#Kakao's life | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

honeyhotteoks · 29 days ago

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across stardust - four (j.yh)

summary: you and yunho have worked together for years, idol and makeup artist, but until today you’ve never touched him skin to skin. when the world tilts on its head from just a brush of his cheek, you realize he’s so much more than a crush, he’s your soulmate. three | four | five | series masterlist 🔗read on ao3✨across stardust pinterest board

note: okay we're um.... getting into it now. hold onto your lightinys, and trust me.... part five isn't too far behind.

tags/warnings: idol!yunho, makeup artist!reader, fem!reader, soulmates au, soulmate identifying marks, soulmate tattoos, tattoed!reader, anxiety/nerves, mentions of insomnia/serious exhaustion/being overworked, no smut in this one but there's some definite fluff, some sexist language used towards reader, not by any of our boys

pairings: yunho x reader

genre: fantasy, romance, smut || soulmates au

word count: 11.2k

Be additionally cautious means that this time, instead of secret rendezvouses, you don’t see Yunho at all.

What no one really remembered that night in the studio is just how jammed the next few weeks if not months of their schedules were. The hidden truth about idol life is that even when you’re not in the middle of a comeback, schedules are just as tight and days are still a minimum of ten to twelve hours. If you’re not promoting one album, you’re recording or filming context for the next, planning the tour, writing music, filming variety content, and being active on social media. There’s a constant, required drip of content that requires a constant, required effort from every single member of the team.

It’s a job that burns people out regularly, especially at a company this size.

So you’ve seen Yunho at the office, but not much more than that, and since you don’t even do his makeup regularly there’s not an opportunity for even an hour of closeness even if it’s just in stolen glances.

You’ve been getting regular text updates though, and you and Yunho communicate on Kakao Talk like you're in a long distance relationship even when you’re feet away from each other.

They’ve met and worked out their own requirements for early renegotiation, but now comes the secret meetings with lawyers and planning their approach, which is hard to do between all of their schedules on top of a quick promotional week in Japan for three stages, two special appearances, and multiple fansigns for their last album.

The hours have been near comeback levels of workload, and while management has promised vacation time once it passes, that seems farther and farther away with every minute you’re not sleeping and every minute you’re not with him.

Today is more of the same.

Now back in Korea, you at least have access to your own bed, but today is an early morning shoot at four thirty so that the music video directors can have optimal light, so you still have barely slept. Yunho’s awake, you can feel that through the bond, but he and two other members haven’t arrived to set yet, a product of winning the ladder game and getting a little more time to themselves in the morning before call time.

After you finish Seonghwa’s base, he asks to take a quick break and you sink into the chair to get off your feet for a moment, yawning heavily.

That’s a cute sweater - Your phone vibrates with the message and you smile, eyes flicking up to the mirror to catch Yunho, Wooyoung, and San just coming in the far studio door.

Morning x - You reply.

You watch him in the reflection as he smiles softly at your message, typing out a response.

How’s it been so far? - He asks.

You sigh - Quiet, everyone’s exhausted after the trip.

You had all returned from Japan only yesterday, and though you’re not contending with jet lag, you’re all still balancing heavy schedules and the switch up between home and away.

This should help then - Is Yunho’s next message, and you’re not sure what he means until you hear him behind you.

“Morning,” Yunho says to the room, getting everyone’s attention but keeping his voice soft, “we’ve got coffees on the back table for everyone,”

There’s a collective groan of appreciation.

“Thank god,” Dahan says, “I’ll get ours,”

You jump up before you can stop yourself, “I got it,”

“Oh,” She takes a step back, smiling, “thanks girl,”

“For sure, Hwa’s on break anyways,”

Eunji and Dahan both return their focus to the members in front of them, but Iseul gives you a sly smile. You shoot her an eye roll and head towards the loosely formed circle around the back table.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” You hear Wonshik say as he grabs a cup.

“Ah,” San shrugs, “it’s too early to film, we couldn’t let everyone go without a little strength,”

Jongho slips through the side, a roller and clips still in his hair, to find the iced americanos, “Let me know what we owe you,”

Yunho waves him off, “You’re good,”

As you get a little closer, you finally meet his eyes and you trade a little smile. You keep it professional, as always, but the warmth in both your chests at just stepping a little closer to one another is undeniable.

“Thanks for this,” You tell all three of them.

San and Wooyoung both grin, but step away fast, leaving you almost alone at the table with Yunho.

“Here,” He picks up a cardboard carrier with four hot cups, “this one's for you and the team,”

“Oh,” You smile, “thank you, Yunho,”

“Mhm,” He taps the lid on one cup and nods, “this one’s yours,”

You glance to the side, but no one’s lingering around too close so you look back as you take the cups, eyebrows raised.

“Extra shot,” He murmurs, “and vanilla,”

You could kiss him.

“Anyways,” He leans back and puts some space between you, “I hope it’s still warm enough.”

“It’s perfect,” You hear Seonghwa’s voice behind you, you have to go back to work, “thank you,”

He nods, and you force yourself to turn around, to put your face back on and get back to work. At your station, you slip your coffee cup out of the carrier and leave it on your side table.

”Lattes,” You place one on each station behind the other makeup artists.

“Perfect,” Eunji turns from Hongjoong and snaps the cup up, “I’m so tired I could inject this,”

Everyone laughs softly and nods, and you yawn as you get back to your station, taking a long sip of your coffee.

“Mm,” Dahan says as she wipes her lip and nods towards you, “what’d you get?”

“Hmm?” You don’t really understand her question.

She nods towards your coffee, and you lift the cup to glance at the side.

There’s a hastily drawn English initial there in sharpie, matching your name, and you laugh, “Oh, mine just has vanilla,”

You’re getting good at fighting through those waves of panic that people might be catching on, better at lying around every turn, so you keep yourself relaxed and shrug this off.

”I like vanilla,” Eunji comments.

Your eyes connect for a hair with Iseul.

Seonghwa interjects smoothly though, “I’ll tell Sannie for next time, we were just talking about coffee at that spot in Hyogo, he must have remembered,”

“That’s thoughtful,” Dahan nods, “you take care of us too well,”

“Ah,” Hongjoong adds, bringing the attention away from you, “please, it’s the least we can do when you’re always awake an hour before us.”

“I’ll never complain about coffee,” Iseul smiles and then shifts the conversation like a professional, “Eun, do you have any spare cotton buds? I’m smudging this mascara,”

“You’ve got to use the guards,” Eunji says, going off on one of her favorite tangents, shifting through her station for her beauty gadget of the moment, and you let Iseul take the reins on that so you can fade right out of their thoughts.

Seonghwa gives you a quick smile when you turn to him, and you quietly rotate the lid on your coffee so that the initial faces away from them and towards your body.

“So,” You focus again, smiling at Seonghwa, “how much glitter today? A subtle wash, or a truly tragic amount?”

He laughs, relaxing into your chair again, “Somewhere in the middle, but I really want these contacts to pop in the closeups,”

“Got it,” You find your favorite palette for him, setting your coffee to the side, your thumb unconsciously brushing over Yunho’s handwriting as you do.

The morning gets a little easier after that. The surprise caffeine has put everyone in good spirits, and filming days, while stressfully tight and complicated, are still some of the more fun days you get to have at this job. The pressure is a little lighter without a live performance, and there’s always room for the members to relax and joke around a bit which tends to spread infectiously towards the staff.

You watch them work with quiet affection, thinking of how quickly they fell into step with you and Yunho the moment they realized what you were to each other. That night in the studio has brought you closer to them in many ways, even if subtle and unspoken, and Yunho looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders now that his brothers know.

He feels happier, despite the stress and long hours, and you’ve relaxed considerably with him as such a pillar of strength.

Early into the afternoon it’s time for solo and unit shoots, and you find yourself in a largely unoccupied area of the set with Wooyong as you finish cleaning off his first coat of makeup. As you prep your tools, he gently nudges your leg with the tip of his boot.

“You good?” He asks softly, with a friendly expression.

“I’m good,” You answer automatically, plastering back on your smile.

“You don’t look good,” He says plainly.

You glance around the room, but it’s still empty, “Uh, thanks?”

“You look exhausted,” He clarifies.

“We’re all exhausted, it’s no big deal,”

He cocks his head slightly to the slide as you mix a fresh batch of his foundation shade together on the stainless steel pallet in your hands, “Are you sleeping?”

You shrug, “When I can,”

”Because he’s not sleeping,” Wooyoung points out, “which is weird, he used to be able to nap anywhere,”

Your mouth snaps shut, lips pressed together. Wooyoung has always been painfully observant, but this goes the extra step.

“Yeah,” Is all you can muster up.

“Damn,” He murmurs, “can you not sleep if the other person is awake?”

Your eyes scan the room again, “Uh,” you shrug again, “kind of? I mean, you can, definitely, but I don’t know… things are weird right now, and new.”

He nods, tilting his face up so you can start his foundation again, “The physical separation affects you?”

He’s not going to let it go, so you sigh, “I think so,”

“Hmm,” He chews the inside of his lip for a moment as he considers that, “that makes sense,”

“Does it?”

“Sure,” He says like it’s only natural, “I mean, you’re literally connected. It would make sense that it gets stronger or feels better when you’re together and it’s the opposite when you’re apart.”

You’ve read articles that propose that same idea, but so much of the scientific research into soulmates and bonds just isn’t there. Especially not on something like separating soulmates or testing physical proximity, not when the pull towards each other is so strong, it’s practically obvious you’re not supposed to be apart and a study like that would be unnecessarily cruel.

You’re quiet for a moment, thinking that through, but then Wooyoung asks a question softly, “Does it hurt?”

You blink, “Does what hurt?”

“Not being with him?”

As if on cue, your chest aches, and you nod, “Yeah,”

“Like pain?” Wooyoung’s brows draw together.

“Not… pain exactly,” You try to explain, “it’s just this… weight, maybe? Or ache?”

”I’m sorry,” He murmurs, “that sounds hard,”

You feel Yunho deep in the bond, a tiny tug on the cord that connects you, a wordless question.

You smile at the sensation and Wooyoung looks more confused. You shake your head, “Sorry,” you laugh softly, “he’s checking on me,”

Wooyoung’s mouth drops open, “That’s amazing,”

You nod, before brushing your fingers over your mark, sending a wave of reassurance back to him.

Wooyoung’s eyes flick down to watch the motion and back up, “And you’re…”

“Telling him I’m fine,” You feel your face warm up a bit.

“Wow,” He murmurs, a grin spreading on his face, “I can’t wait to know what that feels like,”

You smile, returning your attention to the makeup palette in your hands.

“y/n,” He says, “I really think it’s going to work out, I think people will be so happy for you both.”

For a moment his earnestness makes you believe him, and you thank him softly before you focus on his makeup, you don’t tell him about all the things you’ve seen online that tell you otherwise.

In the weeks that have gone by, you haven’t been able to stop yourself from researching.

In your deep dives you’ve found very little to comfort you.

Two idols have found their soulmates, but their relationships were announced quietly years into retirement from public life, and even then the articles were full of negative comments.

Plenty of idols have gone through dating scandals, and that always seems to end one of two ways. Either the company says nothing and the rumor fades into nothing, or the evidence is too damning and the destructive cycle of public outcry and idol disgrace continues until companies and contracts break down.

Yunho has popped up in a couple of unfounded dating rumors, but even those comments made you ill. The way they turned on him, and the way they speculated about his non-existent mystery partner certainly contributed to your sleepless nights.

Wooyoung’s confidence is almost sweetly naive for someone in the industry.

You finish his makeup and make it through several more hours of standing around on set ready to hop in and touch up your members between takes. You hold on to the feeling of Yunho’s adrenaline while he practices and performs for the camera to keep you going.

Hours later, the shoot has started to dwindle down to the people left who still have filming to go or members on set but both Wooyoung and Seonghwa wrapped and went home by the time you make it back to the set’s break tent.

It’s quiet here, just a collection of plastic tables with snacks and water bottles, some seats, and organized chaos of everyone’s belongings. You could fall asleep right here.

You’re nearly drifting, your body exhausted after a day of standing, and you sink into one of the break tent’s folding chairs, eyelids heavy. It’s empty for now, a good number of staff already gone for the day, but Yunho’s solo shoot is last and all you want is to see him one more time before you drag yourself home.

Your head lolls to the side and you don’t know if you really sleep or not, but the next thing you register is a gentle hand on your hair.

Sucking in a sharp breath, you blink your tired eyes open, “Mm,”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Yunho murmurs softly, “time to wake up,”

“Y-Yun?” You blink again, yawning as you shift out of the awkward position.

“What are you still doing here?” He murmurs.

“I guess I fell asleep,” You sweep a hand under your eyes, “is the shoot over?”

He nods, “It’s already nine,”

You look to your watch, surprised to see he’s right, “God,”

He lovingly strokes your hair again, “Let’s get you home,”

You sigh into his touch for a brief moment and then he steps back and you push yourself to standing. He takes one fast glance towards the tent opening before dipping down and kissing you once, just a quick indulgence of his lips on yours before he takes a few large steps back to leave a healthy gap between your bodies.

“How was your day?” He smiles, starting to gather his belongings.

“Good,” Your skin is still buzzing from the kiss, but you shake it off and look for your own bag, “long,”

“Mm,” He nods, “same,”

“How was the shoot?” You start to say, but voices outside catch both of your attention.

You didn’t realize many people were still here.

You quickly pull on your coat and snap up your bag.

Wonshik, one of their managers, steps into the tent, all of his focus on the phone in his hands, “You ready?”

“Yep,” Yunho nods, and you notice the other voices of your coworkers are hovered by the door as they talk animatedly about something you can't quite catch.

Wonshik responds but you miss his words, your mind still foggy with sleep.

“Hyung,” Yunho says, “can we give y/n a ride, it’s late,”

Wonshik looks up from his phone and finally notices you in the room, “Oh,” he nods, “sure, hey y/n,”

”Hey,” You normally would protest, but you’re dead on your feet, “you sure you don’t mind?”

”All good,”

The tent flap opens again and San, Eunji, Iseul, and a few BB Trippin dancers start to step in, still mid conversation.

Wonshik catches your attention though “Where do you live?”

“Seongsu,” Yunho says it before you can open your mouth and a strike of alarm twists in your chest before he smoothly recovers, “you were just saying how close you are to the studio,”

”Yeah,” You nod, catching on to his misdirection, “super close, I usually walk,”

Wonshik nods, “No problem, do you have everything? Another early one tomorrow,”

“Sure, I’m ready when you are,” You nod to them both.

Wonshik turns, reaching into his pocket for his keys, and heads for the entrance again. You and Yunho exchange a quick look, and he nods for you to go first.

