#ashotofeuphoria
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ashotofeuphoria · 2 years ago
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Magical Places Masterlist
⚠︎ Important Announcement: NASA has confirmed that we live within an ever expanding multiverse. One that is matched with hundreds of thousands of parallel universes, all existing at one and the same time. While we can only ponder what beings reside there and what life is like in each of them, they have discovered how to look into 8 different realms. Within each realm lives magic and fantasy beyond belief. NASA warns, however, to explore at your own risk, as you will be shown different elements of fantasy and magic, of love and lust; and potentially death and destruction. Do you dare to explore with us? ⚠︎
Reader beware - proceed with caution and curiosity.
▻ (Demon) Park Seonghwa - The Tunnel of Love, Kleven, Ukraine
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▻ (Fairy) Kim Hongjoong - The Fairy Glen, Scotland
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▻ (Sea Beast) Jeong Yunho - Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland
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▻ (Mermaids/Sirens) Kang Yeosang - To Sua Ocean Trench, Samoa
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▻ (Witches) Choi San - Black Forest, Germany
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▻ (Angels) Song Mingi - Panjin, China
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▻ (Old magic) Jung Wooyoung - Alsace Wine Region, France
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▻ (Dragons) Choi Jongho - Zhangjiajie, China
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woos-lil-oreo · 3 years ago
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Hi hi could I be added to your tag list ☺️
Sure ✨
For Kinktober or my permanent list?
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tohokuu · 3 years ago
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-TOHOKUU’S HALLOWEEN COLLAB-
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what is it ?
- NSFW HALLOWEEN COLLAB
who is it for ?
- ANYONE 18+
- ateez, txt, jujutsu kaisen, haikyuu, my hero academia, tokyo revengers, attack on titan and demon slayer.
prompt
- the main theme for this collab is horror. the criteria is to write a piece with horror/fantasy/slasher themes incorporated into it. an example would be, vampire ! seonghwa or demon ! toji. anything is welcome except the no’s listed in my byf/dni here.
- do not pick a theme that has already been chosen !! for example, if serial killer ! toji has been given twice, the first to send the ask receives the theme.
- dark content is welcomed.
- all works must be properly tagged
- all characters must be 18+
how to enter ?
- like & reblog this post, send an ask stating your character/idol, the trope or theme and I will get back to you on it asap !
send an ask if you are interested. i’ll add you to the masterlist that will be updated right under this cut. reblogs are heavily appreciated !!
- moots and non moots are both welcome !
tagging : @sxlver-sweet
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-
frankenstien ! mingi - @tohokuu
vampire ! ran - @mitsuxii
kitsune ! yeonjun - @eggyeok
serial killer ! geto - @getoswhore
tentacle monster ! sero - @koutaroulogy
ghost ! seonghwa - @bobateastay
siren w! yeosang - @ashotofeuphoria
shape shifter ! gojo - @saturus
grim reaper ! choso - @doveypink
incqubus ! san - @strangertides
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hongism · 3 years ago
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@uhmingi @baguette-atiny @arkive78 @toothlessshiber @baekhvuns @the7thcrow @ateezinmymind @sakurasangcl @imababywolf @imnobadwitch @witchlaughwoo @mirror-juliet @joontied @honeyedtalisman @bxffietheblxxdy @skyys-universe @jubiliciously-lovely @lolothebookworm @peachyho @astrojoong @netcookie @leegeumhyuks @a-place-to-dissociate @ashotofeuphoria @dejayu @ryo-84 @muselovesateez @restless-nights-thoughts @ariel-moni @jin-neck-shaft @piratequeen-queenofgames @rebeccasficrecs @catwhisk @amefuuyuu @knjkitten @strawberry-joong
BLOOD MASQUERADE ∘ 02 TSUKI NO KOMORIUTA
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pairing; fem!reader x tba rating; M/18+ wc; 19.5k warnings; this series contains violence, blood, explicit smut. future warnings will be added as the story progresses. masterlist. | taglist form. a/n: synopsis, genre, and other content related to the fic can be found on the masterlist.
.♛.
The swelling of music rushing around you is nearly enough to deafen, but it’s no louder than the thump of your own heartbeat that rattles inside you.
There’s a thrill to this game — one that resides in the lust for the first drop of blood, a successful hunt, a quick and fleeting moment that could be over in no time at all. You, however, see a joy in drawing things out longer. Even if one of these princes-to-be finds you right off the bat, you have no intention of letting them have you until the night is over.
Where they think themselves to be wholly in control, you wrap a hand around their ankles a little harder and yank them back into line.
Your game here tonight is far different from the one you’re used to playing back at home. The same tactics of allure and teasing can’t be used here without your usual tools. In a vastly different environment, without your usual grounds for play, and an outfit that’s borderline the polar opposite of what you’re accustomed to wearing. It ought to throw you off in all the wrong ways, perhaps make you a bit sloppy and careless, but you pride yourself on these sorts of manners. A little change in pace won’t make you any less of a huntress, and your gaze is currently set on one of your prey near the center of the room.
The Fox.
A breathy exhale slips past your lips as you move through the crowd. Your goal isn’t to reach him yet; you are content to stand back as you make your roundabout circle around where he’s positioned himself for the time being. For now, it’s simply an attempt to analyze. The moment he made it to the foot of that spiral staircase, he started speaking, and people flocked to him in a way that struck you as magnetic. Although it was his brother the Wolf who gave a formal address to all the guests, the Fox is the one to receive all the spoils of that hard work. His brother has effectively slipped out of sight — at least yours, because despite how tall he seemed upon reaching the lower floor, you can’t see that bleached head of hair anywhere in the crowd. It doesn’t help that he’s not the only one who thought to be creative with his hair, and there are so many people who share the same yellowy shade that you wouldn’t be able to pick him out of the crowd like this anyway.
One of them made your hunt easy, and that much you are grateful for.
You blend into the crowd with ease, but at the same time, there’s a certain distance people give you when you slip through the masses. The kind that screams “you’re unfamiliar, even in the midst of faceless people”.
The man at the center of the room does not fall victim to that notion. You imagine that even if he hadn’t been introduced at the beginning of this party, everyone would still know exactly who he is and where to find him. The laugh that rings from his lips is boisterous and commands attention, very distinct in its sound, and you understand with glaring transparency why this man is so renowned for his charms.
He’s not even the heir apparent and yet it seems as though he is certainly the favored brother just based on how many people eagerly wait for a turn by his side. There has to be a fair amount of arrogance tied to that attention too; it’s hard to remain humble when people are scrambling just to be seen next to you. The grin twisting his lips is exactly that — proud, arrogant, and holds a fatal charm you find yourself a bit stunned by for a fraction of a second. The fragile reverie shatters when a hand brushes over your shoulder blades with a firm purpose.
You inhale sharply at the touch. It’s not Hideyoshi for certain, as he would have leaned close to your ear and murmured a greeting before laying a hand on you, and it’s certainly not your cousin because he would have approached you head on inside of from behind.
As your gaze drops from the predator at the center of the room, a hand skates over the back of your neck with a barely-there touch that makes you stand a little straighter. There is, of course, a chance that this is not one of the men seeking you out tonight, but the persistence in the way he moves with you even when you slip out of the way of other partygoers tells you that’s not the case.
“It’s hardly appropriate to lay a hand on a lady without warning. Heaven forbid I have a knife under these garments to cut your fingers off for doing such a thing,” you murmur, lips barely moving as you speak to him. The threat is empty, although if this man had done such a thing to you back home, it truly would happen, and Hideyoshi would be the one to deliver the blow. It earns you a quiet huff of laughter, and you finally shift to be face to face with him.
Taller than you, although not by too much, with black hair styled prim and proper atop his head. His features are sharper than most, all harsh angles and equally piercing eyes that resemble those of a cat. The only difference is that his are a deep brown with circular pupils at the center rather than those sharp little thorns common in felines. For the briefest of moments, you wonder if this is your Leopard, and that thought is only confirmed a second later when your gaze falls to the lapel of his structured jacket. The emblem of Eienshimo glimmers back at you, flickering under the yellow lights hanging from the chandeliers. He grins when your gaze travels back up to his face. There’s a hint of apprehension in the way he stares back at you from behind his own black mask. Under different circumstances, it might appear that you two coordinated outfits to a degree with how his all-black regalia matches your own. You suddenly regret your petty threat.
“My apologies then, milady. You’ll have to excuse my eagerness.”
“On what grounds?”
He takes a step back, enough to bend at the waist and extend a hand in your direction with his palm to the ceiling.
“I’ll admit I was rushing to reach you before anyone else asked you to dance.” He grins hard enough to make a dimple punch a deep trench in one of his cheeks. You grace him with a half-smile of your own and lay one of your gloved hands atop his bare one. Your breath is sucked right out of your lungs in the next second as he moves fast enough to make your head spin, and he stands up straight while pulling you to his chest in one swift movement. You brace your free hand against his chest, fingers curling around that pin on his lapel like it’s a lifeline. “I didn’t want anyone to rob me of the pleasure of having you first.”
“How presumptuous,” you whisper as you flatten your palm against his chest. Pushing up onto the balls of your feet, you angle your chin up until your lips can rest comfortably against the shell of his ear. “What if I had planned to have your brother first?”
The grip on your hand tightens a hair. You lick the corner of your mouth and bite back a smile. Hot breath cascades down the side of your neck, and the man’s other hand moves to secure around your waist. There’s a firmness in the way he grips you, fingers splayed over the small of your back like that’s all it takes to keep you there.
“Then you would have worn his gift.”
“I don’t recall wearing yours either, Leopard.”
Something sharp presses against the small of your back, nothing more than a pinprick and a sting, but you take note of it nonetheless.
“Whose did you pick then, hm? Which one of us enticed you? Piqued your interest? Perhaps I should have waited longer just to see who would approach you first before moving on my own.” You hold your breath as he moves against you. There’s not enough space to walk around freely, but people make way as he guides you in time with the music. If he notices the stutter in your chest as you struggle to breathe normally again, he makes no comment on it. The thrill of anticipation is back in your bones, and it’s not nervousness that thrums in your veins but adrenaline once more. You hadn’t expected one of them to find you so quickly like this. Now, the game is fully in motion.
“Why don’t you guess? Who do you think I picked, based on how well you know your colleagues?”
“The Fox is watching us,” he says in response rather than answering your question. You tilt your head closer to his and slide the hand on his chest up to cradle the back of his head. “You, more specifically.”
“Ah, is my charade up already?”
Your gaze travels upwards to the balcony, sliding across the railing surrounding the second floor, you stop to stare fondly at Hideyoshi for a moment, eyes meeting at a distance but still recognizing each other nonetheless, then you move further left and —
“So that’s where our other host went,” you murmur more to yourself than to the man in your grasp but he huffs out a laugh against your bare neck as the words process. The Wolf stands at the edge of the railing with large hands folded over the intricately carved wood as he surveys the room below. There’s another man at his side — this one much shorter and dressed in what looks to be blue velvet with hands shoved deep in his pockets. His hair contrasts sharply with the deep blue of his suit and reflects a fiery orange shade you can’t pull your eye away from. He leans against the railing as well, although only with the corner of one elbow, and instead chooses to analyze the crowd by looking down over his shoulder. “And who is he with, hm?”
“Shouldn’t you be focused on the man in your arms?” Your partner inquires through a small hum of his own. “I ask that you not make me a jealous man, milady.”
“Is it true that last year the Hawk left early?” You ignore his statement in favor of asking the question, and it draws a visceral reaction from the man as he inhales so sharply you can hear the air entering his nostrils. “And that he got into a rather physical fight with the Fox?”
“Already heard your fair share of rumors and gossip, have you?”
“So that is the case,” you murmur. “You men will bring me trouble and ruin.” Just as you’re clicking your tongue against the roof of your mouth, your partner spins your bodies so that you can no longer see the pair on the balcony. A subtle way of saying pay attention to me now. And you do exactly that, leaning back to catch his gaze with your own even though your hand remains on the back of his head.
“I think it’s the other way around, milady.”
You arch a brow in his direction, daring him to speak further.
“The rumors of your people are nothing kind or flowery.”
“Nothing like your stories of frozen cherry blossoms and expectations?” you echo, lip curling a bit as you speak.
“Would you like me to tell you another story, milady?”
“I suppose I have no choice really.” Your hand slips back to where it rested originally and finds purchase on his lapel once more. He moves when you do, and again you feel that prickling sensation along your spine. “But you have piqued my interest now, so please do share.”
His ability to multitask is quite a bit impressive as well; although his attention is solely focused on you and your shrouded features, he manages to keep both your bodies from bumping into any of the other couples who have found themselves swaying to the music alongside you two. And despite the fact that you want to check to see if the Fox is still planted in the center of the room, you can’t bring yourself to look away from this man’s intense expression now.
“Then let me tell you about a girl named Choi Hayoung. She was the firstborn of three children, eight years older than her first brother. At the time she was born, her land… her people… they were not in the best of positions. Conflict was still fresh on the soil, and the trees and crops that grew were watered by blood rather than rain. She was born into strife and pain and suffering. And her parents were supposed to be good people, rulers who took care of their citizens without hesitation. The land and those in it were their responsibility, including Hayoung. Including their own daughter. For sixteen years, the people toiled and fought for the land that was theirs from the start. Land they always held for several hundred years but these barbarians from the deepest recesses of the mountains would come and ravage the towns and villages until nothing was left standing. For sixteen years, these people fought alone until they decided they needed more than farmers, mothers, children, and priestesses fighting for them. The two rulers had already birthed two more children — one was already eight, the other almost seven — and they knew if it kept up then there would be no home for these children any longer. And so… they sent an envoy to the centermost region of Tenjoutenge seeking refuge for these children and their sister, as well as military help against the invading barbarians.
“They were greeted warmly. Help was sent. And although it took three years, the region became safe and secure as the invaders were defeated and pushed back to their home in the mountains. The rulers of the land sent heaps of resources as payment to Senotakaitou as they were lacking gold, and they were told that that payment was enough. The three children had stayed there the entire time in the King’s palace in the City of the Dead, for those long three years without their parents, and at long last, they were told they could return. And yet, Choi Hayoung was refused that right. It was not the king who decided she could not leave, but the king’s firstborn son. A man who claimed her as his own, who took her against her will, who did unspeakable and horrific things to her for those three years, not knowing that she went back to the room she shared with her two younger brothers and cried alone after he touched her and groped her like a monster. He was one year younger than her and yet he acted as though he had the authority of the king. He wanted her for the day he took the throne, to be at his side as his wife even though she didn’t want anything to do with that responsibility. The night she was told she would never return to her family or her home again was the same night she sat at the window in her shared room with both her brothers sleeping soundly in their beds and slit her throat with a broken mirror. Her blood flowed that night, down the walls of the palace and across the floor until it reached her brother’s bed so that when he awoke in the middle of the night and stepped out to shut the window, his feet were sullied by her blood.”
The previous air of excitement and adrenaline between your bodies has dwindled down to nothing but apprehension.
“What is the purpose of this story, Leopard?” It’s a miracle, you think, that you still manage to sound so confident in your tone despite how the tale has shaken you to your core.
Moreso, it’s a miracle that you don’t lose yourself in the memory of a night you lived that was eerily similar to the one he just recalled.
“Fifteen years have passed since that incident. My people got their freedom at the cost of Choi Hayoung’s life,” he continues with more force in his tone. The phantom sensation on your back grows stronger to the point where you have to arch your body into your partner’s to stop the pain from deepening further. And yet, as you move, his hand flattens harder against you, and the burn increases tenfold. “I wish to ask you, Denka, what makes you think I would forget the face I saw in those palace halls for three years? The face that so closely resembles that of the man who killed my sister?”
“He’s dead,” you murmur, tone as noncommittal as you can muster. “There is no revenge you can take on him. If you had desired to rob him of his sister, then I’m afraid that wouldn’t have worked even when he was alive. We cared nothing for each other — our only bond was that we shared the same father and lived under the same roof. He had his duty, and he failed it when he died. Taking my life will serve no purpose other than to ruin your region’s chances at ever taking the throne.”
“If it were up to me, my people wouldn’t even consider the throne.”
“I wonder, does your brother share that sentiment? Or is he the most eager to be picked when the time comes?”
Sharp eyes narrow on yours.
