#and kang is sitting there imagining their whole life together

[bitchofdarkness]

Kim Yeong-hu and Kang Seok-chan: looking at the other while one talks

[heavenlyvision]

When hell freezes over

Word count: 5.1k

Pairing: Bi-Han x afab!Reader

A/N: I make no apologies for what I’ve written, I do however, apologise for this coming out before part four of the Crushing series. I saw God (Bi-Han in mk 1) and got possessed by the Holy Spirit (horniness). I’ve noticed tumblr is lacking in fics for my mk cravings, which resulted in this. This fic was initially going to be 1k of only smut, but I got carried away and added a minor plot line :3

Summary: Bi-Han keeps staring at you and you don’t know why but it really starts to get on your nerves, especially when he won’t even admit that he is doing it.

Warnings: 18+ only, smut, fingering, creampie, voyeurism (they fuck outside but they don’t get caught), strong language, pure filth, minor plot, mean Bi-Han, Bi-Han is ooc prolly but he’s also a bitch still, so not completely ooc

Staying at the fire temple means you’ve seen Bi-Han around, always with a scowl on his face and that’s if he’s taken his mask off, but you can always tell he’s scowling under the mask too, with the way his eyebrows pinch. You’ve never actually held a conversation with him, he’s a bit unapproachable and when you do speak, he usually grunts in response. His way of acknowledging you without actually acknowledging you.

Lord Liu Kang has been bringing all of Earth Realms potential heroes together and training them at the Fire Temple, you just so happened to be one of the first heroes he came looking for. You have power, you’re not disillusioned though, you can see in the way Lord Liu Kang moves and speaks, that he already knows who his hero is and it’s not you, which you’re fine with. The idea of fighting against Outworld’s warriors is, to be blunt, scary. You mean to say, that the idea of fighting Sub-zero frightens you, you cannot imagine what kind of formidable opponents live in the other realms.

The other’s Liu Kang has managed to gather are all very kind but also intimidating, you’re surrounded by powerful men all day and that sets you on edge a bit, as a result you tend to be spending more time by yourself in the quieter areas of the temple. They’re not hard to find if you look for them, and the temple has a sense of tranquillity. Ever since you’ve been here, you find yourself meditating now, more than you ever have in your whole life.

On this particular day, you’re sitting on a large rock away from the temple facing all the greenery surrounding the area. Footsteps approaching you bring your awareness back to your environment, but you don’t move or open your eyes, you aren’t really in the mood to be disturbed at this current moment, for all they know, you could be really close to reaching enlightenment.

The person moves to stand in front of you but doesn’t say anything, you try to hold steady and focus but their breathing is disturbing you. In the end your resolve gives in and your shoulders slump as you look up at the perpetrator of disturbance.

You feel a bit silly as you realise that the disturbance is Lord Liu Kang himself, “I could’ve been close to enlightenment only to be disturbed by you at the last moment.”

He looks amused but only slightly, “If you had been that close to enlightenment, I doubt my presence would’ve disturbed you.”

“You can’t know that,” you pout a touch.

He gives you a polite smile in return, “Dinner is going to be served soon, will you grace us with your presence?”

He’s giving you a light ribbing; you’ve been here a while and like to think you’ve gained rapport with him. The way he will indulge you slightly makes you think you’ve succeeded in landing on his good side, though you’re not certain he has a bad side, and if he does, you don’t want to be anywhere near it.

“I hadn’t realised it had gotten this late,” looking up at the sky you can see the sun setting, you’ve been out here far longer than you had expected.

Suddenly, you feel eyes on the back of your head and a shiver runs down your spine in response, without turning around you acknowledge the secondary presence you didn’t initially register.

“Good evening to you too, Sub-zero.”

“Mmmf,” he grunts in your direction as a response.

You address Lord Liu Kang, “he seems gruntier than usual.”

“Perhaps, he is the one who disturbed your enlightenment,” he dips his head towards you as he says this, in an attempt to keep the joke between the two of you.

You chuckle in response before leaping down from the rock, “Alright, let’s eat!”

❆˖°

Dinner with everyone is always a touch rowdy, it never used to be, it used to be quieter but with the additions of Kung Lao, Raiden, Kenshi and especially Johnny Cage, it has gotten livelier around the temple. You find that Kuai Liang, Tomas and Bi-Han frequent dinners here now too, you suspect that them never actually leaving anymore is due to the fact that Lord Liu Kang has gathered all his potential warriors.

Everyone has bets on who they think it is and most of them are betting on themselves but you’re certain Lord Liu Kang has his pick and you’re betting it’s Raiden, the way he looks and considers him makes you think he’s his top pick.

You feel his eyes on you again from across the table, the shiver he sends through you running down your spine again. You aren’t sure why your body reacts to him like that, and you aren’t sure how to feel about it either. Preferably, he would stop staring at you so your body would stop reacting, but he is such a starer, and an angry starer too.

Looking up you lock eyes with Bi-Han, but he doesn’t look away, typical, you think, you look away instead and attempt to stay engaged in the conversations happening around you. But you know he is still staring at you and to be honest, it’s starting to get on your nerves. Taking a deep breath, you look back over at him again and he is still staring at you, you’re getting pissed now, what is his problem. He can be scary but scary is only scary until you’re annoyed.

“What is your problem?” You direct at him quietly; you don’t want everyone at the table seeing you starting a fight with the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.

He looks a little taken aback by your bluntness but only for a second, “nothing.” He shrugs.

His voice is stupid and deep, and you’re annoyed at him because why is he still fucking staring at you. People normally have enough humility to look away when confronted but he looks nonplussed by your angry confrontation.

“Well, then stop staring at me,” you shoot back, trying to remain unnoticed by the rest of the table.

“I am not staring,” he replies coolly.

What the fuck? “You definitely are though; I can feel your eyes stabbing me.”

He purses his lips in response, “My eyes are not capable of stabbing you.”

You’re frowning now, deeply, “Well… they are!” Your voice raises a bit with your increasing annoyance. Why won’t he just admit that his eyes are stabbing you.

Unfortunately, everyone has caught onto your little argument now, which prompts Lord Liu Kang to interject.

“Is everything okay?” He directs the question at you.

“Tell your guard dog to stop stabbing me with his stupid eyes,” you reply, completely exasperated with how dumb all of this is.

From the other end of the table, you hear Johnny start laughing, thud, and that was Kenshi kicking him under the table in response, attempting to get him to stop.

Johnny exclaims, “Ouch, what the fu–”

“– I am not his guard dog!” Bi-Han is angry now, he was mildly amused before, you suspect you’ve managed to hit a nerve. “I am the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei!”

You roll your eyes at him, “You’re the Grandmaster of stabbing me with your eyes!” You’re not quite sure why you’ve picked this hill to die on, but you’re committed now.

He looks pissed and you feel like you should be intimidated but you’re so irked by his behaviour that you wouldn’t care if he was God itself.

Lord Liu Kang clears his throat from the head of the table, “Maybe you should both apologise to each other and move past this.”

“No.” Both Bi-Han and you reply at the same time.

“Just admit you were staring, and I will apologise to you,” you direct this at Bi-Han.

“I wasn’t staring,” he leans back with his big stupid, defined, arms crossed over his chest.

You feel like you’re going to have an aneurysm, why is he committed to lying about this. “I know you were staring.”

“How would you know that?” He asks.

Is he being intentionally dense, “how could I not know?” You’re glaring back at him.

Lord Liu Kang clasps his hands together, a loud clap sound ringing out across the silence that had fallen over the group. Well, it was almost silent, Johnny is still muffling his laughing down the other end of the table.

“Thank you for dinner, Lord Liu Kang, I’ll be returning to my quarters early tonight.” You stand up and walk out of the room.

You miss the completely confused and exhausted look Kuai Liang gives his older brother.

❆˖°

Tonight, you find yourself tossing and turning, the evenings usually leave you a bit restless and you will fairly regularly leave your quarters to wander the grounds. Though, this evening you are restless for a separate reason, the result is the same, you’re leaving your quarters and wandering the Fire Temple aimlessly, inspecting things you’ve seen daily for months now.

You have got to be kidding, you think to yourself as you feel the all too familiar shiver run down your spine and set of eyes on the back of your head.

Your head drops in defeat and a deep sigh is pulled from your chest, “if I tell you to stop staring, would you? Or would you say you weren’t staring?”

You can feel him come up beside you, “Guess…”

“…I wasn’t staring,” you both say it in tandem, but you attempt to drop your voice as low as it can go to mock him.

He grunts in disapproval at you.

You aren’t sure why he’s come up to you, you’ve sequestered yourself off to a private area of the temple specifically so you could remain undisturbed, but not only did he find you, he fucking stabbed you with his stupid pretty, stupid angry eyes again. You feel like you’re not going to win whatever this battle is against him.

“Genuinely, why do you keep staring at me, and you can’t say you don’t because I know you do, I can feel when your eyes are on me,” you’re getting tired of this now, you just want an answer from him.

He doesn’t speak for a long moment; he’s probably considering how to word what he’s going to say next. All you know is if he says he doesn’t stare at you, you’re literally going to hit him in the face.

“Consider your words carefully, I am tempted to punch you right now,” you relay your feelings to him as a warning.

“I don’t stare–”

That does it, you swing around at him and go to throw a forceful punch aimed square at his nose, you’re aiming to break it. Unfortunately, for all his ego, he is indisputably more skilled than you and easily dodges your punch by moving his head to the side before he catches your forearm with one of his hands. His other hand reaches out to grab at your other arm and pulls you closer to his body, both your arms being held between your bodies. His strength keeping you in place, with his stupid well-defined arms.  

You’re a little annoyed at yourself for bothering to warn him at all, you probably could’ve at least grazed him if you hadn’t.

Scowling at him you say, “I shouldn’t have given you a warning.”

“Your hit wouldn’t have landed either way, it was sloppy.”

“It was not!” Your punch was fine, he’s just being rude.

“I was trying to say I don’t stare at you,” you try to wiggle free of his grip, you swear he’s looking for a fight. His hands grab you tighter and pulls your forearms to rest on his chest, you’re forced to look up at him, “Stop, struggling, you’re making this more difficult than it needs to be.”

You gawk at him, “Are you kidding me? You’re the one who won’t admit the simple fact that you’ve been staring at me!”

He looks exhausted with you as he rolls his eyes, when did this switch? He is the unreasonable one, you were willing to apologise hours ago!

“I gaze at you.” He says it like he doesn’t have to explain further.

“I’m almost certain that is the exact same thing as staring at me.” You’re confused.

He grunts and turns his head to the side sharply, “You make everything difficult.”

“ME?” You. Are. Confused.

His head snaps back to stare you in the eyes, “YES! I look at you, I gaze at you, I find you interesting and that makes me mad. This is your fault, take responsibility.”

Oh. My. God. Does he have a crush on you? He likes you and is mad at you about it. Talk about emotionally stunted.

“I am not responsible for how you feel about me.”

“You should be.”

There’s a beat of silence between the two of you, he’s still holding you close.

“You undo me.” He says it quiet, like he’s ashamed of the confession but it’s the highest form of flattery you have ever received.

Your eyes are round in shock as you look at him, you won’t lie, you find yourself drawn to him. Not in spite of his intimidating, stoic nature but because of it, he’s a force of nature to be reckoned with and you think without even realising you walked headfirst into the eye of his storm. You want him and you hate that you do, but you suspect he feels the same way.

“Let me go, please.” You ask him.

He obeys your will, immediately dropping your arms but neither of you make a move to step away from the other. Your heart is racing in your chest as you continue to look up at him, you want to kiss him, but you don’t know how he’ll react to your hands reaching for him after you just tried to deck him.

You don’t have to wonder for long, his hands reach for your face, both of them landing on either side of it. He has such large hands.

“I want to kiss you and you’re going to have to tell me not to, if you don’t want me to.”

You say nothing because you really want him to kiss you and he does; he leans down towards you and when your lips meet you feel like your knees might give out.

His kiss is gentler than you would’ve expected him capable of, he holds you like you’ll break, like he’s all too aware of his strength and is making a conscious effort to not hurt you. One of his hands moves from your face, down your body and grabs at your hip, the other moving behind your neck. Your own hands move to grab at the material on his chest, holding on.

He pulls away from you, only enough to talk, his lips still brushing against yours as he speaks “Fuck, open your mouth more.”

His words shoot straight through your body, you feel like you’re shaking. You do as your told and he moves your head with the hand on the back your neck slightly. When he moves to kiss you again it’s at an angle; his mouth slotting against yours, the kiss deepening. You’re feeling lightheaded as he starts to kiss you with urgency, less gentle. His tongue licking into your mouth has a whimper leaving you against your will. He smirks against your mouth at the sound and pulls away from you.

No one has ever kissed you like that in your life, he’s so much more skilled with his mouth than you would’ve thought. You blink tears away from your eyes as you both stand close together his lips brushing against yours, teasing you.

“Kiss me again, please.”

“mmm, you’re so much more agreeable like this.” He’s smug, you don’t like that his words make your pussy throb.

Opening your mouth, you go to put up a fight, but he puts his mouth back on yours causing you to whine in response. His hands grab you tighter at the sound, and he begins walking you backwards until your back rests against the building you were standing behind.

His other hand moves from behind your neck and down your body, stopping at your tit and pawing at it. You let out a gasp at the feeling, your hands move from his chest to the back of his neck, pulling him closer to you. His hand leaves your breast and travels the length of your body, landing on your thigh, he pulls your leg up to rest on his hip.

He won’t move any closer, and you think he’s trying to be polite and not push you further than you want, but you want him so badly. Whining against him you use your leg to pull his hips into yours and he grunts against you.

Parting your lips again he looks at you, he seems pleased with the look on your face, “You look so pretty, eyes all glazed over from a kiss.”

The words are mocking but your reactions to him seem to inflate his ego, not that he needs the boost.

“I’ve never been kissed like that,” you find yourself admitting to him.

A faux pity look falls across his features, “Poor, sweet, girl, never been kissed properly.” He noses at the side of your face before his lips rest against your ear. He blows cool air against it and an involuntary shiver runs down your spine.

“mmf, not fair, you’re teasing me.” He’s mean but its turning you on to no end.

“Yeah, but I think you like it,” he pulls back to look you in the eyes again, “isn’t that right?”

A blush breaks out across your skin in response to him, you can tell it’s not a rhetorical question, but you don’t answer him.

Your lack of a response displeases him, his voice comes a little firmer, “I want an answer when I ask a question.”

“Yes, I like it.” Being forced to admit that you like how mean he is to you is embarrassing.

“I know you do.” He’s smug again, not that he ever stopped.

His lips are so close to yours, you lean forward slightly to kiss him, but he pulls away at the last second. Your head drops back against the wall, and he chuckles at you. Leaning forward again, he kisses your neck, before lightly sucking marks into it.

He mouths at the length of your neck, savouring the way you twitch and try to contain the noises you make in response. The hand holding your hip moves under your robe to cup your pussy through your panties, a whine louder than you would’ve liked is pulled from you, your blush deepening at the sound.

He talks into your neck as his fingers trace the seam of your cunt through your underwear, “You’re so sensitive, react to the smallest of my touches.”

His fingers continue to touch you through your panties, two of his fingers moving to part your lips through them. An embarrassingly wet squelching sound results from his actions. A strangled noise comes from deep in his chest and he moves his head back and looks up for a second, “Fuckin – you are so fucken, wet and I’ve not even touched you properly.” He’s looking you back in your eyes, his gaze dark, he looks like he’s being eaten alive, or wants to eat you alive.

Your cheeks feel like they’re on fire, he talks so much, in fact, you think this is the most he’s spoken to you without you having to reply.

“Bi-Han, please –”

“Mmm say my name again.” He’s lightly grazing the seam of your pussy, never touching your clit.

“Bi-Han,” you repeat his name for him.

His voice sounds strained, “What do you want, sweet girl?”

The nickname he’s graced you with makes your heart skip, “please, touch me… properly.”

“Since you asked so sweetly.” His hand leaves you temporarily to slip down the front of your underwear, his fingers slide through your cunt, and he can feel just how wet you are now. “Jesus – ” He curses at the feel of you.

His mouth captures yours in a heated kiss again as his middle finger slowly enters you, you clench around it and you both moan into the kiss. His thumb slowly rubs circles on your clit, you jump at the contact, sensitive from neglect and desire. You’re trying to hold back whines and moans, still aware that you’re out in the open. Bi-Han doesn’t seem to care and if he does, he isn’t letting on.

He pulls back from your mouth, “God, you’re fucken – how am I gonna – fuck, look at you.”

You’re trying to grind down on his hand, desperate for more, anything he’ll give you; you’ll take; you just need more.

Gasping you say, “more Bi-Han, please.”

“Always asking so sweetly,” He slips his ring finger inside you, filling you up more. One of your hands moves from behind his neck to cover your mouth, attempting to muffle the moans trying to come out.

Both of his hands are occupied, one on your thigh holding your leg to his hip and the other stuffing your dripping wet cunt full, the sounds coming from you are making him feral and he wants your hand off your mouth. Now.

“Remove your hand, now.” He shoots you a fierce glare and you comply straight away, hand removing from your mouth and grabbing onto the arm of the hand inside you. His fingers move quicker inside you, reaching deep, hitting something that’s never been touched, your head falls back, and a whine comes from deep in your chest.

“Fuuuck, thas it, thas what I was looking for,” Bi-Han seems overjoyed at your reaction, your eyes wet and glassy from pleasure.

You aren’t sure if your hand is trying to push him away or pull him closer, your breaths are coming faster and another moan is pulled from you as he speeds up his thumb on your clit.

“fff – Bi-Han, I can’t, is too much.” It feels too good, it’s never felt like this before.

“Shuddup, you’re fine,” He leans forward so his mouth is by your ear again, “You’ve been doing so well, baby, come for me and then I’ll stuff you full of my dick, mmm?”

“ah ah, it’s different, too much – ngh –”

“Poor baby, never been finger fucked this good, mmm?” He doesn’t slow down; it feels like he speeds up.

Your moans hit a higher pitch and you feel like you’re falling apart into the palm of his hand, “thas it, doing so good,” he keeps whispering praise into your ear and then he blows cool air against your ear again. The shiver that runs through your body has your eyes crossing as you cum all over his fingers and palm with a shout of his name. He moans at the feel of your cunt spasming around his fingers.

“Thas fucken it, good girl, shit –” His fingers continue pumping into you until you start flinching away from him.

He removes his fingers from your pulsing pussy, and sucks both of them clean before shoving them in your mouth. You suck his spit and your cum from his fingers, his eyes glazing over as he watches you suck on his fingers.

He retracts his fingers from your mouth slowly and traces them down your chin, neck and chest, leaving behind a wet trail as he goes.

“Can we have sex now, please?” You ask him, you feel insatiable, he makes you insatiable.

He looks like he might melt into a puddle on the floor at your words, “yes, fuckin hell, you have beautiful manners, sweet thing.”

He pulls his pants down enough for his dick to be released from its confines, and, he was right before, how is he going to fit. “Bi-Han, you might be too big.”

“Jesu – you really know how to inflate a mans ego,” you aren’t meaning to, you are genuinely concerned he might not completely fit, “we’re gonna fucken make it fit, you okay with that?” he asks you.

You nod your head instantly, you can take it, you want to take it.

“Fucken, eager,” He states, if anyone else had said it you’d feel offended, but you know he means it as a compliment.

He spits on his hand and grabs his dick, lubing it up to make the glide easier. The display is filthy and has you wanting to get on your knees for him.

“You ready?” he asks you, and every time he checks on you it has you going dizzy.

“I’m ready,” you smile up at him, as he moves your panties to the side.

“Fuck, alright, try and relax.” He guides his cock through your slick folds, rubbing the head of it against your clit.

Slowly, he begins to push the head of his dick into your pussy hole, it’s already a tight fit. You reach out and place your palm on his shoulder, indicating to him to hold still for a minute. He stops moving forward with just his tip in you, a pinched look on his face, like he’s in pain.

“Goddamn, you’ve got such a – ngh, tight little cunt,” he sputters out, he’s doing deep breathing exercises as he waits for your okay to keep going, “mmph, trying not to cum like a fucken teenager, you’ve got a – ngh – beautiful pussy.”

You involuntarily clench around him at his words, and he grunts in response, “please, keep going, Bi-Han.”

He nods his head and continues to slowly inch into you, pausing every now and again to give you time to adjust to him. When he’s finally fully seated inside you, he lets out a deep guttural groan, you can feel his chest rumble with it. He’s so fucking big and you feel so full of him.

“Got the tightest pussy I’ve ever been in, Jesus – ngh – such a perfect – ” your cunt flutters around him at his words, “mph, you fucken like that don’t you?”

You don’t fully register that he’s asked you a question because he’s started fucking you now, and it nearly has you going cross eyed.

“Hey! I fucken – mph – asked you a question,” you make eye contact with him, eyes glazed as you look at him, “ffffucken beautiful, you look perfect, just, like, this, split open on my – ngh – cock.” He’s barely keeping it together as he starts fucking up into you.

“I said, you fucken like it when I talk to you, mmh?” He asks you again and you understand him this time.

Nodding your head you reply, “Yes I – ah – I love it when you talk to me.” You’re practically a whimpering mess at this point, “Can you go faster, plea- ah –”

Your question is cut off by his immediate acceleration in thrusts, he wanted to fuck you faster as much as you wanted him too, maybe more. Looking at the pinched look on his face you can guess he’s still holding himself back, still too aware of his own strength.

“Hah – harder, please, Bi-Han.” You can feel his dick twitch at the sound of his name coming from your lips.

“Fffff, like it rough, do you, sweet girl?” He huffs.

You agree, you think you’d agree to anything he asked of you right now.

“You are so sweet, compliant when you’re filled with my dick” he chuckles at you, but his words have your pussy clenching around him, breaking his laugh into a broken moan.

You’re gonna come, “Bi-Han, mm gonna come, please.”

“go on then, fucken – nghf – good girl, sweeeet fucken cunt. Cover my dick in your cum, go on.” Your eyes prickle with tears, you don’t think you’ve ever been this aroused in your whole life.

He’s staring down at where you’re connected, obsessed with way your cunt is creaming on his cock, forming a ring around the base of his dick, has him almost feral.

“Fuck, fuck, Bi-Han, I’m – mmph – ” He cuts off your words with a deep kiss, tongue in your mouth, taking your breath away. Bi-Han’s thumb reaches for your clit and starts rubbing harsh and fast circles into it, his precise movements and unrelenting thrusts has you coming on his dick, hard. You throw your head back, removing your lips from his, your vision cuts off dark and you can barely hear anything with the force of which you cum.

Your mouth opening in a silent scream and then a series of whimpers spill from your lips. When you can speak, you’re praising Bi-Han, wet slapping sounds continuing, he’s not stopped thrusting chasing his own peak.

“you look fucken perfect when you cum, look – ngh – so fucked out, such a good girl – taking my cock, mph,” He’s close you can tell, his dick is twitching inside you, “the sounds you make are – sshit – mmph – angelic.”

He’s such a flatterer, your cunt jumps in after shock, you decide you wanna try something. You pull his head towards you, moving your lips to his ear to tell him, “made me feel so good, Grandmaster, never cum that hard in my – ngh – life.”

You were right, he liked that, loved being called Grandmaster, his grunts and groans get louder, tailing off into whimpers. His head drops to your shoulder, resting there for a bit.

“Where – hah – where do you want it?” He asks.

“Inside please, Grandmaster, I want it, in – mmph – me.”

He whimpers at your words, “Ahh – fuck you’re gonna fucking kill me, sweet girl – nngh.”

And then he’s coming, he fills you, both of you moaning at the feeling of him releasing all of his cum inside of you, he turns his head into your neck and bites you, the shock of it has your cunt clenching on his dick.

He’s making the most amazing noises, grunting and groaning at the feel of you wrapped around him. His own cum dripping down the sides of his cock, he’s staring at it now, watching the way he moves in and out of you, the way his cum leaks out of you, down your thighs, and down his cock.

You both stay connected for a bit afterwards, basking in your highs before parting. When Bi-Han does pull out, his fingers move to shove the cum leaking out of you back inside before shifting your panties back in place. He gently places your leg back down, before tucking himself back in his pants.

You stay resting your weight up against the wall, you’re not certain you can walk, your legs feel like they might cave in if you try to move.

“I like you,” Bi-Han says simply.

“I’d hope so,” you reply, smiling brightly at him. He looks soft for you. “I suppose, I like you too, even if you do stare at me.”

“I don’t stare.”

❆˖°

Part two

A/N: The end, I’m interested in making a second part for this if people want it, I’m also willing to write for almost every mk1 character. I disappeared because I inhaled the new game, long time mk whore over here. Requests are open if anyone wants to ask for someone specific. And if any of my Crushing series peoples read this, I am writing the fourth part, and it will definitely come out this month!

[musclesandhammering]

No, Sylvie didn’t “have a point” in that bar convo.

Ok. I’ve seen a lot of sylvie stans on Twitter (and ofc Twitter is the app of choice for sylvie stans lmao) claiming that, in the bar conversation in episode 5, Sylvie had the moral high ground. They say she Made Points and that she’s consistently been the one trying to preserve lives while Loki/Mobius/the TVA have been carelessly destroying them. Yeah. Let’s talk about that.

On Sylvie being right about Loki “kidnapping” people from their timelines…

First off, Loki admitted that he had an ulterior motive of bringing his friend group back together because he didn’t want to be alone. Cool! But he didn’t say he wanted to forcefully drag them from their happy lives and imprison them somewhere so they couldn’t leave just so he could hang out with them. He said they should be given a choice whether they wanted to join him in his ‘save the TVA’ quest or go back to their current lives. A choice. You know.. like what they didn’t have before.

And it’s kinda valid, when you think about it. Yes, they had/have lives on their original branches, but they also had/have lives at the TVA. Centuries worth of life there. They have friends there, they have jobs that they genuinely see as their own glorious purposes, and (in recent days) they have their own little world-saving team! They have a heroic mission! They have their friendship with Loki! And whether or not they should’ve been drafted to the TVA is irrelevant, because it happened. And those experiences are significant just like their experiences on the timeline. It was wrong for HWR to take away their memories and their choice to stay in their mundane lives, but it’s equally as wrong for Sylvie to not want to give them their memories of the TVA back or give them the choice to go back to that life, if they want to. And considering how A.D. Doug and Frank’s branch lives are going (read: not good), I’m fairly confident they’d choose to return if they had all their memories back.

And I mean, considering how the meeting with Sylvie went, if any of them had refused to come with Loki, he would have let them stay! It’s not like he was literally kidnapping them. He just wanted to give them a choice in hopes that they’d choose him. Just because Sylvie can’t imagine ever wanting to leave her life on the timeline to go back to the TVA doesn’t mean she can make that choice for others.

On Sylvie being right about just leaving everyone be and letting the TVA stay destroyed…

Like..??? This is so frustrating. This is probably my greatest source of annoyance with her throughout this entire season. She’s constantly argued in favour of inaction, despite the fact that she knows there is an emergency going on that requires immediate action. Moral discussions aside, just sitting at McDonalds and ignoring everything that’s going on isn’t feasible, because- as Loki has been trying to tell her for 4 episodes now- if the loom melts down, there won’t be a McDonalds anymore. There won’t be anything. The entire multiverse will be fettuccine 😭. 

Like I just don’t understand her logic?? Either she doesn’t believe him (despite having evidence), or she just doesn’t care because a.) she thinks they should fix the mess she made while she just chills in the 80s OR b.) she thinks “well I’ll be fine, fuck everyone else 🤪” because she has the master tempad and thinks she can just keep outrunning the destruction like she’s been doing her whole life.

Either way, though, even if the branches weren’t being spaghettified and everything was fine.. there’s still a billion kang variants on the horizon. Like does that not trouble her at all? I’m sure her reasoning would be that she’d just kill any Kangs that show up, but it’s hilarious how she’s so confident in her ability to do that considering she did nothing impressive to kill He Who Remains. He sat in a chair and offered himself up to her. She walked up and stabbed him in the chest. Like there was no battle, that was no accomplishment. But she really thinks she did something, huh? To the point that she’s willing to risk the lives of everyone in the multiverse, gambling on her ability to single-handedly take on an entire army of all-powerful dudes actually trying to win. Nonsensical behaviour.

On Sylvie just wanting to save all the innocent people…

Building on my last point. Sylvie’s whole thing about being the one that stands up for The People and does everything in the best interest of the innocents… yeah, that’s bs lol. Sylvie, I think, has convinced herself that she’s fighting to preserve lives, but in all actuality, she’s just fighting to oppose the TVA. She’s not seeking justice (at least not primarily), she’s seeking revenge. And that’s been a problem with her since the end of season 1.

She had no problem murdering 400+ minute men in violent and torturous ways (she even enjoyed doing it, and still takes pride in it), despite the fact that she knew they were innocent people brainwashed and forced to work for the TVA. She had no problem sitting back and letting the infinite number of Kangs come, even though it was inevitable that lots of innocent people would be killed by them. As long as she didn’t have to do the work to prepare for it, she was fine with that risk. Loki tried to tell her multiple times, in multiple instances, that the TVA falling apart would cause branched timelines to be destroyed and all the people on them to die, but she ignored him and didn’t believe him and refused to do anything to help over and over and over until that very thing ended up happening. As a matter of fact, she never cared at all until it effected her timeline. Then she immediately was like “there must be something we can do!!”

Anyway….. I just think it’s annoying how some people act like she’s the pro-life (not that kind of pro-life) voice of reason in all this. She’s extremely selfish (yes, more so than Loki) and perfectly willing to let innocent people die if it means she gets to keep relaxing on her branch. Much like Brad. And you know what? That doesn’t make her a villain! There’s nothing wrong with wanting a life away from the organisation that ruined your old one. But I wish folks would stop saying she was right. Cause.. no, bestie, she was not. Lol.

[chronicvagabonds]

.. i mean.. this is to be expected. it's a blessing and a curse that once i think of something (to do) it's close to impossible for me to put it off for much longer because it will continue occupying my mind until i end up doing it. so let's go second-read 😀😀 and it's been so long since the first time it's like an entirely new discovery.

if there's anything to take away from my notes, it's that i'm such a sucker for dialogue like 😮‍💨😮‍💨 the speech was so geeeewd in this one and i had to read them over and over again because apparently i like to cause myself pain 😣 i held myself back considerately so not to quote the entire fic, damn near impossible..

[spoilers ahead]

the visual setting of yeosang looking over the city and a little mission note burning to ash is giving very much kdrama hehe

“Gosh, what a sight to see before I end my life,”  blonde long hair angel yeosang come back to usss 😩😩

angel yeosang kinda... 😠 assholey

gaaawd, imagine if when reader caresses the feather, yeosang could FEEL it like a little shiver wherever he is ksjdkm

all i can think of is yeosang perched up on a lamp post like he's batman on the look-out for reader like okay my little dove of the night

“Are you… flirting with me right now?” BRO YOU'RE THE ONE THAT APPEARED OUT OF THIN AIR HOLDING AN UMBRELLA OVER OUR HEADS IN AN EMPTY PARK AT NIGHT??!

like, really we should be calling the police to arrest your stalker ass but reader is too stuck in their miserable life agenda and dedicated to self-loathing that they'd welcome any possible danger/thrill to feel something else for once >:'((

YEOSANG TO THE RESCUE 🥹 what is it with perceived angelic and pure creatures losing their composure and resorting to violent acts that makes them SO HAWT 😫

 “I don’t think a devil like you needs a guardian angel,” 🥺 👉👈 what do you meaaaan~

“Now why would I ever fall for a human?” you're gonna eat your own words MISTUR

reader seeing yeosang at the bridge and mouthing his words back to him is so 🥲🥲

".. You can’t move on now, Yeosang, until I allow you to.” kind of makes me chuckle with the whole 'afterlife' conversation going on but also like moving on from people 🙁 but also yeosang's reaction *whistles* 🔥🔥

ugh, an angel at the mercy of fate is such a cool concept

".. you’re stuck in one place and you’re not allowing yourself to move forward. I don’t like that.” hmnggg :((((((((((((((((

oh god.. the last two parts of dialogue i quoted in relation to each other.. oh.. my heart

“.. if I was an angel and I fell for a human… I wouldn’t care about burning.” ".. do you think the human could move on after being loved by an angel?” i love how they've traded roles

“I think you don’t know what you want or are too afraid to say it out loud.” “Or both,” KICKIGN MUH FEETSIES

stooooop them sitting all cuddled up together on the grass and the vulnerable conversation and the warmth and :(((( im breaking

SIPPING FROM OUR COFFEE INDIRECT KISS HUEHEUH

".. I want to keep you to myself a little longer, if not forever.” i need 🫂🫂🫂

“I want to ruin you and myself. I want to burn, and you won’t let me?” MY FUUUUKCING GOOOOD GODDD KANG YEOOSANG KSMFJH

".. so please, just… let me love you.” 🏃🏃🏃🏃

you tried to calm your beating heart but how could you, when his grip around your waist tightened and he leaned right in, kissing you innocently at first and then almost growling as he kissed you again

SIERRAAAA GURL PLEASKJSK 👩‍🦯‍➡️👩‍🦯‍➡️

idc. Dohyun poopiehead 💩💩

You gazed at the full moon for a long time, hoping the wind would take away all the fear in your heart.  immersed in the moment, i couldn't help but think back on when reader stood on that railing, on the bridge, ready to let the wind take them away from all the pain and suffering their life had caused them and how i wonder if reader's pleading then and now in this moment could be the same.. because what is giving up if not another manifestation of fear of the unknown, a bad ending, more pain and suffering, more lifes lost..

"If I’m without you for eternity, what will I do, love?".. ".. If I burn loving you, so be it. If your kiss is the last thing I feel, I’d be the happiest.” *cowers in a dark corner crying silent tears*

“I’m just taking a breather before I make you mine tonight.” If one sentence could make you moan, this was it.  🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠 and did ☝️🥸

demonfuckers? don't know them, we're an angelfucker household

he needed to feel every little sensation one of the most beautiful things here to me is how you made use of yeosang's wings in the moment. like i was left in awe and absolute adoration. the way his wings folded around them in protection, in a solitude moment, figuratively and literally shutting them away from the world, from the reality that awaits them. and how much "pain" was used to really infest the sacrificial part of a piece of their souls for each other. the scars embedded in reader's skin, the blood left in his wings and how in the very end, despite the pain associated, reader clutched onto that singular feather like a lifeline. ���❤️‍🩹

not reader apologizing to seonghwa :((( because while they lost the love of their life, he lost a longtime friend "because of them" and their love together :(((

“You keep finding me, love.” tears are falling, hearts are breaking 😭😭😭

his angel kiss birth mark turning into a lover's kiss mark i'm 😣

WOOYOUNG PLEASE WE'RE HAVING A MOMENT OVER HERE YOU'LL HAVE YOUR TURN WITH AN ANGSTY ROMANCE FIC EVENTUALLY 👹💀👹

Dazzling Light

angel!yeosang x human!reader

genre and warnings: fluff, angst, suggestive, mention of su!cide, car accident, murder, mild violence

word count: ~25k

synopsis: yeosang's last mission as an angel is to prevent you from taking your life. however, you find a loophole when he tries to erase your memory afterwards, preventing him from moving on to the afterlife. as the two of you encounter each other a few times, yeosang decides to take your advice and live a little like a normal human before moving on, but ends up falling in love- forbidden and with consequences.

