#after haru taking over the group

[valdrinors-writing]

PERSONA NEXT GEN CONCEPT

Goro Kurusu/Jack

Son of Akira Kurusu aka Joker and Hifumi Togo. The new Wild Card. Like his mother, he's a dramatic, somewhat chuunibyou-like young man with admiration for strategy, but he's also incredibly confident and has a strong sense of justice, like his father. His initial persona is Dodger, named after the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist

Melissa/Meli

The mascot of the New Phantom Thieves and embodiment of humanities dreams. Representing positive aspects of desires, her goal is to prevent the new Palace Rulers from taking away desires with a change of heart. She's a white cat with golden eyes and a blue ribbon. Her initial persona is Marcela from Don Quixote, a woman described as 'beautiful but cruel' and argues that she shouldn't be a prize to be won by men

Masato Sakamoto/Knight

Son of Ryuji Sakamoto aka Skull and Makoto Niijima aka Queen. As the son of a teacher and the school's track team coach, many would believe that Masato is spoiled and has 'special privleges'. However, he has a strong sense of justice, a short temper and a desire to become a lawyer like his aunt Sae. His initial persona is Long Ben, an English pirate operating during the 1690s, who's best known for escaping capture and disappearing in 1696

Sayuri Okumura-Kitagawa/Swan

Daughter of Yusuke Kitagawa aka Fox and Haru Okumura aka Noir. She's the current heir to Okumura Foods, who's reputation has been improved in the years following her grandfather's passing and her mother's ascension to CEO. She has a love of ballet and is surprisingly athletic, but can be just as obsessive as her father and sadistic as her mother when it comes to the Metaverse. Her initial persona is Hatsume - also known as Hatsume no Tsubomi - a fictitious kunochi sent to spy on Ishida Mitsunari

Homura Takamaki/Phoenix

Daughter of Ann Takamaki aka Panther and Shiho Suzui. Homura is a wannabe idol and model, taking after her actress mother. She's incredibly proud of her appearance and often can be seen as vain and haughty, but in reality is a down to earth young woman with a passion for her hobbies. This can also lead to her being targeted by men for being a 'tease', much to her and everyone else's chagrin. Her initial persona is Helen, named after Helen of Troy, described as the most beautiful woman in Greek Mythology who is blamed for causing the Trojan War after a competition between her suitors

[cinnamonest]

Female-Targeted Doujin Masterlist

Thank you anon! Sooooo, I have decided to compile a female-targeted/yumejoshi masterlist, I'll add this post to my main masterlist soon.

These were the one I could think of from memory, I’ll come back to this list and add to it if I get more, I'm sure I missed a few from my bookmarks. Feel free to add to it in the comments, and I'll try to find and update it! Also, several of these were recommended from anons in the past, so thank you all <3

FYI several links lead to nh*ntai dot net, so be aware of that.

Umekoppe

As per the post anon is referencing, Umekoppe is a doujin group that consistently puts out exclusively good content!

“The Yandere Prince Won't Let Me Slip Away”

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: Isekai/pseudo-reincarnation trope, premise basically explained by the title, MC is isekai'd as prince's lost lover.

"The Sacrificial Maiden Corrupted by Coupling With an Oni"

(Link)

Premise: Historical Japan setting, the "MC is an offering sacrifice to the Creature, but the Creature chooses to keep her instead" trope.

"Until the Trashiest Boy Toy Exorcist Ren-kun Crushes Me in His Embrace"

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: MC is a girl that attracts malevolent spirits, exorcist-kun is obligated to help her ward them off (with orgasms, naturally).

"The Spy Who Ravished Me ~Reborn As a Mafia Princess in a Deadly Game~"

(Link)

Premise: Isekai, MC reincarnated into a game where she knows who the guy who is most likely to kill her is, but in her attempt to avoid getting killed by him, ends up taking actions that make him grow into an obsessive love-hate instead. Top tier, this boy is probably the worst (in a good way) of how all the Umekoppe love interests treat the girl.

"Heibon Onna wa Downer Kami-sama ni Izon sarete Modorenai" (this one didn't have a translated title, sorry)

(Link)

Premise: MC discovers her friend is a shrine god and wolf-boy. Wolfboy fun times ensue (and in the end she's apparently unknowingly trapped into being with him forever, so that's nice).

You’re Cutest When You’re Pathetic ~Obsessed Golden Retriever Boy Haru’s Disciplinary Sex~

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: Softboy™ neighbor finds MC's phone with lewd stuff on it, gets her confessions in drunk conversations, turns out to not be so much of a Softboy behind closed doors.

Oniben Katze

Another group that also does a lot of fem-targeted stuff.

Serious Sex with my Brutish Boyfriend

(Link)

Premise: MC's lover gets mad over rumors that she's a slut, decides to get possessive and rough over it.

Dog Eat Dog Era

(Part One)

(Part Two/Extras)

Premise: a personal favorite, an isekai'd witch adopts two dragon boys who grow up to have a strong fixation with her and noncon ensues.

Parasite Garden

Makes notably darker stuff that contains more controversial subject matter/themes, so be warned.

The Corpse of a Goldfish is at the Bottom of the Swamp

(Link)

CW: INCEST

Premise: possessive brother wants to corrupt/mindbreak sister to keep her forever (spoiler: he succeeds)

The Neighbor in Room 203 Disappeared Leaving their Keys Behind

(Link)

Premise: stalker girl meets her match, as it turns out the boy neighbor she's stalking pulls a spiderman pointing meme and has actually been her stalker for even longer and to a much greater, darker, and more more extreme extent, and is intent on not letting her go.

My Sweet Bunny Cage

(Part One)

(Part Two)

Premise: tiny girl is kidnapped by a crazed guy convinced she is the reincarnation of his lost pet rabbit.

Other

(artist listed below titles)

If you wish, hypnosis ~Maki-san's secret love therapy~

(Link)

Artist: Meeo

Premise: pretty straightforward, after she doesn't believe it's real, MC's coworker uses hypnosis on her for Certain Specific Purposes.

Sakaki the Lazybones Shows His Talents at Night

(Link) (Contains all chapters' links on the page, you might have to scroll down on the chapter list to see chapter one on some phones)

Artist: Potsunen Jin

Premise: (Another personal favorite) MC's younger coworker, peak innocent idolizing softboy, is in love with her and takes advantage of a situation while she's drunk after watching porn to "learn what girls like." Clingy, possessive relationship ensues.

Lady K and the Sick Man

(Chapter One) (site's menu is a bit awkward to deal with, but you have to click in the corner to view the menu to go to other chapters).

Artist: Rororogi Mogera

Yet another personal favorite, this one does have slight male gaze to it in that it focuses on the girl quite a bit, but it still focuses on the guy way more than the average doujin. Also the guy is an older bigger guy, if you ever tire of the twink/twunk standard in yumejoshi stuff.

Premise: guy moves into an apartment with a ghost lady and just kinda accepts it because he can't afford to live anywhere else, but quickly decides he’s down bad for ghussy.

I Became the True Love Object of Mr. Segawa, Who Has a Huge Attitude and Body

(Link)

Artist: Haruo Haruyama

Premise: very straightforward office coworkers to lovers, coworker is a big guy who turns out to be kinda sadistic, which is good for the masochistic MC.

The Man Who Saved Me on my Isekai Trip was a Killer

(Part One)

(Part Two)

(Part Three)

Artist: Ahan Horihori

Premise: this one got kind of infamous and shock-valued the mainstream crowd due to an animated advertisement I believe, it's essentially self-explanatory from the title: isekai'd lady gets saved by a guy who turns out to be a violent murderer, dark and sometimes pseudo-incesty plot twists ensue.

[mrkis]

the way life goes — six(final). (n.jm)

PAIRING: na jaemin x reader GENRE: angst, fluff, smut, college au WORD COUNT: 18.5k

SYNOPSIS: it's crazy how everything had came to be in your life, you didn't expect anything to happen the way it did. but you suppose that's the way life goes.

CHAPTERS WARNINGS: absolute mess and head fuck as twlg always is, angsty just how i like it, mentions of heavy emotions, dumb reader and jaemin moments, eunbin and jaemin moments, mentions of alcohol and weed, explicit language (a lot of cursing), kissing, oral (f receiving), unprotected sex,

[series m.list]

Jaemin sleeps soundly for the first time that night.

He would argue that it’s probably the best sleep he’s had in ages—covered in blankets, wrapped up in your arms with his head resting on your chest, legs tangled together… he felt at peace.

He’s pretty sure he dreamt for the first time too. No recurring nightmares appearing or dreamless nights where he wakes up groggy, confused and lonely.

He dreamt. He dreamt of him, he dreamt of you. You looked so pretty—you always look pretty. You were smiling, you were laughing all while holding onto his arm and pointing at the sky. The sun was setting; a mixture of yellows, oranges and pinks. It would’ve been a beautiful picture to capture, especially with your silhouette in the shot.

The group were there too, running across that sand barefooted, screaming and shouting as the cold sea came to shore. But he wasn’t focused on them. He has his eyes set on you. 

But, much to his dismay, he wakes up before he can even finish the dream, and he wakes up alone.

His hand runs across the bed, a frown settling on his features at the cold touch of the sheets pricks his fingertips. Jaemin lifts himself up on his elbows as he stares at the empty spot with fuzzy vision, hair sticking in different directions and muscles aching. 

You’ve been out of bed for a while, He thinks while he sits up, sleeping rubbing at his face as he swings his legs over the side of the bed to stand up. He wobbles across his floorboards, blindly reaching in the dark to retrieve a clean pair of shorts to tug them up his legs to cover his modesty, fumbling to get to his bedroom door.

Jaemin steps out into the vacant hallway, squinting at the light that blinds his eyes as he walks towards the bathroom, dripping the doorknob and twisting with a call of your name, fully expecting you to be sitting on the toilet or even in the bathtub as he peers his head inside but grunts as he’s met with complete darkness, and a empty room.

His brows draw together in confusion as he pulls the door shut, turning to look over his shoulder to eye the closed bedroom doors of the other boys, not fully sure if they all came back home last night after they all ventured to the girls apartment.

Jaemin hovers outside of Yangyang’s bedroom, debating whether to open it up and take a quick peek inside to see if, for some reason, you were in there. But he’s met with darkness yet again, and an empty bed. 

He feels a little uncomfortable and majorly confused, flashbacks of waking up alone after his last night with Eunbin before she disappeared repeats in his head and he feels the panic build up in his chest, trying his best to calm his erratic heartbeat as he ventures downstairs and into the kitchen to grab himself a glass of cold water but flinches in shock when he switches on the light and sees Donghyuck sat alone at the kitchen island with his hand shoved in a cereal box.

Jaemin stares at him in bewilderment, “What are you doing?”

“I’m eating” Donghyuck answers simply, giving him an odd look as he shoves another handful of cereal into his mouth before bringing his attention back to his phone that lays across the marble countertop, scrolling through instagram. 

“Where is everyone?”

“Shotaro’s in his room sleeping, Renjun is with Haru and Yangyang and Jeno are walking Y/N back home”

Jaemin does a complete double take. “Walking her home?”

“She said she wasn’t feeling too good when we came in, caught her just by the door… was afraid she was going to throw up or something” Donghyuck explains to Jaemin who grows even more confused. “We were going to call her a cab but she said she wanted some fresh air so Jeno offered to walk her home. Yangyang tagged along because he got worried”

The panic inside of Jaemin builds at the thought of you not feeling okay, trying his hardest to remember how much alcohol you drank a few hours prior just in case you got too drunk, but he knows you didn’t drink that much and you were completely sober when you got back to the house. He then tries to remember if something had happened when the two of you were together in his room and if he had done something wrong or something to hurt you when you had slept together, but nothing comes to mind, he’s stuck. 

Jaemin leaves Donghyuck alone in the kitchen as he runs back upstairs, not bothering to continue on with the conversation as the latter shouts nonsense behind him about what could’ve possibly happened, too busy searching for his phone to call you.

It rings once, twice, three times before it goes to voicemail and Jaemin huffs, tapping the call icon again and sandwiches his phone between his cheek and shoulder to listen to it ring once again as he yanks open his closet in search for some pants and a shirt, desperate to find something to wear so he can head over to your apartment. 

“She’s home safe, you know” A voice interrupts from behind and Jaemin whizzes around to see Jeno standing in the doorway with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, head tilted to the side as he stares with Jaemin with an amused glint in his eyes when he sees the heap of clothes in front of him. “You can calm down”

“Is she sick?” Jaemin asks, pulling the phone away from his ears when it goes to voicemail yet again and he frowns.

“She doesn’t really seem herself,” Jeno admits, pressing his lips together as he figures out how to word his next question. “Did something happen between you both?”

“What? No” Jaemin's eyebrows furrow at that. “We’re fine. We talked when we got home—about the party and whatever. She was going to tell me something but we got carried away… did she say something to you?”

“Not a word” Jeno shakes his head, shifting on his feet as he straightens his back. “I don’t know if you know but Eunbin—”

“Dude, I don’t give a fuck about Eunbin right now” Jaemin cuts Jeno off with a deep sigh, his arms falling to his sides in exhaustion and annoyance. “Ever since she came back, all you guys have been doing is throwing her name around and shoving conversations about her in my face… I don’t care about Eunbin”

“Funny” Jeno scoffs, his tongue prodding at his cheek as he rips his hands out of his pockets to curl his fist around Jaemin’s bedroom door handle. “For someone that claims they don’t give a fuck about Eunbin, you sure hang out with her a lot”

Jaemin grits his teeth, “You know it’s not like that”

Jeno’s brows raise at that, “Do I?” And with that, Jeno slams the door shut, leaving Jaemin alone in his room with his thoughts.

 Walking out and ignoring Jaemin after spending the night with him is probably one of the stupidest decisions you have ever made, and you have made a few. 

A big part of you wanted to stay—to blurt out your full feelings and admit that you have grown to like him in a way you promised not to, but the conversation with Eunbin and lying about how there were no feelings involved weighed heavily on your chest and you felt guilty.

You felt guilty for lying, guilty for sleeping with him after telling Eunbin that you’d stop, guilty for leaving the second he fell into a deep sleep, guilty for not being selfish and getting what you want. 

But, as always, you’ve never been selfish. You’ve always been selfless, you like making other people happy even if it means hurting yourself. It’s a flaw that the girls have grilled you for more times than you can possibly count. 

You never learn, you never listen.

When Yangyang and Jeno walked you home that night, you could feel their curious and doubtful gazes on the side of your head, desperate to ask what was actually wrong and why you decided to leave early, clearly not taking the ‘I’m sick’ comment as an excuse. You hate how well they know you, but you were grateful they didn’t push for a real answer, there was no way you could be honest to them about what happened at the party. 

“What’s wrong?” Miwoo questions you the next morning at breakfast and you feel your shoulders slump. Miwoo, on the other hand, pushes for the answer while Haru observes, staring at you until you break yourself. This is not what you need. “You’ve been weird since you got home late last night”

“Hungover” You simply lie, twirling your spoon around the cereal bowl. “I drank too much”

Miwoo scoffs at that, “You hardly drank”

“I agree” Haru chimes in softly, watching you over the rim of her coffee as she takes a sip. 

“Nothings wrong,” You tell them.

“Okay”

“Stop it” You warn, pointing your spoon in Haru’s direction menacingly as if it will help, not appreciating the way the corners of her lips lift up in amusement. “I don’t like it when you assess me with your eyes, makes me feel nervous”

Miwoo grins, leaning on her elbow smugly. “Why would you be nervous if there’s nothing wrong?”

You huff in frustration, sliding down in your seat with a frown as you shove a spoonful of cereal in your mouth to not utter a single word to them, casting your eyes down to your bowl as they stare into you, waiting for you to crack. 

You hold your ground, refusing to make eye contact with any of them as you continue eating your breakfast but the quietness that surrounds you three with the occasional crunch of cereal and sip of coffee makes you feel like you’re losing your mind.

“Fine” You immediately crack, your spoon clanging against the bowl as you drop it, crossing your arms over your chest as you turn your head towards Miwoo. “I’ll speak if you tell us why you’re spending so much time with Sunwoo”

Miwoo gasps, palm of her hand slapping against her chest in shock. “Don’t turn this on me”

Haru slowly cranes her head to Miwoo almost comically. “Interesting”

“I saw you talk to him last night so I’m sure he spilled on what I asked from him” Miwoo tuts with a shake of her head. “I just wanted to have some fun and Sunwoo carries a lot of the fun. He didn’t give me anything, but I did sit down with him for like an hour and talked… It was strange, a good strange” 

You stare at her quizzically as you ask, “Do you like him?”

Miwoo snorts. “No. Since breaking up with Jeno, I’m done with relationships for now. I don’t need them”

“But?”

“But I like to think as myself as ‘sex positive’ so if the opportunity comes around where I can get dicked down then—”

“Okay, your turn” Haru cuts her off as she directs the conversation towards you, staring at you expectedly and you mentally groan, biting down on your inner cheek for even agreeing to spill the truth if Miwoo did first.

Honestly, you didn’t think Miwoo would actually talk about Sunwoo. You expected her to change the topic, to talk about something else like she usually does but of course, with just your luck, she was honest.

You sigh deeply, clearly a little frustrated and annoyed but you know your friends mean well. They’re curious—worried—about your sudden mood drop and how weird you’ve been acting since last night. They’re looking out for you, they care.

“I think I’m going to stop sleeping around with Jaemin” Your confession makes the girls freeze in confusion and shock, staring at you across the table and silently pleading for you to continue and explain. “I just thought that maybe it’s been going on for too long, you know”

Haru gives you a disappointed look, “You didn’t talk to him, did you?”

“I couldn’t” You shake your head, knowing what she’s hinting at. Your feelings towards Jaemin. “I couldn’t do it”

“Talk to him about what? How much you like him?” Miwoo asks nonchalantly as she takes a sip of her juice and your head snaps towards Haru for outing you out but she shakes her head, putting her hands up in defence and Miwoo snickers softly, “I figured it out. I’ve known for a while. I was just waiting for you to admit it out loud”

You frown deeply, “Is it that obvious?”

“Not really” Miwoo hums before sending you a smile, “I just know you. You're one of my best friends”

You blink at her sudden kindness, “Well that’s sweet”

Miwoo shrugs her shoulders with a smug grin as she leans back comfortably in her seat, “I try sometimes”

“I still think you should talk to him” Haru brings up the topic once again and your stomach flips with anxiety, a weight laying heavy on your chest. “You won’t know if he feels the same unless you talk to him about it”

“What if talking about it makes it worse?” You ask, voicing your fears with a shaken tone. “What if I’m standing there—blurting out my entire feelings and telling him that I broke the most important rule we made and then he rejects me or something?

“Rejection happens” Haru tells you quietly, giving you a small but tight lipped smile that does nothing to calm your nerves. “Rejection is a part of life. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, sometimes it’s not, but it happens. I think rejection helps us grow too. Sure, it fucking sucks but it’s a pain that will be forgotten in the long run. It’ll be okay”

“Also, there would be something seriously wrong with him if he rejected you” Miwoo chimes in, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at you from across the table. “I’d date you if you confess your undying love to me”

You can’t help but smile in amusement at that, the corner of your lips twitching upwards. “Thanks, Miwoo”

Maybe you should’ve been completely honest to the girls on why you wanted to stop sleeping with Jaemin, and although you did admit a few of your worries like rejection and heartache, the thought of what Eunbin had asked of you left a bitter taste in your mouth.

You did weigh the pros and cons when you were alone in your room getting ready for the day. The pros being that they would have comforted you to the extreme, perhaps maybe even talked some sense into you and told you that it’s okay to be selfish every once in a while. 

The cons felt heavier, intense. They would have gotten mad, at you and definitely at Eunbin. Haru has always been silent but deadly with her anger while Miwoo has, without a doubt, been more physical and verbal. She would get her hands dirty if someone had hurt you, Haru or anybody she cared about, even herself. 

You didn’t want to cause a fight, that would be a little too dramatic.

You lean back in your chair at the library with a sigh, stretching out the aching muscles in your back and arms before placing down your pen and flexing out your fingers, the numbing sensation spreading to the tips, having been holding your pen in the same position for so long left a dull throbbing in your hand.

The heaps of notes, books and Donghyuck’s laptop that you borrowed from him once again splayed out in front of you proves how long you’ve been studying inside the library, and you mentally curse at yourself for spending your free period cramming all your work into one instead of grabbing a coffee with the others.

But you had your reasons.

A stack of books slam down on the desk in front of you and you jump in fright at the sudden noise, eyes widening in shock as your head snaps up to the culprit, ignoring the sounds of other students around you shushing you or warning you to be quiet as you see Jeno.

Usually, you would’ve scoffed and calmed down once settling your attention on Jeno, but with his jaw clenched and dark eyes staring at you through the messy strands that fall in front of his face, it’s hard for you to calm down. In fact, it makes you feel more scared. 

“Why are you ignoring Jaemin?”

“I’m not!!” You splutter, shaking your head. You are. “Keep your noise down, we’re in a library”

“I don’t care about the library” Jeno scoffs, pulling out the chair vacant opposite you and making himself comfortable, crossing his arms over his chest as he stares at you expectedly. “Why are you ignoring Jaemin?”

“I told you, I’m not” You lie, gesturing towards the mess in front of you. “I’ve been busy with my assessments. The college life is stressful, you know”

“So it has nothing to do with the conversation you had with Eunbin?” That throws you for a loop and your lips press together tightly, unable to control the emotions that are easily now written upon your face and Jeno sighs, dropping his head low with a shake before looking back up at you. “What happened?”

“Nothing—”

“Come on, you know you can’t lie to me,” Jeno says with a teasing smile. “Talk to me. I promise I won’t tell a soul” You give him a disbelieving look, “Okay, depends on what is it because sometimes I can’t keep my mouth shut when talking to Donghyuck—”

“Jeno” You cut him off with a frustrated sigh, rubbing your hand across your forehead at the headache that forms. Jeno frowns deeply at you, his efforts of making you laugh and crack a smile fails him, letting him know that whatever happened between you and Eunbin must’ve been serious. 

He calls your name softly and your hand drops to your lap as you gaze up at him, hating how worryingly he’s looking at you right now but you bite back any comment you want to make, swallowing thickly before you begin to talk again.

“I don’t want to continue being official and sleeping with Jaemin anymore” You admit, the heavy weight laying on your chest once again as Jeno’s eyebrows raise in shock. “I have been avoiding him… but that’s because I’m nervous to have the conversation with him. I’m making it worse”

Jeno’s quiet as he mumbles, “How come?”

“Feels like it’s gotten a little out of hand” You laugh softly, embarrassment filling your tone as you stare awkwardly at your fidgeting hands. “Rules were broken—important rules. I ended up breaking the main one”

Jeno takes a moment to register what you had just admitted, remembering the five rules Jaemin had told him during the early stages of your friends with benefits situation, and everything slowly begins to sink in, a genuine smile threatening to spill onto his lips as he stares at you, “You like him”

You nod quickly, feeling awkward and embarrassed for admitting something to someone like Jeno: Jaemin’s ultimate best friend. You feel a little stupid too, but you push down all regrets and worries as you mutter, “But I can’t like him”

Jeno’s eyebrows furrow, confused. “Why not?”

