#I hope my American followers are doing well. Sending love from South Korea!

[utsukurou]

NOOOOO THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!!

[fairyoftbz]

it's never too late... | b. jacob

🏀 pairing: crush! basketball player! jacob x fem!reader 🏀 genre: high school!au, fluff, (sort of) strangers/acquaintances-to-lovers 🏀 word count: 5.2k 🏀 tw: very cliché 😳 and it goes kinda fast lmaoo 🏀 a/n: lisa I'm sorry I took this long to do your request, but I hope you'll like it nonetheless!! ALSO: to my fellow Americans, here football = soccer!! 🏀 requested: yes! thank you lisa!! @skrtbabe

╰☆☆☆☆╮

You had waited for this time since the beginning of your academic journey there. Graduating from high school was two months away, and it felt just as exciting as weird.

It felt like you had started your first year last week, but the amount of work and time spent in those dull buildings makes you feel like you’ve been there for at least five years.

It was exhausting to attend classes and see the same people every single day of the year, with repetitive subjects, annoying or cool teachers depending on your luck and everything that followed. The homework, the assignments, the small -or not so small- fights between classes or groups of people, you were praying that university wouldn’t sound like that.

However, at the same time, you were almost starting to feel nostalgic for this time. The last years where you could remain a bit silly before entering the adult world, being in your last teen years with people that you appreciated and met there. You chose to do this before letting them go and live your own lives, memories that will disappear if you don’t cherish them enough.

So, with Soyeon, your best friend, you decided to enjoy the time that you had left to do things together while still studying and revising for the exams, which was sometimes not easy to do. Yes, you shared classes, but personal and private activities sometimes came in the way and prevented you from hanging out.

“It’s life after all,” she said one night over the phone as you shared your opinion on this topic, “it’s good that we can be together almost 24/7, but sometimes, things don’t allow us to be together. It might be for the best, we never know,” she said, trying to be positive no matter the situation she was in, but you knew her well. As much as she wants to appear strong, you had found her many times crying on her own. But it was her personality, and no matter how hard you tried to change her, what's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh.

Soyeon wasn’t your only friend, you were getting along well with most of your girl classmates, as well as the boys that weren’t suffocating under the number of pick-me-girls that were populating your school and your class.

Sadly for you, you’ve been eyeing the most popular (and prettiest) boy in your whole school since you crossed gaze with him at the very beginning of your first year there. Jacob, your crush, was also the star basketball player of your school, and constantly surrounded and attracting cheerleaders or rich, random, good-looking girls, which had a knack for getting on your nerves. He was always spending time together with his pals and teammates, but other people as well. Everyone wanted to be his friend because you know, he had a promising career ahead of him, so it was always nice to be friends with a potential future celebrity.

As defeated as you were, there was still a small voice in your head telling you to do something before he left to go back to his home country, South Korea, where he had a career already planned and traced out.

You were confused as it was almost impossible for you to get a chance with him since you were not one of those girls and you simply couldn’t compete against them, but Soyeon and her boyfriend Sunwoo were always there to praise you and reassure you about your potential chances of dating him. Never convinced by your friends’ words, you had tried many times to get him out of your head and focus on someone else, but it never worked. Everything came back to him. He was unique and oh so nice, everything reminded you of him, and it was sickening at this point.

“He won't get out of my head, it’s getting on my nerves,” you shared your thoughts to your best friend as you braced your head in your hands, slapping your cheeks as if it were going to change anything and help you throw Jacob out of your brain.

“Why do I keep this stupid boy in my head when I know I don’t stand a single chance against those girls,” you slapped your cheeks harder and whined as Soyeon’s hand landed on your wrist.

“Y/N, stop your nonsense. You are perfect, you don’t need to change anything for him!”

“It’s easier said than done, you pulled the football star player!” you exclaimed, and she rolled her eyes, shifting closer to whisper.

“He pulled me because he knew that I am pretty, and that wouldn’t change a single thing for him. If he’s not happy with who I am, he can leave,” she shrugs, signalling you to do the same if you dated Jacob.

Sunwoo was also among the popular boys, but your friend remained the same, not even trying to fit in with the popular girls. She claimed that Sunwoo fell in love with her for her true self, so she didn’t see the point of changing to please other people. And you wished you had her confidence and her strength, admiring her for not changing anything about herself to please others.

Back to the present.

You felt stuck, desperately in love with an unapproachable boy who was too popular and way out of your league to be lucky to have his eyes sparing you any sort of attention. Even if he was a sweet young man, he was always surrounded by popular people, who were trying to hook up or use him for his school fame and sharp features.

One day, while studying with your best friend at the library, Sunwoo and one of his friends, Hyunjae, the football captain, burst into the library and come not so quietly to your table.

“For the love of God, can you both be quiet for once?” Soyeon whispered-yelled but her voice got toned down by Sunwoo vividly pressing his lips on hers, an arm wrapping around her shoulders. Hyunjae laughed but quickly gagged as they didn’t stop the kiss as quickly as the captain wished.

“Gosh, please, get a room,” he mumbled before hugging you, your knee resting against his as his arms pressed you against his chest.

Your friendship with Hyunjae felt more like siblings, he was genuinely nice and caring with you, making sure that you were okay and that you had enough of everything before allowing you to go home. Despite all the teasing and a few rumours going around school, you were not dating and didn’t have any romantic feelings for each other. He simply checked that you had an older brother figure since you were the first-born child, and it felt relieving.

The thing you did not know was that Jacob and a few of his basketball teammates, Juyeon, Eric and Younghoon, were a few tables away from yours, your back facing them, the future star looking at you and Hyunjae from the corner of his eyes. He nodded at his friend at your table, who gave him a wink as an answer, Jacob’s eyes burning holes into your back as Hyunjae was close to you. Too close to you for the basketball player not to feel something churn in his stomach.

Two long, manicured fingers snapped in front of his eyes to get him out of his reverie, lazily looking at the girl that sat across from him, who he was supposed to get help from.

“Jacob please, pay attention to meeeeee,” she whined and pouted, giving him puppy eyes that he couldn’t give a single fuck about, too busy in his mind to hear what she had to say.

She had volunteered to help him study History, but she wasn’t any better, probably worse than he was. It was already the third time Juyeon corrected her basic knowledge without being an expert himself, not even caring about the death glares she kept sending him. It only made him smirk as he knew it irked her dearly yet amused the rest of the table a lot.

They all sighed as she finally took the hint and left their table, Jacob bitterly chuckling as Hyunjae rolled his eyes when she walked past your table, his demeanour making you laugh.

╰☆╮

“Bro, do you think I should ask Y/N for help? Isn’t that a bit… lame?” Jacob sat on one of the soccer balls, hands joined and panting as Sunwoo practised his dribbling skills before shooting the ball in the cages, aiming for the up-right corner. He trotted to his friend and collapsed on the grass next to him, the last rays of sunshine offering his skin a wonderful, honey glow. He ruffled his hair after plopping down, checking his phone for any message before answering.

“If you need help, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask her. I mean, she’s super smart in every subject, but she’s just the boss in History. Her presentations are always golden, and she explains things a lot better than some of the teachers.”

“I got Smith as a teacher,” the basketball player grimaced, his left hand holding his right wrist as his gaze wandered in the grass.

“We’ve got Antal, and I can tell you that she’s always mad when Y/N does a presentation because they honestly just sound better than her lessons,” Sunwoo chuckled as Jacob pondered his friend’s words, the gears of his mind working at full speed.

How is he going to be able to approach you and get to talk to you?

╰☆╮

“Bestie, no. I swear I saw that in the other book,” you said as you found yourself back in the library the following week, bending over the table to grab the book your best friend was resting hers on. You started flipping some pages when a loud, masculine chortle followed by some whispers of annoyance drawing your attention.

“Hi, babe! Hi Hyunj- Oh hi Jacob!” your neck almost snapped as you abruptly lifted your head up at the mention of your crush’s name, a small, embarrassed smile making its way on your mouth. You were a bit sad that your brother best friend was not here with Sunwoo, but you weren’t going to complain to have your crush instead.

“Can I sit here?” the basketball player asked in a soft voice while pointing at the empty spot next to you, making you quickly nod and gather your stuff to make him some space.

You resumed searching for the precious paragraph you were searching for your project as if it were nothing, trying to ignore your stammering heart in your chest and the couple eating each other's mouths. The only thing you hoped was that Jacob couldn’t hear the loud, irregular beats in your ribcage because it would give in your attraction to him.

“Hum, Y/N?” the voice next to you made you flinch, surprised that he knew your name and that he said it aloud.

“Y-Yes?” you said, cursing in your head as you stuttered.

“I heard that you were the Ace when it came to History,” Jacob started, and you couldn’t look at him in the eyes, fire spreading in your chest up to your face.

“I can’t really say that I’m the Ace, but I really love that subject, so yeah I have some… knowledge,” words tripped over your tongue, and your best friend pulled away from Sunwoo and scoffed.

“Some knowledge? Are you kidding?” she said, Sunwoo placing a hand on her mouth as she was louder than intended. She removed his palm and furrowed her brows at him, before turning her head back at you with the same angry expression.

“She knows so fucking much that Antal hates her because she feels humiliated compared to Y/N. So let me tell you one thing, Cobbie, if you need help, you’ve come to the right person. Y/N is just a living encyclopaedia,” your best friend proudly smirked as you glowered at her, Sunwoo chuckling at his girlfriend’s behaviour before immediately stopping.

“Wait, did you call him Cobbie? How come you call him like that when I get nothing other than babe or baby?” Sunwoo argued while pouting, and your best friend sighed, ruffling his hair before pressing her lips against his one more time, making you slightly grimace as envy flooded your veins.

You sighed and dared to look at Jacob, who was reading the beginning of your essay written on your computer, leaving Sunwoo and your best friend bicker like the cute couple they were.

“Do you have this project too?” you asked, and he shook his head, eyes remaining glued on the computer screen.

“It’s so interesting what you wrote, I like your way of writing and explaining stuff,” he offered a small smile as he looked at you, clearing his throat. For someone that was super popular and constantly surrounded by friends or people at parties, he behaved and sounded quite like an introvert.

“W-Well, thank you,” you said with a smile and turned your head to the side for a second, taking a deep breath before looking back at him, opening a new tab on your computer after he gestured to you that he was done reading.

“What do you need help with?”

╰☆╮

You were astonished at how quick-minded Jacob was. Behind his fit, muscular appearance and obsession with basketball, he had the soul of a thinker and grasped the knowledge of historical concepts quite easily and rapidly. He just wasn’t good with the way Smith was teaching, the method not suiting him.

“You retain things well for someone who hates History,” you joked, and he shyly smiled, scratching his neck. His smile looked gorgeous, and you were pleasantly surprised at how much of a genuine person he was.

“Well, History is not my cup of tea, but it might be a bit more thanks to you,” he said, and you tried to stifle a smile, thankful that your best friend was no longer sitting across from you because she wouldn’t have let you two live.

“It’s nothing. You can come back to me if you need help, I really don’t mind. I actually like explaining things,” you said, and he nodded, clicking your pen close before placing it in your pouch.

“Thank you, really. Sunwoo was actually the one that told me about you, so I have to thank him as well,” you stood up and slowly started to pack your stuff, shutting down your computer with a smile.

“I’m glad he did so, I just hope it was positive,” you giggled, and he quickly joined you, twirling his pen in between his fingers as he cleared his throat.

“You know, it’s Sunwoo. It can only be nice and positive,” you genuinely smiled at him and fall in silence, throwing glances at each other from time to time as the conversation was slowly starting to die down.

“And... How’s basketball going by the way? Is everything going well?” you asked, and his heart skipped a beat at your question as it took him off guard.

“I-It’s going pretty well, I’m excited to finish high school to be able to focus on basketball. I’m gonna have to take some of my last finals in South Korea because the season and the training start pretty early in Summer so…” his voice trailed as his eyes widened, a hand slapping his mouth as you both stood up.

“What?” you quizzed, confused by his sudden change of behaviour.

“I… was meant to keep this a secret,” his voice trailed, the end of his sentence falling in a whisper as he started panicking. “Can we pretend you didn’t hear what I said?” he asked as you placed your bag strap on your shoulder, taking your sweater before pushing the chair against the table.

“Said what?” you replied with a smile, and Jacob sighed in relief, somehow feeling like his secret was safe with you, even if you’ve talked to him for the first time at the beginning of the afternoon.

╰☆╮

The rest of the month rolled off smoothly, yet the stress and the revisions became more intense as the days went by. You didn’t hear anything back from Jacob, but you’ve caught him staring at you a few times, offering him an awkward wave and a smile as not to get noticed by some of his “fan girls”, as they called themselves.

You still had a whole month left before finals, and you felt blessed as summer decided to start a bit earlier this year. It was only the beginning of May, but you were already able to wear shorts and dresses. It felt good to see the blue sky and being surrounded by the warmth of the sun hitting your exposed skin after the cold, lonely winter and spring you’ve just got out of. Everything looked prettier and warmer, and it did nothing but make you happier and brighter, despite the stress of the finals piling up on your shoulders.

So, to get rid of this pressure, you decided to leave town with Hyunjae and let him drive to one of the lakes that surrounded your town, knowing that the beach and parks would get crowded in no time. It was a place that you used to go to with your parents when you were still a child, memories that you shared with your friend coming back flooding in your mind.

Hyunjae and his family tagged along to give you some company and take care of you as your parents were busy looking after your newborn twin sisters, Hyunjae and his younger brother acting like elder siblings to you.

After driving for a few dozens of minutes, you settled your stuff in the shade, right under a weeping willow that offered you freshness throughout the entire day. Your best friend napped almost the entire time you were there, hand lingering on his abs while the other plucked out some grass until he dozed off, trying to store as many hours of rest as possible before finals. By his side was you, reading a book and enjoying the chilly water to cool down from the hot temperatures of early Summer, playfully nudging the young man next to you each time he was starting to snore.

It’s near the middle of the afternoon that you heard another car pulling up near the lake, a bunch of excited teenagers coming out of a van. You didn’t pay much attention to them, only sighing as your peace was about to get ruined, their screams when they jumped in the water woke your best friend up.

He abruptly sat up next to you and rubbed his eyes, some sleeping marks lingering on his face, making you giggle. Being the short-sighted idiot that he was, he squinted to try and recognise some people, but he didn’t have to.

A young woman screamed and started jumping up and down, waving her arms above her head in your direction, hearing her scream something towards you.

You looked at each other with Hyunjae, confusion painted on your faces, hearing your phone buzz in your small bag hidden by your folded clothes.

“Hello?” you said as Hyunjae’s phone started vibrating too, picking up the call as well.

“Y/N, it’s us! We’re on the opposite side of the lake! Come and join us!” you heard your best friend yell in your ear, hearing her as well through Hyunjae’s phone, who picked up a call from her boyfriend.

“Okay, we’re coming!” you excitingly said as you hung up, waving at your best friend from your spot as you started packing your stuff to get back in the car and meet up with your friends.

Your best friend excitingly jumped in your arms as soon as you got out of the car,

“Tt’s crazy how we’re so connected! Did you also think that the beach would be crowded?” she asked, and you nodded with a smile, happy to see her this joyful to see you.

The inseparable duo was here, as well as Younghoon, Jacob, Eric, Juyeon and Sangyeon, the striker of the football team. They all engulfed you in a tight hug, Jacob staying in the background the entire time.

“Hi Jacob!” you brightly said and wrapped your arms around his neck, hugging him close. “Hi Y/N,” his answer vibrated in his chest and had repercussions in yours, sending your heart flying in your ribcage.

You looked so good being this carefree, it was thankfully a sight that he managed to imprint in his mind despite the shortness of the moment. Being surrounded by all your friends felt so good that you forgot to be awkward and worry about the stupidest things, and Jacob adored seeing you this natural and smiling in the company of your friends. He was a bit sad that he wasn’t fully the reason for your smile though, but he still managed to enjoy the rest of the day with you and your mutual friends, whether you were on the ground or in the water.

Sangyeon, Younghoon and Juyeon copied Hyunjae and joined him in a restoring nap, while Eric, Sunwoo, Jacob, Soyeon and you played different games in the water, improvising a volleyball match with an imaginary net and the ball Sunwoo took with him as the volleyball, but it did the job. It was just a bit hurtful for the liberos since it wasn’t as soft and bouncy as a volleyball, but the joy of the moment allowed any type of pain to become bearable.

The evening eventually started to settle in, and you all got out of the water, drying yourselves before deciding to spend a part of the night here. You helped Sangyeon build a bonfire in the safe area by bringing some different branches, the eldest placing them correctly before lighting them with his pocket lighter.

“Hyung! I didn’t know you were a boy-scout,” Sunwoo exclaimed and made everyone laughed as you all were sliding some marshmallows on a stick, Sangyeon smiling with modesty at everyone.

“Ya, don’t say this,” Sangyeon mumbled, and you smile, rubbing his upper back as he sat down next to you, thanking him when you handed him over his marshmallow stick.

“Oh no! Mine burnt,” Soyeon pouted when she retrieved her snack from the flames, and her boyfriend was quick to give her his sweets, Eric cooing at the gesture of affection.

“Give it to me, I like them burnt,” he mumbled as he bit in the fluffy texture, immediately regretting it as it was boiling. His girlfriend handed him water as he stood up, bouncing up and down to try and reduce what felt like flames in his mouth.

“Oh my, thanks babe,” he muttered with his mouth stuffed when he gulped down everything with a pained expression on his face. Eric’s eyes filled with boredom locked into yours and you both chuckled, your friend shaking his head.

“When is it gonna be my turn,” he huffed and Sunwoo hit him playfully in the back as you all laughed around the bonfire, relating to your friend.

“When you’ll stop being obsessed with football and mango juice,” Eric grunted and folded his arms over his chest as Sangyeon called him out, making you coo and playfully run to him, holding him against you as he fake-cried on your chest while everyone was laughing at him.

Except for Jacob, who only offered a weak smile, but you didn’t catch it, too busy having fun and being light-hearted with your friends.

After your stomachs were filled with sweets and soda, Sunwoo pulled out his guitar and strummed a soft melody until some became heavy-eyed or fell asleep against the other, his girlfriend succumbing to his musical talents first. Jacob looked exhausted as well but forced his eyes open, finding him even hotter with hooded eyelids and his hair slightly curling with the humidity of the air and the lake water.

When it was time to go home, Hyunjae, as well as Younghoon, Sunwoo, Soyeon and Eric decided to jump into Hyunjae’s car to go to the beach, feeling the urge and the thrill of going skinny-dipping. On the other hand, you and the rest of the boys were too exhausted and modest to do this, only wanting to go home and get some good rest.

Just like they had arrived, Sangyeon was behind the wheel while the rest was either next to him or in the back seat. And you didn’t know how it happened, but you got stuck between the window and Jacob, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“You good?” you asked, and he turned his head towards you before offering you a tired yet sweet smile, moving his head up and down.

“I'm just exhausted, tonight was simply amazing,” he mumbled, and you expressed your agreement by a happy hum and a nod, bringing your attention to your eldest friend.

“Are you sure you’re awake enough to drive?” you enquired on the current situation and Sangyeon looks at you through the inner rear-view mirror, eyes forming two crescent moons as he smiled.

“I just jumped in the water, I’m nothing but awake,” he clapped in his hands to motivate himself and started the engine, your best friend’s car already gone.

Jacob rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes, his head rolling to the side each time Sangyeon took a turn. You settled yourself on the window and let the vibrations of the car lull you to sleep, the small talk that Sangyeon and Juyeon were having in the front seats acted like a background noise, which helped you dozing off.

However, when the car pulled up in front of your house, they didn’t expect you to have your head resting against Jacob’s shoulder, his hand on your knee. The two men smiled at each other before Sangyeon got out of the vehicle, drawing the door open. As he was about to carry you to your doorstep, Jacob’s arm was quick to wrap itself around your waist, keeping you close to him.

You woke up confused, blinking a few times as you saw the striker standing next to you with a wide smile on his face. He removed a limb around your body, and you felt someone groan under your right shoulder, noticing in dread that you snuggled up to Jacob for some warmth in your sleep.

“You gotta go before the beast wakes up,” Sangyeon joked and winked as he helped you get out of the car, closing the door behind you. It opened again a few seconds later, Jacob looking just as confused as you were.

“Come on, lovebirds, we don’t have the night.”

“Lovebirds?” Jacob and you asked in unison, the basketball player rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. He jumped out of the van and gestured to Sangyeon to get back in.

“You can go, I live just around the corner,” he drowsily said as he vaguely gestured behind him.

“You sure? Your house is on my way back home, I can drop you off,” Sangyeon suggested but he refused, offering a handshake to the striker before letting him go.

Being more awake now, you waved at your friends driving away before turning to your crush, who looked even more adorable as he was super sleepy and just woke up.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay? You look really tired,” you asked, voice still laced with sleep yet sounding caring, which made Jacob’s heartbeat fasten. He nodded and weakly smiled, taking a step closer to you. His attitude was a bolt from the blue as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to him, nuzzling his face in your neck.

“You felt so warm during the ride, it’s almost like I could get used to this,” he tiredly said with a smile, gently pulling away to stare at you, his fingers leaving your back to come and slide a wild piece of hair behind your ear. Your whole body stiffened at his words as he stared at you in the eyes, noticing a small, washed-out smirk plastered on his face.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit... late to start something with someone? I mean, we have finals and then y-you’re le-leaving for South Korea and-” you started stammering as his thumb gently stroked your cheek, loving watching you lose your composure at his display of affection.

“It’s never too late when you love someone,” he whispered, feeling his warm breath tickling your lips in such a delicious manner that you have to resist the urge to move forward and press your lips against his.

His words punched the air out of your lungs, leaving you breathless as he kissed your cheek, mouth slowly moving to the side until it reached your lips. The kiss was soft yet a bit on the rougher side as if he wanted you to understand every feeling he had for you. Instinctively, your arms wrapped around his shoulders, and you kissed him harder, deeper, his hands on your lower back pulling you flush against him.

You had dreamt, wondered about what it was like kissing Jacob, but it never felt as good as you were experiencing it now. Fireworks and butterflies were erupting in your stomach, leaving you dizzy with love and passion as one of his hands came and cupped your cheek, the pad of his thumb gently caressing the skin.

Once you pulled away for oxygen, you held onto his shoulders for your dear life and he chuckled, his mouth slowly travelling down to your neck.

“I-I think my… my- oh my god, my parents will worry,” you gently pushed him away and he stared at you with a smile before diving in to capture your lips in another soft kiss.

“I'm only letting you go if you're free tomorrow. Let's put that off to tomorrow, shall we?” he asked, and your eyes widened at his suggestion.

“We can go back to the lake if you want, but only if we’re alone,” he said, his hand caressing your cheek while the other was busy stroking your upper back up and down.

“I want to enjoy this with you and you only,” he added, mumbling against your mouth and this time, you’re the one pulling him for a kiss.

“Come and pick me up at 10, then,” you said as you pulled away.

“I’ll be there, I promise,” he answered and started walking towards your house, closing the front gate behind you, waving at him with a smile.

He sent you a flying kiss with a smile and you waved at him one last time before closing the main door of your house behind you, both sighing with a huge smile and warmth painted on your faces.

You peeled the clothes off your skin and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower, shaking your head left to right while chuckling as you recalled what just happened in your last month of high school.

Nothing was making sense, you didn’t know how you got there, but you were happy.

And that’s what mattered the most.

[whumpmyworld]

Welcome to the world of kdrama whump part 4!

Oh wow how am I at part 4 already? But I keep finding new kdramas and I keep finding new whump in them so here I am! Let’s just get right to it shall we? If you want to see the other 3 parts you can find them here: part 1, part 2, part 3

Period Drama:

1. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung ( 신입사관 구해령)

Available on Netflix

So first up on this list is a really cute period drama that is packed with so much of funny scenes and also really serious stuff. It’s set in the 19th century and it’s about a female historian Goo Hae Ryung and how she becomes a historian and we also learn about prince Lee Rim and he’s a writer in secret! and it’s got quite a bit of mystery too which I quite liked. and Cha Eun Woo is really great in this along with Shin Se Kyung. 

Here’s a list of the whump that @whumpetywhump​ did. You should check it out!

2. The King Eternal Monarch ( 더 킹: 영원의 군주)

Available on Netflix

Ah, this one. I almost didn’t add it to the list because i wasn’t happy with the way it was written. but whump and cinematogaphy wise, this show is so good! (plus wdh + whump never disappoins). So it’s set in a parallel world to ours in the ‘Kingdom of Corea and it revolves around a plot to murder the royal family but the prince survives and goes on to be the king in current day Corea. but some how, with the use of Manpasikjeok which is like a supernatural flute, they can travel between worlds, (between the Kingdom of Corea and The Republic of South Korea). So the story focuses on the king and a mysterious person who saves him on the night the king dies. Pretty interesting concept, could have been executed better but oh well. It was pretty funny and intertaining for the most part.

Action:

1. Two Cops ( 투깝스)

Available on Netflix, Viu and Viki

Oh this show is so good too! It’s about a detective who is trying to solve a case and then catches the guy he was after but then somehow the guys spirit ends up possessing (but in a funny way, it’s not scary) the detectives body and so they need to work together to solve the case which starts to get complicated. There’s whump for both the characters and it’s pretty goood!

Here’s a list of all the whump!

2. My Secret Terius ( 내 뒤에 테리우스)

Available on Netflix, Viue and Viki

My Secret Terius is so fun! and so cute but also really dramatic. It starts off with the lead loosing her husband and a mysterious man who lives next door to her. He’s basically a NIS agent and he’s got a lot of back story which you will find out throughout the show. And then Go Ae-Rin (the lead lady) discovers that there was some conspiracy to her husbands death and they work together to solve the mystery all while fighting other bad guys too..

Also, the kids in this show are super cute. Here they are trying to help Kim Bon heal after he was rescued.