"I'm ready when you're ready!"

You put on your helmet after grinning at your best friend, kick-starting your bike, accelerating it a bit before looking back at her.

"On your mark, missy!"

You both stood at the line where you were going to start racing- you two weren't professionals, but this long road was empty and you both just wanted to race a bit, test your new bikes which you'd bought together.

As soon as you said the countdown, the two of you accelerated on a steady speed, hooting and laughing at each other, side by side as you drove at the empty road framing the hill. You went that extra notch by accelerating to a higher speed, ignoring your friend's warning with a shake of your head indicating that it was okay, and really, everything was okay, until-

Until a car drove straight at you from the sharp turn and you only had time to skid your bike away a little to avoid a crash, resulting in you plummeting down and crashing in a tree, your fall cushioned from the soft grass, only enough to save you but not enough to avoid a fracture or two.

But your accident wasn't painful- the crash you heard of vehicles colliding right after you fell was the most horrible sound you'd heard in your life, and your eyes went wide in horror as you realized-

You woke up drenched in sweat, muffling down your scream.

Your breathing was uneven as you turned your neck to look at the time- half past 5 in the morning. You shook your head, burying your face in your hands as you took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm your heart down, the ache in your leg growing. But it was no use.

Your life was a mess. Everyone was still waiting for an opportunity to get rid of you.

As you lay down and shut your eyes, you decided it then. You'd finally give up. There really was no point in living anymore.

-------------------

"What a day to be alive."

Yeosang stood at the edge of the roof of the 60-story building, looking ahead at the vast sky stretching endlessly with the sun shining through the fluffy clouds, instead of peering down at the traffic. He took a deep breath, inhaling in the fresh air, shutting his eyes close, revelling in the peace until he heard an ashy sound in the air and opened one eye to look at the message on a piece of paper.

Last mission. Save her from killing herself. 7 o'clock.

Yeosang raised his eye at the message, reading it again before burning it to ash with a simple wave of his fingers.

This wasn't an unusual order- as an angel, Yeosang had saved many from an untimely death, never questioning why he was saving only certain humans- he supposed they had a greater purpose to fulfil, something that would either change the course of time or wouldn't affect it entirely- as wrong as it sounded, because that made him wonder if certain humans were worth more than the others.

But this was his last mission. After a century and a half of maintaining a perfect record, always completing his jobs in the best way possible and abiding by the rules, he was finally given his last mission after which he could move on to the afterlife.

Yeosang sighed, trying to calm the nervous roiling in his stomach, which he was trying to convince himself was because of the anxiety of the last mission and whether it would go well, but really, he had a gut feeling that something was going to go very, very wrong this time.

Yeosang willed his wings to spread wide, spreading his hands and dropping down, almost diving down before finally flying upwards, wondering if he would ever be able to fly so freely in the sky again, wondering what the afterlife held for him, an abstract concept he'd been blindly following ever since he came into being as an angel with no past- or no memories- if he had one.

Flying into the endless sky, Yeosang smiled as a single tear left his eye. He would miss Earth dearly.

-----------------

You sat in front of the mirror, brushing your limp hair, the paleness of your skin more obvious because of the dark circles under your eyes. A knock sounded on the door and Sierra, your housekeeper, entered.

"Good morning, miss," she straightened her blouse, going for the windows and spreading the curtains apart, "Lovely day today."

"Lovely," you scoffed, "Who's planning to murder me today? You can tell them to not try anymore- I'm wondering if I should end this once and for all."

Sierra narrowed her eyes at you, "Are you going to work properly at the office now? You really should be going back now- make some effort as the sole heir of your father's company."

"My father is handling it perfectly well," you simply said, pinning your hair back, "And his son can inherit the business. I don't want to be a part of anything, and I'm going to the office today to wrap things up."

Sierra stopped arranging your stuff as she heard that, turning to look at you. You completed your office ensemble by sliding your feet into the black pointy kitten heels, turning to Sierra, who was standing with her mouth open and she finally said, "But miss, he's not the legitimate heir, and he won't inherit anything unless you willingly hand it to him. And what's this about wrapping everything up? What are you planning? Not another one of your pranks, is it? I'll have a heart attack one day and you would be the cause."

You took your purse, "You'll know by tonight, no pranks this time- and don't wait for me. I'll be back late," you said and started towards the door, stopping abruptly and then turning to Sierra, the only friend you had in your lonely life, especially after the death of your best friend. You walked to her, awkwardly raising your hand and patting her shoulder twice, smiling at her and almost laughing when you saw just how surprised she was. "Don't get used to it."

"I... won't," Sierra laughed, "You okay?"

"Yep," you saluted, "take care, Sierra."

"You sound like you're going away or something," she frowned, "Not going to party tonight, are you?"

"Oh yes," you smirked dangerously, "Expect a fucking feast soon."

With that, you took your walking cane and left, Sierra shouting 'language!' at you, making you smile sadly. She would probably be the only one who'd miss you when you're gone.

You debated going without your driver- even if you had to party, your driver/bodyguard-of-sorts would always accompany you, whether you liked it or not. You really wanted your last moments of your life alone without someone shadowing you. You rolled your eyes as your driver opened the door with a knowing look and you sped towards the car, huffing loudly as you sat in.

"To the office, miss?"

"Where else would I go at this ungodly hour," you grimaced at him, making him stifle his smile.

Reaching the parking lot, you took the lift to the 10th floor where your father's office was, hoping to see his face at least once. It's not like you expected anything from him, and yet-

Yet as you neared his office, your limp became worse. You had been walking just fine earlier, not even needing the cane- an accessory most of the time but a necessity whenever you were nervous or stressed. You cursed yourself internally as you walked into his office, greeting the secretary.

"Your father is having an official meeting, and has a busy schedule today. How much time do you need?"

"Not more than 5 minutes," you told her, and she eyed you from under her glasses.

"Are you sure? He needs to be in a good mood for the next meeting especially."

You clenched your jaw, stifling to ask just what her problem was, "just... let me see him once. Please."

The secretary scoffed as she ran a hand through her blonde bob and took off her glasses, "Did I hear a please from your mouth?"

You leaned forward, mustering the most disgusted face you could manage, "Are you gonna report this to Dohyun too? Should I tell my father that you have the hots for my brother- at this age?"

"Step-brother," she corrected through her teeth, "And take a seat, miss. The meeting should be over in 10."

Satisfied, you did exactly that, staring at her and making her squirm in her seat as she tried to concentrate on her work. Exactly 10 minutes later, a group of men left the room, and she motioned for you to wait as she went inside, returning after a few seconds and saying, "Your father's asking if it's really necessary."

You felt your heart twist, getting up and ignoring her protests as you went inside, looking around at the unnervingly neat and arranged office, your father relaxing in his chair as he sipped his coffee. "Hello, father."

"What's the matter?"

"Just stopping by to say hello- I haven't seen you in days," you didn't bother taking a seat, "Not that you miss me or anything, but you could have asked for me."

"I was busy," he simply said, avoiding looking at you, making you smile a bit- you knew all about his engagements- something that involved women apart from work, "I have another meeting in 5 minutes and I'd like to relax, if you'd allow me."

"Of course," you said, walking around lazily, looking at the various frames in his office but finding no picture of you or your family, rather finding an abundance of your brother's, who practically worked at his beck-and-call. You looked at him one last time, hoping to find a parent in his face but really, it was devoid of such responsibility and feelings, "I'll be off then. Do try to relax more, will you?"

"When you start coming to the office more," your father looked up at you, "and start acting responsibly is when I'll finally be able to breathe."

"Right," you said, waving casually as you walked out, shaking your head at the lies that fell so easily out of his mouth.

You were just stepping out of the elevator at the ground floor when you ran into the person you least wanted to see, and you groaned out loud, "My day is already ruined."

"Good to see you too," Dohyun scanned you, "Your leg seems worse."

"It sensed you all the way from up there," you ran your finger dramatically up the path of the elevator, "And look- now I can't even stand."

Dohyun scoffed, "Leaving already? Without working? No wonder dad loves you so much."

"If he loved you so much," you neared him, "He'd have already made you the heir. But here we are."

His jaw visibly clenched at that- you'd hit his weak point. You didn't wait for a response, your limp better as you walked outside, frowning when the bright sun hit your eyes, taking your sunglasses out of your dress pant's pocket and sliding them on, motioning your hand for a taxi and getting in, asking to be drove to your favourite cafe, ditching your parked car and driver.

You spent the day drinking your favourite coffee with your favourite dessert, walking in the park- something you didn't normally do, listening to your favourite songs and having food from your favourite place, playing cards with a random group of kids at the riverside, laughing to your fullest for the first time in a while- stopping when you realized it was going to be the last. Finally, you went to your best friend's grave, putting down a single daisy- her favourite.

"Dajeong," your voice came out choked, and you looked up at the cloudy sky, "you miss me, right?"

The wind blew the stray hair that escaped your now tied hair, and you tucked them behind as a tear escaped your eyes, "Do you miss me? Do you want me to come join you? Or do you hate me for what happened?"

Silence answered you- and you decided that was enough. "Don't kill me when I come to see you, will you?"

You wiped your eyes, your limp getting worse as you dragged yourself to the bridge afterwards, the sun about to set, and you found the sunset to be beautiful and a bit sinister, especially with the way it was casting light on the river.

You'd jump off the bridge. But... you were going to die in style.

You struggled as you sat at the flat railing of the bridge, the few passersby giving you confused looks. You picked your cane and held it for support, standing up bare-feet now, breathing in the air as you faced the sun- you felt free.

"Fuck everyone," you said out loud, laughing a bit, "Here I come, Dajeong."

You started swaying your hips a bit- Dajeong loved dancing. Using your cane as a prop, you awkwardly danced a bit, pulling your hair tie out and letting them loose, laughing a bit, turning to see if you had an audience, but there was no one near. You shut your eyes, spreading your arms wide and laughing out loud.

"People could get the wrong idea," a voice sounded.

Your laugh died abruptly, "Maybe they're thinking right," you turned to the source, sucking in your breath when you saw probably the most beautiful boy you'd ever seen in your life. His pale hair was messy, and his features made you wonder whether god really did choose favourites- he was sculpted so well.

"Maybe you're wrong then," he tilted his head, hands in his pockets as he scanned you, "And don't smirk like that- it's making me nervous."

"Gosh, what a sight to see before I end my life," you muttered, "Look, pretty boy, if you're done, maybe you should go home now. Leave this crazy woman to whatever she's doing, no?"

He raised his brows at the way you addressed him, "Does your life mean so little to you?"

"Actually, it does," you nodded in confirmation, "I have no purpose. No one cares, no one wants me. I am a burden. And I don't know why I even told you all this, I just- leave me alone. Go on. Let me die in style without someone bothering me."

His light eyes shone, "Can't. And if you really didn't have a purpose, I wouldn't be here right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it- you were about to jump off, but you got interrupted. That clearly means now's not the time, dear."

"Who are you calling dear- ah!"

You were falling.

You'd raised your cane to point at him but ended up losing your balance and falling off, a scream of surprise leaving your mouth as you fell, and you wondered why dramas would make this moment slow because you couldn't process anything as you fell- you only saw the sky getting distant and the sound of the river nearing, fear gripping your heart and you shut your eyes instinctively.

All your breath was knocked out of you and you thought you'd hit the surface of the river, but then you were bent inwards as arms wrapped around you and you clenched your eyes shut before realizing you still hadn't drowned, opening your eyes-

You were flying.

"Holy-" you heard the loud flap of wings, turning to look at the source and your scream was soundless when you realized it was the same boy who'd been at the bridge. He rolled his eyes at you, especially when you wrapped your arms tightly around him as if you finally cared about living, landing you both at the edge of the river before drawing his wings back and you watched them disappear completely, his arms still around you.

"You have a purpose in life, believe it or not," he said, scanning your face and patting your cheek as if to comfort you who was out of breath, "it's why I saved you."

"What are you?" You managed to ask.

"What do you think?" He smiled, taking a step back, "You'll forget this anyway- I'm an angel, if you already didn't make the connection."

You were speechless, dumbfounded, and fell to the ground on your knees, feeling the absence of your cane. The boy- angel sat in front of you, holding your face, "Stay strong. You have a whole new life ahead of you- make most of it, will you?"

You scanned his face slowly, as if you could memorize it, looking away when his gaze felt too strong and laughing maniacally, making him surprised, "Great. I've gone mad now. I'll wake up and this would be a dream, right?"

"Well," he looked at you guiltily, "it is a dream. Now, I don't have all day-" he swiped a hand across your forehead, and everything went black.

-----------------

It was done.

Yeosang had just completed his last mission.

If he was expecting fireworks, a cheer from his friends or even his heart to feel excited, he felt nothing. That odd feeling from the morning hadn't gone away, and he was dreading the unknown more with every passing minute.

Yeosang entered the abandoned church that was used as a disguise, an angel like him entering would find himself in the headquarters situated somewhere in the sky and he awaited his judgement, smiling when he saw his boss, an old man (another disguise) approach him. Yeosang bowed dramatically.

"It's been what- a hundred and eighty-five years?" His boss wondered, "You're still as dramatic as day one."

"Good evening to you too, now can you please sign whatever paperwork there is so I can move on?" Yeosang yawned, "It's been a long day, and I'm getting anxious."

His boss eyed him - Yeosang was anxiously hopping in his place. He waved a hand in dismissal, pushing his glasses up his nose bridge as he fished out a document from thin air, looking at Yeosang apprehensively before sighing and signing it, making him sigh in relief.

However, that sigh died down when the document set itself on fire, making both the men gasp in surprise, each just as confused as the other.

"Tell me this is a prank, because if it is, it's a really, really bad prank."

"Why would I do that?" The old man took off his glasses, rushing to the cabinet and searching for a book, opening it and flipping through the pages until he stopped abruptly, Yeosang now standing beside him as he read.

"Either you caused irreparable damage- which you didn't, I can vouch for that," the man sighed, "Or you took a life- again, not you. Or- did you leave a trace?"

"What do you mean a trace?" Yeosang frowned.

"It means that somehow, somewhere on this planet, someone is aware or suspicious about your identity- about you being an angel. It could be anything, boy."

Yeosang stumbled back, sinking into the chair as he thought- he had never interacted with a person more than needed- whenever he saved a life, he always made sure their memory was wiped clean too, so how could he have possibly left a trace?

"It could be anyone..." Yeosang groaned loudly, pinching his nose bridge, "Fine, what do I need to do? No wonder I had a gut feeling like something bad was about to happen."

The man shut the book, pity evident on his face, "Eliminate the trace you left. It could only be some human you saved- but you have saved a lot. You'll have to narrow them down to the ones that are still alive- even then, there's a possibility they may have passed this secret to someone else. We do not even know what exactly is the trace you left."

Yeosang bit his lips nervously, "I'm doomed. If I have to spend another decade on this Earth, I'll take my own life."

"Now why would you do that?" The man shook his head, approaching Yeosang and patting his shoulders, "Stay positive. You could be done within weeks or even a few years. What's a few more years to you?"

Yeosang only shook his head, wondering just where it had all gone wrong.

Meanwhile you woke up in your bed, blinking a few times before turning and looking at the time- it was 8 pm. You never slept in the evenings-

And you had no memory of coming back here- you'd gone to the office, taken a taxi... and gone home? Why couldn't you recall?

Sighing, you got up, rubbing your eyes and ringing for Sierra who arrived with a cup of coffee, "I was just about to wake you up because you would have only disturbed me during the night if you'd slept now," she handed you the mug and you frowned.

"When did I come home?"

"I don't know- I was in the backyard while you were gone, so I didn't realize when you arrived," she started towards the door, "unusual time to take a nap for you."

"I know right," you sipped at your coffee, and when she was gone and shut the door, you got up and walked to the window, looking out at the dark sky. It suddenly reminded you of the dream you had-

You'd gone to Dajeong's grave too. But as much as you tried to recall why you had been crying (usually you avoided crying at her grave), you couldn't recall anything you'd said, and you found a sinking feeling in your heart.

Feeling chilly, you set the now empty mug on the table and put your hands in your pocket, shrieking in pain when you felt something cut your fingers-

You abruptly drew your right hand out, a small cut much like a papercut running down your index finger, blood oozing out from it. You frowned as you carefully put your hand back in your pocket, feeling something unbelievably soft but shrieking again when you got another cut, muttering 'fuck it' and pulling it out-

It was a feather.

But it was no ordinary feather- it was almost shimmering and appeared to be translucent. Dazed, you ran your fingers along the feather, finding it unbelievably soft, but as soon as you ran your finger down, it cut you again, and you stared at your bloody hand.

What the hell was this thing? It was too big to be a bird feather, and too intricate to be man made.

You frowned as a memory tugged at you, but you really couldn't recall- however, one thing you were sure of now. The absence of your memory and this feather were linked. You put the feather on your shelf, but then decided against it, putting it in the drawer next to your bed, locking it, staring into the distance as you tried to sort your thoughts out.

As you shut your eyes and lay down, for a split second you saw wings- like an angel's, long and broad. But you dismissed it, getting up and walking to your mirror.

You needed to drink.

-------------------

Your favourite part about drinking was how it would always make you so confident that you'd fold your cane and put it in your bag, not requiring it anymore. You could pass by as someone 'normal'. Even though your therapist had repeatedly forbidden you from drinking because of this reason, you didn't care.

You straightened your black blouse and skirt, your feet warm in long boots but your bare knees and thighs chilly. Ignoring the chill, you entered the bar, flipping your hair backwards as you made your way to the counter, sitting on a stool and ordering a drink, looking around at the people dancing or chatting.

You were always alone at bars.

But you'd always manage to attract someone's attention- you didn't hate that. It was amusing how they made an effort to get you to talk or loosen up, but as soon as you'd fish out your cane, they'd rush away with an excuse. No one wanted to be with someone who couldn't even walk properly, no matter how beautiful or attractive they looked, apparently.

You wiped at the red lipstick stain left at your glass absently when you felt someone slide into the seat next to you, muttering a hi, and you spared a glance at the lanky person next to you.

"Long night, eh?" He said, and you nodded, wondering if he was just initiating small talk or his intentions were... the same as so many others you'd encountered.

"You from around here?" He asked, and you nodded again, downing your drink. You really weren't in a mood to talk to anyone right now.

"Can you pretend I'm not here and just... drink? I want to be left alone with my thoughts."

He frowned at that, shrugging, "I can do that, but if you wanna talk about it..."

You muttered a thanks, sighing as he filled your glass and you downed it in one go. This could go on forever, so you pretended to check your phone when really you had nothing going on.

About an hour later, feeling lightheaded and confident enough to ditch your cane because of your now unnoticeable limp, you walked around the dance floor, swaying a bit, closing your eyes shut, losing yourself in the fleeting moments of when you felt free. You couldn't remember when you last felt so free-

An image flashed in your mind for a split second- you with your arms spread as you stood somewhere high, right at the edge.

You had to stop and open your eyes- it felt suffocating as you tried to recall the memory, forgetting it right after you'd seen the flash. Your breathing got irregular- no matter how much you tried to recall, it was no use. You made your way outside, almost running, laughing maniacally and bumping into someone-

"Sorry, pretty boy," you grinned at him as you continued running, forgetting why you were outside in the first place-

Leaving the 'pretty boy' Yeosang, the angel, with his mouth hanging open because he had recognized you, and he couldn't believe how different you looked and the coincidence- it was uncanny, with you both bumping into each other right after his mission- which was a one in a million chance in the first place- and then you calling him by the same term 'pretty boy'. Yeosang had to gulp as he came back to his senses, watching you stop at a distance and finally take out your cane as you walked for your car.

Though Yeosang was pleasantly surprised, he decided to shake this little encounter off as that one in a million chance.

He didn't mean to, but he found his eyes searching for you a few days later when you made your way to the same bridge you'd try to jump from- one that you crossed everyday on your way to the office.

Yeosang internally slapped himself- what was he doing wasting time trying to spot you in the populous crowd? He should be trying to find out about the trace he'd left.

He had tried. He'd gone through the archives of the past decade, narrowing down the list of humans he had saved to those who were still alive, and he'd paid a visit to quite a few of them. He told himself that the reason he found himself looking for you was because you were also one of his missions, one he had to now investigate, but he was lost. He had no idea how he'd know to find the trace. He had no idea what the trace was.

But he found himself following you unintentionally, watching you leave for the office looking like the girl that had needed saving, going to your friend's grave like the girl who needed to heal, and then going to party like the girl who needed nothing of that, who was strong enough to control the limp in her leg instead of it controlling her. And Yeosang was... intrigued. No human had caught his attention in nearly two centuries like you had.

Yeosang found himself in the same park as you that night, glamoured to be invisible as he watched you walk, noticing your limp wasn't bad at all right now but you still used the cane as a psychological support. He wondered if you were somehow the one he was looking for- you'd only met him a handful of days ago, and he'd watched you since. You hadn't done anything to raise his suspicions. It couldn't be you.

Then why was he here?

Yeosang laughed ironically as it started to rain, watching you curse out loud as you sat on the bench, deciding to get soaked just for the heck of it because stupid you had forgot to bring your umbrella. Yeosang decided he was here for a purpose. He fished out a single umbrella out of thin air.

You were just cursing yourself internally when you heard a voice say 'here', looking upwards first at the umbrella that now stopped the trickle of rain and then tracing the hand to the source-

He looked very familiar for some reason.

You sat speechless as you stared at him and he scoffed, "Only till the rain stops, unless you wanna go ahead and get soaked."

"No, thank you," you said, looking away, your brows furrowing in confusion and then you realized, turning your head sharply back at him, scanning his face-

"We've met before, haven't we?"

Yeosang almost dropped his umbrella in surprise before you continued, "You're that pretty boy I bumped into that day, aren't you?"

Yeosang gave you a side-eye, "You remember that?"

You raised a brow as you smirked, "I couldn't forget such a pretty face now, could I?"

"Are you... flirting with me right now?"

You laughed at his narrowed eyes, "I don't know, am I?"

Yeosang scanned you in confusion- he'd seen you flirt-interact with strangers in the bars you'd go to, always leaving them stranded or disappointed on purpose, sometimes by ditching them or sometimes by revealing your limp, but he hadn't expected you to do the same to him.

"You live around here?" You asked casually, and he shrugged.

"I guess you could say that," he shrugged, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" You asked, folding your arms, and the two of you stared at each other, none of the other breaking.

"I asked first."

"Do I look like I care about that?"

"I was just... walking."

"Cool," you said, "I was just jogging. Nothing unusual, huh?"

"Nothing," Yeosang smiled despite himself, drawing the umbrella back, "Rain's over."

"Well," you got up, brushing your sweatpants, drawing your cane out, "Hope I see you again, pretty boy."

With that, you were off, and Yeosang wondered if interacting with you, a human he had saved, was right. Angels normally kept interactions with humans to the bare minimum, and he couldn't reveal his identity to you, ever. He shouldn't even be mixing with you- he really didn't want to mess up his situation more than it already was.

Which made him wonder why he was crossing paths with you so often. Could you be the person he was looking for? Though he racked his brain over the events of the evening that he'd save you, he couldn't understand how it could have happened.

Yeosang got up, taking out the list of the people he still had to investigate. He should not be wasting time.

-------------------

You spent the next few days researching the feather, even when you'd told yourself not to think about it.

You couldn't help it- you were drawn to it, to put it simply. It's not like you were obsessed or anything, right? It's not like you were staring at it for the most part of the night and caressing it trying to avoid the cuts, right?

You were.

Sierra was not happy with the amount of band-aids on your fingers.

"It's like you're that annoying teenager I had to take care of again," she said one day, examining your hand, "remember when you used to be wild? No one could get to you."

"Well," you took your hand from her, "someone did. That annoying teenager died on the hill."

Sierra looked at you with her hands on her hips, "Not sure about the annoying part."

You stifled your smile at that, giving her a side eye as you slumped in the chair in front of the window, "Any update on that?"

"None yet," Sierra sighed, standing beside you, "You really, really think it was Dohyun?"

"If not him, then who?" You asked, "Who would have a good reason to kill me at that point of my life? It's not like our company was too big back then- you'd take potential rivals as possible suspects."

"True," Sierra said, "it's more suspicious because the company hit the jackpot right after that incident. Think they're related?"

"I'm not so sure about that," you leaned forward, "it's the only loophole about the whole thing."

Sierra nodded and left, saying she needed to catch up with some work and you got up, deciding to go for a walk, changing into a casual outfit of jeans and a black pea-coat over a plain white shirt. Tying your hair messily, you put your cane in your bag and told your driver to stay put. You didn't need a shadow- not today.

Not when you intended to actually party and forget about all the things that were messing you up- family politics, your leg, the feather-

And that boy you'd met the other day.

Truth be told, you had quite a few strange dreams about the same event already- you falling from a height, rescued by someone with wings, the feather of which very similar to the one you now possessed-

That someone who looked too much like that boy you'd met- unless it was your mind playing tricks.

And it was your mind playing tricks, what else? There was no way it was that boy, or anyone, for that matter. And you'd believe yourself if you'd stop thinking about the missing piece of your memory and the cuts that feather had given you.

You went inside the bar, making a stop at the toilet where you took out your makeup and applied some- if you'd gone out with makeup, there was no way your driver would have bought your excuse of 'going for a long walk'. Putting on some lipstick and mascara, you smacked your lips loudly, smiling at your reflection, unbuttoning the top two buttons of your shirt. You'd fit right in now.

All it took you was two drinks to muster the courage to get to the dance floor. You swayed along to the music first, glancing around to check if one of your father's goons was here, or worse, your step-brother's. Finding none, you relaxed, smiling at the man who clearly wanted to get laid approaching you, scanning you ever so slowly.

"So," he tried to strike up some conversation, "wanna dance with me?"

"Aren't we already?" You commented on how close he already was.

He smirked, taking that as a sign to get closer and you allowed that. As long as you were dancing, it was fine.

But then he bought you more drinks during that break you took, and led you to the dance floor again, this time his hands on your hips. You didn't miss the suggestive look in his eyes, but you did miss his hand travelling down your hip-

As you saw an all too familiar face exit the bar.

"Wanna come home with me tonight?"

You grimaced at how drunk he sounded, pushing him off of you, "I have to go home. Find another girl to dance with, will you?"

"Oh come on, we were just starting to have fun!" He protested but you just waved him off, securing your bag and putting a hand on the slightly open corner in case you'd need your cane, practically rushing out of the bar.

The cold air hit you hard as you exited the bar, making you feel a bit more awake as you looked around, finding the roads nearly empty. Were you drunk? Maybe you had just conjured his image. Sighing, you started in the direction of your home, taking a deep breath-

"Hey!"

You turned around, rolling your eyes when the man from the bar approached you, "We're done, go home!"

"Not so easily," he smirked, slowing down when he approached you, a seductive look in his eyes as he put a hand on your waist and the other to your face, which you slapped away before he could touch you, making him laugh sarcastically, "You can't just leave me stranded."

"I can," you glared at him, taking out your cane and unfolding it with a swipe, hitting his lower leg strongly enough to make him grimace away, "and I will. I owe you nothing."

With that, you went back to walking, a surprised scream leaving you when he pushed you, making you nearly lose your footing and you turned back to hit him again, because how dare he?

Instead, you found him pinned to the wall-

It was that boy.

He was holding his collar, glaring at him, "She's clearly not into you, so why don't you rush home?"

"Leave me the fuck alone-" The man tried punching him but he had him pinned against the wall, muttering something in his ear that had him scrambling off, while you stood with your mouth hanging in surprise.

"What the hell did you say to him?"

"You don't need to know that," he looked at you once as if to make sure you were okay as he brushed his clothes, turning around to go.

"Where are you going?" You asked before you could think, cursing yourself internally. He turned around, raising a brow at you.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked, but he knew you weren't going to let him off so easily as you casually joined him as you walked.

"So, pretty boy," you grinned at him, "Got a name?"

He rolled his eyes, telling you his name- Yeosang- and you told him yours, "You've practically been everywhere these past few days, you know? But I don't think I've seen you before. Did you move to this area recently? Or here for a job?"

"Something like that," Yeosang muttered, hands in his pockets as he walked.

"Are you my guardian angel?" You wiggled your brows, "Though I must say, it's a little late for that."

Yeosang almost tripped on his feet, realizing later that you were only joking and referring to the incident that had just happened, not one which you'd forgotten, "I don't think a devil like you needs a guardian angel," Yeosang muttered, making you raise a brow.

"Devil like me? Please, I'm a saint."

Yeosang pretended to throw up at that, making you slap his arm, "How old are you again? Stop acting like a kid."

"How old are you?" You narrowed your eyes at him- he looked young enough to pass as a teenager, but mature enough to be-

"Definitely older than you," he laughed, and he wanted to tell you he was only a few centuries older than you.

You smiled at that. He had an incredibly pretty laugh too- everything about him screamed elegant. And something about him threw you off your element- which was weird, because was he making you shy? Why couldn't you muster up a smart retort anymore?

Yeosang noticed you staring at him as you walked, and he raised a brow at you, finally knocking you back into your senses. You were glad you didn't flush, because the last thing you needed was to give him that satisfaction. "Can you buy me a water bottle? We're like 10 steps away from the store."

"Sure," Yeosang said, and you waited outside, watching him walk (how could he walk like that?) and run a hand through his hair- gosh, everything about him screamed perfection.

As he came out and handed you the bottle, you thanked him, drinking a few gulps and looking at him again. "Thank you for earlier. I could have handled that, but... thank you anyway."

"Be careful next time," Yeosang said, and you rolled your eyes as you nodded, making him smile. He waved at you, taking off and you watched him go.

"Hey!" You called and he turned, his brows raised in question.

"Will I see you again?"

Yeosang scanned you, standing as if you were about to take a step towards him, your face flush.

"Maybe," he smiled, waving once again before leaving.

That night when you reached home, you took the feather out, a slow grin spreading over your face as you recalled the strange recurring dream that could very well be a memory. Sure, you had other things to do. You had to start going to the office at least thrice a week, but-

You had to test this theory. You had nothing to lose anymore anyway, and if you were wrong about Yeosang being the person from your dreams, it could end there. You'd move on, put that missing piece of memory in the box of unsolved mysteries, where you'd put the memory of your friend's accident too. Something you'd rather not open again after finally getting better.

-----------------

Yeosang decided that it was simple curiosity that made him approach you at the bar three days later.

It had been days now that he'd been trying to find the trace, find any sort of leads, any clue, but somehow, at the end of the road, he'd always find (or see) you, whether he wanted to or not. What had started as simply spotting you by chance once had turned into a series now.

Maybe you were the person he'd been trying to find, was what he told himself. But if Yeosang was honest with himself, he was... intrigued. Something about you seemed different, and it wasn't because he was interacting with a human properly for the first time in quite a while. It certainly wasn't your devilish tendencies either. Something about your aura screamed different to him, and now that he'd stalked observed you for a while, he didn't know why he was in front of you, even when you seemed to not be the one who held the trace- whatever that damned trace was.

Yeosang nodded at himself as he decided that he had finally gone insane after waiting two centuries to move on and finding his path blocked because of a petty reason, which was why he slid so casually next to you, test the waters, and if he was lucky, you could turn out to be the one who held the trace all along.

What he didn't expect was the smirk plastered on your face as you turned to him and scanned him.

You couldn't hold it in, the grin, as you said, "Here to drink down your sorrows?"

"You could say that," Yeosang sighed, taking a little sip from his drink, "What about you? Here to break another heart?"

"Me? Nope, I'm trying to be a good girl now," you smiled, clicking glasses with him as he noticed your still bandaged fingers- now with some cartoon band-aids. He narrowed his eyes at you.

"Is the world finally ending?" Yeosang wondered out loud.

"You'd know better about that, wouldn't you?" You raised a brow, smirking at the obvious confusion on his face as he tried to read behind that statement. You decided to continue, "I don't intend to break hearts, you should know. Aren't humans so... weak? You give them some of your time and attention and they think they have your heart. Can't help but break it then."

"You're right," Yeosang sighed, "Humans really are weak."

"Right," you played with your glass, "Which makes me think if I'll ever be able to not break a heart. If there will be someone who would break my heart instead."

"And why would you want that?" Yeosang was curious.

"That ought to put me in my place, right?" You locked eyes with him, "Who am I to go around breaking hearts?"

"That's... true," Yeosang admitted, the two of you sharing a laugh.

"You know," you leaned towards him, "Sometimes I think I know you. Like I've seen you more times than I remember."

"Ah," Yeosang could play this game, and he leaned forward, "Probably been dreaming about me?"

However, he realized with dread that he was right as your eyes flashed, and you grinned shamelessly. "Now how would you know that, Kang Yeosang?"

The way Yeosang's ears went red had you grinning widely, and you patted his arm, "You can't play this game with me, Yeosang. I always win."

"You know what," Yeosang took your hand, putting it away, "I think I'd take that as a challenge."

You looked at him from underneath your curled lashes, and Yeosang felt his heart sink, because you were pretty. It wasn't your physical appearance that made you so, it was the way you acted and carried yourself. It was the confidence with which you grinned, shaking your head, as you said, "Challenge accepted."

Yeosang took a deep breath, sighing at how stupid humans could be sometimes, but he had to give you credit for having the guts to do that. And he had to slap himself internally because oh, he was treading on dangerous lines. So he smiled at you, filling your glass as the two of you clicked and downed your drinks.

After an hour of aimless and random conversation, Yeosang decided to take you home. "You're far too drunk to walk now."

"If you want me to take you home, you could just say so," you winked at him.

Yeosang rolled his eyes, "If you want me to take you home that desperately, you could have just said so too."

You threw your head back as you laughed, the sound of it music to his ears. "Fine, ugh. You can walk me home. Outside my door, okay?"

"Of course," Yeosang put a hand on the small of your back as he led you out, "Though, if you want, I could take maybe one or two small steps inside."

You slapped his arm, "You're getting better at this."

"You have no idea," Yeosang grinned, and you linked your arm with him as the two of you walked home.

"Where do you live anyway?"

"In the skies," Yeosang sighed, and you rolled your eyes.

"Sure, I may have called you an angel earlier, but that doesn't mean you can take it serious."

"But I am an angel," Yeosang looked at you, and you nodded.

"Sure you are," you began to laugh, making Yeosang confused as he took a step away from you, "An angel, from the skies. You must have wings too, eh?"