“Does he share your passion and hatred towards me as well? Was all the good fortune he promised in his letter a pretty deception, like your story of cherry blossoms?”
“He knows nothing about the way our sister died or what caused it, and I intend to keep it that way.”
“Fifteen years pass and you can’t bear to tell your own brother the truth about his sister?”
“Not that it’s any of your business to begin with, but it’s also not his burden to bear, and as his older brother, his last sibling, I aim to protect him no matter the cost.”
“A horribly romanticized version of brotherly love.” You push your face closer to his, forcing him to tilt his chin down to look you in the eye. “You know my title, so surely you know my name.”
“I did not know it would be you of all people to attend this party. The mere idea of someone from Senotakaitou made me bitter enough, but to see your face, even if half-covered by a mask, was more shocking. To think both you and your brother take so strongly after your father despite not sharing the same mother.”
“Say my name, Leopard, let’s not be shy now. Not when you have a dagger pressed into my back.”
“You were rarely ever present in the palace when my family was staying there. Whenever I did see you, it was with a guard who couldn’t have been much older than you at your side. I only heard your name from your brother’s lips. So where were you? And why did you need protection inside your own walls?”
You shift again and let your head tilt in the other direction as you push closer to his face.
“My name, Leopard.” He’s done well to deflect you so far, avoiding as best he can, but he seems to realize now that you have him cornered and pinned like this. It’s a test, one that exposes his true intentions and the hesitations in the hand that holds a blade to your back.
“I cannot speak it, Denka,” he whispers with breath hot on your lips, and you can’t help but to huff out a laugh against him.
“Three years was enough to engrain our culture in you then? Enough for you to know you cannot speak my name as someone of lower station than me in the very least. Do you regret that? Your brother can speak my name freely since he’s the one geared for the throne, but you… what are you? The older brother who gave up the throne in a false sense of duty.”
He opens his mouth to respond, but you pull away before he has the chance to speak, and for a moment he chases you with his lips. The knife pressed into your back disappears as his arm withdraws back to his side. You barely catch the glint of metal before it slips back into his sleeve.
“Do not pretend to know me,” you state loud enough for him to hear. “As far as I’m concerned, we never met. You might have lived in my home and seen my family for those years, but none of them were me. And if you wish for your brother to keep his life, then I trust you’ll tell no one of my identity or relation to the crown. We can’t go around mucking the game now, can we?” He remains rooted to the spot even as you move, and although you desperately wish to find his brother next, you still have no clue where to start looking. He admittedly threw you off your game a little bit, taking away the chance you had to ask where his brother might be or what he might be wearing. You did find the two on the balcony at least, and now you know what both the Leopard and the Fox are wearing so you have half of the men accounted for in the first half-hour of the evening. There was also the raven-haired man you met upon entering the manor — the one you suspected to be another prince, and you find yourself scanning the faces in the crowd as you slip past them in hopes of finding his intricately carved metal mask.
“Did he bother you, milady?”
Instead, you find Hideyoshi, albeit unintentionally, and the man corners you near the edge of the room as you fight for a spot close to the wall. You hum through your teeth rather than answering at first. The guard lingers at your side. Your back hits the cool marble without much preamble, supporting your weight as you lean against the wall. When you cross your arms over your chest, Hideyoshi darts a hand out to rest atop one of yours on your elbow. You twist your wrist enough to let his fingers slip between yours.
“He knew…” You shake your head. “Do you remember my father bringing in three children some years ago? Fifteen, to be precise, and from Eienshimo?”
“I would have still been conducting my training with you at the time, y/n,” he whispers back, and you squeeze his fingers a little tighter. It’s still too early to look at him too deeply; your cousin is wandering around somewhere unaccounted for.
“Have you seen Ryu around anywhere?” you inquire instead, letting your stare settle on where his hand overlaps yours. He purses his lips and tilts his chin to the side. The movement makes a clump of his bangs fall out of place. It falls to the side of his mask, kissing the edge of the fabric-covered clay. You shift your arms to reach out and comb that hair back, tucking it back behind his ear with a quaint twitch of your lips.
“He went up to the balcony for a short time, only to speak with the Wolf from what I gathered. When he came downstairs, he sought out your former dance partner immediately.”
“Hm? For what reason?” You recall the letter you found on your cousin’s desk, the suspicious words etched onto the paper, and now those suspicions travel to two men who are seeking you out. One of which already found you.
His response doesn’t come in the form of words.
Instead, Hideyoshi moves closer to you, and you let your palm rest against his cheek as he aims for your lips.
The Leopard.
You twist your head to the left, surveying the dance floor quickly in search of the man.
“He aimed to assassinate me tonight…” you whisper in partial terror. Hideyoshi’s lips brush your cheek rather than your lips, but his recovery is quick as he moves his head up just enough to speak into the shell of your ear.
“Y/n.”
The phantom sensation of a blade against your back suddenly feels far more horrific. You secure an arm around Hideyoshi’s waist in a poor attempt to ground yourself from the burst of panic rushing through you.
“Don’t let Ryu out of your sight tonight.”
“My duty is to protect you, not him.”
“And I have reason to believe that he asked one of our princes to kill me tonight.”
Hideyoshi takes in the panic on your features. His hand skates down the expanse of your back until it settles on the small of your back, the place where Leopard held a knife to you.
“Your dance partner?”
“Ryu would have been staying in the palace alongside my brother at the same time Leopard was there. They would have known of each other even if it was so many years ago.”
“What reason would he have to kill you, milady? Even if at the request of your cousin?”
You blink out over the crowd once more, tongue dragging over your lower lip, and a different revelation hits you in that moment.
“He would have more reason to want Ryu dead.” Then the Wolf would be the one after my head tonight if it’s truly as I suspect… “Ryu was close to my brother — he always has been since they were children. Was it a warning for him then?” You stand up a bit straighter in Hideyoshi’s arms, and it forces the man to step back a little to give you more space. He doesn’t ask for any context, although you know he is wildly confused and doesn’t have the slightest clue as to what you’re talking about right now.
“Who am I looking for then?” Your guard’s voice is urgent, bordering the side of pleading if you had to put a more formal name on it, and you lay a hand flat against his chest to placate him.
“No one. I only ask that you keep an eye on Ryuunosuke. I…” you exhale softly and look up to the balcony in search of any familiar faces, but there are none to be found. “I will deal with the Wolf myself.”
“Milady—”
“Hm, how about that wine now, Hide?” The cheap tactic to divert the topic only works because the man across from you wants it to. His steps are hesitant at best, but he listens to you nonetheless without finishing his argument. You watch him slip back into the group of partygoers with your request in mind. You return to your theorizing on your own, one arm propped up by the other as you thumb at the underside of your chin and survey the room.
So Ryu conspired with someone here to have me killed… given that he was so eager to have me choose the Wolf, and that he spoke to the man rather early on, that host is obviously a suspect. The Leopard warned me of what he intends to do tonight perhaps? Or maybe he expected my brother to be present not knowing that he’s already passed. If he’s had an eye on me since I arrived then he would have seen Ryuunosuke with me. Would he recognize him though? He said he had no idea it would be me who was attending, so clearly it’s not a premeditated plan of murder, but could he really come up with a plan on such short notice?
“Ah, the night just got so much more intriguing,” you murmur. A half-full glass of red liquid comes into your peripherals, and you grin to yourself. You don’t think twice before taking it into your own grasp. With a little sigh, you lean back in an effort to find Hideyoshi’s body there behind you. “That eager to return to my side, dear?”
“I regret to inform you that I’m not your lover at the moment, milady,” comes the witty response, but it’s not Hideyoshi’s voice. Not even close.
It’s too late to stop your body from crashing into the one behind you, and a firm hand steadies you by gripping at your hip before you can fully topple. He releases you immediately as you whirl around to face him head-on — a flash of black in your sights that catches you off-guard for a moment before you recover and regard the man with a confused stare.
“Please forgive me for touching you so brashly, I did not want you to fall.”
He smiles with full lips stained a faint red, surely by wine, and the shade contrasts with the head of deep black hair atop his head, strands swept back to revealed close-cut sides and a few wisps of bangs falling over his forehead. A pretty set of diamonds dangle from one ear, the other completely bare, and the jewelry matches that of the banded choker hanging at the base of his neck. It leaves little to the imagination with how he wears nothing more than a velvet vest under his jacket, and the expanse of skin that is exposed is smoothly blemish-free to tease what’s lower with how deep the vee of his vest is. He’s carrying a glass of his own in his hand, one that he tips in your direction before taking a long drag from, and the bulge of his Adam’s apple shifts as he swallows.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” You nod towards the glass in your hand.
“A lady should never be left unprotected in unfamiliar places.”
“Shame on you for thinking all ladies need protecting.”
“Then shame on you for accepting a gift so readily with no worry for danger.”
His lips glisten a little as he smiles, hit by some leftover wine, and he’s slow to clean it with the tip of his tongue.
“My gift looks good on you,” he murmurs through a grin against the rim of his glass. “I hope you’ll let me be the one to take it off later tonight.” You lift your free hand to the back of your head where Hideyoshi pressed the feather beside your hairpin.
“It’s only a feather, darling. How do you aim to seduce me by saying things like that?”
“I’m sure we can both find other uses for it if the need arises.” He extends his hand in your direction and quietly motions towards your wine glass. “If it will help you trust me better, I’d be happy to sample the wine for you and prove my innocence. Then perhaps seduce you with a dance after.”
“What happened to not being my lover?” You tease through a click of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. He seems amused by your comment, given how one corner of his mouth pulls up and he snickers under his breath.
“I do recall saying that I am not currently your lover. I wouldn’t be opposed to changing that.”
“Milady, is there an issue?” That voice is far more familiar, and this time you lean back into the man with more confidence. Hideyoshi catches you the same way this other man did but his grip remains firm on your hip. You watch how the man before you drags his gaze down to that hand then back up to your face.
“No, he was just inviting me to dance. Carry on with your night. I’ll join you again later,” you hum as you quietly pass your glass off to the man over your shoulder. Hideyoshi sends you a glance as he takes the cup of wine from your hands, and you notice that he must not have made it to get you one himself by the time he spotted you being accosted. You cannot be subtle about your next movements, so you make no efforts to be sneaky when you point to your hair with fluttering lashes sent in your new guest’s direction.
“Were you the one to put my gift in her hair?” he inquires, motioning to Hideyoshi with a small wave.
“I was, yes, so I suggest you tread carefully, Owl.”
The dark-haired man huffs out a laugh and sets his wine glass down on the nearest flat surface — the bookshelf right beside you — then he extends a hand to you. You slip your gloved one over his with nothing more than a nod.
“I merely ask because,” he continues as he moves past Hideyoshi’s rigid form, “I’ll be the one to remove it later tonight, so I’ll refrain from using my teeth out of respect for your care and feelings.” You feel a bit invisible caught in the middle of their staring contest, and the arch of the Owl’s brow only serves to taunt Hideyoshi further. The man, for all its worth, shows a massive deal of restraint and does nothing more than put more distance between your bodies. It puts an ache in your chest, even if you expect it. You hold back the urge to reach out and grab his hand one more time as you feel yourself being pulled back to the center of the room.
It’s easier to turn and confront the man at your side, instead.
“You men are so presumptuous about how this night will end.”
“Ah, then I’m not the first to reach you?” He pulls you around to be face-to-face now. You stumble with how quickly he moves, stepping on the toe of his shoe with reckless grace before catching your balance and steadying once more. “That’s a shame, I had been caught in other business just before finding you.”
“What’s your goal with me, Owl? Am I simply a conquest to you tonight? Is that how all of you view me?” The question is, by all means, blunt but it gets your point across clearly, given how his expression fades a bit behind his mask. There are feathers along the side that you can see better now that you aren’t hidden by shadows, ones that match the one given to you perfectly.
“I can assure you that you are by no means a conquest to me. I cannot speak for the others, but I have no interest in any sort of competition they might have arranged for tonight if that is what they did. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to expect upon meeting you, and my salacious behavior was merely a front to test the waters.”
“It’s hardly an impressive introduction.”
“Meaning?” He keeps his hand high on your back, a respectful enough distance between your bodies, and his gaze remains firmly on your face.
“You’ve done yourself no favors in acting that way, especially in front of my guest for tonight.”
“Ah, your lover?”
“He’s no—”
“You know a quick denial gives you away, right?” He cuts in, and again one corner of his lips turns upwards. You purse your own but offer no further denial or defense. “I will keep your secret if you allow me to repaint your image of me, starting with a proper introduction as you are our esteemed guest for the night and traveled a long way to reach us. You know me currently as the Owl of Kodaichikyuu, but less formally, I’m Park Seonghwa.”
“Park Seonghwa,” you murmur, rolling the name around on your tongue and testing its weight there. He’d admittedly already given you his name in his second letter, but you do enjoy hearing him say it again if only for you to make sure you pronounce it correctly. “It would be nice to go a little while without being called ‘guest’ or ‘participant’, so you may call me Emiko.”
It’s not uncommon for you to have to hide your identity from others, even in the sanctity of your own home, and the name is your default when it comes to false identities. One that your cousin and Hideyoshi both know should the situation be dire enough, and while these men don’t suspect who you truly are at present, you cannot risk them finding out quite yet. So, for now, the fake name and masks to hide you will have to do. Perhaps this man is smarter than you gave him credit for, however, because he quirks a brow down at you a moment later.
“Is that your given name or simply the one you’re giving me?”
You cover it with a sly grin.
“That’s for you to find out, Seonghwa. Now, how else do you plan to make it up to me? I hope you know a simple name isn’t nearly enough to earn my good fortune and favor.”
“Of course, I would expect nothing of the sort. I’m afraid there’s precious little I can genuinely offer, but I have phenomenal hearing so if you have any questions, chances are I can provide leagues of knowledge in return.”
“Hm, you’ll answer any questions I might have? Who knows what scandalous things I could come up with.”
“If you get too risqué then I’ll simply have to request something in return for my services. Knowledge for knowledge perhaps? I know fairly little about where you come from.”
You hum to yourself and let your body relax a little in his grasp. He doesn’t react outwardly when you push your chest closer to his, but the twitch of his lips is telling enough.
“Information for information then?” You slide your hand from his shoulder up to his neck with another flutter of your lashes. When you tug him down closer to you, Seonghwa simply allows it without resistance or complaint. You settle your chin atop his shoulder and laugh into the expensive jeweled velvet there. “I want to know more about the others. I’ll give you a piece of information about my homeland for each one you tell me about. Good business, no?”
“A fair exchange, yes. What would you like to know?”
“Names, for starters. I almost asked you to tell me where each one is and what they’re wearing but… I don’t want to ruin my own fun of hunting you all down myself.” Your eyes fall shut as the man in your arms sways you around the dance floor, and it’s far too easy to let him fully guide your movements. “And what to expect upon meeting them. Personality perhaps? It’ll be difficult for me to find all eight of you and learn enough to make a decision about who I wish to talk to further.”
“Ah, well, we intend to make your decision a little less distressing by going off in pairs later this evening. That way you only have to narrow it down to two of us. I’ll be with the Hound — Kang Yeosang. He’s mild-mannered in most ways: quiet, listens well, has a sharp eye and an even sharper mind. He’s an incredible hunter, which earned him the nickname of Bloodhound, but I’m sure you know as well as I do that Kodachi is a peaceful region. The reason it remains that way is because of Yeosang. He personally snuffs out any rumor of nefarious plots. Trust and loyalty mean the most to him, so if he acts suspicious of you at first, please don’t be put off by that.”
“He mentioned such things in his letter to me, along with a few threats, but I’m an honest enough woman.”
Seonghwa laughs against the side of your head, then leans to press his lips closer to your ear.
“Except when it comes to your true identity, my fair lady.”
“That’s an honor you have to earn, Owl. Don’t forget you lot provided me with nothing more than nicknames. I believe I’ve earned the right to have one of my own.” He hums his approval but doesn’t push the subject further; instead, he asks something else.
“It’s my turn for information now. You come from Senotakaitou, no? Does that mean you live in the City of the Dead, or are you from the outskirts?”
“I find it hard to imagine that you would invite someone from the outskirts to your evening party, Seonghwa. Surely you already know the answer to that? But yes, I live in the city.”
