#SEO AIM POINT

[fauna-and-floraa]

Seungmin for Nylon Japan x Coach. English translations under the cut.

To Bangchan hyung, thank you for your hard work this year. I look forward to working with you again next year. Take care of yourself! Grandpa. A reliable leader, Bang Chan. A black leather tote with excellent storage capacity that can be used from work to work. The eye-catching robot print that stands out against the simple design subtly shows off your sense of style.

To Lee Know Hyung, I hope you have a merry Christmas- Nekohyung! (cat hyung) For our beloved Lee Know, we have selected a sweater that is soft to the touch and adds warmth to your face. Pay attention to the sophisticated and colorful color scheme that adds this year's color to autumn/winter styles that tend to be heavy.

To Seo Changbin hyung, thank you for your hard work this year. Please train hard next year too! Changbin subtly show off your gratitude with a combination of a mini wallet for everyday use and high-quality knitwear. The key point is the colorful and profound prints that tickle the playful spirit of adults.

To Hyunjin-kun, I hope you have a happy Christmas, which is your favorite~ Hyunjin, who has an artistic side, chose a crossbody bag from the “Cosmic” collection with a pop of planets. Pair it with a down jacket for a casual look.

To Han, eat lots of your favorite cheesecake this Christmas! For the fashion-loving HAN, we are gifting a highly designed crossbody bag with a traditional signature coated canvas and catchy handwriting motif patches. Combine with knit for a traditional mood.

To Felix tingling, Have a nice Christmas! Thank you for your hard work this year!! Picking up a Kira Kirakira Chio mini bag with the aim of turning it into a ball, the stylish presence will update your outfit toNaramachi mode.'' To I.N-kun, our maknae, thank you for being cute this year too! I hope you stay cute next year too~ To our beloved youngest member I.N COACH's icon character "Lexy" A combination of pop printed tote and playful jacquard knit.

To Stay, Happy New Year! Seungmin. For STAY, which is always in your heart, we chose a retro mini bag that you can carry with you at any time. The size fits a smartphone, making it perfect for accompanying live performances. We recommend using it not only as a shoulder bag but also as a clutch.

[livixcore]

i do every year don’t i? (idol!seo changbin x f!reader)

✮ summary: every year you made a big deal about your boyfriends birthday and this year was no different except you hadn’t seen him much with the ‘Ate’ comeback being so recent so the movie night didn’t go as planned but it couldn’t have been more perfect.

✮ a/n: okay first time writing full fluff… i don’t LOVE it but i also don’t hate it so please enjoy:) i started writing this literally the day before Binnie’s birthday but i was working so much i didn’t have time to finish it but it’s finally done hehe… was aiming for it to just be a wee drabble but that didn’t happen whoops :3

✮ pairing: idol!Seo Changbin x f!reader

✮ genre: fluff

✮ warnings: suggestive, swearing, just some fluffy goodness:) not proof read mb

✮ wc: 2k

You’d been planning for this night for a couple weeks, talking to the other boys to make a perfect birthday movie night for Changbin. Thankfully his birthday was on the day you all usually did your movie nights in one of the dorms so you decided to just make a small party out of it with all 8 of the boys and yourself.

Most weeks you all just busied yourself with making snacks and bringing them all to the livingroom to sit all together with a movie playing on the television but you wanted this one to be special. A special night for your special boy.

The schedule had been absolute chaos all week with award shows and fan signings happening every day so the Saturday night was perfect for some relaxation. Chan had made sure to clear the schedules for the kids so that the night would go smoothly.

“Okay perfect this is looking great guys but remember Hyunjin and Bin are coming home in like an hour so we need to get this finished!” You stood in the middle of the dorm watching the boys all help putting up the silly decorations you’d bought. Balloons and streamers filled the room with bright colours, mostly pink.

Every year on Changbin’s birthday you made a point out of over decorating the dorm because you loved to make a fuss about your boyfriend, helping him understand how loved and appreciated he is.

Technically his birthday wasn’t until tomorrow but since you all tended to watch a couple movies at your movie nights you thought it would be perfect for it to run into his birthday and it means everyone who loves him dearly is with him since he can’t be home with his family.

“I don’t think Hyunjin realises how much cleaning is gonna need to be done afterwards like you’d think he’d want to be here to watch the downfall of his dorm.” Seungmin laughed as he sat on the floor blowing up a couple small balloons.

“He told me to go crazy so here I am going crazy.” You shrugged. “Plus this isn’t the most insane I’ve done remember when we covered the studio and the practice rooms in all this shit? Oh I still remember the look on JYP’s face when he saw them.” A shiver ran up your spine at the mere thought of it.

The room erupted into laughter from all angles. You’d gotten a good lecture after that about trashing the company building and what not. Personally you wouldn’t say it was ‘trashing’, you were just celebrating and decorating. Big difference.

You heard giggling from below you, looking down to be met with Felix and Jisung lying on the floor rolling around in the confetti making snow angels or confetti angels in this case and throwing handfuls of it at each other.

You couldn’t even be mad because those two had done the most work helping you make this perfect.

About 50 minutes had gone by and finally everything was in place. All the movie snacks had been sorted and placed in an arrangement on the table in the centre of the room. A cake sat prettily on the kitchen counter surrounded with a gift from each of the boys and a couple sitting from you off to the side.

Each wall was decorated with pink and silver balloons, streamers running down beneath them and brightening the place up. Maybe it was a little over the top but you highly doubted Hyunjin and Changbin were cleaning this up so you didn’t mind since it would most likely be you dealing with it.

You all stood back and admired your work before collapsing on any available surface even just to lean against.

“He’s for sure going to lose his mind when he steps through that door.” Chan sputtered out a laugh while binning the last few packets from the decorations.

“That’s the goal. I just want him to know how loved he is and what better time than on his birthday with his favourite people.” You smiled at the thought of his reaction, hoping he loves it as much as you think he will.

Before anyone could respond to you the sound of a key snapped all of your attention towards the door, everyone scrambling to stand up and welcome the birthday boy himself.

When the door finally opened and Changbin’s face appeared around the side of it you all erupted into cheers, shouting a plethora of happy birthdays and other greetings.

“Holy shit!” he broke out into a laugh, a massive grin stretching from ear to ear on his face. “All of this for me? You’re crazy!”

You couldn’t help but run into your boyfriend’s arms, crashing against his chest and wrapping your arms around his neck. He stumbled back at the contact before dropping his gym bag and reciprocating your hug, his arms snaking around your waist and lifting you off the floor.

The rest of the boys had grabbed the bags of takeout and extra snacks from Hyunjin and taken them to the kitchen, leaving you and Changbin in the foyer of the dorm together.

“Princess you did all of this for me?” He mumbled into your neck, his face pressed there from the hug. You nodded giggling as he put your feet back on the floor.

“Of course, I do every year don’t I?” You smiled before leaning in and littering his face with kisses, the last being a lingering one on his lips as you felt him smile against your own.

He smiled down at you before looking around the room, beaming at all the effort you all put in. All you could do was admire him, the smile on his face was enough for you to fall in love with him all over again.

“Right should we get these movies started? It’s not Binnie’s birthday for another… 4 and a half hours soooo…?” Minho said while carrying the snacks that Changbin and Hyunjin had brought into the livingroom on plates and bowls.

“Yeah but Bin gets to pick the movies, it’s only fair.” Chan shrugged, of course he was the one making sure the kids played fair.

After about 20 minutes of scrolling through every streaming platform possible Changbin finally choose a rom-com to start. It’s one you guys had been wanting to watch for a while but never found the time so now was the chance.

The movie started playing as everyone settled comfortably into the couches and blankets laid on the floor. Limbs thrown over one another either for comfort or to simply annoy each other.

You had your legs thrown over Changbin’s lap as his hands found their place on your calves, kneading the flesh ever so slightly absentmindedly.

Over an hour had gone by but the movie was only 30 in due to the fact everyone kept interrupting for toilet breaks or just to chat about something that happened in the movie that then went off into 3 other conversations before someone mentioned the fact you all still had a movie to finish.

“Yah! Can we get through this movie? I’d like to finish it at some point so we can get onto another one and then go to bed.” Changbin boomed loudly catching everyone’s attention.

No one replied at first until you broke out into laughter, which then caused a chain reaction and everyone was laughing with you.

“Aw I’ve missed this. You guys have all been so busy lately it’s fun to just chat baby.” You said, leaning over to plant a kiss on Changbin’s cheek and place a hand on his which were still holding onto your legs.

“Yeah Hyung come on we’re just having fun, the movies not going anywhere anytime soon. With the comeback being so recent we are just enjoying this time to chill! More importantly to celebrate your birthday.” Seungmin said, obviously making sense which Changbin couldn’t deny.

“Fine fine, I’ve missed it too I just wanted to watch this though.” He pouted. “You’re right though the movie isn’t going anywhere we can easily watch it another time too.” A cheeky smile broke out across his face since he knows he can just play this at the next movie night if he wanted.

Shortly after the movie was long forgotten as you all caught up, mostly the guys catching up with you since you’d only seen them a handful of times in the past month or so.

“Come on y/nnie! You were offered the chance to come to Milan and London too so you can’t be mad at us because you turned it down!” Felix threw his hands up in defeat. “We asked with plenty of time in advance.”

“You literally work with the company! I don’t know why you turned it down.” Hyunjin added, clearly taking the majorities side.

“I didn’t want to distract you guys, those festivals were big deals!” You defended yourself with the first reason you could think of.

“Be so for real, the only person you could’ve distracted was Bin.” Han had giggled, causing Changbin to chuck a pillow at him. “Yah! You know i’m right Hyung.”

“Yeah yeah whatever, I was probably more distracted by the fact I missed you.” Changbin’s face flushed red as his admission. “But it’s over now so it’s fine.” He shrugged.

You melted into his embrace, wrapping your arms around his torso.

The clock was counting down the time to the big day. Binnie’s birthday. In approximately 32 minutes it would be his day. Your boyfriend’s day. A day of celebrating the entirety of him.

The snacks on the table had slowly been running out and no one had bothered to refill anything, clearly either too lazy to do so or too engrossed in whatever bullshit you all talked about to notice.

Chatter continued in the background as you kept looking at your phone to watch the time get closer and closer to midnight so you could smother your boyfriend like you did every year at midnight on the 11th of August.

“Princess you remember that don’t you?” Changbin has turned to face you, a big smile decorating his face. Truthfully you had been too distracted keeping an eye on the time to know what he was talking about.

“Haha yeah! Uh… yeah I do of course!” You smiled by trying to act all nonchalant about the fact you had no clue what was being discussed.

“Uh oh someone’s distracted.” Jeongin whispered from beside Chan causing the elder to stifle a laugh. They all knew why you hadn’t been paying full attention.

“5… 4… 3… 2… andddd 1…” someone had said under their breath.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY BINNIE BABY!!!” You yelled immediately, jumping onto his lap and attacking him with hugs and kisses from every angle.

He didn’t even try to fight it off, instead he grabbed your face between both his hands and crashed his lips onto yours sweetly.

“Ew.” You heard a disgusted voice from behind you. You blindly flung your middle finger out and flipped off Hyunjin since you knew it was him.

“Someone stop them I’m too young for this.” the youngest had said which made you break away from Changbin with enough time to see Chan covering Jeongin’s eyes.

“No but genuinely happy birthday Bin. Since you’re done trying to do whatever the fuck that was can we say happy birthday do our Binnie now?” Seungmin scoffed and laughed at the same time.

“Yeah yeah of course I just wanted to be first.” You smiled and climbed off of his lap allowing him to stand and thank everyone individually.

A silent look was passed around everyone bar you and Changbin as they all started laughing.

“Alexa? Play ‘Birthday Sex’ by Jeremih.” Minho had yelled out.

