King Of Spades Or King of Spuds
Pairings: None
Trigger Warnings: mild cussing
Author: @burning-clutch (Team Ghost)
Total word count 3020
Prompt by: Lexiepiper / LexiePiper AO3: Alexa_Piper, FFN: Alexa Piper
Stupid humor, Wes is trying, Danny is a troll, summoning
When they tried to summon the King of All Ghosts, the last thing they expected was the sudden appearance of a very familiar, very human boy wearing spaceship pajamas and with a toothbrush halfway to his mouth...
-.-.-.-
"You know this probably isn't going to work how you think it is right?"
"Shut up and just do your job nerd."
"If we get killed-"
"That's why I stole this thingy from Fenton, duh." The raygun was waved casually around like it wasn’t an actual weapon.
"Just do your thing and we see if you're being real with us or not. If you can't even be truthful about this how are we supposed to believe anything else you say? You said you tried this before and it worked right?"
The wirey teen runs a hand through his orange-red hair and sighs deeply. "The summoning works you just have to make it clear who you're trying to get… I've ended up with the wrong ghost before…"
“Then you’ve already got experience, more than us anyway” The dark haired jock called over his shoulder from where he had been fussing with a candle.
"Come on Wes you should just feel lucky we're talking to you after everything." The blonde A-lister huffed with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"Star's right you know. Now if what the book from that goth creep said was true then if we summon the king we can make a deal with him."A Latino beauty with an accent said, hardly looking up from her nail file. “Anything we want so long as the king accepts the payment.”
“Yeah, and we got the nerd here to film it, cuz ya need proof of contract or whatever..” A large beefy blonde jock piped up with his two cents.
Wes sighed and gave Mikey a sympathetic look as he shakily set up a tripod and a small digital camcorder, While Kwan continued to set up the candles around the vacant basement room.
“I just really think summoning the ghost king is a bad idea, I mean you remember that invasion last year? Wasn't that the ghost king?" Wes urged only to get punched in the arm by the blonde jock.
"Not the real king, you saw how all the ghosts fought him, idiot," Dash commented with a huff. “Kings are loved by all, Being the king of Casper High I should know!”
"Ghosts just fight each other regardless! It's what they do!" Wes shot back glaring at the larger teen.
"Regardless I want to make it so Phantom Falls madly in love with me and I can have my fairytale ending with him." Paulina waved off the ginger's worries. "A deal with the devil, so to speak, is hardly of any concern."
“A de- Are you hearing yourself?” Wes called out waving his arm frantically towards Paulina. When the girl only looked up from her nail file to glare at Wes the basketball player deflated. “Fine whatever. If we call become ghosts my obsession will be kicking your asses for all eternity I hope you know.”
“Ha! You’ll be lamer than the crate creep when you keel over” Dash spat poking the end of the ecto-weapon into Wes’s chest to accentuate his point.
Wes swatted the gun away, while Kwan stood back up to admire his handy work with the candles. “Right now we light them right?” The Asian asked. “Who’s got the lighter?”
Star tosses a small pink plastic thing to her boyfriend, who caught it easily. Kwan gives his girlfriend a finger gun with a quick ‘Thanks babe” Before he began lighting up the candles.
Mikey, seemingly satisfied with the camera, scrunched up his face as he watched the small pillars of wax ignite. “What’s that smell? I hope that those aren’t made with Benzaldehyde…. I’m allergic to-”
“Can it ugh, no one cares.” Star snapped to the other boy.
“They’re vanilla scented! I thought it would be nice.” Kwan answers in turn.
“Yes, I know that I’m not nose blind.” The nerd snorted out a laugh. “Benzaldehyde is a chemical used in the making of fake vanilla scents an-”
“How much longer until we can summon this king guy? The humidity down here is making my hands all clammy” Palina interrupted callously “You” She pointed her file to Mikey, “Hit record and you,” She pointed the file to Wes next. “Say the stuff that makes this happen.”
Wes muttered something under his breath causing Dash to punch his arm again. “Fine!” He hollered before beginning the summoning. Latin words warbled out from the teen’s lips, echoing around the room before suddenly, the candles started flickering as if being disturbed by the wind. The teens all watched with wide eyes as the candles suddenly flicked green and blue rapidly before going out. A wash of smoke came up from each one to condense in the centre.
With bated breath, they watch as the smoke forms a shape in the ring of candles. Paulina had a fleeting thought that they should have done this outside in case the ghost king was far bigger than the room could hold.
Though once the shape stopped glowing, and became clear to see, it was obvious they needn’t have worried. A quiet splash is heard, as if someone had dropped a glass of water on the ground, followed by a yelp from a new voice, before Dash’s shout of “Fenton?!”
Danny pulled the toothbrush from his jaws and turned around blinking at the people surrounding him before making a nervous face as he took notice of the candles surrounding him.
Star frowns and makes a disgusted snort noticing where the water spilling noise had come from. “Did you spit on the floor?” She asks angrily. “You are cleaning that” She points to the bewildered Danny.
“Um…. Hi?” Danny tried, wiping a bit of foamy toothpaste from his lips onto the sleeve of his rocketship patterned pyjamas.
“Of course it’s Fenton. Why wouldn’t it be Fenton.” Wes grumbled pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Love you too Wes, but seriously what happened?” Danny asks, taking a step forward only to yelp as his foot touched the circle line drawn by the candles. “Jeez, what the heck?!”
Wes perked up at that. “You’re stuck? You can’t cross the barrier!” He called out excitedly.
Paulina assessed the dark haired teen a moment before humming. “I didn’t think this thing could summon humans as well as ghosts.” She mused taping a perfectly shaped nail to her lips in thought. “I wonder if we can summon celebs?” her eyes went wide at the possibility
“What? No! This thing is only to summon ghosts! And Fenton showed up, and can’t cross the barrier so-” Wes prompts eagerly waving his arms at the sleepy teen in the circle.
“It means you either screwed up the spell and brought us a nerd or that dweeb is somehow the ghost king!” Dash spat back angrily.
Danny blinked out of his sleepy stupor as those words filtered into his brain. “Wait why were you trying to summon the ghost king?”
“Because you can make a deal to get anything you want duh,” Star answered in first.
“Shouldn’t you know that Danny? Your parents are ghost hunters after all…” Mikey piped up from the camera shutting off the device, figuring the whole thing was a flop and didn’t want to waste any more of the mini DV tape.
“What? No that…” He trailed off a moment as he became lost in thought. “Actually that might make sense… It would explain why Plasmius would try to free Pariah Dark…” he muttered to himself more than to the others in the room.
“Who and what now?” Kwan asked Danny while simultaneously Dash snorted.
“‘Ey. The nerd made a funny!” The blonde said acting bewildered.
“Seriously?” Wes groaned burying his hands in his face.
“Though as much as I hate to say it the ginger whiner is right. He definitely said it right to summon the ghost king. ‘Animum quoque regis’, or the royal spirt, or spirit of royalty was who he called out to not you.” Paulina said with a huff.
When she was given a few raised brows she shrugged it off and simply said. “I’m good with Latin. What? Can’t a girl be beautiful and intelligent?” she huffed as if she had been insulted.
“Can I go home? I was kind of hoping to actually get some decent sleep tonight…” Danny said stopping an argument from breaking out.
“What? No! You’re stuck there until you admit to being a ghost.” Wes shot back to him.
Danny sighed deeply and rolls his eyes. “Fine,” Danny cleared his throat before raising his hands to wiggle his fingers in a ‘spooky’ fashion, thumb holding the toothbrush. “I’m a ghost~,” he warbled out sarcastically “There, happy? Can I leave now?”
Wes scoffed at the display before getting as close to Danny as he could without crossing the barrier and loomed over him threateningly. “That’s not what I meant and you know it!” He hissed.
“Maybe he’s like a ghostly secretary?” Kwan asks after a moment. “I mean his parents have the ghost portal right? So maybe that’s why we got Fenton?”
“That’s the stupid-” Wes started but was cut off by Star’s affirmative.
“Hey yeah! Fenton’s the ghost’s go between!”
“I’m a what now?” Danny asked stifling a yawn.
“Ohhh! That makes sense! I knew you were connected to my ghost boy somehow!” Paulina chirped out.
“Yea! That’s true the ghost boy always shows up around you” Mikey added with a slightly bewildered gaze.
“Yes! That’s what I’ve been saying for so long now!” Wes called out excitedly.
“Yeah, and actually… I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of you in the same place,” Kwan said with a hum, placing a hand on his chin in thought. Danny blinked at him trying to push down the nervousness rising in his chest.
“Yes! Yes!” Wes cheered.
“And Fent-toenail did get summoned by a ghost spell thing…” Dash mused glaring down his favourite punching bag with a frown.
“Exactly what I was saying!” Danny glared at Wes with a murderous look.
“So... What? The Fenton Dweeb’s a ghost?” Star scoffed looking to Wes with an exasperated face. “I doubt it.”
“What? He clearly is!” Wes complained flailing about like mad towards a now snickering Danny.
“I’ve seen shapeshifting shots before… How do we know you’re the real Danny?” Mikey asked eyes wide.
Danny blinked at his classmates in wonderment. They had just handed him an out, and who was he to not take advantage? Threatening up his stance and puffing out his chest and using a bit of his ghostly body control he makes himself appear smokey. “Alright ya got me,” Danny said with a shrug
“What?!”
“Wait, what?”
“You’re dead?!”
Danny used his abilities to stretch his smile a little wider then what should be normal on a human. “I was hoping if I took an unassuming form you all looked down on I could throw you off but you win, you got me.”
“Fenton I swear…,” Wes growled, while Danny did his best to stick in that uncanny valley zone.
“So you are the ghost king?” Paulina asked excitedly.
“What? Oh ancients no, I’m one of the contenders for the throne though,” Danny said, pulling his hand across his hips before falling into a deep bow channelling his inner medieval prince, he introduced himself. “I am…. Barrybum Roblix.” Danny stayed in his bow much longer than necessary to hide the smirk on his face. Once he got his features under control he stood straight once again, tilting his head too far to the side, “Just Barry is fine.”
Wes was flabbergasted. Was this really happening? He finally gets Fenton right where he wants him and the half ghost has the gall to try and weasel his way out!? “No one’s buying this Fenton! So save your breath!”
“What are you talking about? I speak the truth,” Danny chides crossing his arms and lifting a little off the ground to float within the confines of the circle.
“Fenton can’t float.” Dash scoffs.
“So, if you’re not the ghost king then this whole thing was a flop! How will I ever be able to get even a kiss from my ghostly prince charming now? You were supposed to be the king…” Palina pouted.
“Well I’m able to shapeshift, If you release me from here I can imitate the one your thinking of.” Danny offered. “I’ll even give you that kiss”
“Ew no, I don’t care how good you are at imitation I’m not kissing some random ghost.” Paulina shot back with a disgusted look on her face.
“I think it’d be cool to have a pretend Phantom hanging out with us, imagine how much our popularity would skyrocket!” Star offers. “Think if we got him to imitate phantom and took a group photo-”
“Oh~! I looove~ that idea Star! Then yes! We’ll release you if you can imitate Phantom.” Palina nodded eagerly.
“Then ya got yourself a deal, we just gotta shake on it. Well, the one who read the spell does” Danny practically sing songed out as he stared down to Wes with a shit eating grin.
“Go on! Shake the ghost’s hand” Dash said cracking his knuckles threateningly.