“The brothers from Eienshimo will be together tonight. Choi San, the Leopard and the elder brother, is a rather intense man.” You don’t reveal that you’ve already brushed with the man tonight, but you can easily confirm that he is more than a little intense. “Fiercely protective though. It’s no secret that his brother Jongho is the most important person to him, and while he is not considered to be the crown prince, he is Jongho’s right-hand man.”
“Why is he not the prince if he’s older?”
“His parents made the decision themselves when Jongho turned fifteen. There are many rumors as to why, but neither brother has even confirmed any of the rumors. Given how they haven’t shared it with the rest of us, I’d say you would have a hard time pulling the info out of them. I’ve heard that the City of the Dead is well fortified, is this correct?”
You pull back to squint at the man.
“Now why would you need to know that?”
He grins.
“Curiosity, my dear.”
Perhaps it’s against better judgment, but you decide to entertain the question nonetheless.
“The most well-fortified in Tenjoutenge, I’d argue. A wall around the entire region to begin with, then another around the outer city, a third around the inner city, and a final one circling the palace.”
“Does that not get stifling after some time?”
“Hardly, the region is by no means small. You can’t even see the walls in some places, depending on where you are. The City of the Dead is also built on the side of a mountain, so the further into the region you go, the higher the altitude. Some say that it was originally built that way to resemble the mountain, others claim it to be merely logical and not religious in the slightest.”
“It sounds like I wouldn’t do well in such a place,” Seonghwa says through a half-smile. “Admittedly, I’m more used to the open fields and rolling hills of my home. I imagine you don’t see many dense forests surrounded by those walls.”
“No, we have many gardens and orchards to make up for it, but like you said… no dense forests.”
“Well, if tonight bodes well for our budding relationship, I would love to show you my homeland and the beauty you’re missing while trapped in those walls.”
“Tell me about the Bear next, Seonghwa,” you urge as you drag your fingers down the back of the man’s neck. “Is he like his brother? Are his intentions genuine and good, or should I expect threats from him as well?”
“I believe his words before the party were that he hopes to resolve any tensions that your regions might have. You can trust that he’s genuine in what he says and how he carries himself. He was also the one to tell all the servants to see to all your needs without hesitation, so that ought to also show his intentions.” Seonghwa pauses to press his lips into a thin line before he drops his next question with hesitance in his tone. “Rumors spread quickly, as I’m sure you know. Is it true that the emperor has fallen ill?”
You do nothing more than clear your throat for a moment. Seonghwa is, in the very least, patient as you mull over your response.
“Yes, he has. Many are eager to see his fall, especially those from neighboring regions, so I’m sure you understand my suspicions when you asked of our defenses.”
“I assure you that I’m not after anything unsavory. It… saddens me to hear he has fallen ill, but I’m sure his son would be an ample replacement if the need arises.”
You nearly laugh. It seems the truth of your brother’s demise has not reached many, even if your father’s illness has.
“What would become of you then, Seonghwa? Are you not in line for the throne?”
“It—” he cuts short and looks off to the side as though to weigh what he aims to say next, “— it’s not a position I can see myself in if I’m being honest. I was raised for it simply because I’m an only child, but I would truly hate to be forced out of my homeland for a position I don’t even care for, even at the behest of my parents.”
“You would refuse the title of Emperor simply because you’re afraid to be a little homesick?”
“Do you wish to stay in Taimatsu for the rest of your life, Emiko?”
“Maybe home is more a prison than you imagine, Seonghwa. While you can pick and choose when you leave and return to your home region, I don’t have that luxury. I didn’t choose to come here out of my own volition — it was chosen for me. And yes, I wanted to come here, desperately so, because I don’t simply get to leave and return as I see fit. I merely think that you ought to be grateful you were born as a man in our society, as one with a high station in life that comes with freedoms unlike me. You might not have it easy, per se, but you do have it far easier than I do. Being ungrateful towards the positions you were born into makes you sound more like a petulant child than a man with any sort of integrity or tact.”
Seonghwa’s eyes blaze at the direct accusation, and it seems you’ve rendered him more than a little speechless at that moment right then. His jaw shifts under your gaze.
“The Wolf and the Fox are Jeong Yunho and Wooyoung, respectively, although Wooyoung does not take kindly to being referred to with his brother.” The subject change is swift and noticeable, but you grant the man a little reprieve and keep your mouth shut. “Yunho is the one who spoke at the beginning of the night. Next to Jongho, I believe he was the most hopeful that tonight would be enjoyable and to your liking. He took his position as host very seriously this year. Frankly, there’s fairly little to say of him and his character. He is a good man and good at what tasks are given to him. If I had to speak out of line for a moment, I would suggest that he is someone fully suited for a position of leadership. His brother, however, is entirely the opposite. I doubt you’ll come into any sort of contact with him tonight.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Who would you rather spend your time with: a group of fawning puppets who worship your every step or someone whose identity is wholly unknown to you?”
“How can I possibly put myself in his shoes when I know nothing about him?” You hum as you quirk a brow at the man before you. When he inhales, you dare to push a little closer to his form. The sudden heat of your body pressed against his makes Seonghwa stutter, and you delight in the shift of power. “If I’m being honest, it sounds as though you are trying to put me off the man on purpose. This isn’t the first time you’ve warned me of him. I believe in the first introductory letter you told me that he has unsavory intentions. Yet now you’re claiming he has absolutely no interest in me. But in the letter he sent to me, he seemed more than a little eager to meet me.”
“And yet it’s my gift you’re wearing and not his,” Seonghwa retorts, almost defensive in how quickly he responds.
“He promised me a game of hide and seek. It would have been far too obvious to expose myself so easily by wearing his gift.” You tuck both hands behind the man’s head, carding your fingers through the neatly styled hair there if only to mess it up a bit. He’s transfixed by your motions — eyes won’t leave your lips, his own parted in wonder as you speak but he doesn’t seem to truly process what you are saying. “He can find me anytime he likes, but I have other business I wish to attend to before I go off with any of you men. So, Seonghwa, keep talking. You have yet to tell me of the rest.”
He swallows roughly around nothing.
“A-Ah, yes, where was I… the Fox. He won’t be joining his brother in a room tonight. For some reason, he opted to pair with the Hawk.”
“The one he fought with last year?”
Seonghwa seems a bit surprised at your knowledge of that particular rumor, but he gives a tiny reluctant nod after a few seconds.
“It’s true that they had a rather verbal and physical disagreement at last year’s event. The Hawk — Kim Hongjoong — he ended up leaving early that night because of it, while Wooyoung sulked about by my side for the remainder of the evening. I wouldn’t say that either of them is particularly violent or hot-tempered. Hongjoong can be blunt to an upsetting degree, but it’s only because he’s rather dedicated to his work. I think it’s because his homeland is constantly suffering some sort of ailment whether it’s genuine disease or revolts, and he’s the only one among us who is already a ruler to a degree.”
“Is he really?”
“Yes, um, he serves as the Daimyo of Mizubitashi and has for several years. Although at the beginning of his reign, he was moreso a figurehead because of how young he was at the time.”
“When did he take the position? How old was he, I mean.”
“Fifteen when his father fell ill, and his uncle served as the official Daimyo until he was eighteen. He’s been formally in the position for nine years now.” It doesn’t slip past your notice that Seonghwa’s demeanor shifts as he speaks about the man. There’s a sort of reverence to his tone, not the kind that implies romantic feelings but the sort that almost shows a sense of jealousy. Perhaps not for the power Hongjoong holds, but rather for the passion the man has for his work — a thing Seonghwa seems to lack in his desire to stay home and be surrounded by utter peace. “Next to Yunho, I would say he’s best suited for the throne, but he tends to resort to burying himself in work when things don’t go his way. I think he would hardly survive in the position of Emperor.”
“I’m sure if the need arose, Yunho could always choose him to be the Shogun. It’s a position that will likely be vacant if the current ruler is to pass.”
Seonghwa’s eyes flicker to yours, and for a moment, you feel as though you can see into his soul.
“But I’m sure you know the Emperor doesn’t just sit around at home all he wants… there are certain duties he has, but more often than not he’s not even in the palace. He takes vacations in certain regions from time to time. Oh, and there’s also the matter of religious trips to the outskirts. He makes that pilgrimage once a year. So, Park Seonghwa, perhaps there is a reason for you to be competitive yet?” You let the words sit long enough for the man to mull over them, but before he can ask you another question, you beat him to the chase. “If Wooyoung won’t be joining his brother tonight, then who will?”
“Ah, the Raven,” Seonghwa mutters. He clears his throat before speaking again, as though trying to shake the previous topic from his mind. “Song Mingi. He hails from Kamihoshi, and I’m sure I don’t need to offer any history lessons to you.”
“Hardly, but I’ll admit I’m a bit curious as to what you would say. As in, your opinion on the region.”
“It’s quite far from my own home, so I honestly don’t have any experience with the land itself. Not to mention how it came into existence long before I was born. Concerning the way it came into existence however… I would say the Emperor did well with the situation presented to him. Three regions were all warring over the same section of land. There was no way to please everyone in that situation, and to simply decide to make it into its own land was probably the safest and smartest choice at the time.”
“Yes, and it’s proved to be quite profitable over the last two-hundred forty years, hasn’t it?”
“Has it only been that long? I thought it was over three hundred now.”
You can’t contain the laugh that pushes through your lips, and you dip your head forward to rest against Seonghwa’s shoulder.
“We sound old and decrepit talking about things like this.”
“I’m afraid we do,” Seonghwa laughs back, words coming out in a faint murmur. “To talk on Mingi directly, he’s constantly learning. I wouldn’t say he’s lesser compared to any one of us — in fact, quite the opposite. He’s brilliant in his own right, and I’ve seen him learn things in one sitting that would take me days if not weeks. He has not been a prince since birth though like the rest of us have.”
“Well, it only received a formal name recently, correct? In the last fifty or so years?”
“Yes, before then it was simply farmers and peasants who had no formal Daimyo, and Mingi’s family was among those who requested that the land be handed over to the workers rather than the other Daimyos. It was his father, however, who forced a position of power for Kamihoshi, which is what gave the land a name and a formal ruler.”
“I imagine that wasn’t met with eager reverence.”
“Quite the opposite,” Seonghwa whispers. His tone is enough to ward you off further questions on the topic, as well as the dismal expression that takes over his features. “Mingi is a kind and gentle soul, all things considered. The kindest I’ve ever met by far, even though he comes from a place so full of unrest. I think he’s seen enough strife and pain in his life. Yunho looks after him well; they’re rather close friends, and I believe that Yunho sees a bit of himself in Mingi. Perhaps he thinks to keep Mingi from straying down the same paths that he took.”
“A savior complex, or does he merely want to help?”
Seonghwa cracks a smile.
“It’s difficult to say, milady. There are always two sides to a coin. But I believe that covers all the princes within our circle. So might I ask one last question?”
“Of course, I believe you’ve earned it, even if you’ve kept me on the dance floor for several songs by now.”
“Ah!” Seonghwa catches himself, eyes going wide in a bout of panic, and you can do nothing but grin to yourself as he pulls back to take your hand in his. “Forgive me, milady, I didn’t mean to keep you on your feet so long. Would you like to sit?”
“No, I’m alright. But I wouldn’t mind that wine now. I think you’re trustworthy enough for me to be sure you won’t attempt to poison me.”
The man before you tucks his free hand behind his back then leans over to press his cherry red lips to the back of your hand. You can barely feel the sensation through your glove, but his hot breath permeates the fabric in a way that excites you a bit.
“I appreciate it dearly, milady, as well as your willingness to dance with me so long.”
You glance off to the side where you left Hideyoshi, but the guardsman is nowhere to be found. You can only hope that he found Ryuunosuke before Choi San managed to, or that your suspicions about the Leopard’s intentions were wholly incorrect.
“I’ll be sure to send the others your way if they complain about my lack of desire to dance for the rest of the night.”
Seonghwa laughs behind his free hand as he settles you into an unused seat near where he originally found you. It’s a quaint little corner, and a private enough one with two armchairs pressed closed to each other in an almost intimate setting. You let your stare linger on the bookshelf just behind the chairs, only long enough to trail over a few of the book titles before returning to staring at Seonghwa as he moves to fetch more wine. You accept the glass he presents when he returns with a soft-sided smile.
“You only have one more question to ask of me, so I hope you’ll make it worthwhile.” You take a sip of wine at the same time that he does, leaving the two of you to rest in a bout of silence before he speaks again.
“Do you find the wine to your liking? I believe Wooyoung mentioned that it’s a regional specialty here.”
“It’s quite nice, yes. We don’t have anything like this back home.” You hum around the rim of your glass before taking another sip. “I hope that wasn’t your question.”
“Not at all. My inquiry is a bit selfish, Emiko.” Seonghwa clears his throat and sets his glass to the side despite only taking one sip from it. “You have given me something of a new perspective, so to speak. Of my duty and position, and what responsibilities are asked of me. Before I make my request, I would ask how long you plan to stay here in Taimatsu?”
“I believe I’ll be staying here at the manor tonight, then arrangements will be made to stay in the outskirts of Senotakaitou.”
“Then, milady — if it’s not too bold to ask, would you be open to staying here at the manor for a few days longer? Every year, the eight of us remain at the host’s home for a week to enjoy each other’s company and catch up. There is still much I would like to discuss with you concerning your homeland, and I have never met anyone from the City of the Dead. I apologize for my curiosity but I simply cannot let an opportunity such as this one slip through my grasps when I have no idea when I will be able to meet one of your people again. I do not intend to tear you away from your lover; he can remain here with you and—”
“That man you speak of is not my lover, but my bodyguard, Seonghwa. You won’t be able to tear him from my side no matter how hard you try.”
“Of course, of course. I don’t need a response from you immediately. You can mull it over and discuss with him throughout the night, and we can… reconvene on the topic tomorrow morning once things are more settled.” He seems to almost reach across the gap between your bodies as though tempted to lay a hand atop your knee, but his movements stop at the last second and Seonghwa pulls back to sit up painfully straight instead. “I promised the others I wouldn’t keep you to myself for the whole night, and I have other business to attend to before we go off in our pairs later, so I will bid you farewell for now, Emiko. I hope that the next time we see each other, you can offer me your real name.”
“We’ll see about that, Seonghwa,” you murmur as the man stands up. You keep your wine glass close to your lips, still sipping at the liquid even when he bows in your direction and steps back out into the crowd. The time alone and to yourself is precious, and you are grateful for it while it lasts. You ought to start weighing your options about what will happen later tonight — which pair you will seek out, you mean — but there’s another bit of nagging information hanging around in the back of your head.
Your cousin, or more particularly, your cousin’s business with the Wolf of Taimatsu.
When you told Hideyoshi that you would take care of the man yourself, you fully intended to do so, yet what Seonghwa shared with you about the man throws you off a bit. Nothing about his description implies any sort of foul play or tendencies towards awful intentions either. Unless Seonghwa is simply unaware of a whole dastardly side to the man, but you find that hard to believe given how knowledge Seonghwa had on all of the princes. So, even though your gut is telling you that he’s harmless and has no plans to kill you, you aim to stay on your guard. With one last sip to your wine, you set the glass aside and push back up to your feet.
For the first time tonight, you will join the hunt fully. It’s nothing like how you circled and toyed with the Fox at the beginning; no, this is a different prowl.
You climb the stairs leading to the balcony with one hand firmly planted on the railing and the other holding the hem of your dress up to keep it from dragging. There aren’t many people up on the second floor — most are still enjoying the festivities downstairs — and when you reach the top of the stairs, the difference in volume hits you instantly. It’s far quieter up here than it was surrounded by the majority of the crowd. With a quick scan of the railing, your gaze settles on your target, and a little huff of laughter escapes you.
He hasn’t moved from the spot you saw him in earlier, and the shorter, orange-haired man is still by his side, hands tucked deep into the pockets of his velvet pants. You don’t move towards the pair yet, however. For the time being, you circle around the opposite end of the balcony, slipping behind the few guests who are lined along the railing while keeping your gaze firmly set on the two men across the way. You find a decent enough stopping place almost directly across from them; it’s a vantage point that will serve you well regardless, and it makes it easy to survey what’s happening on the ground floor as well. As you settle with your elbows against the rail, you lean over the lip enough to peek down at the dance floor. Your Fox with his shiny black hair and mask to match is still perched at the center of the room, although looking down on him from this angle with his brother watching from above, he seems less like a disobedient and independent child and more like an animal trapped in a cage. He’s putting on a show here and now, but you wonder how far that freedom goes, and whether he has any freedom at all outside these walls. After all, he hasn’t budged even an inch since he set foot into that inner circle. With the way the Wolf surveys him, it seems to you that there’s little to no freedom at all.