In a matter of seconds the song started blasting through the apartment which had all of the boys in stitches laughing.

“Let’s leave them to it.” Felix laughed and started ushering everyone to the door.

You could definitely tell your face was bright red at this point.

“Jinnie you live here you fucking idiot.” You said to him hoping it would distract you from being so embarrassed.

“Not tonight I don’t. Have fun.” He smirked back waving before he left the apartment with the rest of the boys in tow.

The door clicked shut and the room fell into silence except for the music still playing.

Well… why waste it?

[wannaeatramyeon]

I know it was but a crumb but THANK YOU for writing Haseo SEO!! I dont think I've seen anyone even mentioning him T_T

Your writing is really good and it's hours and I'm still binging! Thank you so much for your hardwork! ❤

Damn. Thank you for being so sweet anon! I don't get Haesu but I get that sometimes the blorbo picks you and not the other way around 🥴

Seo Haesu x Reader: You like me

G/N.

"You like me."

Haesu says it like a statement but he waits for your reply, and you don't really know what to say.

You've often seen him observe most things with lazy curiosity. Peering half lidded even as you know his brain is whirring and scheming away.

Right now he watches you with keen interest. And it feels a little too much. Like a shot of espresso too many.

You consider lying, but he knows you too well. Knows all your tells, like you know his. He would see through your lies in a split second.

Besides, it's obvious anyway, at this point. Joshua already teases you enough for your crush and you suppose it's only a matter of time before Haesu realises too.

He's more shrewd and more perceptive than anyone gives him credit for. At first glance. Before they learn his bite is much worse than his bark and the moment for wariness has long gone.

So you give him the truth. It's the only option you have.

"Yep," you aim for casual, trying to give a grin as you admit your feelings. Fake it until you make it.

His face softens and you're surprised.

You're surprised and you shouldn't be because you realise that he's looked at you like this a thousand times before.

It softens the same way as when you threaten to cut his overgrown bangs.

When he says he's hungry and you offer food.

When he realises it's you waking him from his catnaps in the shared space, and telling him to go to bed.

Haesu's reply is small and simple. Enough for his own confession.

"Good."

And you know he means it sincerely, genuinely. With that one word he says l like you too.

Because you know all his tells, like he knows yours.

[x0401x]

Tsurune —Tsunagari no Issha— Official Fanbook: Character Highlights

Minato's Highlight

Things Gained and Things Lost

After overcoming target panic, Minato is filled with joy at becoming able to shoot the bow as he wishes, to the point he ends up preocupied with nothing but archery and doesn't put his mind into the sports tournament. And so, he is caught up in the desire to "shoot well", to "shoot more and more" at the regionals, not as a team but just by himself. As a result, he becomes overly conscious of Shuu and Nikaidou's shooting and loses sight of his own.

"I'll leave him speechless!"

After the regional tournament, Masaki forbids Minato of shooting. He instead draws the rubber bow every day, just as he did back when he still had target panic, yet he takes it positively, declaring that he will "leave Masa-san speechless!". The biggest difference from when he was troubled by his target panic is that he now has friends to support him. As the ochi of Kazemai and for the sake of said friends, he takes on the task he has been given straightforwardly.

Those Who Aim For the Top

Minato and Shuu have been deepening their bond through their bows ever since they were being instructed by Saionji. They acknowledge each other as comrades who have continued to shoot together. Their opportunities to draw the bow in each other's presence are limited, as they currently belong to different teams, but the bond that was connected through archery has remained unchanged from when they were children. As people who walk the same path and who are aiming for the top, they are conscious of one another.

Seiya's Highlight

President and Vice-President Duo

Seiya tends to get tunnel vision when it comes to Minato. Kaito is the only one in Kazemai who notices this. Seiya, too, is the only one who through what's inside Kaito, so when Kaito has a falling out with Nanao, Seiya urges him on with a, "Fight, Onogi Kaito", intentionally speaking in a way that Kaito would appreciate. They acknowledge one another as president and vice-president and balance each other out.

Hardworking Person

As he was refused by Saionji to become her disciple, Seiya began doing archery in middle school. He kept training by himself while learning from Minato, earning enough skill in a short time to be able to line up with Minato and Shuu. Moreover, he boosts a stable hit rate in matches, so much so that Sase describes him as having a strong mentality. He supports the team as the club president and as the "naka" out of the five archers.

Ryouhei's Highlight

"Archery's what matters most to me right now!"

Blessed with a good physique, Ryouhei is actually a kendo dan holder. He is selected as the MVP of the archery club for winning the kendo section of the sports club against a senior, who had been undefeated for two years. While he certainly does have a vocation for kendo, it seems fighting opponents does not sit well with him. By the looks of it, archery, where one has to face oneself in a match rather than an opponent, is what suits him best.

Realistic Words

Upon seeing Sae and Toujou in trouble at the regional tournament's venue, he immediately went to talk to them. He is so naturally considerate of others that Seo calls him a "natural-born nice guy". Moreover, when he visits the Fujiwara residence, he is able to tell Shuu, "So your family's rooting for you, huh" exactly as he thinks. Rouhei's honest words and actions move people's hearts without him even realizing it.

Kaito's Highlight

All-Out Only!

Kaito, who does not tolerate half-heartedness in anything, dashes out at full throttle even in the soccer match of the sports festival! Seiya cleverly takes advantage of this, making him run around too much and collapse from lack of stamina in the latter half of the game. He is the type of person to work hard and diligently at everything he does, but his stubborn attitude and rough behavior often cause him to clash with those around him, who tend to think that he is "scary".

A Caring Personality

After the regional tournament, he immediately noticed that Ryouhei was not in good spirits and called out to him, for he has a caring nature and an inability to leave people to their own devices when they are troubled. He is also skillful with his hands, enough to be able to fix the central part of Nanao's bow, and is the second best cook amongst the Kazemai boys after Minato. When Nanao, who is good at getting people to spoil him, asks Kaito for a favor, Kaito often ends up looking after him without even realizing it.

Loss and Pride

When the ochi, Minato, messed up the rhythm of the shooting at the regional tournament, Kaito was greatly affected, for he is supposed to follow after Minato as the oomae. The old Kaito would have probably lashed out at Minato, but due to his pride from being entrusted with the position of oomae, the first of the team to shoot, he insists that he was the one at fault. Although he understands that Nanao's argument is right, he ends up trying to shoulder everything by himself due to being so serious about it.

Nanao's Highlight

The True Hero

At first glance, it might seem like he enjoys being flashy due to his striking looks, but Nanao himself actually believes that "the true hero is the support role from behind the scenes", rather than someone who stands in the front and sticks out. He often acts out of consideration for others, doing things such as supporting his team with accurate tosses during the volleyball match of the sports festival, or calling Kaito out for trying to take all the blame for the loss against Tsujimine.

Someone He Can't Afford to Lose to

Whenever Nanao gets into trouble, Kaito helps him, and whenever Kaito is faced with a problem, Nanao takes him by the hand... Ever since they were little, he and Kaito have had what was supposed to be a mutually supportive relationship. However, at some point, he began to think that he has to be by "Kacchan's" side. In order to take care of Kaito, he has to be ahead of him – his rivalry with Kaito is what motivates him.

Shuu's Highlight

"I won't let anyone get in our way."

Minato is special to Shuu, enough that when Nikaidou suddenly came up to him to pick a quarrel in elementary school, he responded by declaring, "I'll never let anyone else get in our way"—his first-ever rival. They are sworn friends aiming for the same heights and competing with each other. It is not as if they are together all the time like regular friends, but he is lonely when he is not able to see Minato at the dojo. Despite him rarely showing emotion outwardly, when Minato was unable to come to the dojo due to the car accident, gloom was visible on Shuu's face.

No Intention to Let Go

When Sae says she wants to watch the archery tournament, Shuu says he "doesn't want her to see him fail". He was recalling the bitter memory of the prefecturals. He had been on a hit streak since the preliminaries and only missed the last shot. His heart was stolen by Minato's shooting, and for a moment, his mind distanced itself from his bow... He never intends to let go of it again. Before the regional tournament, which would determine who would compete in the nationals, Shuu renewed his resolution.

Distance from His Family

Shuu, who used to conceptualize "family" as a different category than "friends" and "clubmates", was somewhat embarrassed to let his family watch the archery tournaments. However, thanks to Sae telling him that she enjoyed watching his match and their busy father rushing to attend the national tournament, Shuu's internal sense of distance from his family gradually began to change.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 5 - Declaration (Part 2)

Some juicy Masa-san lore drops

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

A pun. The original is "denwa shite mo dare mo den wa"

A yorishiro is an object capable of attracting spirits and giving them a space to occupy

Previous | Next

At the long-distance range, Kazemai and Kirisaki were doing a joint practice.

Kyudo competitions were divided into short distance and long distance. For short distance, the distance between the archer and target was twenty-eight meters, and for long distance, it was sixty meters.

They were scored on this day, using scoring targets with a diameter of one-hundred centimeters. From the center, yellow was ten points, red was nine points, blue was seven points, black was five points, and white was three points. There were also large targets with the same pattern as the kasumi-mato. They used arrows normally used for long distance shooting. The shaft was thinner than that used for short distance, and the feathers had shorter widths and lengths. That was because the lighter the feathers, the better the arrow’s flight.

After entering the shajo, the three Kazemai second-year girls advanced to stand before the targets.

“Wow, that’s a long distance. I feel like a heavier bow would have an advantage here,” Hanazawa said.

“My bow weighs ten kilograms, but will my arrow reach the target?” Shiragiku said.

“I heard that you need to score at least thirty points on four shots to place at the National Athletic Meet,” Seo said.

It was then that Motomura and Sase, alumni of Kirisaki High School, appeared. They had been invited here as today’s special coaches. Those who met the two for the first time exclaimed, “It’s the legendary Saserin!”

Motomura had achieved eighth place at the National Athletic Meet. There was a gentle smile on his face.

“Even with a light bow, you’ll be able to hit the target if you learn the tricks. The purpose of this lesson is ‘hanare’. Since the first-years have just started holding a bow, their hanare tends to be small, so practice using your entire body to make a big hanare. The shooting method is the same Eight Stages of Shooting as usual, but the key point is ‘douzukuri.’ There is something called the ‘Five Torsos’ when it comes to douzukuri.”

Sase stood in front of everyone, holding an illustrated document. The illustrations depicted the idol Noririn, and there were detailed illustrated explanations of the Eight Stages of Shooting.

He opened the douzukuri page and showed it to everyone. Soru-dou, where the torso bent backwards. Kagamu-dou, where the torso bent forward. Kakaru-dou, where the torso was leaning towards the target. Noku-dou, where the torso was leaning to the right. Chuu-dou, where the torso’s center of gravity was the most stable with an upright douzukuri.

The Kazemai first-year Keyaki asked a question.

“I’ve heard that chuu-dou is better for short distance, but does that mean it’s different for long distance?”

“That’s right. Even if a slender princess like Noririn drew her bow like usual, her arrows won’t be able to fly far. First off, ashibumi should be almost the same as for short distance, or just a little bit narrower. And that’s where noku-dou comes in. Tilt your torso to the right. For hikiwake, the bow should be pointed slightly upward, and the arrow tip should be aimed slightly higher and at a fixed point. The arrow isn’t as horizontal as it is in front of the target!”

Sase, perhaps more enthusiastic than usual with Noririn in front of him, was speaking differently than usual. Kanabayshi’s eyes sparkled as he spoke vigorously, and Himuro was his usual Maitreya.

Motomura hid his mouth with a closed fist, brought the talk to an end while stifling laughter.

“I want you to focus on nobiai. In long distance, you should have a low trajectory, fast speed, and stretch yourself forward.”

Using Motomura’s voice as a signal, they stood in front of the targets with their bow and arrows.