“Wait, what!? He was brushing his teeth when he came here! This is clearly Fenton trying to trick you! How do you not see it!? There’s toothpaste spit on the floor…” he trailed off as he noticed the puddle of slop was no longer on the floor, and the toothbrush had disappeared. “Turning it invisible doesn’t mean it no longer exists.” Wes huffed.
Danny shrugged in response to the redhead’s ranting.
“Come on Wes just shake his hand so we can take some cool pictures!” Star says shoving the taller teen forward in annoyance.
With a sneer, Wes approached Danny who’s grin hadn’t faltered the entire time. “I hate you” He growled out as Danny took the ginger’s hand in his cold one.
“I know buddy” Danny chastized before letting his transformation rings wash over him.
Wes glared at Danny, Now turned Phantom with renewed vigour, before the halfa flew upwards knocking Wes down as he does. The ginger made a disgusted face as he realized he’d landed his arm directly on the toothpaste slop Danny had spat out.
The A-listers (plus Mikey) were over the moon seeing ‘Phantom’. “Huh, I’ve seen the real one and he’s definitely taller, but the face is almost spot on so no one will know if you float,” Dash says astutely.
“Oh, I love it!” Paullina cooed. Hold still I want to get a full body shot! Throw a thumbs up and- Yes like that! Perfect! Okay now, Star! Take one with me in his arms!”
And so it went, for a good twenty minutes with all the people in the room excitedly snapping pictures, Someone even stole Wes’s phone and took one of him behind Danny as the ghost lay on the ground with a wide grin.
Once all the teens were satisfied with their snap happy adventure, and couldn’t think of any other pictures to pose with ‘Phantom’ the group prepared to bid ‘Barry’ goodbye.
“This was fun but now that I’m in the human world I have people to meet and places to haunt. Etcetera and so forth…” Phantom said with a wave, smacking Wes on the back knocking him over once again, before disappearing from view.
The only person who really noticed phantom’s departure, however, was Wes the others were too engrossed in the photos they had taken. “Oh my gosh look at this one! Oh, that one is so cute!” Star cooed over the camera roll Paulina had on her phone.
Not that Dash and Kwan were any better, “No way man this one is sooo much cooler! Look at you here that one is bomb!”
And even Mikey was furiously typing away on his phone as he blasted his ‘phantom photos’ all over his social media accounts.
All the while Wes just sulked. He was so close! Everyone was heading towards the right conclusion only to have Fenton rip his victory like so many times before! It was infuriating! And just… “UGH!” Wes groaned and laid on his back in the circle where Danny had once been.
“Oh! Let’s go upstairs and print off the best ones and make a college!” Star exclaimed excitedly jumping about like a rabbit that was given caffeine. “And you, nerd, can leave my house,” Star said shooing Mikey away.
The nerdy teen simply nodded and began to gather up his camera and tripod. Once he was finished that task he left without another word. His voice echoed from upstairs as he began talking on the phone to someone nattering on about how he got photos with a Phantom, not Phantom.
“Wes when you’re done wallowing you should leave too, you’re bringing down the whole vibe, man,” Kwan said to the dejected redhead on the ground.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it…” he groaned out.
Wes watched the group of A-listers go with a deep forlorn sigh. He laid on his back for a good solid ten minutes before he felt he had sufficiently wallowed enough. He rolls to his side and pushes himself into a standing position before letting his shoulders droop.
With a final annoyed sigh, he began to walk forward. He got two steps before he was zapped. The redhead let out a yelp of surprise from the electric zap he had received. It wasn’t painful but it was a surprise.
With a frown, he reaches out with a hand and rests it on the semi translucent barrier. It tingled through his skin and he couldn’t break past it. Wes couldn’t help but blink in confusion. “Wait… He didn’t…”
He pounded on the barrier a few times with his fist and kicks at it a few times before groaning out in exasperation. “Damn it, Fenton, I have to pee!” He yells up to the ceiling, well aware the other teen was long gone by now.
It didn’t stop him from glaring blankly ahead as if he could hear his nemesis’s chuckling and see that ever present shit eating grin.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Complete
Total word count 3020
57 notes
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irony p. ii
a/n: heck here it is i just love words dont i
also note: tumblr is being BadTM and broke all links so if u want p 1 just pls search for it on my blog
↠ pairing: lee felix x reader
↠ word count: 13.07k
↠ warnings: female reader
↠ genre: fluff, angst, soulmate au
↠ part: one, two
↠ summary:
In a world where soulmates exist, love is still a gamble.
--
Bus rides home were usually filled with white noise and thoughts about work. But there was something about the steady pitter-patter of the rain and the hazy blur of life around you that lead you to plug in your earphones and listen to music.
It was tormenting. The catchiest beats were also the saddest ones, making your heart swell up at every relatable lyric. It was as if Spotify was playing with the strings of your heart, plucking them like an instrument every time a song about heartbreak came into your queue.
You were stuck in a state of paradox. The more you tried to forget, the more you tried to erase him who was in your heart, the more you remembered. You hated him because you knew that you couldn’t truly bring yourself to hate him.
Timing never seemed to be right with the two of you. If only you’d discovered that he was your destiny a few years later, maybe everything would have worked out, but since you found out a little bit too early, the problem then became you being too late to tell him.
A full year had already passed, and it felt like time was stretched. Graduation seemed so long ago after the ball started rolling on your career life. Once you moved to Busan and getting a great albeit stressful job, so many things just seemed to have happened. You convinced yourself of the fact that this was life now, and if this was all you were going to get, you were going to make it as spectacular as possible. Moving on from the mess that was Lee Felix was dealt and done with, however, it’d be a lie if you said you didn’t think about him every once in a while.
Twelve months ago, your arm was always covered in ink. The week you stopped talking to Felix, that’s when they started to appear. A thousand little messages written on your arm every single morning was what you had to wake up to. You’d seen your fair share of ‘I’m sorry’s and ‘I miss you’s, but you weren’t taking any of it. You knew that if you dared to reply once, even just once, you knew you’d just get hurt all over again—it was not something you were willing to risk, even if those annoying writings on your arm caused you to buy more long-sleeved shirts.
Gradually, their appearances lessened until the messages stopped altogether. Something about the absence of the all-too-familiar handwriting finally settled the fact that he was all but a memory that you were to leave in the past.
Occasionally, there were times that the memory of him would be jogged once again, like on this particular bus ride home. Truly, the blame was to be put on the meaningful lyrics and solemn melodies.
Chhhh. This was the part where you got off the bus and shook whatever bad vibes you were feeling out of your mind. This was not the time to feel sad. Not today, not today.
“Oh, you’re home already. How was work?” your grandma greeted from the kitchen, the sound of sizzling oil faintly echoing through the house.
“Shall I tell you over dinner?” You pursed your lips into a smile. “Or do you want to be spoiled? Just a hint, today was fantastic.”
“Well, if that doesn’t tickle my fancy. If you’re gonna start it off like that, sweetie, you might as well just tell me now,” she answered.
You entered the kitchen with a dramatic stride. You stopped for a second to pose, then you took a loud, deep breath. “Your grandkid made it, Nana. I, [L/N] [F/N], have been promoted to the Assistant Brand Manager of the department. Boss said I get a bonus on every third Friday of the month. Isn’t that something?”
“My, my. Won’t you treat your old woman out for dinner one of these days, since you’re now swimming in money? I’d love a steak, dear,” she smiled. “I’m only joking. I am so, so proud of you, darling! We need to celebrate! Come give me a hug!”
You wrapped your arms tightly around your grandmother. “Agh, I’m beyond elated! Shall we go somewhere special?”
“Would you care for some wine, perhaps? I’m cooking beef, so I think it would taste great. Set out the table outside, let’s enjoy the evening breeze. Let’s talk more about your promotion later. Who’s going to take your previous spot on the team?”
“I don’t know,” you admitted. “Boss said there were some very promising newcomers, and I can only hope they’ll be a good addition and not a downfall to our team. Did you know that our department is one of the most productive ones? Ever since the PR department waged war on us, our productivity rate has doubled in number.”
“Why would you want to wage war on other departments? Mustn’t you work together for the better of the company?”
“Yes!” you replied. “It’s mostly to see who can boost the company’s sales better. We usually compete when we do our weekly reports to the boss. I think Boss secretly knows about the Marketing-PR war because he hasn’t said a word about any of our shenanigans, even if we blatantly express our friendly rivalry. There’s a small scoreboard in the conference room to tally which department did better that week, and it’s updated by the secretary. Boss didn’t order it to be put there, but he hasn’t said anything about it either.”
“It sounds wonderful. That’s quite a great way to promote efficiency in the company,” your grandmother commented, plating the dishes she had prepared for dinner.
“I know! Rumor has it that Boss is planning a company outing where all the departments will go on a head-to-head competition. I don’t know the details, but my co-worker said that she heard it from the janitor who heard it from the secretary,” you went on, “anyway, I’ll save more of the talk for later. Where do you keep the candles? I’ll put some outside as I set the tables.”
“In the left-most wooden drawer—no, not that one. Yes, that one. Glad to hear that work is good for you, honey. Makes me very glad.”
--
How could you stop a smile from making its way to your face? When you stepped into work the next day, you wore a grin like an expensive article of clothing.
“Somebody’s cheerful today,” your co-worker, Yugyeom mentioned, looking up from his desk. “what’s with the happy demeanor, [Y/N]?”
“Can’t I revel in the fact that I’ve finally been promoted?” you answered, taking a seat at your desk.
“Come on. There must be something else that’s up. Did you get a boyfriend? Meet a soulmate? Win the lotto? Your smile’s so bright, I think I’m going to go blind.” He rolled his eyes.
“No! Gross, I don’t have time for things like that,” you huffed. Leaning in, you whispered, “Listen. There’s a newcomer that’s going to be added to our team. Apparently, he’s from the Daejeon branch of the company, and he’s being transferred here to the Busan office because apparently, he did very well. Do you realize what this means for us? If we get another good employee, we’ll have one more person to help tackle PR on the scoreboard.”
“Damn, girl! Talk about competitive!”
“You know you’re excited, too.”
“Okay, fine. I am. Let’s teach this newcomer to help us in the quest to out-produce PR.”
“Morning, guys,” a familiar voice greeted. You and Yugyeom stood up to bow to your superior.
“Morning, Chan,” you greeted back.
“Woah, no ‘Sir’ for you, huh, [Y/N]?” Yugyeom snickered.
You hit him playfully. “I’ve known Chan since high-school. He’s the one who told me not to call him ‘Sir’. Anyway, is it true that the newcomer’s a good one? Gosh, I can’t wait. This is like fresh meat for us, you know? Do you know his name?”
“How do you know he’s a guy?” Yugyeom asked, raising a brow.
“Heard it from the janitor. Swear the janitor knows everything. Need info? I can get it for you. The janitor makes a pretty good friend,” you explained. “Anyway, like I asked, Chan. Do you have info on him?”
“Actually, [Y/N], I don’t. The Chief of Staff has yet to introduce me to him, which is kind of surprising. But to be fair, I’ve been out on business trips lately, so I’m not all too shocked,” Chan explained. “I hope this person is what make him out to be. Oh, speak of the devil.”
“Hello, all. Good morning. As you know, I’m Mr. Park, Chief of Staff, and I’m here to bring to you the latest addition to your team. As some of you may have heard, he is from our Daejeon branch and is a very capable man. I hope you will all take care of him.”