Yeosang was smiling in confusion as he tried to figure you out- just what was it that made you so damn cocky, as if you knew everything about him? He watched as you threw your head back and laughed silently, your bandaged fingers in your hair as you finally looked at him, "Tell me, angel who walks with mere humans like me, what do your wings look like?"

Yeosang couldn't tell if you were joking or not. He sighed, nudging you forward to the direction of your house, "Shut up, you're drunk."

"Sure I am," you said, stopping abruptly. You had one chance to find everything out, and you had to corner him somehow. He had to say it. You started taking off your band-aids, the cuts still looking as fresh as day one. "Tell me, does it look familiar, these cuts?"

"They certainly look recent, but..." Yeosang frowned- weren't they old? From a few days ago?

You gaped at his obliviousness- did he not know, or was he pretending to? You were growing impatient now, so you huffed loudly, taking out your cane- you couldn't walk without it now. Yeosang pursed his lips as the two of you walked in silence, finally reaching your house.

"Thanks for walking me home," you turned to him, scanning him, "you should go and do your angel duties now or something."

"When are you gonna stop teasing me about it?" Yeosang laughed.

"When you finally admit that you're the one who saved me that day on the bridge, pretty boy."

All the colour left Yeosang's face.

"You," Yeosang scoffed- he couldn't believe it. It had been you all along, "How do you remember? You shouldn't be able to."

"So it was you," you put a hand over your mouth in disbelief, "Why the hell did you save me? You should have left me to die."

"It's not like I wanted to," he practically sneered, "It was my last mission. Just a job. And I erased your memory- you shouldn't have been able to remember."

"Well, seems like you've grown rusty at that," you scoffed, "Last mission? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing you need to know," Yeosang took a step towards you but you stopped him, pointing your cane at him, making him look at the skies as if for help.

"Don't you dare come near me- and don't try to wipe my memory again. I have backup."

"You annoying little-" Yeosang lunged his arm at you like a cat's, making you laugh a bit as he muttered curses.

"Tell me, angel boy, are you allowed to curse?"

"At humans like you? Definitely."

You lowered your cane as you laughed at that, making him laugh a bit too- he really hadn't expected the situation to turn like that. "You wanna come inside and talk over a cup of coffee? Because my head's killing me right now."

Yeosang took the offer, the two of you entering your house, Sierra gaping dramatically at the 'devastatingly handsome boy' you'd brought home, and you assured her it was nothing like that, taking your coffee to the balcony, having a glaring competition as the two of you sipped on your drink, none of you saying anything.

"So," you broke the silence, "Is there a reason you've been everywhere these past few weeks? And don't give me that angel mission bullshit- you had one job and you didn't do it properly, clearly."

"I'm two centuries old, kid, and you're the only person who's managed to find a loophole- however you did. And right now my only concern is what's different about you- why your memories came back. You were my last mission- I've saved countless lives before, and you messed up everything for me."

You pursed your lips guiltily, then shook your head to bring yourself back into your senses- why do you have to feel guilty? You'd finally mustered up the courage to end your life and he just had to save you and bring you back to this miserable world. "You messed up everything for me too, believe it or not, so we're even. As for the matter about my memories coming back... what does that have to do with your last mission and whatever?"

Yeosang sighed, slumping back as he looked at the full moon, "I was supposed to move on to the afterlife after this mission, but I can't now, because I left a trace."

"A trace?"

"Humans shouldn't know about the existence of angels under any circumstances," he looked at you pointedly, "I can't move on until I get rid of the trace I've left. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to find out the thing I've been running after for two centuries was snatched out of my hands because of a damned trace? I had no idea what to do- it could have been anything, but turns out... it's you and your exceptional memory."

"Well," you shrugged, "Not my fault, is it? There must be a reason I recalled my failure."

Yeosang raised a brow at your choice of words, "Humans. Ever so ungrateful. Well, I really have no idea why you're able to recall what I deleted from your mind. I'll have to look into that."

You didn't miss how distraught he looked, "I'm sorry about this whole thing though. Because of me..."

Yeosang shook his head, "It's really not your fault. But you know that I have to erase your memory to be able to pass on. And let's suppose I did get rusty back then and messed up. I should try again, don't you think?"

"Now?" You asked, and Yeosang nodded.

You stared at your empty mug that you still held in your hands. Were you going to forget about him and everything related to him again? You looked at him- apparently an angel. He leaned forward, taking your mug from your hands and placing it on the table, then taking your hands, examining the cuts. "You must have got these when I saved you. I may have missed it then. This is probably why you're able to remember."

With that, he ran his thumb over each scar, healing it in process, making you gasp- this really was happening. He really wasn't human. He looked up at you, "I'll give you a few moments to breathe. Then let me erase your memories of me."

You gulped, taking in his features now that he was so close to you, your heart beating fast because your hands were still in his, "Do you have to?"

Yeosang internally sighed at how your voice came out as a whisper. You had this effect on him that he didn't understand and was too afraid to try to. He smiled at you, tucking your hair behind, running the back of his fingers down your face, "It was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?"

You smiled- shyly- looking down, making Yeosang smile wider because you had the ability to get shy after all. You finally looked at him, "Okay. If that's what you really want. I shouldn't keep you from passing on to the afterlife- that sounds... wrong."

Yeosang laughed, "Afterlife is as much of an abstract concept for me as it is for you."

"Then why are you so desperate to go on?" You frowned.

"I guess I have nothing left here," Yeosang sighed, "I'm done with my missions. I have nothing more to do."

"You could always try finding love and settling for a while on Earth, but I guess your kind probably detests humans and thinks they're lesser beings?"

"Now why would I ever fall for a human? You know what humans are like."

You nodded slowly- he had a point. "Well, go ahead. Enjoy your afterlife- it's gonna be very boring without me there, you're gonna miss me."

"Definitely," Yeosang scoffed, taking one hand away from you and putting it on your forehead, "Listen... don't give up on your life. Whatever it is that's weighing you down, don't let it get to you so much. You're strong enough to get through it."

"Gee, thanks," you rolled your eyes, "I'll try."

"Also, what's the backup you were talking about?"

"The backup?" You frowned, realizing what he meant a second later, "Oh, the memory backup? I have none, I lied."

Yeosang shook his head at you, tapping your cheek as if lightly slapping you and you made a face at him, "Well, it was... nice? interacting with you. You're definitely better than other humans- less boring, if I have to say."

"That definitely makes me feel better," you scoffed, and Yeosang locked eyes with you as he put his hand back on your forehead.

"You're gonna wake up and not remember a single thing about me. Goodbye."

-----------------

You had the strangest dream.

You woke up to the sun shining brightly making you shift your back to the window as you tried to recall the fuzzy memory.

You couldn't.

Annoyed that it was one of those dreams that felt good but you couldn't recall, you got up and took a shower, sitting in front of the mirror as you did your morning routine, drying your hair, humming.

Sierra knocked and entered, muttering good morning and going to your closet to pick some clothes for you, "Your father is going to have a meeting with you and Dohyun. You should… act wisely today."

"When do I not?" You rolled your eyes as she left, dressing in the navy blue suit she'd left out for you. Finishing your makeup and wearing light accessories with a watch, you took your cane- you'd definitely be needing it today. You could already feel that it was going to be one of those days.

As you sat in your car on the way to the office, you tried to recall the events of last night- you’d gone out for a drink, and then…

Then what?

You frowned- you were still worried about the absence of your memory from a few days ago and now you had another piece you couldn’t recall? You were never the one to get so drunk that you couldn’t recall the events of that time. Then what was the reason? Should you be visiting the doctor?

You reached the office, taking the elevator up to your dad’s floor and making your way inside, finding the old man reading the newspaper, greeting you with ‘good morning’, and you took the sofa seat in front of him.

“That son of yours never arrives on time,” you commented as you took your own newspaper.

“You’re rather early today,” your dad looked at you pointedly.

“Well, I had a few things to discuss with you,” you put one leg over the other, “I think we can both agree that I have been doing a better job than Dohyun ever since I came back.”

Your dad said nothing as he continued to stare at you, and you took that as a cue to continue, “I am your legitimate heir- not that that matters anymore. If Dohyun had been doing a good job, I would have gladly kept my position as COO. But… I really don’t think Dohyun is suitable as CEO now that you’re thinking of actually stepping down.”

“And you think you’re up for it?” Your dad’s brow was raised and you noticed the glint of hope in his eyes.

“You have to stay for a good few years here, dad,” you smirked, “you’re still far from retirement. We can keep working and take the load off your shoulders, but I suggest you stay till the last possible day. As long as you can manage.”

“What makes you think so? I am genuinely curious.”

“Dohyun… you have to have known that he only cares about his ‘title’ position, don’t you?” You raised a brow and your dad slumped back, not answering, “The minute you name him CEO, he’s going to make sure you’re out of the picture. Literally everyone in here knows that, dad.”

Your dad was looking outside the window as he sighed, “That’s what happens when you have kids and you promise them what you worked on all your life.”

“Yeah, but I think it’s unfair that Dohyun thinks like that. Because if it was me…” you were playing on dangerous waters now, “I wouldn’t want you to step down until you’re sick of working, to be honest. This company is our family legacy, dad. We don’t want to put it in the hands of someone who only cares about making money through whatever means possible, and we don’t want our reputation ruined.”

Your dad nodded slowly- you knew you’d gotten to him. The door opened, Dohyun entering with a little greeting and you looked at your father. “Do think about what I said. No rush.”

“Think about what?” Dohyun asked as he sat.

“Just this and that,” you said casually, “Coming from a meeting? Or did you sleep in?”

“I was busy,” Dohyun said.

“The sleep in your eyes says otherwise,” you pointed at him and he only made a face, your dad clearing his throat as he started to discuss business with you two.

--------------------

It was two days later when you opened your box of albums that you saw that strange feather again.

You were going through a photo album of your high school years with a faint smile on your face, suddenly missing Dajeong and wanting to see more of her photos when you took out the box from your cupboard, going through albums until you came to the last picture of you, the feather tucked behind the photo.

You took it out- so strange yet so familiar- and you shifted it in the light- it seems to be reflecting some. You frowned as a sharp pain went across your head, caressing the feather absently. Where did this thing come from?

All it took was one cut from the feather for the memories to come rushing back, for Yeosang’s face to be imprinted back in your mind, your interactions coming like a flood and it took you a good few minutes to recall everything and sort the memories, gasping when you recalled the last conversation you had with him.

You had lied.

And you felt really, really bad. And a bit scared too.

He would probably come back for you. He’d somehow find out that he still can’t move on, thanks to you, and then he’d come for you, and you had no idea what he’d do now. Sure, he was an angel, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something to you.

You put the feather back, going back to your bed and pulling the covers over you as if you were hiding. That feeling in your heart that something was missing was now gone and replaced with an unexplainable fear and dread.

You couldn’t sleep that night.

Or the next.

It was finally when you went to the same bridge that you stifled your gasp when you saw Yeosang sitting on the same spot that you’d stood that day to jump off the bridge. A number of questions ran in your head, but the most important of them was why he was still here and hadn’t come for you.

You mustered your courage, the pain in your leg shooting out of nervousness as you struggled to walk to him without your cane, stopping a few feet away. He still hadn’t noticed you, and you took that time to admire his immensely beautiful side profile and how his hair glowed in the sun.

As if he had finally sensed you, he looked at you, his mouth opening in surprise and you shook your head at him as you smiled. “People could get the wrong idea.”

Yeosang laughed in disbelief, shaking his head back at you, “You… What are you? You keep finding me!”

“You keep finding me!” You countered as you stood next to him, “I was on my way, thank you. This was merely a coincidence, let’s not forget the number of times you’ve stalked me.”

“I did not stalk you. When it’s for a mission, it’s not stalking.”

“Whatever you say, pretty boy,” you muttered, and he laughed.

“How do you remember everything though? This is crazy- no one has ever gotten their memory back.”

“More importantly, why haven’t you moved on to the afterlife? Do you have any idea how scared I was that you’d come after me when you’d find that the trace or whatever still hadn’t worked?”

“You were scared?” Yeosang was smirking.

You rolled your eyes, “Why are you still on earth, angel?”

Yeosang sighed. “I… I didn’t report back. I was still figuring stuff out.”

You looked at him, “Stuff like?”

“Like how I really haven’t lived. Ever since I came into being, I’ve been working as a servant of god, carrying out missions, following that concept of afterlife like it was the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. And now that I am at the end and ready to step into the light… I think I’m not ready.”

He saw the worry and confusion in your eyes and smiled a little at that, “And then there’s this matter of how even if I was ready, I wouldn’t have been able to move on because somehow, you’re not human enough.”

“What are you implying?” You were thoroughly offended.

“Nothing,” Yeosang laughed out loud, “How did your memory come back?”

“I actually forgot everything, but then I-”

You paused. Did you really want to tell him about the feather- the reason he wasn’t able to move on?

“I don’t like the look on your face right now,” Yeosang was starting to dread what was to come out of your mouth-

“Listen,” you sat up next to him, turning so that both your legs were dangling off, the river dark underneath you two, “You still are an angel, right? A few more days, or let’s say, months, won’t do you any harm, no?”

“Technically, no,” Yeosang urged you to continue.

“I have the trace- I know what’s gonna keep you from moving on to the afterlife, but… you don’t want to move on right away anyway, right?” Yeosang nodded hesitantly and you continued, “So why don’t we forget about the trace for now, relax and… roll on?”

“Roll on?” Yeosang raised a brow, “What do you suggest?”

“Well, since you’ve given me such a headache these past few weeks,” you looked at him pointedly, “I could use your help to uncover some mysteries. In return… you can ask anything of me. A place to live, a friend to hang out with, whatever you want.”

“Interesting,” Yeosang nodded slowly, “And if I decline?”

“I’m not telling you about the trace.”

Yeosang narrowed his eyes at you, “You’re threatening me? Really? Forcing me into this?”

“Oh come on!” You groaned, “You’re an angel, you’ve never had fun, have you? Because if you think my company was the most fun you’ve had in your life, boy, are you missing out on some real fun!”

“You do know you just dissed yourself, didn’t you?”

“Not the point,” you raised a hand, “What matters is that you need to loosen up. Chill! Have some fun, Yeosang. Live like a human for some time, mingle with people, just… live. And maybe help me when you feel like it. And when you’ve had fun… when you really want to move on, I’ll willingly tell you about the trace. You can move on.”

Yeosang took a deep breath, never breaking eye contact, “Why are you offering me this?”

“You remind me of someone,” you smiled, “She wasn’t as annoying as you though, mind you.”

Somehow Yeosang knew that you weren't lying. The emotions in your eyes as you recalled the 'someone' were the most genuine emotions he'd seen in your eyes so far, and that made him trust you a little. "Okay, let's say I agree. I live like a human or whatever, see what it's like- what if something happens to you, something that I'm not supposed to prevent? My trace might get lost."

"I'll arrange for that," you assured him, "though it hurts to think you won't prevent anything bad happening to me in the future."

"I shouldn't even be doing this," Yeosang motioned between you two, "angels aren't supposed to interfere in human's lives. Angels aren't allowed to change the course of someone's life, which is why I'm still wondering if I should just move on."

"But here you are interacting with a human who knows about you," you said, "is that alright? Hasn't my course of life changed already?"

Yeosang leaned forward until he was face to face in front of you, "Not if you forget everything forever."

You leaned forward as well, "I'd like to see you try again. You can't move on now, Yeosang, until I allow you to."

"Now let's make one thing clear," Yeosang tilted his head dangerously, his voice so low that it made you gulp, "If I wanted to, I could make you give me the trace right now. So don't think for a second that you have the upper hand here, alright?"

The way Yeosang's brown orbs turned nearly golden as if they were burning made your hands tremble and you had to clench the railing to stop it from showing. "Alright, alright, angel, I get that. You have the upper hand- I'll give you the trace whenever you want it. So let's pretend me not giving you the trace is what's keeping you from moving on and enjoy life on earth as a normal human, shall we?"

Yeosang grinned, his face changing in a second and it looked so innocent at that moment that you couldn't help it when your mouth fell in surprise. "I think we have a deal, human."

-----------------

"Shut up if you don't want to look suspicious."

"I don't know what to say to your housekeeper, she seems scary," Yeosang unconsciously tugged at you.

You slapped his hand lightly, "You could probably burn her with a gaze and you're scared of her? Way to go, angel." 

Yeosang glared at you, and you turned to him, scanning him once- his white button-up shirt and black pants were both formal and casual enough to avoid suspicion for what you two were about to do. "Just… let me handle this. Don't say anything stupid, okay?"

"As if I would," Yeosang rolled his eyes and at that moment, Sierra entered the living room, stopping in her tracks when she saw Yeosang- since he had wiped her memory from the last encounter as well, she was practically meeting him for the first time, yet… her expressions were no different than when she had first seen him, and it made you scoff.

“Who is this young handsome guest of yours?” Sierra raised her brows at you.

“The new bodyguard who’ll be accompanying me when I don’t need one of dad’s goons to follow me, don’t worry, I’ll talk to father first thing tomorrow,” you assured her, and Sierra looked confused- you didn’t trust anyone, and for you to bring someone for the most important position…

“Can we talk?” 

You nodded, following her in the kitchen, leaving Yeosang wandering around the living room. Sierra grabbed you by your arm, “You wanna tell me who he really is?”

“Exactly as I said. I don’t know him from before, but he can be trusted.”

“You don’t know him and he can be trusted? I don’t think so, miss.”

You knew Sierra was concerned about your safety- the incident with your friend was the first attempt at getting rid of you but not the last, though the rest of them had been subtle enough to pass as mere misfortune. “I think yes, Sierra.”

At that moment, Yeosang entered, touching Sierra’s cheek lightly which made her look dazed as Yeosang planted the seed of trust in her, and you watched in wonder as Sierra’s expressions changed, now much more relaxed. Yeosang looked at you and you shared a nod, giving Sierra a moment to gain her senses. 

“How stupid of me, you must be parched. Coffee?” Sierra asked and Yeosang answered with a yes. Sierra shooed you two out to the living room and you turned to Yeosang, smiling. 

“I guess this is what you call fate?” You raised a brow, “If this wasn’t supposed to happen, you would have burned… wouldn’t you?”

“True,” Yeosang looked confused, “It’s strange how everything that’s been happening is apparently supposed to be happening. I’ve heard about angels burning slowly, almost fading away, if they did something they weren’t supposed to.”

“You feel alright, don’t you?” You scanned him once, “No burning sensation or something like that?”

“Nothing,” Yeosang pursed his lips, “I don’t like where this is going.”

“You’re in for a ride, pretty boy,” you laughed.

Sierra served you both coffee, guiding Yeosang about his duties and telling him he could stay in one of the many empty rooms in your house- you and Sierra along with the rest of the staff were the only ones living here anyway. Yeosang thanked her, and the two of you went to the balcony. As you sat in front of him, you felt nostalgic- it was just like that day when he had taken your memories. It seemed like forever ago, like a distant memory.

“Do you even sleep?” You asked, genuinely curious.

“If I feel like it,” Yeosang answered, and you made an impressed face.

“That’s convenient,” you sighed.

“So,” Yeosang relaxed in his chair, “are you going to tell me what I’m actually doing here?”

You took a deep breath. “About five years ago, my best friend Dajeong died in an accident that was meant for me- a car crash on a road that was supposed to be empty. After that, I’ve had enough near death incidents to call that a mere accident. It was me who was supposed to die that day, but unfortunately… they got her.”

“I’d say something about how your friend’s fate was that, but you probably don’t wanna hear it,” Yeosang looked at your grim face and shook his head, urging you to continue, “Who’s ‘they’?”

“I have high suspicions that it’s my step-brother, because who else would want me dead? And he has an obvious motive- he’s the illegitimate heir to our business, so he probably thinks his position is in danger, and getting rid of me might be his answer.”

“Makes sense,” Yeosang nodded, “And where do I fall in?”

“You, dear angel,” you leaned forward, “will help me expose whoever is behind this. I don’t have a problem with dying- they’re sloppy at their job, if I have to say. I’m doing this for Dajeong.”

“Alright, I understand,” Yeosang nodded. He wanted to tell you that the past was the past, but he supposed humans found it hard to let go of such things, much like angels who liked holding on to grudges. “But I hope you can handle the truth when it comes out. And I hope you can live with it and move forward, because… whether you admit it or not, you’re stuck in one place and you’re not allowing yourself to move forward. I don’t like that.”

You took a deep breath as your jaw clenched and unclenched, looking at the dark night sky. “I’ll… try.”

Yeosang got up, patting your shoulder once as if to comfort you, then going without saying a word. You sighed, slumping in your chair as you felt the ache in your leg come back. 

This was going to be a long journey.

—-------------------

“Yeosang, I can’t exactly work with you hovering over my head.”

“Yeah, it’s not like you’ve been glaring daggers at the screen. You’ve been working so hard,” Yeosang’s voice dripped with sarcasm and you bare your teeth at him. 

It was two days later that you two were in the office, Yeosang dressed in all black, and you knew no one believed you when you said that he was your bodyguard- he looked far too… angelic and ethereal to pass as a mere bodyguard. You were chewing your pen as you stared at him. “Can’t you… I don’t know, appear less ethereal? More human?”

Yeosang turned towards you, surprised at the comment. He knew he drew attention everywhere he went, even in his human form- which only made him appear human as best as possible- but he hadn’t expected something like a compliment from you- even though it was backhanded. “Blinded by my visuals already?”

“As if,” you scoffed, “You’re too pretty to pass as a bodyguard. Should we have… made you my secretary too?”

“Never too late to add that in my resume,” Yeosang grinned, “Plus, I’ll die of boredom if I have nothing to do.”

“Well, I told you now is the time to go ahead and mingle with humans,” you said, “I’ll call you before I leave- do you even have a phone?”

Yeosang fished one out of the air, “Now I have. But… I don’t really know how to ‘mingle’.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, “You seemed perfectly fine approaching me.”

“You’re different,” he said, and the intensity with which he said that surprised you both, making you raise your brows as a demand for an explanation. Yeosang sighed, suddenly finding the outside view interesting as he continued, “Something about you makes it easier to talk… probably because you don’t treat me like a god, like any other human would if they found out that I was an angel.”

“Oh,” you shifted in your seat, “Ever happened before?”

“Yeah,” Yeosang pursed his lips, “A few years after I came into being. There was someone… she found out and it was not good. Thankfully a friend helped out and made her forget.”

Something about his tone made you wonder if she meant something to him, but you didn’t question that. “If you want, I could try worshipping you, but you know I’d suck at that big time. I only love myself.”

Yeosang smiled at that, then turned towards you, “You don’t love yourself. Don’t lie.”

“Oops,” you grinned, turning back to your work, your head still running the conversation you two had. 

That evening, after a tour of the city, you took him for dinner at your favourite barbeque place, the familiar environment giving you a sense of comfort. Yeosang watched as you ate and sighed in relief, smiling at how you seemed like a totally different person when eating, nodding to himself as he concluded that at least you did justice to your food.

Your pointy gaze made him bow his head in shame- all evening, you had made it your mission to get him to interact with someone- a passerby, someone in the club he found attractive, a kid even, but he kept clinging to you, and you had to stop in disbelief because were angels so innocent and human-interaction deprived? You asked him if he had angel friends, and he had a handful. Then what made mingling with humans so difficult?

“First of all,” Yeosang had said, “Humans are scary. Angels are innocent- we aren’t as cunning and dangerous as humans. You humans are closer to demons in nature than you are to angels. Rarely do we find a human soul as innocent or pure as an angel. Usually it’s the kids.”

You made a distasteful face as you recalled that, putting more meat in Yeosang’s bowl, “Tell me, just what did you have in mind when you said you wanted to stay on earth a little longer? Because I really don’t see you getting anywhere, to be honest.”

Yeosang nearly choked on his food, drinking water as he thought of an answer, “I don’t really know. It was more of an impulsive decision, plus… you’re interesting. I thought other humans would be too, but they’re more scary.”

“I don’t know if I should feel flattered or offended,” you gave a painful smile, “Well, let’s give up on trying too hard. Just go along with the flow of time, help me with uncovering the truth and let’s see where we stand after that, shall we?”

Yeosang nodded, and the two of you fell in casual conversation, sharing stories from your past as you ate, Yeosang telling you about some interesting humans he’d encountered in his life while you told him about your broken family and Dajeong, the only ray of sunshine you had in your life. You only realized you had been smiling the whole time when you were back home and alone in your own room.

You didn’t wipe that smile off.

—---------------

“It’s your brother,” Yeosang announced two days later when he entered your office after taking a break- which was him just wandering around in the office.

“Step-brother,” you corrected as you turned to him, “What do you mean?”

“I checked,” Yeosang sat on the sofa, looking angry- could angels get angry? “He’s the mastermind behind the accident.”

“Duh,” you rolled your eyes, “That’s not news to me. How did you know?”

“It involves eye contact- I compelled the truth out of him. Don’t worry, he won’t remember.”

“Oh,” you gulped, realizing that if he could compel the truth out of anyone, he could very well ask you about the trace any damn day, “but… we need to somehow make him admit it, we need evidence. I don’t care about the attempts on my life- I just need some sort of evidence that he’s the one behind Dajeong’s death, and I need to obtain it… in a way that is not supernatural.”

“But here’s the thing,” Yeosang pursed his lips, “He’s not the one behind the attempts on you.”

“He’s not?” You frowned- now that was news. “Must be some rival of this company?”

“Perhaps,” Yeosang agreed, “You should look into it.”

“I don’t really care, they’re lousy, but… I guess I should inform father. You don’t have any idea how to obtain evidence, do you? Legally?” 

“No,” Yeosang pouted, and you smiled to yourself- it was such an innocent action. “Sooo, I guess my job here is over…”

“Hey!” You gaped at him, “What exactly have you done?”

“Don’t forget the fact that I just confirmed that it’s your brother, so you don’t need to look into other people,” Yeosang said as a matter-of-factly. 

“Right,” you clenched your jaw, “So, what now?”

“What- oh,” Yeosang realized you were asking whether he still wanted to stay on earth, “I’ll just relax and… mingle, I guess.”

“Right,” you smirked, “Go ahead. Mingle. I need to hear your progress every night, okay? And if you don’t make progress… I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

Yeosang put one leg over the other cockily, “And what, exactly, would that entail?”

Yeosang found that out a week later. 

“This is a very bad idea,” he shook his head and you clenched his hair, earning a hiss of pain from him.

“I told you not to move, you’re making this more difficult than it has to be.”

You were styling his hair- trying to achieve that messy look that you’d seen on him- that had been natural, but you remembered thinking to yourself how good he looked in that hairstyle- not that he looked bad otherwise. He was always, always looking so handsome and ethereal that you sometimes found it hard not to daydream about him.

And you would never say it out loud, but you were getting used to his company. You were getting used to him, and that was bad, because he would move on and you’d be alone once again-

“This looks good,” Yeosang brought you back as he said that, turning his head in different angles, “But do I have to unbutton all the way till here?”

Your eyes went to his slightly exposed chest- god really had taken his time sculpting him. You took a deep breath, nodding, “It’s gonna make you look hot.”

“This is bad,” Yeosang’s deep voice went high as he said that, pacing around, and you scanned him- dressed in all black and a leather jacket, he looked dangerous. He abruptly turned to you, locking eyes with you. “You’re going with me.”

“I am,” you confirmed, but he shook his head.

“You’re going with me looking like this too,” he motioned at himself, “go get ready. You need this more than I do.”

You put your hands over your hips, “I do not.”

Yeosang scoffed, “You do, because you’re gonna stay on this earth and you’ll be all alone without me. I’ll move on. I don’t need this- I’m only doing this because… I’m not ready. I think.”

You raised a brow at that, choosing to ignore the obvious confusion of why he was still here, “Well… I guess I could dress up.”

You came out of your closet a few minutes later, dressed in all black too- a top with lacy borders, your own leather jacket in your hands as you pondered over whether you should wear it or not, wide pants and heels. Yeosang scanned you rather slowly, watching you as you went to the mirror and applied red lipstick and mascara, turning to him and holding the jacket up. “Yay or nay?”

“I think we should match,” Yeosang smiled a little as he took your jacket, making you wear it, looking at you from the mirror.

“That’s not gonna keep people away, pretty boy,” you grinned at him, “Let’s go?”

“One last thing,” Yeosang said, taking the clip that was holding your hair in a messy bun off, surprising you as you protested a little, your hair spreading down and he put some in the front. “Done.”

Yeosang didn’t know where the courage was coming from, but it made him feel… things. Your touch made his heart flutter, and the way you sometimes looked at him… 

He really needed to meet someone else tonight.

But what was the purpose, Yeosang wondered throughout the whole ride, was he looking for a relationship? Was he looking for a friend? 

“I don’t know why I’m here and why I’m doing this,” Yeosang muttered as he found himself on the dance floor with you after a few drinks.

“You’re doing this because you need to live a little,” you told him, straightening his shirt.

There it was. The heart skipping a beat. Yeosang sighed, “I’ve lived long enough.”

“You know what I mean, pretty boy,” you said as you put your arms on his shoulder while searching for options for Yeosang in the crowded dance floor, “You haven’t lived until you’ve broken the rules a bit and felt the thrill.”

“And when I burn to death?”

You smirked at him, “If I was you? I wouldn’t care about that. As long as I have something to live for, something that I enjoy… I wouldn’t mind, you know?”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Yeosang frowned, “Why would I willingly burn myself for the thrill?”

“You ask yourself that when, for instance, you fall in love with a human,” you said, looking at him now, “I haven’t been in love, but I know that if I was an angel and I fell for a human… I wouldn’t care about burning.”

“Well, I care,” Yeosang rolled his eyes, “I value my life, thank you very much. I wouldn’t want to hurt the human as well- do you think the human could move on after being loved by an angel?”

“Now that sounds like something with a backstory,” you wiggled your brows, making him roll his eyes once again.

“There was an angel once,” Yeosang sighed, “Who fell in love with a human. The human loved him back equally, if not more. The angel started to burn slowly. It’s like small burn marks appearing on your body, growing and consuming you alive unless you stop. So, the angel decided to stop. He took her memories.”

“Oh,” you took a good few seconds as you ran what he had said again in your head, “That’s… not you, is it? The angel?”

“No,” Yeosang let out a short laugh, “You know me- I can’t even talk to humans properly. It was someone we knew. It’s why we keep the story close to our hearts because we know what it’s like. The angel… love consumed him even after he took her memories. It is hard to leave a love behind, whether it’s with a human or an angel.”

“And the human?”

“She could never love again,” Yeosang smiled sadly, “She tried, but… she just couldn’t. She knew, in her heart, that she’d never feel as loved again.”

“That’s… incredibly sad,” your face fell visibly as you said that, and Yeosang smiled, “Is this really a bad idea then? Me finding you someone?”

“Honestly? I don’t want to find love on earth,” Yeosang admitted, “I just want to… try living like a normal human, I guess. I’ve heard that angels used to be humans who died an unfair death, so maybe that’s what’s keeping me here.”

“Well,” you smirked, “You know what normal humans do? They hook up with strangers,” you smirked dangerously, pointing behind him, “And I think she’s interested.”

Yeosang turned, following the direction of your finger to the girl you had pointed at. He shook his head, but you poked his stomach, “Come on. Loosen up. It’s the falling-in-love that’s forbidden, right? Here’s the loophole. Go live like a human with carnal desires.”

But Yeosang’s grip on your waist tightened, whether it was out of nervousness or the emphasis for what he was about to say, you didn’t know. “I think I’ll stay.”

He didn’t tell the reason, and he didn’t need to, as he fixed his eyes on you and took the lead as you swayed to the loud rhythm, and you figured you didn’t need an explanation- his eyes were lighter as if they were nearly glowing, and you felt his gaze burning and overwhelming, as if he could see right through you. 

“You’re one confused individual, Yeosang,” you were taking in his features as you said that, “I think you don’t know what you want or are too afraid to say it out loud.”

“Or both,” Yeosang shrugged, making you laugh a bit.

“Definitely,” you shook your head, “What am I gonna do with you?”

Yeosang hummed, bringing you a bit closer, and you raised a brow at his boldness, “You could forget that I’m an angel for a while, forget everything else and just… live in this moment.”

You nodded. You could definitely do that. But… you were growing nervous, and the pain was dull in your leg. “One last dance, Yeosang.”

He didn’t take his eyes off of you the entire time, and when the dance was over, you were both frustrated and relieved- relieved because your leg needed a break, and frustrated because…

You could have danced with him all damn night. 

Later when you got home, you two sat on the balcony, your leg resting on the table as you sipped on your coffee, while Yeosang read a history book, shaking his head as he kept saying ‘they’ve got it all wrong’. You turned to him a bit, “Are demons… real?”

Yeosang raised a brow at your question- you usually refrained from asking about stuff like that, whether because you weren’t interested or because you respected that it might be private information, but even when you did ask something… Yeosang respected you for how you were curious about different things than other humans.

“Yes, they are,” Yeosang leaned back, “One’s right in front of me.”

“Ha, ha,” you rolled your eyes, “Do they look like you? I mean, like… humans?”

“Only the higher demons, and that’s because they can look like whatever they want to,” Yeosang flipped a page, “But they’re… horrible. Don’t interact with them, ever.”

“Yeah,” you waved a hand dismissively, “I bet they look hotter than you.”

“They may look hotter than me, but they’ll feed off of you and kill you.”

“Maybe it’s about time I meet one,” you joked, “I should be gone for good now. You’ll really miss my good company when I’m gone.”

“And who said you’re good company?”

“If I wasn’t,” you leaned forward, “you wouldn’t be spending basically the whole day and night with me.”

Which was true- Yeosang was very, very used to you now, whether he liked it and admitted it or not. And he really couldn’t leave you alone. He claimed it was the boredom and the daily life of a human intrigued him, which was his excuse to follow you around everywhere- including your office, sometimes wearing glamour and becoming invisible to all but you so the people around you wouldn’t question his presence. Yeosang was more curious than you about how humans lived, how they felt, what mattered more to them, and in return he’d answer questions such as these.

"I don't spend all day and night with you."

"Oh sure you don't," you nodded, "it's not like you live in my home, it's not like you even accompany me to the office. Sure you don't, angel. Tell me, can angels lie?"

This was why Yeosang liked you- you were somehow someone who could handle him. You were always equipped with retorts- you weren't boring like the other humans were. It's why he found himself in your company more and more.

"They can lie," Yeosang told you, and you gasped.

"So if angels sin, why are they called angels?"

"Our lies are different from yours," Yeosang told you, folding his arms as he thought about how to phrase it. "When we lie, it's to protect. Lies are our last resort."

"Ah," you nodded, "So that's why you always say 'I can't answer that' when I ask something weird? Because you don't want to lie?"

“Yes,” Yeosang watched as you massaged your leg, “Is your leg hurting?”

“Not really,” you said, “You must know by now- it’s psychological. Whenever I become nervous or stressed or excited, it starts to hurt.”