“Good night,” You say to everyone as you pass by.

They give you a good night, and as you pass each other, you feel Yunho’s tall presence behind you. He says something to San, and gives one of the BB dancers a fist bump for something that happened on set, but then for the first time in weeks he moves without thinking.

“See you in the morning,” Yunho says, and then turns to follow you, his hand settling on your mid back to guide you forwards out of the tent.

It takes you both a second to realize what you’ve done, the weight of his hand feeling familiar and right against your back, but you hear San say something loudly enough he could only be making a distraction and your gut twists.

Yunho drops his hand, shoving it in his coat pocket.

You feel the rapid pick up of his heart, the apology that he wants to give you but can’t in front of other people. You want to tell him it’s fine, no one saw, and even if they did it was the most mild, brief touch imaginable, but you bite your tongue and climb into the waiting car.

Wonshik drives you home, and despite the closeness of your bodies in the backseat of the car, Yunho keeps his eyes on the window and an ocean between you.

Two more days of shoots like that have you propped up on coffee and sheer force of will alone.

You keep almost falling asleep everywhere, and you’re sure that to any of your coworkers who don’t know about Yunho and your sudden soulmate insomnia, you look terrible.

“You’ve got to figure out this sleep thing,” Iseul says, nudging your shoulder as she collapses next to you on the couch in your offices at the KQ main building. It’s getting late, finally time to go home, but you just need a second to yourself before trying to muster up the strength to catch the train or risk falling asleep in another Uber.

You sigh, “I know.”

“Is Yunho still avoiding you?” She asks.

“He’s not avoiding me,” You huff a tired laugh into your sweatshirt sleeves, “he literally can’t when we’re literal soulmates.”

He’s been a little distant since the other night, but it’s to be expected. You don’t need him to explain, you can feel it. He’s been looping through the line of mistakes from that night; the kiss, knowing your address, the back touch, all brought on by your joint exhaustion and the constant magnetic energy of the bond that tugs inside you, willing you to touch, to be close.

“y/n,”

“Sorry,” You sigh, “I’m tired, but no he’s not. He’s just keeping some distance after the other night, he slipped up and he’s beating himself up over it,”

“It’s a platonic enough touch,” She says, and you’ve heard this argument from her before, “and no one saw,”

“Mm,” You nod, “this is just how he deals.”

“By shutting you out?”

“By hyperfocusing on work,” You correct, “we’re texting, it’s fine, Iseul,”

“Fine,” She says with a sigh, “I just want my best friend back to healthy and happy,”

You give her a close lipped smile, “Soon,”

The door opens and you look up as Eunji, Dahan, and Eunwoo from the hair styling team come in, Hongjoong rounding the corner behind them. Hongjoong and Eunwoo are mid conversation, and the other members of your makeup team are carrying an arm full of vending machine snacks.

“How bad do you think I’ll break out after only living on Turtle Chips and caffeine this week?” Dahan groans and you smile.

“I’m telling you,” Eunji shakes the clear box in her hands, “the vending machine salads are surprisingly good,”

“How? It’s a literal vending machine,” Dahan’s nose crinkles.

They keep bickering, almost ignoring you and Iseul completely, but then you hear your name out of Hongjoong’s mouth and it catches everyone’s attention.

“y/n,” Hongjoong says as he steps towards your group and makes eye contact with you, “I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about, do you have a few minutes while I’m already down here? Seonghwa wanted me to pass a bit of feedback back to you,”

Your eyebrows raise, “Um, sure,”

Your teammates glance at each other in a bit of confusion, it’s rare for the boys to give you feedback like this, if at all after working with each other for so long, but they let it lie and don’t interject.

He waits for you, and then nods towards the hall.

“Right,” You pull yourself up and brush your hands over your wrinkled trousers, “no problem,”

“Text me later,” Iseul says as she stays with Dahan and Eunji, and as you step away you feel their curious glances at you, leaving a strange pit in your exhausted stomach.

Hongjoong steps into the hall and walks down towards the lobby on this floor, an empty space between elevators with no office doors or onlookers to overhear.

Once you’re alone with him, you cross your arms over your chest, “Hwa needed you to give me feedback? What did I do?” You smile, keeping it light.

He waits until he’s sure everyone’s out of earshot, and then he looks back at you, “Nothing, I just needed an excuse to talk to you for a second,”

“Oh,” You relax.

“My office,” He starts, “my recording booth, you know where it is?”

You nod, “Sure,”

“When the red light is on, no one ever bothers me, not even a knock,” He tells you.

“Okay,” The word stretches on your lips, confusion on your face to be sure.

He sighs, “Sometimes when comebacks get tight like this, members will use my studio to get a quick hour of sleep,”

“Ah,” You nod, “okay,”

“People will start heading home soon,” He points out, “but we’re all working late and have practice,”

“I know,” You nod, “Yunho said it would be another late one,”

“He’s in my studio,” Hongjoong continues, “and you both look exhausted. Wooyoung said you’re not sleeping either,”

You shake your head a bit, “I’m fine, you all have enough to worry about,”

He smiles softly, “I worry about my members,”

Your shoulders drop, “You’re worried I’m affecting Yunho’s work,”

“No,” He waves a hand to dispel that thought, “that’s not it, y/n. I know we haven’t spoken since that night at the studio, so I can understand why you’d think that, but no. I admit, I also wanted to apologize to you for how I reacted, the things I said.”

“Thank you,” You manage.

“I did some reading,” He admits, “I was… wrong, what I thought the connection was for you both, I didn’t understand and after what Yunho said that night, I did research.”

“Oh,”

“What I’m trying to say is,” He glances quickly to make sure you’re still not being overheard, his voice maintaining his low tone, “If I’m worried about Yunho, that means I’m worried about you too. You’re feeling these schedules just like he is, and your exhaustion is feeding off each other. I’m worried about you both, and I can only imagine how much worse the stress is making things,”

If you weren’t so tired, down to your marrow, his words might not make you so emotional but you take a sharp breath and nod, feeling a pinprick of tears behind your eyes.

“So,” He says with a small smile, “Yunho’s in my office trying to get a couple hours of rest, and I think you should join him. Get some sleep, we’ll text him if something comes up and we’ll cover for you both. Just be careful going in and out, but at this hour things should be pretty quiet.”

“Hongjoong,” You say his name in a breath, “I don’t know what to say,”

“You’re good,” He waves that off too, almost uncomfortable with the sudden emotion you’re trying to keep tamped down.

“Thank you,” You smile, “really,”

He nods and steps away, “Alright, I have to get to a schedule,”

He doesn’t, and he knows you know that, but you let him off the emotional hook with ease and make your way to the stairs.

Hongjoong’s office is close, which means Yunho is too and your chest starts to warm with anticipation.

Quietly, you make your way down the recording studio hallway and it’s blissfully, absolutely silent. Ahead is Hongjoong’s door, a red light above acting like a do not disturb sign, and with one more fast second glance up and down the empty hall, you turn the handle and step over the threshold in one smooth move.

The room is dark, but you hear the shift of a body on the couch before Yunho says, “Did you need me afterall?”

“Hey,” You whisper.

Yunho rolls over, and in the dim light you see him sit up, “Baby?”

“It’s just me,” You confirm, flicking the lock on the door just for good measure before walking over to the couch, “Hongjoong said you were up here.”

“Is everything alright, you okay?” He rubs a hand over his tired face before reaching out to you.

“I’m fine,” You assure him, stepping into his gentle hold, “but scoot over, let me in here,”

He shifts on the couch so you can slide next to him, but you can see the confusion on his face.

“Joong said they’d cover for us to get a quick nap,” You tell him softly, “can I lie down with you?”

He sighs, a smile stretching over his face, “Of course,”

You both shuffle onto the couch, and it’s too narrow for his big body and yours, but you wind your legs together and make little adjustments until you’re comfortable, Yunho’s arm banding protectively around your back to keep you from rolling backwards.

“Come here,” He murmurs as you adjust your head, cheek nestled into his bicep, “is that alright?”

“Mhm,” You sigh, feeling the tension of the day and of the past week unspool inside you, “missed you,”

“I missed you too,” he presses his lips to the top of your head and lets out a long, relieved breath, “so much,”

You nod, but your eyes have already started to grow heavy. The safety of his arms, the warmth of his body on yours. Faintly you can catch threads of his scent, clean skin and something earthy, soft cedar and juniper.

You nestle into his chest a little more, taking a deep breath and letting yourself relax, “Love you,”

He hums softly, but you feel him relaxing right alongside you, “Love you,”

You don’t even remember falling asleep. No sooner do you hear his soft reply, an alarm is sounding above your heads and you start out of sleep, Yunho gasping sharply and pulling you closer as he bursts back into consciousness alongside you.

“Mm,” You burrow into his chest, “that’s too loud,”

He searches above his head for his phone, the alarm still blaring.

“Yunho,” You groan.

“I got it,” He says, clicking the snooze button, “sorry, sorry,”

You sigh, “I think everyone in this building heard that,”

He snorts a laugh softly and sighs, “I can’t sleep through it,”

“That’s for sure,”

He wraps you back up in his arms and tucks his head against yours.

“Did we sleep?” You murmur.

“Mhm,” He says, his voice rough with sleep, “almost three hours,”

“I feel like I died,” You yawn, “oh my god,”

He stretches his legs out, joints cracking as he adjusts. Neither one of you moved an inch during sleep, and you’re both feeling all the stiffness that comes with that now that you start to come out of it.

“Did anyone message you? Are we good?” You prod Yunho gently.

“Um,” He finds his phone again, wincing when the bright light hits his eyes, “fuck, um, no, we’re good,”

“Good,” You sigh.

”I want to ditch practice and take you back to your place and just sleep for a hundred years,” He groans, winding his arms around you and rolling you artlessly on top of his chest so that he can stretch his long back and still keep you on the couch, “how much trouble do you think I’d be in?”

You smile, pressing a kiss to his chest, “A lot,”

“Yeah,” He yawns, “probably,”

You hum softly, relaxing into him, “Do we have any time, or do you need to go?”

He winces, “Five minutes, maybe?”

You can’t hide your disappointment at that.

“I know,” He strokes your back, “I’m sorry, I wish schedules were less…”

“It’s okay,” You soothe him with another kiss, “it is what it is,”

His lips press closed, and he nods, “Yeah,”

“Only a few more days,” You sigh.

A few more days of schedules like this, of early mornings and late nights and commitment after commitment stacked on top of each other.

He nods, but then he says, “We’re going to start negotiations next week,”

“You are?” Your head pops up and you meet his gaze.

“We have a day off after these schedules,” He says quietly, a tentative smile on his lips, “after we sure things up with the attorney, and then we just have to request the meeting.”

“That’s fast,” You admit.

“None of us want to waste any time,” Yunho admits, “between us and the potential our contracts could be better for all of us? I think we’re all ready,”

“When do you think,” You let your words trail off, but he picks up on your point with ease.

“A couple of weeks, I think we’ll know,” He smiles, “just a little longer,”

You smile, pushing up from your position to capture his lips in a kiss.

Yunho pulls you closer, shifting you higher on his chest as he hums pleasantly against your mouth, kissing you gently, tenderly, like all good sleepy, intimate kisses should be.

Yunho’s phone lights up with a second alarm and you jolt, breaking the kiss and sighing.

He silences the phone much more quickly this time, “I’m sorry,” he gives you a squeeze, “I really have to go,”

“It’s okay,” You slide off him, taking quick stock of your clothes and how mussed your hair is as he gets to his feet.

His phone dings with a notification and he checks it, before quickly tapping out a reply.

“All good?” You check.

“Mhm,” Yunho yawns and tucks his phone away, “Joong says the hallways are pretty quiet.”

“Should I go first, or you?” You ask, reaching out to smooth the collar of his shirt.

“I’ll go,” He leans in and presses a fast kiss to your forehead, “let me double check the coast is clear,”

“Okay,” You nod.

He takes a deep breath and shakes out the nap, “Only a couple more weeks,” he repeats, as much for himself as it is for you, “I love you,”

“I love you too,” You kiss him quickly, just a peck before he gets on with the rest of his work day.

“Let me know when you get home safely, okay?” He kisses your again, his warm hands cupping you close, “Try to get some more sleep,”

You nod, but you both know you won’t be sleeping until he’s in bed too, “Text me when you’re home later,”

“I will,” He says, “but try to sleep, okay? You need your rest too,”

“I promise I’ll try,”

His phone dings again, and he exhales sharply with a little exasperation, checking his phone again, “Alright, I have to go, I love you. Be safe.”

“Love you too,”

He kisses you fast, and then his hands are off you and he’s out the door.

You sink back down onto Hongjoong’s couch and collect yourself, pushing through all the post-nap brain fog now that you have a second. You wait until he messages you it’s safe to leave, and then quietly you turn off Hongjoong’s recording light and slip out unseen into the hall.

Downstairs you gather your things and get yourself back together so you can go home, darting quickly towards the exit when you hear that you aren’t completely alone in the building. Far off voices down one of the halls by your workspace, the sound of someone else in the lower break room, you don’t wait to see who could be working late.

Walking to the train you take a deep breath of cold air.

Only a few more weeks.

You can do a few more weeks.

───────────────────────── ✧₊⁺───────────────────────

Not everyone would agree with you, but you love night schedules. As one of the staff members who has to be there before the members, you love any schedule that means you get to wake up at a normal time and not the three or four in the morning call times for morning shoots.

A night shoot means you get the morning off.

Last night after days and days, you finally slept, sinking into sleep alongside Yunho, even though he was across town at his own apartment. It was the best night you’ve spent without him by your side since that first night after the European tour.

You woke up without an alarm, natural light and feeling fully sated. Today was going to be a good, good day.

You get to the office with a brightness in your body. An afternoon coffee in hand, a cute outfit, and you took the extra time to put a soft curl in your hair just to see Yunho’s eyes light up when he sees you later today.

He had texted you good morning and that he loved you.

You had joked about ordering the same thing for dinner later and eating over FaceTime for a virtual date.

Tomorrow was their meeting with the contract lawyer.

Everything was going right.

You’re almost there.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary until it does.

At the office, you scan your keycard to enter just like always, but you only make it halfway across the lobby before you’re intercepted by two of the largest men you’ve ever seen, dressed in simple black suits with armbands identifying them as security.

“Miss y/n?” One of them stops you with an outstretched hand, blocking your access to any more of the lobby.

“Yes?” Your heart speeds up.

“Come with us, please.” The other says plainly.

Your fingers tighten on your bag, “What’s this about?”

“Come with us, please,” He reiterates, and you can tell the please is a polite formality.

”Can you tell me what this,” You start to say, but you barely get a full sentence out before you’re cut off again.

