#I can’t even be like ‘ooh I’m a hater!!!’ about this because this is maybe just common sense imo. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jungshookz · 4 years ago

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teeny tidbits: it’s valentine’s day and everyone’s in love 💕💫

i couldn’t let valentine’s day go by without showing you what some of your favourite couples are up to on this romantic day so i hope you enjoy these six teeny tidbits!!

unfortunately i couldn’t do one for everY single character because i would literally die at my keyboard but i hope these ones still manage to give you all the fuzzy feelings :-)

happy valentine’s day!

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ lveb!namjoon (feat. lveb!yoongi): it’s valentine’s day and namjoon & y/n won’t let yoongi forget it

“if these come out ugly, can i just eat them?” yoongi asks, his hands starting to tremble as he continues to squeeze the frosting out of the piping bag

he’s been doing this for the last half an hour and his hands are starting to go numb

you shut the oven door before tossing the kitchen towel over your shoulder and turning around to look at how much progress yoongi’s made

…

maybe you should put him on cleanup duty instead

luckily he’s only frosted four and a half so there’s no major loss here

you reach over to pluck the piping bag from yoongi’s hands and he immediately frowns

you don’t need to say anything for him to know what that means

you never appreciate his hard work!! you’re breaking his heart here!!

“you know, the messiness just makes them more unique.” he points out, gesturing to his beautiful tray of heart-shaped cookies, “it gives your cookies character!”

“mhm…” you roll your eyes playfully as you turn to grab a tupperware box from the cabinet so yoongi can pack up his cookies to bring home

“all i’m saying is that you never appreciate my artistic abilities.” yoongi murmurs, swiping a glob of frosting off the table and promptly sticking his finger into his mouth to suck it off

“abilities is a reach.”

yoongi gawks, about to respond with a retort about how he doesn’t have to help you but he chooses to because he’s a good friend but he doesn’t get the chance to before he gets distracted by the sound of the kitchen door creaking open

he swivels around on the stool, about to greet namjoon enthusiastically and to tell him all about how you’re refusing to sell his beautiful cookies because apparently they’re ‘ugly’ and ‘look like a two year old decorated it and then sat on it’

namjoon brings a finger up to his lips to tell yoongi to be quiet, yoongi opening his mouth to say something before closing it again

“did you ever return that round container?” you ask, yoongi looking back over at you to see you sorting through the cabinets

“the round container?” yoongi asks dumbly, watching as namjoon crouches down with a devious smile on his face, “uh, yeah! i’m pretty sure i did.”

“really? because i can’t find it anywhere-” you move to turn around, yoongi’s eyes widening as he suddenly gets up from his stool and points to the cabinet so that you don’t notice namjoon creeping up behind you

“there! i see it right there!”

“whe- oh!” you jump in surprise when suddenly an arm slinks around you from behind, a kiss being planted on your cheek a moment later, “you scared me!”

“mm, sorry, baby-” namjoon hums, pulling you closer and squishing another kiss to your face, “i was hoping i’d be back before you got up!”

namjoon left before you woke up but you didn’t have much time to think about it because you had to get straight to baking

for you, valentine’s day is one of the busiest days of the year which means you’re basically in the kitchen all day

you appreciate the business but you’re always so exhausted that you basically pass out covered in flour by the end of the day

yoongi came over to help because he usually helps out anyway (and also because you usually have extras that he likes to take home) but he said that he couldn’t stay for long because he had to prepare for his ‘plans’ tonight

(you know he’s going out on a date with that receptionist girl with the hershey kisses but you haven’t hounded him on the topic because the last thing you want is to freak him out and get him all sweaty before his night of romance)

“where’d you go?” you ask, turning your head and reaching up to turn namjoon’s face towards you so you can give him a proper kiss, a giggle bubbling from your lips when he leans in for another one after you pull away from the first one

“to get you these-!” namjoon suddenly pulls a lush bouquet of forget-me-nots from behind his back and holds it in front of you, the sweet surprise automatically drawing a gasp of delight from you, “happy first valentine’s day!”

oh :’)

how romantic :’)

“i love them!” you take the bouquet from his hands with wide eyes before turning around so you can face namjoon, “you’re so sweet…”

namjoon purses his lips for another kiss and you immediately hear yoongi let out a groan

“all this kissing is going to make me hurl- also, are there no flowers for me, darling?” yoongi asks sarcastically, clasping his hands together before making obnoxious kissy noises at namjoon while fluttering his lashes, “and why didn’t you get roses instead? that way, i could’ve taken one.” he huffs, frowning in disappointment, “can’t give her stupid forget-me-nots…”

“her?” namjoon perks up, tilting his head in curiosity before looking back at you with a raised brow

he grins when you lean up to give him a sneaky little smooch while yoongi’s distracted

“yoongi has plans tonight.” you hint as you pull away from namjoon, slipping past him so you can grab a vase for the flowers

namjoon’s eyes widen for a second before he looks back over at yoongi with a knowing grin, “ah… plans! sounds fun.”

“uh, yeah, i guess you could call them plans. it’s just, like- we’re just having dinner at my place but honestly i’m probably going to order pizza or something.”

“you know, some places are making their pizzas heart-shaped since it’s valentine’s day. you should consider doing that!” namjoon points out, nodding enthusiastically, “ooh, or maybe you can ask them if they’d be willing to cut the pepperonis into little hearts-”

“that seems like it’s a little much for something casual-”

“casual-” you snort quietly to yourself as you fill the vase up with water, “we all know it’s not casual-”

“it is!” yoongi argues, straightening up a little, “it just so happens that today is valentine’s day, alright? whatever!”

“i still think you should consider the heart-shaped pizza. do you want me to order it for you? ah, what if i take care of dinner for you??” namjoon clasps his hands together, “i love planning romantic dinners-”

“i-it’s not a romantic dinner-!”

“it’s not romantic, but…” you trail off, carefully pulling a couple stems out of your bouquet before pulling one of the satin ribbons that are typically used for wrapping up the boxes off the table, “give this to her! just to be courteous.” you hum, carefully wrapping the ribbon around the stems before handing the mini bouquet to yoongi

yoongi blinks at the mini bouquet before taking it cautiously from your fingers, “courteous?”

“mhm. it is valentine’s day today, after all.” you nod, smiling lightly when you notice yoongi’s cheeks starting to get a little pink, “and if you’re feeling extra courteous, you can even do this-”

yoongi’s eyes pop open when you suddenly lean over and plant a big kiss on his cheek, his face instantly going bright red, “y/n!”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ ceo!yoongi; it’s valentine’s day and yoongi & y/n are still very much in love with each other

“i have to admit that this flavour isn’t actually half bad.” yoongi hums, scooping up a little spoon of ice cream before bringing it up to his mouth, “but the vanilla frozen yogurt is still the best choice here.”

“low-fat, low-fun, old man.” you remind him, reaching up to wipe the chocolate syrup off the corner of your mouth, “but i’m glad you mustered up enough courage to try something new this time!”

yoongi branched out and decided to try the strawberry-chocolate flavoured frozen yogurt because this is his version of spicing things up

in his eyes, he’s an unhinged man tonight!

“you’re just being a hater- you and your ridiculous red-velvet-cake and chocolate syrup nightmare-”

you watch fondly as yoongi continues to rattle off about your questionable choice in ice cream while he scrapes at the side of his cup

the man you love and whose child you birthed hates ice cream and somehow you’re still very much in love with him

“so what else do you have planned for tonight?” you ask, yoongi looking up at you from his cup

you don’t know if maybe it’s because you’re getting old and you like to go to sleep early now but you wouldn’t mind calling it a night after dessert

you had fish tacos for dinner - because of course you did - and now you’re having ice cream for dessert at your favourite parlour in the same booth where yoongi kissed you for the first time - because of course you are

everything about tonight has been perfect and now all you want to do is go home

yoongi pauses, his eyes narrowing slightly

“well, i was thinking that maybe we could…” he drops the little plastic spoon into his cup before pushing it aside, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward

“we could…?” you ask innocently as you fold your arms up on the table and lean in as well, taking your bottom lip in between your teeth

“you know…” yoongi tilts his head, eyes flickering down to your lips for a brief moment before he looks back up at you “…buy a couple extra-large pints of ice cream to bring home?” he smiles knowingly, “they’re having a valentine’s day discount!”

“min yoongi... that is…” you reach across the table to squeeze yoongi’s wrist, “hands-down the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ uni!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and y/n knows the way to yoongi’s heart

“in my opinion, valentine’s day is silly. it’s an overly commercialized holiday where large corporations take advantage of lovey-dovey couples who are willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on each other just to show each other how much they care, you know?” yoongi sighs, watching as you continue to rummage through your backpack, “like, i don’t need one day out of the year to show you how much i care about you when i care about you literally everyda- OOH, a present!” his eyes immediately light up when you pull out a box with his name written on the tag and you can’t help but snort at how quickly he’s changed his tune

“i just want you to know that if you don’t like these, i can totally go back and return them…” you clear your throat, watching as yoongi enthusiastically tugs at the ribbon before tossing it over his shoulder like a madman, “okay, you know you have to pick that up later-”

you’re pretty sure he stopped listening to you like three seconds ago but whatever

“y/n, you could give me a chunk of dirt and i’d still like-” yoongi takes the lid off, a wide grin suddenly stretching over his face, “no way! this is way cooler than a chunk of dirt!”

!!!

they’re a new set of wheels!

for his skateboard!!!!

they’re see-through with little red hearts sprinkled throughout the resin which isn’t usually the style he goes for but nonetheless these are going to look so sick!!!

“they’re new wheels for your skateboard!” you smile, watching as yoongi brushes the shreds of tissue paper off of them, “i know that little red hearts aren’t your thing, but they’re my thing and i thought it’d be nice because you could match with my scrunchie…” you trail off shyly, reaching up to rub the back of your neck, “but, yeah… if you don’t like them, i can return them for something cooler! they had ones with flames painted on them-!”

you don’t get a chance to say anything else before yoongi’s reaching over to grab the leg of your chair so he can yank you towards him for a kiss

“i love them-” yoongi beams, nudging his nose against yours before pulling away, “plus, i needed a new set of wheels so this is great.”

he takes another second or two to admire his new wheels before suddenly looking up at you, “now i feel like my present is super lame compared to yours…”

“oh, don’t be like that.” you frown playfully before bouncing up and down a little in your chair, “what’d you get me??”

“do you remember that polaroid picture we took over christmas?” yoongi asks, twisting in his seat so he can grab his bag, “the one of us sitting by the christmas tree in your apartment?” he pulls a brown paper bag out and hands it to you and you take it with greedy little raccoon hands

you’ve been looking forward to this all week

obviously you loved his present last year but you have a feeling you’re going to love this year’s present even more!

“mhm. i love that photo! i stuck it on the fridge, remember?” you ask, carefully peeling the tape off and folding the strip in half before setting it on the table

“well, i sent it to this person on etsy…” yoongi trails off, waiting for you to pull his gift out before making his announcment, “…and they turned it into a little keychain!”

omg

you can’t help but coo at the miniature polaroid, smoothing your finger over the surface

“oh, yoongi…” you giggle softly, pinching at the little red heart charm attached to the chain before looking up at him, “i love it! this is such a thoughtful present…”

“ah, it’s nothing…” yoongi murmurs, averting his gaze before shrugging, “i just thought it’d look nice on your keys, that’s all.”

“it’s going to look very nice on my keys. thank you, yoongi.” you lean forward to give him a peck, yoongi humming happily as you do so

“also, before i forget-” he perks up, “i found these and had to get them-” he turns and starts digging into his bag again before pulling out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs (it’s white with red hearts because that seems to be a recurring theme here), “you know, i’ve just been going through an etsy phase. there’s so much cool stuff on there!”

you zip your backpack up before turning back to face yoongi

“yeah, there’s a lot of stuff you can find on et- yoongi-!” your eyes nearly roll out of your skull at the sight of him twirling a pair of handcuffs around his finger, “oh my god, put those away!“ you hiss, looking around frantically before reaching over to try to grab them from him only for yoongi to raise his arm up

“what? you keep slipping out of the scrunches so i figured it was time to upgrade to something more secure.” the corner of yoongi’s mouth twitches in a smirk, “and the best part about these was the free shipping-”

“put them away-!”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ mechanic!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and yoongi won’t pay attention to y/n

“yoongi…” you sigh, placing your hands on your hips as you gently kick at yoongi’s feet, “c’mon, pay attention to me!”

you have a surprise for him and he was supposed to take a break like an hour ago!

“gimme one second, doll…” yoongi trails off, his voice muffled from where he is under the car, “i just have to do this-”

“you could be doing something else right now-” you grumble, reaching down to pick at a piece of lint off the jumpsuit you’re wearing

you bought a very pretty lingerie set a month ago in preparation for valentine’s day and you would really appreciate it if yoongi would spare you one second to notice that you’re wearing one of his jumpsuits (which already should’ve raised a red flag for him, but for some reason it didn’t) and underneath this grubby jumpsuit is a very pretty bra and an even prettier pair of panties!

it’s navy blue to match the jumpsuit and it even has little ribbons sewn onto the thigh garters which you know for sure he’s going to be a big fan of

“you said one second like ten minutes ago…” you whine quietly, hoping that yoongi can hear the pout in your voice so he’ll finally wheel out from under this damn car, “don’t you wanna know what your surprise is?”

“i do, baby, but i’m almost done…” yoongi’s hand shoots out from under the car to blindly reach for a wrench and you nudge it towards him with your foot, “thank you, pretty girl…”

“you can’t call me that if you’re not even looking at me.”

you know he’s beefing up the nicknames right now because he knows you love it when he calls you all sorts of terms of endearment and you’re trying noT to let that butter you up but there’s something about the way he says baby that just makes your tummy tingle

...

what were you doing again?

you shake yourself out of your trance before crossing your arms stubbornly, “you know what? maybe i’ll go and show namjoon what’s under this jumpsuit since you’re obviously a little too busy for me right now- NAMJOON, i need you! can you come out here for a second?”

“mm, you can show namjoon first and then i swear i’ll be done after- wait, under the jumpsuit-?!”

you hear a thud and a low ‘ow, fuck-’ before yoongi suddenly rolls himself out from underneath the car, scrambling up from the ground frantically, “did you say under the jumpsuit?” he asks, reaching up to wipe his face with the back of his hand only to smear more grease across his cheek

“i did.” you nod, placing your hands on your hips again before taking a step back, “and i would let you find out what’s under it for yourself, but your hands are very dirty so you’re not coming anywhere near me- anyways, if you weren’t so busy doing whatever it is you’re doing to that car-” yoongi’s eyelids flutter rapidly when you yank the jumpsuit open in one swift move, his mouth immediately going dry at the sight of… holy shit- “you could’ve been busy doing me.”

“i could’ve-” yoongi chokes, his eyes unable to look away from your chest, “i could’ve been do- we could- yeah, i can definitely do something else right now-”

oh, wow

it matches the jumpsuit and everything

...he wants to rip it off of you using his teeth.

“y/n! did you call for me?”

“joon! yeah, i was wondering what you thought about this-” you’re about to turn around to see if namjoon will appreciate your present more than your own boyfriend, yoongi lunging forward immediately to keep you from literally flashing namjoon, “yoongi-!” it’s only a second later that you feel yourself being lifted up and practically thrown over yoongi’s shoulder, your head spinning for a second at the sudden movement

“namjoon, there you are!” yoongi clears his throat before gesturing back to the car, “also, could you check on the- uh, the thing for me? the thing i was doing? to make sure it’s working?”

“yoongi, put me down, you lunatic-!”

“what? i don’t-” namjoon blinks owlishly when yoongi slaps a wrench down onto his palm, “i don’t know what you were doing, i’ve been in the office this whole ti-”

“great, thanks!” yoongi gives him a hearty slap on the shoulder before brushing past him, namjoon turning to look as he trots off towards the office with you still hanging over his shoulder

“do not get any grease on me, you brute-!”

why would he-

oh.

“yoongi-” namjoon clears his throat, “remember to hang a bandana on the doorknob this time!”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ balletteacher!jimin: it’s valentine’s day and jimin & y/n have to be more careful next year

“okay, i know you told me not to get you anything for valentine’s day, but i couldn’t help myself.”

“jimin…” you turn to glance at him over your shoulder as you continue blindly rummaging through your duffle bag, “i told you i didn’t need anything!”

“but it’s valentine’s day!” jimin argues, shutting the closet door before spinning around on his heels with a cheeky grin, “and they’re just flowers!”

“yeah, but knowing you, they were probably really expensive flowers-” you tease, getting up from the ground before dusting your knees off, “and you didn’t have to get me a whole bouquet, i would’ve been perfectly fine with a single rose like last year-”

“i’m allowed to spend however much money i want on you-” the two of you walk towards each other until you’re standing in the centre of the room, jimin reaching into the bouquet to adjust the little note tucked into the centre of it, “now, i was going to go with roses, but i saw these red gardenias and thought they’d be the better option because i got you roses last year. plus, roses are a little cliché this time of year, don’t you think?”

to: y/n - there’s not enough space on this card to write a lot so happy vday i hope u know how much i care about u

“aw, jimin…” you giggle, unable to fight the grin off of your face after you read the endearing handwritten note, “happy valentine’s day to you too.”

jimin’s eyes widen in surprise when you suddenly pull a little heart-shaped box out from behind your back with a small giggle

“what? i thought you said you didn’t get anything for me?” jimin gasps, tilting his head before taking the box from you, “sneaky!”

“i know. i lied.” you crinkle your nose as you shake the box gently, “i customised it too and chose all your favourite flavours!”

“that’s very thoughtful of you, darling-” jimin smiles softly, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you towards him, “i can’t wait to-”

“mr. park, i think i left my-” you immediately spring away from jimin when the door suddenly swings open and smacks against the wall, “oh-!”

“seulgi!” jimin clears his throat, his grip tightening on the bouquet, “hello!”

“what’s… going on…?” seulgi trails off, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the bouquet of gardenias that both you and jimin are still holding onto, “are those flowers?”

“uh…” you look back over at jimin and the two of you exchange brief glances of pure panic, “yes! these flowers…” you trail off, your brain working overtime to come up with a believable reason as to why you and jimin look like you’re exchanging very romantic gifts, “are for everyone!” you chirp, grabbing the bouquet from jimin’s hands before spinning around to face seulgi with a smile, “mr. park wanted to give them out earlier but it slipped his mind so he asked me if i could hand them out to you guys!“

“oh my gosh, really?” seulgi gasps, bringing her fingers up to cover her mouth, “you know, i love gardenias-” she takes her bottom lip in between her teeth as she leans against the door frame, eyeing jimin dreamily, “that’s so sweet of you, mr. park. we didn’t know you were planning on surprising us again! you really didn’t have to do this!”

“yes, i… really didn’t…” jimin forces a smile on his face, “but i did… because i just… care so much about all of you ladies on this special day…”

“what about the chocolates?” seulgi leans over a little, her eyes flickering down to the box in jimin’s hand

you twist around to look down at it

you knEW you should’ve saved it for later tonight!

now you don’t have flowers and jimin’s about to lose his chocolates!!

jimin pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he stares down at his precious box of chocolates given to him by his very lovely girlfriend that he was planning on sharing with his very lovely girlfriend later tonight

…god damnit.

“…the chocolates are also for you guys.” jimin looks back up at seulgi, trying his best not to look like he wants to strangle her for interrupting what would’ve been a sweet moment, “why don’t you call everyone back?”

“okay!” seulgi practically squeals, disappearing from the doorway in less than a second

a couple seconds of silence pass by before you slowly turn around to face jimin with a sheepish smile, jimin letting out a chuckle before shrugging at you

“…happy valentine’s day?”

“happy valentine’s day.”

»»————-　💖　————-««

➳ roommate!taehyung: it’s valentine’s day and taehyung can be romantic if he wants to be

“dark chocolate… oh my god, is this lemon? ew!” taehyung frowns, swallowing the bite before shuddering and placing the other half of the chocolate back into the box, “who in their right mind wants to eat lemon gunk inside a piece of dark chocolate?”

“i got peanut butter chocolate, so i’m happy with my selection.” you hum, dusting your fingers off before peering into the box for another piece

“what?? i wanted peanut butter chocolate!” taehyung whines, picking up the pamphlet to look at the different flavours again, “damnit. there’s only one peanut butter chocolate!”

“hey, you ate the milk chocolate caramel and you know i like that one!”

“everyone likes milk chocolate caramel, y/n. you’re not special!”

“i know you’re just lashing out because you’ve been getting all the gross flavours, so i’m going to forgive you for saying that.”

“like, ten of these pieces look the same…” taehyung scowls and continues to flip through the pamphlet, “i want milk chocolate and almond but it looks exactly like this one that’s milk chocolate with some kind of whipped orange filling inside of it…”

long story short, the two of you have been sitting here for the last half an hour snacking on a big box of chocolates that you decided to splurge on instead of using up all of your money on an overly-expensive dinner

valentine’s day is nice and all but you and tae both agreed that you wouldn’t make a big deal of it

you had a discussion about valentine’s day and the conclusion of that conversation was that you’d go all out on your anniversary but just take it easy on valentine’s day

but then again… a lot of your friends who are also in relationships have been posting cute pictures all day long of them and their significant others

and you know that you literally said valentine’s day wasn’t a big deal but... but the giant teddy bears… and the beautiful bouquets of flowers… the shiny, twinkling jewellery… the fancy dinners at fancy restaurants… it all looks so nice!

it’s not like you feel like you’re missing out on anything because the only thing that matters is that you and taehyung love each other blah blah blah anD you definitely don’t want to make it seem like you only care about materialistic things but it really makes you wonder if you and taehyung are just... bad at being a couple?

“are we bad at being romantic?” you ask out loud, turning to look at taehyung, “because we basically have no plans for the rest of the day besides gorging on chocolate and… well, gorging on more chocolate.”

“i don’t think we’re bad at being romantic. this is just… our version of romance!” taehyung shrugs, setting the pamphlet down before turning to face you as well, “everyone can celebrate today however they want to celebrate it, and we just so happen to be celebrating it like this!” he gestures to the two of you and the box of the chocolates

you’re wearing a grubby, stained sweatshirt and your fingers are sticky with chocolate and taehyung’s currently trying to fish a chunk of almond out from his molars

you’re not sure what kind of romance this is but it’s definitely something

“yeah, i guess you’re right…” you trail off, picking at one of the empty paper wrappers in the box

“why do you ask?”

“ah, no reason. you’re right. i mean, i’m the one who said that valentine’s day was-” you clear your throat before dismissing him with a flick of your wrist, “yeah, nothing.”

taehyung’s shoulders droop slightly as he watches you pick at the chocolates with a slight frown on your face

it’s not like he didn’t have anything planned for valentine’s day - as a matter of fact, he was going to get you one of those fancy buckets of roses that he sees all over instagram AND he was going to place a custom order for a whole bag of candy hearts with your guys’ initials on them - but then you mentioned one night that valentine’s day was kind of a goofy holiday and he immediately changed his mind

“...okay, c’mon.” taehyung dusts his hands off before getting up off the couch, a couple paper wrappers fluttering onto the floor, “go and get changed.”