“I can’t take the pain away completely, but…” Yeosang’s hand was hovering above your leg as he stopped for permission and you nodded, which was when he finally put a hand on your bare leg- it was warm. “I can take it away temporarily when it comes.”

You watched as he caressed your leg, the skin of his hand incredibly soft, and you felt the dull pain in your leg vanish. “Thank you.”

Yeosang smiled, “Do you wanna go somewhere?”

“Are you taking me somewhere?” 

Yeosang got up, helping you up as well, taking both of your hands in his, “Close your eyes.”

You frowned but obeyed, and when the cold air hit your face, you opened your eyes in surprise, “Did you just… teleport me?”

“Yep,” Yeosang grinned, “Don’t worry, we’re still in the country.”

“Wow,” you couldn’t help but turn around- it looked like you were at the peak of a hill, and there were no signs of a city or a town around- just nature, in its full glory, the moon and the stars brighter than ever. You hugged yourself when you felt a shiver run down your spine, feeling a weight on your shoulder- it was Yeosang draping his jacket and arm around your shoulder, making you sit on the soft grass. 

“Someone’s in a good mood,” you smiled, and he only brought you closer, his body warmth making you lean in gladly as you sat shoulder by shoulder. 

“I used to come here sometimes,” Yeosang admitted, “Thought I should see it with a friend too.”

Friend. You smiled, “I know how it feels like. I used to travel a lot with Dajeong, but ever since she’s gone, I just… stopped.”

“They say everyone you meet leaves something behind with you, but also takes something from you- a piece of their soul for a piece of yours,” Yeosang looked at you, “Dajeong seems to have taken a lot.”

“She did, and she left so much behind too,” you nodded slowly, “I didn’t use to be so sarcastic, you know.”

“I like that,” Yeosang laughed, “Do you miss her a lot?”

“I do,” your smile was sad, “I don’t have anyone left anymore, Yeosang. And I regret not telling her how much she meant to me. I regret a lot of things.I also regret trying to end my life thinking that it was the only solution. Dajeong would have been so ashamed of me.”

Yeosang let you have a moment as you wiped your wet eyes, sniffing, and then you looked at him, “Do you regret saving me?”

Yeosang tucked your hair behind your ears, his thumb caressing your cheek absently as he stared in your dark eyes. "Never."

A tear slipped out of your eye at that, and Yeosang caught it with his thumb, wiping it. "I want to scold you for being foolish, but I don't regret saving you. I don't think I could regret anything I do with you."

"Really? You're lying, Yeosang." You shook your head.

"Yeah, maybe I regret it sometimes, when you're being... you. But this? This thing we have? I don't regret that."

You had to look away at that, because he didn't know it but he was so good at saying sweet things like that and making your heart pound twice as fast. And the worst thing was, he didn't realize it.

Or so you thought.

Because Yeosang, he never knew something could excite him and make his heart a mess when he was with you. At first, he had thought it was just because it was his first time interacting with a human properly or something, but when the two of you were alone like this...

He really couldn't control himself.

Especially when you looked away- he loved to make you flush- it didn’t happen much, but when it did, it made him feel giddy. And he would be called a demon for that, but he loved playing with you like this, whatever this was. Yeosang planted a kiss on your forehead, and it made you suck your breath, especially when he drew back and caressed your face.

“You don’t realize it, but you were a gift to Dajeong when she was alive. And to me… you are a gift to me too.”

You couldn’t help but smile, resting your head on his shoulder so he couldn’t see the blush creeping up your face. You thanked him, though, as your arm snaked around his waist.

“Two lonely creatures of god, sitting under a tree, one human and one angel,” you sighed, “this sounds like the beginning of a poem.”

"Sounds like a beautiful poem," Yeosang smiled, "But you should start calling yourself a she-devil-"

You slapped his back, making him laugh out loud, the sound of it resonating in your head as you laughed along with him.

—----------------

It was two days later when you’d sent Yeosang ahead to get you your favourite brownies from the cafe in front of your office (angels made surprisingly obedient servants, you were realizing) that you felt something was wrong. You only had to meet up with him at the cafe so you could find brownies ready because you had a bad, bad day at work and you simply did not have the patience to go and wait for the brownies to arrive, and you reckoned it was your bad mood that made Yeosang agree to go ahead in the first place, and now… you were regretting it.

As you stepped out the building, you took out your cane not because you needed it but for self defence if required. You spent a good few seconds scanning the perimeter but finding nothing. Taking a deep breath, you started to cross the footpath-

It happened way too quickly to process.

One second you were walking with the cafe in front of your eyes, Yeosang’s back visible as he turned, and before he could make eye contact, before your lips had turned fully into a smile, you felt hands around your mouth, stifling your scream, your eyes widening and it only took a blink of your eyes as you found yourself on height-

Two stories up a building at the edge, and this time, you screamed despite the hand on your mouth, but you were frozen- if whoever this was let you go, you’d fall to your death.

“Let her go,” Yeosang’s voice was almost a growl.

“Not so easily, angel,” you felt the warm breath on your face and a shiver ran down your spine because there was no way to describe his voice other than slimy. “And I don’t think you’re in a position to negotiate- not when I can drop your pretty little human to death.”

He did turn then, to face Yeosang, and you saw his eyes glowing with fury, his hands fisted. “What do you want?”

“Well,” the man- if you could call it that anymore, tightened his grip around your waist, letting go of your mouth to hold your shoulder, “I guess you’ve forgotten how we were in similar situations a century ago. Only, I was the one in your place.”

Yeosang rolled his eyes, and you frowned- just what was going on? “Petty revenge? Is that what it is? You know perfectly well that it was my job from the higher-ups, don’t you? Why don’t you go fight with them?”

“You could have left her alone if you had a conscience,” the man growled, “but oh no, you had to be the good angel and do your job. Tell me, angel, how do you feel now?”

You found Yeosang’s eyes go to the cane in your hand and then he met your eyes as if trying to convey something, but it was quickly replaced with a steel gaze. “Go ahead, demon. You think she matters? She’s just a mere human I’m spending time with as I delay going to the afterlife. You take her, I find someone else, or I move on. Do I look like I care about her?”

“If you didn’t,” the demon chuckled, “you wouldn’t have followed me all the way here.”

“You know me,” Yeosang put his hands in his pockets, rather relaxed, and your grip around the cane tightened as you found the demon’s arm relaxing a tad bit, “Good angel instincts take over before I can think. Come on, you could do better than that.”

You’d had enough of the drama- you dig your nails harshly with your free hand and swirled the cane to hit the demon’s head, running away from his grasp as you ran to Yeosang, “This guy clearly doesn’t care about me,” you motioned to Yeosang as the demon glared at you, lunging at you but you raised your cane, “You’re one lousy demon.”

The demon laughed out loud, “You both think you’re good actors? Tell me, Yeosang, have you really forgotten who I am? What I am?”

“Slimy demon,” you muttered as you wiped your arms, shivering as you took in his appearance- tall and dangerous and dark. You felt Yeosang near you, holding your arm protectively and you raised a brow as if to say ‘now you care?’

“I’m the demon of time, son. I’ve marked her because if not today, she’ll mean something to you in the future and that’s when I’ll come. Be prepared.”

With that, the demon disappeared in a smoke, and Yeosang sighed, turning you around and scanning you in detail, and you made a face at him. “Finally you care?”

Yeosang groaned as he rolled his eyes, “Don’t pretend you don’t know that I was acting.”

You smiled at that, shrugging away, “I’m fine.”

“I need to check if you’re scratched anywhere,” Yeosang shook his head, “It would be bad if he did.”

“Like how your cuts didn’t heal?” You asked and he nodded.

“But worse, because poison. My cuts were supposed to be decoration for your skin.”

You gaped at him, “I hope that was a really bad joke, Yeosang, I really do.”

Yeosang didn’t say anything, sighing when he finally stood straight and faced you, his face full of worry, “Are you okay?”

You realized then that you weren’t standing on your own anymore, you were using the cane and his arms for support, your body finally catching up with the shock. “I’m… okay.”

“Come here,” Yeosang almost whispered as he embraced you, your arms going around his waist as you rested your head on his chest and could hear his loud heart, “I’m sorry you had to go through that, I truly am.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you didn’t ditch me for the brownies,” you mumbled and Yeosang’s body shook as he laughed, squeezing you tighter in the hug like a kid before letting you go. 

“Come on, you’ll need the sugar. Close your eyes.”

You did and Yeosang transported you two to the empty lane behind the cafe, going inside the cafe, apologizing at the counter for delay and picking up the brownies, bringing them to your table with an extra cup of coffee. “Right on time.”

You smiled, digging right in- you really needed the sugar before you’d start panicking. “I still can’t believe he was an actual demon- he was, right?” Yeosang nodded and you wowed, “He looked normal enough. If his voice wasn’t so weird and he didn’t smell funky he’d pass as one hell of a hottie.”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Yeosang threw his spoon back as he sat back to glare at you, and you laughed.

“Don’t worry, he’s not my type.”

Yeosang pretended to leave and you laughed, pulling him back, “I’m joking, it’s just how I cope with stress, okay? You’d rather I panic and start crying right here?” 

Yeosang considered for a moment and then sat back, making you mumble ‘thought so’. He shook his head, “I’ll admit, demons can look… somewhat charming when they want to. It’s how they lure humans.”

“What was he talking about though?” You asked, “What’s this century old business that he’s remembering now?”

“He’s the time demon and if he says he’s marked you…” Yeosang was thinking as he sipped on the coffee, forgetting that it was yours and you didn’t point it out, “It means… he wasn’t lying. And he marked you which means he might be the one who’s been teasing you with those incidents you’ve had after Dajeong’s death- lame attempts to make it less obvious but make you aware nonetheless.”

“Wasn’t lying about what?” You asked.

“That… you’d mean something to me in the future, which is why he’s after you to come at me.”

“I’m just hurt I don’t mean anything to you right now,” you were genuinely hurt but you pouted pretending you were joking. Yeosang scoffed.

“You don’t realize that he could have meant various things by that, do you? What exactly are you implying?”

“Nothing,” you waved a hand in dismissal, ignoring the smirk on his face as you put your elbows on the table, resting your face in your hands, “What are we gonna do now?”

“We do nothing except stay alert,” Yeosang said, “You’ll do nothing. I’ll… think and do something.”

“How dangerous is he?”

“Dangerous enough and then some,” Yeosang’s voice was grim, “I can’t win against him alone.”

“Oh,” you gulped, “I hope you have a good few strong angel friends."

You noticed just how distracted Yeosang was the whole day and the next, not talking much, just thinking and thinking. You couldn't take it anymore after that.

"Okay," you got up from your desk, "we're taking a damn break. I can't focus on anything when you look like someone stole your candy. Come on, we're forgetting everything for a while and relaxing."

Yeosang narrowed his eyes at you, "I'm not going to that damned club again."

"I'm not taking you there," you grinned, "Let's go to the beach."

Yeosang made a face but you shut him up, going to your closet and packing a bag of everything you'd need. You didn't intend to swim but you'd take a change of clothes in case these got wet. A hat, another for Yeosang, your sunglasses, and you were done. You basically dragged him to the kitchen as you packed another bag of snacks, bickering back and forth with each other and slapping each other's hands repeatedly, and Sierra who have been watching from a distance decided not to interrupt after all when she saw the smiles on your faces- she really didn't want to ruin the moment, though she did give you both suggestive eyebrow wiggles when you finally settled in the car to leave.

"I'm driving," Yeosang announced and you let him, taking the passenger seat and rolling the window down once you took the highway, your hair blowing as you hummed to the music on the radio. Yeosang couldn't help but sneak glances at you once in a while. 

"How come you know how to drive when you don't need a car?" You suddenly asked, "Do you even have a licence?"

Yeosang fished one out of the air and you rolled your eyes at how dramatic he was, "You'll get home in one piece, worry not."

"Do angels know other human activities too? Like cooking? Or… I don't know, painting? Can you write? Can you speak other languages?"

"I can do everything you can think of," Yeosang flaunted.

"Except being entertaining, it seems."

"You just have a bad taste of entertainment," Yeosang said, and you rolled your eyes, shutting up when your destination arrived.

You got out of the car, stretching hard and smiling in satisfaction because you had no one else here- it's why you always came to this part of the beach. It was usually always empty. "Great weather today, isn't it- oooh."

Yeosang was wearing sunglasses now- how did he look pretty in everything? He ran a hand through his hair as he rolled his sleeves and you internally swooned, cursing yourself because no, you could not have the hots for an angel. He looked at you, unbeknownst to the effect he had on you as he approached you casually, "Let's soak our feet."

The two of you found a rock to sit on, your legs soaking in the waves that came back and forth with the wind, and you sighed in satisfaction. "It's been too long since I came here."

"It's a good spot," Yeosang nodded, "You should come here often, you're already less cranky now."

"I should," you laughed, "The sunset is pretty too."

Yeosang nodded, turning his face to the sunset, his fingers brushing yours playfully as the two of you watched the sunset, sorting your thoughts out. You offered him some snacks which he declined, instead extending his hand. "Walk with me?"

You took his hand, the two of you walking along the shore, all giggles and mischievous grins when a wave would hit your feet and you'd spray each other. Yeosang squeezed your hand, "Thanks for bringing me here and… everything you've done for me. No human has been so good to me and none has been such a good friend."

"You're welcome, sir," you teased, loving how sunkissed he looked right now, "Thanks for what you do for me too. You've done more than you could imagine."

"Good to hear," he smiled, "You know what I like about you? You're not asking me weird questions or not taking advantage of me. Humans do that, you know. I thought you'd too at some point, but… I guess you care."

"Well, any human who did otherwise doesn't know how good you are," you shrugged, "They lost a good friend."

"Ah, when you say it like this," Yeosang fanned himself and you slapped his arm.

"Don't let it get to your head," you grinned.

"Well, I'm feeling myself today, so go on. Compliment me. I won't judge."

"Really?" You raised a brow, more in surprise when he turned, putting his arms on your shoulders as he swayed around, making you laugh. "Okay, well… you make a good errand boy."

Yeosang rolled his eyes, "And?"

"You're also not a painful sight to see, you know what I mean? Like, when I need to zone out, I can just stare at you instead of staring at something boring like the walls, you know?"

"Ah, are we playing this game? Should I tell you how much of a pain in my ass you are?"

You poked his stomach, "Shh. Okay, you're… not boring. You answer my questions."

"You ask nice questions."

"Yep," you nodded, taking a deep breath when you looked at him- the faint sun glow was making him look painfully beautiful. "You know what? You're beautiful, inside and out, and sometimes it's unbelievable. Sometimes I think you're not real, that you're just a character I've made up in my head to cope with whatever was going on. It makes me want to cry too, because I don't deserve you. I should tell you about the trace and tell you to move on, but I want to keep you to myself a little longer, if not forever."

Yeosang was surprised by your sudden confession, and you were blushing at this point as you shrugged, mumbling 'you asked for it' and Yeosang sighed, his hands snaking down your arms to hold your hands. 

"I'm real…" he gave your hands a squeeze, "And I… I could ask you about the trace. I could force it out from you but somehow… the only thing keeping me here is not the trace but you."

You frowned in confusion but then he brought your hands to his face, making you cup it, "I'm real, aren't I?" You nodded, dazed, and he continued, "You could keep me forever here. We both know we're only pretending that the trace is holding me back anyway."

You tilted your head in confusion as you ran his words in your head, and he leaned in to your touch, "Forget about whether you deserve me or not. I don't feel like I'm good enough for you."

"Yeosang- you're an angel. You are too good for me. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," Yeosang's voice was barely a whisper, "I don't know what you're doing to me, but you make me feel… undeserving. You make me want to become better even when I'm an angel. I mean, I couldn't get better than this, could I?" He let out a laugh, "And yet…"

He brought one of your hands down to his chest, making you feel his heartbeat, "This is what you've done to me, and now I don't know what to do about it."

You bit your lips, smiling at him and then shaking your head when his gaze was too much, "Don't do anything. Especially not anything stupid."

Yeosang laughed, and you patted his face, about to draw away but he put an arm on your back and brought you unbelievably closer, gazing down at you, his lashes casting shadows on his face. God, he was making you feel things. You stared at him, shaking your head slightly in disbelief. "You're treading on dangerous waters- unintentional pun."

Yeosang smirked, "If I be damned, so be it."

"No, angel," you straightened his shirt, "You're gonna move on like a good angel. I'm gonna carry on with my life- Yeosang… Don't make me go there if you can't stay. Don't make it harder for me."

Yeosang caressed your hair, "I want to ruin you and myself. I want to burn, and you won't let me?"

"No," it took every ounce of your energy to say it, "I don't want you to burn. I would never do that to you, you understand?"

"I don't," Yeosang looked incredibly sad as he hugged you, swaying you back and forth and you inhaled, wanting nothing else but to stay in these arms forever where you felt safe and loved. "I should move the hell on, shouldn't I?"

You squeezed him tighter, "Stay a little longer, will you?"

Yeosang drew back at that, pinching your nose because your confused face was so cute, then kissing your forehead, lingering there. "Thank you."

----------------

"If you make that loud noise one more time, I'll ask security to accompany- no, throw you out," you glared at Yeosang.

"Security got nothing on me, human," Yeosang continued munching on his chips loudly, "Plus, it's no fun if you don't eat snacks like these loudly."

Your jaw clenched and unclenched as you wondered what to do with him, sitting in your office with feet on the table like he was the boss of you. You even considered revealing the trace so he would move the hell on.  "Why are you still here again? I mean, on earth and not moving on?"

"Well," Yeosang tried to remain serious but ended up smirking, "there's the threat on your head. I can't move on without doing something about it."

"Right," you hid your face as you smiled, "And the threat won't disappear if you just move on, eh?"

"Nope," the amusement in Yeosang's voice was thick, "What if you get hurt when I'm gone?"

You looked up at that, "No bullshit about 'all that happens is meant to happen' anymore?"

Yeosang laughed, munching on his chips haughtily, "You're not used to people actually worrying about you, are you?"

You shrugged, going back to work- or trying to, but all you could think about was how you'd cope with his absence when he would be gone. You looked at him wiping his fingers and folding the wrapper neatly before making it disappear with a wave of his hand. He caught you staring at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yeosang…" you shifted in your chair, "When you're ready to move on… you won't make me forget everything about you like you did before, would you?"

Yeosang scanned your face for an answer, finding only confusion, "Not if you don't want me to."

"Oh," you nodded slowly, "And… what do you think would be better?"

"Depends on you," Yeosang's voice was cautious, "I could make you forget but…"

"But you wouldn't want to?"

You saw Yeosang's fists clenching and unclenching- oh, he was holding himself back. "I… I'll be back. If I'm late, go home without me."

Before you could say a word, he was gone and you sighed as you sat back. As if on cue, a knock sounded and you asked them to come in.

"Your brother's here to see you."

Now that was new. You nodded, Dohyun entering with a cheeky smile, looking around. "Where's that pretty plaything of yours?"

Two could play that game, "I see that old hag isn't following you around these days. Finally decided you prefer younger women?"

Dohyun scoffed, taking a seat, "Let's talk… business."

"I have literally nothing to talk to you about," you joined your hands, "so go on."

"You should call off your men. What you're looking for… you won't find."

You frowned. Men? What was he talking about? "You've got the wrong person, Dohyun."

Dohyun fixed his watch as he glared at you, "Are we forgetting about how you've been blaming me for your friend's death since years? And now you're sending your goons to do some sniffing around?"

Your frown must have been obvious because now Dohyun was confused too. You shook your head, "Yeah, I did blame you, I didn't find proof so I shut up. But what's got your panties in a twist now? Who's sniffing around?"

Dohyun scanned you for a good while before sighing, "Someone went to the station and asked for the case files and specifically brought my name into the mess. You're telling me that's not you? I don't believe you for a second."

"Now that's interesting," you were smirking, "Tell me, is there someone else who'd want to ruin you- other than me? There must be people, Dohyun, you haven't been exactly on the good side. If there's someone who has a reason to, you better tell me. Because they might be connected to Dajeong's case."

Dohyun thought about it- he had caused the accident, so who exactly was sniffing around if not you? He couldn't exactly admit that he was behind this, that he had only intended to hurt you and not kill you all together, that something had gone really, really wrong and he too had been living with the guilt. So he only got up, straightening his suit, "I'll… look into it and see who's sniffing around. I'll handle it, but if it's you-" he was pointing his finger at you and you raised your hands in surrender, making him draw back with a sigh, leaving the room.

This was getting really interesting.

---------------------

It was almost midnight and Yeosang still hadn't come back home. 

You were wondering just what was wrong- was it something you had said? Did he perhaps move on? But he couldn't. So just where was he?

Even though you did not want to worry because he could be out for a walk or to relax or to take a breather from you or 'mingling' with people finally, you couldn't help but feel anxious, pacing in your room until your leg started to hurt and then sitting in the balcony, waiting and waiting.

You had almost dozed off when you heard an almost painful groan, turning abruptly and seeing-

"Yeosang, oh god," you got up abruptly as you saw just what state he was in- messy, a painful expression on his face and… injured. "What happened?"

Yeosang winced in pain as you touched his arm, "Not here- let's go to a room."

You took him to your room, making sure the path was clear and then making him sit on your bed as you scanned his body, "Were you in an accident or a fight?"

His eyes held guilt and you understood, and you lightly slapped his head, making him glare at you, "Angels are supposed to be the good guys and not fight. What got you in a fight?"

"I can't tell, and you should treat me first anyway."

You narrowed your eyes at him, taking a fancy looking bottle from him that he explained was a medicine to speed up the healing- something you shouldn't come in contact with because it would burn you. You took a cotton bud, applying it to his wounds one by one, watching with wonder as they healed in minutes, stitching themselves back just like yours had. Then he turned, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it down so you could apply it on his back, a large cut that looked like-

"It was him, wasn't it?" You finally asked, "The time demon. You went after him."

Yeosang didn't answer again- he couldn't lie, so he would keep his mouth shut. You sighed, pulling his shirt up his shoulders when the last wound stitched itself back, then turning him so he was facing you, putting the medicine aside and pulling his chin up with your fingers, making him look at you in the eyes as you straightened his hair. "Why?"

Yeosang was determined to keep his mouth shut, and you shook your head, smiling at how stubborn he could be. "I'm gonna make some wild assumptions and if I'm wrong, you can tell me so, yeah? So, did you go after him to get some revenge?"

Yeosang shook his head no, and you caressed his cheek, his light brown orbs almost golden.

"Did you go after him to get some answers?"

This time, he didn't answer. You continued caressing his face and hair, "You wanted to know something about how long he's been after me?"

"That's a yes and no," Yeosang was smiling, leaning in to your touch, and you internally sighed as your heart basically sank all the way down, maybe even 6 ft under you- you could stay like this forever. 

"And… you wanted to know about the thing he talked about- about how I'm supposed to mean something to you-"

"You already mean a lot to me," Yeosang held your wrists and brought your hands down as he caressed them, his head down, "I… I can't do this anymore. I want to take this step and yet… you're holding me back."

You looked up as you sighed, "I don't want to put you in pain, Yeosang. I don't want you to hurt because of me, I don't want to be selfish-"

"I'm hurting more right now, don't you realize?" Yeosang's brows were furrowed, "There's no way I could hurt more than this. So tell me, what's holding you back now?"

You pursed your lips, "What will I do when you… burn, just because I had feelings for you? What will I do when something happens to you?"

Yeosang was smiling in satisfaction- you'd finally said it out loud. He got up, planting a kiss on your forehead and then letting go. "I can move on then. Right now. I know what the trace is- I was just pretending not to. So I guess this is goodbye-"

"No-" you stopped, almost crying out of frustration, your arm extended as if to stop him, and Yeosang did it then. He grabbed your arm, bringing you in for an embrace, and you felt like you could disintegrate right there. His arms were secure around you and you felt every breath he took in your bones. 

"I don't care about the consequences. I'm already damned. There's no way I can go back now, without knowing what it was to love you, so please, just… let me love you."

You drew apart a little, looking into his eyes for any sign of doubt or second thoughts, and finding none, you brought his face closer, your noses caressing as you tried to calm your beating heart but how could you, when his grip around your waist tightened and he leaned right in, kissing you innocently at first and then almost growling as he kissed you again with pressure, abandoning the hold around your waist and holding your face instead, his fingers in your hair and on your neck and you clenched onto his open shirt as you kissed him back and you instantly knew with a small amount of regret along with the overwhelming satisfaction-

That there was absolutely no way you could recover from this. You were ruined, ironically, by an angel, and you could never love someone else after this.

You broke apart for breath, grinning when you saw the cheeky smile on his face, not saying anything but making him sit back on the bed as you sat on him, drawing his shirt back playfully as you peppered kisses on his face, his hands massaging your legs, your hands holding his face as you shook your head. "What am I gonna do with you, pretty boy?"

"I'd suggest some things but I'm sure they'd be inappropriate-"

"Ah, you sound… devilish," you grinned, kissing him again and he held your waist as you leaned into the kiss, your lips locking as if meant for each other, and you couldn't take how his kisses made your skin tingle, made you feel like you were high and on the clouds, and you never wanted to break apart, cursing yourself internally because you were human and had to breathe. 

"I think I know the reason this is 'forbidden'," you said, "I feel like I'm high on some really good drug. I want to keep feeling like this."

"I know what you mean," Yeosang nodded, "With angels and humans… we feel everything on a higher magnitude than we would with our own." 

You nodded, letting Yeosang pull you on the bed next to him, letting him get on top of you as he kissed you some more, excruciatingly slow and passionate that made your legs numb, every kiss on your skin making you shiver and moan, and then he pulled you in his arms, pecking your forehead as he mumbled sweet nothings until you both fell asleep in each other's arms.

-------------------

"Miss- oh," Sierra cleared her throat as she entered and saw you getting ready and Yeosang still recovering from his sleep, his shirt unbuttoned and chest exposed, "Well, well."

"Sierra," you smiled at her as if Yeosang waking up in your room wasn't an odd sight, "Good morning to you too."

"Can I just say, about fucking time-"

"Sierra," you glared at her but laughed at how she cursed- it was the first time you heard profanity from her mouth, "What brings you here in a rush?"

"I have your brother on hold- why don't you have each other's number?"

"Because he's an asshole," you said, frowning as you took the phone from him, "I hope you heard that."

"Good morning to you too, sis," Dohyun said, "Just wanted to let you know that you might wanna look into your driver."

"My driver- what? Mr. Lee? Why?"

"Just… meet me in the office. I have something to tell you."

You frowned as he ended the call, waiting for Sierra to go before looking at Yeosang and telling him what just happened."

"Should I… feel him out?"

"No… Mr. Lee is… normal? He's been my driver and bodyguard of sorts ever since-"

Yeosang raised a brow as you paused, "Ever since…?"

"After Dajeong's death," you looked at him, "Are you sure Dohyun's the one behind Dajeong's death? What's a possible loophole in your whole compelling thing?"

"Well, he believes so," Yeosang said, "And that is the loophole. Anything he believes as the truth. He feels guilty too."

"We need to get to the office."

The whole ride to the office was rather quite, which was unusual because you and Yeosang were always nonsensical bickering during the morning. You only stared at Mr. Lee- the middle-aged driver who apparently worked for your dad before working for you.

It was half an hour later that Dohyun entered your office, looking at Yeosang as if to send him out, and Yeosang pretended to go but returned with glamour, invisible to all but you, giving you the thumbs up. Dohyun cleared his throat, sitting down.

"I'm only going to say this once, so you better hear me good," he said.

"Depends on what you tell me."

"Look, I was… involved in the accident 5 years ago. I had some part of it, but it wasn't supposed to happen," he looked at you and you could tell it was taking him a lot to actually say it, which meant there had to be something bigger than this, "I only meant to scare you. You were always riding those bikes and I just intended to scare you a little- no accident. But then everything happened, and I couldn't believe it, I thought I killed the poor girl. It took me months to finally accept my mistake, especially because I couldn't find the driver. You know how he went missing. But… the man I had actually put up with the job of only scaring you… he called me after a few months. He told me he had been on the run, that there was someone else that day who had stolen his car and caused that accident, and then he's been hell bent on getting rid of him."

"Okay, wait…" you processed everything as you stared at the blank page in front of you, "You thought it was you? You sounded like you were guilty a few days ago too."

"That's because of the phone call," Dohyun was fidgeting with his fingers, "It was vague. The man told me he wasn't behind this, that someone was after him. I thought this was his way of dealing or coping with the accident that he caused, that it was his guilt speaking, until…"

"Until?"

"He died. He was in an accident too. I only found out a few months ago. At first I wasn't suspicious, because accidents happen, you know? But with the person sniffing around on the case again… I knew something was horribly wrong."

"And what, exactly, did you find?" You were glad that your voice hadn't cracked.

"Mr. Lee, your driver," Dohyun's eyes were full of pity, "He might have been the one behind it. I don't have definite proof right now, but I did a background check- remember that one time when dad had his son fired just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time? After making a scene and humiliating him?"

You nodded after a second- it happened when you were young and you'd heard some rumours about it. Dohyun continued, "His son was being bullied by his colleagues too. He was still a student, part timing here. He couldn't take it anymore. He committed suicide, and that's when Mr. Lee took a break. He returned as your driver right after Dajeong's death, didn't he?"

You felt nauseous now as you nodded, dreading what you were about to hear, "He's keeping an eye on you, on everyone. He's keeping an ear out for the rumour. He didn't intend to kill Dajeong. His target was you, because it would be… eye for an eye. He blamed the company, tried to sue us but returned with a clean slate- why would he return to the place his son died?"

You were glad Yeosang was behind you and rubbing your shoulders in comfort because you would have thrown up otherwise. "Dohyun… I… if this is one of those sick games of yours-"

"It's not," Dohyun glared at you but you could see the pain in his eyes, "Do you know how much courage it took me to dig into this again and tell you after years of holding it in and thinking I was a murderer? I care for you, whether you like me or not. You're still my half- sister, even if you're a stubborn bitch."

"Well, thank you," you said sarcastically but your voice was weak, "what do we do, Dohyun? Why hasn't he tried to kill me again?"

"I thought about it, and the only possible explanation is that either he's looking for a chance to take us both down together- kill two birds with one stone- or, he's trying to find something big, something he'd use to expose us. To ruin the company. Anything like that."

You finally let out a sob, putting a hand over your mouth as you rushed to the sink, heaving out the contents of the little breakfast you had, and though Yeosang was rubbing your back and comforting you, he let Dohyun do it instead when he came for you.

"I'm sorry that all of this happened. I'm to blame too. I never meant to hurt you or Dajeong. I used to play with you two when we were in elementary, remember? I would never hurt her or you- I'm human."

You wiped and rinsed your mouth, nodding. "I've hated you ever since Dajeong's death, because nothing else made sense. You know what I mean, right?"

"I know… I hated me too," Dohyun admitted, and you passed a sad smile- he was a victim in this too. 

"What do we do?"

"I've got men on it- they'll find something soon, don't worry about that. I'll take care of everything, just… you have to do me a favour. You have to act normal around him till we find something. Do not let him suspect anything. He's too clever. Can you do that?"

"I don't know," you looked at Yeosang and he nodded- he'd help you. "I'll try."

"You're a good actor," Dohyun teased, "You can do this. You have to."

You were glad Yeosang was with you- holding your hand all the way back home and talking with you about random stuff, distracting you, grabbing your attention whenever you tried staring at Mr. Lee. 

"This is so messed up," you slumped on the couch in your room while Yeosang asked Sierra to bring you something light to eat- perhaps a salad, because you weren't feeling well. "I cannot believe I've put my trust in the very man who killed my best friend."

"You couldn't have known," Yeosang shook his head, "Even I couldn't have known."

Yeosang made you eat a few spoons and drink water, and then held you as he gave you assuring squeezes, "Dohyun is going to handle it. You should just… sit back on this one. I know Dohyun has reason enough to see this to the end."

"You felt him out?" You looked at Yeosang, who was failing to stifle his smile.

"I might have, and I might have learned that Dohyun used to have a small crush on your friend."

You laughed sarcastically at first but then it turned to real laughter when you recalled how Dohyun used to tease her a lot, always tried to join you two when you were little. "That's… sad."

You wiped the tears that threatened to come out. "I… I need a break from all of this."

"And that can be arranged. You deserve it. Let's go somewhere, just you and me." Yeosang was caressing your face, "Let's live… and love."

You bit your lips at the tempting offer, but then your face fell, "Are you okay though? You don't feel any… burning sensation or something? Was that a bluff?"

"I'm okay," Yeosang assured you, "And I'll be okay. Don't think about that, will you?"

You kissed him, a few tears of guilt escaping your eyes and Yeosang wiped all of that away, holding you as he made plans to take you to his favourite places- he had a brilliant idea of teleporting you wherever you wanted, but you insisted that if he had to live like a human, he had to travel like one too.

And you did, long car rides to the beaches and the mountains, taking planes to all the beautiful sights in the country, walking through the streets for hours and hours, enjoying the street food, buying each other silly gifts like heart sunglasses or funny hats and then daring each other to wear it the whole day.

You had never laughed till your cheeks hurt and you had never loved so much that it made you cry because loving an angel, you found, was beyond overwhelming. And as you took a step further in your relationship, you both found yourself excited and terrified.

Excited because it was something new for you two, because every time he touched you, you felt warm, every time he kissed you, it felt like you could die, and Yeosang could say the same for you because he, too, had never loved like this and he could never.

But you were more terrified for him than he was. It was like he would willingly burn for you, and though you couldn't see it physically, you knew something was wrong. He tried to pretend he was as lively as ever but he was growing weaker, and you couldn't bring yourself to stop loving him just like he couldn't. It was like a candle and a fire- made for each other, and you knew that if one would vanish, the other would have no reason to exist either.

It was one night when Yeosang was sleeping that you came outside- you were at a cabin on the beach. You gazed at the full moon for a long time, hoping the wind would take away all the fear in your heart. 

You didn’t know how long you stood there thinking when you felt Yeosang approach you, smiling when he wrapped his arms around you in a back-hug. “What are you doing out? It’s cold.”

“Taking a breather from you,” you teased, and Yeosang pretended to be hurt. You sighed, wondering if you should tell him.

“Yeosang… Can we talk?”

“If it’s about what I think it is, nope,” Yeosang buried his nose at the crook of your neck. You rolled your eyes because he could be very stubborn, but…

“Yeosang… I think you should move on before something happens to you.”

“And there it is,” Yeosang mumbled, “I can’t hear you right now.”

“Yeosang,” you turned, almost crying, “You’re not yourself anymore- you’re not the lively, strong, active person that I met. I can see it, and I know you can feel it too. You’re hurting, and I can’t take it.”

“If I can take it, then you can too.”

“No,” you shook your head, “Think about me, will you? If something happens to you because of me, do you think I will be able to live with myself?” Yeosang’s eyes were incredibly sad as he looked at you, and you continued, “I wouldn’t want to live anymore- not after everything that’s happened. I can’t live without you if something happens to you because of me, but I think I can live with myself if you move on and I know that I saved you.”

