#Jujube tea | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

borathae · 11 months ago

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"Jungkook loves having a break from work because it means that he can make you breakfast in the morning and welcome you home with dinner."

Pairing: CEO!Jungkook x f.Reader

Genre: married life!AU, Slice of Life Fluff

Warnings: Jungkook being a cutie, cozy mornings, casual use of Bunny & Mommy as non-kinky petnames, kisses, flirting because they're in love!

Wordcount: 2.6k

a/n: this was planned for january but we all need fluff more than smut rn so i decided to switch up my schedule a little. i hope this can cheer you guys up.

You wake up in darkness like most mornings because you and your husband prefer to have the electric blinds down. And like most mornings, the first thing you do is look for him in the darkness by swiping your hand over the sheets. However, unlike most mornings, you can’t locate him today. He must have gotten up already, which was weird considering he had the day off today.

Because of one of his countless work trips, he has this week off. He gave himself that rule. The longer the work trip was and the higher the stress level, the longer he'll relax at home as balance. He wasn’t home for a month this time around, so for one week you will have him playing house husband.

Jungkook shouldn’t be out of bed yet. It was his second day home and he should be getting his well-deserved sleep. You have to get up for university, but Jungkook should still be snoozing. You have to see what could be so important that he is already out of bed.

You open the blinds with a click of the button you have next to your bedside lamp and use the growing light to get out of bed. You stretch your arms above your head, yawning loudly to get the oxygen flowing. Then you make your way to the bathroom for the mandatory post wake up pee. Once relieved and equipped with a glass of fresh water to drink on the way, you make your way to the living area in hopes of locating Jungkook.

The faint sound of music calls you to the kitchen. Soon the smell of breakfast tickles your nose. So that's where he went off to. He is cooking breakfast.

You smile once you lay eyes on him. He is turned to you as he is using the kitchen island counter to chop kimchi. He is wrapped in a dark blue kimono robe and a black apron. The long sleeves of the kimono he fixed according to Japanese traditions, making it so that they wouldn’t get in the way as he cooks.

He is singing to the song on the radio, lifting his eyes as they catch your movements.

His face lights up.

“Good morning”, he says and keeps gazing at you as you make your way to him.

“Good morning”, you increase your steps, needing to be with him, “why are you up already? It’s so early.”

Jungkook checks the time, “I didn’t feel tired anymore. I’ve been up since five thirty.”

“Why? Bunny, today’s your free day”, you whine, setting the empty glass aside.

“I’m seriously fine. I think jetlag’s still doing it to me. I’m making breakfast.”

“I know, it already smells amazing”, you say and wrap your arms around his waist.

He puts the knife down and turns in your hold, lifting his arms so you could snuggle into his chest. He closes his arms around you, swaying from side to side as your bodies naturally move to the music.

He closes his eyes and rests his cheek against your head.

“You should be in bed snoozing”, you mumble into him.

“I’m okay”, he says in a chuckle, “I feel really rested.”

“Mhm okay fine I believe you”, you give up and squeeze him gently, “my bunny. Shit, I missed you.”

“I missed you too”, he says and squeezes you back, “so much.”

“I missed you more. You know?”

Jungkook laughs, “that’s impossible because I missed you so much that nobody could ever top it.”

You chuckle, “wow that’s a lot.”

“Mh-hm it’s a lot.”

You lift your head, grinning up at him. He retorts it, scrunching his nose.

“You’re a stupid noodle.”

“Heh.”

“What are you making?”

“Steamed salmon in a teriyaki glaze, multigrain rice, kimchi and miso soup.”

“That literally sounds like heaven, holy fuck.”

“And I’m making jujube tea with ginger because it’s getting chilly.”

“You’re seriously amazing. I was so down to eat soggy cereal today and now you’re treating me to such a royal breakfast.”

He giggles, “yeah, I hope it’ll taste yummy. I made the glaze myself and, I don’t know, I think I used too much ginger.”

“I bet it’ll be amazing.”

“Yeah, hopefully.”

The air fryer beeps, calling Jungkook’s attention.

“Oh! Food’s ready! Sit down Mommy, I’ll serve it to you”, he says and wiggles out of the hug in excitement. He skips to the air fryer, humming to himself.

