#ah finally introducing my messy boy! I love all the drama you bring I love you Emery

[authorspirit]

Emery Ito

Child of the ocean, jealous, child of the islands, neat, romantic, family-oriented.

Athlete.

Emery Ito is the eldest child of Kiyoshi Ito and bears a striking resemblance to his father, not only in appearance but also in his life trajectory. Like his father, Emery showed promise as a young skier athlete. However, he ultimately chose not to pursue a professional athletic career, instead opting to join his father in running the family business as his father did before him with grandfather Naoki Ito. In the end, Emery is quite contempt with that choice. Known as a socialite, your party isn’t a great one if he’s not there.

Concerning his love life, he was known to have multiple flings with various women, but nothing serious. Only the ones closest to him would know he had a crush since his teenage years on the star snowboarder Keiko Nakagawa. However, after one kiss, she deemed him unworthy of her time and he rapidly gained the reputation of a playboy. So what a shock to everyone when Keiko and him officially became a couple. He did not want to lose her again and soon proposed. For the ones not in the intimate circle of their friends, questions arose: how and when did those two become an item? The most shocked one was none other than the secret baby mother of Emery: Moe Shimizu. She recently gave birth to a child, Ren Shimizu. Though it was only meant to be one passionate night, she still felt betrayed upon learning that the famous playboy decided to settle down, so she kept the pregnancy a secret, sure that she could do it on her own. However she soon realized that her child needed to know his father and that she may need the Ito’s money for him. So she went to Emery just mere days before his big day, giving him the shocking news. Upon discovering the truth, Emery felt shaken and asked Moe to keep it a secret as he was to process the news. After a lovely wedding and a honeymoon, Emery also was informed of Keiko’s pregnancy. Which he didn’t take well, creating tensions between the newlyweds. Now nearing the end of Keiko’s pregnancy, he still has not confessed his secret and is too scared of the aftermath of his lengthy decision. But sooner or later, the truth will be out.

My bf said he had the vibes of a rich dude that knows he’s rich and a bit of an a-hole. So I think he’s perfect. His character is actually sweet but he’s a mess. Actually he’s very much giving the same vibes as Arthur. 👀

[moonstruckbucky]

Royal Holiday (2/6)

Summary: Bucky Barnes is bored - trust him, he knows how that sounds. But being royalty, in his humble opinion, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Time to mix it up a bit.

Pairing: Prince!Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader, modern AU

Warnings: None - just dumb fluff.

Notes: Like everything else, I’m sorry for the wait on this. Enjoy x

If you like my work buy me a Ko-Fi.

Series Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Bucky’s unashamed to admit that the woman in front of the flower shop has been a permanent resident inside his mind. That expression of hope ringed in sadness on her face, paired with the subtle beauty she possessed has been stuck in his mind’s eye, even a week later. He’s already addicted and he doesn’t even know her name.

He doesn’t know the name of the flower shop, either. He’d been so enchanted by her, so preoccupied with who is she that he’d completely forgotten to get the name of the flower shop. He feels like an idiot, curses himself both internally and verbally, amusing the absolute shit out of Sam.

He’s never seen Bucky so torn up over a woman for more than a night, much less one he hasn’t even talked to yet. He actually feels bad every time Bucky requests to return to the city and Sam has to say no - “a meeting with your father���, “a suit fitting for the gala”, a number of other things that chip away at Bucky’s patience - and by association, Sam’s.

So he relents the next time Bucky has an opportunity to escape. He’d managed to fool his mother - something about a custom suit from a top designer in the city - and takes a car the first chance he sees. Or rather, Sam does, and he listens grudgingly as Bucky talks to himself.

“Was it...here? Or...or down 5th?” he mutters in the passenger seat, nose pressed to the glass like he’s out of some kids’ cartoon.

Sam rolls his eyes, taps his fingers against the steering wheel at a red light. Bucky, meanwhile, analyzes every building face they pass, eyebrows drawn downwards in concentration as he tries, gives himself a headache, to remember. He remembers the colors of the building - white brick and faded, green-grey paint befitting of a florist shop. One of the letters is crooked, tilted downwards like a nail’s come loose.

And then… he sees it, yelps out loud and points out the window. Unfortunately it’s just after Sam’s pressed the gas to move into the intersection. Bucky’s head bounces off the window as Sam slams on the brakes, spurring a chorus of angry car horns around them, harmonized with cursing and yelling.

Before Sam can yell at him for nearly getting them killed, Bucky’s stumbling out of the car, tripping over the seatbelt in his haste to make it to the curb. Growling under his breath, Sam eases down on the gas, waves apologetically to the cars around him and loops around to find a place to park.

Bucky pushes through people, offers half-assed apologies as his vision seems to tunnel, the flower shop the focus. Everything else blurs, becomes a white noise haze as he steps up to the door. Knob ice-cold in his bare palm,

and it’s locked.

Stomach plummeting, Bucky feels the hope leave his chest in a painful flurry. So tangible he actually winces. Tries the knob again and he feels that same aching pang - is that his heart?

He pitches forward, winces at the frigid glass on his skin. Taps his head once, twice, three times lightly against it because that’s just his luck isn’t it? He doesn’t even realize he’s muttering under his breath until Sam snorts behind him.

“They went to lunch, drama queen,” he teases. Confusion, an eye roll from his friend and a gesture at the window where a sign reads “back in an hour” in messy, feminine scrawl.

Another flutter, only this one is hope - taking off like a dove at a wedding. He elects to wait, declines when Sam offers to get him something from a bistro down the block. He leans against the wall beside the door, scrolling through his emails, barely sparing them a glance - he just wants the notification to go away. He waits, belly all quivering with nervous anticipation. After fifteen minutes, he lowers himself to the ground, knees tucked up so he doesn’t trip anyone.

Will she even show up to this shop? Or was it just a coincidence that she’d passed it in the first place? Is he just wasting his time on a girl he, realistically, might not see again? Doubt clouds his mind but he pushes it down, refuses to be at least a little rational. After all, the expression on her face as she gazed at the shop seemed far too coincidental that she’d just been passing by. There’s a correlation there, and he’s determined to find out what.

“Oh, jeez, I’m so sorry! I hope you weren’t waiting too long!”

A voice, sweet like honey, disrupts his thoughts, and as he looks up, he feels the breath leave his lungs in a whoosh. It’s her, the woman he’d seen before, her face flushed from the chill and a sincerely apologetic look. He thinks he’s in love already.

It takes him a few awkward moments for his tongue to reconnect to his brain, and then he clambers to his feet, nearly bowls her over in the process.

“Uh, um, n-no, I wasn’t waiting all that long!” he assures, feeling the heat creeping up his neck because her eyes are so big and sparkling in the sunshine. Then she smiles, and oh boy, is he in trouble.

“You don’t have to lie,” she teases lightly, sidestepping him with a key in her hand to unlock the door. “Are you looking for something in particular or are you just browsing?”

The shop is warm, filled with the aroma of fresh flowers - roses and hydrangea and gerbera daisies, pine and balsam and winterberry. It’s blossoming Christmas in the shop, fairy lights strung up everywhere and the fluorescent lights dimmed low - not too low that he can’t see the product, but just enough.

He gets so caught up in looking around he forgets she asked him a question. She’s shucked off her coat, looking pretty in an emerald green sweater that’s rolled at her wrists. She’s watching him, head tilted curiously and eyes bright. He shakes himself, gives her a smile that probably looks as shaky as it feels.

“Uh, well, I, uh, just thought I’d pick something up for my mother.” Barnes, you genius. He grins suddenly, rolling with the idea. “Yeah, something festive, you know? She loves flowers.”

