#and yes Chris Chan has done actual real-world harmful things

[coockie8]

do you really not know about chris chan?

I am mildly aware that she sexually assaulted her mother (I think), but beyond that, no, not really. Because I don't make a habit out of keeping myself 1000% informed on the latest Problematic Actions™ taken by the most recent Universally Hated Public Figure™ of the week.

I become aware of this kind of shit at the mercy of the people I follow; if it crosses my dash, I am made aware. But I don't go out of my way to look up every single person someone on my dash is bitching about on the vague chance what they're whining about is actually something harmful; 9 times out of 10 it's 'cause they glanced in the vague direction of lewd art of a cartoon character that's not immediately identifiable as over the age of 30 or some shit.

I don't have time for that shit, I have a fucking life lmao

[briankang]

i genuinely think some people are so dark and twisted that when something or someone good comes along (chris/skz/etc) they think it's suspicious and has alterior motives (like chris being labeled a cult leader, because he's open and loving and warm and wants us to feel accepted. only with cult leaders it comes from a place of harm). it's sad to me that these people have that mindset, that if something is good it must be bad underneath. oh well. we're gonna keep vibing over here with the boys having a good and fun and loving time.

NO BC YOU'RE SO RIGHT ANON................like that's EXACTLY it people really do see how much people have GENUINE love for them and how strong it is and think something weird or shady or awful has to be the reason like they/he HAS to be hiding something or doing something for us to feel that way when like.......idk about u guys but like. the main draw for me about the boys IS that they're just. themselves. they literally do just act like...people? obviously online and as idols it's never 100% (nobody is online esp w/ the brandification of being online) but nothing they've ever done aside from like.....Idol Things feels......put on? they're loud and weird and a little embarrassing and cringey but they're never trying to be anyone but themselves. there's no real façade. they're willing to be open and aggressively loving and to share that with the world. they've all been through SO MUCH like. things we will never know about and even the things we DO know about is such a testament to how strong they are.

i know a lot of people like to use the fact of parasocial relationships that esp chris has w/ us (chans room likes to be used as an example) as a way to be like SEE!!!!!!! HE'S WEIRD!!!!!!!!! HE'S USING HIS FANS!!!!!!! and im just......lol? most of that show is just him....telling us stories? playing us music? does it get a little "ehhhh" sometimes? sure! i find that mostly happens bc of comments people make in chat (trauma dumping, just...being fucking weirdos in general lol), but i digress!! and like....not only that right but like........that is a two way street. chan's room is absolutely a comfort meant for us but imo esp if you watch a lot of older clips compared to now, it's really helped him too!!! he used to be much more awkward (affectionate) and stuff but now he's so much more relaxed!!!!! does he still go on tangents that make me v stressed to hear? yes. absolutely. LMAO. but that's just...him. he rambles and gets away from himself (me too king. me too.)

the boys have always been v open about how much we've helped them in general in return (hyunjin and felix actually come to mind for this specifically) (this is also why i think ateez gets a lot of the same complaints but that's for another post), like. we really are in this together. as much as stray kids themselves are a bunch of boys from all over who came together by fate (please do not get me started esp on the fate of chris and felix ending up together or 3racha), but us too. we're all truly a bunch of people who have felt lost and hurt and who found solace not only in each other as us to the kids and the kids to us, but us together as a whole as well. the people i've met here have been people i have clicked with so instantly and we're all SO SIMILAR IT'S FUNNY and there's just. such a sense of comradery and love and family that i think is very special that i've never quite felt before with other artists or with other people who've liked said artists. and maybe that's bias and romanticizing but i think it's true!!!!

anyways. as the post i saw yesterday said. we're in this stray kids shit for life now. and i'm glad to be doing it alongside all of u <3

[starryseo]

date. | hwang hyunjin

this gif?? is a godsend??

pairing ↠ hyunjin x gender neutral!reader

genre ↠ some poorly-written fluff? slight enemies to lovers?? detective au! 

wc ↠ 3234

summary ↠ friday evenings shouldn't be spent staring at case files. luckily, the universe has made plans for you.

warnings ↠ a biiit of swearing

a/n ↠ wow this is long overdue! hope you all enjoy reading this :') sorry in advance for the awkward spacing, i wrote this on a google doc first (and deleted it like a dumbass) so ig the copy+pasting got weird.

