#aw Baekhyunnie

[kdrama-preferences]

Holidays with Baekhyun: Chapter 1

this is a WIP FF I am writing at the moment and I decided to put the chapters on here as well.

Hayley and Baekhyun were preparing for their trip to the States, EXO had a couple of months off for the holidays so the two of them had decided they would fly out as soon as possible to spend time with Hayley’s family since last year they spent the holiday season with Baekhyun’s family. Hayley was from America so they were flying out so they could be there for Thanksgiving and were planning to stay till after Christmas but they’d have to see how things went. Baekhyun of course was nervous since this would be their first time traveling together for the holidays and his first time spending the holidays with her family but he was looking forward to it.

“So tell me again who all I’ll be meeting.” Baekhyun states. He was sure she had told him about three times already but he had already forgotten plus he was also trying to make sure he packed what he was supposed to.

“Well we’re getting there about a week early so you’ll probably just meet my grandparents.” Hayley states. Baekhyun had already met her parents and her sister and since her grandparents lived out of state they usually came in early and would probably be there when Hayley and Baekhyun arrived. Baekhyun nodded and zipped up his suitcase and sat it by the door. “What about after that?” He questions, his nervousness was clear in his voice. “Baek.” Hayley said, taking his hand since she could tell he was nervous. “You have nothing to worry about.” She adds. “But what if they don’t like me?” Baekhyun asks with a pout. Hayley frowned at the face Baekhyun was making. “Aw Baekhyunnie.” She says and hugs him. “They’re going to love you, I promise.” She states. 

Baekhyun nods and the two of them make sure they have everything before heading out to the airport.

The flight from Seoul to North Carolina seemed to take forever but once they finally landed and picked up their bags they headed to the waiting area where Hayley’s dad was waiting to pick them up. “Dad!” Hayley yells when she sees him and then runs to hug him. Hayley’s dad chuckles and hugs her back. “It’s good to see you too Pumpkin.” He says using her nickname. “You too Baekhyun.” He says acknowledging Baekhyun’s presence. “How are you and mom?” Hayley asks as they head out to her dad’s waiting truck.

“We’re doing fine.” He states and puts their suitcases in the back. “Your grandparents arrived about an hour ago and your sister is on her way over with her boyfriend.” He explains as Hayley and Baekhyun get into the truck. “Your mom needed some things from the store so your sister said she’d go get them.” He adds and Hayley nods. 

The entire ride from the airport to the house was filled with conversation, Hayley and Baekhyun were catching her dad up on what had been going on with them, this caused the ride to go by more quickly and they had arrived before they knew it. 

Hayley got out of the truck and then looked around to take in her surroundings, not much had changed since the last time she was home, the walkway from the driveway to the front door was still in tact and was covered in some fallen leaves from the oak tree in the front yard, the screen door still creaked a little when you opened it and the big red front door was the exact same except her mother had put out the fall wreath on the door, this one looked new since Hayley had never seen it before. 

“Look who I found at the airport.” Hayley’s dad says as he opens the door, which leads into the living room. Hayley, her dad, and Baekhyun all wiped their feet before entering the house and Hayley was immediately met with hugs from her mom. “Hi mom.” Hayley says with a laugh and hugs her mother back. “And how are you Baekhyun?” Her mother asks once she pulls out of the hug.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking.” Baekhyun says. “You two make yourselves at home, I have to go check on some things in the kitchen.” Her mother stated before heading through the archway on the far side of the room into the kitchen. Hayley and Baekhyun took their shoes off by the door and then sat down on the couch. 

“I put your bags in your old bedroom.” Her father stated as he came back into the living room. “Ok, thank you.” Hayley says with a smile as her dad sits down in his armchair. “So how long has Hannah been gone?” she asks, wondering if they’d be back soon. “About an hour, your mother gave them a pretty long list.” Her dad explains. “What about Grandma and Grandpa?” Hayley asks. “They went to take the dog for a walk and should be back soon.” Her father states, and not long after he said that her grandparents came through the front door.

“Grammy! Pappy!” Hayley says with excitement as she gets off the couch and goes to hug them. 

“Hello sweetheart it’s good to see you.” Her grandfather states once they break the hug. “It’s good to see you too.” She adds. “And it’s very good to see Nugget.” She says bending down to pet her grandparents' golden colored Cocker Spaniel, which immediately started wagging its tail when she gave it a pat on the head. “And who is this handsome young man?” Her grandmother asked, nodding in Baekhyun’s direction. 

“This is my boyfriend Baekhyun.” Hayley says walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist in a side hug. 

“It’s nice to meet you Baekhyun.” Her grandfather says taking Nugget’s leash off of him and the dog immediately went and curled up on it’s bed that was near the fireplace, it was the only out of the way place for the dog bed since anywhere else you’d have to step over or around the dog and if you were carrying something there was the potential to trip and fall. 

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Baekhyun states, he must have been really nervous because Hayley had never seen him this calm or this quiet before. 

Hayley’s grandmother was about to say something when they heard a car door from outside. “That must be your sister.” Her dad said getting up from his armchair and heading outside to see if they needed help.

Chanyeol got out of the car and grabbed the heavier bags out of the backseat on the passenger side and then closed the door. “Do you two need any help?” Her dad asked from the doorway. “No we got it but thanks Dad.” Hannah says, grabbing what was left from the backseat on her side and closing the door. Her dad holds the door open for them since they had their arms full and Hannah was through the door first greeting her sister and Baekhyun before taking the groceries into the kitchen. Once Hannah came back from the kitchen she greeted her sister and Baekhyun with a hug. Hayley pulled out of the hug and then noticed Chanyeol. 

“Wait, what is Chanyeol doing here?” Hayley asks curiously.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Hannah states as if it was common knowledge or her sister should have already known that.

“How did we not know that?” Hayley and Baekhyun ask at the same time. “We wanted to keep it a secret for a while.” Chanyeol states.

A couple hours later, Hayley was curled up on the couch with Baekhyun, the two of them were watching a movie and had a blanket draped over them. Baekhyun had his arms wrapped around her and holding her close, they had finished dinner and there was a movie they wanted to watch so everyone left the two of them alone, so they could have the time to themselves. Nugget was curled up at the end of the couch at Hayley’s feet. 

Hannah and Chanyeol had gone out on a date since they hadn’t had one in a while, Hayley and Hannah’s grandparents had gone to bed already and their parents were getting ready to turn in. 

Hayley was starting to doze off when Baekhyun noticed and started to tickle her. “Baekhyun stop.” She giggles and playfully smacks his hands so he’ll stop tickling her. “If you’re sleepy, we can turn the movie off and go to bed.” Baekhyun states. “That sounds like a good idea.” Hayley says between yawns and gets up off the couch and grabs the blanket. 

Baekhyun gets up off the couch and takes the blanket from her and throws it back over the back of the couch where it had been. “Good night Nugget.” Hayley says giving the dog a pet on the head before turning the living room lamp off and leading Baekhyun to her old bedroom where the two of them would be sleeping. 

Hayley grabbed her suitcase off the floor and placed it onto the bed and unzipped it, she grabbed out her pajamas and headed into the bathroom to get changed. Baekhyun shut the bedroom door and so he could get changed since there wasn’t really any need for him to have to wait for her to come out of the bathroom. Hayley came out of the bathroom in one of Baekhyun’s t-shirts and a pair of leggings and then crawled into bed. 

Baekhyun had on a t-shirt and a pair of plaid lounge pants and crawled into bed next to her. He held her close to him and the two of them drifted off to sleep almost immediately. 

[itstheoneshot]

Baekhyunx female reader

14

CONGRATULATIONS SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!🥰

Ah, thank you so much! I’m so grateful! I’m in mad Baekhyun feels at the moment so this is a little longer than I’ve done for some, I hope you like it!

Your date had ended horribly, leaving the man you were with behind at the bar after he had spewed some misogynistic rhetoric at you. You are wandering the streets, it is late and you are a little worried to be alone. You have your keys in between your fingers in one hand, and your phone in the other, as you try to work out how you are going to get home.

You almost drop your phone, the surprising vibrations of an incoming phone call frightening you half to death. You look down at the screen, seeing a half-familiar name, and it takes you a moment to realise who it is. The man who you decided to ghost after your last date. He was sweet, too sweet, and you were not used to someone so kind, you put your guard up and did not allow him in.

“I’ll call you.” You had promised him, when he had driven you home after a beautiful dinner that he had insisted on paying for.

Though you had not called him, you had gone back to your dating apps to try and find someone who excited you more, who would treat you badly and leave, because you felt that was what you deserved. Hence the awful date tonight, god, that man was disgusting, too much for even your low standards.