You do as you are told and sit down by the round dining table, watching him scramble to get the food plated. You are wiggling your toes in happiness. He is so cute.

“You look so handsome in your kimono, Bunny”, you tell him.

“Thank you, Mommy”, he says, but otherwise stays rather unresponsive as he is fully concentrated on making the food look pretty.

“It’s a shame that I gotta leave for classes today ‘cause I just wanna stare at you all day.”

At that Jungkook lifts his eyes. He glances at you. Flusters. Looks away. Blushes.

You chuckle fondly, grinning to yourself. Of course your words would fluster him. That was your goal after all.

“And then later if you let me, I’d unwrap you like a little treat.”

Jungkook glances at you again. He is so obviously shy from your words, but he doesn’t let it show at all.

“Food is, uhm, it’s done”, he says.

“You’re just gonna ignore me, mhm?” you tease with a smile.

“I don’t know what to say to that”, he confesses, making you chuckle

“You’re so fucking cute.”

He serves the food on a bamboo tray, setting it down with a kiss to your cheek and his left hand petting the back of your head.

“Thank you, my love”, you say, leaning into the kiss.

“Mhm, you can start already. I’ll just get mine.”

And as Jungkook hurries back to the kitchen, you scan your eyes over the food. It looks amazing. The salmon looks crispy in a dark glaze and the multigrain rice has a nice purple colour to it. The miso soup is steaming and the fresh kimchi from Jungkook’s mom is served in a small glass bowl.

“The food looks amazing”, you tell him.

“Yeah, dig in. Dig in”, he dismisses you as he is terribly busy with scooping rice into his bowl.

“I am”, you say and chuckle. He is so cute.

You pick up the wooden spoon and scoop up the first bite of many. You try to make it equal parts rice and equal parts salmon, topping it off with a piece of kimchi.

Jungkook sits down on the chair next to yours, resting his chin on the back of his hands. He is watching you intently, showing off his teeth in a sweet bunny smile.

You take the first bite.

“And?” he instantly asks, leaning closer to you as he is waiting for the praise.

“Mh”, you let out and pull a face of pure culinary ecstasy, giving him two thumbs up as you chew deliciously.

He giggles, “good?”

“S’amazing”, you mumble and take a bite of the miso soup, “mhhm, mhm hm mh”, you hum, continuously giving him thumbs up.

“Heh thank you”, he whispers and sways happily, “eat a lot, Mommy. I made it with all the love in the world.”

“I can taste it. It’s so yummy”, you say and swallow your bite. You put your hand at the back of his head and pull him into a kiss.

“Mhm”, Jungkook lets out, twisting the front of your shirt as his legs squeeze together under the table.

You break the kiss with a ruffle of his hair.

“Thank you so much for cooking”, you whisper and smile.

Jungkook’s eyes sparkle, his lips curl into a giddy grin.

“My cutie”, you add and break away to continue eating. The food is too delicious not to put your entire attention on it.

Jungkook watches you take a bite and eat it happily, then he finally begins eating as well, doing so with a frown.

“Mhm yes, this is good food”, he comments and nods his head.

“Yeah, it really is”, you agree and for the next few moments, you and him are silent as you concentrate on eating.

The amazing thing about being married is being able to see eating time as what it is. Eating time. In society, eating with other people most often means forcing conversation for the sake of friendliness. Foods get cold from being neglected for talking, bites aren’t properly chewed for the sake of conversation and tastes aren’t properly enjoyed. Being married to your soulmate and comfort means that those forced conversations cease to exist. You already have the greatest bonding time eating and sharing cozy silence.

By the time the food is almost all gone, the conversation naturally begins to seep into the silence again. You and he were able to enjoy the food and are now finally ready to talk. Oh, it is so nice to be married.

“Will you go to afternoon lectures as well?” Jungkook asks.

“Yeah, I have to. What she’s talking about right now is really important.”

“I see. Is it still about behavioural studies?”

“Yeah.”

“Mmh nice. What you told me on the phone always sounded really interesting.”

“Yeah, it is. Mhm Bunny seriously, I can’t get over how everything is though. Like fuck college talk, your food’s amazing.”

He scrunches his nose, “thank you, my love. I have another surprise for you too.”

“What do you mean? A surprise?”

“Mh-hm. Don’t make me say it yet. You know I suck at keeping surprises a secret” he says and smiles his cutest bunny smile.