Yeosang caressed your face, “Do you think I could ever find peace, and… happiness- whatever we think afterlife holds us for- if I move on? What will I do? If I’m without you for eternity, what will I do, love? You’ll live your short human life and die and maybe we could meet in the heavens-”

“Not if I go to hell,” you mumbled, and Yeosang pinched your nose.

“This is no time to joke. I cannot move on with the hope that maybe, if I’m lucky, I might meet you up there after you die. I simply cannot move on knowing that there’s a chance that we might never reunite again.”

“But… I cannot hold you back here, I cannot let something happen to you. I cannot be selfish.”

“You don’t have to be,” Yeosang’s voice was rough, “I’ll be selfish. You know why? Because I cannot move on knowing that you’d be living here without me hovering around you every minute. I cannot move on knowing that you’ll be looking at other people with the hope of finding love-”

“I could never love after this, you know that,” you put your head on his chest and he ran his fingers through your hair. 

“I cannot leave you behind knowing that you’ll be sad. I could make you forget, but… I am selfish, and if I move on, I would not want you to forget. But I cannot make you live with the pain, so… I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s a very twisted logic.”

“Shh,” Yeosang smiled, pulling your face up with his fingers, “How beautiful you are, love. I don’t regret a single second of us, and I could never. If I burn loving you, so be it. If your kiss is the last thing I feel, I’d be the happiest.”

You rolled your eyes but kissed him, letting him pick you up and you straddled his waist as he kissed you back, still holding your face just as tenderly as the first time but a newfound desire in the way he kissed you this time, and perhaps it was the romantic breeze caressing you both that made you bolder, made you drop off only to push him back on the sand, kissing each other like it was the last time, and when Yeosang bent upwards, shirt off, he let his wings free, and you marvelled at the sheer majestic size of it. 

“They’re beautiful,” you ran your fingers across them, making him shiver, “You’re beautiful, Yeosang. I don’t know what you see in bland old me.”

“I see you differently than you do,” Yeosang kissed your temple, “And that’s enough for me.”

You straddle him again as you kissed him and his wings wrapped around your bare skin. You let the feathers cut at your skin everywhere even though Yeosang tried to hold back, and he had to draw away as he looked at you finally, small cuts decorating your skin, and he was terrified, because how could he hurt you?

“I’m okay,” you laughed at his expressions and he glared at you but healed every single cut with a kiss, and when he was done, he put his head on your lap, suddenly tired. You kissed his forehead.

“You’re growing old,” you teased.

“I’m just taking a breather before I make you mine tonight.”

If one sentence could make you moan, this was it. You had to look up at the sky to stifle it with a bite of your lips, and Yeosang tugged you down, mumbling dirty little things in your ear no angel should have been allowed to say till he finally caught his breath and did exactly what he had whispered in your ear in detail.

And as he made love to you for the first and the last time, you really couldn’t have known. Yeosang knew though. He knew he had little time with you. And he would be called a devil for it but he simply couldn’t fade away without imprinting himself on you, without knowing what it felt like to be one with the love of his life. He needed to feel how you’d clench at his hair through the pain, slice open your skin of your hands as you ran them passionately across his wings, he needed to feel every little sensation. 

And when he was done, he kissed you so slowly you cried. He drew back with a wet face, and as you wiped his tears, he told you he was sorry.

“For what?”

“For being selfish,” he said.

“I love it when you’re selfish, Kang Yeosang,” you called him by his full name- something he’d told you one of those nights when you slept in his arms, apparently his human name, “I love you, Kang Yeosang.”

Yeosang shut his eyes and you frowned as his skin got noticeably hotter, no time to comprehend anything as he pulled your shirt over you with a hug, telling you that he was glad he had met you and that he wished he had longer with you.

You couldn’t hold in your sobs when your hand passed right through him, as if he wasn’t real, as if he was just a figment of your imagination. The last thing you felt was a kiss to your forehead as he told you that he would love you even when he would not exist, and you did not know how long you simply sobbed as he disappeared right in front of your eyes, your wails ringing through the empty beach, crying because he left you all alone here, rushing to your bag that had Yeosang’s feather, the trace that you kept everywhere-

It was still there. And it made you sob harder, because you were only left with a feather, a reminder of his existence, and you were so, so cold without his embrace.

You heard a rustling, turning to see another man, his wings drawing in- an angel. You frowned, getting scared for a moment but he raised his hands as if to tell you that it was alright. 

“I’m Seonghwa, Yeosang’s friend- he must have told you about me.”

You tried recalling, taking a deep breath as you pushed in your tears, “Yeah- I think he did.”

Seonghwa draped your jacket on your shoulders as he sat next to you, “I’m sorry that you’re in so much pain. He asked me to come if something happened.”

“I’m sorry,” you cried, holding the feather to your chest, “He’s… gone. I’m all alone once again, I told him to make me forget him if it ever came to that, but he’s selfish, he shouldn’t have left me, he shouldn’t have loved me.”

Seonghwa let you cry as he rubbed your back, “There’s a reason you’re here right now with the memory of him. Whenever angels interact with humans, they take away their memory. If you’re still here with all the lovely memories… you were meant to love him, dear. He was meant to find you.”

You looked at Seonghwa, “I… am a mere human. How will I ever live with the memory of him, knowing what it feels like to love him? I cannot take it.”

“Humans do not understand, but they’re never given more than what they can take,” Seonghwa told you, “And you… you’re different, Yeosang said.”

You let out a short laugh, “I don’t know what’s different about me.”

“I know,” Seonghwa narrowed his eyes at you, “I don’t feel anything different from you… perhaps he was lovestruck when he said that? But he told me that just a few interactions later…”

“What are you on about? You’re being… cryptic.”

“Is that Yeosang’s feather?” Seonghwa almost screamed, and you looked confused as you held it in front of him.

“Yeah? The trace he left? I plucked it out when he saved me on his mission?”

“It shouldn’t be here,” Seonghwa said, “He- I’m sorry to ask this, but I must know, he burned, right?”

“Ouch, yeah,” you wiped your tears, “his skin got all hot and then my hand went through him and he… faded.”

“You’re telling me he didn’t catch fire? He did not literally burn?”

“I… did not realize he was supposed to literally burn, that’s cruel even for angels… Seonghwa, what are you on about?”

Seonghwa got up, mouth hanging open in disbelief as he paced around, and you were tempted to throw him in the sea because you wanted to be alone with your grief, not him acting like… Yeosang when he first met you. Seonghwa turned abruptly, narrowing his eyes at you.

“You… I should have known, dammit!”

“What are you so happy about?” You shouted at him, he was grinning like a madman.

“Yeosang didn’t burn. He’s not gone.”

“He’s not?” You gaped at him, “Where is he then?”

“I need to report this to the headquarters, someone might know what to do. You… keep that feather with you, okay? Do not lose it. He might come back. You should get home- grab your stuff, I’ll teleport you.”

“You better teleport me with my car then,” you mumbled as you got up, “And if this was false hope? I’ll personally finish you, angel.”

Seonghwa grinned as he nodded, “I can see why Yeosang likes you so much.”

—-----------------

Two months had passed.

Mr. Lee had been brought to trial with enough prove to convict him of Dajeong’s murder, and with you and Dohyun on this together, you two put down the walls little by little. Not exactly best friends but you could tolerate each other’s presence now, and that was enough. 

You decided to leave your company after all- your father was a particularly hard person to work with, and with the vicious cycle that Mr. Lee had started beginning with your dad… You couldn’t be bothered to stay here anymore. You took a month long break and then started learning and working alongside a sculptor that you had known since college. Somehow, you were pretty sure your new-found love for sculptors was because of a certain angel who you used to call a sculpture.

The angel who left you alone after loving you and giving you his all.

Seonghwa was still in contact with you- apparently, Yeosang fading away like that had been a first. Him and his friends were still looking around for any record of a past occurrence, but all in vain. It was a first, and you weren’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. You were very worried and perhaps it was the worry still eating you up that let your grief not swallow you.

Sometimes you’d wake up at night sobbing hysterically, muffling your screams on the pillow and hold on to Yeosang’s feather, an anchor at this point, and pray. You’d pray that he was at least all right, not hurting. 

You were just coming out from your workshop when you saw Seonghwa wave at you from a distance, and you motioned for him to wait, wrapping everything up, a dangerous spark of hope in your heart as you almost rushed to him, greeting him with a friendly hug.

“You look weaker than the last time I saw you,” Seonghwa shook his head, “Yeosang would be disappointed to know that I’m not taking care of you.”

“I am taking care of myself, I just…” you shrugged, “Give it some time.”

“Yeah,” Seonghwa nodded, “I may have found something. You might wanna sit before you hear this.”

You narrowed your eyes and sat down on the nearest bench and Seonghwa wondered how to word it to you. “The place where Yeosang was last… the beach, right? We found records of Yeosang when he was a human- nearly two centuries ago, it is the place where he died.”

“Oh,” you felt your heart sink, “You mean… die, like a normal human, and then he was… selected to be an angel?”

“Yes,” Seonghwa nodded, “Now, how does this connect to where we are at?”

“How?”

“You tell me,” Seonghwa smiled, “Kang Yeosang, the human, dies an untimely, unfair death. Two centuries later, he’s at the same spot with his love, and fades away, leaving his trace,” Seonghwa pointed at your bag, knowing you kept it with you, “Now, what could have happened?”

“He… did not die?” You shrugged, “I don’t see your point.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, be ready. We’re going to attempt reincarnation.”

“Bullshit,” you laughed in disbelief, “You’re telling me this could work!”

“Yes,” Seonghwa laughed along, “The way he faded, it's like people fade when they are to be reincarnated. It might be something similar, it might be nothing, but we have to try. I’ll arrive in your room so no one sees me, so… be prepared. And keep the feather with you.”

“Seonghwa, if… I’m gonna throw you in the sea this time, for real, if this doesn’t work.”

“You’re allowed to,” Seonghwa smiled sadly, “I’d throw myself in the sea too.”

You couldn’t sleep that night at all, either laughing in disbelief or crying because of the fear that it might not work. And the next afternoon, holding nothing but the feather, Seonghwa came into your room and teleported you to the beach, where some others were waiting as well.

Damned beautiful angels, each one of them. You’d heard about them, and Seonghwa introduced the 6 angels, each of them looking at you with mixed emotions. You couldn’t blame them. You’d taken their friend from them.

You turned towards the sea, the wind blowing your hair back and Seonghwa joined you, “I’m sorry if they don’t seem… happy.”

“I don’t blame them,” you let out a short laugh, “I took their friend. I understand them very, very well.”

Seonghwa rubbed your shoulder, “When the sun is setting… walk in the sea with the feather and drop it.”

“Drop it? In the sea?” You gaped at him, “Is this some sort of a sick way to take the trace away from me? Are you gonna make me forget later? Did Yeosang ask you to do this?”

“No, no,” Seonghwa shook his head furiously, “I can get the feather back to you if this doesn’t work, don’t worry. Just… try it. For Yeosang’s sake.”

You were sceptical, but there was a goddamned angel in front of you, so anything could work. You took a deep breath, waiting for Seonghwa’s cue. 

Your heart stopped when he told you to move. Each step felt like you were walking on a tightrope, that one wrong move and everything you were left with could disappear. You swallowed your sob as you walked further in the sea until you were waist down, and then placed the feather rather hesitantly on the sea wave, finding it glowing brightly as it floated-

You screamed when something grabbed the feather and pulled it down, you almost falling on your back as you took a few steps back, pondering whether you should dive right in and see what took the feather or wait-

“Step back,” Seonghwa called, pulling you back, and you screamed no, fighting back and wanting to dive right in, but Seonghwa held you strongly by your arms, and you kept struggling until-

Until he rose out of the sea, gasping for breath, his blonde locks sticking to his face-

Yeosang.

“Unbelievable,” you heard Seonghwa gasp, and this time he did let you go but you didn’t move, because were you hallucinating? Was this a trick?

But all it took was for Yeosang to turn and draw his hair back, his brown eyes still the same, and he stared at you two for a good while as if he couldn’t recognize you, but then he smiled.

“You keep finding me, love.”

You weren’t sure whether you were laughing or crying, and Yeosang nodded at Seonghwa as he approached you, caressing your face, making you look at him and you noticed something red at his temple, something that looked like a burn, but other than that, he was the same Yeosang-

“You’re human,” Seonghwa gasped, and Yeosang nodded, embracing you and waving at his friends who were cheering and crying from a distance. 

“I was so lost. Thanks for finding me.”

“You’re… really you, right?” You drew back, “Give me proof.”

Yeosang rolled his eyes and Seonghwa looked at you- his sassiness was enough proof. Yeosang whispered a memory from your first kiss that made you blush furiously and hug him again, properly, tears of happiness falling down your face. 

It took you a while to calm down as you watched Yeosang greet his friends, wiping your tears and pinching yourself to check if you were dreaming. You were almost convinced this was a dream and you'd wake up and find yourself alone in your bed once again-

"Not a dream," Yeosang joined you, holding your hand and giving it a squeeze.

"So you're… human now? And what's with the mark?"

"What mark?" Yeosang touched his temple where you were pointing, asking Seonghwa who was near, who only shrugged in answer saying that it could be some sort of a reminder that he was an angel once or something. Yeosang walked with you along the shore, smiling to himself.

"What?" You asked when you couldn't hold your curiosity anymore.

"This mark is the place where you've kissed me the most."

"Oh," you laughed, "that's… romantic."

Yeosang brought you in for a hug after kissing you, "Remember what I said? I'd burn for you. And I did, and now I'm back."

"You're late," you let the tears fall, "Two months. I'm glad it wasn't more, but… these two months were very hard for me."

"I'm sorry," Yeosang pouted as he pinched your cheeks, "but you have to say, if I wasn't such a selfish brat, we wouldn't be here like this right now."

You smiled, pecking his lips, "Glad you were. You better make me forget about all the pain I had to go through. But hey, you're not an angel anymore, right? Why are you still just as charming?"

"You're telling me I'm not more charming than before?" Yeosang pinched his nose bridge, "I should just go back in the sea-"

"Hey, hey, wait," you laughed, and Yeosang playfully twirled you, and you smirked. "Let me kiss you a bit before you go back."

Yeosang gaped at you, turning to his friends who seemed to be busy with each other, then turning to you who couldn't stop laughing. "You… way to make me feel welcomed."

"Come on, I know how much you're gonna enjoy when I tell you how charming you are when we're all alone," you ran a finger playfully down his chest, noticing the outfit being the same from last time, suddenly nostalgic as you hugged him, squeezing him tight against you and he hugged you back, understanding. "I missed you so damn much, Kang Yeosang."

Yeosang wanted to tell you how much you meant to him, how much he loved you, but he figured he'd tease you too. "Well, lucky for you, we are meant to be," Yeosang smiled, kissing the top of your head.

"That's lucky for you," you scoffed, "That your ass didn't catch fire, pretty boy."

"Hey!" Yeosang laughed as you ran away before he could poke you, and his angel friends watched the two of you chase each other like kids, Yeosang twirling you around when he caught you and then kissing you.

Wooyoung watched his best friend- now a human- laugh like a kid in front of his love. He looked at Seonghwa, brows raised in amusement, "Can I go throw up now?"

[my-mt-heart]

AMC needs to fold Rick Grimes back into the TWDU and those movies aren't happening. (A tentpole is very expensive to produce and you need opening weekend to recoup the cost in order to make money. Gimple can't make a cohesive whole out of 42 minutes, so a feature is well beyond him.) It's an embarrassment and a problem for AMC that Rick is still MIA.

Hence the Daryl spinoff. Who doesn't love a buddy show with two white men? I've mentioned this to my-mt before, but Daryl's Grand Adventure seems like a limited run, just like Isle of the Dead. A way to reintroduce Rick. If that is the case, then a Carol spinoff would make sense because Daryl could come back to her. There's no way the Daryl show isn't happening at this point, unless it all implodes. There's vested financial interest. What happens after, though, may be up to you, the fans, but it has to look like a good idea to people who don't care about telling a good story.

Daryl needs Carol and she needs him. I do understand the narrative need for Caryl, but I'm trying to imagine a logistics road map to that point which could interest the people with the purse strings. Folding Daryl into a Carol show would be sensible, from a practical/business perspective.

It would give two displaced women their jobs back and it'd provide work for the local community again. There would be hype surrounding Daryl's anticipated return, which the network could milk. It would also allow some time for reflection and healing before everybody is thrown into working closely together. Plus, I think that show would be quite significantly cheaper to produce, with less theatrics and more of a focus on story.

[Sorry for hijacking your blog; this is the last of it, promise.]

Plot twist. It was Andy Lincoln who demanded they shoot in Europe. We should be sending him letters. I know there’s a loud faction of the fandom that wants a Rick and Daryl rescue mission/ reunion, but I am so sick of these male driven stories that focus more on plot and not the characters’ emotional needs. Angela Kang understands Daryl on a deep level and she understand how integral Carol is to his happiness. Removing that element feels like a regression to me. And it doesn’t sit right with me leaving him in the hands of a new showrunner, not only because he’s a white man but because he’s never had anything to do with TWD before in his life as far as I know. That’s terrifying. Who knows what he could do to Daryl. I hear you on all the practical reasons, which frankly just bums me out because I don’t want another long, anxiety-inducing story of Daryl and Carol trying to find their way back to each other. We already got that. I just want to see them work as a team and rely on each other and just be grateful that they have each other amidst all the chaos in the world. I’m ranting now so I’ll stop. You’re always welcome to hijack my blog. Love getting your insight. 

[s0ulm8s]

boys like you (1.0)

✿ summary : alone and left in a mansion with nothing but your canvases and the dust slowly collecting on the window sills - a commission and a call from a childhood friend completely changes your life.

✿ genre : ot7 x f!reader, poly au, hybrid au, soulmate au, deer!seokjin, black panther!yoongi, great dane!hoseok, wolf!namjoon, calico cat!jimin, tiger!taehyung, bunny!jungkook

✿ warnings : mentions of death, maybe some mentions of assault, some fluff, reader is described as small (i.e smaller than jimin), slight age gap (reader is younger than jungkook)

✿ word count : 2.2K

✿ author’s note : i am inexperienced in hybrid aus, smut, and series so pls bare with me (not proofread yet)

✿ series masterlist! | 2.0

making yourself buckle down and work on the piece in front of you had proven to be more of a task than you had originally anticipated. the wide expanse of blank canvas you had stretched yourself 3 weeks ago, mocked you from the the sun room. it was only four days before you had to deliver your piece that you had really forced yourself to pick up a paint brush and do something useful.

the endless days spent alone in the vast building you now called home was doing a number on your psyche. the sheer loneliness seemed to eat away at not only your sanity but aided to your artist’s block - it was truly a gruesome cycle. locked away in an beautiful estate that you never asked for.

not only that, but working from home and having an all but nonexistent social life in a country you only permanently moved to a year prior was a fate worse than you had imagined.

you huffed, finally setting your small brush down on the easel, stepping back to assess your final draft. despite being so unmotivated and plum out of ideas, you were still proud of what you created - you had promised yourself long ago that you’d never sell a piece you abhorred, and you’d remained true to that promise thus far.

a blaring ring ripped you out of your critical trance trained on the landscape in front of you, startling you as your heartbeat quickened in pace.

“hello?” you answered, soft voice flowing through the other end as you anticipated the response from the unknown caller.

“yah! y/n! is that you?” the voice that responded was loud and excited, the baritone of it something you could never forget. a staple soundtrack from the summers you spent with your father in south korea.

“mingi? how’d you get my number?” you asked, a genuine smile flooding your face at the sound of his familiar laugh on the other end. 

of course, the two of you had stayed in brief contact since meeting as children. but as you grew, you saw less of each other. three years ago he and his boyfriend, yunho, had successfully started their own rehabilitation and adoption center for hybrids. the first year was hard, but the business quickly gained popularity and as the creator - he’d been exceptionally busy since her permanent move to south korea. they had two permanent doctors on staff, kim hongjoong and park seonghwa, along with a 24 hour staff. the workers were really exceptional, but you had only ever met their core group when the business first started. which included: choi san, jung wooyoung, choi jongho, kang yeosang, the two doctors, and of course the two owners.

“you were commissioned by a friend of mine! which is actually why i wanted to reach out.” he answered happily as your breathing evened and heartbeat finally settled.

“it’s good to hear from you, really. what can i do for you?” you asked sweetly, and mingi only briefly thought about teasing you for your soft tone and giving nature.

“would you be able to come to the adoption wing today? i’m working here all day as we’ve some new hybrids ready to find a new home. maybe in about an hour? you could join me on my rounds and we could talk. i’d like to see you, anyways. i’ve missed you.” mingi spoke professionally, but his admission made tears prick at your eyes. he almost sounded like the sixteen year old boy who had stolen your first kiss when visiting your father that summer and the memory of when things were simpler stung in your chest. your cheeks flushed. mingi smiled at your silence, knowing he had flustered his best childhood friend. you narrowed your eyes briefly, as he had tried to convince you many times in the past to adopt a hybrid of your own - but you had declined, not entirely convinced that you could provide an exceptional life for another being. because even though your knowledge on hybrids wasn't nearly as advanced as mingi’s, you still knew the basics. they weren't just animals, they were human. and there was no guarantee there. there never was with humans. you hesitate.

“y-yes. i can come by, i’ve just got to swing by and deliver my painting beforehand.” you answered as you both agreed on the meeting the time. “oh, and mingi? i’ve missed you, too.” you said genuinely as he broke into a toothy smile. it had been ages since he’d seen you, and though he knew he could blame it on his work - he didn’t know how to face you after the death of your father. he couldn’t bring himself to be there for you, to see you so broken, and he had blamed himself for that everyday. it was a relief to hear you say it. you had always been so forgiving, sometimes to a fault.

after bidding your goodbyes to the tall boy on the other side of the phone, you quickly changed clothes into something not completely ruined by the muted pigments of your paint, loaded up in your small suv, and you were off.

the delivery of your piece went smoothly, no heckling or disapproving gazes from the wealthy couple, which made your trip to TWILIGHT that much faster. you pushed open the double doors connected to the building in the right wing, clearly labeled ADOPTION. 

the smell of roses and lavender was strong in the reception area, the scent was welcoming and calming as you walked up to the front desk. 

“y/n!” the dark haired boy behind the computer called, finally rolling away from behind the screen. kang yeosang. “it’s so good to see you!” he exclaimed, eyes scanning your face as he made his way around the counter and pulled you into a soft embrace.

“likewise, yeo! it’s been a while hasn't it?” you ask rhetorically as you stare up at his daunting height.

“mmm” he hummed with a nod, releasing you. “i'll let mingi know you’re here.” he called, returning to his place behind the sleek desk, paging mingi, and then proceeding to catch up with you.

the small conversation didn’t last long before a pair of heavy footsteps drug your gaze to the wide staircase, mingi barreling down them.

you braced yourself as the giant scooped you up into a bone crushing embrace, spinning your small frame around in a circle as he let out a happy laugh. your arms snaked around the man’s neck to secure your place and return the hug.

you giggled happily as mingi finally set you down in your original place, looking down at you excitedly. had he gotten taller? impossible. maybe you had shrunk?

after an exchange of excited greetings, mingi gestured to his clipboard before finally asking, “you ready?”

you nodded softly and followed close behind as he guided you down the halls of the adoption center. he gave you the rundown of their center, showing you the wide expanse of spotless rooms sealed in by plexiglass to show the hybrids ready to be rescued. he explained that most hybrids were separated by predator, prey, species, breed, etc. but many were grouped together with their respective packs. the rooms were quite lavish, but not very homey. but what could you expect from an adoption clinic? the point was to find homes.

you passed many show exhibits, watching intently at the small dogs or tall humans sitting in the rooms patiently, playing with one another or napping quietly. you cooed at a few.

“so i asked to see you because i’d love to have your art displayed in our business.” he propositioned, leading you into an empty room as the automatic doors opened and shut behind you. you nodded, heart lurching a bit as you recalled your artist’s block. you shook the thought away as you observed the room. it was large, littered with scattered pieces of nice furniture and random toys. “ideally, i’d love to have your pieces throughout the whole establishment but this is my main concern.” he finished, gesturing to the empty space on the large wall, the one you’re faced with when first entering.

“are you wanting a mural?” you ask, voice now stable and a bit louder. 

“i'd like the piece to cover the majority of the wall, but i’d rather have it on canvas if that’s doable. in case it needs to be moved.” he explained as you nodded, taking in rough measurements of the space as mingi explained his vision for the space - effectively helping you circulate a few ideas on what you could create. you accepted his offer as he discussed payment and supplies with you, adding in an extra cost at the large measurement of the canvas you’d need custom made.

the air in the room grew a bit thick at the sound of a small beep, alerting the two of you to another door opening. your skin was now a bit hot and you suddenly became very aware of your surroundings. your fingers tingled a bit. usually a foreign feeling such as the one you were experiencing would send you into a panic, but it didn’t. if anything you felt quite calm as you looked on inquisitively at the distant thump coming toward the two of you.

“ah, it’s look like some of our hybrids are finished with their check ups.” mingi announced as you nodded lazily. he turned to you. “we usually send them into the lounge area for about an hour after routine check ups. helps them calm down.”

suddenly, you could pay no mind to mingi’s words as a black bunny rounded the corner, back foot slapping the tile exceptionally hard every so often as you smiled down at the creature happily. it stopped in it’s tracks as it’s gaze landed upon you, rearing up on it’s back legs, and tilting it’s head innocently as it examined you. 

you knelt down to greet him, the bunny immediately approaching you and sniffing your hand before accepting you and nuzzling into you closer. mingi was taken aback as he observed the usually reserved and nervous rabbit.

“hello.” you cooed, stroking the bunny effortlessly, careful to avoid his ears and tail, briefly recalling how sensitive they could be. “what’s your name?” you asked as mingi coughed.

“this is jeongguk, he’s one of our younger hyrbrids. the youngest in his pack.” he told you as you picked the bunny up and set him into your small lap. mingi almost gasped at the interaction between you and the rabbit as you pet him happily.

your trance was interrupted at the light purr and brush of a small calico next to you. you instinctively reach out to pet him, as he rubbed into your hand. “and who might you be?”

“this is jimin, the two are in a pack.” mingi attempted to explain, trying to understand the absence of jimin’s usually protective behavior and unable to tell you the full story before you asked him something he was not expecting.

“and they’re ready to be adopted?” you asked softly, not even looking up at mingi as he stuttered. the idea of adopting a hybrid didn’t seem so far-fetched now at how taken you were with the two animals in your lap. you could handle the bunny and cat, without a doubt.

“y-yes but we only adopt out entire packs together and -”

“of course, i wouldn’t dream of separating them. is there anyway i could meet them properly, as soon as i possible i think -” you interrupt. starting to gush a bit, voice hushed and excitable.

mingi cut you off, “no, y/n. you aren’t listening. they aren’t just a pack of two.” he sighed, as your gaze finally met his. “in fact they aren’t just bunny and calico, they’re pack also includes that of a wolf, black panther, deer, great dane, and tiger... their pack has been hard to adopt out as it’s so rare for such a large mix of predators and prey... but they found each other and experienced a lot together... it was only inevitable. and we can’t separate them, we refuse to. and they won’t leave one another.” he finally finished explaining as your expression fell. you let out a breath. seven hybrids. all male. and three apex predators, at that. the thought of suddenly thrusting seven knew faces - seven new men - into your home was intimidating to say the least.

you looked down at the two animals in your lap, the bunny almost looked cresfallen. gauging your reaction as his big brown eyes stared at you expectantly. as if he knew you’d reject him. mingi continued rambling on about how many adopters had expressed interest in at least one of the pack but were never willing to bring in all seven. it hurt your heart as you watched on the bunny and calico.

the estate your father had left you was empty, though. begging to be occupied. you had more than enough room and were blessed with an untouched inheritance. maybe this is what you should use it for. you had always felt too guilty to spend it. but nothing seemed more right, which was a shocking realization to someone who never thought they’d adobt a hybrid.

“could i meet them? the seven of them? i’d at least want to give them a chance... truthfully, i dont think i can leave them behind.” you admitted softly, the bunny and cat both perked up, ears raised and twitching.

“of course. i can arrange a meeting and speak with them tonight... i’ll gather their files for you to take home tonight. can you make it back in again tomorrow?” mingi asked after a deafening pause of hesitation, mouth hanging agape before coming back into reality.

“i’ll be here.”

[whoseafraidofliloleme]

Invisible Chapter 9

Summary: YN YLN has always been third in Class 2-5, right behind Lee Su Ho and Kang Soo Jin but with both of them having left Saebom Highschool, this is her time to shine. That is until Han Seosangnim asks her to tutor Han Seo Jun. A guy who doesn’t even know she existed.

Ship: Han Seo Jun x Female Reader.

Word Count: 2011 words.

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated with any reactions or whatever you want to say. Again I really don't know where I am going with this.

Taglist: @thealexalcala @hayateotaku

Anyone interested in being added to the tag list, just let me know 😊.

True Beauty Masterlist

Chapter 8.

Chapter 9:

Sitting in the Ice Cream shop, opposite you and watching you laugh and joke with Hyun Ji and Cho Rong. This is something Seo Jun could get used to, he could imagine it now, going on dates with you and just enjoying his time with you. Granted before that happened. He had to ask you out to begin with, but imagining your dating life together wasn’t that bad. If Su Ho had been here, he would have whacked Seo Jun and told him to ask YN out already.

Feeling a poke in his side, Seo Jun looked to his side. Ju Kyung was smiling at him. Sighing, he knew she wanted him to admit his feelings for YN to her. It was too much fun to annoy Ju Kyung by keeping the information from her.

“You look her with heart eyes and yet don’t tell me about your feelings for her,” Ju Kyung whispered. Just this whole outing had revealed just how soft Seo Jun was for YN. Not just that, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he asked her out.

Without a doubt, YN would say yes, while Seo Jun was going soft for her. YN was smiling and laughing more around Seo Jun and she could calm him down in a second. He could make her laugh and get her out of her head. They were just well-matched and Ju Kyung like the rest of the class, Si Woo, and Cho Rong were waiting for them to get together.

“My feelings for YN are none of your business Lim Ju Kyung” Seo Jun sneered quietly to Ju Kyung. He knew how much Ju Kyung wanted him to admit his feelings for YN to her. But he wasn’t going to give her that. Annoying her by refusing to tell her was too funny. He thought that Su Ho would’ve spilt the beans. However, Su Ho proved that his loyalty to Seo Jun by not telling Ju Kyung.

Although with how much Seo Jun had been rambling about YN to Su Ho. The guy was losing his patience and Seo Jun could tell from Su Ho’s replies that if Seo Jun didn’t do something soon, Lee Su Ho would tell Ju Kyung and let Seo Jun deals with Ju Kyung’s reaction.

Ju Kyung smirked at Seo Jun. She hadn’t said a name, Seo Jun was just admitting his feelings without actually telling her. Even now, he wasn’t even paying attention to anyone else on the table. All his attention was on YN and he wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it. YN’s blushing cheeks were evidence that she could feel Seo Jun looking at her even if she didn’t look at him.

As the group left, the six of you were walking in pairs. Cho Rong and Ju Kyung at the front, Si Woo and Hyun Ji then you and Seo Jun were walking behind them. Seo Jun was holding your bag. Even though you insisted that he didn’t need to, Seo Jun just smirked at you and picked up your bag anyway. While the rest of the group were talking about school. You and Seo Jun were talking about your next study session that would be at your house. Your mum was quite fond of Seo Jun and had been asking you to bring him around again.

While walking, you heard someone calling your name. You turn around to see who is calling you. You smile and stop where you are, to let the person catch up to you. You hadn’t seen Cha Sun Lee since you’d graduated from Shinhwa Middle School. You hadn’t meant to lose contact with her, but it had happened anyway.

Seo Jun, looked confused as you waited for this random girl to come to you. The other 4 had walked ahead not knowing that you and Seo Jun had stopped. The two of you had been walking at a much slower pace than the others. As this girl got to you both of you hugged and started talking to each other. Feeling quite ignored, Seo Jun cleared his throat. That brought you and Sun Lee out of your reminiscing bubble. You smiled sheepishly at Seo Jun.

“Sorry about that Seo Jun, this is Cha Sun Lee, we went to Shinhwa Middle School together. Sun Lee this is Han Seo Jun” you explained, introducing the two people to each other. Sun Lee laughed and whacked your arm.

“Yah, YLN YN, we didn’t just go to Middle School together, I was also the one who got you and Gong Jae Yi together,” Sun Lee said laughing when you blushed. Nodding your head when Seo Jun looked at you confused.

“Yes yes, sorry forgot Sun Lee’s biggest achievement was being the matchmaker for Jae Yi and me,” you said rolling your eyes as Sun Lee fans herself acting like she is so important. There was no denying that Sun Lee played a big role in you and Jae Yi getting together. But it had been a few years and it was awkward talking about your ex-boyfriend with the guy you had a massive crush on being around there.

“Now that you mention it, Jae Yi is back and there’s a whole reunion happening. So gimme your number and I'll tell you, you can get Si Woo and Hyun Ji to come as well, we all lost contact with you 3 when you went to Saebom rather than Shinhwa High,” Sun Lee told you. You wanted to clarify that she had mentioned Jae Yi first but that would lead to a whole other conversation with Sun Lee. And quite frankly, you were still processing that she had just told you that Gong Jae Yi was back.

You smiled and gave her your number. She immediately called and you saved her number. You smiled at her, hugged her, and then said goodbye to her. Waiting for her to walk out of view, you turned to Seo Jun. He smiled at you, putting his arm around you, and carried on walking.

This shocked you. He didn’t ask any questions, even before he didn’t question you when he heard about Gong Jae Yi. You appreciated that Seo Jun didn’t ask or pester you until you caved and talked to him. No matter the situation, he would wait until you were ready to talk and then just listen to you. Then, he would just let you get all your unfiltered feelings out. Then would give his thoughts, calmly but never invalidating what you had told you.

It wasn’t new for Seo Jun to put his arm around your shoulders. He had been doing it a lot in the last few weeks. It was nice, you were used to Cho Rong, Si Woo or Hae Sung putting their arms around your shoulders. But it was different with Seo Jun, you didn’t have feelings for any of the other guys. When Seo Jun put his arm around your shoulders, you could pretend that you were his girlfriend. It was a little bit heaven, pretending that Seo Jun had feelings for you and that you were together. Sure, you knew it would never happen. Still, you liked the small bit of happiness this little gesture gave you.

It wasn’t until you and Seo Jun were at your home, washing the dishes. That you finally told Seo Jun about Jae Yi, this wasn’t the first time the 2 of you were washing the dishes. Whenever you were at Seo Jun’s house, you insisted on doing the dishes. Especially since Seo Jun’s mum was against you helping her cook and so you had to insist on doing something.

