and he rolled his eyes.

"They're just some cocktail gown for when we go out in public. "

Public?

"I'm not going to be your trophy wife.." I said angrily .

" If I wanted a trophy wife, I could damn well do better... " He snapped.

I recoiled in disbelief. His sharp tongue had hurt me often during our marriage. Clearly he hadn't changed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't even mean it.. fuck.. you're beautiful and you don't need me to tell you that anyway." He ran an impatient hand through his hair. " What i meant was that, once we get married some public appearances are mandatory. You'll need nice clothes. I'll try to keep you as far from the public eye as possible but ... sometimes it may be impossible to avoid." He said.

i looked away, tired. I hadn't slept in a long time and the days exhaustion was slowly beginning to creep in. My eyes fell on the unwrapped packages of toys on the floor and i bit my lips.

"you're right. You can give him a lot more than I ever can.." I said quietly, staring at the expensive toys which probably cost more than what I'd make in a year.

Jimin made a noise of impatience and stepped closer, grabbing my shoulders suddenly and forcing me to look up at him.

"I didn't mean it that way... " He said roughly, giving me a little shake.

"I can't compete if you throw your money around.." I said softly.

"It's not a competition... I.. i mean if you look that way, he loves you way more than he would ever love me. i cannot compete with the bond you have with him.. But it isn't a competition... Minnie.. I meant what I said. I want to move on from this and trust me it's difficult for me too. But I just.. it's not about whether we can give him more love or more money ...i just want him to have both. His parents love, a comfortable life and a complete family. He deserves it, don't you think?" He said softly , fingers gently massaging my shoulders. The touch was oddly familiar , soothing and normal. While my mind hadn't agreed my bodily was already getting used to being touched, i thought miserably.

"I didn't sleep with Tae Min." I said without thinking.

Jimin stiffened, hands falling off my shoulders.

"Minnie... "

"I swear I didn't.. I never cheated on you..."

"Enough." His voice was low. Furious. " Don't ever mention his name again. Like I said, I'll forget it, for our son's sake. I won't bring it up ever again. Only if you promise not to either. We can't move on if you keep clinging to that ridiculous story... " He snapped.

I sighed in defeat.

"Minnie... listen to me. This doesn't have to be bad. We can make this work. I swear.. I'm.. I'm sorry about the way I handled things back then. I was upset. I was...hurt. I was young and immature. i should have.. i should have been there for you. I looked for you... For a long time.. But i didn't know you changed your surname. "

"I had to ... to get away from the reporters..." I mumbled.

"I didn't know you were pregnant. didn't even consider it. If I had.. God. .. I swear to God I wouldn't have left you alone. But.. But what's done is done. I can't undo it. Neither can you. So we'll just have to agree to put it all behind us. Start something new, together, We don't have to fall in love again but we can respect each other and like each other enough to do the right thing for our son... can't we?" Jimin appealed.

"Okay." I said finally. Too tired to say anything else. There was just too much baggage between us, for it to ever truly work, i thought miserably. But he was right.

It wasn't really about us was it?

Jin Soo would grow up someday and it would be better if he had a complete family. And it's ridiculous how much a mother can be willing to give up for her son. I felt tears sting. I'd been through hell and back, nearly died , giving birth to him.

I'd go through it all over again if it meant giving him the life he deserved.

Even if it meant staying with a husband who believed the worst of me.

"It's getting late. I should be going home." I said nervously glancing at the darkening sky.

"About that. Would you like to stay here the night? We have a press conference in the morning and.."

"No.." I said panicking.

Jimin rolled his eyes.

"There's a guest bedroom .. I'm not going to force myself on you..." He said impatiently.

I stared at him.

"I have to open the bakery at seven." I said softly. He shrugged.

"I'll drive you down there. You look like you're going to collapse any second. Jin Soo's already asleep with his cousins.."

cousins. '

Family. My son had a family now. The one thing that I'd always felt so incapable of giving him.

"Will you... wake me up at seven then?" I said nervously.

My phone was out of charge. usually my body clock was enough to wake me up but I couldn't rely on it when I was so tired and in a different place.

"I'd have to sleep with you then..." He said casually.

The air between us shifted and I felt my breath catch.

Silence.

"Would it be so bad? To sleep with me again?" He said gently and I looked at him in disbelief. He had changed into a grey shirt that hung loose around his collarbones and I noticed that he still had that little dip over his chest to the left of his shoulder, deep enough to hold water. I'd traced, my fingers, lips, and tongue over that cleft a million times.

"I think it would be the worst mistake of my life." I said , voice trembling.

He sighed.

"We were so good together. At least in the bedroom. I remember that." His voice was husky and I felt my thighs clench involuntarily. He noticed.

Suddenly he moved towards me, quickly, and he was close, so close, nearly touching as he reached out, wrapped one arm around my waist, around me but not touching me at all and I froze in shock. I couldn't throw his arm off because he wasn't touching me. Even though it felt like he was.

"You'll have to do it. Eventually When we marry. To make the marriage legal. " He hummed , bending low till his breath hit the side of my face. He still wasn't touching me but he was all around me. He was everywhere and the scent of clean male skin and shampoo , the sight of his wet hair so close was driving my inhibitions down, but simultaneously driving my terror up.

"Jimin... don't." I choked out.

"It will be hard. to live here together in the same house...under the same roof. Knowing how good we can be together. Knowing how fucking fantastic we can be together..." He said, voice husky and dripping with promise . i shut my eyes.

"Get away from me. Or I'm calling a cab and getting out of here. " I said voice surprisingly steady. He looked like he'd been slapped.

Silence.

"Fine. I'll back off tonight. But in two days we're getting married. And you're coming back into my life. And my bed. Even if i have you to drag you there. " He said angrily, Then he turned around and stalked off.

I swallowed.

It was better this way. I was better at dealing with angry Jimin , rather than the one who wanted to start fresh.

The one who reminded me too much of the man I'd fallen in love with once.

#bts park jimin #'bts fanfics #park jimin #drama #bts scenarios #bts imagine

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dippedanddripped · 7 years ago

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3pm on June 29th, a raucous crowd of 150 young people had gathered at the corner of Surrey Street and the Strand in central London. Though few would have guessed it from their heavy-for-the-weather streetwear – down jackets, tracksuits, layered T-shirts, baseball caps and beanies – they were the cognoscenti. Although it was a full 17 hours before the official announcement, they knew that the shuttered shop front on this unremarkable block, situated between Somerset House and the Royal Courts of Justice, was where it was going to happen.

To most passers-by, it – the release of a collection of clothing made by two fashion brands working in collaboration – would have meant nothing. Yet to this excited cluster, the hundreds who would join them the following day, plus the thousands more who would line the streets (many having slept on them overnight) at similar pop-up launches in Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, Beijing, Sydney, Seoul and Miami, this event meant a great deal indeed. For they were about to witness the result of a union between the world’s most famous luxury brand, 163-year-old Louis Vuitton, and the world’s most famous streetwear brand, 23-year-old Supreme.

“This is pretty much uncharted territory,” said Martin Ologunja, 19 years old, from Hackney. “As a Supreme head, I was never expecting it to get into the high-fashion side. And I’ve got the utmost respect for LV.”

Richard Blackman, also 19, added that he had come because of a rumour on Instagram. He said: “I’m here for the culture of hype products. Supreme is a really nice fashion brand – a street brand – that most of us kids wear.”

Were they hoping to flip (resell, in street parlance)? “Absolutely!” said Alex Tarrant, 18: “I think the profits could be in the thousands.” Ologunja said, “One person said to me that resellers are the new drug dealers, but I don’t think so. I think resellers are the new art dealers.”

Just then, a bald and bearded American-accented man in a suit – a suit! – shouted for attention. We gathered around him. “Congratulations to you all,” he said. “You are the first! You made it! But the council and the police are adamant – nobody can loiter on the street, so if you do, there will be nothing happening here. There will be announcements on social media.” Slowly, and with some chagrin, we straggled down the pavement towards a Pret A Manger.

This curious scene was elegantly explained in economic terms by Adita Varavina-Grover, 18, who (exam results permitting) hopes to take up an offer to study at the London School of Economics this September. “The more limited the item is, the more stressed out people get. It’s like inelastic demand. Even if the price goes up the demand will always stay the same, because of all this hype.”

were already rumours (there always are), but that hype officially began in January during the Spring/Summer men’s fashion shows in Paris. Kim Jones, who has overseen the menswear designs at Louis Vuitton since 2011, invited me to preview his collection the day before his show at his sprawling studio in the former headquarters of the La Samaritaine department store. His main collection, the exclusively Louis Vuitton stuff, was beautiful: a New York-artist-inspired wardrobe of loose-cut clothes in cashmere, vicuña, silk and denim which referenced Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol among others.

This was advanced menswear for PhD-level aesthetes, requiring a certain connoisseurship – luxury masculine geekery – to read and relish it in full. Scattered within it, however, were items with a much more direct message: baseball shirts and work jackets in light Japanese denim on which was a grid of tufted shapes – the famous LV monogram pattern interspersed with the word “Supreme” in larger sans-serif letters. The same combination was on sneakers, backpacks, holdalls and a trove of other accessories that ran from bottle openers and pen-knives to handkerchiefs and badges. There were even trunks – Louis Vuitton’s original product – including one designed especially to hold a LVXSupreme patterned skateboard.

Ah, the irony of that skateboard! In 2000, Supreme released a skateboard deck upon which was decaled Vuitton’s monogram pattern, but with the LV replaced by an S. It was blatant and shameless logo abuse. Two weeks later, after Vuitton threatened a lawsuit, it was withdrawn. Now Vuitton – the Paris label positioned at the top-most point of the pyramid of the world’s largest luxury conglomerate – was working with a vaingloriously named unluxury New York upstart that it once rightfully accused of copyright infringement. How come?

It was chiefly down to Jones. “Michael Burke, the CEO of Louis Vuitton, called me up one day and said, ‘Do you know the people at Supreme, because I’m really interested in the brand and would like to talk to its founder’, who’s James Jebbia, whom I know. So I said ‘You can get his number off me if we can do a collaboration with them!’ And we sort of started from there.” Work on the collaboration, he said, had already been under way for over a year. “In this world where everyone wants the new, new, new, it’s nice to be able to throw in something that’s completely fresh…all I’m trying to do is create customer excitement and create things that I enjoy.”

At Louis Vuitton’s show the next morning the rapper Travis Scott took his seat on the front row wearing a T-shirt bearing the Supreme white-on-red box logo and the LV initials. David Beckham wasn’t wearing the collaboration – he opted for Louis Vuitton proper – but said that his kids were “really into” Supreme. Kate Moss fondly recalled that in the mid-1990s Supreme once appropriated and repurposed (in Supreme parlance, logo-flipped) a fashion campaign she’d done for Calvin Klein. “Later,” she added, “when they’d made loads of money they paid me to do an ad.”

Out came the collection. Around Jones’s core of refined raffishness, those Supreme pieces were strung like scarlet tinsel. Online, websites that specifically cater to “streetwear” – sports, work and military-attire-based fashion labels – exploded in rapture. The rumours were true! Their beloved anti-establishment upstart and the world’s most famous, establishment luxury brand were expecting! By June expectation had matured to fever pitch.

Supreme was created by James Jebbia, who moved from Britain to New York in the 1980s, after stints running a wholesale fashion store and working alongside Sean Stussy – streetwear’s equivalent to high fashion’s Coco Chanel – in the opening of a Stussy boutique.

As an explicitly skateboarding-inspired label, Supreme has long harnessed the sport’s image as a rebellious, artistic and sometimes illegal passion. Its own logo is strikingly similar to graphic elements and fonts in the work of artist Barbara Kruger – an inspiration Jebbia has acknowledged. The Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein “logo-flips” are not Supreme’s only copyright infringements, but many of its collaborations are consensual.

These feed its retail operation – ten stores around the world plus a website selling goods with low production costs such as cotton T-shirts, maple skate decks and nylon jackets – which borrows much from high luxury’s business model. Each line is sold in strictly limited numbers. New goods are released in “drops” every Thursday, encouraging fans to queue every week to check out the new items before they disappear, perhaps for ever.

Justin Bieber has the LVxSupreme fever

That has created a community of fans – most of them young, along with others who wish they still were – who have defined themselves as a tribe while waiting in line. And the policy of enforced scarcity has enlarged further the community of Supreme-lovers by creating a frenzied secondary market within which the goods are traded and speculated upon.

For Louis Vuitton, the value of the collaboration lies in those kids. For Supreme, the sight of its street-rat logo on one of the world’s most venerable and iconic luxury products, a Louis Vuitton trunk, represents a stratospheric status upgrade – as if Banksy were hung in the Louvre. To have its co-branded products both manufactured and sold by Louis Vuitton – yet under Supreme-curated conditions of hype – is one in the eye for anyone who reckons it is an all-mouth-no-trousers brand for suggestible kids.

10am on Day One of the sale, a queue of about 600 people stretched down the Strand and along Surrey Street. Martin, Richard, Alex and Adita were all there. Running the queue for Louis Vuitton was security specialist Lex Showumni. “This is my first experience with Supreme. I was told it was going to be crazy, a lot of people pushing and shoving, but we haven’t experienced that so far.” The Supreme faithful have their own, slightly dubious, process of queue-management based on attendance and standing. It mostly works, but some people were unhappy: a trader had left the head of the queue to withdraw £12,000 from an ATM. He returned without the cash having lost his number 1 spot; eventually, after some animated discussion, he slipped back in near the front.