“Okay, but now you gotta tell me. What did you do?”

“No, I’m not telling you”, Jungkook says and gets up to flee to the kitchen. He giggles as he does, looking over his shoulder to check if you were watching him.

“Bunny”, you warn in a chuckle, getting up to chase him, “tell me.”

He is by the sink, loading the dishwasher and shaking his head.

“Tell me”, you say and tickle his sides.

Jungkook squeaks and writhes away, pressing his arms to his sides as best as possible.

“Mommy stop”, he whines between giggles.

“Tell me”, you insist, tickling his waist instead.

Jungkook turns and grabs your lower arm.

“You’re unfair”, he squeaks.

You laugh, tickling him again just so you can get his reaction. Jungkook squeaks in laughter. He pulls his biggest move by tickling your sides in return.

“Ah!” you twitch away, “hey! Not fair.”

Jungkook snickers, “it’s what you get for being mean.”

You click your tongue, “you’re a little brat.”

He grins, “and you’re almost running late.”

You glance at the clock.

“Oh shit. Fuck, I gotta wash up”, you gasp and sprint off, “you stupid noodle you. You distracted me with your cute butt. Also, if I come downstairs and see you changed outta your robe so you could drive me, I’m punishing your ass. You’re staying home today”, you scold him as you run up the stairs, taking two at a time.

Jungkook laughs. Seconds later, the upstairs bathroom falls closed.

Jungkook abandons the cleaning up for now in order to prepare your backpack for you. He would drive you to campus on other days, but you told him last night that you would take the bus today as you needed to swing by the library either way. Jungkook didn’t really want to argue with you about it so he just agreed to whatever you insisted on.

But that doesn’t mean that he won’t make sure that you are leaving the house perfectly prepared. He fills your thermos cup with your favourite coffee, puts a water bottle into your backpack after making sure you have all the books and notes backed and he even slipped some little love notes between the pages you will read today. He hopes that you will love them. He is already so giddy at the thought of you discovering them.

You are stomping down the stairs again, putting on your earrings as you do.

“Have you seen my backpack? I'm going crazy. It’s not in my office.”

“It’s here, my love. You always forget it downstairs on Tuesdays because you come home so late”, Jungkook says, carrying it for you as you hurry to the coat closet.

“Ah yeah. Fuck, did I get my books?”

“Everything you need is in the bag.”

“My notes?”

“Yes, those too.”

You scramble to get your shoes on. Jungkook in the meantime gets your coat so he could help you later.

“Shit, I didn’t get to make coffee.”

“I did. Don’t worry”, he assures you.

“And water. I need water for later.”

“It’s in the bag.”

“A big-”

“Yes, a big bottle.”

You halt in your hurried actions for a moment, looking at him in adoring disbelief. He is still holding your backpack and another bag in one hand, whilst offering you your favourite coat with the other. Your eyes flit back to the bag.

“What’s that?”

“My surprise.”

“Your surprise?”

“First. Coat”, he says and helps you slip it on, “then backpack”, he helps you again, “now surprise”, he hands you the bag.

You look into it. Your thermos of coffee is in there, a metal spoon and a pair of chopsticks wrapped in a paper towel as well, your favourite chocolate bar, a small package of salted pretzels, a tangerine, a banana and a metal bento box.

You look up to meet his shy gaze.

“You made me lunch?” you get out squeakily, pouting as your eyes fill with fond tears.

Jungkook nods his head, “it's something so yummy. I also packed you favourite snacks and some fruits for vitamins. But don’t open the bento until it’s time for lunch.”

“Bunny. Oh my god, you’re gonna make me cry. I love it so much.”

Jungkook wipes your tears away, smooches your forehead and then places his hands on your shoulders to lead you to the elevator. He calls it with a press of the button.

“No tears. You’re running late.”

You laugh, feeling your heart flutter. He is so fucking adorable.

The elevator dings and opens. He shoves you gently until you naturally walk on your own.

“How do you expect me to be normal after this? You’re the sweetest noodle ever”, you whine.

“Thank me by thinking of me all day”, he says and giggles.

You turn. He is still in the penthouse while you’re in the elevator. One reach is all that separates you and him.

Jungkook lifts his hand to wave you goodbye. Just a few more seconds and the doors would close. It’s now or never.

