#KQ Entertainment

[woe-is-tuli]

These teasers are too much for my poor heart oml

[sillylittlestan]

Serving “going to church with your friend’s family after a sleepover” realness:

[yunniverse]

Warmth

౨ৎ PAIRING— choi san x reader

౨ৎ GENRE— fluff, established relationship, fem!reader

౨ৎ WARNINGS— mostly fluff, slight angst

౨ৎ WORD COUNT— 1.0k

౨ৎ SUMMARY— san can’t sleep and you help him.

౨ৎ A/N— i hope you like it! feedback is appreciated and thanks for reading, lovelies! <3

You wake up slowly, your eyes adjusting to the light, as you instinctively reach toward your side, your hand coming in contact with the cold sheet.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you lift a hand to your face, rubbing your eyes as you yawn, trying to wake up. “San?” you mumble, checking the clock to your right, which reads 3:23 a.m.

With a small groan, you force yourself to sit up, shivering slightly when your barefeet touch the cool wood floor. “Sweetheart?” you question, wrapping your arms around yourself, starting to wish you’d chosen something more than shorts and a tank top to sleep in.

Walking down the hall, you start to wonder where your husband could be. This isn’t the first time he’s woken up in the middle of the night, but it worries you nonetheless.

“San?” you ask, peeking your head around the corner that leads to the balcony, which overlooks the ocean at the vacation house your staying in. A small smile grows on your face when you see San sitting in one of the chairs, wearing sweatpants and a white button up shirt, though none of the buttons are buttoned. He’s staring at the waves as they brush against the shore.

“Honey,” you call to him, stepping closer to gently place your hands on his broad shoulders, sliding them down to rest against his chest. “What’s wrong?”

San sighs, “Nothing, baby. Did I wake you?”

“You didn’t,” you respond softly. “But the empty bed did.”

“I’m sorry,” he replies, turning his head to press a kiss to the inside of your wrist. Even after being with him for so long, he still gives you butterflies everyday. “I just couldn’t sleep.”

“I figured,” you respond, resting your cheek against the top of his head, releasing a sigh. “Something on your mind?”

“I don’t know,” San frowns, shaking his head. “My mind just wouldn’t go to sleep.”

You nod against him, involuntarily shivering when a cool breeze blows across the beach. “Cold?” San asks, turning his head to look at you, as you nod, moving closer to him, basking in the small amount of warmth he provides. “You should go back to bed, baby.”

“Without you?” you pout, playing with one of the buttons on his shirt. “It’s cold in there too, especially without you.”

“I’ll only be out here for a little while longer,” San tells you, but you know he’ll probably sit out here until morning if he has his way.

“Sannie,” you slide your hands down a little further, leaning down to rest your chin against his shoulder. “You need rest. We didn’t come to this island so you could get even more exhausted.”

“I promise I’ll get some sleep,” he responds, gently tugging you around to the front of the chair, making you shiver at the lack of warmth.

He offers you a soft smile, his dimples showing, as he pulls you to stand between his legs, reaching up to cup your cheek with his hand, gently brushing his thumb across your skin.

“You don’t have to worry so much,” he whispers, making you sigh, shaking your head down at him.

“You know I will either way, San,” you respond, watching as he gives you a knowing smile. “Please come back to bed? Your thoughts can wait ‘til morning.”

“Tell my thoughts that, please,” San groans, frowning.

“Come on, sweetheart,” you coax, gently pulling him, even though you know you can’t get him up unless he wants to get up. “I know you don’t want to sit out here all night.”

“Alright,” San nods, giving in. “But only because I really am exhausted.”

“Whatever the reason, I’m just happy you’re agreeing,” you laugh as San quirks an eyebrow at you, his signature judging look on his face.

“Are you sure you don’t just want me there so you’ll be warm?” he questions, making you laugh, shaking your head at him.

“Of course not, honey,” you respond. “That’s just an added bonus.” San rolls his eyes playfully as you reach for his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. “I really do hope you can rest tonight, Sannie.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he responds, flashing you a tired, but reassuring, smile as he closes the door to the balcony behind both of you.

“Like I said, I’ll worry either way,” you reply, gently pulling him along with you back to the bedroom.

“I really don’t think I’ll be able to get to sleep,” San tells you with a sigh as he slips off the button-up shirt. You watch him as he climbs into the bed beside you, his side dipping with his weight as you settle down next to him, rolling slightly to rest your hand against his chest, your hand moving to settle against his toned abs.

He hides his grin as you brush your thumb across his skin absentmindedly, probably not even realizing you’re doing it.

You’re tucked comfortable into his side as he wraps an arm around you, pulling the sheet up over the both of you. “I love you, San,” you whisper, resting your chin against his chest to look up at him.

“I love you too,” he responds with a wink, making you giggle, shaking your head at his silliness. Leaning toward him, you press a kiss to his lips, one he returns, kissing you softly. It never ceases to amaze you how gentle San’s kisses can be even if he’s in a bad mood.

“Goodnight, San,” you whisper, moving back to your original position, but not before pressing a soft kiss to San’s chest as well, making him hold you just a little bit tighter.

 “Goodnight, love,” he responds softly as you sigh contentedly, hoping San will be able to fall asleep once you do.

With the sound of the waves outside and the gentle, rhythmic thumping of San’s heartbeat, it’s not long before you find yourself drifting to sleep, but not before you make sure to keep brushing your thumb across San’s abs, hoping it’ll comfort him enough to get to sleep.

About fifteen minutes of fighting off sleep later, you dare to lift your head slightly, glancing at San’s face, pleasantly surprised to find his eyes closed peacefully, his breathing steady. Maybe you’d finally figured out what he needed to get to sleep. With a content sigh, you settle back into San’s side, happy his mind finally let him rest.

Moving just a little closer to San, you snuggle into his warmth, letting his heartbeat and the waves lull you to sleep.

[stealthatsweater]

KQ taking care of our guys

[shortyinblue]

This is a thread explaining what Wooyoung's medical condition is. This is not just some heat rash like some people are acting, it's a chronic illness that can become very serious if not treated. Send him all the love and support right now.

(From @/Yunhospookie on Twitter)

[seong-star-hwars]

Ateez as tumblr posts - part 2/?