Each customer was admitted to the store for 15 minutes and allowed to buy six items. Successful trophy hunters included Ari Petrou, with a flipped T-shirt (around £400), that he was definitely keeping. Jeremy Wilson bagged a coveted red-logo baseball shirt (£730) that he planned to resell.

Within an hour, three main secondary exchanges had been set up outside the official store: one in the Pret A Manger, the other beneath a tree, and the third next to a municipal toilet. One dealer, who asked not to be named, explained that he had paid ten people a set fee to get early places in the queue and would give them a cut of the resale value of anything they could get their hands on. “It’s business!” he laughed. Wodges of cash were exchanged and stashed in newly acquired Louis Vuitton bags.

One of the trunks, priced at £40,000, remained unsold while I was there. A young dealer agonised about whether he should borrow the cash and risk everything on it. Perhaps fortunately, it was way out of Martin Ologunja’s league. He emerged, disconsolate, with nothing. “A lot of the ready-to-wear is gone. No T-shirts, no hoodies, they haven’t even got a lot of the collection. Apparently Tokyo is getting the red stuff this week and we are getting the black. There was pretty much nothing I wanted.”

Would he return? “Definitely! I’m coming every day. I’m not ready to swallow this. I’ll be back!”

#hype #hypebeast #supreme #hype economy #streetwear blog #fashion blog

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adaralondon · 4 years ago

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How Dystopian literature may have predicted a grim future: A Covid-19 survival guide made just for U.S?

3000BCE, the 1300s, the 1700s, and the 1900s all have something in common. They are all years that a deadly pandemic devastated a nation. As time goes on it is starting to slowly look as though we can add 2020 to that list due our newest friend: Covid-19. It has begun wreaking havoc on our medical system. It has caused students to lose the ability to attend schools normally instead forcing learning through online or paper modules. High schoolers have lost prom while college students have lost the ability to have a proper commencement ceremony to commend graduating. Worse of all, about 2million Americans have lost their jobs causing negative consequences for our economy which forced our government to issue stimulus checks to keep money circulating. With no end or cure in sight, the government unwillingly has done they only thing they can to protect its citizens: issued a stay at home order. Perhaps there was something we could have done or a guide we could have used to protect ourselves from heading towards this future that looks more and more dystopian each day? Dystopian literature is a genre that has been predicting infectious new diseases and their many consequences, most notoriously zombie apocalypses, for almost as long as they have been around. It may be time that we regarded them as more than works of good fun and entertainment and look at them as survival guides if we want to make it through this coronavirus outbreak.

The concept of zombies originated from the Haitian voodoo religion. They were thought to be the creation of “a bokor or witch doctor [who could] render their victim apparently dead and then revive them as their personal slaves, since their soul or will has been captured. The zombie, in effect, is the logical outcome of being a slave: without will, without name, and trapped in a living death of unending labor.” (Luckhurst) After the Haitian slaves won their freedom from the French it was not long before other countries took interest in Haiti and its traditions. According to Luckhurst, after the revolution America briefly occupied Haiti which led to the concept of zombies being introduced to the western world. What was once a sacred religious folklore became tainted by American ‘modernization’. In 1929 The Magic Island written by W.B. Seabrook, a self-proclaimed negrophile who was initiated into Voodoo giving him a ‘firsthand’ account of the tradition, gave the western world the earliest appearance of zombies in literature. It was so successful that in 1932 Edward Halperin produced the movie White Zombie, the story of a young woman’s transformation into a zombie by a voodoo master. It was based on the popular novel The Magic Island. These new literary masterpieces soon spawned a movement which produced some of our favorite zombie movies such as Night of the Living Dead, Resident Evil, and Pet Sematary. At first zombie movies were produced so that someone could get a good scare with their friends, but they soon took a more comedic turn. Although these movies seemed to all be created with lighthearted intentions for some the concept of a zombie was nothing to joke about.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) takes the threat of a zombie apocalypse incredibly serious. Around 2011 they warned Americans of the possible threat of a zombie apocalypse even going as far as releasing a graphic novel on how to handle yourself in a world ending event. The release of this plan caused a lot of criticism from American citizens due to the government's inability to properly and effectively handle the Ebola outbreak that had occurred around the same time. Although the administration defended the creation of their guide by reassuring us it could be used as a proxy for other worrying events. By using this guide citizens could learn things such as how to handle other infectious diseases, how to defend themselves from ‘zombies’ or looters, and even how to properly construct an emergency kit but until recently it has always been thought of as a guide that was just for giggles and a waste of government funding & resources. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 the CDC’s zombie preparedness plan has once again resurfaced. “Based on the projected infection rate of Covid-19 the CDC has predicted four possible outcomes for our future: a zombie apocalypse, the needed pause, a Global Heath Awakening, or finally A great despair.” (Inayatullah). This is alarming because this strand of the coronavirus while new was not expected to be something that would cause a black swan event or an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. (Chappelow). In fact, a coronavirus was one of the diseases on the list that would end up causing an emerging infectious disease. There are several reasons for this. The first is that a single strand RNA virus is more likely to mutate quickly leaving scientist unprepared to cure or deal with it effectively. The second being that viruses that stem from animals have been the main cause of debilitating world plagues: the black death caused by rats, Malaria by Mosquitoes, and Influenza by a multitude of animals. The familiarity with these sorts of diseases has caused numerous people to disregard the dangers of Covid-19.

The stay at home order enacted by the United States government has caused protest from numerous citizens who wish to resume their normal everyday life. “SARS-CoV causes a serious form of pneumonia that can also be life-threatening. Globally, it killed 774 people between 2002 and 2004. No other cases have been reported worldwide since.” (Sandee) Many feel that since coronavirus is such a familiar batch of viruses, as it has caused MERS, SARS, the common cold, and the flu which have all been contained quickly by the government, that this virus will be dealt with equally. Although given the current response it does not seem as though this will be the case. As familiar as these diseases may seem there is a reason that the CDC has named this one more probable of causing a zombie outbreak as opposed to the others that we are seemingly so familiar with. While some symptoms do resemble the flu, covid-19 is far more deadly. The physical symptoms such as shortness of breath and inability to breathe do a lot of damage on the infected but also the virus has potentially done more social and economic damage then the flu. Covid-19 has the potential to overwhelm our hospitals and their workers, infect 60% of the world’s population, and force our economy into an economic downturn. It spreads quickly and silently with symptoms not appearing for at least two weeks after initial infection. It is also biased against those who are elderly or immunocompromised making them more likely to die than any other infected group. Yet the thing that makes this virus the most dangerous is that it is novel or new, therefore there is no herd immunity nor vaccinations that can prevent it nor protect against it. All these factors coupled together make this virus a recipe for a zombie outbreak.

In 2016 the film Train to Busan was awarded as the first Korean film to break the audience record of over 10 million theatergoers. (Byun) This also made it one of the highest grossing zombie films at the time. The film is about a father who must take his daughter to Busan because she wishes to spend her birthday with her mother. When the father-daughter pair board the train to Busan the apocalypse begins, and an infected zombie slips aboard infecting and killing most of the passengers. The father protects his daughter but due to the selfish actions of On-Suk, a passenger who wants to save himself at the expense of many others, he must sacrifice himself to ensure that his daughter and the only other survivor, a pregnant woman, are able to make it to Busan safely. Although the movie is heart breaking what we should take from it is how the virus that causes its outbreak is explored.

We learn around the midway mark of the movie that the outbreak is a result of a leak that occurs at a biological factory in the South Korean countryside. Although the movie never shows whether the leak traveled through the air or the water or other ways of contact, we do know that the virus from the leak traveled far enough to infect almost the entirety of Seoul in one day. There are many parallels between the virus that caused the outbreak in the movie and the real-life virus that is currently causing a worldwide pandemic. It only took a short time for Covid-19 to spread from China to the entire world almost mirroring the movie. Another important aspect of the movie that mirrors real life is how the character On-Suk selfishly caused dozens of deaths while trying to save his own life. This mirrors not only events in Korea but also around the world. Upon the announcement of the virus many people flocked to the stores hoarding essential supplies such as masks, toilet paper, and milk among other things. Many infected people carried on in their daily lives knowingly infecting those around them. Not only is the movie mirroring many real-life events, the promotional posters of the sequel movie also reflect many of the real-life effects the coronavirus had on Korea. For the first time ever, Seoul, a city that depends heavily on public transportation & walking and social gatherings to survive left the streets barren as many locked themselves inside as a means of protection from the virus. As seen in these posters, the streets are abandoned because people want to avoid being zombified. This also not only copies the self-interest of people who want to protect themselves in real life but also the way the Korean government enforced a stay in place order and mandatory curfews. As the movie shares many similarities in the way the virus has spread and affected everyday life had we investigated it closer we might have been able to prevent a potential disaster.

Train to Busan is not the only movie that we should pay attention to though. World War Z also shares many similarities with the current coronavirus outbreak (as unfortunately this is not the first one). In the popular movie, that is based off the novel of the same name, the government fails to properly assess an out of country outbreak leaving the United States unprepared when it finally hits. Our reality seems to match what happened in the fictional version of the United States closely. Our government ignored the threat of covid-19 because it was far away in China and ‘unlikely’ to spread from there. This ignorance had devastating effects on both the citizens and the government when it finally touched our country. This is not the only instance of similarities this movie shares with us though. The virus in the movie that turns people into zees, the novel's unique name for zombies, is called Solanum and like the coronavirus it originates in China before it spreads enough to infect the entire world. The movie and the book also touch on how China’s government attempted to cover up the spread of the virus. There also was a lot of false information about how to cure or stop the spreading of the virus being passed around in both the movie and reality. These instances are so close to what is happening in the States that it is frightening. Something the US could have learned from both this movie and Train to Busan is that paying attention to things that are happening in other countries is important. Had the government acted as soon as they noticed things were awry in China and increased the production of essentials, started studying cures for the virus, and started testing quicker then maybe our country would not be leading the world in deaths and lack of testing. Not only are the effects of being unprepared important lessons this book teaches us it also has another hidden message. During the movie we see the main character display attributes of “intellectual curiosity and suppleness.” Which led him to discovering a cure for becoming a ‘Zee’. (Rosenberg) The same way our first responders and medical researchers are studying for a cure to be found now. Since these movies share many similarities with real world virus outbreaks, we should not only use them to study possible zombie apocalypses but also as a guide to cure this deadly virus.

Zombie movies are not only matching the cause and effect of Covid-19 they may also be a clue on how to solve the outbreak so that we can resume our normal lives. Contagion which was released in 2011-- as confirmed by its writers-- tried to warn us about this grim future. As such this film has resurged in popularity due to the panic surrounding Covid-19. The film follows a virus that can spread from human to human. The health officials and a regular family man must try to find patient zero so that they can contain the disease and they find a cure for it. Like the other movies mentioned, it resembles the crisis we are dealing with very closely but unfortunately our real-life pandemic is not as easily solvable as it was in the movie. This movie like World War Z has its deadly virus originate from China, an oddly recurring location in film and real life for a virus outbreak. “In ‘Contagion’, a bat drops a piece of a fruit, which is eaten by a pig. That pig is then slaughtered for consumption, passing on a virus to humans.” (Tucker) this mirrors how officials think the coronavirus initially spread: by consumption of a Pangolin which may have eaten a bat in a Chinese wet market which explaines how the animal was originally infected. The movie spends a lot of time trying to locate patient zero because they are the key to tracing the source of the outbreak. Watching this movie gave even regular people the knowledge that patient zero is crucial to curing and researching a novel outbreak. Contagion has also been an omen in the same way World War Z was, both movies warned us about the dangers of being under prepared and having bad leadership. The movie does a great job at teaching us many lessons that are more than “In order to find and cure a virus, you must locate patient zero.”, it’s teaching us “audacity and self-sacrifice” something that our President, Trump, did not do.( Rosenberg)Another tale that teaches about audacity and self-sacrifice is The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Handmaid’s Tale seems to be the last book what would mirror a worldwide pandemic, but it does. While a zombie apocalypse is not a driving factor of this novel it still contains foreshadowing that could have stopped this pandemic from getting as out of control as it currently has. In the novel the city is ravaged by disease and environmental disasters leading to it becoming remade as a totalitarian state. Around the world this slowly seems to have started happening in real life. According to Bogost several countries have implemented authoritarian tactics to keep their citizens inside during mandatory stay at home orders, curfewing, and lockdown. In China facial recognition, phone data, and helmet-mounted thermal cameras have helped authorities control the outbreak. Israel has started tracking the cellphones of infected people. Italy has locked down its entire country and when the police catch someone outside, they arrest them. Meanwhile in France in order to free roam the streets a signed travel pass designating that someone is doing something essential is needed. The United States is not far behind while they are not arresting citizens for leaving their house there is a mandatory stay in place order and many businesses that have been deemed non-essential have been ordered to close. Citizens of many eastern and western countries are being ‘advised’ to not leave the house without facial coverings. This has led to citizens protesting these tough restrictions, especially in the United States. Ironically, many protestors have taken to wearing the Handmaid’s clothing while chanting “my body my choice” to protest the ‘authoritarian’ restrictions the government has placed on its citizens. It all seems straight out of a dystopian novel, mirroring the way the Handmaid’s are the one that are deemed essential and forced to work despite the cruel effects of the environment that have ravished the land they once called home. The citizens of this state are not allowed to speak to each other or meet up to hang out just like our social distancing protocols. We are unable to meet up with our friends due to socializing not meeting the social distancing guidelines of staying 6 feet apart from each other. Health care works and first responders much watch over the country heroically as if they are the guardians of The Handmaid's Tale. The longer we stay in this quarantine the more we seem to be heading toward a familiar dystopian future whether it be a zombie apocalypse or totalitarian government regime