You laugh to yourself as you move to swipe across the screen and answer the call, because you know this man will come to your rescue. A knight in shining armour, but in the form of a soft-hearted, soft-faced, ever-energetic man.

Byun Baekhyun

“Yeoboseyo?” You answer, your voice a little shaky.

“Hi, sweetheart,” He responds, his tone is warm and inviting, and you feel your heart skip a beat, “I know you said you would call, but you hadn’t, and I just…”

He trails off, leaving silence between you. You feel guilt for never calling him, though this is easily overridden by the calm you feel to hear his voice. You take a moment to find the words to respond, but you do not want to leave him waiting, not again.

“Baekhyun,” You reply softly, “I’m sorry I didn’t call, I got busy and I...”

Much like he had, you trail off with a nervous giggle, twirling your hair around your finger as you await his response, hoping that he is not too upset at you.

“It’s okay,” He murmurs, “Are you okay? I can hear cars going by, where are you?”

“I’m in the city, I’m okay, but I am alone.” You sigh.

You purposefully avoid telling him that you were on a date, but you know that he would probably figure that out. You are not sure what you hope him to say in response, but you hope that he will say something.

“Do you want me to come get you?” He asks, “You need a place to stay for the night?”

You could cry, as relief washes over you like a tidal wave, as you realise that what you wanted all along was someone kind, someone whose smile could light up any room upon their entry, and you have found exactly that.

“Please, Baekhyunnie,” You nod, “I would love nothing more.”

You can feel Baekhyun’s smile, as you give him your location, and he stays on the phone to you as he drives to where you are waiting for him. You have a skip in your step as you walk to his car, and he leans over the console to open the door for you, his eyes lighting up as you smile right back at him.

“I am glad to see you again,” He grins, “Let’s go home.”

———

400 followers special! ~ rules here!

[kreactionsentertainment]

TIR  III - Waiting for Pink

Part I // Part II//Part III//Part IV// Part V// Part VI

Warning: Experimentation Aftermath

Junmyeon followed Minseok into the black room. In the middle of the room, where the symbol lay in its place, three orbs of color floated in the middle. Red, White, and the new color Pink. Today was the day when Baekhyun and Chanyeol would wake up. Minseok and Junmyeon wanted to be there for their younger brothers, they would feel disoriented once they were about to move again. The three colors were left here to heal three days ago.

Since their first appearance, they have become a little brighter. On the first day of their arrival to this room after the process, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were both so dull. Minseok and Junmeyon were worried that they would fade completely. If they weren’t the status of importance, they might have faded completely. The new color has only become brighter with its pulsing beauty.

As the Rainbow Sun slowly shifted with the time, its light rested upon the three orbs of color. The red and white light settled on their origin colors while Pink basked in the light of all the rest. Ever so slowly, the red and white orbs descended to the ground. Basking in their origin light, a slight image began fading into the room around the two orbs of color. The humanlike illusion of Baekhyun and Chanyeol slowly faded into existence. Minseok and Junmyeon quietly walked over and sat down next to the two. Gently, Minseok ran his fingers through Baekhyun’s soft hair as Junmyeon did the same with Chanyeol. The Pink orb floated above the four of them as it took in as much of the sunlight as it could.

“You can tell a lot about us through our natural state, I think Pink will be a very good friend to have. I think they will be harmonious with us. I heard from the Great One that Pink will be a little younger than Kyungsoo,” Minseok destroyed the silence as he smiled at Junmyeon.

“Ah, another younger one to shower in affection. Do we know their name yet?” Junmyeon asked the oldest.

“Not yet, I didn’t know your name until your illusion appeared,” Minseok shook his head slightly.

As he gently ran his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, he began to sing again. Junmyeon smiled and joined him in a harmonious tune. Time passed slowly as the Rainbow Sun moved another position in the sky. Finally, Baekhyun began to stir. Minseok smiled gently as Baekhyun’s beautifully pure white eyes opened slowly. Baekhyun felt his heart pound harshly. His heart slammed against his chest as it tried to run from him, only to be stopped by the rest of his body. Baekhyun shot up and looked around, his eyes frantically looked around everywhere. Minseok slowly stood and put his hands up in a surrendered response.

“Baekhyunnie~ It’s alright now. It’s all over now,” Minseok spoke softly to the other as Baekhyun backed away from the people surrounding him.

“Hyung?” Baekhyun called out softly, his beautiful gaze still lightyears away from them.

“It’s okay Baekhyunnie, Junmyeon and I are here now,” Minseok spoke softly as he bent down to Baekhyun’s level.

Slowly, Baekhyun’s gaze returned to Minseok’s. White tears rolled down his face, gathering at his chin before falling to the ground. Baekhyun rushed forward and grabbed Minseok tightly. Minseok hissed softly as Baekhyun’s nails dug into his back. The other wanted to make sure Minseok was here, he needed to know Minseok was real. Gently rubbing the other’s back soothingly, Minseok calmly waited for Baekhyun’s cries to slow. Thankfully, Chanyeol was still recovering. He wasn’t sure what would happen if both Baekhyun and Chanyeol were to freak out at the same time. He feared they wouldn’t be able to get through to them both quickly in that situation.

“Hyung it was awful! I couldn’t feel anything, yet I could feel everything. They tore me apart, they pulled at my soul and painfully ripped parts of it from me,” Baekhyun cried into Minseok’s shoulder as his older brother calmly allowed him to cry.

“It’s all going to be okay, you’re okay now,” Minseok spoke softly as he gently kissed the top of Baekhyun’s head and held him tightly. After a few more minutes, Baekhyun was able to calm down. He took a deep breath and removed himself from the safety of his oldest brother’s arms. He looked around the darkroom, Chanyeol was still recovering. Baekhyun looked at the orb of light floating in the middle of the symbol.

“Is that…?” Baekhyun asked quietly.

“We don’t know their name yet, but the Great One called them Pink. I told Junmyeon that I believe this person is going to be a good friend and harmonious with our family dynamics. The Great One also said that they will be slightly younger than Kyungsoo,” Minseok smiled as he continued to gently rub soothing circles onto Baekhyun’s back.

“When will Chanyeol wake up?” Baekhyun asked softly as he looked at his best friend.

“It shouldn’t be long now,” Minseok guided the other closer to Junmyeon and Chanyeol. True to his word, Chanyeol started to stir as they walked quietly to Junmyeon and Chanyeol. Chanyeol’s scarlet eyes opened slowly, they couldn’t seem to settle on Junmyeon. He looked to the ceiling and laid there for a moment. He didn’t seem to want to say anything, afraid of what might happen if he did.

“Channie~” Junmyeon called out softly. Chanyeol shifts his eyes to where he thought he could hear Junmyeon, Baekhyun and Minseok understood he was still seeing those horrible, cold white rooms. Baekhyun softly cleared his throat and gently began to sing one of Chanyeol’s favorite songs, he figured it might help the transition along from the hell Chanyeol was trapped in. After a few moments, Chanyeol started to hum along. Chanyeol raised his arm to clear the invisible film over his eyes.

“Hyung, you’re right,” Chanyeol said softly as he looked towards Minseok after finally being able to see again.

“I was right?” Minseok questioned softly.

“It’s not very fun there,” Chanyeol pouted slightly. They sat around him, too shocked to say anything. Minseok chuckled and helped Chanyeol sit up. Chanyeol looked at the pink orb and smiled softly.

“Are you alright, Channie?” Baekhyun asked softly.

“It hurt, but… our family is growing. I’m not sure how to feel,” Chanyeol smiled at Baekhyun.

“Ah, Chanyeol… You have such a big heart, I’m worried that the Great One will hurt you one day…” Baekhyun sighed as he scooted over to Chanyeol and gently placed his head on the other’s shoulder. Chanyeol gently rested his head against Baekhyun’s and smiled sadly.

“Although I’m not happy with the Great One, I can’t wait to meet…” Chanyeol looked at Minseok for help.

“We don’t know their name yet, but the Great One called them Pink,” Minseok smiled.

“I can’t wait until we can meet, Pink.” Chanyeol smiled happily.

“Come on boys, the others are worried about you. Pink won’t awaken for another day or so,” Minseok stood up and helped the others up. They walked to the horrid black door, Chanyeol looked back and smiled at the orb.

“Welcome to the family, Pink. We can’t wait to meet you,” Chanyeol said loudly for the orb to “hear”. He quickly turned to follow his older brothers. The huge black door slowly closed, leaving the room almost pitch black. The Pink orb shined a little brighter.