“Miss,” The first one says, “let’s not discuss this in the hall. Follow us.”

They start walking, one in front of you and one behind, and you can sense people in the foyer starting to notice an employee being escorted by security, stopping to stare, but you keep your eyes ahead and try not to look as terrified as you feel.

It could be nothing.

It could be a keycard replacement or a problem with a clearance for one of the filming locations, it could be anything.

They walk you swiftly towards the back elevators and take you up until you’re passing your normal floors and going higher, towards the offices with better views and higher salaries.

Your stomach clenches when you get off and follow them further back to a corner office.

“This way,” The one in front says as he opens the door to the office, and your eyes flick over the name on the door.

Han Minchul - Attorney

Everything in your body is telling you to turn around, to get out of this hall and back to the elevators, to never step foot in this man’s office, but it’s just not an option.

Stepping over the threshold, you come face to face with Han Minchul himself.

“Ah!” He says, “Miss y/n,”

You greet him, professionally and cordially, “Mr. Han,”

“I don’t suspect you know who I am,” He gestures towards the chairs in front of his large dark wood desk, “please, have a seat,”

Slowly you step forwards and take the seat. He’s perfectly average in every way with the exception of his nice office and even nicer suit. You clock the watch on his wrist and the decorative table in the corner with the crystal bottle of expensive scotch.

“Well,” He says with a slight smile, folding his hands over a red file folder on his desk, “I do wish we were meeting under better circumstances,”

Your stomach drops out, “What circumstances are those?”

His smile falls away and he taps the folder, “We have some serious and very credible information about you and one of our idols, Miss y/n.”

It feels in a split second like your chest is collapsing in on itself.

“Nothing to say?” He leans back from the desk and sits comfortably in his desk chair.

“What would you like me to say?” You manage.

“It doesn’t really matter to me,” He sighs, “and there’s no point in lying. You and Jeong Yunho have been seeing each other secretly for some time, though we were only made aware of the nature of your relationship this week.”

“I see,” Your throat feels hoarse, your stomach rolling.

You feel a tug inside you, a press against the bond, but you stay focused on the conversation.

”It took us a few days of digging and corroborating information, but you are both less secretive than you think you are,” He adds, “we’ll be speaking with him later today, but for now, if you’ll turn over your keycard and identification badge,”

“You’re firing me,”

“Very good,” He says, and then he taps on the folder again.

Your ears are ringing, and you see his mouth moving but things feel like they’re falling apart all around you. Your heart is thundering in your chest and you feel another distinct touch of Yunho’s consciousness to yours.

Mr. Han clears his throat and looks at you with a withering stare.

“What did you say?”

He purses his lips at you like you’re an annoyance, and then nods to the two stocky security officers at the doorway, “I said, we can make this simple, or we can make this difficult,”

You swallow tightly, fear pooling in your gut.

“Simple includes signing these two documents,” He finally folds open the folder and reveals a stack of contracts that are tabbed on multiple pages for your initials and signature, “and then you will quietly leave the premises. You will be let go without recommendation, but you will receive a lump sum of six months salary, still subject to tax of course.”

“Y-you’re buying me off?” Your head feels like it’s spinning.

“You’re a smart girl, y/n,” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, “now do I need to explain what difficult means, or do we have an agreement?”

As if on cue, both of the security officers take a step from the door towards you. They linger behind your chair like menacing pillars, and you have no doubt they’ll drag you from these offices kicking and screaming if necessary.

“I,” You start, fumbling over your words, “I’m sorry, but there’s been a misunderstanding,”

“Oh?” For a split second you think he’s going to listen, but then he leans back in his chair as he shakes his head, “No, I don’t think there has,”

Nervous knots tighten so hard in your gut you feel sick, “No, please, you have to listen to me,”

“Does listening get you to sign these papers faster?”

”We’re soulmates,” You finally get the words out, “we would never have broken the rules if that weren’t the case, but I know you can understand that, that we’re supposed to be together, that it was out of our control,”

The man across from you barely blinks, “Well,” he shrugs, “I’ve heard that one before,”

“But our marks,” You insist, “if you just let us show you, you’ll see,”

“Let me stop you there,” He shakes his head and sits forward in his chair, “because I can tell you exactly how that happened,”

His words don’t make sense, “What?”

“You developed a little crush,” He gestures towards you with his meaty hand, “and your crush turned into an obsession,”

He doesn’t even need to say it, you know exactly what this story will be. You’ve feared it from the second you realized he was yours, and to see it laid out in front of you is a cold reminder that you were right from the start.

That doesn’t stop the ringing in your ears though, and the way your heart starts to beat faster and faster like a bird in a cage, pure panic lacing through your body. Something sharp pulls in your chest, and distantly through the bond you feel Yunho’s own fear, his own sudden panic.

Mr. Han continues, even as the blood drains from your cheeks, “No, I think you’ve broken your contract so severely you’re lucky I don’t contact the police.”

“But,”

“How did you do it? A peek down one of his costumes? Did you walk in on a wardrobe fitting to get a good look?” He sneers, “Or did you seduce him first and get your own tattoo later?”

“I-I didn’t,” You feel cornered, trapped, fear pulsing through you, “I wouldn’t do that,”

“You,” He levels you with a hard stare, his eyes flicking down to your exposed forearm, “wouldn’t get a tattoo?”

You tug the fabric of your sweater down over your skin, “That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying I wouldn’t get a fake soulmark, I wouldn’t deceive someone like that,”

He has to believe you, he has to. But instead, he only shrugs, “I doubt it, but it doesn’t matter.”

“It,” You feel lightheaded, sick, dizzy at the way the floor has all but dropped out from under you, “it has to matter,”

“y/n,” He sighs, tapping the papers before him, “my job is to protect the company from liability, to protect our idols from things that would be catastrophic for their careers, and you, my dear, are catastrophic.”

Panic slices through you, hot tears pricking at your eyes, “But I love him,”

His nose crinkles slightly, disgust masked with mock pity, “I’m sure you do,”

His words, the way he looks at you, you feel small and silly. A foolish girl with a crush clinging to a fairytale, and your eyes land on the file folder of contracts, beneath them no doubt all the evidence he alluded to before, thick and likely full of a false version of your love story, crafted so that you look like nothing more than a rabid fan. You think suddenly of the girl in the airport who pushed you aside for her chance to touch Yunho’s skin, and you can see exactly the rumors they’ll spread about you if they have to.

Underneath the panic and the pulsing dizziness though, you feel Yunho. His own heartbeat seems to knock against your ribs, and distantly you know it, he’s coming for you.

“I’ll offer you one last time,” Mr. Han says, and your eyes flick up to his, “I urge you to be smart about this. Sign the papers, take the money. I’m sure you can find somewhere that will hire you to do hair anywhere, it just won’t be alongside any other idols you can dupe.”

This time all you feel is the popping sensation of rage, crackling through your body so quickly you can’t catch your tongue, “I’m a makeup artist.”

“Yes, well,”

“No,” You cut him off, leaning forwards and fisting your hands to keep them from shaking, “I’ve sat here and listened to you insult me, and insinuate that I am some kind of delusional, love-sick fan, and threaten me, I’ve worked here for five years.”

“Congratulations.” He says dryly.

“What is wrong with you?” You stand up, the chair pushing back behind you as it bumps into the security officers, “You haven’t even talked to Yunho, you dragged me in here like you’re a cop and I’m some sort of criminal, this is our lives!”

”No, this is a place of business,” He shakes his head.

You rub at your temples, a headache bubbling in your brain, “How?”

“How is this a place of business?” He smirks.

“No, how did,”

“I know what you’re asking,” He interrupts and taps the stack of papers on the table, “it seems your friend thought you were behaving inappropriately in the workplace,”

A wave of dizzy nausea passes through you and you grip the back of the chair for stability, “My friend?”

“Your friend, one of the other makeup artists,” He repeats, “she had quite a lot to tell us.”

“She,” You feel unmoored, “she told you?”

“Everything we needed to know.” He confirms.

“I,” You stumble over your words and then find the stability to straighten back up, “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Believe whatever you want,” He shrugs, “it won’t make a difference. It’s my job to ensure,”

“No liability,” You roll your eyes, anger bubbling hot inside you, “and a steady paycheck for you while KQ’s biggest group stays nice and profitable, and a soulmate for one of their idols would really cause a scandal, wouldn’t it?”

His jaw tightens, muscles tensing in his jaw before he recovers and nods again to security, “The difficult way then,”

One of the security guards steps smoothly to your side, his large hands closing over your upper arms tightly and he tugs you back.

The ringing in your ears gets louder, but you taste bitter adrenaline on your tongue and feel the bond inside you thrumming, you feel him closer.

The other security officer grabs your bag from the floor though, and it pulls your attention, “What are you doing?”

He ignores you, swiftly finding your phone and passing it over to Mr. Han who stays comfortably behind the desk.

“Let me go, give that back!” You jerk an arm, trying to push free, but it only makes the man holding you still grip harder, pressing angry bruises into your skin.

“Liability, remember?” He says as he flicks through your phone, “once this is cleaned up, you’ll be escorted out. Your access badge will no longer swipe into the building, and staff will be made aware that you are no longer welcome on the premises.”

“Fuck you,” You wriggle a little harder, only to get yanked back into the chest of the security officer.

“Very nice,” Mr. Han comments dryly, “very professional,”

You want to scoff, to tell them there’s nothing professional about anything that’s happened since you sat down in this room, but you hear fast footsteps in the hall, a distant shout.

The men in the room look up, towards the door, and you take the moment to your advantage. You twist sharply in the security officer’s arms and duck to the side, breaking his hold while he’s momentarily distracted and rushing to the opposite end of the room by the door.

He takes two steps towards you, but the door bursts open between you.

Yunho pushes over the threshold with a kind of reckless purpose, his eyes focused and searching, cheeks flushed from running and chest heaving, Mingi and Hongjoong hot on his heels.

He finds you in a second, and without a single thought to the room around him he rushes towards you, “You’re alright? You’re alright?”

His hands cup your cheeks, thumbs smoothing over your cheekbone, and you shake your head, “They want me to go,”

His brow furrows, and it takes him a moment to register your words. He felt fear and panic and dread so distinctly in your body that he didn’t know what he would find behind this office door. All he knew is that you were terrified and he was running, straight out of the recording studio with Hongjoong and Mingi stumbling behind him. But you’re here, alive and unharmed, and it takes a moment for the blood rushing in his ears to calm, to understand what you meant, but when he turns his head towards the room, he finally takes in everything in front of him.

The paperwork, your phone on the desk, the attorney, the guards, it all threads together.

You reach up and gently take his wrists, drawing his hands down from your cheeks so you can both face the room, and you thread your fingers tightly together with Yunho’s.

”What’s going on here?” Yunho asks.

“They know,” You explain, “I’ve been asked to leave,”

Mr Han sighs, finally standing, “I was trying to handle this situation professionally, I don’t know what you think calling them is going to change,”

“I didn’t call them,” You shake your head incredulously, “you have my phone, you can see that,”

He pauses, a brief flicker, but then shakes his head, “Regardless.” You watch him push together the contracts, gathering them to tuck them neatly away and your hand tightens on Yunho’s.

Hongjoong steps swiftly forwards, snatching the papers and bringing them back a few steps, “What are these?”

“Contracts,” He replies, and for the first time this whole meeting you can hear a little tension in his tone, “standard for employment termination.”

“Employment termination,” Yunho shakes his head, “that’s insane.”

“You can’t break the rules like this an expect there to be no ramifications,”

“Fire me then,” Yunho’s eyes narrow.

“Yunho, be serious,” Mr. Han says.

You feel a flash of Yunho’s anger in his chest, but then Hongjoong interrupts, his head shaking as he flips through the papers.

“These are unethical,” He glances up at you both before continuing to flick through, and Mingi leans over his shoulder to read more.

Yunho turns his head towards the two of them as Mingi reads aloud, “I, y/n, hereby acknowledge and agree to the terms of termination and the accompanying settlement as outlined above. Terms including, but not limited to, defrauding a member of the idol group ATEEZ, defrauding other KQ Entertainment employees in an attempt to establish co-conspirators, and intention to defame and devalue the aforementioned member’s career using these lies through public channels such as social media and the press. I understand and accept that by signing this letter, I am waiving all claims against KQ Entertainment, agreeing to the terms set forth in this agreement, and accepting the settlement outlined above.”

Read aloud, it’s even worse.

“This is a lie,” Hongjoong flips through the papers again, “all of it,”

“Defrauding me? Defaming me?” Yunho’s voice is low and steady, but you can see the look of betrayal on his face, you can feel the hurt, “You seriously wanted her to sign this? This bullshit?”

“Yunho,” You warn him gently.

”No,” He shakes his head and drops your hand, pulling the papers from Hongjoong, “this is ridiculous,”

“This is how it works,” Mr. Han replies, “this is is how we insulate you, and minimize liability,”

“Liability!” Yunho’s voice is sharp, “This is a mile from the truth,”

“It’s a smear campaign,” Mingi interrupts, calmly as he steps to Yunho’s side, “you get her to sign this and if the story about the two of them got out, you have it on record that she’s a liar and a manipulator.”

The attorney’s jaw tightens.

Hongjoong snatches back the papers and shuffles through them until he finds a subsection, “By means of seduction and false representation…. fabrication of a soulmark.”

Heat burns your cheeks even though the words aren’t true, and you swallow tightly to bury any threat of tears.

“What the fuck?” Yunho manages, pulling the papers closer.

“We don’t do this,” Hongjoong’s face is pinched in disgust, “we’re better than this. You make her sound like… you make her out to be some,”

“Gold digging whore?” You offer, a sick laugh in your throat at the absurdity of it all.

Yunho bristles, tossing the papers onto the desk and shaking his head, “She’s not signing this,” he says, “and she’s not fired, if you had just asked me instead of assuming I could have just told you that it’s true. We’re soulmarked, we found out while we were on tour. It wasn’t expected, but we’re happy. If you had just asked me, instead of treating her this way, we have nothing to hide.”

“But you’ve been hiding,” He counters.

“We were waiting for the right time,”

“And let me guess, that was her idea?” He nods towards you.

Yunho leans forwards, “Speak about her like that again and this conversation won’t be so professional.”

Hongjoong closes a hand around Yunho’s forearm in warning.

Mr. Han sighs and rubs his eyes, “Yunho,” his voice softens up and you brace yourself, “you need to think about your career, your livelihood. No one wants an unavailable idol, they want the fantasy.”

“We’re not objects,” Hongjoong bristles, “we’re not dolls for you to dress up as you please and play boyfriend,”

“Aren’t you?”

“Fuck you,” Mingi curses.

