#Cafe Style Shutters

[shuttermanuk]

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[liliansun]

FREE TRIAL WEDDING STYLE | L. DONGHYUCK

synopsis: when a random, cute, guy comes up to you and practically asks for you to follow along, you do so without much thought. that is until you get home and see he’s your new neighbor who just might need your help a little more than you expected.

pairing: fake-bf/new neighbor!haechan x oc

wc: 10.6k

genre: fluff, comedy, fake dating au, slice of life (?), wedding au

warnings: warnings, kissing, all that fun jazz (lmk if I miss any)

mentions of: 127, dream and wayv members, mention of aespa members

<3: special thanks to ash and briar for literally just beta reading anything I ask them to and for just being the best friends I ever could’ve asked for, they’re the real og besties and I love you guys sm 🫶

PART TWO: FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Looking up at the boy in front of you who seemed desperate for you to follow along, you clear your throat as you shift your eyes to his friends. “Um, I thought I told you I was coming here on break.” Awkwardly trying to come up with the right words, the boy watches as you look panicked and takes the seat in front of you. “It must’ve not gone through, babe.” He said, reaching across the table to place his hand over yours. You glared at him, making him immediately retract his hand and laugh it off as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“We’re out Haechan, text us when you’re gonna meet up.” One of the guys from what you can only assume was his friend group said as he got up and gathered his belongings. “What- wait I still wanna come.” The boy, who you just learned is Haechan, whined as he immediately stood up from his seat when his friends made way for the door. “Dude you’re here with your girl, catch up later.” The boy with blue hair gave him a knowing look which caused the boy, Haechan, to pout. “Actually, I was about to go back to work anyway because- yeah, so um it’s nice seeing you, honey?”

Haechan can see how uncomfortable you are and simply nodded as you grabbed your belongings. He walked beside you, making your way to the door before you two part ways. To his surprise, you go off in the opposite direction than him and his friends, not saying another word about the shit show you had to endure.

After the awkward encounter back at the cafe, you went back to work and tried to pretend it never happened. Rubbing your eye with the palm of your hand, you don’t get a good look at whoever joined in the elevator when it stopped midway to your designated floor. Too caught up in the oddly comforting feeling of rubbing the stress and sleepiness from your eye, you lean back with both eyes closed. “Didn’t get enough sleep?” You recognize the voice, humming as you let out a yawn.

“Why didn’t you take a nap on break?” You roll your head toward the voice, opening your eyes to see Jaehyun giving you a knowing look. “I had lunch away from the office and I’m honestly starting to regret it.” The ding of the elevator signals you to get off on your floor. Jaehyun follows behind, slipping his hands into his pockets. “What happened, did you try some weird new restaurant again because if you spend the next 30 minutes away from the desk again I’m gonna shred your computer.”

You furrow your brows, whipping around on your heels to point a finger into his chest. “It’s not my fault, okay, last time I tried that cheap fusion food truck and it gave me food poisoning.” Shuttering, you try to block out the memory of the last time you went away from the office for lunch which cost you a bill from the hospital and toiletries to keep you at bay. “Plus this wasn’t anything that happened with the food, this guy..I don’t know it was weird and I just wanna forget about it.”

“Suit yourself, but don’t be calling for me when your stomach starts to churn.” He says, walking away from you to enter the main office area. You sigh, running your fingers through your hair as you slip between the crowded area till you get to your own desk. Plopping down in your seat, your eyes immediately look at the brightly colored sticky note left by your senior editor. Snatching it from the base of your computer, you groan while crumbling it in your hand. “Someone’s sour today I see.”

“Maybe if Kim Jungwoo didn’t leave cryptic messages at my desk when I’m not there instead of telling me when I’m actually in the office then I wouldn’t want to bash his pretty face in.” Karina smiles at you, leaning against your desk as she watches you throw away the note into a bin. “Do I even want to know what that was all about?” You roll your head towards her, shaking your head before refocusing on the emails you missed. “Gotcha, speaking of pretty faces, Jae told me you met a boy at lunch.”

“How did he tell you that when we literally just got in?”

“He has a big mouth for such a quiet man.” Nodding along, you start to click through emails, sorting through which ones are important and which ones can be pushed back till you get home. “So.”

“So?” Karina smiled at you, leaning towards you as she wiggled her finger. “Don’t play dumb y/n, tell me about the boy!” Rolling your eyes, you shrug her off and go back to what you were doing before. “Uh uh, don’t do that, tell me pretty please? I mean when’s the last time you had a boy to talk about since your douchebag of an ex.” Fighting back a frown, Karina notices how stiff you get and gently rubs your arm. “I’m sorry, I know it’s still fresh.”

With a heavy sigh, you turn your chair towards her. “That’s the thing, it’s been two years and I still can’t seem to get over him or even mention him.” She continues rubbing your arm, knowing all too well how messy your breakup with your ex was. “I really can’t say much about him though, the guy I mean.” She nods, letting you know she’s listening. “He’s cute, I’ll give him that, kinda baby faced in a mature way if that makes sense and he seems almost childlike with the guys he was with but in the moment he was more desperate than anything.”

She smiles, playing with the ends of your hair. “Sounds like you like him.” You give her a twisted look, shaking your head at the thoughts you could only imagine that were starting to play out in her head. “No, uh uh no ma’am, don’t give me that look I literally just met him.” She props herself up on your desk, swinging her legs as her smile widens at your sudden defensiveness on the subject. “Karina, I promise you, he literally came up to me and pretended like we were dating! What kind of guy does that?”

Raising her eyebrows, she leans back on her palms. “Only the desperate boys who wanna slip your skirt d-“ The sound of a loud clearing of the throat caught both of your attentions. Looking at who was standing in the entryway to your small desk space, you see a very unimpressed Taeyong. “I’m not gonna ask what you two are giggling about,” he throws his hands up, wiggling his fingers with one while the other shakes around a manila envelope in the other, “But this is for you sent directly from Doyoung.” With a fake smile, you take the envelope that he ever so kindly handed over, snickering as he left off back to whatever he had found before.

“I hate to see what you did in your past life, karma is a bitch to you.” When your face deadpans, Karina throws her head back in a fit of laughter. You slap at her legs with the envelope, whining as she finds humor in your torture. “I don’t get why Doyoung always sends me the most complicated stuff, like I’m not the only person on the floor.” Putting emphasis on his name, you make a mental note to not get such a nice gift like you do each year for Christmas exchange. And if you’re wondering, yes you do get him a separate gift every year because you simply can. I mean, who wouldn’t, it’s Doyoung.

“Maybe because you’re one of the best editors on the floor.” Smiling, you lean back in your chair while tossing the envelope beside your keyboard. “You always know what to say to me.” Hopping off your desk, Karina flattens out the front of her pants before placing both hands on her hips. “Yeah yeah, work your magic and I’ll see you later.” You wave her off, facing your laptop with no intent on working on the pile of stuff in front of you.

After many excruciating hours sitting in your chair, you read the time and quickly gather your things to head home. You catch a cab to your tiny apartment, dragging yourself up the stairs in hopes you’ll actually make it to your bed before the mental exhaustion takes its toll. Reaching the top of the stairs, you see the door across from yours wide open. “I guess they found someone to fill the room.” You mutter to yourself, slinging your purse over your arm that doesn’t seem to stop sliding down.

As you’re putting your keys into your door, you hear scuffling behind you. “Oh hey neighbor.” Turning around, you meet eyes with the person you literally thought you’d never see again. “Oh, it’s you.” Haechan seemed taken aback, offended to his core when he gasped as he held his chest. “Nice to see you again, too.” If this was your final straw, your 13th reason, you’d probably let the world swallow you hole right on your doorstep and not bat an eye, but knowing Jungwoo he’d still find a way to drag you back to work in the morning.

“Sorry, I’m just too tired and honestly don’t even want to have this conversation.”

“What conversation are we not having?” You can’t tell if he’s genuinely confused and doesn’t recognize you, which only hurts a little, or if he’s just that pretty and that dumb. Maybe a combination of both to soothe your ego a little. “Y’know what- never mind, goodnight, neighbor.” You finally turn the key, unlocking your door and slipping into your lonely apartment. Dropping the bag by the door, you toss your shoes off and convince yourself a hot shower would wash this day away.

And it does, for the most part. Maybe it’s because you shampooed your hair and you feel ten times more clean or maybe it’s because hot water seems to cure every bad mood you had before you got into the shower. Now, you’re hungry and all you want is something warm and to snuggle with your cat till your dreadful alarm takes you away from your sleep. You’re in the kitchen, drying your hair with a towel when you hear a knock at your door. And another and another.

Your only guess as to who it could be was Karina, maybe she and her boyfriend got into a fight again and she wanted to blow off some steam at your place. You go to open the door, being met with a very sheepish looking Haechan who can tell your mood dropped a little at his presence. “What.”

“Okay, firstly ouch, is that any way how you treat a neighbor? I mean I just moved in tod-“

“I’m giving you five more seconds to tell me what you want or I’m shutting the dam-“

“Okay okay fine, uh, can I maybe, possibly just sorta hang out?” Maybe Karina was right, maybe this was your punishment for whatever fucked up thing you did in your past life and now you have to endlessly suffer as if you’re made of steal. Well news flash universe, you’re not, now lay off. “You’re kidding, right?” When his eyes drop down to his hands that he was anxiously rubbing together, you let out a sigh before stepping aside.

He looked up, his eyes almost bright as he looks into yours. “Come in before I change my mind.” Once he stepped inside, you expected him to sit quietly on your couch and do whatever he thought he was gonna do when he got in, but you were far from that reality. The quiet, almost shy, boy who you just so happened to meet twice in one day completely came out of his shell and is now sitting across from you on your floor while sharing a separate bowl of soup.

“So why did you name your cat peanut?” The pet in question, or conversation, came from the hallway and walked around rubbing his body against various things in your living room. “Because my brother is allergic to peanuts and peanut hated him so it seemed fitting.” He smiles, content with your answer as she moves his spoon around in the bowl. “You’re a bad host, you know?” With a mouth full of soup, you chew the contents with furrowed brows. He came to your door, invaded your space, is eating your soup and dares to call you a bad host?

“Excuse me, but you’re the one who came up to me at the cafe and practically forced me into going along with your story!” He scoffs, setting his bowl down in his lap while pointing his spoon at you. “You’re the one who went along with it, look where that got you.” You narrow your eyes, trying to weigh your options on what’s the best way to commit homicide. “Wait-what—why are you even in here again?”

“Well, see now that’s a good question.” His sudden change in demeanor was weird. He suddenly seemed nervous, shifting in his spot as he avoided your gaze. “I actually, uh, have something to propose. Well, more like ask a question if you will, it’s really interchangeable honestly.”

He mirrors you, watching you with hopeful eyes as you start shaking your head. “Oh no, uh uh, don’t even say it.” He hurries behind you, pouting as he watches you set your near empty bowl in the sink. “I didn’t even say anything yet.” You turn around, holding your arms out to prevent him getting any closer. “No, but I know what you’re gonna ask and I’m not—no!” Haechan tries to speak, being interrupted when you shh him. You walk past him when he puts his bowl besides yours, speed walking down your hallway to your room.

“Y/n, don’t leave me in here alone.” God he sounded so whiny, it’s kinda cute if you’re honest, but that’s more of a random thought than a compliment for now. “Wait- how did you know my name?” Turning on your heel, the two of you stop midway in your hallway. “The landlord told me, he said if I ever needed anything to ask my neighbor and I currently am in need!” You turn back, trying to block him out as you enter your room and desperately climb into your bed.

Haechan stands at the entrance of your room, pouting when you reach for your laptop beside your bed. “Do you know how insane this is, I mean we just met today and then you just so happened to move in across from me and now you’re in my apartment, practically in my room,” you take in a deep breath, laughing it out as you open the device in your lap, “and I already feel like I know what you’re gonna ask me and it’s so fucking insane.”

Haechan doesn’t say anything, looking at you with an awkward smile. If you knew him, you’d think he was enjoying this, but that’s the thing is that you didn’t know him. “I know this is crazy and you might try to call the cops, but just hear me out.” You scrunch your nose, staring at him from across the room with crossed arms. “Remember the guys I was with earlier right, they’ve kinda been on me about being in a relationship and in a panic, I saw you and yeah the rest you pretty much know.”

“Do you know how pathetic that sounds, to use a random stranger as a decoy for your love, or lack of, life.” He looks taken aback, almost hurt at your brutal honesty and it leaves a slightly bad taste in your mouth. “Look, I’m sorry for that and almost as sorry as the situation your friends put you in.” He shrugs, running his hands through his hair as he opts to sit against your doorframe. There’s an uncomfortable silence that settles between the two of you, both not entirely sure what to say next and not sure on what to even begin to say to make it better.

You stare at the unopened files on your screen, mentally weighing your options and trying to decide whether to kick him out and potentially file a restraining order or to give him a chance, both seem like they’ll end up in flames honestly. “Look, I’ve seen way too many drama shows and I have a feeling on how this is supposed to go—it may be because I’m sleep deprived or how sad you’re looking right now, but I’ll think about it.”

His face lit up, hope filling his eyes with a certain kind of sparkle that made you feel worse if you’re being honest. “I knew it was a good decision to move here, I just knew it.” He mumbled to himself, smiling as he got up from your floor and brushed himself off. “I’ve got work to do, but we’ll talk tomorrow..I guess?” Nodding, Haechan gave you a salute which made you laugh before turning on his heels and disappearing into the darkness of your hallway. You let out a breath, a breath you didn’t know you were holding and lean against your pillows trying to figure out what you just signed up for.