The subtle dynamic shows itself to you then, and you see a touch of the Wolf’s cruelty that Seonghwa assured you wasn’t there.
“So you keep your fox on a leash,” you murmur, eyes lifting to settle back on the other host of the night. He surely doesn’t hear you, but something in your movements must draw his eye because he lifts his chin to stare across the opening between you.
A smile tugs at the corner of your lips.
You don’t let the eye contact linger any longer than that; you only meant to entice enough to draw his attention and it seems you’ve done exactly that, so your job, for the time being, is done.
It takes only a few minutes for someone to approach you, although it’s not a man you’re after. A complete stranger, one that is unfamiliar, and you immediately know that he isn’t one of your princes based on the wrinkles creasing his features behind his mask.
“My dear lady, you are… exquisite, I must say.” His voice, as well, hints to his age.
“I’m afraid flattery will get you nowhere with me,” you murmur back before staring forward once more.
“Ah, don’t be like that! A few good words from me, and you can have anything you want in life. Money, power, more parties like this one — perhaps even better than this one.”
You almost scoff. There’s fairly little this man could get for you that you don’t already have.
“I noticed you don’t have a drink. Should we rectify that? I brought some special imported wine in from Mizubitashi! Ah, but we’ll have to go back to my room to get it. You don’t mind, do you?”
You can’t very well cause a scene here and now but if you could, the temptation to toss him over the railing is stronger than anything else. You reel on him with a fire in your eyes though, and he laughs — either out of fear or mockery, you cannot tell.
“Inviting a lady back to your room unsolicited reflects badly on the customs of our homeland.”
Despite your mouth being open to retort, the words do not come from you. The man before you snaps his attention just past your shoulder.
“I hardly expect to take criticism from a child.”
“Yet you will take it from your Daimyo.”
You inhale sharply and shift to look back as well, finding a suit of blue velvet in your peripherals, and it only takes a moment to process who it is standing behind you currently. There’s a flicker of disappointment in your gut as you were hoping to find the Hawk before he found you himself, although now that doesn’t seem all too important. Perhaps you still have a chance yet and he isn’t aware of your identity.
“A-Ah, my lord, I had — I had no idea it was you, you see! The mask kept me from seeing you properly, I’m sure you understand, and—”
“I’m sure I understand what you were intending to do with this lady as well.”
The man lets out a frantic laugh, and it echoes for far too long to be a natural, unforced sound.
“Just drinks! Our wine is delightful, as I’m sure you know!”
It’s hard to remain unbothered by the scene unfolding in front of your eyes solely because of the way the orange-haired man reaches out to grab the older gentleman by the collar and yanks him down to be eye level. You think back to Seonghwa specifically noting that this man was not quick to temper: it seems quite the opposite from where you’re standing.
“I might not be an official host tonight, but I was sent over here by one because one of my own people was harassing another guest.”
You lean back to look past the Hawk’s shoulder and stare back across the balcony. Jeong Yunho still stands there, eyes trained on your form as you move, and you let out a huff of air.
“If you wish to keep all your appendages and extremities intact, then I suggest you be on your best behavior from here on out.”
The older man stumbles a bit as he’s shoved back, but he’s quicker to steady himself and grovel at the feet of his Daimyo like a child scorned. The power would intimidate you, if it weren’t something you witnessed firsthand for so many years. You do have to bite back a laugh, however, and turn your face into your shoulder when you remember you don’t have your fan with you to shield your expression.
To grovel at the feet of a Daimyo like this… what would you do at the throne of the Emperor?
You don’t see the Hawk turn this man away, but when you do look back up after recovering from your amusement, he’s long gone and only the orange-haired man remains beside you.
“My savior,” you coo, throwing a bit of exaggeration into your tone for added effect. A hand lands on the Hawk’s arm as well, quickly followed by the other as it comes to rest on his forearm at the same time, and you loop an arm through his elbow with little effort as he just lets it happen. “I’m glad I didn’t have to resort to becoming violent myself. That hardly befits a lady at these sort of events.”
“The look you gave him alone was enough to prove that you could handle the issue yourself,” the man murmurs. His body is stiff against yours especially as you press a cheek into his shoulder, but he does nothing to pull away from you still. “You should thank the host for asking me to intervene instead.”
“Hm, yes, but you’re the one who took care of the matter. I can thank you as well regardless.”
“It’s merely my job.”
“One you have to uphold often, I presume?”
The man lifts his free hand to his head and combs through the wavy locks atop his head.
“More often than I should.” He looks off to the side and back across the balcony. “I ought to return to my companion now that that issue is taken care of.”
“Take me over to him, hm?” It’s posed as a question, and the man on your arm is quick to fulfill your request without another word spoken. “Are the two of you close? You and host, I mean.”
“Yes, quite. We’ve known each other for many years.”
“And he’s a man of good intention?” you prod further, peeking over at the Hawk to gauge his reaction.
“Too good for his station in life. Our line of work asks us to play dirty sometimes.”
“Oh yes, I’m well aware. But that’s what makes it fun, isn’t it? Playing games and finding new methods to get ahead… you can’t cheat at chess, but you can tip the scales in your favor.” You watch his features twist, and he seems to realize something then and there as you speak. You match his curious stare with a thin smile.
Then, he’s moving you further from Yunho and the railing, hand tightening around your elbow more and more with each step, and you can’t keep a soft giggle from tumbling out of your lips. He persists in his path until the two of you reach one of the branching hallways off to the side of the second floor. He wastes no time in pressing your body into the wall, not bothering to try to find an empty room and instead settling for something quite scandalously public. Your chest flutters with anticipation. There’s no point in trying to conceal your amusement, but it doesn’t stop you from trying to lift the back off your hand to your mouth. Your partner snatches you by the wrist and slams your arm into the wall beside your head. It’s not enough force to hurt, merely to excite, and you feel your smile falter a hair.
“Kim Hongjoong,” you say although it comes out as a breathless whisper. “Checkmate, Hawk.”
“Who gave you my identity?”
“No one. Inference only.”
“Who told you my name?” he hisses again, pushing a bit more force into his tone.
“The Owl. I gathered everything else from your brief conversation with the man who accosted me. Daimyo, Mizubitashi… it added up. Not the great predator chasing a weak little mouse as you thought? It seems we switched positions for the night, hm?”
“I believe I humbly requested that you wear my gift as I don’t like playing cat and mouse games.”
“It was hardly humble,” you murmur with a bit of an incline to your chin. Hot breath ghosts over your lips as he huffs out his annoyance in your face. “But that’s alright. I don’t mind a bit of arrogance as long as you have the spine to back it up.”
Hongjoong’s eyes blaze as he stares back at you.
“I have more than enough to back it up — you have no need to worry about such childish matters.”
“And yet you stand before me whining about my choice not to wear your gift. Childish? Hardly. I made a choice based on the information and options presented to me.”
“And who did you choose then?” He persists, and that piques your interest a bit. To the point where you think it’s possible for you to tease him a bit further here and now.
You push up onto your toes and force your face further into his space now, lips parted as you tongue at the back of your teeth before saying —
“The Fox.”
His pretty dark eyes burn with a beautiful flame in that moment.
“Do you think this is a jo—”
As he leans in, you reach a hand up between your bodies and grip his chin firmly between your thumb and fingers.
“It doesn’t pay to be jealous over a woman who isn’t even yours to begin with,” you murmur. Your lips are close enough to skate over his without any real contact. Even with him still holding you to the wall with his own hand, it’s clear that you have power on your side. “Nor does it pay to treat me like I’m a slab of meat for you all to fight over. I can’t fathom why the two of you would willingly choose to be in a room together even if at my expense, since you can’t seem to control your temper at the mere mention of his name. Give me one good reason why I ought to visit the two of you tonight. It seems like nothing more than a dick measuring feud that has nothing to do with me.”
“His interest with you is purely physical, whereas I already told you I intended to speak with you about your homeland. The reason I was paired with that prostitute of a prince was to keep him from trying to initiate anything with you as he refused to be with his brother tonight.”
“What if I wanted to lay with that prostitute, hm? Would you stop me then?”
“I lay no claim to you. As you already said, you are free to do whatever you wish. Although I may be blunt, I am honest and genuine in what I’m telling you. My people need your king’s protection, and I would do anything to give that to him.”
“I see you aren’t too proud to refuse help then,” you say through a sigh, releasing your hold on his chin and settling back against the wall. “Then if I choose to go with you tonight, you hope to discuss negotiations?”
“I hope to discuss your homeland and customs so that I know how to find favor with your Shogun.” It’s a surprisingly genuine and honest answer that has you smiling a little in sympathy.
“I will keep that in mind then. You are the only one so far to actually tell me of your intentions should I choose you tonight. I’m grateful for that honestly.”
You think to say something else but it comes up short as you’re interrupted by a separate voice.
“Hongjoong. Is something the matter?”
Both of you shift to the source of the newcomer. It’s your host, Yunho, who stands at the mouth of the hallway with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. His sheer height and broad shoulders are enough to block a good chunk of the hallway, and you can hardly see past his body to see whether other guests are watching on. The fingers around your wrist fall away in the blink of an eye.
“No. We were merely talking.”
“Seems like it was quite the intense discussion,” Yunho comments, but it’s a rather teasing tone.
“No matter.” Hongjoong steps back with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’ll leave the two of you to talk. As for you, milady, I hope we can speak further later on in the night.”
He tries to move away but you lean forward before he’s out of reach, catching him by the wrist with a huff. You stop yourself before saying anything though. What you want to say will expose you too much, will only raise further suspicion about your identity, and you aren’t prepared for the curtain to fall quite yet. So you drop his hand with a murmured apology and a lowered chin.
What I want to say is... I will make sure your people receive our help regardless of what happens tonight.
“Hongjoong,” Yunho continues as the shorter man tries to dodge out of the hallway. “You’re my eyes and ears, remember? Try not to cause any issues this time around.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll keep an eye on him. Don’t worry.”
The blond before you huffs out a laugh and drops his chin to his chest as Hongjoong sidesteps him fully and slips back out onto the balcony.
“I apologize profusely for his shortness. And I don’t mean his height.”
You hate that a laugh bubbles up in your chest at such a joke, but the twinkle in the man’s eye seems to imply he knows you’re amused regardless.
“Are you finding everything to your liking? I’m afraid I know fairly little about your homeland, otherwise I would have catered more to your taste.”
You don’t question how he figured you out so quickly, but you try to keep your surprise to yourself. With a small nod, you push off the wall and cross your arms underneath your chest.
“It’s nice. Busier than anticipated.”
“Is it stifling?”
You bite the inside of your cheek.
“I admit that I’m more used to how open everything is back home. Our parties typically take place outdoors.”
It’s not perfectly quiet in this corner of the mansion, even if more secluded.
Yunho pulls a hand out of one of his pockets and extends it in your direction with his palm facing the floor.
“We can step outside for some fresh air, if you’d like.”
“I would appreciate that,” you say through a soft-sided smile, slipping your gloved hand into his bare one.
“I hope you don’t mind stepping through one of these rooms to get there. Each one has its own balcony for the guests to use as they see fit. Should you stay the night, you’ll have access to your own as well.”
“I think my guests and I will be staying the night yes. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to show me to a room I can stay in tonight now?”
Yunho grins at you, a little half-smile that makes the skin around his eyes crinkle. The deep corners of his lips dip in a bit more to match the smile, then his features relax once more. It leaves you a little bewildered. For someone who is called a Wolf and supposedly feared and renowned, his features are soft around the edges and hardly angular. From the few glimpses you got at his brother, Wooyoung seems far more intimidating than this man here. He’s undeniably handsome though, and you can’t kid yourself into thinking you wouldn’t fall for Yunho’s charms yourself.
“Of course. Will you be needing separate rooms or...?”
A kind way of asking whether you are preoccupied with someone — either romantically or sexually.
“Two separate rooms. My bodyguard will keep watch in my room during the night.”
“Ah, brilliant. Right this way then. I’ll show you to a more private area where you can rest tonight undisturbed.” Yunho shifts your hand smoothly, moving it up his arm with his free hand until you take the hint and loop your arm through his elbow as he leads you further down the hallway. He doesn’t speak during, which surprises you some as he strikes you as the talkative type, but it does give you ample opportunity to keep analyzing his features from the side like this.
A single earring dangles beside his head, one that you notice doesn’t have a match on the other side. While it is a rather simple and unassuming adornment, the twinkle of the lights against its jewels implies diamonds and sapphires — gems that are hardly cheap and imply exactly how wealthy this man is.
It is, however, hard to say whether he is the more handsome of the two brothers. You see charm in both of them and find the allure in each as well. You aren’t too ashamed to admit that you would lay with either of them, if given the chance. But while his younger brother holds a sort of youthful and playful wile, the kind that makes you want to misbehave and do things you aren’t supposed to do, Yunho has a more mature and refiled look about him. Regal features with a softly sloping nose, a strong chin, and pretty lips that jut out enough for you to be curious about their feel and taste. He fully looks the part of a prince, and perhaps that it what fuels you to crave him a bit more carnally without playing games.
Sadly, you can’t jump straight to that sort of thing right away and you have yet to figure out what his intentions are — whether they’re good or not, and what his ties with your cousin are exactly without being too overt and suspicious. Letting him lead you to an unknown corner of this palace of a home is a test in and of itself, you suppose.
Your staring doesn’t go unnoticed, it seems, because after a bit, he tilts his head in your direction and peeks at you out the corner of his eye.
“Do you wish to ask something of me or would you rather have me allow you to admire in silence?”
“I was curious,” you start, “to see if you lived up to the rumors and expectations.”
“And? Do I?”
“I suppose the people weren’t wrong, no.” You fix your chin forward and look down the hallway now, an attempt to preoccupy yourself before you accidentally start ogling Yunho once more. He brings you to a staircase at the end of the hall, one that bends and curves upwards, and you lift the corner of your sweeping dress before stepping up alongside the man.
“I’m not asking for the opinion of other people, my dear. Merely yours.”
“Are you asking if I find you to my liking, just like everything else this evening?”
Yunho pulls the two of you to a halt on the midsection of the stairs. His shoes scuff over the wood floor as he moves to stand in front of you. It’s far quieter here: the music is distant, the loud voices are faded and forgotten, and even the air feels still to match the silence.
“I don’t think I’ve had enough of a taste to answer that question yet,” you continue, voice quiet to keep from disturbing the thin lines of tension between you. Under the bright yellow lights, you can see Yunho’s pupils blow out a bit. You pull your arm back with a grin and tuck your hands behind your back. “Do you agree?”
He takes a step towards you unprompted, and you match it with a step backwards until your back hits the stair railing. Hands fly up to grasp the wood behind your back. Yunho’s toes brush yours before his hands come to rest on either side of your own on the railing. He is leaning into your space now, in a way that floods your cheeks with heat and makes you blink up into his dark eyes. If you reach your little finger out now, you could brush his thumb, and that’s exactly what you end up doing as he leans down further. His eyes aren’t on yours — rather your mouth, your cheeks, your chin, the tip of your tongue that darts out to poke at the corner of your lips.
The heady weight of anticipation sits heavy on your shoulders.
Then, Yunho steps back.
“My apologies, I — I let myself get carried away.”
“Not much different from your brother, hm?”
Yunho leans further away as though scandalized by the concept. A moment later, he’s shoving his hands deep into his pockets and turning back to the other half of the staircase. You can spot the red tinge on the tips of his ears from where you’re standing.
“It seems I am in need of that fresh air as well,” he says through a shaky laugh, and this time you allow yourself to laugh with him. “Shall we continue on, milady?” You step up behind him, feet overlapping his only briefly as you follow him up, but you only get the courage to speak your mind when you both reach the top of the stairs.
“I would like to ask about your brother. Only briefly, I promise.”
“Of course, milady, I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have,” Yunho replies through a hum, and it’s enough for you to trust that he’s being honest.
“I gather the impression that he does not enjoy his princely duties? Yet he seems to enjoy the social aspects of being a prince just fine.”