”Be serious,” He continues, “I know you like the girl, this is certainly not the first time someone’s broken a dating ban and it won’t be the last, but it always ends the same. I am telling you, no girl is worth your career.”

“She’s not some girl,” Yunho says sharply, taking a step back to you and finding your hand again, “she’s my soulmate, and I would have thought that would be different,”

The beat of silence stretches into two

”He doesn’t believe us,” You murmur, “he thinks I saw your tattoo and copied it, that I tricked you,”

“We’re bonded,” Yunho counters, “you can’t fake that,”

Mr. Han sighs again, “I’ve seen it more than once,”

You can’t help the flurry of rage that bubbles in your gut, and your hands fly to the buttons of your blouse. All eyes fly to you as your shirt starts to open, and Yunho reaches for your hands, “Stop, baby, stop, you don’t need to do this,”

You push his hands away, your shirt parting open, “You think I faked this?” You tug down the band of your bralette, “You think I’m lovesick and crazy, and would trick him like that? My tattoo is red, so is his, both of them used to be black. I have pictures of mine to prove that, and I’m sure your files have pictures of his.”

You let the band of your bralette slip back into place, covering the mark, “But that’s not what this is about at all, is it? It doesn’t matter if it’s true. All that matters is me disappearing, and the money flowing.”

His lips close into a tight line.

”Would you have convinced him it was a lie? After I was dragged out of this building by your goons, would you have told him all the stories of other idols who have been fooled?” You take a step towards the desk and press your nails into your palms to keep steady, “How many real bonds have you broken? And for what? A nice house? A nice suit? You’re disgusting,”

His jaw tenses again, “We’re done here,” he says, flicking a hand to security, “get her out of here.”

They step forward on command, but Yunho takes a swift step between you, putting his body between you and the room, “Don’t touch her.”

“It’s over,” Han Minchul says, exasperated, “she’s fired. You can be angry with me all you like, but the decision is final.”

“Then I quit,” Yunho drops the sentence like a bomb.

Mingi and Hongjoong snap up to look at him, and you press forwards to touch his back, “Yunho, don’t, don’t do that.”

“She’s right,” He nods, “you and this company have had a positive working relationship for years, don’t throw it away for a woman.”

“You son of a,” Yunho darts forwards, but Mingi is faster, locking his arms around his best friend and dragging him back.

You suck in a sharp breath of air and shake your head, tears threatening. It’s all coming down, just like you knew it would. When you look up, the attorney looks almost pleased. He holds your gaze as Mingi and Hongjoong get Yunho under control, a final challenge, and even though it kills you, you nod.

With your stomach in knots, you touch Yunho’s arm and bring him back to you, Mingi's hold breaking, “Yunho, it’s done, it’s over.”

“What?” He swivels to you, surprise across his face “y/n, we can’t,”

“Not us,” You assure him, pulling him closer, “never us, but this is over. Even if we could work it out, I wouldn’t want to stay where I’m clearly unwanted and we’re being watched.”

He studies your face, a tense crease in his brow, “But,”

”Let me go,” You squeeze his hand.

“This isn’t fair,” He breathes, cupping your cheek, “it wasn’t supposed to happen like this, we had a plan,”

“But we always knew it could,” You remind him softly.

Hongjoong steps close, keeping his voice low, “We’ll find a way to take care of this, but y/n is right. There’s nothing we can do here,”

“So you’ll go?” The lawyer pipes in, “Because as much as I appreciate this tender moment, I have a one o’clock,”

Yunho’s jaw sets hard.

”I’ll go,” You say from behind him, “just give me a moment,”

You go to move, but Hongjoong clears his throat softly, “Your blouse,”

Your cheeks flush, and you step back to Yunho who straightens up and tucks you closer to his chest while you hastily do up the buttons of your shirt.

You want to cry, to scream, to throw something and run away into the sunset with the man you know is yours, a truth so deep it’s in your marrow, but you can’t.

Yunho drops a kiss to your hair, checking to be sure your blouse is closed before he turns back to the room, “She goes, but she’s not signing those papers.”

“That deal is off the table,” The attorney says, “but our official position will be a downsizing of the department. You’ll be let go without severance, and without reference, but we will not interfere with your future job prospects negatively. Security will see you out of the building.”

Yunho doesn’t move, he keeps you tucked behind him and you can feel the tension rolling off him in waves even without the bond.

Hongjoong nods towards the desk, “Her phone?”

“Ah, yes,” He stretches out a hand with it towards you, but Yunho intercepts before passing it back.

One glance tells you all you need to know - Yunho’s contact is gone, your chat history is gone, and when you click on your photo library you see that every photo is missing.

You make a soft, involuntary sound, “Our photos,”

“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that you are still bound by your original Non-Disclosure Agreement as an employee,” Mr Han says, “if anything is published online or otherwise about your relationship, you will be in breach of that contract and we will be forced to bring forward a suit. I trust you’re smart enough not to do that, but you’ll have to forgive me for taking additional precautions.”

“Liability,” You breathe.

“Exactly,” He nods.

Yunho spins back to you, kissing your forehead and gathering you close, “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“I know,” You murmur, “I know,”

“I’ll fix this,” He presses, “it’s just a job, we’re still us.”

Mr. Han makes a non-committal sound, “In case you’re planning on maintaining whatever relationship and contact you have, Yunho, I will remind you that your employment contract still maintains a romantic entanglement clause.”

Your stomach drops out, and Yunho turns.

“You can consider this a formal warning,” He continues, “but if you break your contact again, you will be terminated, and that includes paying back a considerable amount of debt.”

“This is insane,” Mingi manages.

”This is business, standard business.”

Yunho finds your hand, pressing your palms together. Slowly, he exhales and looks up, “Understood.”

Your heart aches in your chest. You wonder if he can feel it too.

“Those contracts expire in a little over a year,” Yunho says, “I can tell you now that I will not be renegotiating.”

Your heart starts to pound.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” Mr Han says, “groups lose one or two members after rookie contracts all the time, that’s not a concern to the company, that’s a probability.”

“And if you lose eight?” Hongjoong says sharply, “Because I won’t renegotiate if this is the new climate at KQ, and I know the rest of the members will be right behind us.”

“Yep,” Mingi nods, “Count me out.”

Yunho’s stunned silent, so are you.

“You’ve treated us terribly,” Hongjoong says, “but what you’ve done to y/n might actually constitute harassment, and I intend to find out.”

“You’ll never,”

“We understand the terms of our contract well,” Hongjoong interrupts, “and you will not catch us breaking those terms, but let me know how the CEO feels about their debut group walking away with grievances after that contract expires. Do you think that will be good for business? I know exactly how much profit we generate for this company, and if you think all we’ve done for six years is sing and smile on command, you’d be sorely mistaken.”

Mr. Han takes that in, eyes flicking over the room, “This meeting is over.”

”Meeting,” Mingi scoffs.

”Miss y/n,” Mr. Han clears his throat and addresses you, “your final check will be mailed to you.”

You have nothing to say, so you nod.

“Security will escort you out,” He reiterates.

Both of the security officers step forwards, looking at Yunho squarely, almost a challenge to see if he’ll let you go.

Panic lances through you at the thought of not seeing him again.

Yunho turns, tugging you close. With his lips at your ear he murmurs something just for you, “I love you,” he promises, “I’ll come, I promise,”

Tears track down your cheeks and you nod, “I love you,”

“It’s you first,” He squeezes your hand, “I promise, y/n, I swear,”

Your breath hitches, “I know,”

“Yunho,” Mr. Han says firmly, “that’s enough.”

Taking a step back from Yunho, the tears come faster but you scrub them away quickly with the sleeve of your shirt. The security officers nod and you step closer to them.

One of them secures a hand to your elbow and Yunho takes a step forwards, “Take your hands off her,” he says

You pull your arm away from the unwelcome touch, “I know the way out,”

“Yunho,” Mr. Han interjects, “stay. We have things to discuss, everyone else can go.”

“Let me walk her out,” Yunho steps towards you.

“No,” Mr. Han grows serious and gestures to the chairs, “sit. I’m done entertaining this,”

Yunho’s name is trapped in your throat and you press your nails into your palms.

“Miss,” One of the security officers nods towards the door.

Yunho’s looks to you, his eyes glassy with unshed tears and his lips parted, there’s more to say but he can’t.

“I’ll walk her out, I got her,” Mingi interjects, locking eyes with his best friend.

Yunho nods, words still trapped in his throat.

“Mr. Song,” The attorney says, “don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Mingi clenches his jaw, muscle jumping and he shakes his head, “Just the lobby, what a coincidence,”

Mr. Han looks briefly irritated, but looks to security.

They don’t touch you, but they do guide you with their hands outstretched, and it’s clear this is fully over. You stumble out, eyes still glued to Yunho, but Mingi swiftly steps to your side and falls into step with you.

“y/n,” Yunho manages, a stricken look across his face.

“Do not make a scene,” You hear as you leave the room.

Yunho lays a hand across his chest, a firm press to his soulmark that echoes in your chest and hot tears rush to your eyes. Security pushes you down the hall with their unrelenting pace though, and you’re forced to face front.

Behind you, you hear the door shut but not before Hongjoong’s sharp voice gives you all the comfort in the world, “No, I think I’ll stay.” You’re deeply, deeply grateful Yunho won’t be in that meeting alone.

“Mingi,” You manage as you all file into the elevator.

”It’s going to be okay,” He assures you softly, “keep your head up. We’ve got him, you know we do.”

You nod, swiping away the emotion from your eyes.

“How did they know?” He asks quietly as the elevator descends.

”He said Iseul,” You can barely say it without the idea turning your stomach, “but she wouldn’t have done that.”

“Are you sure?” His eyes track the floors as you descend.

“I’m sure,”

There’s a ding as you hit the lobby, and you breathe through the anxiety of knowing your coworkers are about to watch you be escorted out of the KQ offices.

“Miss,” Security gestures forwards and you step out.

“You got this,” Mingi says softly.

The walk to the doors is a blur, surreal and strange. Five years of your life, gone in a second.

You barely remember the walk home.

Curled up on the couch you wait for something, anything. A phone call, a text, a single message from anyone but you get nothing.

He doesn’t call.

He doesn’t text.

He doesn’t come for you.

The bond is strangely quiet, and it feels like your world is shattering around you.

In the morning you call the one person you know will be there, sobs wracking your chest the moment the moment your sister picks up the phone. She doesn’t need to know a thing before she’s in the car and driving to Seoul.

You want to go back, you’d keep hiding if it meant you could have even a little of him, but this.

You can’t stay here, choked by the ghost of him everywhere you look.

For a little while, life really was beautiful.

#honeyhotteoks fics #ateez fic #ateez ff #ateez series #yunho x reader #yunho ff #yunho fic #yunho series #across stardust fic #honeyhotteoks updates

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yonglixx · 1 month ago

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hyunjin’s speech : "i think i was a bit more emotional today. [...] somehow, i was just too deep into it. so, i sent lix a kakao talk, 'i will take away all the unfairness in your life.' so, are you watching? you can take my life that is so good. i did the stage with that kind of mind. today's the last day (fm), i just did it without regrets. thank you" 🤍🥰 transl.

#hwang hyunjin #stray kids #my heart #that was so beautiful

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teriri-sayes · 6 days ago

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Reactions to The Light's Chapter 419

Brief summary: GoD talks more with Cale. Cale wakes up 3 days later.

==========

Today was an info dump.

GoC turned GoD's upper body gray, and God of War (GoW) cut off GoD's arm.

GoW confirmed to be on GoC's side.

Long ago, God of Justice (GoJ) hired the First Wanderer (FW) on a mission to find a way to "annihilate a god."

GoJ went into hiding amidst the chaos that ensued when GoB and GoC fought.

GoJ left a note that read, "The God Realm is filled with injustice. I will strike down the hammer of justice."

GoD only realized what FW's mission was when GoD found his own name on the Death List.

GoJ was not on any god's side, and worked independently.

But FW was working with both GoC and GoJ.

That part about GoJ was a surprise. But poor GoD. I guess after Cale met GoC and prevented their descent, GoC dragged GoW with them in anger and the two both beat up GoD because GoD was the "mastermind" behind Cale.

There was also info about King Zed Crossman. GoD figured out that Zed was in the game world, and was growing sure of it as the game world became more real. The fact that Cale met GoD in his dream despite being unconscious in the game world was further proof that the game world turning real.

Now, for some First Wanderer stuff.

FW was as old or nearer the time of the ancient gods.

FW only did missions for the ancient gods.

He was said to be both strong and smart.

FW rejected godhood because he had other goals.

FW became the head of the Five Colored Bloods.

The omnipotent god plan was just a step towards his real goal.

GoD said that FW was already there before he became a god. But something about FW made me and several Koreans in Kakao come up with some crazy theory about him.

“But they say he's pretty strong, with a 100% success rate on all his missions, except for his last mission before he disappeared.” The God of Death paused, then added. “And clever, he is more clever than strong.” The God of Death paused again and stared at Cale. “Why?” Cale asked with a sour face, and the God of Death smiled. “Nothing. Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you is that the First Wanderer refused to be a god for a reason.” So powerful, yet refusing to be a god, that whenever anyone questioned him about it, the First Wanderer would simply laugh and say, “I have other goals."

GoD's stare at Cale was suspicious. And if you consider the other things (Very smart, refusing to be a god, etc), we came up with this crazy theory that FW was actually Cale or KRS of another world. Quite a wild theory, right? 😂

Back to GoD, his talk with Cale was funny as usual. He kept joking with Cale, but Cale just looked at him in annoyance or indifference. 😂 And Cale's flags kept increasing.

'But why would I run into them?' Frankly, Cale was nothing more than a bystander in this fight between the gods. Not only could he not go to the God Realm, but he also had nothing to do with it. The God of Death sighed. "Yeah. War, that bastard really pisses me off." But somehow, he (GoD) had a feeling that Cale might be involved.

🚩Flag spotted!!! Cale is definitely going to the God Realm in the near future. 🤣🤣🤣

GoD: But now, what good is worrying about the gods fighting each other when I'm about to disappear? *smiles* Cale: Ha. This is annoying. That annihilation bullshit. Narrator: He hated seeing the man who made him work so hard and got him involved in so many things just casually smiling while talking about being annihilated. He was simply annoyed. Cale: Until I get slacker life, you can't rest either.

So... if Cale became a god, GoD would be doomed to a life of never-ending work? 😂😂😂 Even when leaving the dream, Cale left the words, "I'm going to steal the method of annihilating a god, so don't die and work for the rest of your life." 🤣🤣🤣

GoD found Cale very affectionate, wanting to save him despite being annoyed at him. GoD wanted to die, but Cale did not want him too. Wait a second... wasn't this like the situation with Eruhaben? 😂😂😂

Every time Cale met a god in his dreams, he would wake up a few days later. So when he woke up, he found out that it had been 3 days since then. BUT! Alberu had yet to wake up after 3 days too! Several Kakao commenters speculated that if Cale met GoD in his dream, perhaps Alberu met the Sun God in his dream too.

