#Kim Young III

[graunblida]

man i don't know what's worse, lexa seeing anakin lead the defective clones during the purge or facing vader years later and discovering the truth.

[sorryimananti-romantic]

The Leaders | Chapter III

"this is the underworld that no one escapes from."

masterlist

ot8!ateez x f!reader, mafia au

chapter warnings: drinking, illegal businesses, mentions of violence, war/military and weapons, the designated assholes be warming up now, yunho is trying his utmost best to confuse tf out of you.

chapter wc: 11.8k

chapter synopsis: yunho verifies with kihyun that secretary park is not the man for their new deal and hongjoong makes the connection, finding out who your father is. no longer having to hide your identity, you candidly discuss what you know about the strictland nuclear base and who might be involved other than secretary park. you save yunho from an attack which shifts your relationship with him. overwhelmed, you find yeosang at the crescent bar who hears you out and comforts you.

prev chapter recap: you learn more about the crescent’s past– as ateez, the gang, and their accomplishments in the war that earned them respect. while you get familiar with your job at the main office, you meet the young informant jaemin who refers to the boss as ‘the captain’. seonghwa continues to question your background but you only warn him to be careful making deals with secretary park. you finally meet the boss hongjoong who barely acknowledges you, and you complain about the recent events to san at the bar who assures you that your new bosses are just human if you look past their big, scary titles. convinced, you make a decision and warn the bosses directly to not make the deal with secretary park and reveal his connection with strictland. however, they have trouble taking your word for it and hongjoong reminds you that you are just a bookkeeper, though he instructs yunho and seonghwa to look into your connection with secretary park.

You had never dreaded a shift as much as you were dreading the night shift the day after Kim Hongjoong showed you your place by reminding you that you were just a bookkeeper. His words still rang in your head over and over, asserting that you were no one of importance. 

“You have a lot of audacity to come in here and make claims about a business you are not a part of, and people you don’t know enough about. Possessing such audacity is what almost cost you your life that night, and what is tempting me to retract the deal my partners made behind my back.”

Hongjoong had made it clear that he wanted you to stop interfering in their deals and it was honestly a surprise that the man didn’t shoot you in the head last night. He wasn’t known to be merciful, so you had probably used up a good bit of your luck considering how you weren’t fired from your job. If he was going to keep you still, he would definitely be digging into your past and you were preparing yourself to deal with the consequences of your actions. If they found out that you were Secretary Park’s daughter and told him about what you said… you would be in huge, huge trouble.

You should not have blindly trusted the Crescents. If they were just a mere business organisation, maybe they would have believed you but they were Ateez too– a gang who clawed their way up, fighting tooth and nail for a place in this world which they eventually and rightfully earned. Yeosang and San may have told you that the Crescents were good people at heart but Kihyun was also right– they were children of war, and they could fight their own battles. They did not need a mere bookkeeper with a shady past to help them out and save them from deals that could go wrong in the future.

In the midst of this hopelessness, the feelings of guilt over keeping state secrets to yourself were eating you up. You wished you could share those secrets with someone who actually cared for their land rather than wielding that secret like a threat to satisfy their selfish desires. What you carried with yourself was a burden too heavy for your shoulders and you didn’t know how long you could last before you would get crushed under it. Perhaps, what drove you mad was the fact that no one could be trusted. You had no idea who was involved in that sick scheme– it could be anyone. 

No one would take your word for it. You had been at the wrong place, at the wrong time, hearing something that should have never passed anywhere near your ears. You saw your father engage in discussion with a man that you did not recognise, but what you heard was enough to make you lose your footing and trip on the ground with a loud thud, unable to function properly because of the gravity of those words.

Your father discovered you eavesdropping on him and that was when things took an ugly turn for you. If Kihyun hadn’t been present in another room, waiting for your father at that time, there would have been no one to stop the man from trying to wring the truth out of his own daughter in the most despicable, threatening manner. You would have met a fate much worse than him wiping your name off the family registers and sending you to Wonderland. 

You shivered involuntarily at the thought, glad you were alone in the office and no one had noticed you staring into the distance and picking on the skin near your nails. The words you had heard years ago replayed in your head, the memory as clear as day even after all this time, refusing to be forgotten.

“Halaland knew we had joined hands with Strictland’s nuclear operation officials so they did what they had to protect themselves.”

Strictland was a piece of land that had always been a part of Halaland, but had also always fought for independence. For a good few decades now, it had earned itself the status of an occupied nation under Halaland’s military control. It was always a sensitive matter, for Strictland was home to a nuclear base that had once been functional but long since shut down on the basis of the amended international peace laws that made sure that no country on this continent created or owned nuclear weapons. So why was there talk about Strictland’s nuclear operation officials going on if the base was supposed to be shut for a good thirty years now? And most importantly–

What exactly did Halaland do to protect itself? Was it the long, bloody war that lasted four years during President Son’s second presidential term, beginning from 1958? The war was triggered by bombing in Halaland near Strictland, and Halaland had accused Eden and sent forces soon after. The war came to a sudden end after President Son proposed the Treaty of the Eight Hills, ensuring peace. Post-treaty, things with Halaland were strained, sure, but nothing has been amiss so far. 

Strictland’s nuclear base could not be active and not cause a stir in the continent, so why did it seem like something was happening under wraps? Could the base be functional and be the reason why Halaland refused to grant Strictland the status of an independent nation? 

And just who was aware of this information? Your father was a secretary to Mr. Lee Jinwook who was just an assemblyman at that time. Today, he was the current president of Eden with your father still as his secretary. Was there a chance that President Lee knew what your father was up to? 

“Luna?”

You looked up to find Yunho, of all the people, standing not too far, leaning against the wall. His watchful gaze travelled from your zoned-out eyes to the marred skin on your thumb, taking notice of all the picking that you had been doing while thinking.

“Are you… alright?”

“Sorry, I’m alright, I was just… thinking,” you said, straightening and arranging your desk. “How can I help you, Mr. Jeong?”

Yunho frowned at your very formal tone, waiting for you to say something but you kept a straight face. “I just… saw you zoning out and called to make sure that you were alright.”

Oh. You licked your lips, looking at your thumb– yikes. “Thank you, Mr. Jeong. I was just taking a little breather. I will get back to work now.”

“That’s not why I–” Yunho began but paused when you picked up a page and started scribbling on it. You were ignoring him on purpose. You were being professional, he thought, probably a bit hurt by how Hongjoong had dealt with you last night. He had heard about it, but he wished he could tell you that they did take your words into consideration.

However, you would probably learn from Hongjoong and Seonghwa themselves after they would be back from their meeting with Secretary Park– which would be in about an hour. Yunho sighed deeply and went back to his room, shutting the door with a bit of an unintentional slam. He sagged into the chair, rubbing his face.

Maybe he should have told you that he called your name twice before you answered. He would have been on his way unnoticed by you but he caught you staring intently into the distance and thought something was wrong. 

He had just come back to the office after meeting with Hongjoong and Seonghwa and telling them about his meeting with Kihyun earlier in the morning, where he finally briefed him about the potential deal with Secretary Park as someone who would fund their project and approve the launch of their new drug in the pharmaworld. 

“That man is not a good choice, Yunho.” Kihyun said with an adamant shake after Yunho finished telling him the details.

“Why?” Yunho asked. “He is going to become the next Minister of Health. I can’t think of a better choice.”

“People are not all that they seem to be, as you must know by now,” Kihyun spun the pen between his fingers as he said. “Secretary Park… he treads a dangerous path. If you involve yourself with him now, he will take what you have to offer, wring you dry and abolish any remains of your business. As someone who has been acquainted with him in the past, can’t you take my word for it?”

Yunho believed Kihyun– he was one of his closest friends and his gang had helped Ateez become who they were today. So, he decided to ask something a bit personal instead.

“Jeon y/n… she warned us about Secretary Park. She said he is conspiring with Strictland officials to do something illegal and immoral. She offered better options like ex-president Mr. Son or Assemblyman Kim Jooheon.”

“You know,” Kihyun chuckled at that. “She has a knack for these things, she does. And what she has to offer to you is credible, if you can believe it. It’s only a shame that we’re close to retiring and aren’t as ambitious as you, otherwise we would have kept her all to ourselves.”

Somehow, Yunho felt both pride and jealousy to hear that. Pride that you were a part of the Crescents, and jealousy because Kihyun knew you better than he did.

“Who is she really, Kihyun? And why is she helping us?”

“Didn’t she tell you already?” Kihyun smiled in answer. “She only wants you to help her and when it’s time, she’ll use the power you have to take her revenge.”

Unfinished business. Yunho recalled what you had said that night when you made a deal with them for your life. 

“I’ll only ask this of you, Yunho,” Kihyun’s smile fell and he leaned forward. “A favour, if you want to call it that, but… don’t hurt her. Protect her. Use her if you have to– she has a lot to offer, and she is well-educated and sharp. She possesses information that could shake not only Eden but the entire continent. She can help you navigate through the dark waters of the underworld. You’ll only have to trust her a little and allow her to trust you back.”

Those words stuck with Yunho for the next hour until the boss and the underboss arrived back from the meeting with Secretary Park. The room filled with silence and palpable tension as Hongjoong and Seonghwa settled down on the sofas, each absently staring at the ceiling or the plant that was in dire need of watering.

“Well?” Yunho decided one minute was enough for them to sort their thoughts out. “Did you end up shaking hands with Secretary Park?”

“Of course not,” Hongjoong took a deep breath. “Not after what Kihyun had to say about our little bookkeeper.”

“Her name’s Luna,” Yunho scoffed at the term Hongjoong kept using to address you and Hongjoong grinned at Yunho’s immediate correction. “It’s just funny that you refuse to say her name when you literally address everyone by their surnames. You don’t even call her Jeon.”

“She’s not even a Jeon,” Seonghwa sighed. “I contacted the RV spies today– Wendy. She refuses to talk about her and told me to save my time and not look for her family. Do you know what that means?”

“That that is exactly what we need to find out?” Hongjoong quipped.

“That her family must be someone influential in Eden. Considering what she knows… she sounds like an insider. A citizen of Edenary, if I have to make a wild guess because no one from the eight sectors could have possessed so much information only to hide in the shadows.”

“Or that,” Hongjoong scoffed, agreeing with Seonghwa. “If she really is from Edenary, she would have either worked there long enough to know these things or… she has family there.”

“I can’t find any information on her– no one in Sector 1 knows her from before 1966, when she came back from Wonderland,” Seonghwa said. “And Secretary Park reacted strangely when we mentioned that we’re reluctant to make a deal with him because of his connection with foreigners.”

“How so?” Yunho asked.

“He wasn’t fazed at all. It was as if he saw it coming, which can only mean one thing…”

The heavy implications of what Seonghwa said filled the room as the three struggled to make sense of it. 

“Is there a chance Secretary Park didn’t react because he didn’t know what you were talking about?” Yunho asked cautiously, willing to entertain every possibility right now.

“No,” Hongjoong said, sure about this. “The look in his eyes wasn’t of surprise, it was more of an acceptance. That can only mean that he knew that there was a chance we would be aware of his dealing with Strictland. He can’t have gone and told every other person that he was involved with Strictland, right?”

“Which means he somehow knows that Luna is aware of this knowledge, or he personally knows her– isn’t Kihyun acquainted with Secretary Park? And he refuses to talk about her too?” Seonghwa asked.

Yunho nodded. “And you’re saying the RV spies refused to reveal her identity?”

“Then we have no choice but to ask her,” Hongjoong clapped his hands in conclusion. “Call her.”

“Are you sure?” Seonghwa straightened. “You made it pretty clear last night that she should just stick to her desk.”

“You know that was necessary,” Hongjoong folded his arms. “Things have changed now.”

Yunho got up slowly, footsteps heavy with thought. “I’ll call her inside, but can you both let me do the talking this time?”

While Hongjoong looked surprised, Seonghwa merely smiled knowingly. “Don’t tell me you’ve already taken a liking to her, Yunho.”

Yunho rolled his eyes in amusement before walking outside. Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa in disbelief. “He didn’t deny it. What have you all been doing with her behind my back?”

“Nothing,” Seonghwa chuckled. “But the boys seemed to have taken a liking for our bookkeeper.”

“And you?” Hongjoong cocked his head in curiosity but Seonghwa’s smile revealed nothing to him. Even after all these years, Hongjoong wondered how Seonghwa could hide his feelings from him when he wanted to. Even when he was the one who knew Seonghwa the best.

“Let’s talk about it later,” Seonghwa promised in a whisper.

You entered the room behind Yunho, preparing yourself for whatever was about to happen– for once, you have no idea what. Yunho had been pretty calm when he told you that the boss would like to see you, even waiting for you to follow him which you thought was a bit odd. You greeted the men with a ‘good evening’ and the boss motioned for you to sit next to Seonghwa. It was oddly relieving to have him by your side.

Hongjoong was about to say something but Yunho rested a hand on his thigh, making him pause and relax back instead. You noted the little exchange– it was strange to see the boss submit under someone who was third-in-command. Yunho looked at you, offering a small smile before starting.

“We did not sign the deal with Secretary Park. We only mentioned that we intended to keep our business out of the spotlight for now and it would not be beneficial for us to involve ourselves with someone who was dealing with foreigners.”

You exhaled deeply after hearing that– a bit in relief and a bit in grim acceptance. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“We also noted that he didn’t react when we told him our reasons. Secretary Park… you know him personally, don’t you?”

This time, you chose not to run your mouth, opting for silence. Yunho played with the silver button of his black form-fitting waistcoat, and you fixated your gaze over the silver ring that he wore on his index finger with infinity signs, a ring that all of Ateez wore. They seemed to have a lot of staple jewellery and accessories, like the gold pocket watch the boss had on him at all times, even tonight in his dark brown three-piece. 

“I met with Kihyun today, Luna,” Yunho continued and your eyes widened a little– whatever did Kihyun say? “He’s one of our mentors and I take his words seriously. He confirmed Secretary Park was not the man to make such a deal with, and he also said that you had a lot to offer.”

You stifled a smile at that. “What is this really about, Mr. Jeong?”

“Secretary Park… you’re acquainted or even related to him in some way, aren’t you?”

Your smile visibly fell which didn’t go unnoticed. This time, Seonghwa shifted closer, keeping a respectable distance from you as he said, “We’re willing to trust you and involve you in future business dealings if you’re willing to share some information that we should be aware of, before we make this deal with you.”

“I appreciate your kind offer, but I really am only a bookkeeper,” you said, an intentional jab towards the boss himself. 

Hongjoong poked his tongue inside his cheek, clearly amused at your challenge. Did you want him to beg? To say please?

“You are also a part of Crescent now, and that means you’re not just a bookkeeper, like Hongjoong might have said last night,” Yunho insisted. “We could find out what your relationship with Secretary Park is through other means but we decided to ask you instead.”

“Then use your other means,” you said with immense effort, tired of this little game. “I belong to the shadows and I will remain there.”

You got up to leave, straightening your maroon skirt. You only took a few steps when you heard the boss’ voice. 

“You don’t happen to be the illegitimate daughter of Secretary Park, eh? The one he liked to pretend was his niece instead?”

You didn’t simply stop in your tracks but every muscle in your body tensed. With dread creeping through your nerves, you turned to look at the boss, finding the others equally as surprised at his deduction. Hongjoong’s smirk widened and his eyes gleamed dangerously at the fear in your eyes. 

He got up, approaching you slowly. “I’ve been to his house only once, towards the end of the war. Year 1962. He was looking for workers and I was only a colonel at that time, yet to be honoured. I saw his family portrait– he has a son that looks just like him. And then I saw a glimpse of a girl who was looking for her father. Upon asking a servant if the man had other children, they let me know that she was his illegitimate daughter and he pretended that she was his niece.”

Hongjoong noted the way that you gulped and your eyes darted among the three men as if gauging their reactions and trying to find a way out. He continued. 

“They said it was understandable because other than the fact that illegitimate kids aren’t treated with respect around here, he was a striving politician and she would only hinder his career. I didn’t realise the little bird left its cage, though…”

“I– I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” you tried but he shook his head.

“We’re going to find one way or another. It’s better if we just hear it from you so we can move on and address the more important matters… Luna.”

You looked at the boss– while he didn’t tower over you like Yunho did, he certainly was more intimidating. His gaze was sharper, his stance more confident and almost bordering on arrogance and his presence was consuming, almost luring.

You could not win.

“Alright, fine,” you gave in, walking back to your seat next to Seonghwa who looked thoroughly amused even though he tried not to appear so. “Yes. I am his daughter– illegitimate daughter. Don’t ask me who the mother is– I don’t know.”

Yunho sucked in his breath in disbelief. “Is that who you’re so scared of?”

“Not just him,” you shook your head. “There are other forces at play. He was just a pharmaceutical business owner at that time– he could not have dealt with Strictland on his own.”

Seonghwa agreed. “Is there anyone you suspect?”

“I don’t know. President Lee seems like the likelier suspect but he’s far too clean for that, which is a bit suspicious. It could be anyone from Eden Hall– another assemblyman or some existing minister or cabinet members. All I know is that what they’re doing is very dangerous. I know more, but I really need to confirm a few things before I can confide in you.”

“Well,” Hongjoong shifted his weight on one leg, thinking. “This certainly changes things. I still need to check a few things about you,” he looked pointedly at you, “but you can continue your bookkeeping duties for now. I’ll see what I’ll do with you later.” 

“If you feel like you should share a warning with us at any time, since you know exactly what deals we make on a daily business,” Seonghwa said, his tone unexpectedly warm, “you can let us know. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have asked for Kihyun’s opinion and proceeded with the deal and suffered damage. We owe you one.”

“That’s alright,” you said but he shook his head, insistent. “Can you just keep this a secret? As you must realise now, Secretary Park has gone to great lengths to hide my identity from the world. The fact that he even let me come back to Eden… he might be regretting it now. I can only warn you that he might try to attack me in the future which means someone else could get hurt too.”

“That’s unfortunate. Thank you for letting us know,” Hongjoong gave you a nod and you felt almost reassured. You looked at Yunho who was simply watching you with eyes full of curiosity.

“I’ll go back to the desk now and finish compiling today’s reports,” you said. 

“Great, you can leave them with Yunho later,” Seonghwa said. “I have somewhere to be with Hongjoong. Let’s go.”

You had half an hour to complete that report and you came back to that room, knocking before entering. Yunho was still where he sat before and you discussed the report with him before getting up to put it in the cupboard and preparing to go home.

You were putting on your coat and gathering your belongings when Yunho joined you at your desk, his own overcoat in hand. “Care for a stroll?”

You looked at him in surprise but nodded, following him downstairs– he must have a lot of questions. He locked the office behind him and greeted the guard, nudging you towards the main street. Since it was past midnight and this was a business street, it was pretty empty. The offices were shut with only the guards stationed outside trying to keep awake in the lonely hours, or keeping each other company over a little fire in the tub. 

You walked in silence for a few moments with only the sound of the cackling of fire and your footsteps accompanying you before he finally asked if you had ever felt targeted while working for the Crescents. 

“Up until now, no,” you told him. “But after my father wiped my name off the registers of Eden and gave me a new identity… sometimes it feels like I’m being watched. He wasn’t surprised to hear that you knew about his deal with Strictland, was he?”

“We never explicitly mentioned Strictland but yes, he wasn’t surprised in the least,” Yunho said. “He must have known that you are working here.”

“He probably knew about my job at the bar, at least,” you said. “He has always made sure that I never interacted with someone of power. It’s only a shame that Kihyun took me in and he could do nothing about it.”

“Do you have any suspicions about what he might be doing in Strictland?”

“I only ever heard a bit of it, and I’m not sure exactly what he was referring to, but this might be my chance to confirm if what I heard holds any value,” you said, pausing in the middle of the crossroads in front of the canal, looking around for any passersby but finding none. “Do you know about the nuclear base in Strictland?”

“Everyone knows about it,” Yunho said, putting his hands in the pockets of his coat. “It is suspected that Halaland wants to take over Strictland because they want to resume the operations at the nuclear base and become a nuclear power. That would violate the international arms law which is why they are resorting to playing dirty instead.”

“And the base has been inactive for a while, right?”

“For about thirty years now, yes,” Yunho confirmed.

“I have no idea how much truth this information holds, but I once heard my father talk about something regarding the nuclear base,” you whispered. “He said something about how Halaland knows that Eden has joined hands with Strictland’s nuclear operation officials. I don’t know who in Eden, but he also claimed whatever Halaland was doing– or would be doing– will be in order to protect itself.”

Yunho’s mouth parted in disbelief, his eyes boring into you. “That… that can’t be true.”

“Right?” you wrapped your arms around yourself, looking sideways to the canal. Its murky waters seemed to be reflecting your mood. “That should not be true, but… Mr. Kim said my father– Secretary Park did not react when you mentioned his dealings with foreigners. What other dealings might he have?”

“I hope something else, because if there’s even a slight chance that what you said is true,” Yunho grunted in discomfort. “I can’t imagine the consequences. Does he know that you are aware of this knowledge? Your father?”

“He knows I heard something,” you confirmed. “That’s when things started going downhill for me. He had always made it clear that once I was independent, he was going to change my surname and cut ties with me. But after that day, he just sped up the process, changed my surname to Jeon and sent me to Wonderland to an acquaintance of his.”

Just like that, you wanted to add, recalling how easy it was for the man that claimed to be your father.

“I don’t know if he did that so I would not speak about this or if he had some ounce of guilt for me,” you continued with a scoff, shaking your head. “But he kept tabs on me. He made sure I got a good education and once I was done, he allowed me to come back. I had to beg a little, but he let me come back on the condition that I stay low.”

“Too late for that, isn’t it?” Yunho commented and you looked at him, a smirk creeping on your lips.

“Well, I always planned about how to get back at him. Just because he made a mistake doesn’t mean I get to suffer for it for the rest of my life.”

“That’s right,” Yunho stepped closer to you, facing the canal just like you. For a moment, you shared a comfortable silence, thinking about the implications of your admittance. Yunho cleared his throat as he looked at you. “You must be from Edenary then. Was it tough to adjust in Sector 1?”

Edenary was not just the capital of Eden– it was like a safe haven for the elite class of Eden where they did not have to encounter a common man. Everyone who lived in Edenary was someone who possessed at least one of the three things– wealth, power, or connections. Before the monarchy was abolished in Eden, the royalty resided in Edenary. Now it was home to government officials, politicians, business owners and influencers. 

Your heart twisted as you recalled your time in Edenary. Though you had lived in the shadows in Edenary too, there was a point in your life when your father had taken you around with him, introducing you as his niece but still letting you know the ins-and-outs of business in Eden. It was his dream that his child carry on in his footsteps, but his son and your half-brother, Park Sunghoon, had always been incompetent. You suspected he might let you take over his business instead but the fear of his tarnishing his reputation must have outweighed the fear of passing his legacy to someone who was useless. Sunghoon had always been far too short-tempered and reckless. Your father was not proud of him.

“Do you also dream of living in Edenary one day?” You asked, fiddling with your pearl ring.

“We dream of opening an office there, maybe a branch of the Crescent Bar if we’re lucky,” Yunho admitted. “But our home will always be in Sector 1.”

You smiled at that– his admission was unexpected. You outstretched your hand. “This ring is the only symbol of Edenary that I possess. A reminder that I may have found a place somewhere else but my roots remain in Edenary. I don’t miss the life I had, though. It wasn’t much.”

“It must have been better than this?” Yunho asked. You shook your head. 

“I’ve only ever felt at home here, in my little apartment that I share with a person who cares about me a lot,” you said. “At the Crescent Bar where I got more respect than I ever got in Edenary.”

“And at the office?” Yunho said and you looked at him, finding an amused look on his face.

“Not yet, and you know that,” you said. 

“That could change,” he suggested.

“Definitely,” you nodded. “But for that… you would have to make a little effort.”

“Well, I’m here now, with you, aren’t I?” Yunho said, cocking his head challengingly and you realised that this was his effort. “Tell me how to verify the information you just gave me tonight.”

You took a deep breath. “I’ve thought about it long and hard. I don’t think anyone who is not involved would know, so if you’re a fan of taking someone hostage and interrogating them…”

“We’re really trying to do things the right way, Luna,” he chuckled. “We’ve left that life behind.”

“Yunho, you shot ten men in two minutes just a few months ago, without hesitation,” you reminded him and his brows rose a little in surprise. You thought he was shocked to hear that you finally confronted him about it, but then you realised–

You had called him Yunho.

You were an absolute fool–

“I can do anything to protect the people I care about,” Yunho decided not to point out your informal use of his name, though he couldn’t complain– he had to admit that it was nice to hear his name from your lips. “But any other ideas?”

“Well… you can give someone else a tip and let them do the dirty work for you?” You suggested. “Now might be a nice opportunity to use Assemblyman General Wi. He has been trying to get dirt on President Lee because his term is almost over and he is pretty sure President Lee will be running for presidency again. If you give him a tip, he can verify all of this for you. Plus, if word gets out, Secretary Park will be in big trouble. It could confirm if President Lee is a part of this Strictland business or not, though it’s hard to believe that such a saint of a man could be.”

You often considered confronting President Lee about your father– if he really wasn’t aware of your father’s dealing with Strictland, he was probably the only person who could make things right once and for all. Lee Jinwook had always been in the political scene but he only stepped up as a presidential candidate after his wife, President Han Hyojoo, was assassinated three years into her term. She had ruled Eden right after the Treaty of the Eight Hills when President Son’s term ended, and the way she strengthened Eden’s defence and helped rebuild the land was an admirable feat but also earned her enemies. 

President Lee always had a clean and morally upright image and though his succession was quick and easy, he continued his wife’s legacy and boosted Eden’s morale. He was a good president and Eden was flourishing in his reign just as it had in his wife’s reign. Days after his wife was assassinated, he laid the foundations of a hospital in his late wife’s memory. You recalled reading an article about it– that was in 1963, right after you came back from Wonderland. In his interview, he said that his wife had always dreamed about making a hospital in Eden that would focus on maternity services and advancements ever since they lost their child a couple of months after birth, and that it was a shame she couldn’t live long enough to see the hospital functioning. 

It was thoughtful how he was fulfilling his late wife’s dreams even after her death. Such a man couldn’t be capable of such sinister actions, could he?

“If President Lee is a part of this, he could end up having your father killed to protect himself,” Yunho said and you sucked in a breath. “That’s how these people operate. Are you sure you want that? And even before that, Secretary Park would try to get at you for leaking that information. Your life could be in danger too.”

“It already is,” you shrugged. “An anonymous tip to General Wi– he’s a military man and Strictland is under military control. It would make sense that General Wi stumbled upon this information himself.”