“He enjoys people and being around them, as well as the attention they give him because he’s a prince. I don’t think he cares that they only kiss up to him for status and benefits of their own.”
“What makes you say that?”
Yunho pauses his walking to look back at you over his shoulder.
“As the firstborn, I was the one who got all the attention growing up. Wooyoung got attention when he misbehaved, as he learned quickly, and because he wanted attention, he would constantly act out of line. When it came to instances where our parents were not involved, he learned quickly that he could get attention by using his status to his advantage. He opened the doors to letting people use him, thus he doesn’t care much when they do so.”
The silence that follows is heavy with implication that doesn’t need to be stated.
“I think these rooms will do. They’re just down the hall from where I’ll be staying tonight, so should you need anything during the night, I’ll be nearby. Shall we step inside?”
You offer a quick nod in response and bring your hands forward to rest in front of your body. The velvet has overstayed its welcome, if you’re being honest, but you’re reluctant to pull them off in case the weather out on the balcony is chilly. For now, you keep them on as you step into the elaborately decorated guest room. It’s far more than you are used to — a raised bed for starters, along with at least three full sized wardrobes and a dresser to match, not to mention there is a bedside table on either side of the enormous bed. The walls are coated in some dramatic red pattern that is hard on the eyes, but it’s at least dim in the room so you don’t have to be bombarded for long. Armchairs, a table, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and more standing floor lamps in the corners, yet the most absurd thing in your eyes is the loveseat at the foot of the bed. You’ve lived in different sorts of palaces your whole life, but this sort of extravagance is far beyond anything you are used to. You imagine you would suffocate under all of it if you had to stay longer than a week here.
“I imagine it’s quite different from what you’re used to?” Yunho inquires, and you wonder if you let your discomfort show too much on your features.
“It is... different, but not in a bad way.”
He bites back a laugh, lifting a hand to cover his mouth as he motions towards the door on the other side of the room. You move when he does and keep your eyes firmly set on his back as you have no further interest in looking around the room any longer.
“I believe we are extravagant in different ways back home. I’ve never been out of my region myself, so being able to have this new perspective is appreciated.”
“Is that so? I’ve only been to Senotakaitou once or twice, so I haven’t had the chance to fully see and engross myself in your culture.” A gust of cold wind hits you as Yunho opens the balcony door, and you pull your arms tighter together as you step out onto the marble-tiled floor. His voice falls in volume with his next statement, in a way that implies sympathy. “I imagine I’ll be asked to go back soon too.”
You know he’s referring to your father and his current state of health. You answer his words with a sad smile.
“Yes, I imagine you all will. All the crown princes will be asked to come if something worse happens.” You exhale a sigh, and the air puffs out in a white cloud in front of your face. Dropping your hands to the railing, you stare out over the scenery without saying a word for some time. Yunho doesn’t interrupt your quiet musing, but he does come to stand beside you with his own hands pushed into his pockets.
Night has fallen by now, so it’s become a bit difficult to truly see the scenery that Taimatsu has to offer. Still, you can see enough of the forest ahead and surrounding the manor like a protective seal of sorts. As you told Seonghwa, you see hardly any dense foliage like this back home — the farthest extent of it is within the safe and pampered walls of the palace where the gardens are, along with the sparse orchards contained in the furthest wall. Those are all maintained and watched over however; the forest before you now is unkempt and unknown probably to most.
“I take it you hunt?”
“Yes, milady, quite often.”
“In these forests?”
“Sometimes. There are other hunting regions within the area as well, but this is obviously the most accessible one for us. My brother comes along as well.”
“The tone of your letter didn’t imply you got along that well,” you murmur. You dare to glance over at the man out the corner of your eye, only to find him staring out over the trees.
“A bit of friendly competition from time to time doesn’t hurt, and I think it helps our relationship from festering into something worse.”
Maybe it’s the fresh air or simply a bit of braveness creeping into your system, but you find that feeling of adrenaline trickling back now. The excited kind, the one that wants to go back on the prowl, and you twist in your spot to let the rail press into your lower back now. The position is evocative of the one he put you in back on the stairs. You wonder if he notices it as well when his gaze slips over to you.
“Is that what tonight is as well? Friendly competition?” The grin on your lips is a little more than facetious. Yunho is silent for so long that you think you have overstepped your boundaries for a moment, but then he steps forward into your space. His hands leave his pockets to grip the railing, and now it truly it the position he had you in on the stairs. This time, though, there is far more privacy and less reservation about what you’re certain will happen. Just to be sure, you slip a foot between his legs, close enough to wrap around the back of his heel if he gets any smart ideas and tries to push you over the edge of the balcony.
“I should hope you value yourself well enough to know that you aren’t a plaything for any of us.”
“You can hardly speak for everyone, can you?”
“I don’t view you as a prize to be won, darling. Do the others’ opinions matter right now when it’s just the two of us?”
“I think I should be asking you that considering how I’ve given you many chances to be a little bold, yet you still won’t do it.” As you speak, your head falls to the side to accentuate the crooked grin painting your lips, and Yunho’s chest stutters as his breath becomes uneven. “You worry about me likening you to your brother, but frankly it’s only natural. I want you and... I get the sense that you want me as well.” You press a hand flat against his stomach, pushing against the soft satin there and dragging up until you can grab him by the collar. His instincts are enough to keep his forehead from colliding roughly with yours, but you still feel the heat of his breath pouring over your face as the distance between your bodies is minimized further. “Checkmate, Wolf, now let’s begin the real game.”
“I don’t want you to think ill of me — o-or think this is all I desire from you because, by the divines, I desire you desperately.” The weight of his stare seems to shoot straight through you, as though your mask isn’t there at all and he can see every inch of you without barrier.
“Stop thinking so hard, Yunho. I want you to take me as you see fit. If we did things my way, I think you would be the one to think ill of me considering the things I like in bed. Whatever it is you want… you can have it for tonight.”
At long last, a large hand grips your waist with enough strength to make you feel a little breathless. You feel your body move before it truly processes, but the cold air from outside dissipates in a few moments as Yunho pulls you back indoors. The door barely shuts before you find yourself pressed against the engraved wood, and this time, Yunho’s chest is fully flush with your own.
“We don’t have enough time to do all the things I wish to do,” he hisses through gritted teeth. The flush on his cheeks is beautiful under the chandelier, and you can’t keep from reaching up to thumb over the reddened skin just below his mask.
“Let’s make do with the time we do have then.”
You’re the one to pull Yunho’s face to yours and slot your lips over his soft ones. It’s a largely innocent kiss — one that tests the waters and finds the end of a fishing line waiting in the abyss. Yunho slides his arm fully around your waist. His tongue brushes over your lower lip just as he pulls you off the door. You sigh into his mouth, allowing him full access to explore your wet cavern without care now, and you aren’t deluded enough to think he hasn’t done this before. He knows his way around your mouth too well, around your lips and with his hands, how he roams your body in search of the laces that hold your dress to your skin. You can’t find it in you to care about any of that either; not as your own hands are shrugging his fancy blazer off and digging to pull his shirt out of where it’s tucked into his pants. You both move with a fervor that implies there is an unspoken countdown between you, and there very well might be considering how you’re supposed to make a decision later on tonight about which men to spend more time with. For now, you let your senses be devoured by the heady sensation of want for the man in your arms.
The backs of your knees hit that damned loveseat, and it’s that exact moment that you get your first gasp of air as Yunho pulls off you. Vision swimming, you pant for deep breaths of fresh air while Yunho grabs hold of your hips with his impossibly large hands. The ease with which he flips you around and onto your knees makes the coil in your gut furl tighter. Then, he’s back to working at the laces of your dress, a frustrated patience because he knows he can’t ruin the garment or manhandle you out of it — not when you still have guests to entertain later on — and you simply let him work with your own hands curled around the back of the loveseat.
“F-Forget the dress, just hike it up over my waist,” you finally say once a grunt of frustration passes through his lips.
“Fuck, okay, okay, hold on.”
The air in the room isn’t particularly chilly but it sure feels that way when it swarms your bare thighs. Yunho pools the black fabric just above your hips, fingers moving lower to nudge your knees further apart on the soft cushion of the loveseat. The way he suddenly freezes after doing so doesn’t surprise you in the slightest because you had nearly forgotten about the knife you were keeping strapped to your leg.
“You’re a smart woman,” he quips through a laugh.
“Hopefully I won’t have to use it on you.”
“I’ll make sure to pleasure you well regardless.” A warm hand smoothes over the skin just beside the strap of the thigh garter. He doesn’t even bother to pull your underwear off either, simply leaves it where it is and only peels it to the side when he drops to his knees behind you.
“What ar—” You cut short with a strangled noise of pleasure. Whatever just passed through your folds was surely not a finger, and you have to blink back over your shoulder just to be sure about what he’s doing. Watching him drag his tongue over your skin just past the curve of your ass doesn’t stifle your shock, but it certainly adds another wave of arousal to your gut. “Oh, you’re a fiend.”
“Had to have a taste, doll,” he murmurs through a grin. “You’ll need the prep anyway.”
You’re half-tempted to ask to return the favor, maybe to switch positions so he can have his way while you have yours, but he gets to his feet in the next moment instead.
“I’m gonna take my mask off… don’t wanna chafe your pretty skin with it.”
Teeth sink into your lower lip. You can’t take yours off yet, simply out of your customs and especially since this man is a prince — he’s not allowed to see your face bare without your fan in the very least and you left it back on the carriage outside.
“Are you opposed to the idea of me blindfolding you? Afraid you can’t see my face in its entirety quite yet, lovely, unless you can promise not to look?”
And that’s a far suitable solution in your eyes.
“Blindfold.” Your eyes find Yunho’s for a split second, piercing through the slits in each other’s masks to meet in a moment of crackling sexual tension. His tongue darts out to lick over his lips. Then he turns with a muttered string of profanities and rushes to file through the dresser against the wall. You could almost laugh at how ridiculous your position is, along with how quickly the night has progressed or more specifically your time with Yunho in particular, but that all seems pointless when he spins back around with what looks to be a silk scarf in his hands. Swallowing the lump in your throat is harder than you imagined. “You can just tie it around my mask,” you say, but your tone doesn’t climb any louder than a whisper.
“What would you like me to do?” Yunho asks as he slips the silk around your head. The question stops you in your tracks for a moment, because you aren’t sure what exactly he’s referring to until he leans over your back and presses his lips to your ear. “How shall I pleasure you, darling? With my hands? My tongue? Perhaps both?” His crotch is digging into the flesh of your ass at the same time, pushing the thick bulge of what must be his dick into your body, and you have no doubts about the size of what he’s keeping tucked into his pants for now. You reach around your back to grab at him. He hisses through his teeth when your palm drags over the stiff tent in his pants.
“That, perhaps?” You quip in return. He robs you of your vision almost entirely in the next second, and the silk comes to settle around your intricate mask. It’s thick enough to block a majority of what you can see, but there’s still a bit of haziness through the material, enough to keep you from becoming fully disoriented. Yunho’s hands slide down your back to settle on the bare skin of your thighs. Your own hand is knocked away by his, and you fold it back over the lip of the sofa without complaint.
“I would like this to be fully pleasurable for you, my dear, and if I take you unprepared, I guarantee it will be anything but that.”
“Ah, such a gentleman, so thoughtful and kind,” you singsong. You drop your torso enough to let your cheek rest atop the back of your hand. “Prepare me however you like, just try not to wear me out too much as I’m expected to entertain you all later.”
“You don’t have to do a thing, doll. We’re meant to be the ones doing the entertaining. You can sit and look pretty if that’s all you wish to do.”
Funny how that’s all you are expected to do back home as well, and what you’re destined to do in the future on top of it. For a moment, you entertain the thought — these men invited you here to host you, and while you have a job to do, it requires fairly little effort on your part to gather intel. Sitting back and allowing them to pleasure you is demure, yes, but why not take the opportunity while it presents itself?
Right now, Yunho is offering to do the same with a different sort of pleasure too, and this one you fully intend to take him up on, especially as he drops back to his knees and secures his hands around the fronts of your thighs. You get to take one deep inhale before he’s pulling your body back to meet his lips, and his tongue dips down to slide through the wetness along your folds. A breathy moan tumbles out of you, a sound that breaks the heady silence in the room, and you shift you face to press your forehead to your arm instead. Eyes squeezed shut, you sink your teeth into your tongue to keep further noises from pushing their way out. Yunho makes it awfully difficult — his tongue caresses the inside of your folds just enough to brush over your most sensitive bundle of nerves. Your thighs tremble with the effort of keeping them spread and open for the man, but the urge to clench them together around Yunho’s head is very much present. And with there being nothing for your eyes to focus on, you’re stuck with the heightened feeling of your other sensations, more specifically touch. So when a finger sinks into your hole and brushes along your walls, you whimper through your teeth.
“You can be as loud as you like,” Yunho murmurs, pulling back just enough to press his lips to the closest patch of skin he can reach. “It’s just the two of us here, and everyone else is downstairs enjoying the party.” He pauses, and second finger slides into your tight heat alongside the first. “You can enjoy yourself to the fullest as well.”
“A-Ah, Yunho…” His fingers curl inside you with the next drag of his tongue before he’s forcing the wet muscle into your core as well. The noise that leaves your lips is obscene, only muffled by the fabric of your glove. You close your teeth around the velvet. It’s uncomfortable on your tongue but it gets the job done — at least enough to keep you from filling the room with your noises. He thankfully doesn’t keep running his mouth or distracting you from the pleasure. You could admittedly stay here like this at least until you orgasm, but Yunho seems to have other plans for you as his fingers slip out to wrap back around your thighs. You don’t consider yourself to be all too petite or delicate, nothing like what most people would view princesses and royalty to be, so feeling how much of your thigh can fit in his hands makes you feel feel, for lack of a better word, tiny. You felt it a bit earlier, when he was pushing you down over the loveseat with ease, and now that rush of heady lust floods your system once more. If you had more time and could be more carefree, you might ask him to rough you up just a little, tug your hair or leave deep impressions of his long fingers in your skin.
“Think you can take me now, darling?” He exhales over your folds in a way that feels purposefully teasing, but you won’t complain considering how he replaces it with something much larger a moment later. His chest presses down on your back, and the weight pushes you further into a strained curve of your spine. Words die on your lips, a request for him to pull and tug on your neatly crimped and styled hair, but you don’t let it come to life. He’s continuing to tease you with the head of his cock, and while you can’t visibly see it, the feeling alone — along with what you saw when you still had the blindfold off — it’s more than enough to give you a few guesses about his size. Hands come down on either side of your own, and you can only envision how it would look from a third perspective. Yunho towering over you and caging you in with his arms, all while still standing behind where you’re perched on the loveseat. It’s lewd and filthy and entirely arousing because with nothing for you to directly look at, you’re left with these few bits of imagination.
“Give me all you got, big boy,” you answer through as much of a giggle as you can muster right now.
The slow drive of his cock sinking into your wet heat is enough to make you feel a little light-headed. He’s patient in a way that drives you insane, and you enjoy it about as much as you would enjoy watching paint dry.
“Please, hurry,” you plead, patting around behind you in search of his hips. Instead, you’re met with a hand that grabs hold of your wrist and pushes it down into the cushion of fabric made up of the skirt of your dress.
“Should I?” It comes out like a purr, something more feline than canine, and you almost forget what sort of predator he’s meant to be. “Should I give you all that and more? Wanna feel my cock stretching you open and filling you up?”
“Suddenly s-such a tease, are you?”
Yunho laughs, a sound that is loud and clear in your ears, then he moves his hand to grip the leftover fabric of his makeshift blindfold. It’s not quite the same as what you had been hoping for initially, but the second he yanks your head back, your neck burns the same as it would if it had been your hair.
“Am I? I can do so much worse, doll.” Your heart pumps wildly in your chest, a steady thumping rhythm that rattles against your ribcage and makes you breathe heavier. “If it’s too much… just tell me to stop.”
“I’m sure I won’t be doing that,” you whisper, lips barely moving. “I like it rougher than you might think.”
“Is that so?” The hand on your blindfold tugs harshly, and the full length of his dick sinks into you completely. Your moans are simultaneous with Yunho’s, a pretty chorus of pleasure, and though you want to drop your chin to your chest, you find yourself wholly incapable of doing that much because of how he’s gripping you. “Who could imagine that I would get so lucky in having you join us here? If you aren’t careful, I might believe we’re made for each other, doll.”
