#aera had the right idea with this shoot…..

[sunlightfeeling]

AERA Style Magazine: Spring 2020 Vol. 46

[herwonderland7]

CHAPTER 1 ― THE LAKE AND NEO CLAN’S SITUATION

“I hope you are right, Yoonoh.. Because if this doesn’t work, I’m afraid.. I’m afraid the worst might happen, and you know what I mean.”

SUMMARY― With the age of 24 in the current time, Aera had been asked for her hand in marriage by potential suitors, not knowing an unexpected event would come her way.

CHARACTERS ― Gae Aera/Princess Riana Aera, Saera, Daeki (Jung Family’s Butler), Prince Jung Jaehyun / Yoonoh (Neo Clan), Kim Doyoung (Neo Clan)

WARNINGS/AUTHOR’S NOTE ― mention of death!!, introducing 2/21 members of Neo Clan! Sungchan and Shotaro are not in this au bcs i’m still getting to know them as a fan uwu 

GENRE ― fantasy, got7!as!princes, got7!as!werewolves, nct!as!princes, nct!as!vampires, nct!as!wolves!

PRESENT TIME

It was strange, it’s been a year.

She had never had strange dreams before but this time, coincidentally, she dreamt of basically chasing after a man with a child, who was chased by scary looking shadows, the day before she was meeting her last, potential suitor.

She was chasing them, on a horse while shooting out arrows.

It’s like a dream where she had dreamt before a year ago.

It was strange and scary.

“Gae Aera! Are you listening to me?” 

Aera’s eyes blinked multiple times, before turning towards the high pitch voice - seeing her mother looking at her in disbelief, right opposite her.

There was a sigh coming from her mother as Aera’s eyes avoided her eye contact.

“There you are, day-dreaming again! Does day-dreaming ever get you a fiance of your own!?”

“I wish.” muttered Aera under her breath before completely turning her focus towards the carriage window.

It’s been a year, and she is 24 - an age where women would be sent out to find suitors, which Aera didn’t like the idea of being married at such a young age.

Aera believes 24 is a young age.

“You should be ashamed of yourself! Look at Mrs Woods daughter! She is married to a nice, handsome young man with a big house and—

Aera scoffed, cutting off her mother’s words directly before turning her head towards her.

GAE AERA

“So, is this what it is? You’re sending me off just because of Mrs Woods? That old woman?” I replied, looking a little confused at the same time pissed.

It was as if my mother was competing with that old lady.

“I’m not sending you off, Aera. I just want you.. to be happy.. to live a happy life with your husband. That’s all I want from you.” She said while cupping onto both of my hands.

My eyes travelled towards hers, seeing tears welling on her eyes. She looked as desperate as ever. 

Did that old hag make fun of her or something?

Gulping down the lump of my throat, I sighed softly.

“But what if.. after I marry this potential suitor… I would become miserable, mother? That is my biggest worry. Honestly, I would rather people call me a single old lady rather than someone who is masking a happy life with a man.” I asked, slightly worried and kind of anxious.

What if the man is horrible?

What if the man had bad intentions after we are married?

I can’t turn back after the official kiss.

I can turn back now.

“No, my love. This man, I have known his mother for a long time. She is… exactly like me…. You really need to meet his son, you’ll probably regret your words just now.” My mother smiled softly, before caressing the sides of my hair.

It looks like I can’t turn back now.

Aera got out of the carriage, her head looking upwards, not knowing she was in awe.

She was standing in front of a house that looked like a castle.

“C’mon, Aera. Let’s hurry. We’re running a little late.” Her mother whispered.

Aera followed her mother behind, to already see a man standing right out the door. Aera guessed that he must be the butler, seeing how he was dressed.

“Ms Saera, Ms Aera. Welcome! My name is Daeki and I am the butler for the Jung family. Mrs Jung and her son told me that they will be a little late, so let me do the honors to show you around the house to kill time.” Daeki, the butler said politely.

“Great.” Aera muttered, causing her mother to look at her, giving her a look to behave. Seeing their interaction, Daeki chuckled slightly before touring the 2 ladies around.

“Mrs Jung had told me everything about you. She said that you had helped her, back when she had nothing.” 

“That’s what friends are for, right? She is my friend and I would do anything to help her when she is needed. I’m happy that she has come this far. A big house and a comfortable life she has.”

Aera was too busy looking around the house, it was too extravagant for her liking. Not that she didn’t like it but, it was too much for her.

Aera’s focus turned towards outside the house, to see a back garden that didn't look like it was small.

“Daeki, may I take a look at the back garden?” 

“Of course, Ms Aera. Do mind your step when you reach the pond!” 

“Right!” Aera didn’t even turn her back when she answered the butler. Her feet already made its way to the path, leading to the back garden.

“Holy cow.” Aera muttered to the sight she is seeing.

Daeki must have missed his words.

It wasn’t a pond she is seeing, it’s a lake.

What’s beautiful is that there were different bushes of flowers in different areas.

There was a bench too.

Aera could tell the Jung family was into flowers.

Walking straight to the lake, Aera was even more amazed that the color of the water was clear blue. 

“….Do mind your step when you reach the pond!” 

Daeki’s warning was on her mind but she knew she wouldn't do any harm since she was literally standing 2 steps before the lake, as she peeks her head slightly.

Aera was looking at her reflection on water, when her eyes were playing tricks onto her.

What on earth..!?!?

Her reflection was a girl that looked like her, but she looked more mature, more beautiful. 

But what’s more interesting is that she was wearing a big fluffy, long dress and a very shiny red tiara and a necklace that was similar to what she is wearing now.

Aera blinked twice towards the reflection, as it followed her motion.

“What the..!” Aera freaked out as she took a few steps back, as she stared at the water. 

I must be dreaming.

Slightly anxious, Aera decided to look again, and this time, she knew she wasn’t day-dreaming.

I’m beautiful!

Aera turned her head, as she looked at her surroundings making sure anyone wasn’t looking at her. 

Not minding any thoughts, Aera touched the water and out of a sudden, everything happened in just a second when she was suddenly being pulled into the waters.

Strangely, she could feel a hand gripping onto her wrist, as it pulled her towards the water.

She screamed, but it was too late.

Water and more water had entered her mouth, feeling herself getting deeper down the lake, not realizing that she was completely drowning.

Rushed footsteps barged into a room, as he searched for the one that was in the room.

“Is it true, Yoonoh?!”

“Yeah.. I saw her in my own eyes.. And I kind of pulled her in..”

“What!?”

The prince of Neo Kingdom sighed, hearing the loud response from his older brother.

“You pulled her— First thing first, you can’t just pull the late princess into a mysterious lake! You might never know if there is crocodiles or—

“There’s no crocodiles there, Doyoung! It’s clean and fresh water!” 

Doyoung sighed while squeezing the bridge of his nose, after hearing the response from his brother, the crowned prince of Neo Kingdom.

“It’s about a thousand years. Things have changed drastically here in Wonderland and we know who is the rightful person who could change Wonderland to it’s true island.” convinced Prince Jaehyun, looking ever desperate to Doyoung whose eyes were downcast.

“How do you know if she could help with our situation, Jaehyun? I don’t think she could help with ours. Sure, she could settle other kingdom’s problems. Not us..” Doyoung answered softly, as he finally made eye contact the prince. 

Prince Jaehyun tilted his head slightly, his hands waving through the table, to reveal a real life movie in the air, where different events happened.

Doyoung watches the scenarios, scenarios of the late crowned Princess of Aerina and Morian, together with the famous Jaebeom’s pack - as they went to different parts of the Kingdom to restore peace.

“Doyoung, our parents were the bestest friends of the princess’s family. Queen Aerina even tried to save our brothers from that Red head, and she did successfully save them but not the four....” The prince rambled, as he stared towards the repeated scenes in front of his eyes.

Doyoung finally sighs, nodding slowly, remembering the Dark Age.

“..and I know for sure the princess could save Taeyong and the others. They are trapped somewhere in the forest, because of that red hag.” continued the prince as he balled his fist in anger, remembering what had happened to Taeyong, his other brothers.

The prince has a total of 21 siblings, including himself.

They weren’t blood related, they were more to step-brothers due to the king marrying two royal women who were somehow different species.

But Jaehyun is grateful that the king had stuck to marrying women that had royal status as he was afraid, if the king did marry a commoner, there would be a fight regarding hierarchy.

But the prince knew his brothers weren’t that type of people, all of them are really nice gentlemen in their own ways.

Prince Jaehyun is currently in a very sticky situation regarding his brothers, as they were being divided into 3 groups, and they were scattered all around the island to find Taeyong and the other 3 brothers.

All because of the Red Queen.

“I hope you are right, Yoonoh.. Because if this doesn’t work, I’m afraid.. I’m afraid the worst might happen, and you know what I mean.” With Doyoung’s last words, he walked out of the room, leaving the prince all alone in the room, as he watched the scenes all over again.

𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 ⤄ 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

[sjjms]

pretending | part 6

pairing: yugyeomxreader length: 2k words genre: fluff summary: escaping

preview part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 final

3 Weeks Later

“Who are the company covering for?” You ask Jaebum, your glare reaching out to intimidate him into telling you. You could have asked Yugyeom then again, you would have had to force the answer out of him as well. “Did you think I would really believe it was just me and Yugyeom?”

"The whole group…” Your eyes widened, now that made more sense. But seriously? All of them? You did not expect that.

“How come I’ve never seen any hints of it?” Literally, none of the members ever showed their interest in relationships, you’ve been too busy to notice probably.

“Because we are good at hiding it. The amount of idols that have probably dated secretly without being allowed to, is something you couldn’t even count.” The elevator stopped in its tracks, the doors opening up to reveal the grey painted bricks close to the dance studios. You wondered why you had followed Jaebum down here, maybe it was to catch a glimpse at Yugyeom without his sling. He had been officially allowed to take it off and go into physical therapy, he sounded so excited when he had called you over the phone this morning. “Have you given Yugyeom an answer to his question yet?”

Ah… that answer. No. You were going to keep him on hold until you knew for sure. You didn’t have to get married right away after getting engaged, but you felt that pressure slightly. “I like the way things are now.”

“Hiding away is no healthy relationship. When is your dating news going to break?” The question was when were they? You’d been hiding your relationship for two years, you wanted to keep it that way. You still could, many celebrity relationships were kept hidden, only the main events were known like marriage and pregnancy announcements.

“I have no idea, possibly after the drama has finished. That’s what the deal was…” Unless you were caught again, which was more than likely to happen, however, there are reporters that do take photos but say nothing and release them after the dating news. You appreciated those people because they gave you at least a little privacy. Even if it wasn’t going to last for long…

“Are you ready to go to Japan?” The drama was shooting some of its scenes in Japan for the first episode, you were interested to see how the scripts would turn out. But you would be glad of the break afterwards, you had decided to take a break for a few weeks to visit family. It would be perfect timing if your dating news broke out then. “Have you and Yugyeom made any plans for exploring Tokyo?” It was also a coincidence that the group had a concert there around the same time, so you would be travelling with the seven members. The fansites were going to have a field day, maybe you could disguise yourself as a staff member. Then again, it was on the official schedule.

“Not yet. I hope we do even if we go out in the middle of the night.” You hoped. But currently you had no plans with Yugyeom, maybe you should just drag him out. “How long will you be staying for?” You couldn’t remember exactly if they had concerts just in Tokyo or other cities as well. You’d spent so much time memorising scripts, relevant information like that you could no longer remember.

“4 days, 2 days of concerts and 1 day of filming. Then we can use the last for exploring.” You nodded as you approached the studio, there was also music blasting from the speakers.

“Do you ever get annoyed when he plays this music?” Jaebum asks laughing to himself slightly.

You shook your head, “I tune him out, so I don’t recognise any of this right now.” Realising the words that you spoke, you immediately became embarrassed. “Please don’t tell him, I said that.” You laugh at yourself for saying everything. “I really need to get some sleep.” You whisper.

“I won’t. Maybe you should just go home and sleep if you have no schedule.” Jaebum suggested. It was a good idea actually, but you needed to stay around the company, you liked having people around you constantly. But it had only been something that occurred recently.

“Tell Yugyeom I’m in the music studio.” You turned around in the opposite direction, a slight yawn came from your lips. You decided to take the stairs to tire you out even more, so when you got to the studio you would fall straight to sleep.

Opening up the door, you spotted Yugyeom sitting on the sofa reading through something. “I thought you were practising.” You smile, glad to see him here. Yugyeom looks up from his paper, smiling at you back. His arm moved, opening up to let you in. “I heard your music playing.”

“Someone else must be playing it or it was the last song played last night.” You nodded sitting down next to him. “You look tired, sorry I haven’t been able to visit.” His lips pressed against the top of your head. “Lay down in my lap.” You put your head in his lap, it felt oddly strange but satisfying looking up this way at him.

“It’s okay, we’ve both been busy.” You whisper you close your eyes starting to fall asleep.

Yugyeom glanced down at you, he smiles warmly, seeing how fast you had fallen asleep. You must have been tired, he wondered what you had been doing recently. Hearing the door to the studio open, Yugyeom’s eyes looked up “Is she sleeping?” Jaebum whispers.