First, Kanbayashi faced the target. Standing before a target that was farther and larger than usual, it was difficult to get a sense of distance. He wasn’t sure which direction to bend his body, so he swayed like a seesaw.

“Ah, I guess I raised the tip too high. It hit way too high up.”

He followed the arrow in a pose similar to a salute.

Keyaki went next. At kai, he leaned his body to the right, stretched left and right, and released his arrow. It missed the target.

“It’s surprisingly difficult to stretch out on the arrow line.”

Himuro shot in his usual form and hit the outermost white ring.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo went after him. At daisan, they tried to bend backwards. They usually practiced to keep their douzukuri upright, so they had to do it a few times to get used to it. They had Motomura and Sase observe them from behind, and visually memorized which part of the yazuridou overlapped with the center of the target. After about twenty shots, they seemed to get the hang of it, and their hit rate skyrocketed.

At break time, they opened their lunch boxes. Minato passed around a large Tupperware to everyone.

“A former member of the bad pun association lives nearby, and he gave me some vegetables he grew himself. Have them if you like.”

Ryouhei immediately dug in.

“It’s eggplant and pork grilled with ginger. It really makes the rice taste better!”

“Recently, I’ve been trying my hand at home gardening. I was surprised to learn that there are so many varieties of vegetables.”

“Is there such a thing as a vegetable sommelier?” Nanao said.

Honeyed lemons were being passed around among the Kirisaki members. It was a staple snack of the Kirisaki kyudo club, which had been around for more than thirty years. Senichi put one in his mouth and another into Manji’s.

“I think I’ll learn how to cook too. I want to treat the person I like to a homecooked meal.”

“Sen-nii, you love me that much?”

“It’s obviously so that he’ll be popular with girls,” The third-year, Kabashima, hung his head. “Stop it. What happened to kickboxing? You guys are doing too many things.”

Next to him, Yushima nodded.

Kuon was also given a honeyed lemon. However, he said, “I don’t eat food made by amateurs,” and wiped his chin without even touching the container. The people around him either said “What’s with that attitude?” and “As expected of Kuon-sama.”

After the lunch break, the competition began.

Members of the Kazemai and Kirisaki kyudo clubs lined up with four arrows in their hands. The oldest students were going first.

Kirisaki’s Kabashima and Yushima were rolling their shoulders in preparation.

“Just you watch. I’m gonna land my arrow in the center in the name of Kirisaki. The Kazemai girls are paying attention. Yushima, why don’t you wear a wig? That’ll make you popular with the girls.”

“I wouldn’t mind going along with that if you put on a hippo’s tail, Kabashima.”

“…Did the twins’ foul mouth rub off on you?”

“Our club has a Young Prince, twins, and an antique doll, doesn’t it? If you keep staying in such an extraordinary place for a long time, hair will grow in your heart, even if it doesn’t on your head.”

“You’re quite right.”

As declared, the two hit the yellow and red rings and achieved the high scores of 35 and 31 points.

Among the second-year students, Shuu, Senichi, and Manji shot in a three-person team. The twins looked smug.

“Pupupupu, we’re the strongest trio.”

“Sen-nii, shoot right in the middle.”

Shuu’s arrows all landed in yellow, the highest point, and Senichi and Manji both got thirty-three points. When it was the first-years’ turn, Kuon also got a high score.

As for Kazemai, Hanazawa got eighteen points, Shiragiku got twenty, and Seo got thirty. Kaito got thirty-four, Ryouhei got twenty-three, Seiya got thirty, Nanao got twenty-seven, Minato got thirty-three, Kanbayashi got twenty-five, Himuro got twenty-eight, and Keyaki got sixteen.

After everyone finished shooting, Shuu had forty points and Kuon had thirty-nine, giving Kirisaki a one-two finish.

Unable to hide his delight, Kuon walked past Senichi and Manji and approached Shuu.

“Fujiwara-senpai, did you see?”

“Yes, congratulations.”

That was all Shuu said before he left. There were flames in Kuon’s chest.

That’s all? That’s all? He should have more praise for me.

Why can’t he give me the smile he gives to the lowly?

He watched Shuu talking to the twins with a smile.

After the competition, Minato stayed in the entrance hall with Keyaki, Kanbayashi, and Himuro.

“Narumiya-senpai, thank you for the delicious lunch. It’s sad that Masa-san is absent today. Is his urgent business related to the shrine?” Kanbayashi said.

“Maybe. I don’t know either.”

In actuality, since Masa-san said that he didn’t like eggplant, Minato made “eggplant and pork grilled with ginger” for him to try. Maybe Masa-san realized that he was going to make him eat eggplant and ran away.

Next to him, Keyaki frowned.

“I texted him in the afternoon, but it was left unread. It’s exactly ‘I tried calling, but no one answered.’ (1) Hah, the flexible thinking training paid off, didn’t it?”

“Hahaha…it’s like there are two Seiyas,” Minato said.

“Me reaching Takehaya-senpai’s level? How unthinkable. Anyways, this is the first time that something like this happened, isn’t it? We could try sending something like, ‘What are you doing right now?’ but I don’t feel comfortable with club members prying into the coach’s private life while he’s away.”

“You have a point.”

Just when the four were about to step forward, they ran into Kuon, who was acting alone.

Kuon had a blatantly disgusted look on his face.

“Is this a commoners’ gathering? How vulgar, standing around and talking near the doorway. Narumiya-kun, you seem to be going around talking about target panic like it’s a disease, but target panic is just an excuse for the unskilled.”

“Narumiya-senpai has never gone around telling people that he had target panic,” Keyaki objected.

“Really? Target panic is just the result of a bad instructor or bad practice method. It isn’t a disease at all.”

“Are you saying that you have follow-up studies on people who had target panic? It’s valuable that you’re doing your own research on yips. I’d like to take a look at that research.”

“Well, even without something like that, the best proof is that my middle school was a strong kyudo school, and there was no one with target panic around me.”

Just when it seemed like Keyaki was going to continue arguing, Himuro spoke up.

“That’s like saying, ‘No one around me has died from the flu or the new strain of virus, so you just have a cold…’”

Minato, Kanbayashi, and Keyaki’s mouths dropped open when Himura, who they had hardly ever heard before, spoke. Meanwhile, Kuon’s face turned bright crimson.

“You dare to speak to me, you lowly commoner!? Who do you think you are?”

Behind Kuon, who was engaged in a war of words, the twins stood with their arms crossed.

“You’re the one who should be answering that question, Kuon,” Senichi said.

“There’s nothing great about people who act self-important. Our kickboxing instructor is a former champion, and his motto is ‘Stay high in ambition, low in stature,” Manji said.

Just as Senichi and Manji struck a fighting pose, the Young Prince appeared. Ryouhei was with him.

“Kuon, the first-years have been summoned.”

Kuon gave Minato and the others a sharp look and left immediately. Keyaki and the others followed.

Shuu saw them off, then stood on Minato’s right side.

“Minato, there’s something I want to ask you. I talked to Ryouhei about it earlier.”

“Okay, what is it? You’re acting so formal.”

“I’m building my own dojo. I’m planning to invite famous archers from all around the country. Minato, will you help me?”

Minato looked into Shuu’s eyes.

“…Of course.”

Senichi and Manji also pounced on it.

“Fujiwara Dojo!? Wow! Let us join too!”

“Yeah, Sen and Man can also join.”

“Woohoo!” Contrary to the enthusiastic twins, Minato was looking at his palm.

When the people around them talked about their dreams for the future, Minato felt lonely, like he had been left behind. Shuu, his brother disciple and bow friend. He was going further and further ahead. Minato was busy with kyudo, housework, and schoolwork, and had no interest in anything else.

What did he want to do in the future? What kind of job did he want to have?

He couldn’t find anyone he wanted to talk to.

During that time, Masa-san was walking along a gravel road filled with the scent of the sea.

His stepbrother, Ren, was next to him.

“It’s nice to be able to go on a trip with my cute little brother.”

“Why did you follow me?”

“I helped you when you got injured, didn’t I? The nurses found out about that and got mad at me.”

“I was an idiot for making myself owe you a favor. We’re not sharing a room at the inn.”

“This is what they call ‘in for a penny, in for a pound.’ I guess this can’t be avoided once we became family.”

Masa-san had no choice but to remain silent.

The loud chirping of birds descended from above. Since the trees were covered in leaves, it was difficult to find the source of the voice. The slopes of the mountain were dotted with beehives.

The two walked around the island and looked around the wharf. Perhaps because Ren was holding a single lens reflex camera, he was often approached by locals who thought he was a birdwatcher. Everyone was friendly here. They got into the rental car and headed to their next destination.

Primitive Shintoism still remained on this island. The object of worship was a rock, which was the deity’s yorishiro. (2) The torii gates were built later with the introduction of Buddhism, and were not originally present. It was a land of strong taboos, and because it had resisted human intervention, the beautiful, untouched forests and creatures were still visible in their ancient form.

They stopped by a certain shrine. They climbed the stone steps that stretched through the thick forest. There was no one around the shrine, and the front shrine was locked.

Ren peeked inside.

“There’s a huge kasumi-mato on the side.”

“That’s an oomato used for long distance shooting.”

“Now, where does the chief priest live?”

There was an unnatural vacant lot. Weeds were overgrown, and there was no house at the place indicated by the address.

As they descended the stone steps, a local called out to Masa-san.

“The shrine up there is wonderful. It’s said to have a sealing power.”

“Yes. There’s an oomato inside.”

“The chief priest shoots the target every year. It’s the town’s biggest festival that goes on all night long. In addition to the object of worship, human ashes are also enshrined at the shrine. They are the remains of an ascetic who’s said to seal every conceivable thing and returned them to nothingness. Someone claiming to be his descendant appeared, wanting his ashes to be buried somewhere else, but of course the parishioners refused. However, one of the townspeople secretly sold them. Three days later, they were struck by lightning. They reaped what they sow. The gods were watching.”

“Is this person the buyer?”

Masa-san showed the local a picture on his phone.

“…Yes, they look very similar. Let me go check it with the others.”

Masa-san looked up at the trees.

That night, the innkeeper spoke to them.

“We’ve been waiting for you two to come. Would you like to join our morning tour tomorrow at six? Let us take you to places tourists normally don’t go to.”

The club members were changing clothes in the Kazemai kyudojo’s changing room.

Outside the window, there were three tits perched on the fence. In the rain, they puffed out their fluffy feathers and huddled together.

After Ryouhei finished changing, he took out a book from his bag.

“Nanao, look, look. The First English Phrases Learned by Negatives.”

“Don’t you mean ‘natives’?”

“Huh? Yeah, that’s right. The store on the cover is retort.”

“You mean retro?”

“Huh?”

“Everyone’s been so out of it lately. Maybe the pun training was too effective. Is it because Masa-san’s away this week? Prefecturals is just around the corner, so we need to get our spirits back up.”

“You’re right. By the way, where’s Minato and Seiya?”

Speak of the devil, the door to the changing room swung open, and Minato appeared. He didn’t look good.

Nanao approached him.

“What’s wrong, Minato? Did you go back to get something you forgot in the classroom?”

“I’m going to be late for club activities today. My yugake’s missing.”

“What!?”

Ryouhei, Nanao, and even Kaito ran out of the changing room. They pinched their hakamas between their fingers like princess’s dresses and ran up the stairs, trying not to step on their hems. When they went to Minato’s classroom, they saw a crowd of people there. Seiya was among them.

The ends of Seiya’s eyebrows were lowered.

“It’s highly possible that it was stolen. There are several other students who are missing their wallets and phones.”

“At school? That’s crazy,” Kaito said.

“The teachers are checking the security camera footage right now. There’s no point in us staying here. Let’s go back to the kyudojo.”

Afterwards, all of Minato’s classmates were gathered together. They answered individual questions such as who was the last to leave the classroom, whether anyone from other classes had entered, and whether they had seen anyone suspicious.