The doors begin closing.

“Good luck today, my love. See you late-eeek”, Jungkook squeals and stumbles into the elevator as you pull him inside by the collar of his robe.

You twirl him and press him against the wall, knocking a surprised gasp out of him.

The elevator moves.

“What are you doing? I’m in my robe. I don’t have my keycard with me. I don’t-”

“Take mine. You can open the door for me later”, you interrupt him.

“But. The robe.”

“Nobody will care. Wanna make use of the time”, you dismiss him and pull him into a kiss.

Jungkook whimpers, grasping you instantly. His heart is racing, his knees are buckling. So here he is. In his robe, without clothes underneath, pinned against a cold wall as he is getting tongue kissed in an elevator. It’s not what he had hoped would happen if he made you lunch, but it’s definitely not the worst outcome.

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fuckyeahchinesefashion · 2 years ago

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local naicha/milk tea in lijiang, yunnan by 小屁桃日记（edible flowers, chinese wolfberry, jujube, pu'er tea）

#china #video #food #naicha #milk tea #i don't like naicha in chain store #they are too sweet #but this looks natural and yummy

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foodffs · 2 years ago

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Chinese Jujube Tea (红枣茶) A soothing and nourishing Chinese jujube tea that is very easy to put together and will warm your soul.

Recipe => https://omnivorescookbook.com/jujube-tea/

#submission

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sabraeal · 10 months ago

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to all the ghosts still standing in this room, Chapter 3

[Read on AO3]

For all that His Former Majesty pretends to eschew the trappings of power or whatever, he sure doesn’t have any compunctions about bossing her around. Lili’s barely stretched a finger toward that purse of his, but he herds her right over to a low wall, insisting she sit before he lets her get a word in edgewise. Barely lets her get a glimpse of all that fluffy ricey goodness too before he sets out a bit of cloth between them, like this was one of those little tea parties Father would strong-arm her into, as if turning ‘good neighbors into good allies’ could make those girls more interesting.

“Street food’s meant to be eaten standing up.” It’s not that she’s pouting over this whole business. It’s just that spoiled little kings sometimes need a reminder of how things work. Like how people don’t go to market just to sit around and kick rocks. “Since you’re, you know, supposed to be walking.”

Soowon’s not a man of many expressions —not ones he aims at her, at least— but to call the one he settles on her skeptical would be generous. Accusatory, more like, as if something about this stupid sit-down snack situation was her fault. “It puts me more at ease to keep you where you can be seen.”

Her face scrunches up, a persimmon left too long in his sun. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

This is where he’s supposed to say, ‘Nothing.’ Where his stupid pale spider hands should wave between them, as if that might help him climb out of this hole. Where he squints into his fakest smile, playing the role of harmless prince down to the dregs.

But instead, he says, “Because when you are left to your own devices, you always find trouble.”

“That’s not true!” At least, it doesn’t feel like it should be. Not until he cocks his head, just how he had on that street in Senshi, both of them soaked to the bone. Both of them alone, no Ayura, no Tetora, no Judoh. And her on her knees, grateful and fearful both, saved by—

Her teeth grit hard enough to ache. “Trouble finds me, thank you very much.”

His shoulder lifts, more consolation than concession. “As you say.”

She could strangle him. Put her hands right around that elegant neck of his and just squeeze. She’d be half tempted to try right now— witnesses and all— except…

Except he finally pulls out that pouch, dumping all the cakes onto the cloth between them. One bounces off an uneven bit of wall, doomed to tumble to the dirt until Lili snatches it midair. “You stand could be a little more delicate about it!”

One brow hikes beneath the sweep of his hair. “Didn’t you just tell me you’d rather be walking?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I want them to roll around in the dirt.” She blows across the cake’s spongy surface, hoping to banish whatever invisible bits of grit had settled there. “It’s about the experience. Lady Lili can sit down and call for fancy little cakes whenever she wants” —not that she made a habit of it, recently— “but walk around some foreign market? Not without a half dozen guards to protect me from peasant elbows, and another one to hold the purse strings.”

With careful precision, she sets the cake back on the cloth. And with equal delicacy —and ignoring Soowon’s slack jaw— she picks up another, twirling it between her fingers. Lili can’t fathom why he bothers to look so shocked; it’s not like she dropped it. It’s not her duty to eat it.