“She’s exhausted, what exactly is in the script to make her this tired?” Yugyeom wanted to see the script for himself to see how bad it was. Which network was producing this drama?

“Her character is supposed to be fluent in Japanese.” Yugyeom glanced down at you, when you set your mind to something, you exhausted yourself doing something. This last happened when you created a dance for a special event, you weren’t dating then, but it was one of the times Yugyeom helped you out a lot.

“She never rests,” Yugyeom whispers, his fingers brushing your cheek as you slept quietly.

“She’s thinking of taking a break after the drama, maybe you should do the same.” What was he hinting at? Yugyeom knew the dating news could be released any time after the drama, as far as he knew there was nothing on the schedule for the latter half of the year except a comeback in November. “It will give you a chance for your shoulder to fully recover.”

“Fine…” Yugyeom mutters, he wasn’t happy but the recovery would be worth it when he could do everything again. “What time are we going to the airport?”  

“Just come to the company at 7 with your bag. I’ll see you later.” Jaebum closed the door quietly just in time as another artist walked past. As much as Yugyeom wanted to let you sleep here in his lap, he needed to move to the computer so only you one on show. It wasn’t suspicious if only you were sleeping in here, they would think you had been working on music.

X

The Next Morning

Your eyes flickered up as the cold air entered the car, Aera and Daeho were the first people to get out to then allow you to follow you. Your face was covered with a mask as you stepped out into the open, why did it have to be so cold this morning? You saw the familiar faces of the group, all wearing masks as well. They were probably in the same mood you were in, tired.  

“It’s too early for this.” You mutter, Yugyeom smiles under his mask. “Does your shoulder hurt?” You saw him flinching a little, his kept on moving his other arm to touch his shoulder. His manager had to carry his bag for him. “Did you take your medication this morning?”

“I took it. Physical therapy is taking its toll.” He was slowly coming off the medicine, you could see he wasn’t liking it at all. He couldn’t rely on the muscle relaxers all the time otherwise it would turn into a problem.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, it won’t make you heal faster. Did you bring some painkillers?” You could always go buy some from the pharmacy for him, you always made sure to bring those when going abroad, just in case.

Yugyeom smiles under his mask, you could always see his cheeks rising which made it contagious. “You worry about me too much. I made sure to pack everything.” You knew he would have touched you then if he could. Fansites were just a few meters away from you, they took pictures of every moment.

Jinyoung walked over to the two of you, “I would stop staring at each other and separate now.” Jinyoung politely put, you bowed to them both to make the occasion more formal and turned around to walk away with Daeho and Aera.

“Try not to just mingle with Yugyeom, Jinyoung saved the two of you,” Daeho whispers as you enter the airport.

“His shoulder is hurting, am I not allowed to ask if he is okay?” You never liked this side of the relationship. You were being pushed into secrecy again, but everyone knew you and Yugyeom were best friends. The odd gesture would be acceptable right?

“Let’s just avoid them until we board,” Aera replies, we arrived at the check-in station waiting to be received by the lady who stood there smiling.

“Shall we go eat something before we board, I’m really hungry.” You mutter, you wished you had brought some fruit with you to eat. You could have even stolen some fruit from the company.

X

News Article: The female actress/singer Y/N was spotted going to got7’s concert in Tokyo. She was seen in attendance as she is also a part of the jyp family.

“For crying out loud! I'm in Japan for filming!” You yell out in frustration, Yugyeom snickers sitting around the table as Daeho read out the article to you. “Does all my free time have to be reported now?”

“Yes, when your a person named to watch out for this year,” Daeho replies, you really did regret at times being involved in the public eye. Especially when you were with Yugyeom, rumours could be sparked and proven in seconds.

“Let's just escape for a day. On our own.” You were deadly serious about this, your eyes stared at Yugyeom, facing him and only him. “We can go anywhere, it’s busy outside, we’ll be able to blend in. I’m fluent in the language.” You just wanted one day with Yugyeom out in the open, without being recognised. Was it too much to ask for? Maybe it was…

“I want to do it,” Yugyeom whispers looking up to you. You could feel Daeho shaking his head behind you but when you turned around he wasn’t.

“You have one day. If you get caught, I will not be able to help you.” Daeho mutters. Your eyes widened in surprise, he said okay to it. Daeho rarely let you do something like this. “Make sure to be back here before we’re supposed to leave the hotel to go to the airport.”

You picked up your mask from the table, pulling the two elastic bands around the back of your ears. “Glasses?” You picked up your round lenses also placing those on your face. Were you recognizable or not? Walking over to the long mirror, you weren’t even able to recognize yourself. This felt weird maybe you should do this more often. You could get away with going anyway with this disguise. Turning around Yugyeom was already wearing his mask and a crossbody bag on his good shoulder. He looked strange carrying it this way round, then again this could have been the way he always carried it.

“What?” Yugyeom looked down at his outfit but then he noticed you were staring at the bag, “This is the way I usually wear it. Okay… we’re going now.” Yugyeom took your hand straight away and pulled you out of your hotel room.

“It feels like we’re running away even when we have permission.” Your thoughts no longer felt trapped, you could do anything you wanted today. Nothing and no one was going to stop you. “Where should we go to first?”

“Just follow me.”

[meaeris]

So Far Away

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Series - Fluff, Comedy, will get Angst 

Summary: You are a happy-go-lucky rookie director, and you couldn’t know that your new job in a visual and design agency would bring you to directly work with the famous idol group “BTS”. You couldn’t neither imagine that you would grow fond of one of the members, the hot-headed and peculiar rapper Min Yoongi. 

A/N: For this series I tried to give Miss Reader some sort of personality to make it more interesting. This is my first time posting a series on Tumblr so I hope you like it! I’ll update rarely for now because of my exam period, please understand. Also I apologize for any language mistake, English is not my mother tongue. Please support!

CHAPTER 1 First Day

(Yn) (Sn) has never been an instinctive person. Indeed, most of the times she thought about an idea for days, months, before making a decision. Otherwise, she would always take responsibility for her spontaneous and irrational actions. For example, sending her curriculum to a couple of creative agencies in Korea, a place she's been interested in for years now. She would have never expected that such resume would be accepted in one of the most renowned of these companies, the H.C.

The flight resulted very tiring because of the jet lag that struck her like a fist in the stomach. After exiting the immense Seoul airport (and asking for directions several times), she managed to reach the address of her apartment in Gangnam area. She stopped in front of the front door and sighed. Touching that handle everything would have started. A new adventure.

The next morning the alarm ringed at the set time, an hour before the meeting with the company. Half an hour later, she was ready to leave. - Documents, check. Keys, check. Laptop, check. Breakfast ... I'll think about it later.

The bus stop was right in front of the apartment. In ten minutes she reached the established location. It was her nature to always arrive at least ten minutes sooner to make a good impression, a key factor especially for a new contract of employment. The tall building was at least ten floors, at the entrance a list of all the companies that worked inside of it. (Yn) discovers with disappointment that H.C. was right on the top floor.  

"Well, here I come, lift" she thought.

As soon as she reached the office, she jumped when a girl of her age reached her, radiant.

- Welcome! You must be (Yn) (Sn), right? - It's me, - she smiled, setting the Koreanmeter to the highest level. - Nice to meet you.   - Same here. I am Min Aera, secretary and treasurer of the group. Follow me, let's meet the other colleagues right away. Anxiety started to grow in (YN), but she knew she would have overcome this, even if with some difficulties. But she was gonna be fine. As she's always been.

The office seemed to be fairly empty but pleasant and quiet. There were five or six computers on the desks, that were empty as well and neat, except for some candy papers here and there. Immediately the people inside the room rose and bowed briefly at the entrance of (YN) and Min Aera, who did the same.   - I'm the new apprentice director, (YN) (SN). I can't wait to work with you, - she exclaimed enthusiastically.

The older man returned the smile.   - It's a pleasure to have you here, did you have a good trip?   - Apart from the jet lag, everything is all right, thank you. Seoul is really a beautiful city, even if I saw little of it. - I'm glad to hear that, I'm the director and CEO of the agency, Park Hyeonsoo. They are Kwon Jihu, 26, Yong Taewon, 32, and your peer, Rin Bora.   - (Your Country), right? - Jihu commented, - It's one of the countries I'd like to visit.   - When you're planning a vacation, let me know, I could guide you, - she did a thumbs up, which was immediately returned. Everyone introduced themselves and (YN) did her best to memorize the names. She probably  should have asked them again. The CEO started talking. - Today we are planning a small meeting to talk about future projects. We've seen your portfolio and we were very happy with your works. You also have good language control, even though you struggle in speaking sometimes... (Yn) jumped. - I'm sorry. Despite years of Korean learning I have never had the opportunity to speak it for consecutive days. The director smiled. - Don't worry, we can understand you very well and that's important, because as you know, communication is everything in our work. (Yn) nodded several times. - Absolutely.   - Then I would say we're all moving in the meeting room.

The meeting room was, well... a meeting room. An eight-seater table in the center of it and an IWB with a projector. Nothing more. Everyone took their place and so did (yn), trying to control the tension that flushed in her body. "Everything will be okay, now they will surely ask you the question. You have tried this more and more times in front of the mirror." - So before we start ... (Yn), I'd like to ask you the basic question, even if you've already given me the answer in the emails we exchanged. Why do you want to work with us? "Here we are."   - The truth is that I've always been passionate about creative arts such as design or advertising, then I realized that my purpose in life was to tell stories. Storytelling is a fundamental part of human history and, honestly, I think anything, if accompanied by a pinch of a story, can be interesting. I'm also interested in cinema, and who knows, someday the time will come for me to shoot a movie. For now I have been satisfied with small projects.

The room was silent. Everyone was waiting for her to continue.  

- Of course there are many ways of telling stories, but I think that through pictures and images you can get the best results with the most creative possibilities. That's exactly what I want to do, tell stories through pictures. I came across your work by chance, especially the video musics and some commercials, I've been keen on your particular method. And I also thought it might be a great life experience working overseas.

The attendants seemed satisfied. Hyeonsoo stretched a smile and took some sheets in his hands.   - It's enough for me. So, we don’t have much time today, unfortunately. We'll have to meet with the new customer to decide what to do. It's going to be a long project, so I want you to do your best, as always.

They all nodded. (Yn) was in trepidation, taken by curiosity and the desire to put into practice her creative abilities.   - You already know this, but I repeat it for the newcomer. Our new customer is a very famous talent agency nowadays, BigHit Entertainment. (yn) nearly choked on oxygen.   - Wait, that BigHit?   - Do you know some others? - joked Bora.   - No... Sorry, keep going.   - I said, the producers of the famous K-Pop group "Bangtan Sonyeondan" called us and another agency to develop the new comeback concept and videos. We haven't established anything yet, except that everything must be based on an unique story. She couldn't believe it. She would have developed videos for one of the most successful groups in Korea. Now she was even more interested in getting to work.   - You guys have already met Bang PD and the members before, right? Hyeonsoo asked.   - Right, - replied Taewon, placing his big glasses on his nose, - We just set the meeting time for today and had a little talk about the possible concept, but everything was very fugacious.   - Then I'd say that for today you, Taewon, and (Yn) will come with me. So we can get her comfortable with work right now, getting to know the customer.

Not able to wait any longer, (yn) settled her bag and regretted not having worn something a little more elegant. "No, (yn), work, think about work."

To Be Continued...

[rosieetae]

tbthnh - six (first version)

THIS STORY IS AN ABANDONED ORIGINAL FROM TBTHNH SERIES. 

It was a strange euphoria knowing that this was where it all began.

The one place that you were going back to was the origin of your mother's stories that you still had a connection to.

When you make the landing, it was still day out and you were astonished by subtle greenery and the cities straight ahead. And you asked yourself if that feeling you had at the pit of your stomach was the same one your mom felt when she first came here.

Arriving at the one place that made you feel nostalgic even if you barely remember stepping foot on the land had feel ebullient and indescribably pleasant. The feeling you got when you realized that the city was just ahead of you and you were this close to becoming just like your mom had felt ineffably happy. And for an instant, you forget all the heavy feelings on your chest.

Once you got your luggage, you were instructed to meet your chauffeur who would be holding up a sign of your full name and another's name in bold letters. You meet him and check the pieces of paper in your hand that had your instructions for his name. His name was Mr. Scott and he had a smile when you approached him.

"Ms. Y/N?" He says in his accent, you nodding. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm-"

"Mr. Scott. The pleasure's all mine," you answer and he tips his hat towards you.

Then you both wait for the name that he was still holding up, making small talk as he asked how was the flight and you responding that it was quick– but that was because you slept for the most of it. You then notice that the girl who approaches you with her polka dot luggage and cream backpack was in one of your classes (if only you could pinpoint which one). She went as Aera and she had bright blue hair.

/

It had already been a solid month since you've stayed in Australia and you only talked to Jimin twice. You already missed hearing his sarcasm even if it were from the phone and you missed the endless coffee study breaks you had with him because iced coffee without him wasn't the same.