Halazia edition

part 1

[essenteez]

like father, like son

owning my ass

[joonmon]

Day 19

*cue evil laughter 😈*

I was listening to Crazy Form while posting this, so you can say the song kinda influenced me😜 anyways stream crazy form9⃣0⃣2⃣4⃣

https://open.spotify.com/track/2KoeSRTm9cRulYnkaEyUaP?si=EOgwaGNZSXS5f-722B1deQ

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=9t57C7NcjWo&si=nRckWQXkXXzQwBwo

[stargirlyoko]

꒰ㅤㅤ꣑ৎㅤㅤ۫ㅤS E O N G H W Aㅤ⊹ㅤㅤ♡🦢ㅤㅤ⁺𝅄

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez and KQ Entertainment - A Summary

When it comes to K-Pop companies, anyone who's been a fan of any group for a while will know the majority of them are awful, greedy, and will sacrifice the health and safety of their artists for profit in a heartbeat. It's an awful industry built on the backs of underpaid, overworked young people who've been shamed and exploited since they were trainees and oftentimes bullied into plastic surgery, eating disorders, and mentally damaging competition with their peers. Many idols end up with chronic health issues, especially heart problems, long before they'll ever reach the average retirement age.

So what about KQ? Are they any different? Should we view them as one of them? Or are they an outlier like KOZ Entertainment which was founded by Zico, an active idol and former Block B member who has since signed his own group, BoyNextDoor?

Side note, and for the sake of completeness: After Block B, which means all members including their parents, were exploited by their former agency Stardom Entertainment, it was KQ who created an agency (Seven Seasons) solely for Block B so they could continue activities - a job they were definitely not prepared for so there was mismanaging going on and Block B fans don't look upon that time fondly. Since then most, if not all, members eventually stopped renewing their contracts.

However, these days, we've got Ateez, Xikers, Maddox, Eden and everyone else under the company refer to KQ as a family. Why is that? Let's gather what we know.

The Beginning: Accepting Hongjoong as a trainee

Most Atinys will already know the story of how Hongjoong joined KQ as their first ever trainee back in 2015. He's shared this story many times over the years (recent examples: Zach Sang Show interview, K-Star Next Door, I.M on the Beat interview, T-TIME : Grrrgak!) but for those who've never heard it, here's a summary of how it went down:

Hongjoong wanted to make music so he put a bunch of self-composed songs on a mixtape and sent it to several companies, including the big three. His reason for targeting KQ specifically was his love of Block B's music, which made him disregard the fact that KQ wasn't looking to sign anyone else. In fact, they were only a management agency at the time so they weren't even in a position to accept trainees.

Regardless, he sent the tape together with a letter, telling them they should reach out and contact him if they'd like to work with him. Whoever received that letter at KQ tossed it aside, unopened, and a year went by. The company then moved buildings and, while packing up, someone came across the tape and letter.

Intrigued, they listened to it (untrained rap and all) and heard the potential, which led the CEO to make a judgment call and give Hongjoong a chance. KQ called him to ask if he still wanted to do music. Of course, Hongjoong said yes and took the risk of signing with them.

Ateez's lives as trainees under KQ

While it was Hongjoong's music school principal who initially gave him the idea of not just being a songwriter but also an idol, it was KQ who further encouraged him.

However, as their first ever trainee, Hongjoong had a difficult time. First, with Eden initially trying to push him to quit music because KQ had put him in charge of training Hongjoong as a producer and Eden had zero interest and training to be a teacher. (Of course, those feelings didn't last too long and Hongjoong wormed his way into Eden's heart fairly quickly.)

But even without that, he struggled with being lonely because most other trainees who walked into the practice room, never stayed. Additionally, KQ was quite poor at the time, so Hongjoong only ate fried rice most of the time which he quickly grew tired of. Many of you may remember this story from Hongjoong's mother's letter shared in this video last year:

In late June 2024, during a live, Hongjoong also shared he was diagnosed with two separate conditions during his trainee days, orthostatic hypotension (drop in blood pressure when standing up or sitting down which leads to fainting) and vasovagal syncope (fainting caused by triggers such as emotional distress, the sight of blood, etc.) which he's learned to manage since. However, this was something he forced himself to learn to deal alone since he didn't want to worry the company or others.

During these early days, KQ was broke and Ateez had a food budget (which they sometimes maxed out, leading Hongjoong to pretend he was dieting and push the others to use his budget for themselves) and weren't allowed to use their phones in the dorms, likely to discourage them from getting distracted and sleeping too little but, aside from Hongjoong, no one seems to have followed that rule. See, the famous clip of Hongjoong talking about being salty when he discovered Seonghwa's two hidden phones:

However, KQ famously never enforced any sort of dating ban unlike most other companies which later gave us one of the funniest headlines of all time:

And they were also some of the first idols who proudly showed off their tattoos while many others were still banned from even getting them.

Ultimately, they already went viral predebut thanks to their outstanding dancing and Jongho's ability to split apples with his bare hands while singing.

Something I can't source but remember: Yunho, I believe, once shared the practice room used to be tiny and in terrible condition before they moved to a bigger building right before San joined the company.

Investing in and defending Ateez

During their trainee days, KQ flew Ateez (plus their then maknae, who wasn't ready to debut in 2018 and presumably moved on to another company) out to LA where they received rigorous dance training so they could become the performance group we all know and love today. They documented the whole thing here:

Something worth noting about this time is: they've been consistently providing English subtitles for all their content which was definitely a huge contributor in how much more popular they've always been overseas compared to domestically.

In an attempt to get Ateez more exposure, KQ took the financial risk of paying for Ateez's participation in Kingdom: Legendary War all the way back in 2021 which was, honestly, a hellish time for the fandom - even KQ acknowledged that in a lawsuit they filed against some false rumors being spread about Ateez around the time, stating:

However, we have decided that the current situation, in which false information is misunderstood as true, can damage not only our artists’ reputation which has been achieved through hard work but also our fans' mental health, who are our artists' biggest supporters.

Participation in the program was deeply exhausting for Ateez (who were without Mingi at the time - more on that in a bit), but did prove worthwhile when it garnered them a significant amount of new fans thanks to their positive attitude regarding the competition which had the vibe of "We're just here to make friends and put on a great show."