She smirks and leans on the counter. “What’s her favorite?”

Bucky’s mind blanks, and he knows she knows he’s fibbing. He glances to his left, sees a large, bright red flower, wide open like a lion’s mane on a tall, green stem. He points.

“These.”

“Ah, amaryllis,” she says, sashaying around the counter. “A favorite around the holidays. I think I have some potted, if your mother would like to grow one of her own - they last longer.”

“Sure,” he agrees readily. He’s pretty sure she could ask him to walk on the Sun and he’d do it. She smiles that pretty smile again and turns away from him to fetch the potted amaryllis.

Even puts some pretty foil on the pot it comes in and drops it into a plastic sleeve to protect it from the cold. She does it all seamlessly, hands familiar with the task, and she rings him up. He pays her with a fifty, tells her to keep the $25.01 in change. Something akin to gratitude flashes in her eyes at that, but it’s gone when he blinks.

Awkward silence stretches - she taps her fingers, tries not to stare at him because why is he still here - and he searches his brain for any possible reason to linger a little longer. But he comes up empty, and all he can do is stare, looking stupid with that amaryllis in his hands and a far-off look in his eye. And then Sam - dear old Sam who he could throttle when they get outside - sidles up beside him and flashes her a charming grin that’s brilliant white against his dark skin.

“Afternoon, miss,” he greets, and Bucky thinks he feels his teeth crack. “What a beautiful shop! Are you the owner?”

To her credit, she seems to catch onto his game and smirks, cocks a hip as she leans against the counter. “Why, yes I am.”

And she introduces herself, just like that. Accepts the gloved hand Sam puts out, and Bucky feels the tips of his ears heat. How is it so easy for Sam when Bucky’s been practically rendered speechless?

This never happens, he thinks, especially not with women. But she’s...different. He isn’t sure how but she is, and she’s taken his tongue and glued it to the roof of his mouth.

Sam nudges him roughly, gives him an expectant look that screams get your shit together.

“This is my friend, Bucky,” he says when Bucky still can’t bring himself to speak. “He’s...shy.”

Another smirk and a slow appraising look up and down. He feels all too exposed under her gaze. “Pleasure to meet you, Bucky.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” he squeaks. Clears his throat right after as beside him, Sam snorts.

She giggles cutely, and Bucky’s mouth lifts on its own accord - finally, some brain activity. A long moment of silence, of eyes connecting and holding, until Sam coughs and both she and Bucky seem to jump at the sound - like they’d forgotten he was there.

“Well, we’d better get that back to your, uh, mother,” Sam urges with a pointed look.

Right - “appointment” with a tailor.

Sam has to tug him out the door - backwards, because he just can’t stop smiling at her. He’s spoken less than twenty words and he’s pretty sure he’s half in love with her already. She waves, a little wiggle of her fingers, before the door closes.

And Sam loses it.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” he taunts, high-pitched and squeaky before dissolving into raucous laughter. He claps Bucky on the shoulder. “Oh man, I am absolutely never letting you live that down. Ever.”

Bucky thinks he can live with that.

[tuanhood]

boyfriend?

pairing: mark tuan x reader x calum hood (i guess?) 

genre: angst

word count: 3.8k

summary: you have some news for your best friend mark.

a/n: this is a part two (but not a direct sequel) to a lil series of you/mark realizing you have feelings when it’s a bit too late. alSO ? lol i just used the name calum and i was like okay let’s just do a good ol’ calum hood moment so here is the got7/5sos crossover you were all waiting for. enjoy!

part one

The room you were in was so loud that you could barely hear Mark on the phone. He mentioned how he was going to be late and wouldn’t be able to arrive at your parent’s anniversary party until later, because of a photo shoot. You immediately felt the urge to panic at his late arrival. This was not apart of the plan. He was supposed to be coming for the first half of the party and then leaving later because he had an early morning schedule with the boys.

Apparently, it looked like it was going to be the other way around. You had specifically planned it a certain way for a reason, and it looked like the thing you were trying to keep a secret was no longer going to be one. 

“Honey is everything alright?” Your mother asked. 

All you could do was nod and tell her things were fine, you didn’t want to ruin your parents’ party by bringing in any unwanted drama. 

“Is Mark not coming?” 

“He’s coming, just going to be late…” You told her and her face immediately broke out into a grin. 

“Oh good I was starting to get worried.” 

Your parents - especially your mother - loved your best friend. They would often tease you about when you were getting married; you would just laugh along because honestly the thought of getting married to Mark was funny. It was something you had thought about once when you first met him because let’s face it... He’s absolutely perfect, and what girl wouldn’t want that? You just couldn’t see him ever really feeling the same, not to mention with his schedule it was hectic enough being his best friend, you couldn’t imagine wife. You two had made one of those typical “if we’re both single by 30 we’ll get married” deals with one another, the two of you had seen it in a movie, but you didn’t think it would ever come true. 

Suddenly a few years had gone by and 30 wasn’t as far as it once seemed, and you definitely didn’t feel ready to get married. 

“And Calum?” Your stomach churned, “he’ll probably be here around the same time as Mark.” Calum Hood was the secret you had been hiding from Mark for months. 

You didn’t mean for it to happen at all, but it just... somehow did. When you first started dating Calum you knew it would probably be a given - no your first instinct - to introduce him to your best friend, but you ended up skipping Mark and introduced him to everyone else. For fuck’s sake you had already introduced him to Jackson when you ran into him at a grocery store.

“Uh... so y/n, who’s this?” Jackson had asked with a bewildered face, looking Calum up and down as if trying to place him in yours and Mark’s life. After all the general public’s assumption would be that anyone that you would be caught out at the grocery store with while wearing sweatpants, an oversized hoodie and having generally messy hair at 10pm at night, has to know your best friend. Right? 

“Well this is...” You trailed off, unsure of what to say. Damn, you had thought to yourself, you were going to have to get better at this introducing Calum thing, especially if you couldn’t even do it to Jackson.

“Wait... No way, you’re Jackson? As in Jackson Wang? Dude you’re 88rising collabs have been on every single one of my Spotify playlists. So good... really.”

In any other circumstance you would find Calum’s shameless fanboying - especially for a guy you had grown close to - cute, but your mind had still been calculating with what exactly to say to Jackson. 

Jackson smiled sheepishly, “thank you so much, that means a lot... And you are...?” Jackson put his hand out towards Calum, clearing figuring that he wouldn’t get a straight answer from you. 

Calum took his hand, “I’m Calum, y/n’s boyfriend.” With widening eyes, Jackson had continued to shake your boyfriend’s hand, keeping his mouth shut. 

Later that night, Jackson had sent you roughly fifty messages equating to what the fuck y/n? You had assured to Jackson that you would come clean to Mark and tell him the truth. In fact, it only took Jackson a promise of as many HotPot rounds as he wanted on you, to keep his mouth shut - as long as you told Mark soon. However, soon kept getting delayed and delayed.

And in all honesty, in the months since the encounter you didn’t have to lie all that much, a lot of the time Mark would be gone on tour and you didn’t need to make excuses as to why you couldn’t hang. It just came so naturally. You felt as though you couldn’t let Calum and Mark meet, and there were a couple reasons as to why. First off Mark’s opinion was vastly important to you and you were having fun with Calum, you didn’t want Mark overtly pointing out the obvious things wrong with your relationship. Also, Calum and Mark were very different from each other. Them together in the same room was sure to be a disaster and your past with the two of them was evidence of that. 