“what are you talking about?”

“you want romance? i can do romance! one time i folded a girl’s clothes the morning after, and if that doesn’t scream romance, i don’t know what-” taehyung pauses when he realises he probably shouldn’t be talking about his past girls in front of his current girl (also you’re giving him that look that screams i dare you to continue talking), “i… am going to change the subject now because i feel myself wandering into dangerous territory- the point is: why don’t you change into something a little less comfortable?”

“what- why?” you frown, taehyung reaching down to wrap his hand around your elbow and pull you up off the couch

“we’re going on an impromptu date night, that’s why!”

“all the restaurants in the city are probably fully booked already, though-” you shake your head, reaching down to pick your phone up, “i don’t know…”

“aw, c’mon. looking for a restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year is all part of our valentine’s day fun!!” taehyung chirps, reaching up to pinch your cheek, “plus, if all else fails, we’ll come home and order takeout like we were originally going to - which will still be super fun and romantic, because everything we do is super fun and romantic. okay?”

a wide grin spreads on taehyung’s face when he notices the excited smile starting to twitch at the corner of your mouth

“…okay!” you giggle, taking tae’s hand as you bounce up and down on the balls of your feet, “okay, let’s go change-” you turn around, pulling tae along behind you, “i bought a new pair of boots and i’ve been dying to wear them out-”

“yay! also, i’m just letting you know now that after we come home i’m going to bone you so romantically that you won’t even know what hit you-”

“tae-”

“what?! you said you wanted romance!”

✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here?

��or perhaps you want something shorter to read?

🌟or something even shorter?

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shania-twain · 3 years ago

Note

What’s your top 5 favorite Rollisi moments?

I apologize, as this ask was sent days ago and I'm just now getting around to it because ya know, life, and because I took my sweet time thinking over these scenes.

It's a long one, under the cut!

1. The Scene (the kiss). This kiss has everything. It’s unexpected yet long overdue. It’s tender, it’s loving. There’s swaying. There’s standing on tip toes to reach Tol and there’s bending down to reach Smol. There’s water, city lights, a romantic atmosphere. There's tears (barely) but it's an excuse to touch faces! There's cheek caressing, there's longing, lingering stares, there's hesitance in transitioning from best friends to lovers. Light banter, nervous laughter. THE UNFINISHED SPEECH. I know I'm all over the place with this but SO ARE MY FEELINGS. So much has led up to this moment and I must say, the payoff was excellent. Perfect first kiss.

2. The Fight. Dare I name the one fight they got in that caused them to be labeled “toxic” by haters? I do dare. Why, one may ask? *shakes out piece of paper* Though they are fueled by their lack of sleep and unsaid feelings for each other at the time, there’s still some bite to Amanda’s bark on her part. She’s clearly upset over him leaving her, feels abandoned. Perhaps this is a feeling she’s used to from her own family trauma, but Carisi leaving the precinct particularly hurt not only because she has strong feelings for him at this point, but because he was the only one that ever was there for her in a way no one else was. I think she came to rely on him more than she may have even realized and that all spilled out in that small fight in the squad room. And he was so taken aback, obviously thought she was happy for him but of course she’s going to tell him she is because she doesn’t want to hurt him. The fight is so natural, happens unexpectedly but develops organically. The main reason it’s my number two? Giddish and Scanavino’s best acting, imo. And I’ve only seen the actual scene about three times because it makes me semi uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable watching people argue. It was so intimate and clearly turned personal, it almost feels wrong to be watching them go at it (in a bad way. Heh). But I think that’s a testament to the acting! A+++ scene! I dream of writing a fight scene as well as this one!

3. The Hospital. Truly, this episode was packed with Rollisi moments from start to finish. I love every moment we get with them individually (hand grab, anyone? Or when he makes her LAUGH at such an emotional moment in the hospital. I could go on about this scene in detail but I’ll stop). My favorite moment of the episode is actually the last scene of them. After Rollins gets rid of her father's (ex) wife, she’s so proud of herself for doing what she feels is right and that reflects in her face when she smiles at Carisi. It’s so simple and subtle, but there’s so much love in that look. Kelli is a master at giving these loving looks and perfect expressions. It’s also a wonderful contrast to how she used to look at Carisi in the beginning - from season 16, when she thought he was a bit of a goof. Now she looks at him like he hung the got damn moon. We don't get to see Carisi's face here, but I imagine he's looking quite amused at her, maybe even charmed by her a little bit. I'm also obsessed with the way Amanda's eyelashes flutter down when he moves closer to her. Flirting over Amanda's bedridden father? The ✨romance!✨ Swoon!

4. The Elevator. This used to be number one for me, until we got the goodness in season 22. There’s something very special about this hug. It’s not even a hug, really. It’s clinging, desperate, need that one particular person and only this person kind of thing. It’s, of course, devastating that Rollins had to go through the whole thing with Bucci and possibly leaving her children without a mother, but like I said, something special about the way this led to letting the audience see who she really trusts as she let’s herself fall apart and into Carisi’s arms. Sure, she trusts her squad, but she also wants them to know she’s ok at all times. Even tells her own therapist this once or twice. She even *begins* to tell Carisi she’s fine, her usual response when asked if she’s alright, but then the second he says her name, it’s like a switch is flicked and she’s sobbing into him. DON’T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT SCANAVINO. He’s always there when she needs it. He’s patient with her, kind, takes her into him with absolutely no hesitation. This scene happens episodes after their fight in the squad room. It’s clear there is no more lingering tension between them in the elevator scene. It’s the way he says “I got you” not once but TWICE, as if he needs her to hear it. Needs to make sure she understands that he’s there not just in the moment, but he’s got her always. No matter what happens between them or with their jobs — and this comes back around in his wedding speech, as well. 🤧 But also, fave part of that scene? When he holds her tighter, leans his head against hers many times, and then closes his eyes. Cannot stand to hear her sobs, or see her in any kind of pain. Oh, my heart. My heaaaaaaart.

5. Rain check. Lots of great acting here. Is anyone surprised? No, but there’s a bit of a range of emotions in this particular scene and it’s acted so beautifully, I could write a whole paper. I’ll try and keep it brief (ha, yeah right). I don’t think Amanda would ever have a problem getting a man anytime anywhere, but I do think it was a big deal for her to ask this man out. I think maybe her intentions at the time may have been less than trying for a relationship, but she was open to trying something with him. I also think it was a big deal because it felt very planned. The outfit felt planned, the way she made him laugh, the hair toss an attempt to flirt. Though she also had this vulnerability about her that only exists with him. She’s putting herself out there, she’s saying that she’s willing to try and I think that is a big step for her, even if she was only open to a FWB situation (that totally 100% wouldn’t have worked bc *feelings*). Carisi, however, rejects her. You can see in his face that he’s so reluctant to do this but he does. Obviously, he’s had feelings for the woman for so long but is protecting himself. Almost like he knows she may think she’s ready to try something with him, but he also knew it wasn’t their time yet. Also, after he tells her he can’t, the immediate disappointment Amanda has? Heart-wrenching, tbh. She looks so upset and gets off from sitting on the edge of his desk so fast. Like. BABYYYYY.

Honorable Mentions: Threats! I’m kind of cheating here, but there’s nothing like an OTP that will kill for the other. I’m -of course- talking about Carisi’s “if Rollins gets shot over this, I’m gonna take ALL of them out.” And also Amanda’s message to Mesner: “if you go after Counselor Carisi or anyone in my family again, it will be your last day on earth. I’ll kill you myself.” Ooh, there’s something so secks see about being violently protective over your significant other. I don’t condone it irl, but let me have the ✨drama✨on tv.

Thank you for this question! I had fun going over some great scenes!

#ask #anonymous

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the-void-i-scream-into · 4 years ago

Text

White Tulips - a JunJin fanfic 2/3

Full Story: Part 1, Part 3

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all happy and healthy. Part 2 of my Junjin fanfic is finally up. Thank you so much to the beautiful and wonderful people who liked my fanfic. I am so sorry I have not been responding to your lovely comments. I had exams so I was really busy but I will get to them now. It took me a long time to post this next part because I wanted to finish both Part 2 and 3. I’ll be posting the other part too once I’ve proofread everything

As always, this chapter is dedicated to the Shooters GC (which I haven’t checked in so long, I’m so sorry) 🙈 🙈

Please do be warned, this does get a little dark. But it will pay off in Part 3, I promise.

Pairing: Kang Sujin x Han Seojun

Romantic Trope: Haters to friends to lovers

Word Count: 13.5k

Rating: T

TRIGGER WARNING: Some of the themes in this story are a little dark, specifically in section iii. Please be warned. I’ve added a summary for section iii in section iv so you can skip it if needed.

PART 2

They both spoke at the same time.

“Ya Kang Sujin…”

“Ya Han Seojun…”

“What the hell happened?”

Seojun had been in a strange state of mind all day. First it was waking up in the enemy’s bed, but that part he had completely blocked out. Then it was the massive hangover, the effects of which he was still reeling from. On top of that he had received a scolding for being late to practice, which caused him to be late to his commercial shoot, which caused him to be late for his recording session which was when he had been informed about his scandal.

Seojun normally didn’t care for rumors that spread about him. He relied on his performance to speak for itself; the people online with their uninformed opinions didn’t matter.

“But why did it have to be her?!” He had groaned when he first read the articles. But then he asked himself seriously, “Why did it have to be her?”

It all seemed too convenient. Additionally, she had been the one to drag him for drinks and then back to her apartment.

Was this another one of her schemes? What would she gain from doing this? Maybe it was because he was on to her and could see the truth about her and now she wanted him gone. Yes, it must have been that. Or was it not? Was his theory too farfetched? Maybe he was being too harsh. Maybe he was misunderstanding the situation.

Seojun felt conflicted. On the one hand, it would have been so easy to just blame Sujin and keep on hating her like he wanted to. On the other hand, he could hear Suho in his head, warning him about being too judgmental. Seojun normally trusted his instincts with everything but this time his own instincts were confused. Should be giving Sujin the benefit of the doubt?

Seojun knew that if he needed answers, he would need to go to the source.

“What the hell happened?” They both asked each other at the same time but neither had the answer.

“How the hell would I know? It was your apartment.”

“The pictures were obviously taken by someone was obsessed with you.” Sujin fumed.

“Are you saying this is my fault?”

“Then are you saying it’s mine?”

“I’m not the one who took us out drinking then brought me back home to her apartment!”

“I’m not the one with the crazy saesangs!”

“My fans are not crazy! They are way better than arrogant women with a princess complex like you!”

“Don’t call me princess.” Sujin said dangerously.

“Or what? You’ll get me drunk and back at your apartment again?”

“Ah shut up, you man-child!” Sujin hung up and Seojun flung his phone across the room where it bounced onto the couch. He was seething.

“Aish!” Seojun kicked the air.

“Did you talk to Sujin?” Heekyung’s calm voice startled Seojun.

“What? Oh, Noona.” Seojun gulped.

“How was she? Was she okay?”

“Umm…” Seojun blinked

“She must have been shaken. Facing something like this can be very upsetting.”

Seojun’s shoulders deflated. “Uh, yeah…” He hadn’t considered that.

“Did she agree to give a statement to help clear up this mess?”

Oh right, I was supposed to ask her…

Heekyung continued, “I do have good news. We’ve found the person who took the photographs. So he won’t be sharing them with anyone else.”

“You have?”

“Yes. It was unfortunate. A photographer happened to be there, just as you were leaving. He actually recognized you from your voice. Talk about having bad luck.”

Seojun frowned. So, it wasn’t Sujin.

“So will Sujin do it? We just need a simple statement. She can release a post on her socials and we’ll take care of the media articles.”

Seojun rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Um, I don’t think she’ll agree.” . Especially not after the blaming match that just happened. “Can’t we just clarify things on our end? Not get her involved?”

Heekyung smiled with a twinkle in her eye, “Oh I get it. You don’t want her to feel burdened.”

Seojun could tell what she was implying. “Ah-nee! Its not that at all!” His voice was pitched a little too high.

Heekyung laughed, “I’ve been at this for longer than you, Seojun-ah. You can be straight with me.”

“It’s not like that! I don’t care about Kang Sujin at all!”

But Heekyung wasn’t listening. “Just be careful. Your career has just started. You can’t afford scandals like these. People will turn against you in an instant, you know?”

Seojun swallowed. He knew all too well how people could turn against him in an instant, like the way thy did with Seyeon. But he wanted to believe that he would be able to face them.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Heekyung nodded. “Good. Now I’ll go tell our PR team to release a statement about you and Sujin being just friends.” Seojun nodded gratefully. “I think the fact that you went to school together will help. Hopefully people will buy it when you tell them nothing happened between you two.” Heekyung winked as she walked away.

“It’s not like that!” Seojun called after her.

ii.

The situation subsided as quickly as it had risen. Move Entertainment published their official statement about how it was all a misunderstanding. That Seojun had only been visiting his friend from high school and the fact that the friend was also a mutual with rising online beauty guru Lim Jukyung helped establish the connection. Seojun had been glad that Jukyung had taken those selfies with Sujin with Seojun in the background otherwise people might have just taken the statement as an excuse.

What annoyed Seojun about the whole situation was not his reputation or the online speculation but how everyone else kept teasing him about it. This was made especially worse when they were all gathered around for drinks, including his own squad, Chorong and Co., who were eyeing Sujin with a mixture of adoration—that made them stare at her, and fear—that kept them from talking to her.

“Ooh, Han Seojun you better not drink too much or you’ll end up in Sujin’s apartment again.” Taehoon teased. Seojun gave him the death glare while Sujin made a disgusted face. Everyone else laughed.

“Guys! Don’t be mean.” Jukyung’s voice went unheard among the collective chatter.

“Han Seojun, I can see you’ve been keeping a very close eye on Kang Sujin.” Chorong whispered in his ear. Seojun elbowed his ribs.

“Pay up, Sujin didn’t kill him.” Suho asked from Suah.

“You guys had a bet?” Sujin asked icily. Seojun almost admired the scathing look Sujin gave Suho as she eyed the money being exchanged.

Suho’s and Suah’s hands froze right when they were exchanging the bills.

“No?” Suho said weakly.

“Kang Su, I bet on you okay?” Suah defended.

“Ah is that so? Well then you’re off the hook.”

Suah relaxed while Suho blinked forty times, sweating. “Kang Sujin. It was just a joke okay?”

Sujin just put her hand forward and Suho silently put the money in her hands.

“Wah, just 5 dollars? I’m worth 5 million you know.”

“Sure you are. And I’m the King of England.” Seojun said under his breath. Kang Sujin and her princess complex.

“What was that?” Sujin put her hand to her ear, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you over the apology you owe me.”

“What apology? I owe you nothing.” Seojun retorted, fully aware that he had actually come to this gathering to apologize to Sujin about the scandal and how he had behaved over the phone. That plan had since been abandoned.

For some reason, he could not spit out the three words ‘I am sorry’ to Kang Sujin. No matter how much he wanted to. There was just something about her that irritated him to the point of misbehavior.

Sujin clicked her tongue at Seojun but said nothing. Instead, reaching into her bag, she pulled out a notebook and a pen.

“Here, sign this.” She ordered, pushing the notebook and pen in his face.

“What is it?”

For Kang Sujin, the biggest issue from the scandal had not been the online noteriety and not even the teasing, but the fact that everyone in her office now knew that she was friends with an idol and had demanded that she get them his autographs.

“Its for my friends at work.”

“You have friends?” Seojun said with mock surprise.

“You know I was just as shocked to learn that you have actual fans. I always thought Suho was the one buying all your albums.” Sujin said.

“Of course I have fans! I am super popular you know!” Seojun defended, pulling the lapels of his jacket with pride.

“Yes I’m sure you’re veeeery popular.” Sujin’s words dripped with sarcasm. Seojun’s pride deflated like a balloon. “Just sign. And write something nice too.” She ordered. Seojun quietly picked up the notebook, not because he was nice but because he felt he owed her this much.

“You know my autographs are worth a lot of money, right?”

Sujin made a face. “Just sign the damn thing so that the girls at work stop harassing me about you.”

Seojun smiled as he signed. His fans were awesome. “How many?” He asked.

“Seven.”

He signed seven pages, each with a personalized note.

“Be nice to my fans at work.”

“I’m always nice.”

“Sure you are.” Seojun replied skeptically. He handed Sujin the notebook. “I better not find you selling these online.” He warned.

“I’d rather starve than live off of your autographs.” Sujin bit back.

“Okay, okay! No more fighting!” Jukyung pointed between the two. “Lets all enjoy our drinks in peace.” She looked pointedly at Sujin who pointed her chin at Seojun with a ‘he-started-it’ scowl.

“Han Seo, is it okay for you to meet us in public like this?” Suah asked. They weren’t in the usual private dining area that they frequented when it was just the core group of friends. They were out where everyone could see.

“We can always hang out at our place, if you want.” Suho offered. Seojun quickly shook his head. Seeing Suho and Jukyung together outside was one thing. Seeing how they lived together was quite another. Knowing they lived together was painful enough. He didn’t want even more fuel for his imagination.

“Its no trouble at all.” He put on a smile for Suho who seemed satisfied. But, to his surprise, he found Kang Sujin giving him a strange look. She chuckled to herself but said nothing.

As they all said their goodbyes, Seojun went out the back so that he could leave in privacy. He planned on taking the long route today. A bike ride would help him clear his mind.

“Han Seojun, wait up!”

He stopped just as he was about to put his helmet on. He was surprised to find Sujin there.

“What? Need more autographs?” He asked, cockily smiling.

Sujin made a sickened expression. “Not at all. I just… I had something to say.” She hesitated.

“Well say it.”

She cleared her throat. “It was neither of our faults. The scandal. It wasn’t that it was my building or your fans. It was someone shitty who didn’t respect our privacy. That’s… that’s all I wanted to say.”

Sujin waited for his response. Seojun could feel his face burning. He should have been the one to say all this to her, and yet here she was apologizing to him instead.

“I’msorryforwhathappened.” He said too quickly and too quietly.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Seojun shoved his helmet on to hide his embarrassed face.

“Drive safe.” Sujin said.

“Yeah, whatever.” He rode away.

Kang Sujin was just glad she was able to spit out the words she had been meaning to say all night long. It had been weighing on her ever since they had spoken on the phone. She had promised herself a long time ago that she would try to be a nicer person and for the most part she had accomplished that. But that Han Seojun just had a way of bringing her old self back to the surface. And that bothered her.

It doesn’t matter, she told herself. She would learn how to get along with Han Seojun. It was only a matter of practice. And besides, it wasn’t as if she had to be overtly obvious about it. She just had to tolerate him.

For Jukyung. It’s for Jukyung. She would want us to get along, she lied to herself. The truth was, that Kang Sujin believed that she didn’t have a choice.

Everyone loved Han Seojun, even her best friends who had never paid much attention to him back in high school. It was all because Sujin had been absent for so long. She had missed a huge part of everyone’s lives while Han Seojun had been there for all of it.

Sujin wondered whether, if it came to choosing between her and Seojun, they would choose her. A part of her believed they wouldn’t.

She had made such a mess of things before and left things unresolved for too long. She was certain that things would never go back to the way they had been, not fully anyway. There would always be a part of them that wouldn’t trust her. And there would always be a part of her that would be heavy with guilt.

“Ah-nee-ya.” She reassured herself. “I don’t need to worry about this.”

She was glad that the whole matter of being mistaken as Han Seojun’s girlfriend had been settled. She laughed at the very idea.

“Me and Han Seojun dating. Ah, how funny.”

Sujin had heard of horror stories about how such scandals ruined people’s lives and got them shunned by society. Thank fully, none of that had happened. Her precious peace was safe again.

Sujin could see her future now; a life where she worked hard at her non-profit, where she shared dinners and lunches with her friends and laughed about the old days, where she wasn’t told she wasn’t good enough, where she did what she wanted instead of being forced to do what her father wanted. Yes, Kang Sujin could see her like ahead—a life where she was finally happy.

iii.

At first Sujin thought she was being paranoid. But her co-workers seemed to be acting stand-offish with her, with some outright avoiding her. They weren’t replying to her as enthusiastically they used to and were having hushed conversations that immediately stopped when she approached them. They even made plans for lunch without including her.

“Is something wrong?” Sujin asked one of them.

“Not at all. Shall we get to work?” It sounded more like a snub than reassurance.

Sujin also felt the hairs on her neck rise from time to time, as if she could feel someone watching her. But when she turned around, everyone would look away.

Convincing herself that it was all in her head, Sujin ignored it and went on with her work.

But then it happened again at the convenience store. She heard her name being said in whispers behind her. When she turned, she found a couple of teenagers quickly putting away their phone. Despite the anxiety bubbling in her stomach, Sujin dismissed the incident and went home.

Normally after a long day at work, Sujin would throw her phone away, have dinner while watching TV, shower and go to sleep. But today had been strange and she was feeling out of sorts. She needed a distraction to help her calm down.

So, after a shower, she settled back on her couch with her dinner and her phone. Jukyung normally posted a new make-up tutorial by this day of the week. Sujin loved watching her transform herself from an ordinary looking girl to a stunning beauty, while explaining each step.

To Kang Sujin, Jukyung was an artist who used her face as a canvas. Sujin herself had learned a lot just from watching Jukyung. She was excited about what she would learn today.

Sujin dismissed the dozens of Instagram notifications on her phone. Suah was always tagging her and messaging her about some post or the other. Sujin would get to them later. As Sujin searched for Jukyung’s channel, her Instagram notifications kept dinging. She put it on mute and played the video.

This time, Jukyung was giving a tutorial on American style makeup and how it was different from Korean style. Sujin grinned all the way through the video as Jukyung talked through her tutorial. Sujin scrolled through the comments as she watched.

My beauty Queen! I love you!

I tried your winged liner look and was able to finally do it for myself. Thank you.

I use the exact same foundation but it doesn’t work for my skin. But looks great on you. <3

You didn’t mention the eyeliner you used here. Can you please add it in the description?

This is why I have trust issues. She looks like a completely different person. This is fraud.

Sujin frowned at the last comment. “She looks beautiful either way.” She said angrily aloud as she typed it in, punching the buttons as if she could punch the commentor. Sujin scrolled further.

Who else came here after reading the Soompi article?

This comment had a lot of likes and comments. Maybe Jukyung was getting famous enough to be reported by entertainment websites now. Sujin smiled proudly.

Lim Jukyung, yours is the best makeup channel here!

Saranghae unnie

I was so sad to learn that you were bullied as a kid. So glad that you’ve found success now.

Sujin swallowed thickly. It would always bother her to know that she had once exploited Jukyung’s past bullying for her own gain. The fact that she had once contributed to her bullying would always fuel Sujin’s self hatred. She was just glad that Jukyung had moved on from her past and had become confident in herself. And more so, had found a community online that adored her.

As Sujin scrolled down some more, she noticed that most of the comments were talking about how Jukyung was a survivor of bullying.

“Mwo-ya…”

Wow, I had no idea this girl was so brave. Bravo!!!

I’m a survivor of bullying too. Its nice to know I’m not alone.

I bet her bully is watching this now and regretting what they did.