Yunho hummed in agreement. “Shall I walk you home?”

Your heart did a little flip at his offer and that had you wondering… just how much should you involve yourself with the Crescents? 

“Thank you for the offer… Mr. Jeong,” you said and Yunho noted the formality in your tone, “but I would rather walk myself home. Goodnight, and… thank you for tonight.”

Yunho considered insisting but he knew it would be too much for you, for now. Though he liked spending time in your company and wished to find out more about you or simply talk with you, this was not the time, and you had made your stance clear– he was only Mr. Jeong of Crescent to you, as he should be, but…

Did he wish to be more?

“Goodnight, and… I’m only carrying out my duty,” he said, confirming the distance between the two of you. “If you ever feel like you’re under threat or need some assistance, you can let us know. You are a part of our company and it is our obligation to protect you.”

Well. What a way to put it, you thought. With another thanks, you separated your paths for the remainder of the night.

Over the next few days, things at work became just a bit less overwhelming and you found yourself almost adapting to the new routine. Eunha and Jihoon noticed that you were competent and efficient and even Jihoon complimented you over handling a task that he was having a tough time with. 

Every day after the midday slot, Eunha and you would go for lunch in one of the nearby cafes. Eunha told you that she used to have lunch with Jihoon almost everyday but with the shift in schedules, they couldn’t eat lunch together anymore and she admitted that surprisingly, she missed that. You asked what exactly did she miss about having lunch with Jihoon and got your answer later that day when he finally joined the two of you– a first for you. You were having sandwiches for lunch and while you both chattered about trivial stuff, he complained about the weather, the cucumbers in his sandwich, his milkshake being too bland and you knew then.

It was his way of contributing to the conversation, and the fact that he had joined you for lunch was enough. You told him that you hoped he would join you both often from now on and he just shrugged awkwardly though you caught him smiling to himself afterwards. He also made a point to scold you both for wasting too much time deciding on a spot and you both just retorted with a crude gesture (Eunha) and assigning him with the responsibility of picking lunch spots moving forwards (you).

It was just another day in the month of May with the shift of seasons bringing about rain and prompting you to dress up warmly. The weather in this part of the continent didn’t change much throughout the year, remaining a sticky cold in the summers with the rain and freezing towards the end of the year. You started to keep an umbrella on you and switched to boots and warm gloves, though you kept your net gloves in your purse in case you needed to wear them to a formal meeting. Just like the change in the colour saturation of Eden and its hues, your ensembles shifted to darker, moodier tones. The only constant would always be the pearl ring from home, often the only glimmer on you. 

You reached ten minutes before 6pm and Eunha, just like every other day, sighed happily at the sight of you. Really, the sigh came out of sheer relief that she could go home now. With a kiss blown in your direction, she hurried off, her light pink hair very much like cotton candy as they fluffed up with every happy skip she made down the stairs.

You shook your head in amusement at her fading figure and straightened your back before assessing the reports and the latest updates. When the boss had called off the deal with Secretary Park just a few days ago, rumours of it went around town and some called it ‘a rejection to the president himself’ since it was known that a secretary basically did all of the president’s work. Others admired the fact that the Crescents didn’t bend to the secretary’s will like everyone else did, without knowing the context. 

While it infuriated you how people were so quick to make something out of nothing– nothing that they knew about– you also noticed how the Crescents started getting more offers for collaboration by different businessmen and government officials. Yunho provided you with a list of people that they were considering for their new project. No one was aware of what exactly was the Crescent’s new project and you were almost still in the dark too– nothing confirmed and nothing denied. You told yourself that you did not need to ask just what this project was about and you could let them know your opinion anyway, but your achilles heel had always been your curiosity and your adventurous spark, a deadly combination. You would do just about anything to silence the buzzing in your brain.

About two hours passed when you heard light footsteps and the familiar scrawny figure of the young informant entered your vision. You set your pen down, a satisfied exhale leaving your mouth at the way your joints cracked when you stretched.

“Is the Captain inside?”

“Good evening to you too, kid,” you shook your head. “Yes, he’s inside.”

Jaemin smirked and you made a face at him. “Nice hair today.”

“Really?” You blinked in surprise. “I wear it like this every day though?”

The question was directed more to yourself. Jaemin went towards the boss’ room and knocked, entering a moment later. You dug the compact mirror out of your purse and checked your hair–

And sure enough, a tuft of hair was sticking out near your temple on the right side. You groaned loudly, fixing it and groaned even louder when you realised why Hongjoong had looked at you for a moment longer than usual when he greeted you today, and why he had a little smile on his face when he went to his room.

Damn it.

You waited for Jaemin to come out and you called him over. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, madame,” he bowed dramatically.

“Why do you call Mr. Kim the Captain?”

“Well… he is the boss, the leader, so captain is just another word to address him, right?” he grinned. “I like the sound of it.”

“Fair enough,” you said. “How did you become an informant?”

“Your question of the day has been used up. Adios!” Jaemin saluted mockingly and ran away before you could call his name or chuck something at him– you just sat there watching with your hand awkwardly stretched in the air as if you could have grabbed him from across the desk.

Menace.

You went back to focusing on the monthly budget report that you had been studying, trying to spot any discrepancies. This time, you were in charge of presenting the monthly report to the boss and you wanted to make sure everything looked okay, especially with their new deal. Whoever was in charge of handling the tracking of their money was doing a pretty damn good job. On the surface, the Crescents were exchanging Black Shadow with the latest machine parts– the produce from Pledis Manufacturers which was a cover for the actual export that was the weapons– with Utopia. 

Black Shadow was a very strong red wine, a staple of Utopia, the land known for its wineries and extensive collection of all sorts of wines. While the Crescents were still a gang, they became acquainted with some of the winemakers, got mentored and secured a deal so that their business began with the Crescent Bar. Now the Crescent Bar was the only spot in all of Eden where this fine wine was available. You thought that was an admirable feat– it must not have been easy to convince the Utopians to export their wine. You supposed Utopia must really be in dire need of weapons as well to share their best wine with Eden.

On the sidelines, though, Black Shadow and other liquor was being smuggled to Mist Island in exchange for raw metal that was required in the production of those machine parts and weapons by Pledis. Simply sending wine in exchange for metal did not cover the discrepancy in costs, so you made a mental note to bring this to light in the meeting later this week. It had gone unnoticed the past few months but from your experience from the time in Wonderland when you had a part time job at a bank, you knew that someone was bound to raise suspicions of where the Crescents were spending all that money. 

You did not realise how much time passed when you heard Yunho’s office door open and you looked at him, finding him wearing his overcoat. There was still an hour until your shift would be over so Yunho must have some engagement. He approached you and asked if you were done compiling the report.

“Yeah, I was just wrapping up. Do you want me to put it in your office later?”

Yunho pursed his lips in thought. “Actually, you know what? If you’re done for tonight, you can leave as well. No point staying until midnight. Seonghwa won’t be here tonight either.”

“Oh, well, sure,” you tried not to show how happy you were to leave early. “Let me put this away before you lock your room then.”

Yunho nodded and waited for you and when you came back, you found him with your coat in his hands and he offered to help you wear it. You stood still.

“Mr. Jeong. I can wear my coat on my own.”

“I know,” he shrugged, not letting go of it. “Are you going to keep me waiting though?”

You looked at him pointedly before giving in,  going to grab your purse before he would try to do that for you too. “How very gentlemanly of you.”

Yunho scoffed, outstretching his arm. “After you.”

In the past few days, Yunho’s behaviour towards you had been nothing short of odd. Sometimes, he was the Mr. Jeong that you had always known– unapproachable, reserved and a man of few but meaningful words.

And the other times, well… you weren’t sure if this was just how he had always been, but it was strange to experience it firsthand. He was considerate, just like tonight. He would make sure you’d had dinner. He would ask if you were faring well when you would go to discuss the reports with him. He would make a casual remark or even a joke if he felt like it. Overall, you were sure that he knew the difference between being professional and casual very well–

And boy, was he tiptoeing right at the borderline. 

He held the door for you and you told him the guard would have done it anyway but he only smiled. And then he mockingly saluted because you had made it a point of calling him ‘lieutenant’ whenever you needed to get a point across. That made you laugh a little and you said goodnight, going in opposite directions.

You were only a few steps down your road when you thought you could just walk with him and discuss the details about the Mist Island finances that had been nagging you all this time. You turned, speed-walking towards him in the dark street and were about to call his name when you stopped in your tracks.

There was a man who had slipped right behind him from an alley and you were half sure Yunho hadn’t noticed his presence. The man was walking quite awkwardly, tense and fidgeting, almost–

Almost as if he was about to attack Yunho.

And sure enough, you saw his hand resting right above his hip where he would be hiding a gun under his jacket. 

With all your senses heightening, you willed yourself to remain calm and think– if you screamed, it would probably end badly. You could go back and alert the guard or find someone, anyone, but it might be too late–

And then you remembered that you had a gun in your purse.

You switched to the street on your right, rushing through the alleys as silently as you could, gun in hand and a scream lodged in your throat that threatened to escape at any second. You spotted Yunho whenever the alley opened into the street and every time, relief and urgency clashed. With pure adrenaline fueling you, you waited for Yunho to turn right at the crossroads– if he turned left, you would have to step in and you hoped that would not be the case. 

As soon as Yunho turned right, you grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the alley, a surprised exhale exiting his mouth. You rushed to hide, finding a spot to squeeze into which was covered by abandoned boards that would hopefully help conceal your figures. You aimed the gun at the street, hoping to get a visual of the man, the sounds of your breaths and Yunho’s gun being loaded feeling too loud. He tried lowering your gun, intending to take care of the situation but you shook your head, gently pushing him aside despite the lack of space, as if you could cover him.

“I need to see if it is someone I recognise,” you whispered. “And you really don’t need to kill tonight.”

“I rarely ever kill, y/n,” he said, “Only immobilise.”

You didn’t respond, and if you hadn’t been worrying about your lives, maybe you would have noticed that he called you by your name instead of Luna. Your gaze remained focused on the street, aiming to identify the man.

“Is that someone you recognise?”

“Never seen him before,” Yunho bent down a little into the light to get a clearer vision. “Might just be a thug.”

You remained in your position with your gun aimed at the confused man who looked around warily before tracing his steps back. However, you kept the gun trained where you last spotted him and it wasn’t until Yunho put a hand over yours and gently lowered it that you let out the breath that you had been holding.

You made the mistake of looking at him, the realisation that you both were okay crashing on you like a fierce, cold wave. You took a shaky breath, resting your back against the wall and gripping the edge of a box nearby to hold yourself steady. Yunho looked quite alright, casually resting his back against the wall in front of you. You realised how narrow the alley was because his knees brushed against your legs.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just… catching my breath,” you whispered. “Does this happen often?”

“Not that often– not like this, at least,” Yunho looked for any signs of the man in the street. “Usually it’s a gang targeting us, not an individual.”

You nodded, thinking about the attack that night at the bar. This was different. Had this man intended to shoot Yunho or just take him hostage?

“I’ll go do a quick scan of the area and see if there are more men–”

You grabbed his arm as he tried to exit the alley and pulled him back to his original spot. Yunho shook his head. “I need to check if there are more men, and if anyone else was hurt–”

“No,” you insisted, tightening the grip on his arm. “It’s dangerous.”

“You’re telling that to me?” Yunho asked, reminding you that he was an honoured lieutenant colonel and knew how to deal with situations like these, but you weren’t having any of it. You shook your head adamantly. 

“We will leave together, after a few minutes.”

And then, with a crashing realisation, Yunho understood that you were not just scared for yourself. You were scared for him too. 

He didn’t know why but your words, spoken and unspoken, wrapped around his heart like an embrace. With a shaky sigh of his own, he resigned to his previous position, though this time he stood just a little closer to you. He noticed how you were still holding the gun while your hand trembled– you had obviously never actually used it. 

“You’re a fool,” Yunho said in a low voice. “You should not have come after me. I could have dealt with that on my own. I would have gotten answers out of him–”

“He meant to shoot you, Yunho,” you said, and this time you called his name on purpose. “I did what I had to.”

“You could have gotten hurt, Luna,” Yunho leaned forward to be at your eye level. “You shouldn’t have put yourself in danger.”

“I have a gun–”

“A gun you’ve clearly never used before, at least not on a real person,” Yunho reproached, grabbing your shaky hand to prove his point. “Would you have used it tonight? If things went wrong?”

You didn’t answer that, too focused on the way his hand intertwined with yours and even with the weapon preventing full contact, you felt the comfort of his touch seep through your skin and slowly, but surely, calm your nerves. 

“Shall I teach you how to use a gun some day?” Yunho’s low voice almost reverberated in your skull and you looked at him in shock, finding him a bit too close– you could see the excited glimmer in his pupils. 

“I can protect myself without using a gun too,” you managed to say, wincing inside at the weak retort. You clearly couldn’t. 

“But you can protect me too if you know how to use a gun,” Yunho said teasingly, a smirk creeping on his lips. You rolled your eyes briefly but he wasn’t backing away and neither did you want him to. His fingers caressing the skin on your hand was something you didn’t want to stop anytime soon.

“I’m pretty sure you can take good care of yourself, Lieutenant,” you challenged. “You definitely had it under control tonight.”

Yunho laughed then, a bit embarrassed because he clearly had not noticed anything amiss and if it weren’t for you, it might have gone very wrong. You laughed along because wow. You made Jeong Yunho laugh for the first time. The sound of his sweet, shy chuckle went straight to your brain, making you dizzy for a hot second. You broke out of your trance, pushing him away with immense effort. He took it as teasing, thankfully, not knowing that you wanted to do anything but put distance between you two at that moment. 

God, you thought. You needed a drink.

Yunho squeezed your hand once before letting it go, perhaps realising how casual he just had been. This time, you let him survey the area you were already sure was clear. He came back and signalled for you to come outside, walking with you back to the path you should have been on in the first place.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” You asked. “You left early tonight.”

“Just home,” Yunho said. “The maknaes were going to drop by.”

You hummed– he must mean the warehouse boys– Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. You often caught them at the Crescent Bar when you worked there, and it was always very lively when they dropped by. Wooyoung, in particular, always added life to the bar.

“You can be on your way then. I’ll walk home–”

“No chance,” he shook his head. “I’m walking you home tonight, whether you like it or not.”

You knew you had no choice and surrendered. It wasn’t a long walk so you decided to tell him about how you had spotted some discrepancies in their finances and wanted to discuss them with the boss. He told you to run over them with Seonghwa first before Hongjoong and you agreed.

“This is me,” you told him when you reached Regulus Street, pointing at your apartment. “I would invite you in for a drink or something, but I have a roommate and I’m not sure if she would like it...”

“Thanks for the offer. I’ll accept the gesture,” Yunho placed his hand over his heart, taking a few steps backward while maintaining eye contact. You watched him with a smile creeping on your lips– he was unexpectedly goofy at times.

“Goodnight then?” You laughed, unsure what he was doing.

“Thank you, Luna,” he finally said and you scoffed. “I owe you one.”

“You owe me two,” you told him. “You owe me one for stopping the deal with Secretary Park too.”

“Ah, is that so?” He raised a brow. “How would you like me to pay you back?”

Maybe he hadn’t meant it like that, but the implications of those words sent a wave of warmth coursing throughout your body. It didn’t help that he was smirking, probably understanding why you were rendered speechless.

“Well…” you managed to say, clearing your throat. “We’ll burn that bridge when we have to cross it.”

“Fair enough. Goodnight, Luna.”

Something had changed indefinitely between you and Yunho.

Perhaps, you wondered, it would still have come to this even if you hadn’t shared those moments a few nights ago. You would like to believe that. You were not complaining about the change– it wasn’t much. He was just more friendlier and casual towards you now, but…

It was as if he wanted to see you break. 

You appreciated the change in his manners, yes. He wasn’t cold towards you anymore, even when he maintained a professional stance. It kind of reminded you of Seonghwa– he had always been kind and gentle towards you and something about him had always been comforting, even when he had put death on the table between you two. It was a dangerous trait, you supposed. It was Seonghwa’s weapon, but–

Gentleness seemed to be Yunho’s gift. If someone cared to look past his rough edges and mannerism, they would be rewarded with a nature so gentle that it would make them wonder how such contrasting traits could coexist within the same person. 

And it wasn’t the gentleness that was killing you, no. Such was a trait that every man should possess. 

It was the way he wielded it to rile you up– there was no other explanation. You kept placing walls between the two of you even with the change and he kept scaling them effortlessly with just a casual brush of his fingers against yours, an assuring or encouraging touch on your shoulder, or even–

God, even the way he tucked your hair behind your ears the other day when you had come back from the storage with a big pile of files in your arms, the front strands of your hair having escaped the hold of the pins. And the first thing Yunho thought to do was not to take some obvious weight off your shoulders but to tuck your hair behind your ears with his brows furrowed in concentration, those damned big brown eyes almost unrecognisable in that moment. 

Perhaps, he didn’t even realise he had done that. 

And you wished you could ask him if that was true. 

“Luna?” Seonghwa’s voice called and you found him peeking out of Yunho’s room. “You can come in to brief me now.”

“Alright,” you said, the report already in your hands as you got up. You straightened your clothes before you entered the room, taking a seat in front of him and opening the files to show him the numbers. You briefed him about what you had done so far before getting to the point. 

“The net cash exchange between the wine and the metal is 74.27 percent, which includes all the expenses including necessary licences and fragile care. 25.73 percent of the amount is completely unaccounted for– we’re paying Mist Island but on papers and bank statements, it’s not exactly clear what this amount of money is being used for. For personal purposes, maybe, but one day they’re going to notice it and make a big deal out of it. It’s better if we have a cover for this too. No matter how small the amount is.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Seonghwa took a deep breath, resigning back on the sofa. “Any suggestions?”

“Well,” you thought about it. “We’ll have to manipulate a few documents if we want to adjust this amount in pre-existing channels. That, or have something to prove the money has been put to use– like donations or artwork.”

“Hmm, sounds like a good idea. I’ll discuss it with Hongjoong and get back on that, yeah?”

The door opened and Yunho entered, having come back from one of his meetings. You nodded at Seonghwa, saying you would wait for a heads-up before drafting the monthly report. 

And at that moment, Yunho, who had been standing behind your sofa and looking at the documents on the table, decided to not disturb your conversation with Seonghwa and take the matters into his own hands, resting a hand on your upper back for support as he leaned forward to take the file from the table. 

Your breath hitched and you were glad you had just finished a sentence– he was too close, and you were reminded once again that you were only reacting to such casual actions because this was Jeong Yunho. 

And you wanted to kill him a little when he stayed there and asked if this was the report you had mentioned to him. You nodded and only then did he back away to go sit at his desk. You looked at Seonghwa whose expressions betrayed nothing. 

“Well then, I’ll be on my way,” you told him and he nodded, praising you with the usual ‘good job’ and watching you fumble with the folders before you left the room. Seonghwa chuckled to himself and turned his gaze to the consigliere.

“Lieutenant Colonel Jeong Yunho,” he called, making Yunho drop the file on the table to look at him.

“Why are you suddenly calling my rank?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, thoroughly amused. 

“What do you mean?”

“Luna,” Seonghwa said, running a hand through his long hair. “I’m not blind, Yunho.”

“Yeah, but you’re an idiot,” Yunho went back to looking at his file.

“You haven’t shown interest like that in quite a while. Is it wrong to be curious?” Seonghwa asked.

“Well,” Yunho looked at his hyung. “She’s… interesting.”

“Interesting,” Seonghwa repeated but in a different context. “I’ll be damned.”

“Don’t you like her, just a little bit, too?” Yunho asked, smirking. “You’ve never taken someone this seriously, like, ever.”

“I have to take her seriously when she talks like she already belongs here,” Seonghwa said. “And you know what? I think she could be more than just our little bookkeeper.”

Yunho noted the term Seonghwa had used though he decided not to comment on it yet. “What do you plan to do? Are you really going to involve her in the full business?”

Seonghwa smiled knowingly, already having planned out details that none of the others might have considered.

That night, you found yourself outside the Crescent Bar again. You stood thinking for a few moments before you entered, making your way towards the office that had once been your little safe haven– an escape from the boisterous outside world. You knocked at the door but no one answered. You pushed the door just a fraction, finding it unlocked which meant Yeosang must be around. You decided to just make yourself at home, damned be the consequences, and went inside to sit on the couch and curl in on yourself.

There was too much going on. There was too much you were feeling, and you had no one to share these thoughts with. You weren’t even sure if you should be sharing these thoughts. You were an anomaly, you always had been–

The door opened and you were met with a deadly silence instead of a greeting. You looked up to see Yeosang clutching his chest.

“Shit, I thought I was seeing things. You scared me, Luna,” he said, shutting the door and sitting on his chair. “What’s up with you?”

“I missed you too,” you laughed. “How have you been?”

“As good as ever, I suppose. Better now that you’re not nagging me on a daily basis. Thriving, as some might say–”

You chucked a cushion at him which he caught and rested on his lap. “What are you really doing here?”

“Am I not welcome here?”

“Of course you are, this will always be your office,” Yeosang said, making you smile. “But I’d rather know what’s up so I can order an appropriate drink.”

“Bring me your strongest.”

“On it,” he grinned, going out to get the drink himself, returning with two glasses. Amused, you watched him pop the cork dramatically and fill the glasses a little more than average, swirling the wine just enough before he handed you one. 

“It’s an honour,” you said, truly meaning it. “You’ve never served me like this. You’ve only ever served the boys.”

“I’ve heard rumours that you act too much like a Crescent yourself,” he said, sipping his drink and sitting on the desk. “You’ve got guns and big reports up your sleeves now.”

“Yikes,” you downed the drink and Yeosang filled your glass again. “Am I not supposed to? Not that I’m trying to be one of you.”

“Sounds insulting for some reason,” he commented. “But good words only, Luna. I’ve only heard good things about you. Makes me wonder what kind of a boss I was to not realise your potential.”

“You did. I became your bookkeeper. I was also your best employee for two months straight, wasn’t I?” 

“And then you told me I was clumsy and I put you on my blacklist,” Yeosang huffed. 

“You broke your most expensive tray. I wanted to kill you,” you almost cried as you recalled that chaotic night at the bar a few months ago. “That tray was the prettiest one we had.”

“And you’re already drunk,” Yeosang chuckled at the way you ran your mouth so freely– perhaps, it was also because you were no longer boss and employee. “Now tell me… why did you come here?”

“Why do you all want me to say everything out loud?” You groaned in frustration. “I wanted to be here, obviously. You know this office was like my safe haven. I always come here when I am overwhelmed.”

“And what’s got you so overwhelmed, love?” Yeosang asked gently and your heart fluttered at the change in his tone.

“You,” you muttered, surprising him. “And Mr. Jeong. And Mr. Park. And your boss but I tend to avoid him so I won’t complain yet. And San!”

“San?” Yeosang laughed. “What did he do?”

“Nothing, I’m just dragging him into this,” you rested your head on your knees, hugging them to your chest. “It’s just… you’re all confusing me and I don’t like it. I don’t like being in unexpected situations.”

Yeosang hummed in thought. He knew what was up with you and Seonghwa, and you and Yunho. The boys– none of them hid anything from anyone. They had always been bare with each other, so he knew that Yunho was a little into you even though he never said it. Yeosang wasn’t oblivious to the way Yunho’s eyes lit up or the way his attention shifted any time someone mentioned you. 

Yeosang also wasn’t oblivious to how much you occupied Seonghwa’s headspace even though he pretended to be unfazed. He could tell that Seonghwa was bordering on the lines between admiration and adoration for you. 

And while Hongjoong himself hadn’t expressed any personal feelings about you, he knew that once you would properly interact with him, you would find yourself charmed by him too– Hongjoong was like that. And San… he had seen you that night opening up to San and watched fondly from the distance.

But it kind of blew him a little that he was the source of your confusion too. Perhaps, it was because you had worked with him so long. You were friends, that was for sure. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be here right now. But why were you overwhelmed because of him? It wasn’t the proximity– you two had shared a lot of time in this office in the past. A lack of proximity then? Did you actually, truly miss him? Did the distance really make you fonder of each other?

With caution, he settled down in front of you and took your glass from your hands. “That is enough drinking.”

“It’s not,” you whispered, not looking at him. 

“Just say what’s on your mind, Luna,” Yeosang said, turning his full attention to you. “You know I’ve never judged you and never will.”

You smiled at that. Even with the lack of explanations you gave for your actions or your behaviour, Yeosang always tried to understand you, and that was what you liked about him. Sometimes, you couldn’t quite believe that he had ever been anything else other than a bar manager. How could this man have gone to the war at such a young age and intercepted multiple messages, saving countless lives? How could he be a part of the gang that had a repute like none other?

“It’s hard to put it into words,” you sighed deeply. “And I don’t even know what I would say anyway. Nothing makes sense, yet everything does. Now that I don’t have to hide who I am from you… it’s like I’m living a new life all over again.”

“Yet you’re still the same old Luna that we all adore.”

“So you adore me then?”

“Did hearing that make you feel better?” Yeosang shook his head and you grinned. “I’ve always adored you, Luna, in my own ways. Does that help?”

“I thought you hated– okay, not hated, but… only tolerated me. Maximum liked me a little. But you’re saying you adore me.”

“I do,” he pinched your nose. “Especially when you’re tipsy.”

“Gee, thanks,” you said, uncurling and sitting properly, still facing him. “Can I ask you something… strange? You can blame it on me being tipsy later.”

“Go ahead,” Yeosang grabbed the glasses and filled them again, handing you yours. “Let’s blame tonight on being drunk.”

“Hmm, I knew coming here tonight was a good idea,” you downed the drink in one go, setting the glass aside and looking at your former boss. “Have you ever liked someone? Like really, really like someone?”

“I have,” Yeosang said and your brows rose momentarily in surprise.

“How do you know you don’t like them like you would just another person?” You asked. “Is there something I’m supposed to feel?”

“Let’s test that out,” Yeosang said in such a low voice that you almost missed it. He leaned forward a bit more than he should have, twirling a few strands of your hair between his fingers. You got a good look at that heartbreakingly gorgeous face– it was a crime to be this beautiful and stay inside the bar almost all the time, you often thought. Your breath hitched when Yeosang’s finger traced the vein along your neck and then he locked eyes with you.

“Who is it that you like so much, y/n?”

“That’s the thing,” you whispered, kneeling into his touch when his hand went to cup your face. “I don’t know.”

Yeosang smiled knowingly though, his eyes travelling all over your face, stopping at your parted lips a few times– he was too obvious. Your heart was beating frantically and for once, you did not know what to do. You may have come here because of another man (or two) but now you were almost in the arms of someone else entirely. His other hand was holding yours– when did that happen? And bringing you closer. 