Calum and Mark actually... did know each other. All three of you had gone to high school together, and Sophomore year you never heard the end of how much Mark hated “that Calum guy” in his Biology class. At the time that was something you definitely took with a heavy heart because your best friend didn’t usually blatantly hate people. So of course you also festered your own hate for this Calum guy too, it was only right. That was until a couple of months ago when you had run into him at a local farmers market. You both had vague recollections of who the other was, mostly him knowing you from being Mark’s friend and for the brief period of time that you had been involved in your school’s activism club. 

“Didn’t you run through every class protesting the use of standardized testing as graduation requirements?” He had asked. You just blushed at his remembrance and nodded. 

“I can’t believe out of all the places in the world we’re meeting again at a farmer’s market in Seoul. How freaking random.” He had quipped, “you move out here for Tuan?” 

A question that you found yourself being asked quite a bit, you immediately shook your head, “ah no. I had a job opportunity out here and my parents moved out here as well.” 

Calum smiled, “well lucky me then.” 

Your interaction with him was sweet, and he had teased you a bit which you kind of liked. You couldn’t help it but at the time it slightly reminded you of how Mark acted with you before he got so busy, the nostalgia edging you further in the conversation. After exchanging phone numbers, you both texted for a while until he finally asked you out, and the rest was history. You had promised yourself you would tell Mark sooner or later, it just never came up until now. There was no way you could avoid it, Mark and Calum were going to interact tonight and you would have to introduce Calum as your boyfriend. The boyfriend you didn’t tell Mark about for months... 

You couldn’t focus on talking to guests; you just kept looking at the door waiting for one of them to show up. There was no way you could concentrate. As you talked to one of your many relatives you felt two hands cover your eyes and the classic, “guess who?” he said. Instead of answering - in an effort to avoid an awkward situation - you simply turned around to see Calum. Smiling, you gave him a kiss. 

“How late am I?” He asked. 

“You’re on time. Right when I told you to be here,” he put his arm around you, “do I get another kiss for promptness?” You giggled, “why of course.” After kissing him again, you felt your eyes floating towards the door once again, something Calum noticed immediately.

“What’s going on babe?” You and Calum had never really talked about Mark, except for first encounter, but deep down you could tell that he had the same sort of dislike towards your best friend as he had for him. 

“So, I’m sorry for kind of just dropping this on you, but Mark’s going to be here soon and I kind of never told him about us,” you said quickly out of nervousness, but also out of a hope that he wouldn’t hear you.

He furrowed his eyebrows, “what do you mean you never told him?” 

Just as you were about to answer him, out of the corner of your eye you saw your best friend walk in, wearing his classic, overpriced Balenciaga t-shirt and Off White sneakers - his high end street style standing out amongst everyone else at the party. It was clear he came here in a rush with his hair slightly wet, most likely from washing out all that gel he always complained about them using in photo shoots. 

“Wait here for a minute.” You didn’t wait for Calum’s response as you walked off, squeezing through people to get to Mark at the doorway. As soon as he caught sight of you, you felt his arms being wrapped around you. 

“Hello,” you murmured into his shoulder, the warm feeling you had in the pit of your stomach not going unnoticed. He let go of you and smiled, “hi.” 

You found it hard to look into his eyes, you had been keeping a part of your life away from him for the last couple of months and you felt as though you didn’t deserve to stare into those warm eyes. Mark cocked his head to the side and looked at you deeply, he was your best friend he could tell something was off with you. Why did you think you’d be able to hide this? 

He placed a hand on your shoulder, “what’s going on?” 

No matter how you presented the situation to Mark he would be caught off guard and horribly upset with you. Mark was one of the sweetest, warmest and most giving people you knew, but he also had a bit of temper. He easily held grudges against people. Sure, maybe to your face he would tell you everything was fine, but he would still sit on that thing you did wrong or whatever you did to upset him and wouldn’t hesitate to bring it up again in the future. Having Mark Tuan being mad at you was one of the worst feelings in the world and after all this time you had somehow managed to escape that feeling. But at this point you had no one to blame but yourself for this.

You looked at Mark’s eyes searching for something in your eyes and that’s when you managed to finally start your explanation. “Mark… You know I love you very much.” 

Mark looked down, blushing a bit, “I know that.” 

“And I would never want to do anything to hurt you,” he frowned a bit but nodded as a sign for you to continue. 

“Well Calum is here…” Mark twisted his face together in confusion, trying to search the back of his brain for who this Calum person was. 

“Who?” he asked. 

“Calum. You know Calum. Hood.” 

“You mean from high school?” 

You nodded once and he continued to question you, “what’s he doing here? Why is he at your parents’ anniversary party? In fact, what is he even doing in Seoul?” 

You averted your eyes away from him when you answered, mumbling most of your words, “he’s kind of my boyfriend… And has been for a couple of months.”

Although your speech was almost inaudible, he was able to catch your words, his eyes widened, “kind of? A couple of months?” Before you were able to say anything and really explain yourself, you’re interrupted by none other than Calum. 

He grabbed ahold of your hand and looked at Mark without a care in the world, “what’s going on man?” Judging by Mark’s stance you could tell he was closed off and didn’t want to talk to Calum, but he gave you an unreadable look and sighed, “not much man. Just trying to have a conversation with my best friend.” 

“Oh, sorry about that. Just thought I would come and find my girlfriend.” You rolled your eyes at the situation. You knew that they didn’t like each other, and the first meeting wouldn’t be the easy, but judging by the way it started it was only going to get worse. There was no denying that when you were dealing with Mark’s temper and Calum’s teasing personality.

“Why don’t we get a drink? Mark, do you want a drink?” You said in an attempt to avert the attention away from Calum’s emphasis on the word “girlfriend” as a clear way to annoy Mark. Mark smiled at you and glared at Calum, “I would love one, thanks y/n.” 

As you walked to the table for refreshments you couldn’t help but completely regret the way you decided to handle this because obviously it was the wrong one. You knew it was the wrong way the entire time... why didn’t you just tell Mark? Be honest with him? Maybe this is what you deserved. 

Pouring Mark a drink you handed it to him, which he took with a smile and a wink, Calum looking at the both of you with a bitter stare. You could see your mother watching the three of you from the other side of the room. As you turned to make eye contact with her, she abruptly turns around and darted straight to the kitchen in an effort to make it clear she was not watching... when she in fact was. This was definitely where you wanted this to happen, at a family party in front of a bunch of your parents and relatives you talked to twice a year.

As soon as you gave Calum a drink, you’re all left standing in an uncomfortable amount of silence. Except for the glares Mark and Calum exchanged, otherwise those were louder than words. Calum was the one who broke the silence surprising enough, “so y/n mentioned you have an early schedule. I guess that means you won’t be able to stay very long. That sucks.” 

His tone bothered you, not liking the way your boyfriend was speaking to your best friend. 

“Actually, I can be here as long as I want.” Mark said, clearly wanting to stand his ground. You give him a confused glance; the boy was already only getting four hours of asleep on a normal night.

“That’s really cool man must be hard doing what you do. Traveling all the time, never getting to see your family and friends. Don’t worry though, I’ve been keeping y/n company while you’ve been away and busy.” Calum placed an arm around your waist and you suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable in his grasp.

Mark grit his teeth and took another sip of his drink, almost aggressively, “thanks. You know, as long as she’s not in the hands of a complete douchebag.” 

You had an urge to excuse yourself, to be anywhere else but there, but you knew leaving them alone together would only make the situation worse than it already was. If these were the things they were saying while you were present, what would they say if you were gone? You took a large gulp of the alcohol in your cup and decided that it was probably better to do this intoxicated than sober. 