Minato was also questioned.

“You’re the only one who had kyudo equipment stolen. Did you leave it at home?”

“No, I had it with me when I went to school in the morning.”

“Maybe the thief thought that there was a wallet in the drawstring bag. What time did you leave the classroom?”

“It was right after homeroom ended, so around four o’clock.”

“Is there anyone who can prove that?”

“A student from my club came to get me, so I think he can prove it.”

Even though they were victims, they were being treated like suspects. When everyone left the classroom after what felt like an interrogation, there was an air of exhaustion surrounding them. Now that they knew that the culprit might be one of them, all of Minato’s classmates suspected each other. The after-school interview lasted several hours.

Once released, Minato hurried to the kyudojo. With prefecturals coming up, he became impatient when his routine was disrupted and his practice time cut short.

Tommy-sensei and Seiya came out to greet him, and the three took deep breaths together.

“The staff contacted me earlier and said that a suspicious person was captured on the school gate’s camera. For the yugake, how about you borrow a beginner’s glove for the time being?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wouldn’t a great detective solve this case? Like an elementary school kid with glasses, or a university student with bushy hair,” Kaito said.

“Add a man who likes black tea to that. I hope the yugake is found,” Nanao said.

“I’ll lend you my underglove. How about a Java sparrow pattern?” Ryouhei said.

The other club members also gathered around, and Minato’s cheeks slackened at everyone’s concern.

Minato quickly borrowed the club’s yugake, but it was too big for him. The thumb was so long that he couldn’t flick it at hanare. However, if he put his thumb in a different spot than usual, it wouldn’t fit, and the position of the tsurumakura also became slightly off. He learned unexpectedly that there was a sense of discomfort when the yugake craftsman was different.

He wanted to talk to Masa-san. But it also pained him to add to his errands when he was already so busy that he couldn’t even show up. Minato was restless that night, unable to sleep even when he went to bed.

The thief was arrested the next day. It was a man in his thirties, who confessed that he did it after he got annoyed at seeing high schoolers enjoying themselves. Minato’s yugake returned to him, warped by water absorption after the thief threw it in a river. Apparently, he got rid of it because it had Minato’s name written on it.

It was something truly irreplaceable. He hugged his yugake tightly.

His replacement strings and giriko powder were also ruined, but the dragonfly-patterned pouch was miraculously unscathed.

Masa-san, who was contacted by Tommy-sensei, finished his business and rushed over.

“Minato, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be with you as your coach during this critical time.”

“It’s fine. This yugake I borrowed seems to be a little big.”

“There are also yugake at the Yata no Mori kyudojo, so let’s try them out and think about whether you should buy a new one.”

“Okay.”

Minato breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his master’s smile for the first time in a long while.

He tried using the borrowed yugake for a few days, but it never felt right. His yugake was something he met when he was in his first year of middle school and used for more than four years. His hand had become so accustomed to it that it rejected other yugake. Normally, one should avoid changing gloves so close to a match, but it couldn’t be helped. After consulting with his father, he decided to buy a new one.

Minato was at the Yata no Mori kyudojo.

The moon spread ripples of light that pulsated. An owl hooted from somewhere, and the trees rustled. The night sky and the forest seemed to be singing.

Masa-san, dressed in a kimono, picked up his bow.

“The only way to get a new yugake to adapt to your hand is to shoot many times. Let’s do that.”

“I only need a place to shoot, you don’t need to accompany me. You seem busy.”

“I also feel calm here. Can I shoot with you?”

“Of course.”

Masa-san raised his bow up high at the target behind Minato.

Hikiwake, kai, hanare—. There was a sound of something piercing the azuchi. Masa-san also missed his next shot. For him to miss twice was very rare.

When Minato returned from retrieving the arrows, Masa-san had put his arm back into his sleeve.

“Even you have off days sometimes, Masa-san?”

“I haven’t held a bow for almost a week, so this is the consequence. Gramps would explode from anger if he saw me. He’d say that archers need a strong presence of mind and ask me what was I doing.”

Minato mentioned something that was bothering him ever since he visited Masa-san’s apartment the other day.

“Sorry for the rude question. I saw a bag of medicine in the corner of your kitchen. Are you going to the doctor?”

“Oh no, no. That’s for hornet stings. I was stung by a hornet in the past, so it’s just in case. I just bought a new one because the warranty had expired.”

Minato was relieved now that he knew that Masa-san wasn’t feeling unwell.

“I’m glad to hear that. By the way, when I came here, I ran into Ren-san and received souvenirs for the club. They are island specialty sweets. He said that he went on a secret trip.”

“It’s not a secret trip anymore, then, is it? That Ren, what is he planning?”

“Planning?”

Masa-san put his hand between his brows and took a deep breath. He had an “Oh crap” look on his face. He reached his hand out for the moon, and something with wings descended upon him.

“Oh, we’re high school students, so don’t worry, we won’t investigate who Ren-san went on a trip with,” Minato added.

“Ren went on the secret trip with me.”

“We were looking for someone. My birth father, and my deceased younger brother.”

“…What?”

Fuu the owl nibbled on Masa-san’s long fingers, then started to groom its feathers. Masa-san put Fuu on Minato’s shoulder and went to the archery range.

“Cutting things short, this time was also in vain. I had a younger brother who was three years younger than me, and we were related by blood. Even though I was young, I was proud of the fact that I became an older brother. I really loved him. But when he was three, he was kidnapped by my birth father.”

“Your dad and your little brother?”

“Yeah. He was in the photo Nanao gave me. I asked the parishioners to confirm it, so I’m pretty sure. Who is in the picture next to him? I couldn’t tell if he was my little brother grown up or someone else. In my memories, my brother was curled up sleeping in my lap.”

“W-What did Ren-san say?”

“Ren said ‘in for a penny, in for a pound.’ It looks like he’ll be going along with me. Ren’s father and my mother are childhood friends, and they’re helping me find my brother. When they found out that my birth father was planning to take me away as well, they hurriedly entered the family registry because it would be easier to move in case of an emergency. We’ve also consulted with the police, but it’s just an endless cycle of getting hints of them before they disappear again.”

“Why is your birth dad so obsessed with your little brother and you?”

“He said something nonsensical like, ‘Those who have the same special genes as me should be raised in the proper place.’ Even if I can see paranormal things, why does it matter? He was disliked for being shady but worshipped by others at the same time. Either way, he was treated as a heretic. Since Yata Shrine isn’t affiliated with any organization, there is no rule for inheriting surnames, and he’s a distant relation of the Yasaka family. He never did his duties as a priest and spent all his time in the shrine’s archives, and he never acted like a father even once. It happened the year after my mother remarried, when I was in my first year at university. He sent me the death certificate for my brother. And what’s more, it was on my birthday… Ever since that day, my birthday no longer existed.”

“That’s awful…”

“Give my brother back, give him back, give him back. I’ve chanted those words tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times. It’s no longer a prayer. It’s a curse.”

“Masa-san!”

Minato reached for Masa-san’s hand, but was deflected. Fuu took off in surprise.

“Minato, don’t touch me right now. No one believes that my brother is dead, but there was a doctor who assisted my birth father in his evil deeds. He has supporters. I’m glad I didn’t find him this time. I don’t know what I’ll do if I see him and the people who helped him.”

Masa-san looked up at the sky. The full moon was shining.

When people looked up, it could mean a statement of declaration.

A declaration—a contract with the gods.

“My birthday has become the anniversary of my brother’s death. I will never forgive those people who rewrote the story of me and my brother. No matter how many times we’re reborn, I’ll always find them and end their lives with my own hands—”

 Every day, he put his hands together in prayer.

I want to see you, I want to see you.

Why aren’t you in this picture?

Would his soul be reincarnated with this hatred that rose up within him? Memories engraved even in undifferentiated cells transcended dimensions. A flame that wouldn’t be extinguished for a thousand or ten thousand years.

Was it possible to live with such a heavy burden? Living was hell, dying was hell, there was no heaven or earth in the looping spiral staircase. Wandering forever, never getting anywhere. Unable to put down roots in the earth or soar through the sky. Days when he cut his own body with a knife. He knew it wasn’t something to be said aloud, so he kept quiet.

I wasn’t born to hate anyone.

That was what Minato heard.

A heartbreaking cry. A soundless voice.

He didn’t know whose voice it was, but this was Masa-san’s real voice.

“Correction! I’m correcting you. What you said earlier wasn’t true. Masa-san is just a dirty old man. That’s all!” Minato shouted.

“Mi, Minato?”

“If a priest said something like that and his wish was granted, wouldn’t it be a problem? I’m going to learn professional wrestling. I’ll put you in a chokehold and stop you!”

Masa-san blinked a few times, then burst into laughter.

“It’s too much, Minato.”

“What is?”

“Everything. My disciple really is cute.”

“Huh? Don’t call me cute! In the first place, everyone celebrated your birthday for you, and then you say that you don’t have a birthday? What a selfish thing to say. My mom used to say that your birthday is a day to say thank you for being born.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll keep it in mind. I take back what I said earlier.”

“Masa-san, you’re acting like a middle schooler.”

“I don’t want to be told that by a kid.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m sixteen, a second year in high school!”

Masa-san was clutching his stomach as he laughed. How rude. I’m being serious.

The bright red something that had shrouded Masa-san disappeared.

Guren, meaning “crimson lotus,” was originally a Buddhist term, and the seventh of the Eight Cold Hells, the Padma hell, was also called the “hell of the crimson lotus.”  Those who fell into this hell were said to suffer from severe pain as their skin and flesh were torn off due to the severe cold. They were said to look like red lotus flowers.

Please, don’t go to the farthest reaches of the north.

Don’t disappear from my sight.

A second time.

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[leviackermanscleaningbuddy]

Image 1, Prompt 48 and Image 3, Prompt “Can we just exchange three words…” with Changbin please!! 🫶🫶

SKZ Prompt Game

Prompts: "You make me want things I can't have."

"Can we just exchange three words without you pulling a gun on me?"

Member: Seo Changbin

Relationship: Detective!FemReader x Serial Killer!Changbin

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Mentions of Crime Scenes, Blood, Murder, Guns, etc. (Nothing too graphic.)

"See you later, (L/N)."

You barely glance up from the evidence photos scattered across your desk as you wave your hand in the general direction of your partner's voice.

"See you tomorrow."

He hesitates at the threshold, hand on the main light switch, and you sense the pause, sighing as you finally glance up at him and meet his gaze with open resignation.

"What?"

"You're sure you want to stay? You're already way past overtime at this point. I could drive you home, we could maybe get a drink-" He hedges.

You look away from him to focus back on the cluttered desk. "I'm sure, Walker. Get out of here."

He sighs, but doesn't push anymore, flicking off the main lights, plunging the rest of the empty office into darkness as he steps out the door, leaving only your desk lamp lit.

"See you tomorrow then."

"Yep."

His footsteps fade away, and you move to the other side of your desk, head cocked, trying to get a different angle on the evidence spread before you.

Maybe if you just look at it differently-

The sound of a floor tile creaking-quiet and soft, probably barely noticeable to the untrained ear-sounds behind you, and without a second thought, you whirl, gun out and aimed steadily at the intruder.

Changbin appears from the shadows like a ghost, his hands up and a rueful sort of smirk already pulling at his lips.

"Can we just exchange three words without you pulling a gun on me?"

You un-cock the gun and slide it back into your hip holster as he saunters over, leaning back on the desk as you keep a careful eye on his movements.

You might be allies of a sort, but you still don't trust the guy farther than you could throw him.

"Cutting it a little close this time, don't you think?" You remark, alluding to the fact that your partner just left, and he wouldn't be too thrilled to see the man standing in front of you in the middle of the dark detectives' office.