3. Flower of Evil ( 악의 꽃)

Available on Viu and Netflix

One of my top 3 kdramas from 2020 i think! So this one is about Baek Hee Song and he’s married to a detective and they have a cute little daughter! and Baek Hee Song is like the perfect guy but in reality he had a lot of secrets and he’s been living under someone else’s name and his wife doesn’t even know. So his past slowly comes to light all while his wife is figuring out a case that may or may not involve him. It was pretty intense but also really intersting and Lee Joon Gi whump never disappoints, just look at this gif XD 

Angst and Melodrama Family:

1. 18 Again ( 18 어게인)

Available on Netflix and Viu

So, if you’re in the mood for some heartfelt kdrama with lots of tears and lots of heartwarming moments, this is definitely the show for you. I don’t think I made it through any of the episodes without crying. So this is actually based of the American movie 17 again! It follows the same premise of our main guy (Hong Dae Young) getting turned into an 18 year old kid and him and his wife are on the verge of a divorce. But there’s so much more with how they struggle as young parents, to their relationships with everyone and their jobs. Everything about this was so good! (If you watch/watched this come yell about it with me. I can’t stop talking about it)

2.  It’s Okay to Not Be Okay ( 사이코지만 괜찮아)

Available on Netflix

I think this was one of the top kdramas for 2020 and rightly so because it’s so good! aside from some flaws it had a really great storyline and talks alot about mental health/traumas. So this is about a guy who is a psychiatric nurse and he has a brother who he takes care of. The story also focuses on a children’s book writer who has antisocial personality disorder and how they make it through life esp with all the trauma they’ve faced. It’s such a pretty show with a pretty decent storyline and of course some nice whump throughout. You should definitely check it out.

Supernatural:

1. Bring It On Ghost ( 싸우자 귀신아)

Available on Netfix, Viu and Viki

I didn’t think i was going to like this because it seemed kinda of scary and I don’t do well with horror. But this show was so good! It was a little scary but it was also really funny at the same time. It’s the story about a girl who dies and becomes a ghost so she’s wandering around. Then she meets an exorcist and becaomes friends with Bong Pal. They, together with the help of two uni friends go around fighting ghost and sending them away. It’s kinda like a kickass ghost fighting club with a little bit of mystery added it. So of course you can imagine that there will be whump :D 

Here’s a list of all the whump! Thanks again whumpetywhump :)

2. The Uncanny Counter ( 경이로운 소문)

Available on Netflix

I think this has been recommended a few times here but I had to include it officially in this list. So this is about a group of people called Counters who hunt down evil spirits and they all have some kind of abilities. Then this high school kid, So Mun, ends up becoming one of them through certain events that take place and he’s some how involved in one of the cases that the counters are involved in. This show has everything I love! Found family, best friend trios, action as well as humour. It just finished airing too! Good stuff.

Here’s a list of all the whump! Thanks @love-me-a-lotta-whump​

And there we have it! Part 4. I hope you guys will enjoy these kdramas as much as I have and if you have any other shows that you would like to see in a future list let me know! or if you want to talk about any of these shows, I’ll be here :D 

[out-of-jams]

Airplane Mode || Track 05: Moving On | jhs

Summary: Inspired by Love at First Touch by bagelswrites.

In a world where a bruise marks the first touch of your soulmate, time is the only thing that matters. The marks take hours to appear, sometimes even days if you're really unlucky. Once First Touch is initiated, both parties only have a few weeks to find the other. From then on, the body begins to reject any form of sustenance other than the touch of the other. If one fails to find their soulmate in time, they starve to death. 

So what happens when your soulmate is a world famous idol?

And you're just one fan in a sea of many who can't even speak the same language?

Pairing: Hoseok x Fem Character

Word Count: 4.7k

Genre: Fluff. Angst. Idol!au. Smut. Soulmate!au. Explicit language.

Warnings: Language. 

Words written like this are spoken in Korean. 

              Previous | Next | | Track List | Masterlist |

Eunjae glared at the screen displaying boarding times like it was responsible for all of her life problems. Though in this instance, it kind of was.

With water dripping down her hand from the sweating plastic cup filled with coffee she held, Eunjae took a deep breath to stop herself from getting arrested by security for assaulting airport property. She’d already gotten lost multiple times in the obnoxiously large airport. And then once she finally found her gate to check in, the staff working at the desk politely informed her that the flight to Seoul was completely full. Therefore she would need to check her carry-on suitcase in with the rest of her bags because there wouldn't "be enough room in the overhead compartment."

Eunjae had been so tired up to that point, from the emotional farewell with her best friend to the long lines and early hours of the morning. She’d never been an early riser. In fact, the only way to even get her out of bed before eleven was if you bribed her with caffeine. And seeing as how her flight was supposed to leave at 6:54 am, she’d been wandering around half-awake like a zombie. After Eunjae'd gotten turned around in the airport for the third time, she finally caved and bought a ridiculously expensive iced coffee. Even though the side effects of First Touch turned the normally delicious drink into trash.

Taking another sip out of her rapidly draining cup, Eunjae tried not to grimace at the taste. If she was being completely honest, it tasted like she licked the walls of a dirty alleyway. But caffeine was caffeine and she would at least try to drink it while she could still stomach food. With a sigh, Eunjae slipped her vibrating phone out of the back pocket of her pants to read over the latest text from Hoseok. She’d sent a message off to him once she passed through security check to let him know that she would be on her way soon.

Well, she would have been.

Green straw pressed between her lips, Eunjae’s freshly manicured fingers flew across the keyboard. She wasn’t one to get her nails done routinely, since it would just get ruined when she worked on a new clothing piece. But Miles had forced her into getting a mani-pedi with him. Something about not letting her meet Bangtan with busted nails or whatever, but he’d volunteered to pay so she’d acquiesced.

A ding alerted her to a new text and she sent off a reply as she reluctantly trudged her way back to her gate.

Eunjae’s stupid flight had gotten delayed by almost six hours because of some storm raging in the middle of the ocean. She didn’t know if she was more angry at the fact that she now had so much time to fill, or that she could have still been asleep.

What the hell am I supposed to do for that long? She thought angrily as she slipped her phone back in her pocket. Hiding her glare behind the protective lenses of her sunglasses, she grumbled to herself.

Six hours and almost a season of Parks and Rec later, the call for her flight to start boarding came over the loudspeaker. WIth a final glance at the blank notification screen of her phone, Eunjae gathered her red mini backpack and boarded the plane. Hoseok had yet to respond to her last message, so she just assumed that he was super busy with his schedule for the day.

Settling into her roomy seat on the giant plane, Eunjae silently thanked Big Hit for getting her a first class ticket on a non-stop flight. Her seat was separated from the one next to her by a wall that rose over the top of her head. There was a small table right underneath the movie screen in front of her and she dropped her backpack on it before reclining in her chair.

As the flight attendant at the front of the plane began to read off safety instructions, Eunjae leaned her head back against the headrest and hoped that she’d at least be able to get some sleep.

With dark red nails tapping impatiently on the countertop of the help desk, Eunjae watched through tired eyes as the staff member manning it clicked away at her computer. The rest of the baggage claim was completely devoid of people and the notes of some slow song playing over the loudspeaker echoed hauntingly.

Eyes hooded with exhaustion, Eunjae spared a quick glance out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the wall in baggage claim. It was too dark to see anything properly so her hunched over reflection greeted her through the glass. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair and straightened the hem of her cut-off black hoodie. The material fell right underneath her bellybutton and the top of her black joggers prevented any chance of seeing skin. Eunjae toed the tile floor with the tip of her white, platform Puma sneakers and sighed.

The bad luck of the day (days?) was apparently never ending. After falling into a weird, fever like sleep on the plane where she woke up confusedly every hour, Eunjae was greeted after landing in Incheon International Airport by the news of the airline losing her bags. It was almost three in the morning and she couldn’t even call Sejin to let him know the issue since her American phone didn’t operate in South Korea. The man was probably wondering where the hell she was.

“Ah,” the voice of the female staff member drew Eunjae’s attention. The middle aged woman looked up from her computer with an apologetic smile. “Your bags are currently in Beijing.”

Eunjae could only respond with a slow blink as her tired brain tried to process the information. She’d been lucky that the woman at the counter could speak English. She didn’t even want to imagine how the conversation would go with a round of charades.

“Beijing?” She parroted back stupidly. Her voice was still a little groggy from her attempt at sleep.

“Yes.” The woman bobbed her head, her brunette hair brushing her shoulders with the motion. “We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience."

Eunjae just nodded slowly. “When can they get here?”

“In about three days or so. If you write down the address of where you’re staying, we could have them send your belongings straight to you.”

Eunjae filled out the slip of paper robotically, pen jotting down her new address quickly. Luckily she’d memorized it from the amount of times she’d had to write it down on boxes to ship out. None of those boxes, unfortunately, carried any of her clothes. Eunjae hadn’t sent any out until two days ago. The rest of her clothing was in the bags lost somewhere in Beijing.

She silently cursed her past self for being so stupid. But she’d needed clothes to wear back at home, damnit!

The rest of the interaction passed by in a blur and Eunjae walked out of baggage claim with only her mini backpack and a copy of the form she filled out. Luckily, the signs in the airport were labeled in both Engilsh and Korean, so she had no trouble finding her way out.

As she went through the empty queue at immigration and rode the escalator down to the main floor and entrance, Eunjae gently slapped her cheeks to wake herself up. She’d been on the receiving end of one too many stares on the journey and couldn’t wait for the bruises to heal. Stepping off at the ground floor, Eunjae immediately spotted Sejin pacing back and forth near the escalators. His hands were stuffed deep in the pockets of his thick brown coat and a white face mask was pulled down to his chin. Eunjae shifted her backpack higher on her shoulder and cleared her throat.

“Hey.” She didn’t need to raise her voice since the airport was empty anyway.

Sejin’s head snapped up from where he’d been staring intently at his shoes, and a look of relief twisted his features. Stepping closer, his tense shoulders relaxed. “You’re here. I was starting to worry.”

“Yeah, sorry about the wait.” A large yawn interrupted Eunjae mid sentence and she covered her mouth with a sweater paw. “They lost my bags.”

“Ah.” Sejin frowned. “How long until they ship them to you?”

Eunjae waved the flimsy paper in her hands, the edges fluttering with the movement. “Three days. So please excuse my homeless-chic appearance until then. What I’m wearing is all I have.”

Sejin shook his head and gestured for her to follow him to the door. “We’d initially planned for you to meet Bang PD-nim and the rest of the members tomorrow morning--well now this morning. But we can arrange for someone to take you shopping first.”

The automatic doors swished open and Eunjae frowned at the cold wind that bit across her cheeks. Hands shoving into the pouch of her hoodie, she looked around the empty passenger pick-up area. The bright lights from inside the airport’s floor-to-ceiling windows gave them plenty of light to see by as she followed the man down the wide pathway.

“I don’t really have a lot of money to spend on clothes.” Eunjae’s words puffed a white cloud into the winter air. Unfortunately for her, it was just as cold in Korea as it was in New York. She could already feel her cheeks starting to freeze.

Sejin sent her a weird look as they crossed the empty street towards an even more deserted part of the pick-up zone. Eunjae could just barely make out a parked van through the darkness. “You wouldn’t be paying.”

Eunjae snorted in amusement through her slowly reddening nose and joked, “less than an hour here and you’re already planning a robbery on some poor clothing store. Shaking my head, Sejin. You’re a bad influence.”

The lack of sleep was beginning to get to her.

Rolling his eyes in good humor, Sejin gave a fake, put-upon sigh. “You’re going to fit in with the boys great.”

She simply raised an eyebrow at him and watched as he slid a keyring out of the pocket of his jeans. The van was close and Eunjae picked up her pace a little at the thought of gaining solace from the freezing wind. Her short legs had to work almost double time to keep up with tall Sejin.

“Like I said before,” he began, clicking a button on the keyring to unlock the vehicle; its lights flashed twice. “Big Hit will cover all of your expenses while you're here. That includes anything and everything you might need.”

Eunjae grimaced. She really didn’t like the thought of being dependant on someone for so long. Even if that someone was a millionaire like Bang PD. “I don’t want to just be given things without working for it. That doesn't sit right with me.”

The tall man paused in his steps, causing her to stop as well. Staring down at her seriously, he held the keys in his hand tighter. “You’ve just moved out here to a completely different country; you’ve given up a lot and we recognize that. So let us at least try and make up for it.”

All Eunjae could do was blink at his statement. Sejin patted her shoulder twice and stepped off again leaving Eunjae with no choice but to follow in silence. They were at the van now and she stepped up next to Sejin as he slid the backdoor open for her. Why he didn’t want her to sit in the passenger seat, she had no idea. But the question answered itself as soon she slid inside and the door closed behind her.

Leaning against the opposite door of the row’s seats sat Jung Hoseok. The hood of his chalk grey coat was pulled up over his dark, wavy hair and a small gold chain hid beneath his neckline. With the silver zipper pulled halfway down his chest, the soft cotton of his charcoal covered shirt stretched across his chest. Hoseok had on his own pair of black joggers and Eunjae silently wondered if always accidently matching clothes was a soulmate thing, or if they just had the same taste in fashion.

The second the door closed, Hoseok pulled down the black face mask covering the bottom half of his face and gave her a smile so big that the tiny dimples on his cherub cheeks popped into existence. His dark eyes turned into adorable half moons as he spread his arms wide open with flapping hands. “You’re here!”

Eunjae just about died on the spot. From the scent of his masculine cologne in the air, to the sudden warmth of escaping the biting wind, to his cute accented voice. Her tired brain was beginning to short circuit from all of the input.

Returning his smile with one of her own, she responded, “I’m here.”

As she slid the backpack from her shoulders, Hoseok tilted his head to the side in confusion and sent a glance back towards the still empty trunk of the van. Turning back to her, he waved a hand at the backpack between her feet.

“No more?” His brows pinched together in bewilderment.

The driver side door opened then, and Sejin slipped inside and started the van quickly, likely wanting to warm up just as much as she did. The car rumbled to life and the vents perched on the ceiling of the vehicle flooded the space with lukewarm air.

Shaking her head at Hoseok’s question, Eunjae answered him as the automatic door lights shut off and plunged them all in darkness. A soft glow from the center console at the front cast his face in shadow as Sejin finally pulled away from the curb. “My bags are somewhere in Beijing right now.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened comically as he seemed to grasp the gist of what she was saying. He leaned closer and Eunjae had to almost physically stop herself from reaching out to touch him. Soulmate or not, they were still strangers and Eunjae wasn’t comfortable enough with him to invade his personal space. So no matter how much his body called out to hers, how much the blood in her veins sang out for him, she shoved the feeling of longing deep into the recesses of her mind.

“What? Why?”

Eunjae had never been so grateful for her ability to retain information that she crammed into her brain last minute as she easily translated Hoseok’s Korean. Miles had been giving her random pop quizzes at all times of the day to try and help. Even though he had no idea what he was saying and ended up pronouncing half of the words wrong anyway. Scrunching her nose in thought, Eunjae pulled up the virtual dictionary floating through her exhausted brain. She didn’t know a lot of Korean vocabulary and the rules of sentence structure confused the hell out of her. So she wasn’t confident in how coherent her response was.

“They lost them.”

Eunjae wasn’t sure if Hoseok’s reaction was because of what she said or the fact that she’d spoken it in his language. Heart shaped lips spreading into another smile, his long fingers came up to frame either side of his face. “Your Korean is good!”

“Ah, I don’t know a lot.” A pout formed unconsciously on her face as she shrugged non-committedly.

“Still.” Hoseok beamed. One of his hands moved as if he were going to touch her before he seemingly thought better of it and dropped it on the seat between them.

A few beats of silence overtook the car that hovered over the soft music playing from the speakers. It wasn’t quite awkward, but it wasn’t comfortable either. It was the kind of silence that reared its head when two people didn’t know what else to say. Maybe it was because they were both tired, or perhaps it stemmed from the fact that they barely spoke each other’s language. But the invisible barrier between them appeared more solid without the ability to communicate via texted emoji.

“We still have a long drive ahead of us.” Sejin finally broke through the quiet from up front. “If the two of you want to get some rest, now would probably be a good time. Today’s schedule starts early.”

He repeated his suggestion in Korean so that Hoseok could understand and Eunjae felt her fatigued body scream out at the thought of another early morning. She instantly felt guilty, however, as she glanced over at Hoseok. Even in the lack of light she could see how worn out he was, even though he was trying his best to scrape up whatever energy he could find for her. The fact that he’d even chose to come pick her up when he could have been sleeping spoke about what kind of person he was.

Whatever exhaustion she was feeling after a day and a half didn’t even hold a candle to the years that he’d felt the same way. With a frown pulling at her lips, Eunjae slowly reached out to gently pat the hand lying on the seat between them. She tried to ignore the instantaneous reaction as the electrifying energy buzzing between their skin warmed her veins. Hoseok’s hand twitched under hers and Eunjae had to stop herself from curling her small fingers around his longer ones. It wasn’t in a romantic sense. Her body was just reacting to whatever science it was that drew soulmates together, so not all of her reactions were completely in her control.

“Sleep.”

Hoseok’s tired eyes peered at her through the dark as he sent her a grateful smile. He flipped the palm of his hand over to softly squeeze hers and Eunjae was almost surprised when the static the gesture sent through her wasn’t visible in the air between them.

“You too.”

As the van drove down the virtually empty highway, a strip of light from the streetlamps lining the road flashed through the tinted windows of the van. Hoseok’s eyes were already closed, his long eyelashes brushing against the apples of his cheeks. How he’d managed to fall asleep so fast, Eunjae didn’t know. But what she did know, was that his hand was still holding onto hers in the warmth of the voiceless, dark car.

The sound of a car door shutting forced Eunjae’s eyes open. It was either that, or the sudden rush of cold air brushing against her skin. When her eyes had fallen shut in the first place, she wasn’t sure. But as the overhead car lights flickered off, they drifted closed again. The comfortable heat pressing against her side threatened to drag her back into unconsciousness.

And it would have if the door to the backseat of the van hadn’t slid open. Eunjae groaned as the cold coaxed goosebumps from her covered flesh. The soft material her face was pressed into shifted as if sensing her annoyance. Stuck somewhere between the land of dreams and that of the conscious, Eunjae wasn’t sure if the warm breath that brushed the top of her head was real or not.

A light chuckle breached through the darkness of her closed eyelids. “Wake up you two. We’re here.”

The lights on the ceiling of the van were getting harder and harder to ignore. Slowly, the weight that she’d barely processed over her shoulders shifted as her pillow mumbled incoherently. The deep, sleep filled voice set off familiar bells in her head, and Eunjae peeled her eyes open with the speed of a sloth. It always took her at least twenty minutes after waking to fully fall into consciousness.

Her eyes blinked leisurely as her brain tried to process what was going on. The first thing she noticed was that she was confusedly on the other side of the car than the one she’d been sitting on. The next was that she’d somehow grown four legs, two of which were larger than hers. It could have taken her two minutes or two hours for her brain to process it, she wasn’t sure.

However, it wasn’t until she lifted her head from where it’d been comfortably pressed into Hoseok’s side that she finally came to the realization. Sometime, somehow, over the course of the drive her body had acted on its own accord and snuggled itself into his side. He had one arm thrown across her shoulders while his other hand sleepily rubbed through the wavy hair under his hood. Hoseok’s eyes were half lidded as his lips parted in a wide yawn. Both of their bodies, it seemed, had answered the other’s call while they were unconscious.

It be ‘ya own body. Eunjae thought half drunkenly, resisting the urge to ignore everything and go back to sleep. Turning her head to the side, she saw the light washed figure of Sejin standing at the open van door.

“You guys going to stay in there all night? Or are you going to come out?”

While she couldn’t make out his expression, Sejin sounded very amused. Eunjae knew enough Korean to be able to get the gist of what he’d said, or at least she hoped she did.

“Mmm. Yeah.” Hoseok grumbled, lifting the arm from around her shoulders to rub at his face. If he was at all phased by how he woke up, he didn’t show it. His voice was deeper than normal, vocal cords still coated with sleep.

Eunjae was still barely processing what was going on around her, but she was awake enough to slide across the seats and scoop up her bag. Sejin moved out of the way as she swung her legs out the door, pausing a moment to blink rapidly from the bright lights overhead. It appeared like they were in some underground parking garage. The frigid air pulled a small whimper from her throat as she hopped out. The garage wasn’t super huge and it looked like Sejin had pulled the van around to park in a darkened corner. By the way it was just pulled to the side and not in a parking space, Eunjae figured that this wasn’t his final destination.

At the sound of Hoseok’s shoes hitting the concrete behind her, Eunjae shuffled out of the way so that he wouldn’t fall over her as he got out. As he stretched his arms above his head, she quickly averted her eyes as the hem of both his coat and shirt raised to reveal a strip of golden skin.

God, what K-drama is this? Eunjae just barely resisted rolling her eyes at the universe. I think we’ve hit just about every cliche by now.

“I’ll show you to your apartment.” Sejin spoke, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty garage. Eunjae looked up at him and narrowed her eyes at the bags under his. The man looked completely and utterly drained. Like he was two blinks away from falling asleep standing up.

“Just tell me the code and how to get there, I’ll find it.” Stuffing her hands into her hoodie pouch, she rocked back and forth on her feet in an attempt at warming up. The winter air was slowly starting to shock her body into becoming more and more awake. “You look like you need some sleep too.”

Chuckling, Sejin ran a hand down his face. “I’m not going to have you wandering the halls. It won’t take long.”

Eunjae refused to back down, however. With a head jerk at a yawning Hoseok, who looked like he wasn’t even trying to follow the conversation, she asked, “does Hobi know the way?”

At the sound of his name, Hoseok turned from where he was closing the van door and shuffled over to them. Hunched against the cold, his hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his now fully zipped coat.

“Yes.” Sejin admitted.

“And the door code?”

The taller man let out a deep sigh, his warm breath puffing into the air. “Yes.”

With a smile of victory brightening her sleepy face, Eunjae rocked back onto her heels with a nod. “Cool. Then he can show me, right? And you can go home and sleep?”

Sejin’s narrowed eyes lacked heat as he finally relinquished. “You’re stubborn. But fine.”

The man reluctantly translated for Hoseok, who’s lips twitched as he sent Eunjae what looked to be a thankful glance. His response went completely through one of Eunjae’s ears and out the other, his deep voice causing her tired eyes to fall shut momentarily. She was always a sucker for the groggy voices of men who were still half asleep and the sound made her yearn for her bed.

“Someone will come grab you in the morning to take you shopping for some clothes.” The statement was directed at Eunjae and she nodded in acknowledgement of Sejin’s words. With one last glance back at the pair, the taller man made his way back to the van and slipped inside.

The brush of Hoseok’s fingers against the middle of her back brought her attention back to him. With a nod towards the elevators in the middle of the garage, he let his hand drop. “This way.”

The ride up to the eighth floor passed in silence. It was more comfortable than the one in the car and it seemed that whatever skinship they shared in the van chipped away a little at the invisible barrier between them. It was still standing strong, but Eunjae didn’t feel quite as awkward as before. Maybe it was because she was half conscious, or perhaps it was because she’d been snuggled up to his side less than ten minutes ago. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to complain.

With a quiet ding the elevator doors slid open and Eunjae followed Hoseok as he walked straight down the hallway. The beige colored walls and carpeted floor passed them by and at the end of the hall was a T-shaped intersection. Hoseok peeled left, but slowed down as he pointed a thumb in the opposite direction.

“Bangtan’s that way.” Eunjae turned as she glanced at where he was pointing with a hum. He stopped a few feet down in front of a white door with the numbers 821 embedded in a small plaque above it. Hand fluttering at the door, Hoseok spoke again.

“This is you.” With a glance down at her, Hobi made sure that she was watching as he slid up the code panel and slowly typed in a five digit code. The light above the numbers flashed green and a gently beep sounded as he twisted down the handle. He pointed from the panel to her, and back and tilted his head with a small smile. “You understand?”

“Yeah.” If she was going to be on the receiving end of his eye smile every time she spoke Korean, then she was going to find herself fluent, and soon.

Hoseok stood in the doorway with his back propping the door open. He didn’t enter, seemingly not wanting to invade her space. As she brushed past him to step through the threshold, the soft call of her name caused her to turn back towards him mid-step.

“Call if you..,” He trailed off, lips pursed as he searched for the correct words. The hood had fallen off his head sometime from getting out of the car until now and Hoseok reached up a hand to run through his wavy locks.

“I will.” Eunjae smiled at him reassuringly and he sent her back a grateful smile. “Thank you, Hobi.”

Beaming at her once again, Hoseok reached out and gently ruffled the top of her head, unintentionally sending tingles running a path down her spine. “You’re welcome! See you tomorrow, okay? Goodnight.”

"Goodnight." Her voice followed him softly as the door closed behind him, taking both the scent of him and his warmth. Eunjae pressed her forehead against the cool wall closest to her. The apartment behind her was still shrouded in shadow as she sighed into the paint. Tomorrow she was going to meet both Bang PD-nim and the rest of the members of Bangtan.

“No biggie.” Her voice muttered sarcastically into the dark, silent apartment. “No biggie at all.”

[gwentoryfics]

Hot for Teacher, Part 1.

REPOSTED FROM MY ORIGINAL BLOG, GWENTORY.

Genre | College Student x College Professor Smut AU

Pairing | Hongseok x Reader x Hyunggu (Kino)

Words | 9.5k

Summary | You never realized how much one drunken night could color the rest of your college experience until you discover that the handsome stranger from your cousin’s wedding is also the new professor at your university.

Warnings | Alcohol and underage drinking. Swearing. Dangerous levels of lust.

Parts | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 •  More Coming Soon AO3 | 1 • 2

Playlist | Spotify • Youtube

Note | Due to excessive references to American music, I’ve decided to set this fic in America instead of South Korea. Names will follow the American standard of (First Name) (Last Name), instead of the Korean (Family Name) (Given Name). I’ve also linked a playlist (above) that includes any referenced songs, artists, or other music that helps set the vibe, so please check it out!

This can’t be happening. This absolutely, cannot be happening to you right now.

You stare at your professor in shock from the safety of the back of the classroom, hoping to all that is holy that he will not look up to find you sitting there. How could he of all people be your professor? How could you possibly be so unlucky?

Your heart races as your mind clouds over with the memory of that night, of the press of his lips and the fervid insistence of his hands as they explored your body. In a night of slightly drunken passion, you had unknowingly slept with the man who was apparently fated to be your professor. You feel like you could cry from embarrassment, and you bury your head in your notebook as he begins roll call.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Your friend Shinhye leans over, voice thick with worry.

You nod, not exactly wanting to fill her in on quite possibly the biggest blunder of your life. Maybe you’d share the story of your sexual escapades with her at some point, but sitting in the same room as your partner in crime is not the time or place to do so. “I’m fine. Just having second thoughts about the class.”

“Shinhye Nam?” He calls flatly from the front of the class.

“Here!” She pipes up and then whispers to you, “What? You’ve been looking forward to this class for months!”