-

Normally, Friday evenings would be spent at home, under several warm blankets and dim lights, your only company being a tub of Cookies and Cream ice cream, enough sweets to make your teeth ache and Chris Evans (he may be in your TV screen, but, for now, that presence is more than enough). But, clearly, Captain Woojin Kim has it out for you since he’s kept your squad and several others back to fish through a ship load of paperwork. You’re certain he’s adding more manila folders to your toppling pile each time you blink, your hands ache as you swap between signing papers and typing up incident reports.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, you notice it’s only been half an hour of filing, the clock’s hands ticking just past 5 o’clock. You reach for the mug of coffee that your Captain had so graciously gifted you before dropping the paperwork bombshell. Groaning at the realisation that your mug is now empty, you drop your head on the table. This wasn’t supposed to be a normal Friday evening; sure, filling in reports were different plans to your usual Netflix and chill, but on this particularly fine Friday, you actually had plans. Real plans. You hadn’t been extremely thrilled earlier this week for the blind date your friend had set up for you today, but now? Anything would be better than listening to Jisung repeat every single thing he was writing and typing and thinking. No amount of coffee could ever give you enough energy to deal with him.

You let out another groan, stretching your arms above your head, before grabbing your coffee mug to get a refill. Suddenly, you become a coffee boy as Jisung, Seungmin, Hyunjin, Felix and Minho -- who wasn’t even part of your team -- thrust out their arms, each of them holding an empty mug begging to be filled once more. Rolling your eyes, you walked straight past all of them to focus on your own mug. You laughed when they muttered curses, most choosing to continue with their reports. You set up the coffee machine, listening to its dull droning tone until the door swings open behind you.

“Thank you so much for the refill, y/n,” Hyunjin drawled, sarcasm slipping easily between his words, as he stood beside you.

“Anytime, Hyunjin.” You were not in the mood for Hyunjin’s quips -- especially not because he looked perfectly energetic when you could barely keep your eyes open. You huffed when the machine stopped working, letting out a long groan. “Stupid machine!”

“Step aside, let the master work his magic,” Hyunjin boasted, bumping you aside with his hip as he stretched his arms out in front of him, lacing his fingers together to crack them. He whacked the side of the machine harshly, grinning when it sputtered back to life, “That’s magic, baby!” He turned to you with a smirk, raising his eyebrows.

“Wow, that was so impressive.” You deadpanned, nudging him back in a similar manner. You placed your mug under the dispenser, pressing the button to fill it up.

“Worked like a charm,” his smirk never left and he turned to face you, leaning against the counter.

“Oh, definitely, I’m swooning,” you rolled your eyes -- a common gesture whenever you spoke to Hyunjin -- before grabbing your mug and stepping away.

“I knew you’d fall for me eventually.” He stayed unmoving, brown eyes practically teasing a reaction out of you.

And that was exactly why you could never have a proper conversation with the man. You’ve had your fair share of cocky men -- interrogating overconfident pimps was never your favourite task -- but at least you got paid to deal with those rich guys. There wasn’t enough money in the world to incite you into a willing conversation with Hyunjin. To the others, he was an absolute angel, going out of his way to help them, always cracking jokes to lighten the mood; to you, he was the devil’s incarnate: constantly looking for new ways to annoy you, taunting you at every possible instance -- the only time he’d gone out of his way for you was when he nitpicked through 5 of your cases, correcting any spelling mistakes and gaps. Long story short, Hwang Hyunjin was annoying. Great at his job -- there was no doubt about that -- but infuriating nonetheless.

“Anyway,” you sighed out, “goodbye, Hyunjin!”