“So, Gong Jae Yi and I got together in the summer before my last year of Middle School and we broke up, a few months into us starting High School,” you told Seo Jun. You knew you had shocked Seo Jun, you’d both been washing and drying the dishes in silence until you broke that by bringing Jae Yi up. Seo Jun stopped wiping the bowl he had been holding. He turned to you and looked at you. You could feel Seo Jun staring at you. However, you avoided looking at him. On a good day, you couldn’t take looking at Seo Jun’s eyes without falling into those deep depths. Now, when you wanted to just get all of this out, you knew looking at Seo Jun wouldn’t help.

“You don’t have to tell me, Princess, I didn’t ask the first time and I’m not going to ask this time either” Seo Jun never asked that first time because it didn’t seem like the right time. So many things were happening in that week that Seo Jun had even forgotten. Well, he hadn’t forgotten but thinking about your ex-boyfriend was the last thing he wanted to do. It helped that, the first time he heard the name had been a busy week in itself. He just let the name go from one ear to another. Happily pretending to be ignorant about the fact that you had an ex-boyfriend named Gong Jae Yi.

“I know, but I want to tell you. Only Hyun Ji, Si Woo and Hae Sung know about us and what happened. We were happy, he didn’t go to Shinhwa Middle School, but we still made our relationship work. Well, that is until he was chosen to go on a High School exchange for the rest of his High School education.” Even though Seo Jun had stopped drying the dishes. You were still washing and just putting them to the side. Though you were over Jae Yi, obviously your feelings for Seo Jun were at a different level. There would always be a small part of you that still loved Jae Yi. Though it had been your idea to break up, that didn’t mean it hurt any less.

Seo Jun, made you put the dished in your hand down. He turned you to face him. Lifted your chin and gently wiped your tears. You didn’t even know you were crying. Guess that break up still hurt a lot. Seo Jun hugged you tightly, holding you close as you sobbed in his arms. Soe Jun hated that you were crying, yet he was happy to be there for you. He always wanted to be the one holding you. Helping you work through your feelings. As you pulled away, you apologised for getting his shirt wet, Seo Jun just laughed and told you it was nothing. Before you went back to doing the dishes, Seo Jun pulled you closer and kissed your forehead. You didn’t know why but you appreciated the gesture.

“Moving on from that sob fest, I need a favour,” you say, going back to washing the dishes. Trying not to think about how you had just sobbed in Seo Jun’s arms about Gong Jae Yi. You were such an embarrassment at times. What weirdo cries about her ex, in the arms of the guy she currently has feelings for. Well, you are that weirdo and now here you are asking Seo Jun for a favour.

“Well, if I can do it, I’ll do it, Princess,” Seo Jun said calmly. Already in his head, he had agreed to whatever you asked of him. Short of something illegal, there was nothing you asked of him that he wouldn’t do.

“I know, there’s a class outing planned for Saturday and I can’t go. I don’t want to be the one to tell the class” before you could finish.

“You want me to tell the class about you missing out on the class outing, sure I’ll do that tomorrow,” Seo Jun said interrupting you. You nodded your head and smiled at him. Not being able to go to the class outing. Having to tell the class about that was making you nervous enough. It was a weight off of your shoulders, that Seo Jun was going to tell the class for you.

Chapter 10.

[cloudy-leonhart]

AOT Characters with a filipino S/O!

[Author Note: I just made this out of impulse lol, I’ll make a part two with the AOT veterans- if it’s requested then I’ll make a part three with the Marley Warriors- feedback is also appreciated on all my posts :))]

[Summary: It’s just headcanons, AOT with a filipino S/O lol, that’s it. that’s the post.]

Recommended song: Sa Susunod Na Lang - Skusta Clee ft. Yuri.

Gender Neutral Reader.

Theme: Fluff, Modern AU.

TW: Swearing.

Characters: Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Marco, Connie, Sasha.

Eren Jaeger

He probably fucks up his greetings with your parents, surprisingly your dad loves him, both of them talk about basketball and boxing, whenever Many does a fight, you and him come over so Eren could watch with you dad.

This man gets bodied by your dad ALL THE TIME during basketball, it’s valid because your dad used to be a basketball player.

He eats with his hands, yes he also got that from your dad. Your mom always comes up to you, while Eren and your dad talk, she’s happy that you found someone, and that Eren reminds her a lot of your dad.

Mans swallows rice like it was no one’s business, he eats that shit with barbecue and vinegar. 

You can’t tell me he gets drunk with your dad and his friends?? They watch boxing matches and eat peanut while drinking beer.

For some reason he acts like he lives there?? Like the whole community knows about him, the kids like playing with him, the guys like doing karaoke and drinking beer with them, and the titas and lolas love talking about your relationship with him and how they would totally marry a guy like that if they ever met someone like that when they were younger.

His favourite thing about the culture? Probably how open the people were, they were very generous and kind.

Armin Arlert

When you first told him, he was kind of like, “okay??” but he also took time out of his day to research your culture, he’s the type to catch you in a sad mood where you really miss your country, and take time out of his day to try his best to make food from your culture.

He’s mastered to cook Tofu Sisig and Halo-Halo. You always ask him to make it for you whenever you’re sad.

He could never understand how your family’s able to sit in your traditional clothing, he tries his hardest not to scratch, he literally looks at you with a look begging for help because he was itchy but he didn’t want to take it off.

You had to explain that he doesn’t always have to participate in your culture, because respecting your culture was enough for you. Mans cried because he thought he was horrible for not wearing the Barong for the whole ceremony.

He does loves trying filipino recipes, he loves seeing you cook adobo or tapsilog in the morning, it just fills the house with an amazing aroma.

he knows how to say ‘i love you’ in Tagalog and he has fully replaced ‘I love you’ with ‘Mahal Kita.’ 

Favourite thing about the culture? The language, he just loves learning new words everyday, his favourite saying so far is, “Huwag kang mag-alala. Akong bahala.” (Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.)

Mikasa Ackerman

Poor baby was confused, she caught you talking on the phone in another language and she just stared concerningly at you, forgetting about whatever she’s doing.

She was also afraid to try your food?? Until you shove a ube-filled riceball (in filipino, Buchi) in her mouth, she ends up making it her comfort food, she asks you to make Buchi with her, she likes to eat the left over filling.

she actually wants to keep trying some of your culture’s food, her favourites so far is definitely Taho and Kaldereta, and of course Buchi.

She can’t say much in tagalog but she does know traditions, she did the binasuan dance with you once, amazingly she kept all cups in balance for her first time.

She knows how bless and actually calls people tita and tito, or ate and kuya. She was kind of, ahem, convinced, to call your parents nanay and tatay.

Your parents always complain about how you haven’t married Mikasa yet, Mikasa was confused about why she could hear them talking about her, but you reassured her that it was only just your parents egging you to marry Mikasa. In which she blushed in return.

Mikasa also learns recipes from Armin, those two cook for ther S/O’s so much that even their S/O feel like their not filipino enough, they got to try things even they didn’t know filipino culture had.

Jean Kirstein

SUPRISINGLY, he knows what blessing is, went as far as saying “Mano po.” whenever he did.

 your dad hates him for some reason lmfao like your dad’s always staring at him with a weird expression.

He’s scared of your dad, no cap. first time you guys went on a date and didn’t have a house together, he almost shit himself talking to your dad.

You tried to teach him to do the tinikling dance and he almost broke his leg.

You and your parents conversed by yelling at each other, like Sasha, he too thought that you were arguing with them and he tapped you on the shoulder like, “Should I leave?-” You were confused as he was, you had to explain that yelling was a way filipinos communicated.

He was concerned when you would hit him while laughing, you also had to explain that was also something most filipino’s communicated.

He tried picking the language up but he just butchers the pronunciation.

Favourite thing about your culture is the places, if he could he probably would’ve bought a private island.

Does this man know how to cook filipino food?? Yessir!! He’s absolute god at cooking, imagine when he finds out we have a whole CHEESE ice cream-

Mans was confused confused, why..would you like cheese ice cream?? surprisingly he likes the ice cream, it’s sweet and salty??

Connie Springer

THIS MAN- he thought filipino was a sexuality?? when you told him, he’s like “so, what gender do you prefer then?” 

HE WAS DUMBFOUNDED WHEN HE FOUND OUT WHAT FILIPINO MEANT-

I just know he shared filipino swears with Sasha, he actually grew accustomed to them, once in a while you’ll hear, ‘PUTANGINA’ throughout the house, because he stubbed his toe.

ugh he rocked the barong too, AND HE ROCKED HIS TINIKLING DANCE.

your titas seemed to love him?? Every time you talk to them, they ask if he’s doing okay.

He actually is a simp for filipinos, he was awestruck with how much beautiful women and men there were in the Philippines.

you cannot tell me this man doesn’t watch Manny Paqcuiao’s boxing fights.

In general he tries his best to respect your culture and not disrespect them, but he cannot bless for the life of him.

favourite thing about your culture is the adobo, he says its “bussin’”.

He drinks with your titos and your dad. No way he doesn’t, he also plays basketball with them.

traumatized somehow by the naked children running down the street sometimes- Filipino streets man, a little too comfortable-

He was shocked to find out that some people showered outside?? Like comfortably?

Man covers his whole face bc he feels like a perv.

Marco Bodt

Absolute researcher in your culture, like Armin, he actually makes sure he’s not disrespecting it or anything.

HE DOES THE BLESS GESTURE, but he whispers in your ear about how he accidentally blessed one of your titas too hard

his favourite filipino dish is Buko Pandan, he literally couldn’t help but get seconds when your grandma offered him a cup.

tbh he rocked his barong, he looked so good, like GAH DAYUM.

he picked up some words since he really loved being around your family, you were lively and your family was so open to accepting him.

you and him danced in a barong and baro’t saya for your wedding reception.

genuinely, he was in fearful awe when you caught a rat your parents have been complaining about in their house, remind you rats in the Philippines are as big as kittens 

He also calls you Mahal, it’s kinda cringey but you thought it was cute.

Favourite part of your culture, the clothing, he’s always asking to go to parties just so he can wear the barong.

he’s also deathly afraid of the bodies of water the Philippines has, he doesn’t know if murky water scares him more than clear water in the islands.

Mans tried his best to corporate your culture into your guys’ wedding, until your Tito Philip brought a WHOLE ASS LIVE CHICKEN as a wedding gift?!

he was kinda sad y’all didn’t keep the chicken.

Sasha Braus

Sasha honestly didn’t know that your were filipino until you spoke your language with a family member, you guys were yelling at each other and Sasha thought y’all were fighting-

she wants to learn the language BUT ONLY THE SWEARS, connie and her both.

she loves when you speak to her in your langauge, she loves guessing what you’re telling her. SHE ALSO LOVES WHEN UR PARENTS TRY TO SPEAK TO HER AND THEIR ACCENTS COME OUT.

you guys actually went to the Philippines for your guys’ honeymoon. did she almost spend all your money? yes, did you let her? duh.

Her most favourite thing about your culture is definitely the food, and beautiful people like you.

Genuinely rocks the Baro’t Saya, her short hair goes well with the dress, her colour was a dullish-pastel pink, she had a matching fan with it too! 

She wore it for your birthday, almost ruined it by almost spilling fruit salad on it.

THIS WOMAN- SHE WAS LITERALLY CRYING TEARS OF JOY WHEN SOMEONE BROUGHT OUT THE LECHON (a whole roasted pig).

Yes, she almost ate half of it, she would’ve probably finished it if it weren’t for her eating everything else, a human compost bin, you got leftovers? She’ll eat em.

She loved going to Jollibee with you, you and her have dates where you literally eat almost everything off the menu.

[jaehyunsuh]

nct ot23 reaction to: how they would act around their only girl member (in nct) during nct 2020

masterlist

go to the ask box to send questions♡ you can interact as much as you want !

TAEIL

TAEIL

to be honest I think he would be a little bit shy at the beginning.

but since he is the eldest he would do the most to make her feel comfortable and safe.

he would let her know that she can go to him if she ever needs anything.

he would help her a lot when it comes to music and signing, since he is really talented she would rely in him.

JOHNNY

since the second that she crosses that door he would be extremely nice amd caring.

he would also make sure that she always feel good and comfortable.

he would be one of the members to talk a lot when she comes for the first time.

he would ask lots of questions about where are you from and stuff like that.

TAEYONG

this little baby he would be a little ahy at first.

since he is a leader and he oftens likes to take care of people, he would also be like that with her.

he would let her know that she can come to him anytime, for any advice or anything.

he would be honest with her and would tell her that being an idol (and in this situation) is really hard and it’s not easty.

he would come to her when she is lonely, he would try to be her mentor like he did with sungchan (did u y’all saw that video? is the cutest thing ever:(( )

YUTA

at the beginning he would be super observing to see if he should trust her or not.

after that phase he would notice that she needs some guidance and help since she is new.

he would slowly start to build a nice relationship with her.

he would act like an older brother honestly, someone who can help her and make her feel protected, even with thing about her private life.

he would always give her advices and have deep talks about life and about things that she should be focused on.

he would just be such a nice person.

KUN

we all know that he is naturally caring and kind, and he just takes care of people always.

this time it wouldn’t be any different.

he would be so polite when he first meets her.

he would talk to her and make her feel comfortable. He would tell her things like that all members are nice, that they are good people and stuff.

he would warn her about not getting unto trouble with the company like not giving spoilers and doing certain stuff.

he would tell her to be careful because there’s mean people out there.

he would give a whole class about how to have control over the sasaeng situation because it’s hard for all membersz

he would always check on how ahe is doing, if she needs any help. He is just so nice I can’t!!

he would probably cook for her too. I just love domestic kun, I’m sorry

DOYOUNG

do I have to say it? He is gonna be the number 1 guide, and it would definitely feel like a touristic guide lol.

he would probably be the first one to say hi, ask her name, age, country and all of that basic information.

he would honestly be really really excited to have someone around that he can take care of and show all the stuff that being an idol is about.

when being in the company he would show every single studio, bathroom, garden, just pretty much every place.

he would help her on her singing (if she is a singer idk) and he could spend hours on just helping her.

when not doing schedule together for some time, he would definitely invite her to have dinner every once in a while so she can update him.

he would just always be so supportive and cheer for her.

he would watch every show that she ia on and later text her about how well she did.

TEN

he would be just so so nice.

he would know her for two seconds and then automatically become best friends.

he would ask her a lot of questions to make her feel comfortable.

if they end up having the same taste in music or something, he would be ao excited about and he would love to have some to talk to about this.

I think he gives great advices, so he would be honest with her and talk about all the things that come with being an idol.

I think he would always make sure that she is taking care of her mental health, and he would tell her to come to him if she needs anything.

he would definitely help her with her dancing. He doesn’t mind at all helping and making her feel better about something that it’s being hard for her.

JAEHYUN

he would be really curious and kinda excited about it since he never expected a girl to be in the group.

he would always be really nice and polire around her.

when he meets her for the first time he wouldn’t want to shower her with questions since other members are already doing it lol. He wouldn’t want her to feel uncomfortable.

he would always make cute and nice conversations when she is around.

he would show her cool and new music because she probably likes his music taste.

he would help her with whatever she meeds, she would always listen well to her and give good advices.

probably would invite her to a coffee date or smth to catch up.

WINWIN

he would think that she is so adorable.

he would be kinda shy around here ar first.

he wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable when she first arrives, but after he would come to her and introduce himself.

he would always be so nice.

when she is around, sitting somewhere alone, he would go and talk to here.

he would slowly become friends with her and he would feel really comfortable around her.

everyone would be jealous because he is actually so caring and cute just with her lol.

he would always give her advices and let her know that she can count on him om whatever she needs.

JUNGWOO

he would be really really excited.

when he meets her for the first time he would be all over the place, he would ask her a lot of questions. He would make her feel so nice and welcomed.

she would become his little sister and he would protect her from anything or anyone !!

he would always invite her to hang out and like that grow closer to him and other members as well.

he would talk to you about how to be safe when dancing.

he would also tell you not to stress to much and take care of your mental health before anything else because he wouldn’t want you to become upset or anxious.

LUCAS

he would feel really excited that there’s someone that he can take care of.

he would be really welcoming and nice when first meeting her.

he would teach her moves that she is lacking om, he would give her advices on how to do better at singing and dancing.

he would always check on her, her health, her psychical condition, he would just want her to be okay.

he woud warn her about the crazy people that could be mean to her or the ones that would be fake and just be friends with her just because she is famous.

MARK

at first he would be a little bit ahy because he wouldn’t know how to approach them properly.

but after he gets to know her they would form a cute bond because you know, it’s mark lee, who doesn’t love mark lee?

he would end up being kinda close to her (like I imagine he is to kang mina) and he would really value that friendship.

he knows how it is to take care of someone because dreamies have always felt support in him and have always consider him an older brother.

som naturally he would have that relationship with her.

without wanting to he would always check on her and see how she is doing.

even if they don’t hace schedule together he would always be in communication with here to see what she is up to.

he would help her with anything, singing, rapping, dancing, performing. Whatever she needs, he is available to give her an advice.

XIAOJUN

he would be so freaking cute, i’m so soft by just imagining it.

he would be really kind and polite, kinda like jaehyun at first.

he would come to here when she is alone so like he would feel more comfortable to establish a nice conversation and get to know her better.

he would always make sure that she feels good and comfortable.

he would give her a lot of techniques and advices on how to sing better.

I feel like he would have litlle inside jokes together and would laugh a lot about it.

HENDERY

he would be really excited about, he seems like he likes to make new friends so he would like to have someone to talk to.

he would talk to her a lot and make sure that they become close.

they would laugh a lot together because you know, it’s hendery.

he would convice her on doing pranks on other members and tell her that she is gonna be fine and not get in trouble lol.

he would convince her on playing games with him.

he would be a really good friend and always be there for her even with things that don’t have to do with their carrers.

RENJUN

he would be a little bit shy at first but hw would feel good to have someone around his age.

he would be really really friendly.

I think he likes to make people feel well and welcomed, so he would do his to always make her feel good, be included a build a nice bond.

he would always talk to her and laugh a lot.

he would ask her to hang out.

he would be a really sweet friend and he would always give her advices.

he would show her his art and he would ask her if she wants to try too, and later he would teach her how to draw and paint .

JENO

I feel like he is one of the sweetest and nicest people so I think he would want to give her a nice welcome and make sure that she feels comfortable.

he would always talk to her like, always. He wouldn’t want her to feel lonely at any time.

I think he would like to have someone that he can take care of, more in a situation like this where she is new to nct and also that is new to the idol world, he would definitely want to protect her and also give her advices so she can feel okay.

he would always take care of her, kinda like the relationship that he has with doyoung.

also he would protect her from the other dreamies when they are getting too intense.

I feel like he would introduce her to working out with him or the bicycling.

HAECHAN

he would be so freaking excited about. He likes to socialize and make friends so he would like to have someone new to have around.

he would make her feel really welcome.

he would probably definitely be one of the firsts members to approach her when she firsts comes.

he would shower her with questions and he would also tell her the story of his life.

he would love to take care of he and check on how she is feeling.

he would be really honest to her about how it is to be an idol.

he would definitely help her with her singing and dancing.

I honestly think he would be respectful with her and wouldn’t tease her as much as he does with any other member. He would just joke with things that he knows that she is okay with.

haechan KNOWS how to take care of people, he has younger siblings and he is so sweet so he is gonna put that out.

JAEMIN

oh my god he is just such a sweet angel, he would be really happy to have someone new.

he is quiet when first meeting people so he probably would approach her slowly and that way start talking to her.

he will always be soft and caring around her.

he would always ask if she wants to eat something, drink something, if she wants to sit where he is sitting. Just gentleman stuff like that.

this whole thing reminds me that when they were doing the relay cam schedule jaemin exchanged his with sungchan’s, because sungchan didn’t seem so convinced. He changed with him after a second a no one noticed but you can see it in the video. He is just so nice !! this us the type of stuff i’m talking about.

he would always include her in any conversation.

he would always check on any variety show or song that she is on, and later would text her congratulating her.

he would ask her to hang out with the real of the dream member or have lunch together or just do something, all the time!! he just wants her to feel good.

YANGYANG

he would feel like a little kid when he knows someone new is arriving.

he would smile all the time when he is around her.

he would introduce himself and tell her something like they can be friends forever or something.

he would ask her a lot of questions, he would genuinely be really curious about her.

he would make her feel really comfortable, even tho he does crazy and random stuff out of nowhere, he would want her to be spontaneous too.

he would beg her to play with him.

SHOTARO

he is new as well so he would feel good about having someone that went through the same as him.

he would be really freaking nice.

he would be a little shy at first but later he would do the most effort to become good friends.

I think he would let her know that she can count on him for anything.

they both would share about how it was for both of them to debut in nct and be new member.

he would definitely help her in anything that has to do with dancing !!

they would really support and rely on each other a lot.

sungchan x shoraro x her, would have the cutest friendship because they can relate to each other’s feelings.

SUNGCHAN

I think he is shy but he would do the most to have a friendship with her.

he knows how it feels to be new in a large group of people and also new to the kpop industry so he can relate.

he would have deep conversations with her about how they feel with everything that is happening in his life.

he would help her and teach her just like taeyong did with him i’m crying, they are the cutest when they are together.

CHENLE

he would be really really curious, he really wants to socialize.

just like yuta, I feel like at first he would analyze this girl to see if he should trust her or not.

later he would find out that she is nice and safe so it would be okay.

even tho she is older than him he would want her to see him as a protector.

I honestly feel like he would be really really nice to her.

He knows people is rude when you are famous and even more with a girl, so he would talk to her about it.

he would have some deep talks with her.

JISUNG

he would be surprised with the new but he would be curious about having a girl on the group.

he would probably be the most shy out of the 23 people😭😭

obviously the dreamies wouldn’t let him rest until he goes and introduces properly to her.

they would probably ship her with jisung as a joke just to make him feel flustered lol poor boy.

he would slowly find his way to start a nice friendship with her.

the would have a really lowkey strong friendship and everyone would be shocked that they became so close.

but cmon, jisung is actually so nice and friendly, he is always gonna make good friends.

they would have their own inside jokes and it would be the cutest thing ever.

even tho she is older, they have each others back and take care of each other a lot.

he would help her with the dances and would show her some choreographies that he has made.

[cocobeanncteez]

ATEEZ Yeosang Imagine: When he's secretly dating you and his friends bully you.

Genre: Angst, fluff, high school au.

Pairing: badboy!Yeosang x fem!reader

Words: 4k

Warnings: Bullying, profanities.

You didn't flinch when you felt a crumpled paper hit the back of your head—you were so used to it now. You could hear familiar laughter while another paper was thrown, and it landed right on top of your desk. You slowly straightened it out, unsurprised to find the same words you were called pretty much everyday—bitch, dweeb, nerd, prude. You put the paper in the pocket of your uniform's skirt, mentally reminding yourself to throw it away later.

"Hey, you nerd!" you heard Jung Wooyoung yell from across the classroom, but you ignored him. He was part of Ateez—a so-called group of eight bad boys who were absolutely nothing but trouble. They were always picking on someone, so most students here were scared of them. You became their victim about three months ago when you accidentally bumped into Song Mingi while you were rushing to class; he thought you were the perfect target, and all his friends joined in on bullying you. 

While you were lost in your thoughts, Jung Wooyoung slammed his fist on your wooden desk, making you flinch at the sudden loud sound. "How dare you fucking ignore me, you stupid bitch?!" Your classmates quietly watched the scene, not daring to open their mouths and stand up for you; they knew that they would be next on the target-list if they even uttered a word. You only had two friends at school and both of them didn't share any common classes with you, except mathematics.

You would've stood up for yourself and slapped Jung Wooyoung across his face, but unfortunately for you, he happened to be your boyfriend's childhood and closest friend. You knew how much your boyfriend, Kang Yeosang, loved and cherished Wooyoung and the other six boys, so you never fought back whenever any of them bullied you. They didn't even know that you were dating Yeosang for almost six months now.

Yeosang always laughed with them while you got bullied, but at the end of the day, he would check up on you, pulling you into his arms and kissing you gently while he mumbled an apology.

Wooyoung was going to yell at you again, but your teacher arrived, saving you. He glared at you before he quietly returned to his seat; you knew he would come after you again once class ended.

And you were right.

"Stop right there," Wooyoung said, harshly grabbing you by your arm, and pushing you against the student lockers; you winced in pain. Mingi was right behind him, smirking at the situation.

"What did she do now, Woo?" San asked, walking towards the three of you, Seonghwa and Yeosang trailing behind him. Yeosang gave you a questioning look, but you only shook your head slowly. Only Seonghwa noticed the small exchange between you and Yeosang, but he didn't say anything.

Wooyoung snorts. "This little prude here ignored me in class. Shouldn't we teach her a less—"

"Listen, I'm fucking starving right now," Yeosang said in an annoyed tone, interrupting Wooyoung. "Can we please go eat?"

"But—"

"Same," Seonghwa said. "Let's not waste our lunch break. We can deal with her later."

"Fine," Wooyoung scoffs. "This isn't over yet, bitch," he mumbled lowly to you before following the rest of the boys to the cafeteria.

You took a deep breath, resting your head against the locker. You really wished Yeosang would just tell them you were his girlfriend; it would make everything so much easier. You wondered why he still hasn't told them when you've both been dating for nearly half a year. You couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with you. Was he embarrassed to be with you because you weren't the rebellious type like him and his friends? Or was it something else?

You sigh, scrunching your eyes closed while your head slightly pounded at your temples. The whole situation was seriously messing with your head. You see both your friends—Heejin and Jiwoo— making their way towards you, looking at you with worried eyes. They knew you were dating Yeosang and weren't really supportive of it.

"What's wrong?" Heejin asked.

"Headache," you replied.

She nods, taking your hand in hers. "You need to eat, Y/N." She dragged you to the cafeteria while Jiwoo happily told you both about a guy she was starting to like.

Once the three of you got to the cafeteria and bought your respective food, you sat at your usual table which was at the end of the cafeteria.

You could hear familiar laughter and you didn't even have to look at them to know who they were.

Ateez sat at their usual table which was right in the middle of the cafeteria, grabbing nearly everyone's attention. Of course, most people didn't look at them; they didn't want accidental eye-contact resulting in their life getting miserable every day.

A chorus of 'ohhs' were heard, and everyone glanced at Ateez curiously. However, the moment you looked up from your food, your stomach dropped.

Your heart ached at the sight of a girl—the most popular girl in your school— sitting on Yeosang's lap while he looked up at her with a smirk; the same smirk he always gave you whenever he teased you.

"Well, it's about time," you heard a guy seated at the table behind you say. "Kim Shinah has been trying to date him ever since the year started." You knew this, of course. Everyone at your school did. However, Yeosang told you he had absolutely no interest in her and found her quite annoying, so you were quite confused as to why he was letting her sit on his lap, let alone come close to him.

You glanced down at your food, not feeling like eating anymore. Your friends gave you a worried look.

Heejin sighed. "Y/N . . . "

You shook your head. "It's fine," you lied, smiling slightly. "I lost my appetite." You got up from your seat and disposed your food tray before you headed to your next class.

×××

You barely texted Yeosang for the next two weeks and you didn't meet him after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays like you usually did; you told him that you were busy studying for the upcoming exams in two weeks. You didn't eat at the cafeteria because Kim Shinah was always busy flirting with Yeosang there; it was too much for you to watch.

Yeosang noticed something was off today when he realised that you haven't replied to his texts in three whole days. He secretly tried to approach you in school, but unfortunately for him, he couldn't find the right opportunity as one of his friends was always there. He felt quite sad that you weren't even glancing at him.

After school ended, you sat on a bench right beside your school's outdoor basketball court, scrolling through your social media while waiting for Jiwoo and Heejin so you all could take a bus home together.

"Oh, look! It's the dweeb!" you heard Song Mingi say. You could see the rest of Ateez through your peripheral vision. You ignore them, keeping your eyes on your phone.

"Your skirt is pretty short for a prude," San said, pointing at your uniform skirt that had moved up your thighs a little.

"Virgins are really so desperate," Hongjoong remarked, and the others agreed. You wanted to laugh and tell them how one of their own friends took your virginity away not too long ago. On the other hand, Yeosang was pissed off with his friends' behavior, but he didn't show it. He acted like nothing was affecting him.

"But it would be so nice to fuck her," Mingi chuckled.

Jongho and Yunho nod. "Imagine how tight this little virgin—"

You had enough now.

You snorted, shocking them because of your 'bold' move. You locked your phone and put it in your pocket before you got up from the bench, looking straight at your boyfriend.

"Your friends are talking about fucking me," you said to Yeosang in a nonchalant tone. "Are you not going to say anything? Not even now?"

Wooyoung scoffed. "Why the fuck are you talking to him, bitch?"

Yeosang only stared back at you, unsure of what to say. He wanted to defend you so badly, but at the same time, he couldn't. At least not in front of his friends.

"I see," you chuckled at his silence. "Let's just . . . " you felt your heart ache. "Let's break up, Yeosang."

Yeosang's eyes widened, feeling his heart shatter into a million pieces. He never thought you would ever break up with him. Seonghwa didn't seem surprised, and the other six boys were shocked.

Yunho turned to Yeosang. "What the fuck is she saying, Yeo—"

Yeosang took a step towards you. "Babe . . . you seriously cannot be breaking up with me for this," Yeosang said, clearly hurt. One of the boys gasped, not expecting this to actually be true; who would've thought the bad boy would choose a goody-two-shoes.

"If you think this is the only reason, you're wrong," you deadpanned. "It's been six months since we started dating, Yeosang. Do you think I'm not tired of you ignoring me in front of everyone? You cancel our plans whenever you have to be with your friends. You laugh along with them whenever they're fucking harassing me, your girlfriend. Your friends have been bullying me for three months now and you wouldn't even say shit. Instead, you join in." You didn't care that the seven boys were listening to this. You didn't care that at this point, tears were streaming down your face. "You even let Kim Shinah sit on your lap and you've been fucking flirting with her right in front of me. You told me you had no interest in her. Who knows what the fuck you do behind my back!" Heejin and Jiwoo had just arrived, standing beside you. Yeosang had a pained expression on his face as he took in everything you just said.

"I really can't do this anymore," you stated, wiping away your tears with the back of your hand. "It's over, Yeosang." you give him a small smile before you walked away. Jiwoo followed you while Heejin gave Yeosang a disgusted look.

"You're an asshole, Kang Yeosang. I can't believe she actually loved you," Heejin said before she ran to catch up with you and Jiwoo.

Yeosang stared straight ahead of him, hands clenching into fists. He was so upset with himself. "I fucked up so bad. I love her so much. I really fucked up big time."

"Hyung . . . you're crying," Jongho murmured. Yeosang didn't even realize that. He lets out a broken chuckle while wiping his tears. He left without saying a word to anyone, wanting nothing more than to be alone.

"I knew this would happen," Seonghwa muttered while watching Yeosang walk away, but the boys heard him.

"You knew about this?" Wooyoung asked.

"No, but I kinda figured out recently that there was something going on between them," Seonghwa replied. "I don't know about you guys, but it was really obvious to me that Yeosang liked her. We should go apologize."

×××

You were at your school's library, studying for the exams scheduled for next week. Yeosang didn't go after you or contact you after you broke up with him. In fact, Yeosang hadn't even come to school after that, which was a week ago. His friends didn't bully you anymore and they all apologized for everything. You accepted their apology after they promised to never bully you or anyone else again.

You were just about to leave the library to go home, but someone stopped you. "Y/N, can we talk?" You nodded and followed him outside, waiting for him to speak.

"What is it, Seonghwa?" you asked anxiously when he wasn't saying anything. His silence was making you feel uneasy.

Seonghwa sighs sadly. "Yeosang . . . "

Your heart ached at the mention of his name. "What about him?" you whispered, looking away.

"It's hard to explain," Seonghwa said. "It's better if you see him instead."

"I-I can't, Seonghwa."

"Please, Y/N," he begged. "I know he fucked up, but you really need to see him right now."

You thought about it for a minute before you agreed. Seonghwa drove you to Yeosang's new apartment that he rented out two months ago after his parents kicked him out.

Seonghwa dropped you off at the entrance of the apartment complex before driving off.

You sighed as you made your way to Yeosang's apartment. You rang his doorbell, but no one answered. You rang it twice again, but there was still no response. You bit your lip, contemplating whether you should enter his passcode—the one he had before you broke up. "Fuck it," you muttered after waiting for another minute. You entered the passcode which happened to be your date of birth; you were surprised he didn't change it yet.

You went inside, wondering why his curtains weren't drawn at this time. The room was dim and there were empty Soju bottles scattered on the floor.

Your heart sank at the sight of Yeosang asleep on the floor, curled up into a fetal position. He was wearing the grey hoodie you had gotten him for his birthday.

You kneeled down beside him, running your hand through his messy brown hair. You noticed the dark circles under his eyes and he lost some weight. "What have you done to yourself . . . " you whispered. You went to his room and got a blanket. You placed it over his body and put a pillow under his head before you headed to his kitchen to make dinner with whatever ingredients you could find.

Yeosang woke up an hour later, confused because of the delicious smell of food. "Seonghwa hyung . . . ?" he called out, his voice deep as he just woke up. When he got no reply, he forced himself to stand up, making his way to the kitchen.

Yeosang rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Hyung, how did you get into my apartment? I don't think I've ever told you the pass— Y/N . . . ?"

"I made dinner," you said while putting some rice in a bowl. Yeosang stood there with a dumbfounded expression, wondering if he was still too sleepy. "Go freshen up," you said. He nodded slowly after realizing you were really here before going to the bathroom.

When he came back, he sat down with you at the dining table. "Y/N, I—"

"Eat first," you interrupted him. "We'll talk after this." He nodded obediently, immediately taking a bite of his food. He finished the entire thing in less than five minutes. "When was the last time you had a proper meal?" you asked.

"Last week," he answered. "Seonghwa hyung tried to make something for me, but I couldn't eat . . . so he forced me." He hesitantly reached out to cup your cheek, stroking your skin gently.

"What are you doing . . . ?" you murmured, involuntarily leaning into his touch that you missed so much.

"Just making sure you're really here and I'm not dreaming," he said before his eyes started watering. "Y/N, I . . . I'm so sorry." Your head told you not to forgive him, but your heart disagreed.

You stood up from the chair and went to his side, pulling him into a hug while he cried. "It's fine, Yeosang."

"It's not," he sobbed. "It's not fine and you know it. I said— I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt you and would protect you from everyone. I promised I would never be the reason behind your tears. And look at what I did! God, I fucking hate myself for hurting you." Your heart hurt at the way he cried. You ran your fingers through his soft hair, trying to calm him down. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I want to ask you for another chance, but I know I don't deserve it," he whispered. "I failed to be a good boyfriend. I failed to be the man you could trust, and I failed to be the man you could l-love and—"

You brought his lips to yours, cutting him off. "I love you, Kang Yeosang. I'm in love with you. I have been for quite sometime now. Yes, you fucked up and I shouldn't be here, but I just can't let you go . . . I really love you, Yeosang. I want to give you another chance." He wiped your tears that began to fall.