“These are pretty fancy.” There’s little dried jujube flowers steamed into the surface, with rock tripe slivers as stems and leaves of halved seeds. “I think I’ve seen them at parties before.”

“During the summer, typically,” he agrees, lifting a cake between his fingers. It’s pink, not white like hers, with a different spray of flowers across the top. “There’s something about the rice wine that makes them keep better in the heat.”

Lili’s never heard anyone speak with such authority about rice cakes, let alone a man with so little business in the kitchens. Hell, she wasn’t even convinced he liked food, considering the way he picked at most of his meals, pulling crackled skin from perfectly crisped chicken and plucking the melty fat off his pork. He didn’t so much eat rice as push it around in his bowl, making it look like he’d had more than a mouthful.

Does His Majesty have a sweet tooth? she’d love to tease, or maybe, I didn’t figure you for a dessert guy, but instead she blurts out, “I can't believe they sell these right out on the street like this. It must cost a fortune.”

His head snaps up, both his brows jumped up to his hairline, and— and, sure, Lady Lili’s never been in the practice of thinking about cost, or even wondering how her meals made it to her table, but Water Tribe Advisor Lili has to. “The rice wine,” she stumbles out, “it’s only made when the pear trees blossom. So—”

“It’s the same stuff farmers drink.” There’s a lilt to his voice, a hitch at the corner of his mouth. Oh, of course, it’s amusing that An Joon-gi’s precious daughter is so sheltered. He couldn’t scrounge up a thimbleful of good humor the past week she’s been trapped with him in that stuffy little box, but she mistakes cloudy wine for luxury and it’s a laugh riot. Insufferable. “The real expense is in the time it takes to make them.”

Lili glances down, long enough to find not two colors of cakes but three, the yellow so subtle it only stands out next to the white. Three colors, three doughs. And every single one is painstakingly decorated, not just with jujube flowers, but with fireworks made of slivered nuts, or small waves made of dried seaweed; half-snack, half-art. “You’d think they’d serve them more often in the palace. Those people just love to make fussy food.”

“Xing is more temperate than Kouka.” He lifts a shoulder, as if tutoring generals’ daughters were an everyday occurrence. “There are some things that grow more easily here, and for longer. A summer delicacy for us might be their standard fare— after all, few of our usual treats would keep well in the heat.”

“Oh.” That sort of thing never crossed her mind— climate and locations and the logistics of what might grow between them. A general’s daughter hardly needed to know where her tea snacks came from, only whether it would please her or the guests that had been foisted upon her. But the Empress’s Water Tribe Advisor— that’s the way she should think. Supply line should dance behind her eyelids when she closes her eyes, the local price ready to drop from her lips at a moment’s notice, but instead she just squints down at the jujube flower and wonders, “Do you think Kouka made them first, or did we adopt them from Xing?”

Soowon hums, considering. “Hard to say. I don’t suppose any of its ingredients are particular to either place. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that we came up with the idea independently— forestalling food spoilage is a constant concern, after all— but with a shared border…”

A border that ran right at the end of the Wind Tribe’s territory. Fuuga was known for their mountainous highlands, their capital hidden between a copse of intimidating peaks, its people dressing in their distinctive layers to keep the winds and cold at bay. But it was their lowlands that abutted Xing, the fertile shores of its river forming what her Father had always called Kouka’s breadbasket. But as they had rattled along the trade road, escorted by an improbable amount of Hak’s cousins for a man who claimed to be orphaned, Lili could not pick out where Kouka ended and Xing began, the farmlands all running together, crops and houses indistinguishable from one another, no matter which side of the border they had traveled on.

“Maybe…” She tests the word on her tongue, weighing it the way old women did melons in the market, trying to divine whether the flesh inside was ripe or gone to seed. “…There’s never been much difference between us.”

Soowon blinks down at her. “Perhaps.”

Heat simmers right beneath the skin of her cheeks, threatening to let the world know the way pride flushes through her, and she can’t stand it, not with him sitting there, just staring, like she’s never said a smart thing in her life—

She shoves the cake in her mouth. Not a delicate bite, the way Lady Lili should, but the whole thing, her cheeks ballooning out to balance the crumb between them.