Your eyes fluttered shut and you felt his warm breath on your cheek before he kissed it lightly. You drew back, a bit surprised but wanting more. 

“You can sort your thoughts out when you’re sober,” Yeosang said. “You should rest, for now. It must have been a long day.”

Before he could draw his hand away, you scooted closer and he chuckled when you rested your head against his shoulder. “It’s because I’m tired.”

“Whatever you say, Luna,” he patted your arm. “It’s certainly not because you miss me.”

“Certainly not,” you confirmed, the both of you laughing at the obvious lie. “And definitely not because I may like you a little too much.”

“Oh,” Yeosang pulled you closer in the half embrace. “Definitely not.”

next chapter

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[stra-tek]

Big random list of things that NEARLY happened in Star Trek with no context or citation...

Harry Kim was to appear in Picard season 3 as a Captain (possibly of the Voyager-B)

Sarek was to use the Guardian of Forever to go back in time to become Surak of Vulcan, in a Next Gen episode

An episode was pitched where an NX-01 med tech played by Alice Krige was captured and assimilated by the Borg, becoming their queen

A Star Trek movie was almost made about undoing the Kelvin Universe, and would have had Shatner and Nimoy appear

They considered having Will Riker die, Data become first officer and Thomas Riker the Ops officer in TNG's "Second Chances"

JJ Abrams wanted Nichelle Nichols to cameo as the mother of Zoe Saldana's Uhura

The first season of Enterprise was to be set on Earth, culminating with the launch of NX-01 at the end of the season

They considered a shock reveal in ENT season 4 that it was actually the Vulcans who split off from the Romulans, and Romulus was their original homeworld

William Shatner wanted to return as Kirk from the Mirror Universe, in an Enterprise episode that involved time travel and creating the mirror universe with the transporter

Elnor was going to "explore his sexuality" in early Picard season 2 plans, before a change of showrunner and his character mostly vanishing

The ENT writers wanted Shatner to play Chef, a Kirk look-a-like hired by Daniels and trained to act Kirk-like to give an important speech at some point in history the real Kirk is mysteriously absent from

Data was originally created by mysterious aliens, and was to have a twin sister

Prodigy season 2 writers discussed having Chris Pine's Kirk from the Kelvin universe join the crew for a few episodes

In the originally filmed cut of Star Trek: Generations, Kirk is shot in the back and dies

Very early discussions for what eventually became Star Trek: Picard considered an adaptation of the Star Trek: Destiny novel trilogy

These discussions span off from a Short Treks pitch where a young cadet Jean-Luc Picard met Nichelle Nichols' Uhura

Early plans for the 2009 movie had wholesale destruction of the Prime universe, including the destruction of Earth. Thank Perpetual Entertainment for getting the destruction scaled back to Romulus so Star Trek Online had a Federation left to feature

There's was a story treatment written for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock where Spock stays dead

This one might be a little sus, but Christopher Pike in Discovery season 2 was planned to be very religious and fall to his knees at one point before the Red Angel, and clash with Michael over science vs faith

Early ideas for Star Trek Into Darkness had Benedict Cumberbatch as Robert April, former Enterprise captain turned rogue

Seven of Nine was going to sacrifice herself in order for Voyager to get home

A time travel Justice League of Trek movie by Brent Spiner, bringing together all eras of goodies vs all eras of villains, was considered

Spock shot JFK to fix the timeline in a proposed sequel to The Motion Picture

Ripper/Ephraim was originally going to be a regular, if giant tardigrade, crewmember on Discovery

Prior to Leonard Nimoy's involvement in what would become the 2009 Star Trek movie, a story outline was written about prime-universe cadets Kirk and Spock, in a story inspired by TNG's "The First Duty"

The Enterprise crew went through a black hole, back in time and introduced primative man to fire in another 70's movie script

A TNG movie was written where Picard summons a hologram of James T. Kirk for advice

George Kirk was to be found in the pattern buffer of the wrecked U.S.S. Kelvin 30 years later and resurrected

Voyager's EMH was originally to take on the name of his creator early on in the show, and the first Voyager novels call him "Doc Zimmerman" assuming it would have happened by publishing time

There's concept art where the U.S.S. Cerritos is a Galaxy-class starship

Riker was planned to dislike Data, and treat him poorly because he was an android

They considered making Troi's loss of powers in "The Loss" a permanent thing, because of how much hassle they caused the writing staff

Harry Kim wasn't originally planned to survive Species 8472

[wonupatootie]

SVT Social Media AU Fic Recsᡣ𐭩 Part II

오늘 날씬 너를 많이 닮아 너에게 가는 길은 꽃길이 되고~

Main Recs Masterlist

➣Part I // Part II // Part III

MINORS DNI!!!!!!!

Please like and reblog the fics to show the creators love and support~

Yoon Jeonghan

“Death By A Thousand Cuts” by @ssssssssssssscoups

Fem!reader || fluff, angst || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･y/n loves books. she loves the way they make her feel any emotion, to get lost within the pages and words that suffocates her heart. jeonghan loves performing, loves the way his voice makes the public go wild. if they fall in love, will they fall out? 

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✮

“Iris Beauty” by @wonunuu

Fem!reader || romance, fat angst, drama, comedy || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･you and mina have been best friends for as long as you remember. after your parents passed from a horrible car accident, mina's parents kindly took you in, tending and caring for you as their own. at such a young age, you have learned the meaning of debt as this is your constant feeling towards your best friend and her parents. to compensate, you have showed them undoubtable loyalty, respect, love and kindness, just as they have showed you; you do everything they tell you without question. so when your best friend asks you to pretend to be her in meeting a guy she has been talking to online, your loyalty and trust are tested when you unintentionally develop feelings for him.

Hong Jisoo

“You Were Beautiful” by @viastro

Fem!reader || modernised cinderella au, strangers to lovers, humour, fluff, angst || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･in which you and joshua meet through your love for boba popsicles, but end up living out your very own complicated, mess filled, cinderella story.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✮

“Love On The Air” by @suhnshinehaos

Gn!reader || uni au, childhood friends to ???, pining, fluff, angst || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･joshua hong wants you to know how he feels about you, but god forbid he actually say it out loud. instead, he settles on the next best thing : dedicating a song to you every week on the campus radio. too bad you’re too dense to actually figure out it’s all for you.

Wen Junhui

“Moonlight” by @nonononranghaee

Based on Hidden Love, orange cat x black cat || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Jun as the boy who makes you believe in the existence of love

Lee Jihoon

“Yearning” by @jihoonotes

Gn!reader || sunshine x grumpy, fluff, humour, angst || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･for yn it was love at first sight, but for jihoon it was annoyed at first sight.. oops?

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✮

“FORELKSET” by @escapewriter

Fem!reader || idol au, fluff, humour, romance, slight angst || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･a boring summer with you and your best friend led you both to do some dumb things, one being texting your number neighbor. however, things take a toll when your number neighbor isnt the person who they say they are.

Kim Mingyu

“My Melody” by @networkluvs

Gn!reader || college au, band au, strangers to lovers, slice of life, comedy, angst, fluff || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･in which you become the muse of the overly cocky rising rockstar on campus, kim mingyu.

Xu Minghao

“What I Would Do!” by @sungbeam

Fem!reader || acquaintances to lovers, pining, fluff || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･minghao is kinda sorta maybe in love with you, but he thinks you're so out of his league.

Boo Seungkwan

“Company Policy” by @whatsk-poppinhomies

Fem!reader || idol au, romance, fluff, drama, comedy, angst, smut || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Being an intern at Hybe was a dream come true for you. It was simply a summer program where you got to experience and be a part of the behind the scenes work that pushed the artists to the top. Three months working with some of the biggest k-pop artists, it wasn’t a big deal, that is until Boo Seungkwan entered your life and you both began to question the Company Policy.

Lee Chan

“PANG!” by @kkumawrites

Fem!reader || college au, strangers to friends to lovers, angst, drama || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･You'd consider yourself a simple college student, a freshman who just wants to survive their first year - but things get complicated when you're suddenly falling for someone you definitely shouldn't be, especially since he has a girlfriend already.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✮

“The Fiancé” by @wondernus

ft. Pi Cheolin || est.relationship, romance, humour, mystery || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･a mysterious pink fishing vest. a fiancé who wakes up in the middle of nowhere. and an upcoming wedding on the line. there's only so much you can take before you let your perfect future crumble before your eyes.

Unspecified End Game

“Choi Seungcheol Must Die” by @princessleechan

Fem!reader || Potential endgame: seungcheol, mingyu, seokmin, chan || college au, slight angst, romance, humour, eventual smut || Status:Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Mingyu wasn't the one with his heart broken. It was his little sister. And Seokmin's older sister. And Chan's best friend. Choi Seungcheol is a menace to society and needs to be put down. Immediately. The sure fire way to do it is to give him a taste of his own medicine: break his heart.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✮

“REDAMANCY” by @escapewriter

Fem!reader || Potential endgame: junhui, minghao || college au, slice of life, fluff, humour, romance || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･your best friend was lucky enough to have two boys pining after her. you on the other hand were unluckyenough to be in love with one of them.

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✮

“Newsflash!” by @cupidhaos

University harem, angst, humour, fluff, slice of life || Status: Completed

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･university life can be hard when you get caught up with the SVT boys

⤷“Move!” (sequel of Newsflash!)

University harem, angst, humour, fluff, slice of life, mystery || Status: Completed 

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･a new school year means new beginnings and new memories - but that can be hard with unfinished love stories in the way

Please let me know if the links have any problems~

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

never not mine, m | jjk | "... in your eyes."

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

You'll find that you were never not mine. Wandering sometimes leads to finding. Finding sometimes leads to the truth. The truth sometimes leads to pinning someone to the wall and kissing them. But only if it feels right.

part i | part ii | this is part iii

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; sloooow burn; exes-to-lovers / second chance romance; angst and fluff and feels; your POV; smut (nipple play, scratching / marking, handjob, cum-eating / feeding, fingering, penetrative sex - missionary, doggy)

non-idol!AU; fashion model!Jungkook — ft fellow model/actor!Kim Taehyung and model/businessman!Kim Seokjin; reader is not part of the entertainment industry

--

“What is the most important lesson in your life you’ve learned so far?”

The most important lesson I’ve learned, huh… I think I would say that even though this world is difficult, tough, downright unbearable at times, it is okay to be comforted by the small things. I think a lot of people ignore those small things when they’re upset since they seem frivolous or out-of-touch to appreciate when you are having a hard time. But those are the most important times to enjoy them. We should not feel guilty about a small happiness. A taste of a favorite sweet. The sunset sky when you look up. Laughing with a friend even though everything around you feels dark. These moments will become the stars that will light up your universe in this black world.

For such a friendly, unassuming young man in a suit, he had been such a poet.

At first, you wondered if this was something you could apply on to your life. You had asked, it works in reverse too, doesn’t it?

He had tilted his head, inquisitive. What do you mean?

Small, painful things can slowly but surely break a reverie too, if you don’t take notice of them.

Ah. You’re right.

Each conversation had been insightful in its own way. The woman in the white dress. The most important lesson I’ve learned is loyalty. You might not make as much money or be as famous as you would if you turned your back on someone, but money and fame are fleeting. If you nurture those around you well, you will live a fulfilled life. The man with the silvery-blonde hair and white dress shirt. What an odd question. For me… to be proud of doing what I want to do, even if I may not measure up to the success of others. When I was younger, I thought it was more important to reach a massive audience, to have many people see my color. But now... I don’t think that’s what I want. I want to be an important part of someone’s life, short-term or long-term. I want my time to count to those who count. The woman in a tight denim number and lots of colorful bracelets. It’s important to be yourself. No one walks the same path. You might be too much for some but you might be just right for others, and those people will end up understand you best. The last one, a man with a bright smile and black dress shirt that seemed to barely contain his energy. An important lesson, huh? I guess I would say, go for it. Sometimes I’m uneasy or not confident in a new situation, and I have to remember to just go for it. Yeah, I think I’ve learned a lot from just doing rather than thinking too long about it. The only thing holding me back was being scared. But, being scared doesn’t mean you can’t take action. It means you can, because you have the strength to acknowledge your fear.

Yes, well.

Going for it sort of ended in smashing over a million won worth of liquor into the ground.

You couldn’t blame the advice though. Honestly, you were glad for it. You were glad for each and every connection you made tonight with those strangers. You weren’t sure if Kim Seokjin had set it all up or if each one had approached from their own curiosity. A mixture of both, maybe. Before, they had all been only pretty faces. A shallow judgement for each individual’s hopes, dreams, and realities. You were sure that was Seokjin’s plan – for you to see for yourself what kind of world you were in.

Maybe not so vapid after all.

A little silly, perhaps.

“Hmph, well, at least I can thank you for not letting me walk into a porn scene.”

You winced as Kim Seokjin folded his arms. You both had stopped at the end of the hallway with Seokjin waving the guards away to speak to you directly. Your feet were mildly hurting from standing up for so long. It could have also been due to the emotionally draining past hour.

“I had no intentions of that,” you protested.

Those perfect brows furrowed in disbelief. “Uh huh.”

You made a face. “Nothing was happening back there.”

“Uh huh,” Seokjin tittered again.

You couldn’t keep looking up at him anymore. He held a hand up as you shifted your eyes to the wall, crossing your arms too. Mostly to keep warm. And to hide a bit.

“Nu uh, I don’t want to know what dirty things you two were talking about.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “It’s not like that–”

Seokjin cut you off abruptly. “Did it help?” he inquired pointedly. “Did smashing one of my most expensive bottles of alcohol provide the catharsis you were looking for?”

You felt your cheeks heat. “S-Sorry, I’ll pay for it–”

“Hmph!” He sounded and looked offended. “I don’t need money. I have plenty of that. What I don’t have plenty of is somewhat sane people in my life. I watched you destroy public property and slap one of my security guys as if it was a normal Friday night for you.”

You cowered a bit. “Ah… I’ll apologize to him too.”

Seokjin sighed. He was a refined man with a hint of childishness that gave him eternal youth.

“I was glad to see it.”

He laughed slightly, shaking his head. You stared at him.

“I was nearly afraid that dating Jeon Jungkook had broken you.”

Wait.

“Broken me?”

His large shoulders slumped a little. “Ah, it was… It was so obvious. With Jungkook, too. It was as if the light had been sucked out of him. And you. There was a coldness about you that formed. I worried if you could hear all the whispers behind hands. Hoped Jungkook-ah had shielded you from them or, I don’t know, made you impervious somehow. But you could feel it too, couldn’t you? The ostracization. And he had contributed to it, in time.”

He had noticed.

That was enough to touch your heart.

You faltered. “It’s none of your fault. Or his circle of friends.”

Seokjin waved his hand. “Of course not. But it was still there. Hearing mindless droning all day is still a minor annoyance that builds up to a hornet’s nest over time. And I – no, we – spoke up too late.” He lowered his arms, defeated. “There isn’t much I can do, I know. But I wanted you to know that not everyone among us feels that way. Not everyone has their head in the clouds. Not just my circle of friends, but lots of people in this industry are good people with good intentions who are much better at comforting words than I am.”

You felt a surge of gratitude. Maybe for the first time tonight, you felt like crying. You lifted your head to soft, black brown eyes that were the windows to a big heart.

“Thank you.”

He seemed taken aback. “Ah… Right. Yes, you’re welcome,” he mumbled awkwardly.

You bowed to him.

“S-Stop that!” He smacked your shoulder with a mix of panic and defiance. “Don’t be ridiculous. And, anyway, I didn’t even succeed! You still ended up in an altercation with that big-nosed dongsaeng of mine. Hah…”

You laughed a little. “Ah, I’m sorry about that too. It was my fault he was so riled up.”

Seokjin gave you a contemptuous look that would put even the most disapproving aunt to shame. “No, really?”

You tried not to laugh. He was making it very difficult. It was probably the designer suit and corporately-parted hair mixed with his cartoonish reaction. “Please don’t be too hard on him.”

He made a disgruntled face as if he had to deal with an obnoxious puppy. “You should be worried about me. I’m sure he’s back there stomping his feet and being a stubborn little shit. Hah, well. I’ll have security escort you to your car waiting outside. Don’t slap anybody.”

You pouted. His youthfulness was infectious. “Aish, I won’t. I know my limits.”

“If only your other half did.” Seokjin threw up his hands in exasperation. “Go before I change my mind.”

He wouldn’t.

You backed off anyway, letting Seokjin saunter off, and was greeted halfway to the door by a kind security guard who didn’t ask if you were going to slap him. He did seem amused though. He was professional enough to keep it to himself, leading you to a side entrance where a black car was waiting to take you home after a very long and enlightening night.

-

Night felt different now.

Days felt different too, but the change wasn’t as obvious due to the hours consumed by work. There was plenty of distraction during the day, although you became strangely aware to how the world seemed different. How the sunlight seemed brighter. How there seemed to be a rhythm to the birds’ wings as they flapped away. How you occasionally caught yourself scanning the faces on streets, looking for something.

Someone.

But the sunset is when you noticed the shadows dancing around you. As the day died, you watched people slip from their responsibilities to their desires. A warm meal. A visit to the store to pick up a visual treat or a world within pages. A chance to see a familiar face, ending in a hug or, if lucky, a kiss. Stories within bodies.

You, too.

You found yourself at the movie theater again. You spent a moment, scanning the titles, picking an action movie you had never heard of. Even splurged for the popcorn, shaking it up in the bag with the salty, garlicky powder getting on your fingertips. You spotted a few clusters of friends. Couples. But also a few single individuals that were busy getting comfortable in their seats, placing their belongings just so, as if they did this all the time.

So, you too, sat down and placed your black bow purse beside you, adjusting your popcorn bag to the perfect snacking distance. It was exciting as the lights dimmed to black, enjoying the music score in surround sound, sucked into another world of imaginary action that you could safely enjoy despite all the bullets.

With popcorn, of course.

It felt different now.

It was only after you made your way home that you realized why.

And you smiled.

Another night, you decided to stop by the mall. Not to buy anything really, but to listen to the music at each of the stores. In this day and age of everything online, it was rare for you to make the effort. It was different now though, somehow. Honestly, not so bad. You purchased an overpriced drink and pretended to look at all the clothes as you listened to what was popular right now. Occasionally, you heard something interesting and pulled out your phone to search for the title of the song vis one of the lyrics, the usual way you used to do it. There were definitely apps for identifying songs instantly now, you thought, but there was something hands on and extra satisfying of replicating an old process.

You found yourself in front of a wall of skirts.

You looked up at the colors, the patterns, and saw nothing of what was currently in your wardrobe.

At work, you were required to dress semi-professionally. A lot of single-color blouses, long black skirts, simple silhouette dresses. A cardigan was your idea of spicing it up. In fact, today you were in a maroon button-up blouse with a high neck and billowy sleeves, and your signature long black skirt. Black heels with a cross strap detail, nothing special. Before, while you were dating Jungkook, you had borrowed a lot of clothes, as they had been required for specific events. Transactions. Nothing you personally owned, nor needed to. Even the small, tight dresses that you had purchased for dates you didn’t own anymore. You had donated them all. They had been purchased with the intent to look like a model’s girlfriend. Not to look like, well.

Yourself.

A pink gingham miniskirt with small red strawberries stitched onto it caught your eye.

You left the store with a brown bag with a few parcels wrapped in pink tissue paper and a lighter bank account. Did you know where you were going to wear these clothes? Nope. It was different, buying without a purpose, and yet.

It was an excuse to find an occasion.

You settled on a bench with a smile.

You held your drink and lifted your head, watching people walk past. Seeing glimpses of their stories through the windows of shops. A surprised face at seeing something they wanted. A look of bliss once they took a sniff of a scented candle. A wringing of hands in front of a gift shop, running out of time and paralyzed by decision. You took a sip, wondering if they would be successful. Your thoughts wandered, as they always did. I have someone. Individual realities parallel to yours, with the occasional interaction a demonstration of interaction. Moments that required moving against the natural course for a purpose. Sometimes a brief purpose, and sometimes entangled because they wanted to be.

The question was, did you want to be?

You had become aware of how your line had been. Dulled by distraction, lacking intersections, moving the lonely course without remorse. All the small things becoming a blur of monotony. The roses had become colorless from the coldness that you had inadvertently held onto.

Bit by bit, you were finding color once more.

You stood up with your empty cup, hurrying to find the appropriate trash can to dispose it in.

“Hey, excuse me!”

You started.

A mother with her arm around a small child’s shoulders waved at you. “Your shopping.”

“Oh, sh–sorry!”

You went back, bowing repeatedly as you picked up the brown bag, startled that you had forgotten your quite expensive purchases. The child shook their head at you. You sheepishly laughed, letting yourself be scolded by the kid. “An adult shouldn’t be so careless!” Well, that was a bit harsh, but you thanked them anyway, waving as you parted.

You turned around, returning to your escape route.

Careless, huh?

Maybe the kid was right.

Someone in black was walking down the path. A man. He was walking fast. An oversized grey beanie with dark hair poking out. Body drowning in a slashed black hoodie and ripped jeans. Black boots. Black face mask. It was a bit odd because he was wearing sunglasses inside. Still, there was no reason for you to look twice. He looked up.

Somehow you knew your eyes had met.

You slowed down.

Jeon Jungkook slowed down, reaching up to remove his glasses.

Would your eyes have met if you hadn’t had to double back to retrieve your shopping bag?

If you weren’t careless?

You saw him catch his breath as soon as he knew it was you. You weren’t sure how he knew. Then again, how did you know? This entire adventure had been on a whim. He stopped at a reasonable distance from you, and half-lowered his face mask, as if to greet you. But neither of you could utter a word. You held your small black purse that you haven’t changed in several years. It was a simple design with the designer embossed in very small font above a leather bow sewed flush to the front. Unremarkable, really, unless you knew.

And he knew, because Jungkook had brought it for you.

The first gift at the very beginning. He looked from the bag to you. Wondering if he should comment on it. He hesitated, and you understood why. Two parallel lines. No interaction would occur unless one moved against the natural course and doing so would be, well.

Careless.

“I hope,” you started, cautiously. Something flickered in those big brown orbs. “I hope Kim Seokjin didn’t scold you too much.”

He lowered his head a bit, half-laughing and half-scowling. “I did get a scolding for causing a commotion.”

“It was my fault,” you acknowledged once again.

He shook his head. “No, it was mine.”

You half-smiled. “Wanna fight about it?”

Jungkook raised his head, still holding onto the bottom of his face mask. You could see the mirth in his stance. It was almost as if there wasn’t a weighing limbo trapped between you and him.

“Actually, yeah.”

Almost immediately, you saw him falter, as if he knew he shouldn’t say something like that. You felt a sting witnessing it. He opened his mouth, and you almost heard it, his casual, just kidding, and this wasn’t like him at all.

“Hey, Jungkook.”

You interrupted him before he could add, just kidding. He stiffened, exposing hints of the printed white t-shirt under the tears of his hoodie. You were both occupying space on the walkway. People needed to walk around, some unbothered, some slighted by the inconvenience. His name on your tongue felt foreign and familiar at the same time. An end and a beginning all at once.

I have someone.

So did you.

You smiled.

“It’s really good to see you out and about.”

His eyes widened. You hoped he could tell that you meant it. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat a bit, trying to eliminate the sudden croak. “Yeah. You too. I’m…” His eyes shifted a bit. He was always focused on you, regardless. “I’m glad I ran into you today.”

And maybe that was it.

You were okay with that, though. That might have previously been a lie, but not now. It was probably unnecessary to say. Perhaps you had spoken up for some sort of closure, for both you and him. A chapter ended in some way.

He rubbed the back of his neck, ticking his head to the brown bag by your side. “You came to shop today?”

You held it up halfway with a chuckle. “Ah, well… It wasn’t the plan. Ended up that way.” You noticed the way he intently observed your actions. Couldn’t avoid it, really. You lowered the bag, not hiding even though it was maybe the better thing to do. “What about you?”

He paused. Had he forgotten already? You watched him gain his bearings with bemused patience.

“Ah, I…”

Jungkook looked and sounded embarrassed.

“What the hell,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Actually, I cancelled a shoot last minute.”

Your head tilted. “I’m surprised. That’s not like you.”

His pink lips upturned. You could spot that tiny mole underneath them, right at the center. “Yeah…” He trailed off, unable to meet your gaze. Ashamed, almost.

“It’s okay, though,” you offered. You hated to see that expression on his face. “You did what you felt was right. These things happen.”

He scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I haven’t cancelled a shoot since…” He stopped.

You waited.

Jungkook glanced at you. You saw a pink twinge dust across his cheekbones.

“Since I first asked you out.”

You blinked at him. “What are you talking about?” You frowned. “I don’t remember anything like that.”

He winced and looked up at the ceiling, rocking on his heels a bit. “Actually, I… I lied. I pretended I wasn’t getting any bookings. Just to spend time with you in the beginning. But, uh, then I felt guilty. I wasn’t the man I thought I needed to be. The man you deserved.” He sighed, yanking one of his hands out to scratch his eyebrow absentmindedly. “But maybe I never was, because then I got swept up in all that bullshit.”

Jungkook looked down.

“I know it’s too late to say such things now.”

He seemed to collapse a little bit despite his tall frame.

“Now, it’s…” He sighed. “I can’t concentrate at all. I keep asking myself what I’m doing. For a while there I kept working in hopes that you would…” He grimaced again, but chose to ramble on anyway. “So you would still see me everywhere. Stupid, huh? And now it’s just…” He shook his head. “I think I should give up.”

You didn’t know what to say.

He took a deep breath and straightened. “Ah, my bad. I went on for nothing.” Bowing slightly, backing away. “I have a lot on my mind. I didn’t expect to run into you and now I’ve run my mouth like a madman.”

“Jungkook.”

His name came out of your mouth before you registered it. He stopped moving, looking back at you, halfway between pulling up his face mask. You struggled to find the words, clutching your unexpected purchases and your racing heart, his first present to you against your ribs.

“Don’t give up.”

You made sure not to break eye contact.

“It’s not like you to give up, you know. It’s my… my favorite thing about you.”

He seemed stunned.

“R… Really?”

You couldn’t help but smile. Nervously albeit fiercely determined.

“One of many.” You relaxed a bit, relieved that you were able to say so. You laughed a little at the absurdity of it all. “Although perhaps we need to stop doing these kinds of things in public.”

Jungkook jumped, seemingly realizing all the people around too. “Ah… Whoops.”