"I don't deserve you, Y/N," he said with a sad smile. "But thank you for giving me another chance and for loving me . . . I swear I won't fuck up this time."

You kissed the birthmark beside his eye. "I know you won't . . . But I want an explanation."

He nodded. "There's nothing much to say, I was a fucking asshole. My friends always kept saying that I'm the innocent one, so I bullied people along with them to prove that I'm not what they think I am . . . and then I just got into it. I swear I wanted to beat them up for hurting you and saying all those awful things, but I just couldn't. I wasn't able to speak up even if I really wanted to . . . As for Kim Shinah, they told me to flirt back just to see her reaction. I swear I don't have any feelings for her or anyone else who isn't you." You listened to every word he said, contemplating on what to do. "You really don't have to forgive me, Y/N, after I put you through so much shit. I'll accept whatever decision you make, even if," he took a deep breath. "Even if you say you never want to see me again. I know I'm a bad person."

You shook your head, running your hands through his hair. "Everyone deserves another chance if they're willing to change, Yeosang. We all make mistakes, some forgivable and some unforgivable. But to me, what's important is how you deal with it afterwards. You're not a bad person, Yeosang. Yeah, you got carried away with all that, but that doesn't make you a bad person overall."

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stood up from the chair, pulling you into a tight hug. "Thank you, baby. I swear I'll change. I fucking swear I'll become so much better that you'll be so proud to call me yours."

You cupped his cheek, wiping away his tears. "I'm already proud of you now," you say with a grin.

Yeosang leaned in, crashing his lips onto yours. "I love you, Y/N," he said in between kisses. "So much." You smiled against his lips, pulling away.

"I love you more, Kang Yeosang," you said before wrapping your arms around his neck, happily bringing his lips back to yours.

[seodami]

Dearest treasure | KTH

|PART 1| |PART 2| |PART 3|

Summary: Every kid in town was afraid of Kang Taehyun, the old -slightly creepy- man living alone for years and years in the same run down house. Every night he would go into his backyard with a shovel and dig a hole into the earth. No one knows why and there are kids rumouring about him burying people. Jungwon was a bright kid, wanting to find out the truth behind this widely spread rumour for a school project. And what he found out would change his life forever.

Genre: fluff, angst, flashbacks, story of life, snippets of life, tiny bit humour

Warning: old Taehyun, mention of death, mention of suicide/suicidal thoughts, death

Word count: 10152 (all 3 parts together)

Pairing: Kang Taehyun x reader, (Yang Jungwon)

Note: Wow okay so this story took me a while to write and I listened to hours of das music to finish this🥺 this was honestly an emotional rollercoaster. But I’m so glad it’s finally finished so I can post it on here yayyy!!! I hope you like it an enjoooyy (please tell me if you cried I would really appreciate your responses haha bc I did)

Main masterlist

2021

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Hueningkai, happy birthday to youuuu...” the crowd gathered in the small kitchen around said birthday boy, singing more or less in unison, while some were eagerly hitting his back, hoping he would finally blew out the 18 candles on top of the colourful decorated cake. Yeonjun, one of his friends managed to sweep some of the delicious cake frosting onto his finger just to smear it right across the now 18 year old boy’s cheek.

Taehyun let out a loud laugh, holding their other friend Beomgyu back from joining in on the incoming chaotic frosting war. It was far too crowded in this hot tiny kitchen for having at least 20 people smearing each other’s faces and ruining their make up. It was like everyone was going wild, letting free their stress and problems of the day.

It wasn’t until Taehyun himself felt something wet and extremely cake scented against his own cheek - and due to his rapid motion - also on his lips. His eyes met yours for the first time that moment. And he swears, his heart must have felt extremely sporty this exact moment because it started racing like crazy when he saw that adorable cheeky grin sneaking on your face, eyes moving swiftly down to his lips, where the frosting had been put, before going back to his eyes again. There was a mischievous glint in your eyes, which immediately pulled him into a ban. It fascinated him too much to look away.

He didn’t know how long you were just silently teasing each other, but the next moment he wasn’t holding onto Beomgyu’s arm anymore. He sweeped up some frosting himself on his index finger, deeply digging into the cake, and before you could even realize what was going to happen, there was already a big fat purple trail of frosting from your cheek up to your nose. Taehyun playfully laughed at his creation, trying to get away from you as fast as possible as soon as he saw your determination in your face. Oh you were so not gonna lose to this boy.

You chased each other laughing around the kitchen, the connection strangely already built, even though none of you could explain how or why. It was just there, like a spark in the dark. You managed to find the perfect opportunity to sneak up behind him, looking searching into the crowd, and slap some more frosting right on his other cheek. Taehyun let out a surprised squeal, with one swift motion he had already turned around to look at your big lively eyes. The blonde boy could only laugh in disbelief, seeing you burst out into a fit of giggles. Taehyun didn’t see the intense stare from his now 18 year old friend in his back, nor did he see how your heart skipped a beat when you took a glance at him.

It wasn’t his intention to only talk to you this long evening. It wasn’t his intention to ruin Hueningkais mood because he kept his crush away from him. And it most definitely wasn’t his intention to fall for you and your witty charm so quickly. But let’s be honest, life wasn’t made to be perfect. It was made to be full of surprises and colourful like a big bag of candy. You never knew what you would get.

2022

Your first kiss happened on a random Thursday evening. When you decided to tag along a few of his friends to a camping trip, Taehyun knew that would be his downfall. When you two first met at Hueningkais birthday party almost a year ago, he didn’t knew about his younger friends huge crush on you. Quite honestly, he felt horrible for what happened at this day. And he felt even worse about the feelings he was secretly harvesting for you.

When his friend Soobin told him about the youngest misery, the first thing Taehyun did was rushing to Kais house and apologise for not knowing. He could see that day how his previous actions were burdening his friend, even though he tried to hide it, they were crushing his happy self down. And Taehyun swore to himself after this day, that he would never ever want any person to change just because of his behaviour. He wanted Hueningkai to always be this bright, cheerful, innocent boy he knew and everyone adored. And what was even more important to him: he swore to never let a girl go between any of their friendships. And if you were important to Kai, Taehyun wholeheartedly meant to step back and let his brother-like friend find his happiness. He really meant it.

But it had to come differently. Taehyun tried a whole year not to come into contact with you. He tried to not be present at the same events as you, he tried not to answer your friendly ‘hey’ messages at midnight and he tried to avoid your eyes whenever you walked past each other. But how could he be prepared for this camping trip- 24 hours a day with you in close proximity. It was a challenge set to fail at the very beginning. And he knew it.

It was visible for everyone that you saw Hyuka as just a friend. You didn’t have the sparkle in your eyes like you did when you looked at the blonde boy and you didn’t searched his eyes in a crowd of peoples. You always looked for Taehyuns eyes. Not for Hueningkais. But how could anyone resent him to not realize after having a crush on you for already over 5 years. Yet nobody dared to tell him. They didn’t want him to be hurt.

But this one evening was different. Taehyun could have run away. He could have. But he didn’t when you approached him sitting alone on a small cliff, the warm sea water flowing peacefully and steadily under their feet. His face was turned slightly upwards towards the disappearing sun. It was still warm and humid. You silently sat down next to him, only a few centimetres apart. It was too close for his liking. He could smell your scented hair and see the little redness on your cheeks from the shining sun just hours before. He could see your pink lips moisturised and glistening as your tongue glided against the flesh. You were way too close and it made him anxious.

He could have just left or stared blankly ahead of him but you made it so hard for him to not to fall into a comfortable and excited flow of talking. And before he knew, the both of you talked and laughed together, shoulder against shoulder, thighs brushing against each other here and there. Anyone could have seen the chemistry between the two of you. The sparks were almost flying a mile away.

Soon, Taehyuns nervous glances behind his back stopped as darkness rolled over you and the only thing he could see was you in front of him in the soft light of the moon. Your face was so close. Your lips were just there. Just for him. And not a split second before the thought had gotten into his mind, you closed the small gap between you two.

He didn’t knew what had gotten into him that exact moment. He knew it was so wrong, yet it was so right. It happened so quick- your lips against his- maybe he even imagined it but the tingling against his own lips afterwards pulled him back into reality. He goddamn kissed his brothers crush and now he had to live with the consequences. And he was so afraid.

2023

A year later, everything seemed going in every thinkable direction. Yet, it went all differently than he thought. A lot had happened after that first kiss of yours. It wasn’t very difficult for your friends to figure out the whole situation and set together all the puzzle pieces. Soon they all knew about you two. It didn’t made any sense to stay away from each other when you two obviously were head over heels for each other. You tried hiding your blooming relationship but was it really an option to begin with?

The moment Taehyun dreaded more than anything else, was Kai finding out. And of course he did. When he saw you two coincidentally at the ice cream parlour, trying each other’s flavours, your head laying on his shoulder, he knew. Deep down he knew it before and deep down he was understanding that he never could be in Taehyuns shoes. He always felt like he was lacking, comparing himself to his best friends. It was like a heavy punch inside his abdomen, maybe also in his face. And when Taehyun turned around, meeting Hueningkais teary, hurt eyes, he felt like crying himself. He felt so much worse than he thought he would. He felt so useless, like the worst person alive. He broke his best friend. And he suddenly wanted to turn back time to Kais 18th birthday party and wished he never smeared that cake onto your face.

It was a tough time afterwards. You never knew about Kais crush on you, so it left you feeling utterly helpless. You wanted to help somehow but just made it worse. Taehyuns friendship with Kai also was severely damaged and you felt it was just because of you. To say the least, you both felt horrible. But could you really if you both just followed your heart?

It took a while but for Taehyun it was every second worth the wait when Hueningkai came to talk to him. It was a long heartfelt conversation filled with tears, apologies, forgiveness and lots of hugs. Taehyun felt deeply thankful towards his friend. Kai knew he couldn’t hold his friends happiness away from him. He knew a girl who didn’t want him wasn’t worth losing one of his dearest and closest friends. He knew his feelings for you soon or later would disappear. It just took some time.

And it indeed got better for all of you. Him and Kai were as close as before if not even closer and between you and Taehyun was nothing but love. Taehyun had never felt such feelings this strong for anyone else before. Not even his eleven year older babysitter he had a crush on when he was 7 years old for whom he waited anxiously every time his parents went out. Taehyun felt absolutely great being with you. He loved the way your conversations flowed so well and he loved the way you always supported each other. He didn’t know much about relationships in the first place since you were his first real girlfriend but somehow he knew this was just right and just healthy. You just clicked.

2026

Taehyun was 24 and you were 23 when your first break up happened. It wasn’t out of hatred or jealousy like other couples may go through, no, it was because you both decided to. It was the best move at that moment, thinking that a long distance relationship over half the globe couldn’t work anymore. It worked for a year since you left for France to work. It was a good paid job in just the right place for you and you loved it. But you hated being so far away from Taehyun.

Your relationship was amazing. It was like living on fluffy clouds, always high with the feeling of euphoria and glee. But there had to be low points as well. The sky wasn’t always full of clouds. Sometimes you had to jump off to come into touch with reality. And this was such a moment.

However, nobody would have thought that sometimes these decisions we make and find so hard to make, exactly these were the worse decisions. Taehyun felt like he was a hollow porcelain figure. He felt so lonely even though you still were parted by the ocean. And somehow he felt less lonely before the split. Now he felt like you took his heart with you. And the only person who could save him from drowning was you.

It only took him half a year- 6 months- to realize that he made the worst decisions in his life. Hueningkai, who had long lost feelings for you and now was in a happy relationship himself, literally beat some sense into his hollow brain. He couldn’t just lose you like that. And it took him only one kick to pack his bag and take the next plane towards France. Towards you.

To say the least, you were utterly shocked to see your (ex)boyfriend sit in front of the wooden door of your small apartment. His eyes weren’t sparkling like they did all these years before. And his hair had grown a bit- it was now black again. Seeing you again was like a spark of hope inside of him. He wanted to make it good again. He was determined to get you back, no matter how hard a long distance relationship might be. It was worth for him now, he learned that the hard way.

You pulled him up and inside your tiny flat. It felt so familiar touching him, yet it seemed so long ago. But you missed it…him. Before any words were shared, Taehyun pulled you into a bone crushing hug. You felt like crying, finally being with the person you loved the most. All your surpressed feelings came crashing back to you again. And you wanted to never let him go again. Hugging him felt like coming home again after a long trip. And something in this hug brought you reassurance that your story together wasn’t over yet. There would need to be much more difficult obstacles than an ocean between the two of you to part you.

2027

You cried. You bawled your eyes out. As much and hard as you possibly could. Taehyuns arms pressed you further into his firm chest, grabbing the fabric of his blue hoodie. Large wet spots were now found on top of it. The small plastic stick in Taehyuns hands felt heavy and cold. He couldn’t quite grasp this particular situation, being lost in his own train of thoughts. He was shell shocked. You on the other hand were emotionally on the furthest end. Not only were your hands shaking uncontrollably, but your whole face by now was sticky from all your endless flowing tears.

“It’s allright sunshine. We can do that. It’s just a surprise, not the end of the world, okay?” The 24 year old mans voice wasn’t as stable as he hoped it to be but it had the right effect on you anyways. Your big eyes saw his blurry face in front of you. A sob escaped your mouth. He gave you the sweetest smile, gently tapping away your heavy tears.

“I’m afraid, Taehyun…” your hoarse voice almost sounded as quiet as a breeze, you weren’t sure if he even heard it. But the man simply put his forehead against yours, patting your hair in the back with the utmost care. You could feel him nod slightly, being able to see the fear in his own eyes.

“I know baby, me too… but we can do this together. Really. You are not alone in this.” It was almost like a promise, telling you he never would leave your side. Not even when you would look like a bloated whale with calve and back pain. Not even when in less than 9 months you both would enter a totally different path in life. But you would do it together. And that was what calmed you down the most. With him you were never alone.

2029

When his big sparkling eyes met your elegant white figure, he couldn’t help but let a tear slip past his normally controlled face. No one could blame him. It was such a touching moment in every persons life being able to see their partner in front of the altar with their hand in their own. And when he saw that big bright smile on your lips, muttering the soft ‘I do’ in his ears full of confidence, he knew that life went just the right way. He suddenly believed in fate and soulmates and true love. Because when he looked at your eyes, he saw his future. Not only his past and present but all the other precious moments to come.

Your path up until this moment wasn’t easy and you both knew that. The pregnancy had been a tough one for you, containing dozens of sleepless nights, horrible mood swings and a 34 hour long birth. Taehyun still could remember the day his daughter was born as well as his own name. He still felt your squeezing hand, he still heard your painful screams and most importantly, he still remembers holding and seeing the baby for the first time, setting free emotions even he didn’t knew he had. It was a new world for both of you. But you regretted absolutely nothing.

And when he could finally lay his lips on top of yours, the priest declaring you his wife, he couldn’t hear his friends and families cheers and whistles. He could only really see you and his little daughter in her grandfathers arms.

2032

“Daddy hurry up. I want to play.” The small yet loud voice of Taehee, your first born daughter, boomed through the empty halls. Nothing adorned the blank walls yet and the only color he could see besides white, was the brown of the many carton boxes standing around on the floor. A satisfying feeling made itself known inside of the young father. The new keys pressed cooling against his palm. It was both of your hard work that enabled you to finally settle down and buy your first real house together. And it felt exhilarating.

“Soon bunny, we will first make some space here, alright? It may takes some time though. You can help me.” He offered the tiny girl his hand, which she immediately grabbed. While grinning from ear to ear, ponytails bobbing up and down, she looked way too much alike her mother. Even the way they laugh reminded him of her. Only the big innocent eyes showed him that indeed she was his child, glistening with the same amount of curiosity as his always did.

“When is mummy coming back? I want to see my little brother again. He was so cute.” The man smiled fondly at the girl in his hand and mentioned her to sit down onto the wooden floor. “They are coming this evening. They still need to rest a bit in the hospital until they can come home. But in the meantime we are gonna start unpacking and make a nice cosy dinner for mummy, how does that sound?” The girl nodded again, this time more excited at the mention of her new little brother and mother coming home. You were both over the moon when you found out about your second pregnancy. Unlike the first time, it was a happy memory free from all your doubts and fears. You already went through the first one so it showed to be a lot easier the second time. Yet it was just exhilarating as the first one, Taehyun finally found his loved ones and he would never ever let them go. He was the happiest he had ever been. It was all like a dream.

When you were finally being released from the dull hospital, this time with a tiny baby boy in the bowl in your hands, you were met with one of the beloved home cooked meals of your husband. Taehyun had gone all out to surprise you and the adorable girl besides him had the biggest smile on her face as he explained that she had helped her. The first meeting of Taehees new sibling was just lovely. Fondness was already written all across her as she carefully poked the baby’s chubby cheek. Taehyuns eyes were full of the purest form of love. Proud, yet so delicate, it was just as you had seen him on the day your first daughter was born. He was ready to give it all to his family. And he meant it.

The next day was just as eventful as the day before. Printed out pictures were all laying around the empty floor, now they were all sitting on a fluffy carpet. You were hunched over a white piece of paper, eccentricly writing down all and everything. Taehyun playfully peaked over your shoulders to get a small glimpse at the long heartfelt letter, you seemed to be writing with so much concentration, only to be met with a giggling flick on his forehead. You had told him it was only to be read in the future, not for now, so he respected your decision but it still didn’t hinder him from being curious and trying to guess what you were writing. Taehyun had always had the urge to find more about things he was interested in and constantly would sacrifice his free time to learn new skills or facts about all thinkable topics. Something you loved so much about your love.

“Alright. I’m finished. Now…bunny have you found your favorite drawings?” You folded the papers and stuffed them into a pink envelope. Glitter stickers were put all around by your little daughter. The girl nodded enthusiastically holding up a few of her fantastic, creative paintings so full of life and childlike excitement. Taehyun took them from her with a smile and layed them into the metal box together with your letter and a pile of photos you’ve carefully chose together.

You and Taehyun sitting on the couch at night, your children already sleeping tight. You felt his hot breath in your neck, letting your heart race like a maniac but still feeling completely and utterly lost and in love with this man. Laying against his upper body, you’ve spontaneously decided to hide a time capsule in your new garden full of your dearest treasures. It was a wonderful idea honestly, holding onto this seemingly perfect moment just for a moment longer before letting go and let the flow of life taking over again. A moment to freeze and lock up in a tiny box to look back at in the future. It was a secure feeling for the both of you.

After adding all the things you’ve found important, Taehyun recalled Taehee bringing one of her favorite toys and in the end there were way too many things inside, he could barely close the lid and lock it up. Together with a shovel, you made your way towards the backyard, finding a lovely spot next to a hazel bush. A place he could never forget as he saw his daughter running around with joy in her yellow sundress. Lovely. Just lovely.

Digging the hole about a meter and a half deep, Taehyun placed the box carefully into the cooling soil, smelling the intense scent of nature. With a last smile, he filled the hole with earth again, leaving back a bittersweet moment of farewell and a new segment of life. But that was how life went. Unexpectedly and still so lovely.

2045

“Dad, can you please drive me to Johnny? He asked me to hang out...” Taehyun looked up from his computer, legs crossed, too focused to fully realize what his 17 year old daughter just asked him. A distant hum was his only answer. “Dad? Did you hear me?” Taehee tried again, slight annoyance laced in her voice. Taehyun blinked surprised and snapped out of his bubble filled with work.

“What did you say bunny?” The same nickname had never left the now teenage girl throughout her whole life. “Oh dad…I asked if you could give me a ride to Johnny’s?” A hint of a red blush creeped up her ears and cheeks under her fathers piercing eyes. “Johnny who? The lanky skater boy from your class? The one who was expelled for violent behaviour?” Taehee shrunk seemingly but shook her head, trying to form an excuse. “No- I mean yes it’s him but dad he’s really not like that. You don’t even know him. He just asked me to hang out…that’s all.”

Taehyun pulled an eyebrow up but nodding, an incoming call from work disrupting his train of thoughts. “And? Can you?” She asked again, seeing her father already about to accept the call. “No…no not now bunny. I’m still working but you can ask your mum. She wanted to drive your brother to his boxing lesson.” With this he finally accepted the call, apologising for the wait. With a sigh and a short nod, Taehee turned and waved his father rejectedly, looking over her shoulder.

Little did he know… oh how Taehyun wished to relive this moment, never accepting that stupid call and just drive his children instead of you. Everything would still be alright. Everyone would still be here…

That had been the last moment he saw his daughter, his son and his wife.

When Taehyun received the life changing call, his heart fell into a sea of tiny deathly splinters. Nothing was left for him. He had nothing. Absolutely nothing. When the hospital told him about the deathly car crash his whole family had been fatally injured and in the end dying on the spot of the accident, he broke down… he wanted to cry and scream and shout and destroy everything…but he couldn’t. He was empty. And so empty, not only his family disappeared that day, he vanished as well, never experiencing the feeling of home and comfort and love ever again. He was completely lost and that forever. And that’s when Taehyun gave up. He just simply…gave up.

[twh-news]

'Loki' Star Sophia Di Martino on the Season 1 Finale, Working With Jonathan Majors and What She Knows About Season 2

[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 1 finale of Loki, "For All Time. Always."]

Since her introduction at the end of Episode 2, Sophia Di Martino's depiction of Sylvie, the female variant of Loki introduced midway through her campaign of vengeance against the TVA, has been a defining aspect of Disney+'s Loki. And, as we learned in the season finale, the story of Loki isn't over yet — though what's in store is pretty nebulous, following Sylvie's betrayal of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after what was their first and what might be their last kiss.

In a one-on-one conversation with Di Martino via Zoom, Collider asked about working with Jonathan Majors in his MCU debut, what it was like having both fight scenes and more romantic scenes with Hiddleston, and of course what the conversations around Season 2 have been like.

Collider: To start off, when did you have a sense that there would be a second season of Loki?

DI MARTINO: I mean, there'd been rumors for a while, but I still haven't heard officially if it's happening, like officially, officially. I only know what I know through reading the news. And I know, because you guys know, because of the tag at the end of Episode 6.

I was going to say, that feels like a pretty official thing, but it doesn't sound like anyone has shown up at your doorstep with paperwork.

DI MARTINO: No, nothing. Nothing like that.

Now, does that mean that when you watched it, were you given a full script of the sixth episode?

DI MARTINO: Yes. We got one episode at a time. So I wasn't given Episode 6 until like midway through shooting Episode 5.

So in that situation, what was your initial reaction to reading, especially like the last, say, 10 pages or so.

DI MARTINO: Just like, holy crap. This is massive. How exciting. Woof. And then also, "who's going to play He Who Remains, I need to know because it's such an amazing part and such incredible speeches he has. I wanted to imagine who would play him, but I couldn't have ever imagined the way Jonathan would have done it. So brilliant.

In terms of working with Jonathon Majors, what was that experience like? Just because I feel like he brought such a different energy to the role than I think anyone would have ever expected.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. He just exploded onto that set with so much energy and nothing like we could ever have imagined. It was a lot of fun and he was brilliant. You know, people were saying this is going to be something really special, whispering behind the camera. He was so eccentric and fun and kind of terrifying. Very easy for Tom and I to just sit and listen to him for a few days. Very entertaining.

Yeah. In rewatching the episode, it's still so striking to me the way that, after Sylvie stabs him, he makes barely any noise.

DI MARTINO: Because he knows that it's a possibility, I think. So maybe he's had a long time to sort of imagine every scenario. Yeah. It's kind of creepy, isn't it? The way he does that.

When you were breaking down the script for Episode 6, were you talking about Kang the Conqueror? Were you talking about the comic book backstory there?

DI MARTINO: I don't remember talking about the comic book backstory of Episode 6. But you know, to be honest, it was all very quick. Especially with Episode 6, we got the script pretty late in the day. So there wasn't that much mining to be done, to be honest. I'm not sure about Jonathan's experience, but for me, it was sort of pretty late in the day, just in the case of learning my lines and trying to make sure I didn't mess that up.

Of course — and it makes sense in terms of where your character is coming from.

DI MARTINO: Exactly. So I just need to know at that point, I just need to know what's going on for Sylvie.

In that case, in your head, what was going on for Sylvie in those scenes?

DI MARTINO: Oh my goodness. So much. I mean, so much happens in like 30 seconds. Doesn't it?

Definitely. But even before the final sequences, it's very dialogue-heavy and there's a lot of listening. In playing that, what was important for you?

DI MARTINO: To really listen and to really take on board what he was saying to us at that point, and then to choose not to believe him. For Sylvie, she's just on a revenge mission from the minute she walks into that building, she knows that she wants to kill someone. When they're in the elevator with him, she's already taking swipes at him. She just wants to get him with her machete. And I think she's just so laser-focused on that goal, that he could have said anything to her and her priority wouldn't have changed.

So you don't think there was ever a moment in that whole sequence where Sylvie was tempted, not tempted by the possibilities presented, but tempted to believe him?

DI MARTINO: I think there's a moment that he really pushes Sylvie's buttons when he's talking about you have been on a long journey and it's been really tough for you, hasn't it? And you can't trust anyone. You think you can trust him. And he starts playing mind games with them, playing them off against each other. And I think at that point, he plants a seed of doubt in her mind about Loki, but I think her mission to want to kill him doesn't change. She's absolutely married to that idea. And that feeling is so strong that she chooses it over Loki in the end.

From your perspective, where does that come from?

DI MARTINO: Just revenge. Like having her life taken away from her, her life ruined, spending her whole life on the run, this sort of anger. And if you want to think of it in these terms, her "glorious purpose." I went there.

I don't think you got to say those words during the show, so I'm glad you got this moment now.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. I'm saying it as much as I can now.

Later in the episode, this wasn't the first time you had a fight sequence with Tom Hiddleston, but did it feel different from the episodes you shot earlier?

DI MARTINO: Yeah, it did. This scene was far more emotive. There was a lot more going on for both of them. It was the breakup scene. It was the fight that you have when you are leaving someone. And it's so painful because you care about this person, but you just can't be with them for whatever reason. And that's how that felt.

Which is so interesting because of course what happens at the end of it is that there's a kiss and it's given the whole big Hollywood romantic music treatment.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. I mean, but that often happens when you're splitting up with someone, doesn't it? Just one last time, a sweet goodbye. It's kind of like a goodbye kiss in a way.

Of course. But it was also, unless I'm missing something, the first kiss.

DI MARTINO: Yeah. It was. And it had been building up for a long, long time. I think it was ultimately a goodbye kiss and a clap away for Sylvie to physically turn him around so she could get hold of that TemPad and zap him back to the TVA.

Yeah, of course. In terms of that, in general, I feel like there's a temptation to just kind of look at the Loki and Sylvie relationship as a straightforward romance, which of course it is very much not. From your perspective, what was it about that you worked hard to lean into.

DI MARTINO: I think it's about sort of self-love and acceptance as well as being a romance story. And for Sylvie, she's sort of shedding everything she doesn't need before she gets to He Who Remains so she can kill him. She gets rid of her cape, she gets rid of her horns. She ultimately gets rid of Loki. It's just not serving her in that moment. And it's so cold to think of it that way. But I think that's what was happening. That and the fact that she wanted him to be safe. So, she's kind of saving him by pushing him through that time door as well.

And if you're going to think of it as like an exploration of self-acceptance and self-love, that's also interesting because she showed sort-of, I don't know, getting rid of a part of herself that isn't serving her anymore at the same time as keeping it safe.

It's really interesting to hear you talk about it that way, because it makes me think about how the one thing that came out, especially I think in Episode 5, is the idea that knowing Sylvie made Loki a better person in some fundamental ways. And I'm wondering about the opposite of that. What did knowing Loki mean for Sylvie?

DI MARTINO: I think it's slightly different for Sylvie. I don't know if he's made her a better person. I don't know if she's allowed herself to change yet. Loki's been quite brave and he's changed. He's a changed person by the end of that series. Sylvie is still hell-bent on her mission and she still chooses it over caring about someone else. So maybe she's yet to make that change.

So in talking about the scene like it's a breakup... Season 1 ends with the characters being very separated and of course, Season 2 is very much a nebulous thing at the moment, but people break up all the time and get back together. In your head, do you see there being still some sort of future for the characters as a couple?

DI MARTINO: It would definitely be fun to see them in the same room together again, wouldn't it? I'm fascinated. Yeah. After that, I'm fascinated to see what Loki has to say to Sylvie after doing that to him. Who knows? Never say never. I'm really excited to see what they come up with because it could go in so many different directions, but surely they have to come face to face again at some point.

It's like that awkward party after you've broken up with someone and you see them again. And that first conversation, whether it's in public or not, it's sorts of awful, but such a relief once it's been done.

Something that's been kind of a topic of discussion when it comes to talking about romance on screen is a quality that a lot of leading men have — for lack of a better term, the ability to give their love interest a Look. I've consulted with others and we feel like Tom Hiddleston has the look or has the ability to deliver the look. And I'm curious what it's like to be on the other side of it.

DI MARTINO: Tom's a very charming man and he could definitely make people go weak at the knees by just giving them a look. My reaction to that is always to sort of make a joke and run away. So there was probably a lot of that on set, breaking the tension by being a goofball.

I just had to react as Sylvie. And Sylvie's got these walls up. She doesn't let anyone in and that includes Loki. So sure there's a sort of, oh, this person is not as I thought they were. I'm warming to them. But Sylvie's not an easy nut to crack.

Is it fun getting to play that kind of strength?

DI MARTINO: Yeah. It's awesome because when her defenses do come down and she's vulnerable, it's really interesting. And you start to see all of the stuff that's buried underneath and that's what makes her a great character to play.

So, how do you feel about there being a second season? Do you feel like if there hadn't been a second season, you would have gotten the closure you wanted to from the story?

DI MARTINO: Probably not. I want to know what happens just like everyone else. I'm super excited and I just can't wait to see which direction they're going because it could be infinite directions.

Do you have a sense that there might've been different aspects to it, had COVID not been an issue?

DI MARTINO: I think COVID actually probably made it a lot better. We had a five months hiatus and Kate and the producers and writers worked a lot on episodes five and six during that time. And as far as I've heard, a lot changed for the better. They could rewatch what we'd already shot and just carry on working on the scripts and developing them. So I think it was great to have that time actually, as awful in most ways it was, that was the silver lining of it.

Very. Yeah. So looking forward, I imagine if there's a second season, you're on board if you get asked.

DI MARTINO: Hopefully. Hope so.

By the way, I was really excited to see the story about how your costume was designed to allow you to breastfeed during shooting. That seems like it was a really special detail.

DI MARTINO: Yeah, really, really. I'm just so grateful that that happened. It made my life so much easier and it was important to me that I carried on doing that. So it was just the little things and it's just saved a lot of time. Practically, it was a godsend.

Of course. So looking forward, what's next for you?

DI MARTINO: Lots of interviews. Lots of being able to talk about episode six finally, and then, who knows? An infinite possibility. So yeah, I'm excited to see what happens and to see people's reactions to the series because people are still catching up. People are still watching and rewatching it and probably go on.

Yeah. I mean, I imagine that you're going to be cosplayed at various conventions over the next several decades probably.

DI MARTINO: Do you think? That blows my mind.

I mean, cosplaying has a long legacy to it.

DI MARTINO: It's so cool. The way that people are already making Sylvie horns and crafting them from scratch and spraying them. And there's one woman that's just sewn a whole suit together and it looks exactly like my costume. It's so impressive, the love and attention people put into it.

Are you getting an action figure?

DI MARTINO: I don't know. Hopefully. What would I do with it? Maybe I could use it as a cake topper. Who knows? But that would be a very cool thing to have, wouldn't it?

[dinogoofy]

Kung Lao x F! Reader- part 3.

A miniscule bit of Angst, a Lotta bit of fluff. Wanted to give you guys a treat before I ripped your heart out with Kabal's incoming story and Scorpion's part two.

----

The Warm feeling of Kung Lao against you was more than welcome in the cold night. He tugged on you a bit, separating the kiss to give you a smug look as he tugged you into a straddle across his waist. You rolled your eyes. 

"Ya'know, you're being pretty lively for a man who was dying not even thirty minutes ago." He laughed, cupping your face again and bringing you in for a short kiss. 

"Kiss of life, perhaps?" You kissed him again with a smile.

"It's more like 'random antidote' but sure." Rolled his eyes this time, kissing you yet again. His lips against yours made you feel fuzzy, he was a surprisingly good kisser, for a man with presumably no experience. Your hands trailed up his chest, avoiding his open wound. His tongue gingerly licked your bottom lip when-

"Ahem." You shot up, panicked at the sound of the deep voice. Kung Lao's face shifted from pure confusion to anxiety. You rolled off of him as fast as you could, standing up with a red face.

"Um- Lord Raiden- You're back early!" He did not look happy. This was uncomfortable. Kung Lao sat up slowly, wincing at his bad side. Raiden looked over at him, and Lao silently grabbed his hat, resting it in his lap. You would've snickered if you weren't scared shitless. 

"I heard about the ambush and took it upon myself to check up on the two of you. It seems I've returned at the wrong time." You face was so flushed it felt like you were on fire. Part of you wishes you were on fire. Then mabye you wouldn't have to worry about the lecture you knew you were about to hear Raiden. You folded your arms, partly because of the cold night and partly because you suddenly felt very self conscious. After a moment of silence Raiden spoke again.

"Kung Lao, if you can stand, I would like to speak to you in private." Kung Lao nodded, wincing again as he stood. He put his hat back on as he and Raiden walked off into the forest, neither of them spared a glance at you. You felt like you were wilting. What had happened to all that luck you had? 

You sighed. There was no point in anxiously sitting here. You walked in the opposite direction of Raiden and Kung Lao to search for some firewood. 

You tried your best to distract yourself with the sound of the leaves crunching under your feet. But it was difficult to not worry.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. You should've known better. A relationship with Lao… it just wasn't possible. You were a fool for thinking it could work out. Or maybe he was the fool for trying.

Neither of the thoughts sat right in your stomach. You kinda felt like you were going to throw up. 

The first fallen branch you found was big enough to satisfy the fire, and you took your knife out to cut it into small sticks. Hacking away at it like it was therapy. 

Raiden and Kung Lao had already returned by the time you got back. It was to dark to see Lao's expression, but the sinking feeling in your stomach was telling you to just let the whole thing go. It was nice for the two seconds that it had lasted.

"We will be traveling to Kitana Kahns Palace to rest. In the morning we will meet with our hostess and Liu Kang to go over what has happened today." Your face expressed anxiety, you pressed your lips together in a thin line out if nervousness. Raiden sighed.

"-anything that happened during the ambush, today." You sighed a bit. Nervously smiling at the god. His chronicly stern face hadn't changed the entire time. You prayed that he would spare Kung Lao any punishment. 

You kept your head down as the three of you portaled to Kitana's palace.