However, you admit that you miss Jungkook. A lot. And maybe it's because he didn't bother to call and maybe you just miss hearing his voice and his laugh, but the thought of him lingered a lot in your mind. Even his cocky smirk that either bugged you or made your heart beats rapid still had its effect if you were hundreds of miles away from him. And you missed your old friendship. You missed him a lot.

Sometimes, Aera would always ask why you had that sudden melancholic gleam in your eyes at random times. She pointed out that every week when you go to the store to run errands, that sad glint would appear in your eyes every time you pick something from the candy section.

(Maybe it's because Jungkook's favorite candy were the gummy worms).

And she also said whenever you're up at night finishing some last minute work, you would check the clock hung on the wall and stare at it with that same upsetting glint.

(Maybe it's because while it was night time for you, it would be the time Jungkook would usually wake up).

And she noticed the international phone cards you kept buying but never use and every time you pick up a phone, it's the same glint that appear in your eyes.

(Maybe it's because you had an urge to call him, but you know he's probably busy).

But she doesn't need to know that.

/

You were in the museum your boss sent you to, assigning that you take notes and gather information about Australia and Oceania in its time. You were almost about on your break until the chief of the staff had looked at you as you were doing a favor for the lady who worked at the front desk by carrying paperworks from one end of the museum to the other.

"Excuse me," she says and you immediately stop, piles of paperwork in your hands. As you hum in response her eyes shoot down to your name tag before a smile grows on her face.

"So you're the famous Y/N," the middle aged woman speaks up and you were both surprised and confused as you had no idea what business you had with the stranger in front of you. "I was your mother's partner and best friend when she came here in Australia."

You open your mouth to say something but she cuts you off as her eyes graze your body from head to toe in admiration. "You look so much like your mother; I thought I was for sure hallucinating when I thought I saw her walking down these floors with paperwork in her hands."

She gives a light hearted laugh before your eyes spark with curiosity. "My mother?"

"Yes, your mother. You look more like her than your father," she examines you once more.

"What was she like?" You blurt.

"Your mother?" She smiles as memories of your mom had washed through the lady. "She was incredible. Hungry for questions, answers, history. She was very devoted. Everyday and night I would see her taking notes of society and culture, and facts would just blow out of her mouth. We'd be drinking coffee or tea and she'll be going on about kola nuts and the Igbo."

You always enjoyed stories about your mom but you never liked to talk about her much. But hearing something from someone who personally knew her had ignited a curious flame inside of you.

The old lady grins at you. "You look just like her. I could see her eyes in yours— you both have that same curious gleam in your eyes. Your dad is a lucky woman to have her."

"How did they meet?" You inquire, not noticing that the papers in your hand were slowly falling out of your grasp. "Every time I ask my dad about my mom, he just shuts down and doesn't say one word."

She chuckles. "Oh, they were best friends. Inseparable. Before they got married, they were two best friends from high school in love with each other but not one of them said anything— at least that's what your mother told me. I know that he would call her every night when she was here in Australia working; I couldn't get my beauty sleep!" You smile at that, your heart feeling warm every time she laughed. "Then your father confessed first, but your mother said no."

You furrowed your eyebrows, confused as to why your mother said no to him.

"She said no because she didn't want him to wait for her. And of course she wanted to be with him, but she didn't want him to miss out on anything while she would be traveling," she chuckles loudly again, and you listen in awe. "She just wanted him to be happy, even if that meant that she had to let him go. But your father was so persistent and he waited for her everyday until she would come back from the many internships and study abroad programs she signed up for. Then along the line, when your mom and I came back home from one of our last trips, your father proposed. One thing led to another, and here you are, taking after your mother."

Pressing your lips together, you wanted to cry. Years of vaguely knowing your own mother and only hearing the small traits about her your father would rarely give to, you realized how much you missed your mother.

The stranger must have suspected something when she pressed a hand on your arm, giving it a light, comforting squeeze. "Your mother would be touched that you are doing this. I know I would if my daughter was striving to be just like her mother."

You smile only before you look at her. "I never got your name."

"Mrs. Choi is fine," she says and it was enough for you two to say your farewells and carry on with the day.

Hearing all of this new information about your mother really made you miss her and there was nothing more you wanted than to call your Jungkook and tell him about your mother.

But realizing that he hadn't called and you not knowing who else would understand you and your love for your mom was when you feel that gut twisting feeling in your stomach. You truly miss him.

/

You were almost about done. A month more and you were going back home.

You were going to Madagascar soon for the rest of your stay before heading back to your rightful home. But, before you left for Madagascar and almost no service anywhere, you and Jimin were talking more frequently on Skype as they were released on their summer break already and he had out-of-the-blue asked why you haven't said one word to Jungkook.

Then after his session of wise words and mostly guilt-tripping, you decided to use the last international telephone card you bought.

Admittedly, you had tried to call him a few times but every single time you heard his voice on the other end, you freeze, and you quickly hang up. It's been like that for awhile and not once have you tried to speak, but for you, hearing his voice on the other line was enough.

So when you do call him the night before you would leave for Madagascar, you dial in Jungkook's number that you learned from heart and impatiently wait for his voice on the phone while biting your bottom lip.

"Hello?"

You froze and then you hung up.

/

Jungkook was very aware of your presence now lingering in the same place as him ever since he woke up on the morning that you would arrive back from that internship that has given you a chance to finally experience parts of the world. He felt anxious that day when the sun had delivered orange hues amongst the blue sky as he had everything planned on what to say from the top of his head.

Ever since you left, Jungkook was undeniably a walking catastrophe— and he always is without you. He can't go home at night drunk without him knowing that you would be there to answer his call or be there in the morning with painkillers. He can't walk past the same coffee shop you always go to without feeling a hint of regret that he wasn't always there to share a coffee with you. He can't stay sane without knowing that you would be there with him to keep him sane.

And there were times where he'd wake up and think about you and how you're so stubborn at times and there were moments when all he could ever do is only think about you because the thought of you never leaves his mind.

So when you had came back, it was inevitable for Jungkook to feel anxious and nervous even when Jimin had urged him every now and then to say something.

But, a few weeks went by and granted, Jungkook was conflicted. He wanted to go to you and spill everything from his heart, but then there was that part of him that hoped that you would go to him. Going out, he would always pass your building and hesitate on whether to go in or not or he would sometimes think that he would see you walking down the street, but he'd realize it's just his paranoia when he realizes that it wasn't you.

So late that night, he went to you.

The loud pounding at your door was enough to make you groan when you peered over to the clock hung above your door to realize that it was 1 in the morning and you were still suffering through jet lag even after a few weeks of arriving back. Seeing that the pounding won't stop even after you've covered your ears and tried to fall into a deep slumber, it was all gone when it kept going.

Cursing yourself as you don't ponder on who could it be at this time of night, you pull yourself out of bed and skid through your dorm with your pajamas and fuzzy socks, preparing to fume at whoever the person was disturbing not only you, but your neighbors.

Throwing the door wide open, you open your mouth to yell, only to be interrupted when you were met with the familiar eyes that had its familiar effect on you when your heart stopped. Even if it was dark— hell, even if it had been centuries and you both had reincarnated— your eyes recognized his and your words had suddenly disappeared into the thick air caused by the tension.

"J-Jungkook? W-what are you doing here?" You stutter, immediately feeling vulnerable under his gaze. This was the first time in months since you were able to see him this up close and you had to fight the urge to throw your arms around his neck.

But it wasn't just you fighting the urge because as you had finished your sentence, Jungkook had thrown every part of  him onto you, squeezing you into his chest as you struggled with breathing. However, you notice one thing;

He reeked of alcohol.

You slightly attempt to push Jungkook away, only for him to not let go, but you don't complain.

"I'm sorry for everything," he whispers into your hair. "I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm sorry for not being there for you when you have been there for me the whole time. I don't deserve you. You don't need me."

Your breath hitches, taking in all of the apologies he compiled into one.

"Jungkook, even if it were decades of not talking to you, I would still open the door at 3 am for you." He doesn't let go, and you're not sure if you want him to. "We've been through so much together. Don't say that I don't need you and you don't deserve me."

"Why do you stay with me?" He immediately inquires. "No, after all the bullshit I pulled, why do you stay with me?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" You rhetorically ask and you hear his breathing; steady and calm, but you also felt his heartbeat; uncontrollably beating.

Sighing into his torso, you respond. "It's because you're my best friend." But you and Jungkook know that that wasn't the answer you both wanted to admit to. "We've stuck together for a long time, Jungkook. Through thick and thin-"

"What if I said I'm in love with you?" Jungkook cuts you off and you swallow the lump in your throat.

"I'd say you're lying," you affirm. Just then, he slowly unravels the both of you and you just stare, eyes stone cold.

"Why would you think-"

"You're not really in love with me."

He looks at you with eyebrows raised. "Who said I wasn't?"

"You don't get to say that, Jungkook. You're here drunk. You don't get to come onto my doorstep piss ass drunk and confess like this when you're not in control of your own feelings and mind. We both know you just miss me, you miss your best friend, and you miss having someone to pick you up on your drunken nights and talk to you. But I'm not someone you're in love with, but who you love as your best friend."

From the looks he gave and the silence he caved into, he knew you were right. Instead of carrying it further, you let out a sigh, reaching over to close the door behind him.

"You can sleep on my couch tonight," you offer without daring to look at him in the eyes again.

And for a split moment, you forget that there had been an 8 month gap between you two and you suddenly felt like it were those nights again where he would call you to pick him up from the night club and you would let him sleep on your couch. You felt like everything was okay as you walked back into your room.

But it wasn't until you notice he was gone when you woke up the next morning.

/

A couple days after your surprise first meeting with Jungkook whom you haven't seen in a while, Jungkook decided to take his problem to the boss— as in his mother, of course. His mother was always there for you, acting as a second mother since your mother was gone, but thanks to her you felt that mother-daughter bond that every girl goes crazy about. And knowing about that bond, Jungkook turned to his mother on a weekend, driving up north and stopping by to grab her some fruit as a gift.

As he arrived, his mother hugs him, asking why he keeps growing and if he was eating meals every single day. But those questions die as he sits at the table, fiddling with an orange in hand as his mother was popping cookies into the oven, being the perfect time to discuss with his mother what he wanted to discuss.

Jungkook starts off with Seoyeon, which he was sure she knew about. He went on about how he noticed a gap filling between you two but he didn't want to acknowledge it because it was probably because there were reasons; those reasons being that you were both busy, you being inconveniently more busy than him. Then he tells his mom about how Seoyeon had accused you about ruining his relationship which then caused into a fight, making his mother shake her head at that part. And later, he says how you were going to leave without saying a goodbye to him and how he had to run after her.

"I have to admit," she interrupts with humor. "That's very 'prince charming' of you."

After laughing at her own joke, Jungkook continues by telling her that when you came back, he never said anything because he waited until you said something. But that backfired when he accidentally got drunk one night and arrived at her house trying to fix everything, but only ended up with him being shut out again.

"Jungkook," his mother sighs disappointingly from the kitchen which made Jungkook scrunch his eyebrows together.

"What? What did I do?"

"It's about time you finally noticed."

"Noticed what?"

"That she's in love with you?"

Jungkook groans, throwing his head back in frustration. "Am I the only person who didn't know?"

"Jungkook," she starts as she placed a plate of cookies onto the center of the table, in which Jungkook takes, of course— he couldn't resist his mother's cookies especially when they were fresh out of the oven. "She's only been here for a few weeks and you ambushing her at her door drunk-"

"I didn't-"

"You need to understand her," his mother cuts him off. "Of course she's going to push you away."

Jungkook frowns as he munches on the cookies, staring at his mother. "But why? Why does she need to push me away? Why-"

"Jungkook," she sits in the chair in front of her son, wanting to smack the back of his head for being so oblivious this whole time. "She has been the only girl in your life that had stuck with you despite all your idiotic moments. From the day you wet your pants on the first day of school to the days when you had openly cried in front of her. It's not hard to notice someone who loves someone."

He stares at his mother blankly.

"She doesn't want your friendship to be in the dust. She knows that you don't love her the way she does, so that's why she's trying to create breathing space."

She pauses as Jungkook doesn't respond before she continues. "Y/N is a special girl, Jungkook, and you know it. If you were her best friend, you would understand where she's coming from as the girl who has been in love with someone who doesn't feel the same way. Unless, you do-"

"I don't know if I do. She's my best friend, I need her in my life, but-"

"If you love her, then tell her. Tell her how you feel, tell her how much you really miss her. And tell her that sober." she chuckles light heartedly. "You had eight months to confirm your real feelings for her."

"Those eight months were insufferable," he states without hesitation and it makes his own mom smile. "I can't be sane without her."

"Jungkook?"

"Hmm?"

Jungkook looked up to his mother before she begins again. "I hope you know that she's the only girl in the world that would cross boarders just to get to you."

/

That day you went to do some quick errands— and by errands, you meant taking a quick stop at the convenience store to pick up all the junk food galore.

You walk across the empty street from your dorm complex to the convenience store, you greeting the cashier as she smiles at you. Smiling back, you walk over to the refrigerators and take out a pack of juice boxes and stroll over to the ramen aisle where you take a few instant ramen to keep you alive for a week. After adding chips and an ice cream sandwich onto your basket, you went over to pay.