I don’t watch makeup tutorials. Came here cuz of the bullying scandal. But stayed cuz she is so good.

The last comment made Sujin stop. “Bullying scandal?”

Sujin went to Naver and searched for scandals involving Lim Jukyung. The first few links were Jukyung’s most popular videos but beneath that were a slew of articles from slanderous gossip sites.

Girl from Han Seojun Scandal Turns Out to be a Bully

Online Star Lim Jukyung Gets Involved in Han Seojun Scandal

Han Seojun’s Alleged Girlfriend was a Bully in High School

“What?!” Sujin stood up on her feet in shock. With shaking hands, she went through the articles one by one. Somehow, someone had uncovered the post from her high school community page that had revealed what she had done to Jukyung. Except they had gotten their facts mixed up and had reported that Sujin had been the one to bully Lim Jukyung about her looks.

That girl is so despicable.

Han Seojun is hanging out with a girl like her? I can’t believe it. I actually used to like him.

I bet this girl seduced Oppa. Don’t dislike him!

I am so glad they’re not actually dating.

Her face is so evil. And she’s uglier than Lim Jukyung!

I bet Han Seojun was fooled by her. She feels like the type who uses her looks to manipulate men.

People like her should kill themselves.

Guys! I found her Inssa!

It really is her! This is authentic!

The room began to close in on Sujin. She immediately opened Instagram where her account was flooded with comments and direct messages from people either telling her to kill herself or threatening to kill her.

Her heart was beating so fast it felt like she would throw it up. She was equal parts shaken and angry. So many people were after her but she hated that these people felt they had a right to treat her this way.

Sujin opened up the messages on Instagram and began firing back to her haters, starting with the most recent messages.

Get off of my account before I report you.

No thanks, I’m not going to kill myself.

Threatening me will only get you sued.

You don’t have to follow me if you don’t like me.

“These assholes think they can bully me online? Well, they’ve got another thing coming.” Sujin growled through clenched teeth as she typed away with all her anger.

I did not bully her!

I made a mistake!

I apologized!

People immediately started responding.

You’re not even going to admit your mistake?

OMG! I can’t believe you actually replied!

Are you honestly defending what you did?

You can’t talk like that to me! I’m going to tell everyone you’re a total b****

How can you be so audacious after you bullied someone? Just kill yourself.

Do us all a favor and kill yourself.

Kill yourself.

KILL YOURSELF.

Sujin screamed in frustration and threw her phone away. It smashed into the wall and landed with a sickening thud. Her hands suddenly felt clammy. Clammy and sticky and sweaty and dirty, dirty, dirty. So dirty that they smelled.

She ran into the bathroom and furiously scrubbed her hands clean. Once, twice, three times. No matter how many times she washed or how hard she scrubbed, the dirty stench of the hate she had just received wouldn’t wash off.

Her hands became all red and felt raw and exposed. But she kept on washing till she ran out of soap. She fell to the floor, suddenly weak and exhausted. The cool tiles felt nice and it was then that she noticed how hot she felt.

Calm down. I have to calm down. She breathed in, then out. In, then out. She could hear her heart in her ears. Pounding and pounding. The walls were closing in. The messages on her Instagram suddenly had voices that shouted in her mind.

Kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself.

A ringing broke through it all. First Sujin thought it was in her head but no, it was from the living room.

Her cellphone. Lim Jukyung was calling.

How could she face Jukyung? What would she say to her? Wouldn’t Jukyung say the same as everyone else?

Sujin cut the call. Notifications from Instagram were still coming in. She deactivated her account and deleted the app.

Lim Jukyung’s name lit up her phone again.

She turned it off and flopped down on her sofa, head pounding.

Her fragile little hope for a good life was now shattered completely. She could hear her father now. Hear him yell at her that she was useless, that she was pathetic, that she was stupid and inferior. Unable to beat even Lee Suho.

Kill yourself.

Her father had never told her this, but he might as well have. Even now it was his voice saying it over and over in her mind. It was his angry stare she felt on her back.

How would she face people now? People would hate her now that they knew what she had done. And her co-workers…. Of course they knew. That’s why everyone had been acting so strange.

This all felt so cruel and unfair. She had been so good these past couple of years. She didn’t want all of it to just be taken away like this.

But didn’t you do the same thing to Jukyung? Her father’s voice taunted. She was a good person too, wasn’t she? You’re nothing but a piece of trash.

I bet you think that you destroyed Lim Jukyung, Seojun’s voice said, but you’ve only destroyed yourself.

iv.

SUMMARY of iii: Because of the Han Seojun scandal, people find out about the community post that revealed what Sujin had done to Jukyung and people online start thinking that Sujin bullied Jukyung. They harrass her and it becomes a scandal of its own.

It was chaos at Move Entertainment.

“What the hell happened?! You told me you settled this!” The director threw a magazine in Heekyung’s face. Seojun saw this through the glass door and barged in.

“Is that how you treat your employees?” He demanded angrily.

“Get out. Get. Him. Out! Get him out of this company for good measure!”

Heekyung pushed Seojun out before he could do anything else, dragging him as far away as possible. “Don’t be an idiot. You can’t just barge in like that.”

“But he’s being an asshole. Should I just stand around and let you take it?”

“This is the adult world Han Seojun. Actions have consequences here.” Heekyung said reasonably. “And you’re the reason he’s so mad. A bullying scandal is serious. We’ve even publicly acknowledged that you and Sujin are friends. This doesn’t reflect well on you.”

“The articles are lying. Sujin didn’t bully Jukyung in high school. She just—”

“I know exactly what she did. You think I don’t know about what happened to my own sister?” For a brief moment, Heekyung’s professional demeanor slipped into anger. But she recovered quickly. “It infuriates me that my sister’s past is being brought up like this. But I have a job to do and I need you to cooperate with me. Okay?”

Seojun exhaled. “What are we going to do?”

“Nothing. The situation will sort itself out. You will need to keep a low profile, however.”

Seojun exhaled. “Noona, we need to set the record straight. Sujin is—”

“Sujin isn’t represented by Move, you are. None of us here can do anything about what is happening to her.”

Seojun clenched his jaw. “Have you seen what is being said about her?”

Heekyung looked away. “Its not like I enjoy saying this. I’m only telling you what I was told when I made the same request. She’s not represented by us. She’s not our concern.”

“Was Seyeon not your concern either?”

Heekyung had nothing to say to that. “I have to go back in. You stay here, arachi? Don’t do anything rash and…” she yanked Seojun’s phone from his hand.

“Ah!” Seojun tried to get it but Heekyung had the phone out of reach.

“I’m keeping this for now.” She said and left.

Seojun exclaimed in frustration, running his hands through his hair. Despite the animosity he had towards Kang Sujin, this kind of exposure to such vitriol online didn’t sit well with him. Kang Sujin deserved a lot of things, but she didn’t deserve this.

He knew Sujin was tough. But this kind of incident would make anyone crumble. He just hoped she didn’t do anything stupid.

“Sujin-ah. Can you explain your side of things?”

Of course her office had heard about everything. Apparently her past misdeeds were a trending topic online. Her supervisor had called her in as soon as Sujin had shown up.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Her supervisor asked.

Sujin inhaled, “When I was in high school, I fell in love with a boy. But he had a girlfriend… she was a friend of mine. I got jealous… and petty. I published an unflattering video of her on our school’s online community. She had been bullied in her previous school because of her looks. So the video was especially traumatizing to her. I was responsible for what happened in Saebom High, but I wasn’t involved in anything that happened before that.”

Sujin looked at her hands, still red and raw, “I have made up with her since then. I’ve apologized. We’re both friends now. And I’m not a teenager anymore.”

Something stung Sujin’s hand. Water droplets? No, tears. She hadn’t noticed when she had started crying. But she kept her face straight even when the tears didn’t stop. She looked at her supervisor.

“I am ashamed of what I did. If I could take it all back… you have no idea what I would do to take it all back.” Sujin furiously wiped away her tears. She hated crying in front of anyone. “I love working here. I really do.”

Even as she was saying the words, she knew what was coming. Of course her company wouldn’t keep her on. Even non-profits couldn’t afford bad reputations and the fact that Move Entertainment had worked with her company for a lot of benefits hadn’t escaped her notice either.

“Sujin-ah.” Her co-worker said, peeking from the cubicle wall as Sujin packed up her things.

“What?”

“I never thanked you. For getting me Han Seojun’s signature.” The woman said meekly.

Sujin gave a small smile. “You’re welcome.”

The woman handed her a bunch of sticky notes. “These are goodbyes from everyone. We know you’re not getting a farewell party so we thought you should have our thoughts with you.”

Sujin looked down at the brightly colored notes that contained encouraging messages from some of her co-workers. Her dismissal had been so swift that she hadn’t even been given the chance to say anything.

“If its worth anything… I don’t believe any of it.”

Sujin smiled gratefully this time. “Thanks, Chulhee-yah. I appreciate it.”

vi.

Sujin was both grateful and surprised by how much her friends had reached out. Apparently they had showed up to her place multiple times to see if she was okay, given that she was not answering any of her calls. Sadly, Sujin had not been there to receive them. She had gone to her aunt’s place to get away from everything.

That had not proved to be a good idea.

“Have. You. Lost. Your. Mind!!” Each word was punctuated with a smack from a slipper. Her mother, the once elegant and graceful Mrs. Kang, chased her daughter around in the most inelegant and ungraceful manner. Mrs. Kang’s sister tried to save Sujin by stepping in between but Mrs. Kang still managed to get a few whacks in.

“How could you let a boy stay over at your place?!”

“Omma! That’s what you choose to focus on?!”

“Yes! How could you have disgraced your family this way? And not just any boy, an idol? What the hell were you doing with an idol? Come here.”

This was one fight Sujin would never win. Her mother was not a force of reason when she was this angry. And it took a lot for her to get this angry.

Sujin didn’t mind these smacks. They came from a place of love and worry. Eventually her mother calmed down enough to address the other issue with Sujin. She took her daughter in her arms and wailed.

“How could those people be so mean to my daughter?”

“Omma, I can’t breathe.” Her mother smushed Sujin to herself.

“My poor girl. My poor baby girl.”

In the end, Sujin was glad she had come back to her aunt’s place. It gave her the break she had needed. Away from all of the noise of her online haters, Sujin found she could finally breathe. She found great comfort in her mother’s arms and her aunt’s assurances her that everything would be fine.

However, the dread of returning to her normal life still loomed over her head. Sujin felt her throat close up every time she imagined going back to her apartment. Would the people point and laugh at her on the street? Would she be able to live a normal life from now on?

It was strange how deeply all of this had affected her. Even now, as Sujin walked from the grocery store to her aunt’s house, she felt the paranoia that people were talking about her, pointing and laughing, even though they weren’t.

“Sujin-ah.”

And now it felt like they were actually calling out to her.

“Kang Su!”

Sujin turned in surprise, ready to fight whoever had called her. “Who is it?”

“Who do you think? It’s Jukyungie! ” A human mass known as Lim Jukyung ran towards Kang Sujin with arms wide open. The girls hugged each other tightly, Jukyung grinning with her gummy smile while Sujin stood, mouth open in shock.

Not far behind, were Suah and Taehoon.

“Ya Kang Su, at least answer your phone! Do you know how worried I was?” Suah scolded.

Sujin laughed, almost tearing up. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She had feared that her friends would turn away and curse at her after she had avoided them. But here they were, all gathered just for her.

“How’d you find me?” She asked the three. They all turned to Suho who stood there smiling.

“Hey Sujin. Have you been well?”

Of course, Suho knew where her aunt lived.

“What well? You all know what happened.” Sujin replied, not bothering to pretend that she was fine.

“Ya! What have you done to your hands.” Jukyung held up Sujin’s scabby hands with worry.

“It’ll heal.” Sujin smiled. Maybe it was the massive hug she had received, or the fact that her friends had traveled so far away to meet her, but suddenly, Sujin felt relieved. It was as if the entire situation was trivial and that she could see light at the end of the tunnel.

“Of course we know what happened.” Suho replied.

“And we know exactly how to fix it.” Jukyung grinned wider.

vii.

On the screen, in front of a ring light she had set up at her home, Lim Jukyung stood with a gummy smile and a warm welcome.

“Ahn-nyong-se-yo everyone. This is Lim Jukyung here with a new make up tutorial for all of my beautiful viewers. Uh, today I have a new kind of tutorial for you all. But before we begin, there is something that I think has been on all of our minds that needs to be addressed.”

Jukyung motioned to someone standing behind the camera to come forward. Kang Sujin entered the frame awkwardly, not knowing where exactly to look. The way Jukyung had set up her studio for this live event was to have the camera, the mirror with the ring light and her laptop screen facing her so that she could do her make up while also reading the comments. And while Jukyung was used to having all of this equipment focused on her, Sujin was not.

“Introduce yourself.” Jukyung said softly, nudging Sujin with her elbow.

“Ah, yes.” Sujin cleared her throat. “Ahn-nyong-se-yo everyone. I’m Kang Sujin.” She waved robotically while staring in the camera like a deer caught in the headlights.

Jukyung couldn’t help but laugh. “Ya, Kang Su, are you afraid of the camera?”

“Ah-neeeee, it’s just so unnatural.” Sujin quickly countered.

“Don’t worry, the camera doesn’t bite.” Jukyung put an arm around her friend’s waist. “Okay everyone now that my friend Kang Sujin is here we can talk about the recent—”

“Lim Ju, maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Sujin interrupted anxiously.

“Huh? But it’s already live.” Jukyung pointed at the camera.

“What?” Sujin on in panic.

Jukyung continued, “So everyone, as you all may have heard, Sujin and I went to the same high school together. However, before that I attended another high school where I was bullied for my looks. Sujin and I did not know each other back then and she had nothing to do with that part of my life so the allegations that she bullied me are completely false. That was another person and that person is no longer in my life.”

Sujin cut in, “However, it is true that I revealed Jukyung’s past to our school and posted an unflattering video of her online.”

Jukyung nodded, looking serious. “I won’t lie and say it was easy for me to have that happen. But… both of us have changed since then. We have grown up and grown past that time.”

The girls took each other’s hands in solidarity.

Jukyung continued, “I’m not the girl I used to be. Neither is Sujin. And while she did do something wrong… I’ve forgiven her. I would rather remember the good times we shared…” The time that Sujin caught that pervert, the time she helped rescue Jukyung from those kidnappers, the time she helped hide Jukyung’s bare face at the school trip. “There are things that I wish I had done differently too. I wish had been more confident in myself and honest about who I really was. I wish I had stood up for myself earlier. But the past is the past, and I would rather focus on the present.”

“Everyone, I am grateful for all of the love and support you showed to me. I know bullying isn’t something you get over easily and I saw a lot of you comment about the bullying that you suffered. I am grateful you shared your stories with me. I hope we can take this opportunity to help each other heal rather than put someone down.” Jukyung looked at Sujin. “Now you.”

Sujin recited nervously, “Ah. Ahn-nyong-se-yo everyone. I’m Kang Sujin.”

Jukyung giggled. “We’ve done that already.”

“Oh, yes. Um… I uh…” Sujin took a pause to collect herself. “Let me be the first to say that I’m not a nice person—”

“Yah!” Jukyung protested but Sujin carried on.

“But I’m also not the girl who posted that video about her best friend, not anymore. At that time… I was foolish. I let my personal problems cloud my judgement and I took my frustration and anger out on Lim Jukyung. I have regretted doing that every single day since it happened. I am sorry. I understand everyone’s anger towards me. I would be angry too if I heard this about someone else. However, I hope that you all will be able to forgive me, as Jukyung has.”

Sujin ended her speech with an apologetic bow. Jukyung bowed with her. The girls then shared a tearful hug. From the back, Sujin saw Suho give her a thumbs up. Sujin sent him a smile back. The girls parted, wiping their tears.

“Okay! Now that that’s out of the way, we can get on to the real reason why you are on here.” Jukyung clasped her hands together. “Sujin will be assisting me today.”

“Ah, yes.”

“So Kang Su, shall we bring out our model today?” Jukyung asked her with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

The girls nodded conspiratorially before turning to Suho who looked on, confused.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

viii.

“What is it? What are you laughing at?” Chorong asked Seojun as he leaned over his shoulder. They were at Chorong’s place where the boys were goofing off, playing video games and lounging about.

Seojun didn’t hear Chorong’s inquiry through his ear buds and kept on shaking with silent laughter.

“Hey, nobody said anything about me being in the video.” Suho was protesting on Seojun’s phone. Seojun turned up the volume to hear Suho’s annoyed grumbling more clearly. Of course, Seojun was going to make fun of Suho about this afterwards.

“Just sit down, Lee Su, before I get mad.” Sujin commanded.

“That attitude of yours has never worked on me,” Suho replied coolly.

“Come on, Suho-ya. I do your makeup all the time don’t I? It’ll be fine. I promise.” Of course, when Jukyung said this, Suho melted like butter on a hot pan. Sujin rolled her eyes but it was clear that it wasn’t out of spite.

“Okay everyone! Let’s begin with the base and then we’ll work our way up! I am going to keep this look as natural as possible so that its not modifying anything but merely enhancing his features.” Jukyung pushed Suho’s bangs out of his forehead with a giant pink bow shaped clip. Seojun was quick to get a screen shot of it.

“What are Lee Suho and Kang Sujin doing on Jukyung’s channel?” Chorong asked in Seojun’s ear, shocking him. Seojun almost screamed in fear. He pushed away Chorong’s face to watch the video in peace.

In the live video, Jukyung was explaining the differences of applying make up on a guy’s face, versus a girl’s face.

“Sujin-ah. Why don’t you read some of the comments while I’m buffing in his foundation? You have to buff it in for a long time to make it appear natural.” Jukyung told her audience.

Sujin moved towards the camera, blocking Jukyung a little as she read off of her laptop. Her unfiltered face was front and center for the world to see. At this position it looked unflattering, which made Seojun chuckle even more.

Sujin read the comments in a robotic monotone, “Jukyung Unnie, I don’t usually watch make up tutorials. But after today I’m your number one fan.”

“Mwo-ya, this girl has no camera sense.” Seojun said to himself.

“Thank you! I’m your fan too,” Jukyung replied brightly.

“Your looks are always so classy and stylish.”

“Thank you! I’m glad you liked them. Let me know if there are any other looks you’d like to see.”

“Will you do a tutorial on how to wear red lipstick properly?”

“I’m actually planning on doing that soon!”

“Lim Jukyung, you are so beautiful. Marry me please!”

Suho got up to see the screen, “Who asked that?”

“Sit down!” Jukyung pulled him back as he grumbled. “Sorry,” Jukyung said to the camera, “but I’m taken.”

“Are you and Kang Sujin really friends now?” Sujin turned to Jukyung and all Seojun could see was her shiny black hair on screen.

“Dangyunhaji! In fact, if I wasn’t dating Suho, Kang Sujin would be my boyfriend.”

Seojun scoffed, “As if. It would have been me.”

On the live, Sujin laughed, “Is that so? We can still be together though. Have an affair behind Suho’s back.”

“Sure.” Jukyung said casually.

“Yah!” Suho protested.

Both girls giggled.

Suho looked miffed, “Kang Sujin, you’re blocking the view.” He said peevishly.

“Oh sorry. I’ll move.” Sujin circled around the couple to stand behind Jukyung and read the comments over her shoulder.

Jukyung read something on the screen and pointed it to Sujin, “Read that one.”

Sujin hesitantly read, “Kang Sujin, I’m sorry for judging you.” She looked up, “It’s okay. I can be harsh in my judgements too. The key is to try to learn from your past.” Sujin smiled at the camera before turning back to the screen.

“Kang Sujin, you’re pretty.” Sujin recited in her monotone voice. “Yes. I know.” She said without looking up.

“She is also super smart!” Jukyung gushed. “She was one of the top students in class.”

“Could never beat me though.” Suho said smugly, still sore about the affair comment. Both girls turned to Suho and stared. His mouth became small. “Sorry.”

Jukyung went back to explaining her tutorial, slowly performing each step as Suho patiently sat. She made his eyes look bigger and applied a natural lip tint to finish off.

Both girls couldn’t help but gawk at how good Suho look by the end. Jukyung removed the pink blow clip from his hair in a daze.

“How do I look?” He asked Jukyung.

“Too good, Lee Suho.” Sujin clapped. “Too good.”

Jukyung blushed but couldn’t articulate her thoughts. She stuttered, “Uh-ah! Let’s look at the c-c-comments again!”

Suho grinned.

“Lim Jukyung, you were amazing as always!” Sujin read aloud.

“Thank you.” Jukyung bowed.

“Watch the latest and best movies for free at—”

“Sujin that’s just spam.”

“Oh. Right.” Sujin continued, “Lee Suho looks prettier than the both of you.”

The girls’ face fell flat. Suho just looked innocently at the camera. The girls cleared their throats.

“Ah that’s all the time we have!”

“Ah, yes! Time to move on!”

The two pushed Suho out of the frame together.

“I can still be on camera if you—”

“No, I think the people have seen enough of you.” Sujin said while smiling widely at the camera.

Jukyung went wide eyed when she looked into her computer screen. “Ya! This live got 3.3 thousand comments!”

“Daebak. Good job Lim Ju!” The girls grinned, but then Sujin squinted her eyes disapprovingly at something on the screen. “Lim Jukyung, you look so ugly without makeup? Ya, who wrote this comment? User name KimChee23? Why don’t you show yourself to me and then we can see who’s really ugly?”

“Sujin-ah. It’s just a comment.” Jukyung tried to calm her.

“Comments matter too! Otherwise people wouldn’t be writing them! Ya KimChee23 where do you live?”

Seojun laughed out loud as he saw Jukyung try to calm Sujin down on screen.

“So, is everything all settled now?” Chorong asked Seojun.

“I think, yes. Just look at all the comments praising Sujin.”

He was right, the comments section was flooded with statements of Sujin being a brave person for apologizing and changing her bad behavior.

“Great.” Chorong shook his friend’s shoulders. “Now you don’t have to be so troubled about Lim Jukyung.”

“Lim Jukyung? Why would I be troubled about her?”

Chorong was confused. He had not known about the scandal. The matter Chorong had been referring to was Seojun’s theory that Kang was apparently still after Lee Suho.

“I mean... haven’t you been in a bad mood all week because of her?”

“Why bother asking Chorong?” One of the boys said, “You know the answer to all of Seojun’s heartaches is Lim Jukyung.”

Seojun didn’t bother responding. He returned to his phone screen where Jukyung and Kang Sujin were wrapping up the live, waving at the camera with wide smiles. Suho was trying to get back in the frame and Sujin kept pushing his out of it.

“Ooh. Look at how Han Seojun is smiling.”

“Something good must have happened.”

“See! He’s always thinking of Lim Jukyung.”

“No I’m not!” Seojun protested. Quietly, he admitted. “I wasn’t thinking of Lim Jukyung.”

ix.

Han Seojun had arrived at Kang Sujin’s building an hour ago, but for the life of him he could not muster the courage to go up to her apartment.

“I have no reason to see her. So, why should I?” He argued with himself. He paced back and forth, going up the entrance and then going back again, unable to enter.