[peach-mangos]

Thinking of You

☾ byun baekhyun/do kyungsoo ☾ holiday fluff/fluff/misunderstandings/mutual pining/getting together ☾ .911k ☾ can also read here

Baekhyun’s stomach was in a knot, his heart beat faster with each step he took. He was buzzing with nerves and the closer he got to Kyungsoo’s apartment, the more he regretted the whole thing.

Perhaps, he thought, this was a huge mistake .

It didn’t matter now anyways, he was already there.

He knocked on Kyungsoo’s front door and immediately regretted doing so. His stomach dropped to his bum, and the sudden urge to hurl overtook him. Should’ve stayed home he thinks.

On the other side of the door, a series of knocks startle Kyungsoo awake. He sits up in his couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawns, stretching out like a napping cat.

Patting down his couch, searching for his phone, he finds it tucked beneath a couch cushion and checks the time.

4:30 pm.

His eyes widen when he realizes he’s actually slept for two hours rather than the ‘planned’ half hour.

The initial knocks on his door that had woken him up come back and he turns to look in their direction with a confused frown on his face. He isn’t expecting anyone, and he has no missed calls or unanswered text from any of his friends.

As he racks his brain for answers as to who it might be, he makes his way to the door, scratching his head. He throws the door open and slightly gasps.

“I—hey, hi” Baekhyun greets awkwardly as soon as the door in front of him swings open, he was seconds from walking away. He watches as Kyungsoo’s mouth parts slightly in a cute surprised little ‘o’ shape, his cheeks flushed and hair sleep ruffled.

“Baekhyun” the surprise in Kyungsoo’s voice is evident as well as on his face.

“I’m sorry—did I wake you?” Baekhyun frowns feeling guilty.

“It’s okay, really, don’t worry. I actually overslept” Kyungsoo chuckles rubbing the back of his neck. “What’s up? Want to come in?”

Baekhyun hesitates before shaking his head.

“No, I—it’s okay. Actually I just wanted to swing by before I headed home for the holidays and give you this” he shyly hands Kyungsoo a small gift wrapped up penguin patterned wrapping paper. Kyungsoo smiles fondly, happily taking Baekhyun’s gift. “Did some shopping with Dae a few weeks back—anyways I saw it and thought of you” he confesses, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I know you’re upset with me still, but I wanted you to have it”

“Upset? I—Baekhyunnie, I’m not upset with you” Kyungsoo tells him.

“I mean it’s okay, I—well, you’ve been avoiding me since Chanyeol’s birthday party, so I figured”

“Baek”

“It’s okay Soo, we don’t—we don’t have to talk about it” Baekhyun assure him, shrugging and tucking his hands into his coat’s pockets.

“I—what? Baek, I’m—fuck, listen I’m sorry” because yeah, Baekhyun did have a point. Kyungsoo had been avoiding him for the past few weeks. In his defense, Kyungsoo was just incredibly embarrassed. They had both been very drunk, very drunk that night and well ig he was honest—Kyungsoo hadn’t remembered the incident right away. The memory kind of came slamming back to him when Jongdae mentioned Baekhyun the following day in passing, and Kyungsoo had been scared to face him since.

“Can we just forget about the whole thing?” Baekhyun asks, “we can pretend it never happened, if that’s what you want. The last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable around me, Soo. And I understand if you need time and distance, that’s okay too—I just wanted to know if there was any way we could go back to normal, because I miss you” he finishes in a rush.

Kyungsoo catches the way Baekhyun bites his lips nervously and starts to back away as if prepared to bolt without giving Kyungsoo the chance to say anything.

So before Baekhyun could run out on him, Kyungsoo took ahold of his wrist and pulled him back.

“Baekhyunnie, I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you” Kyungsoo apologizes, “I didn’t mean to make you think I was upset with you or that I felt uncomfortable around you, if anything, I feel the most comfortable whenever I’m around you. It’s one of the main reasons I like you so much” Kyungsoo confesses.

“You like me?” Baekhyun asks in awe stepping closer to Kyungsoo.

“Yeah—like a whole lot actually, and yeah I’ve been avoiding you because of what happened the night of Yeol’s birthday—I was so drunk, and I was so embarrassed. I’m sorry I just threw myself at you like that god ” Kyungsoo cringes at the memory. “But I’ve also been pretty busy at work, the holidays get hectic in the office, lots of companies and clients come to us for Holiday inspired collections and products—anyways, if you want to forget the whole thing we can—”

However Kyungsoo is unable to finish that sentence because Baekhyun pulls him in for a surprising but soft gentle kiss.

“Don’t think I’d be able to forget about it even if I tried—which I have, but it’s literally all I’ve been able to think of for the past month” Baekhyun confesses, eyes fluttering open.

“Oh” is all Kyungsoo is able to respond, half dazed.

“Yeah, oh”

“I—so you like me too?” Kyungsoo asks, Baekhyun’s kiss is telling enough.

“That answer your question?” he asks, Kyungsoo in turn nods pulling Baekhyun back in for a much more heated kiss.

[lamechellephotog]

Blessed be to whoever removed that God awful watermark the fan put on this flawless selfie! 🙏🏼✨💕 @baekhyunee_exo @weareone.exo @lucas_xx444 @superm ©sausageofvampires _ _ _ _ _ #EXO #엑소 #시우민 #baekhyunnie #しうちゃん #シウミン #김민석 #wtf #weareone #omfg #handsome #legend #fangirl #gorgeous #peacesign #exol #selfie #korea #kpop #weareoneexo #lucas #king #idol #obsession #baekhyun #sexy #superm #bossbaekhyun #platniumblonde https://www.instagram.com/p/B4yYn-Kls04/?igshid=c2txkh2k4gh0

[inyournightmares97]

Regret (Chen)

Iseul rejected Chen as a matter of routine. She couldn't possibly have known that she was going to fall in love with him. Chen/OC. Office!AU. Appearances from other EXO members.

Masterlist  Mobile

“Iseul is drunk again. Can you come pick her up?”

Chanyeol groaned. He had decided not to answer the phone when he saw the number. It belonged to the pretty bartender from the bar they went to for drinks after work. When he’d exchanged numbers with Jieun, Chanyeol had been hoping to get into bed with her. He hadn’t planned for her to call him whenever one of his friends got drunk.

“I’m still at work,” Chanyeol replied, tucking his phone between his shoulder and ear so that he could continue typing on his laptop. He had a court hearing first thing in the morning and he needed to prepare for it. It was a high-profile case. “Can you call Baekhyun to pick her up, instead?”

“I tried. He’s not answering,” Jieun replied.

“Just put her in a cab, she’ll be fine. I’ll check on her later-“

The bartender let out a small sigh. “Chanyeol, it’s bad. She was laughing and enjoying herself a few minutes ago. Then she suddenly started sobbing, and now she’s a complete mess. I can’t put her in a cab alone.”

What am I supposed to do with you, Iseul? Chanyeol wondered, annoyed. He told Jieun he would handle it, and then hung up the phone. Chanyeol leaned back in his seat and groaned, looking at the clock that hung on his office wall. It was almost 11 pm. He had a hearing at 9 am and his files weren’t even in order yet. He was going to be here all night, he didn’t have time to go pick up a drunk Iseul from the bar. Why did she even have to go drinking alone on a weeknight anyway? Didn’t she have any sense of responsibility? Was she the only one with problems in her life?

You deserve this, Iseul, Chanyeol thought to himself silently. I don’t care if you hate me for this later, you brought this on yourself.

He opened his recent contacts and quickly called a number. It was two rings before a voice answered clearly.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Chen. Listen, I need your help. It’s Iseul…”

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Iseul had planned to have a single beer and then go straight home.

She sat down on a barstool, dropping the pile of files in her arms and her black suit jacket on the empty barstool beside her. It felt weird. She’d never been here alone before. There were always other people with her. This was the bar that she and her colleagues regularly came to after work, where they sat and had a couple of refreshing drinks after a long day of arguing cases in court.

Iseul ordered a beer and then pulled out her cellphone. She texted the first number that she saw on the list; it happened to be Baekhyun’s.

Baekhyunnie! Come out for a drink! Iseul typed quickly and sent it.

Baekhyun’s response came about a minute later. Can’t! I’ve got a hot date with the girl from Accounting tonight. Answer quickly- pink flowers or red?

Iseul frowned. That’s right. Baekhyun finally convinced the hot girl from accounting to go out with him after spending weeks following her around like a puppy. Pink, she typed out in response and then moved further down her contact list. Chanyeol was next. He didn’t have a girlfriend, so he might just turn up. Iseul sent him a message quickly.

Chanyeol-ah! How about a beer?

His reply took a little longer than Baekhyun’s, but it was equally disappointing.

Got a high-profile hearing tomorrow morning. Can’t afford to drink. Sorry.  