Regarding this part of their history, it should be noted that, in the wake of Kingdom: Legendary War, additionally information came out, exposing severe mistreatment of Ateez at the hands of Mnet:

After constant disrespect, a Korean Atiny [...] made a lengthy post of all the times Mnet had treated the K-pop group poorly. The final straw might have been Ateez not getting a single nomination for any award on Mnet's award show, MAMA 2021, despite the channel calling them ‘performance kings’. On top of it, fans found it humiliating that Ateez, the only group that was not nominated, performed at the award show too. [...] Korean Atinys claimed that Mnet’s staff would scream at Ateez while filming their reality shows. They were not told about the venues where they would be performing like the outdoor festival event and their makeup room was the smallest during the ‘Kingdom’ shoot. While other participating groups were given sofas, Ateez members were given stiff office chairs.

However, this is not something to blame KQ for - Mnet is famously hated by all idols and is even known to mistreat Hype artists, who are far more influential. They abuse the power they hold over all artists since everyone depends on them for promotions. One company alone, especially one on the small side, doesn't have the power to take them on. It'd take collective action on all companies' parts.

In the year that followed, 2022, KQ sued an infamous gossip YouTuber, who'd been spreading lies and rumors about idols for years, reaching all the way back to first gen idols. Even other fandoms cheered on KQ at the time for finally doing something against her.

Excerpt from the article:

The YouTuber has been criticized in the past for starting false rumors about idols. NMIXX‘s Sullyoon, BTS‘s Jungkook and RM, actress Han So Hee, And NCT‘s Jisung are just a few of the celebrities the YouTuber has targeted. According to reports, the person behind the Sojang YouTube account has been actively writing about rumors since K-Pop’s first generation. Before YouTube, the netizen had been active on online communities, Facebook, and Twitter. According to reports, it is believed that Sojang is a woman in her mid-to-late forties. This isn’t the first time the YouTuber has been sued. EXO member Xiumin has previously sued her, and BTS’s V had threatened to sue the YouTuber last December.

Again in 2022, they also took strong legal action when a tracking device was placed on one of Ateez's cars, stating "The defendant asked for leniency, but the company has not agreed to any leniency or settlement to prevent further damage and set a precedent for those who think of downplaying privacy violation offenses."

KQ has also proven themselves willing to back their artists' personal dreams financially, like when they paid for Hongjoong's non-profit photo exhibition which gathered money for charity and supported his wish to have a busking event, and got Seonghwa to meet his favorite ASMR YouTuber.

Recently (June 2024), Hongjoong also shared they're now getting paid extra incentives, as of last year (2023), as a thank you for all they've done for the company and the sum doesn't seem to be all that small.

Of course, there are also the most tangible and noticeable investments: creative marketing both locally and overseas, high quality music videos, regular vocal and performance training, booking music show and interview appearances and, notably, appearances on platforms outside the usual K-Pop sphere, i.e. React in 2019.

Ateez and the rest of KQ - family relationships?

We all know that famous clip of DJ Yunho calling KQ the best best company while Wooyoung's trying not to choke on his laughter:

And we also know Ateez and their respective families all get along - all their parents seem to have become friends and adopted the rest of the Ateez members as their own kids. Especially Wooyoung seems to call everyone's parents "mom" and "dad" and San's dad is deeply invested in everyone's health and well being. Hongjoong has even involved his brother before to help him choreograph for his MAMA performance.

Outside their immediate family, they all also have a group chat as Ateez with their CEO where he refers to them as his kids and he also watches their lives sometimes, attends concerts, etc.. Someone made a compilation here back in 2022 but they still imitate and quote him to this day:

And it's not just their CEO, they all seem to really love their managers and vice versa with this guy going viral for his adoration of Yeosang on multiple occasions and this clip between Wooyoung and his manager going viral more than once. You can find many compilations of the dynamics between Ateez and their staff but here's an example.

And here's an example of how Xikers and their staff treat each other (spoiler: it's adorable chaos).

We've also seen the hair and make up staff goof around with them and we also know how close they are with B.B.Trippin, the dance crew who create the majority of their choreos, who've been fostering an unbroken relationship with KQ since the early days due to their ties with Block B.

Today, they continue to tour with Ateez despite how sought after they are by other companies with JM, their leader, even stating in response to the question "What are your favorite groups to choreograph for?":

"Of course it’s ATEEZ! Right now I’m not making the choreography myself, I’m only working as the general director. But I’ve been with ATEEZ since the members were first together and we talk a lot, so we fit well and I like working with them."

And, of course, we know how close they all, but especially Hongjoong, are with Edenary and Maddox from not just Ateez's content, but also Maddox's:

How KQ handles health issues

In the beginning, Ateez were severely discriminated against in the industry, as is true for all groups of small companies. As a result, they pushed themselves extra hard during what limited performance time they had in order to leave an impression and slowly grow their Korean fanbase. To quote Mingi: "When we just debuted, we were known for the madness."

During their first tour in 2019, Yeosang broke his finger during a performance and set it again by himself without ever leaving the stage or even slowing down.

Seonghwa, in an equally bonkers move during the same tour, cracked his ribs while coughing and still chose to perform. At the end of Hala Hala, when they all pretend to snap their necks and collapse, his rib kept him from being able to get back up, leaving Yunho and Yeosang to basically carry him off stage.

After those incidents, KQ became far more vigilant and ensured Ateez watches their health and safety more closely, with Seonghwa sitting out a performance in 2020 due to an injury. Their statement stating:

During a recent modern dance lesson, Seonghwa experienced pain near his hip joint. He went for an examination at a medical clinic specializing in that area, and he has been diagnosed with a mild sprain. While it is a minor injury, he has been advised by the medical team to avoid intense movement for about two weeks, in order to avoid the worsening or relapse of the injury. Therefore, Seonghwa will only be taking part in the Meet & Greet segment of ‘KCON:TACT 2020 Summer’ on June 26, and it would be difficult for him to take part in the performance.

In November of 2020, the same year, roughly two years after debut, Mingi developed some severe anxiety which led to him getting tested and diagnosed before he went on a (back then) indefinite hiatus to get rest and regain stability in his life.

During this time, he didn't participate in any public activities but stayed in close contact with all the members and even San's dad who checked in on him regularly since he's San's dad's favorite.

He returned in mid-2021 after about half a year of intermittent schedules to get back in the swing of things and under the clearance of his therapist. His mind was made up that he wanted to keep on doing this and he seemed happy to be back:

Jongho, too, had a more severe injury in August 2023 and needed to get surgery to fix it. Thankfully he, too, recovered fully after a hiatus that lasted a couple of months which was followed by him sitting on a chair side-stage during performances for quite some time until his knee was fully healed.