As you came out with two plastic bags of junk that you knew was completely unhealthy, you were stopped when you turn around too fast and you almost bump into a woman that was taken aback at your sudden movement as well.

She steps back a little as you were still trying to register what happened before you heard a familiar voice come out of the woman's throat. "Y/N?"

And you look up, eyes slightly widening when you realize it was Seoyeon and she looked completely different from the last time you saw her. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she wore baggy clothes that tried to hide a bump. A baby bump.

Speechlessly, you look down at the supposed baby bump and back to her eyes.

"Don't worry," she says, laughing half-heartedly. "It's not Jungkook's."

You don't say anything or react, you just stand there, eyes wide and trained on her. You were more than baffled, but then in some weird way, she sighs and looks at you differently. As if she didn't hold a grudge on you anymore. And out of the blue, she says something along the lines of an apology.

In your head, you were doubting every word, but the look she gave you said otherwise.

"Sorry," you snap out of your thoughts after you realize she's been waiting for your response. "I just can't seem to grasp the idea that you're here and you're actually apologizing to me."

"Yeah, well," she begins. "If I'm becoming a mom, I don't want my child to find out that her mom was bitch that ruined relationships."

And that's when you snicker, her laughing along, and for the first time, you both didn't have tension between you two. Then you look at her with a goofy grin across your face, "Her?"

Seoyeon nods and all you do is pull her into a hug giving her all your congratulations as you felt that she found pure happiness by the smile she gave.

Then she looks at you, trying to fight a smile on her face when she sees that you were a mess. "Hey, have you talked to Jungkook recently?"

You simply shrug.

She sighs at you. "You should really talk to him. He may have not have known it then, but he really does love you— even more than you realize it."

Seoyeon pats your arm reassuringly when you don't say anything in return.

"I'm speaking the truth. I know I haven't given you a reason to trust me or even believe me, but know that he really does love you, Y/N. Even when we were together, what you guys have is beyond different than what we had.

"Maybe that's why I was always a bitch to you. I was jealous of what you guys had," she simply laughs before it dies down and she was giving you a half smile. "But, I don't want you to lose him. You've grown up together and losing that type of friendship is going to hurt more than a stupid relationship break up."

And you stare at her once more before you could simply sigh, knowing that she was right. She gives you one last hug while you both said your goodbyes and when you saw her continue walking down the street opposite from you, you were just glad that she was living happy.

/

That night, Jimin was pulling you out of bed. Literally.

He texted you that morning something along the lines about a party that his friend Hoseok was crowing about, which you intentionally ignore, only to have Jimin barge into your room during your slumber, pulling your entire body out of bed by your legs. "Jimin," you groan loudly. "Just let me sleep!"

"No, you've already ditched all the parties I invited you to. You are going to this one," he says as if you were actually going to leave the comfort of your own room. You don't reply at his demand.

"Y/N," Jimin drags your name while letting go of your legs and discarding them to plop onto the carpeted floor you were now lying on. "It's really getting tiring watching you stay quiet in your room the whole month you've came back. You don't want to go out for a walk, you don't go to the library, you don't even go out for our coffee sessions!"

You let out a frustrated sound only for him to echo the same noise.

"Are you really going to sleep in again after you've been cooped up in here ever since you came back? I'm sick and tired of you being all mopey and sad."

"Then just leave!" You snap. "Why are you even trying?"

"Why am I even trying?" He repeats baffled before he exasperatingly sighs and you hear him sit on the chair in front of your desk. "It's because I care. It's not healthy seeing you here and rot because of Jungkook."

"I'm not rotting because of Jungkook," you reason, but you knew you were lying to yourself.

"Then why the hell are you imprisoning yourself here? If not Jungkook, then what possibly could be the reason?"

"Jimin," you say in between your gritted teeth as you slowly get up from the floor, untangling yourself from the blankets that you had yourself cocooned in.

"Why are you letting Jungkook affect you this much?" He challenges, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up.

Staring at him in disbelief, you scoff. "Why does everything have to revolve around him?"

"Because you don't want to admit you miss him! Just admit it! You miss him so much and for some weird reason, you don't want give into it. We both know that you want to talk to him, but you just keep pushing him away. It's been a month, Y/N."

You gather the blankets you successfully untangled yourself from and throw it onto the bed with a pinch of aggression.

"Look, just come to the party. I don't expect you to have the greatest time because I know how much you hate parties, but I want you to get out of this room, enjoy some company, get drunk off your mind, and I'll bring you back here safe and sound so you could sleep in the whole day tomorrow and I won't bother you anymore. Scout's honor."

Hearing his quixotic deal had you weary, but you stare at him to see if there was any tiny guilt or lie that you could see through him. But unlike Jungkook, he was a thick concrete wall until he opens the doors for you.

And in some incredulous way— as if the stars were pressuring you to go— you found yourself in the car, yourself newly groomed that Jimin doesn't recognize you when you enter his car after waiting for you to get ready. Then you were off, heading to Hoseok's house in silence.

"You know, I should have forced you out earlier. You've been locked in your own home too long that you turned into a rock," Jimin jokes but you gave him a scowl that had his chuckles die into the air.

The ride there wasn't far, nor was it close, and after Jimin's attempt of a joke, the look on your face pretty much killed the atmosphere until you were parked on the curb of Hoseok's house, the loud bass of music audible even a neighborhood away and it seemed that the house was already trashed by the red plastic cups and random trash spread around the plot of the house.

Then you remember. Jung Hoseok— the school's well-known frat boy, famous for the best house parties on campus. Getting out of the car, you bite your lips as you remember the embarrassing experience you had last time you went to one of his parties. It was too embarrassing that you refuse to even remember it.

Walking beside Jimin towards the house, you silently curse at him while he was busy on the phone when you two were already entering. The loud music bursts your eardrums as you step foot in the household, taken aback at the amount of sweaty bodies surrounding you. You cringe at one of the couples that you caught swallowing each other on the side of the stairs and you almost gag, but Jimin takes hold of your wrist and zig zags you through the crowd of walking adrenaline as he yells into his phone over the music.

"Yeah, we just got in!" He yells. "What? ... Kitchen? Okay!"

Then after what seems like decades, took minutes when the sound of music had faded and you entered the kitchen, Jimin's hand still attached to your wrist.

Exhaling as if you held your breath the whole time you were being dragged into a zone where everyone wasn't crowded in and the music was somewhat muffled, but it was better than your ears being popped every time the bass dropped.

"Seriously, the music here sucks-" As you took hold of your wrist back and patted your ears to pop them again, your sentence was cut off when you looked up at Jimin, only to see that your eyes locked with the boy that had your breath hitch.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Suddenly wanting to leave, you turn your heel, only to have Jimin respond a second ahead, blocking your way from exiting. As you try to circle around him, he only blocks your path again. "Jimin," you warn only before he steps in front of you with eyes entreating you to stay. You start hitting his chest in attempt to move him out of your way until he grabs at your arms and somehow, he spins you at a 180 and you're being pushed towards Jungkook who stands there, blank expression, but eyes filled with subtle amusement due to his innate cockiness.

Before you stare any longer, you avert your eyes to the ground and notice numerous empty bottle of bears rolling around. Jimin seems to notice you calmed down, so he releases your arms and steps in between you and Jungkook.

"Okay, well," Jimin awkwardly laughs. "I'm going to get some bourbon and while I'm doing that, you two work whatever this is because the tension just standing between you two has gotten me in an awkward position and all I want is to have my two friends back."

You roll your eyes at Jimin, not wanting to look at Jungkook anymore while you watch Jimin slowly backing away. "I expect rainbows and flowers the next time I see you two together."

And he walks over to Jungkook patting his chest in a manly matter before strolling over to you, leaning into your ear saying something that stuck onto you. "Don't run away and don't bottle up your feelings anymore. Just tell him how you feel." Then he was gone, the sound of his footsteps fade when the transition of the loud music had took place but decrescendo'd after the kitchen door closed behind him.

Then the awkward tension that Jimin mentioned had suddenly grown thicker, one of you anticipating to say something first. But knowing you, Jungkook had cleared his throat first before speaking up to break the ice. "How about we go somewhere quieter?"

And you nod, not taking a look at him until he brushes shoulders with you, having your heart stop at the unintentional physical contact. You watch him walk out of the kitchen and you follow, eyes trained on him and the back of his black sweatshirt, hoping that you wouldn't lose him in the midst of the crazy crowd.

You pass the couple that were still snogging and walked up the stairs only to see more couples swallowing each other, having you to swallow your own vomit as you walk past them until Jungkook had found a room out of many that was unlocked and vacant. Fortunately, it had a balcony that overlooked the city below the fratboy's house since it was placed on top of a hill.

The music wasn't as loud from the third floor, and you were grateful, but it only made the tension rise as the silence grew once he closed the door behind you.

You were at the balcony, eyes set onto the city lights, trying to calm your nerves as you knew that this conversation could end up badly or not. But it was okay, because this time you could tell he was sober and whatever he had to say, you would try to believe. Key word; try.

"Look," he starts and it startles you a bit as his sonorous voice was louder than the muffled music. "I've done some thinking."

You don't look at him, but you nod, ushering for him to continue.

"Yeah," he affirms scratching the back of his neck— he was nervous. "Remember when you said that one night that I only loved you just as my best friend?"

You don't reply but you slightly nod your head at him.

"Well," he breathes out and there was no way describing how hopeful you were in that moment, but you just knew what was going to come out of his mouth. In all the years you've known him he was completely predictable to you. "I've come to the revelation—"

You cut him off and turn your body to face him, you hugging your cardigan as you felt the night breeze blow against your body. "If you're just going to break my heart and our friendship, Jungkook, then you're an asshole—"

"You're right," he ignores your interjection. "I do love you as my best friend."

You only stare at him for a second, and blink at him for another only before scoffing at his statement. "Well if your whole objective was to become an asshole, then you're certainly on the right track—"

"But not just my best friend, Y/N," Jungkook says with sincerity that your eyes flicker to his. "As the person who has heard my sobs and cries." He steps closer to you, eyes steady on yours. "As the person who knows every little thing about me that I don't even know about. As the person who is stubborn and rambles on and on but is never afraid to speak her mind. And as the person whom I want to see by my side for as long as possible and whom I really, truly hope to be with for all of eternity."

"Yes, I love you as my best friend, but I also love you as the person I'm in love with. And I know, it's all of a sudden, but I want you to know this— I want you to know I'm being sincere."

And you're staring.

That's all you do. Everything he spills through the tip of his tongue has you frozen and numb all over because it all felt all like a dream. Like you were the Juliet of his Romeo, standing on the balcony as he spills his feelings for you; no matter how cliche that sounds.

But you stay mute and you look away from him for a moment, biting your lips as Jungkook began to worry with his heart pounding in his chest.

"When you first kissed me, I hated you at first," you finally confess, your thumbs fiddling with each other with agitation. "I hated that you were my first kiss and I hated that I wasn't yours. But then, you looked at me as if you murdered someone and I saw the guilt in your eyes when you realized that you kissed me. And I knew from then on you being my first kiss didn't seem so bad— not when I realized I was falling in love with you."

Jungkook swallows the lump in his throat as he furrows his eyebrows, hearing this new information be finally be divulged in front of him.

"But I hid it, because I thought of myself as nothing more than just a best friend to you-"

"No, Y/N," he interjects. "You are more than just a best friend to me."

And you gaze at him, thinking that this was just a dream, a very realistic dream.

Jeon Jungkook, the boy you were completely and undeniably in love with said the words that you've always wanted to hear ever since you've fallen for him on that simple day of sophomore year where you thought you were just going crazy. But throughout your ongoing hidden limerence for him, he's always found a way to make you fall harder and it seemed more difficult to harbor your feelings.

"Jungkook," you begin, but you notice it makes Jungkook flinch. "I love you-"

"But?" Jungkook finishes for you, knowing very well what that there was doubt.

Pursing your lips, your mind raced on how you could word what you intend to say, only to sit down on the chair near the edge of the balcony, beginning to ramble on and on. "On the trip, I met someone who knew my mother. She told me things about her, including how my mom met my dad. It turns out that they were best friends like us. But they never were together until my mom could finally trust that my dad would wait for her because you know... distance seemed too much in a relationship."

Jungkook sits down beside you, nodding as he gathered what you were saying— at least what you were trying to say. You attentively watch as he runs his hands across his face and doesn't take another look at you. "You don't want us to be together."

You shake your head quickly not wanting that to be the conclusion of what you were trying to say. "Jungkook, it's not because I don't want us to be together that I don't love you, I just want you to be happy, you know that already. I don't want you to hold yourself back from experiencing the magnificent things you'll encounter because of me.

"I'm not saying that we can't be together ever, I'm saying right now." Jungkook refuses to look at you in the eyes, and you guess you deserve that. "My dad said he'd wait a billion years for my mom and in the end, they ended up together and maybe that could be the same for us –"

"Then we could make it work."

Jungkook says it with so much confidence that you continue to stare at him, his jaw clenched and eyes glassy. But you respond with a heavy sigh that releases out of your mouth.