“They tried to warn us. In their television dramas, they sought to depict the most chillingly dystopian scenarios they could imagine — terrifying alternate realities in which life as we knew it had been devastated by revolutions, plagues, technology run amok or hordes of bloodthirsty zombies.” (Itzkoff) In 2019 a deadly virus wreaked havoc on Wuhan, China. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen before as it caused many to rapidly fall ill with shortness of breath and difficulties breathing. Soon the virus spread from China and quickly into neighboring countries before reaching the western part of the world. Many accused the Chinese government of covering the virus up and that because of these cover ups a cure for this virus could be delayed into next year. Now due the spread of the virus schools has been shut down, many people have lost their jobs, and many cities across the world have issued a stay in place order. This may sound like a new situation for most of us however if we look closely, we have dealt with this time after time before in both our favorite literary works and movies. They have tried to teach us vital lessons for surviving pandemics, but both the government and its citizens ignored them in favor of viewing them as simple good-natured entertainment. However now as this pandemic rages on many of these dystopian novels have forced their way back into the spotlight reminding us of the lessons, we have failed to learn from them. Maybe we should have paid deeper attention to these novels as now it is a possibility that our society is in danger of becoming a dystopia itself.

Works cited:

Bogost, Ian. “When the Checkpoints Come.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 19 Mar. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-police-state-america/608365/.

Byun, Hee-won. "Korean Movies Prove Box-Office Gold". The Chosun Ilbo. Chosun Media.

Chappelow, Jim. “Black Swan.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 11 Mar. 2020, www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blackswan.asp.

Inayatullah, Sohail, and Peter Black. “Neither A Black Swan Nor A Zombie Apocalypse: The Futures Of A World With The Covid-19 Coronavirus * Journal of Futures Studies.” Journal of Futures Studies, 18 Mar. 2020, jfsdigital.org/2020/03/18/neither-a-black-swan-nor-a-zombie-apocalypse-the-futures-of-a-world-with-the-covid-19-coronavirus/

Itzkoff, Dave. “They Create Nightmare Worlds for TV. Now They're Living in One.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Mar. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/arts/television/westworld-handmaids-tale-virus.html.

Luckhurst, Roger. “Culture - Where Do Zombies Come from?” BBC, BBC, 31 Aug. 2015, www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150828-where-do-zombies-come-from.

Rogers, Kristen. “'Contagion' vs. Coronavirus: The Film's Connections to a Real Life Pandemic.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Apr. 2020,

Rosenberg, Alyssa. “Opinion | Coronavirus Is a Nightmare. These Stories Tell Us How to Survive - and Rise above It.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Mar. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/12/coronavirus-is-nightmare-these-stories-tell-us-how-survive-rise-above-it/

Sandee LaMotte, CNN. “What Is Coronavirus and Covid-19? An Explainer.” CNN Wire, 31 Mar. 2020. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=n5h&AN=BAQ4h_17e79fdd3094e04fa4f071a712d735b7&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Tucker, Reed. “How the Movie 'Contagion' Perfectly Predicted the 2020 Coronavirus Crisis.” New York Post, New York Post, 21 Mar. 2020, nypost.com/2020/03/21/how-the-movie-contagion-perfectly-predicted-the-2020-coronavirus-crisis/.

#essay and formal #formal writing #writing

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i-globalone · 5 years ago

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With 2019 vanishing in the rear view mirror, Markets Daily is back for an insightful look into Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and the US Dollar’s ongoing reserve status.Tune in as CoinDesk podcasts editor Adam B. Levine and senior markets reporter Brad Keoun run down recent action, track interesting longer-term trends, and highlight the best “thinking with tokens” and some of the most important crypto industry developments of the day. No time to listen? Scroll down for the transcript with full links.Having trouble with the embedded player? You can download the MP3 here.In this episode:Markets, international and industry news roundup2020 looks set to be a big year for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), but why? Adam gets into it, with a look at the innovation vs. optimization mindsetsAnother decade of US dollar reserve dominance? Brad’s dug into the numbers and shares his resultsMore ways to Listen or SubscribeTranscriptAdam B. Levine: On Today’s episode, bitcoin in the new year, Bahamanian Blockchain Bucks and a look at US Dollar reserve status.Adam: It’s January 2, 2020, and you’re listening to Markets Daily, I’m Adam B. Levine, editor of Podcasts here At Coindesk, along with our senior markets reporter, Brad Keoun, to give you a concise daily briefing on crypto markets and some of the most important news developments in the sector over the past 24 hours. Brad: Bitcoin currently around $7100, essentially in the range where it traded through most of the holidays in what was a very calm and quiet end to the year for the largest cryptocurrency, after some pretty wild market swings over the course of the past 12 monthsAnd just to close the books on 2019, bitcoin prices rose $3,475 on the year, recovering roughly a third of the $10,186 decline we saw during 2018, which was so brutal on the entire crypto industry that it’s often referred to as “Crypto Winter”Bitcoin’s full-year price rise works out to a 94 percent gain on the year, or almost double, in its best year since 2017, when the cryptocurrency’s price famously jumped 13-fold to its all-time-high around $20,000It’s important to note that as Wall Street celebrated its best full-year performance for stock investors in six years, with the S&P 500 posting a 29% price gain, bitcoin’s performance was roughly triple in sizeAdam: Looking out to 2020, it’s going to be a landmark year for crypto development along with a lot of other major world events such as the U.S. presidential election and the quadrennial summer olympics in TokyoPerhaps the most high-profile event in the crypto space is bitcoin’s so-called halving, expected in May, when the supply of new units of the cryptocurrency will be cut in halfSome analysts have predicted that the reduction in bitcoin supply, at a time when investor demand for cryptocurrency is increasing, could drive the price to a new all-time high around $100,000Though other analysts say they think that traders and cryptocurrency miners have already adjusted their price models to reflect anticipated reduction in new bitcoin supply, which means that the impact of the halving should already be theoretically be baked into the marketBrad: Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures wrote last week in a post on The Block that he thinks that the crypto industry is really just about halfway through a deleveraging from the bubble levels we saw in 2017He thinks we’ll see further rationalization in the industry in 2020, with some token projects failing to achieve anything resembling critical mass, and dying off, especially in the face of continued regulatory scrutinyAnd in yet another setback for a South Korean crypto exchange following last year’s alleged $49 million hack of the Upbit exchange, Bithumb has reportedly had about $70 million worth of taxes on cryptocurrency gains withheld, the first time the country’s tax agency has taken such a stepBithumb reportedly plans to take legal action against the claim, leaving it unclear what the consequences might be for customers or the exchange itself A tax professor at the University of Seoul told CoinDesk that the exchange might have to make the tax payment and then go back and try to collect the amount from foreign clients, though from a practical standpoint, that might prove impossibleAdam: Turning to todays featured story, with several proposed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) picking up steam, CoinDesk’s Danny Nelson reports on one projects quiet holiday launch…The Bahamas’ digital currency pilot project went live late last month.Residents of the island can now enroll in the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ “Project Sand Dollar,” which began Dec. 27. They’ll receive mobile wallets the Bahamian government sees as facilitating the future of payments on the island chain. Bankers said “Sand Dollar” is a “digital fiat currency” – not a cryptocurrency, stablecoin or competitor to the Bahamian dollar. Instead, it is simply a digital version “equivalent in every respect to the paper currency,” they said in the project outline. But it is also a step toward the Bahamas’ long-term goal of launching a fully-fledged central bank digital currency (CBDC), Also called the sand dollar. That larger project would link domestic residents and businesses across a seamless digital payment infrastructure.CoinDesk.comPausing for a moment, we’ll turn to Dr. Gina Pieters, who recently wrote for CoinDesk’s year in review series:The Central Bank consensus is that decentralization is not a desirable property in a CBDC as it could aid tax avoidance and enable criminal payment systems. Therefore, while they recognize digital money may be an improvement over physical money, a central bank designed digital currency will not resemble a decentralized cryptocurrency. Planned CBDCs are not bitcoin-but-issued-by-the-government. They are more like credit-cards-but-issued-by-the-government, where your transactions can be tracked, examined and linked to your taxpayer-identity. CoinDesk.comThere’s always been two, largely incompatible, ways to appreciate the revolutionary possibilities of cryptocurrency, blockchains and tokens as a way to track ownership as a whole. Call it the difference between innovation and optimization. Innovators like cryptocurrency because its radical trust model eliminates the power which traditional systems imbue in central banks or other forms of monetary policy. They see the current system as fatally flawed by short term human bias, among other things, and decentralized cryptocurrency with its currency issuance publicly known a hundred years in advance, presents what looks like unstoppable competition in a space where competition is simply not allowed, yet is so desperately needed. The move towards Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) is the optimization perspective – These people broadly think that current central bank operated money systems are great, but could certainly benefit from improvements… And that’s what they see this technology as, optimizing or improving the rough edges on a system which is already great, and which they have no desire to fundamentally change.Returning to Danny for more details on the Bahamian program:In this vision, residents can pay retailers through wallet-linked QR codes, with banks moving funds in digital form. The Central Bank believes this could ultimately cut currency printing costs and transaction fees while enhancing financial inclusion.“A widely adopted CBDC would place users at less risk of violent crimes that target holders of cash, and potentially reduce security and insurance costs associated with keeping cash on business premises,” according to the outline.For now, however, the sand dollar faces far more restrictive limits from the government. Businesses cannot hold more than B$1 million in their digital wallets, nor can they transact more than one-eighth of their annual business through the wallets in any given month. And individuals max out at B$500, with higher limits coming through “enhanced due diligence” on their accounts.CoinDesk.comAdam: We’ll have more on this developing story as events unfold.Adam: And now, for today’s spotlight, we’re stepping outside the crypto space to take a look at global foreign exchange markets, and specifically the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s dominant currencyBrad: The U.S. dollar has been the primary currency for payments in international trade for almost a century, since the world wars of the first half of the 1900s, when the British empire’s influence faded and its currency, pound sterling, saw its use as a global tender declineOf course the dollar also occupies a key spot in discussion of cryptocurrencies, since the original and oldest digital asset, bitcoin, was originally proposed as a private-market alternative to government-issued currencies like the dollar in peer-to-peer paymentsBut based on the way that crypto markets have evolved, the dollar is impossible to avoid, since bitcoin is priced in dollars, similar to the way major commodities like oil and gold are quoted in dollarsthere’s a growing roster of so-called stablecoins like tether, USD Coin and dai, whose value is pegged to the dollarAnd in some ways, even China’s planned digital version of its renminbi might trade a lot like a dollar-linked cryptocurrency, since Chinese authorities typically synch the renminbi’s daily fixed exchange rate with wherever the dollar happens to be trading Now the big question is how long the dollar can hold on as the global reserve currencyIt’s an important question because there are big benefits to the U.S. from having its own currency as such a pillar of global capital markets, but also there’s a self-perpetuating cycle at work here that creates imbalances and the risks of rapid and messy change U.S. consumers benefit disproportionately from the dollar’s strength, since foreigners are essentially subsidizing Americans’ habit of importing more than they export And global demand for dollar-denominated assets helps keep interest rates low on things like Treasury bonds despite a U.S. federal budget deficit of more than $1 trillion a yearThat dynamic encourages governments, businesses and households to take on ever-growing amounts of debt, which might be difficult to pay back if borrowing costs suddenly jumpedHistory shows that these epochal shifts do eventually come, but change can be quite slow in comingAnd a new report this week from CoinDesk showed that, as China’s global ambitions and rapidly advancing digital-asset technologies pose new threats to the dollar, the U.S. currency looks as strong as ever in global capital marketsAs of Dec. 30, an index of the U.S. dollar’s value is up 24 percent over the past decadeThat happened even as the Federal Reserve pumped more than $2 trillion of freshly printed money into the financial system and U.S. national debt more than doubled to about $23 trillion – both developments that economists have warned could faster inflation and a reduction in the dollar’s purchasing power And the greenback’s share of central bank foreign exchange reserves stands at about 62 percent, essentially unchanged since Jan. 1, 2010, according to the International Monetary FundThe second-place euro, touted by some leading economists in the late 2000s as a potential rival to the dollar, saw its share of central bank reserves decline over the past decade to about 20 percent from 26 percentThe Japanese yen, seen as a threat to the dollar in the 1980s, now accounts for just 5.4 percent of central bank reservesThe British pound, which as we said earlier dominated global trade in the 1800s, has a modest share of 4.4 percent, with its future uncertain as the U.K. moves toward an exit from the European UnionAnd China, despite decades of rapid economic growth and a push by authorities there to expand the renminbi’s use in international trade and payments, has never seen its currency account for more than 2 percent of central banks’ reserves.As for digital assets, frequently touted as the future of money, they barely register as an asset class compared with government-issued currenciesBitcoin’s entire market value stands at about $133 billion, well below central banks’ de minimis $218 billion allocation to the renminbiThe point here is that as the new decade of the 2020s dawn, and we see an array of what appear to be very serious challenges to the dollar’s dominance on the horizon, the dollar is going to be tough to dethroneAnd if the dollar were to lose its dominant status, it would entail a pretty landmark and potentially tumultuous shift not just in global capital markets but also in the geopolitical landscape Adam: Join us again on Friday, for the next Markets Daily from Coindesk. To make sure you never miss an episode, you can subscribe to Markets daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and just about any other place you’d like to listen. If you’re enjoying the show, we really appreciate you leaving a review. And if you have any thoughts or comments, email [email protected] Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

http://m.globalone.com.np/2020/01/markets-daily-central-bank-digital.html

#SEO #Local SEO training

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idolizerp · 6 years ago

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LOADING INFORMATION ON HONEY’S LEAD VOCAL NAM JUEUN...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: n/a CURRENT AGE: 21 DEBUT AGE: 18 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 16 COMPANY: MSG SECONDARY SKILL: n/a

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): puppy eyes - given to her by fans after someone compared a photo of her to a dog INSPIRATION: while she was surrounded by music from a young age, she had no interest in idols until she watched a diamant performance. like many others, they were the reason jueun wanted to become an idol. SPECIAL TALENTS:

playing by ear // a somewhat natural-born talent coupled with the piano training she received when she was younger, jueun’s able to play a song on the piano after only hearing it once.

instant song recognition // can guess a song based on only a small snippet or the intro of it being played.