You finally meet his eyes across the table, giving him a tight lipped smile as the words pour from your lips. “Because Eunbin likes him too”

Jeno promised he wouldn’t tell anyone about your conversation with Eunbin after he made you explain everything in detail, wrapping his pinky tightly around yours to seal off the promise. 

The look of anger and annoyance written across his features worried you a little and at some point you were afraid he was about to burst and curse up a storm, but he kept his cool (much to your surprise) despite his facial expressions giving away exactly what he was thinking.

He accompanies you for his entire free period despite you telling him that you’re fine without the company but he ignores you as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, kicking his feet up on the empty chair beside him as he mindlessly scrolls. You scoff as you catch him glancing over at you from time to time. 

Jeno also decides to come with you when Donghyuck demands his laptop back when he and the others return from getting coffee, sending you an interesting text with a bunch of emojis and light-hearted threats if you don’t return his ‘prized possession’ back in one piece. 

You walk side by side with Jeno now, heading towards the outside grounds where you know the others will be waiting for your arrival and you grow a little nervous when you think about Jaemin. Would he be there? Did he have a free period to go and get coffee too? Or would he stay behind and catch up on his own work?

The questions leave you dizzy and annoyed, huffing at your thoughts which easily catches Jeno’s attention and he gives you a kind smile, reaching his hand up to your shoulder to dig his fingers into the pressure points, causing you to wince upon his first touch but slowly relax in complete bliss as you feel the tension slip away. 

You give him a dumb grin to which he snorts at.

“Hey” A familiar voice calls out and you crane your neck to the side, the grin slowly slipping from your lips as you see Jaemin emerge from a class with Junghoon, who you’ve grown to learn is his nosey seatmate, by his side. It seems like your questions are answered. He did stay.

Jaemin eyes the way Jeno’s fingers are dug into your shoulders, brow twitching upwards in question when he watches his hands slowly trail down your arm and drop to his sides casually, giving Jaemin a smile that, for once, Jaemin didn’t bother giving back.

Your mouth feels dry upon seeing Jaemin, unable to come up with a simple greeting when he makes his way towards you, but he stops abruptly when Junghoon tumbles into him and apologises profusely when he steps on the back of Jaemin’s shoe, yet Jaemin pays no mind to the small accident and instead swats Junghoon away when it dawns on him that he’s trying to follow behind.

Junghoon’s mouth drops open in offence, spinning around on his heel with a scoff and disappearing into the crowd, but not before giving you a wave to which you felt obliged to return and your hand falls to your side when Jaemin brings his attention back to you. 

“Hey” He greets you casually, but his brows pull together in concern as his eyes take you in, roaming your face with curiosity. “Are you okay? I’ve been trying to call you but… it kept going straight to voicemail”

“Yeah, sorry” You apologise, the guilt immediately eating you up and you struggle to look him in the eyes even when he tries so hard to meet yours. “I wasn’t feeling too great and then I had assessments from Professor Moon, I just—” You gulp. “I’ve been busy”

“Are you feeling better now?” Jaemin asks you and you nod quickly, but abruptly stop when he asks the next question, “Are you still busy now?”

“I, well…” You pause, staring down at Donghyuck’s laptop in your hands before looking back up at him. “I have to give this to Donghyuck—”

“Jeno can give it back” Jaemin tells you, not even sparing a glance at Jeno who’s been silently watching the interaction this entire time, his hands shoved deep into his jean pockets with his jaw locked. You’re unsure of what to say back, but the urge to make up a lame excuse on why you should be the one to give Donghyuck his laptop back lays on the tip of your tongue. “I want to talk to you, alone”

You’re about to decline, to follow along with your excuse until you hear the faint ‘please’ that leaves his lips when you take a second too long to answer him. It leaves you crumbling, the walls that you’ve built up fall down just from that word and the tone that was used.

You hate how weak he makes you feel and you mentally scold yourself when you hand the laptop over to Jeno who’s already staring at you, trying to communicate with you through subtle glances but you simply nod at him to tell him that everything was okay, and maybe this could be your chance to end things with Jaemin once and for all.

Jeno bids you both a silent goodbye, giving one last look at Jaemin and Jaemin holds eye contact with him for a few moments before dropping his head low as he remembers the small dispute the pair had regarding himself and Eunbin—but Jaemin didn’t care about that right now, not when he finally has you here in person.

He offers his hand out for you to take and you feel a little dumb staring at it, debating in your head whether to hold it or not. You really want to hold his hand, to feel his warmth against your skin and get that comfort you’ve been yearning for, yet the guilt is quick to rise and the conversation with Eunbin comes to mind. You can’t take his hand.

But yet, you do. 

Your fingers slide through his before you can even register you’re doing it and the squeeze he gives your hand is enough to pull you out of your thoughts that swarm your head. You allow him to take you wherever he wants to go to talk to you alone and the anxiety that surges through your veins at the lingering eyes of others causes you to drop your head low to avoid their stares, especially Mia’s who watches with her arms crossed tightly over her chest and her jaw clenched. 

“What’s going on?” Jaemin asks the question you have been dreading and the silence that fills the empty classroom he had pulled you inside for your one-on-one talk makes you feel uncomfortable, and a little nervous. 

You have no idea how to even talk to him, let alone start the conversation of ending whatever it is you both have. A friends with benefits situation, an official one. That’s all it has ever been. Your stomach twists and turns at that, refusing to make eye contact with him as you look elsewhere, focussing on a board with scribbles from its previous class.

Jaemin calls out your name softly and you almost jump when you feel the palm of his hands cup your cheeks to turn your attention on him, and your heart drops plummets in your stomach. The desperate look in his eyes, the curiosity—the worry—it makes you feel sick.

“I know you said you’ve been busy… but it kinda feels like you’ve been avoiding me” Jaemin laughs lightly despite the crushed tone, his thumbs caressing your cheekbones as his lips press together with a sigh. “Please talk to me”

“Jaemin, I—” You wanted to scream when you heard his phone shrill loudly in his pocket, ruining your chance to explain what was going on. Maybe it was a good thing you were getting interrupted, you weren’t exactly ready to end whatever you both had and truthfully, you didn’t want to.

Although you grow confused when Jaemin allows his phone to continuously ring, not bothering to check the caller ID and answer it as his attention is focused on nothing but you. You would’ve been entirely grateful if this was under a different circumstance, recalling the amount of times he’s answered the phone when you were together but you couldn’t ignore it, not with that annoying ringtone. 

Slipping your hand into his jean pockets, you fish out his phone and you barely bite back a scoff when you see Eunbin’s caller ID. You’re shocked at your complete 180 in attitude, being so used to feeling guilty and ashamed when being in Jaemin’s presence with Eunbin’s name running in your mind, but now you feel annoyed—resentful even.

“You should answer it”

“I don’t want to,” Jaemin immediately says.

“It hasn’t stopped you before” You bite back before you can stop yourself, your bitter tone catching Jaemin off guard and you sigh, closing your eyes in defeat. “I’m sorry—”

“Did she say something to you?” It was your turn to be caught off guard, your eyes snapping open to stare at Jaemin who’s hands drop to his side, head tilting to the side quizzically. 

Jaemin remembered his brief encounter with Jeno during the night you left, how Jeno had brought up Eunbin’s name but Jaemin was quick to shut it down, not wanting to know anything or even hear anything about his ex-girlfriend. 

But he can’t help but piece two and two together: you have been acting weird since Eunbin’s welcome home party and he’s almost certain he saw you and Eunbin together before he was pushed inside of her home by others who attended the party.

Instead of answering him like he wishes you would’ve, you look down at his phone in your hands and slide your finger across the answer button, shoving his phone in his grasp with force and collecting your belongings to leave him alone once again.

A gasp flies from your lips as you feel Jaemin’s fingers wrap around your wrist and tug you back to him, and you almost trip over your own feet if it wasn’t for his tight grip to keep you steady, staring at him in complete shock as he stares back with a unreadable expression on his face.

You hear Eunbin’s voice call out his name from the speaker: asking if he’s there, asking if he can hear her and what he’s doing, but he remains silent with his attention, yet again, focused on you and it makes your heart pound loudly in your ears. 

Your thoughts ramble together, unable to even come up with a clear thought to get you out of this situation. Instead, you do what you know best. 

You kiss him.

You don’t know why you kissed him, you don’t really know what brought on the urge to do so but you did. With your arms wrapped around his shoulders, fingers curled around the hair at the nape of his neck, chest pressed against his, you kissed him hungrily—desperately.

It’s when you feel Jaemin respond to the kiss, letting his phone drop to the ground as his hands come up to rest on your waist that you realise what you’re doing and you recoil back in shock, eyes wide as you stare between him and his phone on the ground, baffled at what you just done.

Jaemin tries to reach back out to you, to bring you back to him and to kiss you again but you refuse, muttering a small apology as you finally gather your things and leave him once again.

It’s been two weeks since Jaemin last interacted with you in the classroom. 

There’s been brief moments where he encountered you with the group, but it’s obvious now when you avoid his gaze or make up some excuse to go somewhere else or that you’re busy, and Jaemin is tired.

What makes it worse is that it seems everyone else around him is knowing what's going on while he’s left alone in the dark to figure it out himself. It makes him upset, even though he’d never admit it out loud to anyone. 

It makes him upset to see you avoid him so quickly, to refuse to meet up with him alone or to talk to him. He’s tried calling you, he’s tried texting you—hell, he’s even tried to talk to Haru and Miwoo who give him nothing in return but a sharp look or disappointing gaze.

He’s sick of it.

Jaemin’s not sick of you, he doesn’t think he could be ever sick of you. He’s sick of the hushed whispers he hears from the group, how they refuse to tell him what’s going on. He’s sick of the looks he gets from them whenever Eunbin makes a sudden appearance to talk to him, whether it’ll be through a phone call or in person. 

He knows Eunbin’s trying to get on good terms with him, to rebuild a friendship with him while she’s back. Some part of him admires Eunbin for her efforts as Jaemin doesn’t bother giving anything back apart from some half-hearted replies or sounds of acknowledgement when she says something to him, but the other part of him is annoyed at how she can pretend that nothing ever happened and that because he forgave her for his closure, Eunbin thinks it’s fine to worm her way back into his life with his friends (who clearly hate her). 

Jaemin feels conflicted. He hates awkwardness and he hates the tension, and he’s not the best when it comes to uncomfortable situations. He can, however, have his moments when it comes to other people. He doesn’t mind being confrontational if it helps the other person, but when it comes to himself he would avoid it at all costs. 

He wouldn’t admit it out loud but he wants his friends to be happy and he most importantly wants you to be happy. Eunbin? He ponders her name for a moment, tongue prodding at his cheek as he stares at his blank computer screen. Eunbin is not his priority. He doesn’t really care about Eunbin’s happiness.

So why was he trying so hard to keep the peace on both ends? Jaemin grows frustrated again, trying his best to clear his thoughts as he busies himself with his computer, editing a picture he had taken of Shotaro recently but he gets distracted when he hears his phone vibrate relentlessly on his desk and he picks it up, brows pulling together as he sees the main groupchat is active. 

[ 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗨'𝗦 𝗦𝗨𝗚𝗔𝗥 𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦 — 𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗣𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗧 ]

donghyuck: sunwoos having a party tonight donghyuck: he invited all of us and said he’s got the goods covered donghyuck: i think i love him a lil 

yangyang: i’m down [donghyuck hearted this message]

renjun: who the fuck changed the groupchat name.

miwoo: me❤️

renjun: change it back.

yangyang: 🗣️rare sight of renjun getting overprotective over his gf 🗣️

donghyuck: i screenshot already👍 [yangyang liked this message] [renjun disliked this message]

miwoo: haru is the only one with a big bank account tho bc she works miwoo: its fitting dont u think????

donghyuck: idkkk donghyuck: just wait until me n jeno start our onlyfans account

jeno: 🤨

yangyang: wait hyuck why not ask m e????

donghyuck: no offence but jeno would bring in the views

yangyang: you right you right 

jeno: anyway jeno: im down for the party jeno: haven’t had one in a while

renjun: you had one last weekend.

yangyang: we literally hosted a party last weekend????

donghyuck: did you get so fucked up you forgot we had one last weekend???

jeno: shut up jeno: are we all going or not [yangyang, donghyuck and miwoo liked this message] jeno: what abt renjun, haru, shotaro, yn & jaemin???

miwoo: renjun goes if haru goes miwoo: and shotaro goes if renjun and haru goes [donghyuck questioned this message]

donghyuck: uh no donghyuck: shotaro goes if ME and YANG go

miwoo: idk abt that :/

shotaro: i go if you all go :)

donghyuck: i love you

haru: me and renjun can’t go tonight, we’re packing for our weekend trip

miwoo: THE FCK??? 🤨🤨🤨 miwoo: WHAT WEEKEND TRIP???? miwoo: and without me???

you: haru and renjun have planned this trip for like weeks, that’s why haru asked for more shifts at work [haru hearted this message] [renjun liked this message]

renjun: at least someone listens.

donghyuck: wait what teh fuck

miwoo: thats what im SAYING

donghyuck: what happened to group trips </3 do we not do those anymore </3 

miwoo: ^ ^ ^

donghyuck: this friday is the worst friday to have ever friday [miwoo emphasised this message]

shotaro: is this our first time seeing miwoo and hyuck agree on something?? [donghyuck and miwoo disliked this message] shotaro: sorry.

yangyang: where are u guys going??

renjun: none of your business.

haru: rented out a beach house!

donghyuck: BEACH TRIPS ARE OUR THING!!!!!???

miwoo: how are me and yn going to survive without haru miwoo: i feel so lonely already </3

haru: i’ll be gone for three days…

miwoo: and??? miwoo: do u know how long that is????

yangyang: 3 days lol [miwoo disliked this message]

donghyuck: 3 days??? [miwoo disliked this message]

renjun: 3 days. [miwoo disliked this message]

miwoo: ok stfu

jeno: we’re getting side tracked. jeno: yn? jaemin? party??? 

you: idk you: i’ll think abt it

yangyang: thats a yes yangyang: because i’ll be dragging ur ass out

donghyuck: me too ;)

jeno: jae??

jaemin: no.

And with that, Jaemin shuts off his phone and drops it beside him on his desk, leaning back in his chair with his head in his hands, rubbing at his face in frustration as his chest tightens with an uncomfortable feeling. He hates this.

“Don’t take this the wrong way but, why are you even here right now?” Haru questions you with a quick glance over her shoulder as she restocks the vinyls, rearranging them in alphabetical order for Johnny’s liking.

She spins to face Renjun for a brief moment with a grin, holding up a vinyl with the words ‘COLOURFUL TRAUMA’ scrawled across the front in block letters and Renjun nods, opening up his little ‘misfits’ tote bag and allowing her to shove the vinyl inside for later purchase. 

“Can’t I just come visit you at work?” You question back, finding offence as you frown at her. Your arms cross over your chest as you lean against a pillar, raising a brow in her direction. “Is it wrong for me to want to hang out with you?”

Renjun scoffs, “You’re so dramatic” You retaliate by throwing up your middle finger and Renjun does the same with a smile, causing Haru to give you both a pointed look, clearly unimpressed with your attitudes towards each other.

“I think you’re stalling” Haru tells you, turning back to the vinyls. “He’s not going tonight, you know. Ditch the party and actually talk to him… avoiding him isn’t going to make either of you feel better”

“I can’t bring myself to do it” You admit, staring down at your shoes in disappointment. “I don’t want to end whatever we have for my benefit… but not only do I not know how he feels about me, I have Eunbin waiting to make her move and get her second chance”

“Eunbin doesn’t deserve a second chance” Renjun says, causing you to look at him. “And honestly? I don’t think Jaemin is dumb enough to give her a second chance. At this point she’s just making a complete fool out of herself”

Your lips curl into a frown, “Doesn’t that mean technically that I’m making a complete fool out of myself too?”

Haru turns her head towards you abruptly, “What makes you say that?”

“Think about it,” You start, uncrossing your arms to count off your fingers. “I’ve fallen for him without knowing how he feels about me. I broke the most important rule we had made which, shocker, is the don't fall for each other rule. I’m practically stalling everything just so I don’t have that conversation with him and potentially lose him… I’m a fool”

“You’re just scared—”

You blink at Haru, “That makes me feel so much worse”

“It’s okay to be scared, you know” Renjun speaks this time and you’re surprised by his soft and caring tone, eyes wide as you look over at him. Renjun rolls his eyes at your expression, “I can be nice sometimes”

“Yeah, and it’s creepy” You tell him, causing Renjun to scoff and Haru to laugh at her boyfriend, patting him on the shoulder before resuming in her work. “I know it’s okay to be scared, by the way… I just hate feeling it and I want to get rid of it. I wish I could pull an Eunbin and leave on a trip”

Haru sucks through her teeth, gently whacking you on top of the head with a vinyl. “Don’t use that writing trip as an escape”

Renjun snorts at your choice of words, “Pull an Eunbin”

“It was a joke” You tell her, rubbing the top of your head despite it not actually hurting you. “I have been thinking about it though. Professor Moon asks me about it from time to time, and I still have Mr Nakamoto’s details on a note somewhere in the bottom of my bag”

“Go on the trip if it’s something you really want, but don’t go on the trip if you’re using it as an escape route to avoid Jaemin” Haru gives you a hard look and you’re a little startled, not expecting her to give you that type of expression. “You’ll be worse than Eunbin if you do that”

Renjun spares you a quick glance, “Don’t be Eunbin”

You frown at that, the thought of becoming something like her leaving an uncomfortable feeling on your chest. You regret the joke you made moments prior about pulling an Eunbin and leaving—you’d never do something like that, that would be the last thing you’d do. Jaemin would, truthfully, be one of the first people you’d tell if you decided to go on the trip, remembering how excited he was for you when you first mentioned it to him. 

You wouldn’t do that to him—you wouldn’t leave without telling him, no matter what type of situation you’re both in.

“Do you want a job or something?” The sudden but familiar voice causes you to slowly turn around on your heel, eyes zoning in on Johnny who’s standing behind you with a pudding cup in hand and a spoon in the other, staring at you with a deadpan expression as he raises his spoon to his mouth.

“What?”

“You’re here all the time.” Johnny points out, the corner of his lips subtly twitching which gives you the impression he’s teasing you. “Do you want a job or something? Help organise the shelves? Be my assistant?”

“Fuck off, Johnny”

“Are you really going on a trip?” Miwoo frowns, sitting on the edge of Haru’s bed as she watches her pack her final belongings for the weekend getaway. 

When Haru had finished her shift this evening, she rushed home with you to pack while you had to shower and get ready for Sunwoo’s party. (Miwoo’s orders. You didn’t feel like crossing Miwoo today.)

You’re prettied up alongside Miwoo, wearing your favourite outfit along with some silver jewellery and heavy makeup that you think definitely pulls the look in all together—you praise Miwoo for her talents. And despite not wanting to go in the first place, you have to admit that you feel much better after seeing your reflection. 

“Yes, I’m really going on this trip,” Haru tells her as she’s shoving some hygiene products into her bag. “Why do you keep asking me?”

“The longest I’ve been without you is five hours,” Miwoo explains. “You’re going for three days—how am I going to cope?”

Haru snorts, “Mi—”

“No, seriously. What should I do?” Miwoo deadpans. “You’re, like, my anchor. What am I going to do?”

“It’s three days” Haru repeats to her as she places a comforting hand on Miwoo’s shoulder and gives her a warm smile. “You’ll be fine… plus, you can just call me if you want”

“Everyday?”

Haru gives her a look, “Don’t push it”

“Worth a shot” Miwoo grins before she shoots up from Haru’s bed, quickly excusing herself to retrieve something for her as she dashes out of the room. You snort at her behaviour, turning your head to look at Haru who seems a little uneasy and bothered, it makes you frown.

“Can you do me a favour?” Haru asks you before you can even get the chance to question what was wrong, but you nod anyway. “Keep an eye on Miwoo”

“I mean, I will, but,” You pause, brows pulling together. “Why?”

“She spoke to me last night about some stuff—well, she hinted towards some things about herself and about Jeno. How weird and lost she feels, how different things seem to be without having Jeno there in her life as a boyfriend” Haru explains to you quietly, keeping her voice low and glancing towards her bedroom door to make sure Miwoo wasn’t returning back yet. “Don’t get me wrong, Miwoo can be independent… but I think she also depended on Jeno a lot in some weird sense. I know that people called us the trio, but—”

“It was always Jeno and Miwoo” You finish and Haru nods with a gentle hum, confirming you were right. “I’ll keep an eye on her… I’ll try and talk to her too”

Haru laughs softly, “Good luck with that, Miwoo doesn’t open up easily”

“Found it~” Miwoo sings happily from the hallway as she comes bounding back into Haru’s room, holding something in her hand. 

You watch as she excitingly hands the box over to Haru who looks at it sceptical before unwrapping the pink ribbon from around the box, sliding the top off before slamming it back on with a shocked expression, eyes wide as she stares over at Miwoo who grins.

You’re curious to know what’s inside the box, fingers itching to reach out and see why Haru had caused such a reaction but before you could even get a chance to question it, Haru’s already reacting once again. 

“You’re crazy. You’re insane… how did you even find this?”

“I’ve very persuasive” Miwoo’s grin widens as she settles down on the bed beside you. “Surprisingly had a little help from Sunwoo too—He knew a few people and luckily I’m good at getting what I want”

“Miwoo…” Haru whines with a pout, dropping the box on the bed and launching herself at Miwoo who happily welcomes her with open arms, squeezing her tightly to her chest with a joyful giggle as Haru embraces her while muttering gibberish under her breath.

Feeling left out, you immediately reach for the box and take a peek inside, instantly making a noise of recognition as you see the sage green mesh dress that’s been sitting in Haru’s wishlist for a few months, knowing how badly Haru was wanting the pretty dress and even saving up for it alongside her savings for her weekend vacation away with Renjun. 

You immediately awe out loud, looking over at Miwoo who is beaming with happiness, wrapping her limbs awkwardly around Haru who tries to free herself this time, pinching Miwoo’s thighs in an attempt to force her to let her go and Miwoo’s reluctantly frees her when she squeezes a little too hard.

“I want to hit you for buying this but I also want to kiss you” Miwoo immediately puckers her lips as that confession but Haru places the palm over her hand over her face. “How did you have the money to buy this? Do you realise how expensive it is?”