More recently, we've also heard Seonghwa share that they used to struggle severely while touring, even requiring oxygen masks backstage to keep themselves going, which led the CEO to put together a team of pro athlete trainers to ensure Ateez can physically meet the demands of the industry without sacrificing their health any further.

Most recently, it was Wooyoung who needed to sit out for a bit when he developed cholinergic uriticaria. Thankfully, he's already back in the swing of things as well, though we may not see him participate in outdoor schedules during the summer or in the south.

Most Common Criticisms of KQ

1 - Ateez are overworked!

This is undeniably true for all successful idols. It's a brutal, brutal industry and unless all companies slow down, there is no way to take time off without being forgotten and losing out on future opportunities because a lot of fans are quick to move on whenever a group disappears for a bit. Many don't even stick around for more than one comeback to begin with.

Especially during the end of the year award period, all idols are deeply overworked which is why we saw Ateez get time off around early April. They also take breaks for holidays and Hongjoong has said before that they're adults and know what they're doing when a fan told him they're being overworked (I wish I could find the clip right now).

I also remember Seonghwa saying during an interview that KQ never makes decisions without talking them through with Ateez so they understand each other's reasoning and no decisions get made over their heads (once again, I wish I could find the damn clip but all I remember is Seonghwa had longer black hair and his outfit and the set were kept in black, white and gray tones).

2 - KQ is controlling!

If you've read the whole post, you'll already know Ateez have a lot of freedom compared to other idols, especially now. They get to do lives without supervision, pursue solo projects (including quality music videos for their covers and original songs), Yeosang was an MC for The Show for a long time where he got to show off solo, while Yunho and Hongjoong got to be Idol Radio DJs for a long time where they got to be mentors, show off as dancers and make new friends. On top of that, Yunho, Jongho, San and Seonghwa all four starred in a drama (with Yunho being a co-lead) criticizing the abuse and mistreatment idols face in the industry which Ateez reference to this day.

Hongjoong also gets to work with Xikers now, giving them guidance Ateez surely wished they'd had in their early days, and he even collaborated with Chungha on her first album in her new agency, while Wooyoung got to work on a dance passion project with Watcha which was close to his heart just last year.

On top of all of that, they get to goof around constantly while a lot of bigger names in the industry have much more scripted content. We've also heard Ateez be extremely honest with fans when it comes to their wellbeing, including when they're tired or struggling. They've even told stalker fans off on live with zero consequences from the company on multiple occassions.

Their freedom goes double when it comes to their music where we know all members get to participate in both the song and choreography from recording all the way to live performance.

3 - Wooyoung and Yeosang don't get enough lines!

From an outsider's perspective, this is true. However, we don't know what's going on behind the scenes outside of what they tell us. For example, Hongjoong shared just recently that all members sing the whole song and then lines get distributed based on who suits which parts best.

It's also worth mentioning that the distribution is balancing out more and more over time. A trend which will surely continue now that both Wooyoung and Yeosang have released more covers to flex their vocals and 'Will - The World' included subunits so they could all show off and try out writing lyrics for themselves.

In Conclusion

I think, when it comes to Ateez, a lot of fans who raise concerns about KQ don't look at the bigger picture or lack some of the information needed to make a fair judgment. Though there is of course also absolutely valid criticism.

Please be aware I'm definitely not saying "Be a company stan, they deserve it!". The primary focus should always be on the artists themselves, not the people managing the funds in the background, but what I am saying is: "Trust Ateez."

There are so many idols out there who hate their companies, who are on the brink of collapse from exhaustion (P1harmony, NCT Dream, Enhypen, to name a few) and it's noticeable. They say it, they want fans to create a ruckus and demand better treatment, but Ateez isn't one of them.

All eight are very outspoken people and, from what we've seen and heard, so are their families. If KQ weren't full of decent people, Ateez wouldn't involve their siblings and parents in projects, they wouldn't spend time together outside of schedules.

There have definitely been instances where trending hashtags were justified, such as when there was lacking airport security because KQ had underestimated how many people would show up to welcome them, but there's a lot of unjustified complaining going on as well which can be easily debunked.

I hope this roundup of base information will help some people get a clearer picture of what the company dynamic is like so everyone can come to their own conclusions.

[wonniecastle]

seonghwa [ ateez ] lockscreens ও

[woe-is-tuli]

Coachella 2024 P.2 - Ateez: Seonghwa

[dailykoreanpop]

[240816] ATEEZ's Seonghwa @ Gimpo Airport, departing for Japan

[yunniverse]

My Home

౨ৎ PAIRING— jeong yunho x reader

౨ৎ GENRE— angst, fluff, established relationship, fem!reader

౨ৎ WARNINGS— little bit of angst, mostly fluff, yunho is a soft boy

౨ৎ WORD COUNT— 3.6k

౨ৎ SUMMARY— it isn’t no way home. it’s one way home, and that way is yunho.

౨ৎ A/N— i just love yunho so much :( feedback is appreciated and thanks for reading, loves!!

You walk into your apartment, kicking off your shoes and placing your purse in one of the chairs at your kitchen counter.   When you finally take a seat on your couch, sighing in relief at the feeling of finally getting to sit down after a lot of standing today at work.   Suddenly, your phone buzzes, and you frown, grabbing it from beside you to look at it.   —Excited for tonight!! It’s my turn to pick a movie ;)   “Oh shoot!” you exclaim, jumping up as soon as you read the text, throwing the phone down and hurrying to get ready for a shower. Yunho can’t come over seeing you like this, even though he’s your boyfriend and he’s told you before not to worry about your appearance around him. You still like to feel good about yourself, though, as much as you can.   After grabbing a change of clothes, you head into the bathroom to hop into the shower, hoping you’ll have enough time to finish before Yunho arrives, not to mention you still have to make dinner.   Although, you might be able to convince him takeout is a good option to tonight. You find yourself lost in thought about the best way to convince him, when you hear your front door open.   Your eyes widen as you turn the water off, rushing to dry off and change clothes. It obviously isn’t the first time Yunho has let himself in, in fact he does it quite often, but you’re usually a little more prepared.   Leaving the bathroom once you feel presentable, you walk out of your bedroom and into the living room, looking around for your boyfriend.   Suddenly, you feel someone place their hands over your eyes, laughing. “Guess who?”