You bowed as you spoke. “Then, I’ll…”

The way he said your name, so soft and dreamlike, made you freeze mid-movement. He seemed flustered, stepping a little closer to you. It was the correct moment to pull back, replace some respective distance between you and him to keep a measure of strangers, and yet.

You let your eyes meet his under wisps of black hair sticking out of his beanie.

“Can we spend a little more time together? If it’s not too much trouble?”

It was. You had work tomorrow. You needed to get home and put away your things. Wash up. Do your nightly routine to unwind. Get back to being a responsible adult with responsibilities living a responsible life.

Your lips curved into a mischievous smile.

“Sure.”

-

“Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere.”

You were standing by his motorbike now. His pride and joy, yet you knew it was rarely used in his day-to-day life. For the best, probably, considering the risk. You weren’t surprised to see it today though. He always rode when he felt frustrated or out of it. The walk here had been silent, which you had expected. Jungkook was the king of speaking without a plan. You didn’t mind it, though. It reminded you of good times.

He awkwardly shuffled, obviously realizing that himself now.

“Hey.”

“Uh?” he answered distractedly.

“Why did you ask me out back then?”

He fumbled with his hands a bit. “Ah, that’s…”

You tilted your head, patiently waiting.

“I…” He stuttered a bit. Cleared his throat again. “I just couldn’t help but look twice. I thought you were hot as hell.”

You almost snorted. “Don’t you encounter enough of that at work?” you chuckled.

He shook his head. “No, it’s more like… Um, even if they’re attractive, everyone knows it is pretty for a purpose. They’re all taking care of themselves. Looks are the selling point, after all.” He poked at his own chest. “Me too.” He raised his head to you. “But you’re different. You don’t have to think about how you look will reflect in a paycheck. You take care of yourself for yourself.”

You thought about it. It didn’t seem that extraordinary. “Well, anybody can do that.”

He smirked.

“If anybody could do it, why could I only see you?”

Heat rushed to your cheeks. You raised a hand to smack him and stopped short. Instead, you let your hand fall and half-rolled your eyes. “Ehhh, don’t try to pull that stuff on me.”

He laughed behind his hand. “Have to try.”

You frowned with feigned annoyance. Jungkook had always been taller than you, even in heels, assuming you weren’t opting for miniature stilts. Still, you always had the impression he was never looking down at you, but up, even when his eyes were downcast.

“Yeah, that.”

You narrowed your eyes. “What?”

“That look you’re giving me right now,” he chuckled sheepishly. “I knew you’d be able to balance me out and set me straight.”

You squinted at him. You let out a puff of air and looked away, tumbled into memories where maybe you could have been the one to change the course of these parallel lines. “Yeah, and look where that got us,” you muttered.

Sigh.

Somewhere behind you, a car honked loudly.

“Standing next to each other?” Jungkook quietly asked.

Two cars were having trouble at an intersection at the end of the row.

Standing next to each other.

Your gaze drifted back and locked with his. He didn’t try to hide the emotions his eyes. You were quite sure he could see through you too. The impasse remained, not because a bridge couldn’t be built, but because it couldn’t bear to be burned once more. Once more meant it would crumble to ash and disappear forever. You had thought it already had, until tonight.

You tried to reason with the unreasonable. “You cannot believe you skipping work and me deciding to spend a good chunk of my paycheck to mean some serendipitous shit, can you?” you scoffed.

He gave you that brilliant smile that had tamed you from the very beginning.

“You–”

You poked him hard in the chest.

“Ahh!”

Jungkook must not have expected that at all.

He almost fell over.

Your hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of his hoodie, dragging him back. His body lurched, slightly off balance, and your elbow swung forward, bracing onto his abs, leaving your faces close enough together for bystanders to get the wrong idea. For him to get the wrong idea. For you, too. You were close enough to count his eyelashes.

Enough time elapsed that you might as well have.

“What… What is with you?” you muttered, gripping his clothes. “You’re so… dramatic.”

He had another piercing on the side of his right lip now. Huh. How come you didn’t notice? Probably too busy being mad at him. Or not staring at his lips in fear of indecent thoughts. This current proximity and shared heat were not helping. His hands were somehow on your shoulders. Probably to steady himself. Or something else. You weren’t sure.

Jungkook stared at your lips.

You didn’t back away.

He leaned down and kissed you.

He must be an idiot to put you both in this position again. You must be an idiot too, because you kissed him back. Fuck it. Your hand on his chest relaxed, fingers spreading out, pressing your lips to his, breathing him in. He still used the same cologne you had complimented on back then. It made you smile into his lips. His tense hands on your shoulders fluttered, one slipping down to your upper arm, the other grazing your neck. His thumb brushing the side of your cheek. His other fingers weaving into your hair, tilting his head slightly. No promises, but.

A dream made.

You tapped his chest, forcing him to break the connection.

“W… What?” Jungkook gasped, his short breath mixing into yours.

“Not… Not here,” you chuckled, feeling your racing pulse in your throat. “I think we’ve done enough public reconciliation. Adding public indecency is not it. Someone is going to recognize you soon.”

Those shadowed eyes watching you were telling you he was ready to risk it.

“No,” you gritted, punching his chest lightly. Surprisingly, Jungkook did not budge and held on very strongly to your arm. “Stop that. Stop it with the sex eyes.”

He grinned. You could tell from the way his eyes crinkled. “Is it working?”

You pried yourself from him with some effort.

“All you’re telling me is that you really like handcuffs.”

“Promise?”

You straightened your clothes and answered absentmindedly. “Promise what?” You looked up to give him an indignant expression. He took your purchases to place them in the back of his motorcycle, giving you no verbal response.

Just a sneaky smirk in return.

-

“What did you think was gonna happen?”

“Uh…”

Before he could make another sound, you grabbed Jeon Jungkook by the collar and dragged him to you.

It was different.

Just not in the way you thought it would be.

Part of you thought to hold back. Build a solid foundation to see if this would work. Talk for a long while, move slow, step by recommended step. Then again, if you actually believed that, you would have instructed him to take you back to your apartment. Maybe send him off with a kiss and a pat on the head. You know. The complete opposite of shoving him up against his living room wall and tracing your tongue over his moaning lips with his hands gripping your waist. If this was going to work, it was always going to work. It didn’t matter if it was the wrong way or the right way.

This love was either going down in a blaze of glory or start an everlasting fire.

Might as well get on the ride.

You let him kiss down your neck, your hands sliding down to his. Interlocking fingers. Shivering at the sensation of his lips in your skin, familiar and new. Body-to-body. You pulled up his hands to force him to lose the top layers, including the beanie, exposing his toned chest and gleaming tattoos going from his right hand to his shoulder. His hoodie and t-shirt fell to the floor in a soft thump. His hair was different than when you had last seen him. Sides shaven, the top still long, messy black waves due to being crammed into the beanie. He flicked his head back, sending black strands all over his half-moon eyes, glistening pink lips parted in a soundless gasp.

You took his wrists and pinned Jungkook to the wall.

Panting, watching him under you despite looking upwards.

“W… What?” he breathed, locked in your transfixed stare.

It was different, yet it was the same. You could feel it. There could have been many others between the last time and right now. You knew there wasn’t. It was both sad and validating, because you knew how much he hated being alone, but now you knew there was truth to those promises he had said to you between sheets and pillows.

You leaned down and licked a wet, fat stripe over his chest, dripping saliva all over him.

Jungkook moaned, leaning his head against the wall.

“You belong to me,” you whispered over his heart. Raised your head and he was looking back at you.

Only you.

“I belong to you,” he whispered back.

You skimmed your lips over his skin.

“Prove it to me.”

He surrendered.

To your tongue, tracing patterns over his collarbones. To your lips, dotting kisses and making him flinch, whining for more. To your hands, holding him down and at your mercy, exploring him with sight, touch, and taste. You let go of one of his wrists to trail your nails over his abdomen, observing the way his body rippled, lifting towards you as sensitivity increased. You let your fingers wander, around his waist and into shaded territory, running your nails down his spine, watching his reaction. His head tilted back, hair in wisps around his temples, dark eyes clouded in lust.

Your name slipped from his lips.

You dug your nails into his lower back and pulled yourself up, unable to keep the side of your lips from curving upwards at his delicious whines.

“Take off my blouse.”

His fingertips slid across the slinky maroon fabric. Button by button, the fabric began to unravel in his hands, your forehead to his as he did so. You took his breath, tracing his muscles, murmuring his name just to feel him shiver as he heard it.

“I never had anyone else after you,” he mumbled, circling one of the buttons with his thumb. “I couldn’t.”

“You could have,” you hummed. “You were a free man.”

Jungkook undid the last button and stared into your eyes.

“No, I’m not.”

You half-smiled. “I wouldn’t take it personally.”

He leaned in again, brushing your lips with his.

“I belong to you.”

His touch, his kiss, the dance of mesmerizing senses. You stepped back. He followed. Tangled in each other, your blouse slipping off and dropping to the floor. Your bra unclasped, tumbling, his hands all over, places he had been a million times and desiring forevermore, squeezing your breasts with his hands, almost tripping over your skirt as you stepped out of it. His pants joined the trail of passion, and then his tongue was on you, lifting you in his arms and tasting your hard nipples with your hands in his hair, clutching his head for support with your legs around his waist.

“I’m going to fall,” you gasped, breathless.

“Over my dead body,” was the muffled answer with his face buried into your breasts. “Fuck, I love your ass.”

Perhaps to avoid death getting two for the price of one, Jungkook let you down, devouring you with kisses with your taste lingering on his lips, sinking his fingers into the soft curves. You curled your tongue against his, making him moan, hips grinding against hips, feeling his insistent hardness against your softness, trapping himself between your legs. You were still in your panties and he was still in his boxer briefs, although the thin fabrics were merely a nuisance to the inevitable.

“Jungkook…”

He was thrusting into you and jamming his cock in between your thighs, his strong arms wrapped around you and his teeth on your shoulder. You hummed, torn between telling him off and enjoying the feeling of his arousal swelling between your legs, but it was he who gasped and threw his head back, his hard length twitching against your clothed pussy.

“You ready to include me in this?” you questioned, amused.

“S-Sorry… Can’t help myself…”

Somehow, by instinct and minor effort, you were both in his bedroom now. The familiar bed you had once called yours, remembering the future dreamed upon those white sheets. Jungkook pulled you to them, calling you to the paradise that could only be created between two. Don’t, was your meek protest as he pulled down your panties and kneaded your thighs, shaking his head, I don’t care, and his tongue slid over your heat. Wet, dripping, your sweet taste and his saliva. He moaned between your legs, decorating you with kisses before sliding his tongue over you, drinking you desperately, you taste so fucking good, fuck, and your fingers buried into the sheets. He remembered everything you liked. Steady, soft licks, then harder when your legs tensed, tipping his head to bring his lips around your clit, drenching his chin with your wetness.

His hands turned and slipped under your legs, dragging you to his face by your ass.

“F-Fuck, Jungkook…”

You reached down and gripped his hair as you came on his face, his muffled gasp of surprise drowned out by the moan produced through your arched back and prolonged euphoria. Fuck. Fuck, it hadn’t been evident how much you missed this, no, him, your knuckles against the crown of his head, his hot tongue all over, his fingers locked onto your ass, even the way his nose brushed against your oversensitive clit as he thrust his tongue into your pussy, triggering another wave of pleasure, sparking electricity that burned through your veins.

His.

He pulled himself up with a groan, his mouth all over your body. Leaving bites, kisses, licks in his lustful wake. Your nails dug into his shoulder and he made that whimper you loved, obviously wanting more, and so you clawed his upper back as he pretended to resist you, refusing to move higher as he sucked on your nipples, gazing at you under half-lidded eyes, rubbing your other nipple between his fingers.

“Take it,” you growled under your breath.

He did, rubbing his hard, neglected cock against your thigh, denying himself longer.

Over time, you had hesitated to do such things. Jungkook had gotten in trouble before for being marked up. After all, his body was his selling point, and booking back-to-back shoots with poor choices in between ended up in humiliation. Unjustly so, perhaps, but you never did it again. Maybe you should have been more considerate this time too, but, no, that wasn’t what he was asking for.

He wanted the consequences of you.

He brought his face close to yours, your orgasm still on his breath.

“Mark me,” Jungkook demanded, his voice low and deep and gravelly. “I’m yours.”

So you did.

Hickeys on his perfect neck, sharp nails over his ass as you pushed down his underwear, adorning him with fierce, vicious passion that bruised him. He kissed your forehead, buried his fingers in your hair, and pinned you to him, pre-cum dripping onto your hip as he kicked off his restraints, pressing his hardness to you.

“You’ll get in trouble,” you warned even though the damage was already done.

“I don’t care,” he retorted, his thigh rubbing against your still-wet pussy. “I don’t care if I have to cancel the rest of the week. I don’t care if I never work in the modeling industry again. The only thing I care about is making sure you always know how much I love you.”

You froze, your lips above the inked floral mandala on his right shoulder.

“I should have made time.”

His arms drew up and encircled your head, his lips against the crown.

“I’m so, so sorry for not realizing how disrespectful I was to you. And I won’t do it again,” he murmured, leaving kisses intertwined with your hair. “I promise.”

“I…”

You reached up and held his shoulders, anchored despite the turbulence of an emotional sea.

“I missed being by your side, Jungkook.”

If his hard dick wasn’t literally throbbing against your hip, you might have cried.

You reached down and touched him.

“Ah!”

“Woah.” Your arm hooked around his waist as your hand enclosed around his girth. “I’m just making sure he’s keeping interest even during this emotional breakthrough.”

His cheeks flushed as he realized he had chosen his moment with possibly suboptimal timing. He didn’t have to worry. His body seemed to recognize your hand right away. You could feel the way his cock eagerly twitched on your palm. You cocked an eyebrow. He gave you a the-fuck-you-expect look, and you curled two fingers around his balls, lightly massaging with the pads of your fingers, simulating your tongue. He gasped, gripping your shoulders.

You leaned down and spit in your hand.

“F-Fuck!”

You backed up and slowly, leisurely, spread the slippery saliva all over his cock, letting him adjust his knees to give you a better positioning. Your other arm had moved behind you, lifting your torso up as you jacked him off. He seemed to not know what to do with his hands, foreign objects in his possession before his eye line drifted down. Down. His fingers trailed over your breasts, squeezing them and playing with your nipples as you increased the pace.

“Handcuffs could come in handy right now,” you commented.

He glared at you.

“S… Shut up.”

His cock had throbbed at the suggestion though.

You tilted your head, watching his breathing quicken as you applied the pressure where he liked it, the same pulse every time, not too fast and not too slow, building the frustration with a smile.

His face tensed.

Faster. A little tighter. Your thumb rubbed just under the base of the head with every ascent. He placed his palms against your hard nipples and you felt the familiar snap of his hips, leaning into your hand, his eyelashes fluttering, and for a brief moment you considered stopping.

Then again, these weren’t your sheets.

He gasped out your name and shot all over your stomach and thigh.

Hot, thick cum splattered onto your skin, making you suck in a breath as you felt it, saw it, smelled it, intense and strong and all over you. You were lucky it was on the thicker side, white streaks sticking to your body rather than running off. A painting of perverse proportions. Jungkook stared at his work, still semi-hard in your hand, clearly turned on by the sight. You sent him a questioning look.

“What now?”

Then he shocked you, and probably himself, by diving down and running his warm tongue over your cum-covered skin.

“Oh, what–”

Instant burning tingles spread throughout your nerves at the contact, vibrating through to your core, dripping as you witnessed the milky white coat his tongue. Your hand touched his shoulder, drawing him up, and he was tamed by your gesture, rising, his lips smeared with his release, and you drew closer to the heavy scent, to him. Lips to lips. Drank it from his mouth, swallowing the mixture of saliva and orgasm. Your tongue tangled in his, his fingers in between your legs again, thrusting two fingers into you, following the pull you had on him. Deep, slow, faster as the kiss grew more intense, breath to consumed breath, rolling your hips up into his hand, tightening around him, and Jungkook moaned, getting harder in your hand as your slick arousal drenched his.

“Condom?”

They spilled over the bed in his haste.

You were pleased to see it was the same brand you usually enjoyed. There wasn’t much to be read into that, though, because they had become his favorite as well per your introduction. You wondered if there would be a second first-time awkwardness and you were immediately proven wrong from the desperate and experienced way Jungkook dragged your ass to line up his dick. There was no time to be anxious, it seemed.

“You’ve acting like you’ve never had me before,” you teased.

Those dark eyes narrowed. “Don’t act like you don’t have the tightest, most perfect pussy I’ve ever been in.”

You half-shrugged. “Things could change.”

He slid in and clenched his jaw.

“You liar.”

You smirked and closed in around his length.

“F-Fuuuuuuuck me…”

You could have probably kept it up if it wasn’t for how fucking good he felt inside you. Just the right girth, and he lifted your legs, deeper, gasping, reaching the depth you liked. Your thighs against his chest. You locked eyes. Jungkook cocked an eyebrow with a familiar smirk. The corner of your lips ticked upward, and the rough, powerful pace began, your hand gripping his tattooed forearm and the other the sheets, losing yourself to the pleasure, pressed between the mattress and his hard body. His eyes closed, your lashes fluttering, witnessing glimpses of bliss, whispers of sweet nonsense lost between moans, leaning your head back onto his pillows, sinking into his scent.

Belonging to him.

His hair flicked sweat onto your chest. Your hand on the bed bent back and shoved the pillows down, using the leverage to lift your hips to his thrust, moaning at the visceral sound of slapping hips, wet and loud and vibrating throughout the room.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he panted out between gasps. “Fuck, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

You tried to deliver a compliment back but it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Your orgasm abruptly interrupted any coherent though, forcing you to bury your head back and endure the vice-grip of wanton delirium, barely able to gasp out his name as the hot wave dragged you under, your inner walls viciously pulsing all around his length. You heard Jungkook groan and attempt to say something, probably how much he enjoyed feeling your orgasm, he had done so before, however he seemed to be in his own dilemma as well, clenching his jaw and snapping his head down, the muscles of his chest taut and tense, and, in your intoxicated haze, you realized he was attempting not to follow, but.

“Fuck!”

He slammed his cock into you and cursed, throwing his head back as you felt the jerk of his cock spilling into the condom, trapped in your tightness, dragged into the kind of fever that couldn’t be sweat out, sinking down, down.

You stilled, suspended in bliss.

It was a little easier to breathe now. You missed this. Him, specifically. The sex you had together, carnal and intense and unparalleled. Closed your eyes, breathing hard, feeling the familiarity of Jungkook on top of you, spent, sweaty, frantic for round two. He didn’t like stopping if he could help it. It was one of his best traits. You felt him lower your legs carefully, backing out of you with a hiss.

Then you heard a wet, dirty sound.

You opened one eye.

He was staring at your body.

Running his fingers over his still-hard cock, bringing it back to full hardness.

“Let me look at you.”

You hummed. “You’re only seeing one side.”

His dark eyes shifted up to yours.

“Okay. Turn over.”

Desire turned his voice deeper, huskier.

With a sly smile, you rolled over, and scooted onto your knees, spreading your ass for him. You heard him suck in a breath, that’s so fucking sexy, and you flexed, letting him watch, entrancing him with the visual and the obvious sound of your wetness.

“Every part of you is perfect.” You could hear him jacking himself off, hard and fast. “Fucking perfect.”

“I feel that your judgement is clouded right now,” you answered back, muffled by his pillows in your face.

You heard the ripping sound and then a groan as he rolled down the condom. Then his strong hands grabbed your hips, prompting you to let go, and he sank into you.

“Fuck no, it’s not,” he gasped, picking you up by the hips to fully sheath himself. You managed to pull a pillow to your chest to allow ample breathing room. “I don’t want anyone else. No one else can satisfy me.”

You made your pussy tighten around him and he moaned again, his hot breath washing down your spine.

“Then let me satisfy you,” you purred, leaning back into him.

Your ass met his crotch in a loud, gratifying smack, easily locking into a rhythm you both enjoyed. Hard, aggressive, powerful, not holding back, you lifting a hand to extend back, and he caught your forearm, thrusting deeply as he held onto you. All of his power was directed below, the grip on your arm simply a symbol of possession, forcing you to lift your head and arch your back, adjusting to that more fruitful angle, sending heat all throughout your blood and nerves, the tension building, louder, harder, more.

He let you go, and you bucked back against him.

Moaned your name, delicious and desperate, begging you.

It was hard to count your orgasms. They seemed to blend into one another, entangled with the passion and the beat, not wanting to stop even as you struggled to breathe, clutching the pillow so hard that you could still feel your nails digging into your palm. The lust searing and yet not enough, chasing more, wanting more, wanting him, only him, your only, the one that belonged to you.

Your head tipped back, seeing only fragments of your surroundings, your hair a mess over your face.

“Jungkook, I love you,” you gasped.

You felt his hips flinch and he moaned your name, long and drawn-out, his hard cock jolting inside you, gripping your hips so tightly you probably had imprints of his fingertips. There was a flurry of expletives and panting. The haze of inexplicable euphoria settling, unavoidable and desired. You closed your eyes, savoring his release, feeling the radiating vibrations of his high pour into you as he slid down, his hot hands over your back, his shuddering exhales warming your shoulder blades.

Sweat, in small shivering droplets, sprinkled onto your skin.

“I love you too.”

He pressed his fingertips into your rising and falling body, touching you all over, confessing to your racing heart beneath his lips.

“I love you so fucking much.”

-

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, totally.”

You turned your head to see Jungkook staring at your tits. You tucked a knuckle under his chin and forced it up. He gave you the big-peepers-in-headlights look.

“Huh?”

“Are you sure about this?” you repeated once more.

He gave you a confused look. “Yeah. I thought we talked about it?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Pardon me, but I’m not sure how much I can trust a discussion we were having with you balls deep inside me.”

“Eh?” His lower lip upturned. “Why not?”

You rubbed your temple with two fingers. “Why not, hah…”

“I meant it.”

You pulled one of his pillows over your naked chest so he could focus. You weren’t even sure why he had these. Jungkook slept on one of those stiff cylindrical pillows that was supposedly more comfortable. You weren’t too sure about how good that was for his neck, but sometimes you just have to accept the strangeness of your significant other. He must have kept these for the look of a nicely made bed. Or for moments like this. His eyes went back to your face again, reluctantly. He seemed a little disappointed.

“You don’t think I meant it?”

You saw his eyes were drifting to your thighs now. “It’s not really that…” You considered it. “It’s more… Well, we’ve tried already, you know. Aren’t you afraid it’ll happen again?”

His gaze shifted. You waited, letting him collect his thoughts.

“Afraid?” You saw him reflect the past and the mistakes. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am. I’m definitely going to change from how I was before. I can see how my work-life balance was shit, as both a friend and boyfriend. I don’t want to go back to that either,” Jungkook mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I get it now. I can’t get time back. I was stupid, thinking me overworking myself wouldn’t drive you away, you know, we would have so much more time later… I went about it the worst way. I didn’t even discuss it with you. That was just me being selfish, and that selfishness made me insecure… I don’t want that anymore. I promise you that.” He shook his head and looked up at you guiltily. “Still… I can’t promise I won’t fuck up in some other way. And that scares me. But I have to act, even if I’m scared. Even if your final answer is, let’s not see each other anymore, at least I will have honestly given you my all this time, because you are it for me.”

You shook your head too. “There could be someone out there for you that is a lot more suitable than me. The world is the big place.”

He frowned, exasperated. “No. No, you don’t get it.” He placed a hand on your knee and looked into your eyes. “You are it for me. The world is big place, but my world is right here.” He poked you and you laughed, startled at the suddenness. A smile burst onto his face, holding your knee down, trying to drive his point home over your mirth. “Hey! Hey. I really meant it. All of it.”

You stopped laughing.

Somehow one of your hands was covering his now, feeling his warmth and hard knuckles in your palm.

“I belong to you,” Jungkook repeated, his own I love you. “I can’t love anyone else like how I love you. I don’t care if you believe me or not. Even if you leave me, sure, I might find someone to not be lonely with, but I will only belong to you.”

You held onto his hand, curling your fingers into his palm. “You…” This man was crazy, saying things like this. He affectionately squeezed your knee, flashing that killer smile of his.

“So… Yeah, I’m sure.”

He pulled his hand from under yours and touched your cheek, his knuckles against your skin.

“I’ll go along with whatever you choose.”

Truth was, you had already chosen.

“I’ll do my best too,” you murmured quietly, holding the pillow tightly. “I won’t let myself be complacent anymore.”

From the look in his eyes, you saw that Jungkook recognized that it had become an unintentional consequence of his actions. He smiled, still stroking your cheek.

“Yeah. Let’s be a team this time.”

You nodded, smiling back.

An extended silence of staring into each other’s eyes.

“Jungkook.”

“Hm?”

“Are you just imagining rubbing your dick on my cheek?”

His rough fingertips grazed over your jaw. “Yeah,” he replied dreamily.

You smacked his hand.

“Ow!”

“Pay attention!”

“W-Wha, what?” He pouted. “What am I supposed to do!”

You grimaced, feigning annoyance but also not really. This guy. “No wonder we could only have serious talks in public or incarcerated…” you muttered.

“Ah, yeah, that reminds me.”

You raised an eyebrow at him as he twisted around and reached over to his phone, watching the ripple of his back muscles as he moved. Damn. This guy. He bounced back, messing about on the screen. You were too busy admiring the definition of his arms to notice, until.

“What kind of handcuffs should we buy?” Jungkook chirped, turning his phone to showing you the screen display of a sex goods webstore.

You blinked at him.

“What.”

And thus begun round two.

-

epilogue

“Hey- oh, wow.”

You stilled, surprised.

‘Oh, I thought you were going to meet me there?”

In your hand was your well-loved small black purse with a bow. Your other hand held the door open, seeing the tall form of Jeon Jungkook gawking at you in his matching denim jacket and jeans. Calvin Klein, the same brand as his white t-shirt under the jacket. That same brand was holding a lunch event today, except one of their attendees was blocking your path, open-mouthed at your hips wrapped in a tight, pink gingham miniskirt with embroidered red strawberries. Then his stare went to your chest, to the emerald-green satin blouse that complimented the little green accents of the mini strawberries, although you suspected his interest was less in the color and more in the way the seams accentuated the curve of your breasts.

You raised your eyebrows.

“I… I left early. I wanted to pick you up,” he was saying absentmindedly.

You gestured to the black car waiting at the front. “I already ordered a car, though. I can’t ride with you on your bike in this skirt.”

“We can get in the car.” Jungkook’s eyes went back down. You knew he wasn’t admiring the delicate crisscross straps of your black velvet pumps. “Damn, your legs,” he mumbled.