“I told you. Sunwoo knows people and I’m good at getting what I want” Miwoo explains as she pushes Haru’s hand away. “But if you want the full details… We all know Sunwoo’s parents are rich so they’re involved with a lot of people. When I met up with him for a smoke, he told me that one of the girls he plugs for owns a family boutique. She owed him for the last ‘service’ so I asked if I could get the dress”

“I’m pretty sure this dress costs more than Sunwoo’s goods”

“I don’t know about that…” You pitch in this time, looking between Haru and Miwoo. “Sunwoo does sell some high quality shit. That’s why he’s so popular”

Miwoo clicks her fingers at you, “Exactly”

“When I come back from vacation, I hope you realise I’m paying you everything back”

“Shut up” Miwoo scoffs, shaking her head while gently glaring at Haru before her lips curl into a smile. “You can pay me back by never leaving me again” Haru gives her a blank look to which Miwoo shrugs her shoulders innocently, the smile dropping from her face. “No, I'm serious. I get separation anxiety”

Standing in Sunwoo’s kitchen with him on your one side with Miwoo on the other wasn’t exactly in your plans for this party, nor was striking up a conversation with him as he sits upon the countertop while rolling a joint expertly between his fingers, selling them to people who strolled by and shoved money in his hands. 

You almost snorted when you first witnessed him alone, emoji stickers plastered across his face and glasses hanging off the bridge of his nose and you dared to ask why he was covered in such things, only prompting an actual laugh out of you when he said some girls stuck them on his face as a thank you gift for hosting a party. 

But you immediately stop laughing and stare at him unimpressed as he pulls a lips emoji sticker off his cheek to put it on your own, patting the area softly with a sluggish grin before peeling a devil emoji off his glasses and pressing it in the middle of Miwoo’s forehead, causing her to drunkenly grin as she pulls out her phone to take a picture of you three.

“You know,” Sunwoo begins as he rolls another joint, taking a quick glance at you. “As much as I love you hanging out with me right now, Eric is upstairs. He’s going to come find me soon and if you still want to ignore him, now’s your best chance to go find your friends”

“Thanks for the heads up” You tell him appreciatively, shocked that he’s even letting you know about Eric’s whereabouts. You look over at Miwoo, “I’m gonna go find Shotaro—”

“I think you should talk to him though”

Your head snaps towards him, and so does Miwoo’s.

“I’m not saying you should forgive him” Sunwoo adds as he studies your face. “I’m saying you’re going to end up spending the majority of your life trying to avoid him, making things harder and awkward for yourself. Just talk to him—tell him how he made you feel, hear whatever he has to say back, decide whether he deserves forgiveness or not and get your closure”

Closure. That word leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Seeing firsthand how Jaemin’s closure has worked out between him and Eunbin, how Eunbin has easily wormed her way back into his life as if nothing happened… you don’t want to go down that path, you refuse, especially with Eric. 

You can’t. 

“I’ll pass” You grab your drink and leave the kitchen, pushing your way through the crowd of sweaty bodies who grind upon each other, allowing the music to take over their rhythm. 

You decline when a girl from your class taps your arm to come join her and her little group, pointing to your cup to subtly tell her you want to finish your drink first and she nods, allowing you to slip by and continue on walking. 

Shotaro is the first person you see and a genuine smile spreads across your lips when you see him talking with Yeji in the far corner of the room, how his cheeks bloom a slight shade of red as her hand caresses the bruise on his face, courtesy of Hyunjin’s punch. 

(You even fight the urge to awe out loud when she leans over to kiss it.)

Not wanting to interrupt their moment, you venture out to find Donghyuck or Yangyang instead, maybe even Jeno if you’re lucky. But, much to your dismay, you can’t find them anywhere and you feel a little silly being left alone.

You’re starting to miss Haru and Renjun, maybe even Jaemin too. 

You exhale deeply and tug your phone out of your pocket as you make your way out to the backyard, eyeing the couples that kiss in the pool and others who cannonball in, three drunk guys sitting on the sidelines scoring them.

Sitting yourself down on an empty garden chair, you sip your beer as you scroll through your phone, hearting Haru and Renjun’s posts on Instagram as they posted that they finally arrived at their destination, leaving a small comment for them to have fun and stay safe to which she, and Renjun too (shockingly), replied back with heart emojis.

You continue to scroll mindlessly, liking other posts from mutuals and you snort when seeing an old post of Yangyang but you feel your chest tighten and your amusement drop when you see a recent post of Jaemin’s, thumb hovering over the heart button. 

‘Taken with my favourite polaroid’, the caption reads and you sigh softly, pressing your lips together. It’s the polaroid you bought him, the one he hasn’t stopped using since you gifted it to him. 

You’d be lying if you said that the caption didn’t affect you, leaving your heart warm and fuzzy. And you’re not sure what pushed you to do it but you tap the comment section of his post, seeing a few comments from his classmates and one that leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Eunbin.  

She left a smiley face emoji under the photo, a comment that wasn’t liked apart from the others and you begin to wonder if you should comment to, just to test if he would like yours but you figured that would be too toxic and silly, deciding to just heart the photo and continue scrolling but you pause when a notification from Jaemin comes up on your phone the second you heart it, causing your brows to follow as you tap his message.

jaemin: are u at the party?

you: yeah

jaemin: are u drunk?

you: tipsy you: i’ll be fine

jaemin: typing… jaemin: typing… jaemin: typing…

You gnaw at the nail of your thumb, watching the three bubbles on the screen as you wonder what he’s about to say next.

jaemin: stay safe jaemin: i’ll come get u if u need me

Your bottom lip starts to quiver, heart rate increasing as your emotions get the best of you, wanting to spill some tears at a simple and kind message. You shut off your phone, shoving it into your pocket as you bring the beer bottle up to your lips to chug, tears brimming in your eyes and making your vision blurry.

You do need him. You hate to admit it, but you do need him. More than ever. You don’t want to lose him, you don’t want to stop seeing him because of Eunbin wanting a second chance. Maybe you deserve to be a little selfish once in a while

But it dawns on you that you don’t exactly know how Jaemin feels. 

The frustration soon starts to build inside you, realising how secretive and quiet Jaemin is about his feelings, how he doesn’t allow anyone to have a dip inside his head to know what he’s thinking of feeling in that given moment.

You hardly know anything about him, and that’s because he doesn’t let you. 

“There you are” A familiar voice coos from behind you and you peer your head over your shoulder to see Yangyang stumbling towards you, eyes red with a dumb grin and you laugh as he pulls a vacant garden chair beside you to sit down, knocking his shoulder against yours. “I’ve been looking for you”

“Sorry” You mutter, staring down at the almost empty beer bottle in your hands. “I needed fresh air”

“Me too, it was stuffy in there” Yangyang agrees as he mindlessly drums his fingers on his thighs, staring out at the others in the pool. “You missing Haru and Renjun?”

You exhale deeply, “Very”

“Same” He hums, pressing his lips together as he takes a quick glance at you. “Are you missing Jaemin?”

“Just feels different without everyone here” You say, not wanting to jump into full details about how you really are missing Jaemin even if you don’t want to admit it out loud. “I like it when we’re all together”

Yangyang nods slowly to agree with you and silence falls upon you both for a while, basking in each others presence as you watch the other partygoers, some still flinging themselves into the pool or dancing on the well kept grass to the music that plays loudly from the speakers. 

“You look pretty, by the way” Yangyang’s sudden compliment doesn’t surprise you, always have been used to this type of behaviour from him and you roll your eyes as you turn to face him, finally looking straight at him since he first arrived to sit with you and you notice the change in his features, how the grin he had falters into a frown. “Have you been crying?”

You scoff, feeling a little embarrassed. “No”

“Wow…” He gasps dramatically, reaching out to touch your face, his thumb wiping the tears that bubble in the corner of your eyes. “You’re pretty when you cry too? How the fuck is that fair? Hm?” His over the top acting has you struggling to keep your expression stoic. “I look ugly as fuck when I cry… What the hell?”

“Shut up” You crack, a laugh slipping past your lips as you swat his hand away. “Stop it”

“But you are,” Yangyang smiles, dropping his hand from your face to your lap, fingers skimming over your own. He nudges your shoulder gently, “I have this ugly picture of drunk Miwoo crying into a bowl of spaghetti if you want to see it? Surely that would make you feel better, right?”

“You’ve got to stop taking pictures of people drunk”

Yangyang shrugs his shoulders, “Blackmail. You all have photos of me too” He meets your eyes again, turning serious this time. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing—”

“Don’t lie to me” Yangyang cuts you off immediately and this time, he grabs your hand to lace your fingers in a comforting hold. “I know you too well, so don’t lie to me” He squeezes your hand gently. “Tell me”

And you do. You tell him everything.

Everything about Jaemin, everything about Eunbin—even everything about yourself and your feelings, and Yangyang listens to you so intently, concern and sadness written across his features as he nods along with your words.

Yangyang’s chest tightens as he listens to your problems, especially regarding Jaemin as he hears you admit how much you had fallen for him despite it being the number one rule. His heart breaks seeing how sad you are, how the tears threaten to spill again and he wishes he could help make you feel better, to see that smile on your face that he loves so much. 

Love. That word makes him feel a little sick, his stomach swirling uncomfortably at the new and unusual feeling. He’s never loved anyone romantically before, that’s all new and foreign to him. He never expected himself to ever fall in love with someone, especially with how comfortable he is with hook-up culture and how normal is it for him.

Love is scary. It leaves his palms sweaty and he grimaces whenever there’s something romantic happening between him and someone else, which is why he always sets boundaries, boundaries that are not meant to be crossed.

But yet, when it comes to you, maybe love to Yangyang doesn’t sound so bad.

“There’s something I want to tell you…” Yangyang interrupts you, voice soft and timid. Once you look at him, you notice that he’s staring at the ground, refusing to meet your gaze as his fingers timidly place with your own. “It’s important. It’s been on my mind for a while and I… I just need to get it off my chest”

“Okay” You say, nodding your head with a smile despite the anxiety that buzzes through your veins at his unusualness. “What is it?”

“I…” Yangyang suddenly pauses, staring straight at you as you stare back at him, waiting for him to speak. He wants to do it, to tell you everything that he’s been feeling, to finally get it out into the open and be free of all the thoughts inside of his head.

Yangyang has always been honest with his feelings—blunt and straight to the point. He doesn’t beat around the bush when being completely real with someone, so why is he hesitating when he comes to you?

He stares at you a little longer, noticing how red your ears are, how your makeup is slightly smudged from crying, how swollen and bitten your lips are from trying to conceal yourself from any more tears and sadness.

His shoulders sag slightly, exhaling through his nose in defeat as he grips your hand in his own. “I’m proud of you, I always have been. You’re strong and I admire that about you, and I just—” He feels his eyes burn, tears threatening to appear but he holds back with a harsh swallow. “I promise that everything will work out in the end. You’ll be happy… you deserve to be happy. Don’t let anyone, including Eunbin, ruin that for you”

Whatever you were expecting Yangyang to tell you, it definitely wasn’t that. You can’t help but stare at him in shock, taking in his words with a warmth in your chest. You feel emotional and you bite back the urge to make another fool out of yourself by crying but you’re aware of the tears that are already forming in your eyes.

“That was pretty cheesy of you” You joke, unable to hide your smile as a tear drips down your cheek. Yangyang laughs lightly and squeezes your hand once again, using his other hand to wipe the tear away and he caresses your cheek softly, and that’s when you notice the pain in his eyes.

“I love you” He whispers to you so gently that you barely hear him. “You’re my best friend, and I love you”

“I love you too” You repeat back, swatting his hands away so you could lean forwards to embrace him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as his arms slide around your waist, holding you tightly to his chest with his fingers clutching the back of your dress, not wanting to let you go just yet as the tears freely spill down his cheeks, completely unbeknownst to you.

Jaemin lets out a soft grunt as he raises his arms above his head, bones cracking from the hunched over position he had held for so long over his computer, eager to finish a few photos that were left untouched in his folder, using at as an excuse to get his mind off of everything that was going on. 

He keeps glancing over at his phone, wondering if you would take him up on his offer to help you if you need it, but his mood defleats more and more when it buzzes and your name doesn’t show up on the screen. 

It’s Eunbin’s name that does, asking him if he went to Sunwoo’s party and if he would like to hang out if he didn’t go, wondering if they wanted to go for beers somewhere else or even get a bite to eat.

He ignored every single one, he wasn’t in the mood to do anything but work on his photos and he sure as hell wasn’t in the mood to be around drunk people, apart from you. 

Jaemin sighs as he reaches for his phone, teeth gnawing at his bottom lip as he opens up your chat to see that you’ve left him on read, his fingers tapping anxiously against the sides of his phone.

He wonders if you’ll take him up on his offer if you need someone to come get you and he contemplates on sending another text just to let you know that he was serious about coming to get you if needed, or texting to see if you were still tipsy or getting sober. 

But he decides against it when his phone pings again with another notification from Eunbin and he locks his phone, throwing it back on the desk as he runs his fingers through his hair with a frustrated sigh, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he stares at the computer screen.

Jaemin returns back to his work without another thought, wanting to focus on his main priority of getting this photo done until he hears the front door slam downstairs and his fingers hover above his mouse, listening intently to the sound of someone cursing under their breath as they trip and stumble up the staircase, heading towards the bedrooms. 

He believes it’s Jeno at first, knowing how he likes to go straight up to his room after indulging himself in a few beers and shots, and fall asleep to wake up early in the morning and workout the hangover away. 

But he’s surprised when the door to his own bedroom is forced open to see Yangyang standing in the hallway, swaying side to side slightly with a beer bottle in hand. He leans against the door frame to take a sip of the concoction, eyeing Jaemin who stares back unamused.

“What have you done?” Yangyang suddenly asks him and Jaemin is slightly taken back by the question, but he doesn’t show it, opting to just glare at him and he takes note of how glossy his eyes are. It makes Jaemin’s brows furrow when he realises he must’ve been crying and Jaemin bites back the urge to ask him what’s wrong. “I said, what have you done?”

“What are you talking about?” Jaemin mutters with a roll of his eyes, turning his attention back to his computer as he shakes his head. “Get out of my room if you’re going to talk about something stupid. I don’t want to hear it—”

Jaemin’s cut off by Yangyang’s dry chuckle, making him sound a little crazy. “She’s upset, you know. The last time I saw her that upset was when the Eric bullshit happened… So, what have you done?”

Jaemin’s chest tightens at the thought of you being upset, but he can’t help but frown in annoyance as he looks back at Yangyang. “What makes you think I did something wrong? She’s the one that’s been actively ignoring me this entire time, I’ve tried to get her attention and she leaves. I call her, she ignores me. I message her and she either leaves me on read or gives me blunt replies. I’m trying, Yang”

“So you think you did nothing wrong?”

“No, I just—fuck—I don’t know what I—” Jaemin’s words die down in the back of his throat when he notices Yangyang staggering towards him, feeling slightly uncomfortable and intimidated with the way he’s being looked at by him. 

Never in his years of knowing Yangyang would he think he would come across as intimidating, or scary for that matter, but with Yangyang standing in front of Jaemin with his face a little too close for his liking, Jaemin has never been so uncomfortable and nervous around Yangyang in his life.

Yangyang’s hazy eyes dance over Jaemin’s face, a halfhearted laugh slipping past his lips, the stench of alcohol and weed hitting Jaemin’s nose which makes him grimace. Yangyang’s eyes swirl with anger, sadness and regret, but it doesn’t stop him from slowly raising his hand to pet Jaemin’s blonde head of hair, not even sympathetically, Yangyang was hurting him a little with his rough touch.

“Talk to Eunbin” Yangyang tells him, dropping his hand from his head to grab his phone and shove it into Jaemin’s hands. 

Jaemin’s eyes narrow in on Yangyang, “What?”

“Talk to your ex-girlfriend and ask her about the conversation she had with Y/N” Yangyang knows he shouldn’t have said what he said, having promised you that he wouldn’t tell Jaemin about what happened between Eunbin and you. But he couldn’t stand back and continue watching you get hurt anymore, not when he cares about you so much. “Maybe it’ll finally knock some fucking sense into your head”

Jaemin watches wordlessly as Yangyang leaves his room, slamming the door shut behind himself as he disappears into his own room and Jaemin’s attention drops to the phone in his hands, brows pulled together in confusion at Yangyang’s demands. 

But surprisingly, it doesn’t stop him from unlocking his phone to bring up Eunbin and his chat, ignoring the multiple messages she had left behind as his thumbs tap the screen, tongue prodding at his inner cheek as he presses sent.

jaemin: i want to talk to u 

“Hi” Eunbin greets him with a pretty smile the next morning, gesturing to the empty seat opposite her in the Dreamies Café and Jaemin slumps down in the seat, staring across the table at Eunbin blankly. “I’m sorry about last night. I completely drank too much and sent a whole bunch of embarrassing messages to you, and then I passed out. I’m really sorry”

He wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to wait an entire night to talk to Eunbin due to the previous conversation he had with Yangyang, how questions repeatedly circled in his head and how he was desperate for answers.

It seemed that your unusual actions were because of the conversation you had with Eunbin, as he tried to ask you before in the classroom, and last night it dawned on him after his brief encounter with Yangyang how serious it must’ve been.

Jaemin just wants to get to the bottom of this.

“I bought you an iced americano, by the way” Eunbin speaks up once again, sliding the plastic cup over the table towards him with another smile. “Extra shot, just how you like it”

“Thanks” He says as his fingers curl around the cup, not in the mood to drink as his other hand fiddles with the green straw, swirling the ice around the drink. 

“So,” She leans her elbows on the table, eyes sparkling. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Your conversation with Y/N at your welcoming party” Jaemin immediately answers and Eunbin’s face drops. He eyes her for a few seconds, watching how she uncomfortably shifts in her seat as she sits up straight. “What was it about?”

“Jaemin, I—”

“Don’t lie” His sharp tone surprises Eunbin. “I can’t handle being lied to right now”

“We were just talking about me,” Eunbin says softly as she fiddles with the rings that decorate her fingers, twisting the ring that should belong to him on her middle finger. He glances down at it, the pretty black gemstone taunting him and he snaps his attention back to her. “We talked about me in New York, how stupid I was for doing what I did and leaving you behind”

Jaemin fights the urge to roll his eyes, “Anything else?”

“We talked about you—your friends with benefits situation” That seems to grab Jaemin’s interest and he perks up, leaning on the table to listen closely. “I asked her what was really going on between you both and she told me the truth”

“She did?” He questions, his voice quiet this time, almost like a whisper. “What did she say?”

“That you two are just fucking”

Jaemin doesn’t know why, but his heart crumbles and a pain settles in his chest at that, throat tightening and feeling heavy, making it hard for him to swallow. He’s unable to form words or even process a thought, struggling to solve what he’s actually feeling right now.

His lips press together tightly, leaning back in his chair as he looks out of the window, trying to steady his breathing as it seems to get faster and heavier, knowing that he’s about to panic.

“Jaemin?” Eunbin calls out his name softly to grab his attention and he gives a short hum, letting her know that he’s listening. “Do you like her?”

“It doesn’t matter” He’s quick to say, this time grabbing his drink and taking a sip so he doesn’t have to talk anymore.

Eunbin watches him carefully and the guilt eats her away, a frown making its way onto her face and she realises exactly what’s going on. A wave of sadness consumes her, but it doesn’t overpower the absolute regret she’s feeling and she lets out a shaky breath, “Jaemin, this is my fault”

His eyes immediately dart towards her as he pulls the straw from between his lips, “What do you mean?”

“When I asked her about your situation, she didn’t give me an answer straight away… She only gave me an answer after explaining why I came back home and when I asked her to do something for me,” Eunbin begins, nervously staring down at her hands to avoid Jaemin’s deep gaze. “I told her I wanted a second chance with you and I asked her if she could stop being friends with benefits to see if I can get that second chance…”

Jaemin sits in silence.

“I wanted to show you how much I’ve changed and how much you mean to me” Eunbin explains as she reaches over to grab Jaemin’s hand, gripping his fingers tightly. “Even after everything that happened between us, I still cared for you—still loved you. I wasn’t ready to give that up. I wanted to be selfish and you know first hand that I’m the type of person that will fight for what I want, and I want you… Can you blame me for that?”

Eunbin’s honesty baffles Jaemin to the core, his eyes widening at her every word and he listens to her excuses. She has tears in her eyes, filled with desperation and forgiveness but Jaemin doesn’t see himself giving her what she wants, not with the pent up rage and frustration that fills him.

It had been her after all this time. Eunbin was the one that had been pulling you away from him, making demanding requests as it seems. It makes him feel sick to his stomach, knowing that all your sadness had been not only because of him, but because of Eunbin too.

Jaemin knows deep down that he hasn’t been the most innocent or helpful in this situation. He was the one that allowed Eunbin back into his life, allowing her the possibility of friendship just to keep the peace with himself. But he hurt you in the process. He hurt the one person he cares about the most.

“Jaemin?” Eunbin calls out his name once more, feeling uneasy with how he hasn’t said a word since she confessed. “Please say something”

“You…” Jaemin finally speaks up, tone a little too calm for Eunbin’s liking and she watches with wary eyes, nervously biting down on her bottom lip as the tears threaten to fall. Jaemin dryly chuckles with a shake of his head, his tongue prodding at his cheek in pure anger. “You are pathetic”

Eunbin stills, “Wh—”

“I told you. The second you showed up at my door after your trip, I told you how badly you screwed me over. I told you how shitty you made me feel,” He pauses, a laugh of disbelief slipping past his lips as he smiles. “And you think I would still give you a second chance?”

“Everyone deserves a second chance—”

“But I didn’t want to give it to you” Jaemin cuts her off, causing Eunbin to blink at him in surprise. “I spent months trying to move on from you and I was scared it wasn’t going to work, but when you came home that day and you visited me, I realised how I already did. I felt shocked seeing you, obviously, I didn’t expect you to come home. But there wasn’t a slightest part of me that was still in love with you, willing to give you another chance… it was gone”

Eunbin sucks in a deep breath, “Then what about us hanging out together after it? Did that mean nothing?”

“I was willing to give you a friendship for my selfish reasons,” Jaemin nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders. “I hate drama, especially when I’m in the middle of it. I try to avoid it as much as possible and I thought I was keeping the peace by giving you a chance for friendship… but I realised now how my selfish ways actually hurt everyone else I care about in the process. My friends don’t like you, they’re angry at you, angry at what you did and I put a weight on their shoulders in having you around all because I wanted myself to feel fine”

It’s Eunbin’s turn to be silent now, looking across the table at Jaemin in disbelief at his words.

“I got my closure with you, Eunbin. I shouldn’t have kept you around after that” Jaemin admits and suddenly, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of Jaemin’s chest and he can finally breathe, air flowing freely through his lungs. 

He smiles to himself—a real smile, the most genuine one he’s given in the past few days and then he laughs, another real sound rumbling from his chest as he peaks with happiness, staring over at Eunbin with a beam as she stares back at him with sadness and guilt. 

“Thank you, Eunbin” Jaemin suddenly thanks her and she looks at him confused, watching as he stands up from the table. “Thank you for helping me come to my senses”

“Wait, where are you going?” She asks him, abruptly standing up from her own chair, causing it to scrape against the ground and customers stare over at the table in curiosity. 