Ending Remarks Today's info dump was amazing. So many flags and theories. Next chapter would be Cale finding out the aftermath of the incident. I look forward to Cale learning about Crazy Attention Seeker's videos. 😂

#tcf spoilers #trash of the count's family

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kakao-lovey · 29 days ago

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⁉¿? Wait a minute... Who are you?

Journaling prompts to find your identity when you're drowning in labels and subcultures

Let me be real with you. I'm a teenager, as I assume most of you reading this are (And if you're not, that's totally OK), and trying to find your identity often means trying on persona after persona, hoping that someday something will fit. Which, yes, it will, but I personally believe writing it out and exploring is so much more rewarding (and so much less embarrassing).

۶ৎ Create an overview

This is like writing a discord intro. Include your (Actual, chosen) name, gender identity, and so on, if you would like, but the most important part isn't that obvious.

How do I feel about my nationality? Am I proud of where I live? If I had to choose somewhere, anywhere to live, where would I choose?

What are my feelings towards my assigned gender? Where do I fall on the spectrum? Is my energy more masculine or feminine, or completely neutral?

What is my body image like? What do I like about the way I look, and what do I don't?

Do I actually feel like my bodily age? Younger, older?

Am I aligned with 'Human nature'? Do I enjoy being human, or would I rather be something else?

By taking these traits you were born with and evaluating, you start to get an idea of what you identify with, and what you don't. This is very important, but people often don't question things like this, as they seem a given (But end up unhappy with their view of themselves).

۶ৎ This versus that

Divide your page into a left side and a right side. On the left, write down your real-life answers to these questions. On the right, write what your 100% ideal version of yourself would say. Then compare.

How do I feel about going to school / university / my job?

How do I wake up feeling in the morning?

How do I express myself? (Clothing, makeup, art, music)

What does my friendship circle / lack thereof look like?

How does my brain think people see me? Do I care?

What does my living space look like?

How do I treat myself? Is it fair?

What goes on daily inside my head?

What are my goals in life?

How do I react to failure / disappointment?

What is my main coping mechanism?

What is the strongest opinion I have about myself?

How do my hobbies / activities contribute to my life?

What is my biggest vice?

What am I proud of, relating to my identity?

If it doesn't match up at all, no worries. The most important step to creating an identity for yourself is knowing who you want to be. For a long time I had no idea, and ended up becoming someone I strongly disliked, which is counterintuitive and mentally draining.

۶ৎ Words

Get yourself a blank piece of paper, and write down as many things as you can that interest you, describe you, or that you love. It doesn't have to be cohesive, follow a theme or anything like that, just words on a page. I'll do an example here:

Boba tea, meditation, blogging, Laufey, Cinnamoroll, studying, wonyoungism, skincare, medical dramas, Murakami, dusty pink, journaling, aquarium, cats, that girl/boy, Turkish delight, vanilla

۶ৎ Mood board / Vision board

As a highly visual person, I make collages from Pinterest all the time, and making one or a couple for yourself, or who you want to be, is a great exercise for identity and manifestation. Ideas for what to put on:

Photos related to your aesthetic

Indoor design that speaks to you

Photos of your hobbies

Items you would love to own, or already do

'Goals': photos of good grades, your desired appearance, money etc.

Fashion styles that you wear, or wish you could

Your future occupation

Photos conveying your mood lately

Media (Games, books, movies, shows) that you really enjoy

Your favourite album

An example:

Feel free to reply to this post with your answers!

𓂃˖ ࣪⊹ Kakao

#self improvement #becoming that girl #it girl #glow up #self care #wonyoungism #manifestation #becoming her #that girl #glowing up #loablr #journaling #journal prompts

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xmhaoluvr · 7 months ago

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HOW THEY BECAME YOUR BOYFRIEND x idol!reader

SHIN JUNGHWAN 신정환

you guys have been dating for a few months now, you guys have met in inkigayo as he was the special mc alongside with one of your members. shinyu was doing well before the interview for your group, but when it came to the time they had to interview your group, he suddenly lost all ability to function; he kept stumbling on words, he kept coughing, he kept dropping his cue card. lucky for him, his co-mc isn’t oblivious to this

“ah, seems like shinyu here is nervous. can you tell us why? do you like one of my members?”

he laughed nervously and just played it off, how? idk. but hey, it’s over now. when ‘cut!’ was shouted, he immediately approached you and asked for your kakao before having a small conversation with you. after that, you guys kept talking and it evolved into something

KIM DOHOON 김도훈

you’re a soloist that debuted before tws. and during their trainee days, dohoon kept listening to your songs and learning your choreos. once he debuted, his first ever post was him dancing to your recent song and it immediately gained attention for how he executed it perfectly didn’t even mascunalized it

as their comeback neared, his members decided to list out idols that they should do a challenge video with and dohoon immediately suggested you. and since he thought of it, they also agreed that dohoon would do the challenge with you if you agree. of course, you did, you were also a fan of them and was excited. it was decided that the location would be at your company’s practice room

the day of the filming of the challenge arrived and now dohoon is on his way with his members to your company. a camera alongside them for [tws:eries]

“ah, i’m so nervous” dohoon whispered out to the camera

“isn’t she your crush, hyung?” kyungmin asked with a teasing smile

“celebrity crush, yeah” he played it off cool and the members all collectively hummed, not convinced

and after all is done, you talked with tws members for a bit, sitting down inside the practice room with snacks nearby

they had spent more time there than they anticipated so it was time to leave. but of course, dohoon won’t leave without your number

CHOI YOUNGJAE 츼영재

you’re one of the newly debuted group under hybe; also the first co-ed group of the said company. tws had come to greet you guys congratulations for your successful debut. the moment youngjae stepped inside, your eyes immediately locked with his and it lingered for a moment before he looked away

however, as the two groups conversed, even when both of you are talking, you two only kept looking at each other and no one else. because of this, you two didn’t notice the knowing glances and the teasing smiles your members shared with his

with permission, tws decided to stay longer and have a chat. you guys sat down in one big circle, you sitting next to youngjae

as time went on, the two of you started having your own conversation. it started with asking the other what their mbti is and it went on and on until you guys started laughing to each other

when it was time for tws to leave, you two exchanged hugs and numbers before going your separate ways but it will definitely not be your last meeting

HAN ZHEN 韩振

weekly idol is hosting another special episode like they did before by hosting an episode with four groups; two ggs and two bgs

although your group hadn’t been selected, tws had been. but it’s okay since you’re one of the hosts

and so filming began, game after game had occurred and they decided to do, once again, the heart meter test where any member of the four groups will make one of the hosts heart beat the highest

kiss of life chose julie, riize chose wonbin, baemon chose pharita, and tws chose hanjin

who did the hosts choose? you of course lol

your heart meter scored 125 with julie, 136 with wonbin, and 128 with pharita

now it was hanjin’s turn, and boy was he nervous. the people before scored such high scores, will he ever be able to beat that?

as he started making his way to you, your smile could be seen and your heart rate increased rapidly

“hey, hey, hey, your heart meter’s going up!” one of the hosts laughed out and pointed at the screen that showed your heart rate, and he was damn right; it was already 132, close to wonbin’s

“wait! he’s so beautiful and i love beautiful things” you confessed and stepped backwards but your co-hosts pushed you closer to hanjin causing your heart rate to go high as well

“hanjin, just smile at her and you’re all good” dohoon joked out and everyone laughed. he did it though, he smiled at you

140 bpm

man, you might die of heart attack at this rate, but as long as it’s hanjin, right?

there’s nothing else he did but stand there, stare at you, and smile. maybe a few words from time to time and holding your hand

hanjin’s final score was 148 bpm, so naturally, tws won

a break commenced after that, dedicated for you lol. hanjin approached you though and made you sweat once again. this time, you guys managed to talk, albeit you stumbling your words. numbers were exchanged before the shooting began once again

HAN JIHOON 한지훈

you’re a trainee under pledis, had been for the last two years. so it should be the time you debut, right? well, not yet, no, not until you finish jihoon’s lesson

he’s been your tutting teacher for a while now, you’ve always had an interest for that topic. so you told the staff, and they gave you jihoon

well, it hasn’t been a smooth ride let’s just say that. you always end up messing up, always getting confused on what the next step is, arms always getting tangle with each other. man, tutting might not be it for you

this time, jihoon is teaching you youngji’s my cat tutting choreography

“do you get it?” he asked, you nodded slowly “let’s try it slowly” he said and you both got into position

“tan, tan tan, darararandan” he said out the beat, thankfully you managed to follow through “should we try it with music?” you nodded, feeling confident and jihoon smiled at this

…

well, that confidence ended up with you on the floor crying and jihoon not knowing what to do

“i’m so sorry, senior” jihoon bit his bottom lip as you said sorry with a quivering voice “i don’t know why i’m so bad at this” you confessed, voice in a shush tone

“hey, it’s okay. you know what? let’s take a break, let’s go out and eat” you looked up at him and saw him smiling

is this a man or an angel? because damn that patience is never ending “is it really okay?” he nodded and you both went out to a nearby convenience store to eat

while eating, you guys conversed, whether it be causal stuff or tutting stuff. in the end, you both decided to end the lesson for the day and meet the next day

however, you texted him when you got home, saying thank you for fetching you home

LEE KYUNGMIN 이경민

you’re an idol who is still in school, who also happens to be in the same grade level as kyungmin and boy was he a such a classmate

he’s the typical guy classmate one could have; rowdy, noisy, and most of all, annoying. he seem to enjoy annoying you most of the time

“[y/n]!” you turned around and saw a flash, indicating your photo got taken. and you didn’t even have to look to know who it is “delete that” “nice, new addition to my album” kyungmin laughed with (han) yujin “you look cute here, [y/n]” yujin added fuel to the fire

you were trying to contain yourself from lashing out so you just plugged in your airpods and continued to study

but kyungmin didn’t like that, so, he took your airpod case and one of your airpods “give me that” you demanded “what if i don’t want to?” “i’ll make you”

the class erupted in ‘ooh’-s after what you had said. kyungmin smirked liking every second of it “oh yeah? how?”

you inched closer to him until your faces are mere centimeters apart. you lunged forward acting like you’re about to kiss him; this made him flinch and let go of both your airpod and the case. you caught it don’t worry “just like that”

the class erupted in chaos after what had happened, yujin trying to lift kyungmin up because his knees gave up on him, gehlee and nana shaking you because that was so crazy. all in all, kyungmin fell madly in love with you

WOW! ANOTHER POST AFTER THE HANJIN ONE

but honestly i didn’t think it would be this long lol. the way it got longer for every member 😭 oh well. i also think this doesn’t align with the title but all is well. i hope you guys enjoyed this!!

MY REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!

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hannieehaee · 1 year ago

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idol!seungcheol who's been going through a romantic rut for a few years, only ever focusing on his leader duties and having no time for anything outside of seventeen. that is, until incidentally bumping into hybeidol!you in the hybe hallways, forcing himself to interact with the pretty girl he's been seeing around the building lately.

wc: 559

a/n: thank u to whoever requested this <3 hope u like it c:

masterlist

cheol having seen you around the building before, not entirely sure when your group had first moved into the building, but having somehow taken specific notice of you, the pretty girl he'd caught a glimpse of at the hybe gym a few times.

your clear excitement at bumping into him making him get a giddy feeling inside he hadn't felt before, enjoying your clear admiration of him as an idol as you excitedly introduced yourself, informing him you were a huge fan.

wayy too proud at your obvious enthusiasm at meeting him, but feeling slightly bad at not even knowing your name or that of your group despite having seen you around before (but who could blame him when all he had in mind lately was purely seventeen).

despite being used to seeing pretty girls in the industry day after day, still being entranced by you upon that first meeting. he hadn't known he had a type, but now he was sure his type was you.

going home that day and looking you up, finally being able to put a name to the pretty face that had caught his eye a few times already.

binging all content related to your group, your idol profile, your debut, your company, when had your group moved into the building, your fancams, and fun facts only a fan would really know. when he was interested in something, he went deep. who could blame him?

going into the building the next day, nervous feeling in his stomach as he hoped to somehow make contact with you again, even walking by what he now knew to be your group's designated practice room - knowledge courtesy of boo seungkwan, who knew all the ins and outs of the building.

being disappointed at the end of the day when he hadn't had a chance to see you, but a smile finding its way back into his face upon entering the elevator and seeing that you were already in it.

making small talk with you, apologizing for not welcoming into the building when your group had first arrived, only to be interrupted by you telling him you understood he had a busy schedule, also being the leader of your own group and understanding the duties that came with it.

continuing to talk to you even after exiting the elevator, walking as slow as humanly possible in order to extend the conversation as much as you could, but sadly still approaching the building's parking lot, where each of your drivers were ready to take you home.

dreading leaving the conversation unfinished, going on a whim and asking you if he could get you a coffee in the company's cafeteria, if you weren't on a rush to get home, that is.

you, obviously accepting, having biased liked seungcheol since before debuting and knowing you'd be an idiot to reject his invitation.

spending most of the night talking and walking around the building, until you ultimately had to be called up by your managers to get home.

exchanging kakao id's with a promise of seeing each other whenever your hectic schedules as leaders allowed for it.

seungcheol excited for a new chapter in his life involving you, the pretty leader he'd only considered a fleeting nameless crush until meeting you properly, now looking forward to seeing you again and again.

a/n: this was kinda rushed and not proofread but if u wanna see more scenarios of this couple pls lmk <3

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jikooklove9795 · 4 months ago

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Ppl are laughing about Tae’s friend comments on his insta dance, tkkrs having a meltdown..

but didn’t Jikooks friend once say they weren’t dating?

Both these situations are not comparable (in my opinion). I don't think the person who called Jikook "fake love" in his IG story is a friend of them anymore.

There was this pic of Jikook under a heart arc which was leaked from Jimin's Dad's phone (Kakao talk). It was in 2018. K ARMY tried to protect their privacy by saying that they were cos players and this kept it from spreading more and attracting unwanted attention. However, this supposed "friend" of theirs posted a pic of him along with Jikook where Jikook were wearing the same outfit from the leaked pic. Thus, proving the people in the leaked pic were indeed Jimin and Jungkook. He posted this in 2023. His account was public at the time. K Army and other fans asked him to delete this pic and threatened him. To which he responded by saying that he would post more pics of Jikook. He did a Q&A in his IG where someone asked him if Jikook were dating. He answered it by laughing in a mocking way and said it was fake love. It was all a mess and then he went private.