Chan took one glance at you to make sure you were doing alright, but all he saw was your jaw suspended in the open air, eyes wide.
You felt everything and nothing all at once.
“Everyone, this is Lee Felix, and he will be in charge of product marketing.”
--
You slammed the door to the office pantry behind you, Chan following inside. As you finished downing an entire cup of coffee, you sputtered, “How could this have happened? Chan! You’re like, the only person who knows what happened between Felix and I during high-school and college!”
“I swear, I didn’t know!” Chan defended, handing you a glass of water to calm you down. “I’m just as shocked as you are, alright? Drink this.”
“Is the world seriously against me?” you grumbled, burying your face in your hands. “Just as things have been looking up, he walks back into my life just like that! Here! In Busan! Where I purposely went so that I could get away from him!”
“Calm down, [Y/N]. Let’s sort this out. But you have to promise me that you won’t let your personal problems get in the way of professionality. I know you’re in shock, but let’s try not to let this get the best of you. Remember, PR’s been on the top of the leaderboard for two weeks straight, and we really need to step up our game,” the older boy spoke, rubbing your shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll try to fix this, yeah?”
“Dear goodness, I sure hope so,” you muttered, setting down the second empty paper cup as you looked at the office through the pantry blinds.
“I knew Felix had a job in marketing, but I didn’t know it was for our company, nevertheless did I expect him to end up here with us. I thought he got hired back in Seoul,” Chan commented, also watching the newcomer through the blinds.
“Right?” you sighed. “What on this good, green earth am I going to do know? I’m going to have to engage in conversation, you know?”
“Well, I suppose you can’t hide from him forever. After all, he… is your—”
“God, Chan. Don’t say it, please. Please don’t remind me,” you begged, shoulders going down in a slump.
Just like that, your joyful morning mood was dampened like the imminent grey clouds on a sunny June day, and now you were left with a situation you couldn’t run from.
--
A couple of days passed and you successfully avoided having to make any contact with Felix.
Surprisingly, things weren’t as bad as you had expected. You only had to do that obligatory bow when you greeted each other in the hallways, but that was it. You could not have it any other way.
“So… how’s stuff? You doing okay?” Chan asked one lunchbreak, grabbing his chopsticks from the lunch tray.
You gulped the rice in your mouth. “Could not be better. Can you believe it? One week went by without anything more than a couple of seconds of eye-contact and a bow.”
Yugyeom, who was sitting beside you, squinted his eyes. “Wait. Who are we talking about?”
“Uh,” you began, shooting a glance at Chan. “N-No one important, really. Just this person I met.”
“What, blind date outside of work?” he asked.
“No, I don’t have time for dates.”
Your co-worker gave you a goofy smile. “Aw, sucks for me, I just lost my shot.”
“Gross, Mr. Kim!” you laughed.
“I’m joking, I’m joking. Anyway, what’s your soulmate link?”
Great. The taboo question. It was cool, it was cool, you were chill, you were chill. “Oh, uh… why? What’s yours? Have you met your soulmate?”
“I’m a late bloomer, I guess. Lots of my friends have met their soulmates already, but my link says I’m still meeting my soulmate in… a couple of months. I’d show you the tattoo, but no one can see it anyway,” Yugyeom shared, taking a bite of his lunch. “How about you? I asked you first.”
“It’s a drawing link. Whatever’s drawn on my skin shows up on my soulmate’s or vice versa,” you said quietly, sipping your water. “But I’m not too hung up on the soulmate idea. Did you know that Chan’s real lucky? He scored a jackpot. Have you seen his girlfriend? She’s super nice. She and Chan are like the older siblings I never had.”
“Hey, but it was hard. You know, I had such a hard time with visual projects back in school before I met her. I had to keep asking my friends to tell me if my presentations looked good because really, I couldn’t tell. If I worked on them alone, they’d probably have the color scheme of ugly sweaters. So glad I can see color now, or else I probably would have a difficult time here in the company,” Chan chuckled at the thought. “By the way, she’s asking if you wanna come over some time for dinner. She misses hanging out with you, you know.”
“Oh for sure. How about this Saturday evening? I need to tell her about the recent news. Unnie’s gonna freak,” you asked Chan while you noted the schedule down on your phone.
“Hey, I thought you were gonna help me that evening with the project Boss assigned us?” Yugyeom piped up. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna cancel!”
“Relax, Mr. Kim. Let’s do that over lunch. No need to worry,” you told him.
Just then, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder and you turned around hastily, wiping your mouth.
Standing there with a hand at the back of his head was He-Who-Shan’t-Be-Named.
“Uh… Ms. [L/N]?”
‘Ooh, never thought I’d hear my last name roll off his tongue. Whatever, that’s to be expected,’ you thought.
“Sorry to bother you during lunch, but I need you to look over some paperwork that you submitted. Some of it wasn’t completed,” the freckled boy announced, handing you a folder.
You raised a brow. “Have I not? I could have sworn that I checked over these twice. I never submit incomplete paperwork.”
“A-Ah, is that so? But look here, there’s a blank space.”
You scanned the papers in your hands thoroughly. Glancing beside you, you inquired, “Mr. Kim, I thought this section of the paperwork was your job?”
Yugyeom took the folder from you. “What’s this? I didn’t send you the complete copy?”
“No?”
“Sorry, Mr. Lee. This was a fault on my part. It’s true, Ms. [L/N] never submits incomplete paperwork. I’ll have these files ready by 13:30, after lunch. Apologies for the inconvenience,” Yugyeom apologized, bowing.
Felix sported a polite smile. “Oh, it’s alright. I’m so sorry for the confusion, Miss [L/N]. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Um, you’re welcome.”
Caw. Caw. Caw.
“Well, I’ll be on my way. Enjoy the rest of your lunch, Ms. [L/N], Mr. Kim, Sir Bang,” Felix bowed, dragging his legs towards the opposite direction.
When he was out of sight, you leaned in to whisper, “If that wasn’t the most awkward two minutes of my entire company experience! I was doing so well up until this moment. I told you it’s best if I don’t talk to him!”
“What’s up with you and Mr. Newbie? You two know each other?” Yugyeom pressed, letting his chin rest on his hand. “Oh my. Don’t tell me—he’s the guy you went on a blind date with!”
“Lower your volume!” you scolded. “And ew, no! I already told you, I don’t have time for blind dates.”
“So give me a good reason as to why you’re apparently avoiding him!”
Chan came to the rescue. “Oh, we all went to the same high-school. [Y/N] and Feli—Mr. Lee used to go to the same college. She’s just had some weird encounters with him, is all.”
You nodded as if to agree with your superior. “Yup. Although don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to let it affect my work. Professionalism is professionalism.”
“Oh, is that right? Mm, didn’t know that,” Yugyeom answered, “anyway, let’s head back to our department. Lunch break is ending and I gotta fix this paperwork.”
--
The conference room door closed slowly behind as you and Chan made your way out from the most recent meeting. People from PR gave you both a smirk before heading towards their department. You clutched your fists in frustration and bore holes into their backs while stomping to the opposite direction.
“Just because they’ve gotten a lead on the scoreboard makes them think they can act like that, huh,” you hissed, rolling your eyes. “I swear, I’m working overtime this week.”
Chan placed a hand on your shoulder and stopped you. “Calm down, it’s gonna be alright, okay? Besides, we should be happy that they’re doing good for the company. Don’t get me wrong, I hate their department with my guts, but it’s nice to see Boss smiling at the good reports. But here’s the catch. Next week, we’re having the company outing. I’ve yet to announce it to the department, so keep your mouth quiet. I received the e-mail this morning, and it’s going to be held in Jeju island. There’s going to be lots of activities. Boss thinks it’s a good investment to have a fun company outing to, quote unquote, ‘promote bonding in the workplace’.”
You gasped and pointed at Chan. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“We get to totally mow down PR in competition?”
“The prize is yet to be announced, and yes. We’re going to kill it. Of course, that means everyone in the department has to double-time this week so that we can enjoy the outing without thinking of work. How’s the project I assigned you doing?” Chan questioned.
From behind you, a voice spoke. “Uh, sorry to intrude, but I couldn’t help but overhear you two talking about the company outing. According to Secretary Bambam, each department is going to stay in separate guest houses. Do you need some help, Ms. [L/N]?” Yugyeom brought up, joining in on the conversation.
“Help? For what?” you asked, raising a brow.
Yugyeom put a hand to his mouth. “Don’t you have some kind of uncomfortable business with Mr. Lee, the newbie? I don’t know, I thought you’d be bothered.”
“Mr. Kim!” Chan boomed. “Don’t let [Y/N]’s personal matters affect how you interact with the people on our team. The least we need is division amongst ourselves. Where even did you get the information on the outing? You’re not supposed to know yet.”
“Why hide it? As I was making coffee in the staff room, Secretary Bambam offhandedly mentioned it to me,” Yugyeom answered, holding his clipboard.
“I’m sure it’s not going to be so bad,” you reassured the two boys, heading over to your desk. “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Kim.”
--
“This is so bad,” you grumbled, throwing different articles of clothing on your bed. There were all sorts of knick-knacks flying around your tiny room, scattered any place a knick-knack could be.
Just then, the door to your room opened and your grandma stepped in, raising her hands in surprise. “Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on in here? Your room looks like a jungle of clothes! I said pack for your trip, not unleash the beast, sweetie.”
You let out an exasperated groan as you shut the door of your closet. “Sorry, grandma. I’m just a little stressed thinking about the trip.”
“Come sit,” the older woman insisted, patting the empty spot on your bed beside her. “Tell me what’s wrong. To think this trip is supposed to be a celebration for the numerous victories your company has been making these past few months.”
“It’s not the company, grandma,” you admitted, taking a seat beside her. “It’s…it’s just that I have to deal with being stuck in a house with someone I wish I didn’t need to be with.”
“Hmm? That’s strange, I always thought you to be one of the more amiable people at work. Are you not friends with everybody?”
You sucked in your breath and prepared for what was about to come. “There’s this one guy. His name is Lee Felix… and… he’s… my soulmate.”
“Oh my.”
Right then and there, you decided that you could no longer keep up the bubbling vexations you buried deep in your chest. From the moment you met him until the very moment those years of friendship ended, you told her everything, not sparing a single important detail. By the time you finished up your story, your face was puffy and your eyes were red. The nighttime breeze howled quietly in the background, enveloping you in a chill.
“A-And recently, I thought I was doing okay, but he decided to take another stride back into my life. I mean, it’s all good at work, but it’s been so hard to focus lately and I don’t know why. I know I’m over him, and I’ve resigned to not thinking about soulmates or finding love or whatever. But every time I see that damned face of his, things come flooding into my mind,” you sniffled, blowing your nose. Your grandma rubbed soothing circles on your back, listening to every word that you spoke. “It doesn’t help that PR is doing better than Marketing lately, and I can’t help but think that maybe I’m slacking off a bit or something.”
“Oh, sweetheart. Here, drink some water,” your grandma began, “if you’ll let me, may I share what I think about your situation?”
“Go ahead, grandma. I’m so sorry for crying.”