Changbin shrugs, leaning over beside you to scan his eyes over the mess on the desk, his arm brushing your own.

"I watched him get in his car and drive away, don't worry. Seemed pretty downcast though." He gives you a sidelong, knowing glance, the smirk widening on his lips as he eyes you. "What'd you do, mama, reject his pathetic attempts at flirting and stomp on his poor, bruised heart just for the fun of it?"

You ignore his jibe and turn to glance at the items on the desk, even though you can still feel his gaze on you.

"I'm not talking about my personal life with you."

Changbin chuckles, leaning back in beside you, a little closer than he needs to be, and his hand brushes yours as he picks up a particular polaroid of interest, studying it.

"Yeah, well, it's clear that you need a man who's got a little more backbone than that guy anyway."

You resist the urge to slide your gaze to him, and pick up a picture of your own, though you know it won't help. You've been over them dozens of times and nothing ever changes.

No magical clue pops out and you doubt it will at this point.

You're desperate, and that's why you'd contacted him in the first place.

"What, like you?" You retort back, arching your brow, as you finally meet his eyes, dark and volatile.

He grins, wild and feral, and it's not hard to imagine blood spatter on his face.

He leans in close, and you resist the urge to move an inch, holding your ground.

"Exactly like me."

"I don't date my coworkers." You reply back stiffly, voice cold and even. "Especially not the ones in the serial killer vein of things."

Changbin arches a brow and tilts his head, considering. "Funny, because you sure seem to rely on my help a lot more than your little, spineless partner."

You don't back down, refusing to give into his intimidation.

"That's all it is-help. We have a deal. And if you can't hold up your end, then you immediately lose my interest. You're no different than every other criminal in this city at that point-useless and not good for anything except padding and warming a cell."

Changbin's eyes spark dangerously, but then he tips his head back and laughs, wiping at his eyes as he turns once more to survey the mess covering your desk.

"All right, all right, mama. Message received. God, I love when you get scary." He gives you a sidelong, unhinged smirk. "Let's get down to business then."

He fingers one of the polaroid's, then moves on to inspect one of the bloodied, tattered pieces of garment in a plastic bag just above it, his face suddenly serious and thoughtful.

"You don't have anything?" He asks, as he leans over and narrows his gaze, glaring down at one of the evidence sheets.

"Nothing." You sigh, sinking into the desk chair, rubbing at your temples, a headache already forming. "We thought maybe we had a partial print at the first scene, but it turned up nothing."

"Mm." Changbin muses, deep in thought, sliding his hand across the desk to pick up the press release, his eyes scanning over the lines of print. "MO stays the same?"

"Yeah." You nod, reaching for another picture and tossing it across the desk to him. "Unsub tends to pick out weak, young victims-makes me think they don't have a lot of strength to work with themselves-isolates them, bashes their head in, and then desecrates the bodies before taking any useful identifiers from the scene."

Changbin looks up sharply at your words, his expression thoughtful. "Identifiers?"

"Yeah." You repeat again, motioning to the evidence bags splayed across the desk. "We're talking easily removed shit-jewelry, hair clips, clothing logos-"

You reach for another photo and hand it to him, ignoring the way your fingers brush as you do so.

"-Down to stuff that's a little more work-teeth, tattoos, birthmarks, fingerprints."

Changbin narrows his gaze on the picture you've just shown him. "So your guy is cutting out anything he doesn't want recognized and taking it with him."

"Seems so." You nod, sighing and running a finger along one of the manila folders. "Spark anything?"

Changbin pulls up a nearby chair and plops down into it, loosening his tie as he does so, and not for the first time, you find it odd how nice and neat he looks all the time.

He always shows up to your late night meetings dressed in slacks, a vest, tie, and shiny dress shoes, hair done and skin clean.

Of course, you've never seen him after a kill, but for a serial murderer, the guy cleans up kind of nice.

He flicks the photo back onto the desk with the others and leans back, a bright gleam in his dark eyes.

"Yeah. I think I know a couple people who can help us out. But-" He leans forward, tapping his pointer finger on one of the more grisly photos, and his lips curl into the start of one of his excited, feral grins. "-adjust your search, mama, because you're not looking for a man."

Your eyes widen at the possibility. "You think it's a woman."

"I know it's a woman." Changbin replies confidently, pointing to another photo and then another, staring you down, as if waiting for it to click. "A man isn't gonna have the patience to comb over a murder scene like that and remove all the necessary evidence. Not to mention, what fucking guy do you know that would think to remove the pins from the female victims' hair? We don't pay attention to that shit." He sits back, looking smug. "Nah, you're dealing with a woman, and an experienced one at that."

You consider his words, and something clicks firmly into place as you survey the evidence one last time.

Fuck, that's the angle you were looking for.

You sigh and glance across the desk to the man sitting across from you, watching you steadily.

"Okay. Get in touch with your contacts and signal me in a couple of days. We'll schedule another meet up."

"You're the boss." Changbin replies easily, sliding back the chair as he stands, stretching his arms above his head.

His biceps are fucking huge. He could probably strangle you in one easy go.

You wonder if that's part of his arsenal.

"You're staring again." His voice is low in your ear, breath warm on your cheek, and you resist every urge in your body to startle away from him.

Instead, you remain completely still, staring straight ahead.

"Just thinking about whether or not you prefer messy or clean methods when it comes to your victims." You reply back in a level tone offhandedly.

Changbin chuckles, the low sound a rumble in his chest, and you resist the urge to take a deeper breath and get a clearer scent on his cologne.

Something earthy and pine based if you had to guess.

His large hands come down on the arms of your chair, effectively caging you in.

"Depends." He answers back smoothly, voice low. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, mama, as long as I get something in return."

You glare at him sidelong, and try not to stare as he slowly wets his lips with the tip of his tongue, staring you down like you're a piece of steak waiting to be devoured.

"We have a deal. And it doesn't extend past a working relationship."

"Ah, but you do admit it's a relationship." Changbin purrs, manic grin firmly back in place, the warm, strong lines of his body pressing into your back.

"I admit I want to put a gun to your head more times than not when we're together." You grit out, clenching your hands in your lap so you don't do just that.

He could overpower you so easily right now, looming behind you, larger than life.

You try not to let the thought put a shiver down your spine.

"That's just foreplay in my world, mama." Changbin murmurs against your ear, reaching up with one big hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear, even as you force yourself not to flinch. "If you're trying to turn me on, it's working."

"Get away from me." You growl out, reaching for the gun at your hip, even as Changbin covers your hand with his own, pinning down your fingers.

"Let. Go."

"Ah, do I scare you?" He questions, finally releasing your hand and stepping back, just so you can pull out your gun and train it squarely on his chest, staring him down as you pull the pin back.

He laughs, cocking his head, watching you as if he doesn't have a care in the world and he's not currently staring down the barrel of your gun.

"That's a yes then."

"You don't scare me." You reply back evenly, finger just shy of the trigger. "You annoy me. There's a difference."

His lips curve into the start of a smirk. "Do you hate me, detective?"

You pause, considering his words. You hate what he's done, who he is, the innocent lives he's probably claimed.

You hate yourself, for letting him continue, just so you can have access to inside information.

"Yes." You admit, hand level as you keep the gun pointed solidly at him.

Changbin laughs. "There's a fine line between hate and love. I'd be careful if I were you, mama."

He leans toward you, and slowly reaches up, pushing the gun down between the two of you.

You remove your finger off the trigger, taking in a deep breath, before you un-cock the weapon, but keep it firmly in your hand.

"Do you like toying with me?" You quip out angrily, staring into the dark, endless recesses of his eyes. "Do you get off on watching me fear you?"

You already know the answer, but you want to hear him say it.

He shrugs, tossing his hands out to the side, an easy smile on his face. "I mean, why do you think I do what I do? If the shoe fits-"

"I'm not one of your victims. Get the fuck out until I call for you." You motion with your gun toward the door.

Changbin shrugs again, moving past you toward the door, but he stops just shy of the desk, glancing back at you, before he leans over the piles of evidence to crowd into your space.

You don't back down, not moving an inch, as he reaches up and curls his large, warm fingers around the jut of your chin.

The gun itches in your lap.

"I don't fuck with you because I think you're on the same level of my victims, detective." He admits in a low, serious tone, his eyes never leaving your face.

You know you can't trust him, but you ask anyway.

"Then why?"

Something flashes across his eyes, too quick to catch. "I fuck with you to feel in control. Because simply put, mama, you make me want things I can't have."

You stop breathing, but Changbin releases you, straightening up and fixing his tie and vest with an easy sort of nonchalance about him, before he turns on his heel and heads for the door with a little wave of his fingers over his shoulder.

"Ta-ta, detective. Until next time."

He melts into the shadows, and you're left alone in the dark precinct, lit only by a lamp, with your thoughts.

[dibidibifiction]

Give Me A Hug: Chapter 1

Pairing: Taemin x Female Reader Word count: 2.3k

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction made for the personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone so as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons on whom the characters are based. She also does not claim ownership of any of the images that are being used.

masterlist general masterlist

. . .

Y

It’s like a huge thunderbolt just hit my face. His hands are so monstrous he got my entire head. I fall to the floor, sensing I’m about to pass out. But I immediately feel him picking me back up, grabbing my arm like he’s going to break it. He tries to stand me up but I’m too weak. I feel too dizzy from all the hitting I received just tonight. 

“You are not getting away from me! We are not getting a divorce. Got it?” he whispers. His voice shakes from fury. His face is just an inch from mine. His eyes pierce through mine, his teeth clenching.

Before I know it, I give in. 

Everything fades to black.

TAEMIN

“Taemin! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Jinki Hyung taps my shoulder to turn me around.

“What is it?”

“Director Choi has been brought to the police station again. He needs you. I’ll take over from here.”

“Ugh, Jesus. What has he done this time?” I complain while I take off my headset and pass it to him. 

“I have no idea.”

Choi Minho is the director of my and Jinki Hyung’s production team and my best friend since high school. He was a junior and I was a freshman when we first met. His father is close to my parents and one of the board members of the production company we’re working in. He and I had gone through a troublesome phase when we were younger but apparently, he was stuck in that phase until his long-term girlfriend dumped his marriage proposal recently and eventually grew up. 

I start to run along the halls of the building and to the parking lot. I hop into my car, and drive as fast as I can to the police station. It’s been almost a year since I’ve last been there.

I hurry inside once I arrive to find Minho Hyung sitting by one of the policemen’s desks. 

“Hyung, what happened?” I call out as I approach and sit on the chair across from him.

“I swear, it’s nothing,” he says defensively. “I just got in the middle of a fight at the bar and the guys got away.”

“Why are you still here then?”

“The police won't believe me because of this,” he points to the big bruise on his face. “So then I had to explain that this happened days ago and I didn’t get involved this time.

“Hey, Choi Minho!” I hear someone shout from the entrance. Kibum rushes toward us and pulls me out of my seat for him to take it. “What the fuck happened to you?” He hits Minho in the arm.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. Ever since Minho Hyung came out as bisexual, Kibum has been after him, especially now that his girlfriend called it quits. 

We three went to university together. Kibum Hyung is the craziest among us and always led us to the most raging parties. He was, most of the time, the reason we ended up in the police station. 

While they both are being all annoying and shit, I catch a glance of a woman, perhaps in her late twenties, sitting on the bench by the entrance. She has a big bandage on her forehead just above her left eye. She’s got cuts on the right side of her lips and a cast wrapped around her right arm.

“Well, well, well. How nice to see the trio back together again,” an officer sits behind his desk.

“Wow, you’re still alive?” Kibum says savagely.

“Sir, I swear, we have nothing to do with this one. I’ve started my life over,” Minho pleads.

“Son, I’ve always heard that bullshit from you,” Officer Seo shakes his head. “Seven years ago you three were arrested for breaking a windshield of a Maserati and for stealing one of its wheels.”