I think this person had a fallout with Jikook and was using this pic to gain popularity/attention. But then when people started calling him out he panicked and called them fake love as a means of damage control. Cause maybe he realized his actions where edging towards exposing Jikook and he knew the consequences it would have on him. I wouldn't trust the words of someone like him whose intentions seemed very suspicious and shady.

Anon, you said people are laughing cause of Taehyung's friend's comment under the dance video. I don't think much about that comment. To me that comment is not proof about Taehyung's dating life. I don't know if he's dating or not. An article was published last year which stated that Taehyung had a break up. So, maybe he is currently single since I believe the report was published with his knowledge and consent. When it comes to the dating lives of any of the members I will only believe what I see and what they choose to share with us. Anything regarding this topic from third parties is not a confirmation to me.

Support the artists, enjoy their works and trust them.

#jikook #kookmin #jungkook #jimin #ask

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sxcret-garden · 11 months ago

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3rd Desire ღ A Little Jealousy [M]

ღ Aspects of Desire series ღ Ateez Jongho x fem!reader ღ feat.: Yeosang & Wooyoung ღ words: ~4.8k ღ genre: established relationship, college AU, fluff, some humor, slice of life, smut (dom!Jongho, sub!reader, clothed sex, teasing, tiny bit of finger sucking (idol receiving), oral (idol receiving), he’s a lil mean again, hair pulling, biting, dacryphilia, bit of brat-taming, reader goes into subspace, sir kink, fingering (reader receiving), unprotected sex) ღ warnings: heavy dom-sub dynamic, (he runs his hand through reader’s hair and picks her up)

Desc.: When you’re meeting up with your classmate and friend Yeosang in order to finally finish that dreaded uni project that’s been keeping you on edge for the past weeks, you don’t expect him to bring along his flirtatious friend Wooyoung. What you also don’t expect is said friend knowingly attempting to flirt with you in front of your boyfriend, who just can’t help but let the hint of jealousy it makes him feel influence his actions once you’re in the comfort of your own home.

Author's note: This is actually one of my fav chapters so far, and 80% of the reason is because the first scene was so much fun to write kasjdfkljsöldka

← prev chapter ღ next chapter →

Arriving at the café a few minutes early, you find Yeosang already waiting for you. You came here from your university dorms, about 20 minutes by bus, so you didn’t expect to be late, but you tend to always leave a little earlier than you have to anyway, just to be sure.

Your meet-up place is a cute little café that turns out to be a lot more spacious than one would assume looking at it from the outside, and it serves all the classics, as well as a couple of drinks that are especially popular these days.

“Did everybody send you their parts?” you ask, starting up your laptop, while Wooyoung watches the alarm that’s supposed to tell you when your drinks are ready.

“I thought they were supposed to send them to you…?” Yeosang replies, eyes widened because he doesn’t want this meeting to already turn into a catastrophe. The frustration that your teammates have continuously nurtured with their incompetence over the past two weeks bubbles up deep inside you again, until you check your emails and you find that they did indeed send their parts to you.

“Sorry, my bad,” you sigh deeply.

“It can happen,” Yeosang assures you, while the alarm goes off, shaking the whole table as it vibrates, and Wooyoung immediately grabs it and gets up. You’re glad he’s at least being useful in that regard - otherwise you’re not sure why Yeosang brought his friend from an entirely different major along to your café date of hell.

“He insisted,” your teammate tells you upon posing your question. “Actually I don’t know why I brought him either.”

“Excuse me?!” Wooyoung exclaims in offense as he returns with your order, having heard his friend’s reply. But Yeosang is quick to wave it off.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” To your surprise his loud friend merely sits down while eyeing him with a doubtful expression, but he doesn’t say anything more to that. Finding yourself more fascinated than anything else by their dynamic, you shake your head eventually and redirect your attention to the screen in front of you.

“I’ll send you the parts so we can go over them together,” you announce as you’re already dropping the files into your kakao chat with Yeosang, the familiar tone coming from the speakers of his laptop signaling an incoming message that tells you he received them quickly. Wooyoung leans in, nosily looking at the files his friend is opening.

“Looks good… if you ignore the formatting,” Yeosang shades, making you chuckle, and Wooyoung lets you hear a loud “Hey!”

“You didn’t do yours any better!” he teases Yeosang, attempting to pinch his side but his friend evades the attack.

“Personal space,” he just remarks, pushing Wooyoung away with his flat palm against his cheek. Once again you find yourself fascinated by their cartoonish behaviour most of all, but you don’t comment on what just unfolded in front of your eyes. “And also, mine doesn’t look very interesting, but at least it has the correct formatting.”

“Yeah, this professor doesn’t really have an eye for aesthetics,” you add, grinning yet unhappy about the way the paper you were supposed to put together looks overly sterile. “But I guess that’s what science wants.”

“Well, the contents are what matters,” Yeosang adds, this time not defending himself when Wooyoung throws an arm around his shoulders, but you can tell he’s not happy about the pda. With curious eyes he leans in, skimming through the text on Yeosang’s screen, and you give him an annoyed sigh. You really just want to finish this damn project already, before it consumes any more of your nerves.

“Oh. Sorry,” Wooyoung grins as he notices your distress, moving away from the computer as he straightens his back, and you’re not sure what to make of his reaction. Telling yourself to focus on the problem at hand instead of him, you begin pasting the text into one collective document, while Yeosang starts reading through everything in search of any possible errors.

“Looks good,” he eventually announces, and you agree, having joined him in proofreading everything.

“You two sure are fast,” Wooyoung comments, and he shoots you a gaze filled with mischief.

“This is the tenth time we read through these, so…” you explain.

“I see… Yeosang here told me about how horrible the others were to work with,” the guy sitting next to your classmate continues.

“You’re also horrible to work with, and you’re not even a part of this,” Yeosang mutters under his breath, causing you to chuckle, and Wooyoung immediately complains.

“That hurt! I know when to be serious, in contrast to some people.” He says it so ominously that you think at least Yeosang must know who he’s talking about, but he too shoots him a questioning look. “Whatever,” Wooyoung brushes it off with a hand gesture. “You’re done now, aren’t you? So we can finally get to know each other,” he adds, directed at you. “This guy told me a lot about you, so I’ve been dying to meet you.” He points at Yeosang, whose ears grow bright red and he waves his hands in front of his face.

“It’s not what it sounds like. I don’t talk about you all the time, this guy here just likes to blow things way out of proportion,” he explains, and with the way Wooyoung is grinning from ear to ear now, all you’re left with is to believe Yeosang’s words.

“Figured,” you say. “So? What did he tell you about me that made you so interested?” You give Wooyoung a challenging smile, and the guy is eating up your attention as he watches you with a spark in his eyes.

“How you took the lead in your project after everyone else did nothing, for example,” Wooyoung replies. “I respect people like that! You know, people who get things done.” You chuckle at his enthusiasm.

“Don’t be mistaken, I’m not usually the leader type. Just… when I need to be… for the sake of my own sanity.”

“I see,” Wooyoung says, leaning back in his chair now, taking on a comfortable stance.

“I’m sorry about him, I shouldn’t have brought him along,” Yeosang says, once again. “He flirts with everything that breathes in his direction, it means nothing. He’s just doing this for his own entertainment, but I can punch him for you if you want?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” you say. “It’s fun to do this every once in a while.”

“Oh? What do you mean - every once in a while?” Wooyoung pries, a broad grin now playing his lips as he leans back in his chair. “You’re not the type to go out and meet people like this?”

“Not to flirt with them,” you laugh, directing your gaze towards the entrance of the café, where the image of Jongho walking inside has caught your eye. You decided to have him pick you up after your meeting with Yeosang, so that you could grab dinner together. You didn’t expect him to be here this early, though. “I’m not sure if my boyfriend would like that,” you add, looking back at Wooyoung, whose mouth forms the shape of an o, before he once again merely grins at you.

“I see, I see… but the fact that you flirted back at me tells me you like to live dangerously,” he remarks, before letting out a giggle that seems both very sudden, yet not out of character at all. Yeosang can only sigh beside him. He looks like he wants to snark at his friend for that, but he bites back the words, as your attention is visibly drawn elsewhere and you scoot over on the bench to make space for your boyfriend.

“Hello,” he greets the other two, politely bowing his head in front of them, before he sits beside you. And now you’re the one grinning to yourself, seeing his shyness that seems even weirder now, that you’re getting to know more and more very different sides to him.

“Wait… is that the boyfriend?” Wooyoung points his finger at the guy next to you, eyes raised in surprise.

“Yeah,” you answer.

“You’ve been talking about me?” Jongho asks, raising his eyebrows as well. There’s a hint of disbelief in his voice, and for a second you wonder if you should use this opportunity to tease him a bit. But of course Wooyoung, the loud one, is faster.

“She’s been talking about you.”

“Don’t believe a word he says,” Yeosang utters, before you can defend yourself. “He just says whatever.” Another highly offended Wooyoung-noise is what follows, while you feel Jongho tapping your arm lightly, and when you glance over to him you can see him quietly laughing. Apparently he finds their dynamic just as amusing as you do.

“Yeah, so… that’s Yeosang, who I’ve been working on the project with. And that’s his friend Wooyoung, who has nothing to do with the project but came along anyway to be a distraction,” you introduce the two guys, then you point at your partner. “That’s my boyfriend Jongho.”

“You think I’m distracting?” Wooyoung retorts, because that appears to be all he heard, and he says it proudly and with this shit-eating grin on his face as he puts his elbow on the table, supporting his head with his chin in his palm. You can’t lie, his bold attempt to continue flirting with you in front of your boyfriend both makes you think he must be incredibly stupid, and somehow also makes you admire his courage.

“Not in the way you think,” you answer calmly, trying to sound almost cold. Next to Wooyoung, Yeosang is muttering an “oh my god”, but most importantly your boyfriend doesn’t react to it. Instead he diverts the conversation into a different direction, and in your head you thank him for it.

“So… were you able to finish everything?” he asks, and you nod.

“Almost,” you say. “The formatting needs to be checked again, but that’s Yeosang’s job. So… if you want to go get dinner now, we can!”

“Ah, no, I wasn’t trying to rush you,” he assures as he balances somewhere between seeming friendly and polite.

You end up leaving pretty soon anyway. Yeosang informed you that he still had things to do (you assume he just wanted an excuse to get rid of Wooyoung) and so you packed your things and split up into pairs in front of the café, with your friend and his friend taking the route to the bus stop across the street, and you and Jongho walking a couple of blocks to get to a restaurant you’ve been wanting to try. It’s serving stew as its speciality, just right for a chilly evening like today.

A groan of satisfaction escapes you as you link your hands above your head and stretch your arms and back after entering the apartment. Your boyfriend smiles at the sight in front of him as he puts his jacket on a hanger and then he follows you into the living room.

“Getting dinner there was a really good idea,” you remark as Jongho comes up to you from behind, placing his hands onto your hips and leaning in.

“Right? You should let me pick restaurants more often,” he mutters right beside your ear, and when you whirl around to get a proper look at his face, he laughs softly.

“I think it was my idea to go there?” you retort, taking offense in him attempting to take all the credit, but he’s quick to appease you.

“I know, I know, just joking.” You huff at his attitude with a smile, before he adds, “I thought you liked mischievous guys.” He walks away and towards the kitchen as you’re still confused about his words, but when you begin to have a hunch about what made him say this, he’s already out of sight. You follow him, finding him pouring himself a glass of water, and without a change in expression he takes a few sips. You can only stare at him, hoping for him to say anything to help you figure out whether that hunch is right or wrong, but he doesn’t look like he’s in a hurry. Setting down the glass, he seems to be thinking about something as he’s supporting his weight with his hands on top of the kitchen counter, and then, when he finally shoots you a glance, the expression on his face has changed.

“You liked that, didn’t you?”

“Liked what…?” Jongho pushes himself off the counter in front of him, taking a few steps towards you instead. He comes to a halt when you’re merely a few inches apart, his head tilted to the side ever so slightly, and his hand finds your face.

“That guy flirting with you,” he says, his voice dangerously low, and he lets his thumb trace the outline of your bottom lip. “You liked that.”

“I…” You gulp as you look up at him. So he did realize it. You should’ve known better than to assume you could hope he wouldn’t be able to read you that well. But you were mistaken. It seems he already learned to notice and correctly analyze even the smallest of signs, and you guess in some way that’s a good thing, you’re just not sure what this means in a situation like this.

“It’s fine, dear,” he speaks, his voice merely a whisper now, and he leans in to press one feathery light kiss onto your lips. “You can admit it.” Again, you find yourself gulping. But the sweetness of his kiss mixing in with the soothing effect his words have on you leave you unable to ponder on this for longer. And so you simply say it, without thinking about the consequences.

“I liked it.”

It was only yesterday that you had another conversation, figuring you should talk more in depth about your wants and what you don’t want, after he almost crossed a line last time. You talked about your relationship, your sexual relationship mostly, the kind of dynamic that’s slowly growing between the two of you, and the kind of dynamic you two wish for. Surprisingly, from what you’ve discussed at least, your wishes align mostly.

You both agreed you want more. More than a kink or two incorporated into your sex life. More than a barely noticeable difference in power. He made it clear he’s willing to go into this with you, take you by the hand, and that he’d make sure to satisfy you.

But you know he also wants to be satisfied himself. And it’s exciting you, thinking about it then, and thinking about it now, as he’s steering you towards the nearest wall, until your back gently comes in contact with it. It’s not much, no grand gesture, and yet you can already feel the flames of desire burning up in your stomach.

“I see.” He speaks slowly now, the tone in his voice sending a shiver down your spine and you know he can see you tremble. From excitement for what’s to come, and curiousity about what he plans to do with you now. “What?” He raises an eyebrow, one hand resting against the wall right next to your head, the other reaching out until his fingertips come in contact with your stomach, and he lets them dance up until he’s almost reached your throat. When he sees you gulp at his action, he huffs, as if laughing at you. “You think I’ll give you what you want that easily?” Jongho asks, pulling his hand away and you inevitably frown at him for it. “After flirting with another guy? After you tell me you liked it? I don’t think so.” He takes a few steps away. There’s a calm expression on his face, his look feels almost icy as he lets his gaze wander from your head down your body. “You should know who can please you best,” he warns. “Or, don’t tell me you think that cheeky guy could make you feel better than me?”

“No!” you respond immediately and without having to think about it.

“But you still liked the attention,” your boyfriend states, matter-of-factly.

“Y-yeah…” you admit, making yourself smaller instinctively.