"Not when you have a life to live and I could be the possible living obstacle in your way."

Silence engulfs the both of you and you're anticipating the worst response from him, but he hasn't peeped a word, yet.

"I don't want you to miss the genuine happiness that someone could give you. My mom didn't want my dad to sit around and wait for her when he could be going out and living his life. And I don't want you to do that either."

Positioning your body to face him, you grab his hands into yours. "I love you, Jungkook. And it's because I love you that I want you to go on living life without having to think of me because it's only going to hold you back."

It was painful knowing that this moment that you dreamed of— the moment that he would somehow randomly reciprocate feelings— was something you had to push away.

"And we're still best friends," you add in, but it sounded a lot more like a reminder. "You can skype me or call me when I'm gone, just- just don't forget about me. I only want you to be happy; that's all I ever want."

It was a moment of excruciating silence that almost had you go crazy and you were just about to scream for him to say something until he did.

"We aren't like your parents, Y/N," he takes in a sharp breath. "Your mom may have wanted that for your dad but I don't want you to want that for me."

You felt the sorrow in his voice and it hurt you with every word that rolled off his tongue.

"Jungkook—"

He cuts you off as he looks into your eyes with a sincerity that you have never before discovered and your words were taken right out of your mouth before he continues. "I want to be with you— you, all of you, Y/N— and if it takes waiting for you to prove it, then... if your dad was willing to wait a billion years for your mom, then I am willing to wait until the end of time just for you."

Jungkook doesn't pull you into a kiss, even though he was urging to, so he brought you into his arms and pressed his lips on your forehead.

"Don't give up on us, okay?" The tone in his voice has your lip quiver and all you do is nod because in that moment, being in his arms was enough.

And just like that.

You found a nostalgic comfort in his arms as he pulled you into an embrace after you tried soaking in those words that had you weak everywhere, and it almost felt like you were back to normal. And by normal, you meant the normality in which everything was okay before there was a Seoyeon who wedged her way into the middle. The normality in which it was okay to cry into his shoulder and cry even if it meant staining his shirt. The normality in which you both basked in each other's warmth thinking that you were only best friends— nothing more nothing less.

But, it seemed you two were better off as best friends— for now.

For now, you were just another girl longing to find herself and he was just another boy who wants to live his life to the fullest. And though even if you both wanted to be together, you knew it wasn't meant for today.

However, maybe— in some unexpected instant— you two would be together with nothing in your way.

Because to you, he was still the boy you've known almost forever and have utterly and wholly been in in love with from the start.

And to him, it's you. From the moment he peed his pants on the first day of elementary school, it was you who told off the bullies who even dared to spill a joke on him. From the moment when he had stolen all the girls in your grade's first kisses, it was only you that he felt guilty for stealing yours. From the moment when he had supposedly fallen in love with so many other souls in his life, it was you that he realizes that you may not be his first love, but you were his special love. It's you.

And it will always be you.

/

this is the second version i made of the last chapter. thank you to those who have read it and enjoyed it, but i realized it didn’t seem to fit for me. if you loved it, thank you for reading it, but i’m going to have to make some adjustments to it since this ruined the flow of the story. 

as always, thank you again. 

- min | earlygreytae 

[imagine-by-susu]

It hurt. The blood dripped down your back down to your own feet and to the floor. Tears stremed down your (S/C) skin and mixed with the dirt and blood. You didn’t know why they did this to you. But that was a question for later when you could be sure you were safe. Those ‘Monsters’ , you didn’t know how to call them, they just did the worst thing that could ever happen to a Fairy like you were. Their fingers wrapped around your fragil body. Their evil laughter stilled ringed in your ears. How they would grabe your winges and ripped them with full force out of your back. You screamed. Loud. But you knew no one would hear your screams of pain in the abaounded warehouse. After those ‘Monsters’ were done with you they left. They left you on the ground. Bleeding and in pain. You cried for a long time you assumed. To that time it was dark outside and the stars were shining together with the pale Moon high above you. Your Body was shaking out of exhausting and pain but you still managed to stand up. You took a shaking breath in and out before you ran.  Just ran , you thoughts screamed to you, you didn’t even know where you would ran of but you just hoped to reach a safe place somewhere where those ‘Beasts’ could not finde you. And than, after hours of running into the woods you saw it. A Bunker. Not just any Bunker. This Bunkers belonged to the Winchester Brothers. You heard plently of stories of them from other Creatures you met. A sigh escaped your lungs and banged on the doors of the old Door in hope the Brothers could help you and not just kill you off. You had no Idea why you would asked Humans to help you but deep down you knew they were not odinary Humans. Sam rubbed the sleep from his eyes when he heard a banging on the Bunkers doors. Confused as to who could be banging on the door at this Time he grabbed his gun and slowly walked to the Door. He grabbed the door know and slowly turned it, gun pointed to it always ready to attack the unknown stranger. But before the taller Brother could even react or shoot a small figure ran into the Bunker and closed the Door in fast move. He looked down to the Girl who is now leaning on the Door. ‘‘Who are you?’‘ he asked and pointed the gun at the Girl. But before the Girl with (Y/H/L) (Y/H/C) could answer Sams Brother apperd in the room pointing a gun to the door ,too. ‘‘What is it Sammy? Demon? Ghost? Ghoul?’‘ he asked on high alert but lowerd the gun when he saw the Girl infront of the Door. Her clothes ripped but still covered here private aeras (Y/H/L) (Y/H/C) clinging to her face. Blood and dirt all over her body. She look in the eyes of the Brothers and raised her hands to show she means no harm. ‘‘Please, don’t shoot me. I need your help.’‘ she merley whispered tears falling down her face. Sam looked into her eyes  and said ‘‘who are you? And why do you need help from us?’‘ The Girl hold back her tears and answered still al little shaky ‘‘ I’m (Y/N). A Fairy from a forest not far from here...I think...please some help me someone’s after me.’‘  she begged with her eyes. Dean laid the Gun down. ‘‘A Fairy huh?’‘ he looked you up and down. ‘‘How did you find us?’‘ he didn’t trust her at all. 

You sank down to the floor wincing when the material of the door hit ypur wounded back. ‘‘He heard a alot about you and your Brother. That I found you was just coincidence. Rellay. I will not hurt you’‘ you tried to steady your voice but the pain and the exhausting from the whole running took a toll on you. ‘‘Dean she is badly hurt I don’t think she will hurt as’‘ Sam the taller one said to his older Brother Dean. Dean just scrunched up is nose. ‘‘I don’t trust Fairies. Hurt or not she should better leave’‘ After the words sank in you lowerd your head and looked to the ground biting your lip to stop the tears that were rolling down your cheeks. ‘‘Please’‘ you said quite. ‘‘The stole my wings. Please help me find them.’‘ you whipsered.

But Dean crossed his arms. Sam looked from his brother to (Y/N). ‘‘Dean we should at least take care of her wounds’‘ he said worried knowing that you must be in big pain right now. Dean growled something that sounded like ‘‘Fairies ...I never get near one again’‘ than he looked up after he heard some flutting of wings. Castiel stood right behind Dean and the green eyed Man jumped a little after he saw the Angel of the Lord right behind him ‘‘Cas what did I told you about Personal space?!’‘ The blue eyed Angel looked into the eyes of his friends ‘‘‘I’m sorry Dean.’‘ then he looked to Sam who is now kneeling beside you and looked the wpunds up and down. ‘‘Dean what is a Fairy doing here in the Bunker?’ he asked curiosity nagging on him. You looked up after you heard a deep voice talking to Dean and you met the most beautiful blue eyes you ever saw in your life. The man who stood beside Dean was as tall as Dean and wore tan Trench coat over a black Suit with a blue tie around his neck. His dark Hair was messy but still the most capturing sight was the blue of his eyes. Castiel, as Dean called him, too looked in your (Y/E/C) eyes and looked you up and down before he spoke again. ‘‘What happend to you?’‘ he approched you and kneeled down beside Sam. Castiel looked into your eyes and made sure not to hurt you. ‘‘I..I don’t know’‘ you answered him. ‘‘I jsut remeber those hand...grabbing me and taking me to this warehouse. They touched me everywhere and than...they just my wings out.’‘ you started to cry when the pain in your back came back. But than you felt two fingers on your forehead and you looked up into Cas eyes. ‘‘I’ll make the pain go away don’t wory’‘  and after a moment of silence the pain was gone. Still tears streamed down your face. Castiel spoke again ‘‘I know how you must feel right know. I know what it is like with no wings. I will help you get them back’‘ Sam and Dean looked totally confused to their Friend and then to eatch other. Not really sure what is going. You smiled a little. Glad to know that someone was there to help you... _____________________

GIF is not mine I’d back from the dead. sorry for not uploading but I got some Family porblems. Now I’m back and you can send in request! (Yes even from Supernatural now ;) )

I got a little carried away by this story but I still hope you like it at least a little bit and sorry for my bad English or any mistakes in the story

[whereisthefood123]

Mission impossible...?

Hello everyone! Sorry it took me this long to post another story for the next prompt of Gajevy week. This one is for Day 4- Trouble Twins.

Hope you like it! Leave a comment to tell me your opinion!

Word count: 2.4 k (shorter than usual, but good quality [I hope so])

Ffnet

When Wendy and Romeo accepted this job, they never believed it would be this hard. But here they were in the middle of the room back to back, each one tied up tightly to a chair with no possibility to use their magic to get free.

Their enemies were indeed formidable. They had managed to bind both young mages in an instant and place a rune script to prevent them from using their magic. Now, two of their foes were approaching menacingly towards them. Their steps were slow as if taunting the two mages to try to save themselves from their impending doom. Their weapons pointed directly at each mage; the end of the cannons glistened in the dim light of the room.

"Now, do you give up?" The third enemy said with cockiness in her voice from her position on the far end of the room. She sat proudly on her 'throne' with eyes that gleamed with mirth at the sight of the two defeated mages.

"We can't!" Wendy's voice quivered slightly with fear but still roared in determination. She strongly believed that Fairy Tail mages never gave up, no matter how strong their opponent might be. Besides, the alternative for standing their ground was just impossible.

Behind her, Romeo squirmed slightly to try to get the binding around his torso to loosen up a little bit but it was futile. "Stop this!" the fire mage said but their enemies' grins just widened in response.

"As you wish…" The 'queen' narrowed her eyes at them. "Ready your weapons!" She commanded the other two foes who were now four steps away from Romeo and Wendy. These two raised their guns and pointed them directly to the mages' heads. Wendy's eyes widened when she realized there was no way they would come out of this unscathed.

The 'queen' smirked at the fear in the mages' faces, pointy canines could be seen in her grin. "This is what you get for trying to stop us! Fire!" she slammed her fists on each side of her 'throne' and her two allies did as they were told.

"No!" Romeo yelled and closed his eyes when their enemies pressed the trigger of their guns.

Splash!

"What are you doing?" Lily stood up by the threshold of the room in his battle form while holding three grocery bags in his arms.

There, in the middle of the living room, he found Wendy and Romeo tied up to two of the kitchen chairs with what seemed to be several of Levy's headbands. A couple steps away from them, stood Asuka and Yajeh shooting at them with two water guns without any mercy even when the other two mages were squirming trying to get free from the unyielding assault. On the other side of the room, Shutora was laughing evilly while sitting on what looked like a makeshift throne made out of a huge pile of cushions and pillows stacked up on the couch.

"Lily! Make them stop!" Wendy pleaded and was attacked by another blast of water from Yajeh.

Lily sighed and placed the bags on the table beside the entrance hall before closing the door behind him and putting on one of his most serious glares.

"Yajeh! Asuka! Stop your firing at once! Shutora, get down here right now!" The kids stopped in what they were doing when they finally noticed the black Exceed in the room. Yajeh and Asuka put down their weapons and Shutora quickly climbed down from her 'throne' to stand beside her brother.

The two siblings put on their most innocent expression and beamed at their favorite uncle. They looked like little angels but Lily knew better than to fall for that trick.

"Hi, Uncle Lily!" Yajeh said in a cheerful voice and rapidly hid the water gun behind his back. Asuka noticed this and did the same as her friend. At the same time, Shutora did a quick movement with her left hand behind her back, dispelling the runes around Wendy and Romeo.

The two older mages were finally able to remove their bindings and soon, they stood up from their chairs and made their way to stand behind the children, dripping water on the floor with each movement they made.

Lily ran a hand down his face in exasperation. He was used to the twins' mischiefs but this time he honestly was surprised, and even slightly impressed. Wendy, Romeo and Asuka were supposed to be there helping Lily babysit the twins while Levy and Gajeel left for a mission not far from Magnolia. The Exceed had mentioned that he could take care of the twins by himself but Gajeel and Levy insisted on him having some help since the kids seemed to be more and more troublesome with each passing day. Apparently, 'the help' were in dire need of help themselves.

"Can someone tell me what happened here?" Lily asked after taking a deep breath to calm the headache that was starting to pound in his head. Romeo explained everything calmly.