Iseul bit her lip and switched off her phone. She didn’t want to scroll further down her contact list, because she knew whose name would come right after Chanyeol’s. She couldn’t text Chen. Her beer arrived, and as Iseul took a long sip of it, she wondered what Chen was doing at that moment. Was he packing his stuff? Maybe visiting his parents? Chen had mentioned the last time they met that he had a lot of visa formalities and other things to deal with before he left for China. He must be dealing with those.

“Oh, unnie! You’re here alone tonight?” the bartender asked cheerfully, coming up to her. Iseul forced a smile. They were all friendly with Jieun, mainly because Chanyeol kept hitting on her whenever they came to the bar. She always laughed him off casually. “Where are the others?”

“Baekhyun has a date,” Iseul explained slowly. “And Chanyeol’s working late at the office.”

“How about Chen?”

Iseul bit her lip. It was painful to even hear Chen’s name. She decided that she hated the sound of it. It was such a stupid name. Chen, why couldn’t he just go by his real name, Jongdae? Did he have to show off that he had worked in China? So pretentious. It was just as well that he was going back there. He didn’t need to be here. Who wanted him, anyway? Certainly not Iseul.

“I don’t know where Chen is,” Iseul replied coldly.

“I heard he’s leaving because he got transferred back to China,” Jieun said casually, not noticing the way Iseul’s lips were pressed together tightly. “It’s a pity, right? I’ve gotten so used to seeing him come here with the rest of you. I almost forgot that he wasn’t always here.”

Iseul nodded quietly. She could still remember the first time she met Chen, that particularly uneventful day at the office about a year or so ago.

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“Yah! Jung Iseul! Are you coming or not?” Baekhyun demanded. His was standing in the doorway to her office, frowning at her. Iseul was surrounded by large files on her desk, and her glasses were perched on her nose as she typed furiously. Her messy bun had come loose, and she blinked up at Baekhyun blankly.

“What?” she said distractedly.

“It’s nine-thirty. You can finish tomorrow. We’re getting drinks, remember?”

Iseul sighed and nodded, quickly saving her work on her laptop. “I’m coming.”

Iseul, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had all joined the firm around the same time last year. Feeling a little lost in the large corporate office and the strictly formal environment, they’d quickly bonded over drinks and complaints about their boss. Since then, it was a habit for the three of them to get drinks together at least two or three times a week after work. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were both loud, funny and carefree people and Iseul enjoyed their company after a long day.

“How’s the case going?” Baekhyun asked lightly, as Iseul gathered her things and followed him out of her office. “I heard one of the interns complaining about you during lunch.”

“Don’t even talk to me about the interns,” Iseul snapped. “They’re so incompetent, I think I might just murder one of them some day. Tell me something. If I push them off the top floor, then I can make it look like a suicide, right?”

Baekhyun chuckled. “Sure. You kill the interns. I’ll kill the boss.”

“That bad?”

“Awful. I stood in his office for about 45 minutes today while he yelled at me.”

“Yeesh.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun added, as they reached the fancy elevator and he pressed the button. “By the way, Chanyeol invited the new guy out to have drinks with us. Have you met him? His name is Chen. He specializes in mediation.”

“The one from China?” Iseul wondered. She remembered seeing Chen around the office earlier that day. He seemed like an extremely polite person and his smile was a little too wide for his face. Chen looked like a people-pleaser and Iseul had written him off as a suck-up almost instantly.

“He’s Korean, he just transferred from the Beijing office. He graduated from Seoul University.”

Iseul made a face. “Guys from elite universities always think they’re above us.”

Baekhyun shrugged. They reached the ground floor and stepped out towards the large, fancy glass doors that formed the exit to the office. Chanyeol was standing there along with Chen, the two of them talking as they waited. Iseul blinked at Chen calmly. There was nothing particularly amazing about him. Iseul briefly appreciated the way Chen’s shoulders looked in his crisp white shirt, and the black blazer he’d slung over one shoulder coolly after removing it.

Okay. So he was kind of hot on closer examination.

“Yah! What took you so long?” Chanyeol demanded, as soon as he spotted them. He waved eagerly. “Hurry up, I want to get there before my favorite bartender’s shift ends! I’ll get her number today, just wait and see.”

Iseul raised an eyebrow. “Do you even know her name?”

“No. They don’t wear nametags at that bar. But I’ll ask her today! I just need some liquid courage.”

She rolled her eyes. Chen was looking straight at her, and they made eye contact briefly. His expression brightened a little bit and his mouth turned into a wide smile that stretched across his face. Chen dropped into a polite bow and held his hand out for her to shake. “Ah- I don’t think we’ve met before. I just started a few days ago, my name’s Chen-“

“Yah, don’t be so formal!” Baekhyun said with a laugh, clapping Chen on the back. “We’re not at work anymore. Chen, this is Iseul. She’s mostly fun but she hates interns, gets really snappy when she’s tired, and waves her arms around when she’s drunk, so don’t stand within hitting range.”

Chen laughed awkwardly. “Ah-really? It’s nice to meet you, Iseul-ssi.”

Iseul smiled at him lightly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Chen-ssi.” She turned and glanced at the others. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll buy you guys one drink for every intern that’s gotten on my nerves today. Nobody’s going home sober.”

Chanyeol grinned. “Awesome!”

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“It’s honestly such a pity he’s leaving,” the bartender mused, resting her chin on her hand thoughtfully. “Chen was so handsome and gentlemanly. I remember the first time you guys brought him here, he looked really nervous and he barely drank anything. He was staring at you the whole time. Chanyeol and Baekhyun made a bet that he would ask you out by the end of that month.”

It happened sooner than that, Iseul thought quietly. She took a long swig of her beer and then forced a fake smile at Jieun. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I thought so too. He seemed to really like you. But you guys are just friends, right?”

Iseul nodded.

“It’s a pity he never asked you out. Baekhyun and Chanyeol really thought he would. I was surprised too. He definitely liked you and he wasn’t a shy person. I wonder why he never made a move.”

Iseul cradled her beer in her hands quietly.

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Iseul stood in the doorway of Chen’s office, her arms folded across her chest. She had walked over here to yell at him, but she froze in her tracks. Chen was at his desk, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled casually up to his elbows. He was absorbed in reading a file in front of him, while ran his fingers through his short hair absent-mindedly. Why was he so good-looking? Iseul briefly wondered what she would find if she grasped the ends of that dress shirt and ripped it open until all the buttons fell off.

Chen noticed movement and looked up at her. As he blinked at her, Iseul suddenly noticed how long his eyelashes were. His eyes widened as he registered her presence, and his lips curved up into a small smile. “Oh- Iseul-ssi! Sorry, I didn’t notice you there.”

Iseul cleared her throat. “Uh, no, that’s fine-“

“Please, come in. Can I do something for you?” he asked kindly.

Iseul frowned. She’d been furious when she walked over here, but the sight of Chen’s sweet smile had calmed her down instantly. She forced herself to remember why she was angry. “Actually, I have a bone to pick with you,” she said firmly, walking into his office and shutting the door behind her. “I’ve been hearing stories about the way you’re treating the interns.”

Chen blinked. “The interns? Oh- I had a meeting today, that’s why I forgot to review Sanghyuk’s work. I apologized to him, I’ll give him his feedback by tomorrow morning. It was honestly a mistake.”

Iseul stared at him. “Review-what? Who’s Sanghyuk?”

“One of the interns? The tall one with high cheekbones?” Chen reminded her.

Iseul stared at him in disbelief. Chen had been here for barely two weeks and he already knew the interns’ names? She couldn’t remember the name of the intern that had been working here for the past two months! She folded her arms across her chest. “Chen-ssi. I don’t know how you did things back in China, but over here, we treat our interns like shit.”

Chen laughed, amused. “What?”

“It’s a rite of passage. I spent my internship doing the same. That’s how it works. You don’t buy them coffee like you apparently did this morning. They’re supposed to buy YOU coffee. You stick them with the difficult jobs and give them strict deadlines so that they toughen up a little.”  

“Really? That’s why you let Eunji go home early on her birthday?” he challenged.

Iseul looked horrified. “I did not let that incompetent female go home early on her birthday! She was messing up the documents I gave her, so I told her to get out of my sight and not show her face to me until the next day.”

Chen raised an eyebrow at her coolly, his mouth curving up into a small smile. “I get it.”

“Get what?” Iseul demanded.

“Nothing,” he replied simply. He rested his elbow on his desk and smiled. “No more buying the interns coffee. Memo received and noted.”

Iseul cleared her throat. “Okay. Well, I’ll leave you to your work, then-“

“Can I buy you coffee instead?” he asked, a playful smile on his face.