Just as you start clicking on files, Haechan comes running back to your door. “You should probably lock the door.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea.” Pushing your laptop aside, you get up from your bed and follow behind him.

The days following your very awkward and yet unclear agreement, you would only see Haechan in the hallway when one of you was leaving as the other was just getting in. That talk you were supposed to have, yeah that never actually happened due to your sudden pileup of work that occupied your time. Just have you been all week, you were currently sitting on your couch with your laptop occupying the space on your lap as you wait for your takeout order. You’re about three-fourths of the way done with what you’re working on when you hear a knock at your door.

Setting the device aside, you get up and go to answer it with your wallet in hand. When you open the door, much to your surprise, you see a very awkward Haechan holding your bags of takeout. “You sure do order a lot of food for one person.” Raising one brow, you reflect the smile he was giving you. “And who said I didn’t have company over?” You step aside, letting him come in and he does just so. After making his way towards your couch, he sets the bags down on the table in the center. You stop to think as you close the door how comfortable he seems when he barely knows you and has only been in your apartment one other time.

“If you did, I probably would’ve heard because, you know, the whole being neighbors thing.”

“Oh so you’re stalking me now?” He rolls his eyes at your comment, plopping down at the end of your couch. “You wish you got that much attention, don’t you.” You grab the nearest thing, good thing for him that it was a pillow, and throw it across the couch—directly hitting him in the head.

“Now that’s enough for a restraining order!”

“Please, if you didn’t wanna be near me then why’d you come to my door?” Haechan got silent, looking down at his hands while you sat back in your spot and started unpacking the food. “That got real deep real fast.” The sound of his chuckle made you smile, making sure to lay out the food across the table for the both of you. Silently, he leaned forward and started to fill up his bowl with toppings of his choice. Both of you started munching down, occasionally setting your food aside to continue your work. “What are you working on?” He asked, leaning into your side to peak over your shoulder.

“Our contract for this unrequited love.”

“Haha, very funny.” Haechan’s sarcastic tone and expression to match made you snicker as you finished up on your report and sent it off to Jungwoo for review. “Just some final notes for an article.” He nods, seeming content with your answer. “That’s not a bad idea though.” When you turn towards him, confusion evident on your face, Haechan then elaborates. “I mean the contract or at least some rules to this,” he motioned his hand between the two of you, “because I can’t tell if you can tell, but I’m desperate as hell.”

“Brownie points for rhyming.”

If you could see whatever went through his head when you said that, you probably would’ve enjoyed it just as much as seeing him throw his head into his hands. “Okay, in all seriousness how are we supposed to do this—I mean we don’t know one another and I’m not very sure I can trust a guy who still plays Michael Jackson till three am.”

Throwing his hands up, Haechan looked both offended and taken aback by your sudden forwardness. ”Firstly, don’t talk about the king like that, he’s a classic and everyone should be blasting his music the way I do, secondly I get where you’re coming from.”

Over the next two hours, the two of you talked about yourselves to help one another get more of an insight of your personalities, laugh at poorly made jokes and eat your way through cheap takeout food. After all that, you two moved on to why he approached you and the reason behind his need for a girlfriend. “So you’re telling me that the tall one,”

“Johnny.”

“Right, Johnny, is getting married and he kept pressuring you get a date for the wedding and instead of telling him you didn’t have one you made up a girl who doesn’t exist and when the one with blue hair,”

“Mark.”

“Yes, Mark, pointed me out as your imaginary girlfriend, you had no other choice, but to approach me and hope I’d play along?”

Haechan took a deep breath, cringing at the way you broke down his story which honestly made it sound worse. “Yeah, pretty much and did I mention they went to meet you before the wedding?” Squinting your eyes, you stare at him with your mouth agape. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“If I was, would I seriously be sitting on your couch right now?”

He had a point, he could honestly be doing anything in the world, probably playing some video game, but like anything other than staring at you like you’re his only hope. “You’re lucky I didn’t call the cops on you or something like a, I dunno, normal person would have.” Haechan falls forward dramatically, grabbing both of your hands and squeezes them as he muffles what you assume is happy screams into your couch cushion.

The sudden move shouldn’t have made your heart jump a little, but it did and you’re not entirely sure why. For now, you’re blaming it on the fact that he’s insanely cute and the greasy food as you feeling a little beside yourself. “Your godsend, truly from heaven itself.” You pull your hands from his grasp, trying to hide the fact that your face feels like it’s on fire. “Yeah yeah, let me go before I reconsider this whole thing.”

“Let me at least take you on the first date before you try to back out—which by the way, will be next weekend at the actual wedding.”

You know that spit-take scene in movies where a person literally spits their drink everywhere because of the shocking news they just received, well that was you when he said that. Only this time it wasn’t in slow motion and wasn’t nearly as awesome, instead you choked halfway through spitting it out and it came back up and out your nose as you tried to save yourself from choking.

Haechan, disgusted you just spit all over him and also worried to see you nearly come to your end, gets up from the couch and searches your apartment for a towel to clean you and him up. When he comes back, you had slipped away to the bathroom to not only hide your embarrassment, but to clean yourself up and change your shirt. After what seemed like enough time to hope he had left, you went back into your living room to see Haechan sitting on the floor and using your couch as a back rest.

“Are you okay because that was—well that was tragic to put it kindly.”

“Can we not mention that, like ever for the rest of our lives would be good.” Sitting across from him, you fold your arms on top of the table, trying to avoid his gaze as you look anywhere but directly at him. He nods, understanding how overwhelmed you just be with all that he’s asking. You can tell by his stance how grateful he is for you and you use that to settle your nerves a bit. After all, maybe this would be a good thing. Maybe all of Karina’s talk about the universe and good karma might actually pull through.

“I’m sorry for roping you into all of this.” When you finally meet his eyes, you could see the sadness that lingered in them as he hung his head. “I don’t want you to think I do this for fun or I’m creepy or anything—I feel really bad for bringing you into something you didn’t ask for.”

Your chest felt heavy as you watched him slump against your couch. The last few interactions with Haechan made you feel like you’ve known him your entire life and seeing him so down had you feeling hurt.

“If you don’t want to do this, tell me please because I just- I don’t want you to go along with this because you feel bad for me.”

“I do feel bad for you, but that’s not why I’m doing this.” When he lifted his head, you could see the smile spread across his lips. “I see this as a an opportunity.”

“To what exactly?” When he leaned in, you did the same. He looked so familiar in this moment, so relaxed and almost kissable. But that’s the last thing you need to be thinking about when his face is damn near touching yours. “Two words: free food.” Watching Haechan gasp, you laugh as he raises his eyebrows at you. “Who said I’m going to pay for your food?”

Shrugging, you look down at your wrist and start to tap it with your finger. “Oh look at that, seems like you’ll have to find another girl who will help you, guess you might as well go ho-“

Haechan jumped up from his seat, moving around the table to grab your wrist. “No no, that’s okay—free food you said, that includes travel rights too?” You almost hate to say it, but this boy was making moves that damn near took your breath away. It sounds almost sad to be so swooned over a boy you hardly know, but there was something about him that just made you feel so at home. Maybe it was the way he laughs at every bad joke you tell or maybe it’s the way he’s way too touchy for your liking and yet you don’t seem to mind it.

Maybe it’s the way his lips are so plump and every time he pouts, you just wanna grab his face and kiss him till you’re out of breath. Maybe it’s the way his hand always feels warm to the touch and you could only imagine how you’d feel with his arms around you.

“Earth to y/n?” The snapping of Haechan’s fingers pulled you from your thoughts, blinking at him as if he was just apart of your imagination this whole time. “What’s going on up there that’s got you so spaced out?”

“Nothing, just thinking about what I’m gonna wear to the wedding.” Haechan looked at you a little longer, his eyes scanning your face to which you assume he’s trying to find something in your eyes. He seems to have bought it, backing away from you to create more personal space for you while he goes back to sit across from you. “Good point, we might just have to go shopping around this weekend to find a dress—oh and don’t forget one for the wedding so that makes two.”

“With what money, exactly? I mean I’m not broke, but I’m not paid enough to buy two dresses I’ll probably only wear once.”

He rolls his eyes at you, pulling his phone from his pocket when it starts vibrating. He doesn’t answer, instead he swipes right on the caller id and brings the device to his ear. From what you can hear from the person on the other side of the phone, you felt like he probably had something important to do. You start to get up, picking up the towels that he used to clean up the couch with. When you left to drop them off in the dirty basket, you return to find your door cracked and Haechan to be missing. Assuming he had went back to his apartment, you start to go and close the door before it swings. Haechan comes in, being followed behind by a guy you don’t recognize.

“Donghyuck, that’s breaking bro-code and you know it.” You’re a little confused as to why Haechan was called by another name, but you stay silent and watched the blonde haired boy cross his arms at Haechan. “I told you Yangyang, I’m not going to give you the girl at my jobs number—she already told me she filed a restraining order.”

Yangyang, the blonde haired guy you assume, pouts as he gets down on his knees with hands intertwined. “Pretty please, it doesn’t even have to be her, it can be someone else, I just need someone man—I’m lonely!”

You watch the dramatic scene unfold in your living room, getting a weird sense of deja vu. After clearing your throat to try and prevent yourself from coughing, both boys look at you with confusion in their eyes. “Are you the fake girlfriend?”

“I guess?” The question threw you off when Haechan’s friend said it so bluntly. “Stop asking questions and go to my apartment.” Haechan picked his friend up from the ground, shooing him out of yours and to the one across the hall. When Yangyang was now in his apartment, Haechan turned to you with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry for what you had to witness.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve had weirder experiences than that if I’m being honest.”

He nods, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks around the floor. “So, I uh, I gotta get back to him or else he’ll probably destroy my apartment.”

“I’ll walk you home.” Your offer had his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as you followed him from your door to his. Right before he went inside, he turned around and, to your surprise, gave you a hug. You took him in, wrapping your arms around his as you two held each other for what felt like forever. “Goodnight, Haechan.” You whispered as he pulled away, smiling at him. “Donghyuck.”

When you looked at him confused, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “My name is donghyuck, but my friends typically call me Haechan.”

“So we’re not friends?” He shook his head, smiling so fondly at you that you weren’t sure what was real or fake at this point. “Only my special friends can call me Donghyuck.”

That night, his words echoed in your head as you laid in bed staring at your ceiling. You seem quite delusional for falling for someone who you barely know, but boy oh boy does he have you on the edge and you’re ready to give it all just to fall into him. You grab your phone from off your bed, scrolling through your messages till you find Karina’s name.

y/n: baby boo u awake?

naevis baevis: no ew go to sleep

y/n: I think I like him

naevis baevis: GIRL WHATT THE HELL DID I MISS??

y/n: i don’t know I’m IDK he’s got me feelin wheezy

naevis baevis: so he’s got you having diarrhea??

y/n: NO BITCH WHAT??

naevis baevis: tell me tomorrow at work I’m too tired for you and your pneumonia

As Karina swiveled her chair around, you sat on top of her desk while picking at the chipped polish on your nails. “So what’s his friend look like?” You look over at her with a deadpan expression as she wiggles her phone in her hand for you to see. “That’s the least important part of the story and instead of being a good friend you wanna ask about the random guy who practically begged for bitches on my living room floor?” She nods, continuing to wiggle her phone at you until you snatch it from her hand and type in his name.

“That’s all I get?” She frowns, scrolling through the pulled up suggested accounts with the same name. “Look, I only know his name was Yangyang and you better hope I spelt that right.” She looks focused as she continues to scroll through, clicking on an account and holding it up for you to approve—to which you did. “He’s kinda cute.” She coos, looking through his instagram feed while leaning back in her chair. “Karina.” You whine, nudging her leg with your foot as she giggles at her phone. She looks up from her phone, mirroring your pout as she sets the device down and folds her hands together. “Look, I don’t see anything wrong with it, he’s offering to pay for your dresses and he’s incredibly hot from what I saw on his friends page so I say it’s a win-win.”

“How do you know he’s incredibly hot based off his friends page?”

“Duh, you’ve described this man to me so many times I’ve practically seen him through your eyes at this point.” She had a point, ever since Haechan walked into your life, all you seem to do is talk about him and how he makes your stomach is filled with butterflies. “So when’s the wedding again?” You snap out from your thoughts, staring at her with shock. “Huh?”

“His friends wedding, when is it?” For some reason when she first asked the question, you thought she was talking about you and Haechan and that alone had your face turning a slight shade of pink. “Girl please don’t tell me you thought I was talking about your man.” You rolled your eyes, sliding yourself off her desk and pulled down the rolled up pieces of fabric of your pants. “He’s not my man.” She gives you a look that tells you she doesn’t buy your bullshit and swivels her chair back around to her computer. “Tell that to lover boy next time you see him.”

You ignore her last comment and head back to your desk, confused to see a note left by your keyboard. When you pick it up, you read that Xiaojun had eaten your lunch by accident and apologized via sticky note. Crumbling it in your hand, you plop down into your chair in defeat. You throw the sticky note in the trash and start to open up files on your computer when you hear the phone on your desktop ring. Answering, you continue to click open files with the phone to your ear. “Y/n’s office.”