Jaemin smiles again, shoving his hands inside his pockets. “I’m gonna go make things right”

“I miss Haru” Miwoo pouts over breakfast, stabbing her fork into her plate of scrambled eggs as she scrolls through Instagram on her phone, her pouting quickly disappearing and replaced with a look of awe as she angles the screen towards her. “She looks so pretty”

“The one she posted last night was pretty too” You add with a smile, staring at the photo. “I’m glad she’s having fun. She deserved the break”

“I wish she shoved me in her suitcase” Miwoo mumbles, pulling the phone back from you. “I would love to be anywhere but here right now”

“You and me both” You can’t help but mutter, spooning your cereal and bringing it up to your mouth for a bite, chewing softly before swallowing. “Are you okay? I mean, generally, are you okay?”

“I’m fine” She hums with a simple nod. “I think I’m fine”

“You think?”

Miwoo frowns this time, seemingly worried. “Am I not supposed to feel fine or something?”

“No, no, it’s not that” You shake your head, giving her a reassuring smile. “It’s just that I was talking to Haru before she left and she mentioned that you said some things to her, about you and Jeno” The realisation seems to hit her as her eyes widen slightly and you’re quick to reassure her once again. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it, but I just want you to know that I’m here to listen to you and if you want to talk about anything, then—”

“I’m not fine” Miwoo cuts you off, voice vulnerable and honest which immediately surprises you, but you hide your shock as you nod your head slowly, wanting her to continue at her own pace. “Physically, I’m fine… but mentally, I’m not and I don’t like the feeling”

You dare to ask, “Is it about Jeno?”

“Kind of, yeah” She nods, refusing to meet your gaze as she plays with her breakfast. “I don’t know if it’s because it's my first but breakups are hard… and, as much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m struggling without Jeno. I don’t want to be with him anymore, because I know it’s not good for the both of us. It’s unhealthy, our relationship… but I feel so lost without him. I don’t really know what to do with myself”

“Miwoo…” You frown, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and she sighs, reaching up to grab your hand to hold it tightly in her grasp. You squeeze her hand, allowing her to have her moment as you both sit in silence, watching her facial expressions.

“He was my person. And even though we fought and bickered sometimes, the happy moments completely outweigh it. Jeno made me happy and now I just feel miserable” Miwoo sighs softly, chewing down on her bottom lip. “I miss being with him in a way where we joked around a lot, how we teased each other and just hung out… excluding the sex”

 “Maybe you should talk to him?” You suggest, causing her to snap her attention towards you. “He’s still your friend, Miwoo. You’re both still in the group. You haven’t lost him since you broke up… he’s still there, he’ll always be there for you”

Miwoo pulls a face, “But he doesn’t talk to me that much”

“You don’t talk to him that much either. Communication is key”

Miwoo shifts in her chair to face you as she deadpans, “Funny how you give great advice but you can’t take it yourself”

“Hey” You point your fork warningly at her. “Stop turning everything on me”

“Just saying” Miwoo giggles, gently pushing your fork away from her as she sighs. “We’re a couple of girls who struggle to communicate… kinda love that for us”

“You’re insane” You snort, dropping your fork to grab your coffee and take a sip, humming at the taste. “I still think you should talk to him”

“I’ll talk to him if you talk to Jaemin” Miwoo grins at you. “I think it’s a pretty decent deal, don’t you?”

“No”

Miwoo groans as you stand up from the kitchen table, offering to clean up the dishes since she was the one that made breakfast. You hear her mumbling to herself behind you but you pay no mind, filling the sink with hot soapy water to wash the dishes and utensils, allowing yourself to think over her deal.

You would like to talk to Jaemin, somewhat. It could solve a lot of your problems, finally being able to put your real feelings towards him and lay everything out on the table. But it’s the fear of rejection that sits heavy in the back of your mind that stops you from doing anything of the sort. 

So, breaking everything off with Jaemin does seem like the right thing to do, even if it leaves you miserable. 

It doesn’t take you long to finish washing the dishes, drying your hands on a paper towel and excusing yourself to go to your room but you pause midway when you hear a knock on the door, peering your head over your shoulder at Miwoo as she announces that she’ll go see who it is. 

You nod, but you remain still, watching as Miwoo’s figure stands at the door and looks through the peephole and the sound she makes causes you to give her a confused expression, feeling even more confused and curious when she slowly turns around with a knowing smirk on her face.

“It’s for you”

“For me?”

“Yep” She nods with a grin, pulling her phone out of her sweatpants pocket. “I think I’m going to have that talk with Jeno now”

It takes you a moment to realise what she means, your face dropping as it dawns on you, “Miwoo…”

“You got this” Miwoo reassures you as she walks on over, wrapping you up in a warm and comforting hug but your arms lay limp at your sides, unsure of what to do. “Just be honest, okay? Don’t hold back and don’t do anything stupid… communication is key, remember?”

“I can’t believe you’re using my own words against me” You mumble under your breath in disbelief and Miwoo laughs loudly, pressing her lips against your cheek in a sloppy kiss before releasing you, making her way back to the front door and yanking it open.

From her previous statement, you knew Jaemin was standing on the other side. But seeing his face in person, seeing him just a few metres in front of you, your heart thumps wildly in your chest and your palms become sweaty. 

Miwoo’s greeting towards Jaemin is brief, a quick ‘hello’ with a hard look as she leaves the apartment, but not before turning around before Jaemin’s back and giving you a thumbs up, something you force yourself to bite back a curse at as you watch her disappear, leaving you and Jaemin alone for the first time in awhile. 

“Can I come in?” He’s the first to break the silence, asking you in such a hopeful tone that it makes your throat tighten in panic, feeling like you’re going to be sick as your head starts to swirl so fast you’re afraid you’re going to get dizzy and faint. Jaemin takes a hesitant step forward as he sees the difference in your expression, “Are you—”

“What do you want?” You force yourself to ask, swallowing the lump in your throat and breathing steadily through your nose. You didn’t mean to sound so rude towards him and you regret it the second you see his face drop. “Just—what are you doing here?”

“I want to talk to you” He says, eyes roaming your face with his brows furrowing. “We need to talk, face to face”

You straighten your back, “What is there to talk about?”

The corner of Jaemin’s lips twitch up subtly, “I think you know what we need to talk about”

You mentally pick a fight with yourself as you nod and tell him to come in, watching as he steps inside the apartment and closes the door behind himself. You bring him over to the living room but neither of you sit, continuing to eye each other to see who cracks first and you feel the annoyance bubbling in your veins, biting down on your inner cheek as you cross your arms over your chest. 

Unfortunately, it’s you who breaks first. 

“Why did you start this friends with benefits situation with me in the first place?” You find yourself asking first, tone slightly harsh and Jaemin blinks at you in surprise, not expecting that to be the first thing you’d ask. You stand your ground this time. “Why, Jaemin?”

His eyes lock on yours. He makes you feel small. You hate it. “You know why”

You let out a dry laugh, “Do I?”

Jaemin shakes his head, “This isn’t what I wanted us to talk about—”

“I want to talk about it” Your finger pokes at your chest. “I want to know. I need to know”

“We started this friends with benefits situation because we missed sex. We told each other at the beginning of it all that we missed sex but didn’t want a relationship to come with it. That’s all it was, you know that” The serious tone Jaemin uses makes you feel sick once again and you couldn’t even bear to look at him, instead finding interest in something in the corner of the room, teeth biting harder down on your cheek to stop the emotions from letting loose. Jaemin’s shoulders sag as he sighs, “Can you please just look at me?”

“I don’t want to” You know you sound childish, especially with how your voice sounds and your stubbornness, but you didn’t really want to look at him, not when you’re on the verge of tears.

Jaemin exhales deeply and you hear him drag his feet across the floorboards, heading straight towards you and you take a step back but Jaemin’s too quick, already standing in front of you with his cold hands coming up to cup your face, forcing you to look at him. 

“I—”

“I refuse to believe it, you know” You blurt suddenly, eyes brimming with tears that burn. “I just—I can’t believe it. Not after everything we’ve practically been through together. You believe that this was just sex? That the months we spent together, we were just two friends having sex? To fill that empty void?”

“Wait, I—”

“Do you realise that you were the one that broke the rules we had first? The rules that were supposed to keep us grounded? To not let us stray down that path of feelings? You broke two of those rules in the first week we got into this and now you’re here? Telling me that sex was all it was?”

“Baby, you’re not—”

You cut him off immediately. “Enough with that fucking name”

“Y/N—”

“You left me confused, Jaemin” You’re refusing to let him talk now but you can’t help it, your emotions and your feelings getting the complete best of you. You can’t stop yourself. “I loved what we had, it was fun, but you left me so confused. You would do things and you would say things that can be interpreted into something completely different. Then the exclusive shit happened and even though it was something I agreed to, it shouldn’t have happened. We went too far”

Jaemin’s hands slowly drop from your face as a frown slips across his, “Do you regret becoming exclusive with me?”

“Sometimes” You admit, causing him to frown deeper and you notice the look of hurt that flashes in his eyes. “This type of situation always gets messy if ‘official’ or ‘exclusive’ titles are added to it. That’s why people set boundaries, rules. But they were constantly being broken by the littlest of things you did… But don’t worry, it was me who ended up being the biggest fool out of the two of us, right?”

“What do you mean?”

You laugh half-heartedly, shaking your head. “It doesn’t matter if you broke the first two rules, Jaemin. I was the idiot that broke the biggest one of all”

Jaemin stares at you now, eyes wide as he repeats with a whisper, “What do you mean?”

“Rule number three, genius” You snort out a laugh. You’re aware of how much of a lunatic you must look right now, laughing with tears sliding down your cheeks, but you can’t bring yourself to care as the emotions you’ve been trying to conceal come slipping through the cracks. “Rule number three was no feelings involved… No. Falling. In. Love”

Jaemin’s unable to gather the right words to vocalise how he’s feeling, opting to just continue staring at you which makes you scoff, shaking your head in disbelief. 

The weight of the subtle confession has been lifted off of your chest, but with how he’s staring at you silently is making you feel worse. You don’t know if you want the ground to swallow you whole or if you want to kick Jaemin out of your apartment, to shut the door in his face and forget everything that just happened, but you know that’s not going to happen. 

So, you decide to keep going. To bite the bullet. To tell him everything.

“I’ve always had some sort of feeling towards you, but I realised I fell for you when Eunbin came back. How jealous and uneasy I felt when she was around or if you were with her. I tried to make excuses for it, but every kiss you gave me—every touch—I realised that I was far too fucking deep and some stupid part of me believed for the smallest moment, you might’ve felt the same way… but nothing changed. Nothing was said. You were still acting as you always did… closed off and unreadable”

Jaemin hangs his head low in shame. He knows well enough he’s closed off and unreadable, having become the type of person that hides his emotions and feelings towards anything and everything. He feels shame for hurting you with it all, not realising the effect it could leave on you and he sighs, an apology resting on the tip of his tongue and he goes to give it to you, but you start talking again.

“Truthfully, I don’t know anything about you” You tell him, rubbing the tears off of your cheeks. “You constantly have these walls built up around you and you refuse to let anyone in… Not only that, but you refuse to show anyone your feelings. Yet again, it leaves me fucking confused. You confused me and I can’t stand not knowing anything about you, your feelings, your—”

“I appreciate the things I love” Jaemin cuts you off suddenly, causing the words to die down at the back of your throat as you stare at him in surprise. “I appreciate my family for everything they have given me. I appreciate my friends for making memories I’ll never forget. I appreciate my camera for capturing the prettiest pictures for me to see whenever I feel sad. I appreciate sunsets because the colours are warm and comforting. I appreciate coffee because it gets me through the day when I’m exhausted. I appreciate the quietness because sometimes it eases me and allows me to think clearly”

You notice how Jaemin’s breathing gets heavier and you take a cautious step forward, eyeing him as he seems like he’s starting to panic. “Jaemin…”

“And I fucking appreciate you” 

You freeze. You can’t move. You can’t breathe. 

The words repeat in your head, the meaning of it all, the rawness in his tone. You’ve heard it before, he’s said it to you twice already but you never knew the actual meaning behind it and now, standing in front of him, hearing him say that appreciates the things he loves, it makes your heart thump.

“I’m sorry” Jaemin whispers to you quietly. “I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for not being honest and real with my feelings. It scares me, it has since everything with Eunbin—but I’m at fault too, I can’t put the entire blame on her. I hold myself back and I do things for selfish reasons… but I can’t keep doing that. It hurts people around me when I do and most importantly, it hurts you. I can’t handle hurting you. You mean too much to me”

He takes a few steps forward to stand close in front of you, reaching for your hands and caressing them in his own, thumbs smoothing over your knuckles before holding them in his grasp.

“Eunbin told me everything earlier, about what she asked you to do at the party” Your brows raise in shock at that, not expecting Eunbin to be the one that confesses first. “I don’t like Eunbin. I’d never give her a second chance, ever. You’re the only person that matters to me, so… don’t give up on me yet. Don’t let me go”

You can’t help but give him a teary smile, laughing softly as you squeeze his hands, the warmth in your chest spreading, “You still want to continue as exclusive fuck buddies?”

“God, no” Jaemin laughs at that, noticing your teasing tone before he smiles gently at you. “I want to be your boyfriend”

“My boyfriend?” You grow shy, feeling a little flustered and Jaemin’s grin widens at your reaction, leaning forwards to press a soft kiss to your forehead, trailing his lips down to your cheeks and placing a few kisses there. He reaches your nose next, leaving another soft kiss on the tip before his lips brush over your own.

“I’m ready to be your boyfriend if you’re ready to have one” He whispers against your lips and you nod, wanting to close the gap between you both but Jaemin leans back slightly, shaking his head. “Ask me first. I want to hear you say it”

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Yeah” Jaemin grins happily with a nod, letting go of your hands to cup your cheeks. “Yeah, I’ll be your boyfriend”

He presses his lips to yours gently and you kiss back almost instantly, lips moving slowly against one another as you melt in his touch, your own hands coming up to rest on the nape of his neck, threading his hair through your fingers.

The kiss turns feverish in seconds, a clash of tongue and teeth, a little nibbling and groping, and you break the contact to let out a surprised yelp when Jaemin bends down to grip the back of your thighs, hoisting you up in the air and you wrap your legs around his hips so you don’t fall.

He laughs, face muffled in your chest as he blindly carries you to your bedroom, a trip he knows awfully too well that he doesn’t make any mistakes or falls even when he’s unable to see the view. 

He closes your bedroom door behind himself with a simple kick of his foot before he drops you on the bed, his own body falling above yours and you laugh as he huffs, shuffling his way between your thighs with a grin. 

You expected him to kiss you again, to leave you breathless and wanting him but you’re surprised when Jaemin does nothing but caress your face softly, stroking your cheek and tracing the outline of your lips with his thumb.

He’s smiling so gently at you that it makes your heart flutter, the look in his eyes causing you to shy away and look elsewhere but your attention is soon back on him when he whispers your name, leaning down to finally reconnect your lips and you immediately reciprocate, pouring all of your affection and want into the kiss as you lips move against his while your hands fist at his shirt. 

Jaemin’s the first to take off his shirt and you follow shortly behind, pulling it over your head and dropping it mindlessly to the floor as Jaemin attaches his lips to your bare chest, leaving light, feathery kisses over your skin and you arch your back with a gasp, watching as he trails over your breast and down your stomach.

His touch is so oddly loving and caring it feels a little foreign, but your chest warms at the thought of him taking his time with you, cherishing this moment and drinking in every part of you. 

Jaemin hooks his fingers beneath your sleep shorts and pulls them down your legs along with your panties, and you squirm at the cold air that hits, knees knocking against his side but he pays no mind, deciding to lay on his stomach between your legs.

The sight of him staring at you from his position makes you feel shy, but the arousal builds up inside of you and you lift your hips to coax him into touching you, tasting you and you clench around nothing when he leans in, expecting to feel his lips or even tongue but you whine when you feel him press open mouth kisses across your inner thighs. 

“Are you doing this on purpose?” You dare to ask, leaning up on your elbows to look down at him.

He smiles, eyebrow twitching suggestively. “Just taking my time with you, baby”

Without warning, you feel his tongue slowly lap over your slit and you gasp, falling back against the bed as the tip wiggles between your folds before flicking over your clit, causing your hands to fly down to his hair and grip at the roots to ground yourself.

Jaemin seems to be enjoying the moment, moaning in your pussy and he messily slurps you up, sucking on your clit with the right amount of suction that has your body feeling electrified, a cry falling past your lips at the pleasure that swirls in the pit of your tummy.

You start roll your hips against his face, tightening your hold on his hair and Jaemin groans, the vibration on your pussy inching you closer and closer to your orgasm, and Jaemin takes it upon himself to hook one hand under your knee to push it up at an angle that helps him burying himself further in between your legs, mouthing at all the right places.

“Fuck” You curse loudly with a moan, unable to control your sounds as your orgasm builds up faster, the band in your tummy tonighting as your pussy clenches around the tip of his tongue that dips inside of you, the pressure and pleasure becoming too much for you to handle that the band snaps as you cum on his tongue.

“Good girl” Jaemin praises you softly, lapping you up eagerly as he helps ride out your orgasm, grinning as he feels your thighs tremble. 

You struggle to catch your breath, dry panting as you arch your hips away from his mouth and Jaemin’s chest rumbles with a laugh, letting go of your thigh as it drops limply to the bed as he crawls up your body to kiss your lips.

You taste yourself on his tongue and you moan, returning the kiss and sucking on his tongue to which he responds by rutting his hips into yours, confined cock pressing against your inner thigh.

“Take them off” You whisper into the kiss, hands grabbing at his jeans. “Please...take them off”

“Okay” Jaemin hums, tongue intertwining with yours as his own hands reach down to pop the buttons on his jeans, awkwardly shoving them down his legs along with his boxer briefs before kicking them off to the side.

You dip your hand down between your bodies to wrap your fingers around his cock, causing him to groan between the kiss as you pump him leisurely, feeling intoxicated with the way he pants against your lips, mouth agape as his breathing gets heavier and heavier with each tug of your hand.

You guide him to your entrance, coating his cock with your arousal as you slide the tip through your folds and Jaemin deeply exhales, pressing his lips together and he cranes his head down to see you position his cock and you awaiting hole, and he pushes his hips forwards, breaching your entrance. 

A strangled moan leaves your lips, having nothing of that significant size been up there in a while and Jaemin coos softly, taking your hand in his own to give it a gentle, reassuring squeeze as you both watch where you’re connected.

He sinks into you deeper as he kisses you, rolling his hips to thrust slowly, allowing your legs to wind around his waist and he brings your interlocked hands above your head, pushing them into the pillow as he gets comfortable above you.

This kiss is needy and affectionate, and each fluid roll of his hips has you seeing stars behind your closed lids, unable to control the sounds that leave your lips and Jaemin’s the same, cursing and grunting every time he bottoms out inside and you squeeze around him in return. 

Your grip on his hand tightens as your stomach knots, breaking the kiss to allow yourself to breathe when you begin to struggle for oxygen, staring up at him in bliss and he’s smiling down back at you, eyes dazed and lids fluttering with every roll of his hips.

But he buries his face into the crevice of your neck, leaving open mouthed kisses on your skin as the pace of his thrusts start to quicken, the wet noises of your pussy sucking in his cock fills the room along with your shameless noises of pleasure, and your free hand reaches up to grab the back of his head, threading your fingers through the roots as you nip at his shoulders.

“I’m gonna cum” You pant heavily as you feel yourself tinkering towards your second orgasm of the night.

“Me too, baby” He mumbles, groaning as your walls clamp around his cock. “Fuck, me too”

Your hand tightens around his as you reach your climax, whining as your legs tremble around his hips as the knot in your stomach loosens, cumming all over his cock. The feeling of your walls gripping him like a vice triggers his own climax and he’s moaning into your neck, releasing with long spurts that paint your insides and you gasp at the feeling of him filling you up, the warmth spreading. 

He stays above you for quite some time, basking in each other's presence and collecting your breath, staring at one another with giddy smiles which causes you both to laugh.

You love being with him like this, holding him in your embrace and seeing the happiness written across his face, the love and adoration that swirls in his eyes when he looks down at you and even though it makes you feel shy, you can’t help but get addicted to it. It’s something you want to see all the time. He looks so beautiful. 

“Hey…” You say softly and Jaemin hums to let you know you’ve got his attention, leaning into your palm when you rest it on his cheek. “I appreciate you”

His eyes widen a little at your words, but the smile gets bigger on his lips and he turns his head to the side to gently kiss your palm before looking back at you, honesty and tenderness within his tone as he says back, “I appreciate you too”

➤𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!” Miwoo screams as Donghyuck takes her by the arms and Yangyang by her legs as they both carry her towards the shore, threatening to throw her into the sea for her teasing jokes towards them both, neither of them backing down as they step into the water.

You laugh as you watch the scene play out, bringing the bottle up to your lips to take a sip as you rest back into Jaemin’s chest who sits behind you, his arms winding around your waist and kissing your cheek before resting his chin on your shoulder, watching the trio along with you.

Haru and Renjun sit on the beach blanket beside you both, his arm thrown around her shoulder and she resting into his side, mindlessly playing with his fingers as they speak quietly to themselves about something you can’t make out.

Jeno and Shotaro are sat on the other end of the beach blanket, the former getting up to join in with the trio while the latter stays seated, capturing pictures of the chaotic moment while laughing loudly, causing you and the others to laugh along.

The foursome arrive back to the group and Miwoo flops down beside Haru, grinning happily as the others take a seat too and she grabs her beer, raising it up in the air.

“I’d like to make a very dramatic speech and if none of you are crying by the end of it, I will drown you in the sea”

“Oh here we go” Renjun groans, but the smile on his face shows how much he’s teasing. 

“I just want to say that I’m proud of us. We’ve come a long way since the beginning and I’m happy we’re still here together… I don’t think I would’ve been able to become the person I am today without you guys by my side”

Donghyuck starts to playfully fake gag and Miwoo huffs, throwing her middle finger up at him and he begins to smile, returning her insult with some heart hands. 

“She’s right,” Shotaro agrees, raising his own bottle and Miwoo grins. “I get happy being with you guys. I wouldn’t want it any other way”

“Shotaro” Donghyuck coos as he reaches out to pinch Shotaro’s cheeks and Yangyang throws himself at him, the pair tumbling back into the sand as they laugh. 

“Also,” Miwoo starts up again, looking over at you this time. “I want to congratulate you on signing up for the writers trip you’ve been holding off for so long. You deserve to explore and write about all the places you see”

“Stop…” You chuckle, a little embarrassed under the attention and you feel Jaemin’s chest vibrate behind you as he laughs, pulling you closer to him and intertwining your hands, soothing his thumb over your knuckle. “I’m excited to go, but I’m sad to be leaving you guys”

“You’re acting like you’ll be gone forever” Yangyang says as he nudges your leg with a smile. “You’re only going for a few months”

“I know” You sigh, “I just know I’ll miss you guys”

“We also need to congratulate Haru and Renjun for taking the next step” Jeno announces as he looks at the pair. “Congratulations on moving in together”

“Finally away from you idiots” Renjun teases as he takes a sip of his drink and Haru shoulders him softly with a laugh. “Thanks, Jen”

Shotaro turns to Miwoo worryingly, “Are you going to be okay living on your own for a while?”