Iseul blinked at him, confused. “I mean- obviously, I’m not going to stop you from buying coffee for other employees in the office, so you can do whatever you want, but-“

Chen shook his head, embarrassed that she had misunderstood. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and cleared his throat. “Uh, that’s actually not what I meant. I was wondering if you’d like to have coffee with me sometime. Or, um, if I’m not being too bold, maybe you would let me take you out to dinner?”

“Like a date?” she asked sharply.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said hurriedly, looking flustered. “I just-“

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” Iseul reassured him. She could feel her cheeks heating up a little. She cleared her throat and tried to think about it rationally. Chen was handsome and sweet, certainly, but they worked together and he had even become close with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. “I just… don’t think it’s a good idea considering we work together. Also, I don’t really have the time or inclination to date at the moment.”

Chen blinked and nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay-“

“Can we forget it happened?” he asked nervously. “You, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the only people that have really welcomed me here and I would hate to think that I embarrassed myself in front of any of you. I feel kind of stupid now.”

Iseul felt bad for him, and she gave him a warm smile. “No need for that. I won’t even tell them. You’re still coming for drinks with us after work, right?”

Chen gave her a relieved smile. “Yeah, if I can finish this and manage to review Sanghyuk’s work-“

“What did I just say about the interns?”

“Okay, okay. I guess Sanghyuk can wait until tomorrow,” Chen said with a grin. “Count me in for drinks.”

“That’s the spirit.”

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Iseul hadn’t thought much of it then. Politely turning down men who showed interest in her had become such a reflex that she didn’t even think before she did it. Throughout college, Iseul had been determined to stay away from the messy relationships and heartbreak that her friends had gone through, in favor of her studies and her career.

Friends give you support, Iseul had always believed. But dating takes more away from you emotionally, than it gives. It’s not worth it.

“Another beer?” the bartender asked lightly, pointing towards Iseul’s empty glass. Iseul nodded briefly, before shaking her head.

“Actually… no. Get me something a little stronger.”

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“-that sexist, elitist, pompous pig,” Iseul cursed angrily. Chanyeol and Baekhyun ignored her, pouring out drinks for themselves. Iseul was always worked up on days that she had been in Justice Kang’s courtroom. Kang was a balding, middle-aged pig who flaunted multiple gold rings on his fingers and thought that female lawyers were an abomination. “Do you know what he said to me today when I was asking for time to make further submissions? Do you?”

Chen gave her a small smile. “What did he say?”

“He said women are never really done talking anyway, and that the court had no patience for my meaningless chatter,” she snapped. Her fists tightened angrily. “I swear to God, the next time I see that miserable excuse for a judge, I’ll grab the nearest object and murder him with it.”

“You strangle him with his tie,” Chen suggested. “Imagine watching him choke to death with his own precious Cravalli.”  

“It’s not even a real Cravalli, it’s a cheap knock-off!” Iseul pointed out.

Chen grinned at her and nodded, watching as Iseul snatched the bottle from Baekhyun and poured herself another drink. He pursed his lips together and slowly reached out to take the bottle away from her. She had had quite a bit; her face was flushed red. “I think you should slow down. You have to go see Justice Kang again in the morning, do you really want to be hung over for that?”

“Hung over or not; what does it matter? He won’t listen to a word of my arguments anyway,” Iseul grumbled, reaching out to take the bottle back. She opened and closed her fist in mid-air with a pout. “Chen! Give it back to me, please!” she whined.

“Yeah, Chen, let her drink,” Baekhyun said with a cheeky grin. “Just because you only take a few sips doesn’t mean that Iseul can’t get smashed, right? You’ll drive her safely home and tuck her into bed anyway.”

Iseul glared at Baekhyun. “He doesn’t tuck me into bed. And he drives all of us home because he’s always sober.”

“Haven’t you ever wondered why he’s always sober?” Baekhyun pressed with a grin.

Chen looked embarrassed. “Yah, Byun Baekhyun, shut up. Why are you doing this to me?” he whined. Iseul was starting to look curious and Chen was afraid that Baekhyun would reveal his secret. He gave Baekhyun a pleading look, and shook his head rapidly.

Iseul raised an eyebrow and turned to Chen. “What? You told us already. Didn’t you say something about your family having a history of liver failure so the doctor asked you to restrict your alcohol intake if you wanted to maintain your health? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. My family has a history of diabetes. I’m so scared, I don’t even put sugar in my coffee anymore.”

Chanyeol roared with laughter. “Yeah. Liver failure! Sure!”

“Why do I feel like the three of you know something I don’t?” Iseul demanded.  

“Because the three of us came out for drinks without you last week,” Baekhyun said with a big smile. “When you were working late. And our little Chennie here got wasted and told us a lot of things that he probably didn’t want us to know.”

“Like what?” Iseul demanded, interested.

“Sorry, Iseul. It’s bro code. I can’t tell you because you’re a girl. My lips are sealed,” Baekhyun said, making an exaggerated miming of zipping his lips shut and then collapsing into drunken giggles. Chanyeol was laughing as well and Iseul shot them both dirty looks.

“You pigs. You’re no better than that Justice Kang.”    

“I’m much better looking than that old fart,” Baekhyun protested.

Iseul rolled her eyes and took another drink. Chen was sitting with a slightly red face and he was silent. Raising an eyebrow, Iseul scooted her chair back and stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she said. Chen was the only one who gave her a nod; Chanyeol and Baekhyun were too busy arguing over how many more drinks they should order.

Iseul stood up and then headed towards the bar. She made eye contact with the female bartender that Chanyeol was always flirting with and stopped to talk to her. “Hey; did these guys come in here without me last week?” Iseul asked her casually.

The bartender smiled and nodded. “Oh yeah; they did. They seemed to be having a lot of fun. Chen got drunk too, even though he usually keeps himself sober.”

“Did they talk about me?”

The bartender looked thoughtful and then her eyes widened. “Oh yeah! Chen was talking about why he never drinks when you’re around. He said that he usually can’t control what he says when he’s drunk and he has a tendency to hit on women. He said he was afraid he might come on to you and make you uncomfortable, so he tries to stay sober.”

Iseul blinked. “Seriously?”

The bartender nodded and laughed. “It’s kind of funny, right? But weirdly sweet. You should date him!”

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“Have you ever,” Iseul asked quietly, clutching her drink. “Taken something so completely for granted as part of your daily life, that you didn’t realize how much you needed it? You never thought about it when you had it but now that it’s gone, you can’t function anymore.”

“You’re not… you’re not talking about Chen, are you?”

Iseul bit her lip, her head drooping forward and hair falling in her face. She was getting more and more drunk by the minute, and she let out a small sniffle. “Today in court, that sexist pig Justice Kang came in wearing this complete Rolex knock-off,” she said with a dry chuckle. “I went up to the bench to hand him some papers and I even saw the price tag still hanging off. And the moment I saw it, I thought- waah, I have to tell Chen about this later, we’ll laugh about it so much.”

“Ah.”

“And then I remembered,” Iseul mumbled, sniffling again. “That he’s leaving for China tomorrow and I’ll never get to sit and drink with him and trade stories about Justice Kang, or argue about the useless interns, or make bets on how badly Baekhyun’s going to get rejected by the receptionists.”

The bartender reached out and squeezed Iseul’s hands comfortingly. “You can find someone else to talk to. I’d love to hear about this sexist judge and whatever else happens during your day. And there’s always Baekhyun and Chanyeol-“

“I don’t want any of them. I want Chen.”

“Oh…”

“I want to hear his laugh. I want to see the way he whines and makes a pouty face whenever I playfully hit him. Even when he’s not smiling, the corner of his lips are still turned up so it seems like he is,” Iseul whispered. Her hands were trembling and her voice shook. “I want him to come and silently replace my alcohol with soda when he knows I’ve had too much to drink and I have work in the morning. I want him to sit in front of me and give me that soft, caring look that makes me feel all fuzzy inside.”

“Why didn’t you tell him any of this?” Jieun asked quietly.

“Because I took him for granted,” Iseul mumbled. Her words were starting to slur and she could feel tears building up in her eyes. She hated this. She hated that she was crying over him. “I thought he would be there and do those things forever, but then-then-“

“He suddenly told you he was going back to China.”

Iseul blinked her tears back and choked. “The worst part is, I knew. Chen told us from the start that his staying in Korea was temporary. He only came here until a particular project was finished and he planned to go back to China at the first opportunity. But I… I got so caught up in him that I forgot.”