“Oh,” she mutters around it, disappointed. “Ours taste better, though.”

Soowon smothers a grimace between his own bites. “The flavor is quite…delicate.”

“I think you mean ‘not there.’” She reaches for another one anyway, nibbling at an edge. “You like these?”

“The texture is…pleasing.” At her withering glance, he admits, “I had hoped the flavor would be more pronounced, yes. But they are…inoffensive.”

That’s one way to put it. Bland would be another. “You shouldn’t have distracted me, I was going to get us those pastry fish, the ones with red beans in them. Now that would have been a snack.”

“I distracted you?” His mouth tugs toward a frown. “I believe you were the one who tried to get into a physical altercation in the middle of the market.”

“Me? It was that guy who kept trying to pick a fight. I was just—!”

His palm stifles her protest; a single hand that pressed against her mouth, trapping it between words. Not that she has any; surprise scatters her wits, shattering her thoughts like a teapot knocked from a shelf.

“You’re being too loud,” he informs her, as if she’s the one that’s the problem here. “It’s drawing attention.”

Oh, she could just— just lick him. No— bite him. Let him see just who can keep their head then.

He removes his hand before she can even try. Just lets it drop right back into his lap, like he had never moved in the first place, that annoyingly neutral smile pulling his mouth too thin.

“You’re not going to be able to do that to your wife, you know,” she warns him, shoving another cake in her mouth. Eugh, pink doesn’t have much of a flavor either. “She’d take your hand off if you even try.”

His brows rise. “Ah, so my cousin did send you to make me Xing’s consort.”

“I-I didn’t say it had to be Kouren.” Though Yona had insinuated it would be preferable, right before Hak snorted, sure, dodging a headman's axe seems like a great hobby for him to pick up, gods know he needs one. “Just…that’s what any woman worth her salt would do.”

Soowon’s mouth twitches, nearly a smirk. “If it could be ‘any woman,’ I doubt I would have been sent with a babysitter to make it happen.”

“I’m not your babysitter,” she snorts, hopping onto her feet. “Judoh is your babysitter. I’m your wingman, because you have all the appeal of a block of tofu.”

His wide eyes track her as she stands, jaw falling just slack enough for his lips to part. “I…” His mouth closes, curving into something sly. “I suppose you would be the expert of such things.”

“I am,” she huffs. “I have amazing taste. You look better just being seen with me.”

“How lucky,” he drawls, not looking at her, but just over her—

“Lady Lili.”

A broad hand clamps around her shoulder, rooting her to the street. A trembling glance up catches on a scarred cheek, rucked up in a scowl. “We’ve found you.” Judoh’s brow furrows, taking in Soowon’s perch on the wall. “Both of you, it seems.”

“Oh my.” Soowon squints into a smile, only deepening his bodyguard’s glower. “It looks like our playdate is over.”

It comes as no surprise that Judoh declines to dress them down right in the middle of the marketplace. Perhaps if they were in any less public a place, or any less important personages than the empress’s own advisors-- certainly, if Soowon were a child still, the man would hardly hesitate to let loose bellows that would shake the market stalls down to their struts. But as it was, he was too much the professional to cause a scene... at least where there might be witnesses.

Which means that all his ire is saved for the moment he has them firmly ensconced at the inn. With his dark hood pushed back to his shoulders, it’s simple to see the familiar vein throbbing at his temple, to take in the almost nostalgic twitch of his jaw as the doors slide shut behind Lili’s attendant.

Three years as Kouka’s king might have inured him to most attempts at intimidation, but when the Sky Tribe general glares, it’s reflex that drops him to his knees.

“What,” he bites out, “exactly were the two of you thinking?”

Only it’s not his cousin who trembles next to him now-- nor Hak, using his hair to hide his grin— but An Lili. Joon-gi’s half-wild daughter, who may know how to bow, but refuses to be broken. Who hasn’t been on the other side of one of Judoh’s lectures enough to know to keep her mouth shut.

“What happened?” she mutters, words muffling beneath her sleeves. “I thought you were going to distract him?”

It’s not until her attendant sighs, “I tried,” that Soowon realizes the question wasn’t for him. “He just wasn’t very…distractible.”

Ah, well, that gives quite a different context for the flush to the man’s face, and to why his gaze is both hunter and hunted.