The driver of the car was about to watch a live-action porno if you didn’t take action. You set the alarm and lock before stepping out. Immediately, Jungkook’s hand raised, as did his gaze. You looked from the tattooed hand to his face. He grinned, creating sparkles in his big dark brown eyes.

“I ran off, hehe. I just wanted to personally accompany my darling,” he admitted. “Hopefully no one noticed.”

You fitted your hand in his, letting him lead you. “You’re too handsome not to notice. What a troublemaker,” you joked, pleased at his rebellion.

“Your troublemaker now. Where are we eating?”

“There’s a French themed café near some shops. After, could we stop by the tea shop? My dad has a request I need to fulfill.”

“Ooo, I love adventures with my future wife.”

You gave him a curious smirk. His mischievous grin just kept getting bigger, that underlip mole suddenly visible like a secret wink. He had been dropping such hints lately. You pretended to gloss over it even though the discussion of dream rings had already happened months ago. You reached out to open the car door and Jungkook impatiently nudged your hand away, doing it for you so you could enter easily in your heels. It was a very nice thing to do.

Taehyung probably grilled such behaviors into him. Not that you were complaining, of course.

You confirmed the destination with the driver as Jungkook got in the car from the other side, taking care to hook his sunglasses on the front of his shirt. You heard his phone vibrate. You turned your head to see him snickering at it.

“Taehyungie’s mad that I left him alone.”

“Whoops.” You did feel a little bad.

He waved a hand, tongue in cheek. “He’ll get over it.”

Your eyes met.

He had such beautiful, expressive eyes that held the stars every time he saw you.

“You sure?” you asked quietly.

Jungkook reached over and stroked your cheek with a smile.

“I’m sure I want to eat lunch with my future wife, yup. Then I’ll buy tea for her dad so I can get on his good side.”

You laughed. “Sounds like a sweet master plan.”

His black hair loosely styled over his forehead made him look younger. You knew better. Perhaps grown was not the word for it, but you could tell he was becoming more and more of the man he wanted to be every day. Attending events with Jungkook was different these days; he checked on you throughout the night, actively included you in conversations, and even introduced you to people he thought you might enjoy talking to, now to the point that familiar faces would come up to you first before they recognized him. But what was more important was this – arranging quality time to spend together, more communication, and obvious commitment. The pleasant surprise not being flowers or sweets or other material things, and instead his presence earlier than expected.

His laugh at night.

His forehead kiss in the morning, even if you were half-awake in bed.

His silly photos of fogging up a makeup artist’s mirror with his breath and drawing a heart with your name inside it.

He still had a hectic schedule, but now you and him knew when enough was enough. You could finally talk about it before either of you became too stressed out or lonely by it. That improvement was worth that entire roller coaster to get here.

You smiled.

He smiled back, his knee touching yours.

He was still stroking your cheek.

“Jungkook.”

“Hm?”

“What are you thinking right now?”

He didn’t respond right away. He just adjusted his legs suspiciously and gave you his most innocent look that indicated he was most certainly guilty.

“Eh?”

You took him by the wrist and slowly lowered it before the driver could notice your partner-in-crime’s suspicious behavior. He pouted at you. The tent in his pants twitched. You cocked an eyebrow. Then you remembered something.

“Oh, by the way.”

He perked up. “What is it?”

You unzipped your purse a little bit and flashed the edge of shiny silver metal and chain.

“I borrowed something from a friend.”

Jungkook looked down.

Odd that it took him more than a moment to recognize handcuffs, considering that he – and you – had so much prior experience with them. His eyes went wide once it clicked. His cheeks flushed red. You smirked and rezipped your bag.

“What the fu–”

fin.

-

i hear... | ... the whispers... | ... in your eyes.

inspired by taylor swift's imgonnagetyouback :)

--

masterpost

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

Pairing | Yandere Jungkook x Reader

Word Count | 1,542

Warnings | +18, smut dubcon(?), somnophilia, pussy worship, pussy eating, tongue fucking, fingering, male masturbation, Jungkook is desperately horny, cumming on her, body worship, breast/nipples worship, explicit language and descriptions, kidnapping, Jungkook is absolutely obsessed, this is not for minors.

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | If she had paid attention earlier to the sin that dwelt behind those obsidian irises, she would never have trusted it.

If she had noticed earlier the devouring love that dwelled in his corrupt heart, she probably would have fled.

She had done none of that, and now she had to come to terms with her new reality.

➢ Author's Note | Third chapter of Happy Ending arrived, enjoy your reading, my dears 🥰❤

Chapter List - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII / The End

That same night, a shadow wandered around the young woman's apartment. It had not been difficult to get there, as he had already thought, those windows were too old and easy to force, he could not allow Y/N to live in such a place. If a novice like him had managed to open the window facing the kitchen so quickly, then an experienced thief would have been able to do even better. He looked around, scrutinizing every nook and cranny, being very careful not to make any noise, noticed a pizza box on the table, with Coke cans scattered around, was very careful not to step on a single one - mentally cursing at the girl's mess - and headed for what he guessed was her room.

He opened the door slightly, which squeaked faintly because of rust, but that was not enough to wake the girl who lived in the apartment. Y/N must have been a very heavy sleeper, the boy thought. Jungkook was there for one simple reason, to take Y/N away and make her live a better life with him. Normally an art professor would not have made that much money, but professor was not his only job, he thought with a grin. The school's principal, Kim Seokjin, had his hands in everything, and someone like Jungkook was right for him. He then looked around, studying the environment to get an idea about his beloved's tastes, finding a variety of references to anime and manga, as well as books and flowers. Nothing that hinted at a passion for fashion, but of that Jungkook did not worry, he would see to it that she was dressed cute and perfect, just for the pleasure of his eyes.

Reaching just to one side of the single bed, he stared at Y/N sleeping blissfully with only part of the blanket to give her warmth, the tender lower lip protruded invitingly and Jungkook felt the urge to squeeze it between his teeth, tasting its softness. He shivered slightly when he took a flap of the blanket, pulling it aside. He slowly uncovered Y/N's body, revealing something that made the man's brain go haywire. Y/N slept in only a tank top and panties even in winter. It was a comfortable habit for the girl, but for Jungkook it was like a wedding invitation, literally. His eyes did not break away from the bare skin in the slightest while enough light filtered through the window to make that vision heavenly for him.

He slowly knelt down, a hand flew within inches of her calves, he did not know whether to touch her that way or not, she was not conscious, it would not be right, would it? The boy found himself gritting his teeth, it would only be a caress, a gentle caress. He gently laid his fingers on one calf, held his breath at the smooth sensation of her skin against his fingertips and continued with the slow ascent, felt his lips dry up when, having reached her knee, Y/N decided of her own volition to spread her leg wide, leaving a wide view of her intimacy covered by the blue panties, at which point Jungkook's blood concentrated in one spot. He took that sign as a Y/N response to continue. He climbed onto the bed gently, positioning himself right on top of the young woman, his hand opening on her inner thigh, the softest and most tender part of her leg, felt that buttery texture under his fingers and did the same with the other, thus bringing both legs apart for him, he sent down watering at that scene so erotic that it nearly drove him mad.

He felt powerful as never before in his life, he could do anything he wanted to her and she would continue to sleep blissfully. The young girl's tightly closed eyelids cast lash shadows across her cheeks, she was so serene in sleep that Jungkook found her enchanting, so much so that he leaned over her, stealing a sweet kiss on her cheek, in love with that pure little fairy of his. His. He watched for a possible reaction, but she continued to sleep. Not content, he descended lower, to the tender breasts enclosed in that wide camisole, lifted the pale fabric finding himself face to face with what, he knew, would become his favorite damnation, studied with hungry eyes the perfect color of those still soft and relaxed little buttons, barely touching with a finger the velvety, graceful circle of an areola. He trapped the tender nipple with his lips, sucking it tenderly inside his warm, moist mouth, felt it plump under the strokes of his tongue and found himself nibbling on it without too much pressure, sending small, sweet twinges to the young girl's sleeping body. Y/N, for her part, turned her head slightly, opening her mouth slightly in a moan that her brain could not fully register.

Jungkook cupped the other breast, stimulating it with the tip of a finger, squeezing it lightly before devoting his mouth to it as well, and the more he engulfed that tender flesh, the more his cock throbbed uninterruptedly in search of its dose of forbidden caresses. A pop resounded from the room as he let go of his grip on the young girl's now abused nipple, went down with moist kisses all along the girl's chest, with his sweet prey's breathing rising in response, thus reaching the lower abdomen licking a small trail around her navel, moaning silently at the taste of that skin that he would also have gladly bitten into, but he could not risk waking the girl up in the midst of his fun, so he merely descended lower and lower, reaching to the fabric of her panties. With the tip of his nose he pressed against her covered pussy, ecstatically inhaling the natural scent of her essence, he felt himself salivating and his own boxers got a little wet, he pressed his erection against the mattress moving slightly to give himself some relief, not satisfied he peeled back the fabric of the panties and almost thought he would come there on the spot. The rosy flesh of the folds opened under the pressure of his index finger, revealing the swollen clitoris and the sweet slit from which sweet transparent liquid was already leaking.

Jungkook gave a long lick that from the young woman's narrow entrance reached up to her clitoris, encircling it with the tip in a tender and insistent caress; on another occasion the boy would have cried out in the most bewitching pleasure, but he forced himself to enjoy that taste in silence. Y/N unknowingly thrust his hips into the man's ravenous mouth in a soft, slow rhythm that delighted Jungkook. That to him was the ultimate proof that the girl accepted his intimate attentions without regret. He used two fingers to stimulate the young woman's lit and pulsating clitoris, continuing with the tip of his tongue to penetrate the tight and wet slit, sucking the small quivering lips together with the unconscious girl's legs, continuing to poke and pull at that pearl now stiff and ready to explode between his index finger and thumb, teasing the soft flesh ever more insistently. "Mm... Ah...!" the girl's back arched slightly, exposing more and more of her intimacy to the boy, her body tried to keep up with that forbidden pleasure, in her mind Y/N was dreaming, dreaming of Jungkook and in her dream the boy was doing to her just what the real Jungkook was joyfully enacting in reality.

He willingly swallowed the young girl's fluids with yet another tongue caress, then replaced his fingers with the latter, cradling the pulsating clitoris in velvety lashings, penetrating the now-soaked entrance with his fingertips, the girl rigidly propped her feet up on the mattress, opening her mouth wide and frowning in a shrill howl, which was prolonged when her clitoris succumbed to extreme pleasure following a light bite from the boy, his teeth weakly crushing that taut pearl, now at the 'extreme and that gesture was enough to release its violent contained pleasure. Jungkook detached himself from Y/N's quivering body, lowering his pants and boxer shorts, took his already dripping cum cock in his hand and leaned over Y/N beginning to pump himself several times, ran his thumb over the scarlet tip increasing the speed of his thrusts, before pouring out a large amount of cum with a choked cry, smearing the girl's breasts and panties with the sticky white liquid. He looked at his work of art with devotion and affection, stroking his cock in an attempt not to let up again on those gentle discharges of pleasure, until it became completely soft again. He adjusted his clothes, retrieving tissues from the girl's bedside table to wipe off his semen, silently praying that the sweet, spicy taste of Y/N would never disappear from his tongue.

God, he would have taken her again and again on that bed, but he shook his head to himself , Y/N deserved better and wanted her awake when it happened. He wanted her to see with her own eyes how much love he would be able to give her.

[architect-of-the-last-act]

Part II. On Spring Cleaning, the Lingering Frost

or alternatively: No weight is heavier than regret.

+ Spring follows the harshness of Winter. Though seen as a 'soft' season, it is associated with rebirth—bloody flesh transforming into itself, skin rupturing at the seams. A renewal of sorts. Soft it may seem, Spring is simply as kind as the winter allows it to be. ... In this life, how many ghosts haunt these halls? How many will you allow? Maybe it's time for an upheaval. Such is the role of Spring.

Part I | Part III | Part IV

authors below:

Illustrations from A Stepmother’s Märchen | Unknown | Spring Equinox, Jeanette Winterson | The Years, Virginia Woolf | We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson | South London Forever, Florence & The Machine | a letter, Germaine de Staël (translated by Kathleen Jameson-Cemper) | West Wind, Mary Oliver | Letters From Medea, Salma Deera | tumblr post, @/inelegancies | Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli | Japanese Breakfast | The Letters Of Sylvia Plath, Sylvia Plath | Vincenzo Bellini | I, Carrion (Icarian), Hozier | I Don’t Smoke, Mitski | The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller | When the Sun Loves the Moon, Reinaeiry | Soul Mates, Lang Leav | a letter, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | This Is How You Lose The Time War, Amal El-Mohtar | Circe, Madeline Miller | a letter, Friedrich Nietzsche | Daily Haiku on Love, Tyler Knott Gregson | Ivy, Frank Ocean | The Vow | Annabel Lee, Edgar Allan Poe | Mind Over Matter, Young the Giant | Great Expectations, Charles Dickens | I, Carrion (Icarian), Hozier | The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller | This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald | Light, Sleeping at Last | Thought Catalog, Kim Quindlen | Jay Vespertine | Unknown | Light, Sleeping at Last | City of Bones, Cassandra Clare | James Joyce | Night Walk, Franz Wright | Unknown

[dontcxckitup]

Ralph Fiennes Masterlist...

...of plays, audios, and rarities you can find online (but don't tell anyone). This post will be updated occasionally, so keep checking in now and again! Updated: 14.12.2024

Plays and rarities

Beat the Devil (X) Coast (X) Coup 53 (X) How Proust Can Change Your Life (X) Ivanov Goes to Mos.cow (X) Man and Superman Part 1 (X) Man and Superman Part 2 (X) Richard III Part 1 (X) (X) Richard III Part 2 (X) (X) The Cormorant (X) Wanted: Marjory and Oliver (X)

Audios

A Light That Never Dies (X) A Very Young Person (X) Cities and Thrones and Power (X) Daffodils (X) Danny Deever (X) Dulce et decorum est (X) Followe Thy Faire Sunne, Unhappy Shaddowe (X) How The Whale Got His Throat (X) If (X) In Memoriam (X) In The Grace Of Wit, Of Tongue, and Face (X) Kim (X) Letter to Brigadier L.C. Dunsterville (X) Love (X) My Boy Jack (X) , (X) Now Winter Nights Enlarge (X) Ode to the Sea (X) Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (X) Seven Years Hard (X) Sighs, "If Our Sad Eyes" (X) Slow, Slow, Fresh Fount (X) So Am I As The Rich Whose Blessed Key (X) Sonnet (X) The Given Heart (X) The Mine-Sweepers (X) The Plagues (Prince of Egypt OST) (X) The Very Own House (X) The Way Through The Woods (X) University Poem (X) When In Disgrace With Fortune And Men's Eyes (X) When To The Sessions Of Sweet Silent Thought (X)

[agendabymooner]

crazy rich and famous ! sebastian v. x ofc (filipino!ofc)

summary: in which sebastian and bel vettel both faced scrutiny and admiration while being famous and wealthy. OR sebastian became a photographer just so he can return to his instagram account and post about his wife.

content warning: billionaire!celebrity!oc, brief moments of dad!seb and mom!ofc, mentions media scrutiny, discusses wealth/status, seb and bel being the best couple yet, general fic, fictional article and editorial writer

note: i’m gonna nap after this then do my critical analaytical essay 🫠 enjoy xx

masterlist

i. addressing the article

THE DAILY MAIL

SOCIALITE BEL VETTEL’S WEALTH WILL ONLY MAKE THE MOST INSUFFERABLE DRIVERS OUT OF KIND HEARTED SEBASTIAN VETTEL’S SONS by sarah kim. “gucci jumpers? kart at a young age? and a pretty well-off pair of famous parents? consider kimi and stefan vettel spoiled!”

ii. pretty perfect woman with prada and vettel with the vespa

iii. going strong since 2008

[translation: your kind heart and your loving spirit will continue to be a part of me for as long as i live]

tagged belongvettel

comments have been limited

charles_leclerc i rate it 10/10 ⭐️⭐️

lewishamilton pretty good for a beginner though!!! happy anniversary!

mickschumacher don’t put barblanco out of business seb! 🤣

barblanco 😭😭

landonorris better than what i can take 🤧

danielricciardo better than mine tbh

belongvettel happy 18 years, seb! ❤️

[just-some-random-blogger]

kpop masterlist

🍓 = fluff themes

❄️ = angst themes

🚧 = smut themes

🤸‍♀️ = slice of life / bish idek what theme this is

🚀 = crack fic themes

🎩 = dark and/or violent themes

🏩 = genre fic, i.e. mystery, horror, fantasy, etc

🍳 = slow burn

🦕 = personal favorite

back to main masterlist

A.C.E.

Memory | 🍓❄️🦕 Kim Byeongkwan x Reader + Park Junhee x Reader (University AU) [Blurb]

Ateez

Only One | 🍓❄️❄️❄️🍳🦕 CEO!Choi San x Reader

BigBang

It’s An Act [WBU I] | ❄️ Choi Seunghyun (TOP) x Reader

Smoke | 🍓🤸‍♀️ Choi Seunghyun (TOP) x Reader

BTS

Runaway | 🍓❄️🏩 Mafia!Kim Seokjin (Jin) x Reader (Mafia AU) Preview 1 2 3 4 x

Mah Boyfriend | 🍓🍓🤸‍♀️🦕 Jung Jungkook x Idol!Reader

BTOB

Hidden Heart | 🍓🍓🍓🤸‍♀️🚀🍳 Lee Minhyuk (HUTA) x Idol!Reader [Headcanon]

Day6

A University Dilemma | 🤸‍♀️ Kang Younghyun (Young-K) x Reader (Univeristy AU)

What A Joke | ❄️ Kang Younghyun (Young K) x Reader + Park Jaehyung x Reader (University AU) [Blurb]

So... Haha... I Like You | 🍓🦕 Park Jaehyung x Reader (Fake Dating AU)

EXO

Wheel Of Fortune | 🍓🍳🚀 Park Chanyeol x Reader [Headcanon]

Welcome To The Jungle | 🚀🚀🚀🏩 Park Chanyeol & Oh Sehun (Jungle AU)

Maybe We Still Have A Shot [WBU III] | 🍓🍓🏩 CatHybid!Oh Sehun x Reader (University AU)

Unrequited Attraction | 🚧🏩🍳🦕 Mafia!Kim Jongdae (Chen) x Retail Worker!Reader

Color Palette | 🍓 Byun Baekhyun x Reader [Blurb]

Brown Leaves | 🍓 Kim Jongin (Kai) x Reader (University AU)

GOT7

One Million In One Day | 🍓🍓❄️❄️🍳 Sugar Daddy!Jackson Wang x Reader Preview ~ Alternate Moodboard ~ Moodboard Teaser  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 

Car Rides | 🍓 Jackson Wang x Reader [Blurb]

Juice Box | 🍓🚀🏩🦕 Kunpimook Bhuwakul Bambam x Reader [Blurb] (Pre-Schooler AU)

Somewhere In Between | ❄️❄️Civil Engineer!Park Jinyoung x Reader + Architect!Henry Lau x Reader

Trading Secrets | 🍓🍓 Kim Yugyeom x WangSis!Reader

JYJ

Winning Losses | ❄️ Kim Jaejoong x Idol!Reader

Monsta X

Introspect | 🍓🤸‍♀️ Lee Jooheon x Reader [Blurb]

Letting Off Steam | 🤸‍♀️ Lee Hoseok (Wonho) x ArtStudent!Reader (University AU)

NCT

Seventeen

December Dates | 🍓🚀 bf!Seventeen x Reader [Headcanon]

The Stroke Of Midnight | 🍓❄️🏩🦕 Mafia!Kwon Soonyoung (Hoshi) x Reader

Here's My Problem: I Can't Get You Out Of My Head | ❄️❄️❄️🎩🎩🎩🏩🍳🦕 Detective!Jeon Wonwoo x Actress!Reader

10 Ways To Get Over Gyu | 🍓❄️❄️❄️🍳🍳🦕 Kim Mingyu x Reader + others (Childhood AU)

Half Of My Heart | 🍓❄️🤸‍♀️🍳 Kim Mingyu x Reader + Jeon Wonwoo x Reader (CEO AU)

On A Thread | ❄️❄️ CEO!Joshua Hong (Hong Jisoo) x Nurse!Reader

SF9

A Final Offering | 🍓🍓❄️🏩🦕 Deity!Kim Inseong & Child!Reader + Baek Juho (Zuho) x Mom  

What Does It Mean? | 🍓❄️🤸‍♀️ Kim Inseong x Reader + Lee Jaeyoon x Reader (University AU) 

16th Floor | 🍓🤸‍♀️ Kim Seokwoo (Rowoon) x Reader (Office AU)

SHINee

Understand This |❄️ Choi Minho x Reader I Don’t Understand [Understand This II] | ❄️ Choi Minho x Reader

It’s All A Big Joke [WBU II] | ❄️ Lee Taemin x Reader

Th-that’s Not | ❄️❄️🚧🦕 Lee Taemin x Reader Regrets [Th-that’s Not II] | ❄️ Lee Taemin x Reader

Angel Bride | ❄️🚧🏩🦕 Pirate!Lee Taemin x Reader

Noona, You're So Pretty | 🍓 Lee Taemin x Noona!Reader

Stray Kids

Professional Boundaries | 🍓❄️🚧🦕 CEO!Bang Chan x Pre-School Teacher!Reader + CEO!Hwang Hyunjin x Pre-School Teacher!Reader 1 2 3 4 

Bootylicious | 🍓🚀 Bang Chan x Idol!Reader

Super Junior

The Soup | 🍓🍓🚀🚀 SuJu x SuJu Maknae!Reader [Headcanon]

Secrets Of A Maknae | 🍓🚀🚀 Kim Heechul x SuJuMaknae!Reader

The Boyz

Gentle With Me | 🍓🍓🤸‍♀️ Lee Sangyeon x Reader

TVXQ!

Pitter-Patter | 🍓 Jung Yunho (U-Know) x Reader (Pre-School Teacher AU)

The Art Of Deception | ❄️🎩🏩 Shim Changmin x Reader (Secret Agent/Spy AU)

TXT

Forget About It | 🍓❄️🤸‍♀️🍳🦕 Choi Soobin x Reader (University AU)  

WINNER

I’m Not Playing | 🍓❄️❄️ Gangster!Song Minho (Mino) x Reader 1 2 3 

[jungwoosshoes]

Seven Of Spades -- Part III - Clubs

Part 1 ----> Part 2 (Hearts) ----> Part 3 (Clubs) ----> Part 4 (Diamonds)

NCT x Reader Cardverse AU!

Pairing: Nakamoto Yuta, Johnny Suh, Lee Jeno, Xiao Dejun, Kim Jungwoo, Park Jisung, Qian Kun, Lee Ten, and Zhong Chenle x reader ; friend! Yushi x bestie! reader

Warnings: Not many--reader is a witch and kinda poor, there's some political conflict, mentions of sick people

Note: I refuse to use Y/N, so watch me struggle to write around it! <3

Word Count: 2.9k

Clubs

“Hey! Hey, wake up!” I opened my eyes after a less-than-restful nap to a boy–or man, I suppose–shaking my shoulder. I rubbed my eyes and shifted away, still blinking and trying to adjust to the light pouring through the canopy of the woods. “It’s okay,” he said, rocking backwards to sit atop his ankles, granting me a foot or so of space. “I didn’t mean to startle you or anything, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I thought it was kinda weird that you were just lying there, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I just went and checked on you…” He trailed off. “No,” I started tiredly, “That’s okay. I would’ve done the same thing.”

 I looked up at him and half-smiled, and I finally got to get a good look at his face. He was handsome–there was no doubt about that. Weird, I kept running into beautiful men I would never get to see again. He had kind, soft eyes and a matching smile. His hair was black and overgrown, and he had a very muscular build. He wasn’t at all intimidating though–his expression seemed to cancel everything else out. “Good.” He chirped. 

I stood up. “Well, thank you for checking on me. It’s a good thing too–I might’ve slept too long without you.” I began to brush myself off and get Cassie ready to continue our journey as he responded. “It’s no problem! I was just walking by.” He stayed sitting there. “Okay,” I began, starting to walk Cassie down the path, “Have a good day then. It’s been fun.” I’ve never been a stellar conversationalist, and this whole situation was beginning to make that very apparent. As I kept walking though, the young man sped up to walk beside me. After a few silent steps, I got a little weirded out. “Are…are you okay, sir?” “Me?” he asked, “Oh I’m fine.” 

He smiled and kept walking alongside me. “Okay. So are you just happening to go down this path too or…” “Oh !” he yelped, “Yes! I’m sorry. I must seem so odd. Um, my name’s…you can call me Lee.” “Alright, nice to meet you Lee,” I replied, still a little on edge, “I’m Seven.” “That’s a nice name.” He smiled. Usually, people were confused by my name. I asked for your name, not your rank! Or Your parents must’ve hated you. But never nice. “Thank you Lee.” I couldn’t help but blush a little. “So,” he started as we stepped fully into a green and yellow meadow. “Where are you off to this morning?” “Mr. Wang's cottage.” I shared, before realizing that maybe I shouldn’t advertise my mission as it might reveal my journey. I couldn’t trust many people at this point, as there was an uncomfortable chance that word had spread from either Spades or Hearts. “Mr. Wang!” Lee exclaimed, “He’s a lovely man. His son is unwell though. Has been for days.” “I know.” I began, “I’m a family friend. I’m going to try to help him.”

“How?” Lee asked. “I’ve brought herbs and hope.” I said, gesturing towards the baskets mounted on either side of Cassie’s saddle. “Are you…are you a spiritualist?” Lee asked. I was confused for a moment, but remembered just in time that witches here were known as spiritualists, and often treated with more respect. “Yes. I am.” I nearly stuttered. “That’s why you were in the woods! You must’ve been gathering supplies!” “Of course!” I replied a little too excitedly, “Why else would I have been there?” “I don’t know.” He shrugged, “you could be a merchant, or a hunter, or a fugitive. There really are many possibilities.” “Right…” I trailed off, trying not to sweat. 

We walked in silence a few more paces, and after what felt like the journey of a lifetime (which was really only a day and a half,) I arrived at the foot of the steps leading up to Mr. Wang’s cottage. It wasn’t a small house–and not beat down like mine–but it was humble. Made of light wood and shingled roofs, you could tell that the inside was warm without ever having to really step past the large door. “Well, I’ve made it, thanks to you.” I smiled down at Lee. “You have.” He smiled back. “Well, goodbye. And thank you again, really. For waking me.” “You’re welcome, again.” He kept just staring up at me until I opened the door. Then he blurted, “Meet me by Palace Lake! Under the big willow at the Southern head.” “Okay.” I nodded and stepped inside with a smile that may have been misplaced given the situation I was currently stepping into. 