“What? That guy deserved it for cheating on me,” Kibum interrupts.

“Shut your fucking mouth. I’m not talking to you.”

Kibum just rolls his eyes at him.

“I don’t know. I’m going to have to call your father,” Seo turns back to Minho Hyung.

“Sir, please! I-”

Another police officer approaches and whispers something into Seo’s ear.

He gives all three of us a weird look as if he’s heard something he can’t believe. He nods to his fellow policeman and turns back to us. 

“I never thought I’d say this, but you’re free to go,” he sighs, showing his disappointment.

Y

For the first time in years, I’ve slept so soundly and awoke to a peaceful morning. The sunlight pierces through the curtains. It’s a beauty I hadn’t seen when I was with him. It was always dark under that roof.

This time, there’s less fear, less anxiety. Just serenity and safety.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Jonghyun says, only his head showing. It’s so nice to see his smiling face this early. He sits on the bed next to me. “How are you feeling, Noona?”

“Better,” I nod. I grab his hand and give him a slight smile. “I hope I’m not burdening you by staying here. I promise I’ll leave as soon as I can.”

“Hey, we’ve been over this a thousand times. Don’t mention it. Just stay as long as you need.” He then places a smack on my forehead. “It’s just great to have Noona back.”

“You mean your assistant?” I giggle.

“That too,” he laughs as well.

“What would you do without me?” 

When I was still living with my husband, I never got to hang out with Jonghyun because he forbade me to get out of the house. He didn't even allow me visitors. I had not seen Jonghyun in a while until he picked me up at the police station three months ago. 

That one last slap in my face before I passed out is the worst thing I remember. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital confined for two days. My face was covered in stitches, I could barely open my left eye, and my arm was in a cast. As if I can still feel his tight grip. 

Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I hated myself. But at the same time, I felt sorry for my body. His fingerprints in the form of bruises on my arm still show. The scars on my face will remain. The memories of being hit by a dining chair will be remembered by the big dark diagonal scar across my back. All these traces of him will never leave me.

I couldn’t speak in over a week, but Jonghyun says I could respond by shaking my head and by nodding. He also tells me about what the doctors said about me, that I’m pretty strong for someone who had been mistreated for years. It was the physical torture that traumatized me to hold my ability to speak.

Some days I stayed in bed until evening. Some days I spent my time reading and painting, which I have not done in a while. 

Now, it’s been more than a month since I last saw my husband. The police have been looking for him but he’s nowhere to be found. I don’t care where he is as long as he doesn’t bother me anymore.

“Hey, you should come with me to my schedules today. Meet some old friends and colleagues, be my assistant again like in old times. What do you say?”

“Hmm, well, my meeting with my divorce lawyer isn’t until this afternoon. So, sure.” I genuinely smile at him.

There’s not much has changed in the station. Except for the lobby and the front desk. There used to be a small space between it and the path through the elevators so it was a hassle getting through there especially when it’s crowded and you’re in a hurry.

Four years ago, my soon-to-be ex-husband forced me to quit my career as a makeup artist and stylist. I had a hectic but fulfilling career as an artist. I got to work with designs and aesthetics for different companies and different pop groups and soloists. Besides being Jonghyun’s manager on the side, I had a magical life.

Jonghyun and I walk into the elevator. It kind of feels weird to be back here and I’m a little nervous to see everyone again. 

“Wait! Please hold the door!” someone shouts before the gates completely shut.

So I press-hold on the open button. A young man carrying thick extension wires (or whatever that is) wrapped around his shoulder down to his wrist and a wireless headset around his neck. 

“Thank you,” he says breathily. “Excuse me.”

“Which floor?” I ask.

“Oh, there,” he points to the same floor as us. “Thank you,” he gives me a respectful nod.

“Okay,” I smile back politely.

As we wait to get to our floor, the guy takes a glimpse at me. Before I realize it, he keeps looking at me every five seconds.

Do I know him? He’s not at all familiar. I haven’t seen him even when I was still working here before.

Or does he know me? If he does, I wouldn’t know where from.

It was the longest uncomfortable minute of my life. I exhale in relief once the elevator dings and the doors part. 

As I continuously walk, I hear the young man call out to Jonghyun formally. I halt to listen carefully, but his voice is so soft that I can’t hear what he’s saying.

“Who? Y Noona?” Jonghyun responds loud enough. “She’s my assistant for the day. Also a close friend of mine. Why?”

They are speaking about me. I’m not sure how I feel about this. It’s been a while since I heard people in the workplace talk about me behind my back.

I was inside a cubicle when some girls gossiped about me. They were ridiculing me, saying how stupid I was to stay in an unfaithful relationship. They said they pitied me yet they mocked me. 

“Jonghyun-ssi,” I say formally but in a sarcastic tone. “Shall we go?” I fake a smile and widen my eyes at him to send a message that I’m uncomfortable. 

So he nods politely to the young man. He and I proceed to one of the dressing rooms. I put down the gym bag with all the things he needs for today as I sit him down in front of a vanity mirror to start dressing him up for the reality show filming. 

“Noona, where’s the suit that I’ll be wearing?” Jonghyun asks.

“It’s here.” I pull up a stunning blue two-piece suit.

“That’s what I’m going to wear to Lee Jieun’s event this evening,” he corrects me. “I’ll wear the gray one. It hangs in the back of the van.”

“Oh,” I laugh at myself but I cringe inside because I feel stupid. “Sorry. I’ll get it right now.” 

“Maybe this isn’t a good time to wear those heels,” Jonghyun teases me as I make my way out the door.

Catching for air, I get to the van and open the back door. Six sets of gray suits appear before my eyes. Plus, the paper bags of meals and snacks I was supposed to take too to give out to the crew.

I sigh deeply. I reach for my phone from my jeans’ back pocket and then dial Jonghyun’s number to ask him which of them he’s wearing for the show.

No answer.

I growl dreadfully. I forgot what it’s like to be a famous singer’s personal assistant. 

I sigh once again and eventually decide to bring up all six. They’re quite heavy. This was way easier when I was younger. I was in my twenties and could carry a heavy backpack, a gym bag in one hand and his lunch and coffee in the other. And I could run up and down the elevator several times without my body giving in. Even in high heels.

Now, it feels like I want to quit already. I’m running out of strength.

So I hurry all the way back to the floor with these suites hanging on my shoulder and two heavy paper bags in my other hand.

Almost to the hall of dressing rooms, my heart drops as I almost fall backward. The hook of one of the hangers is caught on someone’s t-shirt making me drop some of Jonghyun’s suits while the person shouts out loud in shock. 

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry!” I say as I pick the clothes up off the ground one by one.

“What the fuck?” he mumbles in confusion and a little panic, reaching for the thing that’s caught on his back.

“Let me take that.” And when I do, I notice that his shirt is torn from below the neckline down to the middle of his back. 

I gasp.

The guy turns around to face me, I recognize him right away. He’s the staff member from the elevator who kept staring at me.

“You?” We both say almost at the same time. 

“Shit. I am so sorry,” I say again as he notices the tear as well. “Let me help you. I have an extra t-shirt back in the dressing room. I’ll go and get it.”

“No, no. It’s okay. This top is really old anyway. Been planning to buy a new one,” he says so politely, grinning at me.

“Please, I insist. Let me-” 

My phone suddenly vibrates on my ass. It’s Jonghyun calling.

“Okay, I have to go. But when I see you again, maybe I’ll buy you a cup of coffee or a new t-shirt. Yeah?” I’m talking so fast I’m not sure if he still understands what I’m saying.

Without waiting for his response to my offer, I run to the halls and back to Jonghyun.

It’s my first day back to work and I’m already slipping. Literally.

chapter 2

[klapollo]

is copywriting a good job to look into as a writer? im job hunting and i see quite a few openings online but im worried the work will be extremely dreary

i didnt set out to be a copywriter -- frankly when i graduated i had no idea what i wanted to do. i spent about three and a half years freelancing and doing gig work and i'd make like 140 bucks a month on a good year. i happened to apply for a copywriting job among a sea of other entry level things -- social media coordinator, communications associate etc. and i feel SOOOOO fucking blessed that i fell into copywriting

in terms of money: copywriting is very lucrative if you get the experience for it and stay the course. my very first position with no prior copywriting experience (just freelance writing experience) paid me 35/hr. starting off you'll probably make about 50k but moving up the hierarchy can pay a LOT. with four years of experience, during my job hunt i would say the vast majority of the positions i interviewed were within a six figure salary band. moving up the hierarchy, lots of senior copywriters make six figs, and some associate creative directors make over 200k. you can definitely live comfortably as a career copywriter if you play your cards right.

in terms of work: personally i love copywriting, but it's an arm of marketing. if you cant stomach writing marketing materials or learning how marketing works, it might not be for you, but i kinda make it into a game in my head. there's a lot of different kinds of copy -- short form (landing pages, social media blurbs, headlines, emails, product descriptions etc) and long form (white papers, SEO articles/blog posts, ebooks). i would aim to find a copywriting position that will have a wide scope of copy types, because that helps cultivate a well-rounded resume (i.e. shoot for a job that'll have you writing landing pages, emails and blog posts etc over one that's just headlines and captions).

there is also B2C (business to customer, as in marketing a consumer product to individuals) and B2B (business to business, as in marketing a product like mailchimp to a business). i mostly do B2C, but I also do B2B now. it's fine to start with just one, but i'd say right now demand is very high for B2B

the good thing about copywriting is that basically any industry requires it in some capacity. i've worked predominantly in entertainment and digital media, but right now i'd say the biggest demand is in healthcare, fintech and SaaS (software). i freelance for a telehealth company right now in part because i want to make my portfolio more well-rounded. but as i said, nearly any industry can need one -- hospitality, beauty, fashion, retail, nonprofits, anything that is a business that needs to be advertised. when i started, i worked in television, which meant my days largely consisted of watching shows before air and writing episode descriptions. i had a lot of fun!

personally, i dont find my work dreary. sometimes it can be a LITTLE tedious if i'm writing something more technical/internal, but the whole point of copywriting is to figure out how to entice someone to check something out, which means puzzling out how to write something fun and engaging. if you want something less marketing-focused, i would look into getting into technical writing. this is basically writing informational texts and guides for technology and similar things. it pays VERY well and is usually in high demand, but i will say it's definitely more tedious than copywriting.

in short: yes i love copywriting and you can be very financially stable in it! i'd argue it's one of the most financially comfortable day jobs for someone with writing experience. happy hunting anon!!!! i hope u get what ur after

[emtechredijitalajans]

Emtechre Digital Agency: Your Gateway to Exceptional Web Design

Emtechre Digital Agency: Your Gateway to Exceptional Web Design Today, for your company’s online success, a professionally designed website can make a difference. We at Emtechre Digital Agency are devoted to designing websites that are visually stunning and have high functionality that enthrall the audience and yield tangible results.

We have a team of talented designers and developers who are capable of making your online presence a powerful tool for growth. After all, we realize that your site means more than just some web pages; it represents your brand as well as a vital point of contact with potential customers.

Our approach to web design is based on providing outstanding user experience. The website must be intuitive, visually beautiful and easy to navigate. Consequently, by implementing latest industry standards and best practices, we develop seamless and engaging user interfaces which will impress the visitors in an enduring way.

Emechre Digital Agency is proud to offer you customized solutions for your needs. We know every business has different goals and needs. Our team will cooperate with you in designing and deploying a solution that suits your vision whether it is a sleek informative website, a robust e-commerce platform or dynamic web application.

We are naturally built to stay ahead of the rest. We keep up with new technologies and trends so that your website remains modern, functional, and future-proof. From mobile first design that optimizes well for different devices, to incorporating interactive elements that enhance user engagement, we infuse innovation into every aspect of our web design process. Our partnership with clients is based on integrity and openness. We value your contributions and opinions, believing that a successful website is a result of teamwork. All through the web designing journey, we keep you posted by giving updates frequently and seeking for your feedback so as the final product will be beyond your expectations.