In his hands, Han Seojun held a beautiful arrangement of white tulips and yellow roses. White tulips as an apology and yellow roses as an offering of friendship. It was his way of apologizing for being a jerk.

After hearing everything she had said on the live event, Seojun had no doubt that Kang Sujin wasn’t who he thought she was. Certainly, if Jukyung and even Suho could trust her, then he could at least give her the benefit of the doubt.

It had felt like a good idea at the time to try to make amends with flowers. But now that he was actually here, at her home, he felt stupid.

What would Kang Sujin say when he showed up at her place? Would she laugh at him and tell him to go to hell? Would she be offended that he just showed up, unannounced? The uncertainly of it all made him anxious.

As he went back down the steps to the building entrance for the thousandth time, Seojun bumped into a lady.

“Oh ma’am. I’m so sorry!”

The woman had been carrying tote bags with plastic containers of food in them. The bags had fallen to the ground but luckily, the containers and the food inside them were unharmed, just a little shaken.

Seojun looked at the woman with an apologetic face. She appeared to be a very dignified lady, as old as his mother. Her hair was up in a chic bun and she wore well fitted, albeit a little worn out, clothes. Her brows were crinkled in disapproval. But upon seeing Seojun, her face softened.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” Seojun asked and his humble words spoken in that rich baritone subsided the woman’s irritation further to the point where she smiled.

“Omo, how can someone be so handsome?”

Seojun beamed. Elders had always loved him. “Ah, thank you.” He responded shyly. “Let me help you carry these.” He took the heavy bags from her, putting the flowers under his arm, careful not to smush them.

“Oh no. I don’t want to bother.”

“It’s no bother at all, ma’am. I insist.” He didn’t let the woman say another word, walking past her into the building. The woman smiled and followed.

“Are you going to visit your girlfriend?” The woman asked, eyeing the flowers.

“A friend. A friend who is a girl.”

“Is that what the youngsters are calling it these days?”

“Ah-nee-heyo. It’s not like that.”

The woman just smiled knowingly. “I’m going to visit a special girl too. My daughter lives in this building.”

They entered the elevator. Seojun asked which floor the woman wanted to go to. “Oh, I’m going to the same floor. Maybe my friend knows your daughter.”

“I’m sure she does. My daughter is a wonderful girl.”

When the lady walked in the same direction as Sujin’s apartment, Seojun said, “Oh. My friend lives this way too. What a coincidence. They might live right next to each other.”

“Then you should come over with your friend. I will cook for you.”

And when the woman stood in front of Sujin’s apartment, Seojun said, “Oh, this is my friend’s apartment. Are they roommates?”

“Young man, is your friend’s name Kang Sujin?”

“Yes, ma’am. How did you know?” Seojun asked, surprised.

The lady patted Seojun’s face, “At least you have good looks.” She punched in Sujin’s passcode and went in. Han Seojun stood outside for a full minute before he connected the dots. And then his eyes went wide.

“Sujin isn’t home yet. Why don’t you wait inside?” Mrs. Kang called out.

“I’m so sorry Mrs. Kang. I didn’t recognize you.” Seojun entered, placing the bags on Sujin’s counter.

“It’s okay, Son. You’ve known Sujin long?”

“I went to Sujin’s school. I knew her through Lee Suho.” He had only seen Sujin’s mother a couple of times at school. But never up close. She had seemed so stuck up like Sujin at the time; with her fur coats and expensive jewelry. Now she seemed like just another lady. Her appearance seemed to have humbled after the divorce.

“Oh Suho! Lovely child. How is he these days? Sujin doesn’t tell me anything.”

“He’s good ma’am.”

Mrs. Kang started lining the containers on the counter. It seemed like too much food for one person.

“Sujinnie never eats properly. She always scolds me for worrying but what can I do? She never takes care of herself.”

Indeed, when Mrs. Kang opened Sujin’s fridge, it was empty save a few water bottles and expired milk that Mrs. Kang threw away.

“And look at you! All skin and bones! It is unfashionable to be healthy these days?”

It was a complaint he had heard from his mother as well. But Seojun had to maintain a lean figure for his job, as he was about to explain to Mrs. Kang.

“Ma’am I actually have to diet beca—”

“I won’t hear it! Sit. I will get you something to eat. I’ve brought more than enough.” Mrs. Kang commanded. Seojun could see where Sujin got her tough exterior from.

“I don’t want to be a bother…”

“Nonesense! It’s no bother at all. Especially not for,” she eyed the bouquet Seojun had placed on the counter, “Sujin’s friend.”

Seojun wanted to protest Mrs. Kang’s assumptions but figured that denying it would only reinforce the idea. He would let Sujin clear up the matter.

“Well if you’re going to cook Mrs. Kang, you might as well let me help.” Seojun often cooked with his mother and was used to being in the kitchen so his culinary prowess impressed Mrs. Kang greatly.

“Your mother must be so proud of you.” Seojun grinned at the compliment. He decided that he liked Mrs. Kang.

Likewise, Mrs. Kang decided that she liked Seojun. She put the flowers he had brought in a vase and brought it to the table. As they cooked, she went on and on about Sujin and her many accomplishments. The woman was very proud of her daughter.

Seojun listened diligently as Mrs. Kang explained how much she was worried about Sujin. The non-profit sector didn’t exactly offer a lucrative career. Not as much being a doctor would have.

“I remember how much she had wanted to be a doctor as a child. Omma, I want to heal everyone, she would tell me. But when her father started pushing her and pushing her… suddenly it was all about ranking number 1, not helping people and her heart just wasn’t in it anymore.” Mrs. Kang lamented. She gave Seojun a considering look. “Has she told you… about her father?”

About the divorce? “Yes. I know.”

Mrs. Kang looked at him tenderly, “You must really be close to my daughter then. She’s a very private girl.”

Seojun didn’t understand why the woman as acting like it was some secret. Everyone knew about Mr. and Mrs. Kang’s separation.

The woman stared into the distance. “If I look back, I can only blame myself. I should have stopped it the first day her father started hitting her. But I was blind. I believed that it would all stop if she got good grades and got into a good university. My husband was always a tough man, but had never been like that to me, you see. I didn’t realize what he was doing to Sujin till it was too late.”

Seojun froze. He felt he had been told something he wasn’t supposed to know.

“And then, she started taking her anger out on other people… it might have been late, but I finally put my foot down. I’m glad my girl is in a better place now.”

Mrs. Kang looked down in remorse. Seojun found it hard to keep looking at her. He suddenly recalled what Sujin had said in Jukyung’s video.

I was foolish. I let my personal problems cloud my judgement and I took my frustration and anger out on Lim Jukyung.

Ah, crap. Seojun thought.

“My daughter is a sensitive girl, despite how strong she appears. I just want to know that she is with people who will care for her, and not hurt her.” Mrs. Kang looked at Seojun meaningfully. He swallowed.

“She is Mrs. Kang. You don’t have to worry.”

The woman pressed his hands gratefully. “You must have heard… about what Sujin was involved in recently.”

Seojun was sure he was going to die today. His heart felt like guilt had wrapped its sharp claws around it and was squeezing tightly.

“Ah. Yes.”

“Don’t believe any of it! My Sujinnie isn’t that kind of girl”

“Ah. Yes.”

“She did go a little astray in school, but what kid doesn’t go through a phase like that? Show me a teenager who has never made a mistake!”

“You’re absolutely right ma’am.” Was all Seojun could say.

“If only I could get my hands on that Han Seojun.” Seojun felt his heart stop. It was then that he realized that he never really introduced himself to Mrs. Kang. “How dare that no good idol take advantage of my daughter? Ah-nee, what kind of a person stays over a girl’s place like that? And doesn’t even help when she gets into trouble because of him?”

Seojun could see his funeral now, his mother crying for him as his friends lined up to regret their loss.

Guys… take care. Please check on my mother for me.

The door chimed as Sujin entered. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed Han Seojun and her mother sitting at a table full of food, waiting for her.

“Ah, Omma why have you come all this way again? Do you really like tiring yourself out so much?” Sujin scolded as she hurriedly put on her indoor slippers.

“Is that any way to greet your mother?” Mrs. Kang scolded back.

Sujin was undeterred. “You know I can always come and visit you and Auntie. Why do you have to come here? And look at all this food! How is this okay for one person? It always goes bad and then I have to throw it out.”

“It goes bad because you don’t eat enough, bad girl! You see what I have to deal with?” Mrs. Kang turned to Seojun who had gone white.

“Ya Han Seojun, what are you doing here?” Sujin asked him.

There was a second of silence where no one spoke. A pin drop could be heard.

“Han Seojun?” Mrs. Kang looked at Seojun. On stage, with makeup on, Seojun looked different. Here, in person, it was difficult to recognize him. But now that his name had been spoken, Mrs. Kang could see the young man whose face had been plastered all over the articles concerning Sujin.

“You… you’re the Han Seojun from the scandal?”

Sujin quickly caught on. “Seojun. Run.”

And then all hell exploded, or rather, one Mrs. Kang. Sujin jumped in her mother’s path as the woman got up with a slipper in her hand. Han Seojun lept off his chair and bowed furiously.

“I am so sorry Mrs. Kang. I am so sorry for all the trouble caused!”

Sujin desperately tried to block her mother’s blows but Mrs. Kang was a formidable woman. She smacked Han Seojun with her slipper.

“Do. You. Have. Any idea. What. Problems. You. Caused!” She punctuated each word with a smack. Seojun, for his part, did not run but rather took it like a man. He was just glad she was beating him with a slipper and not a heel.

“Run! Why aren’t you running?” Sujin asked him as she tried to grab her mother’s wrists.

“Are you protecting him? After everything that happened?”

“I’m really sorry Mrs. Kang.” Seojun said.

“Sorry? What good will an apology do? Will an apology undo the pain you’ve caused?” Her words sounded eerily familiar.

“Ah Omma, stop hitting him! He didn’t do anything. It was my fault. It was all my idea.”

Mrs. Kang stopped. “What?”

And thus, it became Kang Sujin’s turn to be given the mom-smack down.

“Ah Omma WAEEEE??”

“It was your idea to bring him home?!”

“Omma you’ve already beaten me about that!”

“I haven’t beaten you enough.”

“Mrs. Kang please! We were both drunk. Sujin had no choice but to—”

“What?” Mrs. Kang went ballistic.

Sujin glared at Seojun, “Han Seojun do you actually want us both to die?”

“YOU WERE DRUNK?!”

“Omma it wasn’t like that!”

“Mrs. Kang it really wasn’t.” Seojun chimed in.

“If it wasn’t then why is he bringing you flowers? Why is he showing up at your place?”

Sujin looked at the tulips and roses on her table. White tulips, a flower of regret. And yellow roses, flowers of friendship. Sujin knew exactly what they meant. She wondered if Han Seojun knew too or if he just got really lucky with his choices.

It was a while before Mrs. Kang calmed down. Seojun felt thoroughly sore. Both he and Sujin sat on the floor with guilty expressions on their faces, looking like school children being punished.

“Get out. I don’t want to see the likes of your around my daughter ever again.”

“Omma.”

Seojun bowed his head to the ground. “I am really sorry Mrs. Kang. I’m really sorry for all of the trouble that I’ve caused. I assure you I will never let anything like that happen again.”

Mrs. Kang crossed her arms and looked away.

“Omma. Neither of us had any idea that something like this would happen. Its not Seojun’s fault. And besides, he got into trouble too.” Sujin nudged him with her elbow.

“Yes, ma’am. I was almost kicked out of my company.” Which wasn’t exactly true but Seojun didn’t mind fibbing a little.

“You should have been!” Mrs. Kang fumed but then softened when she saw Seojun’s best puppy dog face. Han Seojun was always good with ladies, especially ones that were mad at him.

He inched closer to Mrs. Kang. “Mrs. Kang. I’m really regretful about what Sujin faced.” He took her hands in his. Sujin watched in astonishment as Han Seojun turned her mother’s boiling anger to a low simmer. “But I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens again.”

Mrs. Kang cleared her throat.

“And look, the food we both prepared has gotten all cold. Wouldn’t it be better if we all eat and talk calmly?”

Sujin scoffed, not only at the blatant pandering but at the fact that it was working. Mrs. Kang’s anger all but disappeared. It came to a point that as they all ate, she began taking his side.

“How could you risk an idol’s reputation like that?” She asked Sujin who could only roll her eyes.

“Omma, how can you say that?”

“I mean, now that I think about it, it isn’t Seojun’s fault that his fans came after you.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe this.” Sujin scowled.

As dumb as Han Seojun had appeared, Sujin had to admit this was pretty shrewd. It made her wonder what else she had misjudged him on. He even got himself invited by Mrs. Kang to come by again for dinner.

“Your mom is incredible.” Seojun told Sujin as they walked to the convenience store. Mrs. Hand had sent them out for some ice-cream since she had brought nothing for dessert.

“She’s changed a lot after the divorce. She’s more herself now.”

They walked slowly, enjoying the night air and the silence. Oddly enough the quiet didn’t feel awkward or strange. Neither of them felt any pressure to speak. They got papico, the ice-cream that came in squishy bottles, and sat by on the benches outside.

“Kang Sujin,” Seojun began, “about what happened… are you… You know when I, um… I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

Sujin laughed, a clear gurgle of joy that made Seojun feel strange in his stomach. “Mwo-ya? Has the great Han Seojun been rendered speechless?” She laughed some more and Seojun didn’t stop her. “Relax Han Seojun. I’m fine.”

Seojun looked at his feet. “I… wasn’t happy with what happened to do… with the articles and how everybody was talking about you.”

“Gwenchana. It’s over now. I mean I had to make another Instagram account but all in all, its not as bad now. Besides,” she tilted her chin, “do you think a bunch of cowards who hide behind usernames are enough to take me down? I’m Kang Sujin, remember? Badass of Saebom High.”

“I thought I was the badass of Saebom high.” Seojun raised a brow.

“You were the gangster.” Sujin grinned, eating her ice-cream.

“I’m glad you’re tough. You don’t let these things bother you.”

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. People telling me that I’m the worst and I should die wasn’t exactly easy.” She said grimly. “But you know what upset me the most?”

“What?”

“That I couldn’t beat those cowards up for saying what they did.” Sujin got up and punched the air. “If I could just get my hands on those twerps then I would teach them a lesson or two.” She punched the air.

The fire in Sujin’s eyes was so comical that Seojun burst out laughing.

“Don’t laugh! Hajima! I’m not joking.”

“Kang Sujin, were you always such a fighter?”

“Yup!” Sujin stated simply. She sat back besides Seojun, closer this time. And he noticed. “What about you?” She asked. “How are you doing?”

Seojun leaned back leisurely, “Eh, I’m fine. I don’t worry about public perception anyway. The people who matter will know me. Everyone else is just noise.”

“I bet your fans would leave you in a second.” Sujin teased.

“Don’t diss my fans. They’re all cool and awesome.”

“What, all two of them? Do they also happen to be named Jukyung and Suho?”

“You’re forgetting Chorong.”

The two giggled.

“Did your co-workers ask for more autographs?”

“Nope. Got fired before they could.”

“What?” Seojun stood up. Sujin relayed how her company had let her go after details about her past misconduct were released online.

“How could they just fire you? Isn’t that illegal?”

“Calm down. It’s normal for that to happen.”

“How can you be so calm?”

“Would you rather I get angry? There’s no point in doing that. I won’t get that job back.”

Seojun pressed his lips together in a tight line and sat back down.

“I’m surprised that you’re actually defending me.” Sujin sounded impressed.

“I mean… its wrong. Even if you and I don’t get along, what’s wrong is wrong.”

Sujin chuckled. She looked at the time on her phone. “I should get back. How are you getting home?”

“I brought my bike.”

“Your company lets you ride motorbikes?”

“Nope.” Seojun grinned.

“A’ight. Good night, Han Seojun. Stay safe.” Sujin walked back in the direction of the apartment. Feeling light and happy. While her online image hadn’t completely recovered, her relationship with Han Seojun had. She might not have to simply tolerate his presence now. They might genuinely get along.

“Kang Sujin!” Han Seojun called out to her, the woman who he thought was vile and destructive. The person that turned wasn’t that woman. It was the little girl who had looked to her father with love but only got his abuse in return.

“I’m sorry I misjudged you.” Seojun told the little girl.

The girl smiled. “I’m sorry I misjudged you too.”

It was unfamiliar territory, getting along with Kang Sujin. More for the group than Han Seojun and Kang Sujin. They all looked at the pair in wonder and shock when Sujin asked Seojun to pass the soy sauce and he obliged. It shocked them further when Sujin laughed when Seojun bragged about being recognized at a department store and being asked for pictures.

“Hey, you feeling okay?” Jukyung asked Sujin quietly.

“Yeah, why?” Sujin replied.

“Nothing. Just asking.”

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Suho asked Seojun privately.

“What?”

“You’re acting all weird around Kang Sujin.”

“Weird how?”

“You’re being nice.”

“Am I not supposed to be?”

“Okay! Who’s going to go first?” Taehoon asked the room, interrupting Suho and Seojun’s conversation.

They were at Suho’s apartment where he had a karaoke machine set up. Seojun had finally relented to visiting their place and it was just as painful as he had thought it would be. It was a mishmash to Jukyung’s bright and lively style with Suho’s dark and moody one.

The posters of rock bands and Junji Itou’s mangas were something both of them shared. It was fascinating how the two of the most caring people in Seojun’s life were into such dark things. Seojun saw Sujin eye one of the horror comic book posters suspiciously, as if the monster drawn in them could come out any second.

Chorong sang first, sharing a duet with his girlfriend. Then Taehoon and Suah went next. Duets seemed to be the theme of the night. Jukyung and Suho went next.

“Alright? Who else?”

Sujin was the only girl left.

“Well I’m not going up there.” She said when everyone looked at her. She eyed the other boys, all of whom were terrified of her. Even they could still hear Kang Sujin saying Ya Han Seojun, are you a gangster?!

“Jukyung-ah. Sing with me.” Sujin grabbed Jukyung’s hand and led her up before she could say anything.

“I’m singing too!” Suah joined.

Seojun went next. His was a solo and he clearly was the best performer. His rich baritone singing in a soft melody made everyone pay attention.

“Isn’t it nice to have an idol as a friend?” Suah asked. “Its like having a private concert.” Jukyung and Sujin nodded in agreement.

Everyone swayed their heads to the beat, except for Kang Sujin who was noticing the lyrics Han Seojun was singing.

I want to give you all of my days

I want to tell you all these feelings of mine

The sleepless blue winds

Brightly light up this night

He was singing about Lim Jukyung. Sujin looked over to her friend, who was looking longingly in Suho’s eyes. The two were entranced with each other, not noticing Han Seojun who stood just a couple of feet away, pouring his heart out.

After all the fun had been wrapped up, Seojun and Sujin had been the only two to stay back. Sujin had helped Jukyung clean up while Suho went to throw out the trash.

As Sujin cleaned the dishes, Seojun sat in the living room, looking at all of the pictures Jukyung and Suho had hung up. He could see how Suho and Jukyung would sit on the very couch he was on and watch TV together or lie around reading books.

He tried to replay those images, with himself there with Jukyung instead of Suho but he couldn’t. He couldn’t lie to himself about who she belonged to.

“You know, Han Seojun, I just realized something.” Sujin called from the kitchen.

“What?”

“You have two hands.”

Seojun looked at her like she had lost her mind. “Wow, Kang Sherlock. Your powers of deduction amaze me.”

“So, since you have those two hands, and you’re a gentleman, why not help me out over here? I assume you would feel bad that I’m the only one doing any actual cleaning.”

“You assume incorrectly. I have no issues with you doing all the cleaning.” Seojun turned back to the TV and was promptly hit in the head with a dish rag.

“Oops.” Sujin said flatly.

Seojun got up, dish rag in hand. Wordlessly, he took out the dishes from the washer and lined them up in the cabinets.

“Aren’t you ever afraid that Jukyung will be uncomfortable about you singing love songs to her?” Sujin asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?”

“That song you sang. My heart is full of you, I’m starting to take after you?”

Seojun eyed her. “She won’t know.”

“I did.”

“Yeah but, you’re you and Jukyung’s Jukyung.”

“So?”

“So…” Seojun leaned closer, “you ranked number two in class for a reason.”

“Sujin-ah! I told you I would take care of everything.” Jukyung appeared from her bedroom.

“Don’t worry about it. Han Seojun helped.” Sujin assured.

The pair said their goodbyes to the couple and exited together. Han Seojun said nothing when he started walking his own way, while Kang Sujin turned to wave at him but was unseen. He was too lost in his own broken heart to notice anyone or anything.

She simply sighed, took it as just a Han Seojun thing and started walking in the other direction.

xi.

“I still can’t get used to this.” Suah said, waving a spoon between Han Seojun and Kang Sujin. The two sat opposite each other and were eating their food peacefully.

It was this peace that bothered Suah.

“I mean, how can you two just get along?”

“We’re adults Choi Su. We can learn how to get along.” Sujin stated.

Suho spluttered in laughter. “I thought you said that Seojun was a giant baby with no manners?”

Seojun gave Sujin a scathing look. Sujin went pink, “I never said that! You take that back!”

“It’s still strange.” Suah leaned closer. “What happened? Have you guys settled your differences?”

“Han Seojun got Sujin flowers.” Suho said cheekily.

“Yah!” Seojun protested. But it was in vain, the deed was done, and everyone oohed and aahed at this news.

“Did you really get her flowers?”

“Wait, when did this happen?”

“Does that mean that Seojun apologized first?”

“What kind of flowers?”

Seojun looked at Suho with the rage of a thousand suns. Suho just grinned back.

“Aren’t flowers romantic?”

“Ya! There was nothing romantic about it. All I got her were yellow roses and white tulips.” Seojun defended.

“OoooOoooh. Roooses. Roses are totally romantic.” Taehoon teased.

“They were yellow. Yellow roses are for friendship!”

“So, are you two friends?” Jukyung asked and everyone looked at Seojun and Sujin.

“Meh.” They both shrugged at the same time.

“Omo! Look at how in sync they are!”

“We are not.” They both said in sync.

Seojun had to admit, their group gatherings were much more comfortable now that he and Sujin had cleared the air between them. He enjoyed discovering how Sujin was less the ice princess he had thought her to be and more a regular girl. She also turned out to be much cooler than he had expected.

She had been the only one to see his discomfort when Jukyung and Suho suggested they all go on an overnight trip with them. Going to see their apartment; the very proof that Lim Jukyung and Lee Suho ate and slept—Oh God, don’t think about them sleeping—together was painful enough. Seojun didn’t need to see them canoodling for an entire weekend.

“What about it guys? Shall we go?” Jukyung looked around as everyone nodded excitedly, including Sujin.

But then her eye’s met Seojun’s. He said nothing but he didn’t need to.

“Lim Ju, it’ll be difficult for me to join. I just lost my job, remember? An overnight trip is...” Seojun knew Sujin was just making up an excuse.

“Oh, oh right. Sorry Kang Su-ya. I totally forgot. Something else then!”

The group moved on to discussing other options. Seojun sent Sujin a grateful look. She acted nonchalant, as if she had not just overturned everyone’s plans for him.