NOTABLE FACTS:

can play the piano and guitar

currently has a youtube channel where she posts song covers & snippets/short previews of songs she’s written, although sporadically and with no fixed schedule due to honey’s schedule

had a youtube channel pre-debut that she updated periodically during her trainee days, although secretly, with videos of her singing; later deleted the channel once she was chosen to debut in honey

attended a prestigious music academy during middle school

currently majors in applied music at seoul institute of the arts

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

with honey’s rapidly growing popularity and no sign of changing anytime soon, jueun is hoping to channel her creative energy and wishes for more variety in their releases through her youtube covers in the hopes that showing more of her musician side to the world will give her more credibility and possibly show msg that maybe she (or honey) could try something new and see success– even if only a little bit

LONG-TERM GOALS:

while she’s not aiming to be an amazing vocalist or anything like that, especially considering the fact that she knows it’s still a long ways off and she has a lot to improve on, jueun hopes that one day she can have a successful and lasting career as a singer to the point that even the general public will acknowledge her vocals as more than just an idol. as such, she’s aiming to have OSTs and a decent amount of solo song releases, preferably with lyric writing credits, to prove that. jueun wants to sing for as long as she can and honey is just the beginning of that.

IDOL IMAGE

ever since she was young and even as as a trainee, jueun was always on the reserved and quiet side of things. she didn’t try to make a big fuss out of anything and will usually just go with the flow so she figured, if–when–she debuted, she would be given an image to uphold that’d be similar. what she got instead was the “bright and cheery” role in her group all because her name sounded similar to june, a summer month, that was meant to represent the sun that’s always shining down on everyone during the season.

jueun had mixed thoughts about this. she was told that she didn’t necessarily have to be upbeat and hyper like an energy pill or happy virus but that she should appear very approachable, warm, welcoming yet not in a motherly or maternal way. “more like a friend living next door or in the neighborhood they could call up and hang out with at any time,” they said.

she was never a “bright and cheery” person nor did she hang out with many people though so she had no idea how to act. was she supposed to just smile all the time? laugh a lot? be loud? all of those things sounded unnatural to her so she really struggled with trying to uphold the image, often looking too forced when she over-laughed or smiled too much while thinking that it was what she was supposed to do. but that led to some netizens pointing out that she looked and sounded too fake– that is, until a clip of her goofing around with some of her members that had her laughing with a wide grin and squinted eyes had been spread around not so much that it became viral but to enough fans and non-fans (but fans of other groups) alike that left a positive image for her.

since then, jueun had begun to understand what people were looking for and tried to keep that image up which thankfully, got a bit easier as time passed and honey racked up more exposure and opportunities. she was able to open up a lot more and started becoming more playful on screen, often goofing around with others and talking more. when she found out about her eye smile was being called “puppy eyes” and that people found it charming and cute, she played up the nickname by practicing the expression over and over so she could do it on command. now she’s able to use it at will and sometimes even takes advantage of it to direct the attention onto her when she spots a camera filming in her direction but not necessarily on her, like when she’s performing on stage or happens to be in the background of something.

off stage, jueun continues to keep to herself as she likes to wind down and relax after keeping up her cheerful image all day. although part of her idol persona has begun to merge with her own as the years go by, she’d still consider herself more of a lone wolf than a people person. she’ll often have her headphones in, listening to music or her own self compositions, and if you need to locate her, you can still most likely find her in her room playing the guitar, writing lyrics or filming videos for her channel. but if asked to hang out or go somewhere, she’d readily agree.

IDOL HISTORY

from the day was born into the world, jueun was always surrounded by music. while both her parents were teachers, their subject focuses were in the music field: her father, a general music teacher in high schools, and her mother, a piano instructor at a prestigious music academy so it was no surprise that jueun had begun taking an interest in music since she was young. that much was natural and expected due to her upbringing but the rate at which she learned was not, to the point that her parents often joked that she learned and could recite the scales before she even said her first real word.

little did they know though that that was just the first sign of jueun’s impressive musical ability.

as she grew up, her parents quickly noticed jueun’s aptitude when she picked up playing the piano remarkably fast and was able to read sheet music just as quickly. curious about just how far she could go, jueun was put through rigorous and thorough training and eventually was even enrolled in the music academy her mother taught at. it was there when she got to witness and experience other areas of music that she developed an interest in singing. it was a natural addition to what she was already learning and apparently like everything else music-related that she touched, she found she had some talent in it. she wasn’t amazing but she was probably a bit better than average so she continued with it along with her piano training.

it wasn’t until sometime during her middle school years that she begun to shift her interest from piano to idols–namely diamant–after watching a video that a classmate had shown her. jueun was impressed by how a group could sing and dance at the same time all while being in sync and quickly became interested. she went home that day and started looking up videos on the internet and by the end of her search, she was pretty much infatuated with idols. it was such a new and different side of music that she had never seen or experienced before having been exposed to the more classical side of it so she was intrigued, to say the least.

however, she still stayed faithful to her piano lessons and training every day. at first she thought it was because she had just done so for so long that it felt weird not to but as the days passed, she realized that a large part of why she still continued was more for her mother’s sake than her own, all because she didn’t want to let her down. jueun always valued her family and considered them the most important thing to her with music right after, plus since she was never really exposed to anything else due to being so fixated on potentially becoming a professional pianist at her mother’s insistence, she just went along with it. but now that she had a new interest, one that could possibly and already seemed to be overshadowing that, jueun had to begin thinking about which she wanted more.

it was right before her last year of middle school started that she had made the decision to pursue a career as an idol. it was a big jump from the trajectory that she was set on since her upbringing and an even bigger risk to act on but this was what jueun wanted and for the first time ever, it would be something she’d make known. she went to her parents with a passionate speech about how she fell in love with idols and wanted to become one, even going as far as to think up compromises if they were to say no. nam jueun was not going down without a fight but knowing how strict her parents could be, she came prepared and hoped that in doing so, it’d show how serious she was about this.

it wasn’t a hard yes right away but after some discussion, her parents–most notably her mother–relented and allowed her to at least audition. whether she actually got accepted into a company was another thing that they’d address if the time came but jueun considered it a win and immediately started preparing whenever she wasn’t in school. she devoted all her free time to practicing, learning, and even taking classes when and where she could, all to give her even the slightest help; anything to get accepted.

unfortunately, things did not look up after that. although she auditioned for many companies including some of the most famous and well known ones like midas media and 99 entertainment, jueun failed them all. with her prospects small and confidence low, she wondered what she could do now. she could go back to piano full time but that would feel like defeat to her and proving her parent’s concerns correct. since she had chosen a path for herself on her own, she didn’t want to give up; she wanted to show them that she could do this and that it wasn’t the wrong choice.

then, as if by some miracle, jueun received an e-mail from msg entertainment. in the flurry of all the auditioning she did, frantic and rushing to get accepted into a company, and the sadness and wallowing that came with the resulting failures, she forgot that they were one of the many companies she tried for but she did it. she was finally accepted by a company and things were looking up for her now.

or so she thought.

trainee life was not something jueun was prepared for, nor was she expecting. of course, she knew nothing about the idol industry and how cutthroat it was to even be considered for a spot in a group, let alone actually making it to debut, having only entered the field because she was enamored by how glamorous idols looked and thought it would be fun to perform on stage in cute outfits. but now that she was a part of it and was still hellbent on proving to her parents that she could do this, she kept on going. and going. and going. there was no end in sight for her, especially because she hardly had any formal dance training. while she did have some vocal lessons throughout her youth because she had focused more on piano, she was still lacking. she even began to wonder why or how she was even accepted in the first place but then realized that if she was thinking that then others might be thinking it too so she worked her butt off even harder to try and catch up with those who had been doing this much longer than she had. it was futile at first but giving up was not something jueun was familiar with nor did she want to so she kept on going. and going. and going.

at one point, when she felt particularly stuck in place and facing a proverbial wall after seeing the difference that experience can make, she found another interest; a creative outlet that made use of her extensive piano training and music skills developed over time thanks to her parent’s influences: song writing. jueun had always known that she had a gift for music thanks to all the stories her parents had told her growing up and her ability to pick up things quickly was nothing to sneeze at so when she stumbled across a fellow trainee composing a song, she was again intrigued. this was yet another field of music she had never considered and just like how she fell into the hole of idols, she sought out more knowledge of song writing and found herself falling in love yet again. shortly after the incident, she tried her hand at learning the guitar and then tried writing lyrics. jueun found more success with playing the guitar than she did writing lyrics but she knew that everyone had to start somewhere before they got better so she believed that she too would eventually improve. until then, learning the new skill helped re-spark her ambition and motivated her to keep going after her goal to become an idol.

then the light at the end of the tunnel came: she was selected as part of the lineup for msg’s newest girl group. following after their currently active senior, cherry bomb!, honey was given a debut concept and song fit to be their little sister group and jueun was excited. the song and choreography looked fun and she was finally getting the chance to stand on stage but a part of her was also apologetic. although getting the chance to debut was something to celebrate, she was aware of how quick this opportunity had come to her considering she was only a trainee for two years when she was chosen and wasn’t deaf to the whispers she heard from other trainees about how she didn’t deserve it. there were others who had been there longer than she had and were also more skilled and talented than she was so why was she debuting and not them? she couldn’t exactly deny that but she also didn’t want to give up the opportunity either so it instead became a question that quietly plagued her mind for the entire year leading up to honey’s debut and continued even past that.

still, the show must go on as they say, and jueun threw herself into honey wholeheartedly. although she struggled with the image she was given due to it being so different than her actual personality and honey’s musical direction taking a turn for a more catchy, hook-reliant turn from what they debuted with, she never gave up because this is what she wanted– to be an idol. and being an idol meant doing things you didn’t want to do or things you didn’t think you could do and making others believe you can, that you will, all with a smile on your face. jueun felt a little indebted to msg too, for they were the only company to accept her in the sea of rejection letters and e-mails and calls, and even gave her the opportunity to debut despite her shortcomings. so she accepted everything they threw her way and didn’t utter a complaint–to their faces, anyways–and hoped that maybe one day, it would all pay off.

until then, she’d work tirelessly to prove her place both in the group and in the industry but it wasn’t until late 2018 that her hard work was beginning to show results. after a video of her singing from her pre-debut youtube channel went viral earlier in the year and brought in even more attention for honey as well as newfound interest from previous skeptics, jueun was granted yet another opportunity: to open a new youtube channel that she could post videos of her singing to–under supervision, of course. still, she was extremely grateful for that chance regardless because to this day, she was still constantly trying to find her worth and validation for her skills and having the channel would help. after all, jueun lived each day trying to improve herself and be better than who she was the day before not only for herself but for those who doubted her, and especially for her parents who were and still are hesitant about her decision to this day.

#id.bio #id.msg #id.honey #id.jang gyuri

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jeremystrele · 6 years ago

Text

Erin Lambrecht · Interior Designer + Associate, Flack Studio

Dream Job

by Elle Murrell

Erin Lambrecht is an Interior Designer and Associate at Flack Studio. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

She has worked in this role since mid-2016. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

‘Design is multi-faceted, whether it’s working with my clients, nurturing the team or drawing details on a new project, you’re always designing,’ Erin tells. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Before Flack Studio, she worked at Bates Smart, GA Group (London), KPDO, and started her own studio. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Erin’s days encompass client meetings, client presentations, design reviews with the team, yellow tracing and more. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Erin and David worked together at KPDO, before heading off to establish their own studios, and then reuniting. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

At Flack Studio’s HQ in Fitzroy. Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Erin and David make a site visit to examine a pretty epic staircase in-the-making! Photo – Caitlin Mills for The Design Files.