“So fuck me already then.” Your words are breathed out through a whimper, a quiet noise that isn’t quite enough to escape Yunho’s notice, but it also prompts the man to start moving his hips against yours. And if you thought him actually fucking you would be enough to shut him up, you would have been sorely mistaken. If anything, he only runs his mouth worse than before, not that his lips aren’t preoccupied in other places on your body.
With each tug of your blindfold and thrust of his thick member into your cunt, he rewards you with a throaty groan and filthy words.
“You feel that, yeah? How well my cock fits inside you? Your walls are squeezing me so nicely, darling, so sweet and tight around me.” The hand he left braced against the loveseat moves, and you only notice because it shifts to wrap around the base of your tensed throat. “Could fuck you in every possible position and still not have enough. Think you can keep up with that?”
“Ngh, Y-Yun—”
In your defense, you try to get some sentence out, although you aren’t even sure what you were attempting to say. It’s replaced by a blinding and searing pleasure inside you, as Yunho angle his thrusts in a new way that also happens to drag over your sweet spot with newfound vigor. You devolve into a litany of moans and whimpers, little punched-out sounds that match the pace of skin slapping against skin.
“Could fill you up and fuck you full of my cum so you have no choice but to be mine. Get you nice and pregnant, yeah?”
“Y-You won’t,” you hiss out through moans, and Yunho exhales a chuckle.
“I won’t,” he confirms with a surprising amount of genuineness to his tone. “Not unless you ask me to. Won’t do anything unless you ask it of me.”
That turns you on more than you would like to admit, but it’s blocked and scattered by the pleasure you’re feeling in the same moment. So when his cock plunges back into your cunt, you blame your orgasm on how good he feels inside you rather than his words themselves. His voice persists, but you tune it out to sink further into your euphoria. His thrusts come to a halt, but he doesn’t leave your walls quite yet, not until your body stops clenching around him and trying to pull him deeper into you.
It’s nothing romantic — the way he slips free of your cunt and starts jerking his hand haphazardly over his slick member is nothing idyllic, nor is the way he uses his other hand to drag your underwear further to the side to have more access to your bare skin. He reaches his peak like that and sends spurts of cum over your ass, leaving it to drip down lewdly as he too recovers from his orgasm.
You don’t mind, not really, because it wasn’t about it being romantic or picturesque for you. You both got your pleasure, and you also got an answer that confirms he isn’t about to try to kill you as you had initially imagined.
He murmurs something about fetching a towel from the bathroom. You stay put until he comes back, sighing into the cushion of the loveseat as he wipes you free of his semen with a sort of gentle reverence.
“I wasn’t expecting you to make me cum,” you say to break the silence. Yunho laughs while shifting your underwear back into its original place, and he tugs the skirt of your dress back down to cover your legs once more. Seconds later, your vision returns as well, and the silk around your eyes falls away. You shake your head to dispel a bit of the disorientation you feel. Seeing Yunho’s mask on the edge of the bed confirms that he hasn’t put his back on yet. You give him enough decency and respect to not look up at his exposed face without his permission. He snatches it up soon after.
“I’m afraid your past lovers must have been awfully selfish and poor in bed if they did not give you that much.”
“Hm, maybe they were, maybe they weren’t.” You let him take your hand and guide you into a far more comfortable sitting position on the sofa. It doesn’t last long, as you decide to throw your legs up on the cushion and recline that way, watching Yunho’s back when he carries the towel back to the bathroom. He comes back with his mask firmly set over his face again. “They’re hardly on my mind though.”
“Then I’m quite glad to hear it.”
He leans over where you’re perched on the couch. Long fingers find your chin and tilt your head up to look into his eyes. A sheen of sweat lingers on his forehead, and his hair is just a bit out of place, but no one will notice unless they were keeping track of such minute details.
“Truly… what a maddening effect you have on me.”
“Don’t pretend like I’m one of a kind, prince. I know men and women would surely be chasing your heels for just one chance at a night in your bed.”
One corner of his lips quirks up at that.
“And what do you think of me now that you’ve had a taste?” His lack of denial only proves your point further. You entertain his question nonetheless.
“I find your presence quite enjoyable, and I better understand why so many speak fondly of you.”
“Is that so?” His breath cascades over your lips in a phantom kiss that has you wanting to push up into his mouth.
A knock at the door is what pulls you out of your reverie, and Yunho’s weight against you fades away as he pulls back to stand up straight. You sit up on the bed, throwing your legs over the edge and resituating your dress enough to seem presentable.
“Yes, come in,” Yunho calls after clearing his throat.
It’s a head of fiery orange hair that appears in the doorway next, to your surprise and a fair amount of panic as well.
“Hate to interrupt the private party going on here but…” Hongjoong’s eyes slip past Yunho’s cool and collected form to land on where you sit with narrowed eyes. “It’s time for our esteemed guest to make a decision.”
“Ah, is it time already?” Yunho clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He shifts to look back at where you’re sitting, smile warm. “Then I bid you farewell for now, milady. I hope you won’t keep me waiting but in the event that you do… I hope to see you later on tonight as well.”
He slips past Hongjoong to step outside without so much as looking back at you after that, although you can’t particularly hold it against him in any way. Hongjoong lingers in the doorway, eyes seeking yours.
“Wooyoung is eager to meet you,” he says. You know it isn’t the whole truth — that Hongjoong is just as eager to talk with you, maybe even bordering on desperate if you could see yourself describing the man in such a way. It remains to be seen just how far such desperation goes, however, along with what sorts of intentions the other men have this evening.
Perhaps it is becoming more and more apparent to these men that the power truly lies in your hands tonight.
.♛.
decision two.
.♛.
post-a/n: first off... im sorry this is so LONG??? it got away from me. secondly i hope you all enjoy regardless of length! i know long fics aren't for everyone but i hope you all gave it a shot regardless and stick with me, im hoping future chapters won't be long like this, there was a lot i wanted to accomplish with this one to fit that second decision in! and speaking of the second decision who are you picking and why 🤔 this chapter is obviously obnoxiously long but i tried to introduce at least one of each pair. so you can either make your decision based on a character you've already met or on one you would like to get to know!
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chi no kamenbutoukai: blood masquerade belongs to calypso, hongism 2018-2022 - please do not copy, take, or otherwise steal this work. translating, reposting, or otherwise utilizing this work is not permitted.
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ashotofeuphoria · 3 years ago
Text
Better.
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Pairing: Bf! Yunho x Gf! Reader
Genre: Fluff (self-indulgent sorry)
Word Count: 6.1k (not proofread sorry if it reads weird)
Warnings: one gendered insult (Whore), reader is told to unalive herself as an insult (roughly 8 paragraphs/dialouge in)
Authors Note: This is for all my retail workers who want so desperately to leave their jobs for something better. For all my gals and pals who just want someone to take care of them.
Work was usually bad for you, but today? Today was something else. Maybe it was the added stress of the holiday season working in retail, but patience was wearing thin on everyone, and basic manners seemed to be left at the door. You weren’t inexperienced at your job; you did know what you were doing. Granted, you had only worked there for about half a year, but that was plenty of time to know how everything worked, and to answer the questions you needed to. That didn’t seem to matter though. You were the person standing in front of them. You were their punching bag in those moments, and by God did you take a beating. It started off decent. You were helping on the sales floor, directing people in the right direction, explaining how certain products worked, and how to use them. Answering any questions that you could, being pulled this way and that by customers, all while management delegated youas the do-it-all for the shift. “Everyone else is busy with bigger tasks” they would say, and you had a hard time saying “No”. They knew that.
The first customer that crossed a line was a guy in his twenties. Normally people your age were the easiest to assist. (If they weren’t hitting on you.) You were only doing your job, asking for his email and number for rewards, scanning all his items, and smiling and being friendly. You were paid to do that. You were required to do that. It was your job. You weren’t flirting, surely, he had to know that. It didn’t seem so when he started complimenting you. All you did was smile kindly and continue ringing up his items. It didn’t warrant a response you thought. If you said thank you, he would just continue, he would think you liked what as happening. But he didn’t like the lack of a gratitude to his compliments.
“You’re really full of yourself, huh?” He sneered when he realized you weren’t acknowledging his flirtations.
“Sir- I would lose my job if I-”, you started to defend yourself.
“You just think everyone wants you, I bet you hear it all the time. Love hearing how pretty you are don't you? Fucking Whore.” He barked out.
You just stood there in shock, your eyes tearing up. But you had to take it. There wasn’t much else that could be done except trying to rush him out of the store. You gave him his total, let him swipe his card, and gently handed him his bag, placing the receipt in the bag as you did so.
“Have a good night.” You said lightly, void of all emotion.
“Go kill yourself.” He spat out with a roll of his eyes and a middle finger in the air.
The audacity, the vileness in the statement. You couldn’t hold back all the tears as a few slid down your cheeks. No one had even seen him do it. The one time you needed someone else in the line, it was empty. You squatted down below the counter, acting like you were grabbing something, and gently held your face in your hands, letting out a few shaky breaths, and wiping your tears as they fell. When a minute had passed, you glanced into a drawer pulling out some receipt paper to replace the paper in the printer.
You slowly stood back up hoping your face wasn’t too red, or eyes too puffy. And you proceeded on with your shift like nothing happened. You knew it wasn’t good for a job to wreck this much havoc on your health. You frequently couldn’t take your legally required breaks for lunch because of short staffing and shitty management. You would leave it soon. You had promised your boyfriend you would. You and Yunho have dated for 2 years. He’s seen you change, and he hates seeing you in the condition you’re in. You used to smile more, laugh more, enjoy life more. He knew the job was destroying you, and he tried to remind you of that when he could. But it was a job. It paid the bills. It wasn’t supposed to be heaven on Earth.
Hours passed, and you took your lunch break while walking around the floor working. You were hungry, tired, and counting down the minutes to when you would be able to leave and go home. It was busy in the store, but all the customers seemed to know what they needed and were in and out quickly. Until an old man walked in, leaning heavily on his cane. You were trained to assist the elderly, mothers, and mothers to be when they entered the store. It was not only because the company viewed these customers as liabilities but because, they say, if you treat these customers right, others take notice. Or at least that’s the idea. But no one really cares.
“Welcome in sir, can I help you-“ you started out chirpy before he interrupted.
“Where is the man in charge! I don’t want your help. I want a man who knows what he’s doing.” He scoffed.
Okay, fair. He wants to talk to management. Easy, you'll just call a manager up to deal with him.
“No problem, sir, let me call for our manager and she can help you.” You politely informed him as you reached for your headset to page your manager. You started speaking into it lowly, ‘manager to the front entrance please, a man is requesting a manager’.
“Are you deaf? None of you kids ever listen. I need a man. You stupid piece of shit.” At the end of his tirade, he reared his head back and spat on you. Spat. On you. You winced when it hit your face. “Go ahead. Call for him. I bet now he’ll come, bitch.” Your eyes burned behind your closed eyelids.
“Please excuse me, sir. I’ll go get him.” You weakly responded, leaving him to rush yourself to the back room. You wiped your face on your shirt sleeve, desperate to get the spit off you. You made a beeline to the staff restroom, passing your manager on the way.
“You should stay at the front with the customer until a manager gets there, Y/N, so we know who needs help. You know that. Don’t make me remind you.” She verbally pushes as she speedily walks herself to the front.
You run into the staff restroom and lock the door behind you. You lean over the sink, pulling your mask off and pulling the faucet on, splashing water on your face to clean it of the grime. You put some hand soap in your hands and rub it over your cheeks, eager to rid yourself of the germs. When you felt cleaner and had dried your face off, you looked up and hated the face you saw in the mirror. You stepped back hitting the wall and slid down it. You could hear your manager calling for you over the headset, so you carefully pulled it off your ear and laid it on the ground. You didn’t even have the energy to fight anymore. You were done. You stared blankly at the base of the sink for several minutes before you collected yourself enough to stand, replace your mask, and leave the restroom.
You calmly walked to your locker, grabbed your coat, bag, and car keys. Clocked out and walked out.
You made it to your car, unlocked it, sat in the driver’s seat, and closed the door. You leaned your forehead on the steering wheel and weakly cried. It was so late at night, the store was closing soon, and you just wanted to go home. You sat for probably an hour in the silence, listening to your own breathing, no energy to do anything else. When you looked up finally the parking lot was empty, and the store lights were off. You reached for your phone and saw a text from Yunho.
Yun <3: Hey jagiya i love you
hope work isn’t too bad today
I’ll see you later tonight
You teared up a little, knowing how much he cared for you. A love that was such a stark contrast from how you were treated today.
Y/N: i just need a hug rn
You don’t know what exactly you need right now after today, but you do know you at least want him holding you for a little while. You hear a ringtone and see Yunho calling. You let a ring a few times before swiping to accept the call.
“hi”, you answer weakly.
“Baby what’s wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?” Yunho asks concerned.
You sniffle and everything that happened today starts playing in your mind. Yunho can hear you sniffling and crying.
“Baby, nonono. Why the tears? What happened jagi? Was it that bad?” He tenderly speaks to you.
You can’t respond, having trouble controlling your breathing between the sobs. Your intakes of breath are sharp and jagged, and you can only stutter through “I-i-i I’m s-so tired Yun” before you break into another fit of sobs.
“Are you home? Or still at work?”
“In m-my car a-at work.”
“Okay, I’m coming to you, okay? I’ll take you back to my dorm. You’re staying with me tonight. I’ll get Joong to drive your car to the car park. I just gotta get dressed and wake him up, and then I’ll be ten minutes away. Okay?” He rushes through his sentences, wanting you to know he’s there for you. That you’ll only be alone in your car for another few minutes.
“okay” you sniffle, your crying mostly subsided. Hearing his voice was comforting to you. Knowing he was on his way to you even more so.
“Stay on the phone with me until I get there, yeah? I don’t want you just sitting there alone. I’m here with you.”
“mhmm” you agree sitting in your car silently while he keeps talking through the phone. He tells you he’s only 3 minutes away now, to look out for his car coming in the parking lot. You can hear Joong talking to him in the background about tomorrow’s rehearsal plans. He keeps you in the conversation by never taking the phone away from his ear, including you in his responses. Soon enough you see his car pull into the lot, and his familiar headlights park in front of your car. You watch him unbuckle, jump out of his car, and run over to your door. You hang up the phone and reach over to unlock the door. He swings it open, smiles brightly at you, ducks into the car, and wraps his arm around you pulling you so close to his body you’d think he wants to envelop you in him and keep you forever.
“Hi baby, I love you, I’m sorry you had such a horrible day.” He whispers into your hair as he holds you close. One hand around your back and the other holding the back of your head into his chest. You don’t say anything to him just wrap your arms around his waist and press your face harder into his chest, slowly regulating your breathing, matching his.
“What can I do for you baby?” He gently asks.
You had calmed down enough to speak clearly and mumble into his chest, “I don’t know can you just hold me for a little longer?”
“Of course, jagi. Of course.” He squeezes you tighter, and holds you to him, smoothing over your hair. A few minutes pass and you feel exhaustion weighing your eyelids down.
“I wanna go home Yun. I wanna shower and change and go to sleep. I feel so gross.” You whisper to him.
“Okay, let’s get you home then. C’mon pretty.” He puts an arm around your shoulders and an arm under your knees and lifts you bridal style out of the car seat. He walks towards his car, and you see Hongjoong slide out of the passenger seat of Yunho’s car, and hold the door open for you both.
“I heard you had a rough day at work Y/N. Its brutal out there sometimes. We’re all here for you. I’ll get your car to the dorm tonight, yeah? Are the keys in your car?” Hongjoong asks you sweet and gentle.
You lean your head over Yunho’s arm, “Thank you Joongie, the keys are in the ignition.” He nods in acknowledgement and walks to your car, hopping in and turning the ignition.
Yunho places you into the passenger seat like precious cargo, reaches over you and buckles you in. He places a kiss on the tip of your nose, closes your door, and jogs over to the driver’s side to buckle himself in. You lean your head against the window, completely exhausted, while Yunho scrolls through his music to queue your comfort favorites for the ride to the dorm. Yunho smiles over at you endearingly, like he has never loved you more than he does right now. He places his hand gently on your thigh and rubs light circles on your jeans.