“Thanks. For what you did back in there.” He told her as they were all leaving.

“Forget about it.” She waved a hand in dismissal.

The next time the group gathered at a fancier restaurant than usual. A suggestion by Suho who had offered to pay for the food tonight.

“This place is so beautiful.” Suah commented looking around the interior.

“Are we celebrating something?” Sujin asked. “This doesn’t seem like a regular get-together.”

Sujin had only asked for the sake of asking. But something about the way Suho looked at her told Seojun that she was on to something.

“Well,” Jukyung held up her hand, “we do have something to announce.”

And announce she did. The big fat diamond resting on her ring finger had a lot to say. And suddenly everyone erupted with joy. The girls took Jukyung in their arms, squealing and crying with joy. The boys surrounded Suho, patting him on the back, congratulating him.

All except Seojun, who just sat there in a daze. Sujin happened to look over and see him, frozen in his seat. Sujin wasn’t alone in her observation. Taehoon also noticed but missed the implication.

“Look! Han Seojun is actually so shocked he—"

Sujin made it look like an accident, her bumping into the table and sending a glass down on the floor, shattering into a million pieces. The sound shook Seojun out of his daze and also distracted everyone from realizing Seojun’s inner turmoil.

“Oh shit.” Sujin said looking down.

“Hey, be careful.” Jukyung said.

“You okay?” Suho asked Jukyung, taking her arm.

“Excuse me, can we get someone to clean this up?” Taehoon asked the waiter.

The fuss over the broken glass gave Seojun enough time to recover. He then congratulated Suho with a massive hug.

“You both deserve each other. I mean it.” He told Suho and he meant it.

Maintaining a fake smile over dinner was easy. Everyone else was so chatty that Seojun’s and Sujin’s relative silence went unnoticed. Suah pestered Jukyung for details: “How did it happen?”, “When?”, “Why didn’t you call me immediately?”. Taehoon made jokes about marriage being the end of romance to which Suah started an argument with him and then it became about settling matters between the two.

Sujin didn’t remember much of what happened after that, the rest of the night was a blur. She just hoped that she had maintained enough dignity to not appear as bitter as she actually felt.

Even though they all parted very late in the night, Sujin couldn’t go directly home. She needed something to ease the pain. So naturally, she went to the nearest tent bar she could find. The place seemed to be overcrowded, with people waiting outside for others to leave. Sujin managed to sneak in and grab a table.

She downed half of a soju bottle in one go but then couldn’t muster the energy to drink further. Her side dishes went untouched. All Sujin could do was stare and wonder if there was any way to just take her heart out of her chest and throw it away. Because there seemed to be no relief from this pain she was feeling.

She banged her head on the table. “Ah wae? Why can’t I just move on?” She asked herself in frustration.

“Ugh, why the hell are you here?” That irritated tone and deep voice could only belong to one person. And indeed, when Sujin looked up she saw Han Seojun a few tables over looking at her in disdain.

“Wae? You have a claim on this place?” Sujin raised a critical brow.

“And what if I do?”

“Then give me everything for free. Since we’re friends who get along.”

“No. Friends pay double.”

“How stingy.” Sujin took another shot of soju.

The man running the tent bar came over. “Why don’t you two share a table since you know each other? I have customers waiting to be seated.”

“No way, I’m not sitting with her.” Seojun grumbled.

“Aha! I knew it! Being all nice to me was just an act.”

The owner ignored Sujin, “How can two youngsters be so rude? Get up! I’m moving you over there.”

This was how Han Seojun came to drink with Kang Sujin for the second time. They both looked at each other with scowling faces.

“What happened, Kang Sujin? You were acting all happy for the lucky couple.” Seojun taunted. He seemed a little tipsy but so was Sujin.

“Of course, I’m happy. I’m so, so happy.” She said wistfully.

Seojun scoffed. “Is that why you were whining about not being able to move on? I thought you said you didn’t like Lee Suho anymore.”

Sujin narrowed her eyes. “I don’t. And even if I allegedly did, at least I held it all in. You were clearly about to run away with Jukyung before I saved you.”

“Saved me? Puh-lease.”

“Why? Do you think that glass fell on its own?”

Seojun gave her a sideways look before taking another shot.

“You gonna eat that?” He pointed a chin to her plate.

“Nah, have it.”

They sat in silence for a moment. A comfortable silence where neither felt compelled to say anything.

Sujin shook Seojun when she suddenly smacked her glass down on the table. “I’m over Lee Suho.” She declared. “I’m over Lee Suho… but…”

“Just because you’re over him, doesn’t mean you stopped loving him.” Seojun said what she was thinking.

She looked at him, her pain evident on her face. In that moment, he let himself be vulnerable too.

“Isn’t it funny? Out of everyone I know, you’re the only one who gets… this.” Sujin said.

Seojun chuckled. “Exactly. Who woulda thought? Kang Sujin and Han Seojun having something in common.”

“You know it’s gonna hurt even worse from now on, right? We’re the closest to those two. That means we’ll be involved in everything.”

Seojun rubbed his faced. “I can’t think about that right now. Or I really will die.”

Sujin understood what he meant. “You know what I want?”

“What?”

“I want Suho to never find out that I still like him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I can’t help that I feel this way right? You can’t stop yourself from feeling what you feel. But… I wanna keep my dignity. I wanna still be cool and… not be seen as some pathetic loser who’s still after her best friend’s boyfriend.”

Seojun took a shot, nodding.

Sujin leaned forward. “That’s why, I suggest we help each other out.”

Seojun gave her a look. “How so?”

“Well, if we see the other being too transparent, then we stop them, or at least take the attention away so that the other can collect themselves.”

“Like the broken glass today?”

“Like the broken glass today. And if it’s getting too painful, then we can just talk about it.”

Seojun laughed. “Kang Sujin, offering therapy. That’s rich.”

“Not therapy. Friendship. It helps if you talk about stuff like this.” Sujin insisted.

Seojun gave her a considering look. “What’s in it for me? These seem like things you want to do.”

“You’ll be able to attend Jukyung’s wedding without feeling like you’re dying on the inside.”

“There’s no guarantee that will happen.”

“You’re right, there isn’t. But at least that’s what it’ll look like. Think about it Han Seojun. Do you want Jukyung to always see you as the friend who is in love with her? Or do you want her to see you as a cool friend who she can comfortably rely on, without wondering if she’s hurting his feelings.”

Seojun thought about it. It felt like a bad idea. But there was a part of Han Seojun that was tired of his own attachment to Lim Jukyung. If it meant that it would help him move on, then he was willing to try anything

“Alright, Kang Sujin.” He raised his glass. Sujin clinked hers with his. “Let’s try this.”

I am bad at making memes but I do it any way

#true beauty #true beauty kdrama #true beauty fanfiction #true beauty soojin #kang sujin #kang soojin #kang soojin and han seojun #seojun x sujin #seojun x soojin #han seojun #kdrama #Sujin x Seojun #han seojun fanfiction #han seo jun #Kan Sujin Fanfiction #hwang in yeop #park yoona #junjin

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jimlingss · 5 years ago

Text

Sugar and Coffee [8]

Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9

➜ Words: 3.3k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn't hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it's not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

You always thought you would be happy to see him again. To come face to face with the man who you miss the most — who you’ve yearned to see so much. Like reuniting with a close friend who you’ve lost contact with. Like rediscovering a piece of yourself that you had lost. But you didn’t know it would be so painful. That your heart would be so heavy. “H-hey.” “Hey.” Seokjin smiles and your heart stutters but then constricts. It’s hard to breathe. “Are you on your way to class?” You hold your books closer to your chest as if they could do anything to protect you. Your eyes sweeping over his features, trying to freshen your memories of him. You can’t recall the last time you heard the sound of his voice. “Y-Yeah. Are you?” “I’m on my way to the library to meet up with some people for a group project,” he says casually with a good-natured smile. “Oh. A group project already?” “Yeah, I know right.” Jin sighs lightly, lips falling into a slight pout. “Well it’s my last ever semester, so it’s the last push.” “Totally. I...get it.” “I should go now before I’m late. It was nice seeing you, Y/N.” You nod and without waiting a beat, he brushes past you, continuing down the hall. You hate it. The way he looked at you, talked to you so nonchalantly, how he didn’t even blink thrice. Jin was friendly, but you know him — and he treated you the way he treats strangers. There weren't any softened gazes, gentle words. None of his actions had a trace of lingering feelings. His polite smile is the same one that’s reserved for mere acquaintances. Distant. You’re no less than a stranger to him. And as you watch Jin’s backside fading down the corridor, you quickly wipe away the tears that shed down your cheeks. // “You ran into him?” You nod, toying with the hem of your sweater. “That’s great news,” Jungkook murmurs from the corner of his mouth, preoccupied with choosing a game. “Yeah, I know, right?” You're stiff, but he doesn't pay enough attention to notice. You’re sitting on the floor of Jungkook’s dorm room, knees gathered together as you watch him set up. He’s finally cleaned up after you insulted him that he was a pig living in a pigsty, and he was offended enough to clean up after himself and do his laundry. Jungkook switches on his PS4 and flops down on his small couch with the controller. He glances up at you when there’s ongoing silence and realizes he should say something more. “That means there’s hope, right? If he’s willing to talk to you and all. I know a lot of exes who would run in the other direction.” “Yeah. That’s true, I guess.” Jungkook is optimistic. “If you keep talking to him, who knows, you might get back together before you even realize.” There’s a loud knock on the door, someone’s fist banging on the surface. The boy in his gray sweatpants and black, boxy shirt sighs, gets up and opens the door. The person on the other side glares at him. “Dude, about fucking time. Was standing out there for an eternity.” “Shut up, I literally took ten seconds.” “Yea, but ten seconds we could’ve used playing. Hey, Y/N!” Hoseok grins, plopping down on the couch and stealing Jungkook’s controller. Jimin follows in, greeting you with a smile, and Taehyung and Yoongi are the last with the former harshly nudging the latter forward. “Alright, alright,” Yoongi grunts quietly and then faces you with his hands dug into his hoodie pocket. “Y/N. I wanted to apologize for my behaviour last time.” He looks less sorry and more disgruntled and reluctant, but it’s enough to amuse you. You snort. “It’s no big deal.” “Okay, cool.” Yoongi exhales and sits beside you. Taehyung shakes his head but redirects his attention to Jimin when he steals his favourite controller. “Hey, hey, hey, paws off, bro.” “What?” “That’s mine.” “Who says?” “I wrote my name at the back in pencil. Look. See?” “You wrote on my controller?” Jungkook is outraged, snapping into their argument. In the meanwhile, Yoongi scrolls through his phone and notices you’re blankly staring at Jungkook's old flat screen — the one he stole from his parent’s home months ago and somehow set it up here. “I meant it.” “What?” “I know it looked like Taehyung made me,” Yoongi mumbles, “Which he did. But I meant to apologize anyway. Eventually. I know I’m an ass.” “You’re an honest one,” you admit with a small smile. If there was anyone who was going to be frank and truthful, it would be Yoongi. He won’t sugar coat it, won’t string pretty words together to make you feel better, so that’s why you pick him to inquire, “Can I ask you a question, Yoongi?” “Sure.” “Do you think I’ll ever be able to get back together with Jin?” “No.” His gaze connects with yours. “You won’t. Usually people break up for a reason and that reason always stands.”

Two weeks pass by as you ignore the thoughts lingering in the back of your mind. You overlook it like an assignment on your desk that needs to be done or like that messy drawer you should clean out but keep procrastinating on. And it’s easy to distract yourself when the entire school is stirred. Of course it would be. After all, the most competitive holiday was coming up. “What are you going to make for Valentines?” “Me?” You blink. “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it yet….” The atmosphere hyped — even the dining hall is louder, the air buzzing. The holiday simply dedicated to love has long been replaced by alumni years ago and became a competition. After all, this was the place where everyone could make sweets after all. No longer was Valentine chocolates simply melting chocolate from the store and pouring them into molds — every single person here can properly judge the quality, taste, texture, flavour, and the presentation. According to rumours, the tradition started between three people, specifically when a girl told her two potential suitors that she would become the Valentine of whoever baked better. It sounds like some ridiculous Shakespearean tragedy, but as people went head to head to win the affections of their crushes — it essentially evolved into a competition. And at this point, it doesn’t matter who gives it to who. It’s who bakes it better. “I’m still debating if I want to do raspberry possets or raspberry religieuse,” Taehyung hums, chin resting in his propped up hand, and he turns to his side. “Which one do you like, Yoongi?” “Why the fuck do you care what I like?” “Well obviously because I’m going to make it for you,” he giggles. Yoongi glares. “Fuck off.” “Who else am I supposed to give it to? You have no one, I have no one.” “What about Jimin?” you ask, trying to hold back laughter with said brunette. “He has his mom.” “Hey,” Jimin whines, “I have the Valentine’s Day fundraiser at the hospital this year too.” “So you’re not going to make anything for your mom?” he deadpans. “Well, no.” Jimin pouts. “I’m going to make her red velvet cupcakes.” “Don’t make fun of him,” you chide Taehyung and turn to the other. “That’s really cute, Jimin.” Jimin grins, eyes crinkling into half moons. “Don’t worry, Taehyung can say whatever he wants. He’s just jealous my mom’s the best. She raised me all on her own and I wouldn’t be here without her.” “Okay, I’ll admit she’s really nice,” Taehyung has a dreamy expression. “I miss her warm hugs.” “That’s weird,” Jimin deadpans, pleasant smile switching into a face of comical disgust. “Don’t talk about my mom like that, dude.” You laugh and look over at the sleepy man lazily chewing on his mac and cheese. It’s always funny to watch Yoongi eat. He looks physically pained to chew and swallow — you wonder if he would blend all of his food to just drink it if he could. “Are you going to make anything, Yoongi?” “No. Who would I give it to?” He ignores Taehyung when he exclaims ‘me’. You direct your attention to Hoseok and he shrugs. “I might...make lemon and poppy seed cupcakes or strawberry rhubarb shortbread bars.” “For who?” Jungkook asks, brows raised. “Uh, no one.” But it’s obvious that the answer is too suspicious, so he gives in with a sigh. “I owe Y/N’s friend, Aeri, a favour, so I’ll probably make something for her.” “Ooh, I haven’t heard you talk about Y/N’s friend before.” Taehyung leans in closer, eyes glistening. “Shut up,” Hoseok quips. “What about you, Y/N?” “I...haven’t decided if I will or not. Maybe I’ll make something for Jin.” Yoongi’s eyes flicker up, brow cocking, and you stare back at him blankly. Jimin catches the quick exchange and intercepts. “You should tell Jungkook to make you his chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes.” “Holy fuck, I remember those!” Taehyung slaps the table, startling both you and Jungkook. “Those was so fucking delicious, I thought I was going to cream my pants when I ate them. I can still taste it.” He slurps up the spit that’s accumulated in his mouth. Jungkook’s nose wrinkles. “No. It’s too much work to make that.” Taehyung bats his lashes. “You wouldn’t make it for us?” “That’s an even harder no.” “Psh. Valentine’s Day hater.” “Fuck off. It’s not my fault that the holiday is stupid.” “You just hate it because you’re alone.” You pat your friend on the back. “It’s okay, Jungkook. You’ll find love someday.” “Okay, fuck you too,” he spits without much malice, making Yoongi smirk. “Jungkook just knows his small package can’t satisfy any man or woman.” Yoongi’s insult rouses laughter from everyone and the man being grilled has his brows shot to his hairline. “For your information, I have a substantial size and I’m probably bigger than everyone here. Especially you, Mr. five foot nine.” You blanch. “Gross.” But while Yoongi doesn’t seem injured by the retort, Jimin’s the one who’s sitting straight and he whines, “Why do you have to bring height into this?” They ignore him in favour of Taehyung’s questioning, “Really? Bigger than everyone here?” “Okay fine.” Jungkook points at Taehyung. “Except you.” You look between the pair of them. “Did you guys have a dick measuring contest or what?” “We will not speak of the past,” Jungkook deadpans, making you laugh even more. // You know that you shouldn’t. With what Yoongi’s told you, with what you know yourself, you shouldn’t go out of your way to do something so unnecessary. You shouldn’t put your heart on your sleeve to get hurt again when it’s not going to be worth it. But in your life, there've been a thousand shouldn’ts and you’ve always grasped onto the one should. It never hurts you to try, and that’s how you’ve made it this far. “Hey, Jeon.” You catch up to him. Jungkook’s legs are unbearably longer than yours and when he walks fast it puts you out of breath within seconds. Luckily, he sees you and has the decency to slow down. “What?” “I need your help.” Jungkook’s steps slow even more until he outright stops in the middle of the hallway. He looks so apprehensive, you have an urge to slap that expression off his face. “Hey! It’s not like I’m not going to ask you to kill someone for me!” “Yeah, well, the last time you asked for a favour, we destroyed a kitchen trying to temper chocolate. I’d rather you kill me, thank you very much.” “Pretty please? Promise it’s not bad.” “Ew, ew. Don’t look at me like that and stop pouting, you’re not cute.” You frown at him. “Look it’s not a huge, huge thing, promise.” “What is it?” “Well, you’re Jungkook, World’s Best Chocolatier, right?” You nudge him with your elbow and it only makes him more suspicious with how you’re thickly laying down the praise. “And you know chocolate hates me. I definitely don’t know about it as well as you do either, so I need you to bestow your gifts onto me—” “What is it, lady? Get a move on! I don’t have all day.” “Can you help me make something for Jin?” Jungkook pauses. He stares at you. Maybe his brain finally died — not like there is anything to die considering it’s always been a little on the empty side. But then he finally opens his mouth. “What are you planning?” “Just something simple. Like truffles. What do you think?” Jungkook hesitates, then he looks at you. “Fine.” “Really?” “Yeah, yeah.” He waves his hand away, but you grin at him. “You know you’re my best friend, right, Jungkook?” “Yeah, well, it’s something I never really signed up for,” your best friend mutters and continues walking while telling you that you’ll owe him and that means more notes from multiple lectures. But it’s worth it. On the fourteenth, right on Valentine’s Day, you meet with Jungkook. He audibly sighs when he sees you tie up the back of your apron. “What?” “Nothing. I just can’t believe I’m spending Valentine’s with you.” “I thought you didn’t care about the holiday.” “I don’t. But that still doesn’t mean this isn’t lame. Whatever. The quicker we get this done, the quicker I can leave and avoid all this.” He motions around, but you know what he means. Love is in the air and it’s sickening — couples were holding hands, kissing each other on the tips of their noses, rubbing their cheeks against one another, dialing up the PDA to an uncomfortable amount. But you can’t blame them. You and Seokjin were once like that. “Do you know how to make ganache?” “Do I know how to make ganache,” you mimic him mockingly. “Of course I do! What am I, an idiot?!” “Well, you didn’t know how to temper chocolate so you tell me.” You glare at him. You would mouth off but can’t risk him storming out. The two of you gather the eight ounce semi-sweet chocolate, a half cup of whipping cream, cocoa powder and some vanilla. Jungkook helps you heat the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, looking over your shoulder at every step along the way. While you’d usually mind the way he’s intruding in your personal bubble, you don’t want to get anything wrong. “Make sure it doesn’t burn.” “It’s not going to burn.” “You said that last time.” You snap. “Keep bringing up last time and this will be the last time you step into the kitchen, Jeon.” A second later, you’re begging Jungkook not to leave. But thankfully, he has enough mercy and lets you off with a warning. The pair of you continue making the ganache, placing the chocolate in a bowl before pouring the cream and adding the vanilla to it. You allow it to stand for a few minutes before stirring it into a smooth, deep mixture. You place the ganache in the fridge for half an hour to chill. In the meanwhile, you clean up the mess and wash whatever dishes you have. Jungkook, on the other hand, shows you Yoongi’s reaction of Taehyung proposing to him with some cupcakes in front of campus in which the former man straight out walks away. Jimin who’s filming is giggling hard enough that the camera is unsteady, but his laughter is infectious and makes the both of you grin. Jungkook says he’s glad he wasn’t there lest Taehyung turned to him and started to declare his fake affections and cause a crowd to gather. Apparently it’s happened before. When the ganache is ready, Jungkook helps you roll it into balls and dust with cocoa powder. You pull out a box you had prepared to place them in, and you could not be prouder when it’s complete. It looks like a product that you could buy in-store. Simple yet elegant. “All done.” “All done,” you repeat after him, viewing your final product. Chocolate doesn’t hate you so much when you’re with Jungkook, you realize. “He’ll love it.” “Yeah….” You can imagine it — calling out Jin’s name. He’d spin around, regard you with his surprise. You’d extend your arms to give him the box. You’d try to show through this small gesture that you still love him, but you wouldn’t speak the words in case the moment would be ruined. But with your courage mustered, you’d tell him that you miss him in your life. That you don’t want to be strangers anymore. Whether that means remaining friends or being lovers again. But you know that it’s just your fantasy. A delusion — your optimistic imagination running wild with the semblances of hope still left within you. A sweet dream you would have in your slumber only to wake up to reality. The grief of your heartbreak morphed into a wishful thinking. The image and scenario you’ve constructed in your mind is simply part of a chapter in your life that would never happen. “He wouldn’t take it,” you whisper. It's a truth that’s hard to face, that you’ve been running from and turning yourself blind to. But you know Seokjin. After nearly two years together, you know the kind of polite smile he gives to strangers. You know how he treats acquaintances. You know when he’s being distant, how he acts when things don’t matter to him anymore. And you know that— “He wouldn’t….” He would never take this. He would never accept the chocolates you’ve made on Valentine’s. You would never be able to muster the courage to tell him how much you miss him. And he would never agree to being friends after your extensive history together. Your head lowers, and tears drip down your cheeks. Jungkook is rendered speechless but you feel his hand on your shoulder. He squeezes comfortingly. You sniffle, wiping your face with the back of your hand, and you take a truffle to throw into your mouth. You chew in your cheek and look at Jungkook with your reddened, teary eyes. “I-If he won’t eat it, we should.” That’s how you end up on the floor of the kitchen with Jungkook beside you. The two of you are leaning against the kitchen island, hidden away from the window of the door and any intrusive eyes peering through. The tips of your fingers are stained with melted chocolate — the fruits of your labour gone in an instant. The realization sinks in. After months of what you’ve tried to keep a hold on it. Having hoped aimlessly that you could change this back around. What had shattered into sand and slipped between your fingertips, but you tried to catch it again. It hits you in an instant. Harder than it ever has. “It’s really over, isn’t it, Jungkook?” you ask in a murmur, in a broken voice. “It’s over.” The relationship ended. Any form of a relationship with Seokjin is gone forevermore. Jungkook turns his head, gazing at your profile. He pats you on the back. He’s learnt long ago that he wasn’t very good at speaking, but that his words don’t mean as much as his actions do. So in silence, Jungkook eats the truffles with you. It’s not bad, he muses internally. You’re getting better at chocolate despite how you never had a knack for it. Well, technically he made them but whatever, your effort still means something. He chews and keeps to himself how the chocolate truffle strangely tastes sweet and bitter, like both sugar and black coffee.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #jungkook fanfic #jungkook scenario #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #jungkook x reader #jungkook reader insert #jungkook as a cutie baking boy who doesn't know to deal with emotions #and oc as a person who has too many emotions lol #Y'ALL no spoilers but this is the turning point #cue the song past the point of no return

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whowhatifs · 4 years ago

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Ooh I really like the 23 and 8...for Farah and F!Detective, please?