“Cute,” he huffs at your apologetic gesture, and there’s a hint of a smirk sitting on his face. You weren’t 100% sure about it before, whether he really is jealous or if he’s doing this for fun, but now you can clearly tell - he’s enjoying this. And that’s fine, because you talked about this too - what you’re about to get yourself into, and how far you’re both willing to go in the process.

“Come here,” Jongho orders along with a gesture of his hand and you oblige. You step closer, let him put his arms around you, and the kiss he presses onto your lips is surprisingly soft. Slowly, he moves his lips against yours, tilting his head so he could deepen the kiss eventually, taking his time as he runs the tip of his tongue along the front row of your teeth, and just when you begin to want him to kiss you more passionately, he parts from you. One look at your face, his darkened eyes making you shiver in his hold, then he brushes his lips against the corner of your mouth. Trailing kisses across your cheek and eventually halting beside your ear as he cups your face with both hands now.

“Get on your knees, beautiful.” You don’t hesitate, and you don’t protest. It’s like his words put you in a trance, making sure you wouldn’t even think of disobeying him. And so you do, you drop down to the floor in front of him, hands immediately fumbling with the button on his pants, because you know what he wants. There’s only one thing a guy could want when he tells you to get on your knees for him, and you’re set on giving him that. But your eagerness doesn’t go uncommented. “So greedy,” he mutters, as he calmly watches you pull down his pants and underwear, exposing his half hardened length. His hand finds its way into your hair, fingertips massaging your scalp and for a second as you glance up at him you think you can see his features soften. “You already know what to do, hm?” your boyfriend continues, yet you wait for the okay to touch him.

“Can I…?” you ask, making him let out a short laugh. And there it is again, that grin that would tell anyone that he knows he’s in control, and he’s enjoying it.

“Are you gonna make me wait?” he poses a question in return, and in that same breath phrasing the answer himself. “I don’t think so.”

You keep one hand resting on his thigh, while you wrap the other around his cock. Peering up at him to watch him as he watches you, you start moving your hand slowly, and the second your palm brushes against his head, you can see the way his lips part to make way for a quiet sigh. You bring your fist all the way back down his shaft, repeating the motion a few times, until you find a hint of impatience on his features.

“Dear…” he mutters, untangling his fingers from your hair to cup your chin instead. As he lifts it up, his thumb presses against your lips, and when you open your mouth to let out a shaky breath, he pushes the finger inside. Your eyelids fluttering shut, you meet him with the tip of your tongue, instinctually swirling it around his finger once, before you close your mouth around it and suck on it. “Like that…” Jongho breathes a praise in your direction, before pulling his thumb out of your mouth and putting his hand back on top of your head to steer your field of vision back towards his core. He stays quiet, but he wouldn’t have needed to say anything more anyway to get you to finally do what he wants you to. You move closer, extending your tongue for mere kitten licks, quick strokes that wouldn’t possibly be near satisfactory against the tip of his cock. You glance up at him again, seeing the impatience building up behind his gaze that won’t leave you, and for a moment you wonder whether you should try and see what happens if you push him a bit more.

But your own hunger wins over that desire. He was probably right, you really are greedy today, because the second you wrap your lips around him, you find yourself moaning at the feeling of having him in your mouth. The hiss of pleasure he lets out forces you to suppress a grin. Instead, you take him in further, hollowing your cheeks as you let him fill you up with his size.

His hips stay still. You wonder whether it would stay like this, whether he would make you do all the work and merely guide you into the pace he wants, as he is doing currently, with his fingers grasping onto strands of your hair, or if he would eventually lose patience and start fucking into your mouth. All you know is you’re fine with either, and yes, you’re eager to please him, eager to get him off.

Your hand still wrapped around him moves along with your head for additional friction, and you keep peering up at his eyes, wanting to see the moment he breaks apart, and all the expressions leading up to it. And yet he stays in control, disappointingly much, so you take him in even further as you sink back down on him, until his tip hits the back of your throat, making you gag in response. You furrow your brows at the uncomfortable sensation, and yet you do it again with your next repetition of the movement. So long, until tears are starting to well up in your eyes, and that’s when he takes his hand away from your hair and cups your face instead, cursing at how good you’re being for him.

“Fuck, Y/N…” he groans, and now you can see the pleasure distorting his face - it’s not much, but it serves as a motivation to work even harder for him. The sound he lets out as you swallow around him makes you moan as well, until you move your head and your hand faster, and the lewd sounds of you sucking him off, as well as your boyfriend’s heavy breaths fill the room. “Y/N, stop,” he mutters, and you don’t, because you want to push him over the edge so desperately. Instead you mewl at the taste of his precum leaking onto your tongue, and you close your eyes, preparing yourself to take his load.

What you don’t prepare yourself for is him yanking your head away by your hair, the shock from the sudden action and the immediate wave of pleasure that follows as he growls,

“I said stop.”

“Yes, sir.”

A sudden weakness washes over you, and the only thing you can do is move your head up just a little bit, leaning into the touch of his hand on top of it. And you don’t miss the way the words affected him. After he had suggested you calling him that and you had refused, saying you found the thought of calling your boyfriend sir a bit weird, you know he didn’t expect you to say it after all. But you did. And now there’s an entirely new expression on his face, an entirely new burning passion reflecting in his eyes, and you know it’s only a matter of time until it burns you too.

“Get up,” he says eventually, and you do as told, finding yourself held up safely with his hands resting on your sides as soon as you stand. Your body feels light, almost like he’s taken control of your will, when he steers you back a few steps, into your original position against the wall. Without hesitation, he kisses you, teeth clashing together as he tears at your clothes, and he only parts from you to pull them off, piece by piece, one after the other, and when he has gathered half of them on a pile somewhere on the floor, he decides that should be enough. Your pants gone should do, and when his lips smash onto yours again, you feel his hand between your thighs, fingers prodding at your folds.

“Shit,” he hisses against your lips. “You’re fucking soaked… can’t wait to fuck you…” His words make your head spin, and the way his fingers slip inside you effortlessly only adds to your lightheadedness. You throw your arms around his frame, fingernails digging into the fabric of his shirt covering his back, and you buck your hips into his palm as he starts curling his fingers inside you. You can only mewl at the pleasure, sentences are too hard to form right now, maybe if you tried you could get out a few words with no correlation between them.

“...p-please…” you slur, “...f-fuckme…”

“Who do you belong to?” Jongho asks, his fingers working you at a speed that should give you time to answer, but that won’t keep you sane for long. And yet you can’t say anything, only pathetic whimpers come out when you open your mouth. “Who?” he repeats. “Is it me? Do you belong to me?”

“Y-yessir…” you manage to say, and he bites his bottom lip hard.

“That’s right.” You can hear his voice trembling as he speaks, and you let out another sorry excuse of a moan as he presses his thumb against your clit. “Gonna make you cum so good, pretty girl… just wait…” All you can do at this point is cling to him for dear life, incoherent whines and whimpers falling from your lips, in between words that are supposed to tell him you want to cum on his cock, but you’re not sure how much of that actually gets through to him. And still, when your walls are starting to clench around him and your whole body tenses up, he finally pulls out of you. With his hand soaked in your juices he gives himself another few strokes, before telling you to hold on tight and lifting you up with his hands placed on the underside of your thighs. You cry out as he pushes into you, tears welling up in your eyes again, and this time they fall. Rolling down your cheeks as the pleasure overwhelms you, arms wrapped around him so tightly that you’re not sure if maybe you are squeezing a bit too tightly after all. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters in this moment is the chase for your high, and it ends with merely a few of his thrusts. Your body shakes violently as your orgasm hits you, you bite his shoulder and yet the moans won’t stop escaping you, and as you do, he too comes undone. You keep clenching around him as you feel him spilling inside you with a groan, and even as you start coming down from your high, your body won’t stop trembling.

He tries to help you stand, but realizes quickly that all attempts are futile. So he carefully lets you sink down onto the ground, staying close to you in order to keep holding onto you.

“How was that?”

“Good…” you manage to whisper an answer, not having the energy for a more elaborate one, but your boyfriend understands.

“I’m glad.” Jongho collapses with his back against the wall next to you, letting you rest your head on top of his shoulder and him leaning his head against yours. His hand finds yours naturally, fingers intertwining, as your mind is still drowned in bliss from the afterglow of your orgasm.

“It was perfect, actually,” you say, correcting yourself. “You were perfect.” You lift your other hand up to comb your fingers through his short hair, eventually letting it rest against his cheek and bringing him in for a short but sweet kiss. And then there it is again, that soft smile appearing on his lips, and when you lift your head he buries his face in the crook of your neck - to hide that expression from you, as you assume.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d actually call me that, after saying you didn’t want to at first,” he says, and you retort, questioningly,

“Sir?”

“Yeah…” Jongho looks away, still visibly affected by it, and you shoot him a mischievous glance.

“I’m… really enjoying this though. And I’d like to keep… trying new stuff too…” you speak, and your boyfriend gives you a smile.

“We just tried a lot of new stuff, and you already want more?” He gets up, walking over to one of the cupboards and getting you a glass of water. “Drink this, first of all,” he says as he hands it to you. “And tomorrow we can sit down and talk again.”

#ateez smut #jongho smut #ateez x reader #ateez fanfic #ateez drabbles #ateez series #ateez x fem reader #ateez x you #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #jongho imagines #jongho x reader #smut

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fallloverfic · 6 months ago

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S-Classes that I Raised/My S-Class Hunters information post

내가 키운 S급들 | S-Classes that I Raised (“SCTIR”) is an ongoing Korean fantasy webnovel on Munpia, Naver, Ridibooks, and Kakao by 근서 | Geunseo that has been adapted into an ongoing manhwa/webcomic (My S-Class Hunters) (though the manhwa is on hiatus at the moment after the conclusion of season 1). The second cover art is by onlyraii. The novel is published by 제이플미디어 | JAYPLEMEDIA.

Manhwa adaptation summary: "Yoojin is an F-ranker overshadowed by his little brother, an S-ranker. All he does is get in his brother’s way, causing trouble wherever he goes. When a seemingly routine dungeon raid goes wrong and costs Yoojin his brother’s life, Yoojin decides to use the wish granted by clearing the dungeon to reset his timeline. The plan was to lead a quiet life from now on… but now it turns out he can help other people become S-rankers?! Maybe this is Yoojin’s chance at building his own entourage of powerful metahumans… but it may be easier said than done." - Naver Webtoon

SCTIR the webnovel has an 858-episode main story, a 14-episode epilogue, a completed 167-episode Side Story (sequel) and an ongoing 27-episode Afterward/Later Story (sequel). It was first published on June 29th, 2018 (Munpia).

The main story and epilogue were reformatted into 35 ebooks (Naver, Ridibooks, Kakao), which began publication on May 1st, 2020, and the ebooks have interior illustrations from 비완 | Biwan for volumes 1-14 and a few other artists for the other 21 volumes. Here's a post on some of the interior art that JPLE has shared online.

The ebooks also have extra scenes in various places and possible revisions, which differs from what is available in the individual episodes. The Korean ebooks also began being released in paperback in November 2024.

A guide for reading SCTIR on Munpia and Naver (this is meant for another fandom, but it's also designed to work for anyone who wants to read any similar works on Munpia and Naver).

This is meant to be a collective post for information on the novel and manhwa, as well as translations, which will update as new information comes up.

Geunseo

Geunseo is the author of the webnovel. Back in mid-2022, Geunseo replied to questions from readers in a very long Q&A, which folks shared on various platforms.

Translations of the webnovel

There is no official English translation of the webnovel, though there are a few fan translators, but most are just people putting the episodes through machine translators ("MTL") and sharing those online, or doing modified/partial MTL, which involves MTL most/all of the episode and doing partial translation/editing on the results. There is also a lot of confusion because people tend to MTL the individual episodes, not the revised ebooks, so folks reading one but not the other one are going to have different understandings of the story.

Side Stories/Sequels

There are two side stories for SCTIR, both of which are sequels to the part that came before. The order is main story (not an official name, it's just the regular story) > Epilogue > Side Story > Afterward/Later Story. Side Story and Afterward/Later Story are only available on Naver for some reason.

SCTIR manhwa, My S-Class Hunters

SCTIR's manhwa adaptation is published on Naver Comics / Naver Series, began publication on November 15th, 2021, and is 153 episodes long. There's a trailer from right before it released on YouTube.

youtube

The manhwa is adapted by 제이플미디어 | JAYPLEMEDIA, with principle art by 비완 | Biwan, and the head of storyboard is seri. Other crew on the team include 징개 JINGGAE | JING_GAE (assistant direction), 김피로(KPR) | tired_kim, and 한흔 | hanheunhan. A lot of the crew share previews and behind the scenes material on their twitters. Although the manhwa is very far behind the novel, the crew are generally novel fans (Biwan did art for the ebooks, after all), and they will also sometimes do fanart for recent episodes of Side Story/Afterward, so be wary if you want to avoid spoilers. The manhwa currently stops in volume 7 of the novel, around episode 168.

The manhwa also differs in many ways from the novel, which is normal for an adaptation. Changes include some chronological reorganization of events, expansion of certain characters and relationships, some modifications to skills, additional scenes, etc.

The original Korean updates weekly on Naver on Tuesdays around 10:30-11:00 AM ET, though it's currently on hiatus after the conclusion of season 1. Most translations are currently some ways behind the original Korean, so they have a bit to catch up on during the hiatus if they're ongoing.

The English translation updates weekly at 9 PM ET on Wednesdays on Webtoon, and at 00:00 ET on Wednesdays on Tappytoon. The Webtoon version is free to read, but the last several episodes are paywalled, and these episodes can be accessed by cookies (the currency on Webtoon). Guide for how to read for free on Tappytoon. SCTIR's manhwa is also available online in French (though it seems to be on a hiatus since 2022), German, Japanese (俺が育てたS級たち), Spanish (Los clase S que crié), and Thai.

April Fool's Day Jokes

Both the novel and manhwa teams, like a lot of Webtoon manhwa teams, usually do a joke post for April Fool's Day.

The 2022 joke post for the novel was seemingly a parody of the then-unreleased novel cover by onlyraii. The 2022 joke post for the manhwa was a magical girl Yoohyun parody.

The 2023 joke post for the manhwa was Yoojin, Yerim, Yoohyun, and Peace making heart signs.

The 2024 joke post for the manhwa was to have most of the cast become dinosaurs.