“Yeah, but-”

“_____?” The sound of his voice wrapping around the syllables of your name sends a delicious shiver down your spine. You remember that sound, remember exactly the song of your name as it poured from his lungs that night.

“Here,” you respond meekly, lifting your notebook a fraction higher to give you more cover. Does he remember your name? Does he recognize your voice? Does he remember you at all? Surely he hadn’t been drunk enough to completely forget your tryst.

He moves on to the next name without pause, without even sparing a glance your way. Maybe he had forgotten after all. Maybe you’ve been completely wiped from his memory of that night. Or, conversely, maybe he had only forgotten your name, just as you’ve forgotten his. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your night together was insignificant to him.

It should have been insignificant, though. That’s how hookups work. You bite down on your lip and curse yourself for all of the stupid feelings that flood you, curse the way your heart pounds harder just being in the same room as him. It was just one night, and even though it rocked you to your core it was nothing more than a one-and-done rendezvous.

It was maybe a month and a half ago, but your memory of it is much clearer than it should be, especially given the alcohol consumption that colored most of your evening in a rosy haze. Maybe you had worked overtime to engrain every little detail into your memory because you knew you would never want to forget.

Your cousin’s wedding was a gorgeous affair. Lavish floral arrangements adorned the walls and pews, and sanctuary of the church, each bundle of white roses bound together with violet ribbons and lace. Music floated out from grand piano and violin duo, and oh what you would have done to get your hands on that Steinway. Its tone was pure as snow and you bet it played like a dream. And with the reverberating acoustics of the tall church ceiling, its sound was nothing short of angelic.

The priest led the groom in from the side. You had not yet met Hwitaek, but he was handsome and bore a kind, nervous smile. He looked like exactly the kind of guy Jiyoo would fall for, and it made you happy to see the apparent anxious excitement he had for the event.

The music changed and the processional began. The bridesmaids and groomsmen made their way down the aisle two at a time, arm in arm, and you were captivated by the elegant dresses the bridal party wore. The purple of their gowns exactly matched the accents of the flowers in their bouquets, and the bodices were intricately decorated with the finest crystals. The girls absolutely sparkled. But, of course, they could never outshine the bride.

All of the attendants stood as the music changed once more, signaling the entrance of the bride. Jiyoo appeared at the end of the aisle, clinging to her father’s arm as they slowly moved forward. The skirt of her ballgown dress nearly filled the whole aisle, and the sweetheart neckline hid behind a sheer lace boat neck top with cap sleeves. It was so stunningly her. And her bouquet was dripping with crystals, her veil and train similarly doused in glitz. But above all, she looked so, so happy.

She joined Hwitaek, passing off her bouquet and taking his hand, and you realized that he had tears in his eyes. Yes, he was definitely the sweetheart for Jiyoo.

The priest opened the ceremony with a prayer, and you obediently bowed your head, although you were admittedly on the fence about your religious beliefs. Still, you sent out some hopeful well-wishes for the soon-to-be newlyweds, because it couldn’t hurt to put some good energy out into the universe.

The ceremony proceeded, and although beautiful, it certainly lacked entertainment value. Not that weddings are meant to be entertaining, per se, but the more religious ceremonies could really drudge on, in your opinion. This one was certainly no exception. There were plenty of scripture readings and hymns, most of which you knew by heart due to spending your childhood in a very similar church. But right as you were starting to feel boredom blur your focus, you noticed him.

He was a groomsman, two down the line from Hwitaek. His tux looked as though it had been made for him, crisp and clean and sitting just right on his broad shoulders. He could have been a model, or a celebrity even, for all you knew. He was certainly far too gorgeous to just be an ordinary person. His dark hair hung soft on his forehead, his eyes were sharp, his lips were plush. How had it taken you so long to notice him?

For the rest of the ceremony you found yourself to be quite preoccupied, as one would imagine. The borderline salacious thoughts that filtered through your mind almost made you feel uncomfortable to be sitting in the house of God, so you did your best to train your eyes on Jiyoo and Hwitaek instead of the unfortunate, unreal beauty of the groomsman.

Finally, after far too long of a ceremony, the couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife, and the whole party recessed down the aisle. You thought you were in the clear, since The World’s Biggest Distraction was finally leaving, but then the damn boy looked squarely at you as he walked by.

You swear your panties literally (not literally) disintegrated.

Back in the classroom, Shinhye kicks your chair, startling you back to the present. “Girl, snap out of it. Why are you so spacey?”

You sit up a little straighter, dropping your notebook onto the desk and blurting, “Yeah, no, it’s fine.”

Your nonsense earns you a weird look, which you make right back at her before glancing to the front of the room, where The Hottest Professor is staring right at you.

Well, you couldn’t have avoided it forever.

His gaze lingers just long enough for you to know that he recognizes you, that he’s having the same mild freakout as you. So he does remember.

Clearing his throat, he breaks eye contact and casually looks around the room as he introduces himself. “Good morning everyone, and welcome to the first day of classes. I am Professor Yang. It is very nice to meet all of you.” He picks up a stack of papers from his desk and starts passing the packets down each row, working his way to the back of the room. “This is a two-part class. For the first seven weeks we will meet here in the classroom and learn the basics of physics as they pertain to musical instruments. The following eight weeks will be spent in the workshop across the hall, where you will each build your own instrument with my guidance.”

You intentionally keep your eyes glued to the blank page of your notebook, and you curse yourself for having chosen the seat at the beginning of the row. He holds the last of his packets out to you, standing close enough that you can smell the sweet cardamom and bergamot of his cologne. Damn, you love that smell.

“You’ll notice my office hours listed here on the syllabus. My office is right down at the end of the hall. Please feel free to stop in if there are ever any questions or concerns about the course material.”

It feels as though his words are directed specifically at you instead of the entirety of the class, and you can’t help but wonder if you’re only imagining it. You begrudgingly peek up at him and he nods encouragingly, still waiting for you to take the papers. When you finally grab the meager stack, he immediately heads back to the front of the class without so much as a smile. But what else should you expect? He’s probably not happy about this situation either.

The syllabus states his office location and hours as well as a phone number, which you assume is for an office phone. He would be insane to give out his personal phone number, especially being as attractive as he is. Students would certainly take advantage of that, yourself not included. You know better. You want absolutely nothing to do with this man if he’s your teacher.

Professor Hongseok Yang. You groan and slump down in your chair.

What have you done?

The reception was held in the banquet hall of a hotel not too far from the church. It was an elegant setting, with pretty white tables and chairs and more of the same extravagant floral arrangements for centerpieces. The lavender lighting cast a soft glow on the sheer white curtains billowing softly by the open windows, a pleasant summer breeze filling the room with fresh air. The calming color and soothing evening air did nothing to relax your nerves, though, your leg jiggling up and down to release the nervous energy within you.

You anxiously awaited the arrival of the wedding party, sipping at the champagne meant for a toast and convincing yourself that you were getting worked up over nothing. It’s not like anything would happen. You would never in a million years work up the courage necessary to speak to the groomsman. He was way out of your league; you’d just clam up and look like an idiot if you tried to start a conversation. It would definitely be much safer to keep to yourself.

Really, the whole thing was stupid. You were there to support your cousin, not to fawn over some guy. It was absurd for you to be so bothered by your sudden love interest to the point of meticulously planning out the rest of the night in order to avoid being around him. Yet there you were, completely intent on spending the night at your table, having a night of simple conversation and safe, good fun. And eventually you’d get out of your seat to congratulate the happy couple, but that’s it. Your mom would be so proud.

Your cousin had been kind enough to seat you at a table with your other cousins instead of your parents. You wouldn’t have minded sitting with your parents, but if you had the choice you’d much rather be around people your own age. Your parents could be a little uptight (well, more than a little, especially when going to family events), and even if you were going to have a low-key night, you’d have a much better time gossiping with your cousins instead of constantly having to reassure your mother that she looks just as beautiful as your aunts without looking overdone.

All you wanted was a relaxed, stress free night. But when had things ever gone the way you planned?

You had tried not to stare at him. You really had. But some things just can’t be helped. The wedding party made their entrance, and you were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He glowed when he smiled, burning brighter than the sun, but you were unable to look away and save yourself, completely trapped in the warmth of his light.

You realized that at least a fraction of your attraction to him was likely due to the personality you were projecting onto him - he seemed clever, funny, stubborn - but he might not have been any of those things. Maybe he was bookish, or a sports fanatic. Maybe he loved puppies and children, or cigarettes and motorcycles. You only had one way to find out for sure, but you would certainly not be learning those things about him tonight or any other night.

When the meal was finished and the dancing had begun, you just couldn’t keep your eyes off of him. He and the other groomsmen partied hard, tearing up the dance floor and taking full advantage of the open bar. The particular man that had caught your eye left his jacket at the table, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his veiny forearms - dangerous, as you were far too easily affected by impressive vasculature. He had to be covered in muscles, you just knew it.

Minseo, who had been sitting next to you all night, returned from the bar with a round of beverages for the both of you. “Bless Jiyoo for asking a friend to bartend. He’s not carding and honestly he’s super cute.”

“What I’m hearing is that we need to down these drinks as fast as possible so you can get back up there and talk to him again.” You gratefully accepted the wine glass, immediately pulling it to your lips and taking a deep sip of the dry, fruity beverage.

“Not a bad idea. And next time I’ll get a more complicated drink.” She smiled mischievously, taking a long sip of her own wine, which was already half finished. “What about you? When are you gonna go out there and dance? He’ll never notice you sitting over here.”

Wine dribbled down your chin when you pulled away from your glass too soon, and you sloppily wiped it off with the back of your hand before it could drip onto your dress. “What? Who? What are you talking about?” You blubbered, face growing warm, realizing that she had caught you. Your staring must have been too obvious.

“Come on. The groomsman. You can’t keep your eyes off of him. I’m telling you to go make a move.” She plopped into her seat. “Seriously. Go get it.”

Vehemently shaking your head, you refuse to take her up on any of her ludicrous suggestions. “Are you kidding me? I can’t just walk up to him and… and…”

“No, you’re right, you’re right. We’ll go together.” Minseo downed the rest of her drink and waited for you to do the same.

You continued your head-shaking routine, adding a finger wag for emphasis. “No way. I’m staying right here where it’s safe. The DJ isn’t that great anyway. Do you hear this music? I can’t dance to this.”

Just as soon as you mentioned it, the music cut out, drawing your attention to the DJ’s stand. Shinhye twisted in her seat to look over. “What’s he doing? The song isn’t even over.”

“See? I told you-”

“Alright, single ladies!” The DJ shouted way too loudly into the microphone. “Let’s get all of you out here and toss that bouquet!”

Minseo’s head whipped around like something out of a horror movie. Before she could say a single word, you took to shaking your head once more. “No, no, no. I am not going up there.”

You knew she wouldn’t listen to your futile attempts at refusal. Minseo stood, forcefully grabbing your wrists and yanking you out of your chair. “Come on, it’s for Jiyoo. Just stand there and look involved.”

Begrudgingly, you let her drag you to the center of the room, where you joined at least fifteen other bachelorettes. You tucked yourself amongst them, wishing you could just be invisible. Jiyoo smiled brightly at her flock of targets before turning her back, and when the DJ counted down from three, she flung her beautiful bouquet into the air.

And wouldn’t you know it, the damn thing flew right for you.

It arced high in the air, but it didn’t take a genius to see where it was going to land. You lifted your hands and it fell right into your grasp; you didn’t even have to reach for it. The room was all cheers and applause as you very suddenly became the center of attention, Jiyoo closing in to congratulate you.

“Ahhh, my baby cousin!” She squealed as she wrapped her arms around you in a big hug, her poofy dress swallowing your legs. “You know that means you’re next, right?”

“Next to get married?” You question with a quiet laugh. “That seems unlikely. I don’t know if you’ve noticed how very much single I am.”

“But the flowers have commanded that you’ll fall in love.” Jiyoo winked playfully, and you couldn’t help but smile, even if you didn’t believe in such superstitions.

The wedding photographer snapped a few photos of the two of you, and for a moment you forgot all about the beautiful distraction that was currently seated at the head table. You squeezed your cousin tightly, congratulating her on this big step into womanhood. “I’m so happy for you, Jiyoo! Your new husband is super cute, too.”

“He is, isn’t he.” She smiled wide and then gasped. “You haven’t met him yet, have you?”

“Not yet, actually.”

Nodding her head towards the front of the room, she took your hand sweetly. “That needs to change. You’ll love him.”

“I’m sure I will.” You laughed and eagerly followed her to their table before you could realize who else waited there. And by the time you saw the groomsman seated there, it was already too late.

“Hwitaek!” Jiyoo called as you both approached. “Come here, sweetie.”

Hwitaek, who was mid-conversation with the cause of your demise, patted said instigator on the back and looped around the table to come meet you. You fixated on him to keep your eyes from straying over to the man with the perfect face, and it seemed to work out okay.

“Hwitaek, this is my cousin, _____.” Jiyoo introduced you. “She caught the bouquet!”

“It’s so nice to meet you!” Hwitaek enthusiastically drew you into a hug, and you wondered if the extremely friendly gesture was at all fueled by alcohol. Maybe he was just a friendly guy. “Congratulations on the bouquet catch!”

“Thank you,” you laughed as he released you. “And congratulations to you on the marriage! That’s certainly a bigger deal than the flowers.”

He smiled sweetly, tucking Jiyoo under his arm. “Thank you. I’m a very lucky man. She’s my best friend.”

Jiyoo beamed, and your heart warmed. They were absolutely precious together, the love between them practically tangible. Maybe one day you could find a love like that.

Just then, the DJ came in with some shitty, generic pop song, and Jiyoo perked up. “Oh my gosh, I love this song! Let’s dance!” She started to pull both you and Hwitaek back towards the dance floor, but you returned to your default mode.

“I’m actually really thirsty, so I’m going to get some more to drink. But you two have fun!” It was much easier to slip out of Jiyoo’s grip than it was when Minseo held your wrist, and Jiyoo and Hwitaek carried on just fine without you.

And then you made the mistake of turning directly towards the hot groomsman.

You met his eyes and froze. Everything stopped. Your tongue dried up, nothing more than a hardened sponge in your mouth, and your pulse slowed to a halt. You were dead. Absolutely, unequivocally dead. Taken by the unmatched lethal power of a perfectly executed seductive gaze.

Jesus Christ, you were drowning in lust.

He raised an eyebrow at you, looking amused by the goldfish expression you bore. “Hi.”

Oh, dear Lord, even his voice was beautiful. You needed to get out of there fast. With a nod and awkward sort of salute, you took off, finding solace in the safety of your table. You plopped into your chair and practically inhaled the rest of your wine, dropping the bouquet onto the table and wondering how much longer you would have to suffer through this reception.

It would have been nice to have some relief. To get a moment to compose yourself and let your heart rate return to normal. But Minseo, the everloving bane of your existence, could not let that happen.

You spotted her on the dance floor. She looked over her shoulder back at you, a devilish expression on her face, and you realized that she was definitely up to no good.

Minseo had always been a troublemaker and bad influence over you. She was your closest cousin for sure, and had been a good friend of yours all your life. You loved her to death, but Jesus Christ she really knew how to push your buttons.

Born without a single shy bone in her body, she practically shimmied right up to the groomsmen, targeting the one with the sharp eyes and plush lips and dark, soft hair. The one with his sleeves rolled up, the one that you’re convinced is the most attractive man to ever exist. She zeroed in on him, leaning in far too close as she spoke into his ear. And then she pulled back only to point at you, and suddenly his eyes were locked on yours once more.

And this time, he smiled. Oh Lord in Heaven, he smiled. At you. And your heart went up in flames. Total destruction. There were no survivors.

You ripped your eyes from his, suddenly sweating profusely and somehow out of breath. Your trembling hands lifted the remainder of Minseo’s wine to your mouth and you sucked it all down, realizing that you were far too sober to make it through the night alive. And much to your terror, you set the empty glass onto the table and looked up to see him headed straight for you.

Panicked, you rose to your feet and took off in the opposite direction, hurtling yourself towards the bathroom so you could hide.

Once you burst through the door, you flicked cold water onto the back of your neck, wishing you could douse your whole face in it without messing up your makeup. Instead you just took a few deep breaths, trying to calm yourself because you were clearly overreacting in every sense of the word.

Why were you so terrified? He was just a guy, albeit a drop dead gorgeous one. That kind of beauty was frankly quite intimidating, though, and you just knew you’d look like an idiot if you had to say a single word to him.

You considered a plethora of escape routes, including begging your parents to drive you home early and climbing out of the small frosted-glass window right there in the corner of the bathroom. But were you really that much of a chicken? Were you really going to let one attractive guy scare you off?

Then you remembered the way he smiled, remembered the way you trembled at the sight of him. He intrigued you, piqued your interest. You were curious what he might be like as a person, a kisser, a lover. You nursed your lower lip between teeth, absolutely giddy at the thought of getting him alone. Sex with him would be incredible, no doubt about it.

Since when were you so shameless, imagining all sorts of lewd scenarios centering around a complete stranger, though gorgeous he may be? You didn’t do hookups. You didn’t do one night stands. Sleeping around was not your thing. But with him… you felt inclined to completely abandon your sense of morality. He sparked something within you that you hadn’t felt, well, probably ever.

That was likely why you were terrified enough to run and hide the second he turned his attention your way - because you had the vague feeling that you would let him do anything he wanted to you, and it’s both thrilling and frightening to know someone could have that kind of power. Especially when you don’t even know the man. Sure, you have a history of being unable to function properly around attractive males in your usual sober circumstances. But this was definitely more than just a fear of looking a fool. It was you avoiding the dangerous call of forbidden pleasures and the path to losing your morality. But most of all, it was the distress over the unsettling feeling that you might actually be okay with stepping out of your comfort zone if it meant you could experience him.

You just weren’t sure how to deal with any of that.

As class wraps up, you pack up your things and wonder if you should say something to him. Should you acknowledge what happened between you? Or would it be best to just ignore it, pretend like it never happened? Maybe you should just let him take the lead on this one.

Before you can really decide one way or the other, Shinhye starts making a scene. “You know, ______, maybe you’re right to be second guessing this class. I’m not sure an eight AM is good for you. Did you pay attention at all?”

“It’s not a big deal, Shinhye, honest.” You speak quietly but harshly, your words carrying more bite than you intend. You glance up at Professor Yang, who is also gathering his things. If he’s eavesdropping on the conversation, he certainly gives no sign of it.

“Really? I’ve never seen you so distracted. Maybe bring a coffee next week. He said he’ll allow drinks in the classroom.”

You sling your backpack over your shoulder, muttering under your breath. “Come on, let’s get going.”

“Alright, now she’s awake!” Shinhye grabs her bag and leads the way.

As you follow her to the door, you peek over at Professor Yang again. He’s busying himself with unplugging his laptop from the projector, and he doesn’t even spare a glance your way as you exit the room. You hate the way your chest tightens, almost as if you’re disappointed.

You catch up to Shinhye and follow her to the dining hall to grab some brunch. Class was scheduled until noon but he dismissed early, stating that the four hour classes were only really necessary during the workshop half of the semester and you’ll likely be free to go around eleven until then.

You don’t exactly feel hungry, though, your stomach too full of nerves to desire any food. So you sit at the table with only a coffee, per Shinhye’s recommendation. You probably do need it, honestly.

“How old do you think Professor Yang is? He looks awfully young to be teaching at a university.” Shinhye tears into her omelette.

Well, he’s friends with Hwitaek, who you believe to be in his mid-twenties, so maybe he’s around there too? But you can’t bring any of that up without divulging exactly what had occurred between the two of you. “He does look pretty young.”

“He said he studied and worked as a luthier for the last ten years… I feel like he has to be in his late twenties at least, but he certainly doesn’t look it. Or maybe he just started his apprenticeship pretty young. I wonder if there’s an age requirement for that sort of thing?”

“A luthier?” You question, not familiar with the term.

Shinhye cocks her head. “Yeah, ______. A luthier. Professor Yang talked all about it. You really weren’t paying attention, were you?”

“I guess not.” You chew your bottom lip. Your head really was somewhere else all morning.

Thankfully Shinhye fills you in without dragging you too much. “A luthier is someone who makes string instruments. Professor Yang explained all about how he did this luthier apprenticeship and how he specializes in making guitars when he’s not teaching.”

“That’s actually really cool,” you murmur. You imagine what he must look like playing guitar, or working with tools in the workshop, and you can’t help but feel impressed just picturing about it. A thought occurs to you, and you accidentally verbalize, “Oh that makes so much sense!”

“What does?”

You clamp your mouth shut. You can’t tell Shinhye that you understand now why his hands felt so rough when they slid under your dress, how you know exactly where each callous resides on his fingers. Somehow you manage to rescue yourself with, “It makes sense that he’s teaching something like this, you know, because obviously someone who has so much experience should be the one to teach the class. It’s just obvious. So like, it makes sense.”

Shinhye shakes her head slowly. “I just don’t get you.”

Maybe you’ll tell her one day. But it just seems unnecessary, especially because it’s bad news that you’ve ever been involved with a professor. The fewer people that know, the better.

After camping out in the restroom of the hotel for an appropriate amount of time, you finally gathered your wits about you and headed out into the wild once more. You had reasoned with yourself, finally coming to the conclusion that you were a grown(ish) woman who did not need to hide from boys. Instead, you would handle yourself like a true grown(ish) woman and boost your morale with a little (albeit illegal) liquid courage.

You headed straight for the bar, posting up there and chugging a glass of wine before immediately ordering another. Ah, to be a lady.

As you accepted your second glass, a voice next to you asked for a bourbon. You were thankful you did not have any wine in your mouth as you looked up to find none other than the most beautiful man in the world standing next to you - you definitely would have spit it out all over him. He smiled warmly at you, and if it didn’t feel like your knees were about to give out, you definitely would have sprinted back to the restroom, grown(ish) woman morale be damned.

He must have sensed your self-consciousness because he said with a laugh, “Please don’t run away from me again. I promise I don’t bite.”

You immediately squashed the thought of oh I wish you would, refusing to let that little gem slip past your lips. Instead you just took a long drink, completely unsure of what to say.

He wasn’t dissuaded by your silence, though, and you weren’t positive if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Leaning against the counter, he turned his body to face you, calm confidence pouring out from him in waves. “Your cousin said you wanted to dance with me, but that you might need some convincing. I’m not so persistent that I won’t take no for an answer, so if you say no I’ll leave you alone. But I thought I should at least try for a yes.”

The way his lips formed his words absolutely hypnotized you. How could a person be so stunning?

“I thought if nothing else, I might be able to at least have a conversation with you. I didn’t expect it to be quite so challenging, though. Usually it’s easy to get girls to talk to me.”

You snapped out of your dazed state with a laugh, your jaw dropping at his bold assertion. “That’s incredibly cocky of you to say, don’t you think?”

He shrugged casually. “It got you to talk, didn’t it?”

You took another sip, eyebrow raised. Touché.

“So what’s it going to take to get you to dance with me?” He smiled that beautiful, breathtaking smile of his, and it intoxicated you. Or maybe it was just the wine finally kicking in. Either way, you were hopeless. Looking away from you briefly, he accepted the short glass of amber liquid the bartender handed him, and you admired the strong line of his jaw and neck as he nodded his thanks.

Holding tightly onto your glass, you ripped your gaze from him before he could turn back to you and mulled over his inquiry. If you drank any more wine, it would probably be fairly easy for him to get you to dance, but you knew better than to spill those beans. So you respond to his question with a much safer answer: “Maybe a different DJ.”

He laughed warmly, and the sound of it turned your world upside down. “Yeah, he’s not great. Any wedding DJ that’s got ‘Y.M.C.A.’ on their playlist should not be a wedding DJ.”

You lifted your glass in agreement, intrigued. “I’ll drink to that. If you’re going to play something from the seventies, at least make it good. Give me some Marvin Gaye, or Donna Summer. Maybe a little Rufus with Chaka Khan for extra brownie points.”

His eyes tracked over your face as he clinked his glass against yours. “Some Earth, Wind and Fire, perhaps?”

Sucking air through your teeth, you squinted disapprovingly. “They can get a little campy.”

“Excuse you, ‘Boogie Wonderland’ is a classic.”

“About as classic as ‘Y.M.C.A.’” You snarked back at him, surprised by how at ease you were beginning to feel. The wine had definitely kicked in. Your brain felt warm and fuzzy, your limbs pleasantly tingly. “You know what’s cool?”

“Hm?” The glass in his hand met his lips and somewhere in the back of your mind you registered a touch of jealousy. Over a damn glass. What the literal shit.

You shook your head as quickly and minutely as possible to clear your thoughts and get back on track with what you wanted to say. “Um… Ah, wedding bands. Why don’t people hire bands anymore? Get some live music going. That’s awesome. That’s what’s good.”

“You’re really passionate about music, aren’t you?” Soft endearment coated his voice like honey, his sweet eyes scanning your face and making your heart flutter.

You nodded, shyness creeping up on you once again. He was miles out of your league, and it was honestly unreal that he’d even give you the time of day. Yet there he was, talking to you like you actually had a chance. Well… maybe you actually did.

An effortlessly sexy grin tugged at his lips. “So I know there’s not a wedding band tonight, and we’ve already established that this DJ kind of sucks… but is there any chance I could get you to dance with me despite all of that?”

And there it was - your chance. He could have very easily dropped the idea of dancing altogether after chatting with you and forming a more educated opinion of you. But the conversation must have gone okay because he still wanted to dance. And there he was, smiling all pretty and waiting for a response and you knew that you didn’t exactly have a choice when he looked at you that way.

“Let me finish this first.” Your voice sounded a lot more steady and confident than you expected, which left you pleasantly surprised with yourself.

“That’s fair.” He nodded and took a sip of his drink, finally looking away and giving you a chance to breathe. Changing the subject, he asked, “You here for the bride or groom? My guess is bride, since I haven’t seen you before.”

“Bride. She’s my cousin. And I’m guessing you’re with the groom, for obvious reasons.” You gestured to his tux, the symbol of his relationship to the groom.

“Perceptive,” he teased. “Yeah, he’s a long time friend of mine.”

With a big gulp of wine, you nodded. Almost done. You were really doing this. “They seem like a good pair. I hadn’t met Hwitaek until today - maybe thirty minutes ago, actually. But he seems like a good guy and she’s definitely happy.”

“Ah, right, I think I saw you meeting him.”

You froze up, remembering the awkward staring contest that followed your introduction to Hwitaek. With an uncomfortable chuckle, you spit out, “Right, I think you did.”