You smile once you’re over the initial jumpscare, “Oh, I don’t know… Maybe my boyfriend who’s trying to give his girlfriend a heart attack?”   “You barely flinched,” Yunho laughs, shaking his head as he spins you around, engulfing you in a hug, slightly lifting you off the ground.   “Yunho!” you scold playfully, laughing once he puts you back on the ground. When you regain your balance, you look up at him, taking in his appearance today.   His soft, chocolate brown hair frames his face, and he’d chosen a white, short-sleeved sweater, a choker necklace with the tiniest pearls all around it, finished off with black jeans.   “You look like you’re going to an office or something,” you comment, quirking an eyebrow. “Not a comfy movie night.”   “Sorry,” he pouts, his brown eyes softening, looking very puppy-like. “I just came from a meeting straight here.”   “Don’t apologize,” you smile up at him. “You look really good, just not comfortable.”   “It’s the jeans, right?” Yunho comments as you move around him to enter the kitchen, on a secret mission for your takeout menus. “I really need to ask if I can start wearing sweatpants to the meetings.”   “Hm,” you hum, digging through your menu drawer.   “Isn’t that the drawer of menus?” Yunho asks, taking a seat in one of your swivel chairs at the counter, watching you.   “Yeah,” you look up at him sheepishly.   “But babyyy,” Yunho’s shoulders slump as he whines. “You said you’d teach me to cook something today.”   “I know, I know,” you step around the counter to him, wrapping your arms around his middle from behind, your chin resting against his shoulderblade as he leans against the counter on his elbows. “But we can do that next time, can’t we?”   He turns around to face you, the small pout still visible on his lips, “You said that last time.”   “I’m just really tired today,” you sigh, lowering you head for a moment before meeting Yunho’s gaze again. “We can order your favorite.”   He pauses, thinking, “Alright, I guess. But next time?”   “Thank you, thank you!” you beam up at him, throwing your arms around his shoulders in a tight, quick hug. “And yes, of course.”   “I’ll hold you to it for real this time,” Yunho warns, making you nod quickly, overjoyed that he agreed so quickly.

When you try to remove yourself from his grip, he stops you, giving you another small pout. “No kisses?”   “Huh?” you question, slightly taken aback by his boldness.   “I’ve waited all day for kisses and cuddles, and I haven’t gotten any yet,” Yunho responds, giving you his puppy eyes that always make you fold.   “Hm,” you pretend to think, but ultimately smile, leaning in closer to give him a soft, quick kiss, which tastes a little different this time, but a good different. “Are you wearing the peach chapstick I gave you?”   “Yeah,” he breathes, looking a little shy. “I like it.”   “So do I,” you grin cheekily, making him roll his eyes playfully before tickling your sides a little, making you squeal, giggling.   “What do you wanna order?” Yunho asks once you’ve calmed down.   “I said we’d order your favorite,” you raise an eyebrow at him. “So we’re ordering your favorite.”   “We don’t actually have to, love,” he responds. “You’ve had a long day, and I’d like to make you happy.”   “You’re too sweet sometimes, Yuyu,” you feel a swell of happiness in your chest at his care for you. “But I honestly just want to eat whatever you want.”   “Honest?” Yunho asks, making sure.   “Honest,” you nod, sticking your pinky out, something you both do to prove to each other that you’re telling the complete truth.   He grins, linking his pinky with yours before lifting your joined pinkies to his lips, pressing a kiss to your finger with a wink that makes you swoon.   “I’ll order, then,” he grabs his phone, getting ready to call.   As he orders the food, you walk over to the living room, pulling out the plush, light blue blanket you usually use for movie nights.   Yunho walks over to you once he finishes the call, laughing as he engulfs you in a hug from behind. “Yuyu!” you complain as he rests some of his weight against you. “Why are you being so cuddly today?”   “You say that like I don’t do this every time we’re together,” Yunho scoffs, squeezing you once more before he releases you, plopping down onto the couch.   “I just felt like mentioning it today,” you shrug, smirking as you plop down onto his lap with no warning.   “Oof!” he grunts at the impact, shooting you a playful glare as he digs his fingers into your sides, tickling you until you give in, moving away from him to lay on the couch.   “Yunhooo,” you whine after a few moments of him paying attention to the game show on the TV. He glances over at you to see your pout as you make grabby hands toward him.   “What’s wrong, baby?” he asks, tilting his head to the side in question, resembling a puppy yet again.

“I want cuddles,” you respond with pleading eyes.   “The food will be here soon,” Yunho counters, and you know he has a point, but he looks so fluffy with his fluffy brown hair and soft gaze. You can’t help wanting to have him to yourself for cuddles.   “After we eat we can cuddle,” Yunho tells you, reaching for his phone to check his notifications. With a disappointed sigh, you look up at the ceiling, letting your arms drop onto your stomach.   After a few minutes of silence, you look back over at him, perching yourself up on your elbows. “Your hair looks so soft.”   He looks up from his phone to meet your gaze with a shy smile, “Thank you.”   “I love your natural color hair,” you continue. “I’m glad it isn’t dyed right now.”   “Yeah, I’m happy it isn’t dyed, too,” Yunho nods, agreeing.   “I wanna touch it,” you immediately resort to puppy eyes, even though you already know he told you no to cuddles right now.   “I know,” he responds cheekily, sticking his tongue out at you.   “Rude,” you gasp. “Especially coming from someone who’s gonna pick Spiderman again tonight.”   “Spiderman movies are good,” Yunho protests.   “You look like Peter Parker with your natural hair,” you point out, making him scoff.   “I’m not that good looking,” he responds, shaking his head.   You toss a throw pillow at him, “Liar!”   He laughs, tossing it back at you just as someone knocks on the door. Yunho jumps up to go get the food as you sit up, stretching.   “It’s here!” he exclaims once he pays the delivery person. “Ready to eat?”   After about an hour, you and Yunho finally make your way back to the couch, where you get settled to watch the movie.   You’re about fifteen minutes into the action when Yunho shifts, his arm moving to rest around your shoulders, coaxing you to rest yours against his chest. His other hand finds yours under the blanket, interlacing your fingers with his.   You pull his hand into your lap, glancing up at him with a small, sleepy grin, “I love you.”   “I love you too, sunshine,” Yunho responds, pressing a sweet kiss to the side of your head.   “I needed this,” you admit after a few moments, biting your lip as you absentmindedly play with Yunho’s fingers under the blanket.   “You did?” he asks, looking down at you with curiosity.   “Yeah,” you breathe. “I had a long day at work.”