“Seven!” Cried Mr. Wang, “You’ve made it! Oh thank God! He’s sent you to us, Seven! How ever did you get here? The borders are all closed!” “Honestly, sir, I’m not entirely sure.” I laughed and accepted his embrace. We pulled away after a comfortable minute, and he guided me into the room where his son had fallen into a fitful sleep. “He shows the same symptoms I did. Fever and sweating, and he won’t eat. He’s been very poorly, Seven. We’ve been terrified.” “I promise, sir. I’ll do all I can to help him.” And I did. I set to work immediately, combining the same herbs and oils I had just a few months ago when treating Mr. Wang himself. 

He was a friend of my parents, Mr. Wang. He knew them better than I ever did. That’s why I was so eager to help him, and so dedicated to healing his son. He had faith in me, and it wasn’t misplaced. I had a feeling as soon as I had finished the medicine for his son that it would be effective. Mr. Wang woke his son, and slowly spooned him the liquid medicine I had made while I spread ointment on his head and hands for good measure. We waited for a few hours, and soon his son was smiling and laughing again. I was surprised–my treatments didn’t always work that quickly. The speed of this one I was glad for though. I decided it would be best to leave the remainder of the medicine and materials with the family and to let them celebrate their new found peace with each other, so I began to walk towards the door.

“Thank you, Seven, really. You’re a saint.” Mr. Wang gushed whilst reaching out to embrace me again. “Anytime, sir.” I replied, still not one for many words. He sent me off with some food for my journey, and I untethered Cassie. As I mounted her and began on the same trail I had come here on, I realized that I was forgetting that I told Lee I would meet him by some lake. I knew it would be best to leave, but I suppose I felt guilty. I couldn’t ask anyone where the lake was, as they might grow suspicious of who I was and where I came from. So, I set out the opposite way of the woods, and hoped for the best. 

I got closer and closer to the Clubs Castle, and I began to get a little nervous. The last couple times I had been around regal buildings I ended up with complicated situations and unwanted attention. It was fine though–Lee was just a random citizen. One I’ll never see after today. Probably. If I lived here, If he lived in Spades, maybe the story would end differently. I wanted to think of what my life might be like with this arbitrary stranger, but that would also be a strange thing for me to do. So, I focused on my steps and my eyes strained upon every new landmark and sign hoping that they would lead me to this lake. 

Eventually, they did. I followed a bend in the road and scaled a hill to find a vast surface of beautifully blue water splayed out before me, with an equally beautiful stranger lounging about its shore. I began to walk Cassie down towards the water when he turned to face me. “Seven!” He called, “I thought you maybe weren’t going to come!” I exhaled in the kind of way that one does when they’re not quite laughing, but come very close. “I’m here, don’t worry.” I walked right over to him and let Cassie graze. “How are the Wangs? I take it you were able to help them?” Lee asked with a hint of worry laced in his voice. “I was. The boy is going to be just fine.” I smiled. “That’s great!” Lee cried, “You must be really gifted.” “No!” I laughed, “Anybody could do what I do. You just have to memorize a few things.” I blushed against my will. “Don’t undersell yourself.” Lee said quietly. “You don’t deserve that.”

He was very nice for someone I had only ever met once before. People in Spades weren’t usually amiable or outgoing–we’re actually quite stoic and quiet, always minding “Our own business.” I liked Clubs though, and its people. It was lovely to be treated like a friend by everyone. I’ve thought once or twice about moving here just based off of my one visit while treating Mr. Wang, but I knew I would never fit in. The very handsome boy next to me was causing me to begin to entertain the idea again, though. As if he could read my thoughts, Lee turned to me and said, “I’ve never seen you before, now that I’m really thinking about it. You are from Clubs, right?” Here we go. I couldn’t claim that I always lived here, for fear of making a cultural mistake. So, I decided to slightly rewrite the story I told Jisung and Jungwoo. 

“I was born in Hearts,” I began, “But moved here a few months ago. I like the people better.” I laughed. Lee laughed too. “Really?” He asked, “I don’t think there’s really that much of a difference between people from different Kingdoms. I don’t know though, my frame of reference isn’t big. I do like you a lot, though.” “Oh, please.” I sputtered. “I hardly know you!” “I know.” he said, “But you seem so familiar. I’m almost sure I’ve met you before. I mean, I must’ve. It’s a small kingdom!” “Maybe.” I whispered. 

“Jeno?” A man's voice yelled over the hill behind us. “Are you out here? We have to go to supper soon! Jaemin is waiting for God’s sake!” “Do you know him?” I asked Lee. “Yeah,” Lee rolled his eyes, “That’s, umm, that’s…” “Jeno!” The man cried at Lee. “What are you doing here? Where have you been all day? And who’s…” His voice grew softer as his eyes landed on me. “Hello.” He said, “I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t realize that there was a lady here. Usually I’m not so-” “Loud.” Lee, who’s name I guess was actually Jeno, finished. “That’s alright!” I assured the man, “I took no offense.” 

“I’m Xiaojun.” The man reached for my hand. “I’m Seven.” I replied, allowing him to take my hand. “Seven?” He raised an eyebrow and dropped onto one of his knees, “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard that name before. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He kissed my hand, and Jeno must’ve seen the beyond surprised look on my face. “Get up, Xiaojun. Give the girl some space.” “You’re just jealous that I’m more charming than you are.” Xiaojun retorted. “You are not!” Jeno dismissed. “I definitely am!” Xiaojun called back. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” I began, “But I wouldn’t want to keep either of you from your dinner. It’s getting late and I should probably be home anyway.” 

“Oh, please!” Jeno turned to me, “Come eat with us!” “Yes!” Xiaojun nodded. “It would be lovely!” I was getting a little hungry, and I figured that if I had to cross through Hearts again, I should do it under the cover of night. So, one meal couldn’t hurt–and I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to Jeno yet. I also wouldn’t mind getting to know Xiaojun better. “Come on!” Jeno smiled and looped his arm through mine. “Let’s go get the food and then we can take it back and have a picnic!” “I’d like that.” I smiled and grabbed Cassie’s lead with my other hand. 

As we walked for a few minutes, I realized they were leading me right towards the castle, and I stopped suddenly. “Why…why are we going to the castle?” Were they selling me out? Did they know who I really was? Were they undercover Spades officers? A thousand possible nightmare scenarios swirled in my head. “Oh!” Xiaojun turned towards me. “We live there, obviously.” Strange. “You live in the palace?” I asked Jeno. “Yeah…” He started, looking straight at Xiaojun, “We…we’re servants!” He exclaimed. “We get to live in the palace for our dedication.” “Oh.” I nodded, “That must be very exciting.” “It gets old after a while.” Xiaojun sighed. “But!” Jeno intervened, “We have a dependable roof over our heads, for which we are very grateful.” I nodded in understanding. “Yes, that must be nice.”

They led me to a small entrance on the East side of the castle. “Wait here, we’ll be right back with the food.” Jeno patted my arm and followed Xiaojun inside. When they emerged, there was a third man with much fancier clothes following closely behind them. “Hello!” He smiled, “I’m Jaemin! It’s so nice to meet you!” ‘It’s nice to meet you too!” I smiled back. With that, we four set back on the trail to the lake, smiling and laughing. It was strange–I never usually get along with strangers, but then again I wasn’t very open. Plus, I thought there was some truth to the stereotype that people were nicer in Clubs–especially when compared to people from Spades. 

We sat by the bank, ate, and laughed until the sun set. “It’s getting late.” I began regrettably. “I should probably be on my way soon.” “Wait, Seven!” Jeno reached for my hand, “Please, don’t leave just yet.” His eyes flitted towards the village and back to mine. “Stay a little while, Seven.” Xiaojun added, “We’d be more than happy to escort you home!” “No!” I yelped. “Sorry, I’m, um, I’m very private and I have a, um, dog! I have a dog! And she doesn’t like men so you’d better not!” “A dog?” Xiaojun asked, “What’s its name?” “Oh! Her name! It’s…” I looked towards the path for some inspiration and was met with something I hadn’t expected.

“Who are they?” I asked, sounding more nervous than I meant to. There were four men, all riding on horseback–very quickly. “Them? Don’t worry about them! Look at me, Seven!” Jeno stood up and grabbed my face. “Don’t worry about them.” “What’s going on?” My eyes rapidly searched his. “Jeno what is this?” “Nothing Seven! They’re just some…guards! They must just be on patrol.” “Jeno, let me go.” I grabbed his hands. “I have to go home, let me go!” I began to sweat. Things I had previously ignored began to become very apparent. Why had Jeno lied about his name, and why was he in the woods? Why had Xiaojun been so insistent on him coming inside to eat dinner, but completely changed his mind when he saw that I was with him? Why did they insist on taking me here, and why didn’t they want me to leave?

“Jeno!” A familiar voice cried, “You found her!” Who was that? I knew them. I thought and tried to remember. “Seven!” Another voice called, “Seven we found you!” I ripped Jeno’s hands away from me and pushed past him to see who it was. Two riders were in the front—Jisung and Jungwoo. Behind them, gorgeous eyes and blue clothes. King Johnny and Queen Yuta. I had been betrayed–and worse–I had been found. “Get away from me,” I cried, “Get away! I did nothing wrong!” I ran to Cassie and mounted as soon as possible. Sensing the urgency of the situation, she took off, fast as ever after a whole day of rest and after being rid of most of our supplies. 

“Seven, wait!” Jeno cried, “Please! Just listen–” Xiaojun called to me too, but I was too far and too angry to hear what he had said. I couldn’t believe it, everything had been fake. I let my guard down for one day, one! And this was the consequence? I was so angry, I cried hot tears and bit my sleeve to keep from yelling or sobbing aloud. I couldn’t keep track of where Cassie was going, but eventually we ended up in the woods. 

I couldn’t go back, and I would never make it through Hearts. I had one option left, and it was one that was sure to confuse me. I would have to make it back home through Diamonds. I knew I had to make it home, if only to say goodbye to Yushi. I couldn’t leave him wondering about me, going back everyday to check to see if the candles inside my house were burning again. I was sure the princes had lost us, Cassie’s speed and the thick vegetation working together to conceal our path. So, Cassie and I set out again through the woods, praying for safety.

A/N: Next chapter will be Kun, Ten, and Chenle!

[nucleo-bang-tan]

The Uisa's Daughter | Chapter 1: Her First Love

Pairing/s: Kim Taehyung X Reader (Future Jeon Jungkook X Reader and Slight Min Yoongi X Reader)

Genre: Medieval Korea AU, Mystery, Strangers to Lovers, Angst, Smut

Rating/s: 18+ Mature Themes

Word Count: 7K

Warning/s (Don't read this if you want some suspense): Age gap (6 years, reader is younger), segregation based on caste, physical and emotional abuse, some pedophilia (an older man harasses reader since she was young), love at first sight kinda?, both of them are too horny, unprotected sex, oral sex (f receiving), loss of virginity, loss of innocence, some manipulation, they both say 'I love you' too soon.

Summary: In the 1700s, the Jeon Dynasty spread all across the Korean peninsula.  Happiness quadrupled with the founder Emperor's presence, or so it seemed. Secrets scattered over the palace in the capital city, Hanseong were known to none except a few.

Chapter Summary: It feels like you have met your match; for life even. But your father can never stand seeing you happy.

A/n: Hey there, don't be a silent reader, do comment under my post and spread some love.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Prologue Teaser Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Father always said, "Great power comes when you attain control over your desires and cravings."

He used to say that to stop your cravings over sweets. His lesser knowledge didn't tell him, you were not of the type to gain such control. You could never gain this....this great power how much ever you wanted to.

Your reasoning was that you were simply curious but in actuality it was the deprevation that halted you. Deprived of sensation, deprived of freedom, deprived of being included, deprived of living, deprived of loving...

No one, in that city full of aristocratic, snob-heads found what some may describe as the utmost form of desire and craving.

Love; love is still hidden from the rich and noble, from the uptight and small-minded

You've always wanted to feel this so-called feeling of love. Was it just a myth made by someone with an oppressed mind like yours? Hopefully not. You didn't know what love was but it certainly wasn't what your father gave you, not what he gave your mother either.

"You must be the uisa's daughter." A slightly aged, wrinkly woman opened the sliding door to the tremulous, raw house you had just knocked upon. "Come on in, girl. My husband has been sick for the past 5 days."

Your father had work with the King so he sent your 19-year-old self on a teeth-chattering cold night to attend to one of his patients. He may not have been a good father but he was one of the greatest doctors to ever walk the streets of Hanseong.

Winds flurried across the empty farmlands in the surrounding making you rush inside the compact yet warm house.

Sacks full of what seemed like potatoes welcomed you by the doorstep followed by sacks of other vegetables. The stove was occupied by a pot of stew. The sick man and his family sold vegetables at the local market.

You realized that your father didn't want to attend to this patient because he was a Kim of the lowest caste, Cheonmin.

Your trail of sight landed upon a person, supposedly Mr. Kim, wrapped up in torn sheets. "Please take a look at him." His poor wife asked.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"He seems to have caught cholera. It's nothing to worry about, he'll be fine in no time." You gave out your diagnose along with a few medicines from your bundle.

Mrs. Kim seemed to be panicking, "Oh dear, it seems I can't find my money." She smiled nervously. "Would it b-"

"Mother, I heard the doctor arrived." The door hastily slid open revealing a disheveled man.

It was him, the man who was going to change your life for good. The man whom you didn't know would be the reason for both of your ruination. He was nothing you'd seen before.

His forehead shiny with sweat, long hair, all messed up, probably because of him rushing over, yet he looked like the most beautiful man you had ever seen. Molded to perfection, his face was something you get framed.

His eyes were full of concern and disturbance. His lips were slightly parted and he stood there silently and your eyes met.

You could feel something between you two, as if you were two magnets attracting each other. You couldn't help but stare at him. He was so handsome that it took your breath away. You had to resist an urge to get up and reach out to him then and there, touch him and feel his skin under your fingertips.

"Taehyung, yes! Where were you?! Dear, did you take my money kept near the cupboard?" Mrs. Kim was infuriated at the man named Taehyung. "Please give the uisa 2 silver coins, I'll have a talk with you later." She scurried to him while you still stared at each other, his eyes boring holes into yours and face being almost excited to see you.

"I see, and what might be your name?" He asked you.

"Y/n." You replied, "As for the money, I don't mind providing free treatment. I basically did nothing-"

"I insist; that's all we can give you." The man standing at the doorstep walked over to where you were sitting on the ground.

"Oh, it's fine." You smiled despite the growing tension between the both of you.

Taehyung, the obscure man in front of me smiled and sat down to bow. "I promise I'll keep your favor in mind and help you." His formal words seemed unnecessary between the two of you.

"Thank you... Taehyung." He could easily say his ears were blessed.

He dropped you home that night. Awkward was the least proper word to describe you two. You couldn't help but talk naturally and freely to him. You both talked about how beautiful the night was before you arrived at your destination and you asked him to leave you a few houses before your own so as to not raise any suspicions from your family.

His moonlighten face looked mesmerizing as he looked down at you and smiled. "It was an honor meeting you, Kim Y/n." He bowed.

"Same here, Kim Taehyung." You took a step closer to him. "I hope to see you again." You wrapped your arms around his neck tightly for a quick second and let go. The urge to touch him had been running through you this entire night. Though you wanted more, this was more than enough for now. Luckily there wasn't a single soul around at this time of the night.

He stood speechless for some seconds, looking straight into your eyes, making you blush. It's not like a woman hadn't hugged him before, it was different with you for some reason.

You looked off into a different direction, "I-I know we have met just an hour ago. But I can't-" You were cut off by him encasing your waist with one of his arms. The other one held you gently by your chin.

"I know, this may be going too fast, but I fairly do not care." Saying this, his lips ghosted over yours, waiting for your permission. Not hesitant at all, you gladly accepted and closed the minute gap between your lips.

It was merely a few seconds before you two pulled away simultaneously.

"Thank you..." You whispered for some reason. It wasn't Taehyung's first time, but it was clearly the weirdest and the most memorable one.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Isn't that lovely? The vermins owe us a favor." He laughed as you trembled.

"Father, t-they were necessitous. I couldn't possibly ask them for mon-"

"And how would I pay for your expensive clothings, dear? For your food? For our servants?" He scoffed.

"Father..."

"No excuses!" He shouted making you flinch "You need a good whipping."

"I'm so sorry, father. It's just two silver coins." Your trembling knew no bound as you tried to back away from his resting place. You used your hands to drag yourself backwards away from your seat as he stood up with a mud tea cup in his hands.

A fairly loud crash was heard besides you and drops of hot liquid splattered across the floor as well as on you. It was his cup that he threw at you with anger.

"Just two silver coins? I see." His words held no anger, they were just words, heavy words. Words scaring you more than the cold, chilly night because you knew he could hurt you anytime.

"Father I promise, I'll do anything. Please, father." You joined your hands.

"Look at you, so desperate... I'll let you off with a warning this time. You're lucky today, no whipping for you." He spoke as if he didn't nearly kill you.

You thanked your stars, or whatever guardian angel you had for he was in a good mood.

"If you dare to disobey my rules again."

"I know..." You whispered loud enough for him to hear. Ofcourse you knew, this was not the first time.

He smiled like a saint and spread out his arms, "Now give your father a hug, honey. I love you."

Slowly and being disgusted in the sorry excuse of what's supposed to be a man, you hugged him. He was still your father. "I love you too."

He slimy hands gradually went to your head to pat you as you tried to stop your tears from falling. "You are to come with me tomorrow to King Jeon." You nodded.

You were usuals to the King's courtroom even when you were a kid. Your father was his closest advisor. However you never felt comfortable when the King wanted to meet you outside of public's eye.

Unnecessary touches, and even more unnecessary things he made you do. He insisted he loved your cooking, your treatments and meeting you in general. You were honoured indeed but felt repelled since it was a 50 year old man you were talking about.

What was this life you were living?

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"And about Y/n..." You were snapped back to reality by the mention of your name. You were deep in your own thoughts, skimming your eyes over each title of the books held by the shelves. The shelves along with their inked treasures adored the quiet room. Quiet with the only exception being the voices of King Jeon and your father.

You thought about the poor farmer's son. Would he like to read, or rather, would he know how to read the Chinese scriptures? You had no idea why he clouded your mind like so, but you certainly weren't against it.

You had never had a love interest, you never found one brave enough to even talk to you. Giving up on love, you had always assumed you'd have an arranged marriage until the man you had kissed a few days ago came into your life.

"What about her?" Your pretentious father asked.

Both of you along with King Jeon were sitting in the castle's study talking about something that you didn't even bother sparing your attention to.

You preferred being in your own thoughts rather than listening to the elders' talks about the world. They surely knew more than you, and it wasn't bothersome.

"I expect a gift from you Y/n-ssi" King Jeon stated clearly.

"A g-gift? I don't understand."

Both of the older men laughed at your naivety and King Jeon placed a hand around your shoulder which distinctly made you uncomfortable.

"You weren't listening, were you?" He asked. "What were you thinking about girl?"

You thought of the only thing that interested you here, "The books here, in the study. I've never even heard about them." Books especially related to medicine interested you. You played the part of a cliché doctor in training.

"Jeon's birthday gift, dear."

"I expect a really special dish from you in a few months." He smirked, "Cook for me."

You had no idea what the smirk signified, but it clearly didn't mean good luck to you. You smiled nervously which the King found extremely endearing, extremely enchanting. Oh, how he wished he could kill your measly father and make you his personal concubine, maybe even his Queen.

The King's first wife died around 4 years ago and ever since then, the King couldn't have been happier. He could sleep with all the women he wanted without being pointed fingers at. The kingdom's people, who thought richly of the King, supposed he was drowning himself in other women to ease the pain of his loss.

What no one, except his Chief advisor, Eunuch Kang, didn't know was his eyes were set on a much bigger and harder-to-catch fish. The metaphoric fish being you. One fine day, before the time of his Queen's death, you along with your father had come to visit him. Seeing how well you had matured through the years, he couldn't keep his eyes or hands off of you. Making you sit on his lap was just an excuse to feel you better.

People in his courtroom saw and objected after you went back home. But those who did, found their heads laying on the floor. They committed treason, hence they died; was what he told their families.

Your father however never dared to speak up. He wanted to be in people's good books more than he cared for you. This helped you more than you could think. He had a good reputation and in return, the King could not kill him without a proper reason.

Ever since that day the King has secretly tried to find reasons to execute him. Eunuch Kang who was in charge of this failed to find any such reason for more than 5 straight years.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Ms Y/n!" Your cook called out to you. You were headed outside the mansion lands to a place only you knew about.

"Yes, Mr. Jung?" You smiled. You knew such formalities were only for others' eyes.

Jung Hoseok, a young yet talented cook, had been with you since you were born. He worked meticulously from his childhood.

Being around a decade older than you, he was given the responsibility to look after you as well as head the staff of Kim household. He was appointed by your father's friend, the King.

"Are you headed out?" He asked and you nodded cheekily.

"I'm going to that placeee."

He showed clear distaste towards your act of cuteness even though he possibly found it adorable. "Find yourself some use. Go and bring some vegetables for the kitchen. You are to cook for the king remember?"

"But I don't want to..." You pouted, "The King should have better cooks than me, I am no one compared to them."

"It's what the King decides, not you. Now go."

"Hoseok-ssi."

"What is it?"

"I don't like the King." His face contorted into a disappointed look. He looked around to make sure no one heard you and was glad no one did.

"Y/n, you are a grown woman, stop jesting around."

"I'm serious, Hoseok-ssi. The King seems far too friendly for my liking."

"Aish- Shut up, Y/n. I will not hear of it. King Jeon is a very kind man and he has saved us from many external and internal forces. I will not hear anything against him." He said, "Neither will anyone else, so make sure you don't tell this to anyone."

You nodded, poking your tongue out, still not changing your thinking about him. He turned around to leave after shaking his head.

"Hobi is mean." You muttered.

"I heard that, kid!"

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"I'm not sure if I have anything special." The vegetable seller smiled nervously. "You can take back some eggplants for the special meal but I'm not sure where you might find them."

This was the first time you heard about them. Being an educated person, it hurt your ego and now you were determined to find them.

"It's alright, sir. I'll search for them." You smiled and headed deeper into the market. The crowd grew denser and the shops became more heavily loaded. Asking every vendor about these 'eggplants'.

"Take a right after about 20 steps, dear." An old female vendor advised. And you followed.

The shop was revealed to be of the Cheonmin Kim's, the one you had treated a few days ago. How will they, out of all people have such an advanced (it's new to her) vegetable?

You gulped, it was the son, Taehyung chewing away at some dried sea weed, and his healthy father talking to another seller nearby. Their shop looked as if it hadn't been visited by anyone all morning, the vegetables still fresh in their places, the man fooling around on his seat.

You slowly walked over, Taehyung still being oblivious to your presence until you cleared your throat. Before seeing who it was and stumbling to stand up straight, he almost looked uninterested. He dropped a few tomatoes by such shuffling.

He held a bright smile on his face and bowed almost hitting his head on the table full of produce. You followed suit giggling at his display of clumsiness.

Still bright as ever and still as handsome as the first day you saw him, he greeted, "H-Hello, how are you holding up, Ms. Kim?" He shook his head and corrected himself, "Sorry, Y/n."

"I am doing just fine, Taehyung-ssi." You turned your head towards his father, "I see your old man is doing good."

He nodded, "All thanks to you. I still have that favor to return."

It was unshrouded, the chemistry between you two was almost visible to the naked eye. Was it just an attraction that you had towards this perfect example of a man or was it something else? You'll admit it, it was the second time you barely met him, and you want more of him, so much more.

You both stared at each other for a good minute before you spoke, "I-uh- wanted some vegetables." You even forgot the name of the exquisite one, the seller had told you about.

"Sure, anything you want." He gestured his hands over the produce lying on the cart table.

"Eggplant I suppose?" You asked innocently. "I wanted an eggplant, a big one."

Taehyung was sure your virgin words didn't insinuate something else. He looked around his stall and said, "Y/n, I don't believe I have any eggplants here. We'll have to go back to my house to look for some. Would you mind?"

You didn't have any patients to look after today neither did anyone care where you went during the day, plus you get to spend time with Taehyung, you don't see a downside to this. So you agree.

As soon as you do, the cheerful man in front of you took your hand and lead you across the puzzled roads of the market.

"Taehyung-ssi! Don't hold my hand like that!" You exclaimed as he dragged you with him. The people looked at the young couple as if they might pop out fangs anytime.

"People are just looking, they won't do anything. Trust me." and you did for no apparent reason. You trusted him with everything you had. But a part of you called out and asked you how he knew all this, how he was so confident when he kissed you. Had he done this before?

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"I thought your mother would be home." You enquired as you looked at the 25 year old trying to close the heavy wooden door after you asked him to. He barely had any neighbors but the ones he had, you didn't want them snooping around in your business.

"She's at the farm." He replied brightly. There was this thing about him, he looked so stern when he didn't talk to you but when he did, he was the most fun person you had ever seen.

As soon as he closed the door, he hugged you and you dropped your little bag of groceries at his actions. "I've missed you." Yes, you did too.

"Why?" You asked even though you knew better than anyone else. He had kissed you, an act hardly performed by actual lovers. There was no way to get him out of your mind after that.

If anyone knew you had did something of sorts you'd be ridiculed for your entire lifetime. But you didn't regret it at all.

"Maybe because I have never seen someone as beautiful as you." Softly touching your face like you were a raw sculpture, "And I think my mind is heading to a sinful place with you and there's no stop in sight."

You smiled softly, "We don't even know each other..."

"But you trust me right?" He whispered.

"Unfortunately, I do." Making you both laugh softly.

"Let me court you then." He said biting his lip, indicating his nervousness.

What was this man talking about? A woman of your status and a man of his caste shouldn't even mingle with each other, let alone do what you two did that night.

Your father, the public, the Emperor would all prefer you both dead over that happening.

However, Taehyung didn't care. He hated the caste system. 'Only the insecure and afraid would make such a thing up.' He often said.

You wanted Taehyung to love you, you wanted him to know how much you craved for someone, him to be precise, to come into your life and destroy you completely with their love.

You were thinking clearly when you said, "I would love that."

To say Taehyung was happy, would be an understatement. He wanted you; call it lust, call it desire, but it was a form of his love.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I did this..." He said before swiftly untying the front of your hanbok making you gasp and pull out of his embrace.

"What are you doing?" You scrambled trying to re-tie the knot.

"I thought you said you trust me." He smirked, pushing the outer layer of coat off of your shoulders before you could react.