Now there was something more mischievous in his grin, and you knew he brought that up on purpose to see how you’d react. Pleased, he took another drink, and you were bewitched by the way his adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I see them together a lot, and they’re a perfect match. Hwitaek is very good to Jiyoo, don’t worry. And she’s great, she fits right in with the whole lot of us.”

“That’s good to hear.” You were relieved that he didn’t linger on the subject - your life wasn’t over yet. So you smiled, finally on your last sip. You throw it back, and the warm buzz at the corners of your mind gave you the confidence you needed to place your empty glass on the bar counter and face him. “What’s your name?”

“Hongseok. Yours?” He smirked, effectively chipping away at your newfound courage, and finished off his own drink.

“_____.”

“_____,” he repeated your name, testing it out on his tongue, and it sounded absolutely wonderful. You needed to hear it once more, and you made it your personal goal to make him say it again before the end of the night. He held out his arm for you to take, stirring up the tipsy butterflies in your stomach. “Shall we?”

With a shaky inhale, you hooked your hand in the crook of his elbow, noting the way his bicep bulged. You were signing your life away for the night and you had absolutely no idea what you were getting yourself into.

Hongseok.

Professor Hongseok Yang.

You throw yourself back onto your bed, tossing your Physics of Musical Instruments syllabus to the floor. It’s been two days and you still haven’t come to terms with the pickle you’re in. The secret is eating you alive from the inside out, and you’re dying to talk about it.

Briefly, you even consider emailing Hong- no, Professor Yang, but you know you can’t just send incriminating emails over the school’s server. That would be about as bad of an idea as sleeping with your professor in the first place.

You’re trying not to chastise yourself too much about it. At the time, you had no idea he taught at your university. If you had, you definitely would have refused to visit his hotel room. You wouldn’t have even danced with him. You know how to behave responsibly, but you let yourself live a bit more freely that night and now you’re paying the price.

Maybe you needed to tell Shinhye after all. You just needed someone to know what you were dealing with, because it felt too burdensome for you to hold on your own. If just one person could know and understand-

Minseo.

Jumping to your feet, you scramble out to the living room and tear up your desk in search of your cell phone. When you finally found the device, you immediately video call your beloved cousin.

She answers after a few rings. “What’s up, boo?”

You almost start crying, already feeling relieved just by having her on the line. “Minseoooo! Are you alone right now?”

“Yeah, I’m at my apartment. You okay?” She frowns, peering closely at her screen.

You push your hair back with a sigh. How do you say this? “I’ve made a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake.”

“What is it?”

“Remember the groomsman from Jiyoo’s wedding?”

As soon as you mention him, her eyes grow wide. She covers her mouth, but not enough to muffle her words. “Oh my God, don’t tell me you’re pregnant.”

“What? No!” You shake your head emphatically. “No, I swear I’m not pregnant.”

“Oh thank God, because that would be just the worst.”

She’s right, though; that would be the actual worst case scenario. Your current situation might be bad, but at least there’s no fetus involved. With that bit of perspective, you proceed a bit more calmly. “So… it turns out that the groomsman teaches at my university. And I’m taking his class.”

Minseo stares at her phone for a moment, and then suddenly bursts into laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding me. For real?”

“For real.”

More laughter. “What are the odds of that? Jesus. You finally get laid for the first time since high school and it’s with your fucking teacher…”

Her lighthearted response actually makes you feel better, and you let yourself laugh about it too. “It’s crazy, right?”

“Insane!” Her black cat poked her head into the frame, and Minseo scratched her between her ears. “So wait, what happened? How did class go? Has he said anything about it?”

“He didn’t say a word, and neither did I. He basically ignored me all through class. And I think it’s a good thing? But also I kind of want to just talk about it? Because I feel like it’s going to be incredibly awkward if we have to go through the whole semester without even addressing it.”

“You should say something to him, then. Just tell him that you’re not going to say anything about what happened, and tell him that you want him to treat you normally. I mean, that’s what you want, right?”

You nod. “Right. I should probably do that, as uncomfortable as it may be.”

Minseo tilts her head, looking at you endearingly. “You can handle it. You’re a strong little lady. You just have to believe it.”

Finally, a relieved exhale leaves you. “Minseo, I feel so much better now that you know. I haven’t told anyone here about what happened and it was killing me.”

“I’m glad I could help. You should probably keep it a secret at school, though. Word can really spread fast across a campus.” Her cat meows quietly in agreement.

“Good plan. This stays between you and me.” You hold up your little finger as if to make a pinky promise, and she follows suit.

“Our little secret.”

The first days of the rest of your classes all pale in comparison to that eventful Tuesday morning. Physics of Musical Instruments is your only class in the science building, so thankfully you don’t have to worry about accidentally passing him every other day of the week. That should also be your most difficult class this semester, with a required writing class and second levels of aural skills and music theory making up the rest of your schedule. Add in your weekly piano lessons and R&B Ensemble practices, and you’ve got a lot on your hands. But you’re generally looking forward to your sophomore year, regardless of the whole mess with Professor Yang.

And it really doesn’t need to be a mess, anyway. You’ll have your chat with him, you can both move on, and it’ll all be moot in the end. At least, that’s what you tell yourself as you head into the weekend, knowing full well you’ll have to face him again in a matter of days and it won’t be easy.

Saturday afternoon is the music department’s convocation for the start of the semester. You take a seat in the auditorium of the music building, the ensemble on stage providing the entertainment as students file in. It’s the pride of the otherwise average music department, the upperclassman Jazz Ensemble, which you hope you’ll be accepted into next school year. If you do well with your own ensemble this year, you could definitely stand a chance. Besides, the current keyboardist will be graduating at the end of the school year, so there will definitely be an open spot waiting for you.

A familiar looking boy approaches you, all cheekbones and bright eyes. “Hi, can I sit there?” He gestures to the seat next to you, and you nod, standing to let him squeeze past you. When you’re both seated, he says, “I think I saw you in theory and aural skills, right?”

That’s why he looks so familiar! “Oh, yes! I remember you. Hi.” You greet him warmly, glad to have a fellow classmate to keep you company.

“I’m Kino.” He extends his hand to you. “Sophomore, studying voice and dance.”

“______, piano.” You shake his hand, and he smiles sweetly. “Also a sophomore.”

“Nice to meet you, officially.” Kino drops his backpack onto the floor between his legs and looks up at the stage. “Wow, Jazz Ensemble never disappoints.”

“You’ve got that right. You should have heard the Thelonious Monk tune they played before this one. They killed it.”

“I can believe that.” He looks over at you. Does he ever stop smiling? “Are you in any ensembles this semester?”

“Yeah, R&B.”

“No way! Me, too!” He laughs, and the sound of it is warm and pure. “I hardly convinced them to let me join, though. Being a double major keeps me really busy, but I was desperate to get into an ensemble this year.”

You laugh too, enjoying the way he makes you feel at ease. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then.”

“Sounds like it.”

The auditorium doors close as the last of the students scramble into seats, and you clap as the ensemble finishes their last song, a Miles Davis classic. One day it’ll be you on that stage. One day you’ll get to really make your mark.

The meeting itself isn’t really anything special. It’s mostly just to welcome everyone to a new school year and explain the basic requirements of a music major. Each semester you must attend no less than five student performances, but that’s nothing intimidating to you. You love going to student performances, so you’ll likely have all five knocked out before you reach the second half of the semester.

Toward the end of the meeting, the head of the department announces that he would like to introduce the new staff for the year. Three new professors file out from the wing, and you bite down on your lip to prevent your jaw from dropping, shocked to see Professor Yang among them. Why is he here? He’s in the science department, not music.

He is the first to step up to the microphone to introduce his class, and your heart just about jumps out of your chest at the sound of his voice. “Hello everyone, I’m Professor Yang. Although I’m not technically a part of the music department, I have a feeling you may all find an interest in my course, Physics of Musical Instruments. It will help fulfill half of your required science credits while still allowing you to explore music. In my course you will not only learn the science of scales, tonality, and sound waves, but you will also be given the opportunity to build your own instrument. I’m very grateful to be able to share my knowledge of instruments and sound with you. My class for this semester filled up very quickly, so please keep an eye out for it when you’re preparing your schedules for next semester. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you in class.”

He is so professional, and you’re taken aback by how different he is in a professional setting. At the wedding he was so carefree, although he certainly carried the same amount of confidence. Regardless, your pulse is getting out of control the longer you watch him, and you’re so thankful for the cloak of darkness in the auditorium.

Kino leans over toward you, whispering lowly, “That class sounds awesome!”

You just nod, fixated on Professor Yang. He’s dressed a bit more casually today, wearing a pair of snug fitting jeans with his partially unbuttoned button-down, a v-neck shirt peeking out from the space where the button-down separates at his collar bone. His sleeves are rolled up, just like they were at the wedding. It would feel so good to rip off those clothes, to hear the buttons of his shirt break off and fall to the floor as you strip him. The thought sends searing heat through you, and you nonchalantly cross your legs. Yes, this semester is definitely going to be a tough one for you.

Kino takes off as soon as the assembly ends, blurting that he has to get to his dance department’s convocation. And as you eventually make your way out of the auditorium, you’re thankful that you’re on your own.

Professor Yang is in the lobby, chatting with another faculty member as students filter past. And for absolutely no reason at all, he happens to look in your direction just as you notice him. He looks at you long and hard with a completely unreadable expression, and you gaze back, trying to keep your face similarly neutral. Trying not to let him see how badly affected you are just to be in the same room as him. Trying to pretend that you don’t wish you could get him naked again, feel his body on yours again.

You may never know if you are successful in controlling your features. You pull your eyes from him long before you can pick up on any clues and bolt for the door, simultaneously relieved and saddened to know he will not follow you.

Hongseok led you to the dance floor and pulled you around to face him. The DJ was still doing a terrible job, but with his hand on your waist and alcohol buzzing through your veins, you managed to find it within you to dance. You swayed your hips, bopping to the beat, your hands eventually coming to rest on his broad shoulders.

His hands grew more and more adventurous in their placement with each song that passed. You didn’t mind one bit, enjoying the way he casually explored your back, thighs, and neck. Your own hands slid down over his muscled chest and abdomen, which you could clearly feel even through his layers of clothing. If only you could touch his skin…

You were completely taken by him, heart pounding pleasantly in your chest as warmth spread throughout your body. Why had you been so afraid before? Everything had turned out to be nothing short of wonderful. Even if it stopped at dancing and went no further (which was exactly what you expected to happen), you still could leave knowing you had a great time with an incredibly hot guy that you could fantasize about later to your heart’s content.

You still couldn’t believe that he would even give you the time of day, yet there he was, dancing far too close for your feeble heart to handle - not that you were complaining. His features were even more striking up close; you could easily memorize the straight line of his nose, the exact shape of his lips, the curve of his chin. You didn’t know what you had done in a previous life to deserve his attention, but you were endlessly thankful.

As elated as you were to be there with him, though, you couldn’t help but wonder how he really felt, what exactly he thought about you. After all, it’s not like he had just walked up to you of his own accord. Surely it was all your cousin’s doing and no true luck of your own. “Hongseok?”

“_____?”

You nearly shiver at the sound of your name. “Are you only dancing with me because my cousin asked you to?”

He narrowed his eyes at you, as if trying to decipher the true meaning behind your questioning. “Yes and no.”

“Okay?”

The DJ played a slower song next, and Hongseok took the opportunity to pull you up against him, wrapping his arm around your waist and taking your hand in his. His fingers were rough and calloused, but gentle as they wrapped around your hand. “You didn’t really seem too eager to talk to me after you met Hwitaek, so I wasn’t going to bother you.”

You swallowed hard, mouth suddenly dry from nerves. You had almost ruined this for yourself, and you had no idea.

He continued his explanation. “So technically yes, it was your cousin’s idea that convinced me to say something to you. But if I hadn’t wanted to dance with you, I would have told her no. I wouldn’t have even asked you if I wasn’t interested.”

Thoughts manifested into words before you could stop them, and you cursed your intoxicated tongue. “Interested… in me? Like, you think I’m cute, or something?”

“You could say that.” His laugh brought a smile to your face. “What about you? Do you think I’m cute, or something?”

You should have cut yourself off after the second glass of wine. You didn’t drink often, and you didn’t have much of a tolerance, as made evident by the shameless, bold compliment that spilled from your lips. “Cute? You’re beautiful and I am very attracted to you.”

You only caught a hint of his charming smile before he pulled you in even tighter and lowered his mouth until it brushed the cusp of your ear. Gravelly undertones lined the edges of his voice as he murmured, “I don’t want to cause a scene - this is a family affair, after all - so I’m going to have to let you do your own thing for the rest of the night. But I want you to know that I am incredibly attracted to you, and I need you to find your way upstairs to room 417 after we send off the happy couple. Can you do that for me?”

You nodded without hesitation, speechless at his incredibly forward instructions, your alcohol-dulled mind still able to piece together the implications of his invitation. Damn all of your fears and concerns; Hongseok was a dream and you’d never forgive yourself if you passed on the chance that had been afforded you. Come hell or high water, you would get to room 417. How could you say no? Surely your sober self would thank your tipsy self for it later.

“Great.” His low, sensual voice filled you, his breath tickling your ear as he straightened up and released you. With a wink, he disappeared into the throng of partygoers, and you nibbled at your bottom lip as you wobbled towards your table. You needed to collapse into your chair, unable to hold yourself up after the assault of his charms.

Before you could reach the table, though, you spotted Minseo, and steered yourself in her direction instead. You grabbed onto her arm, ripping her from the rest of your cousins.

“Please don’t kill me, I swear I was only trying to do you a favor.” She misinterpreted your excitement as aggression, flinching when you leaned in.

“No, I love you, you’re the best, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I think I’m gonna get laid tonight.” You giggled to yourself, feeling warm and airy. “He told me to go up to his room later.”

“There you go, girl!” She whacked your arm playfully, looking you up and down. “Go get it and then give me all the details tomorrow because honestly he’s gorgeous and I just have to know what’s going on under those clothes.”

“Ohmygod me tooooo…” you drawled. You were losing your mind just thinking about it. “Oh, um, hey, can you cover for me? I’m gonna tell my parents I’m spending the night at your place.”

She nodded, and then her face lit up. “Better idea! Let’s get our own room upstairs. Then you can come to our room after.”

You blinked owlishly. “Right.”

Minseo caught onto your hesitation. “Unless you plan on actually staying the night?”

“...No? Because… sleeping over… would that be weird?”

“Probably. I’m guessing he’ll just want to hook up and be done with it. So we should go see if there are any rooms available. Yeah?”

Minseo had a good point; it could get weird if you tried to overstay your welcome, so having another room to retreat to would be the best course of action. You came to the wedding with your parents, so you wouldn’t be able to get yourself home if you stayed at the hotel longer than everyone else. And you wouldn’t expect Minseo to leave her apartment and drive all the way back to pick you up after... You nodded and squeezed her hand. “Okay, that’s a good plan. Did I tell you you’re the best?”

“You might have mentioned it.” She started leading you by the hand towards the lobby. “Let’s go get that room and then head back to the bar before you chicken out.”

Post Script | Thank you for reading! Part 2 will be posted Friday at 8pm.

Update | Read Part 2 here!

All Rights Reserved © gwentory. No translations, reposting, and/or modifying of the material is allowed without my direct permission.

THIS FIC IS REPOSTED FROM MY ORIGINAL BLOG, GWENTORY. All future content (including HFT Part 4 and onward) will only be posted on GWENTORYFICS. Thank you!

[btsjo1286]

Through The Lens - Jimin Fic

Hello, welcome. BTS has ruined me, so naturally I had to create a separate BTS fan account just to post this fic I started working on. I had this idea brewing inside for a while, and after 2 sleepless Bang Bang Con nights, I couldn’t wait to put my thoughts to paper since JIMIN RUINED MY LIFE. This one is called Through The Lens.

Through The Lens - A Jimin Fic

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. 

Rating: M, NSFW (later chapters)

Friday, April 10th, 2020  Seoul, South Korea

If there were any nagging doubts about whether or not I had made the right decision to uproot my entire life back home in New York City to pursue something of a magnitude I never knew was possible, they all seemed to disappear into thin air the moment I walked through the automatic doors of the Incheon Airport. It must have been sometime between 8 and 9 in the evening in South Korea, and the night was clear and full of stars, as if the universe was telling me that I belonged here, in this moment. I closed my eyes for just a second, taking slow and steady breaths, a process I’d come to understand was my coping mechanism whenever I was feeling anxious. My head was clear, all my doubts, fears, and past mistakes left behind in NYC. I was starting a new life, I could be anyone I wanted to be, create a new story for myself. 

The odd silence was calming. This was Seoul after all, a city where the nightlife was just as rich as its history, and I was expecting the airport to be just as loud and crowded as Downtown. I took one last calming breath, opened my eyes, and started to walk towards the Taxi Terminal, my suitcases in tow. My Korean was grade level, my “guidebook” consisted of some measly notes I took while researching the city I would call home for the next few months, so I was a bit worried, as one would be, about getting to my apartment Downtown.

“Oh, Joey, don’t worry, plenty of people in Seoul speak English! You’ll get by just fine,” Anna reassured me a week before I was set to leave for Korea. We’ve been best friends since birth, our families having lived next door to each other back home in Brooklyn. When I told her about this job opportunity, Anna couldn’t have been more ecstatic, the supportive best friend that she is. Anna spent an entire week grilling me on information about Seoul, having spent 4 years studying abroad there in college. “I’m no expert by any means, but we definitely don’t need you embarrassing yourself in front of the hottest band this Earth has ever seen!” She had fluttered her eyes mockingly as she said this, knowing things like this made me cringe.

Back home in New York, I made my living as a tour photographer. It’s been my passion since I could remember, and through the years I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph some of my favorite artists, always grateful for the opportunities presented to me, even though most of the time I knew I wasn’t worthy of them. My last gig was photographing Taylor Swift’s north American Reputation tour, and I’m forever grateful for having experienced something so incredible. It was supposed to be my last gig for a while, as I had decided to go back to school to study Criminal Justice because, in the words of my dear mother, “Photography is a hobby, what happens when people stop requesting you for jobs, what will you do then?” My mom is a doctor, my dad a lawyer, and my sister a nurse, so in the obvious course of things I took the creative route in life. And even though I was somewhat well respected and well known in the industry, my mom was right, as much as it pained me to admit it. There is always the fear that there will be someone younger, more talented, with a fresh look for the world and everything in it.

But then a few weeks ago I got a call from my dear photographer friend Aline, who had spent what seemed like a lifetime on the road photographing the likes of The Rolling stones, Aerosmith, Celine Dion, just to name a few. She had a new job opportunity for me in South Korea, and I guess you could say I was somewhat intrigued when she called.

“Jo, I love you, so very much, you know that. Which is why I didn’t think twice about calling you for this. You remember Jeff at Republic Records? The creepy one from the Holiday part last year that tried to take me home in his gaudy as hell Porsche – I mean who drives a Porsche in New York City! – anyway, well he has a friend over at Big Hit Entertainment over in South Korea who is in desperate need of a photographer for an upcoming tour. Apparently, this tour is going to be HUGE and they need someone ASAP so Jeff reached out and I called you right away!” Aline had a way of making even the smallest things seem like an over-exaggeration so I took this information with a grain of salt.

“Are you allowed to let me know who the artist is?” I asked her, slightly weary.  

“Oh my god Jo, it’s BTS!!! Only the hottest K-Pop group this world has ever seen!”

I laughed at her enthusiasm. You had to be living under a rock not to know of BTS, who had seemingly taken over the world and the hearts of millions of girls and women alike overnight. This would be a dream job for anyone. But at this point in my life, my mind and heart weren’t fully in it anymore.

I pressed her, “and you told Jeff that I would do it…? Aline, I haven’t done anything big since Taylor, I’m not really sure I would be the best for the job considering I don’t usually photograph more than 2 artists at a time, let alone 7 different personalities…”

I wasn’t lying, it’s one thing to photograph Taylor Swift and make sure you capture her every angle, every emotion, every amazing moment on stage with the pressure of a thousand industry people down your back. To photograph 7 different artists all at once under what I am sure is even greater pressure would be a whole other story. A job I am not sure I could handle at this point in time. A month out of the game and you lose some of that passion.

Aline persisted, “You’re insane, you’re one of the best photographers I know, and Taylor absolutely LOVED you, which is why I already submitted your portfolio to Big Hit and they are sending over a contract tonight. You’ll start with their tour in South Korea and Japan, and if they are impressed, you’ll be retained for Europe and the US legs-”

“Aline, you did what?! Without my permission? Are you crazy?!” I cut her off, suddenly feeling very dizzy. Closing my eyes, I took a few slow and steady breaths to calm down. My mind was running rampant and I couldn’t believe Aline would go behind my back like this.

Aline continued, “Oh come on, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s not like you have much of a life in NY. You live alone, pretending you’re happy with your boring life, studying to follow in your dad’s footsteps when you know that life was never your thing, wallowing in your own sadness when I know you’ve been dying to get back out there…seriously, Jo, what have you got to lose?”

And that was it. A month later, I packed up everything I owned into two suitcases, boarded a 15-hour flight to Seoul, and hoped for the best. Big Hit had paid for the trip and the apartment I would be staying in - because God knows I would never be able to afford a $5,000 deposit on such short notice - and in a day’s time I would be meeting BTS and their management.

Was this the biggest mistake, or the greatest career opportunity of my life? It would take a 25-year-old boy named Jimin to answer that question for me, and nothing in my 29 years on this Earth would have prepared me for the effect he’d have on my life, for better and for worse.

[bambamsgotjams]

NCT AU || NCT Light

Hey guys, I am finally back and ready to start a new series! After reading through the tags for the “8th member of bts” or “10th member os stray kids” I decided to put my own twist on to the trend by creating a 7 member female subunit for NCT. I have used faceclaims from popular ulzzang models so please give these models a follow and help support them! Just a heads up I will be using other groups songs as title singles for these girls so I AM NOT CLAIMING THESE SONGS AS MY OWN. ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE ORIGINAL ARTISTS! I have many ideas for this series so please feel free to send in requests! Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

UNIT NAME: NCT Light

MOTO: We Shine Bright

CURRENT MEMBERS: Chunhee, Yuna, Mihi, Jae, Leila, Yejin, and Autumn

CONCEPTS: Badass/Energetic/Fun

DEBUT SINGLE: Dalla Dalla 

Chunhee

Name: Kim Chunhee

Stage Name: Chunhee (춘희)

Birthday: February 5, 1995

Homeplace: Seoul, South Korea

Nationality: Korean

Family: Mother, Father, Older Sister

Position: Lead Vocalist, Visual

Biography

-Shes the oldest member of her unit

-Chunhee's name meaning is "grace and beauty" but her members tease her because of how clumsy she is

-Chunhee looks up to both of her parents who used to sing for her church's choir

-She auditioned for SM along with one of her friends just for fun and was surprised when they chose her over her friend

-Chunhee doesn't have any regrets in life, she sees each moment as a learning experience and goes with the flow

-She loves having fun and going to parties

-If she was to either go to a party or stay at home and sleep she would choose sleep because she says she's lazy

-Despite being the eldest, her members say that Chunhee is the messiest out of all of them

-Her favorite artists are Bruno Mars and Ariana Grande

-She can speak Chinese and Japanese

-She can speak basic english and has said she is trying to learn more so she can communicate better with international fans

-Fans call her the sunshine of the group because she always has a smile on her face

(Faceclaim: @//lololo0728)

Yuna

Name: Park Yuna

Stage Name: Yuna (유나)

Birthday: March 23, 1995

Homeplace: Seoul, South Korea

Nationality: Korean

Family: Mother

Position: Leader, Lead Rapper

Biography

-Yuna grew up in a small town in Seoul with only her mother

-She never knew her father because he left before she was born

-Yuna had always had a love for music, especially hip hop and rap

-She chose to attend a performing arts school so she would improve in her talents

-SM had recruited students at the school to audition and she was one of the lucky few to get through

-Yuna almost debuted with Red Velvet but SM decided that she wasn't ready and she didn't fit the group's image well

-She is very good friends with Taeyong and the two of them grew up training together

-She has a soft spot for children and would often volunteer at daycare centers in her free time as a trainee despite the fact that SM didn't agree with it

-If she wasn't an idol she said she would want to be an pediatric nurse

-Her favorite feature is the mole on her nose because the fans say it looks pretty on her

-She is best friends with Red Velvet’s Park Sooyoung and the two of them are often seen hanging out at events together

-Yuna is obsessed with Leila’s cat Soosoo, Leila has joked about Yuna almost kidnapping her cat when they visited her family home

(Faceclaim: @//yoou.ch)

Mihi

Name: Kwon Mihi

Stage Name: Mihi (미희)

Birthday: April 15, 1996

Homeplace: Busan, South Korea

Nationality: Korean

Family: Mother and Father

Position: Lead Dancer, Main Vocalist

Biography

-Mihi is seen as a quiet and secluded girl

-As a young child she would rarely speak unless spoken to

-As she aged up Mihi stared to speak up for herself more

-Her members say that she is very loud and hyper once you get to know her

-Mihi has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has always had the dream of become a famous chorographer

-She took in an injured Shiba Inu as a teenager and named him Taehyun

-Mihi is a huge fan of blackpink and has all of their dances memorized

-Her favorite artist is Jennie

-She originally auditioned for YG but didn't get, luckily SM accepted her

-Mihi came in second place for her apperance on Hit The Stage

-When she was a trainee she was a backup dancer for SNSD

-Out of the group she gets along the best with Yejin because they both were shy as trainees and often would stick together

(Faceclaim: @//b_3.hye)

Jae

Name: Chae Hyunjae

Stage Name: Jae (재)

Birthday: December 17, 1998

Homeplace: Seoul, South Korea

Nationality: Korean

Family: Mother, Father, Two younger brothers, and a guinea pig

Position: Main Rapper, Vocalist

Biography

-Jae was born in Seoul, South Korea

-Her father worked as a popular CEO of a media entertainment franchise company

-She was raised in a fairly wealthy family as a child

-Jaehad always wanted to go to America so she convinced her parents to allow her to study abroad

-She went to a small public school in Colorado, USA and she was given the American name of "Jae"

-As a congratulations on starting school in America her host family gifted her a guinea pig who she named bubbles

-She studied in America for 2 years before moving back to South Korea to audition to become a singer

-She failed her first audition but was asked to return the next year to audition as a model instead

-SM decided that she had greatly improved in her talent and agreed to allow her to train as a rapper

-In her free time Jae likes to cuddle her guinea pig and produce music

(Faceclaim: @//ponysmakeup)

Leila

Name: Choi Seoah

Stage Name: Leila (라일라)

Birthday: July 25, 1999

Homeplace: Busan, South Korea

Nationality: Korean

Family: Mother, Older Brother, Cat

Position: Face of the group, Rapper, Visual, Vocalist

Biography

-Leila has always been a pretty face even as a child

-Her mother had always made her enter into beauty pagents up until the age of 12

-Leila never liked competing in pagents and didn't agree with the message of competing for beauty

-when she was 13, she refused to compete anymore and her relationship with her mother started to go down

-She has an older brother (age 21) who she considers her best friend and works as a music producer for FNC entertainment

-She has an elder cat named Soosoo who she's had since a little girl and she treasures her very deeply

-Leila decided to audition into SM to become an actress but the judges had requested for her to perform instead and she then passed as a trainee to debut in a group some day

-Leila loves listening to rock groups such as FT Island and Day6

-She considers the best day of her life going to a Day6 concert

-She once went to Paris with her brother and a man stole her ice cream because she didn't know how to speak French

-She is said to be the funniest in the group because she’s always cracking jokes and trying to make others laugh

-Yejin said her most memorable moment with Leila is the time she accidentally walked onto stage without shoes on because both she and the stylist forgot

(Faceclaim: @//bemy1in)

Yejin

Name: Park Yejin

Stage Name: Yejin (예진)

Birthday: April 12, 2000

Homeplace: Jeju, South Korea

Nationality: Korean

Family: Mother, Father

Position: Main Vocalist

Biography

-Yejin has always grown up singing in competitions since she was a young girl

-Her members say she was the smartest out of all the younger trainees

-Yejins favorite animal is dog, she's never been able to have once but she's always wanted one

-Yejin is good friends with Twice's Tzuyu

-She auditioned for JYP before switching to SM after failing to debut in a group multiple times

-Yejin loves listening to Western music, her favorite artist being Shawn Mendes

-Shes always wanted to go to Canada to meet him

-Her members always joke and tease that her obsession is too much for them at times

-Yejin gets really nervous around boys and never once talked to the male trainees, she's never had a male friend before

-Despite her looks Yejin doesn’t like being called cute, her members love to tease her by calling her cute!