“Sweetie, no, don’t do that. It’s okay to cry. But you know, I think the reason why you’ve become so competitive at work, the reason you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, the reason why you hold anger in your heart towards Felix despite saying that you’ve moved on from him, even the reason why you always apologize for crying—all those reasons are the same. From what I’ve been hearing, I think you need to re-examine what’s really in there,” she explained, pointing at your left chest where your heart was. “Ever since Felix, you’ve blamed yourself for everything. Because you knew you got hurt, you sorta… how should I say this… resigned yourself into thinking ‘I’m never going to get hurt like that again’. You made that mistake, and you’ve been beating yourself over it for these past few years.”
“I-I have?”
“Honey, I have to tell you. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay,” your grandma said, pulling you into a hug. “And honestly, I think the person who needs forgiveness most now isn’t Felix, but you. Forgive yourself, [Y/N]. It’s alright that you stumbled along the way.”
Your face crumpled. It was true. You felt so… so raw in front of your grandmother who saw right through you, who saw right through your heart. Everything somewhat fell into place, and you realized the reason you were hurting. And it felt good, to have finally admitted what you were hiding deep down for so long.
“So… what do I do now, grandma?” you asked, voice coming out as a choke. “What now?”
“It’s your choice if you want to, at the very least, tolerate him or let him go. Whatever you choose, know that I’m proud of you for taking those steps. Now go pack, it’s getting late and you’re supposed to meet up with the team early tomorrow. Please bring a jacket.”
“I will,” you replied, watching your grandmother get up and head out of your room. “Hey grandma?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Thank you.”
--
The sun was barely out, but you and your team were already outside the company building waiting for the van. The sounds of yawning and drowsy morning chatter filled the atmosphere.
Just before you left the house, your grandma left you some rice cakes on the table. A note saying ‘Eat well and enjoy <3’ came with it, helping you start your day off with a smile. As your team lined up to board the ferry, you bit into a rice cake, letting your teeth sink into the soft delicacy. Wow. It was beyond scrumptious.
The vicinity was getting a little bit warm as the sun began its ascent into the higher areas of the sky, causing you to remove the jacket you were wearing, As you tied the piece of clothing to your waist, you couldn’t help but notice a scribble on your left arm, just below your wrist.
‘Would you ever consider giving me one of your rice cakes? I’m so sorry, I saw you eating some and I haven’t had breakfast. It’s alright if you decide not to. I’ll wash off the ink with hand sanitizer.’
You jerked your head up, scanning the crowd for a certain someone. When your eyes landed on an all-too-familiar freckled boy, he reciprocated your stare with a sheepish smile.
You did a double-take. Should you forfeit your streak of barely having to interact with him or offer a rice cake to your hungry co-worker who would probably really need to eat something before leaving to engage in several tiring activities? Damn it, you knew he loved rice cakes.
Hesitantly, you shuffled over to Felix, who waved to you and bowed as you approached him. “Uh, good morning, Fe—Mr. Lee.”
“Hi, Miss [L/N]. Get my note?” the boy asked, pointing to your arm. Damn, you knew about his booming voice, but you’d forgotten just how deep his pitch was.
“The chicken scratch handwriting was quite hard to miss.”
“I’m sorry for using this particular means of communication. I just… I’m finding it a little difficult to talk to you, no offense.”
“None taken,” you answered, handing him a rice cake. “You’ll just really do anything for a rice cake, huh?”
In seconds, the poor rice cake was scarfed down. Felix wiped his mouth with his jacket sleeve. “I’m surprised you remember.”
“Like I’ll ever forget the reason half my lunch was always missing back in high-school,” you scoffed. “Here, you can have one more. I have more food in my bag anyway. Why’d you skip breakfast?”
‘Damn it, [Y/N]!’ you thought to yourself. ‘What the hell is up with you? I thought we agreed to just hand him a rice cake and leave?!’
“I live a bit far from here. I couldn’t miss the bus,” he answered, adjusting the neck pillow sitting comfortably on his shoulders. It was sort of endearing, how the neck pillow was themed to be a cute teddy bear design. Felix yawned. “And I didn’t sleep too well last night. Had to do some last-minute paperwork because somebody turned in their files late. Thank you so much, by the way. Your kindness will not be forgotten.”
“You’re welcome. And oh, I can imagine how awful that is. Late paperwork, I mean. I feel bad for nagging our co-workers to send me files, but in the end, it gets the job done, you know,” you replied, straightening your back. “Anyway, if that will be all, I’m just gonna—”
“Wait, don’t go!” Felix sputtered, grabbing a hold of your arm. He quickly released it, ears turning red. “A-Ah, sorry. I just wanted to ask you something about PR.”
“PR? Huh. Go shoot,” you mused, and you could still feel the burning spot where Felix’s hand collided with your arm.
“What’s up with this thing I hear about a Marketing-PR war?”
As you opened your mouth to speak, Chan interrupted you with a tap. “Hey, [Y/N], I need to borrow a pen.”
You fished for your trusty gel pen from your backpack and handed it to Chan, who began to look around and tick off boxes on his clipboard. Taking a peek at the clipboard, you saw that he was just doing a headcount.
“That’s our leader-nim, huh?” you teased, playfully giving Chan a nudge. He rolled his eyes.
“I’ll give your pen back later, I need it for a while. Go line up over there already, the van is leaving in ten minutes,” Chan answered, walking away.
Felix began to make his way to the spot that Chan had instructed you both to go to, and you followed right behind. As soon as he set his luggage down on the floor again, he turned to you. “So… Marketing-PR war?”
“Oh yeah,” you nodded, remembering. “It’s kind of a long story, but I guess it’s important to know the origins of the great Marketing-PR battle. I can tell you about it on the way, but only if you’re truly ready to hear the origins.”
“I mean sure. We’re spending a lot of time in the van anyway, so we have plenty of time to kill.” Felix suggested. “I’m so glad Boss booked the high-speed car ferry. A trip that would usually take five hours is cut down to two.”
“Good, good, sure. I only have so much downloaded drama on my phone to kill time. So anyway, since we have a lot to cover, I better start. It begins when Sir Park Jinyoung—not the CEO, the head of PR—gets one of Marketing’s most competent workers, Choi Youngjae.”
--
“Thank everything we’re here,” Yugyeom breathed, grabbing his duffle bag from the trunk. “I thought we’d never make it.”
“On the bright side, Mr. Lee finally knows the deep, dark past of Marketing and PR,” Chan mentioned, helping Yugyeom get his bags.
“Yeah, um, after we got interrupted like, ten times.” You rolled your eyes. “I could have told the whole story in one hour, but you kept cutting in and getting side-tracked. Did Mr. Lee have to know about the Ramen Incident?”
“Okay, fine, whatever. Let’s go settle in the guest house. Boss wants us to meet in the conference hall at 1:00 sharp. He’s going to brief everyone on the activities,” Chan retorted.
“Boss is here?” Felix questioned, tilting his head to the side.
“Yeah, he’s here to oversee the activities. Usually, he’d send the secretary, but since two entire departments are here, he came,” Yugyeom answered.
The four of you wheeled in your luggage into the cozy-looking cabin, which turned out to be more modern and restful that you’d expected. The inside was simple and minimalistic but sported a few home-esque touches. There were four bedrooms to be split between the team, but Chan had already assigned them. The girls would have the rooms upstairs while the guys would stay in the two downstairs. You were more than thankful to have a sensible roommate—her name was Jihyo and she was one of the more responsible ones on the marketing team.
“I’m relieved that we got here in one piece,” Jihyo commented, setting down her bags in the closet. “I’m surprised that Mr. Kim didn’t blow up the van.”
You chuckled. “Sometimes, I wonder how he’s even considered a grown man.”
“Right? Also, would you like some mosquito spray? I hear that it gets very bugsy outside,” she offered, holding up a bottle.
“How could I have scored such an awesome roomie? Thank you so much,” you grinned, spraying the product on your skin.
As soon as you both finished settling down, you made your way downstairs to meet the others. Once everyone was there, the Marketing team headed outside towards the conference hall, where your boss was waiting.
“Oh, nice. We made it first,” Chan mentioned, taking a seat on one of the plastic chairs.
You plopped down beside him. “Plus points to Marketing for being punctual.”
In a few seconds, a group of people started to pile into the venue one by one, and you recognized them as the terrible faces of PR. The engine of competitiveness was revving up as the minutes passed.
“Welcome to the long-awaited JYP company outing,” the one and only CEO boomed into the mic, “it’s nice to see that many of you were able to come.”
An applaud echoed throughout the hall.
“Anyhow, I’d not like to keep you here any longer. I’m sure that you are all famished by the travel and have not gotten the chance to eat a proper lunch yet. Worry not and let that be one of the driving forces for you all to give your best at the activities. The schedule is as follows: at 1:30 PM, the Relay Race will start. It will take around one to two hours, so I expect it to be over at around 3:00 PM. I will now announce the mechanics of the Race. Secretary Bambam, please flash the slides,” your Boss announced.
“Alright. You are now here,” he stated, pointing a laser at a spot on the screen. “Each team will go through a series of obstacles throughout the area. All these obstacles have been tailored to test your skills as employees, of course, as to not waste such a valuable opportunity to incorporate training and recreation. Some of these include creating a campaign for a product on the fly and trying to persuade me, who will act like a customer, to buy the said product. Each time you beat one obstacle better than the other team, you gain one point. Whoever gains the most points by the end of the Race gets quite the grand prize. At JYP, we don’t plan shabby company outings. At JYP, we allow our employees to have a chance at a fabulous prize, and this year, the winning department not only gets a delicious barbeque sponsored by our clients but also a bonus for next month’s paycheck.”
The entire hall erupted in cheer, everyone clearly enthused at the sound of the word ‘bonus’, which was just like an angelic choir.
“Right now, you all have a couple of minutes to plan out your strategies. Here are the list of ‘obstacles’ you will be facing, and I suggest you take time to assign your best people to the activities that they are most likely to do well at. At 1:30 sharp, Secretary Bambam will ring a bell and everyone should be off. Time starts now! Enjoy, everyone. See you at the finish line.”
You took one look at the screen in front and Chan was already motioning for your department to come and huddle.
“Alright, so for activity one, we need our most persuasive members. Ms. Park, Mr. Yang, I think you’d be most suited for that. Mr. Kim, I’m assigning you to face off in that dance battle,” Chan instructed.
“Are you kidding me?” Yugyeom shrieked. “Actually, you know what, sure. I’d rather do that than try to come up with a marketing scheme for Boss. Did you know I’ve won several awards for dancing in college? If I wasn’t in this company, I’d probably rocking the stag—”
“Not now! Anyway, Ms. Im, I’ll trust you to activity three. We all need to work together for activity four, then for the final activity—oh.”
Chan glanced at you, then glanced at Felix. You caught sight of that began to shake your head vigorously.
“Chan, whatever you’re thinking, NO.”
Your superior walked over to you and whispered, “[Y/N], we both know you and Felix can annihilate anyone in a three-legged race.”
“That was in high-school!” you defended, rubbing your palms together. “There’s no way—why is that activity even on the list?! Everyone knows the three-legged race is just so that people can poke fun at the contestants.”
“Think about PR winning that sweet, sweet bonus that we’re supposed to snag,” Chan tempted, etching a horrible image in your mind.
You did a double-take. “Fine, fine! But only because I hate PR’s guts more than I can humanely bear. Damn it.”
--
The score was currently tied, and it was down to the last obstacle: the dreaded three-legged race. ‘Of course this was how it was going to pan out,’ you thought to yourself, ‘because the universe hates me and loves to play with my life.’
While Yugyeom was busy bragging about his epic win at the dance show-off, you were bent down, tying a ribbon around your leg and Felix’s.