“A member of the royal family and the water tribe advisor running around a foreign market without a single guard.” If a man could breathe steam, Judoh would, pacing across the breadth of their room. “I expected better from the both of you. What if something happened to one of you? Both of you! In one of our vassal states! And I’d have to tell the empress and her…”

Consort. Even now the general can’t bring himself to say it. Bad enough when Hak merely usurped his place as Yona’s bodyguard, but now that the upstart has become an authority he has to answer to— well, a less prideful man might have seen that was his uncle’s plan to begin with.

“We were incognito,” Lili informs him, unaware of how she is only prolonging their punishment. “No one noticed us.”

“Don’t,” he mutters, too late. Judoh’s flush deepens to a painful red, scars standing out in stark relief.

“That,” the general growls, “is half the problem, Lili-sama. Your title is as much protection as your honor guard. A scoundrel might think twice about picking the pockets of the Empress’s Advisor, but some silly young girl in the market…well, she could be easily led astray! Brought to some back alley where…where…”

Judoh has faced dragons on the battlefield, seen sights that would turn most men mad, but one glance down in An Lili’s guileless eyes, and he falters.

“It is useless to convince the general that anonymity conveys safety, Lady Lili.” Soowon lifts his head, ignoring the betrayed glare she spears him with. “Where we might instead focus our arguments is on the fact that we were almost certainly being followed from the moment we stepped into the city.”

“What?” Now it’s Judoh who suffers the honed point of her ire. “You had people watching us the whole time?”

“My lady, that is beside the point,” he snaps, desperately grappling to keep the ground beneath him. “Just because I had men in position this time, does not mean there will not be a time where the two of you slip out when no preparations have been made—”

“You two?” Lili shrills, hands hooking at her waist. “I did not sneak out with— with him! I did it all by myself, and he copied me—”

“Is this really what you want to fight over?” Soowon sighs, fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose. At least Yona had the sense to let them all get in equal trouble. “Who thought to break the rules first?”

She swings around to him, well on her way to a pout. “He needs to know we don’t come as a unit.”

“I don’t think anyone is confused on that point.”

“You don’t—”

It’s a miracle that he hears it— the quiet shush of wood sliding along its track, just over his shoulder. The pommel of his dagger finds his hand before he finishes his turn, one foot braced against the floor and poised to pull, but it’s Judoh who moves faster, little more than a blur of black linen and a flash of steel as he flies across the floor.

The man at the door is cloaked and masked, no more than a strip of skin and dark eyes uncovered, but they widen as Judoh meets him with blade bared. The general is by no means his quickest sword, but even Soowon would have been hard pressed to answer that attack, so it can only be preternatural reflex that allows this man to manage it, stumbling back a step.

One that would not have saved him, had Judoh been allowed to press his advantage. But another figure reaches through the gap, gripping Judoh’s wrist hard enough to send his sword clattering to the tatami. It’s with a speed that Soowon feels rather that sees that the general is driven to his knees, arm wrenched behind his back as the intruder forces him prone, one knee braced on the floor and the other on his back. Lili’s attendant is already on her feet, a wicked knife glistening as she flings herself with purpose toward the other man at the door—

“Baram, please.” The figure that steps into the room is dressed dark like the others, tall enough to be a man— but it is a woman’s voice that comes from beneath its hood. A mature one; confident even in this room full of naked steel. Familiar, barely. “That is hardly the sort of treatment we should show our honored guests.”

His stomach drops before her hood, but it does not reach bottom until Judoh gasps, “Your Majesty.”

Kouren, Queen of Xing, First of Her Name, strides across the room until she stands before him, taking in the sight of him on his knees. The way his father must have, when her beloved guardsman knelt before him on the battlefield.

“Lord Soowon.” The smile she shines down on him is warm, welcoming, the kind one royal might give another. A pity none of it reaches her eyes. “We do not need ceremony between us, do we?”