(Faceclaim: @//elf_zim)

Autumn

Name: Kang Autumn

Korean name: Kang Soobin (수빈)

Birthday: September 24, 2002

Homeplace: Miami, Florida, USA

Nationality: Korean (American born citizen)

Family: Mother, Father, Younger sister, and her 4 cats

Position: Maknae, Main Dancer, Visual

Biography

-Autumn was born in Miami, Florida

-Her mother was born in Busan, South Korea and moved to America to become an esl teacher for Korean students

-she was at the top of her class for her performing arts school

-Her father was born in America making him an American citizen but comes from Korean heritage

-Both her and her younger sister Violet (age 13) moved to Korea to pursue their own dreams

-Autumn had always taken a liking to dance and grew up at home taking ballet classes

-Her sister Violet is managed under SM and is currently training to become a model/actress

-She has 4 cats Mac, Cheese, Oreo, and Pistachio

-Autumn has stated in interviews that she would do anything for food

-Autumn says she has always aspired to become like Red Velvet and wishes to be in a group like them

-When she met Irene she cried because she was so happy

(Faceclaim: @//i_yoojin_you)

[supastareden]

Inside the Sadness Plaguing K-Pop

by NATALIE FINN | Thu., Mar. 29, 2018 3:07 PM [X]

Nothing cheers you up, lifts you up, brings you life quite like pop music. Even when it's Harry Styles or Adeleor Sam Smith or BTS achingly belting their despair into that cold, lonely night...songs that make you feel all the feelings are still songs that are taking you to new heights. There's nothing quite like a tune that hurts so good.

As we wallow, so do we celebrate.

In South Korea, the genre is known as K-Pop—a catchy moniker established in the 1990s that's starting to catch fire around the globe—and all the hallmarks of the superstars of the Western world are present and accounted for: Charismatic boy bands, polished pop princesses, infectious chart-topping singles, carefully crafted images and tender-aged men and women who've inspired a level of fanaticism reserved for...well, almost no one besides pop stars these days.

Music is the universal language, after all.

But for the second time in four months, the K-pop world is in mourning, this time following the sudden death on March 25 of 100% singer Seo Minwoo. He was 33.

The actor and boyband heartthrob reportedly suffered cardiac arrest; an official cause of death has not yet been announced.

TOP Media founder Andy Lee, the singer turned K-pop impresario who's behind the groups 100%, Teen Top, Shinhwa and UP10TION, expressed his condolences in a statement online, calling Seo a leader known for his tenderness and sincerity.

While American audiences may still be largely in the dark when it comes to the ins and outs of K-pop and its artists, our mainstream exposure fairly limited to PSY's "Gangnam Style" and, more recently, the emergence of BTS on the world stage, fans took to social media to share exactly what Seo meant to them.

"Seo Minwoo is my life mentor. He gave up everything for 100% and perfection. Words are not enough to describe how great of a person he is. How lovely, caring and talented he is. Seo Minwoo, my king... I love you," wrote Haya on Twitter.

She continued, "Seo Minwoo gave up is acting career for 100%. Fought Top Media over and over again (f*ck you tm) to keep 100% together. Everything he did he put his absolute everything in. He openly supported LGBTQ, did vlives often to talk with perfection about their concerns."

Haya's current pinned tweet is from Dec. 24, 2015: "If 100% were a religion, I'd build them a church and dedicate my whole life and soul to them."

While that's a lot, it's indicative of the level of devotion that some K-pop stars have awoken in their fans.

A number of people tweeted that upcoming "selca days"—specific days each month on which fans post selfies with their favorite idols—should be canceled out of respect for Minwoo. 100%'s fandom is called Perfection.

And SHINee World knows what they're going through.

On Dec. 18, 2017, SHINee singer Kim Jong-hyun (known as Jonghyun) committed suicide, baffling fans and even fellow K-pop stars who figured the 27-year-old was on top of the world.

"It was so shocking, because we had seen him so often at events," BTS' RM told Billboard last month. He was so successful."

"My Poet My Artist My Jonghyun I miss you," tweeted w today. In fact, there are so many newly posted photos and video clips of the young man on Twitter that, aside from the occasional mournful missive like this one, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that he's gone.

The account Jonghyun On This Day is also doing its part to keep his memory alive.

But Jonghyun's death—authorities found charred coal briquettes in a frying pan on the stove, which produced carbon monoxide—obviously rattled the music world at large on multiple levels. In addition to the personal loss felt alike by loved ones and fans who felt they knew him, mental health is not an issue that tends to get much media attention in South Korea—or in Asia overall.

"To the South Korean government: Let #Jonghyun be the light in death that he was in life," tweeted Xavier on Dec. 18. "Recognize that suicide is an epidemic in South Korea and takes strides to ending the negative stigmas around mental health and to combat this issue. Don't let Jonghyun be another statistic."

A fan started a Change.org petition demanding that entertainment companies set up mental health support systems for their artists. More than 430,000 people have signed.

After some discussion, his family agreed to make public the suicide note the singer and songwriter, who made his solo debut in 2015 with the well-received album Base, left behind. His friend and Dear Cloud singer Jang Hee-yeon, known as Nine9, posted it on her Instagram. She said she'd obtained the note two weeks before Jonghyun's death and was asked to publish it if he "disappeared from the world."

"I'm broken from the inside," the note read. "The depression that has slowly eaten away at me has finally consumed me, and I couldn't beat it."

It concluded, "The life of fame was not for me. They say it's hard to bump up against the world and become famous. Why did I choose this life? It's a funny thing. It's a miracle that I lasted this long...

"What else is there to say? Just tell me I did well. Tell me that this is enough. Tell me I worked hard. Even if you can't smile, please don't blame me as you send me off. Well done. You've really worked hard. Goodbye."

In a sign that Jonghyun's death could help bring about positive change in the way mental health and depression are publicly discussed, the circumstances of his death continue to be a topic of conversation—one that Seo Minwoo's passing, no matter what the cause, only brings to mind all over again.

Just today a fan tweeted, "Nine said on the last interview Jonghyun once told her that she brings comfort to him. She noticed his condition got worse after blue night and when he gave her the letter she told his family right away, tried to save him, to prevent the worst from happening...

"I really believe everyone around him knew about his condition and tried their best to help him. that's why it hurts so much, that even though he got help he still wanted to leave."

In an interview with Billboard last month, members of BTS said that they wanted to keep the discussion about mental health going.

"I really want to say that everyone in the world is lonely and everyone is sad," Suga, 25, said, "and if we know that everyone is suffering and lonely, I hope we can create an environment where we can ask for help, and say things are hard when they're hard, and say that we miss someone when we miss them."

Bucking national mores and the pressure to be upbeat or put up an artificially glossy front all the time, Jonghyun, who also hosted the long-running music radio program Blue Night, had spoken out publicly about his battle with depression—much like young American stars such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Zayn Malikand Keshahave been widely applauded for doing these days.

His last Blue Night broadcast was in March 2017 after three years behind the mic. He admitted to Esquire Korea that he didn't like traveling and considered himself a homebody—and the close confines of a radio studio, just him alone with some music, had been a perfect fit.

"It may be that I came running to radio in order to escape," he reflected to the magazine, per an English translation. "I don't really like going outside. And I don't really like having to meet a lot of people. I'm also afraid of trying new things. The radio now felt like my own personal space. It had become an escape hatch for me to greet new things without feeling awkward."

Jonghyun, who cited personal matters as the reason he was leaving the radio show, said it had become important to him to share his metaphorical scars with the world.

"I'm fundamentally a pessimistic person," he said. "Ever since I was little I showed a lot of depressive feelings, and it's the same in the present. But I don't think I can keep living my life sustaining those depressive feelings forever. You might be able to go through the early-to-mid-part of your life with that kind of melancholy. But if you want to grow, you can only survive if you throw those feelings away.

"Unless you want to get trapped within yourself and die, you have to grow no matter how much it hurts—but if you stop because you're afraid, in the end it's inevitable that you'd remain in an immature state of mind. I chose the path to transform myself. To reveal myself to the public. To attempt to make my thoughts understood. I have to make people aware that this is the kind of person I am, and I can only be on the defensive if I know that they know."

The translator noted that she avoided using the word "depression," because Jonghyun didn't use what amounted to that word specifically. Even in talking about it, those feelings of sadness remained a beast with no name.

When Jonghyun died, his SHINee band mates and members of the group Super Junior (both groups under the S.M. Entertainment umbrella), all clad in black, carried his coffin from Asan Medical Center in Seoul to a waiting vehicle. His sister headed the procession, carrying a photo of her late brother.

The funeral was private, for friends and family only, but hundreds of people lined up to see the coffin leave the hospital.

A statement from S.M. Entertainment read in part (according to Rolling Stone), "The deep sorrow cannot be compared to ones of his family who had to let go of their loving son and brother but the employees and artists of SM Entertainment, also in deep shock and sorrow, are offering condolences. Jonghyun was the best artist who loved music more than anyone and always worked hard for his performance. We ask you to refrain from making rumors or assumptions based on reports in respect of his family who are in deep sorrow from the sudden news. As his family wished, his funeral will be carried out in the quietest manner with his family members and co-workers."

But Jonghyun's death was hardly the first time the punishing pace of the K-pop machine had come under fire.

In addition to being expected to tour and crank out albums, sometimes in multiple languages (SHINee had also recorded in Japanese), the artists often appear on a never-ending stream of competition TV series in addition to doing talk shows, photo shoots and public appearances to keep the fans both sated and hungry for more.

But despite the seeming glut of artists and groups to remember (there are so manyselca days), truly breaking through as a star remains an elusive concept—and standing out in South Korea's youth-obsessed culture can feel like an insurmountable challenge.

And then there's the appearance factor. "If a girl has a bad face and a good body, the problem can be fixed with plastic surgery," Kim Min-seok, a former trainer with YG Entertainment (considered along with S.M. and JYP as the "Big Three" agencies), told Broadly. in 2016.

Moreover, the litany of groups also tend to be carefully managed, meticulously packaged pop confections, with a management company pulling the strings behind the scenes. Those who hope to make it big are expected to dedicate their lives to that goal, and that's basically what signing a contract entails.

In January 2015, NBC News cited a survey of South Korean pre-teens: When asked about career aspirations, 21 percent said they wanted to be K-pop stars.

"I am thinking only one thing—our song keeps being played," 20-year-old Sowon, a member of the girl group GFriend, which had an international hit at the time with their debut single "Glass Bead," told NBC News. "I hope to perform anywhere, anytime, even if I can't sleep or I am tired."

On Feb. 24, 2015, aspiring K-pop star Ahn So Jin died after falling 10 stories from an apartment building, with police concluding that her death was a suicide. The 22-year-old had made a splash the previous year after making it to the finals of The Kara Project—a competition show held to find girl group Kara a new member after two girls had left.

"It has to be this, or nothing," Sojin said on the show's premiere. "I can't miss this." She had been a K-pop trainee with Kara manager DSP Media for five years but her contract had reportedly ended the month before her death.

Kara disbanded for good in January 2016.

ng Ha-Jin, a 23-year-old university student who had once been a trainee with S.M. Entertainment after winning a talent competition, told NBC News in 2015 that she wasn't allowed to have a cell phone while in the program and the competition to earn a coveted slot in an actual girl group was fierce—and stressful.

"The most difficult part in fact was when I saw myself and felt like I didn't grow up," she said.

The loss of individuality isn't limited to K-pop, either.

In 2013, Minami Minegishi of Japan's AKB48—a group with over 100 rotating members who appear in different configurations at different events—shaved her head and tearfully apologized in a video confession after she spent the night with her boyfriend, an apparent infraction of a no-dating rule.

"I don't believe just doing this means I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing I thought was that I don't want to quit AKB48," Minegishi said, according to the BBC. AKB48's manager said Minegishi, an original member of the group when it formed in 2005, had been demoted to trainee status.

Her fans, more appalled by the self-flagellation than anything else, rallied around her, insisting she not be punished for just wanting to live her life.

In 2015, the BBC reported that members of Japanese boy band SMAP somberly dressed in black and publicly apologized on their weekly show SMAPxSMAP after they attempted to leave their longtime agency Johnny & Associates.

The K-pop scene doesn't sound quite so rigid these days, with managers and producers perhaps not wanting to alienate coveted Western audiences with oppressive behavioral strictures, but it still demands a level of old-fashioned poise and accommodation from its artists.

"If you go to the agency, every young trainee will give you a very polite bow and there are notices with the company rules on the wall to remind them how to behave," K-pop industry expert Mark Russell told the BBC in 2016.

In June 2014, Taeyeon of Girls Generation and Baekhyun of boy band EXO apologized to their respective fan bases for the "disappointment, anger, hatred, frustration, and dejection" they presumably felt when they found out that Taeyeon and Baekhyun were dating (a coupling that would seemingly send their fans over the moon, Jelena-style).

Last June, T.O.P. of the group Big Bang was hospitalized for several days after overdosing on prescription medication, the incident occurring a day after he was charged with smoking marijuana—a crime punishable by up to five years in prison in South Korea. According to Today Online, when he was caught smoking in October 2016, he issued a handwritten apology letter stating, "I deserve punishment for hurting the (BIGBANG) members, agency, public, fans and family. I'll regret this for tens of thousands of years."

T.O.P. was found guilty and received a suspended 10-month prison sentence because the judge determined that, although he had admitted his guilt and "disappointed his family and fans," he seemed sufficiently remorseful.

"I'm truly sorry that I disappointed my fans and the public," the 29-year-old, whose real name is Choi Seung-Hyun, told reporters after his sentencing last summer. I will do my best to make a fresh start and not to make such a mistake again with what I've learned from this lesson,"

In August, management company WM Entertainment announced that JinE of Oh My Girl was taking a break from the group while she sought treatment for anorexia, stating, "We will wholeheartedly support JinE while she rests and receives treatment. We apologize once more for bringing this sudden news to fans and ask that you continue to show Oh My Girl unchanging love and interest." JinE's permanent exit from the group was announced in October.

It's impossible not to note a hint of concern over past K-pop tragedy and the pitfalls of fame in this otherwise cheerful birthday greeting sent today (already March 30 in South Korea) to Cha Eunwoo, or Eunwoo, of the six-member boy band Astro.

"Mr. Cha Eunwoo Happy birthday to our sweet and sparkling fluff. AROHA are so lucky to have you," wrote Ashlyn Akiko (who changed her handle to #happychaeunwooday for the occasion). "Stay happy and healthy."

[dancemotionusa]

Dance as Mutual Understanding

by: Sarah Horne, DMUSA Project Director

It’s difficult to reflect back on my time with DanceMotion USA℠ because I’m still processing that the program is really coming to a close. When I was first introduced to the concept of cultural diplomacy in 2014, it seemed a vehicle for political gain. When I actually experienced cultural diplomacy as the tour manager of the Mark Morris Dance Group’s DanceMotion USA℠ residency in Cambodia, Timor Leste, Taiwan, and China, I understood that it was a vehicle for change; a tool to be used to connect individuals through something as simple yet powerful as dance. I can honestly say that partaking in that residency changed my life.

Small town Massachusetts girl, never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen travel to destinations like Cambodia; and Timor Leste, I had never even heard of it. Yet, the people I met in these destinations became my family for the 5 weeks we were abroad. We moved together, ate, laughed, shared highs and lows, connected on intimate and personal levels, and all expressed the same desire to live a happy, healthy life; to provide for our families; to take pride in our work. The world really is small and humans all need and want the same basic necessities. Whether we’re in South East Asia or America, we’re inevitably the same, this program allowed me to fully understand that.

Mark Morris and Sarah Horne at the closing ceremony of the Special Olympics in Timor Leste with a young participant

Almost a year after that residency experience, I had the opportunity to become a part of the DanceMotion USA℠ team; working to bring to fruition these residencies for other American dancers and dance companies. With the program having had such an impact on me personally, I wanted to work toward building experiences for others that would allow them the same opportunities I had. As the Project Manager for DanceMotion USA℠, I worked with embassies and cultural partners in Africa, Asia, South America, and Eurasia to build residency tours that connected American dancers with individuals who may never have met an American, or who may never have been given the opportunity to dance and move due to physical limitations and/or access to dance and dance education. Some of the vulnerable populations we worked with had caretakers who didn’t believe those in their care could dance perhaps because they were wheelchair bound or had other physical limitations. Yet, when the American residency companies were on the ground, the palpable energy of joy in the room radiated because dance really is for everyone. Those caretakers not only saw those in their care dance but they saw them light up with a happiness that comes from inclusion and the belief that we can achieve anything our hearts set out to do.

Sarah Horne being interviewed in Taiwan following a residency activity

I had the privilege to travel to Vientiane, Laos with Dance Heginbotham in 2016 and watching this company teach and exchange with individuals on the ground brought joy to my heart and tears of happiness to my eyes. I saw them experience the same transformation I had during my Mark Morris residency and I knew then that this program was more than about achieving foreign policy goals, it was about individual, person-to-person exchange; it was about the universal language of dance; it was about empowerment and joy.

John Heginbotham with Sarah Horne in Luang Prabang, Laos

In 2017, as the Project Director for the program, I traveled to Mongolia, Korea and Russia to meet with Embassy staff and cultural partners in advance of the seventh and final season of programming. Explaining the program and discussing how dance can be used as a way to connect is often harder than one would think. More often than not, those we work with expect us to want to work with professional dancers, dance students, companies, etc. and to put on performances. Yet, the power of what we do lies in the exact opposite; connecting individually with those new to dance and/or exchanging with local, traditional groups in an effort to absorb and appreciate the culture, history, and heritage of the countries we travel to.

These advance trips held an extra special meaning for me, not only did I know they would establish the residencies for the last season of DanceMotion USA℠ programming, but I was near the end of my first trimester of pregnancy, carrying with me my daughter. In her, I hope to instill not only an appreciation and love for travel but also the respect and admiration for other cultures and societies that has grown within me since my involvement with DanceMotion USA℠ began. As the world continues to grow, preserving and respecting culture and traditions is all the more important. Cultural exchange programs do that, not only by sending Americans abroad, but by bringing international artists and curators to the United States. The connections fostered through these exchanges help create space for dialogue and discussion, demonstrate shared values, and increase cross-cultural understanding.

Sarah Horne in Moscow, Russia during an advance trip

Now as the program end looms in site, I have the weight and responsibility of keeping the legacy of these residency exchanges alive for years to come so that others may understand the powerful impact of cultural diplomacy.  In bidding goodbye to this chapter of dance diplomacy, I reflect back on how dance diplomacy began during the Cold War. It was President Dwight D. Eisenhower who created the means for the State Department to facilitate cultural exchange as a way to “stimulate the presentation abroad by private firms and groups of the best American industrial and cultural achievements, in order to demonstrate the dedication of the United States to peace and human well-being [and] to offset worldwide Communist propaganda charges that the United States has no culture.” Since then, dance diplomacy has ebbed and flowed as foreign policy goals and objectives have changed. Today, dance is used as a means to foster cultural exchange and mutual understanding and to establish relationships between individuals. As we look at the next chapter of cultural diplomacy, I hope the State Department maintains these goals which I hold near and dear to my heart and continues to encourage individuals to connect through the arts because they represent a universal language equal to none. It has been a privilege and an honor to be both a participant and administrator of this program; for what it has taught me and instilled within me, I am eternally changed and grateful.

[extra-fulgadrome]

MVP - a Snapshot of Hana Song

Hana’s grandmother, born Sagong Chŏng-sun, had been a child when the Japanese occupation of Korea ended. At the height of the occupying force’s cultural suppression, Chŏng-sun’s own grandmother had taught her young granddaughter traditional Korean games that would have otherwise been stamped out — games rooted in folklore, some even older than hangul. These were Hana’s precious heirlooms, and many were the days spent cooped up in her mother’s tiny apartment, playing yutnori and gonu with her grandmother while they waited for the rain to let up.

“Halmoni…” Hana had once whined, pushing herself away from the low table to lie back against the threadbare rug. “You never let me win.”

Her grandmother simply gazed down at her, eyes steely and unsympathetic, as she gathered up the spread of playing cards to shuffle.

“If you want to win, work for it, child.”

She wasn’t the sort of person who backed down from a challenge. Bolstered by those words instead of being discouraged, Hana started to match her grandmother’s skill in games with her own cunning, despite the gap in experience. She won perhaps one in every five games they played, and was always improving — and when she won, how her grandmother’s eyes would shine with pride, and the moment wasn’t even spoiled when the old woman would tease her (“Are you getting better or just more lucky, Rabbit?”).

Then, her grandmother’s health took a turn for the worse, and little by little the games they shared became increasingly seldom occurrences, until they stopped altogether.

It was hard going for a long while after Grandmother passed. When Hana looked at the chess set in their once-shared bedroom, the game half played, never to be finished… it was all too much.

Seeing Hana’s despondency, her mother, a serious woman who did not share her family’s great love of games, did an impulsive thing. One late evening, she detoured on her way home from her work and purchased an old Sega Dreamcast from the secondhand shop, along with a handful of scratched CD roms. It was an ugly plastic box, two console generations out of date. Hana had never been too interested in video games — it was one of a number of “boy things” that, like wrestling in the muddy yard and smuggling nude magazines into school, she wasn’t terribly curious about. When she connected it to the little television in the dining room, only half the games still ran. But the dull glow of the television, the bleep-bloops of music, and the click-clack of colorful buttons was engaging enough to occupy those quiet, lonely hours before her mother returned home every night.

Hana wasn’t sure what changed, or why, but at some point before graduating middle school and after she had completed all of her Dreamcast games several times (perfect save files all in a row, one-hundred-percent completion) she found herself standing outside of a gaming cafe. The cafe’s staff charged by the hour to use their high-end PCs, top of the line rigs which outpaced her school’s computers (and the brick of a laptop her mother sometimes brought home, which was little more than a spreadsheet machine) to an absurd degree.

With only vague ideas of what she was getting herself into, Hana sat herself in a plush chair and pulled herself towards the computer, drawing a few curious looks from the largely male customers — curious, but not unkind as she had feared. With bright eyes and a heart full of hope, Hana logged on for the first time.

The subsequent year passed by in a blur, studies falling to the wayside even as she entered high school.

Warcraft. League. Counterstrike. Age of Empires.

A crowd at her back, cheering her on, as she no-scope headshots a platinum-level player from halfway across the map, again.

MMORPG. MOBA. FPS. RTS.

Her mother, face pulled into a frown, asking her why her grades have been dropping, asking where Hana went after school.

Casual. Noob. Hobbyist. Veteran.

When did the games become more than just a distraction, Hana wondered, idly purchasing herself a Starcraft subscription.

Winning got me this far, as she signed on to her first esports sponsorship. How much father can I go?

Then, later, when the MEKA recruiters come, was it in my blood all along?

Life was a challenge, but not one she couldn’t overcome. The training was tough and the hours were long, but it was just as fun as it was exhausting, and she always performed best under pressure.

Hana Song was a excellent gamer and entertainer, well-loved by her fan-base, but D.Va was transcendent. Rising star, liberator, celebrity, soldier. An idol, a warrior. The face of MEKA’s elite pilots, “D.Va” was a household name the world over, proudly and decisively combating the Omnic crisis. All of this came with perks — her mother would never have to work again, and what little time D.Va spent off of the training grounds or the battlefield passed in luxury.

And that was all well and good, but she’d be lying if she claimed any of that was the reason why she devoted herself to the Korean army’s Mobile Exo-Force.

Was it any real surprise that war was the greatest game mankind had ever produced?

Was it shocking, given that it was the favored subject matter of countless movies, novels, video games, children at play, and great works of art? Humans invented war before they’d made the wheel. D.Va turned war into the casual online entertainment of record numbers of steam watchers the world over. The world continued to spin.

There was some controversy at first, the rumblings of malcontent parents worried that their children would be desensitized to violence, but, well. It wasn’t as if she was fighting actual people, was she? Her heart went out to the sane Omnics in the world, the ones who hadn’t rebelled against their programming and spewed out appliances of death and destruction, but the thing that had risen out of the east Chinese sea and threatened to sink the Korean peninsula wasn’t exactly a cute little roomba.

Meeting the Bastion unit that old man Torbjörn dug out of Sweden had made her reconsider her position on Omnics, just slightly.