“Do you want to talk about what happened yet or would you rather a quiet ride for right now?” He inquires, not sure how far to push for you to open up, but knowing you’ll let him in when you’ve relaxed.
“I think I want quiet,” you respond, not entirely sure of your answer.
“Okay, no problem love. We’ll be home soon.” He leans over to peck a kiss on your cheek, puts the car into gear, and sets off toward the dorms. Hongjoong trails closely behind.
You arrive at the dorms with no obstructions thanks to the minimal traffic on the road at this time of night. Your eyes had closed, and you were drifting off in your seat, head lightly nodding off before you caught yourself and would jerk upright. You were almost fast asleep when you heard the ding of Yunho unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Ah, jagiya, we made it to the dorm. Stay there, I’ll run around to help you out of the car.” He says as he’s already halfway out of the car. You’re too tired to notice that Hongjoong has parked on Yunho’s side and is standing to the side waiting to walk up with you both. You nod and unbuckle yourself as Yunho appears at your window, opening the door, and lending a hand to help you step out on your own. You lean heavily against him as you ground yourself, and you both start walking towards the elevator. Yunho can feel your weight as you lean harder into him, and he hears your feet dragging. He can only imagine what your face looks like right now, in your sleepwalking state.
“Jagi come here. You can barely walk you’re so tired.” He stops walking and lightly tugs on your arm to get you to face him. He squats down and gestures for you to wrap your arms around his neck. He’s going to carry you the rest of the way. He can sense you hesitating, “C’mon baby I know you’re tired, just let me help you.” You shrug knowing you have nothing to lose, and jump softly into his arms, your arms wrapped tightly around his neck and your head resting on his shoulder. He stands and lifts you up from under your arms, so that you can straddle his waist with your legs, and he can support your weight with his hands. He lets you adjust yourself slightly until he can feel you relax into him.
He walks you over to the elevator and presses the button to go up. Hongjoong is beside Yunho waiting, eyeing you concerned, Hongjoong had seen you beaten down from work before (Yunho told his brothers everything) but he had never seen you so tired you couldn’t stay awake. But he knew with Yunho watching after you, you’d be just fine. He knew how much Yunho loved you and knew the boy would go to the ends of the Earth if it meant making you happy.
The elevator dinged as the doors slid open and Yunho walked you inside, holding the door for Joong so he could stand to the side. Yunho let one of his hands support you and transitioned the other to rub small circles on your lower back. The ride up is short, but even so, you managed to fall fast asleep. Yunho felt you get heavier as your breathing deepened, and he glanced down to see your face finally softened and your eyelids fluttering. He was ever so careful not to wake you as he walked you the rest of the way to his room.
-Yunho’s POV-
Hongjoong didn’t bring his keys, and mine were deep in one of my pockets, so I carefully knocked on the door. Not so loud that I’d wake Y/N but loud enough one of the boys would hear and open it. I’m banking on San still being awake playing on the computer.
I can hear shuffling and after a moment, the door unlocks and San swings it open. A look of confusion and concern etched on his face.
“Hyung? Y/N?” I can hear the concern laced in his voice. I step aside and Hongjoong makes his way inside first, walking past San.
“Shhh Sannie. She fell asleep.” I whisper to him. “She had a really bad day at work, I’m gonna go to my room to lay her down really quick. I’ll explain in a minute when I come back.”
“Ahhh” he whispers back, his tone matching mine. He steps aside with a curt nod of the head, and I walk down the hallway to my room. Everyone except Joong and San are asleep, so I try to tiptoe, careful not to make any noise on the creaky floorboards. Rehearsals and recording have gotten more intense as the months have gone on, and as we’ve gotten closer to tour and yet another comeback.
I crack open the door to my room and push my way in careful not to bump Y/N on anything as I make my way blindly. Gently, with my arms supporting her back and head, I lay her down on the bed. With her head resting on the pillow, I untangle her legs from my waist and lay her on her side. I tug a blanket up and over her, and lightly tuck in the sides so she stays warm. I stand up and walk to the side of the room flicking on the nightlight I keep plugged in, for when she stays over. As the room faintly lights up, I realize how many dirty clothes are scattered around, so I quickly pick them up off the floor and off the edge of the bed and place them in the hamper.
I’m about to leave the room to go talk to Sannie when I notice some of her hair has fallen in her face. Walking back over to the bed, I squat down and tuck the hair behind her ear from where it had escaped her ponytail. I let my thumb trace her cheek. Sometimes I can’t believe the world can be so cruel to someone so kindhearted. I kiss the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, and then kiss both her cheek and the tip of her nose.
Easing my door closed to just a crack, I walk back to the living room where Hongjoong is now debriefing San on the situation. I walk in just as I hear Hongjoong finish his thoughts.
“- I mean if it were up to me, she would be done at that shit-hole, living here with us, and finding a new hobby or something to do until she’s back on her feet. But that’s up to them to decide.” He glances up as I walk in.
“She’s in the bed sleeping now.” I explain as I sit across from San, next to Joong. “Thanks for catching San up, Joong, you can go back to bed. And thank you for waking up to help me get her here. I owe you.” I smile at him; I really do owe him for this. He may be our leader, but he deserves all the rest he can get.
“I was just explaining how something happened at her work again, but that whatever it was really got to her this time. And anytime. I’m the leader, it’s like part of the job to be there for everyone. Love y’all, goodnight.” Hongjoong says as he stands up and exits towards his room a sleepy look in his eyes as he yawns.
San turns to me looking excited but wary, “Can she really stay with us finally? We all love when she’s around, and if it would make her happier…” he trails off.
“I think she may really quit this time. And if she does, I’d love her to move in. It’s more a matter of convincing her to accept the offer though. I don’t know what it was that happened tonight but when she tells me I’ll let you know. She was so torn up on the phone before we got there. I mean the job is literally tearing her to pieces. I can’t remember the last time she came home after a shift and was happy or at least content.” Tears are starting to prick at my eyes at the thought of Y/N being so drained of life.
“Is there anything we can say or do for her to help? You know we’ve already discussed it and she’s welcome at any time to move in. But if the issue is that you need help convincing her, what can we say to help? I mean she knows you’ll support her if she decides to quit right?” San is so eager, he loves Y/N too and hates seeing her so overworked and stressed. If there’s anything he could say that could magically convince her I know he would.
“I don’t think it’ll be as easy as one conversation Sannie but who knows. I already offered multiple times but it’s hard for her to accept the help. She was raised to work hard, but I don’t think she can distinguish working hard and working herself to exhaustion.” Frustration is rising in my tone as I think of how much easier it would be if I could just quit the job for her and take care of her.
“Yun, even you don’t know the difference between that most days. You’ve been busting your ass at rehearsals lately, but you hide that from her because you know how much more exhausted she’s been from her job.” San challenges.
“I know I know, but it was just so different this time Sannie. I think this was really the breaking point for her. If that’s the case, I’ll make sure you see a lot more of her and that she stays with us from now on. But let me see what happened first and then we’ll go from there.” I stand from my spot and walk towards the kitchen. “Thank you for being awake and grabbing the door earlier.”
“Oh no problem, Hyung. I was just playing League.” He happily quirks, standing up and following me to the kitchen.
“Well, you can go back to playing games if you want. I’m gonna make Y/N some tea and go back to my room to check on her. Ill text you if I need anything tomorrow morning.” I’m quietly fumbling through the cabinets trying to find tea and a mug.
“The tea is next to the sink, and the mugs are above the fridge. You must be so tired Yun, please get some sleep too, yeah?” he reaches into the cabinet next to the sink and hands me the box before patting me on the back reassuringly and leaving to go resume his game.
My mind is so scattered trying to think of how to convince her to quit her job but for herself. How to convince her to stay with us. For now, I’ll make a cup of tea and maybe I’ll run a bath for her. But I don’t know if she wants to take a bath anymore. Shit, she may just sleep through the entire night now with how tired she made herself earlier. I’ll make the tea and if she doesn’t wake up when I get back into my room then I’ll just drink it myself. Problem solved. At least until tomorrow. With the tea brewed and steeping in a mug, I slip back down the hallway and into my room, clicking the door shut behind me.
-End Yunho’s POV-
You stir awake when you feel the bed move under you. Blinking the sleep out of your eyes, you focus as well as you can on Yunho’s large figure sitting on the edge of the bed next to you. It takes you a second before you can comprehend that he’s laid you in the bed after carrying you in from the car. You don’t know how much time as passed.
“Good morning,” Yunho softly speaks to you, his hand cupping your cheek.
“Hi,” you meekly reply.
“I made some tea for you. Oolong. Only a little drizzle of honey. Like you like it.” He smiles at you, transferring the warm cup into your hand once you sat up. “It hasn’t been long since you fell asleep, only like 20 minutes.”
“I’m sorry you had to carry me all the way up. Thank you for caring for me, Yun.” You mean it. As sorry as you are that he’s put up with you tonight, you’re grateful you have him to support you.
“No no, don’t be sorry. I’d do it every day if you needed me to. Seriously. You’re mine, and that means I take care of you and look after you. Those are the rules, jagiya.”
“I love you, Yun.”
“I love you more, Y/N.”
You sit in silence for a minute while Yun rubs soft circles on your leg as you finish your tea. When the cup is finally empty, you place it on Yunho’s nightstand gently.
Yunho leans forward, hesitating until he feels you lean into his touch. He brings his face close enough that his nose is nearly touching yours, his eyes drawn down focused on your lips. “Jagiya, I don’t know what happened today, and you don’t have to tell me. If you don’t want to. I just need to make sure you know that I will always support you in everything you do. Even if you do choose to stay at your job. Especially if you choose to quit. But more than anything, I need you to know how much I love and care about you and your wellbeing. Baby, this job is slowly taking you from me. I can see it happening. You hardly smile anymore; you never laugh like you used to. I want the happy you back. And I want you to know I’ll support you if you choose to quit. You’ll always have a place here with me. With us.”
You had closed your eyes and the tears were slowly falling down your cheeks hearing the heartfelt sentiments leaving Yunho’s mouth. You know he’d care for you for the rest of his life if you’d just let him. But you didn’t like the idea of being a burden. Of being too much. You wanted to be able to provide for yourself. And having a job and your own place felt good. Yunho reared back just enough to focus on your face. He wiped the tears that had fallen down your cheeks.
“I love you Y/N. You don’t have to make any decisions tonight. You don’t even have to tell me what happened. I just wanted you to hear what’s been on my mind, okay?”
You nod your head gently, leaning into his palm cupping your cheek. He reaches his arms around you and pulls you tight against him. Enveloping you in a hug so warm you wanted to melt in it.
“You said earlier you wanted to go home, bathe, and get changed. Do you want me to run you a bath? I can help you wash your hair. And then we’ll get changed and get some sleep?” Yunho lightly questioned.
“Yeah, a bath would be nice.”
“Alright, I’ll go get it started” Yunho stood to walk over to the bathroom adjoined to his room. With the door open you could see him starting the water and checking the temperature with his hand until it was just warm enough. He grabbed a bottle of bath salts, sprinkling them into the water, and then used your favorite eucalyptus essential oil to add some fragrance. He stood up and grabbed a towel placing it on the heater next to the door, it would be warm when you got done bathing.
“C’mon jagi. It’s perfectly warm.” You stand up from the bed and Yunho walks you over to the bathtub, your hand in his. “Here, I can help you.” His hand slips under the hem of your shirt, raising your arms so he could take it off you. Pulling the shirt up, he smoothed your hair back down, pecked a kiss on your forehead and unclipped your bra, pulling the straps down your arms. It was all so domestic. His fingers smoothly worked over your jeans button and pulled your zipper undone. He slid his hand over your thighs as he pushed the fabric down. Allowing to step out of the pants. You pulled your underwear down as he turned to the side to let you step in, his hand held out for you in case you slipped. You sink into the warm water, instantly soothed by the warmth.
“Is there anything else that would comfort you right now? Are you hungry? I can make you a snack.”
“Just want you to stay here, Yun. Want to be close to you.”
“Okay jagi, I’ll stay right here with you.” He gazed at you with all the love he could muster. He wasn't looking at your body, but at yourself, seeing you for you, not sexualizing the moment. It felt comforting.
“Can you get in with me? So I can lean against you?” You sheepishly asked him.
“Y/N I would want nothing more.” He swiftly undresses himself and eases into the tub behind you. His hands pull your shoulders back against him once he’s situated, and you can feel his muscles imprinted on your skin. You slip further into the tub, water barely below your chin. His arms wrap around you and the feel of his large frame surrounding you relieved you of the stress your body was holding onto.
“Thank you,” you softly whisper to him.
“Always” he responds, his hands rubbing up and down your biceps. He kisses the top of your head in-between ‘I love yous’. After a few minutes pass Yunho pushes you forward gently and tells you to tilt your head back so he can wash your hair. You feel him swirling your hair around in the water, and then you feel his hand support the back of your neck as he lifts your head out of the water. He lathers your shampoo in your hair and you feel relaxed enough to converse with him about what happened. You recount all the details of your workday, the man who hit on you, and the old man who spit on you. How it made you feel so disgusted, like such a lowlife. How you clocked out and walked out and didn’t turn back. How deep down you knew you had quit but that it didn’t bring you the comfort you thought it would have, since you hadn’t told your manager.
As you finish your story, Yunho has washed the shampoo from your hair and was finished conditioning it, when you finally sighed, bringing him back to concentration. You couldn’t see the anger in his eyes as he heard what those men had said and done to you. He had zoned out thinking of all the things he would’ve said to them should he have been there. But he lets you air out all your frustrations and doesn’t offer his input until you’ve finished and asked him for it. He didn’t want to burden you, making you feel worse, knowing how enraged it makes him to hear you be treated that way. So instead, he compliments you. Calls you what you are. The opposite of everything you were called earlier.
“You’re beautiful jagiya. I’ve never had the pleasure of knowing someone more beautiful both inside and out than you. I’m so sorry you were treated that way, and I can’t imagine how that must’ve felt in the moment, especially now after thinking about it all day. But nothing they told you in anger holds any truth to you as a person.” He smooths over your hair brushing through it with his fingers. “You are smart, you are gorgeous, you are kind-hearted, and you are so strong. Especially for opening up and telling me. You are hardworking, and you deserve so much better than that job can offer you.” You smile up at him, tilting your head to give him a brief but deep kiss.
“I know Yun. You tell me every day.” You smile into the kiss before pulling away, turning around in the tub, sitting cross-legged in front of him. He searches your eyes as you struggle to think of what to say next. What you know he wants to hear. You wrap your arms under his and around his waist pulling yourself into him.
“I don’t think I have it in me to call them tomorrow. To tell them that I really did quit.”
“I’ll call for you.”
“No, Yun I- “
“No. No questions asked I’ll tell them for you. You shouldn’t have to explain yourself to them, but because you want to, I’ll take that burden for you.” Yunho smiles down into your hair, kissing the top of your head, relieved that you’ll come back to him once more, that you’ll be happy again. “But promise me this jagiya. Stay with me for a little while until you can get back on your feet. I know your independent and you don’t need my help, but I want you to take my help. To let yourself be taken care of for once. Until you’re happier again."
“Okay Yun. I can do that.” You kiss him deeply, your hand lightly hovering on either side of his face. “Thank you for loving me the way that you do.” You kiss him again. “Thank you for being the most kind and caring man I’ve ever met. For always being there for me.”
“Nonsense, you deserve nothing less.” He pecks you once more on the lips. “Do you want to get out and get changed so we can get some rest?”
“I’d love nothing more.” You stand from where you’re seated, and slowly step out of the tub, careful not to slip, Yunho’s hand never leaving your lower back until you’ve walked towards the towels. You wrap the warm towel around you and watch as Yunho pulls himself up and out of the bathtub. You watch as the water splashes out the tub and drips everywhere as he walks toward you. You giggle at him, “Yun, you always make a mess baby. You’re like a big puppy.”
“Your big puppy.” Yunho taps your nose and cheeses down at you, as he wraps around you and lifts you up, twirling you around. “There's my pretty girls smile. I missed you baby.” He kisses the tip of your nose. “Let’s get some sleep, I’ll call your boss in the morning for you. Okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Yunho.” You lay your head on his chest briefly, before walking to the dresser to change.