"Taehyung!"

"You trust me right? Let me help you." His words struck you. Help you? How?

"Help me with what?" You stand still as he pulls you out of the coat and discards it onto the ground.

"I know what it's like being a 19 year old. Heck, I still know what it feels like. Being so alone, everyone hates you, you hate everyone. I know how you crave love. Let me give it to you."

How could he possibly know? "I don't wish for love." You state.

"Tsk, you can lie all you want, but I can see it written boldly in your eyes, those beautiful eyes."

You could say no and put a stop to his madness. But the look he gave you, that look that made you want to let loose and give in to his madness. He clearly wanted your body and this was his way of getting it, but how could you possibly deny it when you wanted the same at some point.

You gulped, "If I agree to whatever you're doing? Will you promise no one, not even your parents or your friends, find out?"

You weren't afraid of giving him anything, you were only afraid of what your father might do if he found out. He would beat you, whip you for sure but he would hire men to kill Taehyung.

"It's sex, so call it that, baby. And I am willing to promise the world to you if you just say yes."

"Taehyung, I don't care what happens to me, but I would rather be dead than have anything happen to you."

"Take risks, live a little uisa-nim."

You never took risks. When your father let you out of the house, you never lost your track, always going the way he asked you to go. You never dared to look at a man how much ever you wanted to.

Taehyung though, lured you in. He was a mere Cheonmin but yet he had more life than an upper class man. He had more potential, more everything.

At this moment, you couldn't help but agree. You would never do this if it were anyone else, but it was Taehyung, the man who kissed you on the first day you met.

"My body is what you want, and my body is what you shall get." You take a deep breath and pull him by his hanbok before he could reply and plant a kiss on his lips.

Taehyung wasn't the one to stop kissing your soft lips and correct you that he, in fact didn't wish for your body. He wished for your love, he wished that you craved him the same way he craved you.

You clearly had no experience nor had you ever seen how to kiss someone properly so you didn't move at all expecting this was all you needed to do to kiss.

This turned him on however. Having to teach you everything and molding you into whatever he pleased from a girl.

He pulled back, "That's not how you do it." He let out an arrogant chuckle. "Just go with your instincts and fight with my lips, devour them."

Saying that he placed his lips on yours once again this time meeting with a much warmer welcome from your mouth.

"You're a- fast learner-" He said between the kisses.

It was when he brought in his tongue, you were surprised. However you decided to fight with yours as well.

Your hands entangled into his long hair. He tapped your thigh and signalled you to jump. You trusted him and did as he asked and clinged onto him for dear life.

Oh, how you yearned for more. Conflicting your tongues wasn't enough, you needed his entire body.

Both of you were moaning, Taehyung's deep voice getting you wetter by the second.

Taehyung couldn't possibly get harder than how he was now. He tasted every last inch of your mouth while moving both of your intertwined selves to a room.

Breaking the kiss, he said, "Let me place a blanket here, it's going to get messy. Wouldn't want the floor to get all dirtied up by you." That made you blush more than any suitor ever had.

He gently let you down and arranged the blanket. Adjusting it's corners, he patted on it for you to lay.

"I'm scared." You finally said as he was removing his clothings.

Pausing slightly, he smiled, "You don't have to do this. I won't be upset."

"I'm scared but I want this. I want you."

"Are you sure about that, princess?" He pulled down his pants revealing a very hard dick, almost slapping onto his abdomen.

"Th-that's..." Big, was the right word for it.

Now, you were a doctor in training and you knew how sex worked and how certain body parts looked like. But you had never in your years of study seen or imagined a penis so big.

"Do you not like it?" He mocked wiggling it around a bit making you snicker.

"No, it's just- it's big..." He was almost estatic at your words.

Taehyung was completely naked at this point while you still had your undergarments on. He helped you remove the one surrounding your breasts.

Your boobs fell into his hands with a bounce. It was like he malfunctioned, staring at them for a quick minute before licking his lips and diving in.

You had never felt this before. Your fingers found their way into his hair once again.

"You're so fucking perfect." He said licking one of your nipples and softly biting onto it.

"T-Tae..." You practically shed tears at the feeling.

He moved between your neck and your breasts, kissing and marking up wherever he felt like it. It was a vice, you were a vice to him.

It felt so good, however you needed friction somewhere else as well.

You started rubbing your legs together and it didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Mmm, I know baby, you need me there?"

You replied with a shaky yes.

Leaving your boobs, his hand travelled downwards and into your lower undergarment.

As soon as his cold, long fingers pressed onto your clit, you let out a high pitched moan.

"Have you ever touched yourself?" He asked.

"I've tried it sometimes but never finished." You said weakly.

Taehyung was beyond the limit of hardness at the moment. He had no idea he would be so turned on by a girl so inexperienced. The things he would do to you in the future were boundless.

His hand worked on your clit while his mouth worked on your boobs. You were a moaning mess at this point. Taehyung gave you what you wanted and more.

He licked a long strip from your chest to your lips, kissing you with utmost passion. You were so addictive, all he wanted was to taste every single part of you.

He finally discarded your lower undergarment.

Dragging his fingers from your clit to your core, he slowly entered one finger. You let out a loud whimper.

"It's so tight, baby. How am I going to fit in there? I can't even fit my fingers." He showed fake concern.

You didn't even care at this point, you wanted him deeper in you.

He added another finger that stretched you out. Trying his best to loosen you up for his big dick, he started a scissoring motion with his fingers.

You tried your best to hold back your moans but his fingers felt so good, you're sure the neighbours heard you. He didn't care, it only added to his ego.

He shuffled down and dragged his lips along your body, down your clit all the way to your core. He wanted, needed to taste you so bad, he couldn't resist anymore.

He licked the slick dripping down your thighs because he didn't want any to go to waste.

He was extremely skillful with his tongue, delving expertly within your folds, bringing you near to the edge as soon as he begun. Holding your hips down, he continued.

"Tae, I think- I'm coming"

"Come on, you can do it." Taehyung could hardly believe he was the one to experience your first orgasm.

His hands reached up to twist and fondle your boobs.

Seeing his head of hair digging into your cunt for a taste had you coming in just seconds.

He licked every last drop of your wetness. When he finished, his head popped up with a smug look on his face.

"You have no idea how heavenly you taste." He said locking lips with you once again making you taste yourself. You did taste nice.

"I want to make you feel good too." You said.

"Not today" He said dragging his tip across your folds. "Today I wish to be directly inside you."

His little action made your cunt gush with juices.

"Are you scared, baby?"

"Yeah, but go ahead."

"This is going to hurt a lot. But you'll take it right? For me?" You nod as he leaned down and placed his lips on your forehead. A very intimate gesture that had you falling for him right in the moment.

Now you were very scared. Did you fall for a man you met a few days ago? Not to mention you're in a very vulnerable position with him as well.

Your innocent mind didn't know any better. What you thought was love, was just mere attraction at the moment which turned to love eventually.

"Tae- fuck" He pushed his tip inside.

"Are you okay?"

"Just go- slow" you squirmed.

He pulled out and pushed in once again this time going halfway in.

"It hurts..." You started sheding tears. Taehyung hated seeing you like this. Ofcourse he would have loved to see you cry, but from pleasure.

"We can sto-"

"You can go deeper now..."

He did as you said and bottomed out. Taehyung blamed his stupidly huge dick for making you cry.

He wiped your tears and placed his forehead against yours.

"You can tell me when to move, I'll be still until you tell me to."

It took you at least a minute or two to adjust and accommodate his length. The man on top of you aided by kissing you deeply through every second of it. You began to move the slightest bit on your own making Taehyung hiss.

"Shall I?" He was still patient, waiting for you to utter the words.

"Please, move." You let out.

Taehyung finally let go of the breath he didn't know he was retaining. He had to remind himself multiple times that he was your first, it pained you.

'Not yet.' He said to himself, referring to the fact that he couldn't fuck you as roughly as a pleased.

His thrusts were unhurried yet firm. So firm that it made your back arch at how deep his cock went.

You couldn't help but moan, in fact that was all you could do. Pleasure overtook your senses and you were at Taehyung's mercy.

He intertwined his fingers with yours on either side of your head, "So good for me, so tight."

"Faster!"

"Yeah? Want me to go faster? Such a little slut."

You were surprised at what you heard. You wanted to defend yourself, you were far from a slut and you were sure Taehyung knew that. Oh, but it turned you on so good. Him degrading you like that, him making you feel humiliated.

Taehyung must have sensed the effect it had on you, how could he not? You moaned the loudest when he said that.

"So wet, baby. I bet all the guys would love your little pussy, wouldn't they?"

"Want- only you." You somehow vocalised.

He loved it so much, the effect he had on you.

"Need to train you to become my personal sleeve, am I right?"

"Fuck, I can't-" You knew this feeling, you were coming.

He picked up the pace, hitting your sweet spot repeatedly. The scene itself was too explicit. Had anyone seen it, it would have been too entralling.

"Come on." He punctuated his words with his thrusts.

You let out a moan of his name and reached your high.

Taehyung's pace stuttered, an indication of him reaching his high as well. He realised, much to his dismay, he couldn't cum inside of you. He halted to pull out.

"No! You can let go inside of me."

"But, you'll-"

"I am a doctor in training, I have some herbs that can work." You smirked.

He chuckled, "Someone's being a little too smart."

He resumed his thrusts. After a few of them, he came. The feeling was really euphoric. Having the one you had feelings for, let his semen coat your insides.

He pulled out and laid beside you. Both of you faced each other; low on energy but high on love.

Taehyung lifted his hand up, tracing the apple of your cheek ever so slightly making you smile.

He spoke first, "That was..."

"I know, I don't have words for it either."

"Can I tell you something crazy?" He asked pulling you to lay on top of him.

"Ofcourse, what is it?"

"I think I am madly in love with you."

You looked into his eyes, slightly glossy from the overwhelming feelings he had for you.

"What do you mean?" You ask in almost a whisper.

"I know it's been just a few days, but I feel like I have known you for years. Like, your favourite colour is probably blue."

You giggle, "It's not, but go on."

"Then I want to know you better, Kim Y/N. What do you say?"

"Thank you for making me feel, Kim Taehyung." You bury your face into his chest. "This is the first time anyone has had feelings for me, let alone loved me. I never had feelings either, but you are something else."

You look up at him, "I think I'm in love with you too."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

He had become your only beacon of hope. Your only little support while you were drowning. What happens when a human is given that? He clings onto it as fast as he can, as tightly as he can.

It had been 5 months since you first met Taehyung. 5 months full of exploring and adventures. It would be proper to say that you never would have guessed you got this close to someone.

You'd spend hours on end with him, until it was finally time to go home before the sunset.

You had introduced him to your special spot. A small, secluded clearing in a forest beside a lake. You had stumbled upon it when you were barely a teenager. No one except Hoseok and now Taehyung knew about it.

"What are you thinking about?" The man whose arms engulfed you asked.

Taehyung was leaning against a tree while you sat between his legs leaned against his chest.

"About the day when the Emperor was practically fuming when I said I couldn't prepare a dish for him on his birthday."

Taehyung twirled a strand of your hair with his index finger and laughed, "I wish I were there to see it."

"I hate him so, so much."

"Yeah, I hope to punch him in the face someday for what he did to you all these years."

"I love you..." You cozied yourself deeper into his arms.

"Love you too."

The talks from the noble and humble alike were spreading. No one fancied the way you, an unmarried aristocrat girl, spent time with a Cheonmin. Certainly, they couldn't see what you did behind closed doors, but you found yourself afraid of what they might do if they did.

Taehyung didn't care and asked you to do so as well. But how could you? When your father continued to beat the life out of you, even more so now that the talks flew around.

You couldn't mention it to your lover because it would have very obvious yet perilous consequences. So you had to feign that everything was alright.

That is why, whenever he asked you where you got a certain bruise from, you would reply with a simple, 'Oh, this? I fell.' or any other falsified answer you could think of.

Every day Taehyung walked you home, or sometimes even carried you just to the edge of the forest. And you were once again back to your oppressive household without anyone to share your sorrows with.

But this day was different. He walked with you till you were a few houses away from your own, you parted ways and you walked back alone to your house, or rather, you thought you'd be alone.

A voice came from behind you, "Good evening, young lady." You almost jumped at how close the man was to your ear and how you didn't hear him coming to this proximity.

The man in question looked much older than you, almost as old as Hoseok. This person was certainly here to bother you and you definitely weren't down for it.

You let out a nervous laughter, "Oh, good evening." And walked forward without sparing him a second glance.

"Don't be so rude now, I am here to speak with you." He caught up to your hurried pace.

"I am sorry but I don't suppose I would be of any use to you." A myriad of questions arose in your mind. Who was he? Was he here to have his way with you? You had heard from Taehyung, what men possibly thought of you; and it certainly wasn't pure.

"Ah, see that's where you are wrong." He said in a false vile tone, "You are very useful to me."

You turned around completely appalled, "That is no way to talk to someone, a lady in particular. I could be of use to you after you have spoken with my father."

"Who is the lady here? I see a girl, no, a kitten."

Not having much time to spare, as your father would quite literally kill you for being outside after dark, you said, "Sir, I am no kitten, but I am not one to argue with you. Good day." Saying this hopefully deterred him enough to not pursue you anymore.

And it did work, he didn't follow you after that, or rather, again, you thought he wouldn't follow you.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"How was your day, father?" You asked setting his footwear aside and welcoming him.

"Well, the funniest thing happened today. A master brought in his slave for treatment." He laughed. Ofcourse, he wouldn't give his services to anyone lower than the nobles and the occasional palace workers.

Your mother reciprocated his laughter with her own, "You should have told your assistant to not let them in." The two of them joked further while the kitchen staff served them dinner. You sat down on the floor beside your father fidgeting and looking down at your fingers on your lap.

It annoyed you, like something that constantly pricked you deep within. It was the way not just your parents, but the majority of people spoke about the lower and less fortunate.

"Isn't it funny, my daughter? Why are you not laughing?" He asked. You had been over this before. You would ask him not to speak about the lower castes this way and in return he would starve you for the night.

"It's just that..."

"What is it?" He asked in a stern voice. "Speak up!"

"I-I don't like your words. I don't like the way you talk about them." You shut your eyes fully expecting a smack right across your face.

But it never came. Neither did your father's anger.

Instead he laughed.

"Is that so? My dear, do you know what that slave said to me?" He asked. You were stunned and confused to say anything.

"He said, 'You don't mind your daughter sleeping with that Kim boy, but you refuse to treat me?'"

You began to grow even more confused as you looked at the servants setting up another plate of food on a small table similar to yours and your parents'.

"You know Jeon called me to his palace today. He has heard the rumours as well."

A man with cold feline eyes and his forehead covered with his messy yet well-maintained bangs walked into the room. He held a scowl on his face as he sat down at the table in front of yours.

Your eyes widened. It was the same person who had bothered you earlier that day.

"Father, what's going on?" You asked partially getting up from your little table.

But your father simply completed his previous statement, "So, he sent his finest to keep an eye on you."

"What do you mean?"

"Meet Min Yoongi."

[rockstaryuta]

ASTEROID BLUES is a cowboy-bebop inspired, x afab! reader fic series that revolves around the futuristic misadventures of easygoing bounty hunter, ln yn.

──── ✈︎ asteroid blues ...

info. wanted posters are not full plot synopsis. for individual fic information, please click on the 'here' underneath each section. sfw fics will be posted on 00127AM, while all nsfw works will be posted on ROCKSTARYUTA.

soundtrack. tank! seatbelts young jesus logic kimidakenotenshi soul scream interlude: past to present nct u

living bounty to bounty, who's your first target?

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE ──── ✈︎ sfw johnny suh ⌖ space cowboy ― fellow bounty hunter wanted for his ... unorthodox methods. the only problem? he's hunting you too. SESSION I. black dog serenade kim jungwoo ⌖ high roller ― wanted for a number of debts owed to some of the galaxy's most powerful syndicates. try not to get too distracted by that charm of his, or else you'll find yourself toeing the line between professional and personal. SESSION II. gateway shuffle huang guanheng ⌖ bartender ― wanted for the commodification and underground auction of information. secrets traded for a drink. watch your words and your glass. SESSION III. easy come, easy go lee donghyuck ⌖ con artist ― wanted for fraud, embezzlement, and that silver tongue of his that seems to constantly get him into trouble. or save him from it. whatever you do, just don't manage to become his next mark. SESSION IV. see you space cowgirl, someday, somewhere! liu yangyang ⌖ pilot ― wanted for illegal gambling and racing. in his world, the most important thing is staying one step ahead--so don't fall behind. SESSION V. boogie woogie feng shui zhong chenle ⌖ heir ― wanted for his outrageously large fortune tied to his namesake. he's playing a dangerous game in the galaxy's elite circles, so tread carefully, lest you become entangled with his high-stakes world. SESSION VI. honky tonk woman oh sion ⌖ journalist ― wanted for learning something he shouldn't have, wrong place, wrong time. whatever you do, don't underestimate him. after all, you know what they say, the pen is mightier than the sword. SESSION VII. stray dog strut maeda riku ⌖ thief ― wanted for his most audacious heist yet. a heist that involved stealing from the wrong person this time around. a person who wants the phantoms thief's head on a platter. be vigilant, or you might miss him before you even know he's there. SESSION VIII. see you space samurai click here if you have any further information about these fugitives

BOUNTY WORTH ₩2,500,000

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE ──── ✈︎ ®️ nsfw moon taeil ⌖ ceo ― wanted for the enterprise he has built from the ground-up. it's a shame that the only way to get to him is to become his personal assistant. SESSION IX. you're gonna carry that weight lee taeyong ⌖ hacker ― wanted for the infiltration and theft of millions of megabytes from the 119 conglomerate. he probably knows where you are before you do. ever heard of a digital footprint? SESSION X. cowboy funk nakamoto yuta ⌖ hit man ― wanted for the assassination of the galaxy's most prominent politician. watch your back. in his line of work, you rarely see him until it's too late. SESSION XI. hard luck woman qian kun ⌖ igp officer ― wanted for arresting the son of one of the most notorious cartels in the galaxy. he's not very willing to roll over and be captured, certainly not when he's trying to arrest you. SESSION XII. waltz for venus kim doyoung ⌖ doctor ― wanted for preforming back room operations and illegal modifications. his medical expertise is only second to his ethical ambiguity. try not to lose a limb. SESSION XIII. ganymede elegy xiao dejun ⌖ entertainer ― wanted for his most recent scandal involving a heated affair with the igp chief's wife. one that was destined to end poorly from the start. the world is his stage, avoid getting caught in the spotlight. SESSION XIV. pierrot la fou mark lee ⌖ collector ― wanted for the prized artifact that lies deep within his vault. seems like your employer is willing to do anything to get their hands on it, including sending you to charm your way into stealing it. SESSION XV. brain scratch lee jeno ⌖ informant ― wanted for the dissemination of information regarding neo zone tech. hailed as a whistleblower, he's wanted galaxy-wide. just don't believe everything he says, or you might just find yourself amidst one of his rumors. SESSION XVI. sympathy for the devil click here if you have any further information about these fugitives

taglist. @evilsailorsenshi @222brainrot @firstdonutllamafarm @yangasm @sunflowerbebe07 @scinclaitnoir @hyuka-bby thank you for supporting me! ♡ ⤷ for those who are / are not on my general taglist : please let me know if you would like to be included on any of these fics taglist!

──── ✈ see you space cowboy ...

[6hiqui]

<– → ⟳ | YOUR FAV ARTISTS FAV ARTIST⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋮ ⊗⊖

[ CHIQUI ] ⠀ ━━━ ⠀ ❝ i will never be a poem , beautifully written and composed i will never be a song , remembered and euphonious i will never be a novel , coherent and captivating i will forever be the unwritten thought the half finished story the long forgotten melodies breezing within the wind. ❞

upon the decision of including yoon mirae in bangtan sonyeondan , last minute occasions had ridden her unable to join her friends. though , she had quite a few impeccable trainees within a camp she hosted , which is where they deliberately and intricately picked out the one and only CHIQUI. if not for the tedious eye of kim namjoon , the girl would still be a host on her mothers variety show.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❝ crack baby , you don't know what you want but you know that you had it once and you know that you want it back. ❞

LEVEL ⠀ 001 ⠀ ━ ⠀ BASICS

LEGAL  NAME  ⸻   ⠀⠀yálitza ysaírie dimítri [ 얄리차 ]

STAGE  NAME  ⸻   ⠀⠀chiqui [ 치키 ]

ENGLISH  NAME  ⸻   ⠀⠀jasmine daviss kyung

NICKNAME[S]  ⸻

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀i ━━ chichi ; when jimin found out about the meaning behind yálitza's stage name , he found it ironic considering the fact she's probably the tallest in the group , competing with namjoon. after repeating the name in his head a few times , he randomly thought of " chichi " and always says it in a singing voice whenever he feels like bothering yálitza.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ii ━━ quiqui ; to both annoy yálitza , and also copy jimin , taehyung came up with the nickname " quiqui " after hearing jimin sing " chichi " all day. at first , yálitza would chase the boys around their dorm for it , but over the years she grew too lazy to care , so she embraces it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀iii ━━ yáli ; when yálitza first debuted , namjoon over heard her mother call her " yáli " and he thought she said " cali " so he would call her that as a joke. at first , yálitza was confused but dealt with it because he was her senior , until she randomly questioned him one day , asking why he calls her that. when he said why , the girl laughed at him before saying " you mean yáli? ". namjoon was embarrassed but continued calling her it out of habit and yálitza just dealt with it , finding the nickname cute now.

AGE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ 25 [ kor ] ⠀ & ⠀ 24 [ int ]

BIRTHDAY  ⸻   ⠀⠀ october 31st , 1999

ZODIAC  ⸻   ⠀⠀ scorpio

CHINESE ZODIAC  ⸻   ⠀⠀ rabbit

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ╰── the luckiest of all signs in the chinese calendar. the rabbit is talented and articulate , affectionate yet shy. this clever sign of the chinese zodiac seeks peace throughout life. the jade rabbit is a main character in the story of the mid—autumn moon festival. compatible with the sheep or the pig but the opposite sign to the chicken.

NATIONALITY  ⸻   ⠀⠀ puerto rican ⠀ [ american ]

ETHNICITY  ⸻   ⠀⠀ asian—hispanic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION  ⸻   ⠀⠀ lesbian

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION  ⸻   ⠀⠀ homoromantic

RELATIONSHIP STATUS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ dating [ since '20 ]

BIRTH PLACE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ san juan , puerto rico

HOMETOWN  ⸻   ⠀⠀ trujillo alto , puerto rico

CURRENT RESIDENCY  ⸻   ⠀⠀ seoul , south korea

OCCUPATION[S]  ⸻   ⠀⠀ idol , singer , rapper , dancer , actress , model , television personality , choreographer, and translator.

LANGUAGE[S]  ⸻

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀i ━━ spanish ; [ 100% , puerto rican dialect ] ⠀ first , semi—native language. spoken since birth and holds a thick , heavy , accent when speaking english due to such.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ii ━━ arawak ; [ 90% , borícua dialect ] ⠀ second , actual native language. learned from nearby tribes within the mountains of trujillo. still not fully fluent , though close.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀iii ━━ english ; [ 89% , new york dialect ] ⠀ third , learned after moving to the states at a young age. sometimes a bit tricky , but still learned fast enough.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀iv ━━ korean ; [ 88% , busan dialect ] ⠀ fourth , learned when she moved to south korea at an early-enough age , it’s a bit more irritating to learn than english , however.

LEVEL ⠀ 002 ⠀ ━ ⠀ PHYSICALITY

HEIGHT  ⸻   ⠀⠀ 188 cm [ 6'2" ]

WEIGHT  ⸻   ⠀⠀ 68 kgs [ 150 lbs ]

BLOOD TYPE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ o positive

PIERCINGS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ septum , nostril , angel bites , double helix [ left + right ] , orbital [ left + right ]

TATTOOS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ sleeve [ left ] , back , trampstamp

FACE CLAIM  ⸻   ⠀⠀ bebé yana [ yoon hayana ]

VOCAL CLAIM  ⸻   ⠀⠀ siyeon [ dreamcatcher ]

RAP CLAIM  ⸻   ⠀⠀ doechii [ jaylah ji'mya hickmon ]

DANCE CLAIM  ⸻   ⠀⠀ audrey [ audrey partlow ]

SPEAKING CLAIM  ⸻   ⠀⠀ ft.gio [ giovanna ramos ]

LEVEL ⠀ 003 ⠀ ━ ⠀ CAREER

STAGE NAME  ⸻   ⠀ chiqui [ 치키 , 2013 ━ present ]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ╰── in spanish , chiqui means " short/small " and is often used as a nickname for small children. as a kid , yálitza was fairly small for her age , the girl only being the size of her mother's hand when she was born ( exaggerated ). growing up , " chiqui " became a common nickname within her family because no one thought she'd grow past 5'2 like her mother , despite her father being 6'5. however , when the girl got into middle school she began to grow an an absurd rate , her clothes being too small for her every other week. by the time she graduated she was 6'0 , and now as she's 25 , she's 6'2. yet , her family kept the nickname as it seemed ironic now , so yálitza used it as her stage name.

COMPANY  ⸻   ⠀⠀ bighit labels ( HYBE )

YEARS ACTIVE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ 2013 — present

GROUP  ⸻   ⠀⠀ bangtan sonyeondan [ bts ]

POSITION[S]  ⸻   ⠀⠀ rapper , dancer , vocalist , & center / face of group. ⠀ bonus ; translator.

TRAINING PERIOD  ⸻   ⠀⠀10 years [ 2004 — 2013 ]

DEBUT DATE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ october 1 , 2013

DEBUT AGE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ 14 [ kor ] ⠀ & ⠀ 13 [ int ]

SOLO DEBUT DATE  ⸻   ⠀⠀ march 4 , 2014

ESTIMATED NET WORTH  ⸻   ⠀⠀ $105 million usd

SIGNATURE  ⸻

ENDORSEMENTS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ coach ( 2019 — present ). gucci ( 2021 — present ). victoria secrets ( 2021 — present ). glossier ( 2018 — present ). kate spade ( 2017 — present ). WNBA ( 2015 — present).

REPRESENTATIVES  ⸻   ⠀⠀ 🐇. 🪶. 🐚

SOLO FANDOM NAME  ⸻   ⠀⠀ corals

TWITTER  ⸻   ⠀⠀ bts_twt ⠀ chichii

INTAGRAM  ⸻   ⠀⠀ bts.bighitoffical ⠀ quiiqui

TIKTOK  ⸻   ⠀⠀ bts_official_bighit ⠀ yalitrii

LEVEL ⠀ 004 ⠀ ━ ⠀ PERSONAL

MBTI  ⸻   ⠀⠀ infp

POSITIVE TRAITS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ introverted. creative. idealistic. quiet. open minded. imaginative. reflective.