“Of course!” Miwoo smiles. “Y/N’s only going to be gone for a few months and I need to learn how to be independent, rely on myself for a little while”

“You know, if you need anything, you got us” Donghyuck speaks this time with a serious tone to Miwoo and she nods. 

“You always got us” Jeno chimes in this time, smiling over at Miwoo who smiles back happily and knocks her beer bottle against Jeno’s who lifts his up for a cheers and your heart warms at the two.

“The sun is setting, can I take a picture of us all together?” Jaemin asks as he points to his polaroid camera that sits on top of his backpack and the group eagerly agrees, standing up quickly and moving to stand in front of the sunset.

You and Jaemin both rise from the ground and you go to stand beside Miwoo as Jaemin sets up his polaroid to take the picture and you take this moment to appreciate everything that is going on around you, how the happy smiles on everyone's faces warms your heart.

Who would’ve thought that this was the way things would turn out after everything began? It baffles you, really. 

If someone told you a few months ago you’d be in a position where you’re happily with Jaemin as your boyfriend, surrounded by a strong friendship group and an upcoming writers trip, you would’ve possibly laughed, calling them stupid and unrealistic… Yet here you are, living out this moment.

You laugh to yourself, shaking your head as you lean into Jaemin as he comes to stand beside you, winding his arm around your waist and pressing his lips to your temple lovingly as he whispers to you those three words.

You’re unable to stop the grin that spreads across your cheeks.

You guess it’s just The Way Life Goes. 

A.N| and that's the final of twlg. this had, undoubtedly, been such a wild rollercoaster to make. this fic has brought me a mixture off all different emotions going between happiness and anger, but it's over. and bro. i'm emotional. thank you for all the support you have given this series, it's been incredible, i'll never forget it.

i appreciate you♡

©mrkis

[itadores]

surprise!

note: everything i write is a little bit silly! i hope u enjoy u and sakura opening blind boxes hehe

pairing: sakura haruka x gn!reader

word count: 1.4k

tags: gender neutral reader, fluff, established relationship, haru and baby used to refer to sakura

Your hands hover over your phone as the device precariously balances against your water bottle resting on the table. Once you’re confident that your phone won’t come tumbling down anytime soon and fall screen first against the wooden surface of the table, you turn towards Sakura and pat the open seat right beside you.

“Come sit, Haru!”

Sakura eases himself down onto the bench, his leg briefly brushing against yours before hastily retreating. You don’t allow him to go far, bumping your knee against his, a silent reassurance that he doesn’t have to go anywhere. Sakura doesn’t look at you as he scoots a little closer to you, thigh touching your own, nearly feather-light. You lean more into the weight, which is more than a welcomed presence.

“Why do you have your phone out?” Sakura questions after clearing his throat, unsure of its necessity.

You multi-task, replying to Sakura as you pull up the camera app on your device. “I want to videotape our unboxing!”

Sakura’s brows knit in confusion. “Why? Are you going to post it or something?”

You shrug. “No, I just want to film it.” You turn to face Sakura as light concern washes over you. “Are you okay with that? It’s not going to go anywhere besides my camera roll, so you don’t have to worry about anyone seeing it.”

“Yeah that’s fine,” he replies, agreeing rather easily. Sakura ends up giving in and going along with most of your desires, but he usually needs far more persuasion. “Just don’t go showing it to Suo or Nirei or any of the guys,” Sakura grumbles. “Don’t need them spamming my phone with messages for no reason.”

“Deal!”

If that’s all it takes for Sakura to agree to be filmed, then you’re more than happy to oblige him. It’s not too big of an ask, especially considering that you know he can still find it a little overwhelming when he receives a sudden influx of text messages despite having been in a group chat with his old friends since their first year at Bofurin.

“Okay, I’m going to start filming then. Are you ready?”

You wait for Sakura to nod before you hit record.

“Hi guys!” you say to your imaginary audience, waving at the screen. “Haru and I just went shopping and we bought some blind boxes that we’re going to unbox for you all today!”

You turn your attention away from your phone onto Sakura. Although there’s nobody else around listening to you, you lower your voice into a hushed whisper. “Baby, can you get our blind boxes out of the bag?”

Sakura grabs the plastic bag lying on the other side of him and sets it aside onto the table where it won’t block the camera.

“Thank you, Haru.” you give him a quick peck on the cheek, the skin warming beneath your lips.

“Yeah,” Sakura mutters under his breath as you reach across and grab the two blind boxes you purchased together out of the bag. Well, the two blind boxes Sakura purchased because he refused to let you pay for yours or the one you insisted upon him getting for himself. He had put cash down onto the counter of the cashier before you even had a chance to get your card out. When you tried to protest, he just mumbled that he was buying it, the tips of his ears burning red. You didn’t put up too much of a fight after that, resolving yourself to simply enjoy the sweetness of Sakura.

You place one of the blind boxes in Sakura’s hand before holding your own up towards the camera.

“These are the blind boxes we got.” you show the camera all the different angles of the packaging. You nudge Sakura lightly with your shoulder, prompting him to hold up his blind box in one hand. He’s a bit stiff and his movements are a little awkward. Sakura’s obviously unused to being in front of the camera and the center of its attention, but he’s endearing all the same.

“Which one do you want?” you ask as you inspect the back of the packaging, eyes roving over the different possibilities that you could be met with once you tore into the blind box. Sakura's brows furrow as he does the same.

"I'm fine with any of them," he says, shrugging. You roll your eyes, knocking your shoulder against Sakura's.

"Haru, you have to pick at least one you would really like to have!" you insist, voice bordering on a whine. You huddle closer to him, bringing your blind box between you two. "I think they're all super cute, but I really like this one," you say as you point to the option you like the most: a gray and white cat figurine with a shrimp tempura wrapped around its waist. "What about you, baby?"

Sakura's face screws up in concentration as he looks over the options again. You resist the urge to smoothen out the crease between his brows. "I guess I like this one the most," Sakura says, a little unsure, pointing at an orange and white cat figurine with a boiled shrimp wrapped around its head.

You nod in agreement. "That one's also super cute!"

Upon hearing your words, some of the tension leaves Sakura as he relaxes against you. You smile to yourself before looking back up at the camera. "Okay, we're going to unbox now!"

You attempt to open the box nicely, but after struggling for a bit, you, not so neatly, tear the cardboard apart. Your eyes fly to Sakura's face before you can catch a glimpse of the contents of the now ruined box. "Don't look inside yet, Haru!" you suddenly cry out. Sakura startles, hands pausing from opening the box. "Let's look at the same time."

"Okay," Sakura slowly says, head tilted in mild confusion. However, he doesn't question you.

"Okay, on the count of three! Ready?" You wait until Sakura nods to begin. "1...2...3..."

Once the number three leaves both of your lips, you immediately begin to truly tear into the packaging, pulling the figurine out of the wreckage of destroyed cardboard.

"Baby, I got the one you wanted!" you happily exclaim, showing off to Sakura the silly orange and white cat figurine with a boiled shrimp wrapped around its head that he liked the most.

"Isn't this the one you wanted?" Sakura asks, holding up the figurine he just pulled. Your eyes widen when your gaze falls onto the gray and white cat figurine with a shrimp tempura around its waist. The one that you wanted so badly.

"Oh my god, it's even cuter than I thought," you squeal. There’s no resistance on Sakura’s end as he lets you take the figurine from his loose grip. You bring the figurine close to your face, your eyes greedily soaking it all in. “It’s so cute,” you happily comment as you gently place it back into Sakura’s open palm.

“Do you want to trade?”

“Hm?”

Sakura rubs the back of his neck, his fingers twisting and tangling through black and white strands.

“Do you want to switch?" he asks again. "Since I got the one you really wanted,” he mumbles, the tips of his ears glowing a soft pink.

Your eyes light up.

“Oh, that’s perfect, Haru!" you gush. "Here," you say as you slip the figurine you unboxed into Sakura's free hand. He follows suit, handing the figurine you wanted off to you.

"Ah, it really is super cute," you say once more, admiring the cat figurine now in your possession. You lean further into Sakura, dropping your head to rest against his shoulder. "Thank you again for buying them, baby," you murmur, lifting your head slightly to press a light kiss to Sakura's neck. You feel his pulse jump. "And for switching with me. I hope you like the figurine you got."

"It's no big deal," he tries to brush off, but the pink hue coloring his skin says otherwise.

"Still," you insist. "Thank you, baby."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

Most of the remaining tension in Sakura's body escapes into nothingness as he allows himself to fully sink into the weight of you. You happily sigh, utterly content with your current position. So long as Sakura indulges your want for PDA, you’ll continue to take advantage of it. Just as you're starting to get really comfortable, you abruptly sit up straight, startling Sakura into doing the same.

"I almost forgot to stop the video!"

[cherryblossompink303]

Patience: ~Jungle Pool SOS!~

➼ pairing: Kyoya Ootori x Reader ➼ summary: when kyoya offers up his families yet to open resort no one could have guessed what would actually happen. ➼ what to expect: “I have a duty of care for you" ➼ warnings: none ➼ Part six | Part eight

Now considering this was technically considered a club activity you have to admit this was the most relaxed you had been in a while. The sun beaming down on you while you sun bathe, even the usual drama of host club antics get lost in the serenity of an empty resort.

"I must admit Kyoya, when I joked a few years ago that the ootori group should create a holiday resort and label it as a form of therapy I didn't think you took it seriously" you muse, eyes closed as you bring in the sun rays.

Kyoya shrugs but quickly remembers that you can't actually see him "Believe it or not I don't completely disregard your ideas, expecially when they truly have merit, my father seemed to agree"

You hum knowingly at what he actually meant by that statement "I'm assuming that he doesn't know that it was my idea then" You tease, not really being that mad about the stolen idea, it wasn't like Kyoya was getting any direct monetary profit from the resort. "I did try crediting you but he had a hard time believing a fifteen year old girl came up with it by herself"

You weren't exactly surprised, you had met Kyoya's father after all, you knew what it was like by now. Luckily you were too relaxed to care at that moment.

There was a moment of silence, peace between the two of you. It was actually something you enjoyed when spending time with Kyoya, the two of you never forced conversation for the sake of it, which on it's own sounds sad but it makes any words that the two of you do exchange all the more important.

"If...you have any more ideas like that...tell me about them...I can at least appreciate a good idea when it comes from you" you laughed under your breath, "Well of course" lifting your sunglasses to rest against your head, sitting up to face him properly "You have taste"

"Why thank you my dear" he joked, taking a sip of his drink, watching chaoes unfold as Tamaki and the Twins argue over what Haruhi should wear. Typical.

“Haru-chan! Let’s play! You wanna go swimming in the current pool with me?” Honey tugs on Haruhi’s arm with a pink float decorated with bunnies clinging to his waist.

“Nah. I’m not gonna swim today. Hold on. You know how to swim; you still need that float?”

Honey shakes his head, “Mm-mm. Just looks cuter this way, you know?” Honey spins on his heel to go prancing in the other direction toward the current pool.

“Mm, he’s right. Those bunnies are pretty cute.”

“He’s so innocent.” The twins materialize on either side of your chair despite the umbrella above them.

You sigh, leaning back in your sun lounger basking in the controlled chaos you are used to.

“No way! You’ve got it all wrong!”

You start, awakened by a powerful rumbling in the ground and echoing voice.

“Is that Renge?” Haruhi turns her head to the offending sound.

A cabana splits in half, and the trees part to make way for her infamous contraption, the rumbling sound now accompanied by her shrill laugh.

“How does she do that? It’s like the rig follows us.” Haruhi sweats.

you groan, pinching the bridge of your nose "One day, all i want is one day"

“That outfit’s pretty impressive,” Hikaru observes Renge’s two-piece bikini and a tattoo winding up her ribcage.

“What’s with the tattoo on your stomach?” Kaoru inquires.

“Oh, that? You don’t recognize it? I’m cosplaying.”

“Yeah, as who?”

“La-La~”

“LaLa? Like the manga magazine?” Kaoru grumbles.

“Her petite and slender frame, her blue eyes that light up young men’s faces, her singing voice! I am Quon Kisaragi!” Renge extolls.

“I wouldn’t have guessed.” Haruhi sneers.

“I had no idea who you were supposed to be.” Tamaki shrugs.

Once again, the twins and Tamaki are huddled in a circle as Renge poses for Haruhi, who watches, miffed.

“Hey, Boss, are you sure it’s okay for Renge to be dressed-”

“-like that?” They point to the girl in question.

“Well, yeah. That’s okay.” Tamaki shrugs indifferently.

“And why is that?”

“Because it’s cosplay? I guess.”

“Listen up, boys! You obviously need help understanding Haninozuka’s hidden motives. Look!” Renge notes, pointing over to Honey and Mori.

“Takashi!” Honey calls, landing in the current pool and letting the current sweep him gently away as Mori watches fondly.

“What are you talking about?” Tamaki implores.

“Think about what he said to you earlier.”

“Just looks cuter this way, you know?”

“He’s not being as sweet and innocent as you think.”

From the chair next to you, Kyoya shoves his glasses up his nose, “I agree. Try putting the word 'I’ at the beginning of that sentence.”

“I just look cuter this way, you know?”

“I look cute!”

“He planned that?!”

“That’s Haninozuka for you. In the last part, he felt threatened by another loli-boy type, so he’s taken steps to keep his rank. I should give him more credit. He’s a lot smarter than I thought.” Renge descends into the ground and disappears.

“Hey! Look at this, everybody!” Honey draws everyone’s attention to him and Mori.

Mori swims diligently against the current with Honey on his back.

“Check it out! Look! Even though we’re swimming really fast, we never go any farther than we are now!” He waves excitedly.

“So, what’s up with him?” Tamaki groans.

“Could he really be that smart?” Haruhi interjects.

Hikaru cocks his super-soaker water gun; the squeaking draws Tamaki’s attention to them before he’s blasted in the face with a stream of water.

“I got ya!” Hikaru winks handsomely, resting his weapon of choice on his shoulder.

“C'mon, Boss, let’s go! Let’s have a water gun fight.”

“It’ll be me and Kaoru against you. If you get it in the face, you lose. What do you say?” Hikaru implores, hand on his hip.

“Forget it.” Tamaki dries his face, “Why would I want to subject myself to a childish game like that?”

An idea forms in each of the twins’ minds.

All of a sudden, you’re grabbed by your wrist and pulled from your nap with an exclamation of surprise.

“y/n, I think it’s time that we got married! Then we’ll honeymoon in Atami!”

You quickly break from their hold, sitting back down on the lounger really not wanting to get involved. "Considering if y/n was going to marry anyone it would be me you clearly haven't thought through your plan very well" Kyoya spoke up, glaring at the twins before nodding towards haruhi.

The twins quickly pick up what he's putting down "Good point Kyoya, we were thinking about this all wrong, Haruhi clearly is the better option SHE should marry us"

"gee thanks" you mutter but its clear that it did the job of pissing off Tamaki, breaking out a waterfight between the three of them.

“I’ll get you guys! Sideways-leaping shot!” Tamaki launches himself sideways, but the twins shield themselves with two comically large tiki masks.

“That’s cheating!” When Tamaki lands, his foot catches on the previously discarded banana peel, and he tumbles noisily into a totem pole, head first.

You wince and suck in a breath through clenched teeth, “Oh- that didn’t sound good.”

One by one, the animals on the totem pole’s eyes glow an intimidating red until the final animal at the top is shining.

You remove your sunglasses from your eyes and place them on your head, “That… doesn’t sound good either.”

As if he senses something is amiss, Mori drops his glass at your feet, attention diverting to Honey in the current pool, still carelessly kicking his feet.

Something underneath the water rumbles, and a wave develops until it’s practically a tsunami. With wide eyes, Honey watches as it heads straight towards him.

“Wah~!” It crashes over him, and his bunny float is sent soaring into the air- but without him inside as he’s flushed in the wave.

“Honey-Senpai!” You lurch from your chair, and your sunglasses fall discarded to the ground.

“Mitsukuni!”

Both you and Mori hurry to see if you have enough time to save him, but Mori slips on the same banana peel and falls harshly to the unforgiving concrete.

“Mori-Senpai,” You call in concern.

Tamaki jabs a heroic finger in the air, “Gentlemen, we’re going after Honey-Senpai! That pool looks like the quickest way!” he announces, referring to the pool Honey was treading water in before he was washed away.

“Charge!” Haruhi, Mori, and the twins follow Tamaki’s lead as they sprint haphazardly in a random direction.

As you see that Kyoya’s stayed put, you decide that it might be best to stay put as well. His family did build this resort, after all.

“Wait! I wouldn’t go-”

It’s already too late; the club has come across the alligators in that direction. “There are alligators in there!” They flee as quickly as they can.

Tamaki jabs another heroic finger in the air, “Okay. So we can’t use that pool, then let’s try this way next!”

But where Tamaki has pointed, several more alligators appear, snapping their jaws in a warning.

“They’re here too!”

“And here!”

With his more petite, brown leather portable notebook, Kyoya’s glasses glint off the sun as he explains your current situation.

“Those alligators belong to the park’s tropical animals exhibit. I guess it is kind of dangerous to let them run wild.”

“And yet i'm supposedly the one with bad ideas?” You huff in frustration, peering at Kyoya from your crouched position on your nap chair.

“Though, the cause of our present situation seems to be the location of the switch for the current pool. I’ll have to have a little chat with our designers.” He snaps the notebook shut.

“Thanks a lot, you guys. I got some great data today.”

“You what?!” The club exclaims.

“Ok I'll admit that is a little smart" You shrug.

“This is a map of the Tropical Aqua Garden. This is our current location. We need to get here- I have a feeling that’s where Honey-Senpai probably ended up. It might be tough, because to get there, we’ll have to make it this jungle area in the southern block.”

Kyoya drags his pen along the map to indicate your path, “Distance-wise, we’re talking about 800 meters.”

“It looks like there’s a lot of undeveloped areas. And idea what might be lurking in those parts of the jungle?” Haruhi cautiously inquires.

“Since they’re still being developed, I’m afraid I don’t know.”

“Yeah, someone’s going to have to carry me.” You lift your arms high and glance around for any takers.

None. Yet. You’re going to have to work on your skills.

“Whatever’s out there could be even more dangerous-”

“-than alligators.”

“Alright. Now, this is a mission of survival! I know we can make it through the treacherous jungle in one piece… It is our sworn duty to save Honey-Senpai!”

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In the dense plant life and humidity of the inner workings of the jungle, the sunlight is much more filtered than it was out in the open.

“Wow, this place is just like a real jungle, huh?”

If you couldn’t see the glass dome and someone had dropped you off in the middle of this theme park with no knowledge as to how you got there, you might have believed you were in the jungle.

“Yeah, and I keep hearing all of these really strange animal calls,” Haruhi grumbles.

“You don’t think that all of those animal sounds-”

“-could belong to the real thing, do you?”

Kyoya shrugs, “To be honest, I’m not sure, but I do know that my family always strives for authenticity whatever the cost.”

"There surely must be some kind of ethical issue if that is the case, wouldn't be a good healing facility if there is a serious alligator injury" you pointed out, suprised that Kyoya's family would put actually dangerous animals in an enclosed area.

Kyoya hummed "I suppose so but it also wouldn't surprise me if that was on purpose to drive more business to our hospitals" he muttered only loud enough for you to hear really. It didn't surprise you either really but you dreaded to think if that was actually the case.

As if on cue, Mori slips and falls behind the group. At the loud grunt and crash, you all turn to him. He lays unmoving with a banana peel on his face.

“Mori-Senpai is-”

“-acting as clumsy as you do, Boss.” Hikaru and Kaoru worry.

“Shut up!” Tamaki snarls as Mori sits up from his position on the ground.

Your accusations are correct- Mori is more worried than you can imagine.

The sunlight diminishes greatly, and you look overhead to see the beginnings of rainfall.

“Uh-oh, it’s about time for the squall,” Kyoya notes as he checks his wristwatch.

“Huh?”

The first few drops fall, then it turns into a downpour. You and the club take refuge in a nearby pavilion with a straw roof.

“Hey, Mori-Senpai. You seem to be really close with Honey-Senpai. Are the two of you like childhood friends?” Haruhi inquires from her seat in the pavilion beside the twins as Mori leans on the edge, watching the raindrops fall.

"You don't know?" hikaru asked "They're cousins" Kaoru added. You lean back against the wall of the shelter you are all in, sighing as you look out into the rain.

"Now this is the kind of rain that I remember" you mutter to yourself, the rain reminding you of europe. Kyoya also leans against the wall next to you "Hello? It's me. Well, we've had an incident that's caused some trouble"

you look up to see Kyoya on the phone, most likely to either his father or someone high up in his private police force. "No she's fine. yes she's unharmed" You raised an eyebrow, obvious that he was talking about you although you were confused on why whoever he was talking to was asking about you.

In the mean time Mori and Haruhi seem to wander off "Yes, at once, please" he finally put down the phone. "My family's private police force is going to send in a search and rescue team to help us, they're better equipped to find Honey-senpai than we are. so let's just go back to the gate and wait there"

The others weren't listening except for you, too busy arguing over Haruhi. "Hey, where are Mori and Haruhi?" he questioned as all of you left the shelter to head for the gate, but he shrugged it off, figuring they would show up at some point with a search and rescue team around.

The other boys rush ahead, still arguing "when you were on the phone before, you were talking about me? weren't you?" You ask kyoya, looking up at him as he looks ahead. "I was, why do you ask?"

You dead pan at him, head tilting at the side "You know why"

Kyoya sighs "you know I have a duty of care for you, as does my father, if I call up our police force when it is known that I am with you it is protocol to ask about your safety" he explains.

He pauses, stopping in his tracks "You know, I'm don't believe I mentioned to them that there are other visitors here. Huh. Oh well" He shrugs carrying on, hovering a hand over your back to urge you forward.

however instead of finding the gate you instead find a series of police officers on the floor with honey, Mori and Haruhi standing before them. We break out into a run at the sight of them "Haruhi!" Tamaki cries.

"Are you alright?" he adds, the five of you out of breath as you come to a halt "Hey its Tama-chan!" Honey says as if he hadn't just knocked out a dozen guards.

"You okay, senpai?" Hikaru asks. "Haruhi!!!" Tamaki leaps for her "I was so worried" the twins bend down to check on the guards "I'm not sure what happened here, but at least they're alive"

"It's pretty amazing that this is Honey sepai's work"

"He must have been really holding back" they continue to poke at the guards

"Huh?"

“What do you mean he was holding back?” Haruhi queries with innocent eyes, although Tamaki is in serious pain.

“So then-”

“-you don’t know about Senpai?” The twins seem bewildered by her lack of knowledge.

“The Haninozukas are famous for their martial arts. Not only have they helped train the police and SDF forces, but they’ve also worked with several overseas military forces.” Hikaru elaborates as they abandon their fascination with the grounded soldiers.