It had been during a photo-shoot they had met, a joint operation between the South Korean and the United States militarys — the kind of event that the Americans called “cross-promotion” when what they meant was “propaganda.” D.Va’s inclusion was almost an afterthought, pitched by MEKA for her brand’s popularity and to widen the expo’s audience appeal. For the most part, all she had to do was shake hands with shoddy old bureaucratic men and pose with her mech. After a few hours with the photographer the organizers ran out of things for her to do, and she was shuffled off into the gardens outside the building to sip non-alcoholic sparkling cider and be bored as hell while the “adults” talked business.

Then, from a behind a shrub, beeping. “Bwee, bwoo bwoorbweebweep booo…”

D.Va abandoned her empty plastic champagne flute to investigate, because beeping bushes were the most interesting thing that had happened in hours.

She followed the noise to its source, a pristine Bastion unit that she would have balked at the sight of and sounded the alarm… if it hadn’t been very carefully unshelling a bag of vending machine peanuts with its huge robot hands, and feeding them to a family of ravenous squirrels. D.Va vaguely recalled the news that they’d reclaimed a Bastion unit over in Europe, but she’d thought it would be under lock and key in some remote facility, not hanging out in a government park, making nice with the local wildlife.

“Bweep bweep,” the thing chimed, shifting its… optic?… over in her direction. Spotted.

D.Va took a step back, and snapped a twig beneath her heel, sending the rodents scattering. The machine beeped sadly at their departure, and five minutes later, despite herself, D.Va found herself keeping the Omnic company, sitting on its back as it rolled around the park in tank form.

It… Bastion unit E54, was a good listener, she’d give the robot that much. She spilled her guts to the machine about her frustrations and anxiety, and Bastion always replied with the appropriate emotion (if you could call it that) in its signature style. Sad bwoops for D.Va’s worries, curious bweeps when she talked about gaming, happy bwops and beeps when she talked about how proud she was of her progress.

A photo of D.Va in an elegant gown, riding on top of a Bastion unit as it plucked a flower and offered it to her, made its way on to Omnic rights webpages as a sign of peaceful progress between the races of man and machine… then was picked up a few days later by the mainstream media, who smeared her with rumor-mongering headlines like “KOREAN MECH PILOT, LYING DOWN WITH THE MACHINE?” and “SO-CALLED HEROINE OPENLY EMBRACES ENEMY”. It was a short-lived scandal, but those tense few days where MEKA threatened to pull D.Va from the spotlight made her sick with stress until the PR department managed to spin the story in a positive light.

Her fans (with a few crybaby outliers screaming about betrayal, but screw those guys, really) just thought it was a cute photo. Her Japanese audience especially appreciated its “moe factor” and spammed her with fan art.

D.Va was just glad that the experience, which she would remember fondly as the most open she had been since her grandmother had died, had not been entirely tainted by the unexpected aftermath.

From that point onward, however, MEKA was much more careful about where D.Va was allowed to go. Her life became nothing but endless training, drilling, and fighting. If she had thought her schedule had been strict before, the D.Va of a few months ago wouldn’t have been able to imagine what it was like to only be allowed nine hours to herself a day — eight for sleep, one for meals. Perhaps it was MEKA’s way of punishing her, or perhaps they feared an increase in the Omnic’s ferocity after the recent assassination of Tekhartha Mondatta, leader of the Omnic spiritual movement, the Shambali. Either way, with no time to spend on her usual hobby, the most she got in the way of stress relief was reading the travel blog of Mei-Ling Zhou (and a mobile version of  mahjong she played for a little before bed each night, but that was more so her brain didn’t get cobwebs).

Mei was a figure of fascination to D.Va — sleeping in the cold for nine years, only to emerge into a tumultuous world where her organization had been disgraced and disbanded. Having to escape from the arctic tundra with nothing but her wits… then going on to continue the work right where she and her fallen comrades had left off. Saving the world! ...from an ecological crisis, sure, which wasn’t exactly as cool as an evil empire bent on conquest or a dark god from beyond the stars or a demon army, but Mei very much had the indomitable spirit of her favorite video game heroes.  

So when she heard Mei was coming to South Korea to set up a weather data collection device at one of their military bases, D.Va asked — not begged, or pleaded, but seriously and maturely requested for her CO to grant D.Va the honor of acting as an ambassador during Mei’s visit.

Sooner or later the higher-ups at MEKA had to stop treating her like a child. She was fighting their war, they came to her for aid.

They tentatively agreed, provided D.Va remain on her best behavior leading up to the visit. It was like dealing with her mother all over again, and left a sour taste in her mouth as she exited the administration building.

At least the excitement made the coming weeks bearable.

Finally, the day came. D.Va stood tall, dressed in a pristine MEKA uniform, her arms crossed confidently over her chest and her stance wide and strong, as the transport shuttle reached the helipad and touched down. Her first thought, as the scientist clambered out of the craft somewhat unsteadily, was that Mei-Ling Zhou looked different when she wasn’t bundled up in that heavy fur coat.

A moment later second thought was she’s so cute! Round face! Big dewy eyes! And she was so short D.Va could reach down and scoop her right up! The MEKA pilot approached the older woman, smiling brightly.

“Zhou-Seonbae! Welcome to sunny South Korea,” D.Va said, bidding Mei peace with a gesture — or, as D.Va preferred, V for Victory.

“Hello Miss Song,” the woman said, in mildly accented hangul. Then, switching to english, “Just call me Mei, if you don’t mind!”

“Only if you call me D.Va!” she chirped, and Mei smiled back at her as she hefted a large metal case out of the cabin. She was strong for such a little woman.

They thanked the shuttle pilot, and D.Va escorted Mei to a waiting car and their security escort. The ride over to the cellphone tower where Mei would be installing her probe was only twenty minutes travel the base’s airport, but the short journey was full of happy chatter. D.Va confided that Mei’s travel journal was a source of great personal inspiration to her, and the older woman introduced her to Snowball, Mei’s cute little drone.

“Snowball… that’s nun mungchi, in hangul.”

“Nun mungzhe…?” Mei said, consideringly, patting the little bot on its round head. Snowball’s blue LED eyes swiveled around to look at her. Adorable.

“Nun mungchi.” D.Va held up a finger, her face serious. The spitting image of a patient, if strict, teacher.

“Nun mungchi.” Mei repeated earnestly.

“You’ve got it!” D.Va said, delighted. Mei put her hand on her chest and beamed, as if receiving a great honor.

“Niiirn miiirrchiii,” Snowball whirred cheerfully, bopping the car’s roof in its excitement before careening back down to the seat below, blue eyes spinning cartoonishly.

They were still laughing when their car pulled up to the tower.

At the end of Mei’s stay, the two women parted with great reluctance, both promising to stay in touch. D.Va couldn’t have been happier to count Mei among her friends, and refreshed from the time she had spent getting to know her hero, plunged back into her training with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

Just in time, too, as MEKA mobilized in response to one of the worst Omnic raids yet, spearing farther inland than even the most pessimistic estimate predicted. The enemy forces had quickly spilled over into unevacuated civilian territory and time was of the essence. They deployed at four in the morning to hold down the line in Daegu while the infantry set up a defensive perimeter. Her orders were to cut the enemy off from encroaching further, to minimize damage whenever possible, and to defend fleeing civilians.

As D.Va touched down in Daegu and began to repel the machine invaders, she saw there weren’t many people left to defend.

This battle, she thought grimly, as she gunned down a line of drones as they swept through an abandoned playground, is not exactly livestream material.

Hemmed in on all sides, D.Va made a tactical retreat and found a vantage point from which to target her foes at more of a distance — everyone knew the high ground was most advantageous. Her fusion cannons were essentially buffed shotguns, the wide spread of buckshot not meant for precision shooting, but she would manage. The targeting system of her mech got a real workout as she sniped stragglers from the Omnic’s main forces (“Boom, headshot!”), eventually drawing their attention all over again.  Nowhere to go, she switched mental tracks to tower defense game and activated her mech’s defense matrix, unleashing a strategic barrage of missiles. Soon, the twisted bodies of the Omnic assault forces lay strewn around the pitted street, their zerg rush at a merciful end — for now.

“...multikill,” she panted, the fusion cannons mounted in her mech’s arms smoking, the barrels white-hot. Any more and the metal would warp — not that it mattered much now, seeing that she was down to less than three-fourths of her ammo capacity. A bead of sweat dripped down her face. If she were being honest, that had been... a real pinch.

Time to restock.

“Need a supply drop,” she said into the comms, waiting for confirmation from command. A minute passed in worrying silence.

“This is D.Va, requesting a resupply drone. Please acknowledge, over.”

There was no response. She switched to the encrypted channels, trying again to reach command to no avail, before attempting to contact the various squad captains.

Nothing.

“Is it broken…? Well, that’s just my luck!”

Even in the privacy of her thoughts, she refused to acknowledge the bleak alternative.

A plan started to come together. Under the circumstances, D.Va would have to make her way over to the supply depot on foot... so to speak. She boosted into the air, intending to take the rooftop route, collateral damage be damned. It was just a few short miles to the north, along the perimeter.

An unexpected burst of fire caught her mech across its visor, the heavy steel slug sending a long hairline fracture through the supposedly bulletproof polymer. She wheeled around to face the source, spotting an airborne Omnic with a mounted railgun of all things. She strafed left, aiming carefully for the machine’s rotors, but it simply tilted away, her barrage deflected harmlessly by its armored shell.

...OP, plz nerf.

Not missing a beat, she fired her last missile at the hovering Omnic, but the distance was too great — it simply swiveled its body 360 degrees clockwise on an axis, the missile sailing harmlessly through the spot its bulk had been occupying a nanosecond previously. Just as she began contemplating activating her mech’s self destruct sequence and booking it, the readout on her HUD indicated a swarm of enemies was approaching from the southwest. Fast.

“Ah, shi-bal…”

No choice now, she would have to make a break for it—

“I’ve got you all in my sights.”

A splash of light in the alleyway where the Omnic hoard was approaching, and one by one the enemy’s icons flickered out, leaving just two — the flying railgun in enemy-red, and the unknown combatant in grey, who was approaching her position now. Were they friend or foe?

As the grey icon came nearer, one thing was clear: they were about to walk right into that railgun’s line of sight, and it was almost done charging a second shot.

Time to be a goddamn hero.

“STAY BACK,” she shouted, the mech magnifying her voice, as she grabbed her light gun from its holster and activated the self-destruct subroutine. The mech launched forward and she launched back, and she was briefly airborne before landing on her heels, digging into the asphalt even as she tried to gain some distance. The timing was crucial, and she knew it by heart, but this was cutting it a little close—

The fusion reactor detonated, shattering a block’s worth of glass and decimating the aerial Omnic.

Well, if anyone asked, she’d just say an Omnic did it.

D.Va, upright and unharmed, popped her gum and turned to face the stranger, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes.

“I know you,” she said in english. “The American vigilante… Soldier: 76. Is that right?”

His weapon, which had been raised in alarm towards the explosion, slowly lowered as he took her in. She kept her grip on her light gun tight, but let her arm hang at her side. This guy could be dangerous, could be an ally. She would have to play this by ear.

The masked man grunted by way of greeting, then relaxed his stance. That was no way to react to a warrior of her caliber, but if he wasn’t going to take her seriously as a potential combatant, she would happily take advantage of his oversight. Moreover, now that D.Va could get a good look at him, he seemed injured. There was no visible blood, but he was favoring his left leg… a sprain or break, perhaps.

“You’re that… actress.” Tch.

“I’m a proud soldier of the Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army, and you are wanted by the UN for questioning.” He ought to know his place, this old man.

“You, a soldier?” He shook his head, and without the benefit of seeing his expression, it was difficult to tell if it was in disbelief... or amusement. “Your country drafts middle schoolers, now?”

“I am a mech pilot with hundreds of confirmed kills, and unless you can withstand a direct hit from a weapon that damaged tech developed on a multi-million dollar budget, I also just saved your life.”

Perhaps he was shocked into submission, or perhaps he was grateful but too proud to admit it, but regardless, the old man had nothing to say to that. Cool and professional despite her distaste, she approached him from his injured side and offered him her shoulder. Grumbling, he slung his gun around his back and wordlessly accepted her aid, leaning on her as she supported him. Soldier: 76 was heavy, but D.Va didn’t just train in mech piloting. No, she was also quite talented on the track, in the obstacle course, and (naturally), on the range. With her free hand, she twirled her gun.

“You’re a decent shot, right, 76? Try to keep up. It’s a long walk to the perimeter.”

“Hmph. We’ll see who slows down who.”

The destruction of Daegu was a huge blow to the people of South Korea, who had grown comfortable and confidant after MEKA began its initiative to outfit its mechs with pilots and repel the Omnic invasion. Morale was especially low in MEKA’s headquarters, the mood desperate and mournful since the confusion caused by the communications blackout (which resulted from an Omnic hack) had seen many young pilots killed. The populace’s faith in MEKA was shaken, just as those pilots who had managed to survive the disaster where shaken by the loss of their comrades in arms.

It wasn’t the first time they had taken casualties, but never before have they been so numerous.

D.Va felt a wave of pity and understanding for the dissolution of Overwatch, an event of which Soldier: 76 had spoken to her about, just a little, as they fought and fled their way through the streets of Daegu. It had been what little information she managed to get out of him, between his long bouts of gruff silence, occasional condescending remarks, and even rarer praise.

For her part, D.Va was keeping busy with disaster relief. She, along with a bulk of the MEKA recruits, had volunteered their time to the recovery efforts. Command had cleared them for this duty almost almost as soon as they put the request in, probably just because it was a good idea to stay visible to help PR, but who knows? Maybe they thought it would lift their spirits.

As much as D.Va believed this was valuable work, however, it just depressed her. The sooner she was allowed to fight again, the happier she would be. No matter what that Grandpa: 76 said, she knew her place was on the battlefield.

For now, at least, she could occupy her time constructively. It was better than sitting back at base, doing nothing. Yesterday she had cleared a street of rubble, today she assisted the paramedics with search and rescue. Tomorrow she might help with handing out supplies...

Her mech beeped twice, and a bell icon appeared at the bottom of her HUD. A call, nonurgent.

She pressed the receive button, accepting it immediately.

“D.Va,” she identified.

“It’s Maeng,” came the familiar voice of her fellow recruit. “We’ve got a VIP waiting in the market district. You mind playing babysitter until we can get a security detail on him? My shift is just about over and I wanted to grab a bite before I get some shuteye.”

“Yes, yes,” she replied, as he pinged her the VIP’s location on her minimap. “You can always  count on me to make a good impression!”

Her usual cheer wasn’t quite there, but Maeng still thanked her before he exited the call. He was a sweet kid, and it was heartbreaking the way he hadn’t been sleeping since the incident. It was the least she could do.

D.Va headed over, detouring briefly to assist with an electrical fire that had broken out, before arriving at the designated area. Exiting her mech, she checked her hair in the glossy reflection of its visor, winking at the cute girl mirrored back at her.

“Oh my gosh,” went a warm voice behind her, from inside a large emergency tent, “I mean, I knew you were from here, but I never thought… well…”

That voice was… familiar.

The man stepped into the light, and D.Va’s eye widened. The Brazilian DJ smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he walked… no,  skated forward.

“It’s so cool to meet you. Wish it was under better circumstances, but I’m a big fan, D.Va!”

“You’re Lúcio! The Lúcio,” she exclaimed, a disbelieving smile pulling at her lips. That Maeng could’ve at least warned her…!

Lúcio blinked at her, then grinned goofily. D.Va trotted forward giddily, and the two shook hands enthusiastically.

“Haha, you’ve heard of me? Man, that’s wild. People know me even in Korea, huh. Makes me feel even better about doing this charity concert, if people won’t be wondering ‘who’s this guy?’ the whole time, you know?”

“Of course we know you! Synaesthesia Auditiva has topped the music charts here for months and months now! A lot of us followed you even before that, on the internet.”

“I’d been told global reception was pretty good, but you know, there’s a big difference between being told and seeing it for yourself, I guess! I probably don’t even have to say this, but you’re really big in Brazil. The kids call you Coelhinho, and I’ve even seen people with tattoos of your logo, believe it or not.”

“Oh, I believe it,” D.Va said confidently, putting her hands on her hips. Lúcio laughed good-naturedly, doubling over and shaking his head so all his funny dreadlocks waved around. When he rose, D.Va couldn’t help but think that he was awfully tall. She stood up straighter, feeling her face light up just a little bit.

“So you’re doing a free concert?” she asked, leading them back to the seating in the tent. Folding chairs. Not the most comfortable or appropriate thing for a pair of international celebrities, but that was life.

“Yeah. I’ve done this a couple of times before, like during that hurricane that wrecked Georgia and Florida, or when that bad earthquake hit Italy. Trying to use the power of music to lift spirits, you feel me? First time I’ve ever had a concert in Asia, though.”

“I’m sure the people here will be happy to have you play for them,” D.Va said. She meant it, too.

“I’ve got a fundraiser going online right now, too, and it’s going pretty good. Hopefully I’ll be able to give a little more than good vibrations,” Lúcio said, smiling conspiratorially. “I’d give you a sneak peak at the set I cooked up, but I can’t even get ready until the power in this area comes back, and the last guy told me it might be a while.”

“...probably a few hours, at least,” she admitted.

The conversation lulled into a slightly awkward pause, as they both smiled and tried not to look at each other. D.Va didn’t understand why she was being so silly about this — she had met scores of K-Pop artists and famous actors, so she shouldn’t be feeling this flustered. She stared at the dusty ground, and traced a line in the dirt with her foot. It gave her an idea.

Finally, she broke the silence.

“Lúcio, have you ever played gonu?”

“Nope,” he replied, flashing a winning smile. D.Va liked that smile. She liked it a lot.

“It’s a traditional Korean game — a little bit  like tic-tac-toe. Here, let me show you…”

Happy Birthday, @cervamater. Keep on shining, starlight.

[fmhaneul]

PART A — THE PROFILE.

stage name: venus birth name: haneul jun walsh korean name: jun haneul position/occupation: leader, main dancer, main rapper, vocalist of rookie group elite birthday: february 14, 1997 zodiac sign: aquarius place of birth: seoul, south korea height: 185cm weight: 67kg blood type: ab

facts:

i. haneul can play the flute, and has even learned many of his senior’s songs on the instrument. ii. he says his greatest skill is dancing with his glasses on. iii. his favorite colors are a mystery even to him, so he can’t say one color is his favorite. iv. he says his favorite western artist is rihanna. v. his korean is self-taught for the most part, only taking classes to fix pronunciation and learn more fluency within the language. vi. he has always been interested in things like aliens, cryptids, and other unexplained phenomena. vii. he wants to have a lot of piercings and tattoo’s one day, but he promises he won’t get any until he is older because fans don’t want him too. viii. he can’t handle anything too spicy or too sweet. ix. he has a fear of needles and clowns. x. in the future, he wants to do a lot of variety shows and hopes that one day elite will be known as a fun group as well as talented because he loved those groups the best growing up.

ideal type: someone he can laugh with, a person who he can introduce to his parents, a person who he feels is his soulmate.

PART B — THE QUESTIONNAIRE.

who are your role models?

“ my biggest idol is gatsy of eros. i think all of eros and people like moon bongki inspire me but, if i had to choose one person who makes me want to be the best me it would be gatsby. ”

do you have any nicknames? if so, what do your friends or family call you?

“ mostly, i just go by haneul. i tried to go by an english name once, but my parents prefer haneul. my mom does call me pumpkin, though. ”

what are your favorite foods? what would you recommend to fans?

“ i like food that i grew up on, so a lot of american food. i recommend all fans try fried catfish one day. as for international fans... i think you should try gimbap or jjajangmyeon. i don’t like spice so i think those are solid choices. ”

what are some places that you would like to go but haven’t been to yet?

“ i want go to iceland, switzerland, germany. i really like a lot of european countries but i have only been to england and france before for family vacations. hopefully, one day i can go and meet fans from those countries as well. ”

what would you say to a fan who is struggling?

“ everyone has been in a bad place, some people have even been in the same place, so remember you aren’t alone. the feelings and emotions you have are valid, but think through your actions and attempt to replace negativity with positivity. work on your health and remember that you can survive anything. ”

are there any languages you speak besides your native tongue? what other languages would you like to learn?

“ besides english, i learned korean and spanish. right now i’m kind of tackling japanese, but really i want to know as many languages as possible. i think it is actually kind of fun to learn things like languages. ”

what are your three favorite songs at the moment?

“ shangri-la by eros, obviously. and all night pandora, havana camila cabello. ”

did you always know you wanted to be famous as a child? was your family supportive?

“ yes. my mom says i danced on the way home from the airport, you know, in the car and she could just tell i loved music. i’ve always done dancing and singing and even instruments. music is just—it’s my entire life. being famous was just like always part of that. i love talking to people and knowing everyone, so it just kind of happened to be a perfect fit for me. i think i was seriously meant to be here, and i was blessed by god to have a supportive family. they were always encouraging me to be the best that i could be and when i decided i want to come here, you know, they all really believed i could do these things. they always kind of knew i’d be doing something like this, i mean they have tons of videos of me performing for my entire family at christmas. so, they’ve always been there to support me with what i want to do. it was really scary for them to send their youngest son to a country they’ve never been to before, so i owe everything to them and their willingness to follow me even when i sound like i’m dreaming too big. ”

why did you decide to become a/n trainee/idol/actor/model?

“ when i was younger, i faced a lot of people who thought i was unattractive just because i was korean, so i use to think that too. i didn’t know how someone who looked like me could be successful, but then i saw that that even america all these korean idols could be appreciated and loved for their talent, you know? that really stuck with me, and when i got into a really bad place again when i was older, i wanted to use the love i had for the music to do something with my life. i was a big fan and i thought if i could be like my role models it would make me happy. ”

where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

“ well, if i can keep making fans proud, i hope to still be doing this! i love this being my life and if i can, i want to keep living my dream. it may sound simple, but right now i am excited for elite’s growth, and i want to keep seeing us get better and hopefully, bigger. ”

what is something no one knows about you?

“ i suck at video games and always lose when i actually play them, but i like watching people play them. i’ve can’t even beat pac-man. ”

describe your family. who are the members in your family?

“ my family consists of my sister, three brothers, my mom and dad, and my dog jackie. my family is super close, you know we have family reunions once a year and it is really so awesome around the holidays to come home and be shown how many people think of you. but my immediate family constantly is calling and texting me, and we video call once a day. we are constantly in contact and i really appreciate having them right there with me. ”

how was your childhood? what was it like?

“ the greatest. that is all i can really say about how i grew up. i was so privileged to have the life i had. of course, like everyone, i had my fair share of bad times, but overall my family has been truly loving and i’ve always had friends beside me to keep me happy. the best way to describe it...is just to say i was very loved and given access to so much that i wanted growing up. ”

if you weren’t pursuing the path to fame, where do you think you would be?

“ to be honest...this is really hard. i don’t really want to choose a career that isn’t tied to fame, because i’d love to do things like pursue a western music career, post youtube videos, maybe do dancing. but, i guess if i really could not pursue anything like that, i would try to run my own dance studio, maybe do something in the psychiatric field by going back to school. ”

write a message to your fans — what would you like to say to them?

“ you guys are the biggest part of what we do. i want to thank every fan individually for watching our debut closely, but since i can’t i just want to say that i love you guys, and hopefully soon we can talk more. please support my members closely and wish them the best as we wish all of our fans the best in their lives. we are always here for you ❤. ”

[hail-to-the-goalies]

As a South Korean this decision is extra upsetting bc this is probably the only time NHL players could be in my country in my lifetime… tbh it is true that hockey is practically unknown here (I've never met anyone that watches hockey) but top players participating in the Olympics would certainly help promote the sport (and the NHL) in Korea and other Asian countries. Ahhhh well at least Ovi will be here....

before you start reading,please, all of you realize I’m expressing only my personal opinions here andthey might be a lot different than yours since I’m a really objectivefan who watches the most of international games and cares about many nationalteams, so I can see things differently than you. don’t take everything youread too seriously, because we all have our opinions.

by the way sorry for the longpost already, but this is one of only few posts I’m gonna use as a way toexpress my opinions about Olympics with. and thumbs up for you if you read itall.

also excuse any mistakes or typos, I hope you understand the text anyway.

Oh dear, I’m so sorry tohear that. hockey in Asia has got a big potential and I hope yourealize that (@anon) especially with China (Kunlun) being in the KHL what’s arguablysecond best hockey league in the world. 

(Kunlun is still not a good magnet,with only two Chinese players playing for the team; and they have doublecitinezships combined with Canadian and American, so they’re not even fullyChinese).