Just as your free hand grabbed hold of the door knob, he yelled, “Wait!” Another sigh left you as you dropped the handle to turn around, raising a brow at him. A smirk briefly fluttered across his face, not quick enough for you to miss and it left you mentally questioning why you were still listening to him. “I heard you had a date tonight.” He watched you carefully, eyes meticulously observing every slight movement you made; you bit your tongue, not wanting to play into his games. When you gave no visible response, he continued, “Is it true?” He tilted his head innocently, but he was far from it, and you knew that.

You were sure he knew the answer to his own question, so why bother asking? To annoy you, of course.

“You’re a detective, work it out.”

-

Shutting your last folder, you heaved out a long sigh, rubbing the fatigue from your eyes. You were finally done. If you left now, you’d make it back to your apartment with enough time to shower before you needed to get ready and leave.

You grabbed the set of files you had just completed, pushing yourself away from your desk to put them away in the correct places. When you get back to your desk, Captain Woojin is there and you’re already dreading what he has to say.

“You’ve finished, right, y/n?”

Great. He probably had a ton of files in his office that needed completing, if the load in his hand was reflective of anything. He was probably watching and waiting -- like some sort of apex predator, a ravenous shark -- for someone to finish so he could dish out even more files, because who makes plans on a Friday evening? It wouldn’t hurt to lie to him, would it? No harm would be done, right?

“Yeah, I’m done.” You couldn’t lie. It would just hurt your conscience. Maybe this was a sign from the universe to not go on that blind date.

"Great, I can take those files for you, could you just drop this package off at the front desk?"

"Yeah, no problem." Could it be? Freedom? "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you. Wouldn't want to keep your date waiting, right?"

The smile that had just started forming on your face was instantly wiped away when you saw the small grin on his face. He stacked the remaining files in his hand on Hyunjin's desk before leaving. You barely registered the snickers that left Hyunjin and Seungmin as you said your goodbyes and finally took leave.

Why did you ever think telling Felix about it was a good idea? Damn Detectives and their love for gossip.

-

It was a rush job but you made it on time. Getting home was fairly quick since you missed the rush hour traffic, and you're pretty sure that was the quickest you've ever showered and gotten ready in - if your date didn't appreciate all this effort, you were going to flip.

The place was fairly fancy -- low lighting, regal colours, the whole shebang -- and when the waiter led you to the reserved table, you couldn't help but look around at other diners' plates. Seriously, where was the rest of the meal? What was the point in having great tasting food if it barely filled you up? The pizza place a couple of blocks down seemed much more appealing right now, but you had to at least try to have fun today. 

15 minutes. It had only been fifteen minutes but your eyes were drooping and your date still wasn't here. Once another ten went by, you picked up your phone and messaged the oh-so-amazing friend of yours that had set up this date in the first place.

You: chan???

You: hes not here and im tired, can i go home now??

Chan: He's not? :(

Chan: One sec, I'm messaging him

As you waited, you decided rubbing your freedom in Felix's face was a great pastime.

You: you still alive??

You: actually no, is jisung still alive or have you finally killed him?

Felix: killing him would just be more paperwork that my ass can't handle. I'm seeing folders every time i blink, put me out of my misery

You: you're still there??

Felix: lmao no, the Mins and i escaped, and Cap kicked Sung out when he started singing I Want It That Way

Felix: so your boy Hyunjinnie is the only one there ;^) must be a shit date if you're here texting me, but you could go in and keep him company if you know what i mean ;)))) 

You: i have no idea what you mean

After seeing the series of hearts and kiss emojis he sent you after, you came to the conclusion ignoring Felix was a much better pastime.

Chan: Shit

Chan: Asshole's not replying to me

Chan: I'm sorry y/n :/

Chan: Wtf he left me on read wtf

Chan: I'm pretty sure he's already given his card details to that place, rinse his money

After confirming with your waiter, who probably realised that you had been stood up, you decided to make good on what Chan said and buy some food. If the guy wasn't going to show up, you weren't just going to let an open tab go to waste.