Erin Lambrecht started at Flack Studio back in June 2016, though she has been conscientiously building her career, layer by layer, for over a decade.

The Melbournian selected her university (Monash) for its focus on the pragmatic side of interior architecture, as well as that course’s work-placement requirements. These compulsory units pushed the admittedly shy yet driven young student to get her foot in the door at respected firm Bates Smart. There, she showcased her ‘can-do’ attitude’ and all-rounder aptitude, as well as an in-touch understanding of her entry-level place in the hierarchy – she didn’t waltz in expecting the highlight tasks right away. This triple-threat of self-awareness, foresight, and enthusiasm led to a full-time role.

Erin soon came to realise her passion for working on hotel projects. ‘It’s the scale that interested me; there are just so many areas and facets (both physically and conceptually) to this typology, from the restaurants to room types, to the thinking behind the arrival guest experience… whether it be a beach resort or a city hotel,’ she tells. Securing a two-year Working Holiday Visa to the UK, Erin diligently researched and emailed design agencies upon her arrival, until she was snapped up by GA Group.

Returning to Australia, Erin joined KPDO, where she first met and worked alongside (technically above!) David Flack. The two hit it off, and though they did go their separate ways to establish their own firms, they’re now reunited at Flack Studio.

The most important verb in the get-your-dream-job lexicon is…

…build!

I’ve been building my career since the very early days of studying.

Part of the Interior Architecture degree at Monash involved completing a six-week work placement. I did mine at Bates Smart, where I stayed on one day per week in my fourth year then eventually started full-time when I graduated. I worked mostly on Crown Casino projects, including the Crown Towers hotel upgrade with design mentors – Jackie Johnston and Candice Bradley, I absorbed as much knowledge as possible in these early days which sparked an interest in hotel design and led me to GA Group in London to work on many amazing hotel projects throughout Europe.

After a couple of years in London, I returned home to work at KPDO with Kerry Phelan and Associate Hugh Lane, which is where I met David Flack. I have never taken my opportunities for granted and have continued to build on the generosity of knowledge from my peers and experiences with each role.

I landed this job by…

I have known David Flack for nearly nine years, and we remained close after finishing up at KPDO; we both left at similar times to set up our own individual studios. While Dave was setting up Flack Studio, I was setting up Studio Tate with my business partner Alex Hopkins. A couple of years later, after hearing I’d parted ways with Studio Tate, Dave asked me to join the team.

A typical day for me involves…

I have a little girl Zoe (16 months) who rises early, so I’m up at the crack of dawn. My husband Tom does the morning drop-off to daycare, allowing me to be at the studio by 8am. Mornings are the best time to get on top of emails and catch builders, then I enjoy a clean run while I’m designing, I will average around six hours a day of design. Planning elevations and designing joinery, putting together finish schemes. There’s a bit of everything, pus a lot of computer work, especially involved with managing a team. In my roles, you need to be intuitive and decisive, a skill which I have worked to build over the years.

I usually have five projects in various stages of design that I’ll be managing at one time, and I will then have a further three that will be in construction and requiring fortnightly site visits.

All projects are designed by David and myself as we have a collaborative approach to our working relationship – you will find either of us at each other’s desk at any given hour. We also present most projects together; we see our time with clients is precious and they enjoy the different insights we both provide. We keep Mondays free from client meetings and I have Fridays off with Zoe, so Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays fill up with client presentations, design reviews with the team, and yellow tracing.

By the afternoon it’s my turn to pick up Zoe; so I’m out of the studio by 5.30pm.

The most rewarding part of my job is…

… too many. Design is multi-faceted, whether it’s working with my clients, nurturing the team or drawing details on a new project, you’re always designing. As an Associate of Flack Studio – I have the opportunity to focus on design development with the team. I really love the time I have with David, we both push ourselves, we’re always on the same page – whilst our individual design aesthetics are different (David is more colour, more finishes; he really pushes it, and I am saying, ‘less, less, pull back’. We meet in the middle) they complement each other beautifully and make every Flack project stronger. I have learned from the best, it’s now my time to impart that knowledge.

On the other hand, the most challenging aspect is…

…juggling. I can’t express how much I enjoy my time with my daughter Zoe and my time designing at Flack Studio. However, there is a grey zone between these two worlds that no-one tells you about, neither worlds are ever far from my mind. I guess the challenging part is that grey zone – where at times you’re not sure where you have your foot.

You just have to try to be super organised. I know that I have to be out of the door at 5-5:30am now, that I have to be a bit more diligent, structured and really stick to my plans to make having this wonderful job and also being a Mum work. I’m still refining it!

The culture of my workplace is…

Collaborative with a work hard, play hard philosophy. Design is at the forefront of what we do – the studio has a strong design support and admin team, allowing the designers to do what they do best. Both David and I enjoy bouncing ideas off each other, so input is encouraged and nurtured by everyone. We also take the team on international study tours, last year the team went to Tokyo for a week, next year I hear Paris is on the cards… I’d love to visit the Maison&Objet trade fair.

On Job Day at school, I dressed up as…

We never had job day, but now I have a little girl, I would have gone as a superhero, president or astronaut because it’s all possible for her generation.

The best piece of advice I’ve received is…

From my Mum… ‘Always do what makes you happy!’

Over the years, Flack Studio has…

…grown quite quickly, however, a key studio value is to grow better, not bigger. We’re fortunate enough to choose ‘Flack’ clients and concentrate on high-quality custom design. We’re a team of eight – with five in the design team and three in Practice Management, design support and accounts.

In the next five years, I’d like to…

…continue to build and develop my craft. There have been some previous opportunities in the studio to travel that I’ve missed out on, as my little girl is quite young; I’m looking forward to being able to travel in the future. So far, I’ve had projects based in New York, Tokyo, and Seoul and David has visited all three in my place – it’s time I get my Qantas points matching his!

I’m also looking forward to the continuation of the success of Flack Studio – we’re a little studio that punches way beyond its weight – something we’re extremely proud of.

0 notes

365footballorg-blog · 6 years ago

Text

MLS Newsstand - June 14, 2018

June 14, 201812:05PM EDT

MLS ARTICLES

Montreal Impact 3, Orlando City SC 0

Columbus Crew SC 0, Atlanta United 2

Toronto FC 4, D.C. United 4

New York Red Bulls 2, Seattle Sounders FC 1

Colorado Rapids 2, Chicago Fire 2

San Jose Earthquakes 2, New England Revolution 2

World Cup in Foxborough? ‘I think we have a great chance,’ bid president says

Boston Globe – June 13, 2018

FOXBOROUGH — The World Cup is coming to North America in 2026. Will Gillette Stadium be one of the host locations?

Brian Bilello, president of Boston Soccer 2026, believes his recently launched nonprofit can lure World Cup action to the Greater Boston area.

“Thinking about 2026 and the opportunity to bring the FIFA men’s World Cup back to North America, to the United States, and hopefully back here to Boston is tremendously exciting,” said Bilello — who is also president of the Revolution — in a news conference at Gillette Stadium Wednesday.

“There will be an effort over the next couple of years for those of us here in Boston to win the right to actually host games here in Boston. I think we have a great chance to do so.”

Foxborough played host to several World Cup contests back in 1994, at Foxboro Stadium. That was the last time the tournament was played in the US.

Officials from FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, met in Moscow Wednesday and voted to accept North America’s bid for 2026 over a bid from Morocco.

With the bid secured, 23 venues — mostly NFL stadiums — will begin campaigns to obtain games for their sites. That list will be narrowed over the next two years, as FIFA and the United Bid Committee analyze the economic and logistical viability of each candidate.

How does Gillette stack up? The fact that the venue is privately owned by the Kraft Group helps the chances considerably because the economic risks of hosting large-scale events at publicly funded stadiums are far greater.

Bilello, a lifelong soccer fan who yearned throughout his childhood for a local team to support, pointed out that private ownership wasn’t the only advantage here.

“When you look at our bid, particularly here in Boston, the venue exists, the transportation infrastructure exists, the airport exists, the hotels exist,” Bilello said. “There is nothing that needs to be built to bring the World Cup to Boston, and that is really important.

“From a big-picture standpoint, this is going to be a relatively easy and low-cost event to bring to North America and to bring to Boston.”

There remains work to be done, though. Should Boston’s bid prove successful, Gillette’s artificial turf would have to be replaced temporarily with a natural grass surface.

Bilello observed first-hand the impact that World Cup action had on improving soccer’s reach in the area 24 years ago. Engagement with the sport skyrocketed nationally, helping prompt the formation of Major League Soccer, which held its first MLS Cup two years later in 1996.

Bilello believes that welcoming the world’s best to Foxborough eight years from now could have a similar galvanizing effect.

“I think fans in the United States want to watch Cristiano Ronaldo, they want to watch Lionel Messi, they want to watch Mohamed Salah,” said Bilello. “I think people will be surprised at how strong the TV ratings are going to be in this World Cup, even without the US men’s national team in it.”

With 2026 World Cup in hand, the real work begins for US Soccer

New York Post – June 13, 2018

The United States couldn’t get into the 2018 World Cup, but on Wednesday the 2026 World Cup was brought to the U.S.

Now what can we do with it?

After the Men’s National Team failed to reach this summer’s tournament, which kicks off Thursday in Russia, the United Bid (a cooperative between the U.S., Mexico and Canada) won the right to host the 2026 World Cup. Now, the sport’s power brokers need to build on that victory.

It’s still undetermined if all three hosts will get automatic berths, as they have in the past. Considering America’s glaring absence in Russia, it’s vital U.S. Soccer leverages enough advancement over the next eight years to make that question moot.

“We believe soccer — or football — will become the preeminent sport in North America,” U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro said via teleconference. “The reality is in the United States on the men’s side, we have a lot of competition with three or four other sports; we’re not at the top yet. We believe this event will become a lightning rod, transformational for the sport. Kids who are now 8, 10, 12 years old can all dream of potentially playing for a national team.”

Soccer has surpassed baseball and is just a shade behind basketball (but far behind football) in popularity among American 18-to-34-year-olds, according to a Gallup poll in December. If soccer leadership plays its cards right, it will be take its place as America’s fifth “major sport” by the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around.

Futbol has long been king in Mexico, but now there are more kids playing soccer in Canada than hockey. Although just four million players are registered in the U.S., despite a population of a third of a billion, Cordeiro said he believes that amount can be tripled by bringing the game to our “disenfranchised and underserved.”

Hosting the 1994 World Cup spawned Major League Soccer. Having the league already in place gives this World Cup a stateside soccer engine to turbo-charge. MLS commissioner Don Garber called it “a monumental step in our collective mission to further advance the game of soccer in North America” and added “there’s no doubt that World Cup 2026 will elevate the sport of soccer to entirely new levels.”

Cobi Jones, who played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups — watched the bid in a New York office with former teammate Brian McBride, U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn and U.S. National Team GM Earnie Stewart. Jones helped the fledgling MLS in 1996, and said this World Cup can have even more impact.

“The legacy of the ’94 World Cup, MLS came out of it. Twenty-odd years later everything has come through that World Cup,” Jones told The Post. “In 2026 the dollars will be more, more attention, impact. Interest will pick up in the sport, [giving] an opportunity for kids in underserved communities to pick up as the money flows into it, and enjoy and play this game. Tapping into ’94, nobody expected [MLS] to be where it is now. I’m excited to see what the possibilities are.

“The onus will be on the powers-that-be to make sure the money and attention flows to those underserved communities, the money trickles down and is invested in the right ways. To be frank, we’re investing in our soccer future. … It’s more players into the pot, which is beneficial not just for soccer and MLS but society. I’m a proponent of sport being beneficial in learning skills in life: Why not soccer?”

FIFA will decide if the hosts get automatic bids. But to ensure the point is moot, Jones said the U.S. must reach underserved communities to find talent, develop teens such as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and the Red Bulls’ Tyler Adams and bring soccer passion to the public.

They have eight years to do so.

“It’s huge for our country as a whole. MLS is growing a lot, so to have international teams coming to the U.S. to see how we’ve grown as a country,” U.S. midfielder Kellyn Acosta, 22, said in video from FC Dallas. “To play a World Cup match in front of my friends and family, that’d be huge. I’m definitely excited.”

Pulisic, McKennie, Adams and Acosta, plus youngsters such as Josh Sargent and PSG’s Queens-bred Timothy Weah, will be in their prime when the World Cup comes stateside. Former U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati told ESPN the most important time in the U.S. capitalizing on 2026 starts today.

“It’s always been about this period right now, from the day you get the bid to the day the World Cup kicks off. That’s more important in so many ways than the 31 or 32 days of the event,” Gulati said. “The critical day is what’s it look like the day after? It’s about building the sport in those eight years using the leverage of the World Cup … and hoping that the game is at a higher level the day after.”

Said ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman: “[Soccer] is on the brink of becoming a major sport because kids these days — on their phones, video games — it’s FIFA, it’s soccer. The games only last two hours. I can go on and on about what this sport means. I just think it’s going to blossom having the world’s biggest event in this country. [In] 2026 we may be having a different discussion.”