The Exceed had gone out for 10 minutes. 10 minutes. He went to the grocery store and back as quickly as he could because they were almost out of juice and snacks and hungry and thirsty kids were the worst to control. In that time frame, Shutora, Yajeh and Asuka managed to tie Wendy and Romeo up to the kitchen chairs, place magic-cancelling runes around them, create a throne over the couch and attack the two defenseless mages with water guns. And, according to their tale, it took them longer to stack up the pillows and cushions on the couch than it took them to bound Wendy and Romeo.

"Thank you for saving us, Lily" Wendy grimaced, droplets of water still falling from her hair and clothes.

"We wouldn't have gone so far if you had agreed to give us some cookies" Shutora argued while crossing her little arms over her chest. There was no doubt she was Gajeel's daughter for the cocky attitude she proudly displayed any time she got.

"Shutora, I went to the store because we were out of cookies…" Lily said in a firm and kind tone that showed love and discipline at the same time.

"Oohh…" The kids chorused when realization reached their minds. That explained why Wendy and Romeo refused to give them cookies… which lead to them being tied up to the chairs.

"Asuka, why did you betray us? I thought you were on our side." Romeo asked the young shooter mage who looked up at him.

"Well, they offered me a water gun. How could I refuse?" Asuka grinned and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

Lily face-palmed and groaned when he heard the rustling sound of grocery bags being examined by two pairs of small eager hands.

Maybe it would be a good idea to play outside on the backyard. The weather was nice and the twins seemed to have too much energy to be playing indoors. Maybe some outdoor exercise would be good for them.

Maybe it wasn't that good idea to play outside… Lily admitted inwardly by contemplating the sight before him.

He had gone inside to get some juice for the children. 3 minutes at most. And now he found Wendy and Asuka sprawled out unceremoniously on the ground with eyes spinning around in dizziness. Not far from them, Romeo was jumping as fast as he could, sweating profusely, and his face showed only one emotion: panic.

The twins held each end of the jumping rope and made it spin faster and faster, bringing their arms as high as they could only to bring them down as low as possible in a quick motion. Even for Lily's sharp eyes it was hard to keep track with its speed.

The inevitable happened when Romeo missed a step and tripped with the rope. It all happened in the blink of an eye and somehow Romeo ended up tumbling head over heels and landed hard on his back beside Wendy.

"Yeah! We won!" Yajeh exclaimed and Shutora fist pumped to the air in excitement.

Yes, Lily had suggested to play jumping the rope in an attempt to burn out some of the twins' unlimited amount of energy but apparently Lily completely forgot that they liked to spin the rope instead of jumping it. Lily sighed, scolding himself inwardly for not foreseeing this outcome.

"Uncle Lily! Now it's your turn!" Shutora exclaimed and waved at him to get in position for jumping the rope.

"Maybe later, sweetie." Lily said and made his way to the defeated mages that were still trying to get rid of the dizziness.

The twins' shoulders sunk in disappointment but Lily knew he couldn't let himself be fooled by their act. The twins had this rule about him not being allowed to use Aera while jumping the rope, for obvious reasons, and even with Lily's fit physical condition it was hard to keep up with the pace to which the twins spun the rope.

"Well! Then, come on Wendy! It's your turn again!" Shutora said and made a motion to her brother to start spinning the rope. Wendy just groaned and refused to move from her spot on the ground.

"How do you keep up with them Lily? They… they are…" Romeo commented while trying, and failing, to sit up. He was still too dizzy to stop hugging the grass.

"A handful." Lily supplied and chuckled when both Wendy and Romeo nodded in agreement. "They just have too much energy. Guess it has to do with having dragon slayer's blood."

"Yeah… but, still-" Wendy started but was interrupted by the twins calling after her again. "Uhm! Asuka! It's your turn to jump the rope!"

Asuka blanched when she saw the speed to which the twins were spinning the rope. She was supposed to jump into that horizontal tornado?! "Uhm, not happening… I think I still can't feel my legs" She sat up and start rubbing her sore thighs and feet.

"Aww, come on!" the twins groaned at the same time, getting frustrated that neither of the others wanted to keep playing.

Suddenly, two figures rushed past Wendy, Romeo, Asuka and Lily and jumped right into the middle of the spinning rope.

"Mind if we join in?"

"Mom!"

"Dad!"

"Gihi!"

Levy and Gajeel had just returned from their mission and when they saw their kids spinning the rope in the backyard they couldn't help but join them in the fun.

"Yaay!" the twins exclaimed excitedly and started to spin the rope faster and faster. Levy and Gajeel were facing each other while jumping from one foot to the other keeping up with the speed of the rope. All the while, the couple was grinning playfully and challenging each other with their glares.

"You can do it Dad!" Shutora exclaimed from her end of the rope.

"Come on, Mom! Show him who's the best!" Yajeh shouted without slowing down.

"Ya cannot win against me, Shrimp." Gajeel taunted. It actually was quite amusing seeing Gajeel jumping the rope since his height was quite a problem with how short his children were. He had to bend down slightly to avoid the rope from hitting him in the face.

"We'll see about that, Black Steel." Levy smirked. Even when Gajeel was more physically fit than her, Levy's short stature and slim body allowed her to be quick in her movements, which was incredibly helpful when competing against a dragon slayer in jumping the rope.

On the sidelines, Wendy, Romeo and Asuka stared wide-eyed at the couple that seemed to have no problem in keeping up with the pace the twins set.

"J-just… how?"

"Are they even touching the ground?"

"I think they are cheating… there's no way for them to be jumping that fast!"

Lily chuckled at seeing the dumbstruck expression on the three mages. He was quite used to the antics of the family and he even joined them from time to time. So, it was to be expected for the three guests to be this impressed by their game.

Oh and it's about to get even better. Lily thought and chuckled once again.

"Let's see how you can keep up with this!" Levy exclaimed and did a quick movement with her left hand. "Solid script magic: Rope!"

A second rope was materialized through her magic and the twins grabbed each end of it with their free hand. Their grins widened when they understood what their mother's intentions were and they started to spin the second rope at a fast pace too. The two ropes were spinning in opposite directions, crossing at the middle without colliding. This caused Gajeel and Levy to quicken their jumps and their smiles just grew wider at the challenge.

"Go, Mom!" Yajeh cheered.

"Do it, Dad!" Shutora exclaimed.

"Oh, it's on Shrimp!" Gajeel gihi'ed and kept on jumping without missing a step.

Romeo, Wendy and Asuka's jaws were on the floor at the demonstration of how far a competitive spirit could twist a simple game like jumping the rope.

"Uhm, I think we should leave now…" Wendy commented and stood up, helping Asuka and Romeo to their feet.

"Yeah, see you around Lily." Romeo said as he turned around with Wendy to make their way to the entrance of the house. Lily nodded and waved them goodbye.

"Bye, Shutora! Bye, Yajeh!" Asuka waved goodbye at her friends to which they replied with their "G'bye, Asuka!" at the same time without slowing down their pace at spinning the ropes.

"Thank you for everything guys!" Levy exclaimed, still jumping quickly from one feet to another.

"Yeah, thanks! See ya around!" Gajeel yelled happily and focused his eyes on his feet to not miss a step.

Lily just laughed again at the sight of Gajeel and Levy jumping the ropes and the twins making an effort to spin them faster and faster. It was true that the twins were quite troublesome but they matched their parents' personalities. If anyone could keep up with the energy the twins have was Gajeel and Levy.

Oh, I better get the camera. Lily thought as he rushed to the house to look for the desired object.

When he found it, he heard a loud crash on the backyard followed by a loud 'Dammit!' and loud laughs. Lily looked out from the window on the second floor to see Gajeel lying on the ground unceremoniously and Levy and the twins rolling on the ground while holding their stomachs from how hard they were laughing.

Just another day in this troublesome family.

Author ramblings...

1) Thank you for reading! Hope you liked this chapter. I know it's short but I'm trying to write short stories too. 

(I sometimes get fic ideas that start to get too complicated and so wide that I just don't have the time to write them down and they just vanish into oblivion. If I practice writing shorter stories maybe I'll be able to write that idea down, simpler story, shorter, and not let it vanish).

2) I'm kind of unsatisfied by how I ended this chapter, but my brain couldn't come up with other fluffy idea that could give a good closure to this story. So, meh... sorry if you don't like the end but I'm still new at writing fanfiction. If you have any advice go ahead and shoot, please! It will help me lots!

3) I know I said on tumblr that I was going to post 'First Date' but it didn't come out as I wanted so I deleted all of it (pfft, 3 pages in Word, not that big of a deal). Still, I now know what to do with that prompt and it should be ready by next week (fingers crossed). With more reviews and shares/likes on tumblr I get more and more excited and start working a little bit faster (just as a side note... do what you want with that information gihi).

4) On other news, I already filed up my application for a scholarship for a master's degree :D (Yay me!). I just have to wait now for the committee's decision on whether I'll be granted the scholarship or not (hope it will go on my favor!)

Thanks again! Have a nice day!

WTF (Where'sTheFood)

[elementaldragon-slayer-blog]

Colour War

I actually felt really damn accomplished. Mira and Master asked me three days ago to come up with something I wanted to do. I think I did a great job, who doesn't love getting a little dirty.

“Team Captains are Gajeel and Laxus, this is mandatory guys, so just agree and get your white shirt and come hear the rules.” I hopped off the bar top and settled in my seat again.

“Bunny, why do you do this to me” I rolled my eyes and pushed his head off of my shoulder where he was whining from.

“Oh stop Gaj, you don't even know my genius idea yet” I smirked and passed him his white shirt “Put this on and stop being a big rusty baby”

I could hear him grumbling as he pulled his coat off and threw it on my head. 'Virgo can you bring the rest of the white shirts and pants' I felt a grin pulling on my lips “Gaj, don't forget the pants” Virgo popped up like clockwork and held out a pair of white denims for him and the lightning dragon slayer. Which they took with some trepidation.

“This had better be good Blondie” My smile grew wider when I saw him in his white outfit.

“It is,” I smirked at him and raised my voice so the whole guild could hear me, “O.K. Guys! Come get your outfit from Virgo and then have a seat” I turned and grabbed Gajeel and pulled him to stand beside the overgrown spark plug.

“You both need to pick teams. It'll be one pick then the other, first to go is the one who guesses the closest number in my head”

“26” Gaj grunted, pulling the new white headband on and tying it under his hair.

“13” Laxus looked supremely bored with all of this. I know a few ways to make this better for him

“O.K. Boys, time to learn the rules. You're going to pick your teams and split off, one's sanctuary is going to be Kardia, the others is going to be the east forest. You're going to take 10 minutes and we're going to meet back in front of the guild. The weapons are already at the designated areas, you just need to make up a strategy. Magic is allowed, but the aim is to not break things around us” I locked eyes with both of them “Are you with me so far?” They both nodded so I picked up my permanent marker and put a '1' on Iron Man and a '2' on Sparky.

“O.K. Everyone, when you get called by Gaj or Laxus you stand behind them or in their general area, we're making teams. No trading, no complaining, no bitching, no whining or I swear to Mavis I will hang you by your toes from the bell at Kardia.” I smiled sweetly and let them form their teams, letting my eyes slide down to that fantastic ass in those delicious jeans and I slipped away silently to finish getting ready.

I stretched my arms over my head and reclined back in the chair I was waiting in. This was going to be great. I heard chattering and footsteps coming from both sides, so I flicked on the lacrima stereo and let

'O Fortuna' by Carl Orff play loudly through the speakers. I let a victorious grin slide onto my face as both teams stood face to face, on either side of me, paintball guns resting against each of their shoulders, and their team carrying various buckets of balloons and different types of paint wielding weapons. I smirked and climbed up on my chair.

“O.K. Teams! Yellow is Laxus' team, and blue is Gaj's team, the point is to not get 'killed', if you get hit in a 'vital spot' like your chest, or your face, you're out, but you join my team and try to get other people out, like.. colourful zombies. Last person standing wins for their team. I'm neutral. My colour is pink, and I'll kick all your asses!” I grabbed my whip and flicked it to attach to the flag pole up above the square, and flipped myself up to the roof where my supplies were.

“READY! SET! FIGHT!” I yelled down to the large groups of mages and watched as they clashed in a giant puff of yellow and blue. I grabbed my paintball gun and shot a test run between Laxus' feet. His eyes lifted and I shot the gun in his hands twice. I grinned brightly, winked and promptly ducked down as shots started showering down where I was hiding. I grabbed two paint balloons and threw them down to the middle of the giant clump of mages. Pink splattered everywhere and I successfully gained five more zombies. I scanned the crowd for spiky blonde hair or the even spikier black hair. I watched as Erza sliced through the paint, twirling to avoid backsplash, and how Grey had created a shield to block the blue paint that was being thrown at him. Natsu was being carried by Happy, dodging and twirling the paint that was being thrown his way and shooting everyone with his yellow paintballs. I shouldered my gun and aimed it at the flying furball. I could hear the squawk of surprise as his aera dropped and both of them fell to the bucket of blue paint balloons.