“Honey-Senpai, in particular, has been called the dreadnaught of the Haninozuka family. By the time he was in middle school, he’d become the national champion in both karate and judo.”

Honey turns when he feels he’s called, then giggles with closed eyes.

That’s the karate and judo champion for you.

“Mori-Senpai’s no slouch either. He won the national championship in kendo when he was just in middle school.”

Haruhi looks to her savior, and he turns when his name is mentioned.

“So how were you able to find us, Honey-Senpai?” the twins inquire as Honey has returned to his natural aura.

“It wasn’t hard. It didn’t take me long to reach the end of the current pool, so I decided to look for you guys.”

“We humbly apologize!” A different, more foreign voice pipes in, and the attention of the club directs to the soldiers, now reoriented from their initial shock and kneeling to the ground in a show of respect.

“I am a second-generation student of the Ishizuka Dojo!”

“I’m a student of the Todoroki Dojo!”

“And I’m from the Otakeh Dojo! We are in your debt!”

Honey’s eyes and posture display innocence and confusion, “Why? Is something wrong?” His voice can easily be mistaken for an eight-year-old boy’s.

“Yes, sir! We’re so sorry, sir! We were unaware that we were searching for Mitsukuni Haninozuka! We’ve committed a terrible offense here! I apologize for this confrontation. But my dojo will be so excited to hear that I’ve come face to face with the great Haninozuka! I cherish this moment!”

You snort, scooting closer to Kyoya, “I bet if he offered them an autograph, they’d pass out.” You snicker. You almost draw a smile from him, but rather he gives you a condescending look.

“What? I bet I’m not wrong.” You pout.

Honey takes Mori by the wrist and gently brings him down to his level, patting him gingerly on the forehead, “Takashi~ you did an amazing job of protecting Haru-chan.”

This patronizing show of affection elicits a smile from Kyoya as he adjusts his glasses.

“I bet you were pretty lonely without me around, huh?”

Mori’s eyes dart to the right where Haruhi is stood, “I don’t know if I’d say that.”

Honey smiles with a fond giggle.

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With the sun setting, the clear, blue water now fades to an orange, coral color as it washes upon the shore. It has taken the rest of the day to walk back to where you’d begun this journey.

Despite his earlier resentment, you now ride on Kyoya’s back, limp arms slung around his neck and your cheek pressed to his back, eyes contently shut.

Back to your much deserved nap.

“You know, maybe we should go to the beach next.” The twins stride ahead with arms casually thrown behind their heads.

“Yeah, the beach would be nice.” Kaoru agrees.

Kyoya glances over his shoulder at your relaxed features and smiles fondly. He’ll have to keep you away from the water.

“You idiots, Haruhi’s not interested in anything like that.” Tamaki scoffs confidently.

Haruhi smiles gently, “Actually, I might like to go to the beach.” It stuns the club, each one stopping in their tracks to look at her.

“I may not be into this silly water park but I like the ocean. It would be nice to go the beach, and it’s so pretty.”

Completely recovered and acting like he hasn’t just opposed it, Tamaki glitters, “Yeah! Alright. Then that’s where we’ll go next time.”

“We’re all gonna go to the beach, Tama-chan?” Honey quips, perched on Mori’s shoulders.

He hums gently, “That’ll be fun, don’t you think?” His inquiry is directed to Mori below him.

Mori simpers fondly, “Yeah,” It’s not hard to pick up the genuine agreement in his tone.

Next time on patience 'The Sun, the sea, and the host club!'

Tag list (reply to be added): @skottch @cgmajor @rebirthbunbun @bbybubbles @blueberry19000

[box-of-roses]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Letter ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

Characters: Seijoh 4, Y/N, Oikawa’s Fangirls

Synopsis: After spending the entire night trying to make the perfect confession letter you get to the end of the day. In your anxious state you find unlikely help.

Warnings: Confessions

Words: 1353

February 14th. Today. The thought of what you’re going to do makes you cringe. You had spent the whole night trying to write a confession letter. After much editing and rewriting you finally settled on one. You placed it in a carefully picked out envelope and sealed it with your new wax.

You didn't know what to expect from the object of your affections. You feared the worst of course, I mean you’ve barely had three conversations with the man. Despite that though he listened intently each time. He made it at least seem like he cared. Today you were going to find out just how much.

Sluggishly making it through your first classes, letter weighing heavily in your bag. You resisted the temptation to reach down and fiddle with the edges. You didn’t want to give a damaged confession letter when you spent so much time trying to perfect it. This day was going to take so long. Your anxiety weighed on you through the day, your bag feeling heavier and heavier with each minute. Your friends of course noticed and asked if you were okay. You told them of your plan and giggles went around the table.

They weren’t making fun of you. They just thought it was adorable. They were trying to be supportive but you really just wanted the day to be done. Your eyes were growing tired of seeing similar versions of the same chocolates, bears, and flowers. The confession you planned dulled in comparison and you grew more worried it wasn’t enough or right to get your feelings across. One of your friends reassured you that the confession was perfect because it would be from you.

It made you smile how they tried to cheer you up. As the final bell of the day rang you quickly packed your stuff up. You made your way to the gym before stopping. This was supposed to be the easy part, just have to give it to him. Unfortunately you were already stopped. You turn to see a group of Oikawa’s fangirl.

“Are you here to confess?”

“Yeah! To who?” They didn’t seem mean which surprised you. You would’ve though that they would be very mean towards you possibly thinking that you were trying to confess to Oikawa.

“Matsukawa.” You admitted with a cough as you looked away, cheeks heating up. The girls let out an aww.

“Okay! Since we can see you’re nervous we can help. We’ve gone through this plenty of times. Come sit with us during practice so we can help.” The lead girl smiled and took your arm to lead you to the bleachers. Once you all settled into your seats you showed them your letter.

The lead girl, Haru, looked the letter over a calm smile on her face. “This is adorable. I think he’s going to really like it.”

Because they were so caught up helping you they didn’t notice Oikawa come in. Confused, he looked up to see them surrounding one girl. He was a little concerned but when he looked a bit closer he saw a letter in your hand and smiled on everyone’s faces. He smiled mischievously and made his way over to Iwaizumi. “Seems like someone’s getting

confession letter.”

Iwaizumi sighed not wanting to deal with his antics. “No one cares that you’re getting another confession letter Shittykawa.” Oikawa pointed to where his fangirls were sitting closely inspecting a letter.

“I’ve never seen them act like this. It’s most likely not for me.” Little did he know someone was already looking at you. Much to the dismay of Makki.

“Are you going to look at them all practice?” He knew about Matsukawa’s little crush. I mean it was pretty easy to tell: the smiles, the glances, his very red face when he did get to talk to you. Now Matsukawa wasn’t generally a jealous guy but seeing you with a confession letter did something.

The entire practice he thought about who on the team it might be for. He settled on Oikawa. I mean, you were sitting with his fangirls. He didn’t know why they were being so sweet to you though.

After the girls were finished giving you tips on how to confess you all watched the game. They went back to their usual and cheering for Oikawa. They gave you reassuring smiled and thumbs up often though. You started to feel less nervous about what was going to happen in 15 minutes.

You smiled as you watched them all play to their heart's content. It made you happy seeing them happy while they were playing. That seems silly but seeing people really enjoy what they’re doing is the best thing. 13 minutes.

The closer it got the more you looked at Mattsun. You saw him joke around with Makki, saw how he teased Oikawa. Which caused you to laugh as you heard the joke. You muffled it by placing a hand over your mouth though. 10 minutes.

Mattsun looked at you the closer it got to the end of practice too. He cracked more jokes than usual. Hoping you would find him funny. When he saw you laugh he hoped it was because of him and not something Oikawa had somehow done. Makki noticed and patted him on the back. “Simp.” Mattsun rolled his eyes and pushed him a little bit. 9 minutes.

As the minutes counted down the girls returned their attention towards you. “We can come with you if you want. Emotional support and all. Make sure you’re actually able to give it to him.” You smiled. They were being so nice. It was a pleasant surprise when you arrived earlier and they greeted you. You were very thankful for them. 7 minutes.

“I’m still a little nervous but having you guys will help. Thank you.” They nodded and smiled. One girl pulled tape out of her bag and helped close the letter. Another helped you decorate it to keep your mind off of confessing.

“It’s a very sweet confession letter. You’ve got this.” 3 minutes.

Once practice was finally over the boys headed to the locker room to take their showers and change. Mattsun felt more nervous as he was finishing. What if it really was for Oikawa. Makki noticed his nerves and gave him a little smile. “Don’t think too much about it.” He tried. He took a breath through his nose and out his mouth. It helped a little bit.

The girls walked with you to the entrance of the gym and kept you company until they saw him walk out. They turned you around and gave you a gentle push towards him. Your face heated up and you took in a sharp breath. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. You looked at them again to see they were all smiling and giving you a thumbs up. Haru mouthed ‘You got this!’

They disappeared around the corner. You made your way up to Matsukawa. “Hi Matsukawa…can I speak to you for a minute alone?” His face heated up and he felt dazed. Were you trying to confess to him? Surely not? He agreed and you gently held onto his sleeve and pulled him off to an empty corner.

You tried to smile and gave him your letter. “This is for you.” You looked away and scratched your head. Mattsun stared gaping at the letter. It was really for him. He smiled and opened it appreciating the drawing over the surface.

You couldn’t look at him while he read it and were worried. Because you weren’t looking at him though you didn’t see how much he was smiling and the blush covering his face. When he finished he tapped you on the shoulder. “Y/N. Can you look at me?”

You hesitated but eventually met his eyes. He was smiling at you like you hung the stars into the sky. “Can I kiss you?” You were taken aback but nodded with a similar smile on your own face. He leaned in and cupped your face. He placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!!! If you liked this you can find my other works here! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!

Likes, Reblogs, and Comments are always appreciated

[justseedee]

Poses I made specifically for TKDB characters

Omg this took forever! but it was fun

This started as an idea I had right after the first Obscuary Episode released. Originally, this was meant to be in a chibi style (but for some reason chibi is just harder for me to draw and I'm not about to pay for the chibi models) where the captains/vice-captains had their "charges" on toddler backpack leashes. I don't think I could make it work in this style, so a few things had to change

Anyhoo...

Haru/Towa and Subaru/Lyca

This is the "original" original idea

Haru and Subaru are kinda like parents taking their toddler to the park

In the back, Towa blowing bubbles with his wand while Lyca plays with them

Tohma/Jin and Rui/Ed

At first this one was going to be similar to the first where Tohma and Rui are complaining to each other about their captians but I decided to make them two separate pics instead

This is one where the chibi style would've been funnier; Jin was going to have his limbs wrapped around a pillar or fence or something, while Ed deadweights on the floor (idk i just couldn't make it work with these models)

So instead Jin smokes and ignores Tohma

Ed hides from Rui

Kaito/Luca and Sho/Leo

I'm grouping these four together because my alternate idea was to have either the captains or the vice-captins have all the other ghouls in their house on leashes (which I still might do) but I figured it'd be easier to start them off as pairs

At first, I was going to set up a scene where Leo pisses off Luca again, but idk it felt weird to me soooo yeah, these are separate now

Also, I just now realized that Kaito is the only one that actually looks like he has a leash (but I refuse to redo any of these.... again. Idk, maybe I'll crop it and make it look like he's grabbing Luca's arm)

Yuri/Jiro

Aah, my (mostly) unproblematic duo decided to take a break from researching inside Mortkrake to reviewing research outside or something idk

There's really not much to say about these dorks, imo Jiro is well trained enough not to need a leash lmao

Romeo/Taiga

Toddler leashes didn't work on Taiga

Neither did regular dog leashes, slip leashes, or barbed leashes

And here is Romeo discovering that shock collars have no affect either lol

It also kinda looks like Romeo just got off a call only to look up and see Taiga eating..... something....

Haku/Zenji

I was going to make a joke here and have Haku by himself, holding one of those invisible dog leashes, but then it made me sad, so I didn't do that

Yeah, idk Zenji is just like a photogenic puppy that smiles at cameras, but only because Haku is holding up treat above the phone

(Another realization I just had is that I switch back and forth between toddler and puppy with these lol different guys different vibes, I guess)

Ren/Ritsu

I wasn't really sure what to do with these two since we don't get a lot of them interacting outside of the diner

I like to think their at least comfortable enough to naturally fall into "parallel play" dynamics

Neither of them gives off outdoorsy vibes, so this can be interpreted as taking place inside the diner

That being said, I was going for a "day at the park" deal, but whatevs

MC/Alan

Okay, so this one literally exists only because I didn't know what to do with Alan after deciding to do pairs, and I didn't want to do any of the characters more than once (because that's not fair!)

Then I realized that the MC is literally right there, so she gets a little lunch date with Mr. Guard Dog over here

Okay less "date" and more "they ran into each other and realized they hadn't eaten, so they got some bentos from the store and decided to eat together" (in my head this is what happened, y'know to make it fair)

Soooooo yeah, it may be a while before i actually get to drawing any of these scenarios, and I'm starting to get sick of staring at my phone because of these

[calcium-chan]

DRAWMEGLE DUMP FROM LIKEFORVER AGO

drawmegle was this weird little website that was like omegle, except for drawing and nominally fewer nazis?? tho at launch that was a bit of an issue lol (idk the creator went on vacation right after advertising or something? oops). i got sucked into it for like a day or two and ended up drawing a bunch of stuff. ive lost some of it because there was this weird glitch that just deleted my drawings before i could save them or anything. OH WELL. thats also the reason some of these are slightly unfinished. im also going to be cropping most of these to just my side, exceptions where its funny, or the other persons art was nice or whatever. just know that these almost all had people on the other side who were also drawing their own thing. also of note, i wont be posting these in order of creation, its mostly arbitrary tbh

this first one is of haru from dorohedodo. i had just finished reading the manga about a month or so prior, and i really loved this character a lot. disregard the amogus or whatever. dorohedoro is really cool and its really special to me now. not a fan of the anime adaption but what the fuck else is new (im sorry if you like the anime, i just didnt like the style very much). Q hayashida is brilliant, and she clearly just really loves women like a lot, thank you miss Q!

next is this silly drawing of knives chau. scott pilgrim takes off had just aired, and i was slightly enamored with knives for a bit, i kin the scott pilgrim girl fucking sue me. i also drew kim, but the drawing deleted and this was the last save i had WAHOOOOOO its so fucking over. scott pilgrim takes off was obviously really really good in my opinion, and its like the perfect way to adapt an original work in my mind. uh shout outs knives or whatever.

oops shitty cowboy bebop drawing. i like this one well enough for how goofy it is. jets fucking face still kinda gets me. i love bebop a ton, but i dont think ive ever drawn the characters despite that. theyre actually a ton of fun to draw, like their shapes are all super varied and they have distinct style about them. very good cast of characters. i didnt even realize or mean to, but i kinda gave spike a fucking granny face, oops

uuuuhthese pissing dogs are really funny, they were fun to draw, and seeing peoples reactions to this one in particular was cool. having even a little bit of ability to draw on sites like this where randos are looking at your work as youre drawing it is always kind of an ego boost. like none of these drawings are really that great, but for the medium im happy with them, and having people show up and go "woah" was always really flattering and it was fun watching the other people draw and interacting with them in some limited capacity.

ggggundam bullshit. i left the other persons side this time because i thought it was kinda funny. i had been rewatching the early part of turn A gundam, and it really reminded me how fucking cool that series is? loran is like top 10 gender non conforming mech pilots (there are a surprising amount honestly). and it always kinda takes me off guard when i watch any gundam because they were just so forward thinking in a nominally "boy" coded genre. shoutouts the fucking gundam staff frfr.

@oretal joined me for these next two!

a lot of the shit in the second drawing is probably totally incomprehensible to like anyone outside of a select group. were both have that like, 3ds era nintendo brain parasite, so a lot of these are just weird obscure game characters or memes, or just straight up OCs. most of these are actually oretals little characters which have kind of entered that inside joke canon of being so ubiquitous between the two of us (and honestly i assume oretals friend group at large) that i kinda forget "glasses girl" isnt a well known character. many such cases. thank you oretal for drawing silly shit with me! i really like your drawing of james and your madotsuki yapping about blunt rotations to uboa. very cool

uuuh quick fire round of stuff i dont like how i drew but want to post anyways. the first one is my irl husband, aki from chainsaw man. i love him a lot, kinda hate this drawing tho, i think it was the first one i did? the second one is basil from omori, im a big fan of little blorbos who peep the horror, and basil is no exception. my friend got me the little vinyl figure of him for my birthday so i end up thinking about him a lot and i doodle him every now and then. very good design. the last one is kiruko from heavenly delusion. i did not have much hype going into the show after my middling feelings on summertime rendering (they were both in the news for being on disney+ for absolutely no reason). i dont remember what got me to watch it, but by the time episode 2 ended i was stuck in big time. i ended up binging the whole series in like one night and it was such a good time. the prototypical calcium show is probably somewhere between heavenly delusion and made in abyss. its a rough watch at times, but if you have this specific brainrot, its probably one of the best in its league tbh.

second to last is this drawing of vriska homestuck. i kept the other side because it was really pretty. im genuinely quite pleased witht his drawing, its not perfect but for what it is i find it visually appealing enough to like it. vriskas design is probably the best in homestuck, at least to me. its been a long time since ive read through homestuck proper, but something about these little shits sticks with you pretty much forever. actual fucking deadly brain parasites you get from dunking your head underwater in an infested pool, dead within days.

OOPS ALL KUMI CHAN! it had to be alien nine, it could only be alien nine. i love alien nine more than i love any of my blood relatives. kumi is literally me, i love this stupid fucking series so much you have no idea.

[survivalove]

I hate to do this but someone reblogged one of my posts and I scrolled down their tl, hoping to mutual, and saw this mess:

Do people actually somehow watch the show and not see every single moment where Katara blushes or plays with her hair around Aang, gets shy at the thought of kissing Aang, is clearly attracted to him in Book 3, gets jealous of any girl that’s also attracted to him.

Or Aang comforting Katara several times: hugging her in the Serpent’s Pass and validating her feelings to the point she cried, comforting her when Jet died and getting the whole group to hug her, telling her how she inspires people and gives them hope, literally tells her she’s a hero??

Aang and Katara literally having several disagreements, Aang’s perception of Katara changing over the three seasons, him agreeing with every single idea she had to flat out rejecting her advice, then wrongly blowing up at her after zuko and the rest were flat out racist to him?? Aang telling her to confront the man that killed her mother after she rejected his advice??

Mind you Katara can barely tell Aang likes her back until season 3 and clearly shows feelings for him way before he starts initiating romantic acts with her after TWO seasons of her touching, kissing him on the cheek and hugging him unprompted 💀 not to mention “forces non-romantic feelings on her” when she is the one that said he was her family after a week of knowing him?? what does that even meannnnn

And I’m supposed to believe that these people actually watched the show, paying attention to… KATARA?

On top of that, to say (not pictured) the only person to ever comfort her was the guy that attacked her several times 💀 and he didn’t even do anything??? used Sokka’s trauma to come up with a plan he didn’t even agree with (nor did he ask him, like you can ask him to retell the most horrible moment of his life, but you can’t ask him if taking his sister to confront the man is a good idea? you can’t even ask him if he wants to go??? that is literally the most horrible writing i’ve ever seen but i digress). on top of that doing it for the most obvious ulterior motive of getting her to forgive him. standing there while she bloodbended and almost killed a man, not knowing she just swore off doing the former weeks ago because all he knows her to be is hostile until that moment. He doesn’t know Katara to be someone that expresses love and kindness until she forgives him but apparently this is how you comfort someone over every single moment of Aang comforting her that I listed above. okayyyyy

Just to contrast for contrast’s sake, Aang:

1. offers to take Katara to the North Pole with zero ulterior motive,

2. gets her mother’s necklace back with zero ulterior move,

3. helps her destroy a factory with zero ulterior motive…

4. helps her get Haru back, stands up for her to Pakku, calls her Sifu when she complains, comes back to save her home and gives himself up, comes back to save her in ba sing se and I’m sure a million things I’m missing, all with literally zero ulterior motives at all.

Meanwhile antagonist does one nice thing for female mc with shady undertones that might as well be overtones and now he’s allegedly better than her friend who helps her several times for no reason other than the fact that its something she wants.

Like am I supposed to believe that these people actually like Katara or are media literate at all? I feel like I’m going insane 😭

[princessleechan]

“Choi Seungcheol must die” Chapter 29 WRITTEN CHAPTER

Masterlist

📌chapter tags: SMAU, inspired by “John tucker must die”, John tucker!seungcheol, college au, revenge fic, written chapter (1.6k w.c), conflicting situations, the final wrap, villian era!reader, haters

Thank you @wonwussy for helping me out a bit!

taglist: @silvsie @christinewithluv @stayinhellevator @aiforyuu @2youngsworld @justcruisingalonguntilbamkpop @asyre @simpxxstan @anzellll @hipsdofangirl @plskillme22 @lirtha97 @lixiel0ver @notevenheretbh1 @leah-rose03 @woozarts @expensive-idiot @doveblackboat @the-boy-meets-evil @tamakis-bbyy @freshdetectivenight @mrsdacherry @smilechannie @alltheshineofthestars-blog @ocyeanicc @horanghaezone @wonuqrtz @leewonkyeom @horangboosadan @kkooongie @myghobi @wonunuwoo @wonwootakemyheart @shuasunshine @dinonuguaegi @ckline35 @miriamxsworld @itsokaytobedumb00 @seokgyuu @nishloves @bmkgemz @conwunder @kawaiimusiccollection @humankimbap @huening-kawaii @writingbarnes @strawberryya

You stand several feet away from the breathtaking couple, unable to resist fixing your gaze upon them. Junhui and Haru are wrapped in each other's arms, creating an intimate scene as if the room exists only for them, their smiles emanating warmth and pure bliss.

If not for your emotions, you might marvel at the sight, but instead, a sense of despondency washes over you. Your gaze wanders, intensely fixed on their intertwined figures until the surroundings blur, like watercolors melding on a damp canvas. Once again, you feel like a mere backdrop, perpetually an observer, never the focal point. Meanwhile, they revel in their joy, achieving a happiness you long to grasp independently.

Before you know it, your feet carry you in their direction, a sense of disbelief settling in despite the joyous tweets on your timeline that you have been avoiding. The realization dawns that there was never a chance, rendering the many efforts you made utterly in vain.

That is until you feel an arm firmly wrap around your bicep, pulling you in their direction. Frantically, your eyes meet with a sympathetic Seokmin, who looks down at you with concern.

"Don't look," he softly instructs. "Just don't."

With his hand on your back, he gently guides you away from the situation, softly hushing you to soothe the unfathomable range of emotions coursing through your body. His voice, though soft and sweet, fades into the background as you choose to focus on the gentle stroke of his hand on your back, quelling the sobs that threaten to escape.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. I promise." You turn to look at him and see the doubt in his expression.

"Are you sure?"