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“What do you think?” the female intern whispered nervously. “Do you think he’ll like it? I heard him saying that he likes chocolates. Would it be too weird if I asked to keep in touch with him? As in, like a sunbae of course-“

Iseul rolled her eyes as she passed by the desk the interns sat at. She spotted a neatly wrapped box of chocolates being hastily shoved under the table and frowned. “Valentine’s Day in the middle of November? This isn’t high school, we don’t encourage office confessions. It’s unprofessional,” she drawled, disapprovingly.  

The female intern straightened up. “I-I wasn’t confessing. I just wanted to give Chen-sunbaenim something since it’s his last week here and he’s been really kind and supportive to all of us.”

Iseul blinked. “His last week here?” she repeated.

The female intern nodded, still looking nervous at having been caught with the chocolates. She stowed them further under the table and sat up. “Y-yeah. He told us today that he wouldn’t be able to follow through with our research because he wouldn’t be in office from next week. He’s transferring back to China.”

Iseul froze. Transferring back to China? How had she not heard anything about this? How could he not say anything and just leave? Feeling a burst of anger, she turned around and walked away. Her heels clacked loudly on the office floor as she strode straight towards Chen’s office and knocked on the door loudly. His pleasant ‘come in’ sounded and Iseul stepped inside.

Chen looked up and smiled at her. “Oh, Iseul! I was going to come find you. Can you help me review some documents? It’s to do with franchising agreements and to be honest, it’s my first time dealing with them, so I’m worried I might have missed something.”

Iseul suddenly felt her resolve falter, the way it always did when she saw Chen’s cheerful smile. Who was she to get angry at him? His girlfriend? Certainly not. A friend? Maybe. To be honest, he was more of a colleague than anything else. Did Iseul have any right to throw a fit because he didn’t tell her he was leaving? Why did she care? People transferred out of the office all the time. If she got mad at him now, she would look like the stupid one.

Chen blinked at her, concerned. “Iseul? Are you okay?”

Iseul cleared her throat. “Fine,” she managed to say.

“You look kind of disturbed. Is something wrong? Why did you come to my office in the first place?” Chen wondered. He stood up, surprised at the slightly blank expression on her face. Iseul quickly blinked and forced a smile.

“Nothing. I wanted to warn you that one of the interns seems to have a crush on you. I saw her hiding a box of chocolates with your name on it,” she said.

“Oh-really?” Chen asked, a slightly cheeky grin on his face.

“Don’t look so happy,” Iseul snapped, as she held her hand out to him. “Give me those franchise agreements then, I’ll look at them and give them back tomorrow.”

He handed her a large file. “Thanks a lot. I’ll see you after work? Dinner is on Baekhyun because he won the case for that big electronics company.”

Iseul forced a  smile. “Sounds great.”  

She stepped out of his office and closed the door behind her, before taking a long, deep breath. That’s right. She was nobody. Just a colleague he sometimes went out for drinks with. It shouldn’t matter to her if Chen went back to China or not.

But it did. And the fact that he hadn’t said a word about it, hurt even more.

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“Did Chen… tell you guys that he’s leaving?” Iseul asked quietly.

Baekhyun glanced up from the sandwich he was stuffing in his mouth. They were sitting in the office cafeteria and having lunch together. Chen often joined them, but he was in a lunch meeting with some clients. Baekhyun picked up a tissue and wiped mustard off his mouth. “Sure. He told us a couple days ago.”

“Where was I?”

“You were right there,” Chanyeol replied. “But now I think about it, you were already pretty drunk. When he mentioned China, you cut him off and started talking about how you were craving dumplings and whether the Chinese takeout down the road would still be open.”

Shit. Iseul remembered that.

“Oh,” she said quietly.

“Yeah. Frankly, he looked a little hurt after that. He probably thought you didn’t care.”

“I don’t care,” Iseul muttered, playing with her fork. “I mean… we knew he was leaving anyway, he was only here temporarily, right? It’s no big deal. People transfer to and from the Beijing office all the time.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol gave each other knowing looks. “If you say so.”

Iseul glanced down at her food and suddenly realized that she had lost her appetite. She put her fork down and stood up, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach. She couldn’t sit there anymore. “I just remembered that I have to file some documents in court before 3 pm,” she said vaguely.

“You’re not eating? Can I have the rest of your lunch?”

Iseul pushed it towards Chanyeol wordlessly and left.

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Chen entered Iseul’s office cheerfully later that day, carrying a small plastic box of food. Iseul felt her stomach twist as soon as she saw him. He was wearing a light blue shirt, with his sleeves rolled up again and his lips were twisted up into his usual smile.

“Hey! Are you busy?” he asked cheerfully.

Iseul forced her gaze back to her laptop. She couldn’t look at him. Her stomach was twisting and she felt like she might be sick. Avoiding his gaze, she glanced blankly at the letters on her laptop screen. “I have a few minutes,” she said dismissively.

Chen nodded and put the box down on her table before settling into the seat opposite her desk. Iseul still wasn’t looking at him, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. “My lunch meeting went great. The clients are damn rich, we went to a five-star restaurant. Chanyeol mentioned that you didn’t eat anything, so I brought you back a slice of carrot cake. Whipped cream and all.”

Iseul clenched her fists and kept her gaze on the laptop. “Yeah? Thanks.”

There was a brief silence.

“Are you… coming for drinks tonight? I’m buying,” Chen said hopefully.

“I can’t,” Iseul said sharply, as she started to type something. She blinked at what she was typing and then deleted the entire sentence, realizing it didn’t make sense. Her head was spinning. “I, uh, I have to work late tonight. There’s a hearing tomorrow morning. You guys go ahead.”

Chen bit his lip, staring at her for a long moment. Iseul was still ignoring him and typing into her laptop. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke quietly. “Today’s my last day here. I mean… I’m still in Korea until next week but I won’t be coming to work since I need to pack up and deal with some visa technicalities.”

Iseul could feel tears coming to her eyes. The laptop screen was starting to become blurry, but she blinked them away and hoped that Chen wouldn’t notice. She tried to keep her voice calm. “Oh, really? Good luck, then. You’ll be glad to go back to Beijing.”

“Is something wrong?” Chen blurted out finally.

“Why?”

“You’re acting cold.”

Iseul raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a very warm person, Chen-ssi. You can ask my interns.”

“I see,” he said, standing up slowly. He looked down at the slice of carrot cake that was still lying untouched on her desk and then up at the expressionless Iseul. Part of him wanted to say something more, but the icy expression on her face stopped him. “I’ll leave you to your work, then. Please try to make it for drinks tonight. I really want to treat you guys for taking care of me these past few months.”

Iseul merely nodded. She kept her gaze on the laptop screen until she heard Chen walk out of the office and the door clicked shut behind him.

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“Unnie! Iseul-unnie, please stop crying!” Jieun begged. Iseul had slid down from the barstool and was kneeling on the floor of the pub, letting out choked sobs. She didn’t usually cry when she was drunk, but once she started, the alcohol wouldn’t let her stop. Her throat kept involuntarily choking up and tears were streaming down her face.

Jieun wondered what to do. She had never seen Iseul like this. Iseul was usually a loud, cheerful drunk that waved her arms around wildly and enjoyed emphatically cursing about her boss and Justice Kang. But now she was sitting on the floor, covering her head with her arms and sobbing uncontrollably. Jieun tried to help her to her feet, but Iseul couldn’t balance herself enough to get up.

The door to the pub opened and Chen hurried in, slightly out-of-breath. He’d gotten a short call from Chanyeol saying that Iseul was alone at the pub and that she needed help. Chen had abandoned his packing-up of the apartment halfway, knocking over spare cardboard boxes in his rush to get to the pub. He spotted Iseul instantly, and ran over to her.

“What happened?” Chen demanded, rushing over to where the bartender was trying to coax Iseul onto her feet. Iseul was still sobbing and Chen froze for a moment, unsure what to do.

Jieun sighed and bit her lip. “I don’t know. She came here alone and she kept drinking and then she started crying and… well, she’s so drunk, I don’t think she can control the crying anymore.”

“Can you get her some water?” Chen asked quickly, kneeling down on the floor beside Iseul. He gently pushed her hair away from her face and then rubbed a hand comfortingly on her back. “Shh. You’re okay, Iseul-ah. Nothing’s wrong. Can you take a deep breath for me? Just breath for a bit. You need to calm down so the sobs will stop.”

Iseul nodded. Her shoulders shook slightly as she took a deep breath and tried to stop the sobs. Her tears had slowed down but her breathing was still shaky as she looked up at Chen. Her eyes were slightly wide and she hiccupped as she stared at him. “Chen?” she asked, slurred. “Shouldn’t you-shouldn’t you be leaving for China? F-for Beijing or Shanghai or wherever it is you’re going?“

“I was packing,” Chen replied calmly. He placed a hand on her flushed cheek and sighed. “Except Chanyeol called me so I came here to check on you. Why did you come here alone? You hate drinking alone.”  