“Hey y/n, it’s winter down at the front desk, this guy is asking for you if you’re not busy.” You check the time on your computer, shrugging as you pin a couple important things before closing off the rest. “Sure, I’ll come down.” After you hang up the phone, you let Jaehyun know you’re going to lunch in which he replies he hopes you get a stomach bug. One of these days you’re gonna poison his food you think—playfully of course.

After a quick elevator ride down, you enter the main lobby of your building and wave at Winter who was standing behind the front desk. She returns the wave with a smile and points over at Haechan who was sitting on a bench by the front doors. In his hand was a bouquet of flowers and his phone. “Um, are you stalking me because if you are then this won’t work, I draw the line at being creepy.” Your voice caught Haechan’s attention, closing off his phone and tucking it into his jacket pocket as he gets up and heads towards you. “No I’m not stalking you, I asked the landlord for your number and where you worked and surprisingly he told me in a heartbeat.”

You make the mental note to stop sharing personal information with your landlord before focusing in on the flowers in his hand. Haechan’s eyes follow yours, looking down at the flowers before handing them over to you. “I thought since I’m your fake boyfriend, I might as well be a good one for compensation on having to deal with the shit show you got sucked into.” You smile at the flowers, looking up to meet his eyes. “Thank you, for the flowers I mean.” He nods, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to hide his smile. “So, you’re not busy are you, because I totally showed up unannounced, but I figured it was better to do that then text you and you block my number”.

“No, I’m on lunch right now and you chose the best option on that.” He nods, linking his arm with yours and immediately starts walking towards the exit. “Excuse me, but where exactly are we going and why the hell did you feel the need to skip with your steps?” He smiled and if you’re honest, his smile brightened up the entire atmosphere around you. “We’re going dress shopping, duh, oh and to get lunch because I’m a good boyfriend like that.”

You didn’t have time to protest before the two of you were off into the city. He gave you the choice for lunch, picking a taco stand near some shops because you felt guilty for him paying for everything. He would not let you bring out your wallet and even threatened to throw it out the window if you tried to spend your money. The gesture was sweet, but his seriousness made you tuck it safety away in your pocket.

Once you found a dress shop you were comfortable entering, you both entered and looked around before one of the staff took you away while the other walked Haechan around and helped him pick out dresses for you to try on. Once he found a couple different options, you tried them on and the both of you settled on your favorite pick for the first dress that you’d wear to the ceremony. Since the reception was going to be later in the night, Haechan opted for a different dress that was more covering so that you wouldn’t be so cold. When you came out in the second dress that he himself specifically picked, you almost felt too nervous to meet his gaze.

When he turned around from talking to a staff member, he visibly froze when his eyes met with yours. Panic starts to rush through your veins as you pull and fluff the dress in hopes that you don’t look like a total fool. “So, how does it look?” Haechan didn’t say anything for almost two minutes, staring at you with his mouth open. You snap your fingers at him, face turning read as the staff members smile lovingly at you both. “Sorry, I uh, wow.” You look at him dumbfounded, turning around to go back and change out of the dress. Just before you close the curtain, you could feel the warmth from his fingers wrap around your wrist and turn you around. “Breathtaking, to answer your question, you look absolutely breathtaking.”

“I meant the dress.” You mumble as you try to avoid his gaze. “The dress is just a piece of fabric, it’s the person wearing it that gives it such glow.” You couldn’t think straight, your mind going to mush with the lack of space between you and Haechan, the sudden smell of his cologne taking over your senses and his blown-out pupils making you feel almost dizzy. You nod, swallowing thickly as you pull yourself from his grasp and rush into the changing area. Embarrassing is what you’d call that, way too embarrassing to talk about and way too embarrassing to not forget. You opt to pretend it didn’t happen and get dressed. When you hang the dresses on the outer rack, you realize the dress Haechan picked didn’t have any coverage on the shoulders and by time you had gotten dressed, you saw him at the register.

“Where’s the dresses?” You ask, meeting him by his side when he gets his receipt from the cashier. “They’re bagging them up now, why?”

“The second one didn’t have sleeves, you wanted sleeves so I don’t get cold, no?” To see the smile on his face made you confused, there wasn’t anything particular that was funny nor did you say anything for him to be smiling like he just found a million dollars. “I only want you by my side in that dress, the rest doesn’t matter.” You snicker, shoving him as one of the staff members calls his name. He walks over, getting both dresses in their boxes and some simple instructions on how to take care of them in washing. “You two are a beautiful couple.” The cashier’s voice caught you off guard, waving your hands as you shake your head.

“No, you’re mistaken, we’re not together.” Her eyes flicker between you and Haechan, smiling as she looks away embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I just thought because of the way you two look at one another.” You were just about to ask her what she meant by that when Haechan came back. “Ready to go?” You nodded, following him out the store and back to his car where you two drove in silence back to your job.

He bid you a goodbye and told you he’d keep the dresses till you came by to get them. You promised him you’d be by after work and went back into the building with the biggest smile on your face. With the flowers in one hand, you scanned your ID badge when you entered the building and saw a bunch of weird states from your coworkers. You wouldn’t necessarily call the weird, but they were all smiling at you so sickly that you felt as if you were about to get pranked.

The ride up the elevator was also weird, a bunch of people kept giggling and smiling at you when asking about your flowers and it was starting to make you uncomfortable. As you got off on your floor, you walk down to get to your desk when someone grabs you and drags you into a janitor’s closet. You nearly scream when being jerked to the side until you see Karina with a shit-eating grin on her face. Now that you know you weren’t about to be chopped up into little pieces, you steady yourself and take deep breaths to catch your breath. “You’re fucking insane.”

Staring at her in shock, you slap her thigh to which she winces. “Me, insane? You just drug me into a closet like a psycho maniac and for what?” She giggles into her hand, leaning forward as she sniffs your flowers. “So he brought you fucking flowers girl? We were just talking about him and he shows up with a bouquet and a ring?”

You roll your eyes at her emphasis on a ring. “What ring, we literally—wait firstly who told you he brought me flowers?” She then proceeds to explain how Winter saw you and Haechan and then told Ningning who then told Wendy who then told Taeyong who then told Jaehyun who then told literally everyone. You make another mental note to hunt Jaehyun down and ruin his chance at having kids. “So spill the tea, c’mon, don’t be shy and tell me about your date.”

“It wasn’t a date, he took me to lunch which he wouldn’t let me pay for I might add, he brought me dresses for the wedding he coerced me to be his date for and then drove me back.” She holds her hand over her mouth as she stares at you with a smile. “So he took you on a date.” You then slap her thigh again as she giggles and an unfamiliar smell catches your attention. “What’s that smell?” She looks at you, considering what smell you could be talking about. You lean in, getting a good look at her to realize her hair had been messed with, her lips slightly swollen and her shirt was buttoned wrongly.

You give her a grin as she sees you connect the dots and immediately opens the door. “Oh no, come back and do spill the tea miss Karina!” She covers her ears, trying to block you out as you follow behind her and start pointing out the differences of her appearance from before you last saw her.

Later that night, you kept your promise to go over to Haechan’s, but only after you had taken a very much needed shower did you do so. When you knocked on his door, you could hear the music that was being played stop and a bit of shuffling before the door opened. You expected to see Haechan, but to your surprise you saw someone you weren’t exactly familiar with. The guy who was giving you a weird look was his honestly kind of cute in an intimidating way, but you stopped yourself from thinking that any further than you already did. “Are you gonna say something or are you just gonna stare at me?”

Embarrassed, you avert your eyes from his and try to think of something to say. You don’t know why you feel so under pressure, maybe it was the lack of expression in his face or the fact that he was practically your height, but made you feel small. “Renjun, was that the pizza guy?” You could hear Haechan from inside the apartment, his voice bringing a smile to your lips. Just as you’re about to go back into your apartment and give up on getting your dresses, Haechan comes beside to the boy you assume is Renjun and sees your visible uncomfortableness. “Y/n, hi- oh shit I forgot to give you your dresses, didn’t I?”

“No, no actually I was supposed to come get them, but that’s okay I’m just gonna uhm I’m gonna go home.” Backing away from the door, you signal to your apartment entrance behind you as you see Haechan pout. “Wait, why don’t you come inside and hang out with us?” Haechan, who slipped through the space between Renjun and the wall, made his way to you in hopes to stop you from leaving. Your eyes flicker between Renjun and Haechan, feeling almost guilty for wanting to remove yourself from this awkward situation. “Hyuck, I’m just across the hall, go have time with your friend.”

Haechan’s face softened at the nickname, nodding when his hand brushed against yours. He clears his throat as he steps back towards his apartment, waving at you goodnight as you go back in to snuggle up to your cat. Haechan re-entered his apartment, ignoring the look on Renjun’s face as he plops down on his couch. “What was that and why was that so weird?” Haechan shot a look over at Renjun when his friend started to mirror the look.

“What, I mean from what I just saw from you two, y’all have some weird tension that needs to be solved.”

“Nah, you just scared her away by being that ugly.”

Renjun sarcastically laughs at Haechan’s poorly made joke, flipping up his middle finger at his friend. “I have you know that women find me dangerously attractive.” Haechan snickers, trying to prevent himself from laughing too hard. “Is that what your mom tells you at night?” The last part is what lead Haechan to run for his life around his apartment as Renjun brought various objects for use of a weapon against his friend. Finally after the two made a truce, Haechan decides to text you after remembering how he never did give you his number.

You were a little surprised to get a text when you weren’t expecting one, especially at the hour that it came in. You had been on the phone with Karina while she filled you in on the reason for her shirt being undone and messed up earlier that day. “I literally don’t know what came over me, but I messaged the guy and he ended up being around and we just pounced.”

You laugh, clicking on the message app. “I can’t believe you nearly gave it all to Yangyang.” She laughs, wiping the tears that were in the corners of her eyes from all the giggling you two have been doing. “Me either! I mean I know he’s cute, but damn his lips are magic.” You hesitate to open the unknown message, afraid it could bad someone trying to scam you out of whatever you got and to be honest it wasn’t much, but you knew you wouldn’t let them have your cat peanut.

unknown: hey

y/n: uhm hello?

unknown: I miss u

y/n: I will literally block you

unknown: ITS ME ITS HAECHAN

y/n: ohh hi hyuck

You decide change his contact name and save his number.

boy next door aka hyuck: wyd :p

y/n: blocking you bc that was cringe

boy next door aka hyuck: you want me so bad oo 😵‍💫

y/n: don’t you wish I did 😏

boy next door aka hyuck: yes

y/n: I’m telling my fbi agent

boy next door aka hyuck: tell them I said i just wanted to text you so you’ll have my number

boy next door aka hyuck: and to apologize for Renjun earlier but goodnight for now

y/n: goodnight hyuck

boy next door aka hyuck: goodnight y/n

The rest of the week and a half that played out before the wedding only added more fuel to the fire in your heart that burned for Haechan. He would send you songs throughout the day at random times to which you started adding to a playlist anytime you couldn’t stop thinking about him. He would leave things at your doorstep or drop stuff off at your job for you to get on your lunch break. He occasionally would come over or you’d be invited over and the two of you would spend the night laughing at poorly made moves, singing old Michael Jackson songs at the top of your lungs, which is how you realized that he was literally gifted the voice of an angel, and play board games after the two of you had one too many drinks.

Each time you two were alone and it was late, it always seemed that you were avoiding the inevitable. You could always stop yourself from leaning in and stealing a kiss from his plump and precious lips, but that never stopped your mind from thinking about it. The tension that Renjun mentioned before seemed to only get thicker the more you spent time with him, making it harder to see the line between this all being fake and what was genuinely real.

The morning of the wedding to be specific was when you could clearly tell that the dynamic of your relationship had shifted and there wasn’t much room to turn back now. That alone terrified you because you weren’t sure if you had been the only one feeling the way you felt. You had changed into your dress and made sure to apply minimal makeup to keep yourself from looking like a burnt out clown by the end of the night. Thankfully for you, the dress was comfortable and the venue where the ceremony was being held wasn’t too far.

“Are you nervous?” Your question came unexpected to Haechan, turning his head to give you a quick glance over as he continued his drive to the ceremony venue. “Why should I be, I’m not the one getting married.” He smiled thinking about his friend and the future he was creating from this day forward. Haechan was genuinely excited to see Johnny become a dad and do all the things he knew he was fit for. It wasn’t like Haechan was scared for that part of his future, he did look forward to being married and settling down with his partner, but he never thought he’d actually get that far in life to do so.

“Dunno, just thought I’d ask.” You lean against the window, propped up on your elbow as you watch the buildings pass by. Haechan reached over, grabbing your free hand and intertwined his fingers within yours. A lot of the time he would do this and each time it felt so comforting that silence would take over and all that could be heard was the music that was being washed out by the beating of your heart for him.

You must’ve zoned out because by the time you tuned back in, Haechan was parking the car at the front of the building and waiting for you to realize you had arrived. You got out the car, instantly smelling the salty ocean air beige meeting him around the front of the car and bring your hands up to straighten his bow tie. He smiles down at you, shoving his hands into his pockets as you brush off his tuxedo and fiddle with his hair. You give him a puzzled look, watching as he shook his head and mumbled something along the lines about ‘that was cute’.