“Hey,” Felix began, clearing his throat. “Sorry you had to end up with me. I can tell you’re pretty bummed out.”
You whipped your head to him and your cheeks started to flush. “U-Uh, that isn’t it. It’s fine, really. Let’s just totally kill PR, alright?”
“You still got that three-legged race spirit in you?” he asked, stretching his arms. “Or has it withered away over the years?”
“I will never, ever give up my secret talent for three-legged races.”
“We’ll see about that. Wanna test it out? Let’s walk from here to there. No stumbling.”
You scoffed and nodded. In a few seconds, Felix found a way to snake his arms around your waist and a glare was quickly sent in his direction.
“What? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that this is the only way we can advance faster. Tried and tested, remember?” Felix piped up, adjusting his footing. “It’s how we beat that loser from Class B in high-school.”
“Alright already, let’s get this over with. Test from here to the water bottle?”
“Yup. One, two, three, go.”
Just like he said, the extra support from his grasp allowed for you both to move swiftly. It wasn’t long until you were able to reach the water bottle finish-line.
“See, told you.”
“Okay, contestants! Please make your way to the starting line now for the final battle, the tiebreaker!” Secretary Bambam announced over a microphone.
“How are you guys doing? You alright?” Chan’s voice came from behind you, causing you both to turn your heads in unison.
“Still got it, Sir Bang. The three-legged race has always been something me and Ms. [L/N] will always conquer with flying colors. Watch us win the department a bonus and a barbeque,” Felix grinned, giving Chan a thumbs-up.
“Can’t wait to see PR’s crushed faces. This is gonna be a breeze.” You saluted.
“Actually,” Chan started, leaning into a whisper. “You might wanna look over there. This is actually going to be quite close.”
Turning your head to the other side, you caught a glimpse of two familiar men. A gasp escaped your mouth.
“Wang and Tuan?!” you screamed, making Chan shoot you a look that said ‘shut-up’.
“What’s wrong with Wang and Tuan?” Felix questioned, head still turned in their direction.
You rubbed your temples in frustration. “Um, yes, you heard me. It just had to be the damned Wang and Tuan! They’re notorious for being one of the company’s most athletic individuals. We might as well surrender now because Mr. Tuan used to be in the track team back in the day and Mr. Wang once tried to match the speed of a moving car.”
“Hey, I used to be in Taekwondo! I have legs, Ms. [L/N]. Legs for days,” Felix replied.
“It’s indeed going to be a tough one, but we don’t know how well Mr. Wang and Mr. Tuan can run as a duo. For all we know, they’re amazing solo runners but terrible once their legs are tied together,” Chan encouraged.
“Nope.” You pointed at the two men who were jogging together in place. “Look at that coordination.”
“Okay, I hate to do this, but I know spite is the greatest motivator for you, [Y/N],” Chan started, balling his hands into a fist. “Remember when you were stressing over late paperwork the other day and wanted chocolate milk but found out there were none left in the staff room?”
“Yeah, and?”
“Wang took the last one,” Chan stated as-a-matter-of-factly.
“He didn’t.”
“Oh, but he did. When I went over to PR to hand in some files, I saw him sipping the last carton of chocolate milk.”
“That piece of scum,” you seethed, grabbing on to Felix’s waist. “That’s it, Felix. We’re taking them down.”
“Oh, we’re on first-name basis now?” the freckled boy asked innocently, putting his arm on your waist as well.
“This is war,” you declared, “we’re partners now. And today, we’re going to wipe off the dregs of society from this earth.”
--
Crackle. Crackle. A wave of heat kissed your face as a puff of smoke danced with the air. And the smell of charcoal was absolutely disgusting, but it was the single sweet reminder that everybody needed and deserved.
“Are we ready?” Yugyeom whispered, hiding behind your back.
“Let’s get cooking.”
Within seconds, the entirety of the Marketing team was scrambling to grab a hold of a piece of barbeque, hungry employees bustling left and right. After winning the competition, food was screaming to be devoured. It was three in the afternoon and nobody’d eaten lunch yet.
“Wait!” Chan cleared his throat. “Do we have drinks? I would like to make a toast.”
“Uh…” Jihyo drawled, eyeing the vicinity. “We have paper cups, but no drinks. Seriously? Who plans a barbeque with no drinks?”
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll go to the store. I heard it’s not far from here,” you offered, shoving your hands in the pockets of your jacket.
“I’ll go with you in a second,” Chan answered, grabbing a paper cup, “but before we eat, to [Y/N] and Felix! The ones who trampled over PR during the tiebreak! Raise a glass!”
A cheer erupted from everyone’s mouths as empty paper cups were raised in the air to honor the victory that belonged to the team.
“Oh, can I come with? There’s a couple of things I wanna buy, too,” Yugyeom asked, walking towards you.
“You guys go ahead, I’ll save you some barbeque,” Felix suggested, waving. “Congrats to us. Go get the team some refreshing stuff!”
The three of you made your way out of the area and onto the streets, searching for a nearby grocery or convenience store.
After what seemed like miles of walking, your feet finally brought you in front of a small grocery. You didn’t hesitate to walk right in and pick up a basket.
The humble store consisted of a few shelves with worn-out paint lined up neatly in rows and holding all kinds of snacks and delights. The gentle whirring coming from the back lead you to a clear refrigerator with different drinks, and pretty soon, the metal basket in your hands was filled with several bottles. These were piled onto the counter along with a couple bags of chips, courtesy a snacky Yugyeom.
“What?” he said when you started to eye him judgingly, throwing the chip bags on the cashier tabletop. “It’s for my midnight cravings and the trip back home.”
You rolled your eyes, handing the cashier your credit card in exchange for your purchases. After getting your card back, the three of you headed back outside. Chan stopped in his tracks.
“Wait, so from here, did we take a left turn or a right turn? Right, right?”
“Pretty sure it was a left turn, Chan.”
“What?! You two are crazy, we came from straight ahead! I saw that sign with the cute cats earlier.”
“Okay, Mr. Kim, we’re trusting you.”
“Just drop the honorifics already. It’s alright.”
A minute passed… then two… then five…
“This isn’t the way that we came from.”
“You know what? This is why we live in a technological world. Let me just Google Maps this,” Yugyeom scoffed, pulling out his phone. “Aaaaaand… it says my line was cut off because I forgot to pay the bill. Cool, cool. Chan?”
“I left my phone in the room earlier because I didn’t want it to be hurled around during the race,” Chan answered. “[Y/N], you?”
A trickle of sweat slipped down your forehead. “Phone’s been dead for over an hour. I used it to record Wang and Tuan’s devastated faces after the competition.”
“Um, excuse me,” Chan attempted, trying to ask an elderly lady for help. She waved him off, muttering something about dangerous strangers.
“Right, so we’re lost, no help, and completely foreign-looking streets. What could get worse?” Yugyeom mumbled all pessimistic.
The clouds rumbled above.
“Seriously?!” Chan breathed out, gesturing for you three to wait under the shade of the grocer’s storefront. “Situational irony? Isn’t this just fantastic?”
“Hold on,” you began, turning to the oldest of you three. “Chan, do you still have the pen I lent you earlier before you left? You said you needed to check attendance.”
“Oh yeah, as a matter of fact, I do,” he replied, fishing in his pocket for the said pen. “Here.”
You took it hastily, taking a deep breath before engaging in the one thing you had never thought you’d do in your lifetime. Flipping the cap open, you began to write down a couple of words on your arm.
“Hi, Felix. Please tell me when you see this. It’s really urgent. Chan, Yugyeom, and I are stranded in a grocery, phones dead. Could you come pick us up at XX Grocer with umbrellas?”
“What? How’s that supposed to help us? It’s not like the words will magically float off into cyberspace,” Yugyeom commented, confused.
Your cheeks began to feel warm. After casting a worried look to Chan, you shut your eyes and began to spill your secret.
“I-It’s…um… whatever I write on my arm will show up on Felix’s arm and vice versa,” you explained quietly, keeping your eyes fixated on your arms for any sign of response.
“Don’t tell me,” Yugyeom gasped, “he’s the one you’re soulmates with?!”
“She’s known since high-school,” Chan sighed, “but there are reasons as to why they’re not… you know. Together. [Y/N] doesn’t particularly like to talk about it.”
“No, it’s alright,” you waved it off, “I can tell you, just please don’t tell anyone. Um, actually, Felix and I used to be best friends, but some complicated things happened and we fought. After college, I went to Busan to try to start a new life, but in the end, I couldn’t escape him.”
“O-Oh, were you guys dating? Did he know you were here?” Yugyeom inquired, genuinely curious.
As the drops of rain started to pour around, you answered, “No, we never dated. And it’s all been purely coincidence. I didn’t know he was coming and neither did he. That’s why it was so difficult for us to interact when he first came.”
“Everything makes sense!” Yugyeom exclaimed, making an explosion gesture with his hands. “Wait, did he reply to your arm message?”
You looked down at you arm again and sure enough, the familiar chicken scratch writing appeared.
“I’ll be there in a bit. Stay dry! I’ll try to be as quick as possible.”
“Okay, good. We’re saved.” Chan let out a breath of relief.
In fifteen minutes, Felix was shuffling across the street towards you three, an umbrella in one hand and his phone in the other.
“Why’d you guys go so far? There was literally a convenience store right beside the place we’re staying at,” Felix questioned, unzipping his bag. “Here’s an extra umbrella.”
“Sir Bang—Chan… can I speak with you for a bit on the way home? There’s a bit of concern with one of the Marketing members and I need to discuss it with you,” Yugyeom piped up, grabbing the umbrella from Felix’s hands. “If you don’t mind, I’ll share this with Chan. It’s a personal matter.”
Chan didn’t even get a chance to object before he was pulled away by a swift Yugyeom, who began to babble about his concerns. You and Felix watched them mosey away, chattering about whatever was to be chattered about.
“Uh, let’s go?” Felix cleared his throat, holding the umbrella. You stepped in and began to walk back to the company outing’s venue.
For a while, all that could be heard was just the pitter-patter of the rain as you trudged on in silence. The quietness was so suffocating, you swear you could hear the cawing of a crow muffled beneath the sounds of the rain.
“Hey… you’re getting wet,” the freckled boy mentioned, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer to him. He dropped his hand quickly after, opening his mouth to speak. “Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable to be so near me, but I just don’t want you to get wet.”
You shook your head. “No, it’s okay. Thank you for being so considerate. And for picking us up.”
“It’s no problem, although this?” he said, riding up his jacket sleeve to expose the scribbles on his arm. “A message saying that you were stranded wasn’t exactly what I hoped your first ever arm message to me would be. I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I really wished you might’ve saved it to notify me that you brought rice cakes to work or something.”
A giggle escaped your lips as the thought entered your mind. “Well, sorry that an emergency message isn’t as cool as rice cakes. But now that you’ve expressed your sentiments, maybe I will bring rice cakes and use our connection to notify you.”
“I can’t believe you thought of contacting me that way. Couldn’t you have texted?”
“Well, Chan’s phone was left behind, Yugyeom hasn’t payed his bills, and mine’s dead. And even if mine wasn’t dead, I don’t have your number.”
“Ouch, you deleted my number after moving?”
“…I uh… got a new phone?”
“Nah, I’m just kidding you. It’s alright, I totally get it.”
Just as you arrived at the entrance of the recreation center, you halted your steps and turned to Felix.