“I didn’t have anybody,” she mumbled.

Chen sighed as Jieun returned with a glass of water. He handed it to her and helped her drink it slowly, before wrapping an arm around Iseul’s waist firmly and helping her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s get you home. You need to sober up a little and get some sleep.”

Iseul shook her head. “Don’t want to.”

“You have to. Are you coming? Or do I have to pick you up and carry you out of here? Don’t make me do that, I haven’t been working out lately. My muscles aren’t in good condition,” he joked lightly, watching Iseul’s unfocused eyes that were slowly drooping. There was clearly something wrong with her.

“You’re still handsome,” Iseul mumbled. She poked at his face clumsily. “You’re always handsome. Especially when you laugh.”

Chen laughed uncomfortably. Iseul probably had no idea what she was saying. He watched her for a few second longer, before tightening his grip around her waist and helping her stumble to the exit of the pub. He hailed a taxi quickly and helped Iseul get inside, before sitting next to her. He told the taxi driver Iseul’s address and then sat back.

“Are you okay?” Chen asked her quietly, after a few moments of sitting silently in the taxi. “Not feeling sick?”  

“Fine,” Iseul mumbled quietly.

“What happened to you today?” he wondered quietly. Why had Iseul chosen tonight of all nights to get herself drunk and collapse in tears? Chen couldn’t help but stare at her as she curled up in the taxi seat, and leaned her head against the opposite side window. She was still sniffling slightly from her sobbing fit and he reached out to squeeze her hand.

“Iseul-ah. What happened to you?”

“Nothing,” she whispered.

Chen let out a dry chuckle. “You had so much to drink and you’ve been crying your eyes out. I can’t imagine the headache you’re going to wake up with. You’ll regret this tomorrow.”

“I’ve never regretted anything in my life,” Iseul said firmly. Her head lolled against the window. It was quiet, and when she spoke again, her voice cracked.  “Until now. It’s so weird. I didn’t even think about it back then.”

“Think about what?”  

“That day you asked me out for coffee,” Iseul whispered. She let out a long, shaky breath. “I wish to God I had said yes. But why would I have? I was so used to turning guys down that I didn’t think about it. I couldn’t have known then that I would fall in love with you, could I?”  

“What?” Chen whispered.

Iseul blinked. “Or maybe things would have been worse. It might have been harder to let you go to China if you were my boyfriend. I think I would have completely lost my mind, then.”

“You acted like it didn’t matter to you,” Chen said quietly.

“How was I supposed to act?”

“Not the way you did!” Chen replied  angrily. He couldn’t believe that she was sitting here and saying this to him. After the cold treatment on his last day at work, and the way she had always kept him at a distance, how could she confess her love just before he left for another country? “You could have done anything! You could  have asked me not to go, you could have at least said I’ll miss you. But you didn’t. You didn’t even look at me properly. I felt pathetic.”

“I couldn’t,” Iseul whispered. “I was too afraid I’d start crying if I looked at you.”

“I thought you didn’t care. I was ashamed of myself for constantly pining after a woman who clearly didn’t give a shit about me.” Chen turned and looked at her, squeezing her hand tightly in the dark cab. “Iseul-ah, tell me honestly. Are you saying this because you’re drunk? Do you really have feelings for me?”

“You’re leaving for China.”

“Forget China-“

The taxi stopped suddenly, and the driver turned around to face them. They had reached Iseul’s house. Chen broke off, pulling out his wallet to pay the taxi driver quickly and then helping Iseul out of the cab. She was still extremely unsteady on her feet and she stumbled onto the sidewalk clumsily. Almost falling over, she gripped onto Chen’s arm tightly to steady herself.

“Careful,” he mumbled. “You’re always falling all over the place when you’re drunk.”

Iseul bit her lip. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t apologize-“

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I had feelings for you,” Iseul whispered. “I knew that you liked me too. That made it even scarier.”

Chen ran a hand over his face. He didn’t know what to do. He’d been hoping Iseul would return his feelings for so long, but she was drunk and he wasn’t sure if he should trust what she was saying. Either way, he needed to put her to bed. “Come on, let’s get you into bed. I have to go back home and finish my packing too,” he said quietly.

Iseul stared up at him with wide eyes, before wrapping her arms around him suddenly. Chen stumbled back from the sudden weight, but Iseul pressed her face into his shoulder. He could smell the alcohol and her flowery shampoo as she snuggled further into him. “Don’t go,” she mumbled against his shoulder. “I should have said it sooner, but I’m saying it now. Don’t go. I need you in my life.”

Chen bit his lip. “Iseul-ah…”

“Please,” Iseul whispered. Her grip around him tightened and she sniffled. “I know I’m a horrible person and a complete idiot, but I don’t want to lose you. Don’t go.”

Chen closed his eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath, before gently grabbing her hands and unwrapping them from around him. Iseul felt her heart break as Chen slowly stepped back. He started walking towards her apartment, pulling her inside.

Of course. What can he possibly say? I’m too late. Iseul held back tears as she slowly followed him up to her apartment. He entered her security code swiftly, and Iseul remembered the number of times he had brought her back here while she was drunk, the number of times Chen had taken care of her patiently. Her throat clenched and she followed him into the apartment quietly.

“Sit,” he told her firmly, pointing towards the dining table chair.

Iseul sat silently, her head bowed in shame. Was this what it felt like to get rejected? Had Chen felt this way when she turned him down before? Surely not. He hadn’t been in love with her then, the way she was with him now. This was too cruel. Iseul sat silently, holding back her tears as Chen went into the kitchen. The smell of coffee drifted out and Chen returned a few minutes later. His lips were pressed into a thin line as he set a cup of hot coffee in front of her.

“Drink up,” he said quietly, sitting opposite her.

Iseul picked up the cup with trembling hands and forced herself to drink it. It was disgustingly strong, but it helped her sober up. She forced herself to look up at Chen. He was sitting in the dining table chair, arms folded across his chest and staring resolutely at the wooden dining table. Iseul felt the shame from the rejection a few moments ago wash over her again.

“Is this revenge?” she wondered quietly.

Chen looked up at her sharply. “What?”

“Is this revenge for when I treated you coldly?” she asked with a dry chuckle. Her lower lip was trembling. “Because it feels like it. It hurts so much. I knew falling in love was a pain. This is why I wanted to stay away from it, because it drains your time, and energy, and makes you feel so miserable you can’t focus on anything else.”

“That’s not falling in love,” Chen said calmly. “Heartbreak does those things.”

Iseul scoffed as she took another sip of her coffee. “Same thing.”

“It’s not. And I’m not taking revenge on you for anything. If I wanted to take revenge, I would have left you at that pub,” Chen replied firmly. “But I brought you back here and I want you to sober up quickly, so that we can talk about what you said to me earlier.”

Iseul made a face. “Do we have to? I’d rather not hear a rejection. I’d rather you just left for China and never talked to me again. We can pretend tonight never happened. Let’s just forget it.”

“Don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“Are you sober yet?”

Iseul glared at him and set her coffee mug down sharply. Her voice rose in anger. “Yes, I’m sober, I drank this entire bloody mug of badly-made coffee. Do you want me to walk in a straight line to prove it to you? Why does it even matter to you whether I’m sober? Just go take your bloody flight to China already!”

“Should I? You were begging me not to go a couple of minutes ago.” He gave her a cheeky smile.

Iseul stared at him. “Oh my God, you’re making fun of me.”

“I’m not-“

“Just go to hell,” she snapped, standing up from the dining table sharply. Her chair made a loud screech across the floor, but Chen was faster than her. He quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back so that she was facing him. Iseul’s eyes widened as she stared at him, flushing at their proximity. “What are you-“

“I wasn’t making fun of you, I was just testing whether you were really sober so I could do this.”

“Do what-“

Chen pressed his lips to hers, arms roughly grasping her waist. Iseul froze for a few moments, but she managed to relax, and her fingers fisted the sleeves of his shirt to balance herself. His lips were demanding and impatient and Iseul wondered how much pent-up energy Chen must have to treat her so roughly. Her knees felt weak and she shuddered as Chen kissed her hard. He pulled away for a moment and Iseul felt her head spin.

“Wow,” she mumbled vaguely.

Chen chuckled, pressing his forehead to hers. “Are you really sober?” he demanded breathlessly.

“Yes.”

He pulled her closer, his arms tightening around her as his head bent down to nuzzle the crook of her neck. “Do you have any idea,” he mumbled, pressing his lips to her throat hotly. “How many times I’ve thought about holding you like this? How many times I’ve stood in the doorway of your office and wondered what would happen if I sat you on that desk and had my way with you?”