Somehow, you had managed to make it to the end of your parents’ party. 

You had told your mother and father to head to sleep and you would clean up the living room before you left to go home. Luckily you had Mark to help, who had so kindly volunteered to stay behind. Calum unfortunately had to leave, partly because of work the next day and partly because cleaning wasn’t “his thing.” 

You and Mark had worked in silence for most of pickup duty and you took this as a signal that he was mad at you. Every time you would both go to pick up the same item or meet eyes, he would passively ignore you. Was this what Mark Tuan being mad at you felt like? Were you finally experiencing it? 

He had every right to be mad at you, mad that you hadn’t told him anything about Calum. You just decided to drop it on him all at once and made the whole night terrible. You didn’t even get to spend any time with your best friend, it was just uncomfortable. 

You hadn’t heard a peep from Mark since he volunteered to help, that when he spoke, you’re caught off-guard, “I seriously can’t believe you’re dating him.”

You looked up from the black garbage bag you threw empty paper plates into, “he’s actually really cool when you get to know him.” 

Mark snorted and pulled out the broom from the hall closet, “I don’t want to get to know him.” 

The whole night had gotten you worked up, you understood that both boys had something against the other, but why couldn’t they just put it all aside for you? Or if anything put it aside for just one night? You felt done with the whole thing that you throw down the garbage bag down out of frustration, “ugh, Mark why can’t you just give him a chance? You already had an opinion of him from so long ago and you’re sticking to it… But things change, and he’s my boyfriend now so…” 

“He was a dick then, and he’s still a dick now. He hasn’t changed at all.”

“Mark-” You began, but he was quick to cut you off. 

“Do you want to know the real reason I don’t like him?” You looked away from him, but he continued, “When we were in school together, he would always ask me if I was friends with that ‘hot babe in the activism club’ and make these stupid, gross comments about you.” 

You felt your heart fall a bit, thinking about Calum saying things like that about you, but you shook your head, it was a long time ago. You looked into Mark’s eyes again, “so? He’s different now. I like him.” 

“What about our deal?” Mark asked. 

“What deal?” 

He sighed as if extremely disappointed in you, “our get married at 30 deal.” 

“Oh, Mark come on, you know that was just something we said one time.” You picked up the garbage bag again and continued throwing trash from the party inside. Mark still hadn’t moved, “what do you mean something we just said?” 

“I mean it’s not going to happen. Thirty isn’t that far away, neither of us are ready for marriage, we’re best friends, you’re an idol now for God’s sake and I have Calum!” 

Mark went over to your side of the room and caught your wrist, “can you please stop cleaning up for one minute and just look at me?” 

Surprised at Mark’s behavior, you stopped, “I’m looking at you...” you said looking into his eyes. 

He goes silent and continues to stare at you, almost as if searching for your answer to a question he hasn’t asked yet. That’s when you felt it. That same warm feeling in the pit of stomach that tells you that you’re right where you’re supposed to be. Mark opened his mouth, but he’s interrupted with the chime of your phone. You broke eye contact with him to pull your phone out of your pocket and glanced back up at him. “Sorry... I- It’s Calum. We always message each other to let the other know they made it home safe. I-I should probably call him.” 

He doesn’t say anything again, and you turned to go but he doesn’t let go of the grasp on your hand, “what if I say that I don’t wan-” once again Mark’s cut off by a phone pinging, this time his own. He sighed.

Mark dropped your hand and looked at his own phone, snorting bitterly. “Great... call time for tomorrow got moved up.” 

You looked down, “you should probably get going then. Thanks for helping me clean up.” 

“I guess we both have things to do, don’t we?” 

The remorse in his voice caught you off guard. You kept hearing it play over and over in your head as he gathered his things. It drowned out his “see you,”and it wouldn’t leave your mind until an hour later when Mark was long gone and already safely in his downtown apartment getting read for his minimal hours of sleep. 

He just left?

You had told him to of course, so you couldn’t understand as to why you were left with a bitter feeling. Was there something else you had wanted him to do? Wanted him to say? 

What about our deal? he had asked you. 

You had Calum now and he had... he had his career. His career that had become his whole life and suffocated your friendship. His career that kept getting in between the two of you and perhaps that feeling that was always looming between the two of you. That possibility that was always there and asking for a chance to be something, but you both never let it. Mark never let it. His schedules and countless working hours never let it. 

In your life there had always been a space. A space you had always wanted Mark to fill, heck that your mother had even always wanted him to fill, but you were getting tired of waiting. Calum had now come along and filled that space, but something felt... off. 

You paused and hovered your thumb over Mark’s name in your contact list. 

Exiting the screen, you tapped on Calum’s earlier message and finally write out a response. 

[You]: Glad you made it home safely babe! And yeah, I think tonight went as well as... expected. Don’t worry about Mark, he’s just being a protective best friend! Love you!! see you tomorrow xx.

You know why you were so afraid to tell Mark about Calum. It wasn’t because of their previous history or how much they hated each other. It was because it meant that it was all real, and the role in your life that had been calling Mark for years had been taken.

Let’s try.

That’s all you wanted from Mark. That’s all you needed him to say.

But it was just too late. 

[timetoresurface]

Handmade Heaven

Word: I always like to be as true as I can be when I write stories about an artist. The reason mostly for myself as most of my ideas are borrowed from somewhere else to feed my daydreaming scenarios. Somewhere along  my path of (already!) 24 years on this planet I’ve had five or so different plots that I recycle every once in a while. This time the well known trope of you being famous, and this is as unrealistic as I can get because I think none of us are ready to become a worldwide known superstar but it is fun to fantasize about, I guess.

Pairing: reader x Jungkook

Genre: romance

Warnings: none yet

Word count: 2639

Summary: As said above, you’re a famous European artist who is entering the weird world of American award shows and paparazzi. After two number one hits people were finally taking you more serious and you were getting more comfortable showing your true colors as an artist. This didn’t go unnoticed by some very well known Korean artist, who also happens to be a fan.

It had started out to have something to do in your free time. It later developed into something all your friends and family were excited about. Somewhere along the way it had grown into something bigger than you could’ve expected.  It is not that you had planned or had dreamed about becoming a musician. Most definitely not. You wanted to become a princess until the ripe age of thirteen. No regrets. And later in life you really just wanted to be happy without putting too much effort in. So when you say this came completely unexpected, you meant it. You could’ve never thought for a second in your life that you would need security to get out of a car to get into your hotel because of fans wanting to just get a glimpse of your messy look.

“Y/N!” Someone screamed from your right side.

“Please Y/N, look!” You hear from your left.

“Are you ready for your first award show in America?” A reporter or paparazzi of whatever it was in front of you tried to get your attention. You held your head down and tried not to look up as you had bedhead hair and a no make-up face. Not that you really cared but you would like to stay out of the gossip columns on your first day in America. A large hand behind your back guided you toward the entrance of your hotel.

“That was unpleasant.” Your manager and also best friend said. “I didn’t know this was going to happen. I didn’t even know you had so many fans.” She was a great networking kind of girl but large groups with unknown and wild people weren’t her thing. That was supposed to be your thing, being the artist and all, but you still weren’t used to this life.

“Some of them knew me but I think they are here for someone else. What other artists are staying here?” You silently asked her.

“If I knew I would’ve already told you. Maybe that Taehyung guy you like from that Korean band? Wont he come this year?” She whispered in your ear. You should’ve never told her about your silly little crush. When you’re best friends and no one is famous it is safe, but when one of them can actually get in contact with said celebrity crush it just gets awkward. 