The two of you entered the building, you turn to glance back at the beach that looked so relaxing before linking your arm with his. A few people come up to Haechan and you, introducing themselves and complementing the two of you as a couple. You stayed quiet for most of the time, not exactly knowing what to say and Haechan didn’t seem that interested in the people as well. You spot someone familiar, well he’s not exactly familiar, but you had seen him before. The boy with blue hair makes his way over, you choose to step aside and watch as he hugs Haechan as the two smile and pat one another on the back.

“Dude it’s been so long, what’s going on?” After hugging Haechan, the boy you try to remember that is Mark, straightens out his tux, but never falters his smile. “I‘be been busy with work and oh- I want you to meet someone.” To be honest, you weren’t really paying attention when Haechan started walking over to you. His warm hand lifted yours and the sweet look in his eyes made your cheeks feel warm. “This is my girlfriend y/n, y/n this is my best friend Mark.”

You go in to shake his hand, surprised when he pulled you into a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you, y/n, lover boy over here has literally been talking nonstop about you.” You smile, watching as Haechan mouths to you that he’s going to find your seats. After mark pulls back, the two of you chat a little by the same area, occasionally looking around for Haechan to find him talking to who you assume is his friends. “You know, you’re really good for him.” Marks words had you almost taken aback, turning your head to see him smiling. “At first, I was pretty hesitant because when he told me he had a girlfriend I didn’t believe him, but I’ve seen how happy he’s been and I can’t wait for us to meet again like this, it’s been a pleasure to meet you.”

“Meet like this again?” Mark look slightly embarrassed that you didn’t catch on, but he was being called by his date for the evening so he started to make his way off.

After the ceremony was over, everyone started to move towards the venue for the rest of the evening to conclude. A lot of people were left in tears, yourself included, by the vows exchanged between Johnny and his now wife.

When the two of you enter the venue, an overwhelming feeling washes over you and makes you grip his hand a little tighter. Haechan seems to notice, giving your hand a gentle squeeze as he guides you through the crowd of people who grouped around the entrance. Once he finds quieter space to pull you two, you were too spaced out to realize how close he had gotten. Both of his hands were on your shoulders, rubbing softly on the exposed skin to calm you.

“Hey, you’re gonna be okay, I’m right here y/n.” His voice brings you in from your thoughts, focusing on in the look in his eyes and how soft his features are in this moment. With a little nod, you let him know you’re with him and he smiles as you pull one of his hands from your shoulder and intertwine your fingers. He takes this opportunity to lead you towards your table where some of his friends you met earlier were seated. You immediately spot Karina and Yangyang at the mini bar just further down from the table and gave Yangyang a wave as he spots you and Haechan.

Haechan’s hand finds its way into the small of your back, immediately getting your attention as you turn your head towards him. “I’m gonna go get us something to drink.” He says, just loud enough to be heard over the music. You nod, standing behind your chair as you look over to the stage. Johnny walks up with the widest smile you’ve seen him sport since he kissed his bride and taps on the microphone a couple times. “Can I have everyone’s attention? Hello, everyone look up here.” Everyone goes quiet and the musics volume is lowered as Johnny looks over at the crowd. “I want to thank everyone coming out to celebrate me and my lovely wife coming together, this first dance will go out to all the new and older couples that are here, please join us in this dance to celebrate love that’s everlasting.”

Just as Johnny raises his glass, Haechan comes back and hands you your drink. You smiled as you took the glass from him and took a sip as the crowd raised theirs with Johnny. Just as Johnny gets off the stage, couples all start to make their way to the dance floor as Johnny gets to his wife and meets her in the middle. “We should go dance.” Surprised, you set your glass down and give Haechan a puzzled look. “Dance? But I don’t know how to dance and this is a couples dance.” He doesn’t take no for an answer, grabbing your hand and pulling you to follow him. “We are a couple.” You can’t exactly tell if he’s still going along with the fake dating charade for his friends or if the light in his eyes was genuine.

It doesn’t take much for you to give in, especially when the most romantic song Dandelions starts to play. Once he found a moveable spot on the floor, his hands circle around to your back and pull you in close. Your hands rest on his shoulders as you try not to make too much eye contact with him inches away from your face. “You’re so beautiful, y/n.” You could feel your cheeks heating up, trying to hide your face from him as you clear your throat. “Likewise, hyuck.”

“Just likewise?” When you turned your head to face his, he seemed a lot closer than you remembered and for some reason that terrified you and relaxed you at the same time. “I mean you are beautiful, very handsome and whatnot.” He laughs and the sound goes straight to your heart. You knew before you gotten to this point that falling for him would be so easy and so hard, but never did you expect for it to be this gentle. “I’m glad you think so, that alone gives me enough confidence to do what I’ve been dying to do.” You tilt your head at his sudden confession, watching as he leaned in and rested his head against yours.

You didn’t know what to do or even what to say, instead you opted to stay quiet and continue to hold him as the two of you danced. Somewhere between the end of Dandelions and the beginning of Golden Hour, your head was now resting against his chest and the two of you were lost in your own world. Haechan brought his hand up to your chin, gently lifting your head up. You blink at him, caught up in the music and the moment, not realizing what was about to happen nor did you want it to stop.

Haechan leaned in, pressing his lips to yours in a soft kiss. Your heart was beating out of your chest as you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him further in. Your brain turned into mush and your body felt like it was on fire as the two of you were caught up in a slow and almost loving kiss on the dance floor. Haechan was the first to pull away, resting his forehead against yours as he catches his breath. You continued to sway with him, moving back and forth as you build up the courage to ask the question you’ve been dying for an answer to. “Will you be my girlfriend, like a real one this time?” Pulling back, you smile at Haechan who looks almost panicked.

“Because if not that’s okay too- like you don’t have to we can totally forg—“ You cut him off by pulling him back in for a kiss. He smiles against your lips, giving your hip a playful squeeze. Once the two of you pull back from one another’s lips, Haechan smiles which turns into a soft string of laughs. “What’s so funny, it’s not exactly polite to laugh after kissing a girl you know.” He tries to explain, failing to when he continues laughing. “Aren’t you glad you got a free trial?” You give him a puzzled look, watching as he steps back from you and spins around on his heel. “Free trial wedding style.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from laughing at the way he poorly described your fake relationship from the beginning, but he had a point. You look back and now thank the universe for bringing him into your life and can’t wait to see what it’ll be like from here on out. Who knows, maybe the next wedding you’ll be at will be yours.

©︎𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐍., 2022

[stopdoomscrolling-cafe]

photography

hey there! welcome back to our cozy cafe! photography is an excellent way to capture and preserve memories, express creativity, and see the world from different perspectives. it helps you notice the beauty in everyday moments and improves your attention to detail. plus, it's a wonderful way to relax and connect with nature or your surroundings.

let’s explore why photography is an amazing hobby and how you can get started. 🍵✨

why photography is a great hobby:

creative expression: photography allows you to capture the world from your unique perspective. it’s a fantastic way to express your creativity and tell stories through images.

mindfulness: it encourages you to be present and notice the beauty in everyday moments. this can be incredibly calming and therapeutic.

learning and growth: there’s always something new to learn in photography, from mastering your camera settings to exploring different styles and technique.

social connection: sharing your photos can help you connect with others who have similar interests, whether through social media or photography clubs.

step-by-step guide to start photography:

choose your camera:

start with what you have, even if it’s just a smartphone. as you get more into photography, you might want to invest in a DSLR or mirrorless camera.

check out this video on choosing your first camera.

learn the basics:

familiarize yourself with basic photography concepts like exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

this tutorial covers the basics of photography.

practice composition:

learn about composition techniques such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, and framing to make your photos more visually appealing.

watch this video on composition tips for beginners.

experiment with lighting:

lighting is crucial in photography. try shooting in different lighting conditions to see how it affects your photos.

here’s a guide to understanding natural light in photography.

edit your photos:

editing can enhance your photos and bring out the best in them. start with basic editing software like lightroom or free apps like snapseed.

this video provides a beginner’s guide to photo editing.

join a community:

connect with other photographers to share your work, get feedback, and learn from others. online forums, social media groups, and local clubs are great places to start.

so, grab your camera, step outside, and start capturing the world around you. happy snapping! 📸☕🌿

[porcelainseashore]

Into the Ether (7)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Vampire! Toreador! Leon Kennedy x Fem! Reader

Summary: At the all-night events cafe you run, you’ve become acquainted with an elusive patron, Leon, though you can never remember the last moments of your interactions together. After a harrowing encounter, a love-hate relationship develops between the two of you as you grapple with your newfound status in a world of darkness and investigate the reasons behind the untimely attacks.

Content & Warnings: 18+ Resident Evil x Vampire: The Masquerade crossover, horror, mystery, romance, slow burn, strangers to enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, eventual smut, swearing, smoking, alcohol, drug references, non consensual blood drinking, blood bond, vampire turning, violence, injury, mild gore, torture, religious themes, minor character death, RE ensemble, VtM concepts.

Taglist: @admirxation @angelstargel @miss-oranje-disco-dancer ❤️‍🔥

AO3 Link

Chapter 7: More Than Human

During the time you stayed at his place, Leon let you have the bed while he took the couch. You tried not to feel guilty as he draped one of his extra bed sheets over it, fluffing the cushions up like pillows. And you tried not to feel the same guilt again, when you glanced over at the broken bedpost that you’d damaged in a fit of anger not long ago.

With a remote control, he closed the blackout shutters over every window in the apartment. They locked themselves with a click, ensuring that all outside light would be blocked out. A large duffel bag sat by the side of the room. Earlier, you’d packed a bunch of your stuff and transferred them over to your temporary residence. You didn’t know when you’d be able to return home again. Perhaps when the case that you’d been unwittingly assigned to was over and you had the chance to invest in some thick blinds.

You kept the usual hygiene routines you’d practiced before, wanting to retain any sense of normalcy you could from the time you had been human. Leon appeared to do the same. You felt like a weird couple, brushing your teeth together as your deadened gazes stared straight into the bathroom mirror. What was the point of pretending to be something you weren’t? You spat out the foamy toothpaste, traces of reddish-pink swirled along its surface. At least you could still bleed.

“Sleep well,” he murmured, fingers grazing your wrist as you passed by his couch. Then, he was out like a light.

You watched as he entered into a comatose type of daysleep; no breathing and no heartbeat to be found. He lay like a corpse, dead to the world — exposed, vulnerable and defenseless. Only vitae could reanimate him now.

You were glad that you couldn’t dream in this state. After what you had experienced, there would be no shortage of night terrors. Leon had mentioned about other Kindred who could hear whispers from the Abyss or the Beast in their sleep, but so far you hadn’t had to worry about that. In fact, going to sleep felt like dying all over again and for a moment you panicked, thinking you were suffocating on a bed you were unaccustomed to. But soon, you drifted off into nothingness, and your brain shut down until it was time for you to rouse the blood again.

It was an hour before sunset when you woke up, gulping in air as if you had drowned and resurfaced. Maybe it would take a couple more tries before you’d become more familiar with the feeling. You peered down from the upper level of the loft, spotting that Leon was still out cold. Funny how you were the early bird for once.

Filling a glass with the tangy, dark red liquid from his supply in the fridge, you drank it imagining it was beetroot juice. It was easier to stomach it this way. Your colleagues were expecting you at the cafe this evening, and you decided to get yourself ready to head off, paying close attention to the way you styled your hair, your makeup and even your clothes. You weren’t sure if they would be able to sense if anything was ‘off’ about you.

Leon hadn’t instructed you to do anything tonight, but it still felt as though you were a grounded kid sneaking out on a sleeping parent as you left the apartment building for a place you’d always regarded as your second home. Perhaps it would be nice to pay a visit to something you were familiar with in your previous life.

“Whoa… hey! If it isn’t the girl who came back from the dead!” Patrick called out the moment you stepped into the establishment. 

You nearly choked on your saliva, and he must’ve noticed the look of absolute horror on your face, as he peppered it with, “I mean, your phone was dead, and, uh, we thought you got kidnapped or something,” while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Bursting into laughter from the unnecessary tension you had been holding in, you pulled him into a tight, almost desperate hug, like you’d never been happier to see him. He seemed flustered by your sudden display of affection, but returned the embrace, giving you a few awkward pats on the back.

“Y’know, something about you seems… different,” he squinted, giving you a once-over, when you released him from your grip.

Shit, did you miss a spot? Was there blood on your teeth? Could he tell that you weren’t human anymore? A barrage of thoughts raced through your mind, until you reminded yourself to play it cool with one of those jokes you usually cracked when you didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah, guess I got pretty.” You shrugged, emitting another giggle as he rolled his eyes.

“If you were fishing for compliments, you could’ve just said so. I’m a generous man,” he retorted before heading towards the stage area to set up. “Anyway, whatever. Holler if you need me!”

As the evening crowd began to trickle in, you noticed that the two companions who seemed to know Leon, albeit on less than friendly terms, had shown up tonight as well. They waltzed over to you, though the nearer they got, the more they looked like they were treading on eggshells. You feigned busyness and the nonchalance that came with it, putting away clean glasses and helping your colleagues to take orders at the bar. It wasn’t until the male counterpart of the two thumped his broad, hefty hand on the counter top to get your attention, that you could no longer avoid the inevitable and turned his way.

“How can I help you?” you asked, putting on a well-practiced, polite smile.

“Mind if we take this somewhere more private?” It didn’t sound like he was the type to take ‘No’ for an answer.

“Um, sure?” You acted as if you were confused, but you had an inkling of where this was heading and wanted to see if your suspicions had been right all along.