For the first time in a very, very long time, you found the strength to look him in the eyes. “Uh… wait. I just wanted to tell you something.”
“Hm?” He turned to you as well, matching your stare. Why were your legs feeling wobbly? Your palms were starting to sweat as well, and you cursed yourself for it. Speaking to Felix properly and serious was something you found extremely difficult to do, but you decided to stop acting like he was a disease you didn’t want to catch.
With a deep breath, you began, “So… it kinda felt nice to be able to talk to you again. You know, not about work. Just…normally. I guess, what I wanted to say was, uh, well, is it okay if we restart? Be friends, maybe? I really hate this discomfort between us, and I think it would be better, even for work, if we got along.”
Silence enveloped the air once again, leaving the both of you in the company of the rain and the passing cars. Thoughts of Felix lashing out and angrily speaking back to you flashed in your head; suddenly, you wanted to scurry off and never see his face again. What if he called you out on all the horrible things you’d done to him in the past? You braced yourself for anger, for rejection.
But instead, the boy in front of you broke into a grin. He even chuckled a little, reaching out his hand.
“Well, in that case,” he spoke, “hi. I’m Lee Felix, it’s nice to meet you. You can call me Felix.”
You grabbed his hand and shook it. “Hey, Felix. I’m [L/N] [Y/N], but feel free to just stick with [Y/N]. Friends?”
“Sure. Friends.”
--
Months after declaring the newfound restart, the budding flower of friendship began its ascent into full bloom. Often times, you asked your grandmother to make you some extra rice cakes to bring to work, that of which you shared with Felix. Sure enough, you kept your promise of notifying him through a small doodle of a rice cake on your wrist. You could have sworn you saw his eyes light up every time he noticed what was on his wrist. There were even nights that you two would stay behind to work on projects together, bringing snacks and drinks to keep you guys powered throughout the extra hours. Productivity rate in your team increased due to you and Felix’s hard work, and this did not go by unnoticed.
As he was passing by Felix’s desk, Chan couldn’t help but notice that Felix’s usually busy computer screen was shut off and that his freckled junior was staring intently at something in his hands. One look over his shoulder and Chan couldn’t help but smile.
He cleared his throat. “What’s that?”
The poor boy almost leaped out of his seat. Shoving the object behind his back, Felix responded, “What’s what?”
Chan motioned to Felix’s hands. “Whatever’s behind you.”
A trickle of sweat dripped down Felix’s clammy fingers. “Just a photo.”
“Ooh, can I see?” Chan pressed on, already knowing exactly what it is the boy held.
“N-No, hyung.”
“Come on. Don’t make me pull the superior card.”
“Fine!” Felix revealed the photo to the man in front of him, ears turning crimson. “Look, I found our graduation picture while rummaging through some of my old stuff, okay? It’s just got me thinking, like…I didn’t realize how much I missed [Y/N] over time. It seems like forever since we graduated high-school, and I still remember how it felt being her best friend. Sometimes, when I see her laugh with Yugyeom, I’m reminded of the times I used to be able to make her laugh like that. I don’t know, I sorta miss it, um, a lot.”
“Hold up, are you jealous of Yugyeom?” Chan raised a brow.
Felix hesitated, turning away. “Don’t phrase it like that, please.”
“Felix,” Chan started, breaking into a grin. “Do you like [Y/N]?”
“Is that so weird?” Felix huffed, burying his face in his arms. “I mean like, she’s my soulmate. But more than that, she’s a friend I really, really treasure. Like, I’ve been thinking about it and it would really suck if she wasn’t in my life. So I kinda came to the conclusion that okay, fine. When I talk to her, it’s not as much so to ask for rice cakes but to actually converse with her. And that I um, do like her. But honestly, between you and me?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a chance this whole ‘liking [Y/N]’ thing isn’t new news.”
--
Now Chan could only be relieved that his team members (namely you and Felix) were finally getting along well, but Yugyeom, on the other hand, would often sometimes send a wiggle of brows in your direction. Of course, this led you to throw crumpled balls of scratch paper at him, but deep down, you too were glad that the office became a more bearable workplace. You were more than thankful to have a good superior, good co-workers, and even a good boss.
On Tuesdays, you’d bring homemade lunch instead of buying from the office canteen. One fateful Tuesday noon, you stood up as soon as lunchbreak started and headed to the staff room to pick up your boxed lunch to heat it up in the microwave. On your way, you thought about handing some extra gimbap to Chan, Yugyeom, and Felix in gratefulness for being good to you. A smile made its way to your face as you entertained the thought, feeling appreciative and enthused that life had been looking up lately.
Just as you were about to open the door to the staff room, a familiar laugh rang in your eyes. Inside the room happened to be your freckled friend, smiling towards a female employee. You easily recognized her to be one of those PR scumbags, and once the realization hit that Felix was mingling with someone from that bloody department, your blood began to boil.
To make matters worse, you caught sight of him handing her what seemed to be a box—and that was all it took for you to storm into the staff room, take your lunch, and stomp outside in the direction of the canteen.
Once you got to your usual table, you plopped down in front of Yugyeom and hastily opened your lunch box.
“Woah there, tiger. What’s with the attitude?” Yugyeom asked, fiddling with his chopsticks. “Oh and by the way, Chan won’t be joining us. He’s in a meeting.”
“Felix is mingling with a girl from PR!” you huffed, stabbing a slice of gimbap and shoving it in your mouth. Between frustrated chews, you managed to sputter, “I’m so ticked off! He gave her a gift, or something!”
Yugyeom almost spit out his water. “What?! No way.”
“Yes way,” you nodded, wiping your mouth. “Saw them in the staff room being all friendly. I mean come on, ugh!”
“Hold on.” Yugyeom squinted his eyes. “Are you jealous?”
This time, it was your turn to almost spit out your water. “Excuse me? Yugyeom, you know how bad it is for someone to flirt with the enemy!”
“Yeah, but like, you sure you’re not just…I don’t know…pissed that Felix was flirting with someone who isn’t you?”
“The hell?” you hissed. “Felix does not flirt with me.”
Yugyeom sighed and rolled his eyes. “If that’s how you think, you are a lost cause, woman. When you write him notes or whatever on your wrist—which by the way, talk about cheesy!—his face lights up like a Christmas tree. And your banter as you do paperwork? Don’t get me started.”
“He gets excited because goodness knows Felix loves rice cakes more than anything. And office banter is nothing but what it is! What, I can’t argue about the better way to appeal to customers? What’s so romantic about different marketing topics? Seriously, do you know how un-sexy ‘Geographic Segmentation’ sounds? Anyway, I’m still upset that loverboy’s sucking up to PR. I mean, really?” you scoffed.
“Who’s sucking up to PR?” A deep voice came, startling you. When Felix took a seat next to you, you rolled your eyes and stood up. Petty, but absolutely necessary. You weren’t going to stand for anyone who mingled with PR. And just like that, you strut off towards your department, deciding that your table was the best place to eat lunch for now.
“I cannot even bear to see you guys sometimes,” Yugyeom exhaled, watching Felix try to comprehend what had just taken place in front of his eyes.
--
One entire week had passed since you started to act cold towards Felix, who had not a single clue what on earth was going on. Every time he tried to speak to you, you brushed it off with some lame excuse about having to think of the best way to brand the company’s latest product or that you were busy with paperwork.
“Chan, did I do something?” Felix questioned one Thursday, leaning on his superior’s desk. His face seemed to be clearly distraught by the furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips.
“Why? Did you do something?” Chan shot back, typing away at his laptop.
“I don’t know, man! [Y/N]’s been avoiding me like the plague. And she only does that if I do something wrong. Remember when I didn’t show up to our reunion in high-school? When you and the alumni hyungs wanted to hang at the amusement park but I didn’t go? Yeah, she wouldn’t talk to me because she was so upset,” Felix sighed, rubbing his temples. “This time, I don’t even know what’s up. And it sucks. I miss her rice cakes. It’s been a week.”
“Well, try to think of anything that you might’ve done to piss her off. Take her stapler? Send a late file?” Chan suggested, still not looking up from his screen.
“None of that! I swear, I blinked, and then she was mad. This is such bad timing because I want to ask her out for the holidays, and the break is starting soon. I don’t wanna end the year this way!” Felix whined, shoulders slumping.
“Thank me later,” Chan told him, raising his voice, “[Y/N]! Please come over here. There are some files to be looked over pronto!”
“Coming!” you replied, getting off your chair and walking to your superior’s table. But just as you came, he stood up and grabbed his clipboard.
“Actually, I have a meeting about now. But don’t worry, the file that needs to be looked over is—oh wow! Lee Felix.pdf is right here. Amazing. Love you both, see you at lunch!” With a grin, Chan sauntered off.
You folded your arms and tapped your shoes indignantly. “What, Felix?”
“I’m so sorry about Chan,” he apologized, rubbing his hands together. “But I do need to talk to you. Why have you been ignoring me?”
You rolled your eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, Felix. Maybe because someone was being all buddy-buddy last Wednesday with some girl from PR. I mean, are you even for real? How could you flirt with someone from PR?!”
“Wait… are you jealous?”
“Why does everybody automatically assume that I’m jealous?” you snapped. “The answer is no, you idiot! I’m angry because you were mingling with our rivals, our arch nemeses!”
When Felix remembers the events of last Wednesday, a laugh escapes his mouth. “W-What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me. I clearly saw you being all generous and handing one of the PR girls a gift in the staff room. I have eyes, you know!”
“[Y/N]… no…” Felix started, trying to stifle more laughter. “I wasn’t flirting with her. That girl’s a family friend and I had to return a book that my mom borrowed from her mom. She told me that just because we’re family friends didn’t mean that her department would go easy on us. And I told her, ‘of course’, because I’m loyal to Marketing—I’m loyal to our team. Besides, I already have someone else in mind that I’d like to flirt with.”
You were taken aback. Somewhere deep in the crevices of your heart was a wave of relief mixed with disappointment, but you waved it off and let a giant smirk rest on your lips. “Woah, woah, woah, Lee Felix! Who’s the special someone?”
“Like I’d tell you, cheesebrain.”
“You suck.”
“No, not really. Anyway, you’re going back to Seoul for the break, right?”
“Oh yeah, why?”
“Wanna meet up on the 26th? I’m going home, too,” Felix invited.
“Oh shoot, yeah, sure! I’ll be sure to mark my schedule. I’m free that day anyway. What time to what time?”
“Just keep it flexible. I’ll text you or you know,” Felix motioned to his arm, “maybe I’ll write.”
“Just text me, I might accidentally wash it off.”
“See you then!”
--
The cold winter air was not the only thing that greeted you once you arrived back in Seoul, no. As soon as you set foot into the familiar gates of your home, your parents and relatives showered you with tight squeezes, slobbery kisses, and all sorts of questions. Were you eating properly? Did you have time to go Christmas shopping? How was work? Did you meet your soulmate yet? Was Busan better than Seoul, or Seoul better than Busan?
As much as you wanted to entertain your family with tales of Busan, settling in after a long travel sounded too good to pass. Once you spent an ample amount of time with them, you headed upstairs to your room.
Ah, your room. Upon opening the door, you took a whiff of the comforting scent of your original room, familiarity embracing you like an old friend. You flopped down on the fluffed-up sheets and could not resist a grin.
It was good to be home.