“What happened?” Yunho asks, noticing your sudden shift in mood.   “I just…” you trail off, your chin quivering slightly. “Everyone kept telling me I was doing everything wrong, and I tried to make them happy, but it’s never enough. Everyone always has better ideas than me and I feel useless.”   “Baby,” Yunho frowns, sitting up more to turn you to look at him. “You’re anything but useless. And you can’t please everyone. You should know that.”   “I know… I’m sorry,” you suck in a wobbly breath. “I didn’t mean to start crying and ruin our night.”   “You aren’t ruining anything,” Yunho responds softly. “I want you to tell me when things are going wrong. It’s my job to be here for you, and I always will be. Alright?”   You simply nod, shifting to wrap your arms around him, burying your face in his neck. He coos at you, one hand rubbing your back soothingly while the other cradles your head against him. “You’re amazing, y/n,” Yunho tells you softly. “Don’t let anyone get you down. Promise?”   You nod against him, too overwhelmed to say anything at the moment.   When you’ve calmed down enough, you let a small smile take over your features, “You smell nice.”   “Yeah?” he whispers, laughing slightly.   “I think my new favorite scent on you is peach,” you pull away from his neck to look at him.   “I’ll keep that in mind,” he smiles, his hands moving to cup your face, his thumbs brushing against your cheeks soothingly. “Feeling better?”   “Yeah,” you nuzzle into his hands, your eyelids fluttering closed at his soft touch. When you open your eyes again, Yunho is gazing at you lovingly, a soft smile on his face. “What is it?” you whisper, feeling a little shy under his intense gaze.   “I was just thinking about how much I love you,” Yunho responds, making your face heat up.   “I love you too, Yuyu,” you tell him when you control the butterflies in your stomach somewhat. Yunho smiles, leaning forward to press his lips to yours in a soft kiss, which you melt right into. He has that effect on you.   “I missed you this past week,” you tell him once you’re both settled back in, eyes on the TV screen again.   “So did I,” Yunho responds softly, his thumb brushing against your knee under the blanket, making you shiver slightly before you snuggle further into his cozy sweater, letting your gaze fix back on the TV.   It’s about fifteen minutes later when you start to grow a little bored of watching the movie, taking a quick glance up at Yunho, who still seems fully invested, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration.   Sneakily, you carefully slip your cold fingers beneath his sweater, giggling when he jumps, his eyes darting to you in shock.   “Y/nnnn,” he whines, wriggling a little at the chill your hands have caused. “I was warm!”   “Exactly,” you grin cheekily. “And my hands are cold.”

Yunho shakes his head at you, trying to relax again and ignore your cold fingers. You watch him look back at the TV, and you sigh happily, sliding your hands up a little further against his toned stomach.   Yunho tenses for a moment and you hold back a giggle, knowing he’s struggling to stay put and not shove you off.   Feeling even more mischievous, you wiggle your fingers slightly, laughing when he immediately jolts with a small yelp.   “Sorry,” you mumble, though the smirk on your face that Yunho can’t see proves you’re not really sorry.   “You know I’m ticklish,” Yunho huffs, his muscles still tensed underneath your hands.   “I know, I know,” you respond, flattening your hands again, showing him you won’t tickle him again. “It won’t happen again, baby.”   “It better not,” Yunho warns, but slowly starts to relax again.   With a content sigh, you let your eyelids flutter closed, resting your cheek against Yunho’s chest, where you can hear his steady heartbeat. Soon, you find yourself growing sleepy, and you only feel more sleepy when Yunho’s fingers move to your head, softly massaging your scalp.   You find yourself being pulled deeper into the soft lull of sleep as Yunho’s heartbeat thumps rhythmically beneath you.   “Sweetheart,” you hear Yunho’s gentle, deep voice coaxing you awake.   “Hm,” you hum, snuggling further into him with a small sigh.   “It’s getting late,” he responds, much to your dismay.   “I don’t want you to leave,” you shift, your chin resting against his chest now, looking up at him with sad doe eyes.   “I don’t want to leave either,” Yunho replies, his fingers in your hair slipping down to cup the side of your head in his palm. You lean into his touch, nuzzling his hand. “But I have to, unfortunately.”   You huff, knowing you’re being difficult, but you’re sad you haven’t gotten to hang out with him much lately, and then you fell asleep for who knows how long.   “But I was asleep, and you didn’t wake me!” you protest, pouting up at him.   “You were so cute, though,” Yunho responds, sticking his lower lip out at you in a small pout. “I couldn’t wake you up.”   “You could’ve,” you mumble, slipping your hands out from under Yunho’s sweater, to which he sighs in content at the loss of contact with your freezing cold hands, although they had gotten a little warmer.   “How long was I asleep anyway?” you ask, yawning, as you move your hands to play with the little pearls on Yunho’s necklace.   “About an hour and a half,” he replies, bracing for your exclamation of shock.   “Yuyu!” you whine, tugging on his necklace a little. “We could have spent more time together if you’d woken me up!”   “You seemed like you needed the rest,” he responds softly, his thumb brushing against your cheek. You sigh, knowing you can’t be mad at him when he’s being this sweet.   “And I know how hard you’ve been working, so I figured I’d let you sleep for at least a little bit,” he continues quietly, the softness in his gaze almost too much to handle.   “Yunho,” you sigh, shaking your head slightly.   “What?” he asks, worry suddenly flooding his features.