Asian League with 3 Korean teams is clearly not enough for Asianpeople to become hockey fans too I suppose.

this is why I think it’svitally important to bring NHL players to the next two Olympic games (inmentioned South Korea and in China in 2022). and 

I know it’s not hard tofall in love with wonderful sport of ice-hockey. it happened to Hungariansafter the national team won Division I Group A and the fans wentcrazy during the following Worlds, so fortunately they got the impulse toactually travel and watch hockey, but there are no ways to make the Asianpeople fall in love with hockey. 

yes of course, there are surelly some, butnone of them is big enough as Olympics.

if NHL thinks it’s notgood to have the world’s best players playing at tournaments in countries whichhave potential to be hockey countries but only need impulse, then, okay…

just imagine that. thebiggest hockey stars playing at world’s biggest and best hockey tournament. isn’tthat the best promotion for the sport itself? I think it is. 

hockeynational teams, in fact, have two chances to make Asian people like hockey.first is in 2018 and then in 2022, when China hosts the next Olympics. as homecountries, South Korea and then China will surely play at the tournaments, so itobviously can make the people interested at least a bit. and who says theycan’t go to games not of their countries? lot of home fans do that. and what’s betterpromotion for hockey than olympic games between Canada, Sweden, Russia and USA?probably nothing. 

we all know one player isenough for a person to become a fan, not mentioning the entire beautyof Canadian hockey. it’s also known that interest of Asian people in hockey canmean more Asian teams in KHL and more international fans of NHL. 

if NHLrealizes this and still doesn’t agree to participate, then make your ownopinion of the organization… 

fortunately, KHL is mainly Russian league and Russians are really patriotic,so they find it as a sure and automatic thing to send the players to SouthKorea.

this is what would happenif NHL players went to Olympics: promotion of the sport; huge help for KHL inspreading hockey to the east; experience for the players; the best hockeytournament full of the best hockey players (I’m sorry, for me World Cup is not thebest tournament); more money caused by NHL players as a big ad as theyare; and many more things, for example a silly one like longer season,what’s honestly good only for the fans.

but what would happen ifNHL players didn’t go to Olympics? (I still don’t consider that as a sure thing,because I believe there’s a domino effect going to happen in the NHL—Ovechkingoes, then Crosby goes, then other big players go, then half of Swedes go, andso on)

I decided to write a fewbig, important things on what would happen if they didn’t go.

the huge rosterdifference

just imagine that. Canadaand USA without NHL players? hard to imagine what would the rosters look like.probably made of players from junior and European leagues; most of fans wouldknow up to 3-5 players at each roster. what’s a shame for such hockeycountry as Canada to not have popular players playing. USA and Canada wouldmost probably fail at the tournament.

on the other hand, thereis Russia. with only 35 Russian players in NHL, 590 players in KHL and manymore players in other leagues, that wouldn’t be a problem for Russians tobuild a golden killing Russian machine. sure, Ovechkin, Malkin, Panarinand others are great players and please never think I don’t find them goodplayers, but Russians have amazing hockeyplayers overall and even better coaching. I think Russia would win gold.

it’s similar with Sweden.72 players in NHL (more than you thought, right?) seem like a lot, butagain, not really, I think. SHL is a really strong league and it’s fullof Swedes, there are also some good Swedes in KHL and other leagues, so I thinkthey would be able to build a solid team, even without their NHLsuperstars. also would end up in top 3, because Canada and USA would be out of thetop places.

it would be similar withFinland and Czechia, too and little tiny maybe with Germany.

that’s one ‘group‘. butwhat about other teams? exactly: Switzerland, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia andGermany.

the top Swiss players areplaying in the NHL (12) and only few solid players on olympic level are in NLA.if national superstars like Josi, Berra or Weber don’t decide to go anyway,like Ovechkin did, I can hardly imagine a Swiss national team builtwell enough to be able to win against Finland or Sweden.

all of top Slovak playersare playing in the NHL as well and the best players of those who are notplaying in the NHL are about to retire soon, so I can hardly imagine a goodteam too.

with this entire longmini-heading, I want you to think about something. if NHL players went toOlympics, all of 11 participating countries (not counting South Korea) would beable to play with their biggest players and even the worse countries likeSlovakia or Germany would end the tournament with pride.

if NHL players didn’t go,some countries would have nobody to gear up (–metaphor) and for example Russia,pumped with KHL players Russia, would possibly get away with 10-0 wins. that’s reallynot what we want at tournament of this level.

       2.  angry fans and players

not only NHL fans though.every single hockey fan wants to see the best hockey games this planet can gettogether and without NHL players it’s really not possible.

angry players are worse.we, only poor fans, can’t affect the hockey much, but players can be strongerthan some people think. it’s only April 2017, a year before the Olympics,and there’s a huge drama already. if the players really wanted, they wouldboycott and would be able to make huge problemsto Bettman and company.

the players are angryalready, so let’s see whether something more happens or not.

        3. middle finger to KHLfrom NHL

KHL started as almostonly Russian league, but as years passed, they tried to expand to other partsof Europe. there are currently 29 teams in KHL, 7 of them are not in Russia andso in: Kazakhstan, Latvia, Belarus, Slovakia, Finland and Croatia.  The 7th one is China. The newest KHL team is China’s Kunlun Red Star, atfer KHLdecided they want to make hockey popular in other parts of Asia and want toexpand to South Korea and Japan, too.

so if you try to teachsomeone a new sport and someone steals the best possible way for you to doit, it’s clearly not good feeling.

 so, I talked a lothere, but I haven’t seen anywhere any form of the three situations whichwould happen if NHL players didn’t go to Olympics, so that’s why I wanted tosee all this drama from another angle.

I think the onlypeople who are able to do something about NHL’s bad decision are NHL playersthemselves. I don’t know what you feel, but I trust them and I hopethey make NHL sweat a lot in next months.

[dat-town]

Under the same stars || chapter 1

Characters: Park Jimin & OC (Xu Xianni)

Setting: Winter Olympics, figure skater!Jimin AU

Genre: 90% fluff 10% angst

Summary: A story about Olympics, first love and rules that are meant to be broken.

Words: 5802

Chapters: 1, 2 , 3 (the end)

Alternatively titled: Kiss and cry. (exp.) The area in an ice rink where figure skaters wait for their marks to be announced after their performances during a competition.

I blame Jimin’s end of year dance stages for this mess. I don’t have any first-hand experience about figure skating so if I claimed any uncorrect detail about the sport, please feel free to let me know.

The story is set in 2018 during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea.

The rules

 My mother told me three rules I should never forget:

Number One. Everyone who steps on the ice rink is your enemy. Don’t trust them.

Number Two. Everything in the Olympic Village is a temporary illusion. Don’t hope to bring home other than a medal.

And last but not least, Number Three. When you fall, no matter how much it hurts, get up and forget it ever happened.

I might be a bad girl for not listening but I happen to broke them one by one and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I proudly claim that I have no regrets even though mother was right: falling in love indeed can influence careers.

 Breaking rule no.1

Day 0 - 9th February

 “I still can’t believe we’re here,” I let out a sigh in awe as I look out of the hotel room’s window.  It grants me a magnetic view of the Pyeongchang mountains covered by pearl white, fresh snow. The peaks and downhills under the azure blue sky look like sweet meringues freshly out of the oven. It resembles to heaven in my mind with all the tiny houses and sparkling lights below. So much prettier than on the poster.

“You better believe it. Hurry up with unpacking, The opening ceremony starts in two hour,” my coach’s strict voice rings in my head just like those times when I mess up practice and she scolds me for not paying attention. Usually I lift my chin high and try harder but we’re not in the ice rink now. We’re in a room on the 4th floor in the Olympic Village at my very first Winter Games.

“I know. I’ll take a shower and change. I can finish unpacking after it. I have plenty of time,” I try to reason and give an explanation about my calm state.

The woman at the edge of my made bed is a little shorter than me and unlike me she’s already wearing an appropriate clothing for tonight: a business costume. It’s so different from her usual casual training clothes that it makes her look older. Her cheeks are rosy and her hair is a little messy from the chilly wind we came across on our way here from the airport.

“I have to leave to the coaches and staff’s accommodation and you’ll be on your own,” she warns with a frown on her face and stares at me with her famous piercing look. It makes me feel belittled because it implies to that I can’t take care of my own luggage despite the fact I have been travelling around the world because of competitions since I was thirteen.

“I know. I can handle it.” This time a shudder sigh leaves my mouth but my voice never wavers. “I’m not a kid anymore, mom.”

As I emphasize the last world, the woman before me tenses. Sometimes I wonder how she sees herself. Is she my mother first or my coach? When she decides what the best is for me, is she thinking about me as her daughter or just her most potential student who can make it big?

“But you are,” mom sticks to her own opinion and brush aside my weak protest with a last pat on my suitcase. “I have to go so we’ll meet in the lobby before the take-off to the opening ceremony, okay?”

“Yeah,” I mumble a little discouraged and let her press a kiss to my cheek. I try not to pout as I wave her off because I know she only wants to protect me but I still can’t shake off this uneasy feeling that she’s overdoing it.  There must be so much more to this world than she lets me see.

I cast a last glance to the wonderful scenery then do as I promised. I take a quick, cold shower and put on the common athlete training clothes with my surname and my county’s name on it. I always wear it proudly and it makes me feel like I have a whole nation supporting me. It’s a feeling beyond expression just like the heavy weight of gold around your neck. I just wish I could experience the weight of an Olympic medal no matter the colour.

The opening ceremony is grandiose and splendid; South Korea really does it justice and doesn’t stir disappointment. There are all kind of performers on a big scale, even kpop stars and traditional sword dancers. I enjoy the whole thing but for me, the most heartfelt moment is when all the athletes march in. I see a few familiar faces from other competitions and we greet each other but I have no idea about most of them.

 Day 1 - 10th February

As the fireworks paint the sky in rainbow colours, the clock ticks and the day turns. Everyone is cheering, the Olympic Flame is shining brightly in the dark night. The reality finally settles in my bones and veins: it really did start. When I leave the huge stadium alongside with a few other skaters, mom finds me at the lobby where we met before the ceremony. The bus ride back to the Olympic Village in Gangneung is quiet. It's already well past midnight when we arrive so her sudden request sounds a little absurd.

“No staying up late, no partying with others. I’ll wait for you at the ice rink tomorrow morning at seven.”

It takes a lot of my willpower not to whine. Of course, even though ladies competition is last in line, mother would never waste the opportunity to practice.

“Mom…”

“No buts, honey. Now I have to go, I meet one of the Russian coaches. Good night!” She pursues her lips and sends me a kiss before storming out of the lively hall. The Village buzzes with excitement. Nobody plans to sleep tonight. There are bars and clubs waiting for just us and lots of athletes want to loosen up a bit before their big day.

The girl from the skiing team whom I room with is also one of them because she's in the middle of preparing to going out when I arrive back to our place. We introduce ourselves in hurry but it looks like she doesn’t plan to waste any more time for formalities.

“Hey… you comin’?” Yanmei turns around at the door as she fixes some ribbon on her tight black dress. Her make up is smokey and wild, she’s definitely going to get a date tonight. Thinking about clubs, loud music, lots of frustrated young people and what I learned about them from American movies, I only hesitate for a moment before answering:

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

Maybe I should listen to mother but we spend 350 days out of 365 practicing and today I just want to relax. It’s hard to lead a normal life, to graduate with good GPA and to have friends when you’re going after the gold. It’s impossible to ‘hang out’ when you’re at a training camp this week and at the Grand Prix the next. I gave up friends for this life. I even delay university for this. But I won’t deny myself a little fun. I’m not a robot; sometimes I need a break as well.

I quickly disconnect my phone from the charger to shove it into my jeans pocket. I have nothing party-worthy outfit (otherwise mom would have burnt it anyway) but these black jeans and platform heels make my legs seem longer and the baby pink blouse with pearls is pretty. I let my hair down so the golden locks swirling around me and I’m ready to go.

The club near our accommodation is quite nice. To be honest, I have never been at any place like this so my judgement can be mistaken but I find Wings okay. The place is full of athletes and Olympic staff members. The UV light paints the wide space and everybody fluorescent blue while the DJ is providing some mashup of famous songs that takes the party to the dancefloor. Almost as soon as Yanmei and I step inside, someone jumps on her. (Almost literally.)

“Do you wanna dance?” the tall, broad shouldered guy flashes a smile at my fellow citizen and he prolongs his broken English’s syllables probably because of the alcohol in his system. But that doesn’t stop Yanmei from saying yes and she’s trailing after the German snowboarder.

I sigh as I’m all alone once again and I try to manoeuvre my way towards the bar before any suspicious looking guy could hit on me. When I’m there I examine the supply of drinks and search for something without alcohol. It’s not like I can’t drink, I’m of age but I should be on ice in less than seven hours and I don’t intend to break my legs because of a clumsy slip.  I wait for my cocktail while casually sitting on one of those modern stools as I sway my legs like a child would. My fingers follow the rhythm of the loud music when suddenly I hear Korean chirping behind me followed by a warm hand planted on my shoulder. The sudden action makes my heart jump like a bad horror movie would and I turn around astonished. The pitch-black haired guy I’m facing seems even more surprised based on how quickly he jerks his hand away as if I had burnt him.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I thought you’re someone else,” he switches to English quickly that makes me eternally grateful because my Korean knowledge is confined to surviving. I know nothing more than sorry, thank you and where can I find the toilette.

“It’s okay,” I reply with a warm smile. It happens, nothing to be sorry about. It could have been worse.

I expect the stranger to go away without another word but he stays still and eyes me curiously so I return his gaze. He dressed up casually in knee-ripped jeans and a big white sweater that seems baby blue under the artificial light. He has stylish coal black hair hinted with glowing sparks because of the neon white disco lamp. His faintly reddened face seems familiar yet I’m sure we’ve never met before. Maybe the same realization keeps him here only a foot away from me.

“You came here alone?” The guy furrows his eyebrows and it sounds more curious than suggestive so I don’t mind answering.

“No. With my roommate but she left with a guy,” I shrug lightly. I was well aware why she came so it didn’t take me by surprise when she vanished into the crowd and since I don’t really know her, I can’t be mad either.

“So cruel,” the obviously Korean guy pouts and it’s kind of cute which should be weird for someone as handsome as him. But no, he gives off the typical, approachable, kind boy-next-door vibes while he has a face of models and the glint in his eyes are ethereal as well. As if he wasn’t on the verge of heart attack and all flustered just a minute ago, he dares to act cocky by asking. “Mind if I keep you company then?”

Again, nothing suggestive, just a question. Nice and kind. Maybe I wouldn’t be so oppose of saying yes but I can’t help but find something fishy.

“Didn’t you look for someone?” I raise an eyebrow in question because his sudden appearance is suspicious. Or maybe I’m just paranoid because this is my first time in a place like this and all of my experiences are taken from books and movies.

“Nope, not really.” The guy shakes his head and gosh, his smile could make flowers grow and my heart skips a beat. Maybe I should consult with a doctor about sudden palpitations. “I’m Park Jimin by the way. Korean team. Figure skating men’s single as in the category. But I’m single too if you’re interested.”

His breathy laugh makes it sound like a joke. A lame one but I giggle anyway and try not to care about the heat that makes its way up on my face. Suddenly, I’m grateful for this luminescent light because I’m sure I could make a tomato jealous. Nonetheless, I cover it up with a counterattack.

“Do you always flirt like this?”

“Why? Is it working?” Jimin attempts to keep his serious macho behaviour with wiggling his eyebrows but fails and instead he shows a genuine, toothy smile.

“Sorry, I’m not like this usually. You’re just really cute and… I should shut up.”

“Yes, probably,” I chuckle as I downcast my eyes bashfully. I’m not used to compliments outside of the rink. It takes a few moments before I look up again but Jimin wait patiently with his outstretched arm. “I’m Xu Xianni from China. Figure skating women’s single”

I take his hand and smile at the gentle pressure of his fingers. Maybe I even let the feeling to linger a little more than it should.

“Thank god we’re not competing in pair category. That would have been awkward,” he says when he lets my hand go and it falls back to my side. His laughter is fairly nice, I have to admit. It sounds like a chime of bells, a melody that is soaring in the spring sky under rainbows or a beautiful flower that grows in the middle of winter and fights its way through the snow.

“Yeah,” I agree because his statement couldn’t be more right. If we were in a different category we could have been rivals and that would probably mean the end of our so far enjoyable conversation.

Jimin flashes a smile at me and orders a drink for himself, some cocktail which I’ve never heard of and then he casually asks about my day like we had known each other for years. We talk about my flight and that kid on the plane that just didn’t shut up. We praise the opening ceremony and Jimin makes a show of copying one of the kpop groups’ choreography. We compete to see who had been in more foreign country and we go on and on about our favourites. Jimin tells me about that time when he and his high school best friend, Taehyung ran around in a hotel after shower because of some game controller and got locked out of their room in nothing but their underwear.

I can’t even remember the last time I had so much fun like today with Jimin. However, everything comes to an end eventually and the sight of what time it is makes me slightly panicked. I’ve been here for almost three hours and I have to get up in less than the same amount of time. The funny thing is I’m not even tired because miraculously I didn’t have practice today and I had some sleep on the plane. Yet, I need a nap because mom will ask how I slept and I can’t lie to her in the eye or else she will know about it immediately. Mother censors and stuff.

“I should go,” I mumble in the momentary silence of our conversation, sorrow evident in my voice. Jimin’s reaction is immediately dumbfounded.

“So early?” he pouts with a sad puppy look on his face. He’s frank about his disappointment because I can’t stay longer and doesn’t try to hide it. It makes me giggle a little because it is early: half past three in the morning.

“Well, my coach wants me on ice by 7am so I have to,” I groan in mild annoyance and Jimin’s usually narrow eyes go wide at my statement.

“What? That’s ruthless. Isn’t female skating like a week away?” he asks in a struck and perplexed state.

“Yeah, but she wants me prepared,” I shrug because my mother’s methods are not even shock me anymore. Jimin nods understandingly and yawns.

“Today I think I’m gonna sleep in. Luckily, my coach is a pretty laidback guy. Such a shame he had to stop competing early. You may have heard about him. Taemin was kind of a big deal back then...”

“No way! Lee Taemin is your coach? He's a legend,” I squeal and my eyes lit up at the mentioned name. I can’t believe I just spend the last three hours talking to someone who is a student of Taemin. He must be good, but unfortunately nowadays I can only keep up with Chinese athletes and foreign female contestants.

Jimin hums in agreement but doesn’t say anything. When I stand up I suddenly don’t want to go. It would be so easy to stay and enjoy this cozy bubble of ours a little more without paying attention to the trap music and kissing pairs around us but I’m not the one who goes back on her word.

“Thank you for keeping me company. I’m glad we talked.” I can’t force back a sincere smile which he returns without missing a beat.

“Likewise. See you around,” he turns his body towards me and his arms are really inviting while I’m shifting my weight from one leg to the other and back because I’m not really sure what should I do. How girls do this? Should I hug him, shake his hand or just wave to him? Oh, I’m so damn pathetic when it comes to being social. Goodbyes are really not my thing.

“In case we don’t meet until then, good luck!” I decide on honest best wishes, finally ready to go.

“You too. But I sincerely hope we will meet,” he adds and I nod hesitantly, preparing to go. However, Jimin beats me to it as he envelops me in a hug that ends way too quick and smiles at me widely. I smile back and forget about being nervous.

As soon as my body touch the bed, I sleep like a baby.

 Day 3 - 12th February

Gangneung is a coastal town near the mountains and here will be held events like ice hockey, curling and skating. All contestants in these categories stay in this Olympic Village so I’m sure the Korean figure skaters are no exceptions. But with so many people around it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.

Despite my foolish hopes, we didn’t meet again that day. I guess he really did slept till late and yesterday we could have missed each other’s practice hours. However, since everyone trained in the Ice Arena, at least one meeting was inevitable. It was bound to happen eventually.

Yet, I was surprised to find him on the ice Monday morning. He just finished his routine to a music I don’t know and get off the rink gracefully. There’s another men beside him in a puffy coat who keeps talking to him while offering a towel and a bottle of water. Jimin shakes his head, black locks sticking to his forehead as he looks conflicted. It’s weird to see his recent carefree personality to change so serious.

“Who is he?” I point at him when nobody’s around and step closer to our team’s male figure skater because if anyone then he must know well who he is. Of course I could search his name on the Internet but that would be cheating and less exciting. Fortunately, Yan Han doesn’t seem bothered by my sudden question and just shrugs.

“He’s Park Jimin, South Korea’s sweetheart. He and Hanyu are the biggest rivals. They’re constantly breaking each other records since Sochi. That time, the Japanese won the gold but it was Jimin who claimed the world champion title. With them in the competition everyone else fights for the third place.”

Wow. That’s all I can think about. I still stand there mindlessly and speechless when Yan Han has to step onto the ice.

Today I arrived early (No way I did it in hope of seeing someone. Nope. Not at all) so my mom still hasn’t arrived yet. I make the most out of my free time by going over the choreo once again in my head meanwhile absolutely not stealing glances at the other end of the ice rink. That’s the only reason I notice the approaching steps of a certain someone. Alone with his coach watching him from afar.

“Hi there,” Jimin greets me with a warm smile as beautiful as sunrises.

“Hey, Mr. Champion.”

The new nickname I made up just now makes him laugh. I take a moment to scan him over in his training clothes under the natural light. He seems amused and even more handsome than the day before.

“I see you did your homework on me but to be honest that gold was only luck.”

“So humble,” I comment on his shyness because there’s no way someone becomes world champion because of purely luck. I can’t wait to see him in action.

“And what about you? They say you're China's Kim Yuna.”

“She's the queen,” I protest quickly just like every time they mention it. It’s an honour to hear my name in the same sentence with hers because I look up to her as a role model but her achievements outshine all of my attempts. “I’m not even close.”

“So humble,” he mimics my earlier response with a cheeky smile and run his fingers through his silky black hair.

“I almost didn’t recognize you with your hair in a bun,” he admits and drops down to sit on a bench behind the barrier. I copy his movements but I make sure not to sit too close. An arm-length should be a comfortable distance between friends, right?

“Well, I have to keep it in one place if I don’t want to bother with it while dancing,” I let out a chuckle and unconsciously touch my made-shift hair.

“It’s cute,” Jimin compliments with an easy-going smile and I feel my cheeks turn rosy pink again. But before I can mutter out an answer, someone interrupts us in Chinese:

“I hope you have already warmed up.”

“Mom!” I react instinctively in my native language as I lift my eyes up to see my parent standing in front of me with a strict look on her face. I get on my feet quickly and the boy beside me follows. “This is Park Jimin...”

“I don’t care who he is. You’re here to win gold and not to make friends, understand?” she’s preaching as always. But this time it’s quite rude to act like the other athlete wasn’t there and speak in a language that he can’t understand. “I want you on ice in five minutes. Hurry up!”

And with that she leaves as if nothing happened. While on the other hand, there’s me with poppy-coloured cheeks from anger and humiliation. How could she do that to me? How could she act like that to me in front of a friend?

“Sorry,” I mumble turning towards Jimin who has this sad look on just like last time when we had to say good bye. Sorry doesn’t cover what my mom did but I can’t do more and I still have to put on my skates before she comes back and grounds me for the rest of the Olympics. That would be unfortunate since that’s only my third day here.

“No, no, no. I’m sorry for causing trouble for you. I should have known your coach is quite strict. She seemed pretty angry. I didn’t mean to distract you or anything,” Jimin apologizes even though he shouldn’t be the one doing that. But the guilty look on his face is sincere and I don’t want anything more than reassure him that he didn’t do nothing wrong.

“It’s not your fault. She’s a perfectionist and basically spent her entire life to build my career. She has everything planned out for me and if something unexpected happens like me talking with you she freaks out a little bit,” I explain hastily because I don’t want any misunderstanding between us. Hence, I don’t really think through what I’m saying and it ends up sounding like a complain. For a second, I’d like to rephrase my words but sometimes my mother’s behaviour really makes me wonder. Am I only an investment? Am I living her dream? I never really felt pressure of doing what she told me but she made me feel ungrateful if I didn’t. Would it be the same? I don’t know; the result is the same anyway.

“You can tell your coach no if she’s overdoing it,” Jimin suggests lightly with concern evident in his fascinating onyx eyes. He takes a step closer and for a brief moment, I think he’s going to hug me or something and I have to catch my breath. In the end he turns and leans over the barrier with a sigh.

“It’s not that easy. She’s my mother,” I tell him a bit anxiously in case he didn’t figured that out already. From the way he looks up with bewilderment, he hasn’t thought about this possibility.

“Oh.”

“Oh exactly,” I nod while a lump is forming in my throat. Well, bye-bye my newfound friendship. I know acquaintances at competitions don’t last but my mother tends to ruin all of my chances of a normal life. I doubt that Jimin would like anything from me after this. “Sorry, I have to go now.”

Unless I want to anger my mother even more.

“Me, too. See you later,” the Korean boy bids his goodbye when he hears his name called and jogs off to somewhere I can’t see him anymore.

It’s better this way. No more distraction. No more heart fluttering eye smile. I can focus on winning the gold.

 The practice goes well even though my mother is harsher than usually. I guess she’s still mad about what happened earlier. I just don’t get why. It’s not like I did anything wrong. Is it so bad that I talked with another country’s contestant? But that’s the whole point of the Olympic Games, doesn’t it? To enjoy sport in a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. Sad that people usually forget this.

“It was good.” mom pats my back as I get off the ice. She immediately starts the review as I massage my sore ankle. “Although your candlestick spiral can’t be this sloppy, the doughnut spin needs to be more graceful and don’t forget that we changed that last double axel to a triple.”

How can I forget? As far as I know only seven or so female skaters involved triple axel in their program on competition so far. I can’t blame mom for wanting me to be the eighth. I’d be proud if I could make it perfectly. It happened before and I spent a lot of time trying to improve but still, one out of four times I fail.

“My step sequence and Biellmann spin were good? What about the jumps?” I ask and try to curve everything into my memory to get everything right next time. I love reviewing with my mother because she’s really good at her job. No wonder why I won the Chinese junior nationals when I was 9 years old.

We spend half an hour monitoring the video she just took to point out every possible problem and everything’s fine until she calls it a day. As soon as I start to walk off to take a cold shower, she has to make a remark:

“I don’t like seeing you getting involved with that boy.”

It gets on your nerves really fast because Jimin didn’t do anything to deserve this negative attitude.

“What boy, mom? You scared him off, too. Are you happy?” I huff through clenched teeth and walk out of the room before she can muster another word. I need to cool down.

 After a nutritious lunch, a run-through dance lesson with my choreographer and two interviews, I can finally enjoy freedom. After changing into comfy clothes, I decide to visit some souvenir shops downstairs. Even though I still hold grudges against mom, I send her a message informing her about my whereabouts so she won’t worry about me. Amidst the Pyeongchang 2018 printed T-shirts, mugs and refrigerator magnets Park Jimin is the last person I’d expect to see.

“Xianni? Hi!” he’s waving at me with a beaming smile like nothing bad ever happened. It helps me forget, too.

“Hi, yourself. Did you find anything to buy?” I step closer in order to make way for a passing customer. This shop is a quite small but it looked so cute from the outside I had to come in. Its unique charm seems to successfully draw Jimin in, too.

“Yeah. This is for my little brother,” he proudly holds up a big sweater with the mascots on the front. From the size of it, his siblings can’t be a lot younger than him but that endearing smile of his shows how much he cares for him. “And you?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll buy a pair of earrings,” my bottom lip quivers because I’m a little jealous. I have nobody to buy for. Dad no longer lives with us, I only meet him a few times a year and mom is with me here, why should I buy for her? I have no friends who cheer for me. It’s kind of sad and the realization hits me like bullet train. Maybe my expression falters, I don’t know but Jimin drop his smile and change the subject in a serious tone.

“Are you free the rest of the evening?”

“ Yes. Why?” It should be embarrassing how quickly I answer. In a heartbeat as if I was afraid he would change his mind. Also, I might be imagining things but maybe there was hope in his voice. Or was it in mine?

“I’ll go to the city and look around with a few friends,” he starts carefully dragging out the syllables but I can’t help but interrupt.

“Don’t you have the short round tomorrow?” I narrow my eyes in suspicion. I know he said his coach is pretty laidback but shouldn’t he rest?