#my s class hunters #sctir #s classes that i raised #informational post #fallfposts #내가 키운 S급들 #mysclasshunters #sclassesthatiraised

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jungwnies · 2 years ago

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syn ' safe for work a-z prompt for bf!changbin pairing ' gn!reader x bf!changbin

requested

a » affection - how affectionate are they?

is this seriously even a question?

changbin is seriously the most affection person ever???

he's so affectionate, showering you in his love every day and every second.

sweet little pecks whenever he has the chance

literally the biggest cuddle bug at night ???

you are his personal teddy bear fr

b » bonding - how often do they bond with you?

whenever he gets the chance to

if he's not doing schedules or if he's not on tour

he's going to bond with you

whether it's a date or a night in

he's going to find a way to bond with you

even if you guys know each other like the back of your hands

c » communication - do they keep in touch with you when they're away? how often do they set up a date for you two?

he's always in touch with you

because he's an android user 💔 i can't be like facetime

but definitely kakao call or something idk

maybe Skype??? jkjkjk LOL

but he doesn't set up dates often

but he does do small things for you

he makes you food

and he prefers having dates in the comfort of his home

e » essential - what is the thing that is important to them?

you?

literally you?

and his family!!!

and his members of course!!!

but you!!!

g » gross - what is the thing he hates in your relationship?

he hates when you guys argue

i mean it's usually you picking silly fights with him

but he just arguing because he loves you so much

and he refuses to raise his voice at you

cus absolutely not

i » intercourse - how are they in 6? (yk what i mean by 6)

you know he is good

he's very vanilla

missionary... stuff like that...

he just wants to feel close to you, and sex is a very special time for him

especially if its his first time with you

j » jealousy - how jealous do they get?

he's very jealous

he's not someone who takes action about it

but you can tell by his mood shift

k » kiss - how good are they at kissing?

he's good

his kisses are soft

like he doesn't want to hurt you

it's like every time he kisses you

it's like falling in love again

l » love - how do they show their love to you?

words of affirmation and physical touch

he will always tell you how much he loves you

and he will always cuddle up to you and kiss you

he's very physical

m » mad - how often do you argue?

not often because like i said

he hates it

but when you do argue

it doesn't last long

and you guys are quick to resolve it

n » naughty - how do they deal with you annoying them?

honestly if anything, it's the other way around

but when you annoy him he doesn't really think of it being annoyed

because he loves you

and he loves every part of you

even the annoying parts

but usually it's him always annoying you or bothering you, but not in a bad way

always in an endearing way

o » open - how often do they open up to you?

he tells you all of his secrets

literally the second he knows he trusts you

he tells you every little thing about him

his whole life story even

p » pet names - how are they with pet names?

just baby and babe

nothing cringey

might call you jagi

q » quiet - silent treatment?

he refuses to give you the silent treatment

i swear he can't go 5 minutes without talking to you fr

r » ramble - how often do they talk about you to others?

he doesn't stop

always seungmin telling him to shut up

he's just so in love with you

s » soft - how soft are they to you?

is this even a question

he's literally the softest

he's so sweet

my heart 💔

t » think - what reminds them of you?

everything

everything he looks at "this reminds me of you"

doesn't know why

it just does

u » unhappy - what makes them break if you break up with them?

the fact he has no one to kiss

no one to hug

no one to give his undying love to

you were for him

he's convinced that there is no one else for you

v » vacation - how are they with long distance relationships? (that had nothing to do with the word but i am running out of ideas)

he's not good with this

but he's so loyal

and he trusts you

so this won't break you guys

w » wholesome - the sweetest thing they ever did to you?

when he asked you to date him

he was so nervous

he had a whole speech

it was giving... engagement?

but it was the sweetest thing ever, swear

x » xtra headcanon

changbin has a smiled plastered on his face, you didn't really know why but when he got down on one knee you knew what was coming. he looked at you with the most endearing look on his face, like you were the only thing in the world. he grabbed the box from his pocket and opened it, "y/n, will you marry me?"

y » young and beautiful (how long does it last?)

forever

you're literally his ride or die

z » zzz - how do they sleep with you?

he cuddles you

he slight snores

it's kind of annoying

literally won't let you go

but it's okay since it's changbin

854 notes · View notes

hippopotamusdreamer · 6 months ago

Text

And Breathe

genre. [A] [F]

warnings. Illusions of depression, cussing

additional notes. Female! Reader | You/Your pronouns, Y/N use, reader is aged between Hyunjin and Han, includes all members of Stray Kids

If you or someone you know is being bullied, there are things you can do to keep yourself and others safe from bullying.

pairing. OT8 x 9th member

w.c. 2.2K

synopsis. The aftermath of the worst time of your life so far, Part 2 of this fic

Kpop Masterlist

Fandom Masterlist

True to your word, the box of graduation invitations arrived right on time. You’d first gotten a text from kakao notifying you that your package had made it to the apartment safely. Then Chan sent a very dry and short message right after that saying he’d put it in your room. Your room that you hadn’t been in since the whole fiasco last week.

You thought you’d gotten passed this stage with everyone. It was like you were on the outside looking in again. Not belonging with them was such a lonely feeling now that you’d had a taste of it.

Since leaving that fateful meeting room, you’d been staying with ITZY in their dorm for the time being. Not wanting to be near the others outside of practice. Of course they’d tried to message you with apologies since you wouldn’t go home but you were still hurt!

Who wouldn’t be? You were obviously justified with how upset you were about the whole incident, there was no doubt about that. And of course they let you have the space you needed. But if you were being honest, you just didn’t know how to face your members or if they even wanted to really see you.

The messages from the younger ones happened for a day or two but then stopped immediately afterwards. You weren’t sure if it was because they realized they didn’t need to placate your feelings or what. And that thought had led you to spiral downward mentally.

So you stayed away from them for now.

You responded to Chan before heaving a sigh and rolling over in bed. Your eyes becoming heavy as the beige of the wall dulled your senses. It was your only constant lately, besides the girls when they came to check in on you. Ever since you left them, there was just this tightening pressure on your chest that wouldn’t go away.

Sleep would surely help, wouldn’t it?

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Your Dorm Same Day Chan’s POV

A.Y/N: Thanks.

No cute little sticker. No little emoji. No nothing.

Sitting at the edge of his bed, Chan sighed as he looked down at the only message you’d sent in a week.

Ever since the argument, he and the boys had been lackluster in what work they’d been able to get done. When he saw how hurt you were before leaving that room, he couldn’t face you. He felt ashamed for not hearing you out properly.

And he wasn’t the only one, all the kids felt bad too. Felix, especially. Since he had already known about your situation prior, only to forget in the heat of the moment. Lee Know even had to get him in the middle of the night to stop Felix from crying until dawn when you didn’t come home that first night.

So he wanted to give you the space you needed and deserved.

But they all felt it; the hole your absence had left.

While it was true that you hadn’t been with them for more than a year at this point; you had integrated yourself so well with everyone. He felt like a total dickhead. You had finally started opening up to him. All week prior you had been hyping them up for a surprise and it was— FUCK!

Why did he do that to you??

He was brought out of his spiraling thoughts by a sudden knock on his open bedroom door. Looking up he saw Jeongin standing there pensively.

“Changbinnie hyung’s back from meeting with Chaeryeong,” the youngest member said.

He nodded before scrubbing his face with a sigh. Getting up and following the maknae into the living room, he noticed his other members had gathered already. Everyone sat facing Changbin as he perched on the sofa, waiting for him to speak.

“How’d it go, Bin?” he prompted.

“…Chaeryeong-ah said that Y/N-ah isn’t doing well,” Changbin reluctantly answered while staring at his hands. Occasionally rubbing them together as a form of self-comfort.

Everyone physically deflated at the news. Nobody wanted you to feel like this, especially when on your own. They all saw how hard you had worked to be a part of their team and their fuck up made you shut them all out.

“She said that Y/N-ah doesn’t really leave their dorm. And that…,” he trailed off.

“What is it Binnie?”

“…She cried the first two nights she was there,” he relayed quietly.

Chan could already tell Felix’s face was about to crumble once again while Seungmin silently ground his teeth together. No one wanted to look at each other.

He looked around the room at his kids. Taking in their facial expressions, downcast eyes and drooping postures. Each one as despondent as the last. He ran his hand through his hair trying to come up with something that could fix this entire situation. He wasn’t sure how much longer they could last like this, you included.

When Lee Know silently grabbed onto Hyunjin’s hand to comfort him, he knew what he had to do.

“Changbin,” he said catching the attention of all of guys. “Call Chaeryeong, I have an idea that could hopefully fix this.”

He didn’t miss the optimistic looks thrown his way.

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ . JYPE Building That Evening Your POV

“Chaeryeong-ah, I really don’t want to be here,” you grumbled as you followed the younger woman inside the JYPE building.

“It’ll be really quick unnie. I have to meet with my manager and then we can go out for food. You don’t even have to go up to the meeting floor. Just wait for me in your practice room.”

She picked up on your hesitancy immediately.

“Your group doesn’t have anything scheduled right now, right? No one should be practicing in there,” she gently reminded you.

You chewed on your bottom lip in contemplation at her words.

“It’ll be ok unnie,” she promised while rubbing your arm comfortingly. “I’ll meet up with you after ok?”

She gently pushed you in the direction of the elevators to get to your designated floor. . ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

All while in the elevator you had contemplated reaching out to Chan. Your fingers fidgeted with your phone strap as you stared down at your message chat with your leader. Your uneasiness showed with how many times you typed out then erased your message to him.

Just as you were giving up for now, you walked into the practice room where you were immediately rendered frozen. You must have been sleeping because there was no way you could be seeing what you currently were. Mostly all of your members were there, though no one had realized you had opened the door yet. With the exception of Changbin, everyone was preoccupied around the room. They weren’t practicing but they were setting up, for what though you hadn’t a clue.

“Felix hyung, do you want any help with setting up the desserts?” I.N asked the older boy as he finished adjusting his side of a streamer.

“No Innie, thanks but I want it to look a certain way…” he trailed off while concentrating on his task. Every other second he would slightly adjust one of the cupcakes on the table before him.

Even with the distance between you, you could tell just how red-rimmed his eyes were. In fact, looking around the room, none of the others were faring well either. The bags underneath their eyes practically matching your own. You hadn’t been able to sleep well while staying with the girls, only getting in naps when you were exhausted. It just wasn’t the same as your home with the guys.

“Minnie, does she listen to this group?” Han questioned, showing Seungmin his phone for whatever playlist he’d created.

Glancing over to look closer, Seungmin shook his head as he tied a balloon shut.

“No,” was his immediate response while grabbing another balloon from the pile in front of him. He was surrounded by many colorful globs already; you kind of wondered how long he had been at it. How long they’ve all been at it. “She’ll tolerate it if they’re playing somewhere but she doesn’t like them.” The puppy explained before starting on the new balloon.

With a look of silent understanding, Han went back to work on his phone.

“A little lower Channie hyung,” you heard from Hyunjin. Turning your head you see the 3 older members of your group huddled next to the wall.

“How about now,” Chan questioned while propping up a makeshift banner. Lee Know stood on the other side trying to be aligned with the oldest member.

“Mm, pick it up just a little,” the artist responded while eyeing them with his thumb out. As Chan moved to adjust his side better, you were able to see what was written on the banner.

‘We’re Sorry Y/N-ah’

Oh. Oh.

This was all for you.

You brought your hands up to your face silently. The overwhelming sense of emotion was enough to make your heart ache. There was a lot of effort put into this, as much as grown men could do on their own at least.

Just as you were about to call out to them, the door busted open scaring the shit out of you and everyone else in the room.

“CHAERYEONG-AH SAID THAT SHE SENT Y/N-AH HERE ALREADY!” Changbin yelled as soon as he entered. He turned to look at you briefly, “Hi Y/N-ah,” and then looked expectantly at the others.

You waved quietly to him in greeting, taking everyone a second to realize that you were there.

“Y/N-AH!”/ “NOONA!”

Wincing at their exuberant volume, you gave them a wry smile, “…Hi guys.”

They wanted to hug you, that much you could tell. The younger ones jumped up from their spots on the ground and began to move forward before stopping themselves. Changbin even tried to reach out for you but balled his hands into fists and kept them at his sides instead. Most of them turned to Chan who cleared his throat and stepped forward.

Your heart raced as he bit his lip in worry. Watched on as he clenched and unclenched his fists; a nervous tic you’d noticed that he did occasionally. He took a moment to look at you. Only then could you really see how distraught he was. His cheeks were sunken in and the bags underneath his eyes were more prominent than usual. And if you squinted hard enough you could see how bloodshot they were.

“Y/N-ah…Y/N,” he started in English quietly. “I’ve been replaying everything in my head since that day. No amount of words I say can ever express how truly sorry I am. How sorry we are. I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to be that negative force for you here. I value you as both a person and a member of this group. You mean a lot to me, to us. I am so sorry that I didn’t give you a chance to explain yourself. I regret…we regret everything that happened.

We wanted to sincerely apologize to you in person. You mean a lot to us and we realized immediately how hurtful this was. We can’t excuse our actions; we can only try to rebuild the trust you used to have for us. We take full responsibility for how hurt we made you feel…”

“Christopher…,” you finally acknowledged. “You guys really hurt me when everything happened. You don’t know how alone I felt, especially since no one had my back. I don’t ever want to feel like that again.”

Those that could understand English looked down in remorse.

“Noo— Y/N, I wanted to make sure you heard an apology form me,” Felixsaid softly while coming forward to gently grab onto your sleeve. “You told me about yourself and when it mattered the most, I let you down. I am so sorry Y/N, from the bottom of my heart. You may not forgive us now, but I pray that you will eventually.”

“Oh Felix,” you cupped his cheek tenderly. The purple bags and red rimmed eyes more visible now that you were this close to one another. “You’re right. I don’t forgive you right now, but one day. And while it wasn’t ok what you all did, I do appreciate the effort you all are going to.”

“That’s why we did all this, for you.” Seungmin piped up from beside Han, gesturing to the decorated room. “Not so that you could forgive us, but to just show you how much we care about you. That you’re a part of us no matter how stupid we can be.”

Everyone murmurs in agreement at his words. You look around the room again, truly taking everything and everyone in.

“Come home,” I.N blurted out when your silence was too much for him. “We miss you. It’s not the same without you at home.”

Before you could respond, Hyunjin engulfed you in a tight hug immediately followed by a blubbering Felix.

“Come back!”

“Please!”

“We’re sorry!”

You chuckled softly at their antics, patting one of them on the back with you limited range.

From this point on, you knew it was going to be a tough journey forward. But you had a feeling it would work itself out in the end. The painful feeling in your chest that’s been there since this whole thing started began to slowly ease up. You felt like you could finally breathe again.

a/n. Hey folks, long time no see! Had an internship during the summer then school started back up a week after it ended. Now I'm 5 classes in this semester until December. Wish me luck lmaoo

Tag list: @elizalabs3

Those who wanted a part 2: @ihrtlix @6demonica9

This in no way reflects the actual persons involved/based in this fic, nor their actual character. This is purely fiction.

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