I grabbed my side bag full of pink paint balloons and flicked my whip to wrap around the flag pole again, swinging up over top of the leftover mages, letting my gun shoot constantly as I twisted and landed in a crouch. I grinned and let my eyes scan for the team captains, I saw Gajeel, he was back to back with Lily and Levy. I flicked through plans in my head before rolling backwards and throwing myself up with my arms. Those damn gymnastics classes have been so useful.

I dropped into a sprint, one hand reaching into my bag and the other pulling my paintball gun up under my arm. The closer I got to the trio, the harder I pushed my legs, as I hit the sweet area where I would hit them, and jumped up in a spin to throw the balloon, cackling as I watched it splatter all over Levy's chest and I fired the little paint bullets at Lily, getting his chest and stomach before I tumbled out of my jump and into a somersault. I knew Gaj would be after me now, so I flipped myself over a few times to get a head start and booked it the hell out of there.

I ended up back on the roof to replenish my stores and scope out the mess, less then half were left, and I still hadn't seen Laxus. I hit Levy and Cana in the butt with my gun and laughed loudly when they yelled about being out already. I jumped back down off the roof and ran through the cloud covering Erza from behind, breaking a balloon in my hands and jumping on her back, I pressed my paint covered hands to both of her cheeks and smeared it all over her face before dropping and sprinting the hell out of there. I could hear her mini rage fit as I ran towards Bix, I jumped on one of his babies and vaulted over his uncovered head, smashing another balloon onto the surprised mage.

“Ha! Got ya Bixy!” I let my tongue loll out and grinned at him “welcome to the team, have you seen Laxus?”

He wiped the paint off of his eyes and shook his hair out “Yeah, he was on the roof last I saw him, something about stalking his prey” my smirk widened as he cackled and jumped on his babies to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting leftovers.

Fifteen minutes later and everyone except one person was out, and it was going to be a face off between team leaders, well not Gaj because Levy got him in a place where paint really shouldn't be shot at. Men like Laxus are easy to mess with, and I had the perfect plan. He stood opposite me in the giant circle of paint covered mages, both of our white shirts were near perfectly clean. I checked the bag that was attached to my hip, and cocked my head to the side.

“You ready spark plug?” I smirked and balanced my gun on my shoulder.

“Should be asking you that Blondie” He had a similar ammo situation, just sans paintball gun.

“Count it down” and I heard someone start counting from 5.

“GO GO GO” a loud cheer went up as I pulled up and shot at the spot where Breaker was, 'shit', I dropped to the ground and rolled just as a balloon dropped right where I was standing. My gaze flicked over the arena like area, pulling up to look at the sky, I smirked when I saw lightning streak back down to the ground, shooting rapidly at the area where he landed, but never materialized, I realized I was running out of bullets. I tried to follow the flashes of lightning with my gun, but the awful sound of a click interrupted my assault. I threw the gun to the wall of mages and pulled a balloon out just as he materialized right in front of me.

“Give up yet” he sneered at me and I smirked.

“You wish sparky” I pulled a balloon out of my bag and threw it in the air, followed closely by the tip of Fleuve d'etoiles, letting it wrap around the balloon gently before I brought my whip slashing down towards the blonde behemoth. I flicked my wrist right before it hit him, making the balloon explode right in front of his chest. I heard a crack and watched at the paint splattered to the ground. I let out a huff 'goddamn lightning mages and their stupid teleport bullshit'

I dropped into a crouch and scanned the skies for lightning, I saw a glint and grabbed another balloon. I waited for him to get closer, I saw the yellow balloon flying straight at my face and I turned and tucked into a roll to my left, just as another was dropping from above me “Shit” I grumbled before lifting my feet over my head and flipping away quickly. The gymnastics avoidance tactic worked for a bit, I would throw a balloon at where I thought he was throwing them from and he would send a barrage to try and hit me.

“not now” I whispered to myself as I felt around my ammo bag. He zapped himself in front of me again, his breath heavy and his hands by his side. I have this in the bag.

I smiled sweetly and started towards him slowly, almost predator like, letting my hips sway enticingly. I lifted my chin when I got close, and ran one hand up his torso, biting my lip and smiling as seductive as I could.

He coughed and looked down at me “What are you doin' Blondie” I slid the hand on his chest up around his neck and into the hair at the base of his head.

“You're awfully sexy like that, paint dust in your hair, skin glistening with sweat. It looks like you had one hell of a time... and I want in.” I pulled him down slowly, raising onto my tip toes. Stars I can imagine how sexy it would be to let him take me right here, rolling around in the paint... BAD LUCY no dirty thoughts, I need to focus!

I nipped his bottom lip and heard him gasp, his hands found my hips and pulled them to his, I flicked my tongue over the seam in his lips and let my breath blow out over his mouth. I felt his hands slide down to cup my ass and lift me a little, I lifted my eyes to see his were closed and I smirked.

“You want to kiss me don't you Laxus” I purred softly, rolling my hips against his. I heard his barely audible answer and tightened my hand in his hair, leaving our lips millimeters apart.

I let a small moan escape my throat when his hands tightened on my ass, and I slowly brought my other hand from my hip, pulling his face down against my neck while I licked the shell of his ear and let my breath fan out over the wet skin.

“Hey Laxus” I whispered, dropping my voice and making it as husky as I could

I heard him moan against my neck, his lips sucking lightly on the skin and I let out a small whimper.

“You lose” I whispered, licked the shell of his ear once more and used his hair to steer his face back to mine.

“What?” He choked out and opened his eyes, which had darkened with lust.

“you lose” I smirked and brought my free hand from the bag at my hip fully and smashed the balloon against the side of his face where it exploded everywhere, his hair and face got the worst. I took a step back and absolutely lost it, I ended up on the floor clutching my stomach.

“Blondie...”

I was pretty sure I had tears streaming down my face at this point, it was in his mouth. 'Oh Mavis I got him so good'

“Lucy...”

'I'm so going to be getting it later, he's going to zap me into oblivion. I'm going to fry from the inside, or worse... my hair will never be smooth again!'

“Mavis, LUCY!”

I whipped my face around to see the paint covered mage, his hands crossed over his chest and a deep scowl on his face.

“Yes Breaker?” I smiled sweetly and hopped up onto my feet, still holding back the giggles I knew wanted to break free.

“Congrats Blondie, you won” he smirked and I narrowed my eyes, opening my mouth to reply, and just as I was about to comment, I felt a viscous liquid pour over my head. I watched as the ridiculous amount of blue paint was poured over my head, it went down my face and over my shirt and pants, pooling at my feet.

“Gihi” I heard that distinctive voice from behind me before I heard the dropping of the giant bin. I dropped my head and wiped the paint away from my eyes and nose before slowly turning and putting the creepiest grin I could on my face. I knew there was paint going in my mouth, I could taste the goop on my teeth, but Mavis if it didn't add to the creep factor.  

“Gajeel” I let my voice raise several octaves and lifted my eyes to meet his. The laughter died from his face and it slipped into one of horror.

“Why is there paint all over me Gajy” I fluttered my eyelashes and took a squelching step towards him, and he backed one up in kind.

“Heh... Bunny, I-I uh...” He shrugged his shoulders and pointed behind me “It was the Lightning rod's idea” he nearly screamed before he dropped into his shadow mode and flitted away.

I turned to see Laxus' back walking away from me, smirking, I dropped into a semi crouch and took a deep breath before pushing my muscles to surge forward. I quickly reached him and launched myself onto his back, knocking him forwards and onto the ground. I hooked my foot around leg and onto the others thigh, tugging on his arm and flipping him onto his back, settling my legs on either side of his hips.

“Sneaky sneaky Laxy-poo” I smirked and leaned forwards to rest my chin on his chest. His hands moved up to swipe blue paint off of my face, sliding down to grip my butt and pull me further up his body.

“If I didn't know any better I'd say you like me being on top Breaker” I teased, sliding my hands through his half painted hair.

If I was paying attention to anything but Laxus, I would have noticed how literally everyone had dispersed, leaving Laxus and me in the middle of the little square outside of the Guild, me being literally on top of him with his hands massaging my ass. It was an interesting change to say the least, but not one I was totally opposed to. I felt him tense, and next thing I knew I was on my back. 'well this is a position I'm used to'

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on either side of my head, placing gentle kisses on the skin that wasn't covered in blue paint. Hot kisses trailed up my neck and back down, I felt him suck on my pulse point and I let out something akin to a whimper and moan at the same time. I tightened my hands in his hair and steered him from my neck to my lips. I moaned as my lips met his, reflexively wrapping my legs around his hips and pulling his body closer to mine. His hands went under my back, lifting both of us into a seated position as his tongue slid along the seam in my lips and he nipped my bottom lip.

His lips stilled and he pulled away to bury his face in the crook of my neck, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Happy Birthday babe” He whispered against my skin, nipping the pulse point one more time before lifting his face to mine again and kissing me softly.

“I love you Breaker” I whispered against his lips

“I love you too Blondie” He rested his forehead against mine with a soft smile.

It had been a fantastic two years, and I just fell in love with him more and more every day. I couldn't ask for better.

[alpacaparkaseok]

7 Secrets <pt. 3>

GENRE: Soulmate!au BTS!

WARNINGS: It’s a bit emotional, but not too bad. So don’t cry, ok?

WORD COUNT: 2,143

Part 3 here we go! Like I mentioned before, I want to make this story as realistic as possible, while still allowing for fun elements. Obviously that implies some emotional moments, but I feel like this will hopefully allow us to see Beth (and the other characters) is a familiar light. I’ve fallen in love with these characters much faster than I even anticipated, so I hope you enjoy! Part 4 will be up soon!

A hushed conversation is what eventually pulls me out of my slumber, although I try my best to ignore them.

“I just feel bad waking her up, she must be exhausted.”

“Yeah, but she won’t be able to sleep tonight if she sleeps much longer.”

“True. Ah, do you think she’ll notice if I steal her photo from Jeju Island?”

At this I finally drag myself to consciousness, ferociously protective of my photo. “You touch it and you die,” my threat comes out sounding not quite as threatening as I had hoped, and the fact that my exhausted brain only managed to get the threat out in English doesn’t help.

I turn to see Minsuh and Aera standing guiltily in the doorway, the former with an embarrassed smile.

“Did you just threaten us?” Minsuh asks tauntingly, knowing that it always takes me a few minutes after I wake up to completely switch into Korean mode. I simply nod as angrily as possible.

“Of course,” Aera snorts at my predicament. “It was easy to tell from your tone of voice. You know, for being the youngest, you aren’t very respectful of your elders.”

I completely ignore her, this being a common point of teasing between us all. Although I am the youngest, and the last out of the seven of us to find out about this whole soulmate mess, they still tend to look to me when it comes to making leadership decisions. I’ve never questioned it much, having always felt most comfortable leading, but I can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with who my soulmate is.

I check my phone to see that it’s already nearly 9 pm, and I shoot them a glare at the same time my stomach growls. They simply skip out of my room, but not before Aera peeks back in to tell me to freshen up.

“We’ll go out to eat in fifteen minutes! Are you sure you don’t want takeout instead? It’s been a long day for you.” Aera takes all of my possible needs into consideration, a trait that I’ve always admired. It’s also the reason why we’ve often had to tell her to slow down, breathe, and focus on taking care of herself. I hope Jimin will understand that too.

Long story short, I have a lot of hopes for my fellow soul-sisters and their soulmates and very, very little for myself.

“No, I want to go out. It’s been so long since we’ve all gone out together. What are we getting?”

Aera smiles at me, pleased with my decision. She’s one of the most social, always aching to get out and go do something.

“Ichika was going on about getting some udon noodles, does that sound alright?”

My stomach rumbles at the mere mention of the Japanese noodles, and we both take that as a yes.

↔

When Bang Si-hyuk decided that it would be best if the seven of us had an apartment together in Seoul, our only condition was that it be close to good food. He might have thought it strange or immature, but I’m still grateful for our foresight back then.

I currently wander beside Himari, our arms slung around each other's shoulders. Ichika leads the way with Kyung-Soon, the two of them rubbing their bellies as we all talk about the good food we just devoured.

If I try hard enough, the cameras that are capturing our every move fade away into the blackness of the night.

Minsuh, Aera, and Seohyun bring up the rear, singing “Mic Drop” at the top of their lungs.

“Himari! Himari!” Seohyun giggles like a maniac. It’s no secret she’s a sucker for Mic Drop. I’ve heard her sing it more than I’ve heard the actual song at this point. “C’mon, help me with the ‘mic mic bungee’ transition, from j-hope to Suga.”

Himari wastes no time in jumping back there, the two of them looking absolutely insane as they go all out. It leaves the rest of us with tears running from our eyes at the sight.

“You look drunk,” Kyung-Soon points out, trying and failing to look serious. “Did you drink?”

Both girls giggle in response, still trying to perfect the transition. “No, of course not. We’re drunk on life, Soon-ah!” Seohyun blurts out, and we all groan in response.

“You know how we get when we’re all together,” Aera interjects. I note that Minsuh has taken her phone out of her pocket and is filming the show. I have no doubt that she’ll find a way to use the footage against them in the future.

“It’s been sooo long,” Ichika adds, smiling warmly at me.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry that I had to leave for so long. I know you all missed me.” I smirk at them, and they roll their eyes at me. Nobody denies it though, I have hundreds of text messages stating how much they missed me to prove it. I swear I received at least one every day.