Leading them to a storage area at the back, which was semi-hidden from public view, you waited for them to talk.

“So, we heard about your new status,” the man began, carefully choosing his words.

Oh boy, that explains it. “Jesus, you guys too?” you blurted out, pressing your forehead against the palm of your hand as you heaved an exaggerated sigh. “How many of you are there? And why my cafe?”

Before he could answer, you kicked a loose piece of trash on the floor in irritation and cursed out loud, “God-fucking-dammit.”

The man raised his hands halfheartedly like bear paws, his soft brown eyes looking on at you in amusement. “Sis, you sure this one’s a Toreador?” he roared out in laughter. “Smells more like one of us.”

The woman rolled her eyes, pushing her way forward in front of this hulk of a man. “Sorry about my brother, he’s not great with women.” You heard a disgruntled snort from him as she said that.

“Anyway, I’m Claire,” she mentioned rather matter-of-factly, though she hesitated a little before sticking out her hand towards you cagily, as if you might chew her head off. 

You weren’t sure what all the fuss was about as you accepted it, offering a firm handshake, which seemed to surprise her. For the first time, she smiled appreciatively back at you while you followed up with a short introduction.

Turning towards the man, she indicated, “This big boy here is Chris.”

Without any pretense, you took his hand proactively, giving it a similar handshake as he glanced at his sister, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Does she know?” he questioned.

Claire ignored him, focusing on you instead as she broached the subject. “Listen, I’m gonna cut to the chase here. You and I? We’re kinda on different sides, if you catch my drift.”

You nodded at her to continue.

“Thing is, most of us Anarchs are wondering if we’re now gonna have to vacate this area, ’cause uh, well, you’re a Cammy,” she tried to put her point across as succinctly as possible. “And I don’t mean this as a threat or anything, but I gotta say, there are some who are pretty pissed that this shit went down.”

Right, the Anarchs. They were but a brief footnote in Leon’s history lesson. The ones who broke away from the Camarilla, founding their own governing structure from what they deemed as ‘oppressive rule’. You likened them to left wing radicalists against the exclusive, upper echelons of conservative society. It was a no-brainer which group out of the two you would have preferred, but unfortunately Leon had already made that choice for you.

Anger at the lack of agency you had in all of this unfurled like gaseous vapor, sluggishly rolling off the tip of your tongue. “Fuck Kindred politics and whatever form of bullshit that it comes packaged in,” you seethed. “I’m not going to play anybody’s game here. As long as you behave, you’re welcome in my books.”

Chris gave a low, drawn-out whistle through his teeth as he clapped measuredly in response, somewhat impressed by your impassioned speech. “I like this one; she’s got some bite,” he told Claire before addressing you wistfully, “Damn, you would’ve made a great baby Brujah.”

No prizes for guessing that these two belonged to that clan. Rabble-rousers, spirited fighters, but intellectuals all the same. You wondered what it would’ve been like to join them. Were you merely a Toreador by lineage alone, shoehorned into the clan because of some forlorn love that your sire had for you? One that you were conflicted in reciprocating. Or did you actually have the heart of Brujah instead? What would happen if you didn’t belong in your clan?

“Yeah, that’s a shame,” she agreed. “Though you are a bit like Leon in some ways.”

“Claire!” her brother warned. It was his turn to knock some sense into her.

“What do you mean by that?” you pried, aghast that they could find any similarities between you and the man who broke your trust.

She opened her mouth to say something further, but he gripped her arm as his eyes narrowed at her.

Wedging yourself between the two of them, you demanded, “You can’t just bring him up and leave me hanging?!”

“See what you’ve done now?” he fumed, the corners of his mouth drawn downwards into a pronounced frown.

“Chris, she’s gonna find out sooner or later,” she fired back.

“Will someone just tell me what the fuck is going on?” you groaned in exasperation.

Chris let go of Claire roughly. “Fine, sis,” he grunted. “But you deal with the aftermath.”

Yanking her arm away, she tugged her devilish red leather jacket down by the lapels to straighten it, before explaining, “Leon used to run with the Anarchs for a while. Well, not officially, according to the Cam, but I would’ve considered him like a brother.”

Shooting daggers at Chris, she added snippily, “Apparently, having one already wasn’t enough, so I had to torture myself with more.”

Chris shoved a fist into his chest, as though an arrow had pierced his heart. “Ouch, that hurts,” he grunted mockingly.

Your jaw dropped at the story that Claire spilled to you. Leon as an Anarch? You could never imagine him joining the cause.

“No way that prissy ass, stuck-up, boy band reject switched sides,” you exclaimed, as Chris stifled a guffaw at your insults. It was evident from your tone that your pent-up frustration over Leon’s convenient omissions and hypocrisy had reached its boiling point.

“Way,” she rebutted smugly. “And I don’t blame you; I’d be mad as hell too if I were in your shoes. Unfortunately, Leon was always guided more by his emotions.”

Expelling a weary sigh, you leaned your arm against the wall and buried your head in the crook of your elbow to steady yourself. “I don’t understand this guy.”

Claire threw you a sympathetic look as she continued, “Now, this is just a hunch, but I’m pretty damn sure he was about to defect to us, when the Cam got him by the balls.”

You perked up, arching your eyebrows as a quizzical expression spread across your face. “With what?”

“That’s a good question. We don’t know,” she admitted, exchanging perplexed glances with Chris that could rival yours. “But must’ve been something nasty.”

You wondered if Leon would tell you if you asked him. But seeing as how he’d already been keeping secrets from you, either out of a misguided belief that it was for your own good or for more malicious reasons, you weren’t optimistic. Maybe you’d wrangle it out of him someday. After all, he owed you — a lot.

“Anyway, you both seem, um, cool? We should stay in touch,” you suggested, suddenly unsure of whether things like this worked the same way in the Kindred world. Perhaps you were overthinking it. 

“Oh, don’t worry,” Claire flashed a grin. “We’re not going anywhere.”

At that moment, something caught Chris’ eye and his previously jovial expression turned solemn. Leaning in, he mumbled into your ear, “By the way, your vampire daddy is here.”

Vampire daddy?

You angled your head to peek in Chris’ line of sight and near the entrance of the cafe, you could make out Leon glaring in your direction. Uh oh, were you in trouble?

“Ha ha, very funny, Chris,” you articulated sarcastically, but before you could make your way over, Leon had beaten you to it, already standing by your side with his hand on your shoulder.

“I see you’ve been getting acquainted with my protegé?” his innocuous question taking on an accusing tone. 

You couldn’t comprehend what the hostility was for. “Yeah, turns out they’re actually great company, so why don’t you back off?”

Chris snickered in the corner as Leon clenched his jaw, visibly incensed by your interference. Wheeling you around, he backed you against the nearby wall, palms flat against either side of your head, caging you in with his body.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” he growled. “And don’t ever interrupt me again.”

His reprimand resounded in your ears which were now bright red; you weren’t sure whether it was from embarrassment or anger, or both. Swallowing a lump in your throat, your eyes darted from his glittering blue ones to his full lips, which were a hair’s breadth away from yours. He remained unmoving, but you could see his features darkening and a conflict brewing in his mind. Warmth pooled in your chest and your face flushed, remembering that same electric rush you felt the last time he was this close to you at the arbors. Was this what you were attracted to — the danger and excitement? Or was there something more to it?

“Having fun babysitting, Kennedy?” Claire’s voice pierced through the mounting tension in the room.

That broke his trance as he peeled himself away from you diffidently, carding his fingers through his hair as its silky strands fell back into his face. “Good to see you too, Redfield,” he remarked dryly. “Still running your mouth like you used to, huh? Guess nothing’s changed.”

Folding her arms across her chest, she shifted her weight to one hip and sassily replied, “Could say the same about you. I mean, you always did have a thing for… interesting women.”

He scoffed, brushing her comment aside with a shake of his head as he steered the conversation onto a different topic. “I need you to do something for me.”

Claire opened her mouth to say something, but he raised his finger to silence her. “Uh-uh, let me finish. This concerns all of our skins. I assume you’re aware of the incident that happened the other night?”

“Yeah, it was pretty fucked up,” Chris attested, speaking on behalf of his sibling, before glancing at you and mouthing “Sorry.”

You gave him a sad, side smile in recognition. It seemed like no matter how you tried to avoid it, you were fated to be reminded of your passing again and again.

“I’m not pointing fingers here, but it’s likely there are more players than the Sabbat involved,” Leon explained.

At this, Claire raised her voice defensively, “Are you trying to pin this on us? You think one of us was responsible?”

Her brother, who seemed to be the more collected one, patted her shoulder a few times, indicating for her to stand down and listen to what else Leon had to say.

Leon nodded curtly at him, as if they shared some sort of unspoken brothers-in-arms code that you and Claire weren't part of. “No one’s blaming the Anarchs. At least, not yet. I made sure of that,” he pledged.

Claire pressed her lips into a thin line; you could see her bristling at Leon’s words. However, she knew that he had done something to prevent Wesker from launching a full-frontal assault and destroying the Anarch conclave in one go.

“That suitor you mentioned…” he trailed off with a slight pause, and for some reason you felt all pairs of eyes land uneasily on you for a brief second before he continued. “The one interested in the East Side domain.”

“Yeah, I know who you’re talking about,” she snapped, obviously uncomfortable with the way this discussion was headed.

“What if it was no accident that she was there,” he suggested, pointing at you as more questions popped up in your head. God, you hated how they talked in riddles sometimes.

Waving her hands about frantically, she rejected this notion and went on a vehement tirade, “That’s nuts! Are you even listening to yourself? You sound fucking insane, how the hell—”

Though, once again, her brother stepped in as the voice of reason, “He’s right, it could be a power play.”

“It could be many things,” Leon corrected, trying to appease the siblings. “I’m just saying we need to keep an eye out. After all, we’re only pawns in this game,” he added cynically.

“And don’t try to argue with me on that, Claire,” he preempted. “You and I both know there’s bullshit within the Anarch ranks too.”

This time, she kept her mouth shut, though her face was still livid.

“Regardless of the politics, another incident like this and we’ll be wiped by the SI, I can guarantee you that,” he stated bluntly.

“He’s got a point,” Chris established, looking over at his sister to see how she was faring.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she let out an aggravated groan, “Ugh, fine! We’ll see if we can find any dirt on him.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Leon squeezed her shoulder in gratitude before cautioning, “It goes without saying that this stays between us.” His eyes flitted momentarily to where you stood. “Including you.”

To his satisfaction, you bowed your head slightly in acknowledgement, making a mental note to run through some points with him later on.

As the siblings prepared to set off, Claire turned around to address Leon for a final time, “Guess we’ll be seeing you around here more often.” 

Smirking at the dumbfounded expression on his face, she affirmed, “Your protegé declared the grounds as neutral… again.”

With that, they went back to join the crowd in the front of the cafe, leaving the both of you to your own devices.

“Couldn’t you have waited before making a decision like that?” Leon chided, sighing heavily as his eyes searched yours for an explanation.

Unfortunately for him, this time, you had the upper hand. “What was that about not ordering me around in my cafe?” you challenged, chuckling to yourself quietly. “Or did you already forget, Kennedy?”

He glowered at you, realizing a little too late that he’d locked himself into such a deal the night before. Luckily, he still had an ace up his sleeve. “That only works up to a certain extent. Remember, you’re still a fledgling under my care.”

“Right, the sire card,” you simmered, tired of the constant antagonistic exchanges with the man. “Anything else you wanna toss in while we’re at it?”

“Look, I don’t want to keep fighting with you,” he admitted, his gaze softening as his fingers grazed your cheek lightly.

If you were honest with yourself, that was what you longed for as well. “Then don’t give me a reason to,” you breathed, lowering your eyes as you reinstated a suitable distance from him, to avoid any further misgivings.

“I’ll see you later at home,” you whispered, your finger absently tracing the length of his arm as you walked away.

━━━━━━━━━━━

For the rest of the evening, Leon left you alone at the cafe, and though he sat at his usual spot while he was there, he left at some point halfway through without saying goodbye. On the one hand, you felt relieved that you didn’t have to speak with him further, but on the other, it smarted a little to know that he had ignored you afterwards.

The cafe was bustling with activity as usual, and it was as if you had never left. You found solace in the routine you had set yourself, helping out with the technical system, pouring drinks for guests and taking turns with your colleagues to announce bingo numbers on stage. Of all nights it was Bingo Night. Someone won a travel-sized steam iron while another snagged themselves a pastel-colored riding crop adorned with ribbons. The random prizes made it fun, as evidenced by the giggling faces of the crowd who made their way up to the stage to receive them.

You shared a smile with Patrick, sweating in the muggy air, as the house lights reflected across shiny surfaces, glitter on skin and bejeweled décolletés. The room was cast in a warm, golden glow, soft and blurred on the edges like a Rembrandt painting. Even though time slipped through your fingers like fine sand, things seemed to move in slow motion. You missed this; you missed living, just like the rest of them. Now you could only impersonate life, and watch as the rest of the world grew older while you didn’t, and your friends drop like flies, rotting in their graves while you mourn their loss.

Hot, fat tears rolled down your cheeks as you wiped them away with the back of your hand, still smiling, teeth showing through the pain. Patrick looked over at you in concern and you laughed, dismissing it as being overcome with emotion. What was it—? Your period’s coming? Too many late nights and not enough sleep? Just tiredness, you feigned. Bidding your colleagues goodnight, you trudged out into the sinking cold, already craving the comfort of being surrounded by people, both strangers and companions alike. 