In a few hours, the grandfather clock in the living room would chime, signaling the start of a new day and the beginning of Christmas itself. But for now, you wanted nothing more but to put your mind at rest, leaving all thoughts of work behind at the doorstep. It was just you, your bed, and the chilly winter weather.
But someone—no, rather something—came to join your cozy trio, and it was right there in bright blue ink on your left wrist.
“Hey there. Get home safely?”
With a smile, you grabbed the gel pen in your bag and started to jot down a response.
“I thought you preferred text.”
“My head hurts and I don’t want to use my phone. I’m just resting in my room and hiding from my sisters, who won’t stop asking me about you.”
“Oh, so you’ve discussed me?”
“[Y/N], you never answered my first question.”
“Righty-o, Sir Lee. I did, indeed, come home fine with Grandma. It was fun to bring her home. The family’s stoked we’ve come.”
“Can I have permission to erase lines with wet wipes every few messages? My arm gets crowded. Also, please use a water-based pen. It makes it easier to wipe off.”
“Just text, then.”
“I deleted your number, too.”
“What the hell, Felix?”
“I’m kidding! See you on Kakao!”
--
“So, do I wear this sweater or this blouse? Kinda think the blouse is cute, but the sweater’s practical since the weather’s begging to freeze my butt,” you spoke into your laptop, which displayed a video of Chan furrowing his eyebrows as he took a look at your choices.
“You’re worrying too much. Just go with the sweater, it doesn’t make you look any less cute,” Chan snickered, “it’s so fun to watch my little [Y/N] put so much effort into this.”
Your cheeks flushed. “Just shut up and help me, Chan! Skirt, jeans, or leggings?”
“Skirt? Why would you even suggest a skirt? Damn, girl, you’re asking for frostbite at this point. Go with the leggings and make sure to wear leg warmers. Bring a thick coat, too.”
“Okay, mom. But are you sure this doesn’t make me look like a Christmas tree? Maybe a CHRISmas tree!”
Chan rolled his eyes and sighed. “It won’t be cute if your teeth are chattering and your skin begs to be kept warm. Just dress warmly. Hey, hey, what’s with the sigh?���
“Wait. Yo, yo, I just realized something. It’s just going to be me and Felix I think tomorrow. I-Is that a date or something? What if it is?!”
“Calm down. Did he say if it was or not?”
“I don’t know! He just said he was going to spend the day with me!”
A 480p-quality simper sat on Chan’s lips on the screen. “Are you scared because it might be a date or because he might just be asking you out as a friend?”
“I’m not SCARED, Chan! You know what, that’s honestly the least of my concerns!” you answered indignantly. “What if he stands me up? Remember the amusement park fiasco?”
“Relax, [Y/N]. He will NOT stand you up. Have you seen the way he’s been lately? Felix has been overtiming a lot, he’s always punctual and/or early for meetings, and he makes sure to go to all the places he’s assigned to. Whenever he can’t make it, he always messages a day or two in advance. I think that says something.”
“Okay, okay. You’re right. Anyway, I’m going to wash up and go to sleep. Thank you so much for taking the time to video chat me. I’m going to go now, merry Christmas! Say hi to unnie for me, please. Love you, bye.”
“Bye, [Y/N]! Good luck. Text me the details of it all! Merry Christmas. Love you too!”
--
Was it irregular to be having hands this clammy, to be having palms this sweaty? Felix pressed two fingers to his neck to check his pulse. Okay, great. It was good to know that he was still alive.
‘Agh! This is going to kill me! Please, please, please come soon,’ Felix thought, checking his phone for a new notification. Just in case, he rolled up his padded jacket’s sleeve and checked his arm. Both were devoid of any sign from you.
As if on cue, the freckled boy felt a tap on his back and there you were, bundled up in a cozy outfit. Holy. Crap. He had to fight the urge to squeeze you in his arms.
“H-Hey, [Y/N]. Glad you could make it.” Felix cleared his throat, offering his arm for you to hold. “Um, shall we? Have you eaten lunch?”
“Yeah, I have. You?”
“Same. Anyway, is there anywhere you want to go to?” Felix asked, starting to walk.
You squinted your eyes in thought. “Hmm… I don’t have anything particular in mind.”
“Alright, so it’s 2:45 now. I was thinking that maybe you wanna go to the old arcade? We can spend some time there, then maybe go around the area. Look at a museum if you want.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
--
Laughter filled the air as you clutched your stomach, trying to stop yourself from giggling too much. At this point, you were borderline gasping for air with every guffaw. Felix was doing the same, and he had to hold onto your shoulder to keep himself from stumbling onto the concrete ground.
“I can’t believe you did that, Felix! We could have gotten kicked out of the museum, damn it!” you commented between laughs. “I’m so embarrassed by you now!”
“Not my fault that the little kid wanted to see me bust some dance moves. Yugyeom isn’t the only one in Marketing who can dance, you know,” Felix answered, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Whatever, you doofus. What’s next? It’s pretty dark already, so maybe dinner?” you asked, checking your watch.
Felix cleared his throat and his back started to stiffen. “Actually, I have a place in mind.”
You nodded and proceeded to hail a taxi from the waiting stand. Felix whispered something to the driver and you were off, silently sitting in the backseat.
“Where are we going?”
“Shhh, you’ll see,” was all Felix managed to reply before he looked out the window thoughtfully.
As soon as you arrived at the mystery place, Felix payed the cab driver and helped you get out. When you stepped out of the car, your eyes widened. You’d recognize this area anywhere.
For a little, silence was all that was shared between you two as you walked alongside the riverbank, the one place you knew had a special space for in your heart. Back then, this had been you and Felix’s favorite spot to go to after a tiring school day. And on one fateful December 26th, you were back, walking beside him once again.
The frigid wind left you to huddle a little closer than usual to Felix, who didn’t seem to mind. Gentle brushing of the hands led your fingers to intertwine with his, locking safely in his cozy yet sweaty palms; you could only hope he would not hear the erratic beating of your heart pounding against your ribcage with every passing second. This was happening, this was happening, this was happening—and oh dear, you didn’t dislike it.
A few minutes seemed like eternity with Lee Felix. But eternity wasn’t going to cut it for the scene that lay in front of you, the scene he had brought you to.
Sitting on the riverside was a small tent lit dimly by the soft glow of fairy lights, a sight you’d only managed to conjure up in your head once, long ago. But there it was, every bit of it as real as the warm feeling of Felix’s hands in yours.
Your lips parted. “F-Felix, is this…?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, leading you to the small tent and helping you take a seat inside. “Uh, there’s some soju in that cooler and some gimbap over there if you want. And japchae. Chopsticks are here.”
“When did you have the time to even prepare this? I swear, you’ve been with me all day,” you questioned, reaching for the chopsticks as Felix cracked open the plastic container of gimbap.
He smiled. “Oh, I called for help from people I know who’d never pass up the chance to aid in this surprise.”
You gasped. “Let me guess. Hyunjin? Jisung? Seungmin, Jeongin?”
He gave you thumbs-up. “My boys.”
“Our boys,” you corrected, shoving a piece of kimbap in your mouth.
A few gimbaps and bites of japchae later, you found yourselves in silence once again, sipping soju from little paper cups.
“So…I think this is the part where I start talking,” Felix began, wiping his mouth. He directed his gaze right at your eyes.
“I hope you liked the little surprise, [Y/N]. Even though… technically… it wasn’t my idea, but yours. Actually, the reason I brought you here was because it’s finally time for me to give something to you, very, very long overdue,” he continued, “when we were in highschool, I didn’t expect us to become friends. Frankly, I though that I annoyed you every time I talked to you at the 4419 bus stop. Remember when we first had a proper conversation? Man, after that, the ball just speeded downhill. Before I knew it, we were an inseparable duo. [Y/N] and Felix. Felix and [Y/N]. Hell, I remember getting poked fun at for it, and people were teasing me that I liked you. Which… honestly, I’ve come to realize…was true. I admit, they were right. It’s actually kind of weird, I’ve only known since recently that I caught some real, big feelings for you back then.”
Here Felix paused to take a sip of water before he went on. “I haven’t forgotten the first time I found out my soulmate link. Blue ink, wrist, all-caps: ‘STUDY’. When I found out that a girl from our school had a similar link, I almost freaked out. But honestly? I only started to flirt with her to um—wow, this is embarrassing—make you jealous. Childish, right? And after a while, ironically, it backfired. ‘Cause I started to like her. Anyway, fast forward, college, right? We all know what happened… then what happened after graduation. I lost you. My soulmate, but most importantly, my best friend. It was the worst because I lost you, and I could have avoided that,” he sighed, “and so here we are. Somehow, life has given us a second chance, and I don’t want to screw this up. So [Y/N], I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry that I did so many stupid things in the past, I’m sorry that I was an awful best friend, I’m sorry that I didn’t fight harder to keep you in my life. I’m sorry for hurting you.”
“Felix,” you piped up suddenly, “Look, I’m sorry too. I think it’s a failure on both parts because really, maybe if I wasn’t so selfish, we could have avoided the whole fight. I didn’t know you were willing to wait for me until, you know, then. I’ve blamed myself a lot for that, but I’ve come to realize that you know what? It’s alright to make mistakes, and I forgive myself for doing that. And if I can forgive myself, I can forgive you. When we decided to restart our friendship, honestly, I was more than relieved to hear you were on board for it as well. So, can we agree to put all our mistakes in the past?”
“Yes. I’d love that. Man, thank you so much, [Y/N], for giving me another chance. I, too, forgive you for everything. And I’m so glad that you’re back in my life.”
“Aw, come here,” you grinned, opening your arms for a hug. Felix wrapped his arms around you tightly, and for a while, that’s how you two stayed.
“Wait, I’m actually not done,” Felix announced, pulling away. As he opened his mouth to speak, his hands started to shake a little bit.
“Oh?” You tilted your head to the side, curious as to what the boy would say next.
“I can’t promise you that I won’t make any more mistakes in the future, but for what it’s worth, I’ve learned from the past. And if anything, anything, happens that causes me to stumble and hurt you, I’m willing to put up a fight to make it right. I can’t promise you that the future holds all flowers and sunshine, but if there’s one thing that I am absolutely, terribly sure of, it is that [Y/N]?”
“Mm?”
“I’m in love with you.”
All you could hear was the faint howling of the wind as you were rendered absolutely speechless. It took minutes to process the words Felix had just spoken, and when you managed to grasp the idea of it, all you could sputter out was, “Really?”
Felix nodded. “Yes. Really.”
“I’ve waited since third-year of highschool for you to say that,” you admitted, mustering all your strength not to smile. “So, can I…kiss you?”
“Yes, yes you can,” he answered, leaning in.
So, slowly, surely, you kissed him. You let the gentle caress of his lips speak for themselves as they locked with your own, causing your heart to beat fervently in your chest. It may have been short, chaste even, but one kiss was all it took for you to confirm the vehemence that had been lurking deep down in the crevices of your entire being.
“I’m sorry that this isn’t as grand as you’d hoped. I remember you told me that you wanted big sparks to fly when you met your soulmate,” Felix laughed nervously, taking the opportunity to rest his hand on top of yours.
You shook your head. “No, I’m glad that it’s you, and I’m glad that this is how it turned out.”
Perhaps if it had been another day in another place at another time, you’d say that loving Lee Felix was quite full of irony. But since you were here, at this specific moment on this specific day in this specific place at this specific time, you could truly and sincerely say that there was nothing ironic about it, that there was nothing paradoxical about loving Lee Felix.