You could melt beneath the gaze of his honey-coated eyes, the warmth helping you transition into a mood more serene than moments ago. However, you nod your head softly, gently pulling away from his tender touch.

"I need to find Seungcheol."

Momentary disappointment briefly grazes his face, swiftly before a resolved nod is met in your direction. "You got this."

You mouth a "thank you" before moving with determination to find the man of honor, deliberately steering clear of what had caused you distress earlier. As you scan the room for what feels like the first time, you recognize many faces you have only heard of but never seen in person. Seokmin has retreated to his friend group, while Mingyu is not too far away with his own circle, evidently not having resolved whatever ordeal they had faced.

Chan, however, appears to be nowhere in sight, possibly taking a breather after the sight you both witnessed. On the other hand, there's Boo Seungkwan, who winks in your direction with a drink in his hand, looking as smarmy as you always imagined. Your eyes glaze over him in subtle disdain, before they find the man bouncing in childlike joy.

His smile widens, reaching from ear to ear, as he sprints in your direction to envelop you in his arms, twirling you joyfully in the air. "You're here!"

You chuckle, feeling a hint of discomfort, gently pushing him away as you regain your footing. "Of course, it's your special night. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

His smile grows wider. “OK well you know Jeonghan and Josh up there on stage, Changhyuk and Hyungwon helping serve drinks, Yeonjun and Soobin are somewhere entertaining other people, I’m sure. Now that just leaves me and you.”

If you didn't know better, you might believe he was sincere. It seems as if he genuinely relishes sharing you with the world—his world—and perhaps he does. You are aware that this would make the plan even more effective. More humiliating. There is more reason for him to never inflict pain on another person again. That's why you have to keep going.

You accept his hand and interlock yours with his as he leads you up to center stage. A conveniently placed microphone comes to life as Seungcheol taps against its metallic head. Smiling, he announces, "Test one, test two. Can everyone hear me?"

The audience below erupts in a resounding "Yes!" as he proceeds to take the mic.

"Are you all having an amazing night?"

Their affirmation comes again, even louder this time.

"Well, tonight we are celebrating another one of our beautiful university’s achievements—the victory of our basketball team in the final games!"

They cheer, brimming with spirit.

"We take immense pride in having such invaluable members on our team. Even though I was announced MVP not too long ago, I can sincerely attest that every individual on this team is extraordinary and deserves this award just as much as I do."

He turns to you in a hushed manner, reciprocating the smile you wear for appearances, drawing closer to take your hand. “However, if I may be so selfish, I’d like to do something I’ve had my mind on for as long as it started.”

He endeavors to close the gap between you, ensuring you receive as much attention as he is garnering. "Throughout this year, I encountered someone incredibly special to me. Someone who undeniably alters my perspective on how I perceive the world. While there's still much to discover about her, there's nothing I'd like more than to demonstrate how much I value her, just as much as I value anyone on my team."

As the melody envelops the surroundings, gradually intensifying as it draws nearer, you discern the enchanting tunes of the college orchestra, featuring woodwinds and delicate string instruments. They gaze back at you with expectant eyes, weaving a musical tapestry of grace and elegance. Seungcheol, with sincerity emanating from his eyes, clasps his hands together and extends one before you as an earnest offering. "Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

You take a deep breath, pressing both palms against your chest. A weight lifts, and it seems like you step into a scene from a film. Initially unsure how to react, you stumble, forgetting your purpose, until you catch a glimpse of them–the couple that stirs a twinge of jealousy--staring back at you like a spectacle.

As you finally cast a glance back at Seungcheol, regaining a foothold in reality, you make your way towards him. You clasp your hands together, exhaling through your nose the heat festering inside you. “Wow, I don’t know what to say…except maybe: why would I ever want to be with someone as pathetic and intolerable as you?”

As if a taut string has suddenly snapped, the entire performance comes to an abrupt halt. The one who has just confessed now wears a bewildered expression in response to your unexpected reaction. "…What?"

You scoff. “Did you actually think that you had even the slightest chance that we’d be together? Do you think I would subject myself to that? To someone like you?”

Shaking his head in disbelief, he stammers, “Wait, I did this all—“

As you gaze at him, your attention is momentarily diverted by Junhui, who stares back at you, his expression mirroring the puzzlement and confusion evident in the room. "I can't stand you. Not a single damn part of you."

Descending the stairs of the stage, your movements convey a mix of determination and finality. "Wait, Yn, please. Tell me what I—"

With a decisive turn, you face him once more to deliver your parting words. “Never try contacting me again. We’ll waste both of each other's time and you’ve already wasted so much of mine.”

You gracefully exit the stage, and the crowd involuntarily parts to make way for your bold departure. However, amid the polite shuffling, you can't ignore the subtle undercurrent of disdain in the soft mutters that accompany your exit. Dark-eyed glances, filled with a mixture of surprise and disapproval, follow you as you make your way through the dispersing audience.

As you walk away, the murmurs linger like a haunting melody, a symphony of disapproval and whispered judgments. It's evident that the spectators exchange more than just casual remarks; there's an air of collective distaste that seems to swirl around your name.

Out of their immediate view, a wave of relief washes over you, and you feel as though you can finally breathe. Unbeknownst to you, your buzzing phone in your purse signals the concern of your other conspirators, each message a thread of support woven into the complex fabric of the night. With a nervous swallow, you tightly shut your eyes, momentarily escaping the weight of the situation and entering the cool breeze of the outdoors.

"Hey." Your eyes scan the surroundings until they home in on the source of the voice, eventually meeting a pair of red eyes framed by tear-stained cheeks. The weight of unspoken emotions lingers in the air, creating a palpable atmosphere that envelops you both.

You release a shallow breath, a disbelieving smile playing on your face. "That's where you were hiding, huh?"

Chan shrugs his shoulders while resting against a pillar, unfolding his arms, and a soft laugh of surrender escapes his lips. "I didn't want to hear about it, let alone see it in front of me."

"We're both going through it, I guess." A solitary warm streak leaks out of the corner of your eye, and you let it fall, embracing the wall behind you.

He observes in a momentary silence, as though seeing his reflection in a mirror for the first time—realizing the shared sadness and pitiful state of both himself and you. "Do you…" he starts to ask, sniffing timidly, self-conscious of his emotional state, "wanna get out of here?"

"…Yeah."

Your hand slips into his with a sense of urgency, a desperate clutch seeking solace. Feet hurriedly fall in step as you follow him, driven by an eagerness to escape the tumultuous emotions lingering in the air. Regardless of how this night unfolds, the only certainty is the shared desire to flee. You know it couldn't get worse than this.

[maboroshi-no]

Hamefura LN14 Chapter 3 Part 2 Summary

I am currently reading Hamefura LN14 and will post summaries as I read.

Previous Chapters: Chapter 1: The Encounter at the Party: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Chapter 2: What Dark Magic Is: Part 1 Part2 Chapter 3: The Domain Where Cyrus Was Born and Raised: Part 1

Chapter 3: The Domain Where Cyrus Was Born and Raised (Part 2)

Cyrus's Family Domain

After their night at the inn, the group departs early in the morning.

Katarina is still sleepy when she heads to the carriage. She is surprised to see everyone is perfectly ready. Even Laura has perfect makeup on her face.

They all depart in the same carriages as yesterday. During the ride, Katarina and Haru talk about Sharma and Sorcier food like yesterday. Sharma food really seems like Japanese food based on what Haru describes. It makes Katarina nostalgic and she wishes she could eat Japanese food soon. Haru also feels excited about Sorcier food.

Around noon, Cyrus says they have arrived in the Victoire domain, ruled by his family. Katarina looks out the window and sees plains extending as far as the eye can see… just like what she has seen so far. Katarina has seen unchanging rural sceneries for hours.

Katarina thought Cyrus was being modest when he said his domain was in the sticks. Even the rural town they went to during the examination still looked like a town. She remembers her past life's grandmother telling her, "City people say it is the countryside when there is only a bus per hour, but the real countryside is when buses are not running at all and you have to drive to a bus stop to take a bus. In other words, there is nothing in the real countryside"

Katarina asks Cyrus where they are heading. They can move forward even without a paved road thanks to the valuable horses and high-tech carriage, but Katarina worries there will be nothing in their destination.

Cyrus replies they are heading to the biggest town in the domain. There is a Ministry branch office there. Katarina feels relieved that they are heading to a big town.

As the carriage moves forward, Katarina finally sees fields and people. The people on the fields are very old and wear a scarf over their heads tied under the chin. They are all staring at the carriage and making eye contact with Katarina.

Katarina asks Cyrus why everyone is staring at their carriage. Cyrus replies it must be because they have never seen it. They only see familiar carriages passing around here. Katarina remembers that in her past life, everyone knew each other in rural areas and strangers naturally attracted attention.

In Town

Katarina can see several buildings. Katarina asks if it is the biggest town in the domain. Cyrus confirms. He has a fond look, probably because he is happy to be back after a long while.

Katarina looks out the window. Despite being the biggest town in the domain, it is way smaller than what Katarina expected. There are only old people walking around and no young people in sight.

Maria's group has already gotten off the carriage and entered the Ministry branch office. Katarina's group also gets off. The branch office is considerably bigger than the one in the town they went to for the tanuki extermination. Cyrus explains that this branch office serves as a base for many other small branch offices, so it has become a big structure.

Katarina and the others are about to enter the branch office when they notice an old lady staring at them.

The old lady asks Cyrus if he is the youngest son of the Lanchesters. Cyrus makes a uh-oh look, then sharps up and confirms he is. The old lady looks at Cyrus with wonder: Cyrus has grown up splendidly. She also heard that he was doing a good job at the Ministry of Magic.

The old lady has been talking for a long time. Katarina understands that she is happy to see the kid she knew all grown up, but she has been talking for too long. The old lady reminds Katarina of the granny next door in her past life. One time, she caught her and didn't release her until 30 minutes later.

The old lady is talking on and on. Cyrus is desperately trying to seize an opening but he can't stop her. Katarina wants to enter the branch office but they can't do it without Cyrus.

A man appears and recognizes Cyrus. He smiles and tells the old lady that Cyrus has some urgent work to do so he'll borrow him. The man grabs Cyrus and enters the Ministry branch office. Katarina and the others hurriedly follow him.

In the Ministry Branch Office

Katarina looks inside the branch office. It has the same structure as the other branch office she went to, but it is considerably bigger and has no gramps and grannies having tea. It seems like an important building.

Cyrus thanks the man who helped him. The man replies it couldn't be helped since Cyrus always gets caught by that old lady and gets stuck in a long conversation with her.

Katarina asks Cyrus if he knows the man. Cyrus confirms and introduces the man as Tylor, his childhood friend and member of the branch office. Tylor introduces himself as Tylor Wise. Katarina, Sora, and Haru also introduce themselves.

Based on her name, Tylor asks Haru if she comes from Sharma. Haru confirms and explains Cyrus and the others are escorting her home since she can't after acting recklessly. Tylor entrusts Haru to another staff member so she can contact her family.

Tylor guides the group to the meeting room where Maria's group is already waiting. After they have reunited with them, Laura asks them if something happened for them to be so late. Cyrus explains that right after getting off the carriage, one of his acquaintances came and spoke to them. Looking at Cyrus's tired expression, Laura understands he was stuck in a long conversation and gives him a sympathetic look.

Maria asks Cyrus where Haru is. Cyrus replies she is given arrangements so she can contact her family. Besides, they can't have her listen to the details of their mission. Everyone agrees. 

Raphael tells Cyrus and the others that the person in charge will come soon. While they wait, Laura tells Cyrus she is surprised that the area really is the countryside just as he said. Her impressions are the same as Katarina's earlier.

The door opens and Tylor comes in. He introduces himself as the head of the Victoire Ministry branch office. Katarina and Sora are surprised but Cyrus seems already aware of it.

A plump smiling old lady quickly serves tea for the group. Katarina is amazed by her quick and smooth movements. The old lady also proposes snacks and puts the candy container closer to Katarina. Katarina thanks the old lady. The old also tells her she can help herself to more. The old lady leaves the room.

Katarina takes the candy container and looks inside. There are rice crackers and flower-shaped sugar candies. Katarina recognizes them and feels happy to have finally reached a place with Japanese food culture. She will finally be able to eat Japanese food!

Sora taps Katarina's shoulder: he understands that she is excited by the food but she needs to calm down. Katarina snaps back to reality and sees everyone looking at her. Katarina apologizes and tells her she will leave the snacks for later.

Tylor chuckles and starts explaining the situation.

The Case

Animals from the forest have started coming down to human habitation and ruining the fields. At first, the farmers thought nothing of it and just put measures in place against the animals. However, the number of animals gradually became abnormal, so the farmers brought the issue to the Ministry of Magic. When he heard about it, Tylor remembered the case that was spread by the Ministry. 

Katarina wonders what that case is. Cyrus explains that the Ministry's main office has spread to all branches the case they solved before and asked them to contact them if they encountered a similar case because it was dangerous. Katarina is surprised their case is so well-known.

Tylor continues. Since their case was similar, he contacted the main office. 

…and so Katarina and Maria were called.

Tylor is surprised but glad that they were able to come so quickly. Cyrus explains that it was because they were lent special horses and carriages. Tylor has indeed noticed the horses are special since he has never seen any like them before. He asks about the carriage. Cyrus explains it is a special carriage made by the Magic Tool department. Tylor is amazed.

Tylor notices Laura, Raphael, and Maria's surprised expressions and apologies to them. He explains that Cyrus is his childhood friend, so he was talking to him like in the old days. The three say "Aaah!" in realization. Tylor adds that he is a little older than Cyrus. They always played together as kids because there were not many kids around. Cyrus adds that Tylor went to the Academy of Magic ahead of him, and then started working at the Ministry. Cyrus did the same, but Tylor decided to get transferred to the countryside since the lifestyle there suited him more. Tylor explains that he prefers the carefree life in the countryside over the glamorous life in the city.

Tylor goes back to explaining the case. After contacting the main office, Tylor went to the scene. It was just as he was told: there were an abnormal number of animals there. Cyrus asks if they were small animals. Tylor replies there were a lot of tanukis and foxes but there were also big animals like wild boars and bears. The sheer number of animals was frightening. And then, when he went to the forest, there was not a single animal, it felt frightening. It looked ominous, so he contacted the Ministry and asked them to come quickly. Cyrus adds that it is why the higher-ups made them come in a hurry. Tylor replies he didn't expect them to come so quickly. He thought they would make him wait for weeks and was troubled over what to do in that case.

Cyrus would like to go to the scene quickly since the situation is still going on. Tylor tells him the situation is not so serious that they need to be in such a hurry. He didn't expect them to come so quickly, so he has taken measures to keep the damages at a minimum, and the reinforcement he requested will arrive in 4 days at the earliest. While they can't take things slowly, they can at least afford to put out their luggage and have lunch. Tylor's words have reassured Cyrus. 

Katarina's stomach grumbles. This confirms Tylor's words that they need to have lunch. 

Accommodation Issue

Cyrus decides they will leave their luggage in the inn and have lunch. He asks Tylor which inn he has arranged for them.

Tylor replies he hasn't arranged any inn for him because he thought he would stay at his parents' home since he has finally returned to his hometown. They have plenty of rooms there after all. Besides, Cyrus's mother especially asked him to let Cyrus stay at their home since he would bring his coworkers.

Cyrus shouts at Tylor that he has come here for work, not to visit his parents. Tylor replies that it was what he said to his mother. Cyrus tells him this is just weird to have him and his subordinates stay at his home despite coming for work. Tylor replies that it would have been weird if he was part of a normal family but his home is crazy huge. Besides the big shots of the main office already stay at his home on the rare times they come for an inspection, and no inn can accommodate his glamorous coworkers for several days. Tylor finally tells Cyrus he should just accept it and stay at his parents' home with his coworkers. Cyrus reluctantly gives up.

Leaving the Ministry Branch Office

The whole group will head to Cyrus's home, which is also the residence of the lord of the domain.

Before leaving, Katarina is given the snacks from the candy container wrapped for her. She feels moved by the thoughtfulness of the staff. Sora tells her they probably did it because she was looking at them with so much desire. Katarina wasn't aware she was but she is still glad to get the rice crackers and the sugar candies. She wants to taste them right away but Sora tells her to leave them for later since they will have lunch soon.

Haru reunites with the group. She was able to contact her family and will accompany them to Cyrus's home for the time being. Her family will probably fetch her there since they are acquainted with Cyrus's family. Haru has also received Ryou's reply to the letter sent to him the day before. He seems very furious so Haru shudders about seeing him again.

Discussing Cyrus's Family in the Carriage

Everyone heads to Cyrus's home by carriage with the same groups.

Cyrus has a dark expression. Katarina wonders why Cyrus is so reluctant to let them stay at his home. She wonders if his family has unique personalities, like how her doting father makes her feel embarrassed. 

Katarina asks Cyrus about his family.

Cyrus ponders a little and replies that his father has retired from his lord's duty and his older brother has taken over. But his father still acts as his advisor. His brother is married and has 2 sons.

Katarina guesses that Cyrus's brother is probably not uncomfortable with women since he could get married. And Cyrus seems to have nephews.

Katarina asks Cyrus if his nephews are small.

Cyrus replies he and his brother have a big age difference, so his nephews are around old enough to go to the Academy of Magic. 

Given Cyrus and his brother's age difference, Katarina wonders if Cyrus's brother's wife may not be a young woman. This could explain why his brother didn't get uncomfortable with her.

Katarina asks Cyrus where his brother found his wife since there are no young women in his domain.

Cyrus replies that his brother met his future wife at the Academy of Magic, got engaged to her, and brought her back as his wife. At that time she was a very thin noble lady but now she has become prominent. She and his brother go to the fields every day.

Cyrus has a distant look as he says this. Katarina figures the noble lady probably became sturdy after working in the fields. And Cyrus's brother seems proactive, unlike Cyrus. 

Katarina asks Cyrus if his mother got married the same way as his brother.

Cyrus is startled by Katarina's question and freezes. Katarina is surprised by his reaction since he has smoothly answered her questions so far. She wonders if it is such a strange question.

Haru tells Katarina that Cyrus's mother fell in love with her future husband at the academy, fiercely approached him, followed him all the way here, and married him. She often heard this story from Cyrus's mother.

Haru smiles but Cyrus shows complicated feelings on his face.

Cyrus tells Katarina that, as Haru said, his mother is very pushy, proactive, vigorous in spirit, meddlesome, and has strong tendencies. He asks her to steel herself.

Katarina is curious about Cyrus's mother. Based on his description, she seems to be like Haru.

Cyrus's Mother's Welcome

They arrive at the Lanchester's manor. It is a big residence. When they get off the carriage, a petite woman who looks a little younger than Katarina's mother runs to them. Katarina wonders if it is Cyrus's brother's wife.

The woman runs to Cyrus, vigorously jumps into his chest, and gives him a big hug. Everyone is blank while seeing this. Katarina wonders if it is okay for Cyrus's sister-in-law to welcome him so passionately.

The woman tells Cyrus he has grown splendidly and that she was worried since he wouldn't come back at all. She asks him if he is eating properly, if he isn't hurt, and if he is properly doing his job at the Ministry. Cyrus replies that he isn't a kid anymore and that she should stop. Cyrus has called the woman "Mom".

Katarina can't believe that this young-looking woman is actually Cyrus's mother. She inadvertently shouts in shock. The woman confirms with a smile that she is Cyrus's mother and thanks her for always looking after her son. Katarina flusteredly replies that it is actually Cyrus who always looks after her. Cyrus's mother finds her adorable.

Katarina looks at Cyrus's mother. She is so beautiful and doesn't look like she could have a son the age of Cyrus. Cyrus isn't even her first child: she had Cyrus's older brother before, who is considerably older than Cyrus. Katarina feels like she could have won the youngest-looking old lady contest in her past life.

Cyrus's mother recognizes Haru and greets her. Cyrus is shocked that his mother can tell it is Haru since she looks completely different from before. His mother replies that she can obviously tell since Haru came over a lot before to play. She despairs over Cyrus's denseness and wonders who he takes it from. Cyrus's mother apologizes to Haru for her son's denseness and asks her what brings her here. Haru explains her situation and asks if she can stay here until her family comes to fetch her. Cyrus's mother warmly invites her to stay as long as she likes: the more people, the merrier and it will put her in high spirits.

Katarina can tell that Cyrus's mother is overwhelming, just like Cyrus's said.

Maria's carriage arrives at Cyrus's home. Cyrus's mother also introduces herself to Maria's group as Cyrus's mother, which shocks them.

Katarina realizes that the people around here may be curious about unfamiliar people but they don't particularly pay attention to Laura's outfit. They may just find her eccentric and that's it. The ones who are attracting attention are actually her, Maria, and Haru since there are almost no young women around here.

Before Lunch

Cyrus's mother invites everyone to head to their rooms. The inside of the manor has a structure similar to the Claes's manor but there are few ornaments and most of them are practical items. The servants look friendly, unlike the neat and proper servants at the royal capital.

Cyrus's mother tells the group that the servants will carry their luggage to their room. She asks them to check their luggage and head to the dining room to have lunch. There, the current head of the family will greet them.

After being shown to her room with her luggage, Katarina heads to the dining room guided by a servant. Katarina feels like skipping while looking forward to the Japanese food, but she restrains herself and walks in a ladylike manner.

Katarina arrives in the dining room. She has probably come too early since she is the first to arrive. However, Cyrus's family is already here and stands up when she arrives. The man introduces himself as the lord of the Victoire domain and Cyrus's brother (his name wasn't written). His face looks similar to Cyrus but he gives off a gentle vibe. The woman introduces herself as Cyrus's brother's wife. Katarina remembers that Cyrus told her she was a delicate noble lady when she arrived in the household. But currently, she is a plump suntanned lady who gives a mom's vibe.

Katarina introduces herself as Katarina Claes, an employee of the Ministry of Magic. Cyrus's brother recognizes her name. Katarina is surprised and asks if he knows about her. Cyrus's brother replies that her entry at the Ministry of Magic was quite the talk since she is a prince's fiancée and a duke's daughter. Katarina didn't expect this story would reach this remote region. Cyrus's brother asks her about her work at the Ministry. Katarina replies the work is worthwhile and enjoyable.

The others arrive in the dining room and Cyrus's brother and his wife greet them. Finally, a tired Cyrus arrives with his mother. His brother tells him he won't ask him to come back home but he wants him to send letters at least. Cyrus apologizes.

Cyrus's father and nephews won't join them since they are currently out. Cyrus's mother explains that her husband has been enjoying playing with his grandchildren since he retired. He takes every opportunity to take them outside.

Katarina Enjoys a Japanese Lunch

Finally, food is served. Katarina's excitement rises to max level. There are tempuras, grilled fish, chawanmushis, and others. The food looks just like the one she had in high-class ryokans in her past life. It looks so delicious that she can feel drool coming out of her mouth just by looking at it.

Cyrus's brother warns everyone that they may not be familiar with the food since it is Sharma cuisine. But he invites everyone to enjoy the food nonetheless.