“You’re asking me? You are supposed to know everything Alexa. I’m just the entertainer. I am the one that’s getting us the bread.”

“A damn good entertainer if I might add because we have more than enough bread.” She said while putting her arm around your shoulder. She was a bit taller, ok she was a lot taller, and she loved it. She always used it against you. You were the baby she needed to take care of.

“Y/N look. You were right, they were not waiting for you.” Alexa said while pointing toward the entrance of the hotel. The young girls outside started screaming louder and camera’s were flashing. A large group got out of different cars and hurried inside. 

“I think they’re that Korean boyband you’re so obsessed about.” She remarked while getting her things. “Let’s go before we, and I mean you, gets caught with them. You just started dating so you don’t need any bad press.” She took your arm and almost dragged you toward the elevator. 

“Well, I could have said hello or something. What if I’m seated next to them and they recognize me because I was so rude and -“ Alexa didn’t let you finish your little drama moment. 

“I don’t think they will recognize you as you don’t look anything like yourself. Bedhead hair and no make-up to be seen. Who are you? Are you really Y/N?”

“That’s harsh Alexa, even for you. I look good with or without make-up.” You love her with all that you have but she really is a bitch sometimes. She saw your hurt expression and tried do fix it with more words.

“I don’t disagree with that but you do look different. Some might say better but different.” She noticed you still weren’t happy and she just hugged you while mouthing an apology. 

“That’s better! Now what room are we in?” You asked her.

Some say you don’t deserve to perform at the Billboard Music Awards. Some might add who the fuck is Y/N? Well, you were going to give them a show they would never forget. It will be your first award show and it will also be your first time performing in America. You were kind of freaking out but savored every moment. This was going to be something you would never forget and would bring up at any situation even if nobody asked. 

“Rehearsal room two for Y/N.” Someone screamed while you walked in the rehearsal area in the hotel. Half of the people stood up and made their way toward the correct room. You let everyone get in before you while sipping on your water. 

“Rehearsal room one for BTS.” You almost choked on your water. They had just arrived and they were already going to rehearse? You heard a door open behind you and you hurriedly sprinted into your rehearsal room. There was no chance you would let them see you in your pink leggings. Rehearsals started and they quickly left your mind. You were used to perform without dance routines and back up dancers. Usually it was just you and your band. For the BBMA’s you wanted to do something different as most acts are usually more spectacular at award shows. You have to give the best of the best that you’ve got in you. To be honest, it is really tiring to dance and sing and make sure you look in the correct camera at the exact given time all the while looking good and sexy.

The song “YOU” by Marina (and the diamonds) had given you some recognition in America and was the one you were going to perform. A song about an ex that was a shitbag but in the end kind of redeemed himself. Or at least he sort of did. Luckily for you, you got over it and a great song came out of your semi heartbreak. 

“That’s it for today. Thank you all for your hard work.” You concluded the rehearsal. Everyone sighed happily and some came over to give you a hug. You had spend four hours together in a small rehearsal room without windows, hugging was appropriate. You were the last to leave so you turned off the lights and closed the door. You walked past rehearsal room one and noticed that the door was wide open. A little glimpse wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Silently you tiptoed to the door and tried to get a little peak of what was going on inside the room. 

A lot of things were going on but in the middle of it all were seven boys working their ass off while looking tired. You couldn’t blame them as they had travelled from across the world to immediately lock themselves up in a rehearsal room. You also noticed Halsey in the heart of the act who was just having the best time. The two of you knew each other and you knew she also wasn’t a dancer. Both of you were stepping up their game for this year’s BBMA’s. 

“Y/N!” Halsey exclaimed as soon as she saw you in the door-opening. Your cheeks turned red as you had barely noticed they had stopped dancing for a little water break. Damn you and your uncontrollable mind, always distracting you from real life.

“Halsey! Hi, long time no see babe.” You rushed over to her and embraced her in a big bear hug. You noticed everyone’s eyes on you but you tried to ignore the uncomfortableness. 

“Let me introduce you to BTS. You are a fan are you not?” She asked you.

“She once said in an interview Taehyung was really good-looking.” One of the members said in Korean. It was the youngest and most bulky out of the group, he was also not bad to look at. You had learned a bit Korean because of K-drama’s so you decided to have a little fun.

“Yes, and I still consider it to be true.” You answered him back in Korean. The room fell silent and if you hadn’t all eyes on you before they were definitely now. 

“You speak Korean?” Another member asked in disbelief.

“When I want to yes.” You answered back in English to include Halsey in the conversation.

“Shit, I forgot you spoke Korean.” She laughed while everyone was still recovering from the weird plot twist.

“Ah, it is fine. Do you already have dinner plans tonight?” You returned your attention to the girl in a pink wig.

“No, not really. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 

“Probably. What about seven?” 

“Perfect! It’s a date.” She hugged you again and noted something in her phone.

“I’m leaving so you can rehearse some more. From what I’ve seen it looks like a showstopper.” You held your thumbs up and left the room. When you felt safe enough you hold on to the wall and tried to stop your heart from beating so fast. They were definitely better looking in real life than on tv screens, that for sure.

“Y/N there you are.” Alexa yelled from the other end of the hallway. “You have an interview in an hour. There is no time for a shower but please change out of these horrible pink leggings.” Alexa is the kind of person who is always on time and preferably ten minutes early. You, on the other hand, was someone who was never on time. Not even when you left early, there was always something making you late. Like right now, you barely made in on time but luckily the interview wasn’t going to be live. 

“Hello Y/N. What a pleasure to see you.” The interviewer said while you walked in the room, trying to hide that you were out of breath. You hugged the guy and said your hello’s and whatever. It all went well until he had to mentioned BTS.

“I heard you are staying at the same hotel as BTS. Is that something you demanded? As I remember correctly the last time we spoke you said you had a little crush on Taehyung.” Your cheeks were burning but you tried to act normal as if everything was okay.

“I would never make such a demand but I’m extremely glad we share the same hotel. I am indeed a big fan of the group, not just Taehyung, he is just really easy to look at.” You tried to play it cool and the interviewer seemed to buy it but you saw Alexa in the background trying to hide her laugh. 

“Have you already seen them?”

“I saw them coming in when I was getting in the elevator just minutes after I arrived. We haven’t really spoken yet but let’s hope we can chat a bit more at the BBMA’s. They are also performing so maybe we run into each other backstage.” The biggest of smiles was to be found on your face and you crossed your fingers in front of the camera. 

“Thank you Y/N for always being so honest. We’ll see you on stage at the Billboard Music Awards blowing everyone’s socks off.” 

“It was my pleasure, always fun hanging out with you.” The interview ended and you were almost pushed out of the room. Apparently some big artist was going in after you and they had to prepare. Probably some fancy person who only drinks one type of water and always demands ten bottles or something like that.

“That went ok. You handled the situation perfectly.” Alexa beamed next to you. 

“Please don’t talk to me about that. It’s so embarrassing. I’m dating someone, I should be talking about him and not some stupid crush.” You grunted under your breath. You stomped toward your hotel room to blow of some steam. Every mistake you make. Everything you have ever said will always be used against you. The press had such a strong memory and sometimes you couldn’t handle it. 

“Dinner tonight?” Alexa asked you trying to catch up with you.

“No, I’m having dinner with Halsey at the fake Nando’s we love down the street.” You said right before slamming your door. It didn’t feel right to be so rude to Alexa but you were a huge pain in the ass most of the times so your friendship would definitely survive this. 