23. “Just tell me why you did it!” “Because I’m in love with you, okay!” Farah/F!Detective

I'm tired of F haters, soooo here's the Detective shooting a bunch of people for hurting Farah, then some fluff and a happy ending. :3 CW: blood

Farah won't be getting out of here unless the Detective comes here alone, without alerting anyone, and hands herself over to them, her kidnappers told her when they threw her down here. It's dark, so dark that even with vampire hypersenses Farah can't see much... some kind of cellar maybe? The DMB they injected her with makes her head swim as she tries to sit up, limbs too weak to break through the restraints that hold her. She's scared. She's scared for herself because these people are so full of hate and anger, they won't hesitate to hurt her if Paige doesn't come, but if she does... what will they do?

Focusing in on the muffled voices upstairs, it sounds like one of them is on the phone and... is that Paige on the other end? It's too quiet to pick up words, but Farah would recognise her voice anywhere. She sounds so scared, pleading and terrified, and Farah chokes back a sob. The call ends and it's quiet for a long time.

Gunfire breaks the silence.

"Where the fuck is she?!" The furious yell drowns out all the other screams.

Paige. She's here. She really came... for me? And by the sounds of it, she came alone.

NO! With a panicked growl, Farah manages to rip one of her hands free, ignoring the burning pain as her flesh tears, but it doesn't matter because she can hear more shots being fired and bodies hitting the ground, she can smell blood. Please, no... She bites through the rest of the restraints and stumbles towards the stairs, heading up. It's quiet now. I can't lose you too. She's so close to the door, fighting through the dizziness from the lingering DMB. It swings open just as she reaches it and she falls into someone's arms.

"Farah." Paige collapses to the floor with a relieved sob, pulling Farah down into her lap and cradling her like she's the most precious being in the universe. "Farah... I was so scared... It's okay now though, it's all going to be okay. I found you, I found you, I found you-" she repeats it like a prayer, over and over, until she goes limp and her arms--protectively wrapped around Farah--fall away.

It's only then, with the calming sound of Paige's heartbeat and the fading adrenaline, that Farah notices the warmth blooming against her shoulder where it was pressed against her girlfriends chest. Blood. Paige's blood.

"NO!"

Bright. Too bright. Opening my eyes hurts so I keep them shut, but the sterile smell that fills my nostrils is familiar... I'm in a hospital? A warm hand gently squeezes my fingers, sending a wave of comfort through me before I even know who's there.

"Hey babe."

Farah. It hurts so much to twist towards the sound of her voice, it's painful to smile when I see her, but I do it anyways because she's safe. She's here. Alive. She leans in to press light kisses against my cheeks, my forehead, my chin, my nose...

"Ava's really mad at you," she jokes, but I can see the sadness in her eyes as she pulls away.

What's wrong? I want to ask, but I choke on the dryness of my throat, coughing instead. What could be wrong? Farah's here, she's safe, everything is perfect.

"She she says you should have told them-" Farah helps me take a sip of water as she continues- "that you shouldn't have run off on your own. It was too dangerous-"

"They... said they would hurt you," I manage to croak. And I couldn't take that chance, not with your life.

Farah doesn't meet my eye as she sits down on the side of the hospital bed, lying down to curl up against my side when I move over to give her room. She's chewing her lip as she anxiously picks at the pillowcase. I stroke her hair. Her clothes are filthy, caked in dried blood. Was I not out very long or did she stay by my side?

"But you got hurt," Farah whispers and I can feel her shaking. "Why... Why would you..."

Farah looks so upset, so I cut her off with a kiss. My dry lips must be rough against hers (hers always so wonderfully soft) and I almost pull away to apologise, but she tugs me closer. I don't let her go, kissing her again and again, until I finally feel her mouth start to turn up into a small smile. I try not to wince at the way my movements pull at my wounds as I reach to cradle her face in my hands, locking my gaze with hers. I want her to see my eyes, to know what I'm about to say is the truth, to know that I wouldn't take back my choice to save her, that I will always choose her...

"Because I love you, Farah."

Wide, surprised amber eyes blink up and me, then she breaks into the biggest, most beautiful smile.

"I- I love you too!" Farah almost cheers, and I disguise my pained gasp with a laugh as practically throws herself further into my arms. "So, so much!"

We hold each other tight, crying happy tears, exchanging kisses, repeating those words again and again I love you, I love you, I love you, until my tired eyes drift closed to sleep.

This took sooo long because I had some writer's block, but I finally got some inspiration tonight and threw this together! I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the prompt @ihearmyheartbreaking!! *Blows kisses*

#my writing #the wayhaven chronicles #twc fanfic #agent f hauville #twc farah #farah hauville #tw blood #tw death #tw injury #tw kidnapping #twc: f #paige is a random name not based off any of my current ocs #ask #ignore the errors #i write most of these in a sleep deprived haze #f haters are the real monsters

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mirrorfalls · 3 years ago

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Lego Liveblogs ST: TOS, part 8 (of who-the-hell-knows-how-many?)

And here we are, the first one I literally know nothing about by reputation. Balance of Terror is a nice enough title, punchy if a bit generic - let's see where it takes us.

* We're wasting no time with this one, folks. Thirty seconds into a happy wedding ceremony and we get an honest-to-Great Bird call to battle. * This is a nice sci-fi touch, really - despite having fought out-and-out nuclear war with them, Earth still has no idea what the Romulans look like, because space is just That Damn Big and there just wasn't the tech to take POWs. ** Which begs the question, though: how do they know the Romulans ever acknowledged this treaty? * Why hello there, Casualty-of-the-Week. So nice of you to drop that bit of family history. * You can't make flirting work, guys. Stick to technobabble. * Ooh, that must've hurt. * A nice bit of leadership from Kirk - you don't want to go hopping into war on one hothead's say-so, but you also want to assure you're at least willing to listen to him. ** That said, if this leads to a giant witch-hunt aboard the ship, I retain my right to backtrack. *** Like right now. * The Romulans have... Spock Ears! It shouldn't work as a dundundun cliffhanger nearly this well, but somehow it does. ** On a general note - the Space Roman costumes are obviously silly as hell, the pseudo-Vulcan makeup even moreso (I understand later seasons will be overhauling them dramatically), but there's something interesting to be said about how Trek's first Enemy Planet, smack in the middle of this Cold War parable, is based off a Western icon. A memory, perhaps, of who the instigator of the last real-life Great War fashioned his empire after? * Also an interesting choice: introducing the hardasses (on both ships) as being right about everything. Granted, I suppose this Commander guy is supposed to be Kirk's counterpart, not the random crewman's. * Back on the Enterprise: a multi-sided debate where you're not quite sure of the motive behind anyone's argument. Does Spock really think it's best to go in guns-blazing, or is he just looking to temper the Vulcan-hater with a little reverse psychology? Is Bones really opposed to attacking, or does he just want to offer counterbalance? And then there's good old Sulu, raising all kinds of practical concerns... * ... whoa, they're actually going through with it? I thought they'd wait at least another act for that. * D'aww, what a humanizing moment for The Enemy. Sure hope one of the sequels didn't retroactively ruin it! * Okay, in all honesty, I was expecting this to be a "Crew must learn to Overcome their internal bigotry if they want to beat the Romulans" fable. But all signs point to something bigger than that, which is a pleasant surprise. * Ouch. ** Maybe friend's-corpse-as-decoy has been done in a hundred WWII pictures by the time this ep aired, but it got me all the same. (And really, how many would've humanized the Enemy doing it?) * Two ships in the Neutral Zone, first to breathe loses. Let's do this. * That is the most I-told-you-so smirk I've seen in my life. * So Kirk's having buyer's-remorse over his sabre-rattling. I'm not sure Bones' peptalk really gets past boilerplate on any level, but what the hell, Kelley manages to sell it. * Oboy. Looks like we're not done with the Bigotry-is-Bad moral after all. * Holy fuck ** Tearing out your own self-destruct system and tossing it at the enemy? Sorry, Starfleet, but that is officially more Metal than anything you've ever come up with. * So Kirk's jumps on the first excuse to get the Vulcan-hater on a separate deck from Spock. Shrewd... is what I would say if it didn't also put him in charge of all the guns. ** And then Spock has to go down to the gundeck, anyway. Well, at least we've learned that Bigotry is Bad. ** Can we take this as proof that Spock now has the biggest bodycount of the entire crew? * "What purpose will it serve to die?" "Well, it saves me from getting put on trial for attacking your outposts and getting executed anyway, sooo..." * One casualty on the Federation's side? Not bad for a day's work. ** Even if the wedding is off forever now. Cry as long as you need to, sweetheart. The Captain's here.

Welp, eight episodes (plus a pilot) in, and I've found it. The first one that stands up as legitimately good, thrilling, coherent television, from head to tail. There are still headscratchy bits here and there (do recall that no matter how much of an Awesome and Worthy Adversary he is, that Romulan attacked a bunch of Earth outposts for no reason), and maybe it counts more as Space Opera than science-fiction, but its pacing, cliffhangers, and little character moments are all ten for fucking ten. A leading candidate for any fan's rewatch pile.

(And, even if she's barely got three lines in the thing - a worthy note for Grace Lee Whitney to bow out on.)

Next: Sugar, spice, and everything nice... these were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect sci-fi script. But Gene Roddenberry accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction: Freudian rocks.

#Lego Liveblogs Star Trek #Star Trek: The Original Series

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moist-astronaut · 5 years ago

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things my friends and I have said over the last year

“I’m verbally illiterate” “Isn’t that called dyslexia”

“I’m going to chemistry and I’m gonna light myself on fire” “No” “Damnit let me burn like the witch I am!”

“Don’t worry it’s not anti-Christ it’s just anti-government”

“I’ve been getting migraines everyday and I’m considering chopping my head off” “But that would kill you” “Two birds one stone!!”

“I swear to god I will hug you” “My house is 5 miles away and my doors are locked” “Your locks are FEABLE”

*writing an email* “Bitch comma”

“Ok but I could be a top” *laughing* “What I totally could be!” *laughing and crying for literally 6 minutes straight*

*on a group call, friends cat misha walks into the room* “Tell misha I would live and die for her, whichever she prefers” “She says thank you” *cat noises*

*joins discord vioce chat at 11:26 pm* “You guys are gae but I love you” “Thank you saeren very cool” “Goodnight” *leaves chat at 11:28pm*

“Jake jake jake jjjake -j-jaaake hey jake” “W H A T” “Can I eat your pens” “I literally have a restraining order against you”

“I’m educatn’t”

“Me calling you to dumb to be a slytherin is payback for you leaving multiple handprint bruises on my legs” “It’s not my fault your skin is weak”

“He’s rolling so that we can walk” *rolling in the grass and collecting leaves on his jacket* “I’m rolling for your sins”

“There are 7 of us so we can each be a deadly sin” “I wanna be Ross” “You mean wrath?” “No that dude from Friends”

“Ok but other than his strict attraction to women, his multiple wives, his hatred of gay people, and the fact that he is dead, what is standing between me and Joseph Smith the All American Hottie from being happy together”

“Consider: Mullet” “No”

“I do my homework while loudly eating a pop tart asmr”

“No no listen, he’s my brother, he’s a bastard of my dynasty…I might just ransom him off”

“These Norwegian bastards indroduced a fucking PLUAGE to my COUNTRY”

“Ooooo meth”

“Half of my life is me resisting the urge to sing the zaboomafoo themesong, the other half is me actually singing the zaboomafoo themesong. So either way my entire life revolves around zaboomafoo.”

“I just don’t think I would hire a gay man-wait no I’m not homophobic”

*chucks half a gallon of milk in a gas station* “-ah- got milk?”

“Gimme your sternum boy”

“Nooooooo he stole my sternum!!!” (Side note these were two separate occasions)

*being force fed milk duds* “No!! This is the worst way to die!!”

“Hey babe come over I have a hammock and a heated blanket”

“Be afraid, be prepared- IN THE WORDS OF SCAR”

“Stress eating stress gummies Stress eating stress gummies Stress eating stress gummies stress eating-”

“I thought to myself ‘Y’know if I die today this is how I want to be remembered- a leather skirt and leg warmers’”

“I think I’m telling you to go to sleep” “You’re gonna have make me” “I can’t tell if this is cry for help or flirting” “Yes”

“This is at best cannibalism and at worst being straight”

“Oh look Percy Jackson’s here now, ooh they replaced every character’s face with Mr. Bean. I hate it”

“You can’t be mean to me! I’m gay AND a woman! That’s a hate crime!” “Yeah well I’m brown and Muslim! Square the fuck up bitch!”

“Babe it’s not very metal to be afraid of your hair dresser” “It’s not very metal to have a hair dresser and yet here we are” “It’s fine you’re into glam metal”

“Hey augie, got any grrrrrrapes?” “I’m doing IXL :(“

“Can I come?” “No” “What if I bring watermelon?” “You can come, leave the watermelon, then leave” “:(“

“What in the jersey shore”

“Rad’nt”

“Ok but consider: Mullet-hawk” “I can and will divorce you”

“Dee-vorce 👏 Just to 👏 re-vorce 👏 👏 “

“Ah yes, that’s why I’m fat…for combat reasons…”

“You fool I consent!”

“My Boston fern is being a bitch but that’s because it’s winter and that’s BITCH season”

“You walk through the rest of the house and it’s like ‘ooo witchy and aesthetic’ then they’ll get to the guest room and it’ll just be a tacky twink Fever dream”

“Who needs a scalp”

“HeHe, sexing”

“Council has decided, your vibes are rancid (and not the band)”

“You’re never to young to hate women”

“Look at me I did the dishes I’m a 1950s housewife with a strangely new jersey accent and affinity for lesbianism”

“Well look who has the table now”

"contrary to popular belief, fuck you"

"There's nothing here that requires whisking, i'm just problematic"

"If you could go anywhere in the world with two people, who would you choose?" “New Orleans!”

"So he proceeded to bite me on the butt...like, really, really hard."

“I don’t cheat, I win. It’s not cheating if it’s consensual.”

“My mouth, my choice”

“Do you like my ombré of a tan"

“Who’s the cutest in the chat right now then?” “It’s Paige!” “No, it’s obviously Augie.” (paige's boyfriend)-said by a straight man

“Francis is just a one and done.”

“Would you ever have a threesome?” “...yes...” *To Francis* “Sure!”

“How do you feel about anal sex?”

“Of the people in this room, who would you most want to make out with?” “Augie” “The answer is yes, but only if it’s 6 feet apart.”

“Square, flat, and overcooked.”

“The virus would be over if everyone would breathe underwater for 5 minutes.”

“I have daddy issues, but not with my father.”

“You’re a ladies man but you have two boyfriends.”

“That means lesbian in sign language” “No, that means fuck boy in American”

“I’m like a parasite, you can’t get rid of me. I’m here forever.”

“You’re like my long term hit man”

“Is it Jake?” “No, why would the evil Russian man be Jake?” “Because he would never hire a gay man and you don’t look like a gay man”

“Jake is homophonic, Augie is racist, and Francis is a woman hater!”

"Grew a korean radish, 1 star"

"I've got more cause i'm a rich boy, and by that i mean my father sometimes buys avocados. And that's on what? Upper middle class"

"Tell your good for nothing boyfriend to stay away from my mom"

"It's not inciting violence it's just ~inspiring it~ "

"Listen bitch just because you have avacados and a roomba doesn't make you better then me"

"i would totally let narthex ruin my life. and that's on what? daddy issues and bisexuality"

"who is titty"

"how is he racist" "he hates the french and russians right?" "don't forget italians" "that's just self loathing"

"This is the last time i wear a thong- it's for educational purposes"

"babe come over i'm a burrito"

"he put bread with milk. luckily he passed away"

"you touched my wiener!" "you offered it!"

"foot'nt"

"i took a shower and realized the floor doesn't bounce"

"i love ass whoooaaaaaa i meant cassie"

"Rosalie you're the deciding vote. Be decisive." "Dude i'm bisexual and a gemini. what're you talking about?"

"Okay so to recap: jake is homophobic, augie is racist, francis is a woman hater, and now paige is a bunny abuser?"

"Just bring a watermelon keychain and it'll be fine" "Whooaaaa i'm gonna need a big key then"

"If you were blind what would you even see"

Post Traumatic Youth, plus D for danny's disorder"

"i think she's past the phase where she likes people just because they're russian"

"francine is a lesbian, but only during quarantine"

"don't be a home wrecker!" "i can't help it!"

"we are not doing coed tents" "i wanted to go purple-ing though"

"if it's not perfect i'm gonna through hands" "with who" "i don't know, the CEO of stupid"

"don't make me feel guilty for bullying you"

"it doesn't look very cash money cool but okay"

"slinky cat" (ferret)

"The pond behind my house didn't freeze all the way through this winter, so i couldn't go ice skating" "okay, so i have an idea. we can go to walmart and get-" "ANTI FREEZE!" "well, yes- wait, no. No, the more i think about that definitely no."

"The amish will win, the amish will prevail" "the amish will conquer us all!"

"He do be kinda mafia doh"

"i'm being sneaky sneak. stairs go creaky creak. and i need. DRUGZ"

"brain on shutdown, power saving mode"

"Somebody go tip her, she's dancing like a stripper" "thatd be nice- oh wait no!"

"fellas, is it gay to lick your homies eyeball?"

"it's not racist if you're only targeting one group of people" "that literally racism" "but what if they're french"

"i'm not racist yet but the option is available, and it's good to have options"

"they don't call me Mr. Steal Yo Boy for nothing!" -a straight man who has a girlfriend

"i think he has a bad habit of not dating girls"

"kinda hot tho 🥵 in a Santa Claus kinda way...hoe hoe hoe"

"i'll be your hot jacuzzi bubble dealer"

"when deceit and doubt fills you up, you cleanse your mind through creative activities, such as making organic soap"

"friendly reminder #4: you're never to old to eat a freezie-pop"

"sorry i'm just nervous" Chinese Teacher: (Waving her hand in front of her face) “Just pretend I’m cabbage.”

"me when my dads name is publicly broadcasted on the radio for his 14 felonies and assorted war crimes"

"<@!523669420435046401> I sentence you to a solid nine by the banhammer. For your crimes against Humanity, God, Satan, and Matt Frank. See you in hell."

"Danny, just because you're playing *Just Cause* doesn't mean you need to Just Cause our friendship!"

"Silly Matt! You fell for the ole’ Heimlich maneuver!”

"i got a bunch of new shirts over quarantine" "you would"

"Ok, there's a 32 year old doctor in new Jersey dying right now" "Yeah, but to be fair everyone in new jersey has a pre-existing condition"

“This is the longest period of time we’ve had without a Nintendo direct” “Maybe they’re gonna make a Nintendo indirect?”

"you’re looking extra white today.” "thanks i've been practicing"

"do you have any batteries" *looks inside shirt* "not yet"

"let's go colonize the middle school!" "yyayayyayayay!!!" " wait I gotta ask my mom first" What happened next is know called the *Juniors burden*

"oh so you're a DOWNSTAIRS milk kinda guy"

"you are literally the human embodiment of crumbs in a bed"

"The Berk-ey Creamery isn’t a place, it’s a people!”

"He shoved a floating joy-con straight up his flux-capacitor.” "great! now it's paired"

"No, that isnt armor, the real armor are the friends you made along the way"

"This one goes out to all my lady friends out there *proceeds to kill himself in game*

"i'm a coward" "that's what a coward would say!"

"rest is for cowards and fools"

"every time you speak you take years off my life"

"Shark dick hoo ha ha"

"Me and the boys brushing our teeth at 3 AM"

"remember if you kill yourself the fascists win"

"The Beatles aren’t real. Have you ever seen a beatle? No? Exactly." "Babe” "Shut up I’m right."

*reading over these quotes* "god i hate that" "you said that!"

#ghost talks #long post

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mysterylover123 · 5 years ago

Text

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 61 “Deku vs Kacchan Part 2″

mysterylover123

O.T.P.

This is gonna get kinda emotional.

Deku is turning Kacchan’s fight proposal down. Dammit Deku! He’s being serious!

Hoo boy that Kacchan face. No light in his eyes. That realization, just…just bleeding through…hoo boy.

“If the way you admired him was correct, does that mean my way of thinking was wrong?” OMG ITS HAPPENING. HE’S REALIZING IT YA’LL.

The flashbacks to bb Deku and Kacchan the feels.

The white void, it’s just the two of them.

That Deku line from the first episode. I’m transported right back, ya’ll. It’s that first love again, that same feeling I had when I first discovered this series all the way back in summer of last year.

So Deku starts by thinking too hard about what’s going on and immediately gets blasted.

“You think too much” hoo boy recently Mother’s Basement posted the analysis of this fight and pointed out that this is actually a flaw of Deku’s that he can learn to remedy by adopting some of Kacchan’s impulsiveness. Never has the phrase “you complete me” been more accurate.

This freaking animation. It’s so beautiful. OMG.

“Wait for me” OH MAN BB DEKU BB KACCHAN RUNNING I’M DEAD I AM DYING

Cause he loves ya you dope.

Cute overload

WHY WHY WHY hoo boy Kacchan flashbacks.

Dat little trip oh man. He’s so bummed Deku doesn’t wanna fight and Deku’s little kick actually knocked him down.

Ooh boy. Here it comes. The music went out

Hold his freaking hand some day dammit

Oh god I can’t watch this again I can’t I can’t

“why is to you became strong…while I - “ OH GOD HERE IT COMES HERE IT COMES

OH GOD. Slow clap. Okamoto and Chapin both deserve freaking awards for that performance. I mean holy shit. That voice acting. Those cracks. That hit. It makes me cry. I’m tearing up right now. Cause you see, this whole episode, it really rests on the ability of Bakugou’s Seiyuu and VA to pour everything into the performance. It’s not going to hit without both of them giving the vocal acting performance of a lifetime, and they both knocked it out of the freaking park. I actually love them both as his voice; I don’t have a preference for dub over sub, as regards their performances (not the dialogue translations), because both are incredible. Just. Slow clap. All of the awards, please.

Look at how Deku looks at him. He’s the best. He just…he cares, so much. I mean, you’d admittedly have to be a pretty heartless bastard not to feel a little compassionate after hearing that speech but still. Kacchan’s so fucking lucky he has Deku and he doesn’t even know it. I want one too.

He’s crying. Me too.

Kacchan no Kacchan no nononononono

Oh god Deku you beautiful darling

“may not be any meaning” I DISAGREE THIS IS THE CULMINATION OF AN ENTIRE SERIES’ WORTH OF 100+ SYMBOLIC CHAPTERS DETAILING YOUR GROWTH FROM ANGRY YELLING RIVALS TO RIVALS WHO SUPPORT EACH OTHER DAMMIT IT’S EVERYTHING

“May not be any meaning in winning or losing” lol are you just saying that in hindsight, Future Deku, cause you know you lost?

Deku didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to fight Kacchan or even let him know the truth.