You ordered two of the most expensive meals off the menu and a slice of cheesecake to lift up your mood.

-

Why did the precinct have to be there on your way back? As soon as you passed it, you remembered what Felix said about Hyunjin still being there. You wondered why he was staying back when the others had gotten out earlier, and you blame that reasoning alone for why you turned your car around and headed into the building. 

He really was there. Legs on his desk, keyboard on his lap, typing with one hand and drinking coffee with the other, Hyunjin was a sight to behold. His shirt was crumpled, sleeves creased from being rolled up, and his hair was wild, sticking up at gravity-defying angles. You watched as his eyes skimmed over the text on his computer, unblinking even as he took another sip from the mug.

"Wow, you look like shit." You grinned, dropping the takeaway bags on your desk. You laughed when your presence startled him into jumping, coffee splashing down his forearm, chair rolling away from his desk, keyboard hanging dangerously over the edge.

"Y-You're back?"

"Clearly," amusement never left your eyes as you watched him fix his dishevelled state. You tossed the box of tissues on your desk to him and he smiled in thanks. Once he had finally wiped away the mess, picked up his keyboard and tamed his hair, he leaned back in his chair and swivelled to face you. 

"Bad date?" The smirk on his face did nothing to make you forget the vision you just saw, and you would not let him have the upper hand.

"I just saw you singing Thank you, Next, don't try to mock me."

"I'll buy you coffee for a month if you don't tell the others?"

"Two months."

He huffed, but agreed anyway.

"And you have to get it from Carla's place."

"But that's so far away," he whined, pouting and all.

"I got the whole thing on video, so…"

"I'd be honoured to go!"

After a couple of minutes of (strangely comfortable) silence, you spoke up. "Have you even eaten yet?"

"Must've been a real bad date if you got takeaway," he snorted, rolling his chair to your desk before leaning an elbow on it, "What've you got?"

You pulled out the three containers, pushing one over to Hyunjin. "Ooh, Valentino's, how fancy." He rolled back to his desk, rummaging through a drawer to pull out the cutlery he had stashed there. You did the same as he shimmied back -- you had learned, rather quickly in your first week here, that it was best to keep your dishes safe in your desks if you wanted them to stay clean.

The food was still fairly warm as you ate, but, like all fancy restaurants, there was barely any food there to eat. Even after you split the cheesecake, you could feel your stomach on the edge of rumbling, and taking one look at Hyunjin told you he felt the same.

"You up for Chinese?" He grinned, licking away the remnants of cream from his fork, "I'll even pay."

"You done with your reports?" You glanced at his abandoned computer as he groaned.

"I hate Cap."

You laughed as he dragged a hand down his face, letting out a tired sigh. "He gave you more?"

"Well, yeah, sorta, I kinda asked for them."

"You deserve this then." You chuckled, curiously continuing, "Why'd you do that?"

At that, he chanced a glance at you before looking down at the fork he was twiddling between his fingers. "He was gonna give 'em to you, but I told him you had a date."

You narrowed your eyes at him, "Now why would you do that?"

He shrugged, as though he hadn't just lightened your load despite your rivalry, "You had plans, I didn't. Plus, you could use the break," then, in true annoying Hyunjin fashion, he smirked, "you look like shit."

You didn't dignify that with a verbal response, choosing to kick -- not so lightly -- him in the shin. You grinned at his yelped curse. He leaned down to rub his leg, pouting, "I was kidding- fuck, that hurts, you look…" he took the chance to scrutinise your appearance, eyes dancing with mirth as you shifted under his gaze. "You look okay."

"Okay?"

"Fine." He huffed, "you look fine. Alright. Decent. Nice."

He had rolled back to his desk before you could recognise his rising blush or form a reply. Was that supposed to be a compliment? He was so focussed on his screen now that you decided it must have been a compliment if he was shying away from you now. You smiled at that -- seriously, y/n? falling for the enemy? -- before you grabbed the used cutlery, going to the break room to wash them.