You just laid on your bed and scrolled through twitter and instagram. Sometimes you responded to a few messages you had received from fans. They were just as excited as you about your upcoming performance and it warmed your heart and made your forget about all your worries. You retweeted a couple of funny tweets and before you knew it, it was time to put on your jacket and meet Halsey at the restaurant.

“How are you always late Y/N?” Halsey laughed. She was already at the restaurant you both loved. Every time the both of you were in Las Vegas you ended up here to chat about life and boys. Most definitely boys.

“I don’t know Halsey. I wish I could change it but I just can’t.” You pouted while getting in the seat across of her. You immediately grabbed the menu and scanned through it. You already knew what you were getting as you always took the same thing.

“So we’ll get the sharing platter?” She asked when you finally put down the menu. You both started laughing and it felt so nice to be with someone again that wasn’t Alexa. She was there every step of the way and it’s not that you weren’t grateful but she sometimes didn’t understand this life. Always having to defend yourself and always having to look good. 

“So how’s life?” You asked and that was the only thing you both needed to share everything. The good and the bad stuff that had happened over the last months. The struggles you both faced with a life in the spotlight but also the better things. The new boy she had and the person you had started dating just recently. Conversation was only stopped after your bellies were completely full.

“We shouldn’t have eaten so much the day before a big performance.” Halsey sighed.

“At least we didn’t drink this time. Last time we both were fucked as we both had a fully planned day with interviews and shit.” 

“We didn’t even had any sleep last time. Are we getting boring Y/N?” She asked you desperately.

“No, but somewhere along the way we’ve started to take our careers more seriously. Speaking of, we should probably get back to have our desperately needed beauty sleep.” You remarked while getting up. The bill was already payed so there was nothing keeping you here.

“Definitely need a long bath and some peaceful sleep.” She closed her eyes thinking of the simple things in life. You linked your arms with hers and guided her toward your hotel.

“I don’t need the bath. I just need the sleep.” You confessed while rubbing your eyes. Once you finally made it you both quickly said your goodbyes and hurried to your rooms. You didn’t have enough time to remove your make-up, which you were going to regret tomorrow but for now you were just too tired to do anything but fall on your bed. As soon as your head hit the pillow you were taken to a fantastic dream world where everyone loved your show. Hopefully this would become a reality tomorrow.

[proheromidoriyashouto]

matchmaker shouto au 2

when Shouto doesn't think All Might is going to marry his mom in a timely fashion, not only does he try to now separate them, he tries to get Midoriya Inko to marry Rei instead. it's so simple. Inko already expressed interest in helping remove Rei from Ende*vore by volunteering All Might before the man himself even knew what was going on- willing to forego marrying her own son's father figure if it meant saving another woman.

Inko's still married to Hisashi and while they care for each other it was more a marriage of convience than true heart-stopping love at the time. Hisashi supports them but is distant, having found someone to love in the U.S. He and Inko already had Izuku by then and felt that a divorce might be too messy with a young child and just never got around to it. Hisashi is a good partner and father to his SO and children in the States, but did feel guilt at not doing more for Izuku so as time passed he continued to send money to at least maintain his minimum support for his estranged son. Izuku knows this and doesn't feel much of anything regarding Hisashi. can't miss what you never had, though he does wonder what his younger half-siblings are like and if they want to know him but hasn't had the chance to communicate with them since they're little (a seven year old brother, a five year old sister, and a baby next year), and their mother wants both of them to be old enough to decide if meeting him is something they want (they don't dislike Izuku per say but definitely feel resentful that Hisashi cannot care for the children w the benefits of marriage in their home where he lives which leads to doubt about the sincerity of his feelings for them and thoughts that he may run off on them. they know this isn't fair to Izuku but they can't help want what's best for their children, and their fear is that seeing his oldest will reignite Hisashi's feelings for Inko- which were never especially romantic- implanting the idea to leave their family high and dry to reunite w his "real" family. they don't want to give the boy- who hasn't done anything to them to earn their ire- a hard no, but their heart doesn't have what it takes to risk that, however unlikely, just yet, and remains hopeful that a few more years will cement Hisashi's love for their family before bringing his son over to meet his siblings. So when Inko makes the call asking for a proper divorce, they're stunned (but grateful).

(It's 2200something in the BNHA verse, so Imma just wave my magical hand and legalize gay marriage and name taking and everything on a global scale, okay, live with it.)

Inko agreed pretty quick since marriage has never been about joining with a person out of love for her rather it's been about taking care of others. Her marriage served its purpose protecting Hisashi from his family, her from her lack of one, Izuku from the stigma of a broken home. But Hisashi found what he wanted in the U.S., and Izuku's older now, nearly a man and gone to the dorms of U.A. and has All Might to fill the father-shaped void, and she's happy where she is in the life she's built so she's doesn't need to hold on to her marriage to Hisashi anymore. She's got a good job and has been saving up to buy a house w/o relying on a loan which meant years of money-pinching and stalking clearance sales and she's nearly there anyway so why not?

Rei and All Might and most people Shouto knows go through whiplash as he switches from supporting "All Might wooing my mom" to "All Might can get dunked on" and simultaneously "Izuku's mom wooing my mom." Shouto's dead-serious about the "wooing" part and keep finding elaborate ways to set up "dates" and "coincidences." The Izucrew- who don't have the entire story except for Izuku- try and help but find it really ackward and sudden and ooc for Shouto but are too invested in his happiness to put a stop to the shenanigans. Izuku, as one might expect, has mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, his mom would be saving someone which he is down with, but... he's dating? his potential-stepmom's son?? Won't it be weird? Dating? His technically? stepbrother?? But Shouto pulls out the Big Anime Eyes move from his provisional training and the argument is dead in the water. From there it's all hands on deck for Operation: Make Todoroki A Midoriya; Rei Edition.

Rei is allowed to leave the care facility as long as she's with someone so Shouto takes her out to the aquarium.

Shouto: Oh, look. My boyfriend is here. And oh, look. His recently divorced bisexual mom is here too.

Rei: That's...um, nice. Very specific. Are you going to introdu-

Shouto: I should introduce you, mama. You'll like her. She's nice. She just bought a house. She's-

Inko: Shouto-kun! Fancy meeting you here! If I'd known I would have brought you a bento. We had cold soba last night. And you must be, ah, his mother?

Rei: Yes. I'm To-...Rei. Just Rei. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. My son speaks nothing but your's praises so-

Shouto: Mama-!

Rei: -I've been looking forward to the day I could meet the person responsible for raising the hero who saved him in my stead. From the sound of it, you have a fine son, Midoriya-san. My gratitude as well.

Inko: Oh! I, well, I did my best. He's quite a heroic boy on his own though, I hardly did anything. From what I hear your son is quite the hero himself! He's saved Izukun so many times, and been so cool doing it you wouldn't believe how my boy gushes about your own, oh, the stories I could tell you-

Izuku: Mom!

Rei: Please. I... Tell me everything.

And as they wonder toward the sea turtles, Izuku has to drag Shouto away so their moms can bond w/o them but he keeps trying to help and pre-emptively counter any argument Rei could have against Inko but he just keeps circling like 2-3 arguments because he's worked up.

Shouto: It's a western-style house. It has walls and door knobs and no big, loud jerkasses in it.

Izuku: C'mon, Shoushou. My mom said she's got this-! *tries to guide Shouto away w a hand on his back*

Shouto: She loves dogs but she's alergic but she's down for a cat, she said so. She gave me a fish I keep at her house. I am there all the time. So if you want to see me a bunch you can watch me sprinkle food in. At her house. Where I have a pet fish. Her new, 5 bedroom house. It has a big yard and a plot for gardening. It's near a park. The doors lock from the inside. Fuyumi's there. Natsuo forgot where it is but he's been there too so he might show up.