“In the evening, yes. But I have been preparing for this for months now. My performance won’t depend on my last minute rituals.”  Jimin shrugs wisely choosing his words. “So about the sightseeing… Would you like to join us?”

I know for sure mom wouldn’t approve but who cares? I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions and suffer the consequences. She didn’t get to know about the opening party either and I had fun there. Nothing can go wrong.

“You know what? I’d love to.”

Jimin’s smile grows wider. There are crinkles around his sparkling eyes and the apples of his cheeks are close to exploding.

 We agreed on meeting in 10 minutes at the front gate so he can call the others and I can grab my camera. My roommate is currently doing some fitness so I also invite her but she refuses to hang out with Koreans. I have no idea what’s her problem with them but to be honest I can’t find myself regretting that she won’t come. I call the elevator in hurry and I feel anxious all of a sudden meeting with Jimin’s friends. In the end it turns out that there’s no reason for me to be nervous. All of them are nice.

“Guys this is Xianni I told you about.” Jimin presents me and two guys in the back exchange a knowing look. They’re at the same height, both a few inches taller than Jimin who’s so into introducing doesn’t notice this. “They are Seokjin from the curling team and Hoseok who’s competing in speed skating. I guess you know Chanmi, she’s our female figure skater after Yuna. And last but not least, there’s Jungkookie, the hockey team’s star. Don’t mind him. He’s a little shy around ladies”

“I am not,” the said boy crunches his nose in offended.

“If you say so,” Jimin shrugs teasingly.

“I’m glad to meet you all,” I smile at them happiness bubbling inside me because of how direct and open-minded they are. They don’t make me feel like an outsider at all.

“The pleasure is all ours,” the tall guy called Seokjin bows like a gentleman and Hoseok shoves him away in a friendly manner as laughing cracks them up.

“Yah, stop flirting!” he says with his cute broken English and we’re finally ready to go. Rather as a group of giggling youngsters than Olympic athletes.

We take the bus to the beach while talking in a weird mix of English, Korean and occasionally Chinese because the oldest of the group knows a bit of my language. We find a good seafood restaurant there and stop for dinner. Because of my diet, I only eat salad with salmon while the boys except Jimin are having a feast with various types of food. I notice that the figure skater boy barely eats something but I blame it on his nerves. Tomorrow is the competition and even if he doesn't admit it he can’t be entirely calm. But he has to eat if he doesn’t want to faint on ice tomorrow so when it comes to desserts I ask him to share a slice of cheesecake with me. He says yes gladly.

Later, we wonder around near the sea, searching shells in the sand using our phones as torches. Darkness has already settled and gazillions of tiny white dots decorate the textile of night. We come upon the town’s museum and pay it a visit. It’s very interesting to me because I know so little about Korean history and because normally I don't have enough time to go to places like this. While leaving we meet a few citizens who recommend the night market by the port for us. We discover lots of goods there, I buy a pair of leather gloves and Jimin keeps feeding me famous Korean street food such as Goldfish bread that is a fish shaped patisserie filled with red bean pasta and tornado potato which is basically seasoned roasted slices of potatoes.

“Do you trust me?” he asks me after he buys some weird looking brown sauce with breaded fish on a stick and offers me a bite.

“Yes.”

I'm a little startled by his intense gaze when he holds it to me but I do trust in him nonetheless. I know we don’t know each other for long and everything will end in three weeks. Despite everything, I can't help but feel this connection between us. We just click somehow. I have never felt this way before with anyone.

The fish cake with black bean pasta sauce turns out to be heavenly.

[allthingsjaneausten]

One of the things I love about my Facebook page All Things Jane Austen is that I meet people from all over the world without leaving my home.  This time I met Ashley Robbins. An American Janeite from Florida who loves to dress up and dance ECD. She also hopes to meet Janeites in… South Korea!

Here is her story:

Tell us a bit about you!

My name is Ashley Elizabeth Robbins and I have been an avid reader since I started reading at 4 years of age.  At eight years old I was introduced to British Classical literature, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, and Pride & Prejudice to start with. They were gifted to me as a birthday present (they were the thickest books I had ever read) and after consuming them I continued to be obsessed with literature. Goodbye Nancy Drew! Growing up I was always buried in a book. I would be depressed for weeks suffering with Tess of D’Uberville or sailing over the seas on an adventure. Reading was a sense of escape for me. Though my vocabulary was vast I was an introvert with mostly fictional friends also I suffered from social anxiety being around others made me extremely anxious and nervous. I was home-schooled and kept to myself mostly until I became enrolled in college during my high school years. I ended up surrounding myself with like minded individuals by creating a college book club which allowed me to come out of my shell and encouraged me to share my love of literature and create friendships.

Do you love dressing up because of Jane or the Regency period?

I do so love dressing up in Regency attire due to my love of Jane Austen! She is my favorite author! Actually, I first started dressing up in period attire every week while I attended English Country dance lessons. No one did this and it wasn’t required or expected, but my dance partners loved it and encouraged me. I even started making/ designing my own outfits it was a gateway that introduced me to the cosplay scene! I started to dress up like my favorite fictional characters from novels, to comic books, then to Movie & TV show characters to even video game characters and to eventually creating my own characters and personas within the steampunk community. I needed places to wear my outfits and wasn’t finding many events to wear them to. Most were to conventions which I couldn’t always afford to travel to, so I started locally just cos-playing to movie theaters. I’ve hosted tea parties of all kinds including the period from the 1920-1950’s. A fond memory is gathering a group to dress up to the premier of Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. The theater actually allowed me to bring my sword prop, and we had such fun posing and acting in character.

What’s your favorite novel?

My favorite novel is Pride & Prejudice. I am simply in love with all of Austen’s works but that one has a special place in my heart! I am a helpless romantic! I have so many other favorites as well, such as Jane Eyre, and The Scarlet Pimpernell, and also Anne Of Green Gables they are at the very top of my list. Fitzwilliam Darcy for sure is my first fictional crush! Sir Percy Blakeney follows as a close second though!

How did you fall in love with English Country Dance?

I don’t remember exactly how I discovered English Country Dancing, but in 2012 while residing in Florida I found a local group that met every week to learn English Country Dance and decided to join them regularly(I needed no encouragement even though I was the youngest member I loved every minute of it! It brought memories of my favorite fictional characters to life and I imagined myself dancing as they would have). I had been dancing only 6 months before getting invited to attend my first Ball. I haven’t regretted it since!

Do your friends (or anyone) criticize your hobby or think you’re crazy for dressing up?

For the most part I rarely get criticized. Comments have been made that “dress up is for children”, or “Are you really going to dress like that in public?” I have gotten weird looks from time to time but mostly curious ones. My friends however are all mostly involved in my hobby. Everyone mostly compliments me on my attire asks me for photos or inquires how they can join in on the fun. Hence my group of friends grew rather quickly! If your friends have a problem with you surround yourself with those that encourage you to do what you love!  I do know that I enjoy it immensely! I have been dancing for almost 8 years but after moving to South Korea 2 years ago I didn’t think I would be any good since I haven’t been able to continue dancing there. Having visited Florida not too long ago I surprised myself by remembering all the calls and dances and it was like I had never left! My close dance caller friend/instructor actually asked me to start a dance group in South Korea because she thinks I’m a great dancer, and I think I will just do that since I miss it terribly.

What does Jane Austen mean to you?

I feel like Jane Austen was there for me to escape into a realm when I was younger and now as an adult she has shaped my life into an adventure and it has been an amazing experience meeting the people that have influenced my life greatly. She allowed me to find the confidence to bridge a sort of connection with others and I have had the privilege of befriending and making lasting memories all over the world all because I was able to share my love of her works. I am currently an extrovert, an event planner, traveling the world living in South Korea taking everyday as an adventure just like Jane says “If adventure will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad”.

If you would like to write to Ashley send her an email: ashleyrobbins696@gmail.com

That’s all for now.  If you have a good story to tell us about how Jane Austen changed your life and would like to share it here just send me a message on my Facebook page facebook.com/allthingsjaneausten or a DM on Instagram @allthingsja_2012

Austenesque regards,

Rita L. Watts

An American Janeite in South Korea One of the things I love about my Facebook page All Things Jane Austen is that I meet people from all over the world without leaving my home. 

[ceciliawyu]

About 8 years ago, I was introduced to Betty who ran the Raise Uganda Now project in Kampala. She was one amongst many projects that the then Hope Children Foundation worked with in Kampala when we had clowns and performers from the Arabella Spencer-Churchill charitable Foundation coming over to the HIV infested region to perform for all the children at the schools in the area. At the time of my Founding of Hope Children Foundation with local project leaders with the excellent collaboration with Cathy Olivier, we understood the enormity of the work because children that were born in the slums had an HIV+ infection rate of 52% at birth. I got involved because I was absolutely appalled by the Bush Administration policy which stipulated via USAId that Abstinence Education was part of the condition for granting of USAid for AIDS medicine to the people in the slums of Uganda. At the time I remember asking via someone quoting me in some major social media forum to Mrs. Barbara Bush as to why she didn’t take Abstinence lesson when she conceived of a numbskull idiot who didn’t seem to understand the following information: THAT CHILDREN BORN INSIDE THE SLUMS OF KAMPALA TO HIV+ PARENTS DID NOT HAVE ANY CHOICE IN THE MATTER AND ABSTINENCE LESSONS WAS ADDING INSULT TO INJURY TO A CHILD WHO WILL PROBABLY NOT LIVE TO SEXUALLY ACTIVE REPRODUCTIVE AGE!

I knew many GOPs were intellectually challenged, I did not know they added Biological Ignorance to part of their repertoire of Emotional Unintelligence and Stunted Empathy Gene. I do think, in retrospect, preaching Abstinence to many GOP would actually improve the state of USA today! Indeed there is a good case for China’s dictatorial policy of Involuntary Sterilisation in many of the hardcore Trump supporting demographics, just in case they keep inbreeding their vile, uninformed racists policies, working against the efforts of decent people who try to do their best for the blameless children, just trying to survive beyond poverty.

Anyway, the point is that I met Betty the General Managing Director of RUN Uganda and I was impressed with her. I observed her work over the last 8 years. I remembered when her project suffered setbacks and was nearly closed down until a group of ex-Harvard Korean Students stepped up and like many immigrant Americans, got the job done!

I am paraphrasing their fundraising project at the time, just to give every some context as to how dire the situation for the 34 orphans was. May I just say the reason why the children were at RUN was that their parents died of AIDS but by some miracle of Mother Nature, they were somehow born HIV- and AIDS-free. Probably because around the age of 2yrs old, the natural immunity of 48% of the children exposed to the HIV virus kicked in and destroyed the virus. But unfortunately this left time in the world alone, without parents and often with carers that, though willing, may be struggling with different challenges in life; up to and including battling the HIV virus themselves in some cases. So some of the guardians of some of the children tried to leave the children in the care of Betty at RUN so that they may have a fighting chance of living an HIV-free life.

Perhaps this story is best told in via the personal case of Ronald Wabirya, who was orphaned because of HIV infected parents and lost many of those he loved around him before another member of his family brought him to RUN.

Actually, it was because of Ronald’s drawing about his love of music, that Kel1st and I noticed his shining qualities in the arts. Quite simply I decided to send Betty’s projects some basic art supplies and she asked that I sent some clothes for the children as they grew quickly. I had no idea how to buy children’s clothing so I just went down to my local Marie Curie Cancer charity shop and the lovely lady volunteering there just picked out some clothes I needed from the amount of Gift Aide she got. So effectively two charities are helped from shops donating their stocks as Gift Aide. I thought that made a lot of sense to me. To test for sizes, we sent an initial 25 cute little designer tops. We will sort it out with Marie Curie Cancer Charity and send the remaining 20 fashionable tees with more art supplies.

I’m not sure why we did that. It just seemed like a good idea, it was like a voice called out to us, I sometimes called this ”The Art Force”, calling out to us to recognize kindred spirits in fellow potential creatives. We think Ronald has a lot of creative potentials and we want to see him thrive and transcend the difficulties of his early life. He is 13 yrs old now.

Randy Rodriguez (Kel1st) and I took a sabbatical for a year, as he had personal family issues and I had to finish my Film & TV technical course. Somehow from 10000km away, we both heard about Ronald. I will be honest, it is my impression that Ronald’s case is more personal for Kel1st because he lost his last Graffiti Art Partner ”Donde” (Donald) to HIV when they were young. So I guess he understood a little bit more what it feels like to be in Ronald’s situation. I do not but I understand the responsibility we have as leaders in our arts field to nurture a fellow creative.

Kel1st comment was,” I believe faith is in the writing.”

Ra

This was about the only thing we ever really agreed on. He calls it “writing” as in Graffiti style writing. I call it Art because in the Chinese tradition Pictographic Art IS our WRITING. I’m not sure why that is so difficult to understand for the world that likes to compartmentalize creativity to make it easier to sell, pimp and market? Anyway, it is a fallacy to compartmentalize.

So we are in agreement about nurturing Ronald’s creative ability. Serendipitously, in the music area, my dear friend and past collaborator, Maurizio Grandolini (who graduated from one of Italy’s top musical Conservatoire) offered to help should I ever visit Ronald and his 44 friends under the care of Betty. I hope it works out.

Anyway, the art classes are continuing and I am glad to hear that Joon Yang, and his ex-Harvard friends, in Seoul (South Korea) are also doing their utmost to help the 45 orphans at RUN, in the most sustainable and egoless way possible. I really like to see that and was so happy to hear that he got involved at a time when the project was in dire trouble. Well done.

Betty’s 45 kids will always be close to my heart and I know that no matter how much I disagree on different lifestyle choice levels with Kel1st, his friends and all those who love his art will also support Ronald’s endeavor to be trans-disciplinary in his creativity, by fusing the art of drawing and his love of music. It goes without saying that all those who support my work and my creative journey worldwide are behind this project. We want to see Ronald fulfill his greatest creative potential.

Know that we will always be watching and supporting the progress of all 45 kids and their creative journey as they grow into adulthood under the care of Betty and her team of carers.

love Cecilia

http://www.CeciliaYu.com

On behalf of Kel1st and Yu, 2018

For information on Raise Uganda Now, please visit their website in English here:

In Korean RUN 코리아: https://blog.naver.com/raiseugandanow_kr

Ra

Kel1st and Yu visits the Art class of Ronald & friends at Raise Uganda Now, RUN 코리아 in Africa About 8 years ago, I was introduced to Betty who ran the Raise Uganda Now project in Kampala.

[adventuresaroundasia]

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

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Taking care of curly hair definitely isn’t easy, especially when you travel or live abroad for an extended period of time. After living in China for five years, I definitely learned a lot of tips and tricks when it comes to caring for curly hair abroad. Now I’m doing the digital nomad thing in Vietnam, and I’ve brought those skills with me!

That said, my eyes have recently been opened to the wonders of the Curly Girl Method, which has completely flipped my life (and hair care routine) upside down. The Curly Girl Method (CG Method) has a TON of rules, so I’ll definitely be going through my experience attempting the CG Method for the first time (abroad!!!) in this post as well.

PS- You should all start the Curly Girl Method right now. My hair has never looked (or smelled) better. 

Flaunting my curls in Beijing

Finding the Right Products Abroad (Non-CG Method)

If there’s one thing curly girls worry about, it’s products. If you’re only traveling for a week or two, it’s easy to bring your products from home with you. However, if you’re traveling for months on end or moving abroad, you need to come up with a few long-term solutions.

Finding the Right Shampoo Abroad

When it comes to regular old shampoo, I’ve never had issues with this abroad. In China, I stuck with Head and Shoulders Shampoo, which I could find pretty much anywhere. Head and Shoulders is pretty moisturizing when it comes to shampoos, and I never had any issues with it. The bottle also lasts forever, since I only wash my hair 2-3 times per week with a little bit of shampoo.

Pantene ProV did its job for the most part

Finding The Right Conditioner Abroad

Obviously, conditioner and styling products are a completely different story. My recommendation is to look into Pantene ProV. I used Pantene ProV Curl Perfection back home in the US and loved how thick and moisturizing it was.

Unfortunately, you can’t really find conditioner specifically for curly hair in Asia, so I looked for other types. In the past, I used the Chinese Pantene ProV with the pink label, which was a super moisturizing leave-in style conditioner. However, in the last few years, I stopped seeing it around, so I went for the one with the gold label, which is supposed to be extra moisturizing for dry hair.

The reason why I recommend Pantene is because it’s super moisturizing and you can find it in pretty much any country. I saw it in Tanzania and here in Vietnam too! Obviously, if you’re following the CG Method, just ignore these product suggestions. We’ll get to you later!

Attempting to contain my hair in a scarf so it wouldn’t go CRAZY on the Seattle ferry

Bringing Products From Home

I’m a huge lover of gel for curly hair, and I’m happy to say that I feel super vindicated after learning that the CG Method recommends gel too! (Take that, stupid hairdressers!)

While I can easily find gel abroad, I’m always disappointed by the quality. Most of the gel I find comes in small bottles and is aimed at men. Either it has a weird smell, or is super alcoholic. My most recent gel I bought in Bangkok literally smells like vodka and has “alcohol” listed as one of the ingredients.

What kind of alcohol is it??!! Is it vodka???! Probably.

I was always a huge fan of Dep Sport gel and LA Looks Sport gel (this one is CG approved!). What I typically do is stock up on gel when I go home for a quick visit. I bring two big bottles of LA Looks and a small bottle of Dep. Then, if I happen to run out, I just attempt to buy a decent gel abroad (and fail miserably).

When it comes to moving abroad or traveling long-term in Asia, I always recommend bringing gel from home, along with other products that are super expensive in Asia, like face moisturizer. The longer I stayed in China, the more products I found that worked (Innisfree and Nature Republic saved my life on many occasions- Thank you Korea!!!). But I still haven’t found a good replacement for an awesome gel.

My travel toiletry organizer

Traveling With Your Products

While some travelers swear by going carry-on-only, I hate to break it to you curly girls… Give up on those dreams right now.

I don’t know about you, but my super long curly hair needs a ton of conditioner and gel to function, so travel-size bottles just aren’t going to work for me. Besides, my moisturizer is also too big, and I need a ton of that too. (Dry skin, dry hair… I’m cursed!)

I find it needlessly stressful and expensive to try and find conditioner and gel while I’m traveling. There have actually been times where I just CAN’T find conditioner. My friends hated me a little while we were traveling in Vietnam and I made them walk around a random town with me for 20 minutes to try and find a store selling conditioner. We failed.

Just pack your products in plastic ziplock bags in case they leak. I also recommend grabbing a bar of Lush solid shampoo, because shampoo is the most likely thing in your bag to leak (I speak from personal experience).

Just be careful to let the shampoo bar dry out so that it doesn’t melt and turn to putty in your little tin container. (I also have personal experience with this one as well).

If only my life was this organized.

Money Saving Hack: Only Check One Bag

If you’re traveling with a partner or friends, my biggest money-saving hack is to only check ONE bag. Decide which bag is largest/most durable and have everyone put their large bottles and products in just one bag while carrying on the others. Then you can all share the cost of the checked bag!

While this wasn’t super necessary for me in China since I always got a checked bag for free, it helped my friends and my fiance and I save money while flying around Southeast Asia using cheap Air Asia flights!

My hair gets pretty long abroad

Getting Your Hair Cut Abroad

DONT. Just don’t. Especially if you’re in Asia.

Cutting your hair in a place where curly hair doesn’t exist is a recipe for disaster. If you’re in Europe, South America, the Middle East or Africa (depending on your texture) you’re probably fine, just check for good reviews online. But if you’re in Asia… good luck.

While there are certain hairdressers in larger cities that cater to foreign expats, I have a hard enough time finding a good salon in the US that won’t mess up my hair, let alone one in China!!

So, what do you do? Personally, I get a really good haircut once a year. Yep- that’s it!

Why do hairdressers always insist on straightening it?

To think I considered making it permanent!

There was a time I considered making it permanently straight

I just tell my American hairdressers how long I need to go between cuts and let them know that they need to give me a great shape that can last me an entire year. After many years of trial and error, I finally managed to find a few decent hairstylists that can do this without chopping all of my hair off.

When I’m super desperate, I take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut my hair dry (which is apparently how you’re supposed to get it cut anyway). I take each curl individually and snip an inch or two off in a diagonal line. It always turns out fine and I get rid of those pesky dry ends!

If you don’t have a hairdresser that knows how to handle curly hair, I highly suggest looking for a Deva certified stylist who has been trained in the art of the CG Method and cutting curly hair. I’m super excited to book an appointment with a certified stylist in Seattle when I’m home!

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Starting the Curly Girl Method Abroad

When my friend introduced me to the Curly Girl Method a few weeks ago, I was absolutely HOOKED. I joined the Curly Girl Support Group on Facebook, watched countless Youtube Videos (Shoutout to Curly Susie!) and immediately started searching for CG Approved products.

Unfortunately, I literally could not find ANY CG Approved conditioners in Hoi An or at the large Costco-esque store Megamart in Danang (about 30 minutes away).

Curly Girl Method: No silicones, sulfates, or parabens! (aka what is in EVERYTHING)

After getting some advice from the support group, I used a company called iHerb to order products from the US to Vietnam. While half the products for curly hair don’t actually follow the rules, I ended up finding a solid 15-20 I could work with.

I did a TON of research and ended up choosing 3: Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner, Beautiful Curls Activating Leave-in Conditioner, and Kinky Curly Styling Custard as a gel.

Thanks Customs…

Wow… Open boxes and everything

Dealing With Customs and Imported Products

My fiance Chris and I went a bit crazy on iHerb and ordered $100-worth of stuff. However, when it all arrived, our box was held up in customs for a solid week. We were informed by DHL that they didn’t believe that our stuff was only worth $100, so we had to send them the receipt and links to all of the products.

When the box finally arrived, we were told we owed customs $50. WTF!!!!???!!! Yeah, thanks Vietnam. Apparently they only really do this to foreigners, and there’s absolutely no way around it except to have a Vietnamese friend order for you.

Also, they had ripped the boxes of our supplements and meal bars open and taped them back up, and the cap to my leave-in was completely off and there was conditioner spilled in my box. Really??

Thankfully the leave-in is super thick, so I only lost a tiny bit of the bottle.

Time to bug mom and dad…

Relying on Friends and Family

Obviously, I won’t be attempting to order products again (unless it’s through a Vietnamese friend). This means I’ll need to have my parents bring me a few things when they visit.

I’m still on the hunt for the best products for my 3 a/b low porosity hair (and this is where I lose everyone…) but I’m hoping to find a few products I can get brought over in big bottles to at least last me until I’m in Australia this November.

When it comes to hair type, 1= straight, 2= wavy, 3= curly, 4=kinky. a= loose curls/waves/kinks, b=medium and c= tight. I’m a 3a/b since my curls range from the size of sidewalk chalk to the size of a sharpie. I have low-porosity hair because my hair has a hard time absorbing moisture but retains moisture (and WATER) very well. You can do a hair test to see what type of porosity you have.

My hair after ONE DAY of using the Curly Girl Method

A Few More Must-Have Curly Girl Lifesavers

In addition to products, I’ll also have my parents bring a few simple hair fixes that I can use anywhere.

Firstly, I’ll be getting a satin pillowcase to keep my hair from getting frizzy while I sleep. While I do put my hair up in a Pineapple bun to save the curls, the underside of my hair still gets frizzy. A satin pillowcase will solve all my problems, and it’s super luxurious!

I also plan on getting a travel hair diffuser. This collapsible travel diffuser fits on pretty much any hair dryer and can compactly fit in your bag, unlike a traditional diffuser or Devafuser. While I normally air dry my hair, it would be nice to diffuse if I’m heading out the door, or if it’s been 3 hours and my hair still isn’t dry and I want to go to sleep (that’s low porosity for you).

Finally, I want to grab a few small styling clips to give my roots volume and help my hair dry. I’ve currently been using large hair styling clips, but these tend to clump my hair in weird ways and make my roots strangely straight if I clip them too tight.

My pre-CG method curls (or should I say waves)

Do I Really Have to Bring All My CG Products From Home?

In Vietnam, I still have yet to see any CG Approved products. Thankfully there are some major brands that have CG Approved products like Suave Naturals, TRESemme Botanique, VO5 Herbal Escapes, Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel, Aussie Instant Freeze, and LA Looks Sport Gel that you MIGHT find abroad.

I’ll keep my eyes out, but at least in Vietnam, this is a huge problem for me. Specialized curly hair products like DevaCurl, Shea Moisture, and Kinky Curly are basically impossible to find in Asia.

I’d like to think that in China might have been able to find some of these products, or at least non-name brand CG approved products by using JD.com or Taobao, but no promises!

I basically recommend packing a few bottles of everything in your suitcase and requesting replacements from everyone who visits you. Worst case, you can pay to import stuff using companies like iHerb.

Ready for bed with my pineapple hair!

My Recommended Packing List for Curly Hair Girls

Now that I’m versed in the Curly Girl Method, there are a few things I wouldn’t travel without! Here’s a quick list of what you should bring

A Low-Poo, non-sulfate gentle shampoo to use 1x week or less

A big bottle of CG Approved silicone free conditioner for conditioning and co-washing

A leave-in conditioner

A Nice big bottle (or two) of gel (LA Looks is fine but I LOVE Kinky-Curly)

An old t-shirt or microfiber turban towel for drying your hair and “plopping”

A travel diffuser (optional)

10 Small hair clips for drying

A silk or satin pillowcase

A wide-toothed comb (optional) – I just use my fingers to brush my hair now!

Invisibobble “telephone wire” hair bands (these things are LIFE) and some bobby pins

Aside from your products, most of these things are super small, so you shouldn’t have a huge issue transporting them. While traveling with a ton of products is never fun, at least your hair will look fantastic??

If you’re living abroad, definitely search for the right products in local stores and online. The less product you have to bring, the better!

If you’re not at all interested in the CG Method, just go for Pantene ProV. It worked pretty well for me over the last five years!

Showing off my curls in Japan!

Any Questions??

Do you have any questions about managing curly hair while traveling? Want to know more about the Curly Girl Method and how I’ve been attempting it abroad? Do you have any advice for me or other curly haired travelers? Let me know in a comment!

I’m always checking back for new comments, so be sure to get in touch and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

Want to know more about the Curly Girl Method? Get the Original Curly Girl Handbook on Amazon! This is where the entire CG movement began! 

Traveling With Curly Hair – How to Care For Curly Hair Abroad This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.  Taking care of curly hair definitely isn't easy, especially when you travel or live abroad for an extended period of time.