“You’re too sweet sometimes, you know that?” you finish, a cheeky smile growing on your face.   “You can’t do that!” Yunho pouts. “You scared me!”   “Aw, I’m sorry,” you giggle slightly. “It was the perfect opportunity.”   “To make me think you were breaking up with me?” Yunho asks, his gaze sad, with a small frown.   “What?” you exclaim, incredulous. “I’d never break up with you, Yunho. You know that.”   “Okayy,” he responds, the sad look still in his eyes.   With a playful eye roll, you lean forward, your lips meeting his in what was supposed to be a chaste kiss. Yunho has other plans, however, and moves his hand to the back of your neck, deepening the kiss as you melt into him for the thousandth time this evening.   “I should go,” he mumbles against your lips as you sigh, disappointed.   “I know,” you pout, laying your head down once again, trying to delay the inevitable.   “I can’t get up unless you let me,” Yunho chuckles down at you, watching you with a fond gaze.   “So, if I don’t, you’ll stay forever?” you ask, looking up at him suddenly.   “Do you want me to?” he asks softly, and you blink up at him, your gaze flickering between his eyes, searching for his meaning.   “Of course,” you respond quietly. “You know I’d love nothing more.”   “So, if I asked you to spend forever with me, you’d say yes?” Yunho asks, his voice soft and full of love.   “Are you?” you ask, furrowing your eyebrows a little.   “Am I what?” he responds, a small laugh escaping him.   “Are you asking me to spend forever with you?” you repeat, though you’re pretty certain he already knew what you were asking.   “If I was?” Yunho responds, voice almost a whisper.   “I’d say yes in a heartbeat,” you reply with no hesitation.

“Well,” Yunho laughs a little, shifting to sit up, forcing you to as well. “That’s good news.” You’re beyond confused now as he moves to stand, and your heart drops when you realize he must be getting ready to leave for the night.   “Yeah, it’s great news. What was the poin-“ you start, but cut yourself off when you see Yunho pulling something out of his pocket. “Yunho?” you question, heartbeat speeding up as he moves to one knee, holding a velvet box in his hands.   “Y/n,” Yunho starts, looking up at you, his brown eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. “I’ve never been happier with anyone then I am with you. It’s torture having to be away from you for any amount of time, especially when I’m on tour for weeks on end. I mean it with my whole heart when I say you’re the only one I’ll ever want. So, even though I know this isn’t the ideal place to ask this, and this isn’t exactly how I wanted to ask you… I can’t wait any longer. Will you spend forever with me and be my wife?” He opens the velvet box in his hand, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.   “Yunho,” you breathe, desperately trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall. “Yes, yes, yes!” you laugh, smiling as you throw your arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly.   He stands slowly, still holding you, as you loosen your grip, letting him slip the ring on your finger. It fits perfectly. Holding it up in the light, you admire the way it sparkles, matching the glint in Yunho’s eyes as he watches you.   “I love you,” he whispers as he reaches over to gently brush the stubborn tears off your cheeks.   “I love you too, Yunho,” you reply, grinning, as you wrap your arms around his neck again. “So much.” He returns your smile before placing a tender kiss against your lips, one you immediately return.   “How long have you had this?” you ask, gesturing toward the ring as you pull back.   “A few weeks,” he responds, laughing slightly. “I was waiting for the perfect time, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.”   “I’m glad you didn’t,” you reply, still smiling, realizing you haven’t been able to stop smiling since Yunho proposed.   “Again, I’m sorry it’s in your living room with the credits to Spiderman playing in the background,” Yunho pouts, glancing at the TV.   You giggle, “Somehow, I think it’s perfect.”   “Are you sure?” he asks, suddenly looking worried.   “Yunho,” you cup his face in your hands. “The only thing I care about is getting to marry you. The time or place you asked me isn’t important at all.”   “Really?” he asks, sighing in relief.   “Obviously,” you respond. “Sometimes you’re such a dork, you know that?”   “Hey, you just called your fiancé a dork,” Yunho quirks an eyebrow, and you throw your head back, laughing.   “I’m sorry, fiancé,” you reply with a wink, watching as he playfully rolls his eyes at you.   “Seonghwa is gonna kill me when he realizes I asked you in such an unromantic setting,” Yunho sighs, shaking his head.   “We both know Hwa is a little too much of a romantic sometimes,” you laugh. “Besides, what could be more romantic than Spiderman?”   “Exactly!” Yunho lights up and you giggle at his silliness.   “You know, everyday I realize more and more why your Aniteez is a puppy,” you speak up, mostly to yourself, as you watch Yunho excitedly text the Ateez group chat.

When he sends the text, he throws his phone down, moving to scoop you up in his arms, grinning when you let out a small yelp from the unexpected action.   “Wanna watch one more movie before I leave?” he asks, and this time it’s your turn to light up even more than you already were.   “When would I ever say no to that?” you ask, letting him pull you over to the couch with him.   “The next Spiderman movie?” Yunho suggests, looking up at you from his position already seated on the couch as you stand in front of him.   “Why not?” you respond, laughing, as Yunho tugs you down with him, cheering at your willingness.   “We should have a Spiderman themed wedding,” Yunho wonders aloud as the movie starts playing.   “Absolutely not,” you respond, pinching his sides a little in warning.   He laughs, grabbing your hands to stop you, “Alright, alright.”   A few minutes pass in silence, but you should have known it wouldn’t last long with the excited man beside you.   “At least the cake?”   “Yunho!”

[bunnakit]

one of the most difficult parts of navigating ATEEZ lore is you have to decide which avenue you're going to operate under -

are you operating under the assumption that they've traversed dimensions (A -> Z) with elements of time travel interspersed and the Halateez are tangible human beings they can interact with?

or are you operating under the theory that they've only time traveled "to a different world" (because the future is so bleak it feels like a new world entirely) and the Halateez are shadows of their future, no longer occupying that space-time because ATEEZ has taken their place and the Halateez are only reflections of their inner selves?*

and depending on your choice are you assuming Halazia is a third dimension where the events of the timeline occurred differently? or that it's instead even further into the future and what may be in store for society if ATEEZ cannot fix things in the Z era, the time of the Halateez?

this is why i think it's so difficult to say any one theory is correct when there is so much unconfirmed, so many elements to play with, and so many details to turn over in our head. it's an absolute blast to navigate and experiment with. i wonder if someday we'll have it all spelled out to us but part of me almost hopes it never is. (and i know some things have been 'confirmed' in interviews but we know KQ and HJ are known to be very tricky with the way they word and tease things.)