In conclusion, Emtechre Digital Agency is your go-to partner for web design excellence. Our team of experts combines artistic creativity with technical prowess to create stunningly beautiful websites that move your business forward. Employing an approach that is aimed at addressing the users’ needs, offering tailor made solutions as well as being committed to technological change leadership; we will ensure you make an impressive online footprint. Trust Emtechre Digital Agency to transform your website into a powerful asset that sets you apart from the competition and propels your business to new heights.

[widespread-digigold]

The Role of SEO in Driving Traffic: A Comprehensive Guide

Lets Know How The Role Of SEO Helps In Driving Traffic?

In today’s highly competitive digital landscape, every business is fighting for visibility. One of the most effective ways to increase your online presence and drive traffic to your website is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But what exactly is the role of SEO in driving traffic, and how can you leverage it to boost your digital marketing efforts? Let’s dive deep into how SEO works, its key components, and why it’s essential for traffic generation.

What is SEO?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). When a user searches for a keyword relevant to your business, SEO ensures that your website is among the first results they see. This increased visibility leads to more organic traffic—visitors who find your website naturally through search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.

Why SEO is Crucial for Driving Traffic

Organic Traffic is Free Unlike paid advertising (PPC), SEO brings in visitors without direct cost per click. Once your website ranks well, you can continuously attract users without the need for ongoing ad spend. This makes it a cost-effective, long-term traffic generation strategy.

Users Trust Organic Results Studies show that users trust organic results more than paid ads. Ranking high organically increases the credibility of your website and brand. By appearing in the top results, you signal authority and relevance, encouraging users to click through.

Targeted Traffic SEO ensures that you are reaching users who are already searching for what you offer. These users are more likely to convert since they have a clear intent behind their search. For instance, someone searching for “best hiking boots” is likely to be in the market for purchasing hiking boots, and if your website ranks well, you can attract this targeted audience.

Key Components of SEO for Driving Traffic

To leverage SEO effectively, you need to focus on several core elements:

Keyword Research Keywords are the phrases and terms users search for online. Proper keyword research is crucial to understand what your target audience is searching for. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs can help you identify the best keywords for your niche and there are some other tools are also available to know more on it click best digital marketing tools in 2024. Once identified, you can incorporate these keywords naturally into your content to ensure search engines recognize your relevance.

On-Page SEO This involves optimizing individual pages on your website to rank higher. On-page SEO focuses on keyword placement, meta tags, headers, and image optimization. Ensuring your website is user-friendly and loads quickly also plays a significant role in retaining visitors and reducing bounce rates.

Content Quality High-quality, engaging content that answers user queries is the foundation of SEO success. Search engines prioritize websites that provide value, which means your blog posts, product descriptions, and other content need to be well-written and informative. Aim to create long-form content that comprehensively covers topics in your niche.

Technical SEO Technical SEO ensures that search engines can easily crawl and index your website. It includes optimizing your website’s speed, mobile-friendliness, XML sitemaps, and ensuring proper URL structure. A well-optimized site makes it easier for search engines to understand your content and rank it accordingly.

Backlinks Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your site, acting as endorsements. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more authority your website gains in the eyes of search engines. Building a solid backlink profile can significantly boost your site’s rankings and drive more traffic.

Local SEO If your business has a local focus, local SEO can be a game-changer. Optimizing your website for local searches (such as “coffee shop near me”) can bring in highly targeted traffic from your immediate area. This includes managing your Google Business Profile, collecting reviews, and optimizing for local keywords.

How SEO Drives Long-Term Traffic

One of the most significant benefits of SEO is its long-term traffic potential. While it may take time to see results, once your site ranks well, it can continue to bring in traffic for months or even years with minimal maintenance. Unlike PPC, where traffic stops as soon as the budget runs out, SEO has compounding effects.

Measuring SEO Success

Tracking your SEO efforts is crucial to ensure your strategy is working. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console allow you to monitor your website’s traffic, keyword rankings, and user behavior. By analyzing this data, you can refine your SEO strategy and focus on what’s driving the most traffic.

Conclusion

SEO is a powerful tool for driving organic traffic to your website. From keyword research and on-page optimization to technical SEO and backlink building, each component plays a critical role in improving your search engine visibility. As a long-term strategy, SEO can deliver consistent, high-quality traffic that leads to higher conversions and business growth.

By mastering SEO, you’ll not only increase your traffic but also establish your brand’s authority in the digital space.

[wannaeatramyeon]

Goo Kim with Unhinged F!Reader

Less unhinged, more dissatisfied. (Gun Park | Goo Kim | Samuel Seo | James Lee/DG)

Goo threw all his power behind the next swing at you. You caught the sword easily with one hand.

'Fuck, I'm fucked.'

You peer at him and frown, "Baby baby~," you coo, "that could have really hurt. Please try harder next time."

You blow him a kiss and your lips transform into a demented smile. He stands there unmoving, shocked and staring. You are a monster, a beast, a creature from his nightmares. There you stood, relatively unharmed, despite the blood flowing from your hand.

"Here," you grin, your eyes flash dangerously as you pull the sword closer towards your heart, "aim here next time."

This idiot desperately tries to leverage your movement, using the momentum to push forward. Nothing budges.

"Not sure you deserve a next time though," you tut at him. Another let down. You spin your leg around and aim for his temple. It connects and Goo goes down like a sack of shit.

You're not a huge fan of weapons, but you couldn't begrudge someone who was. More so if it made the hunt more fun.

Goo's power and fighting prowess exponentially improved when you threw him a sword. Peals of laughter left your throat each time he swung to kill. You had heard about his preferences. This was more like it.

It certainly was. Up until a point. The excitement in your eyes gradually faded to dissatisfaction.

Was this guy just toying with you? Is this all his seriousness gets him? You casually eyed his shattered glasses as he unleashed a flurry of blows at you. Was he almost blind? Did you severely handicap him when you broke his glasses in two?

Or was this just all he had to offer. Yet again, another disappointment. Sigh.

Goo awakes to you sitting on his chest, fiddling with your pen and scrap of paper. Blood continues to drip from your hand, but you appear unconcerned.

Despite his broken ribs, he minimizes any movement, wills himself to remain calm, and trying not to disturb you as he looks for the sword and calculates his next move.

"Oh, you're awake," you nudge the fallen weapon within reaching distance for him, "it's here if that's what you're looking for,"

Goo doesn't dare breathe, doesn't dare move.

You tuck your pen and paper back into your pocket and look at the frozen man. All you could see is fear reflected back at you, now that really did make you smile.

"We could have been something," you murmur. You lean forward and stroke his cheek, marking him with your blood. His breath hitches as your hand trails further down and lands at his throat. You claw your nails along his windpipe before letting out a cackle.

At least toying with this guy is pretty fun.

Finally, you stand up and leave. All Goo could do is watch your retreating back.

[cybergautam]

How to Optimize Content According to SEO: A Complete Guide for Beginners

In today's digital world, creating high-quality content is only half the battle. To ensure your content reaches its intended audience, it must be optimized for search engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of enhancing your content so that it appears higher in search engine results, ultimately driving more organic traffic to your website. But how exactly do you optimize content for SEO? Let's break it down into simple, actionable steps that anyone can follow.

1. Understand Your Audience and Their Intent

Before you start writing, it's crucial to understand who your audience is and what they are searching for. This step is often overlooked but is foundational to SEO. If you know what your audience wants, you can tailor your content to meet their needs, which will naturally improve its relevance and ranking.

How to Identify Your Audience's Intent:

Use Keyword Research Tools: Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you discover what terms your audience is searching for.

Analyze Competitors: Look at what your competitors are doing. What topics are they covering? What keywords are they targeting?

Check Search Suggestions: Google's search suggestions and related searches can give you an idea of what people are looking for.

2. Keyword Research: The Backbone of SEO

Keywords are the phrases that people type into search engines when looking for information. Identifying and using the right keywords is essential for SEO content optimization.

Steps for Effective Keyword Research:

Start with a Seed Keyword: Begin with a broad term related to your topic.

Expand with Long-Tail Keywords: Long-tail keywords are more specific and less competitive. For example, instead of "SEO," use "how to optimize content for SEO."

Analyze Search Volume and Competition: Use tools like Ubersuggest to evaluate the search volume and competition for your keywords.

Incorporate Keywords Naturally: Once you've selected your keywords, use them naturally in your content. Avoid keyword stuffing, which can hurt your rankings.

3. Craft Compelling, SEO-Friendly Titles

Your title is the first thing people see in search results, and it's one of the most critical factors for SEO. A well-crafted title can significantly improve your click-through rate (CTR).

Tips for Writing SEO-Optimized Titles:

Include Your Primary Keyword: Your main keyword should appear in the title, ideally at the beginning.

Keep It Concise and Clear: Aim for titles between 50-60 characters. They should be clear and to the point.

Make It Engaging: Use power words, numbers, or questions to make your title more compelling. For example, "10 Proven Tips to Optimize Content for SEO in 2024."

4. Write High-Quality, Relevant Content

Search engines prioritize content that provides value to the reader. High-quality content is not only well-written but also informative, engaging, and relevant to the user's query.

How to Create High-Quality Content:

Answer the User’s Query: Make sure your content directly addresses the question or problem your audience has.

Provide In-Depth Information: Longer content often ranks better because it covers the topic more thoroughly.

Use Subheadings: Break up your content with subheadings (H2, H3 tags). This makes it easier to read and helps search engines understand your content's structure.

Include Visuals: Use images, infographics, and videos to complement your text. Visual content is more engaging and can improve your ranking in search results.

5. Optimize Meta Descriptions

A meta description is a brief summary of your content that appears under the title in search engine results. While meta descriptions don't directly affect rankings, they play a crucial role in attracting clicks.

Best Practices for Meta Descriptions:

Incorporate Keywords: Include your primary keyword to make it clear what the content is about.

Keep It Concise: Aim for 150-160 characters. It should be a short, compelling summary of your content.

Make It Persuasive: Use action words and a clear call to action (CTA) to entice users to click.

6. Use Internal and External Links Wisely

Links are a key factor in SEO. They help search engines understand the context of your content and its relationship to other content on the web.

Internal Linking:

Link to Relevant Content: Whenever you mention a topic that you've covered in another article, link to it. This keeps readers on your site longer and helps search engines crawl your site more effectively.

Use Descriptive Anchor Text: The clickable text should describe the linked content. Avoid generic terms like "click here."

External Linking:

Link to Authoritative Sources: Linking to high-authority sites can boost your content's credibility.

Ensure Relevance: Only link to external content that adds value to your readers.

7. Optimize for Mobile

With the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, it's essential that your content is mobile-friendly. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of your content for ranking.

How to Ensure Mobile Optimization:

Use Responsive Design: Ensure your website adjusts to different screen sizes and resolutions.

Keep Paragraphs Short: Long paragraphs can be difficult to read on small screens. Break up your text for better readability.

Optimize Images: Compress images to reduce load times without sacrificing quality.

8. Improve Page Speed

Page speed is a critical factor in both user experience and SEO. Slow-loading pages can lead to higher bounce rates and lower rankings.

Ways to Boost Page Speed:

Compress Images: Use tools like TinyPNG to reduce image file sizes.

Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of elements on your page, such as scripts, images, and CSS.

Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): CDNs store copies of your site on servers around the world, reducing load times for global users.

9. Optimize for Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are short answers that appear at the top of Google's search results, often referred to as "Position Zero." Optimizing your content for featured snippets can significantly increase visibility and traffic.

How to Optimize for Featured Snippets:

Use Question-Based Subheadings: Start with a question that your content answers. For example, "How do you optimize content according to SEO?"