Kiszla: Roar like a lion. Dream bigger than the ocean. Why we need World Cup soccer in Colorado.

Denver Post – June 13, 2018

The big lion roared and changed the life of a 9-year-old boy forever.

Dom Badji never would have watched a sunset over the Rocky Mountains, never stepped on a soccer pitch for the Rapids and never shared laughter with me if not for a single goal scored 16 years ago.

“It changed everything for me,” said Badji as we stood outside the Rapids’ dressing room, more than 5,000 miles and an ocean away from Dakar, the city where he was born on the west coast of Africa.

Such is the power of the World Cup, the biggest sporting event on the planet.

May 31, 2002, forever altered the path taken by a skinny kid named Dom. Senegal, making its first appearance at the World Cup, was playing Thierry Henry and defending world champion France at a stadium in Seoul, South Korea.

And Badji as watching on television from his sofa from Africa, cheering the underdog national team of his homeland, fondly nicknamed the Lions of Teranga. In the 29th minute of a scoreless match, huge midfielder “Papa” Bouba Diop came charging upfield, lunged at a loose ball in the box, saw it deflect of the hands of the French goalie and poked a shot in the net for the most beautiful ugly score anyone from Senegal has ever seen.

“I was running down the hallway, screaming,” said Badji, recalling a joy so loud he had it let it out.

The 2018 World Cup begins today in Russia. Senegal is back in the 32-team field for the first time in 16 years, and Badji will watch every game wrapped in his national flag, which will feel as a warm a hug from home.

The 2026 World Cup is coming to North America, quite possibly with Denver as a host city for as many as six games.

No sporting event in the world reveals so much of the world’s heart as the World Cup (sorry, Olympics). So I asked five members of the Rapids, from every corner of the globe, to speak on how the World Cup has shaped them.

Ask Badji the player to watch in Russia and he doesn’t name Lionel Messi or Neymar but goes full, unabashed homer and picks Sadio Mane. Asked which team will win the tournament, and Badji shouts “Senegal all the way!”

Marcelo Balboa, United States

In a Broncos town, Balboa is our bona fide soccer star. Great defender. Even greater hair. And the first player in United States history to earn 100 caps for the national team.

A man never forgets his first start in the World Cup. Balboa got his in 1990, on a June day awash in blue, against Italy, at a stadium so loud he could barely hear himself think.

“My heart was beating out of my chest,” recalled Balboa, who took the field in Rome with 90,000 Italians waving flags and screaming. “I was trying to say something to my teammates standing next to me and they couldn’t hear a word.”

His pick to win the 2018 Cup: Belgium or France.

His player to watch: Antoine Griezmann, France.

Tommy Smith, New Zealand

What lengths will an athlete go to reach the World Cup stage? Smith was born 28 years ago in England. But he represented a rugby country, New Zealand, during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The champions club is reserved for soccer snobs, as only eight countries of elite pedigree have taken home the trophy in 20 tournaments, including Brazil (five times), Germany (four) and Italy (four).

But anyone can crash the party. And isn’t that cool? This year, the happy upstart is Iceland, a country where waterfalls outnumber soccer fields by 10-1. Eight years ago, it was New Zealand. The All Whites have never won a World Cup match.

The beauty of the tourney, however, is any underdog can bite. Eight years ago, Smith walked away with a 1-1 tie against mighty Italy.

“The underdog doesn’t have all the external pressure,” said Smith, now a Rapids defender. “To not have that tag as a favorite? It helps you mentally to play each game with the freedom of knowing the country doesn’t really expect you to win, but will always love the underdog.”

His pick to win: Belgium.

His player to watch: Lionel Messi.

Yoshi Mitsuyama, Japan

The NFL has endured a bit of a national anthem hubbub (as you’ve might have heard).

FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, plays the anthem for both sides prior to the match. But it limits the patriotic songs to 90 seconds, so everybody can get on with the game.

Mitsuyama is the newest member of the Rapids staff. He’s an assistant trainer and a native of Tokyo. I wanted to know: When the Japanese anthem plays prior to matches, what warm-fuzzy feelings of pride and nostalgia would bubble inside him?

“Nothing,” Mitsuyama said. “The national anthem is far different in Japan than it is here in the United States. They don’t play it all the time in Japan.”

The World Cup gets it right. Fans can proudly belt out the words to the anthem, if that’s their thing. But it’s about the sport, not the song.

His pick to win: Germany.

His player to watch: Robert Lewandowski, Poland.

Johan Blomberg, Sweden

Who’s the best player in the world?

Those who love soccer pick Messi. Those who adore chiseled abs and outsized attitude pick Cristiano Ronaldo. (Oops, is my bias showing there?)

Blomberg, a midfielder generally listed at 5-foot-10 and 143 pounds, picks Messi. I guess little guys stick together. On a good day, in proper light, Messi appears to be 5-foot-7. Tops.

“That’s the only way I have Messi beat,” said Blomberg, laughing.

But what does he admire most about Messi? His genius on the ball? The magical goals?

Instead, Blomberg replied: “He’s never diving. He always tries to stand up. He just plays.”

Little guys with big hearts don’t flop.

His pick to win: Brazil.

His player to watch: Messi.

Atlanta United has dominated opponents on the road

Atlanta Journal- Constitution – June 14, 2018

COLUMBUS, OHIO — With Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Columbus, Atlanta United has more road wins this season (5) than it had last season.

And it will have nine more chances to improve upon that total. Six of those matches will come against teams that are below the red line.

Atlanta United leads the league with 33 points, 17 coming from the road where it has a better record (5-1-2) than it does at home (5-2-1).

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan said the biggest difference between last season, the team’s first when its road record was 4-6-7, and this season is their approach and developed maturity.

The league record for road wins in the non-shootout era is nine. It has been set by four teams.

“I don’t think it was until the eighth or ninth minute until they touched the ball,” he said. “We had a fantastic period in the first half where we kept the ball moving, one or two touches, made them shift, made them defend. Obviously, they weren’t pressing us high, and we weren’t causing them any problems. Stuff like that is important on nights like tonight. It’s how you get points on the road in MLS.”

Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said the success is a reflection of chemistry and experience.

“We have been together longer,” he said. “We were able to modify systems. More time together, able to modify the formations, more hours of work on the field just getting to know each other better. That’s been the difference. “

Atlanta United’s only loss on the road this season came in its first game in a 4-0 drubbing at Houston.

Since then, the Five Stripes have defeated the Crew, Chicago, L.A. Galaxy, Orlando and Minnesota and tied New England and NYCFC. Three of those teams are below the red line, which signifies the six teams in each conference that will advance to the playoffs.

Atlanta United has earned points in a variety of ways. It dominated the Galaxy to earn three points, and was dominated after being reduced to 10 men in Minnesota, but still came out with all of the points. It coughed up a late goal and two points against the Revs, and held on for dear life to earn a point at NYCFC.

The win against Columbus was more professional and efficient. Atlanta United went from the 3-5-2 back to the 4-3-3 formation that it had success with last season, enjoyed 54 percent of the possession and allowed just three shots on goal.

“I think it’s really important,” Hector Villalba said. “It’s going to serve us well, because we want to be a good team on the road. That’s something we set for ourselves as a goal this year, to be better on the road, because last year, at times, we were weak. We want to get as many points as we possibly can, and we know it’s impossible to take all of them, but we just want to take as many as we can and be strong on the road.”

Crew Cuts: Trapp, Steffen ready to play on short rest with break coming

Columbus Dispatch – June 13, 2018

Wil Trapp and Zack Steffen didn’t get much of a break after a transatlantic flight that wrapped up a two-game Europe trip with the United States national team.

They returned to Columbus on Sunday and were back at the Crew training facility Monday for some light work.

But they know a break is coming. Following Wednesday’s game against Atlanta United, Crew SC will have an off weekend for the first time since the season started. They do not play again until a June 23 game at LAFC.

“I’m just resting up, staying off my feet a little bit and doing what I need to do out on the field and in the training room to get ready,” Steffen said Monday. “I’m not feeling bad right now so I’m excited for it.”

Trapp has six national team appearances but doesn’t have as much experience with in-season international travel. Still, he was Crew SC’s ironman last season, playing all but 25 minutes of 2017. If there was a short-rest situation, he played in it.

He’ll experience the same situation Wednesday against Atlanta.

“We’re going in Wednesday to win the game,” Trapp said. “There’s nothing else after that in terms of the weekend, so it’s about giving it everything we have in this Wednesday match.”

Asked if it’s easier to play Steffen and Trapp on short rest knowing there’s a break to follow, coach Gregg Berhalter said, “We’ll see. We’ll look at it. I think the most important thing is to see how they’re doing and make sure they’re fit and ready for the game and then we’ll make that decision as it comes closer to gametime.”

His decision, evidently, was that both are ready to go.

Miguel Almiron entered Wednesday’s game listed as questionable with a shoulder injury.

It did not keep him out of the starting lineup.

His presence is a benefit to Atlanta, which is a much different team without him. This season, the midfielder from Paraguay has six goals and six assists and has been an integral part of the team’s 9-3-3 start. Without him in the starting lineup in 2017, Atlanta went 1-2-3.

“I think they’re different (without Almiron). It’s like saying, ’How are we different without Federico (Higuain)?‴ Berhalter said Tuesday. “I think when you lose quality you’re gonna be different but that’s not so say they’re not gonna be a great team and that’s not to say that they’re not gonna have really talented guys stepping in, because they do.”

Atlanta has been excellent on the road to start 2018, going 4-1-2 in its first seven games with its only loss coming to Houston on opening day.

The lineup

GK Steffen; D Valenzuela, Abubakar, Mensah Afful; MF Trapp, Artur, Martinez, Higuain, Santos; F Zardes

Jonathan Mensah makes his return to the lineup after not starting the last three with a thigh injury sustained in practice. He made 12 straight starts to begin his second MLS season and for the most part looked much improved after a rough start to 2017. Also back are Trapp and Steffen.

Mike Grella, who played 76 minutes in a 1-1 tie against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, is not in the 18. Grella has made seven appearances since returning from a knee cartilage injury that cost him the latter half of his 2017 season with New York.

Portland Timbers, Thorns, T2 players and staff volunteer in community as part of Stand Together Week

The Oregonian – June 14, 2018

Portland Timbers and Thorns owner Merritt Paulson spent Tuesday afternoon working alongside other members of the Timbers and Thorns organization to pull up weeds and do maintenance on rhododendron gardens at the wildlife habitat at Jenkins Estate in Beaverton.

The event was part of the club’s seventh-annual Stand Together Week.

Paulson was joined by Timbers defender Roy Miller and Thorns players Meghan Klingenberg, Ellie Carpenter and Britt Eckerstrom.

Through Stand Together Week, the organization is conducting 33 different volunteer projects benefiting more than 30 organizations across the Portland area. Members of the Timbers, Thorns and T2 joined more than 1,000 volunteers to work on projects this year.

Over the last seven years, the Timbers and Thorns organization has worked on 225 projects as part of Stand Together Week.

The week-long initiative has only grown over time. Along with conducting events in the Portland area this year, the Timbers and Thorns organization worked with several regional supporters groups on additional philanthropic projects.

LAFC’s Omar Gaber ready to help Egypt in World Cup

Pro Soccer USA – June 13, 2018

MOSCOW — History was written for Egypt when Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah stepped up and converted a penalty in the 95th minute of the World Cup qualifier against Congo. Les Pharaohs are record champions on the African continent, having won the African Cup of Nations on seven different occasions.

World Cup qualification, however, has eluded the North African country for much of its history. Only twice, in 1934 and 1990, did Egypt manage to qualify for the world’s biggest stage despite its fantastic record on its home continent.

Los Angeles FC’s Omar Gaber witnessed that historic moment up close, from Egypt’s bench. The right back often acts as a backup to the more experienced Ahmed Fathi with the Egyptian national team. Gaber will still be an important member of a squad that will take on host Russia, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group A of the FIFA World Cup.

Egypt begins the tournament Friday against Uruguay. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 a.m. EST. Fox Sports 1 and Telemundo will broadcast the match.

“Actually, we have good players. We trust each other. We are like one family. We are fighting for each other,” Gaber told Pro Soccer USA when asked about Mohamed Salah’s importance to the squad.

His message was clear: Only as a team can Egypt be successful in Russia.

“I think we have a very good team; this is the first time we qualified in 38 years,” he said. “We have played at the final of the African Cup of Nations many times. We have good players in good clubs. We will do well.”

Despite Gaber’s confidence in the team as a whole, much will indeed depend on superstar Mohamed Salah given Egypt’s lack of experience at the world’s biggest tournament. The Liverpool winger, however, suffered a serious shoulder injury in the Champions League final against Real Madrid at the end of May and will likely miss the first match against Uruguay.

That match, however, will not be seen as the key match for Egypt in Group A. Uruguay is expected by many to walk this group, so Egypt will have to get its points in the group stage matches against Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The second group stage match against Russia at the Saint Petersburg Stadium will be like a mini final for who will finish second in the group behind Uruguay. The newly-erected stadium on Krestovsky Island can be a cauldron when the Russian Sbornaya play there.