Servants were waiting for you when you arrived, letting you know that the Kahn and Liu Kang had already retired for the night. You numbly followed the servants as they led you to your quarters, convincing yourself that you didn’t need to look back at Lao, or Raiden for that matter. You mumbled a goodnight as you gingerly opened your door and slipped inside.

You'd stayed here before, but the architecture and decor never failed to impress. You smiled as you traced the patterns on the wall, tugging off your boots by the bed and slumping onto the cushion.

You took a deep breath for a moment, letting your eyes flutter closed. The pang in your chest becoming increasingly more insistent as you thought about Kung Lao again. You brought a hand up to your lips, blushing as you recalled the awful position Raiden caught the two of you in. You hated how sad you felt. To think that they said you were lucky. You were the literal incarnation of Lady luck, and yet today had been a disaster. Ambush, dying best friend, recovering best friend, changing the definition of "best friend", and then getting him ripped away from you.

How lucky.

You shouldn't still be caught up on this. It's over. Go to bed.

You sat up for a moment so you could peel back the covers, crawling in and settling down, too exhausted to change. You comfortably curled up, barely starting to drift away when there was a knock at the door. 

You huffed. Visitors, at this hour? Gross. You groggily lifted yourself out of bed, stumbling to the door. You yawned as You turned the knob. 

"Hello?-" Kung Lao pushed past you quickly, silently shutting the door. Your heart skipped a beat, but you had to shake that fluttery feeling from your system. He was still in his bloodied clothes for Godsakes!

"Kung Lao, what do you think you're doing?" You whispered, crossing your arms as he turned around to face you with that terribly handsome smirk on his face. 

"Peacfully sleeping in my own room, obviously." You scoffed, but was unable to stop yourself from smiling wide. Kung Lao rested his back against the door.

"You and I both know that Raiden won't believe that." He smiled again, taking a step forward towards you, so close you could feel his breath. 

"Then mabye he'd be more forgiving if I said you were dressing my wounds?" If your face wasn't flushed before, it certainly was now. You frowned at the close proximity, remembering what happened before. Kung Lao looked confused, and almost hurt when you stepped away and sat on the bed. 

"What's wrong?" You laughed bitterly.

"What's wrong? Lao, Lord Raiden just caught us- and in the woods-!" You were stuttering as you desperately tried to form a coherent sentence. You were fidgeting with your hands, not able to bring yourself to look him in the eye. You weren't sure why. The space next to you on the bed sunk down, and one of Lao's hands reached out to gingerly hold your own.

"You worry to much," Worry to much?! What the hell Lao!? You snatched your hand away.

 

"Well then, forgive me for being worried about your livelyhood as a shaolin." He stiffened, and sighed. He didn't try to reach out for your hands again.

"When I spoke with Raiden, he also expressed his worries about the vows…" You felt that sinking feeling in your chest again. Way to rub in the salt. You felt goosebumps appear when he lightly slid his arm around your waist. You flushed, and when you looked at him his face was so close you could feel his breath.

"...but he's not going to say anything. He believes that he has no right to interfere with our personal lives as long as it doesn't interfere with Earthrelm's protection." The immediate rush of relief was heavenly.

"Why didn't you just start with that when you came in!" You scolded, playfully hitting his chest. Lao fell back on the bed dramatically, laughing as he did. You smirked, rolling over to straddle him just like you had done earlier Tickling his sides this time but staying away from his wound.

He laughed at the attempt, easily grabbing your hands and pulling them down with his own on either side of his head. The giddy, fuzzy feeling was back, and this time you couldn't imagine it leaving. 

"I think I'm getting a sence of déjà-vu." Lao mused. You scoffed, leaning down and ghosting your lips over his. 

"I'm surprised you even remember that first kiss. You were so out of it you could barely sit up." He smiled as you leaned your forehead against his own.

"Forget the first kiss with you? I'm offended that you think I could." You rolled your eyes, finally pressing his lips against yours own. 

[k-comfyspace]

A Great Start

Idol: Kang Hyewon (Izone)

Request: No

Working at your company for 3 years is exhausting but it’s a good thing there’s someone to ground you and keep you sane

“... it's best if we do this with the funds we share that way...”

You sighed silently as you listened to the man talk on and on. “...and it's a benefit to both of our companies if we cut the materials by at least 25% don’t you think?” You tapped your fingers against the table and stared at the man contemplating whether to shout or kick the man out of the building.

“I will get back to you on that soon, I will have my assistant email you on when” without another word you stood and left the room moving to the elevator before going to your office and gathering your things and leaving, glancing at your watch, sighing after seeing that it was already past midnight.

You went to the elevator and exited to the ground floor where you clicked the keys to your car and drove home.

Half an hour into the drive you decided to stop near the park to get some air.

You wore your coat, going outside, pocketed your phone and breathed in the cold air, walking inside the park, spotting a bench you could sit on.

Although you love your life and the things that come with it; the money, the joy, the fun, and your job, you found it quite stressful. The late hours you’ve put up with because of the paperwork.

The miles you traveled just because of a business meeting and the early mornings where you woke up because you wanted to get a head start in the hours of papers you had to read and sign.

Yet with some miracle, you managed all of it for 3 years just because of one person.

A bright smile made it to your face when you heard the special ringtone that you knew could come from only one person,

“Baby, you coming home soon? We finished early and I asked our manager to drop me off at your place, I was hoping you were here, but I guess you’re still caught up with work,” you smiled, shaking your head forgetting that Hyewon couldn’t see you from there,

“I’m heading home now, Hyewon, you can take a shower, I’ll be home when you’re done”

When you heard the hum in reply you hung up, walking back to your car a slight skip in your step when you remembered your girlfriend who always kept you sane after everything you’ve been through.

When you opened the door to your house the sound of footsteps was the first thing you heard before you felt arms wrap around your waist pulling you into a warm hug. You breathed out a sigh of relief, hugging her back melting into your girlfriends’ arms as you rested your chin on Hyewon’s head.

“Welcome home, baby”

You smiled as both of you stayed like that for a while. You leaning your body on hers while giving Hyewon’s hair small kisses from time to time.

“Are you tired?”

You hummed in reply before Hyewon made a move to pull upstairs but you resisted and made your girlfriend turn her head to look at you, confused.

“We’re both tired but I know you want to spend some time together,”

You flashed her a smile but Hyewon only looked at you with worry. When she found out that they would have the weekend to themselves a flash of excitement went in her eyes which all her members didn’t miss.

The girls know just how much Hyewon cares about you, how she constantly relates everything she sees about you, the way she kept glancing at her phone wondering if you texted her back, or the simple heart eyes she would show around you.

You knew how much your girlfriend loves you. She may not say it often, but you know.

The times where she would pull you to her chest when you were sleeping, when she often squeezes your hand in the middle of a movie, or the simple things to let you know that she would always be there for you.

Just a small reminder for you to know that she was there with you even without using her words, she knew how to show it in her actions.

But right now you knew you looked like a mess, you had bags under your eyes, your hair was frizzled, and you could feel your eyes were starting to droop. You knew how excited Hyewon was to spend time with you since Yuri texted you the whole day about how excited Hyewon was to finish their schedule.

“I’ve never seen her learn the choreo so fast in the history of our career!” She joked which earned a laugh from you when you paused to text her.

But even though Hyewon wanted to talk and cuddle with her girlfriend she knew how tired you are, granted both of you should be tired but she knew that you would always wake up earlier than her because she often sees messages you sent greeting her when she checks her phone in the morning.

The constant ‘good morning’ and ‘I love you’ coming from you were heartwarming but she was getting concerned about you.

You woke up early in the morning without the sun even rising and came home almost the next day. So when she knew that you wanted to sleep but chose to stay up with her instead. She looked at you with a pout on her lips and her puppy eyes, you could only laugh at her cuteness.

You pulled her towards the couch, laying down, pulling her body on top of yours before turning on a random movie you two wanted to watch, “Hey, you have to get some sleep, we could watch a movie tomorrow instead” she reasoned with you, making you smile at her softly and pull her down.

“I could sleep later” was the only thing you said before you looked at the screen feeling a peck on your cheek a minute later followed by a weight on your chest.

Halfway through the movie, you glanced at your girlfriend and you couldn’t take your eyes away anymore.

Every day you would always find yourself thinking how lucky you are. To have Kang Hyewon as your girlfriend was a dream anyone wanted to have, yet you were the person to live it.

When you two met in a random cafe before, you never knew who she was when you bumped into each other. You cursed yourself for not knowing because you were too focused on your work. But when you got to look at her face you became such a stuttering mess it was like you were back in high school speaking in front of a huge crowd.

You didn’t know what happened but by the end of the week, you became friends which led you to be the person who she shows and gives her love to.

Glancing down you saw her eyes slowly closing before opening again. You giggled at her and leaned down pressing your lips against her forehead making her shut her eyes completely, the exhaustion slowly catching up to her.

You reached out shutting the movie before you pulled a spare blanket and draped it over the both of you. Hyewon moving slightly towards the inside of the couch, nuzzling her face closer to the crook of your neck.

You felt the warmth spread inside your chest as you felt her warm breath fan your skin. You gave her one more kiss on the head whispering a quick ‘I love you’ before both of you drifted off to sleep.

When the sun was high in the sky both of you were still on the couch cuddled together deciding to sleep in. But unaware of the whispers that came from outside your door.

“Is this legal?”

“Shouldn’t they be awake right now?”

“Open the door, already”

“The neighbors are probably looking at us right now”

When the door opened all 11 girls went inside quietly finding some signs of life coming from the house.

They decided to surprise you because they haven't seen you in a while. They wanted to come the night prior but they decided to have Hyewon meet you first since she was the girlfriend. Today they decided to come bother you and hang out.

But much to their surprise when they heard soft snores coming from the couch.

Eunbi glanced down, smiling when she saw the mess of black and brown hair mixed on the couch. While the other members cooed at the sight.

Hyewon’s head was buried in the crook of your neck while she clutched onto your shirt and you had your arm wrapped around her.

The girls smiled, staring at their member happily before Chaeyeon made a move to cover them with the blanket that fell on the floor, lifting her finger to her lips to say not to disturb the couple.

The girls were happy that Hyewon was comfortable in showing her feelings. They knew how closed off she was and when they saw how much their friend was comfortable in showing off her emotions to you. When Hyewon announced you were dating, they were ecstatic.

To them, you were the person for Hyewon, her anchor whenever she needed someone. Her shoulder to lean on and tell you her problems, that way she doesn’t have to carry it all on her own.

The same way goes for you whenever you forget to eat , sleep because of work. Hyewon was always there, either physically or digitally, she would constantly remind you to eat, sleep and take a break from work.

Both of you can keep each other happy and that’s all the girls want. So when they went to the back of your house they all squealed when they closed the door gushing about how cute you two were.

After a few more hours you groaned, starting to wake up from your sleep coma but a weight on your chest prevented you from turning. When you opened your eyes a small smile made it to your face when you saw your girlfriend’s cheek squished against your chest.

You glanced at the clock, seeing that it was almost noon making you shake her awake. “Hyewon-ah, time to wake up,” you cooed which earned a groan from her before she buried her face deeper into your chest.

You giggled at the sight, pressing a kiss on her forehead, seeing the slight twitch on her lips made you smile before you’re peppering her face in kisses until she’s giggling by your side.

“Good morning,” she greeted, you smiled before kissing her on the lips.

“Good morning, love”

Then suddenly you didn’t mind the endless hours of work, stress, lack of sleep. Seeing your girlfriend first thing in the morning was the best start to your day you could ever imagine.

[atinydise]

Ateez reacting to Yeosang being a “grown man”

❦ Genre: Suggestive.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 2k6.

❦ Requested: Yes, thank you! 🦋

❦ Masterlist.

HONGJOONG

Yeosang was laying on the couch, head resting on your laps. He was enjoying your fingers tangled in his hair. You were peacefully watching your TV show. It was a rare moment of peace. “Good morning lovebirds.” Yawned Hongjoong, sitting next to both of you. “Morning Joong,” you smiled at him. “It’s rare to see you here. You are always in your room.” “I’m not feeling like working today.” He stretched. “What are you doing for your free day Yeosang?” “I don’t know.” “It’s your day off since a month and you are not even planning something for Y/N?” “It’s okay, I know he’s tired.” You said, pinching his cheek playfully. “We can do something if you want. But I don’t know what yet.” “Hum... what about going to the theater? There’s a good movie.” “Okay what else?” He glanced at you. “I thought you wanted to rest. So, I choose the laziest activity.” You giggled. “I guess I can be more active for something else...” “Really?” You asked, looking at him. “Then... a little walk at the park?” “Hum okay what else?” Hongjoong was on his phone but he was clearly listening the conversation. He was secretly thinking about an idea too. His friends always told him about good places for a date when he will have someone in his life. “Oh! What about the Illusion Museum? We never went here yet!” You claimed enthusiastically. “Sure. What else?” Asked Yeosang again. “Find something that we can do together. Only.” He precised. At this moment Hongjoong tilted and understood what his teammate meant. He never knew that Yeosang was sexually active now. I mean they never talked about it and seems like he wasn’t interested at all by this. But the leader was wrong, he really seemed into it. “I don’t know I think it’s already enough no?” “I think you should add something else Y/N...” interrupted the leader. You stared at him, simply waiting for his suggestion. But instead he stood up and glanced at you shyly. “Sex.” Yeosang smirked arrogantly at Hongjoong’s comment. “Finally, someone who got it.” He tickles your chin to tease you. “It was pretty obvious.” He claimed a bit disgusted. “Don’t do it here idiots.” “I won’t promise you this Hy-” You slapped his arm, “are you crazy?”

SEONGHWA

Seonghwa noticed how happy Yeosang was. Of course, he was happy most of the time but this last week he was really glowing and joyful. At first, he thought that it was because of Inception’s win on the award show but no. The eldest member tried to talk about it with the other members, trying to see if they noticed something too. When Seonghwa was giving up, Wooyoung mentioned you. "Maybe they did something new, with Y/N." "Like what? They barely have time to see each other." Replied Seonghwa. "Y/N was here last week." "Really?" "Yes, you came too late, she was already gone. But we had a good day with her." Seonghwa was a bit disappointed. He wanted to know you a bit better, but he was always practicing or busy with his individual schedule when you were free. The boys were always claiming how good and kind you were. "But by the way... why are you asking us? Just go and ask Yeosang." Suggested Mingi. "Ask me what?" He asked, grabbing a drink in the fridge. The other members left the room, trying to give them privacy even if it wasn't really necessary. "I know it's not my business or whatever," started the eldest member. "But I noticed that you seemed more joyful and happy these days." Yeosang raised a brow, waiting for more information. "Did someone happen with Y/N?" "Hum... if I can be frank with you. These last months with Y/N were amazing. We argued sometimes of course but nothing too important." "So, this is why you are so happy? Because you are on good terms?" "Yes, but last week we slept together. I think it helps a bit. Or even a lot." He declared, sipping his beverage. Seonghwa almost spat his coffee. When Yeosang said that he was frank, he wasn't kidding. "What do you mean by 'slept together'? Just in case there's a... misunderstanding." "We had sex. For the first time and it was pretty cool." He added without thinking twice. "Ah." "Anyway, I need to work. See you later Hyung." He patted his shoulder before leaving. "A h." Repeated Seonghwa speechless.

YUNHO

"You never put a password on your phone?" You asked your boyfriend. Yeosang stretched lazily on the bed, "No I don't need it." "What if you lose it? Someone could mess up with your whole career." "Don't get scared," he yawned. "I won't lose it; you know how I'm addicted to my phone. Nobody will rob it." "You seem really confident," you scoffed. "Can't wait to tell you 'I was right'." Yeosang tickled your waist to tease you. "Even if someone wants to mess with me, I know you will get my back." You rubbed his face, "I wouldn't be so sure if I was you." Your boyfriend stayed quiet. He was falling asleep. You guessed it because of his breathing and the little spams on his legs. You enjoyed staring at his face while he was sleeping. You would never say it out loud because he would tease you for the rest of your life, but he really looks like an angel. You never saw someone beautiful as him. Lost in your thoughts, you didn't hear Yunho knocking at the door. You just saw him entering discreetly. "He's sleeping, "you whispered, trying to not wake up Yeosang. "Oh okay," he replied in the same tone. "I want him to send the pics we took this morning at the broadcast." Without thinking twice, you handed the phone to Yunho. "Here it is." He bowed a little bit at you and exited the room. As soon as he left, you went back to your boyfriend's contemplation. Not even 2 minutes later, Yunho went back to the room. His face was furiously red. "What's going on?" you asked, a bit louder than the first time. Your voice caused Yeosang to wake up. "I think you should hide the pics of Y/N before giving your phone!" Said Yunho, almost throwing the phone on his face. "What are you talking about? I don't-" His eyes widened, not believing that his friend saw these explicit pictures of you. "get it..." "What is going on?" You asked, not understanding the conversation. "Yunho-Hyung this is not what you think it is okay?" He sat up, trying to get away from this situation. "What exactly is it then? These explicit Y/N's pic in underwear or even this video!" He exclaimed, a bit disgusted. You blushed instantly. You remembered taking these pics with Yeosang because you felt incredibly confident that day. And the lightning was insane. "This was just artistic!" You yelled, lying too. "Both of you need to get the "talk" obviously!" He said, before leaving the room. You instantly pinched your boyfriend's thigh. "Ouch! Y/N!" "Put a dammit password Kang Yeosang!" You grunted before, rushing to the living-room to convince Yunho to not tell anything.

SAN

You were in the kitchen, sitting in front of Yeosang and San. "I never thought I would play this game again..." you sighed. "Oh, come on! It's going to be fun." Shouted San, handing you the pack of cards. "Truth or dare is never funny. It always ends with an argument or something embarrassing." "Not with us," he winked. And here began the game. At first, it was pretty easy for you to answer. Most of your cards were "truth" ones and you had nothing to hide. "Y/N, imagine that you were kidnapped. You could have only one call. What would you tell us so we could know that you are in danger?” Asked Yeosang. "Oh, that's a good question," giggled San. "Maybe 'Oh no I don't want to eat tonight'." "Hey!" You pouted. "We know how much you love to eat. It's impossible for you to say this." Laughed Wooyoung, sitting on the counter. "Live in the woman's body and you will see!" You rolled your eyes. "So? Your answer?" Said San. "Hum I don't know; this is a tough question..." "It's obviously a lie that you will need to say, so we can understand." "If you say something like 'No I'm not needy today', don't worry I will understand." Smirked Yeosang. You stared at your boyfriend, an awkward look on your face. San was looking right at his cards; his cheeks were completely red. He wasn't ready to hear such a comment from Yeosang. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He giggled, knowing well why you stared at him this way. "I think you didn't need to share it here," you pointed at San and Wooyoung. "Don't mind me," said the loudest member. "I was aware that both of you were sleeping together." "What? How do you know that?!" Yelled San. "Come on, you don't hear Y/N's little whimpers coming from the bathroom?" He puffed. "This is exactly why I don't want to play Truth or Dare!" You said, rushing to Yeosang's room. "Oh, come on babe! I was kidding!" Laughed your boyfriend. "Hyung, you and Y/N are really 'this' close?" asked San. "Really? You thought we were playing monopoly all the time?" He smiled arrogantly. "Disgusting," he faked to gag.

MINGI

“Did you hear this?” Asked Mingi to Yunho next to him. “Heard what?” “Seems like Y/N gasped or yelled I don’t know.” “She probably saw a spider, you know how she’s scared of it.” He giggled. “Maybe we should help her then?” He asked. “I think Yeosang is there, he will help her.” Mingi didn’t add anything and just enjoyed back his YouTube video. Until he heard you once again, but more loudly. “Did you hear it again?” Yunho laughed at his friend. “Yes, but I don’t think she’s scared anymore.” “Why are you laughing? She might be hurt or something.” “Are you serious Mingi?” Laughed again Yunho. “Yes!” He almost pouted, not understanding why his friend was reacting this way. “I will check on her.” “I wouldn’t do this if I was you.” He tried to stop his friend but not too much because it would be a funny scene. Mingi rushed to his Hyung’s room and opened the door loudly. “Y/N are you-” “What the hell Mingi!” Shouted Yeosang, covering both of your body. You were completely froze underneath your boyfriend. “I- I thought Y/N was hurt! She was gasping and stuff!” “It called “moaning”! Now get out of the room!” He threw the pillow at him. Mingi was not realizing the scene he just saw when he closed the door. He walked back to the living-room as a zombie and sat down next to Yunho without saying anything. “So? Was she okay?” He smirked, trying to keep his laugh. “I hate you.” He claimed while Yunho was rolling of on the couch.

WOOYOUNG

"Yeosang! Hurry up! We are going to be late!" Knocked Wooyoung. "J-Just 3 minutes." Replied Yeosang. "It's already 10 minutes that I'm waiting!" "I'm coming, relax!" Wooyoung growled again and sat angrily on the couch. "You are still here?" Seonghwa wrapped in his bathrobe, cup of coffee in the hands. "Yes! Yeosang is taking so many times to prepare," he rolled his eyes. "Y/N's there no? It might be why." "Y/N is so fast usually too." "Maybe they're looking for something." Added Seonghwa. Wooyoung relaxed a bit. Maybe he was too harsh on both of you. It was unusual for you to be this late so something might happen. "Why are you dressing like a grandma by the way? Get a life Hyung." He laughed at Seonghwa. "At least I'm not waiting here for my friends for 20 minutes." He replied back. Wooyoung pouted for a second and rushed to knock at the door again. "Yeosang! Y/N!" "Wooyoung, we are coming!" Upset to of waiting again, he opened the door. "I can help you if you lost-" Wooyoung, almost choked at the view of your bare back in front of him. You gasped loudly, causing him to gasp too. "Woo turn around!" you yelled, hiding your bare chest, even if he couldn't see it. "Why you-! I mean why now? We needed to go!" He shouted. "It just happened," replied Yeosang, still panting. "You are gross!" "Can you leave so we can get dressed?" you asked, completely embarrassed. "No! I will wait here so I know that you won't finish your little 'affair'." He claimed, looking right at the wooden door. You sighed and asked your boyfriend to hand your t-shirt. "And since when are you doing these kind of stuff Yeosang?!" "This is already awkward right now, so don't say anything." You whispered to your boyfriend. "When you said that you were “coming”, I guess that you were talking about sex too!" He added, disgusted. "Let me kill him first," muttered Yeosang, pushing you softly on the side, making you fall on the side of the bed.

JONGHO

Jongho and Yeosang were sitting comfortably on the couch when you arrived at the dorm. They simply waved at you. They were used to your presence here, so they didn't have to welcome you all the time. "Why are you trapped in the dark when the sun is shining so bright outside?" You asked, opening the curtains. They both yelled at the sudden blindness. "Close the curtains!" Almost begged Jongho. "Y/N, it's 8AM... we just want to sleep." "It's 11AM idiot," you pointed at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's the same... too early." Yawned Yeosang, facing the wall. You slapped your boyfriend's butt, making him whine at the little pain. Jongho was staring at you weirdly. You never showed this kind of affection before. Or at least in front of them. "Come on big baby," you snuggled your face into Yeosang's neck. "It's 'daddy' for you." He muttered, hiding his face under a pillow. You glanced at the maknae to check if he heard the comment Yeosang just made. Lucky for you, Jongho was staring at the news program. Or at least that's what you thought. In reality, he was surprised. He ignored why; but knowing that his hyung was now sexually active was strange for him. What if one day he enters the room when you're making out. Or what if he heard you moaning? "Jongho," you called him again. "O-Oh, yes?" he stuttered, focusing back on you. "Do you want to come with us to the supermarket? Your fridge is absolutely empty and Yeosang needs his vita-" "Daddy." He cut you again. You slapped his arm. "Stop!" "This was your bet! So, respect the bet." He smirked. "A bet?" Asked Jongho, curiously. "Yes, we made a bet. If she was moan-" "YEOSANG!" You cut him, pushing your hand on his mouth. Jongho was now sure that you were talking about a pervy bet. A part of him wanted to know which kind because you really seemed embarrassed, but the other part was of course disgusted. Yeosang pushed your hand a bit, "okay okay." You calmed down and avoided the maknae's stare. "We bet that the first one who was moaning, needed to call the other daddy or queen." He said quickly so you couldn't stop him. Jongho blushed furiously. He was definitively not ready to hear Yeosang talking about his sexual life this way. "A-Ah, that's funny." He stuttered, playing with his phone. A little bit mad at your boyfriend, you grabbed his ear and forced him to wake up. "Ouch ouch ouch Y/N! It hurts!" He whined, following your hand. "Just put on decent clothes instead of telling our intimate stuff." You whispered in his ear so Jongho couldn't hear it. "Come on! He's a grown man too!" He added, still suffering.

[shimmershae]

My thoughts on Episode 3--Hunted.

 Most of you lovelies already realize this, but my thoughts tend to zig and zag quite a bit, lol.  So.  To save some of you the headache and spare you from seeing spoilers you’d rather not see yet, I’m again placing them behind a cut.  

First things first.  I have totally turned into Yvette Nicole Brown with her TWD notebooks, lol, and I’m not even sorry.  I just felt like it would be fun to go back when the final episode is in the books and see how well my thoughts from these early episodes line up with what I’m feeling when we say our (not-so) final goodbyes.  

But that’s enough about that. Let’s get to this thing.  

It really is insane how very much I love Melissa McBride.  Just hearing her doing the previously on TWD recap voiceover makes me ridiculously happy.  

Cole!  Dude!  We hardly knew ya.  

Not gonna lie.  That first shot of Maggie in all the chaos reminded of a shirt I’ve seen.  It says--”Well, well, well.  If it isn’t the consequences of my actions.”  

I have to hand it to Angela and the rest of her team.  These opening scenes--on all 3 episodes--have been BOMB so far.  They really hook you in right away.  At least IMHO.  

I realize I’m behind the game on this little tidbit, but how much do I adore the fact that Dog is now in the opening credits?  

Okay.  Alexandria might look like it’s been on some kind of post-apocalyptic bender but all our girls are looking beautiful as ever.  Maybe it’s Maybelline, lol.  

I love to see Kelly and Carol still gravitating toward each other.  It really speaks to each woman’s heart.  Carol wants to make amends so badly and Kelly just has the most lovely, warm, forgiving heart.  

Carol’s point about Alexandria still needing the horses to help with the heavy lifting and pointing out the walls and rebuilding won’t matter quite as much if they’re limited by their  hunger and what they can physically lift on their own isn’t wrong.  But I’m sure the same viewers that were okay with Daryl and Co. going out on Maggie’s suicide mission (using the same reasoning) and saying it made sense for the bigger picture will pretend not to recognize that the same element is there in Carol’s desire to go out there and look for the horses.  You know.  Because it was Carol’s idea and not that of their fave(s).  

Aaron, Man.  Or maybe I should say Angela.   You just had to put a pit of dread in my belly mentioning Buttons like that.  RIP, Buttons.  You deserved better.  I’m still traumatized.  

Look at all the babies bonding.  Look at RJ getting to sit at the big kid table.  

“My mom always comes back.”  She damn well better.  Those babies need her.  Until she does, though, Uncle Daryl and Aunt Carol (and Aunt Rosita and everybody else) are going to be there.  

Anyway.  Poor RJ.  He barely ever gets any lines, lol.  

Hershel and Judith are obviously the mini-adults in this group and baby Rhee is already more cynical and jaded than his sweet daddy was until they reached Alexandria and the wheels started to come off.  

So.  Does Maggie just think everybody’s already dead here or what?  Hmm.  

You know.  Any building can be creepy AF when the lights are off and it’s dark, lol.  Any building.  

So much darkness so far this season.  I’m going to have to invest in some blackout curtains.  I just know it.  

Where are all those stairs leading?  Why am I thinking of Hitchcock?  Am I mixing up my scary, suspenseful movies?  Probably.  

Of fucking course, Maggie dropped her flashlight.  Thank goodness she had that lighter at the ready just before Ghost Face Reaper took a swipe at her.  

Is that Father G with a screwdriver impaled in his thigh?  Listen.  These people deserve a Mega Bottle of pain killers and a week just vegging out in a soft, luxurious bed.  

All these horror movie tropes.  Some of them are cheesy, yes.  But I’m totally here for it.  

LMAO.  That’s it, Maggie.  A good old punch in the nuts works every time.  

Alden really is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.  

Negan is still Negan.  Self-serving and looking out for number one.  But I believe the man really does feel the group is his group too.  He’s like that long lost, sketchy uncle nobody wants to acknowledge much less invite to the dinner table, but that bond?  However thin?  Is there.  

I am both hating that Maggie is being forced to work with the man that murdered her husband (my baby Glenn) and finding it fascinating the lengths she’s willing to go to survive.  This your plan, Angela?  

Rosita and Carol!  How sad is it that the last really significant scene I can remember the two of these women sharing was way back?  Before Rick and Co. attacked Negan’s outpost and Maggie and Carol were subsequently taken?  If only the show had done more of these kind of scenes.  

How much do I love all the girls working together?  Gimps would never.  They’d all be stuck back at Alexandria minding the kids and the community.  

Shallow aside--Rosita is so pretty in this scene.  

Rosita being worried about Carol honestly makes my heart hurt, because it’s about damn time more of them actually did.  Her saying Abraham is trying to tell her something in her dreams is interesting.  Angela sure loves her dreams, doesn’t she?  

Where are Daryl’s dreams, hmm?  No.  Seriously.  I guess they want to give some viewers plausible deniability until the bitter end.  

“Really?  We’re just gonna go toward the screaming?  Cool.”  Hahaha.  You know.  Even the smart people in horror movies sometimes bite it, Negan.  Just saying.  Maggie really does need to “stop running up the staircase” when she could just run out the front door though, lol.  

Poor Duncan.  I think you could have been another Tyreese, Jerry type for me.  

WTF does this show have against horses?  Those poor creatures.  

Kelly is totally me right now.  I’d be freaking inconsolable.  

Carol needed that hug.  Thank you, Magna.  From the bottom of this tired fangirl’s heart, thank you.  

Why give us that beautiful, golden shot with the horses when you’re planning to stab us through the heart later and twist the knife.  Oh.  Yeah.  That’s exactly why.  

Oh snap!  Father G’s delivery when he tells that Reaper “I’m not.  God isn’t here anymore.”  Cold as ice.  

Judas.  That the Reapers’ work.  Or.  Damn.  Either way, that’s harsh.  

Back to what Alden was saying.  All these oprhaned children.  Who’s going to take on Adam if he dies?  That poor kid has had a rough go of it.  Knowing that, makes you wonder what Alden was thinking volunteering for the suicide mission.  

Omigosh.  There went Agatha.  Terrible way to go.  Right, Beatrice?  

I’m sobbing.  Carol with the horse.  That hurt my baby so much but she hurt herself for her family the same way she has been doing since the Prison.  Melissa Mcbride?  When she cries, I cry.  Every effin’ time.  Aaron being there just made it hurt more.  But at least someone was there to see how and really take in how she continues to break pieces of herself off to keep her family as whole and safe and happy as she can.  

Rewinding a minute--that Magna and Carol conversation.  I get Magna’s reasoning too.  I do.  But Angela is just making everything so dire right now so that the sun when Connie is ultimate found shines a ltitle brighter.  

Those babies know they’re eating horse.  I could never.  

That’s got to be a different Coco.  She’s even smaller.  But she’s gorgeous.  

Fucking finally.  Angela having the other characters notice after an eternity of being blind to it, just how much Carol sacrifices of herself for them.  It’s so long overdue and I imagine Rosita’s even more worried for Carol now.  It’s a shame it’s taken 11 seasons.  My baby’s had blood on her hands trying to keep her family safe and whole and happy and fed for a long damn time.  So heartbreaking watching her try to scrub the blood away.  

Sweet, sweet hug that Kelly gave Magna.  She’s such a sweetheart kid sis to all of them, isn’t she?  

Interesting place of refuge.  A gutted church.  A visual symbol, Angela, of where Maggie and the rest of our people are now perhaps?  

“It’s easy for you, isn’t it?  Being reckless with sombody’s life...”  Maggie.  Maggie.  Those words would have hit so much harder if we hadn’t spent the majority of the last 2.5 episodes watching you ignore sound advice just because it came out of the mouth of somebody you (justifiably) hate.  

But will Alden be there when Maggie and Negan get back?  That is the question.  Or will he eventually Lucille himself?  

That little bit of lineup Negan music to remind the audience of Negan lovers and sympathizers that he once took great pleasure in murderously swinging a bag at people’s heads was a nice, subtle touch there.  Like agree with her or not, Maggie  is literally left to rely  on the hope, however small it is, that Negan has changed just enough that he won’t try to finish a job he taken on years before--killing what’s left of her.  

Oh lawd.  Next episode sees the return of a character literally nobody asked for.  How excited am I not?  

Dog better not be harmed or so help me.  

Now for Angela’s weekly explanations of WTF she/there were thinking because they been doing this plausible deniability thing so long some people out there watching with biased, muddy stan glasses can no longer separate head canon from canon.  

Is Maggie worried at all about Daryl or does she just assume his superhero powers are in full effect in this episode?  

“You can’t really say it wasn’t going to happen anyway.”  Not Angela pointing out that simply laying the blame for literally everything bad that ever happens at Carol’s feet isn’t the answer.  Say it louder for those in the back.  Alpha was going to do what Alpha wanted to do.  

“There is love there.  There is respect there.  However, there’s also frustration...”  You damn skippy.  Friendships and human relationships are complex AF.  Like Carol. She’s honestly one of the most complicated characters on this show and any show, IMHO.  That’s what makes her so memorable and such a lightning rod for discussion.  

I know I might be in a minority, but I really feel like they need more of those little scenes between the kids to keep things real.  

Kang saying she always feels like she’s going to get murdered in a staircase or parking lot is relatable, funny, and sad all at the same time.  It’s a girl thing.  

Why is Carol’s story giving me Dark Knight vibes?  Like I feel like she’ll gladly shoulder the burden of their distrust, their hate, or their judgment as long as the hard choices she makes keeps them safe.  And she’s still ultimately going to come back to save their asses even when they forsake her.  Just like Bruce Wayne/Batman.  Am I reaching too far, lol?  Because sometimes I do that.  

Anyway.  This is the third episode of the season and the third episode in a row that I mostly enjoyed.  I don’t know if I’m just so relieved and happy to have all the characters and my show back or what, but overall?  I’ve been pleased with the episodes and found something to love in all of them.  

There’s a much stronger horror vibe woven throughout Season 11 so far.  I feel like it’s a return to the roots of the show and I like that.  Literally none of the characters are making perfect choices and this viewer is here for it.  My only complaint so far is there hasn’t been enough Carol but what we’ve been given has felt like a gift and significant in a way that Gimps’ version was not.  Also?  I really hope the trend of the ladies working together and supporting each other continues because they rule the TWD world, lol.  

Hope you enjoyed at least some of my TWD word vomit.  

Until next episode.