You were lost in your thoughts the whole way back to Leon’s place, so much so that you didn’t even hear him greet you when you came in. It was only after the second time he had called out that you realized you were being spoken to.

“Is something bothering you?” he asked, worried that your current state of mind might have to do with how he had treated you earlier.

Collapsing onto the couch, you let your legs spread out limply over the edge, fiddling with your thumbs. It was not like you could go on social media anymore and chat with your friends on there. Not when your smartphone had been confiscated and all you had left was a semi-allowed, shitty flip phone which was mainly good enough for playing Snake.

You shook your head, but he still came round to sit beside you, holding a metallic, hexagonal contraption in his hand that he had been tinkering with at his study desk. That was when you noticed the reading glasses hanging loosely by a silver chain around his neck. The oddness of his get up momentarily distracted you from your previous troubles.

“You still need those?” you questioned, gesturing towards the dated-looking spectacles before his chest.

“These?” He raised them up, closing one eye as he squinted through the lenses, inspecting for dust. Sticking the tip of his tongue out between his teeth, he rubbed them clean with the hem of his iron-pressed white shirt. It seemed like he was used to them, and had worn them for a very long time.

“No, I don’t,” he answered plainly. “But old habits die hard.”

“They do, don’t they?” you remarked with a bitter smile. “Chasing after things that make you human?”

He sighed, understanding full well the predicament you were in and that he didn’t exactly have a remedy for it. Yet, there was no point in lying to you. 

“I do, and many others do, until we can’t anymore,” he stated. “We’re just a wolf in sheep’s clothing and inherently evil — at least, that’s what the pessimists think.”

What he had mentioned was bleak, but at the same time, you appreciated his honesty, which, in your opinion, had been lacking lately. “What do you think?” you probed, eyeing him with curiosity.

He pondered on it for a while before he spoke, “I don’t believe a word they say,” he confessed. Cradling your chin with his fingers, he lifted it towards him. “You are human enough. Don’t let anyone tell you anything different,” he instructed, brushing his thumb tenderly along your bottom lip.

You felt heat rise towards your cheeks as you actively searched for something else to grab his attention. The contraption — it was lying at his side. “Is that a puzzle box?” you managed to cough out.

“Hm? Oh, yeah,” he muttered self-consciously, handing it to you as you pulled away from each other. “Wanna give it a go?”

He looked at you expectantly as you twisted and turned the various segments of the device like a Rubik’s cube, some of which clicked into place softly, while others remained unfettered and movable. A toothy grin broke out across his face as you motioned to him for help with the remaining steps and he jumped in, placing his hands over yours to connect the remaining steps. 

Before your mind could process the closeness of your bodies and his touch, the contraption connected entirely, unlocking and unfolding itself into a flattened shape. He beamed at the object in triumph, as though he had achieved something remarkable.

“You built this yourself?” you asked, tracing its ridges, impressed with his creativity and craftsmanship.

“Yeah, I've loved puzzles since I was a child,” he explained. “Maybe that’s why I went into solving crimes, huh?” Raising his arms, he stretched himself out and yawned. 

“Anyway, it kind of reminds me of better days,” he added melancholically. “When things were simpler.”

“I would’ve liked to get to know you back then,” you said, only realizing a second later that you had uttered your thoughts out loud. You had to restrain yourself from clamping a hand over your mouth in response.

His face melted at your words, though he kept his distance, uncertain about the mixed signals you’d been sending before. “That’s nice, but you probably weren’t even born yet,” he teased.

You snorted, surprised that he still had the ability to crack you up. “How old are you even?”

“Rude,” he scolded, wagging his finger at you.

Rolling your eyes, you propped yourself up on the couch, suddenly invested in learning about the man’s age. “Come on, tell me,” you coaxed. “I promise to be on my best behavior for a day in exchange.”

“A day?” he guffawed, shaking his head. His bangs swished from side to side as his eyes crinkled in amusement. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“Hey, take it or leave it, old man,” you taunted, turning towards him with an impish smirk.

“That’s a low blow, even for you,” he tutted, pausing briefly before revealing, “'77, I was born then. Embraced when I was 24… or was it 25? It’s been a while.”

“Oh, so you’re not that old then,” you pointed out, mentally calculating that he must’ve been in his unlife for just about over 20 years.

Ever the optimist, he shrugged, unruffled by your comment. “Guess I should take that as a compliment.”

Both of you erupted into peals of laughter — the first genuine one you’ve had in a while. This was how it should’ve been. No tears, no politics, no drama, just easy-going conversations learning about each other. You continued talking a bit more about the past, how he was like, how you were like, and you contemplated if you were just clinging onto things that didn’t exist anymore. He had changed and so did you, but when you looked at a person as a whole, their histories made them who they were. You wanted to accept all of him, though a barrier still stood in your way.

“Can I trust you to always be honest with me?” you raised out of the blue in the middle of your conversation with him.

He was taken aback at first by the sudden request, wondering if there was more to it.

Scooting closer to him, you added, “Even if it’s bad, I want to know.”

It was a lot to ask of him, considering how much the Kindred world relied on secrets, games and deceit. But he knew it was important to you, especially in earning back your trust. A voice in his head, which he had grown accustomed to after being burned time and time again, warned him about betrayal. She’s no different from the others… it said in a garbled, distorted tone, like someone speaking underwater. She’ll use it against you.

Call him naive or stupid, but he went ahead anyway. You could bring him to his knees to beg, and he would still do it gladly. “I’ll try,” he whispered, aware that he was on the verge of signing his unlife away. “You can ask me anything you’d like.”

Your hand pressed lightly against his chest, smoothing out the creases in his clothes as you swept it upwards to his neck. Your caress against his weak spot caused his breath to hitch. Toying with the trace chain hugging his skin, you pried, “Did the suitor you were talking about with Claire have something to do with me?”

Right away, a shadow cast across his face and his eyes clouded over. Withdrawing your hand, you began to regret your choice of words to begin with.

[fy-mina]

MINA Harper's BAZAAR June 2024 issue

© Minami Myo Weibo

translation by MarisaTheCube

"Mina of TWICE poses against the shutters on a balcony offering a wide view of Paris, with a line of Hausmann-style buildings.

“I’ve wanted to try doing a fashion shoot for a magazine overseas. And the setting is Paris, which I love! The city’s buildings and the townscape are so beautiful, so it would make for a wonderful shoot, so I’ve been really looking forward to it.” When looking at a photo of herself dissolving into the Parisian scenery, a happy expression comes over her face. As the shoot continues, Mina changes into countless outfits and quickly captures their design, moving actively or standing still with a mature mood. Her movements are widely varied, just like a top model.

“Paris is known for its classic cityscape, but the people living there are also wonderful. There’s a calm atmosphere, and I admire the way people spend time at cafes, use chic fashion in their own ways, and dress up at night to enjoy the nightlife. When I first visited Paris, I was looking forward to sightseeing. I was able to go see the outside of the Louvre, but there wasn’t time to go inside, so I was looking forward to going there the next time. If I had an opportunity to stay longer, there are so many other plans I would want to do, like getting up in the morning and going to a café, going to the market if the weather was nice – spending time here as though I lived here,” she says with a sparkle in her eye.

In order to embody Mina’s dream plan, the shoot this time is themed as if Mina was studying abroad in Paris for a short time during the summer season. She wears Fendi’s summer collection in a bourgeois-chic apartment to express the feeling of spending time freely in the summer.

“The Fendi summer collection that I wore for the shoot this time has a fresh style of Western clothing and swimwear. When you think of swimwear, you often get the image that it’s only worn at places like the beach or the pool. But if you wear a jacket and skirt or denim pants over it, you can wear it around town, and it’s very new and cool. My personal favorite is the combination of a short jacket and striped skirt with swimwear.”

Mina travels around the world as a member of TWICE. In 2023, the group embarked on their fifth world tour, becoming the first girl group to perform at stadiums in Japan, and set records for days in a row, including setting the record for the first girl group to hold a sold-out performance at LA’s SoFi Stadium. The group’s tour is ongoing, and they are currently scheduled to hold a performance at Nissan Stadium, where they will be the first overseas female artists to perform. Mina is enthusiastic, saying, “It will be a challenge for us.”

Furthermore, last year, she began unit activities with MISAMO. “The three of us - Sana-chan, Momo-chan, and I – have been working as hard as we can to support each other. This year, we hope to go on tour for the album we released as MISAMO.”

Mina shows off her beautiful new faces one after another, both as a member of the world-famous girl group that captivates audiences with their amazing live performances, and as a model participating in fashion shoots as a brand muse. In January of this year, she attended Fendi’s couture collection as a guest, and made her show debut. She expressed that she was nervous about going to the show alone, but said, “Personally, I love Fendi, so I was even more excited for that. I bought my first knitwear a few years ago, and thought it was really cool and comfortable. After that, I bought a bag, and now I use it regularly. Personally, I like the “Peekaboo” collection. Fendi generally has very feminine collections, but they also debut some very imaginative items, so I’m always looking forward to surprises.”

As mentioned, this was Mina’s first time coming to Paris alone for a fashion shoot since her debut. She gave the impression of a female image that was simultaneously cute, intellectual, and elegant. What kind of expression will she show in her next fashion shoot? We can’t take our eyes off Mina as she continues to put forth effort and gain experience to update her form.

Mina is a member of the nine-member girl group TWICE, who are scheduled to perform at Nissan Stadium this year. Also, last year, she formed MISAMO with fellow Japanese members Sana and Momo and began unit activities."

[realistically-shifting]

My Luxury Apartment- General Script

I script this apartment complex in most of my DRs and my Waiting Room. Features like the room style change based on what reality the script is for, but the rest generally stays the same. This is the complex I shifted to the first time, all the things I would’ve enjoyed if I stayed longer.

Exterior: At the back of the complex, there’s a playground with equipment for adults too. The playground equipment can handle adult bodies using it.

Basement level: At the basement level, there are storage lockers for the tenants of the apartment, a parking garage, a shop, and a convenience store. The convenience store carries a brand of microwave dinners that has a wide variety of options, and it includes many cultural dishes from various cultures. For example, one of the frozen dinner sets includes collard greens cooked with smoked ham hocks and black eyes peas, fried catfish, baked mac and cheese, and a little cup of banana pudding or candied yams. The store sells other easy to make food items, such as roux cubes for curry and egusi stew. There is also a laundromat down there, for residents that don’t have personal machines.

First floor: The first floor has the lobby of the apartment building, an indoor pool and hot tub for the residents and their guests, and a hot pot restaurant. Residents get a discount at the restaurant, but it’s open to the public. It also has a gym that holds exercise, dance, and yoga classes.

Second floor: There’s a small doctor’s clinic on this floor, staffed by several nurses, two pediatricians, a mental health counselor, and a few physicians. Here, residents (and our guests) can receive regular checkups, emergency aid, help with medical treatments such as dialysis, etc. Attached to the clinic is a small pharmacy where you can get cold medicines, common emergency medicines like epipens and inhalers, etc. There’s also a daycare on the other side of the building, and between them is the complex spa. The spa has masseurs trained in neuromuscular massage therapy.

Third floor: A work space with computers for public use, recreational room that doubles as a movie theater with a larger screen, and an additional rec room with video game consoles, VR gaming space, and a small cafe. The first rec room is popular with older residents, while the second is more popular with the teenage residents.

Penthouse: My penthouse apartment also has a balcony with seating, two guest bedrooms each with its own 3/4 bathroom, and a walk-in storage closet.

Rooftop: On top of the apartment complex is a community garden and an observatory. There are gardeners that maintain most of the plots, but private plots must be privately managed.

Safety features: Along with normal safety features, all the windows and doors on the first and second floor, plus parking garage, have metal shutters that can be lowered during emergencies. The entire building also has an advanced fire suppression system, air purifiers, and an extensive bunker below the parking garage. Each apartment, or at least the penthouses, have security doors (thick wooden doors with metal plates in the middle and higher quality locks). All the safety features have their own failsafes.

[daily-twice-content]

MINA Harper's BAZAAR June 2024 issue

© Minami Myo Weibo

translation by MarisaTheCube

"Mina of TWICE poses against the shutters on a balcony offering a wide view of Paris, with a line of Hausmann-style buildings.

“I’ve wanted to try doing a fashion shoot for a magazine overseas. And the setting is Paris, which I love! The city’s buildings and the townscape are so beautiful, so it would make for a wonderful shoot, so I’ve been really looking forward to it.” When looking at a photo of herself dissolving into the Parisian scenery, a happy expression comes over her face. As the shoot continues, Mina changes into countless outfits and quickly captures their design, moving actively or standing still with a mature mood. Her movements are widely varied, just like a top model.

“Paris is known for its classic cityscape, but the people living there are also wonderful. There’s a calm atmosphere, and I admire the way people spend time at cafes, use chic fashion in their own ways, and dress up at night to enjoy the nightlife. When I first visited Paris, I was looking forward to sightseeing. I was able to go see the outside of the Louvre, but there wasn’t time to go inside, so I was looking forward to going there the next time. If I had an opportunity to stay longer, there are so many other plans I would want to do, like getting up in the morning and going to a café, going to the market if the weather was nice – spending time here as though I lived here,” she says with a sparkle in her eye.