Provide Concise Answers: Offer a brief, clear answer to the question immediately below the subheading.

Use Lists and Tables: Structured content like lists and tables is often pulled into featured snippets.

10. Leverage Social Media

Social media can indirectly boost your SEO by increasing the visibility of your content. When your content is shared, it drives traffic and signals to search engines that your content is valuable.

Social Media Strategies for SEO:

Share Your Content: Post your content on all your social media platforms. Encourage your followers to share it as well.

Engage with Your Audience: Respond to comments and messages to build a community around your content.

Use Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase the reach of your posts.

11. Regularly Update Your Content

SEO is not a one-time task. Search engines favor fresh, up-to-date content, so it's important to review and update your content regularly.

Steps for Content Maintenance:

Audit Your Content: Periodically review your content for outdated information or broken links.

Refresh Old Content: Update statistics, improve readability, and add new information to keep your content relevant.

Repurpose Content: Turn older content into different formats, such as infographics or videos, to reach a new audience.

12. Monitor Your Performance

Finally, it's essential to track your content's performance. Use analytics tools to see how well your content is ranking, how much traffic it's driving, and what areas need improvement.

Tools for Monitoring SEO:

Google Analytics: Track user behavior, traffic sources, and conversion rates.

Google Search Console: Monitor your site's presence in Google search results, check for errors, and see what keywords are driving traffic.

SEO Tools: Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush can provide detailed insights into your content's performance and competitive landscape.

Conclusion

Optimizing content for SEO is both an art and a science. By following these steps—understanding your audience, conducting thorough keyword research, crafting compelling titles, writing high-quality content, and continually monitoring your performance—you can create content that not only ranks well in search engines but also provides real value to your readers. Remember, SEO is a long-term investment. With patience and persistence, you'll see your content rise in the search rankings, bringing more organic traffic to your site and achieving your digital marketing goals.

[muninnhuginn]

Thinking about Seo Dongjae’s arc and how Lee Changjoon factors into it.

Spoilers for both seasons of Stranger under the cut.

Both came from similar backgrounds in that they were ‘disadvantaged’ compared to their peers. Lee Changjoon didn’t come from a family as wealthy as the chaebols and Lee Yeonjae is explicitly said to have married ‘down’ when she married him instead of Kim Byunghyun. Seo Dongjae meanwhile wasn’t an alumni of a prestigious university and so doesn’t have the same connections as many of his colleagues. This pushes them both in different ways. Dongjae towards latching onto the nearest person he thinks he can use to give him a leg up. Changjoon towards the murky business of Hanjo and his father-in-law.

As season 1 progresses, Dongjae and Changjoon become more distant. We’re told that they used to be closer and have been growing apart over the course of the early episodes as Dongjae’s suspicion of his boss grows. Dongjae is still an opportunist though and so he returns back under Changjoon when given the chance. Ultimately, survival is what matters most for him and if it’s playing all sides that keeps him from being arrested that’s just what he’ll do.

Changjoon took Dongjae on to be his employee on the condition he stay away from Hanjo and his father-in-law. In retrospect, I’m inclined to believe this was his way of protecting Dongjae from their influence rather than because of worries Dongjae could ‘expose’ him. After all, Changjoon intended to expose Hanjo himself and so keeping Dongjae away from them doesn’t particularly help with this. If anything, he’s limiting potential information Dongjae can obtain to only the pieces more relevant to himself.

And, of course, Changjoon told Dongjae to not follow his path with his dying breaths. He could see the direction Dongjae was heading (and was already far enough down to have an arrest warrant out in his name) and knew where it had ended for him. Changjoon knew how how hard it is to extricate yourself once you’ve started down the corrupt route. But he also knew it wasn’t too late for Dongjae. Eunsoo proved that Dongjae couldn’t stomach being a killer.

Season two Dongjae, for all he’s still trying to make inroads and build connections in dubious ways, does show signs of growth. The fact he looked further into the Choi Bit and Park Gwangsu when Woo Taeha tried to draw him away from them is evidence of that. Looking further in this case would not endear him to the very person he wants to gain a promotion from. Also, it does seem like he was genuinely invested in his role in juvenile crimes, in even ‘simple’ bullying cases. And that in of itself helped him unlock the beach case. There was also how didn’t particularly socialise with others at his current office and mainly kept to himself which is a far cry from his early season 1 behaviour. Of course, the last point is somewhat weakened by the way he was most definitely networking outside of his station, but it adds to the sense of isolation and desperation present in everyone this season. His motivation skews increasingly towards his family and dissatisfaction with the whole system (though as a prosecutor he aims most of his ire at the police force).

There’s a part in the second season where Dongjae says something about how looking too deeply into places regardless of what everyone else wants can get you in trouble. And at the time the most obvious person it applies to is Simok (and also Eunsoo, but that stays silent) but in a number of ways it applies to Dongjae himself in this season. He’s probably lucky he was taken out by the culprit he was when you look at the other potential suspects. He has a lot of new powerful enemies. And those enemies are still future threats to him (as Lee Yeonjae demonstrates aptly). For a character so focused on survival historically, his choice should be clear when it comes to whether he speaks up or whether he chooses to stay silent. And yet, he’s shown enough growth that it isn’t clear anymore.

In the dream sequence in season 2, the subtext is pretty clear as to why each person appears. They’re all people who quite literally ‘lost their way or lost their life’. Changjoon (life/way - self-explanatory), Kang (strayed his way but chose to leave), Eunsoo (life, and also her way - though not in the corrupt sense, more how her revenge consumed her and she made self-destructive choices), Yoon (way, though importantly *not* his life). And Dongjae being there is partly to raise the potential he won’t make it, but most of all, it’s there to say that Dongjae hasn’t yet chosen his own path.

As of the season two finale, we don’t know which direction he’ll choose to go.

[digitaldetoxworld]

E-Commerce Marketing: Strategies and Techniques for Success best shoes for plantar fasciitis women

 Best shoes for plantar fasciitis women e-trade advertising is the spine of online retail achievement. It incorporates a wide range of strategies and strategies aimed toward driving traffic, increasing conversions, and building long-time period purchaser relationships. As the virtual marketplace turns into increasingly aggressive, know-how and implementing effective e-commerce marketing techniques is critical for thriving in this dynamic surroundings.

Understanding Your Audience

red leather couch with chaise lounge effective e-trade advertising starts with a deep expertise of your target audience. This includes developing targeted customer personas that include demographic information, shopping for conduct, pastimes, and ache points. Tools like Google Analytics, purchaser surveys, and social media insights can offer precious records about your target market. By knowledge your clients’ wishes and possibilities, you could tailor your marketing efforts to cope with their particular goals and demanding situations.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization  is a vital element of e-commerce marketing. It includes optimizing your online keep to rank better in search engine consequences pages (SERPs) for applicable key phrases. Key components of e-trade search engine optimization encompass

Keyword Research

 Identifying keywords that ability customers use while looking for merchandise similar to yours. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can help in locating high-value key phrases.

On-Page SEO

 Optimizing product pages with relevant keywords in titles, meta descriptions, headers, and product descriptions. High-great, attractive content material is critical for both users and serps.

Technical SEO

 Ensuring that your website’s technical components, along with website velocity, cell-friendliness, and steady connections (HTTPS), are optimized. Search engines prioritize fast-loading, steady, and cell-optimized websites.

Backlink Building

Acquiring incredible back-links from legitimate sites can decorate your website’s authority and enhance its ranking in seek outcomes.

Content Marketing

Content Marketing is an effective manner to have interaction capability customers and build emblem authority. Types of content which could pressure visitors and conversions encompass

Blog Posts:

Writing informative and tasty weblog posts associated with your merchandise or enterprise can appeal to and hold customers. Topics may include product critiques, how-to guides, or industry information.

Videos:

Creating product demonstrations, tutorials, or at the back of-the-scenes content material can beautify purchaser engagement. Video content frequently performs nicely on social media systems and may increase conversion prices.

Infographics

Visual content like infographics can simplify complicated records and make it greater shareable. They are mainly useful for illustrating product features, comparisons, or industry data.

User-Generated Content

Encouraging customers to create and percentage content associated with your merchandise can construct agree with and offer social evidence. This can include evaluations, testimonials, or social media posts proposing your merchandise.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing systems are effective tools for e-commerce advertising. They provide opportunities to reach and engage together with your target market in a more personal and interactive way. Effective social media advertising techniques consist of:

Platform Selection

Choose the right structures based totally on where your audience is most lively. Popular alternatives encompass Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok.

Content Strategy

 Develop a content calendar that consists of a combination of promotional posts, enticing content, and consumer-generated content. Use wonderful visuals and compelling replica to seize interest.

Advertising

Social media advertising and marketing allows you to target particular demographics, interests, and behaviors. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram provide advanced targeting alternatives to reach ability customers effectively.

Engagement

Actively have interaction with your audience via responding to feedback, messages, and opinions. Building a network round your brand can foster purchaser loyalty and increase emblem advocacy.

Email Marketing

Email advertising remains one of the simplest channels for driving conversions and maintaining client relationships. Key electronic mail advertising techniques encompass:

Segmentation

Divide your e-mail list into segments based on factors like buy history, browsing conduct, or demographic records. This permits you to ship customized and relevant content to different corporations.

Automation

 Implement computerized e mail campaigns for moves along with abandoned cart reminders, publish-buy comply with-ups, and personalised product tips. Automation facilitates nurture leads and encourages repeat purchases.

Content

 Create enticing and precious content material on your e-mail subscribers. This ought to encompass distinctive discounts, product updates, or academic content material. Ensure your emails have a clear call-to-movement (CTA) that drives recipients on your website.

Testing and Optimization

Continuously check distinct factors of your email campaigns, which includes difficulty lines, content, and sending instances. Use analytics to track open costs, click-through fees, and conversions to optimize your campaigns.

Paid Advertising

Paid Advertising can supplement your natural advertising and marketing efforts and power targeted site visitors to your e-commerce web site. Key types of paid advertising encompass

Pay-Per-Click 

Platforms like Google Ads permit you to bid on keywords and show commercials in seek effects. PPC advertisements can pressure immediately site visitors on your site, and effective key-word focused on is vital for maximizing ROI.

Display Ads

Display advertisements appear on websites and apps throughout the internet. They can assist increase emblem consciousness and retarget site visitors who have formerly interacted together with your web site.

Social Media Ads

 Social media platforms offer various ad formats, consisting of backed posts, stories, and carousel commercials. These commercials may be enormously targeted primarily based on user pastimes, behaviors, and demographics.

 Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing involves partnering with individuals who have a large following on social media or different digital systems. Influencers can help sell your products to their target audience thru true endorsements. To leverage influencer advertising correctly:

Identify the Right Influencers 

Choose influencers whose followers align with your target audience. Consider factors like engagement rates, content style, and authenticity

.Collaborate on Content: 

Work with influencers to create engaging content that showcases your products in a natural and relatable way. This could include sponsored posts, reviews, or unboxing videos.

Measure Impact: 

Track the performance of influencer campaigns by monitoring metrics such as referral traffic, engagement, and conversions. Use this data to assess the effectiveness of your partnerships.

 Data Analytics and Insights

Data analytics is essential for measuring the fulfillment of your e-commerce advertising and marketing efforts and making data-pushed decisions. Key metrics to display include

Website Traffic

Analyze site visitors resources, user conduct, and conversion paths to recognize how visitors have interaction together with your web page.

Conversion Rates:

 Track the proportion of traffic who complete a preferred motion, which include making a buy or signing up for a publication.

Customer Acquisition Cost

 Measure the fee of acquiring a new consumer thru diverse advertising channels. This helps check the performance of your advertising spend.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Lightweight travel backpack for women calculate the ROI of your advertising campaigns to determine their effectiveness and make knowledgeable price range choices.