Izuku: Let's, uh, let's check out the seals. There should be a new baby, I think. *actively dragging Shouto by his waist into another section*

Shouto, digging in his boots w the kleets he brought specifically for this: She never yells. She's tough. She killed a cockroach w her bare hand once and didn't blink I think she could take Him in a fight. She's patient and good at hugs. Her ex is lame and won't show up. She's looking for an upgrade. The house is warm and smells like vanilla and coffee. There's a koi pond, mama. Mama, there's a koi pond. It's where I keep my fish. I live there. Fuyumi lives there and sometimes sneaks in her girlfriends. Or boyfriends. I'm not sure, actually. Tensei's over a lot. Anyway she's there, and she hangs her student's drawing on the walls in frames and cries over them. In the big house Inko just bought after her divorce-

Izuku, so grateful for his provisional license: *using OFA 5% to drag his boyfriend away* Shou-! shou-! There's a baby seal! S-stingrays! We can pet the stingrays! Let's gooo! Mom's got this already!!

Shouto, so grateful for his license: *using ice to plant himself anew each time his boyfriend drags him free, snaging a hand into the doorframe of the next exhibit* -it's got a hot tub in the bathroom. The walls are blue w leaf decal molding and solid like rice paper can't be. It's close to her work so she's around alot. She makes soba from scratch! 100% buckwheat soba! She likes K-dramas!

Izuku, aware of the stares they're getting, trying to spare their reputations any more damage: *ups OFA to 8% and hefts his boyfriend over his shoulder* I-I think they let you feed the eels! Let's do that. Let's touch the no-touch-noodles and then tell Tenya about it! He'll yell at us! That's always fun right?!

Shouto, just yelling at this point even though Inko and Rei are well out of ear shot by now: Bad American Monster movies! She likes seaweed chips! She knits! The house! Has a self-cleaning oven! The floor is carpeted! My fish has spots! I wear All Might onesies there! At the house! 'Cause fuck the other guy!

Izuku, even more grateful for his provisional license: *sweating and running before they get kicked out for property damage or worse*

Anyways, time goes on. Moms get together, get married for love of all things, and Rei changes her family name to Midoriya. Inko adopts Natsuo and he changes his name and his girlfriend is fully on board once in the know. Fuyumi has her own plan much like Shouto does.

Izuku gets to know his siblings and they fawn over their hero big brother. His stepparent apologizes profusely but he waves it off, you can't forgive what you never faulted in someone after all. They welcome him into their home and never regret it one moment. Hisashi is never close but he isn't negligent and stays up to date w Izuku.

Rei and Inko grow old together, gardening, knitting, tending to the koi, raising hero sons, and grandchildren in a big house where the walls shake with laughter and the front door is always open to let the cats out and maybe Toshinori is there as a third, maybe he isn't, no one can tell for sure not even their sons, but what matters is that their moms are happy (and its not like threesomes are uncommon in 22XX).

In the not so distant future, Rei and Shouto bond over being called Midoriya-san everywhere they go. Shouto can finally rest easy knowing that he saved his mother from the Todoroki legacy.

[yoondoze]

turn of events | l.ty

“i’ve wanted you from the start” + “maybe it’s a sin, but i really don’t care” + taeyong

pairing: lee taeyong x reader

genre: fluff, it starts to get a lil steamy but it cuts off p quick

word count: 2.6k (turned into more of a one-shot, oops)

warnings: none

It was hard to describe the feeling in your stomach.

It all started out as a giddy excitement - you were preparing for a grand party, sure to bring about many good things, a chance of which you held on with a great hope.

Then, when you thought about it, it turned to nervousness, since that opportunity you wanted to seize most was off-limits, to say the least.

It was a mingling of opposite emotions that left you a little unsure, made you think that maybe you should just not go at all.

The questions you expected began right as you walked downstairs carefully, heels clicking on the marble.

“Ah, pulling out your most extravagant attire - might there be a reason, my dear?” Your mother raised her eyebrows with a sly smirk as she laid eyes upon your figure.

It was a beautiful navy blue dress complimented by silver jewels along the chest that dipped delicately down to the waist. The back was open but with dainty ribbons crossing over from side to side. It was a comfortable length, too, so you weren’t tripping over it constantly. And because it was an event matching for the elegance of the dress, you wouldn’t look like you were trying too hard.

“Well, it is the most prodigious party of the year,” you explained, a convincing tone taking place on each syllable. “I thought I needed to match. And while I’m there, I might want to catch a couple eyes…” You kept up a playful manner but didn’t dare to tell her who you really hoped for. If you did, she might just disown you.

You knew Lee Taeyong would be at this party - it was one of the largest events of the year, hosted by one of the wealthiest families in the city. Nearly every family that was on good terms with them had been invited, including yours and Taeyong’s. Because of that reason, you made sure to wear your best dress - though you knew that the possibility of safely talking to him was unlikely, you still had hope.

It was a rare opportunity to see him in person. Considering your families were practically enemies, it was hard to be in love in secret, but at least you could see him face to face tonight.

“Yes, make your moves while you’re young and beautiful. Don’t look too long at the art, for someone may purchase it before you get the chance.”

“Mother,” you laughed, “you sound so grim.”

“I’m just giving a piece of advice, dear.”

“I know, but don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

The party was nothing short of extravagant. You walked in behind your parents, trying to keep your composure while taking in the sumptuous ballroom. The hall was in a large hotel in the city, so you didn’t expect any less.

Your head turned to scan the crowd, searching for Taeyong. You knew he’d be hard to approach - with all of the watchful eyes at this party, you couldn’t make it obvious because it would make its way back to your parents in no time.

To sum it up, there was an endless drama between Taeyong’s parents and yours. Someone had cheated someone out of a deal and fighting ensued. However, even before the messy events that built a wall between the two of you, there was always a spark of interest. There had always been a connection, ever since you had first met at a ball when you were thirteen. Even when your parents had introduced you to other boys from wealthy families, you could only ever think about something with Taeyong, the boy you knew you could never have.

Since then, you had always shared small glances across rooms with him, sneaky small smiles and gestures in public places and a whole lot of careful messaging. It was more than unfair that you had to suffer the consequences of the adult’s drama - you weren’t your parents and Taeyong wasn’t his.

You walked around with your parents for a while, introducing yourself and shaking many hands with a multitude of business owners and millionaires. While your father talked about business and the stock market, your eyes roamed around the room covertly.

“Has your daughter met someone yet? Her future seems bright… whoever ends up with her is lucky,” one of your father’s acquaintances spoke. The words caught your attention, and something about it simply put you off. “No, I haven’t yet,” you smiled, even though there was always someone on your mind.

“Ah, I see, well, my son Jaehyun is quite the gentleman - I raised him myself, you know.” You let out a forced laugh. “Anyway, perhaps I could introduce you to him later. He’s a sweet boy, really.”

“I’d love that,” you said. “Thank you so much.” But in reality, you had no desire to be introduced to Jaehyun. You then excused yourself from the conversation, heading over to have a seat at the bar.

However, as you glanced through the groups of people, a familiar face caught your eye. There, over in the corner conversing with a circle of people, was Taeyong. He was dressed in a fine black suit, slim and fit just perfect for him. You couldn’t help but stare.