You both finish your nightly routine, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, and washing your face. When you finish drying your hair, you look over to the bed to see Yunho watching you. He lifts the edge of the comforter up enticing you to climb under. You scoot backwards pressing your back to his chest when you hear him pout and flip you around.
“Want you closer,” He pouts at you. You bury your face into his chest.
“Better?” You ask him.
“Better.” He responds. You fall asleep with his arm wrapped around you, breathing in his scent, and matching his steady breaths and slowing heart rate.
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ashotofeuphoria · 3 years ago
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As I Hold You
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Pairing: Firefighter! Jongho x Injured! Reader
Word Count: 3.4k
Warnings: character death (not member or reader), ANGST, car accident, blood, injury, fire, v brief description of a dead body, trauma, potential miscarriage (hinted at), let me know if i missed anything!
Authors Note: First fic! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!
You don't remember the impact. The sound of metal crushing, of horns blaring, and tires screeching. Everything just went black.
You had been out running errands all day with your younger brother, Gabriel. You needed to pick up some more supplies for your baby who was soon to arrive. Your first baby shower was scheduled for this upcoming weekend. While you knew that your family and friends would support you and buy you most everything you needed for your baby; you still wanted to buy cute outfits and toys in the anticipation of their arrival.
Your final stop was a new boutique that opened across town, and your younger brother was eager to chauffeur you. He knew that you were a little scared of what the future held and wanted to ease any stress he could, by doing little acts of service for you.
You were living with your family and would remain there throughout your first year of motherhood. You hadn't meant to become pregnant. In fact, you were rather scared of the idea of children and pregnancy. But accidents happen, as they tend to, and your (ex)boyfriend ended up knocking you up.
It was an amicable split when you broke up. You both knew it wouldn't last, and children don't fix broken relationships. He did agree to support you the best he can and you're thankful for that much. It's overwhelming honestly, having the amount of support from everyone that you do. One thing is for sure, this baby will be so loved.
Your brother walked you out to the car, all the bags in his hands, opened the door for you and helped you in. You were only about 4 months along, so you just barely had a visible bump on your small figure. But he held your hand and helped you step into the car regardless. He shut the door and ran around to the driver's side before opening the door and hopping in.
"Thank you for driving me today, buddy. I know you have other things you could be doing," you said as he started the car.
"You know I'd rather spend time with you than do anything else. All I do is read and listen to music in my room, it's not like I do all that much," he chuckled, finding it amusing how appreciative you are of a simple car ride.
"Yeah, alright," you smiled towards him, "Still I know you aren't required to help me out, so thank you. Love you, bubs."
"Love you too, y/n," he said as he glanced towards you with a soft smile.
The car pulled out of the parking lot with the GPS routed 20 minutes down the highway to the boutique. Gabriel took a left out of the neighborhood, and you asked him for the aux.
"Sure," he replied, keeping his eyes on the road but reaching for the cord to hand to you.
You began playing your K-pop playlist, something that's been getting you through the days recently. When you hit shuffle, Love Die Young by Eric Nam started playing. You started to harmonize with the chorus as Gabe pulled the car onto the highway.
"Not this sappy shit, y/n, really?" he giggled as he watched you dramatically act out the song, clutching at your heart as you sing, staring at him with a smile plastered on your face.
"His voice is so smooth I can't help it Gabe," you exclaimed in a sing-songy tone. "So, what do you think I'm gonna have? A boy or girl?" you ask him as the car hits the speed limit and he puts on cruise control.
"Honestly, I think it'll be a little girl. I hope it is at least. We gotta buy so many cute outfits today. I can't wait to help you take care of them. Whatever they may be," he laughed glancing over at you.
"I have this whole idea for their room, I want to do a taupe and mossy green color for the walls. And I think I want a lot of cute pictures of plants and different animals. Ya know, to keep it pretty but neutral, something that can age well with them," you explained to him as he steadily controls the car.
"I think it'll look perfect," he responded. "10 more minutes and we'll be there."
You nodded your head and looked out the window at the greenery. Ideas of outfits and nurseries swimming in your head. You closed your eyes, propped your arm up on the window, and leaned your head against your hand as the car drifted down the highway.
Your eyes jolted open when you suddenly hear Gabe go from a whisper to a shout "fuck, fuCK, FUCK Y/N HANG ON!"
A car had swerved and jumped the median and was driving directly towards you, mere meters away. Showing no signs of stopping, and Gabriel having no real way to swerve to avoid them, he threw an arm in front of you, and you brought your hands up to cover your face, your knees coming up on instinct to protect your belly.
And everything went black.
----
When you came to, the first thing you noticed was the smell. Metallic, and smoky, like something was burning. Then you felt a searing pain in your head. You struggled to open your eyes but when you did you couldn't believe what you were surrounded by. The airbags had deployed, but there was blood splattered across the car. You could tell smoke was rising out of the engine, but you couldn't see much else through the cracked windshield.
You look to your left and see Gabriel covered in blood, eyes closed. And you immediately feared the worst.
"Gabe! GABE!" you reached over to shake him, to hold onto his cheek and try and get him to face you. To open his eyes. To do anything. Your ears are ringing, and you can feel your eyes stinging when he won't respond. Your hands are desperately grabbing at his shirt, and hair, willing for him to wake up, for him to be okay.
"Gabe," your voice barely bubbling out of your throat as sobs begin to overtake your body. "Gabe, please, please, wake up. please, you can't, no, please, Gabe, bubs, you're okay, we're okay, please," the sobs wrack your body as you gasp for air between each word. Tears are streaming down your face and suddenly your focus is on your hands, and you see they're covered in blood.
You hold your hands in front of you and stare at them in horror when your vision redirects to your legs. You're crushed in the car. Your legs trapped under the dashboard. Your hearing is slowly coming back as you hear sirens somewhere in the distance, but from what direction you were unaware.
You remember a car had hit you head on when it crossed into your lane going well over the speed limit. As you glance out of the passenger window to see what happened to the other car (and if you're even still on the highway) you're met with a ghastly picture of your face in the side view mirror. Your forehead has been deeply cut, and blood is dripping thickly down your forehead and has mixed with the tears falling down your cheeks.
You cough when you begin to inhale smoke. Your vision blurring, your head falls back onto your headrest as you pass out.
----
As you come to, a faint knocking sound begins to grow louder, until you can hear a man yelling "Ma'am! Ma'am! Can you hear me! You gotta wake up! Ma'am!"
You cough the smoke out of your lungs, your head throbs from the movement and you wince in pain. You're brought back to the situation you've found yourself in and remember Gabe is next to you. You look over to him and the feelings become overwhelming again, as you stare at what you can only assume is his dead body.
As a sob erupts from your throat, you look out your window at the man who was calling for you, and are met with desperate, soft brown eyes staring at you through a helmet and face guard. He's a firefighter dressed in full gear. He yells something to you, trying to overpower the other noises happening on the busy highway but you can't connect the sounds with words in your brain. You can only stare at him in confusion, tears falling faster down your cheeks, your breathing uneven.
You see him reach for the handle of the car door and try and open it mumbling a quick "fuck!" in frustration. You're trapped in this car, and he needs to find a way to get both of you out before the whole car goes up in flames.
"Get the jaws! The doors are jammed!" He yells at the team of firefighters surrounding the car and the truck.
He looks back down to you and says as clearly and reassuringly as he can, "Hey, it's okay. It'll be okay, we're gonna get you out of there, okay?"
You begin to nod your head in response when a knock is heard at your brother's window. You whip your head around and see stars for a moment. When your sight clears you see a taller man in uniform shouting to your brother, who isn't responding. Your voice is small and cracks as you try and tell the man outside "he can't, he's not-" and you feel your chest become tight once more.
You hear the man at your window begin talking to you.
"Ma'am, please try and stay still. We must make sure your head is okay. Alright? Please don't move too much. Can you do that for me?" he politely asks you, empathizing with your situation.
You meekly nod your head. Your eyes are stinging. You don't know if it's the smoke or the tears, but it's probably both. As you focus on the man in front of you, you hear the man near your brother begin yelling at his team about the window and needing to check Gabriel's vitals. The man in front of you can tell you're not paying attention, so he speaks up.
"Yunho is going to break the glass to check the man next to you, okay? Just look at me, don't look away from me, okay? My name's Jongho. Just look at me, okay? What's your name?" Jongho asks you to keep you preoccupied and focused on him.
"Y/N," you try and get out of your throat. It's so dry and scratchy your voice isn't much higher than a whisper.
"Okay, y/n. Listen to me, you'll be okay. I'm going to get you out, okay? Who is that in the car with you?"
"M-my brother, Gabe, but he, I-I don't thin-nk," you choke out as you stare at Jongho, unable to say the words. That Gabe is dead. But you don't want him to be. You don't want it to be true. You look down at your door, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, unable to breathe. You hear glass shatter. As you begin to turn your head, Jongho raises his voice, keeping your focus on him.
"Your brother? Yunho is going to check on him and make sure everything is okay." you hear him say.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" Yunho calls out from the driver window. "Try not to breathe the smoke in, Jongho is gonna break your window to get to you, I'm going to take your brothers vitals and make sure he's doing okay. We're going to get you out of here as quickly as possible, okay?"
You glance towards him and nod your head, finding your eyes drawn to the way he checks for a pulse on Gabe, his slender fingers dancing on his throat, his wrist, anywhere he could find a heartbeat. And seeing the increasing worry on Yunho's face does nothing to reassure you. You see his eyes widen, and yours follow. He leans back and yells over to the team, "There's a pulse. It's faint, we need to get him airlifted asap! San, I need you over here!"
While you're fixated on Gabe's pale and limp figure, you hear glass shatter next to you followed by a warm hand turning your cheek towards him. You involuntarily gasp and sputter at the influx of fresh air.
"Deep breaths for me, Y/n. Please look at me." he gently demands. You look into his eyes as he shines a flashlight above them checking your pupils. He can see how bloodshot your eyes are from crying, and he glances over at your brother, then back at you. "Hey, it'll be okay, we're here now. Just look at me, don't look at him. You're okay. Everyone is here to protect you." he rushes out.
His hand rests under your chin as he uses two callused fingers to check your pulse. Then he gently tilts your head to each side to inspect the gash on your forehead as quickly as possible. He glances down your body to check your arms, and torso seeing they're mainly just bruised, when his eyes land on your bump.
His eyes widen as he asks you urgently, "Y/n are you expecting? Are you carrying a child?"
You hadn't even thought about your child. You had been so distraught over your brother; you didn't even consider the health or wellbeing of your unborn baby. Your heart rate rapidly increases as panic begins to set in.
"y-yes I am, I'm 4 months. I-I'm, do you think, are they? god please don't tell me-" you start blubbering as all the possibilities begin to tumble through your head.
Before he can reassure you, he checks down the rest of your body and sees your legs are trapped under the dashboard. And that even when the door is off you won't be able to get yourself out of the car. Jongho defaults to reassurance as he really can't even begin to answer the questions you're asking him, "I-it's okay. Everything is okay. Let's get you out of this car."
Smoke is becoming thicker around the front of the car, and you watch as it blows around Jongho's figure, flooding out the highway from where you sit. Tensions are growing higher as the crew knows there isn't much longer before the car is gone. Four men are teamed together and grab the Jaws of Life from the truck as they begin walking toward your car. Setting up on your brothers side you begin to hear metal cracking and snapping as the four men work to pry the car open with the heavy machinery. You're itching in your skin wishing to jump up and run now that you're trapped, and Jongho can tell. He has his hand braced at the back of your neck, keeping it steady, as you once again begin to panic; he rubs circles on your arm, and pushes your hair back from your sticky forehead and out of your eyes.
You can hear the Jaws stop and in the reflection of the side view mirror you can see Gabe's lifeless body being pulled from the car, his body pale and bright red from blood, blue and purple littering his figure. He's placed on a gurney and run towards the truck where someone begins CPR.
You redirect your eyes to meet Jongho's, whose eyes are looking deeply at you searching for any sign of pain or discomfort, any sudden changes in your condition. "Is he going to be okay? He has to be okay. Please tell me they can fix him." you plead with Jongho, who looks at you with nothing but the heaviest of hearts.
"We're going to do our best. I promise you we will do everything we can. But right now, we need to get you out of here too." he explains. "I'm going to go bring the Jaws over this way and we are going to get you two out of here," he asserts, gesturing at your bump. "I need you to stay still just like you have been, okay? You're doing so great. Keep your arms as close to your body as you can, and don't look at the window in case anything splinters. Do you understand me?" he asks you.
"Please don't leave me. P-please don't, don't go. Please stay." you sob as you realize you'll be left alone in your wrecked car.
"I'll be right here. Remember stay still and close your eyes." he reminds you as he drops his hands from you and gives his team room to operate on the car door.
You sob quietly to yourself. You can't believe this is happening. How Gabe could be here one second and now he's gone. The image of his pale bloody face is burned into the back of your eyelids as you squeeze them tightly shut. You hear the metal of the car frame crunching and cracking once again, as all four men yell commands and directions at each other. Your sobs are uncontrollable as you wish it had been you and not your brother. You wish with all your heart that you could've taken his place.
The door hits the asphalt and almost instantly you hear Jongho next to you, "It's okay. I'm here. I'm right here. I never left." He notices how black the smoke has gotten and decides to check your legs to see if he can carry you out before the rest of the car is disassembled.
"Can you feel your legs?" he urgently asks you.
You nod your head as you cough so hard that you gag.
"shit-" Jongho mumbles under his breath, looking all over your figure and the car, knowing he must move now or never. With his mind moving a million miles a second, he makes the decision that your legs are likely not broken and brings out a blade from his pocket to saw your seat belt off you. You watch as the sweat beads down his forehead and across his dimpled cheeks as he grits his teeth.
Jongho puts his arms under yours, pulling you into his chest, getting your upper body mostly out of the car. When your legs are more visible, he puts one arm under your back and the other under your knees and lifts. You slide out from under the dashboard and with your neck cradled by his bicep and forearm he jogs you away from the car towards the firetruck. He gets five strides in when you hear the explosion. You peek past his arm to see your car engulfed in flames. You can feel the heat on your face, and the sound has left your ears ringing once more.
The team must've anticipated the event as hoses immediately start spraying to drown the car fire. Jongho gets behind the firetruck away from the fire and sets you down making sure you are stable, with no further injuries from his manhandling. He gently places a hand on your bump and hopes against everything that this baby is okay. Just as he's about to stand to find his captain and report your status he feels your hands fist into his uniform jacket holding onto him.
"please don't leave me. please don't leave. d-don't go." you hiccup as you stare pleadingly up at him. With the way you're gripping onto him, he knows there's no way he can walk away from you right now. Instead, he stands up and grabs a clean towel from just inside the truck and begins to tenderly wipe the blood and tears off your face, avoiding the gash on your forehead.
He doesn't have the heart to tell you that Gabe didn't make it, his body covered with a sheet on the other side of the truck. He also doesn't know how to explain that if Gabe hadn't reached over to protect you, he might've been in less critical condition. That he died protecting you. So, for now he wipes away the grime; and, after seeing you shaking, unbuttons his thick uniform jacket so he can hug you; until the paramedics arrive and will inevitably pull you away from him. You don't hesitate to wrap your small arms around his waist, and he holds you, pressing your head against his chest where you can hear his steady heartbeat.
"It's okay, y/n, it's going to be okay. You're okay. I'm here. I've got you." he repeats it like a mantra, over and over, convincing he thinks, both you and himself.
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ashotofeuphoria · 3 years ago
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Hi, it's me!
Masterlist - coming soon!
In progress/WIPs
DNI
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ashotofeuphoria · 3 years ago
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oh my god your jongho fic left me in tears, i loved it so much, like fr i was crying reading it the whole time, it was so good and you’re such an amazing writer 🥺
Omg hi! My first ever ask haha thank you for enjoying, I’m glad you liked it! I cried writing parts of it so I’m glad I could convey that, thank you for all the compliments 🥺😭
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ashotofeuphoria · 3 years ago
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DNI
under 18
misogynist
homophobic
transphobic
xenophobic
all the phobics related to other human beings
sensitive to explicit material
a sex-shamer, we are sex positive in this household, get tf out
Just don't interact if you're underage, and/or a shitty person.
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