And note, he didn’t accept until he realized there was someone he could save. Someone who needs saving, to be helped. And this is how to help him.

“The only one who can accept his feelings is me.” Ya’ll heard that haters? Say it a little louder for the people in the back, Deku. He’s got his heart.

And look who’s smiling again, eyes lighting up again, the minute Deku started fighting back?

“I couldn’t just completely reject him” Guess who also sad that about their fiery spiky blond spouse in BNHA? Kacchan’s dad in that omake about their marriage.

Their relationship was wrong, but now it’s right.

They never talked about how they really felt. Communication is the cornerstone of a healthy relationship, folks. Go on. Talk about your feels. Your real feelings.

Of that was one hell of a hit.

That speedy recovery though. Deku is fast.

Oh wow Kacchan hit it too

That smile. That smile OMG that is THE HOTTEST, by far, that Deku has ever looked in animation. And I don’t say that lightly.

The translation here is either “I’ve” or “you’ve” gotten stronger. Both fit fine, which is the crazy part. Deku could be either saying that he himself has improved, or complimenting Bakugou, which does admittedly make more sense with what he was saying before, while ‘I’ve’ fits his cocky grin here better. I want him to flash a cocky grin more. It suits him. (BTW The English Dub compromises between the two and says’ we’ve both’.

Katsuki assumes Deku has a plan. Always overestimating him.

“That’s what I hate about you” OMG HE FINALLY TELLS HIM HOW HE FEELS. “I can never tell what you’re thinking” Because ya know he’s so good at understanding how everyone else thinks and feels.

He’s always being mean to Deku. Deku has seen him at his very worst and yet still admires him. Maybe that’s scary, you know? Unconditional love is…kinda terrifying. But so, so beautiful. So he has to rationalize it that Deku is just looking down on him.

Wow Deku sure took you long enough! He’s been saying that since day 1!

“I wouldn’t want anything to do with them anymore” Deku there you go being empathetic and wonderful and perfect again. So understanding you darling, darling boy.

“Along with the parts I hated about you, I saw all the amazing things you could do.” THAT’S ADMIRATION, FOLKS. ADMIRATION WITHOUT IDOLIZATION. Without hero-worship. Acknowledging the good and the bad. Seeing a person for who they really are and always, always seeing the best of them, even at their worst.

“MUCH CLOSER TO ME THAN ALL MIGHT” Do you hear him guys? The closest person to him, closer than All Might. Closer than his freaking #1 favorite hero. The dub version has “actually in my life”, which isn’t a bad idea either. Both are true. That is so powerful. The person who

Oh yeah and again how does Deku advance in power? How does he Go Beyond? KACCHAN. Full cowling, he found from him. OFA itself, he gained by saving him. And 8%.

THAT SMILE. “I thought you were amazing.” He loves you you idiot.

He kept chasing after him. He’ll never stop. He won’t just give up.

He passed him. And Bakugo looks happy. Possibly because he wants Deku to do better. Possibly because it seems to be confirming his might-makes-right theory. Possibly both.

ANIMATION-GASM AGAIN.

AHAHAHAHAHAH ITS THAT CUT ITS THAT CUT DEKU’S DANCING FEET

THE VOID AROUND THEM IT’S JUST YOU AND ME

AND THE BLOCK OMG THIS IS BEAUTIFUL THIS IS THE MOST FREAKING BEAUTIFUL ANIMATION IVE EVER SEEN

I’m serious. They brought out all the stops for this one. Of course. they knew, they had to know, that this was it. The animation, too, had to be perfect, or else it wasn’t gonna come across. And it is. Even better, in my opinion, than the animation in the stuff that came before it. Bones you are incredible.

Higher gear. Can anyone doubt that Katsuki is important to Deku’s journey after this?

“This is gross, so I can’t say it”.. “I love you?” A reactor I follow actually said that after that line. That’s how intense they are.

Anyway IMAGE OF VICTORY SPEECH. The Ep that keeps on giving.

Kacchan is his image of victory. The other side of him. And he adopts some of his traits.

“The part of you I hate and yet” How much love can you have for a person when you can somehow still admire the darkest, meanest parts of them? I don’t have a very perfect definition of love but I think that’s probably a big part of it.

“my image of victory is of you” feels overload. Feels O.D.

dat crane shot.

My one disappointment with this episode is that they used the US of Smash OST instead of the Katsuki and Izuku OST for this scene. CMON GUYS. SERIOUSLY. THE KATSUKI AND IZUKU THEME HAD TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN FOR THIS EPISODE AND THIS MOMENT ALONE. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING.

“I have to beat you” the music the feels omg

Hahaha psych. Kacchan wins anyway.

WOOF. Like OK this is in the manga, this positioning, but it’s only for one frame. In the anime it goes on for like, an uncomfortably long time, with the slow panting, and the close-ups on the twisting body parts, and…combined with the fact that all of Deku’s admiring girlfriends in this arc have also landed on top of him in a similar pose, and you can’t blame me for the fact that my mind went into rather…R-rated territory.

Kacchan’s disappointed. He didn’t want Deku to lose. He wanted Deku to win.

That breaking voice again. Don’t make me cry more dammit it’s too late.

ALL MIGHT! I need an MST3K style All Might commentary-reaction to this entire damn thing. Seriously Hori. If you ever do an extra, please make one that’s a serious of All Might panel reacting to this whole thing. I NEED THAT.

Finishing each other’s sentences again.

“It’s too late” IT’S NEVER TOO LATE YOU CYNICAL PORCUPINE.

This is such a great moment of catharsis. Why Deku indeed? Well, you’re about to learn.

THAT LINE DELIVERY AGAIN. That Broken voice. Both voice actors are too good.

Deku’s legs though. WOWSA. A little detail I’ve noticed is that Kacchan has really buff, sexy arms and Deku has really buff, sexy legs. Because those are the body parts they use, while the reverse parts are more average.

“I’m weak too” You’re making me weak I can’t take it. His voice his voice that fucking voice

DEKU’S EYES. THEY’RE WELLING.

HE’S GONNA CRY TOO.

I also need an All Might in my life. I kinda blame myself all the time for things outside of my control. Deku AND Kacchan both blamed themselves for what happened. For All Might’s end. And neither one was really responsible, but they’re just like that. I relate, painfully, to both of them. I have a Deku side and a Bakugo side - deep down, I think we all do. Maybe one more than the other, but that’s what you get when you create two characters who initially act as kind of…distilled embodiments of two sides of the super-hero coin. One all super with no hero, the other all hero with no super - at least, at the beginning.

THAT PIANO MUSIC IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR. IT’S ALL MIGHT’S FREAKING THEME YA’LL!

Ooh boy All Might’s BKDK Speech! Both of their teachers ship them, you guys. All Might AND Aizawa both give big, beautiful speeches about their compatibility. In case you somehow missed it.

Being fixated on victory like you, young Bakugou…and wanting to save those in trouble, like you, young Midoriya…both of those feelings are necessary.” “You guys are perfect for each other”, says the reactor I mentioned earlier (who isn’t even a hardcore BKDK shipper, mind you, it’s just that it’s that obvious.) And it’s true. You need both. They want each other, they need each other, because they have what the other lacks. They complete each other.

This is the shonen rival equivalent of having the couple in a rom-com confess at the end of act one instead of act three. It upsets all the cliches and is all the better for it. Though even the most hardcore, dedicated anime rivals, I don’t think have ever gone this married-couple with the ‘mutual respect’ and ‘making each other stronger’ thing.

WIN AND SAVE SAVE TO WIN. They look each other in the eyes.

Oh god not that voice again I’m dying. Don’t make me cry again Kacchan.

“Don’t lose.” SUPPORTIVE KACCHAN I LOVE SUPPORTIVE KACCHAN.

“I’ll get stronger” CONFIDENT DEKU I LOVE CONFIDENT DEKU.

“Of the students only you.” ONLY YOU.

I put this moment really high on my list of Kacchan’s nicest moments, because it means a lot to me and to All Might. All Might acknowledges it. He’s a good secret keeper.

Oh and Deku thanks him too in the English Dub, BTW. Not the manga but nice dub touch.

OMG he’s such a Tsundere.

He told him everything. HE KNOWS. The only one who knows. None of Deku’s other love interests do. And he has no interest in telling them.

Kacchan asks why he told him. And I’ve got an answer, after obsessively rereading Chapter 11/rewatching Episode 8 a lot: BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU, YOU IDIOT. You were mad at him for lying about his quirk to you. You asked what was going on (loudly). You accused him of lying to you your whole life. So he told you the truth. Because he can lie to his mom, and he can lie to his friends and teachers and the entire freaking world. But he cannot lie to YOU. Because he loves you. Idiot baka.

Oh and what’s that music playing there? Why does that sound familiar? YOU SAY RUN YOU SAY RUN YOU SAY RUN IT’S BACK. And you know? That’s I think because YSR symbolizes Deku’s heroic inspiration. The inspiration he both takes in and gives to others. And here, he’s both being inspired by Kacchan, and inspiring him at the same time.

Now Kacchan is doing the same. “Chosen one” He knows. Deku is better. He’s gotta surpass him.

LOL THIS IS FUNNY. THEY SURE BICKER LIKE THEY’RE MARRIED.

This shot composition. Get it? ALL MIGHT’S THE THING BETWEEN ‘EM.

Oh and this. Yay some character development from Kacchan! Another nice moment of his in this ep. Three times!

All Might Meta’s a bit about how Kacchan took responsibility and felt bad and does a Mom guilt trip on Dadzawa. They’re getting to be kinda married too now.

“I went in pretty HARD”. OMG stop it you’re making me think bad things again. Just F*CK already.

Their first act as a married couple is to clean the house together. OMG domestic fluff.

And now for the best Post-credits scene ever.

Wow Uraraka ships it so bad.

Oh and some Todobaku bonus! Aw I guess Bakugou just turned down his 3some offer.

Ooh awkward silence.

YAY! Though they did kinda wreck it by having Deku bring it up instead of Kacchan

NOW THEY’RE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO TALK TO EACH OTHER LIKE HUMAN BEINGS.

Kacchan just praised me. Life is good.

Episode 61 is my favorite episode of my favorite show. I think it’s the best and will never be topped. Feels, left and right. It’s really just perfect. Funny, all 3 of the transcendent, best-of-the-best BNHA eps (This, 49 and 23) are basically just two characters fighting for 20 minutes. Nothing more or less. Yet they’re all so, so good. And this one is…I don’t even know how to put it into words. It’s a phenomenal tour-de-force of acting, visuals, animation, music, and of course, writing, all combining together to be just absolutely unsurpassable. Everything that makes this series good, boiled down to it’s essence. And yes, this did seal the deal for me with BKDK. I liked it before, but this made it a done deal. No going back. And I love it.

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: Uraraka for being so supportive.

RANKER: Top 5 Best Moments of This Episode: (it’s really more like a top 50)

5. Deku’s little Dance number

4. True Rivals at Last

3. True feelings at last

2. The Image of Victory Speech

1. “Why did I become...”

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cynicalrainbows · 5 years ago

Text

Possibly the sappiest thing I have ever written.

Based off an idea @upsettimyspagetthi and @moan-jeutas had, about an AU in which Bessie is fostered by Aragon and Hyde features as a stuffed animal (and Maria features as Aragon’s pet cat).

Honestly, content warning again for how incredibly bad this fic is; there is like no plot.

She’s never been one to cry easily. It’s not out of toughness- tears just don’t come easily to her, even when they should, even when she can TELL someone is getting frustrated with her refusal to just react like a normal kid fergodsake, even when she knows that it’s what they want. Whether they’re someone looking for tears of contrition, or of forgiveness or (and these are the worst, these are the ones who get angriest when she remains sullen and dry-eyed, ironically) the ones who want her to cry as a sign that she’s finally opening up…..they all go disappointed.

Except now she’s crying for real, her throat hurts and her head hurts and her face stings from the salt and she can’t stop and it’s for such a stupid reason too, that’s what makes it even worse.

She never forgets to shut her bedroom door usually- it figures that the one time she gets careless is the one time that Maria actually bothers to drag herself upstairs, the one time that her animal-huntress-instincts seem to have gotten the better of her usual sleepy-lap-cat self.

Whether she was playing at being a leopard or whether this is her cat-way of telling Bessie she isn’t welcome in what used to be just Catalina’s flat…..well, it doesn’t matter.

Hyde is just as shredded either way.

(The fact that she still thinks of her as Hyde- the fact that she’s still thinking of this pile-of-fur-and-stuffing as her at all- is ridiculous and she knows it. Why can’t she just grow up?)

If she was a proper person, she’d just shrug it off, she knows. Move on. Get a snack, watch tv.

Even if she was still a bit sad about it- well that wouldn’t be unreasonable. But she’d still be able to get things in perspective, to reflect that a shredded soft toy arguably a very, very light price to pay for the fact that she now gets to live with someone who doesn’t say her name as if they’re trying it out for size, who doesn’t coach everything in false smiles, who actually remembers things like her hatered of tomoatoes and her preference for burnt toast, who asks her opinion as if it matters.

She is grateful for these things- she is, she is- but obviously she isn’t grateful enough because she can’t stop the sick emptiness inside, she can’t push away the sudden feeling of being very, very alone and very very small.

She can’t rationalise and she can’t reason, she can’t even clear up the mess of fabric from her usually scrupulously clean carpet. Instead she just sits puddled on the carpet and holds a piece of Hyde’s fur to her face and sobs the way she’s seen kids cry on their first day as a Kid In The System.

It’s ridiculous. She’s ridiculous.

(No wonder nobody ever wanted her until now.)

She can’t bring herself to throw the pieces of Hyde away but she can’t leave the mess either so she nudges them under her bed.

That’s all she can do for now.

When Catalina comes home from work, she’s gotten as far as dragging herself down to the living room (no one likes a reclusive teenager, she knows that already, so she does her best not to be one) and she’s washed her face in water cold enough that most of the redness has gone from her cheeks. She makes a decent attempt at sounding normal (she thinks).

Clearly though, she isn’t doing a good enough job: she’s just thinking she’s gotten away without Catalina picking up on anything amiss when Catalina takes the last of the freshly-dried dishes from her hands and asks her if she’s ok.

She freezes.

She’s already prepared some answers (Fine. Tired. Homework.) but they fly from her head for a moment and she just stares at the woman, not saying anything.

Catalina is one of the more patient ones (she’s stopped- just about- being scared that Catalina will get cross at her not answering fast enough) but annoyingly, she’s also one of the more persistent ones.

‘Bessie? Are you ok?’

‘Fine.’

Her mouth is dry and she’s angry at herself. Here she is- at the best placement she’s ever had- and she’s ruining it, just as she always does. Sometimes it’s her moods and sometimes it’s her nightmares and sometimes it’s just her being a bit too weird.

‘You look so worried, querida.’

She hates the concern in Catalina’s face. If Catalina knew that she was moping over a stupid stuffed animal…. The thought makes her feel a bit sick.

‘I’m okay. Tired.’

She hates the thought of Catalina looking at her in that way they all have- half pitying, half mocking (‘Don’t you think you’re a bit old to be so childish, Elizabeth?’ ‘Don’t you think you should grow up a bit?’), which soon resolves itself into weary resignation (‘Of course, they’re all like this really- they all have these issues-’).

She’s determined not to drive Catalina away like she has done everyone else- she can be normal, she can be adjusted, she can- but even as she’s thinking it, something in Catalina’s voice, in the warmth of her hand on her arm (not gripping her, not pulling her, just….there) makes her have to blink hard and bite her lip.

‘Bessie- please talk to me, what is it?’

She shakes her head. She can taste blood.

Why is she like this? Why is she so pathetic?

Catalina still doesn’t look annoyed though- she doesn’t look as if she’s getting tired of trying, as if she’s edging into one of those ‘I don’t know why I even bother-’ sighs. Instead, she just wraps an arm around Bessie’s shaking shoulders and walks her into the living room.

‘Just one of those days?’

It’s a question she can answer by nodding (it’s an answer that will hopefully cut off the possibility for more) so she nods once and allows Catalina to gently pull her down to sit on the sofa.

‘You poor thing.’ She finds the tv remote and flips through the channels. ‘In that case, I reccomend a cup of hot chocolate. And some poor quality television.’

There’s a pause, and she feels Catalina draw back the tiniest bit, the way she always does, giving her an out, giving her the chance to escape if she wants to. ‘Of course, if you would prefer some space, that is also completely alright, ok? I could bring you a drink up to your room if you’d like?’

(It’s funny- she’s the only one Bessie has ever known to remind her so often that she doesn’t have to stay, that she’s free to go, that she can choose what to do. Funny too that it’s these reminders that she can leave that actually make her want to stay, more than any number of requests to ‘Come sit with us!’ ‘Come join in!’ ever have done. She knows it makes no sense.)

Part of her wants to go back to her room, where she can fall apart in peace and without fear of Catalina seeing….but then she knows if she does go back to her room, she’ll just be faced with having to throw Hyde away properly. So she stays.

She ends up tucked under Catalina’s arm, silent tears dripping silently down her face and soaking into Catalina’s shirt, while a host of women argue over wedding dresses on the screen.

They don’t talk, other than Catalina occasionally murmuring assent or disagreement over the choice of one bride or another.

‘Ooh...bad choice, mija….. She thinks that lace is good idea?’

(When Bessie first came to live with her, she had assumed that Catalina had been watching the reality tv shows in an attempt to bond with her, and that her commentary was the forced, awkward attempt of an adult to connect to a nearly-teenager. She’d hated it.

Now though, she knows that Catalina will watch the program with or without her, and that her commentary, likewise, will go ahead whether or not Bessie or even Maria is there to hear it, and it’s oddly soothing, as background noise goes.)

Every so often, Catalina will hand her a tissue from the coffee table, or tighten her hold on her, or press a light kiss to the top of her head, but she doesn’t press for answers or intimacy and Bessie is grateful.

Still though, not grateful enough- because she’s still just….sad.

She wonders if this is how people feel when people they love leave- she knows it’s awful of her to think it, to compare the two things…..but still. (Hyde at least has been constant. Hyde has never shouted at her, hit her, locked her into or out of a room. Hyde has never lied to her, broken a promise or feigned anything. Obviously, her capacity to do any of those things is somewhat limited, due to her not actually being real but…...still. Hyde at least has never left her.)

After a couple of episodes, Catalina suddenly remembers she needs to put a load of laundry on and excuses herself (‘I’ll be right back, querida; I’ll make the hot chocolate after I’ve put it on-’) and…..Bessie waits.

And waits.

And when she realises that Catalina has been gone for far, far longer than it would take someone to put a load of laundry on, she feels- after the familiar first sudden sick sinking feeling- a distinct lack of surprise.

Of course she got tired of her.

(They all do, in the end.)

She wonders if the drawing away will happen all at once (like it does sometimes) or if it will be more slow (like it is othertimes).

She doesn’t know.

But it is coming- she knows that much.

And now she doesn’t even have Hyde.

On screen, a woman jumps up and down, her face red, arms waving. Bessie can’t even tell if she’s meant to be pleased or not.

Catalina does not come back.

After a while, she wonders if she should go to bed- it’s getting late after all.

The hall is dark upstairs- no light under Catalina’s door, maybe she’s already asleep (making it her first night in Catalina’s home without being wished sweet dreams)- but lightness from her own room.

Which is funny because she’s sure she turned the light off….

Catalina is sat on the edge of her bed, and she jumps, guiltily, when Bessie enters.

‘Oh! Querida, you startled me-’

Oh god.

Bessie has had people go through her stuff before but the fact that it’s happening so fast….it just hits her hard.

Was her mood really so noticeably bad that Catalina thinks she’s hiding something?

She wouldn’t be the first to suppose drugs or boys or boys-with-drugs….and she wouldn't be the first to go actively searching for evidence….. Bessie’s stomach clenches into a tight fist.

‘I’m sorry-’

‘-I think we need to have a talk-’

They speak almost at exactly the same time but she knows what she’s heard- she’s heard the same words before out of the mouths of so many people. She knows what’s to come. She just hopes she can keep herself together throughout it- it’s always been so much harder when she breaks too quickly, there’s something vaguely repulsive about being begged for another chance, she knows (and it never changed their minds).

(She won’t beg.)

‘Ok.’

‘Sit down.’

She sits.

‘Querida...there’s no easy way to say this…’ She bites her lip in anticipation, steels herself.

‘And I’m so sorry it’s come to this-’

Here it comes: ‘Just not working out….better for us all….fresh start…..’

‘-but I must have completely forgotten to shut your door this morning-’

Ok. This is not what she expected.

‘-and Maria…. Well, decided to take against your things, for some reason-’

Catalina takes a breath and takes what she had been holding from where she’d pushed it under Bessie’s pillow.

Not her diary after all, like she’d assumed.

Hyde.

But not Hyde as she’d last seen her- she looks the same as always, as if nothing has happened at all.

‘I’m so sorry querida- I thought I’d have finished before you came up, when I first found her but I lost track of time….’

She grabs Hyde from Catalina’s unresisting hands and studies her: up close she can see the lines of tiny stitches, she can see where the scraps of fur have been patched together and patiently, bit by bit, restuffed.

There are still a couple of seams left to do but- there’s no doubt about it- she’s pretty much finished.

‘You- fixed her-’

‘I tried to- I’m so sorry, I don’t know what got into Maria to make her go so wild-’

Catalina looks so apologetic and it’s just….strange to see.

She’d have expected a brush off, perhaps a scolding for being careless enough to leave her door open, perhaps a chiding for being childish enough to even care since she’s nearly a teenager, she’s nearly an adult, or close enough-

The idea of Catalina frantically sewing in order to fix a stupid stuffed animal- even trying to do it quickly like it was a big priority, something important- makes her throat feel tight all over again.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t do a better job of it darling-’

Catalina’s words barely register- she holds Hyde against her face and tries to breathe normally: she’s slightly lumpier than usual but she still smells the same and oh god, the sudden lifting of the darkness that had settled upon her is enough to make her feel limp with relief.

She leans against Catalina’s shoulder and sighs shakily.

‘I’m- you-’ She can’t find the words for what she wants to say- she can’t express it all properly and she isn’t even sure that she wants to- but she grips Catalina’s arm fiercely and clutches Hyde against her chest with her free hand. ‘You fixed her-’

She feels almost dizzy- as if she’s just felt too much in the last few hours. It’s exhausting- and she can’t explain that either, not to Catalina (who she is sure is probably wondering why Bessie hasn’t even said a proper thank you, is probably secretly still thinking she’s too old to make such a fuss over something so silly, is probably thinking twice about- It’s an effort to shut down the spiral but she does, just about. Catalina’s warm, solid presence next to her helps.

‘Of course.’ She says it so easily, but not as if she’s upset with Bessie for doubting her. ‘I promise, I’ll always try to help if I can. With anything.’

It’s a promise she’s heard a variation of many times before….but never when accompanied with actual sewn-together proof of the truth of the words.

She can’t explain that either, why it means so much to hear it now, why it’s making her cry all over again as if she hasn’t already been pathetic enough for one day….but perhaps Catalina understands a little bit anyway: her other arm goes around Bessie’s shoulders, her hand gently rubs circles against her forearm.