*i personally find it very curious that we only ever see interactions between the two through some form of reflective surface - aside from answer but even then they're lifting a glass to cheers and it could be said that they're viewing their reflections through that glass. (and we know reflective surfaces are banned in strictland for the sense of identity they can grant.)

there is also no direct dialogue between them in any of the diaries except a brief interaction between hongjoong and the version of him trapped in the glass on the prison island, when he adopts the black pirate costume for himself. we know the guardians can take people's voices, i don't think it's out of the realm of possibility for them to take and contain souls {no more, keep your soul} - especially of those they want to punish rather than dispose of - or for this to be some moment of self reflection and a realization of the path he wants to take moving forward

[lina-linny]

summary: You were pregnant a few months ago. What will your boyfriend say if you stand in front of him again with a positive pregnancy test?

words: 1.5k

genre: fluff, comfort

Shivering, I sat next to the toilet as I felt the all too familiar feeling of morning sickness. What was that all about? I had just been pregnant and yet I was 5 weeks overdue. I had ignored it, blaming it on the previous pregnancy but now worries were slowly creeping up inside me. What if I was pregnant again? I groaned. I didn't really want to go through this unpleasant time again. But it didn't help. Staggering, I got up to go and get a pregnancy test.

~☆~

Positive. I clutched the edge of the sink. Silent, hot tears ran down my cheek. I was simply exhausted and tired. My hormones were going crazy, I'd just had a break down and still had to be quiet because my few-month-old daughter was asleep in the next room.

Shakily, I breathed in and out to calm myself down again. I had to talk to San. We were going to have a second child at some point anyway, so in theory it wasn't so bad. But I didn't want to go through all that shit again. Especially so close together.

I had hated pregnancy. Abysmally. I knew that many women were positively glowing during pregnancy, permanently happy and just looking forward to the birth.

I was the opposite. I was constantly in a bad mood, could hardly move with this huge belly and cried all the time. Depending on my mood, I either needed my boyfriend san's undivided attention (which he was more than happy to give me) or I pushed him completely away and isolated myself. Normally he was always offended if I didn't give him 100% of my attention. But during the pregnancy he hadn't complained once.

But I was so sorry. I knew that this time had been almost as draining for him as it had been for me. But he had never complained. He had always brought me everything I needed, even without me saying anything. He looked after me so well. I loved him and was so grateful for that. I didn't want to be a burden on him for another 9 damn months.

I was also incredibly scared about the birth. I mean hello? I had to push a human being out of my abdomen. The thought was immediately disgusting and painful, just thinking about the agony I had gone through during my last birth made me dread the next one, which obviously wasn't that far away.

I had to tell San. As quickly as possible. I had to talk to him. I just wanted to be in his arms. I quickly texted my boyfriend that me and our daughter Lia would pick him up from work later and he sent back a "Yay I've missed my two girls all day." back.

This was followed by several messages in which he asked how I was, whether I'd had enough to eat or drink. But I didn't have the strength to answer them.

I just sighed and crawled into bed to feel sorry for myself. But all in all, the prospect of a second child wasn't so bad. I'd just like to skip the pregnancy part.

~☆~

I hesitantly entered the KQ building. My daughter pressed against my chest. I sighed. Soon there wouldn't be two of us visiting San at his work. Soon there would be four of us.

Reluctantly, I knocked on the door of the training room and after a moment stepped through the door that separated me from the 8 Ateez members.

When I entered, we were greeted enthusiastically by everyone. Wooyoung came shooting towards me with a grin. He was about to open his mouth (probably to tease me) when Lia reached out from my arm in his direction. It was obvious that she wanted to go to him.

Wooyoung was her favorite uncle. That's why San and I had made him her godfather. Lia idolized Wooyoung and that didn't do his ego any good. He kept teasing us that our daughter would like him much more than us.

Sighing, I handed Lia over to Woo. I knew that she was always in good hands with him. He treated her like a little princess and even if the two of them would cause a lot of trouble in the future, Wooyoung would never let anything happen to her.

San looked at me worriedly. Of course my boyfriend knew that something was bothering me. He saw through my façade. He always did. No matter how well I hid my worries, he always saw that I wasn't well.

He came to me. His hands wrapped around my waist and he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

San was always touchie. As soon as I turned up, his hands were somewhere on me. Whether he took my hand, hugged me or kissed me. But his favorite thing was to hug me. He could spend hours with me cuddled up on the couch and I loved it almost as much as he did.

"I bought you flowers sweetheart... on my lunch break. They're over by my other things." He pulled me a little tighter against him and I felt my heart soar. He was so sweet and thoughtful. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve him. I smiled and pressed a kiss to his hairline.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Can we talk for a minute?" I added and San just nodded. He grabbed my hand and led me into a small side room.

He trusted Wooyoung and the other members enough to leave Lia with them. He didn't leave his little princess unattended with most other people.

Since we had our daughter, his protective instinct had become even greater. In the past, too, he had sometimes shown flashes of jealousy towards me, but since Lia was born, this had risen to another level.

~☆~

I dropped onto the chair in the room. San looked at me worriedly. I ran a hand over my face. I was very sure that I had to look really bad and tired.

I didn't know what to say. How could I tell him that I was pregnant again? How was I supposed to tell him that we had to go through all the drama again?

San gave me all the time I needed. He waited patiently and I knew he would never complain that I was taking too long or anything like that.

But I couldn't find the words. I didn't know what to say. So I pulled the positive test out of my bag. Thank goodness I had put it in my bag earlier. San looked at me in confusion until he saw what I was holding.

"Ohhh baby...." he sighed and rushed forward to wrap me in his arms. Tears streamed down my cheek.

"San, I don't want to be pregnant again. I don't want to put you through so much again. I'm so sorry I'm always so moody."

"Oh sweetheart. It's okay." He gently stroked my head. A small tear rolled down his face too. But not because he was scared, tired or stressed, but because he was happy. He was happy that his family would grow by onother member.

Since the day he met you, he knew that one day he wanted to have a family with you and now the time had come. Now you would have two children, just like you both had always dreamed of.

He didn't usually like to cry in front of others but crying in front of you was natural.

"You don't have to apologize for it. I know you're not well and I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for you. We can do this all together, ok? I promise I'll take care of you, ok baby? I'm also looking forward to our second child. I'm sure we and the members will adore it just as much as Lia."

I sobbed into his T-shirt and San pressed me against his body while he stroked my back reassuringly.

San would do anything to make my life easier and so he would do everything he could to make this pregnancy as easy as possible for me. This thought reassured me. I knew that I could rely on him.

"We can do this together..." san pressed a light kiss to the top of my head and my tears slowly dried up."

Thank you... I love you San" I clung to his muscles and San giggled.

"I love you too baby." I slowly pulled away from him, whereupon San protested and pulled me back into his arms. I laughed and he grinned too, but just kept hugging me.

We both knew it wouldn't be easy but we would make it together.