His eyes flicked up to meet yours and entrapped you in a gaze that stretched the length of the room. Suddenly, he made a small gesture with his hand, two lean fingers motioning you toward him. Then, you watched as he excused himself from the group and spun on his heel, exiting the ballroom.

You were almost sure that it was an invitation to follow, so you did just that. You made a slight turn and set out in his direction, swiftly placing your empty glass on a waiter’s tray as one passed to get it off your hands. On the way, you brought your hand up to fix your hair, a nervous bubble forming in you from the excitement of seeing the boy.

When the doors to the room closed behind you, the noise became muffled. It allowed you to hear the footsteps echoing from down the hall. You could see the back of Taeyong’s suit and scurried right after, trying to keep a distance that didn’t look suspicious but also close enough that you knew where he was turning.

Eventually, you ended up in a stairwell far from the main room. Leaned up against the concrete wall was Taeyong, shooting you a playful smirk when you joined him.

“Good to see you.” You slung your arms around his neck, reaching up to kiss him. He turned it into a firm liplock right away, but pulled back just as your fingers began to crawl through the hairs at the base of his neck.

“Can’t say that sneaking around is a talent of mine,” you said, biting your lip.

He chuckled. “I can tell. Your heart’s beating a mile a minute.”

It wasn’t often that you got to see Taeyong in person. You were always accompanied by bodyguards, courtesy of your father, so it was rare that you snuck out to meet him. Rather, you talked online when possible - texting him under a different name and the like. If anyone ever asked why you were smiling at your phone, it was always just one of your girlfriends from school.

Therefore, getting out of that ballroom had made you more nervous than ever, and not knowing if someone would be looking for you soon kept you on your toes.

“So… I booked a room upstairs, if you’d like?”

You sighed. “That would be great.”

He shot you a playful smile and then took your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours and pulling you up the stairs. You grabbed the length of your dress with your free hand and tried to keep up with him and not trip at the same time.

After a few flights, he carefully pushed the door to the hallway open, peeking his head out to make sure the coast was clear. Then, he rushed in and down a couple doors and pushed you inside one quickly.

He shut the door and leaned his back up against it, and neither of you bothered to restrain your laughs. How unbelievable. After you caught your breath, you went to sit down on the edge of the bed, where you finally freed your feet of those painful heels.

He walked around as you settled, fetching a bottle of wine from the refrigerator. When he came back, he poured the two of you a drink and handed you a glass.

“To the simultaneous stress and joy of hidden relationships,” he said, raising his glass to yours. Your glasses clinked and you took a delighted sip of the beverage, trying not to focus on the bittersweetness of your situation.

“You think you’re ever gonna tell your parents?” he asked, a little quieter.

You shook your head sadly. “Not now, I can’t. They’d cut me off and kick me out, I’m sure.”

“It sucks that I can’t… you know, be with you. Like normal people who like each other.”

“We’d be such a power couple, really,” you sighed.

He only chuckled at your comment, sitting down in the desk chair and spinning it around to face you.

“Once I have a backup for if they kick me out - once I have enough of my own money that I’d be able to get a place if I need, I’ll tell them. And honestly, if they do disown me for it… then I don’t care. Because I want to love you, and if they don’t see that, and if they can’t accept it, then that’s on them.”

“We’ll be okay,” he reassured you. “Once we’re a little older, we can do it. I don’t need my dad’s money to be happy.” Even still, you had a thought that the air of confidence in his voice was false - he was just as worried as you, though he didn’t seem it from the outside.

You put your glass down and flopped back onto the soft comforter of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. If only it didn’t have to be this complicated. Maybe this didn’t have to be you and Taeyong sneaking out of a party to be with each other secretly - maybe it could just be the two of you together, relaxing in a hotel room on a weekend out, in a world where you didn’t have to hide.

He clambered over to your side, resting on his stomach and draping an arm over your stomach.

“But don’t you ever think that it would be easier for you to see someone else, instead of wasting all the effort and taking risks to see me?” you asked.

A hurt look crossed his face at your words. “Do you not want to do this anymore?”

“No, no,” you were quick to reply, grabbing his hand. “I just feel bad. I feel like you could find someone who you can actually… be with. Be with normally, how you said. Don’t you get tired of this sometimes?”

“Well, of course I get tired of it,” he said, “but I never thought of giving up on it. On us. I’ve always wanted you from the start. And that has to mean something.”

His eyes gazed at you kindly, sweetly, gently. In that moment, it felt like it was real, it felt like you had a chance to bloom in the secret garden you’d built with Taeyong. You just hoped that someday, a Mary Lennox would come along to allow you to open it up.

You let your line of sight trail down, noticing how plush and soft his lips were. Then, he was leaning forward, pressing his mouth onto yours. Your eyes fluttered shut as his hand came to rest on the side of your face, and you couldn’t resist being swept up into him. It was slow and delicate, a trade of smooth kisses.

Soon, though, it turned needy. His lips pressed against yours with more force with his grasp on your hips tightening. Your hands tugged at his hair, his tongue slipping into your mouth and absolutely stealing the breath from your lungs.

“It feels like I’m sinning, to be here with you,” you panted, drawing away from him. He trailed kisses down your neck, suckling on a spot at your jaw.

“Maybe it is a sin,” he muttered, “but I really don’t care.”

Just as his hips ground down onto yours, your cell phone on the bedside table began to ring. You jolted up at the noise, fumbling over for your phone. You gulped before bringing it up to your ear, motioning for Taeyong to be quiet.

“Hello?”

“Y/N…” it was the voice of your mother. “Where are you? Jaehyun’s father wants you to meet his son.”

You took a deep breath to calm the nerves that spiked up when she spoke. “Sorry, I just left to take a walk around. It was getting a little stuffy in that room and I just felt anxious. I’ll come back now.”

You could hear her discontent, but she at least bought the lie. “Please do, dear. I expect to see you here very soon.”

“Yes, mother.” With that, she hung up and you were scrambling to put your heels back on. You shuffled and fixed the straps of your dress into their places.

“What happened? What’s going on?” Taeyong asked, eyes wide as he watched you flounder around.

“That was my mom, and she’s looking for me, and I need to be back now.”

You brushed your fingers through your hair as you stood in front of the mirror before turning around to face him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t spend more time here…” you said, reaching up to cup his cheek, “but I won’t give up on us.”

You planted a last kiss on his lips, a genuine smile forming on your face as he leaned forward when you pulled away.

Then you were off, carefully peering out the door and then scurrying to the stairs, leaving behind the boy who had your heart.

In the end, you made it back to the party safely. As you approached your mother, she shot you a smile, but when you came close enough, she whispered sternly in your ear, “You absolutely cannot run away at an event as big as this one. I will speak to you about this later, young lady.”

You expected that, of course. The two of you turned to face Jaehyun and his father, who jumped right into a conversation with your family. After the introductions and a quick shake of hands, the adults began to speak in somewhat of a closed-off circle, leaving Jaehyun and you in an awkward air.

He broke it off by starting his own small talk with you, asking about the party, your dress, the like. By the end, you decided you didn’t have anything against him - he just wasn’t the one for you.

As Jaehyun rambled something about golf, you caught sight of Taeyong once again, who had just recently reentered the ballroom. He looked right over at you, too, and exchanged a tiny smile that could have been to no one in particular, but you knew it was for you.

The swapping of grins renewed your faith - there would come a day when you could emerge from the secrecy. Until then, you’d just have to deal with it and share quiet moments by yourselves, and maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

You smiled to yourself, only brushing it off as nothing when Jaehyun asked. Tonight had been quite the ride - an interesting turn of events.