#liliwon #wonlili #akatsuki no yona #yona of the dawn #my fic #future fic #to all the ghosts #any #1000 followers #oh how i have been waiting to put kouren and soowon in a room and shake them up #excited too for the new OCs that are about to crop up in this fic #we're finally getting through what i really consider the introduction to this fic #and into the first act #also part 1 of the 1000 Followers celebration #i'm working hard on the melvik fic...but let me tell you it's a race to the finish #that thing's gonna be HUGE

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samheeconstruction · 12 days ago

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대추차는 편안함을 주고 면역력을 높이며 전반적인 건강을 지원하는 전통적인 건강차입니다. 영양이 풍부한 대추로 만들어진 대추차는 항산화제, 비타민, 필수 미네랄이 가득하여 일상 생활에서 에너지를 얻고 균형 잡힌 건강을 유지하는 데 도움이 됩니다. 피곤한 하루를 마무리하며 휴식을 취하거나 자연스러운 건강 증진을 원한다면 대추차를 일상 속에 포함시켜 보세요.

#대추차 jujube tea

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morethansalad · 7 months ago

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Jujube Ginger Tea (Vegan)

#vegan #drinks #tea #herbal tea #pine nuts #jujubes #ginger #cinnamon

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fairykazu · 2 years ago

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Hi, congrats for reaching 60 followers! I hope you've been doing well. May I ask these prompts (8, 16, 22, 26) for Kazuha?

Always stay safe and healthy! 🙏

SCARLET LEAVES PURSUE WILD WAVES: kazuha kaedehara x gn! reader

masterlist | 60 special ml

notes: some of them are a continuation of memories; you don’t have to read it but it’s to get the characters' relationship with each other. sorry for the late reply! more under the cut! (16, 22 & 26 will be written soon + linked on the masterlist)

8. brushing knuckles softly over their cheek

you would never express it but you wonder if kazuha still shares the feelings as you do for him. the love he shows to you through poems, quotes of literature and samples of herbs in the places he visits. you looked at the letter by your nightstand: kazuha’s letter for today. you went to reach for the letter but the shiver of insecurity pricks you. overwhelmed by your emotions that plagues you, sticking by your sides, whispering lies. you leave the letter alone while hoping the love would overpower the insecurities. but lying awake in your shared bed wouldn’t do anything to help.

you went to the kitchen, opening the herbs cabinet. you grabbed the three herbs needed to soothe your anxiety as you silently thank the secretary of the liyue qixing for the recipe. you were missing a particular wheat but it’s okay since you can replace it with mai ya. you infused the wheat with licorice root and jujubes. once the tea was completely ready, you seeped into the couch, sipping onto the tea. the parasite in your head is still getting to you but yet it’s simmering down. unknownst to you, kazuha was lingering in the hallway.

“name? is that gan mai da zao tang i smell?” he asked, walking towards you. you winced, the warm tea seeping into your clothes. you didn’t expect him to be home too soon. it’s almost as if he’s similar to xiao when you call out his name. or maybe it's the lovers' sense. or maybe–

kazuha’s musky scent engulfing your senses automatically calms you down. you set down the teacup as kazuha’s full attention is on you.“yes, it is. when did you get back? i didn’t hear you by the door.” you asked as he reached for your hands, massaging them.

he hummed a tune that he said only the wind knows, “if i recall, i had written you a letter of my adventures and when i was arriving back from sumeru.”

shit. the letter that sits on the nightstand, unopened. you usually open it first thing in the morning but since you were overcome with emotions earlier in the morning, you weren’t able to open it.

he brushed the pad of his thumb over your cheek, “it’s okay,” he wiped away a tear you didn’t know was there. “do not worry… so do you have anything that’s on your mind?” your head still resting on his hand but you pulled away. the warmth of his hand is lingering on your cheek.

your lips quivered as he handed back your tea– it was cold but you still sipped it away. hoping the nervous buzz goes away, you answered, “yes, there is. i have been overthinking about your relationship and earlier, i was overwhelmed with my feelings and–” you looked at kazuha, he didn’t say anything, waiting for you to go on. “– and i thought you would leave me for someone better than me.”

he took the mug in your hand and placed it on the coffee table. he cupped your face again, his pads of his thumbs drew circles into your skin gently. “name, you know i’m not the type of person to make promises. but for you, i will. i promise to you, in the name of the raiden shogun– or any archons for that matter– i will always love you.”

you cracked a joke, “even if i was a hillichurl?” his face contorted into confusion before he laughed,

“even if you were a lawachurl or a crystalfly. hell, even a dainty amur maple sapling!”

you snorted, “thank you for cheering me up, kazuha.”

“of course, anything for you.”

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