Keeping cool in that atmosphere will be key when it comes to Egypt’s chances in that match. It might also be a match in which Gaber could shine for Egypt given his past experiences of having played in Russia.

“I played there once with my former club [FC Basel of Switzerland] against CSKA Moscow. It was a great atmosphere there and people like football there so much. We are very excited to go there,” Gaber said with a smile on his face.

He’s likely very much aware of his chances in that particular game. He’s experienced the hostile atmosphere of the former Red Army team’s home ground.

While CSKA Arena is a relatively small ground, Saint Petersburg Stadium will be a much different beast altogether. With 68,000 feverish Sbornaya supporters cheering for their country to make the next step in the group.

But Gaber almost seemed to relish that chance to take on the host country.

“We will do special things there”, Gaber said with a laugh.

And who knows? With a healthy Salah, Egypt could shock the host nation — fulfilling Gaber’s promise in the process.

Miguel Shares Love For Soccer In “How We Do” Major League Soccer Ad

Vibe – June 13, 2018

Singer, songwriter, and LA Galaxy fan Miguel has teamed up with Major League Soccer for their World Cup broadcast spot “Our Soccer.”

This will be the second ever after the rapper and Atlanta United 2-Chainz’s debut spot in February.

In the June MLS spot, directed by Rollo Jackson, Miguel narrates the beauty of diversity and fandom of the coveted sport. He’s seen cheering his team on from a couch but he’s enamored, nonetheless. The singer is joined by friends, supporting and vying for Mexico.

“Our Soccer” draws on the diversity that defines the MLS, the most representative and progressive league in North America.

The spot, while zeroing on Miguel’s fandom, also depicts an array of fans and bytes of their stories, highlighting the brew of backgrounds surrounding lovers of the sport. In the non-diegetic description, Miguel says, “Our soccer is everywhere. It runs the streets. Reps where we’re from. Makes us known. So the world knows. Who we are. How we live. How we do. Our soccer.”

Despite the differences in the fans, they are united by soccer.

The spot will air online on June 13 and hit broadcast television on Thursday, June 14 in the U.S. and Canada during the World Cup Games.

It’s been also announced the singer is heading to Indonesia for We The Fest in July. In addition to other performers like Vince Staples and SZA, the grounds will also feature plenty of activations like a silent cinema, a WTF skate park and a WTF Post Office where fans can make custom post cards and stamps.

Check out the ad below.

Orlando City nosedive continues with 3-0 road loss to Montreal Impact

Pro Soccer USA – June 13, 2018

MONTREAL — Orlando City has been in a free fall for weeks, and on a rainy Wednesday night at Stade Saputo, the Lions hit a new low.

It’s a low coach Jason Kreis is hoping will end up being the worst of the season, when all is said and done.

During a shambolic performance against the club with most losses in MLS in front of an announced crowd of 15,621, the Lions shot themselves in the foot repeatedly. The Lions (6-8-1, 19 points) dropped their sixth consecutive match in league play, falling 3-0 to the Montreal Impact (5-11-0, 15 points).

It was Orlando City’s final match in league play before the World Cup break.

“I sure hope so,” Kreis said with a laugh when asked if Orlando City has reached its lowest point of the season. “That is 1,000 percent the hope is that this is rock bottom and that we can move forward from here.

“I keep telling the guys, and I believe it to be 1,000 percent true, is that nobody’s helping us out of this. Nobody’s coming over the wall to rescue us. Pretty clearly we’re not getting any 50-50 referee decisions so we’re going to have to take this one ourselves. We’re going to have to work together and bring ourselves out of this.”

The match was the second of back-to-back stops in Canada for Orlando City. It was also the Lions’ fourth road match in a row, including a game against Miami United in U.S. Open Cup play.

When asked what positives he could take from two matches in Canada, Kreis was clear.

“Zero,” he said. “Zero points means zero positives, really. I still think we’re doing some things right in the game, but at the end of the day, we get paid to get points and we didn’t get the job done.”

For the 13th time in 15 matches this season, Orlando City conceded the first goal. For the third time this season, the opposing side scored the first goal of the match on a penalty kick.

The Lions got off to a nightmare start and the Impact wasted no time getting into Orlando City’s penalty area. In the fourth minute, centerback Amro Tarek cleared a shot to the feet of Montreal midfielder Saphir Taider in the penalty area. Taider made his way toward the end line and was tripped up by Orlando City’s Cristian Higuita for a penalty.

Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti stepped up and converted the penalty kick in the fifth minute and Orlando City found itself battling from behind again.

“I’m a little exasperated at the moment because it’s another game where a critical decision just goes against us,” Kreis said. “I vehemently disagree with the call. I don’t think it was anywhere close to a penalty kick. And we’re down 1-0 again.

“Like it or not, the reality of life is that with so many things happening in so many games so many weeks in a row now, it’s really hard to keep coming back from that. Really hard to keep a positive mindset and a positive response to that.

“The challenge is ours. We have to rise to that challenge and be able to do better.”

Things were just as bad in the second half, even though the Lions controlled possession (61.2 percent in the second half) and took nine shots (two on target).

Montreal doubled its lead in the 55th minute thanks to an own goal from Tarek. Piatti found left back Daniel Lovitz on the left side of the penalty area.

Lovitiz didn’t bother taking a touch and sent a low cross in front of the goal. Tarek tried to clear it out for a corner and instead sent the ball into the back of his own net.

The Lions spent the rest of the match frantically searching for a goal. Kreis made three second half subs and all three decisions brought on attacking players.

Piatti put the exclamation point on the match for the Impact with a goal in the second minute of second half stoppage time.

The loss spoiled the MLS return of captain and centerback Jonathan Spector, as well as striker Dom Dwyer’s return to the starting XI.

“We’re frustrated with each and every loss, but the only thing we do is take it one game at a time,” Spector said. “On a six game win streak we took it one game at a time and we’ll do the same in this. We have another opportunity coming up in the Open Cup against D.C. and we need to take that one.”

Orlando City plays D.C. United on Wednesday in U.S. Open Cup action. The Lions resume MLS play June 23 at home against the Impact.

Piatti’s two goals lead way as Impact slips and slides to a soggy 3-0 win

Montreal Gazette – June 13, 2018

Ignacio Piatti retuned to the lineup after a one-game absence and scored two goals as the Impact shut out Orlando City 3-0 Wednesday at Saputo Stadium in the driving rain.

The win moved the Impact into ninth pace in the MLS Eastern Conference but, more importantly, Montreal moved closer to Orlando City, the team occupying the sixth and final playoff spot. Orlando has now lost its last six starts and is stuck on 19 points, four more than the Impact. Montreal can close the gap further when the teams meet in Orlando on June 23.

The Impact took advantage of a penalty kick to take a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute. The penalty was awarded after Cristian Higuita fouled Saphir Taïder in the box. Piatti scored his sixth goal of the season when he caught goalkeeper Joe Bendik diving to his left while the shot went to the right. Piatti had gone five games without scoring, the longest drought in his MLS career.

He produced a second goal in added time at the end of the game, dribbling around Bendik before tapping the ball home.

“We’re a better team when he’s in the lineup,” coach Rémi Garde said. “He wasn’t 100 per cent for three or four games and I kept him out of the last game because he had a muscle problem. Sometimes, when you don’t play, you come back fresh.

The Impact had a call go its way in the 28th minute as Tony Rocha found Dom Dwyer with a through ball. Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush came out to play the ball at the top of the box. Dwyer beat Bush to the ball but he was ruled offside.

The Impact went up 2-0 on an own goal by Orlando City’s Amro Tarek in the 55th minute. Piatti set up Daniel Lovitz as he made a run at the left side of the box. Lovitz delivered a centring pass intended for Matteo Mancosu, but the ball caromed into the net off Tarek.

Garde said it was good to have the early lead, but he reminded the players at halftime that they let first-half leads slip away earlier this season.

Orlando had two chances in the 66th minute. Dwyer was inches wide of the post with a header and Josué Colmán made a strong run into the box, but Rudy Camacho caught up to him and put enough pressure on him that his kick went over the crossbar. Bush made four saves to preserve the shutout.

The Impact has had more than its share of injuries this season and they may have lost midfielder Jeisson Vargas. He tried to continue playing after twisting his left knee, but left the game in the 33rd minute.

Rain and the threat of a thunderstorm had its effect on the crowd. The announced attendance was 15,621, but the actual turnout was far less.

At halftime, the Impact continued its 25th anniversary celebrations by introducing eight former players with Quebec roots — Patrice Bernier, Mauro Biello, Patrick Diotte, Patrick Leduc, Grant Needham, Adam Braz, Rocco Placentino and Antonio Ribeiro.

United 2, Crew SC 0 | Atlanta ends nine-game unbeaten streak for Crew

Columbus Dispatch – June 13, 2018

Crew SC entered a three-game homestand expecting a test of its strength against Toronto FC, the New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United, with Toronto being the defending MLS Cup champion and the latter two Eastern Conference contenders.

Now, following disappointing performances at home, it begins a much-needed World Cup break after an anemic finish to the first half of its season.

A 2-0 loss to Atlanta in front of 10,132 on Wednesday night at Mapfre Stadium was the Crew’s first loss in 10 games but followed two other home games in which it dropped points. It was a “flat performance,” coach Gregg Berhalter said.

“We got beat by a better team on the night and it’s frustrating,” he said. “I just think for us, it was not a great performance.”

A Crew team looking to make a statement to the rest of the Eastern Conference instead logged just two points of a possible nine over its homestand. It enters the second half knowing there’s work to do.

“You always want to be on the top, but to be on top it’s not easy. There’s a lesson for us,” defender Harrison Afful said. “We have to put this behind us and then make sure we do our corrections and think about them next game.”

The Crew finished with its first home shutout of 2018 but came close to scoring more than once.

Gyasi Zardes fired a shot on target from the left side in the 51st minute. Substitute wing Luis Argudo did the same in the 72nd. On each occasion, Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan came up with a big save.

Instead, Atlanta found the second goal of the game. Hector Villalba easily finished off a ball in transition in the 82nd.

The second half registered the same result as a poor first half in which the Crew logged just one shot on target — a Pedro Santos line drive from distance in the 41st minute — and did not show enough precision to make Atlanta sweat.

Atlanta is a dangerous team, a fact the Crew knew from two losses to it in the 2017 regular season. But in the 30th minute, the Crew did not force a dangerous team to earn its goal, as Josef Martinez finished off his 14th of the season by heading home an Ezequiel Barco corner kick.

The Crew’s best chance came on a set piece of its own, but an open Jonathan Mensah bounced a Federico Higuain free kick wide right in the 28th.

Four games across all competitions in 13 days to start June was always going to be difficult, the Crew knew. That proved to be the case, but now it has a chance to breathe and regroup over its first open weekend since the start of the season.

“We just have to go back and clear our heads,” Afful said. “It’s a long season, and we have more games coming up, so we’ll … clear our heads and make sure that when we get back on the field we keep our heads up and do the job.”

Martinez scores MLS-leading 14th goal, Atlanta United wins

FOX Sports – June 13, 2018

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Josef Martinez scored his MLS-leading 14th goal of the season, Hector Villalba added a goal in the 82nd minute and Atlanta United beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 on Wednesday night.

Atlanta (10-3-3), the Supporters’ Shield leader, handed Columbus (7-4-6) its second loss in its last 16 home games. United also snapped the Crew’s nine-game unbeaten streak.

Martinez opened the scoring in the 30th minute by heading home Ezequiel Barco’s corner kick. Martinez was injured on the play and was replaced at halftime. Martinez has six goals in the last four games.

Villalba, a second-half sub returning from injury, finished off Atlanta’s counter attack by rolling a shot under goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

Steffen had a 525-minute shutout streak snapped. The runs was the eighth longest in MLS history.

MLS Review: Toronto, DC United play out eight-goal thriller

FourFourTwo – June 14, 2018

Toronto came from behind to earn a point in an eight-goal MLS thriller against DC United, while Josef Martinez scored again Wednesday.

In an incredible clash at BMO Field, Toronto came from 3-0 down and then needed a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 4-4 against DC.

Yamil Asad completed a team move to open the scoring for the visitors, before Paul Arriola headed in their second.

DC struck again on the stroke of half-time, Darren Mattocks scoring to make it 3-0.

But Toronto rallied after the break, scoring twice in the space of nine minutes to get back into the game.

Jonathan Osorio side-footed in Toronto’s first before Victor Vazquez converted a rebound after Sebastian Giovinco hit the post.

They completed the turnaround with four minutes remaining, Nick Hagglund heading in a Justin Morrow cross.

While Toronto had all the momentum, DC retook the lead as Asad tapped in a Patrick Mullins cross.

But the hosts had one more response in them, Hagglund heading in an Osorio cross at the back post in the 92nd minute to see the teams share the spoils.

In Columbus, Eastern Conference leaders Atlanta United were too good for the Crew in a 2-0 win.

Martinez scored for the fourth straight game, netting his 14th of the season with a 30th-minute header.

Hector Villalba sealed Atlanta’s win with eight minutes remaining, the victory moving them five points clear atop the conference.

A brace from Ignacio Piatti helped Montreal Impact past Orlando City 3-0 and the New York Red Bulls edged the Seattle Sounders 2-1.