There was only bliss. There was only certainty.
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c2e30 (I’m very late and I know it but here it is anyway)
I’m almost a week late but hey that’s fine let’s do this!
Still miss Ashley but I’m gad Travis and Laura are back!
I also miss Keg
I’m so glad they fucked Lorenzo up. I’m sorry for Matt’s plans but fuck that guy.
“Enduring it silently” Yasha my girl
“Case closed” cool make me cry again that’s fine
Nott just has no fucks to give for Fjord xD
Oh, Yasha, my girl.
"I have healing I have healing who are you I have healing" oh sure Jester NOW you wanna heal
“Where’s Molly?” FUCK it’s fine I’m fine
“is he waiting upstairs?”
“He didn’t make it.”
“To… this dungeon? Cause he’s waiting upstairs?”
IT’S FINE IM NOT CRYING
Fjord sounds so exhausted someone hug him
Everyone’s sad I’m sad I don’t wanna live with this again
Fjord. Honey. It’s not your fault.
God Fjord and Jester and Yasha are going to have such a rough time healing and moving on…
This is really hard… like. My heart hurts.
“We learned for the future. This won’t happen again, understand me?”
“Nothing this good ever happens, this is great.” I love him. He’s sweet and he tries.
Jester and Beau back at the cute BFF banter already
B: “I would have laid down my life for you guys.”
J: “I would have tried to heal you back.”
Oh lord guys you can’t just make butt jokes in the middle of my crying.
Oh damn, I forgot Molly and Fjord shared a room the most often. Poor Fjord.
“It’s probably stolen.”
“People need killin’ if that happens.”
Them talking about Molly possibly coming back like that’s what we’re all still hoping for please don’t pull my heartstrings like this.
And the Fjord/Jester train rolls on again. They wasted no time.
“Oooooo, ooooo! That’s all I need to know.”
“INSIGHT CHECK”
oh my god Sam xD
WHISPERS
“Fuck human traffickers, ammiright?” You are so right.
“Please bring me any books” Caleb’s priorities back in place again
Cad cooking food I love him
Matt plz chill with the torture stuff
I love how they’re always finding random potions
Godddd Lorenzo’s chamber…
“Some young creature” it’s a baby Matt just say it
Bag of holding?? IT IS A BAG OF HOLDING?
YAAAS
Please no body parts please no body parts…
Fjord checking the room for books <3
I want Fjord and Caleb to get back to being bros man I miss that so hard
Fuck I forgot Caleb was still injured Jester plz heal him
I adore Cad you guys. Adore him.
“Roots.”
“Do I smell anything…? Nah it smells like breakfast fuck it I go back down” xD Travis
A long rest sounds like a good idea, but is the fortress safe?
“WHAT’S THAT NEW MAGIC YOU USED?” SAAAAM LOL
Cad is gonna be the weird uncle of the team who keeps them all fed and relatively healthy
I’m curious about the bag and what all it can do and stuff
lol Fjord just spilled everything out
“I have deep arcane abilities” lol Fjord
101 PLATINUM NICE
Ooooo a gem!
Oh daaaamn wax sealed envelope
AN ACTUAL ENVELOPE
okay what is it….
omg could they collect anyone 101 platinum?
Oooo Wayfairer’s Cove? Is it Pirates?? Please be pirates.
Also does that mean they’ll go to Nicodranus?
OH.
OH SHIT.
FJORD HAS ONE. IN HIS STOMACH.
“You have 50 rings, do you have a glass bead?”
Nott has the most amazing collection of stuff
Ouch, 5 intelligence check
Fjord my darling why are you collecting a tusk?
Also guys i’m over my annoyance with Fjord I missed him so much he’s back to being one of my faves
“HEY LOOK WHAT I MADE :D” Caleb my son he’s so proud and happy look at him
He’s been working on it so he can protect his friends I’m crying
Cad just makes me smile every time he speaks. Taliesin just knows how to cheer me up with every character he makes.
I can’t believe Caleb actually managed to make them a small “home” they can move just like he wanted I’m so proud of him
NOTT PLZ
Jester dragging Yasha in lol
Niiiice magic potion and magic red gem
bad magic manacles no
C: “This has great power.”
N: “What is it?”
C: “It’s a meat hook.”
300 bolts nice
Beau looking for something throwable
Those are creepy manacles 0/10
Caleb please stop being weird about fire YOU’RE SCARING ME
“It’s not my thing” hnnn
Beau honey please keep it for him he doesn’t need it right now
Fjord using Molly’s sword is good
DON’T EAT THE GODDAMN SWORD
PLEASE
Fjord’s actual identity is a bag of holding I’ve solved it
BEAU
BEAU NO
beau plz
Oh Jester… oh honey… I’m crying again
“Why didn’t you come?” IT’S FINE
I’m fine
it’s not fine
Bye Keg WE’LL MISS YOU
Letter for Nott I cry
“Oh, a note… It’s really badly written…” Nott plz
That letter I’M CRRRYYYYYING
“p.s. if anyone hurts you I will kill them” <3<3<3<3
Marisha’s face when she looked at the letter I’m crying
Ashley B is the best I miss her so much
Fjord keeping the glaive for Yasha. <3
Cad offering to help dye the bag pink xD
He and Jester are going to be good buddies
C: “I need to head east at some point.”
Cad: “What is east?”
C: “I don’t know. But I’d like to find out.”
—
B: “He makes dead people tea.”
F: “He makes what?!”
Hmmm okay so what’s making the illusion. the cart itself?
MAGIC ILLUSION CART that could be great
Stealth cart yessss
Happy (late) birthday, Ashley!
Cad should stay with the cart maybe?
They’re very touchy about the cart xD
Ophelia is classy as hell and I don’t trust her but I like her
Oooo smart to remember to bring the glaive Fjord good job
My boy with the Nat20 persuasion ayyyyyyy
No wait we’re keeping it for Yasha
Nice okay good she let them have it
Oh dang I forgot they were supposed to escort her back to Zadesh
“I think ‘hot fuck’ is accurate on a few levels” Beau continues to be THE disaster lesbian
Fjord is creeped out by Cad and I’m loving it
Oh no who’s coming…
Oh okay it’s just the carriages lol I was worried
Stealth check for giggles lol
Money says Beau will try to sleep with Ophelia before the trip is over
SAM NAMED THEM AFTER ABBA SONGS omg I’m crying
Oh oh oh a crick person. What were they called?
J: “Shady deals happening!”
Cad: “Oh is that what that is? I’ve never seen one before.”
Okay we’re in the slums this is where something is going to happen
Driving through slums in fancy carriages is bad
Frumpkin is gone sadly
Oooo Jester has a fancy new spell? Nice
“Next time you use it maybe it will have a purpose” xD harsh, Nott.
Oooo some Beau and Caleb talk! It’s been a few weeks. And yesss give us some Beau backstory!
“Why are you running around with criminals? And me?” Caleb you are just as much a criminal as the rest of them
Beau and Caleb’s friendship and their conversations are my fave
I SAW SPOILERS ABOUT WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN AND IM NOT OKAY
is his coat there
HIS COAT IS THERE
thank god
I’m not ready for this
Taliesin looks like he might cry, I’m gonna cry, everyone’s gonna cry
Letting Taliesin choose which card Jester pulled I’m weeping
the same card she pulled when they met I’m sobbing now
Fjord with Summer Dance I’m just. A wreck.
Yasha wakes up AT MOLLY’S GRAVE THIS ISN’T OKAY
“What’s going on” noPE MATT HOW DARE
Oh Yasha my dear oh god
“It happened again” stop please I beg you
She didn’t even get to help kill Lorenzo
Oh, oh, Yasha…
Oh fuck.
Oh. Oh, my heart.
She doesn’t even have her sword.
Caleb and Nott please don’t make me cry either
TALIESIN DONT
IM
I CANNOT
He’s gone.
He’s really, forever, never coming back, gone.
“I made the earth remember him. Something will be here.”
Like… like I had this vague hope that somehow he’d come back, ten, twenty episodes from now. Hell, maybe close to the end, he’d just come back. He’d return to life and maybe he wouldn’t remember at first, but they’d help remind him who he is. But no… he’s gone. Tal gave him the best goodbye he could.
C: “Come, everyone. Molly wanted us to keep living.”
B: “And make things better.”
I’m glad they all got to say goodbye but my god, none of them had ever die, because I can’t handle anything like this ever again.
Goodbye, Molly. For real this time.
“Those ideas I had have come to fruition” oh god what does that mean
Caleb worries me
New feat is cool but he still worries me
Ophelia and the Gentleman, huh?
PFFF SHE BIT HIM. kinky.
I like Ophelia more and more tbh
Cad just grins
also the Gentleman doesn’t have Cad’s blood that’s probably good
Hey @ the Gentleman don’t be a dick “that’s just the way of it” i’m gonna kick you
LOL Nott and the moisture thing again I’m cackling
How much money? I don’t remember
“mostly platinum” O_O
600 platinum NICE
250 gold
6250 alksjdlaksjflkjsdhfkjasdhg
+50 platinum for the loss of Molly HE WAS WORTH SO MUCH MORE HE WAS PRICELESS
Nott explaining “money” to Cad lol
“I can’t think of four things I’d like to get, that’s nice.”
A tea set, a skillet, more cups.
Fuck okay he’s gonna get his blood sigh
WHISPERRRSSSSS
Cad and his bugs alksjdlkas
I’m actually glad that Caleb lied about Molly… I’m not sure why but I’m just glad. Molly didn’t want to be tied to Lucien, even in death.
Metagaming pigeon lol
GO SEE PUMAT SOL I just want him to meet Cad desperately
Tal rolling to determine how Cad feels about milk lol
Tal wants to strangle Sam/Nott for their tragic lack of knowledge (r their total deception) about how whiskey is made lol
Introducing Cad to alcohol lol
Fjord is so baffled whenever people flirt with him I love it
“Here is to fucking making it work” <3
Beau I don’t think he wants to talk about it, darling
Alright Fjord needs a goddamn hug. Like a big one.
They think Jester is fine but guys she’s not fine keep an eye on her. This is how she copes but she’s gonna fall apart. There are cracks.
Caleb is right about her. She’s suffering.
Cad: “I’ve had six drinks. I’m in the biggest city I’ve ever been in. Everything tastes TERRIBLE.”
—
N: “Have you not thrown up yet?”
Cad: “Is that part of the—are you supposed to?”
—
Oh boy intruding Jester to alcohol too let her be sweet and innocent and not a useless drunk like all of you smh
Jester is going to have so much fun introducing Cad to pastries
“What’s a smut shop?” Oh lord.
C: “To that purple devil. To Mollymauk Tealeaf.”
B: “And now to our new… tea leaf…”
Travis just suggested shopping the world must be ending
Matt just keeps ducking his head and giggling I love him
Nott my dear you are not subtle
I’m so glad they all back together (minus Yasha—come back soon, Ashley!!). I missed these happy nights of goofiness.
And I’ll always miss you, Mollymauk.
“FOR MOLLY!”
Goblight lol
“Caduceus Clay, we are your destiny!!” xD Caleb
Oooo some downtime episodes coming! Some time to get to know Cad, that’ll be nice.
THEY EACH HAEV OVER 1000 GOLD
amazing
“Just one 10 hour Critical Role episode, please.” Someday, Liam, someday.
Good episode. Good, good episode.
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