In order to embody Mina’s dream plan, the shoot this time is themed as if Mina was studying abroad in Paris for a short time during the summer season. She wears Fendi’s summer collection in a bourgeois-chic apartment to express the feeling of spending time freely in the summer.

“The Fendi summer collection that I wore for the shoot this time has a fresh style of Western clothing and swimwear. When you think of swimwear, you often get the image that it’s only worn at places like the beach or the pool. But if you wear a jacket and skirt or denim pants over it, you can wear it around town, and it’s very new and cool. My personal favorite is the combination of a short jacket and striped skirt with swimwear.”

Mina travels around the world as a member of TWICE. In 2023, the group embarked on their fifth world tour, becoming the first girl group to perform at stadiums in Japan, and set records for days in a row, including setting the record for the first girl group to hold a sold-out performance at LA’s SoFi Stadium. The group’s tour is ongoing, and they are currently scheduled to hold a performance at Nissan Stadium, where they will be the first overseas female artists to perform. Mina is enthusiastic, saying, “It will be a challenge for us.”

Furthermore, last year, she began unit activities with MISAMO. “The three of us - Sana-chan, Momo-chan, and I – have been working as hard as we can to support each other. This year, we hope to go on tour for the album we released as MISAMO.”

Mina shows off her beautiful new faces one after another, both as a member of the world-famous girl group that captivates audiences with their amazing live performances, and as a model participating in fashion shoots as a brand muse. In January of this year, she attended Fendi’s couture collection as a guest, and made her show debut. She expressed that she was nervous about going to the show alone, but said, “Personally, I love Fendi, so I was even more excited for that. I bought my first knitwear a few years ago, and thought it was really cool and comfortable. After that, I bought a bag, and now I use it regularly. Personally, I like the “Peekaboo” collection. Fendi generally has very feminine collections, but they also debut some very imaginative items, so I’m always looking forward to surprises.”

As mentioned, this was Mina’s first time coming to Paris alone for a fashion shoot since her debut. She gave the impression of a female image that was simultaneously cute, intellectual, and elegant. What kind of expression will she show in her next fashion shoot? We can’t take our eyes off Mina as she continues to put forth effort and gain experience to update her form.

Mina is a member of the nine-member girl group TWICE, who are scheduled to perform at Nissan Stadium this year. Also, last year, she formed MISAMO with fellow Japanese members Sana and Momo and began unit activities."

[theradicalscrivener]

can I know how Sebastian (form hyper active imagination) doing his work or take class now that he become that big? (also what is his relationship with James now after their date from part5 )

There are a few supersized studs around campus now due to James's wandering animation, and reality shifts every time James accidentally grows a guy. As far as anyone knows, Seb (and the others) have always been that large. So, buildings are sort of built around dudes of his size.

For example, the cafe he works at has a large shutter-style doorway in back similar to ones used in loading docks. This makes it possible for him to get in to the cafe and do business. Although, actually moving about the bar is a lot more difficult. Still, people are used to it. The fact that most of the space behind the counter is filled with nutsack and muscles and his coworkers have to literally climb over him to get things is just part of their daily tasks.

Similarly, buildings around campus have large doorways that he can squeeze through. His big, burly bod fills up a large chunk of the auditoreum seating in a lot of the larger lecture halls, and there's no way he'll fit into most of the smaller classrooms. Basically, if he signs up for a class, it'll get moved to one of the larger halls regardless of the actual number of students attending just to give him room to spread out.

As for how things are going with him and James, things are going well. They're both very quiet guys which strangely works well for them. Seb is the cuddly kind of quiet, and James is the "doesn't say it, but likes being manhandled" kinda quiet. A lot of their dates are things like hanging out and watching movies. James rests in Seb's "lap" (really, he sits atop Seb's cock and slides nicely into the crevasse between Seb's massive pecs. Just sitting there surrounded on almost all sides by cock and muscle is heaven for James. If anything, it makes it hard to keep his mind on the movies they watch, and when his mind wanders...

[You can read Hyper-active Imagination here]

[gogglebeast]

Zeon respectfully WHAT is an Elephant Bar because I looked up pictures and I'm even more confused than when I started. Is the giant elephant on the wall real was that a real thing

Elephant Bar was a now apparently shuttered and bankrupt restaurant that was apparently Vaguely safari themed, and apparently served fusion and American-style dishes that I got to go to a few times! I actually don't fully remember the elephant sculpture, but looking it up it seems like that was totally a thing, so either I somehow spaced the GIANT ELEPHANT STATUE ON THE WALL, or they added it after I got celiac and couldn't go there anymore? I think they were trying to be Rainforest Cafe but not as fun or cool, but I do remember really liking their chicken burger!!

Speaking of possibly now defunct restaurants, I also used to love going to Islands, which had an amazing tropical chicken burger with grilled pineapple on it. It's also where I learned you could get chicken pox more than once, even as an adult, when I unfortunately sat on a seat in shorts that someone must have brought their infected child to. But the chicken burger was my favorite!

[edeshade]

Where Are Motorized Window Blinds Used?

Modern homes, workplaces, and commercial venues are increasingly choosing motorized window blinds. These blinds are ideal for a range of environments since they provide convenience, style, and intelligent control. They make daily living easier and more efficient by having the capacity to open, close, or adjust with a single button press. This blog examines the most popular areas where motorized window blinds are useful if you're interested in learning more.

Contemporary Houses and Intelligent Living Areas For smart homes, motorized  window blinds are essential. They give homeowners total control over temperature, privacy, and natural light. A voice assistant like Alexa or Google Home, a smartphone app, or a remote control can be used to operate the blinds. You can easily change the blinds while lounging on the couch or even when you're not at home thanks to this. The blinds can be programmed to automatically close at night and open in the morning. They are frequently used to improve comfort and energy efficiency in living areas, media rooms, and bedrooms. Because motorized blinds don't have cables, they are a safer choice for parents and less dangerous for little children.

Conference rooms and commercial offices Motorized  window blinds are quite beneficial for offices and commercial buildings. They improve employee comfort, provide privacy for meetings, and lessen glare on computer screens in offices. During presentations or video chats, conference rooms can have their lighting controlled by motorized blinds. Blinds can be swiftly altered using smart controls, preventing disruptions during crucial meetings.

Because motorized blinds exclude solar heat and lessen the need for air conditioning, many businesses also employ them to increase energy efficiency. Office areas look more professional thanks to the sleek, contemporary appearance of motorized blinds.

Hotels and Exotic Resorts One essential component of upscale hotels and resorts is motorized  blinds. By letting visitors operate the blinds using a remote control or a smartphone app, they provide a first-rate experience. The ability to change the blinds from the comfort of their bed makes for a more restful stay. In order to improve visitor comfort, hotels can also program the automatic controls to open or close the blinds at particular times. Motorized window blinds give upmarket resorts a more opulent and contemporary feel, which enhances guests' stays and makes them more memorable. They are frequently placed in spa facilities, guest rooms, and suites to provide a posh, exclusive atmosphere.

Cafes and Restaurants with a Contemporary Look Motorized  window blinds are frequently used in cafes and restaurants that place a high value on atmosphere and patron experience. By reducing the quantity of natural light in the dining area, these blinds assist make the space comfortable for patrons. Blinds can be readily adjusted by restaurant owners to provide visitors with additional solitude in the evening or to hide harsh sunlight during the day. Motorized blinds' sleek form gives the room a contemporary and fashionable feel. Motorized shutters assist control internal temperature and save energy for cafes that prioritize environmentally friendly operations. In addition to saving electricity, this innovation improves patrons' dining experiences.

In conclusion Homes, workplaces, hotels, restaurants, schools, and medical facilities all employ motorized  window blinds. They provide energy efficiency, privacy, and intelligent control for a variety of areas. They are a fashionable and adaptable choice for contemporary living because of their capacity to adjust to various settings. A clever, contemporary, and practical option for improving your environment are motorized window blinds.

[paramedicabroad]

Medina of Essaouira

Hello, fellow travelers! Today, let’s take a stroll through the medina of Essaouira, one of Morocco’s most atmospheric and beautifully preserved cities. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001, this coastal town is a must-visit for anyone seeking a mix of history, culture, and seaside charm. Known for its distinctive blue and white buildings, narrow streets, and vibrant arts scene, Essaouira is a place where the sound of the Atlantic waves meets the heartbeat of a centuries-old city.

The medina of Essaouira was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of its unique cultural, architectural, and historical significance. It stands out as one of the best-preserved examples of a European-style fortified town in North Africa, seamlessly blending European military architecture with traditional Moroccan design. This blend is what makes Essaouira so special—it's a living city that has managed to maintain its heritage while embracing modern life.

Originally known as Mogador, Essaouira has a long history as a strategic trading port. It’s located along Morocco’s Atlantic coast, and since the 18th century, it’s been a bustling center of commerce between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The city was designed by European engineers, and you can still see this influence in the grid-like layout of the medina—quite unusual for a traditional Moroccan city. The town’s mighty fortifications, which line the sea, reflect its importance as a military and trading outpost.

Essaouira’s medina is unique among Morocco’s walled cities. Its location by the ocean brings in the refreshing alizé winds, and the town’s blend of cultures—Berber, Arab, African, and European—is reflected in its architecture, markets, and arts. As you wander through the medina, you’ll pass by whitewashed houses with blue shutters, bustling souks, and charming little cafes, each one offering a slice of local life. The Portuguese, French, and Moroccan influences give the town a special flavor that feels both cosmopolitan and authentically Moroccan.

The Skala de la Ville, the city’s fortifications, offer breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean. These ramparts were built by the Portuguese and later strengthened under Moroccan rule. Stroll along the walls, where you’ll see bronze cannons pointing toward the horizon, and take in the panoramic views of the sea, the town, and the islands just offshore. The Skala has been immortalized in films like "Game of Thrones" and "Othello", and it’s easy to see why—this blend of history and nature makes for an unforgettable experience.

Essaouira is not just about history—it’s also a town bursting with creativity. For decades, it has been a haven for artists, musicians, and writers, drawn to its relaxed vibe and bohemian spirit. You’ll find countless galleries and shops selling handmade crafts, jewelry, and artwork, much of which draws on the town’s rich cultural mix. And if you’re a fan of music, you’ll love the city’s Gnaoua World Music Festival, which brings together musicians from around the world to celebrate the town’s musical traditions each summer.

One of the most striking things about the medina of Essaouira is how it represents a fusion of cultural influences. Its history as a port city brought together traders from all over the world, and this mix of cultures is still visible today. The city’s Jewish quarter, or Mellah, is a reminder of the once-thriving Jewish community that lived here. The architecture, markets, and people all reflect this rich cultural tapestry, making Essaouira a true crossroads of civilization.

Unlike the more bustling medinas of Marrakesh or Fes, Essaouira’s medina has a laid-back vibe that feels almost serene. The narrow, winding streets are perfect for wandering, discovering hidden corners, and getting lost among the colorful market stalls. Whether you’re browsing the local crafts, sipping mint tea in a sun-drenched square, or watching fishermen haul in their daily catch at the port, there’s a calm energy to Essaouira that makes it an ideal spot for unwinding.

If you’re into water sports, Essaouira is famous for its consistent winds, making it one of the top windsurfing and kitesurfing spots in Morocco. The windswept beaches offer a perfect balance of natural beauty and adventure. Even if you’re not a water sports enthusiast, the sight of colorful sails dotting the horizon as the sun sets over the Atlantic is a memory you’ll carry with you long after you leave.

Essaouira is more than just a historic town—it's a place where past and present, tradition and creativity, all come together. Whether you're drawn to its rich history, artistic energy, or simply want to soak up the coastal charm, the medina of Essaouira is a must-visit destination for any traveler looking to experience Morocco at its most magical.🌍💙🇲🇦

[sunblindsyyc]

How To Incorporate Beautiful Blinds Into Your Calgary Home?

Understanding Calgary's Unique Lighting Needs

Calgary experiences diverse weather conditions, from bright summer days to short winter afternoons. Choosing the right blinds isn't just about style—it's about adapting to our city's dynamic lighting throughout the year.

Selecting the Perfect Blinds for Each Room

Living Room

Consider cellular shades for energy efficiency

Layer blinds with curtains for a luxurious look

Opt for motorized options for convenience

Bedrooms

Blackout roller blinds for optimal sleep

Roman shades for a soft, elegant appearance

Choose light-filtering options for daytime privacy

Kitchen

Faux wood blinds resist moisture

Aluminum blinds for easy cleaning

Cafe-style shutters for a charming touch

Design Tips for Calgary Homes

Match blinds to your home's architectural style

Consider the direction your windows face

Choose colors that complement your decor

Think about seasonal temperature control

Making Your Decision

Factors to Consider

Budget

Maintenance requirements

Light control needs

Energy efficiency

Popular Trends in Calgary

Smart home integration

Natural materials

Minimalist designs

Energy-saving options

Expert Installation Matters

Professional installation ensures your blinds function perfectly and look their best. At Sun Blinds YYC, Calgary's premier blinds manufacturer, we offer expert guidance, quality products, and professional installation. Our team understands local homes and weather conditions, ensuring you get the perfect blinds for your Calgary lifestyle.

[shutterrepair1]

How Well-Maintained Shop Front Shutters Can Help Your Business Stand Out

In today’s competitive market, it’s crucial for businesses to create a lasting impression on customers. One of the most effective yet often overlooked aspects of a storefront is the shop front shutters. Well-maintained shutters not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of your business but also contribute significantly to its security and functionality. If you’re searching for shop front shutter repair in London, investing in quality maintenance can truly make a difference.