-

Once you finished washing up in the tiny sink, you headed over to Hyunjin. You hid your smirk when he tensed up ever so slightly as you dropped his cutlery on his desk; he took extra care in keeping his eyes on his screen, but you still noticed the slight hitch in the way he tapped at his keyboard, giving away his nerves to your trained eye.

Was he seriously still nervous about having given you a compliment? Did he regret it?

You said nothing, however, choosing to head back to your own desk before leaving the precinct. Without so much as a goodbye, Hyunjin watched -- eyes downcast, yet you'd never know -- as you walked away.

-

Hyunjin was a detective. A damn good detective, and he got your signal loud and clear.

Taking your reports from Woojin was a leap of faith, of sorts; he never intended on telling you that he took them -- or worse, why he really did -- but he thought that lightening your load on a Friday evening was a nice gesture and possibly a step in the right direction.

He thought, for once, the universe was working out in his favour, because even though he had piled on more work for himself than necessary, the stars aligned and you were brought back to him. God, his internal monologue was dramatic.

It was a crush. For the past three weeks and four days, Hyunjin had developed a somewhat crush on you. The teasing continued, of course, but the longing gazes he gave you -- which, thankfully, you never seemed to notice -- made him awfully aware of how much he liked spending time with you, even if you were spitting fire and mocking him.

But now, your rejection was blatantly obvious. Like a siren wailing right in front of him, he got the message. You completely ignored his compliment -- a sad attempt, really, but it was something -- and Hyunjin knew you knew what he was really hinting at (y/n, you look more than just okay, you look--) but words, it seemed, just weren't his forte, and he swivelled his chair away before he had to face the disgust that probably painted your face. And you said nothing. The silence that followed was deafening because he realised his shitty compliment -- yes, he'd finally come to terms that it was pathetic -- had made you feel so awkward, so uncomfortable, that you couldn't even speak to him; instead, he had to listen to water splashing, cutlery tinkling and you walking away.

--stunning.

-

He wasn't asleep. He had half a mind to just shove whoever kept poking him and not letting him wallow in his arms. He was allowed to be sad: the person he kind of, maybe, possibly, had feelings for had just up and left him alone in an empty squad room, he could pout for a few moments longer. The incessant nudges didn't poke through Hyunjin's bubble and it made him wonder, one, who the hell was still touching him? and two, what was the goddamn time, because he was sure the pokes had lasted forever and a day, and he still had two more reports to go over.

On a newly-thought-of third note, it made him finally aware of the scent of spices weaseling into his pity party.

His head snapped up, jaw dropping only slightly when he saw it was you.

Really and truly, you. 

Holding Chinese from that one store just down the road.

Fucking finally, you muttered, but he was still shocked that you were here, on your own chair, but right beside him, with more containers actually filled to the brim with his favourite food from his favourite place.

But more importantly, you were right beside him.

"Dig in," you murmured, waiting for him to start eating first.

You were momentarily blinded by the grin he gave you, before he began eating and you followed.

After you finished eating -- hunger thoroughly sated -- you decided that maybe spending some more time with Hyunjin wouldn't be so bad.

No, you were only going to stay because technically these were your reports and you didn't want to owe him any favours he could use against you. It wasn't because two weeks and five days ago you had developed a small, barely there, practically non-existent, crush on the man beside you.

It certainly wasn't because you were totally aware now of the way he was smiling at you as you proofread the final report.

And it most definitely wasn't because his lips had your own turning up into a smile.

"You're staring." You said, eyes skimming through line after line of police work.

"I know."

"Why?"

"Because…" he trailed off, scooting the slightest bit closer as his arm snaked around the back of your chair so he could roll you even closer too, "you look--"

-

yo pls tell me wtf this is bc i have no idea. it's almost 4am, im at 11% but ya boi is done™ hope u liked this bc i had no idea where i was going with this, the idea was a lot cuter in my head but oh well :'')