‘Ok. It’s ok. Everything is alright, sweetheart.’

Catalina sounds so very sure; Bessie lets her eyes drift shut for a moment, focusing on her voice, on her touch.

‘Everything is alright.’

Perhaps it will be, after all.

#sixfic #six the musical #six the musical fanfiction #six fanfiction

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houseofbutta · 5 years ago

Text

Birthday Bitch

It was turning out to be a fairly nice day even though the weather that week had been somewhat unpredictable. The house was uncharacteristically quiet. Days like this weren’t uncommon now that Boogie was often out on the road, leaving the chaos in the house at a minimum.

Ju walked into the kitchen with half-closed eyes, making a beeline for the coffee pot as Deenie sipped from her cup, working on the crossword in the newspaper.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine!” she spoke, without looking up from her task.

“It’s too bright in here.” Ju croaked in her, I-just- woke-up-and-can-barely-find-the-strength-to- speak voice.

“That’s because you’re hungover, sweetie. Again.” Deenie rolled her eyes.

Ju simply didn’t have the energy to go off. She was tired and the days of their heated, short-tempered youth were mellowing out as they all became more civil in adulthood.

“Good.” Deenie smirked, looking up for once from the paper. “Keep that same energy when Boogie gets back.”

Ju scoffed with a chuckle.

“You tell her that too!” “Mornin’ ya’ll” Dejah bounded in, sing-song, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

“The energy needs to come down about 12 million notches, babe” Ju held her head.

Dejah laughed as she opened the fridge looking for the orange juice.

“So Boogie is coming back today, I heard.” Dejah said, sounding skeptical, “It’s been months since she’s even slept here. Last time she came home, she didn’t even realize her Jean Paul Gaultier perfume was missing, since she was only here for a day.”

“You better stop takin’ that girl’s stuff, Dejah!” Deenie warned.

“Boogie don’t miss little shit like that. I only took it because I know she’d say yes if I asked her for it!” Dejah shrugged, before popping some bread into the toaster. “Besides, she’s changed. She seems like, nicer now in a way? I dunno.”

“Fuck outta here, she’s the same Bougie Bitch she always was,” Ju interjected, waving her hand dismissively, “She knows it too. Just because she wrote that weak ass self-help book, she thinks she’s an expert now in, whatever hoodoo, booboo garbage juice meta trend is sweeping the masses. Witchcraft is not a fucking trend, bro. She shouldn’t be playing with that shit.”

“True, Remember that fucking demon situation we had on Halloween, years ago?” Deenie reminisced, “All the windows busted out, it was like a movie!”

“Exactly!” Ju sipped her coffee, slowly finding her energy, “There have been many incidents in this house of paranormal activity, and I swear they all was surrounding her.” “Come on ya’ll know that’s not fair.” Dejah chimed in, turning to face them with her arms folded. “If you had some freaky secret power that could communicate with ghosts or whatever, what the hell would you do with it?”

“I dunno. Help somebody I guess.” Deenie replied. “Who says I don’t?”

“Nobody, but I’m just saying if it’s a part of you, you probably can’t just turn it off.” Dejah shrugged, pointing a finger at her head and making a mocking “Duh” face at the girls, who scoffed in response.

“Whatever, she’s so full of shit. Even if that bullshit she wrote in that book is real, her personality is still the same, I don’t care what you say, Dejah, people don’t change.”

“Have you read the book, Ju?”

“I started it, but it was trash, so now it’s a coaster on my nightstand.”

Deenie laughed.

“Ya’ll bein’ real shady right now.” “Hold on now, we’re not haters- I’m just saying she comes off high and mighty. That’s all.” “Power will do that to you, maybe.” Dejah said, catching her toast on her plate the moment it popped out, before walking back up to her room while sipping her OJ.

“Or an inflated ego,” Ju sucked her teeth, irritated as her eyes followed Dejah leaving the kitchen,“She gets that shit from Boogie.”

_____________________________________________________________

By the time she’d arrived, it was nearly 4PM. Boogie came nearly crashing through the door, balancing worn Louis Vuitton luggage on her arms, as her little white bichon came running up barking and jumping all over her.

“Down Momo! Ahh! Mama missed you too!” she cooed at the small dog, before announcing, “I’M HOOOOOMMEEE!”

With closed eyes Boogie threw her arms open wide, waiting for a rush of hugs that did not come.

“Hey Booger,” Rai smiled down from the upstairs banister. “What are you doing?”

“Rai! I was...nothing.” Boogie put her arms down looking somewhat embarrassed. “Where is everyone?”

Rai shrugged.

“Around, I guess.”

Boogie pouted. It wasn’t a big deal for her to come home from a long book tour, but it wasn’t unlike them to miss her birthday.

“It’s my birthday today,” she announced dejectedly.

“Happy birthday!” Rai said smiling, and making her way down the steps, when Dejah suddenly burst out of her room, running down the stairs and hugged Boogie.

“Awh!” Boogie laughed, hugging her back. “Thank you both!”

“I have an announcement to make and I wanted to treat everyone to a girl’s day. I have big news!”

“Ooh! OK! I’ll go tell everyone!” Dejah jumped up and down excitedly before running back up the stairs.

“How are things, Rai?” Boogie asked, just as her phone chimed urgently, demanding her attention.

“Quiet, you know. It’s not boring, but since you’re not around as much, Ju goes through these combative moods all by herself and she doesn’t know what to do with that frustration.”

“Psychology suits you, miss.” Boogie smiled, with a fist bump to her little sister.

“Thank you! I’m almost a doctor- when this semester is over, I’m gonna be legit.” Rai beamed, then, slowly, her smile faded, “She misses you. You know that, right?”

“I don’t know anything she doesn’t tell me,” Boogie shrugged.

“Hello, hello!” Desty and Jayti, followed Dejah, Deenie and Xai down the stairs as welcome home hugs made their rounds and they all caught up for a moment before beginning to wonder what the hold-up was with Ju.

Finally Ju emerged from her room, leather-clad black jacket and shoes, dressed to kill.

“You’re finally back.” she chuckled, as she took her time walking down the stairs. “Next time you go, take that little annoying yappy mutt with you.”

Boogie rolled her eyes before hugging her best frienemy with cheek to cheek kisses.

“I missed you too, Miss Salty- Ooh!” Boogie pulled back suddenly, her eyes watering a bit. “You smell like a distillery, Ju, damn! It’s not even after 5!”

“Mind your business.” Ju flicked her wrist dismissively before tossing two pieces of chewing gum in her mouth. “So what are we doing?” “Right! Sooooo! I rented a party buusss!!!” Boogie exclaimed, leading them all outside with open arms. “Tadaaa!” “Wow, just like the old days.” Deenie scoffed, remembering nights past that got so wild, they all wished they could forget.

“No! Not like that, we’re responsible adults now!!” Boogie said as she led them to the vehicle.

The bus driver opened the door to them, and they all entered to see an interior of woodgrain and leather seats. A small mini fridge with wine and champagne and a small assortment of snacks, cheeses, and chocolate.

“Heeyyy! We fancy now!” Rai voiced her approval, before taking a seat next to the snack bar.

“Eee! I’m glad you approve!” Boogie clapped her hands with glee before telling the driver to proceed to the first stop for luxury mani-pedis and massages at the day spa.

As they all settled into the back seats to get comfortable, Rai filled and passed out champagne glasses, proposing a toast.

“To the Buttacreme sisterhood! May we always have each others’ backs!”

“Cheers!” ____________________________________________________________

“This place is legit!” Boogie called back to the girls as they waited at the crosswalk, to cross the street. “Wow, you ladies sure look nice, today.” and older white, gray-haired gentleman commented, looking over their collective outfits.

“Thank you, Mister!” Jayti bubbled, particularly happy with her colorful spring dress of choice.

“Do you mind taking our picture?” Boogie asked, handing the man her phone, as the light changed. “Sure! Ooh! You all should line up over the lines of the crosswalk, like the Beatles!” he said excitedly, walking backwards to line up the perfect shot as they crossed the street. “Who are the Beatles?” Dejah whispered, to Jayti, who shrugged, before serving face to the camera.

As they all entered The Pampered Palm: Nail Bar, they were met with the acrid scent of Acetone and Enamel- the combination of a sweet chemical smell that excites the high maintenance part of the human female brain; and there were exclaims of “Yaasss!” and “Okurrr!” that rose from the 8-woman group as the cushy pink upholstery and silver damask wallpaper welcomed them into the lap of luxury.

As half the crew sat to get manis, the others got pedis, and a kind uniformed woman served champagne and mimosas which Ju knocked back in a matter of seconds.

Boogie looked worried. “I’m concerned.” she whispered suddenly to Rai, sitting next to her, sipping slowly from her champagne flute. “She’s fine.” Rai said, before shooting Boogie a sympathetic look, “You know how she is… she’s coping.” Boogie, stole a peek at her friend once again, now on the phone, withdrawn from the present moment and enthralled with pondering what color to paint her fingernails next.

“Have a happy birthday!” Rai insisted, raising her glass,

Boogie sighed, shaking off her dark feelings, before smiling and clinking glasses with Rai.

_______________________________________________________

After a couple of hours of pampering, they all made their way to the new Pomerado Luxe Beauty store. As per usual, Boogie went overboard, buying the latest this and that from the Gisza collection.

“Ladies, get whatever you want!” Boogie laughed, placing her hands on her hips as they all winced, when her store receipt printing from the cash register began to resemble a trail of toilet paper.

They were all much more economical in their choices, even though she was paying.

Xai landed on a metallic pink lipstick, Ju found a red to add to her collection, Desty landed on a spring eyeshadow palette, and everyone only chose one thing, except the baby of the Buttacreme bunch who wanted six. “Dejah!” Deenie picked the excess glosses and highlighter from her basket. “NO!”

“Boogie said we could have whatever we want!” She frowned.

“Yeah! But out of courtesy, you shouldn’t be greedy!” Deenie reprimanded with a wag of her finger.

“But-” “No buts, put it back and pick ONE!” Dejah began to protest when Jayti gently squeezed her arm and shook her head.

Leaving the store, everyone was smiling and happy with their purchases, except Dejah who fell behind, pouting a bit and feeling irritated by Deenie.

“She gets on my nerves sometimes, Jay,” she confided in Jayti, “Like, you’re not my mom!”

Jayti pulled Dejah aside a moment, holding her shoulders.

“You’re right. She’s not, and she does have that way about her. But D, she has been there for you- for all of us. It’s just makeup. Don’t let it make you too mad, k?” Jayti comforted her.

Dejah rolled her eyes with folded arms, before drawing a deep breath and nodding, agreeing to let go of her animosity toward the woman.

“Good,” Jayti smiled mischievously, “becaaaaaauuuse-”

Jayti suddenly opened her bag to reveal it full of stolen shit.

“Byyytch!!!!” Dejah burst out laughing so loud, the others turned around, wondering what was so funny.

Jayti hastily zipped up her purse while Dejah made some weird ass excuse about a meme she saw on the internet before rushing the procession onward to their next destination.

________________________________________________________

La Luz Hotel was situated in the middle of downtown. It was rumored that famous people stayed there all the time, and as they walked into the lobby, they were promptly greeted by the staff.

“Miss Patel! You’re just in time for your surprise party!” The girls snickered and Ju scoffed at the woman looking annoyed.

“Well you just ruined the surprise part!” she hissed.

“I apologize,” the woman looked sincerely confused, “Since she planned it for herself, nearly 6 months in advance, I assumed she already knew about it.”

Her words seemed sarcastic, which further irritated Ju, but the look on the woman’s face was choked up as if she were about to cry. So Ju, backed off, uncomfortably.

“Sorry-Lead the way,” she said, exchanging a nervous glance with Desty and Xai.

The Suite was on the 34th floor, with high ceilings and party snacks and favors that meticulously decorated the luxury suite.

“Ahh! This is so cool!” Desty giggled, barely able to contain her excitement.

“So glad you like it!” Boogie laughed, passing out whistles and party poppers to the girls as Xai pulled out her phone to take a pic, “Now Everybody say ‘SURPRISE!’” They played trivia games, danced and talked about the past 10 years of ups and downs they’d all shared- from the happiest moments, to the saddest breakups. They all laughed and cried and caught up from the beginning to the present, resolving past fights and issues that were buried among them all. At that moment, Boogie, busted out the champagne and began pouring glasses for everyone before stating,

“I have an announcement to make,” she said, clearing her voice. “These past 10 years have been such an experience! I’m grateful to each and every one of you for helping me grow into the person I am today! I used to be selfish, spoiled and heartless, but living with you guys helped me evolve into a better person,”

Her voice cracked with emotion and her eyes got hot with tears.

“Thank you so much for being my friends! I’ll always love all of you, so with that, I’d like to announce that I’m going to be-”

“Married!” Ju shouted, slurring her words, “I fucking knew it!”

“No- I’m actually going to be-” “A lesbian!” She cut her off again.

“Ju, relax,” Deenie, squeezed her arm, prompting Ju to snatch away, stumbling toward Boogie. “Sorry, I’m trying to pretend to be psychic like you do.”

The girls winced at the dig, suddenly backing away, giving the two space, as had happened so many times in the past when a fight was about to break out.

“Ju, what is your problem? You’ve been acting like this all day.”

“You always thought you were better than me- NO! ALL OF US! Just because you had money, and you would flaunt it in our face and pit us against each other and you’re JUST WICKED! Forgive me if I’m not buying the ACT, Boogie! You are the same selfish bitch you always were, with a shiny new coat of paint and a nose job!” “Ooh! Somebody stop her!” Rai interjected as Jayti’s arm shot out to stop her from jumping in. “I didn’t get a nose job!” Boogie lied as her finger self-consciously touched the tip of her nose.

“See? So self-absorbed. That’s the only thing you took from EVERYTHING I just said!? Fuck you, Boogie!”

It was as if in slow motion. The raspberries floating in the bubbly champagne flute hit her in the face first then the drink splashed over her immaculate beat, melting her mascara and eyeliner instantly.

“No. The. FUCK. YOU DID NOT!” Boogie shrieked.

“I think I just did.” Ju said flinging the last remaining drops that were in the glass, at her, to make sure she made her point.

A Table skid across the floor, flipping over. Purple and blonde weave was flying, the thud of them collapsing to the floor sent all the girls into a frenzy trying to break up the fight before the cops were called. The freshly manicured raptor claws were out, and even though there were 5 of them, trying to pull the two apart, they were so heatedly engaged, it was nearly impossible. Finally Boogie pinned Ju flat on her back, holding down her wrists, which was pure luck combined with the fact that Ju’s drunkenness had made her lose her balance.

“You ARE A FUCKING LIAR!” Ju shrieked, bucking and thrashing under Boogie’s modest weight, when suddenly, Boogie kissed her.

The gang gasped, Rai’s hands flew to the sides of her eyes, shielding her peripherals as her jaw dropped, Jayti looked like she might faint, Dejah’s face contorted with shock and disgust, while Deenie’s hands flew to cover her young eyes instinctively trying to protect her. Desty and Xai however, exchanged a wide-eyed look that simply prompted them to take another sip of their drinks.

After about 30 seconds of them full on making out on the floor, they finally stopped and looked up at the collectively confused faces of their housemates.

Boogie slowly stood up, lending a hand to Ju, who wobbled to a stand as well…

“So… I guess you’re all wondering, what that was about.” Boogie started.

The awkward, tense silence hung thick in the air, as they were all rendered completely speechless.

“We maybe...hooked up...a few times…” she trailed off.

“WHAT?!?!?” Dejah shouted from behind Deenie’s knitted hands over her face.

“There was this time… with that Australian guy...Tristen… we might have had a threesome.” Ju added in, guiltily.

“WHAT?!?” Dejah exclaimed once again.

“Anyway… after that, things changed a bit between us… We just hooked up, but it didn’t mean anything!” Boogie dismissed.

“Clearly it meant something to ME!!” Ju glared at her, shaking, with tears watering her eyes, when she finally threw her hands up and stormed out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind her.

Boogie reluctantly went after her, and found her standing outside on the hallway balcony of the hotel, smoking a cigarette.

“You smoke now, too?” Boogie jested.

“What do you care?” Ju dismissed her, flicking ashes to the ground.

“Ju, I’m sorry, if what we did, confused you. I’m not a lesbian. Sure, we tried some shit, but it wasn’t like I made a full commitment to gayness! It wasn’t THAT GAY.”

“I don’t even know what that means!” Ju sneered. “It wasn’t just a ‘few times’ like you’re convincing yourself. I mean, I wasn’t counting, but the fact that I LOST count, means that you’re trying to minimize it to something meaningless.”

“But, you’re not a lesbian either!” “That’s not the fucking point!” Ju rebutted, “You can’t just treat me like one of your little fucktoy boyfriends; use me and leave.”

“Wow, okay, I didn’t use you anymore than you used me!”

“REaALLy?!” Ju snapped, “ because as I recall, I never, not once, came to your room in the dead of night like a stray cat scratching at YOUR door.”

Boogie groaned with exasperation.

“Ju! I wasn’t trying to use you! I just thought we were having fun!”

“It was. Until you broke my heart.”

“I didn’t know!”

“Correction: You didn’t care.” Ju said, grinding the cigarette butt into ash and flicking it over the balcony. “As soon as you started traveling all the time, it was like you couldn’t WAIT to leave and have an excuse not to talk to me. You wouldn’t even answer my calls or texts, and most of the time it only about regular shit, like ‘Bring home some toilet paper.’”

“Ju, I’m sorry!”

“You ghosted me like some fuckboy. You KNOW how my relationships with men have gone… and now you’ve ruined women for me too...”

“Ju, I swear to God, if I had known how you felt-”

“Stop playing coy. You knew how I felt when I left you those dusty, sappy ass voicemails when you were gone. You knew how I felt when I made you come 4 times in one night.You just didn’t want to commit, and I get it. But you can’t just buy back my fucking friendship and, for once, throwing money at the problem ain’t gonna make it disappear, Boogie.”

“Ju…” Boogie reached out touching her shoulder, teary-eyed, when Ju shrugged her off “ I really am sorry…”

“You’re right about one thing: I’m not a lesbian- hell I never even considered myself bi, but what I am willing to admit, is I am damaged. In spite of that, I trusted you, because we were friends, and you made me feel accepted, only to turn around an reject me on the basis that you’re ‘not a lesbian’. I’d never been with a woman before you; how about you, Boogie?

Boogie’s eyes were glued to her champagne stained shoes with guilt.

“Fuck you.” Ju said, with her back facing Boogie as she pulled out another cigarette. “I never want to see you again.”

Boogie, slowly nodded before hesitantly turning around to pull the door open to see cast shadows on the floor scrambling from around the hallway corner, that let her know everyone heard everything.

As she walked back into the suite, everyone was behaving so over the top in trying to act normal, Boogie couldn’t help but call it out.

“I feel so dirty.” she admitted. “Look, guys, I’m leaving… for good. I didn’t want things to end like this,”

“Aww! Boogie” They exclaimed and began coming in to hug her goodbye when she held up a hand, stopping them and backing away toward the door.

“I really don’t deserve it,” she said, teary eyed, “I just wanted one last good memory, for old-time’s-sake, but I’m sorry, ya’ll; I can’t do this… “

“Boogie, wait!” Dejah called out as Boogie opened the door to leave.

“I’ll send for my things. Goodbye.”

As the door shut behind her, the room fell silent with a heaviness that left them all feeling disconnected and hollow. The candy nipples and crumbled BDSM gingerbread men littering the floor along with smashed cupcakes and spilled champagne, prompted them all to begin cleaning up the mess, while humming “happy birthday” in such a somber tone it sounded like a negro spiritual.

___________________________________________________________________

The weeks that followed stretched into a month, and as the weather started to become warmer, the Buttacreme house welcomed a new college sophomore who moved into Boogie’s old room and mostly kept to herself.

The awkwardness surrounding the birthday party, had created a moody tension around Ju, that, at the slightest mention or reference to Boogie seemed to set her off into a funk that would last for days.

Other than that, some normalcy was returning with the intro of the new girl, Kayla, since she was unaware of the drama and simply offered up baked goods to anyone and everyone who was interested.

“She’s cool.” Rai said to Jayti, taking a sip of lemonade as they sat out on lawn chairs in the backyard, soaking up the springtime sun.

“Yeah, she’s so innocent though.” Jayti laughed, “Remember when we were that age?”

“God, I don’t think I was ever so baby-faced in my youth.”

Jayti sighed and opened up her magazine to read up on the latest gossip.

“Oh my god!” Jayti’s jaw dropped.

“What?” Rai looked up suddenly, from her phone.

“House meeting…” Jayti said, flipping the magazine and showing Rai the article.

__________________________________________________________________

It was dark by the time Ju came out of her room. As she bound down the stairs, headed to the kitchen, she saw the entire house, save for Kayla, seated in the living room, surrounding the coffee table, whispering quietly amongst themselves. It looked suspicious to say the least.

“What’s up?” She asked, taking a detour into the living room to see a single magazine in the center of the coffee table.

They all remained silent, not certain how to break the news.

Dejah grabbed the magazine, and flipped to the page, handing it to Ju.

Upon seeing Boogie’s photo, Ju scoffed, pushing the quarterly, back at Dejah, with rejection, when Dejah, pushed it again, for Ju to take a closer look.

“...The 34 year old best-selling author was reported missing on April 6th 2020 soon after she arrived in Japan, when she unexpectedly didn’t show up for a book signing, and subsequent attempts to contact or locate her yielded no results. The police began an ongoing investigation that led them to the local den of Yakuza who are known to use spiritual mediums situationally.

Ichigo Soichirou, the lead detective on Blaire Patel’s case, reported that it “isn’t uncommon for the Yakuza to outsource to a foreigner as they are harder to track.”

April 12th, only 6 days after the initial report, Miss Patel’s body was found in a Freight container at a commercial loading site in Tokyo Harbor. The case is ongoing, suspects are being interrogated and arrests have been made, but the tragedy of Patel’s sudden and violent end has undoubtedly shaken her family and fanbase to the core. Prayers and condolences to the family and close friends of ‘The Ratchet Medium’ author. She will be missed.”

Ju’s breath shuddered, prompting Deenie to stand up and hug her, when she pulled away, hyperventilating for breath.

“She’s….gone.” Ju sobbed.

Desty ran to hug her oldest friend, stroking her hair and whispering comforting words to her, when Ju pulled away, turning her back to them and slowly, ascending the stairs as they called after her, worried.

Once she got to the landing at the top, Desty’s voice called out emotionally.

“JU! We all loved her! Stop pushing us away! We need to heal together!”

Ju’s hand gripped the wooden stair banister, digging her nails into the varnished finish, when she slowly turned her head looking down at the lot of them, standing and looking up at her, with deep concern ingrained into their facial expressions.

“These are the last tears I cry for Boogie.” Ju announced. “Good Riddance.”

With a final wipe of her tears, her footsteps receded and her bedroom door slammed shut; leaving them all frozen in a moment of time wondering what would happen now?

#ju #jayti #boogie #rai #Xai #deenie #desty #Dejah #Birthday #HouseofButta #Farewell

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