In this blog, we’ll explore how shop front shutters can make your business stand out and the importance of regular maintenance and repairs.

The Aesthetic Appeal of Shutters

First impressions matter. Your storefront is the face of your business, and shop front shutters can add a touch of style and elegance. Whether your business is a boutique, cafe, or retail shop, choosing the right design and color for your shutters can create a welcoming atmosphere for your customers.

Customizable options, including colors, materials, and finishes, allow you to align the look of your shutters with your brand’s identity. A well-designed shutter can attract attention, drawing customers in and making your business memorable in a sea of competitors.

Enhanced Security

Security is a top priority for any business owner. Well-maintained shop front shutters act as a deterrent against potential break-ins and vandalism. They provide an additional layer of security, ensuring that your premises remain protected during non-working hours.

Investing in quality shutters and maintaining them properly not only secures your assets but also gives customers peace of mind when they visit your business. A secure environment fosters trust and loyalty, encouraging repeat visits.

Improved Functionality

Functional shutters allow for easy access during business hours while also ensuring safety when closed. Regular maintenance and repairs are essential to keep your shutters operating smoothly. Malfunctioning shutters can lead to inconvenience and potential safety hazards, detracting from the customer experience.

This is where Shutter Repairs 26 Ltd comes in. Specializing in shop front shutter repair in London, our expert team provides top-quality roller shutter repair services to ensure your property remains secure and functional. We handle everything from routine maintenance to complex repairs, guaranteeing that your shutters operate seamlessly.

Swift Emergency Repairs

Shutter issues can arise unexpectedly, and downtime can be costly for your business. That’s why having a reliable service for emergency shutter repair in London is crucial. Our team at Shutter Repairs 26 Ltd is dedicated to minimizing disruptions and keeping your business running smoothly. With our prompt and reliable roller shutter repair services, you can rest assured that your business will be back on track in no time.

Attracting More Customers

Well-maintained shop front shutters not only protect your business but also help attract more customers. A clean, appealing storefront communicates professionalism and attention to detail. Customers are more likely to enter a business that looks well-cared for, which can lead to increased foot traffic and sales.

Moreover, attractive shutters can enhance your marketing efforts. For example, during special promotions or events, customized shutters can be used to display advertisements or seasonal decorations, further enticing customers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, well-maintained shop front shutters play a vital role in enhancing your business’s visibility, security, and functionality. They create an inviting atmosphere, protect your premises, and can even serve as a marketing tool. Regular maintenance and swift repairs are essential to ensure that your shutters are always in top condition.

If you're looking for professional shop front shutter repair in London, look no further than Shutter Repairs 26 Ltd. Our team is ready to assist with all your roller shutter needs, ensuring your business stands out for all the right reasons. Don't let shutter issues compromise your business's potential—reach out to us today!

[shutterupexpert]

Choosing the Right Window Shutters and Treatments in Sarasota

Window treatments greatly affect the aesthetic value and functionality of any house. In Sarasota, bright sunshine and coastal ambiance dominate most of the view; hence, proper selection of window shutters makes a living space different. For that style, energy efficiency, or light control, shutters offer various styles for meeting decor requirements. Window shutters offer various benefits that are not only for an aesthetically pleasing look but also give comfort and ambiance to your home.

The Benefits of Window Shutters

Window shutters are not only aesthetically pleasing but also practical. They offer several advantages:

1. Light Control

One advantage of window shutters in Sarasota is the control over light emanating from the windows. Through the slats, a person could control the amount of sunlight they allowed into their home by opening up or closing them up or making them fully open. This will be greatly appreciated in Sarasota due to the highly radiant Sun.

2. Energy Efficiency

Shutters increase the energy efficiency. They reduce heat during the hot seasons while retaining warmth during the cooler seasons. This leads to lower energy charges for bills and a much cozier home environment.

3. Privacy

Window shutters offer the best privacy due to the adjustable slats, and they still allow natural light to enter your house. You could easily angle the slats to cover the view from outside while letting sunlight in.

4. Durability

Quality shutters do not easily break down, and with the right maintenance, they will possibly tolerate worse weather conditions compared to hanging curtains or blinds, making them a smart investment for your home.

5. Style and Aesthetic Appeal

Shutters are made in various styles and types of material, and therefore, they can provide you with a choice that best matches your interior decor style. Whether it is classic wooden shutters or modern composite materials, suitable to the person's taste, there surely is something for everyone.

Types of Window Shutters Available in Sarasota

In Sarasota, homeowners can choose from several types of window shutters. Here are some popular options:

1. Plantation Shutters

Plantation shutters have wide slats and elegant style. These have a timepiece characteristic in homes along the coast, such as Sarasota. Usually, they go well with both classic and modern houses.

2. Cafe Shutters

Cafe shutters cover only the lower half of the window, allowing privacy while permitting more light to enter through the top part. They are great for kitchens or dining areas where you wish to maintain an openness and a casual feeling.

3. Interior Shutters

Interior Shutters. These are fitted inside your house. They are offered in bi-fold and sliding versions. They can cover windows of any size that makes them the window dressing favourite of many home owners looking for functional window dressing .

4. Exterior Shutters

Exterior shutters are an aspect that may add curb appeal and protection to a house. They are made of fixed and operable styles and can provide greater protection and insulation. In Sarasota, where homes are influenced by the hurricane season, exterior shutters are very practical.

Selecting the Right Window Treatments in Sarasota

When choosing window treatments in Sarasota, consider the following factors:

1. Climate Considerations

The soft climate of Sarasota means you ought to select materials that can keep up to warm and wet weather conditions. Composite or vinyl shutters might be just what you are looking for in order to avoid warping or fading.

2. Style and Decor

Window treatments can be a secondary adornment to your home's main style. Note the color, texture, and design of your shutters. For instance, white plantation shutters can make a room brighter, while darker woods will make your room look more traditional.

3. Functionality

Think on how you would use the space. In case light control is strictly important, then you should try the adjustable shutters. In case privacy is more important, then you should consider cafe or solid panel shutters that cover more space.

4. Budget

Window treatments vary in price. It is crucial to set a budget beforehand while you start shopping. It would be wise to note that although some alternatives cost more at one time, they do pay back for their long-term life and energy efficiency.

5. Professional Installation

Installation with the help of a professional would be a better way to gain desired results. For proper functioning and complete polish, the shutters work effectively if installed properly. Most of the companies are available locally in Sarasota to provide correct installation so that the window treatments are fitted perfectly.

Conclusion

Bringing comfort, energy efficiency, and beauty to your house with window shutters and treatments will be greatly enhanced in Sarasota. Plantation to cafe styles of shutters are an endless choice of style or functionality for the look you want. Considering factors like climate and functionality will ensure this is just the right choice for your house. For a vast number of excellent selections of shutters, contact Shutter Up and enhance your windows today!

[fy-mina]

MINA Harper's BAZAAR June 2024 issue

© Minami Myo Weibo

translation by MarisaTheCube

"Mina of TWICE poses against the shutters on a balcony offering a wide view of Paris, with a line of Hausmann-style buildings.

“I’ve wanted to try doing a fashion shoot for a magazine overseas. And the setting is Paris, which I love! The city’s buildings and the townscape are so beautiful, so it would make for a wonderful shoot, so I’ve been really looking forward to it.” When looking at a photo of herself dissolving into the Parisian scenery, a happy expression comes over her face. As the shoot continues, Mina changes into countless outfits and quickly captures their design, moving actively or standing still with a mature mood. Her movements are widely varied, just like a top model.

“Paris is known for its classic cityscape, but the people living there are also wonderful. There’s a calm atmosphere, and I admire the way people spend time at cafes, use chic fashion in their own ways, and dress up at night to enjoy the nightlife. When I first visited Paris, I was looking forward to sightseeing. I was able to go see the outside of the Louvre, but there wasn’t time to go inside, so I was looking forward to going there the next time. If I had an opportunity to stay longer, there are so many other plans I would want to do, like getting up in the morning and going to a café, going to the market if the weather was nice – spending time here as though I lived here,” she says with a sparkle in her eye.

In order to embody Mina’s dream plan, the shoot this time is themed as if Mina was studying abroad in Paris for a short time during the summer season. She wears Fendi’s summer collection in a bourgeois-chic apartment to express the feeling of spending time freely in the summer.

“The Fendi summer collection that I wore for the shoot this time has a fresh style of Western clothing and swimwear. When you think of swimwear, you often get the image that it’s only worn at places like the beach or the pool. But if you wear a jacket and skirt or denim pants over it, you can wear it around town, and it’s very new and cool. My personal favorite is the combination of a short jacket and striped skirt with swimwear.”

Mina travels around the world as a member of TWICE. In 2023, the group embarked on their fifth world tour, becoming the first girl group to perform at stadiums in Japan, and set records for days in a row, including setting the record for the first girl group to hold a sold-out performance at LA’s SoFi Stadium. The group’s tour is ongoing, and they are currently scheduled to hold a performance at Nissan Stadium, where they will be the first overseas female artists to perform. Mina is enthusiastic, saying, “It will be a challenge for us.”

Furthermore, last year, she began unit activities with MISAMO. “The three of us - Sana-chan, Momo-chan, and I – have been working as hard as we can to support each other. This year, we hope to go on tour for the album we released as MISAMO.”

Mina shows off her beautiful new faces one after another, both as a member of the world-famous girl group that captivates audiences with their amazing live performances, and as a model participating in fashion shoots as a brand muse. In January of this year, she attended Fendi’s couture collection as a guest, and made her show debut. She expressed that she was nervous about going to the show alone, but said, “Personally, I love Fendi, so I was even more excited for that. I bought my first knitwear a few years ago, and thought it was really cool and comfortable. After that, I bought a bag, and now I use it regularly. Personally, I like the “Peekaboo” collection. Fendi generally has very feminine collections, but they also debut some very imaginative items, so I’m always looking forward to surprises.”

As mentioned, this was Mina’s first time coming to Paris alone for a fashion shoot since her debut. She gave the impression of a female image that was simultaneously cute, intellectual, and elegant. What kind of expression will she show in her next fashion shoot? We can’t take our eyes off Mina as she continues to put forth effort and gain experience to update her form.

Mina is a member of the nine-member girl group TWICE, who are scheduled to perform at Nissan Stadium this year. Also, last year, she formed MISAMO with fellow Japanese members Sana and Momo and began unit activities."

[pvcshutter]

From Classic To Contemporary: Exploring The Best Shutters For Every Style

When it comes to enhancing the aesthetic and functional appeal of your windows, shutters offer a versatile solution that complements various styles and needs. From traditional elegance to modern minimalism, shutters can transform your space while providing practical benefits. This guide will explore different shutter styles and help you choose the best option to suit your home’s d��cor and functionality requirements.

Understanding the Different Types of Shutters

Shutters come in a variety of styles, each offering distinct benefits and aesthetic appeal. Here are the most popular types:

Plantation Shutters: Known for their wide louvres and classic design, plantation shutters offer excellent light control and privacy. They are a popular choice for both traditional and contemporary interiors, providing a timeless look that complements a range of décor styles.

Roller Shutters: Ideal for modern homes, roller shutters are sleek and functional. They provide enhanced security, insulation, and light control. Available in various materials and colours, they can be customised to match contemporary design preferences.

Shutter Blinds: Combining the functionality of blinds with the classic look of shutters, shutter blinds offer adjustable slats that allow precise control over light and privacy. They are perfect for creating a sophisticated look while maintaining practicality.

Cafe-Style Shutters: These shutters cover only the lower half of the window, offering privacy while allowing natural light to enter from above. They are a great choice for casual, relaxed spaces and can be combined with curtains or other window treatments for added versatility.

Benefits of Shutters

In addition to their aesthetic appeal, shutters offer several practical benefits:

Light Control: Adjustable slats allow precise control over the amount of light entering a room, helping you create the perfect ambiance at any time of day.

Privacy: Shutters provide excellent privacy while allowing natural light to filter through, making them ideal for areas where privacy is a concern.

Energy Efficiency: Shutters can help improve insulation by keeping heat in during winter and blocking out heat during summer. This can lead to energy savings and a more comfortable living environment.

Durability: High-quality shutters are built to last, offering long-term durability and easy maintenance. They resist fading, warping, and damage, ensuring that they remain a stylish and functional addition to your home.

Installation and Maintenance

Proper installation and maintenance are key to ensuring that your shutters perform well and look great over time:

Professional Installation: For the best results, consider professional installation. Proper fitting ensures that your shutters operate smoothly and look seamless with your window frames.

Regular Cleaning: Keep your shutters looking their best by cleaning them regularly. Dusting and occasional wiping with a damp cloth will help maintain their appearance and functionality.

Inspection and Repairs: Periodically check your shutters for any signs of damage or wear. Address any issues promptly to ensure continued performance and longevity.

Conclusion

From classic to contemporary, shutters offer a versatile and stylish solution for enhancing your home’s windows. By choosing the right style to match your décor and considering the practical benefits, you can achieve both aesthetic appeal and functionality. Whether you prefer the timeless elegance of plantation shutters or the sleek design of roller shutters, there is an option to suit every style and need. Investing in quality custom shutters ensures that your windows remain a beautiful and functional feature of your home for years to come.