NEGATIVE TRAITS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ isolation. self-sabotage. perfectionist. procrastinator. unfocused. easy burnout.

LIKES  ⸻   ⠀⠀ her cats [ mainecoon ]. her dog [ dachshund ]. anime. manga. manhwas. comics. novels. fashion. shopping. korean barbecue. japanese street food. producing. basketball. volleyball. soccer. visiting her island. cooking. performing. reptiles.

DISLIKES  ⸻   ⠀⠀ broccoli. sushi. men [ /j ]. misogynists. terfs. white feminists. white people [ /hj ]. zionists. pro-israelis. megan thee stallion haters. spiders. green tea. meditating. alcohol. being late. the feeling of unproductive. mosquitos. crickets.

HOBBIES  ⸻   ⠀⠀ watching anime. reading mangas. using twitter as like a journal for every little thing. writing. drawing. reading. playing the drums or electric guitar. basketball. football. volleyball. soccer. baseball. live streaming her gameplays.

HABBITS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ swearing in spanish , arawak , or english. making random noises. dozing off. getting really jittery when overstimulated. cracking her knuckles. hitting people when laughing. twirling her hair.

INDUSTRY FRIENDS  ⸻   ⠀⠀ all of e’last. all of new jeans. megan thee stallion soloist. beomhan soloist. all of itzy. all of kep1er. all of KARD. all of txt. flo milli soloist. monaleo soloist. glorilla soloist. joji soloist. kali uchis soloist. all of p1harmony. all of black swan. kitty chicha actress. jenna ortega actress. melissa barrera actress. bad bunny soloist. all of xdinary heroes. all of KATSEYE. mitski soloist. all of riize. all of boynextdoor. all of zerobaseone. all of 2NE1. taemin of shinee. all of aespa. all of XG. lisa of blackpink.

KNOWN FOR  ⸻   ⠀⠀ debuting in a predominantly male group. being the face of the biggest kpop group. admitting her nepotism on live television. blunt personality. calling hybe and bighit out on their bullshit. being a feminist & misandrist [ joke ]. being an activist. getting arrested for protests. assaulting paparazzi on multiple occasions for harassment of her members. being protective over jungkook since they grew up together. being on multiple variety shows , including her mothers. being 4th and 5th gen’s mentor. always going live on her instagram. hosting free fan meets in puerto rico. throwing " girls night parties " with a bunch of female idols every month. having instagram for her pets.

FAMILY MEMBERS  ⸻

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀mother : annálysse dimítri — kyung ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : july 4 , 1969 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 55 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : carolina , puerto rico ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : taíno ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : variety show host / ex-ufc boxing trainer ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀residence : seoul , south korea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : married [ since 1985 ]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀father : dimítri — kyung dawei ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : february 14 , 1972 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 52 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : busan , south korea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : asian ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : architect / ex-ufc boxing trainer ⠀⠀⠀⠀���residence : seoul , south korea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : married [ since 1985 ]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀brother : dimítri — kyung chan ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : december 31 , 1989 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 35 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : busan , south korea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : asian—hispanic ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : kindergarten teacher ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀residence : busan , south korea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : married [ since 2014 ]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀brother : dimítri — kyung devin ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : november 15 , 1990 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 34 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : san juan , puerto rico ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : asian—hispanic ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : ufc boxer ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀residence : seoul , south korea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : single

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀brother : dimítri — kyung liko ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : june 9 , 1992 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 32 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : san juan , puerto rico ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : asian—hispanic ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : clothing brand ceo ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀residence : tokyo , japan ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : single

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀brother : dimítri — kyung haneul ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : october 21 , 1993 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 31 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : san juan , puerto rico ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : asian—hispanic ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : graphic designer for " estrella pop " ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀residence : trujillo alto , puerto rico ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : married [ since 2017 ]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀brother : dimítri — kyung sungjin ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birthdate : october 31 , 1994 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀age : 30 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀birth place : san juan , puerto rico ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ethnicity : asian—hispanic ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀occupation : a-list western actor ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀residence : new york , united states ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀relationship status : single

[offshore-brinicle]

One thing I've noticed that may or may not be important in C6 is the different ways Dante and Heathcliff react to insults.

Heathcliff displays his anger quite clearly, even more so towards those with little to no power over him. Dante tends to either immediately pivot over to trying to make a joke about it, staying silent, or changing the topic [like how with Caiman, they were like 'thx for not murdering her' instead of adressing the things she actually says].

This may pose an issue during the canto, esp if Dante wants to try and help Heathcliff before he could potentially spiral into become more like his book version. And given the title, I'm unsure how much they'll be able to do with what little reference they have in terms of this sorta stuff. We're, what, six months into this whole thing in-verse? That's not exactly a lot of time.

I do think C6 will be what makes Dante really look back at the other sinners, and try to understand them beyond first impressions, especially considering just how much Heath alone has changed up til now.

Plus, I think Rodya and Hong Lu will have some Moments, and a sullen look or two from Sinclair or Outis wouldn't be unexpected.

Honestly, I see this very possibly. Canto V was essentially the start of Dante actually being an active force in aiding the Sinners, after somewhat trying and failing with Sinclair back in Canto III and then not being particularly relevant in Yi Sang's journey and growth in Canto IV compared to other parties involved to then them being a huge factor in Ishmael's realization and her changing her mind in favor of a better path for herself by actively reaching out. It feels like things have been progressively getting better but taking in count Heathcliff's lifelong abuse and the comments in Yield my Flesh hinting that from now on is when the "actual" plot begins makes me feel like next chapter won't be as...easy or straightforward, they might potentially even fail to gain the Golden Bough.

Heathcliff himself has been dismissed so much by the others lately that it feels...intentional, as a friend of mine @/ishcliff has gone more in-depth into that, which will probably end up being the point of conflict this time as he drifts away from the others.

Another interesting example of how you mention Heathcliff's changes is that Meursault is also showing subtle changes himself for example, from talking about his mother unprompted to purposefully not telling on Aeng-du dragging Kim away despite being scolded for not commenting on Sinclair's panic attacks in III, so I wouldn't be surprised if there is more pre-Canto character exploration like you mention, and even more how that character growth will contrast with what's to come, even for Yi Sang who's character arc isn't exactly "complete" despite his breakthrough in Canto IV because the story of the League of Nine still isn't fully untangled and he states this as being his personal resolution to Dante from now on and he still hasn't actually confronted Gubo and then you have the reveal of Rim and Young-ji possibly still being alive and around somewhere

Even in Yield my Flesh again we also had the mention of how Don Quixote has become less reckless and then in V when Rodion pulled Ishmael to the side...and the Sinners have also become aware of the pattern of each one of them having their past exposed and being tested during their journey, so with Dante also wanting to grow close with everyone else and slowly forming that resolution to watch over them and stay by their side I wonder how this will all come to the forefront and how trends will be broken from now on

Thanks for the message! It's all very interesting things to ponder on and speculate, I cannot wait for Canto VI genuinely

[whoseafraidofliloleme]

𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.

Summary: Kang YN was only in London to support her sister. Instead she finds love.

W/c: 4.3k .

Genres/Tropes: Written One Shot. Regency au. Bridgerton au. Strangers to lovers. Love at first sight. Fluff. Comedy. I'm not the nicest to Eloise and I am not going to apologise for it.

Permanent Taglist: @honeyhuii @chirokookie @nyxtwixx @clar-iii @centheodd @prdxinvade @hiqhkey @junnniiieee07 @love-4-keum @acciomylove @sproutswonies @youkwim @kpoplover718 @anotherimaginesaccount @ashxxgyu @bubblytaetae @strwberrydinosaur @xiaoderrrr @shinkenprincess-oh

AN: This was supposed to be short and simple, a little fun one shot, Instead Im here with over 4,000 words. This has been a labour of love that I've spent the last week writing so feedback will be very appreciated please. Cause it's so long there's a read more 😂.

Enhypen Masterlist

You did not want to be here. This was only the first ball of the season, and you were already done with it all. The only reason you even agreed to come for this season was because you wanted to help Jennie unnie.

A new Duchess, somehow Jennie unnie had become a favourite of the Queen’s and for that reason, you had been roped into coming and helping her out. You didn’t hate that, you thought your brother-in-law, one Kim Namjoon, Duke of Kennington was pretty cool.

That’s a lie, when you first met the guy, you thought he was the biggest nerd ever. It didn’t surprise you in the slightest that your well read, always curious sister found her soulmate in a genius.

They were adorable from start of last season till now. However, what you didn’t want was for Jennie unnie to rope you into helping her for this new season. After the drama of last season, you just wanted to fade into obscurity.

But no, you were stuck at this ball, doing Jennie unnie’s bidding. Looking around and taking notes about what went well and didn’t at Lady Danbury’s ball so you can report to Jennie unnie of how she could make her ball the best on of this season.

The small reprieve was that you’d made friends with Penelope Featherington, who was a brilliant young lady, with wit and charm. You didn’t understand how she wasn’t married to some equally handsome and wealthy lord.

The gentlemen of the ton if you were being honest left much to be desired. These so-called gentlemen. You’d read Lady Whistledown and done your own research into the most popular of them.

You knew Penelope held a flame for the third Bridgerton son but really after what he’d said about her, you personally wouldn’t forgive him but from conversations with Penelope revealed, she was more than ready to forgive if there was a good reason.

Jennie unnie and you had worked hard to make Penelope shine this season, getting her out of the control of her horrible mother, was only the first step. Getting her wonderfully made dresses that suited her was the next. And now here at this ball, making use of your knowledge and your brother’s connections to get Penelope on the radar of the type of gentlemen who would be perfect for her.

You were proud to say that this plan of yours was working. Penelope was happily dancing with a Lord Justin Jeon and from the looks of it, he seemed quite taken with her.

“Miss YN, how is Jennie unnie and brother-in-law? Are they well, Namjoon hasn’t replied to my letters” You heard Mr Benedict Bridgerton. So busy in watching Penelope, you hadn’t seen him come and stand next to you with his younger sister Eloise.

“Unnie is great, Namjoon oppa hasn’t broken anything in quite a few days so all is well in their household. I don’t know why you are worried about your letters not being replied to when you seem to come and crash at my brother’s residence every day it would seem Mr Bridgerton” You replied, turning to give him a smile.

You did like Benedict Bridgerton, he was a good sort and a very good friend to your brother-in-law. What you didn’t like was his younger brother and sister who unfortunately was scowling, looking at Penelope dancing.

“The sister of last season’s diamond shouldn’t be standing on the outskirts of the ball, I say this dance is almost ending. Would you give me the pleasure of the next dance my lady?” Benedict said smiling at you. You couldn’t help but giggle at what he said.

He knew as well as you did that you didn’t enjoy dancing, you never had. Too many instances of having your foot stepped on by men and consequently broken feet because of them had led to you apprehension.

Thankfully you were saved from replying as Penelope and Lord Jeon returned to where you were standing. The bright smile Penelope was wearing had faded in seeing Eloise who from the looks of it was attempting to murder Penelope with her eyes.

The atmosphere had gone from jovial to tense, in a way even Lord Jeon could feel it. Seeing Eloise was seconds away from erupting on Penelope, you made the choice to lead her away, taking her arm without saying anything to the others around and took her towards the refreshments table.

You never got there however as you were bumped into by a gentleman. It seemed like he had been pushed by his friends as they were standing by watching with wide eyes and Penelope looked at you are wondering what your reaction was going to be.

The shock of being bumped into you faded in seconds as you realised that there was lemonade running down the front of your dress. You looked down at your ruined dress, it wasn’t a favourite of yours, but you were still mad, this gentlemen had ruined your dress. You looked up at him ready to shout at him, propriety be damned.

That’s when you noticed the group of gentlemen that had pushed this gentleman in your way. Viscount Park Jimin was laughing with his stupid friends. Not caring about the poor boy who was apologising to you, ignoring him and Penelope’s attempts at calming you down. You made your way to him.

Not expecting you to come to him, Jimin looked at you in shock as you stood in front of him in anger. Although he had expected your anger, he was hoping it would be aimed at the boy he sent to spill his drink on you. Then again, he did want your attention for a reason.

“Milord, you think you are so very funny but in reality, you are not funny and showing yourself to be a child” you said scathingly. This man, he did not deserve to be called a gentleman with how he acted, and you had been dealing with him since before Jennie unnie got married to Namjoon oppa. You didn’t know why he took so much joy out of making fun of you or teasing you.

“Oh, such words from such a pretty mouth, does your dear brother and sister know you have a tongue as sharp as knives” Jimin said, his eyes gleaning with amusement. Every interaction proved his hunch about you correct.

You were the perfect lady for his younger brother. Now all he had to do was get you to interact, fall in love and his younger brother would be set for life. Not to mention, he would get the acute joy of being the annoying older brother that Namjoon wasn’t in your life.

Not dignifying Jimin with an answer, you walked away and went back to Penelope. Telling her that the two of you were leaving.

At home, you ranted and raved to Jennie unnie and brother about how much Park Jimin got on your nerves. Namjoon oppa just laughed, knowing that Jimin only did it to get under your skin and he was testing to see if you were a good match for his younger brother.

Jennie unnie, played the part of sympathetic sister but inwardly thought it was quite good that you’d found your match in terms of arguing, bantering and messing around with.

A few days later, your small little family was having a picnic, you were telling Penelope about some of the shenanigans that came with Jennie unnie’s wedding. Things that never made it into Lady Whistledown.

Your sister stopped you to tell you about how you were having guests for dinner.

“Unnie why are you inviting that heathen of a man Viscount Park. Is it not bad enough that I must deal with him at all the balls, now you want me to have dinner with the man too” You whined. You knew Jimin liked to wind you up and it annoyed you to no end that he succeeded in annoying you. Being made to play nice at dinner was the last thing you wanted.

“My dear sister, we are meeting his younger brother, I haven’t seen Sunghoon since the lad went off to university, you’d like him you know, he’s a good sort” Namjoon oppa told you smiling at the way you refused to admit that despite all the annoying each other, You and Jimin did share a strong sibling bond.

“Well, if he’s anything like that man, I do not want to make his acquaintance” you said before turning to Penelope.

“Do you think if we just turn up at Lady Danbury’s for dinner tomorrow, she’ll kick us out?” you asked Penelope. Who laughed at the absurdity of your suggestion, of course Lady Danbury would kick you out for turning up uninvited.

Logically you knew this but it was nice making Penelope laugh, she had been sombre in the last few days since that unfortunate ball where you had lemonade thrown on you and in the time you went to confront Jimin.

Eloise Bridgerton had found Penelope and it was lucky that the second oldest Bridgerton daughter had left by the time you got there because by the way Penelope had looked, you already annoyed would’ve lashed out at her.

“Madame, I’d think you should meet me before judging me on my brothers’ atrocious manners” A voice you didn’t recognise remarked from behind you. Turning around you saw a beautiful man, with the most alluring brown eyes, his hair styled in the way most men styled their hair but it looked royal on him.

He wasn’t wearing anything extraordinary, but he looked fascinating. You had never cared for handsome men. They were dime a dozen in the London ton but there was something about this handsome gentleman, you wanted to know more about him.

A throat clearing, had you turning to look at your sworn enemy. Park Jimin was smirking at you. Why was he smirking, you still felt in a daze, you hadn’t recovered from gazing at the most handsome man you’d ever seen. It took you a few more seconds to blink and regain your mind.

That is when you made the connection. The reason Jimin was smirking at you, somehow this pest of a man was related to the most handsome man you’d just seen. This was horrible.

Jimin wanted to burst out laughing. You and Sunghoon had been staring at each other for much longer than should have been allowed. The way you both were gazing into each other’s eyes.

If Jimin believed, he would think this was love at first sight. His matchmaking skills were brilliant, last season he got Jennie and Namjoon hyung together and now this season he will get his brother and you together. Maybe with one son married, his mother will leave him alone about marriage.

Sunghoon couldn’t believe he was in the presence of a literal goddess. This lady, sitting with Namjoon hyung and who he presumed was Namjoon hyungs wife and Miss Penelope Featherington. She was the type of lady the poets wrote poems about, the type of beauty that caused wars. He had been blessed by the gods that this beautiful lady was gazing at him.

Sunghoon had been ready to snap at his Jimin hyung when he cleared his throat and took your attention away from him. But in looking at his hyung, he saw that self-satisfied look in his eye. Oh lord help him, his brother planned this. He had something up his sleeve.

In any other situation, Sunghoon would try to get out of whatever scheme his brother had cooked up. They generally didn’t end well for Sunghoon, it was either lectures from his mother or lectures from his father.

He hasn’t decided which was worse, his father’s disappointment or his mother’s exasperation at his antics. Even though he tried to explain that it was never his fault but no one believed him.

His hyung was an expert at getting out of trouble and making sure that Sunghoon got into it. However, in this case if it involved this beautiful lady, he would happily go along with his hyungs scheme. For once this scheme would be in his favour, he would get to reap the benefits of it.

“So, YN are you still unhappy about Jimin and his brother joining us for dinner” Jennie unnie teased. Glaring at her, you saw everyone looking at you are awaiting your reply. The temptation to get up and run was real but that was far from lady like behaviour. Thankfully you were saved from replying by a sudden unexpected summer storm.

The rain saved you and you would forever be grateful to that. The rain also gave you a wonderful view of handsome men in wet clothing. You knew Jennie unnie was admiring Namjoon oppa, Penelope was very openly looking at Jimin’s six pack that had become obvious with his shirt sticking to his chest. In that same vein, you were having the time of your life looking at Park Sunghoon, dripping wet.

Dinner that night was an interesting affair for the whole family. Jennie unnie, Namjoon oppa and Jimin were not even hiding the fact that they’re matchmaking scheme was working brilliantly. Penelope was amazed at how you went from a young lady that never blushed or cared for a gentlemen’s attention, was preening, swooning and smiling beautifully at Park Sunghoon.

Then again Park Sunghoon was acting the exact same way. Penelope had never seen a man prouder of himself for being the reason a lady smiled. It was adorable to see how enchanted with each other you both were.

Penelope had the privilege of seeing a love match being made right in front of her eyes. She’d seen the previous matches of Daphne and Anthony; it was known in the ton that Bridgerton’s only ever had love matches.

Penelope had even had a hand in helping these couples. Probably not in the best way but her whole point was to show a mirror to the ton of their hypocrisies. It made sense why Eloise hated her, most of the time Penelope hated herself for what she had done. Penelope shook her head, looking back at the sweet beginnings of a love she hoped would last a lifetime.

You couldn’t help yourself in how you kept glancing at Sunghoon. That felt new, he had given you leave to use his first name. It felt almost illegal to be able to say his first name. This man had come out of nowhere into your life and it was only the second meeting, first actual conversation and you wanted all his attention on you all the time.

You wanted to unravel all his secrets, know each and every thing about him. Stand by his side during the bad, horrible and absolutely dreadful times. You also wanted to be there during the good, happy and blissfully content times.

You didn’t believe in love at first sight but that is what it seemed to be happening here with you. You didn’t understand it, how did this man completely make you want to live a life as his wife when you barely knew each other.

“That is what courting is for dear sister, to get to know this man you want to spend your life with” You turned to Jennie unnie confused and then looked around the dining room, the men it seemed had gone into the smoking room, not that any of the men smoked but they were probably gossiping more than you ladies were. It wasn’t unheard for you to get so carried away in your own thoughts that you completely miss what is going on around you.

“Did I completely miss the end of dinner? Lord help me I’m making such a fool in front of Sunghoon” You cried appalled, this was just what you needed for your future husband to think that you were one of those ladies that spent more time wool gathering than actually doing lady like pursuits.

Namjoon once, the men were in his office. Turned to Sunghoon. He knew exactly what he wanted to say to his maybe not even maybe future brother in law. After tonight’s dinner it was only a matter of time before Sunghoon became a part of your small little family.

“Sunghoon it should go without saying that my priority is my sister. You have no doubt heard from your brother how dear she is to me. Therefore, I should let you know that you aren’t the only person to come enquiring about YNs hand, whether it be wanting to court her or bringing a proposal” Namjoon told Sunghoon and Jimin. Though he was sure that it didn’t mean anything as YN had told him her opinions of these various gentlemen and the simple fact that she didn’t like them enough to marry or be courted by them.

Jimin looked at Namjoon confused, this information was something Namjoon had kept from him, which was unfair of him. Jimin should be aware of how much competition his brother has. More importantly Jimin needs to know their names so he can tell them to back off from his future sister-in-law.

Sunghoon didn’t know how to react to the information presented to him. He was at war with himself about how to react with this information.

On the one hand there was jealousy and the other hand there as fear. He was jealous of the gentlemen that had shown interest in you already and the fear was what if you already had feelings for one of these gentlemen.

Which wasn’t an issue, he was willing to fight for you. If he had to show you that he was the perfect gentlemen for you then he will. This dinner only solidified his feelings for you and now he couldn’t wait to court you.

“Namjoon hyung, I will be asking YN to dance with me twice at the next ball and before I leave tonight, I’d like to ask for her hand in courting. Her opinion is first and foremost to me, even more than yours hyung” Sunghoon said. He knew that what he said was out there and that this might ruin his standing with Namjoon hyung. But it was important for Namjoon hyung to know where exactly he stood when it came to you.

“You want to court me? After the fool I’ve been making of myself in front of you” Sunghoon heard YN say from behind him. He turned to look at her, there she was standing behind him asking him the silliest question. Which solidified that he was falling in love with the right person for him.

“Madame, you have intrigued me from the beginning and the more I find out the more I want to sit with you and talk about every single thing in the world. Not just that but I hate balls, the fakeness of these events is tiring to say the least but with you, I want to go to every ball because it gives me the opportunity to dance with you, show off to the entire ton that I have the most beautiful lady on my arm” Sunghoon said, looking you straight in the eye. He was praying that this speech of his had endeared you to him, that he had a chance to win your love.

You didn’t know how to reply to him. This was something that you dreamed of. Finding the man of your dreams, who saw you and wanted to get to know you. This was unreal and you were so shocked that you just nodded to his question. You couldn’t wait to start this new adventure.

That night was spent staying up with Jennie unnie and Penelope giggling about the fact that you were now courting and you had a suitor.

Since Sunghoon had become your suitor. You didn’t have a dull day. Everyday there were flowers coming from Sunghoon. You didn’t know much about the language of flowers but Penelope took much pleasure in telling you all the meanings of the flowers Sunghoon was sending you.

It was getting to the point that Jennie unnie was giving the flowers away because she had run out of rooms to put the flowers in. With the flowers, Sunghoon would come calling, as early was allowed for men to come calling.

At some point, Namjoon oppa told Sunghoon to just come for breakfast. So, for the last few weeks you’d been having breakfast with Sunghoon. If Sunghoon couldn’t come in the morning, then he would come around in the afternoon to take you on promenades.

Every single ball that you both found yourselves at, Sunghoon was writing his name in your dance card. Making sure that he was dancing with you for your favourite dances.

If you were being honest, you knew you were in love with Sunghoon. How could you not fall in love with this gentleman that was doing all that he could to make you his. Every conversation that you had, the things that you kept on finding out about this man was making you fall deeper and deeper in love with him. You had confided in Jennie unnie and Penelope that if Sunghoon didn’t propose soon then you would be asking him to marry you. Unheard of for women to be the one asking but you were getting impatient and wanted to marry Sunghoon already.

Now it was halfway through the season, and you were having the time of your life being courted and falling in love with the gentleman courting you. Jennie Unnie’s ball was tonight, it was the marking of the halfway point of the season. It was crazy that you didn’t want to be a part of this season and now you were having so much fun that you didn’t want the season to end.

Your sister and brother-in-law were greeting people and you were around the ballroom making sure everything was going well there.

Penelope was going back and forth with you about the dinner table and kitchen. Making sure its all going perfectly. The Queen had already made her appearance, she seemed very happy with this ball.

She made a small speech and then left in a flamboyant manner fitting of a queen. She was also very interested in your courtship with Sunghoon. You were pretty sure she had told Jennie unnie that she would sponsor the wedding.

A hand on your arm made you turn to the person who touched you. Seeing that it was Sunghoon you smiled. He tilted his head towards the orchestra that were starting to play music for the waltz. Nodding your head, you let him lead you onto the dancing area. Holding you close, both of you danced. You thought it would be similar to your other dances. Neither of you were a fan of talking during dances so you enjoyed the silence when you danced. Just the music and Sunghoon holding you close were the only things that mattered.

“The last few months have been the most wonderful times of my life. Never have I been happier that I listened to Jimin hyung and came to London for the season. My life was boring and without colour before you Kang YN. You have brought fun, excitement and a whole rainbow into my life. I just have one question, will you do me the honour of being my wife?” Sunghoon said as you were dancing. You looked at him in shock. Did he just propose while you were dancing, had you just imagined that you didn’t know what just happened.

“Milady if you are going to reject me, please let me know” Sunghoon said as he walked with you from the dance floor to where you had been before standing with Penelope.

Turning to Sunghoon to give him his reply, you stopped. Just looked in his eyes, you both had a few conversations in those moments, unsaid words, things neither of you were brave enough to voice but could be conveyed through your eyes.

“Well after such an impassioned proposal, how can I say no.” You said to Sunghoon a little loudly. Knowing that all those around you were listening to this conversation. After hearing what you said, Jennie unnie came barrelling towards you and swept you into a hug. She was so happy for you. Namjoon oppa was happy you were happy, and it was so obvious how much Sunghoon loved you. Once your sister let go of you, Namjoon oppa gave you a short hug and let Penelope hug you tightly as well. After the hug, you saw Jimin smirking at you.

“I am not living with this man. Once we are married, your brother is not allowed in our home” You said to Sunghoon, that made both men laugh but Jimin stopped when he saw that you had a blank expression. You were being serious. Just as he was going to retort, you burst out laughing.

“Oh dear sister, you had me there. I was about to use my status to make sure I can visit my brother and new sister” Jimin said jokingly. He would never pull rank on you and Sunghoon. He would turn up regardless of your wishes anyway but you both knew that the teasing was your way of showing affection to each other.

“Well now we have to tell the Queen, shes very adamant that this wedding she sponsors ends better than the last one” Jennie unnie said. She was slightly put out that she wouldn’t get to plan your wedding like you had helped her.

But with the Queen footing the bill, you had to go with whatever she wanted. Although considering the Queen wanted this wedding to be a success, she may be more willing to let you sisters have the things you wanted at your wedding.