Chicago Fire came from behind to draw 2-2 with the Colorado Rapids and Danny Hoesen’s double saw the San Jose Earthquakes draw 2-2 with the New England Revolution.

Nick Hagglund’s late brace helps Toronto erase three-goal deficit, earn draw with D.C. United

ESPNFC.com – June 13, 2018

Two late goals from defender Nick Hagglund twice saved Toronto FC in a wild 4-4 draw against D.C. United on Wednesday night at BMO Field.

Down 3-0 after 55 minutes, Toronto scored three times in the next half-hour to complete the comeback, with Hagglund’s 86th-minute header serving as the equalizer.

In the final minute, however, Yamil Asad put D.C. back ahead after finding himself on the left side of a wide-open Toronto net.

This set the stage for Hagglund once more, as the defender headed in another cross two minutes into stoppage time. Hagglund was an unlikely candidate for a brace, as the goals were just the third and fourth of his five-year MLS career.

Three first-half goals seemingly put D.C. on pace for an easy victory, as the team’s pressing attack found plenty of space against a disorganized Toronto back line. Asad opened the scoring in the 12th minute, notching his fourth goal of the season after converting a Luciano Acosta cross.

These early struggles continued to be an issue for Toronto in the 17th minute, as the team was unable to get back after a corner attempt to stop United’s counter-attack. Zoltan Stieber launched a long cross into the box and Paul Arriola headed the ball in for a highlight-reel score.

A defensive breakdown led to another United goal in the 45th, with striker Darren Mattocks collecting his fifth goal in his last six league games.

As one-sided as the first half was, however, the second half was almost a total reversal of form. Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio scored his team-leading fifth goal in the 57th minute to put his team on the board, followed by Victor Vazquez scoring in the 64th.

That set the stage for Hagglund’s two equalizers in the wild final 15 minutes.

New York 2, Sounders 1: Red Bulls prove too much for Sounders

Seattle Times – June 13, 2018

HARRISON, N.J. — Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 10th goal of the season in the second half and the New York Red Bulls beat the Seattle Sounders 2-1 on Wednesday night.

The home team has won the last five meetings in the series. The Red Bulls’ last home loss against the Sounders came in 2010.

Daniel Royer gave New York (8-4-2) a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute, and Wright-Phillips made it 2-0 in the 52nd. Royer was left open at the far post for an easy finish of Florian Valot’s cross that got past three players.

A well-weighed cross by Ethan Kutler and a clinically headed finish by Wright-Phillips gave the Red Bulls the cushion they needed against the offensively-challenged Sounders.

It was the first career assist for Kutler.

Harry Shipp scored for Seattle (3-8-2) in the 87th minute on a sliding shot that hit off the far post and went in.

This loss didn’t mirror some of Seattle’s other defeats this season in that the Sounders’ attack had its fair share of chances to find goals in addition to Shipp’s that could have changed the dynamic of the contest.

Will Bruin forced goalkeeper Luis Robles into a great diving save off a well-placed header of his own off a first-half corner kick, while Victor Rodriguez’s missed chance on a breakaway also wound up looming large in the match.

Coming off the cross-country trip, the Sounders now have a 10-day break before their next MLS match.

Seattle returns to MLS play with a matchup against Eastern Conference foe Chicago on Saturday, June 23.

The Sounders then play Cascadia Cup rival Portland at CenturyLink Field on Saturday, June 30.

The Sounders will be represented in the World Cup by Swedish midfielder Gustav Svensson and Panama captain Roman Torres.

Daniel Royer, Bradley Wright-Phillips help New York Red Bulls past the Seattle Sounders

ESPNFC.com – June 14, 2018

Daniel Royer and Bradley Wright-Phillips scored goals and Luis Robles made four saves in five chances as the New York Red Bulls held on to beat the Seattle Sounders 2-1 on Wednesday at Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

New York won for the first time in its past four MLS matches while Seattle lost for the fourth time in its last five games.

The Red Bulls have four wins and a draw among the most recent seven matches at home in MLS play against Seattle, with the lone loss coming in 2010. The home team has won each of the past five meetings between the Red Bulls and Seattle.

Royer put the Red Bulls in front at the 37th minute, taking a pass from Florian Valot at the far post after a long run from Ethan Kutler and a cross deep into the box. Valot’s pass was little more than a deflection to fool Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei and just slightly changed the direction of Kutler’s pass. The assist by Kutler was his first in MLS.

Wright-Phillips found the net with his head in the 52nd minute when he pounced on a centering pass from Kutler and beat defender Cristian Roldan to the ball, directing it to the low and left of Frei at the near post. Sean Davis was also given an assist for his corner kick that started the tally.

Frei’s play in net kept the Sounders in the match, as he turned away 11 shots, including three at point-blank range.

Harry Shipp, who entered as a substitute in the 59th minute, cut the New York lead in half with three minutes to play as he pushed a pass from Will Bruin past Robles. Waylon Francis also got an assist on the play.

Both teams will take a break this weekend for group play in the World Cup. New York returns to the pitch on June 23 when it hosts FC Dallas while the Sounders head back to Seattle to host Chicago, also on June 23.

Katai caps wild opening 24 minutes, Fire tie Rapids 2-2

Chicago Daily Herald – June 13, 2018

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Aleksandar Katai scored the fourth goal of the game in the 24th minute and the Chicago Fire tied the Colorado Rapids 2-2 on Wednesday night.

Colorado took a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes on goals by Dominique Badji and Tommy Smith. But nine minutes later, Chicago tied it after an own goal and Katai’s finish.

Badji, returning from suspension, got it started in the seventh minute by rolling in his first goal since April 29th. Smith was left wide open for an easy header at the far post.

Danny Wilson’s own goal put the Fire within a goal in the 21st. Katai controlled a long pass with his chest, beat his defender and curled in a shot off the crossbar.

Chicago (5-7-4) is 1-2-2 in its last five road games. Colorado (2-9-3) ended a franchise-worst eight-game losing streak. It was tied for the second-longest league losing streak since the start of 2010.

Colorado Rapids take early lead but extends winless skid to nine games with 2-2 tie against Chicago Fire

Denver Post – June 13, 2018

COMMERCE CITY — The Colorado Rapids built a two-goal lead Wednesday and snapped their eight-game losing streak, longest in Major League Soccer this year. But they failed to hold the lead and get the win, walking off the pitch at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a 2-2 tie against the Chicago Fire.

The game’s four goals came within the first 24 minutes of the game, with Colorado scoring the first two before the 16th minute.

“In the end, when all said and done, I’m happy that we’ve stopped the bleeding. That was really important,” Colorado manager Anthony Hudson said. “The most important thing is, after a run like this, is we didn’t lose. So we’ve stopped the bleeding and at the end we probably did enough to get three points. We created good chances at the end. So, yeah, I’m disappointed not to get the three points but please we stopped that run.”

It’s been a brutal week for the Rapids. Exactly one week before hosting the Fire, they failed to produce a shot and lost a U.S. Open Cup game 2-0 to the second-division Nashville SC of the United Soccer League. Colorado’s road trip continued through Houston, where it lost its eighth straight MLS game to the Dynamo 2-0 on Saturday.

The Rapids are now 0-8-1 since beginning the season 2-1-1.

Colorado jumped ahead against the Fire with goals from Dominque Badji in the seventh minute and Tommy Smith in the 15th. Smith assisted on Badji’s goal before scoring with a back-door header off a feed from Jack Price to make it 2-0.

“We go two goals up and I think for a period of time there we just had a little bit of panic,” Hudson said. “We allowed them back in the game.”

Wilson’s mistake came in the 20th minute just a couple feet from Colorado’s goal line. Wilson found the ball on his foot and chipped it high in goalie Tim Howard’s net instead of clearing it from danger.

The Fire tied it just four minutes leader when Aleksandar Katai beat the Rapids’ Smith in a footrace down the right wing and lofted a strong shot past Howard and inside the far post.

Both teams had five attempted shots in the first half and 13 for the game. The Fire led in possession at 65.1 percent.

Danny Hoesen brace draws San Jose Earthquakes level with New England Revolution 2-2

Pro Soccer USA – June 13, 2018

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite a two goal performance from Danny Hoesen, the San Jose Earthquakes came up short again, settling for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution Wednesday night at Avaya Stadium.

Hoesen’s goals, his eighth and ninth of the season, bookended goals by Diego Fagundez and Cristian Penilla, as the Quakes (2-9-4, 10 points) saw their winless streak at home extended to six games.

“I feel I can be one of the players that sees the team to success,” Hoesen said. “I try to work hard for the team and score goals, give assists, but eventually it is a team performance. So I just try to do my job, and hopefully soon, it will get us to three points.”

The result was the second straight draw for the Revolution (6-4-6, 24 points) on their two game road trip, and despite earning another point, which keeps them well above the playoffs line in the Eastern Conference, head coach Brad Friedel wanted more from the game in San Jose.

“It feels like a loss, to be honest with you,” Friedel said. “We created enough chances to score more than two goals, and we gave away two very sloppy goals.”

For San Jose, it was another lost opportunity to gain maximum points at home, something the team hasn’t done since its season opening 3-2 win over Minnesota United. Head coach Mikael Stahre, who is finding difficult to explain away the mounting losses, still feels that the Quakes have more to show.

“We conceded two really easy goals, actually, from a transition and from a set piece,” Stahre said. “We can’t concede goals like this. It is absolutely crazy from my perspective. We created lots of chances, but we must also be frank and admit that they also created some chances at the end of the game. I think we were better than the opponent, but it is still just a tie. But, it is a step in the right direction, I think.”

Only a few days removed from it’s shocking loss to LAFC, the makeup of the team was fairly consistent, and with a 10-day break to look forward to, Stahre made only two changes to his starting eleven. Tommy Thompson, who was making his first start of the season, replaced Jackson Yueill, and Francois Affolter came in for the suspended Kevin Partida.

The Quakes came out a bit sluggish on the evening, as a giveaway in the center of the midfield by Florian Jungwirth allowed Fagundez to sprint in on goal uncontested. Andrew Tarbell storming off his line to disrupt the Revs’ midfielder, got a glove to the shot and prevented a sure goal.

Jungwirth atoned for his mistake in the 17th minute with a well timed tackle in the attacking third that dispossessed Kelyn Rowe of the ball, knocking right in the path of Hoesen. The forward danced in on goal, eluded two defenders, and tucked a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season and a 1-0 Earthquakes lead.

But the Revolution would earn the equalizer is spectacular fashion, as Fagundez curled a free kick from 20 yards out over the defensive wall and past a diving Tarbell in the 31st minute.

Much like in Saturday’s game, when LAFC took a 2-1 lead into intermission, New England followed up with its second goal of the half to put the hosts behind. After a corner kick was snagged in the air by Matt Turner, the goalkeeper sprung the visitors on the counterattack. The Quakes couldn’t recover, and within seconds, Penilla was celebrating his sixth goal of the season.

“It’s difficult to go up and then concede, so mentally it wears on us,” Thompson said. “But we showed character and we fought back and that’s what we’ve got to continue to do. Our backs are against the wall right now, but we’ve got to keep going.”

The familiar script continued, as the Earthquakes equalized in the 51st minute courtesy of Hoesen’s second goal of the night. Nick Lima got the play started with a gut-busting run up the right sideline to track down a long pass a send a perfect cross to the far post. Hoesen was first to meet the ball, glancing his header expertly past Miller to tie the score at 2-2.

Needing a spark, Stahre sent in Fatai Alashe into the game with Yeferson Quintana, dropping Jungwirth into the back line in place of the Uruguayan. He then followed with Jahmir Hyka for Thompson, as the Quakes pressed forward in search of a game winner.

“When Florian stepped down to centerback at the end the game, he changed the game,” Stahre said. “He controlled the game really good, and we had more possession and controlled the game much better.”

San Jose created some chances, but the offense couldn’t break through, as the Revolution defense held strong, and both teams had to settle for a point. The result broke the Quakes’ four game losing streak, but it did little to help them in the standings, as they remain in 11th place in the West.

“It’s frustrating,” Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski said. “We lost another lead, and it’s nice to come back though, but that’s not good enough across the board though.”

The Earthquakes next travel to Utah to face Real Salt Lake on June 23, before returning to the Bay Area ahead of their annual summer showdown with the LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium on June 30.

Revolution battle to a draw in San Jose

Boston Globe – June 14, 2018

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Danny Hoesen scored two goals to help the San Jose Earthquakes tie the New England Revolution 2-2 on Wednesday night.

San Jose (2-9-4) avoided its first five-game losing streak since 2009. New England (6-4-6) is unbeaten in its last six games in the series, with three victories.

Hoesen opened the scoring in the 17th minute. After a defensive turnover, Hoesen dribbled into the penalty area and sent a left-footed shot past Matt Turner. Hoesen tied it at 2 in the 51st on a header for his ninth goal of the season.

Diego Fagundez tied it, 1-1, in the 31st by bending a free kick over the wall and inside the near post.

Cristian Penilla scored his sixth goal of the season in the 43rd on a fast break to give New England the lead. Penilla dribbled down the left side, cut back his defender inside the box and smashed a shot into the top corner.

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