Katarina first takes chopsticks. There are also knives and forks but she prefers using chopsticks. She feels relieved she still can handle them without issue after all this time.

Katarina starts taking some simmered food. After bringing it to her mouth, she recognizes it as simmered taro, it is delicious. Then she tastes some food cut into a flower shape. She recognizes it as sweet potatoes. She likes the sweet salty taste. Next, she will taste the tempura, but which one first? She goes with the one that looks like a lotus root. Both the outside and inside are crispy. Then she tastes the fish grilled with miso. It is nostalgic and tasty. 

Katarina enjoys the meal to the fullest. The nostalgic and tasty dishes have made both her heart and stomach full. After finishing the fruits served for dessert, she finally says she is done with her meal. When she raises her face from the food, she can see everyone giving her a warm look.

Cyrus's brother tells Katarina that he is glad she enjoyed the food so much. He also praises her for her perfect handling of chopsticks. He asks her if she had Sharma food before.

Katarina realizes that people from the royal capital normally can't eat Sharma food nor handle chopsticks skillfully. She decides to explain it using her duke's daughter's status.

Katarina tells Cyrus's brother that she likes Sharma food, so she has enjoyed it several times before.

Everyone seems to be amazed at her rich daughter's eccentricity. Katarina is glad she didn't tell Cyrus and Haru that she never ate Japanese food before. She could barely deceive them.

Katarina adds that she still greatly enjoyed the food this time because she never ate it before.

Everyone Goes to the Scene

Now that lunch is over, everyone will head to the scene. They have Haru stay at the manor since it can be dangerous. She sees them off with a lonely look, but it can't be helped.

Before she leaves, Cyrus's mother gives Katarina some snacks in case she gets hungry. Katarina gladly accepts them but Cyrus isn't pleased that his mother treats him as if he is going out with friends. Katarina takes a look at the sweets: they are Japanese snacks. Katarina wants to try some but Sora stops her by saying she will upset her stomach if she eats them right after lunch. Katarina feels like Sora has become mom-like, just like Keith.

Everyone quickly arrives at the scene thanks to the special carriage. The fields near the forest are covered in animal footprints. Like before, Katarina feels sad at the sight of the damaged fields. It doesn't seem like they will be able to harvest the crops.

Katarina sees a tanuki on the other side of a tall fence. The tanuki runs away but it will probably come back later. The fence is probably the measure Tylor mentioned before. 

Some farmers and Ministry employees are in the fields. Tylor arrives a short while later and apologizes to the group for making them wait. It seems like he was initially right behind them but the distance between them gradually increased because of the speed of their carriage. After all, their carriage is at least twice as fast as a normal carriage.

Tylor explains the measures he has taken and the numbers and types of animals damaging the fields. Tylor seems more capable than the branch head she met during the mission before.

They have put a fence in place and the number of animals has decreased thanks to it, but there are still animals gathering around the fence. They have put nets on the trees as a measure against birds and the fence was put deep in the ground as a measure against animals that dig holes. Various measures were put in place to make things harder for the animals to get into the fields. Katarina can feel the determination of the farmers.

Katarina, Sora, and Maria Remember How Nathan Got Lost During the Previous Mission

Tylor will now take them to the forest. Katarina asks him where they will enter the forest from since the huge fence is blocking them. Tylor replies there is a door further away. After reaching the door, Katarina can see the door is made to look like a part of the fence. It seems like it has been camouflaged so the animals won't see it. 

They pass through the door and arrive in a luxuriant forest expanding as far as the eye can see. Tylor tells them the forest is maintained so the children nearby won't get lost or injured. Katarina remembers that Nathan got lost in the mission before. Seeing her distant eyes, Sora asks her if she is thinking about Nathan. Katarina confirms she was: the situation is similar and Nathan caused them lots of trouble at that time. Sora remembers that they found him thanks to Alexander.

Katarina remembers about Alexander, the people-searching magic tool that can move on its own. He acts cute in front of Maria but makes fun of Katarina behind Maria's back. Katarina doesn't like him but admits he was useful during that case. For this trip, Maria checked 3 times that Alexander hadn't sneaked into her luggage.

Hearing about Alexander, Maria joins the discussion. Katarina tells her they were talking about how Alexander greatly helped when Nathan got lost during the mission before. Maria remembers the incident and is glad that Nathan took with him the treasured towel he had received from Larna. Katarina is surprised because it is new for her.

Maria explains that there was the same embroidery on the towel as on the handkerchief Frey received from Larna. Katarina vaguely remembers Maria mentioning this during Frey's rescue mission. Maria adds that when she asked Larna about the embroidery afterward, Larna told her that she tended to lose her things so she sewed a special embroidery on them so it would be easier to get them back. 

Even so, Larna isn't so attached to her things, so she carefreely gives them to anyone. As a result, most of the people in the department have something they got from Larna. And Nathan seems to treasure the towel he got from her. After all, all her senpais are grateful that Larna took them in.

Maria adds that they were lucky Nathan took with him his treasured item and that he has high magic power. They could track him down thanks to it. Katarina feels like Maria has just said something important, but her train of thought is interrupted.

[symphonic-scream]

I have an au concept but no idea where to take it after. Like, an idea and a starting plot, but no idea for how it would resolve

It's got a bit of angst, some moderate body horror, and of course, themes of self discovery and queerness in there cause it's me

The idea? The thieves have all been part of a program where they've been in a facility and taking part in tests for years since they all showed potential, in the Persona way

They could leave for four days a month with permission, and had their own rooms they decorated, and were taken care of by Wakaba and Sojiro, with Tae Takemi on the med team

The program was about studying how having control of their persona affected them compared to those without the potential, and if there were ways to use that knowledge to impact society positively. The government promised each child in the program that once it was done, they'd be supported for life. School? Free. Expenses covered, for sacrificing their youth. Their parents or guardians also got a little bonus

Some had been there for years. Akira has been 2, Goro arrived at 4, Futaba 3, and Makoto 7. The last ones to join were Kasumi and Sumire at 11, and Haru, 13. They all get close over the years, and their rooms are covered in photos and stuff from their little excursions to malls or museums when allowed

The experiments were rarely painful. Mostly brain scans and other weird psience stuff. Then, they got word they were finally wrapping up with their group. Two others had ended recently, and them, Facility 5, were finally getting their final round of tests before being let free

Now, the range from 19 to 16. They're all so excited to be able to leave. Their lives are waiting for them, their families, their futures

So if course shit hits the fan. Someone messed with the tests, and a huge accident occurred. Instead of allowing them to see into the shadow world beyond, the two worlds were crushed together in the lab, for an hour. The lab techs' own shadows raged forth, some dying. Sojiro and Wakaba struggled to shut the power off, all the while the group of teens, well

Their bodies are forcefully fused with their personas. Changed, in painful ways. One of them didn't make it, and one of them, due to the violent nature of the second persona that had lurked behind his main one, lost control and wrecked part of the facility

The government decided to evacuate everyone besides the subjects, and sealed the facility for good. Sojiro, a weak Wakaba, and Tae fight them on it, and are trying now to get back in

They werent told the gov poured some kind of gas in there before sealing the place. So, the remaining subjects all wake up, forever changed, without a memory in their heads

So, that leads us to the main plot I have. They all explore the abandoned facility, gradually piecing together what happened, uncovering who sabotaged everything, and finding out who they all used to be. Remembering through photos, and slowly, as the effects of the gas leave them, memories resurfacing, and regaining themselves

They'd all have the golden shadow eyes. They have their persona's abilities, and some physical changes to resemble their persona

The one that died in the accident was Kasumi, and Goro lost control. He's not with them when they all wake up in their old living area.

That's all the ideas I have?? Like, of course I have mini blurbs for this bit, and some stuff like Makoto and Haru were lined up to move away together and get married. Akira and Goro were going to go to uni together, share an apartment. Ann was going to live with Shiho. Ryuji was excited to take his ma on a vacation, and Yusuke was going to travel for art inspiration

But, no idea where the plot would go after they start figuring out what happened and who sabotaged everything. Idk. Anyone interested in this??

[nkn0va]

Could we please get some headcanons on what Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, and Sumire would do to celebrate their s/o's birthday? Thanks a bunch and happy birthday!

The ol' five character hitter again. Thank god this is the only fandom where this happens. Does kinda tank quality though having to do it for a full five especially since it's not my main hyperfixation anymore.

-You better believe Ann is going all out for your special day. It's only the most appropriate thing to do for her S/O.

-There was that super nice hotel buffet she and the rest of the thieves went to after they successfully changed Kamoshida's heart. You hadn't joined the group yet so that'd be a nice place to take you to.

-Even if you aren't a foodie, there's no way you're able to turn down high class food like that, especially since Ann likely spent a pretty penny to get you two in.

-After stuffing yourselves to your heart's content (and likely getting a few extra pounds you'd definitely need to work off), she takes you to Inokashira park for a peaceful stroll under the sunset.

-Soon you two sit down a bench for a break, when she gives you a small, wrapped box. Opening it up you find an attachable charm inside. The lines and finer details are a bit uneven, suggesting this was something Ann made herself.

She quickly reveals she has another one just like it on her bag to match yours, having wanted to give you something that felt unique. It was extremely heartwarming.

(Makoto's birthday is the day right after this post goes up, which means it's the day after mine.)

-Makoto is a bit anxious. She hadn't really had a proper birthday celebration, whether doing it or receiving it ever since her father died. Sae was unfortunately too busy for any of that stuff 99 percent of the time.

-Now that you two were dating, she was hoping to change that. She can't do anything extravagant but that wasn't going to stop her.

-She keeps it relatively simple. Instead of taking you out somewhere like Ann, she makes a home cooked meal from scratch and invites you over to her place.

-She'll treat you to whatever movie you want to watch from the comfort of inside and bring out the blankets, popcorn, and any other movie treats you like. Just...don't ask for a horror movie. Please.

-Makoto doesn't really have any gift ideas she's all that confident in, so she opted to instead spend the day with you and give you the attention you deserve. She hopes that through her actions she conveys how much she loves you.

-Take Makoto's nervousness/cluelessness, and double it. Now you have an idea of what celebrating someone else's birthday is like for Futaba.

-She very easily gets in her own head about what she should and shouldn't be doing for her S/O's birthday. Her birthdays even when her mom was alive were never exactly normal due to how busy she was, let alone after she died both before and after Sojiro took her in.

-After some reassurance from both Sojiro and Joker, she decides to just let it come naturally to her and be herself.

-She invites you over to her room as she usually does for a majority of your dates to play some video games and watch some shows. It doesn't have to be anime, it can just be whatever you want. She'll go at least a little easier when you're playing games too so you can have a chance at winning.

-You've most certainly been able to share most of your interests with Futaba, she wants to know about them just as much as she wants to share hers with you. This makes it pretty easy to get you a gift you'd like.

A shirt, an action figure, maybe a music album, something relating to your interest that even you probably didn't know existed. Either because it's custom made or that Futaba just really knows her way around the internet far better than you.

-You've been at a decently comfortable point in your relationship with Haru for a while now, and she is absolutely thrilled to be able to celebrate your birthday however you want.

-One might expect someone of her social standing to treat you to the highest class date money can buy, and she absolutely can, but she would much prefer something more intimate and heartfelt.

-She invites you over to her place where she has a stack of baked goods waiting for you two to share. Some ordered, some homemade. Also to offset the sheer amount of sugar, a more healthy meal she made herself, even having grown most if not all the ingredients.

-If there was anything you expressed a want to have, no matter how expensive it is, that is now your birthday gift as well. Depending on the price, your jaw is probably going to drop as Haru presents it like it's nothing with the sweetest smile on her face.

-If your appetite rivals that of Sumire and you're still hungry she's more than happy to cook/bake together with you, playfully throwing flour or water on each other and bantering. She's more than willing to get serious and teach you how to cook if needed, she likely has enough experience to do so.

-Of course no date with Haru is ever complete with the softest, warmest cuddles of your life, under a blanket together as you drift off to sleep or watch a movie. It never fails to get your heart beating faster as her smaller body buries into yours.

-Despite her demure, sweet demeanor, Sumire can be quite the go-getter due to her athletic background. This naturally translates to celebrations of any kind.

-Your wallet is thankfully spared for today as she treats you this time. It may or may not be too much for you to swallow everything down but either way she's happy. Either for the extra food or that you enjoy everything she throws at you and that you can match her appetite.

-After that, it's time for a jog around the park to work off all those extra calories. Some form of exercise is typical when spending time with her but she's lax for today as the the point is to celebrate you and the fact that you're here today. She'll be fine with slowing down to a walk too if that's more comfortable for you as you two share leisurely conversation with each other.

-She did manage to also find a decent gift for you thanks to advice from her parents. She presents you with a special, designer made perfume/cologne. Since you're working out with her so much she figured you could use something to help with the stink of doing so, and she wanted it to be something special.

-From then on you make a point to wear it on all your dates with her. She notices this but doesn't bring it up, feeling a bit too shy to do so.

[taldigi]

Mona in back 2 inaba…he’s so cuteeeeeeee and him being a kid makes like 100% sense. he is so little kid coded i love him and I love you for making him such a cutie patootie

thank you!! I love writing and exploring his character! He's got the intelligence to match the other PTs but a severe immaturity- and a large amount of that is just cause.. YEAH! he is just a kid!

What really resonated is that there is a scene ingame where Morgana and Joker are talking, and you can respond in a way that has Morgana be like: "Yeah, but I'd be the older brother" and that charmed me a lot! (And thats really reflected in simester 3 where he's taller than Ren! and he kind of looks like him too! of COURSE he'd fashion his ideal self the way he does!!)

But he's not magically perfect. Now, Mona has to learn to hold things with his new hands, how to take care of himself all over again- to learn to communicate with others or wear clothes! Simultaneously balancing his new freedom as a human and lack of freedom from loosing his cat-self.

Momo's so used to being responsible, but how can he be when he's so frustrated because he can't hold a cup very well? When he has to deal with new emotions and consequences for actions? AND he has to rely on Ren more than ever.

"Being a human is hard!" Morgana howled, his fists balled up tight and pressed firmly to his eyes. He had managed to curl up tight against the wall, shrinking away from his fallen bowl as if it had been filled with poison.

"It's only instant ramen, see- the bowl didn't even break." Ren attempted to soothe, kneeling down to gently scoop the spilled meal back into the bowl- but he was only met with a fitful quiet as Morgana huffled and hiccuped to himself. So, he cleaned in silence, turning over the outburst in his head as he went. He opened his mouth a few times to speak, but closed it soon after- finding his words- his thoughts, slightly too scrambled to articulate. Morgana knew he wasn't in trouble, right? Ren knew his fine motor skills had been warped after he had changed. An overwhelming loss, considering that it had been Morgana who had been the craftiest of the group, most skilled with their hands... Paws? Being a human is hard, huh? Well, he could certainly agree with that. "You can't be magically good at everything, you know." The words came slowly, Ren being careful not to fall into his 'leader' cadence as he spoke. "I know, but..." Morgana hesitated, then emitted a shuddering breath, "You make it seem effortless." Ren cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" "Being.." Morgana shifted, making a gesture vaguely at where the mess had been previously. His expression fell again, "It's.. a lot. It was way easier when all I had to do was make sure you ate and woke up on time." Ren hummed, shifting his position to sit next to the cat-turned-boy, easing his back against the wall with a sigh. His thoughts swam, recalling the many many times he had failed and their results- such as him sprawled out on the floor of the attic after overexerting himself, every time he had tried that damn burger challenge and gotten sick after- or that time he had torn the hell out of his favorite shirt by climbing over the school gate.. and all just to visit Haru on the rooftop while he was supposed to be dead. (Heck, he even failed at that, if you consider it.) "I just... feel stupid," Morgana broke him from his thoughts, "I feel stupid, and awkward, and angry.. frustrated. Wrong." "I think that's normal- to feel that way..." He furrowed his brow, head tilting down to hide his expression behind the glare of his glasses, "I've failed a lot. You will too- and you will, a lot. For the rest of your life." Morgana emitted a displeased grunt. "But those failures all add up, bit by bit, and soon they'll become lived experience. That's part of being human- the big, scary part. Making mistakes. Living with them. Learning from them... learning not to fear them." "Sheesh Joker," A short laugh, and Morgana leaned heavily onto Ren's lap, tears leaving dots on his jeans, "When did you get so smart?" Ren lowered his arm and placed his hand on Morgana's head- gently petting the soft hair. "After I failed to kill god." "We." Morgana corrected, muffled. "S'right. We." Ren paused, pulling a grin, "Then we went on to to kill him twice. Then going on to beat up Dr. Maruki- who was essentially God 2 in a fistfight. You know, usual teenager milestones."

His pat turned rough, mussing up Morgana's hair, "Anyway. Food? Do you wanna remake your ramen?" "Can't" Morgana frowned. "That was the last shrimp one." "How about Aiyas, then?" Ren asked, feeling better as Morgana's expression lifted, "It's been a while, and Kumanda-san just paid me." "I think I'd like that."

[yanderecrazysie]

yan! haruka nanase with a childhood friend reader who finds him amusing? from his obsession with water to his stoicism she can't take him seriously because she finds every haruka thing humorous, like how he submerges himself in the bathtub and how he keeps saying his first crush was a waterfall. all with a straight face! (😆) despite finding it all amusing she knows that he's serious about all those things, what she never believed in was him saying that he loves her and to promise that when they grow they'll marry. she thought he was being silly but entertained him and said: "you're cheating on water and making me your side chick, but sure! let's keep it a secret tho ok~"

and he did, he never brought it up again and she straight up forgot. the trouble began when she admitted to him that she's interested in one of his clubmates. his response? "are you planning on cheating one me? why? have you forgotten what we promised?" thinking that he's bringing up an old joke she giggled at his face. then it dawned on him that she thinks he's not serious about his love.

you know that saying of "actions speak louder than words"? Let's just say he acted in a mild noncon matter towards her after that.

This request made me laugh a little!

I decided to make it suggestive instead of writing non-con since I A: wasn’t sure how to lead into that and B: am still unsure about writing NSFW. I’m so sorry, my precious anon.

Title: Dead Serious

Pairings: Nanase Haruka x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, suggestive content, non-consensual touching, Haru is deadly serious lol

Summary: Haru is a lot more serious than you could have ever imagined.

“Have you ever had a crush, Haru?”

“Yes.”

“Who did you have a crush on?” You asked your best friend curiously.

“A waterfall,” Haru responded softly.

You burst into loud laughter. Your best friend was probably the funniest person you had ever met, but he didn’t even realize it.

Nanase Haruka was a real riot to you, so obsessed with water that he needed it more than air. One time you had burst into his house and, when he called you over, you found him in his swimsuit, submerging himself in the bathtub. You hadn’t held back your laughter then and you certainly didn’t now.

You weren’t exactly a class clown, but you knew a few stand-up routines and endless knock knock jokes. To you, most things were funny, including your serious, water-obsessed friend.

You weren’t sure how you and Haruka had become friends. You had liked swimming for about a year and you had met him and his little swimming crew. Nagisa had immediately started calling you by a nickname he made for you and that led to you calling the others by the names Nagisa had assigned them. They were an interesting group, but Haru stuck out to you the most.

Quiet and mysterious, rarely with something to say. You liked that, found yourself swearing that you’d make him open up to you. So far, that hadn’t worked, but that was okay. You had found a different reason to hang out with him.

He made you laugh. Hysterically.

He kept a straight face when he told you about his crush on waterfalls, so when he turned to you, equally straight-faced, you couldn’t take him seriously.

“Now I have a crush on you.” Haru monotoned.

You snorted with laughter, “So you’re cheating on water and making me your side chick? I’m offended!”

Haru stared at you, unblinkingly, “So you will be my girlfriend?”

You couldn’t stop giggling, “Alright, alright, I accept. But let’s keep that a secret, okay?”

Haru nodded and you laughed so hard you cried.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------

You flopped down on your bed and sighed loudly, “Haruuuu.”

Haru looked up from his cross-legged position and stared at you, waiting for you to continue.

“Can we stop with the homework? It’s boring,” You pouted.

Haru closed his math textbook in response. You grinned at him and gave him a genial slap on the back. “That’s my Haru!”

The two of you sat in silence, and you felt yourself start to drift off. Then, you snapped out of it, remembering the question you wanted to ask him.

“Oh, yeah, Haru! I’ve been meaning to ask you,” You said, “Is Makoto single?”

Haru stared at you, his gaze somewhat cold, “Why?”

“Because I’m interested, duh,” You laughed.

Haru’s eyes widened, “You’re going to cheat on me? With him?”

“Cheat on you? What?” You asked, laughter being replaced with confusion.

“Remember our promise? In junior high?”

You thought back and suddenly remembered the conversation, “OH MY GOD, I forgot about that! You’re so funny, Haru!” Your laughter was near hysterical as you thought of how funny Haru was to bring that old joke back up.

“I’m not joking,” Haru said, voice as cold as ice.

Your laughter trailed off, “What?”

Haru stood up, looming over you, “I’m not joking.”

Suddenly, your blood froze over, and you began to tremble. Never had your friend looked this angry.

You tried to sit up, but Haru pushed you back down into your lying position. Then, he crawled onto the bed, straddling you.

“Haru, what are you doing?” You asked, heart pounding erratically.

“I’m going to show you how much I love you,” He said, reaching for your shirt and pulling it over your head. His hand came to rest on your ribcage, just underneath your left breast. Then the hand started moving upwards.

“Then you’ll know how serious I really am.”

[corruptedbunny-multimuse]

Incorrect Persona 5 Quotes

Joker after fishing once: I'm wet, I'm cold, there's a FISH ON MY HEAD!

~~~

Joker, after talking to Maruki: Somebody needs a hug. Akechi: More like a beatdown.

~~~

Joker: When you're laying down and your pet walks across your internal organs, and you're like 'OW, FUCK!', and they don't even care! They just keep standing on your spleen like it's their job. Ryuji: Obviously keep your skin closed at all times, dude. Joker: That's not what I meant, and you know it.

~~~

Futaba: Am I in trouble? Sojiro: Take a guess. Futaba: ...no? Sojiro: ...take another guess.

~~~

Makoto: My stomach growled... really loudly in French. Makoto: I would like to clarify my stomach did not speak French. It growled in French class. I apologize. Ann: Bonjour. Ryuji: Le growl. Joker: Hon hon hon, feed me a baguette. Makoto: Why do I even talk in this group chat.

~~~

Akechi: When four people start texting me at once, I start wanting to cry. Is that normal?

~~~

Akechi: Been feeling so burnt out lately. Haru: Don't worry! It'll be over soon! Akechi: ...are you gonna kill me? Haru: Not if you're expecting it.

~~~

Joker: Sakura-san said it's my turn to hand out the ominous and vague warnings. Futaba: That wasn't dad.

~~~

Ryuji: Hey, do you guys think I could fit fifteen marshmallows in my mouth? Yusuke: You're a hazard to your health, Sakamoto-san... Futaba: And a coward. Do twenty.