Kyung-Soon links her arm in mine, and we continue walking. “We’ll see you weirdos at the house,” she calls over her shoulder. One camera breaks off to follow us from a distance, the other staying behind to watch the show play out. Sure enough, Seohyun and Himari hardly even notice our absence, they’re too busy trying to remember choreography.

With only a couple of blocks left to go before we make it back to our apartment, Soon and I fall into a companionable silence. It’s a while before she breaks it.

“How’s everything going with your book?”

I smile at her, touched that she thought to even ask. She’s always been good at that, though. “It’s...going.” I shrug, and she gives me a knowing laugh.

“You’ve said that about every book. Is this one no different?”

Kyung-Soon is one of the quieter ones, but she’s also one of the people I trust the most. We’ve spent countless nights over the past three years talking late into the night, bouncing book ideas off of each other as well as discussing our deepest fears.

“Well, it was going great for a while. Right now I’m struggling with a bit of writer’s block. Or it’s not even writer’s block. I’m just…” I sigh, craning my neck to look up at the stars far above me. “I’m just tired.”

Kyung-Soon hums in acknowledgement. That’s another thing that I admire. She rarely jumps in with a solution. If she asks a question, it’s because she wants to listen to the answer, not because she’s waiting with a counter-attack.

I wonder for a brief moment if Jin, her soulmate, does the same thing. I entertain the thought for all of two seconds before shaking it off.

Our apartment can be seen at the end of the street, the balcony light still flipped on from earlier.

“Why do you think you’re tired?”

I look at Kyung-Soon, my oldest soul-sister also looking at the balcony light with a small smile on her face. With that expression on her face, I release a shaky breath. The exhaustion from my flight, the pressure of my book deadlines as well as current Webtoon updates and meetings that I have coming up all settle in.

“Soon-ah,” I whisper, and I lower my gaze until it falls on the microphone clipped to my shirt. “Am I doing the right thing?”

She waits patiently for me to continue, even as she gestures something to the cameraman. He mumbles a quiet “goodnight” before retreating into the shadows to set up his camera in a new position.

Kyung-Soon unlocks the door, quietly ushering me inside as I take deep breaths. It doesn’t take long before I’m led out onto the balcony, and I realize that she must have told the cameraman that we would be up there, thus allowing him to capture more footage without having him impose on our conversation inside. I’m grateful for her kind thought, I usually hate when the cameras have to follow us inside.

“It’s just, everytime I come back to Seoul, I start questioning myself all over again.” I wrap myself up in a spare blanket, offering another to Kyung-Soon which she accepts. “There’s just so much uncertainty. Not just in my job. I’m kind of used to that by now, everything can change in a rewrite or an editorial meeting and turn my whole book upside down in a matter of seconds. It’s frustrating, but I can handle that.”

Soon sits quietly, looking up at the night sky. I mirror her movement, hoping it masks the tears that are threatening to spill over at any minute now.

“What’s the other uncertainty?”

We both already know what it is, although I rarely speak about it. I’ve never really even known how to open up and talk about how even though I should be the most happy girl in the world knowing that Kim Namjoon is my soulmate, I have to stop myself from fleeing to Antarctica at the mere thought of actually having to face him.

“I can’t-” I start, but Soon cuts me off.

“You have to.” I look over at her face, which is now completely serious. “Beth, please don’t lock us out and keep all of these feelings to yourself. You don’t have to tell us every little thing, but you need to talk about it. Just because you don’t say it out loud doesn’t mean that you won’t feel scared or worried anymore.”

Sometime during her little speech, the tears started falling. I fall into Soon’s embrace, neither one of us acknowledging the fact that this is the first time I’ve openly cried about my soulmate since that first weekend in Jeju Island. And, if I remember correctly, all of us cried a bit that weekend.

We stay there for a few minutes, and I close my eyes tight because every time I open them they stray to where the cameraman sits in the shadows, eating up the sentimental moment.

“Please tell me,” Soon whispers, and I nod even as a broken hiccup leaves me. I chuckle at the random hiccup, and it helps me to breathe easier as the load I’m bearing is already starting to feel lighter.

“I look at our boys,” I begin, clinging tightly to my blanket and looking up at the stars for the strength I need to say what I need to say. “And I feel like they’re already complete. They have each other, they have ARMY, they’re complete. They have no idea that soulmates are even a thing, let alone that they have soulmates. There’s a part of me that’s mad about that. Mad that for the last three years I’ve been waiting for a man that is already happy without me, that is already more loved that he can even fathom. Mad at freaking Mr. Bang,” Soon chuckles, knowing how much I love and hate the man, “because he refuses to tell them until the ‘time is right’. It’s been three years! And I’ve picked myself back up and tried my hardest to continue on in my career, and it’s fulfilling. I have the most amazing friends in the world, my family is so loving and supportive, and I love my job.”

I stop, nearly panting as my anger fades into something sharper, jabbing at my heart as hot tears spill out onto my cheeks. Soon squeezes my shoulder, bringing me back to the present.

“So why do I feel so lonely?”

I lose the ability to go on speaking, the words too heavy to push out anymore. Instead I simply stare down at my knuckles that clutch the blanket so hard they’re white.

“Oh, Beth. I’m so sorry. Here I was, thinking that it was physically impossible for you to miss Namjoon. Turns out you’re just like me!” Kyung-Soon chuckles even as she wipes the tears from my eyes. “And I know what you’re thinking. How can I miss someone I’ve never met? Easy.” She holds a hand to her heart, and for a moment I can see through my tears enough to see the faraway look in her eyes, mingled with pain and adoration. “Jin has my heart. The idiot doesn’t even realize it, but he’s got it. So I just hope that he returns it to me soon, and in person. That way I can give him a taste of his own medicine and steal his heart. See how he likes it.”

I can’t help but laugh at the evil wink Soon sends me.

“He’ll probably fall in love with you the second he sees you, Soon-ah.”

“What’s that word you taught me again? When I want to say the same thing back?

Another chuckle falls from my lips. “Ditto?”

“Yeah, that. Ditto, Beth. Namjoon won’t know what hit him.”

Previous - Next

[alpacaparkaseok]

Happy Holidays

14. “C’mon, it’s sweater weather. Let’s go buy you a sweater.”

15. “Psst.” “What?” “You look pretty.”

Pairing: Jimin x soulmate (from my series 7 Secrets)

“It hasn’t even snowed yet, Chim.”

Aera sits before her laptop, typing away as she tried to submit this report on the last month’s earnings before Jimin can entirely distract her.

“Yeah,” Jimin grabs a chair and sits beside his soulmate. “But it’s cold. I don’t see why you refuse to wear a sweater if there’s no snow. You’d look adorable!” 

Not saying anything, Aera taps the keyboard in hopes of finishing up this boring report so she can spend some quality time with her soulmate. Heaven knows he needs a lot of attention.

“I just don’t see the point in breaking out big chunky sweaters when there’s not a single snowflake on the ground. I have an image to uphold, remember?” Aera shoots Jimin a teasing wink before focusing on her laptop again. 

Jimin pouts, dropping his head to his hands and gazing up at Aera with big eyes. “C’mon, it’s sweater weather. Let’s go buy you a sweater.”

He knows just how to get her to leave work behind: shopping. 

Aera is still experiencing unrivaled success in her field as a designer, but oddly enough she rarely gets to enjoy the world of fashion for herself. Jimin knows this; he’s seen how she keeps a secret list of brands she’d like to check out in her spare time. 

Unfortunately none of those brands specialize in oversized sweaters, which is the only thing Jimin has been interested in wearing since the weather has gotten chillier. When he first asked Aera about her style preferences in winter, she simply stated that she had one rule:

No snow = no sweaters. 

Cardigans? Sure. Hoodies? Why not. But the oversized sweaters that nearly all women fall prey to around this time of year? Absolutely not. 

Gradually Jimin has been collecting photos of different sweaters he think she’ll like, more refined, soft looking ones. Aera doesn’t do grunge, so he made sure to steer clear of that. Although she’ll never admit it, Aera has been slowly opening up to the idea of lounging about in a sweater and fuzzy socks like the ones Jin buys Kyung-soon. 

Letting out a long sigh, Aera shoots Jimin a look of long-suffering. “Alright, but only after I finish this report.”

Jimin shouts, jumping up and proceeding to dance around the room. Aera can’t help but watch, laughing as Jimin basks in the small victory. 

“Ok ok, I’ll be downstairs, I won’t distract you anymore. Come straight down once you’re done, ok?”

“Ok.”

The rest of the report takes up more time that expected, but Jimin is still as excited as a kid on Christmas morning by the time Aera heads downstairs. His head pops up from where he’s watching TV, grinning at her. 

“You ready?”

Aera nods. “Where are we going shopping?”

Jimin just shrugs, grabbing his coat and tossing her’s toward her. “I have a few places in mind.”

They end up first stopping for lunch, finally making it to a small boutique in the middle of Seoul a couple of hours later. The both of them have their masks on and hats down low, but it’s only a matter of time before somebody will recognize them. 

Jimin and Aera have had the most public relationship out of the seven soulmate couples, partially due to the fact that Jimin has a history of intense stalkers and the fact that Aera was already fairly well known in the fashion circle. While they’ve been under nearly constant scrutiny, they always make sure they make time to be together. 

“Alright, what color do you think would suit me best?” Aera asks, immediately starting to sift through the racks of clothes. “I’ve always like light pink, oooh or maybe yellow?”

Jimin smiles as he watches the stress that Aera’s been under melting away now that she’s in her element. “That’d look pretty, want me to hold it for you?” Aera wastes no time piling the sweaters into Jimin’s arms, giggling as she sees him peeking out over the mountain of fabric.

Once she’s gathered a few more, she heads straight over to the fitting station. She’s made her way through all the sweaters in a flash, weighing the pros and cons of each one. That’s another thing that Jimin loves about her: he’d expected her to be the kind of shopper that takes hours to decide on a single item of clothing. Aera is quite the opposite; her expert eye picking out what suits her best and quickly tossing out the other options. 

Now she stands before him in a lavender sweater, managing to take Jimin’s breath away. 

“This one’s nice, isn’t it? The color is really pretty.”

Jimin can only nod, hardly daring to blink for fear of missing out on a single moment. “Beautiful. How do you look so beautiful in just a simple sweater?” Aera blushes at his candor, trying and failing to walk backwards into the fitting room. She bumps into the door, watching as Jimin’s face lights up with a laugh. 

“Oh, shut up.”

In the end Aera goes with the lavender sweater and a deep blue one. It’s extra oversized, nearly coming down to her knees, while the lavender one only sweeps down to her hips. 

As they leave the store a gasp leaves Aera’s lips, Jimin stopping behind her before bursting out into laughter. 

“It’s snowing!”

Jimin takes another moment to take in the sight before gently guiding Aera to the van before someone can recognize them. “You know this means you have to wear the sweater now, right?”

Aera does just that, changing into the blue sweater the second they arrive at the boys’ apartment. Jimin sets about finding a movie to watch. They’ve decided to watch all movies over here from now on since they can hardly hear the TV over the constant ping pong matches going on at the girls’ apartment. 

When Aera emerges out of Jimin’s room in the giant blue sweater, Jimin can’t help but smile as he motions for her to come closer. 

“Let’s see your sweater paws.”

Aera waves her sweater paws at him, shrieking as Jimin grabs them and pulls her in closer. “What are you doing?!” Jimin ignores her with an evil smile as he ties the sleeves together before slipping Aera’s arms over his head until they’re settled wrapped around his waist. 

Pulling her down onto the couch with him, Jimin laughs at Aera’s incredulous expression. “Now you can’t escape.”

Aera pulls and tugs at the sleeves to no avail, finally huffing and falling against Jimin’s chest as she glares up at him. “Is this why you wanted me to get a big sweater so bad?”

Jimin’s smile could melt all the snow that’s piling up outside, and Aera snuggles in a bit closer upon seeing it. 

“Maybe.”

They turn on the movie, Jimin eventually making Aera follow him to the kitchen so he can pop popcorn. She tries to slip her arms back over his head in order to free herself, but Jimin is fast to stop her. 

“But I wanna eat popcorn,” Aera whines once they sit back down on the couch. Jimin grabs the bowl, holding it in his lap.

“Open up, then.”

Rolling her eyes, Aera debates chomping down on his fingers but decides that she’d rather eat popcorn. 

Her cheeks are filled to the brim with popcorn, hair a mess from leaning against Jimin, arms still wrapped tightly around him. Jimin can’t help but stare at her rather than the movie, the sight a rare but beautiful one.

“Psst.”

Aera doesn’t bother to look away from the movie. “What?”

Jimin pops another piece of popcorn into her mouth, smiling when she opens up without hesitation. “You look pretty.”

Aera’s eyes slip to his in confusion, a pretty pout painting her features. “I still hate you for tying my arms together.”

Jimin leans into his soulmate as laughter racks his body. Wiping an imaginary tear from his eyes, he winks at Aera. “I can live with that.”

masterlist

@taylorroe3​