Iseul felt her cheeks flush red. “You know what I want to do?”

“What?”

“I want to rip that white dress shirt of yours open until all the buttons pop off,” she admitted.

Chen frowned and released her suddenly. His eyes were narrowed. “Okay, hold on. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is an expensive shirt. You can’t go around tearing people’s clothes.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just not a very nice thing to do!”

Iseul rolled her eyes. “Way to ruin the moment, Chen. I was trying to be sexy.”

“Then be sexy, why do you have to kill the mood by saying you’re going to rip my favorite shirt?” he whined.

Iseul stared at him for a long moment, before laughing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Chen was chuckling as well. There was a brief silence and Iseul bit her lip, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. She pressed her face into his chest and took a deep breath.

“Chen.”

“Hmmm.”

“Are you leaving for China tomorrow?”

He stiffened a little. “Hmm.”

“Will you stay here tonight?”

Chen looked down at her and pressed his lips to her forehead softly. “Of course.”

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

When Iseul woke up, the bed was empty.

She panicked for a moment, her heartbeat thudding. Was he gone? Had he left for China without saying goodbye? She threw the covers off herself and hurried into the living room. It was deserted. She went into the kitchen, feeling her heart sink until she noticed a sticky note stuck on her fridge.

I had to leave to catch my flight. I tried waking you up, but you were sleeping so peacefully. I’ll call you once I land. Love you!

Also, I used your laptop.  All you have to do is click. I leave it up to you.

Iseul closed her eyes. He was gone, and she hadn’t even said goodbye. She blinked her tears back, clenching her fists. What was the use in crying now? She knew he was leaving.

Iseul noticed that her laptop was sitting open on the kitchen counter, the light still on. Iseul stepped towards it and swiped at the mouse. What had Chen been doing on her laptop so early in the morning? There were two tabs open. One of them was an online shopping website. She laughed as she saw that there was a white dress shirt placed in the Cart. It looked extremely similar to the one that she’d managed to rip open the previous night.

Did Chen want her to buy him a replacement? Unable to hold back a chuckle, Iseul clicked to confirm the order. She closed the tab, and then looked at the second one.

It was Chen's e-mail account. There was an e-mail sitting in the draft box, fully composed but unsent. It was addressed to their boss and Iseul paused. The subject of the e-mail stared her in the face.

Application for permanent transfer to Korea office.

The mouse hovered over the send button for a few moments, before Iseul clicked it firmly.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

[onenightandgone]

Five (Drabble Challenge)

49. “Safety first. What are you? FIVE?” + Junmyeon

Your phone buzzed as you sat playing video games with Baekhyun. He screamed loudly as you finally defeated his supercharged Link with your Captain Falcon.

‘Yah, I’m done! You cheat too much!’ he whined, throwing down his controller.

‘Me? Cheat?’ you made sure to sound hurt. ‘You’re the one trying to tickle me the whole match!’ You smacked his arm before checking your messages.

‘Y/N-ah! Come to the park with us!’

‘We’re outside! Hurry up!’

You chuckled as you slipped on your shoes and went to meet your friends.

‘Yah, what took you so long?’ Bambam asked, feigning annoyance.

‘I had to beat up Baekhyunnie at Smash Bros,’ you bragged.

Yugyeom handed you the iced coffee they had picked up for you, which you had downed by the time you had reached the park.

Mark, JB, and Jackson were already there, kicking around a soccer ball.

‘We’re here!’ Bambam announced loudly.

You divided into teams to play football, older versus younger. JB, Mark, and you formed one team playing against Jackson, Bambam, and Yugyeom.

You played hard for thirty minutes before taking a water break. You wiped the sweat from your forehead and hands as you checked your phone.

One unread message:

           ‘Where are you? You left without telling Baekhyun where you went.’

You sighed in annoyance.

           ‘Junmyeon-ah, I’m at the park with friends like I am every Saturday.’

There was a new buzz a second later.

           ‘Which park?’

You rolled your eyes and threw your phone back down on the ground without responding. If you needed a mother, you would have brought yours with you. You got back into the game and quickly forgot all about your overly-concerned boyfriend.

Ten minutes later you heard the screeching of tires as a fancy sports car pulled into the parking lot. You already knew exactly who it was without having to look and concentrating on the game.

‘Y/N-ah!’ JB yelled and passed you the ball quickly. You ran up the field with it, swiftly dribbling it towards the goal.

Then suddenly something hit you hard, taking your feet out from under you. You fell to the grass in a heap, the air knocked out of your lungs.

‘Y/N-ssi! I’m so sorry!’ Jackson started apologizing. He crouched by you worriedly.

You sat up and tried to get your breath back. You were dizzy and your perception of your surroundings was exceptionally hazy. There was a hand on your back and what looked like Junmyeon kneeling beside you. Was that..yelling?

‘What were you thinking?’ Junmyeon chewed out Jackson. Your boyfriend held on to you more tightly as you started to come to.

‘Junmyeon, it’s ok. He didn’t mean to,’ you said as you tried to take his attention away from the perpetrator.

‘It was an accident, man, I’m sorry,’ Jackson tried to apologize again. He felt awful and you could see it in his expression.

‘Accident?’ The very word seemed to trigger Junmyeon. ‘You’re playing a pretend game! Why do you need to tackle at all? Safety first. What are you? FIVE?’

He gently helped you up and over to the sidelines. He held you closely in spite of your profuse sweating. Caringly, he wiped away the drops with a tissue and handed you a bottle of water with the top already unscrewed.

‘Junmyeon,’ you started. ‘I am a grownup, you know. I’m perfectly able to take care of myself.’

He didn’t smile like you thought he would. Instead, he looked you in the eye seriously.

‘It’s not that I don’t know that,’ he replied carefully. ‘I just want to be the only one that gets to take care of you.’

Softly and sweetly, Junmyeon kissed your cheek. You giggled from pure happiness, wrapping your arms around his middle and resting your head against his chest.

[clevernewdimension]

Inhumans Part Eight

Parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine,

Genre: A/U, Angst, Violence, Fluff, Romance, more in the future.

Pairing: Yixing x Reader

Word Count: 4.2K

The next few weeks went by smoothly. The book was now in our possession, telling all the secrets of most of the labs in all of Korea. Passcodes, copies of key cards, maps and even coordinance of every lab that was listed. Everything they needed to help Inhumans like us. For the first time, they were even able to free every single Inhuman in one of the biggest labs. From elderly to babies, they were all sent to China, a place that welcomes Inhumans freely. Apparently, the rest of the world does as well. Korea is one of the very few places that doesn’t.

Research stolen and then completely wiped out at the labs they visit now, giving all those who test on us a major problem. They would either have to give up or start from scratch, but as more Inhumans are being freed by EXO and others like them, the rate of Inhumans being born here is down in the single digit percentages.

I make a disgusted face, glaring at the file I was reading. Baekhyun had so much research on his hands he needed help going through it all. The entire table covered in stacks of folders, some dangerously high that they may fall over. “Apparently birthrates of Inhumans are so low, they’re either buying them illegally from other countries, or they’re paying people here to have them and sell them.” I glare at the paper, feeling the burn of bile at the back of my throat. I keep it down, trying to avoid looking at pictures. “Fucking awful.”

“Many labs have also made the decisions to start ‘breeding the subjects forcibly’,” Kyungsoo says, glaring at the paper in disgust.

“Fucking hell,” I say, looking down at the paper he just dropped onto the table.

“They can do that,” Jongdae asks, looking grossed out as well. His body was sense as he sat at a chair at the table, pushing the file he was reading away.

“They can do anything with that serum that temporarily renders Inhuman powers useless,” I mutter, dropping the file I held. “All you have to do is have someone who isn’t Inhuman who has the gene… or well...”

“Stop. If you guys keep talking about it I may vomit,” Baekhyun says from his spot on the table.

The room we’re in, the walls are covered in papers. Faces, names, news articles covered the walls. Pages with useful information also being added to the walls. It was bright, all the lights in here working along with a few orbs of pure sunlight. The table in the middle had a laptop where Baekhyun was currently working, typing away while attempting to break in. The rest of us all stood around the table, reading files and adding it to specific spots on the walls. Sections of the walls for each lab and a couple for some specific people. Recently, Junsoo’s information has been all taken down from the wall and replaced with yet another lab.

“Ah,” I say, triumphantly shaking a paper in my hand, “Complete details to the security network of InJin Labs!”

“That’s great,” Kyungsoo replys with a small smile, “Now we just have to find Kiyoung corporation’s new hideout.” He leaned against the table, eyes scanning the names on the folders.

“New,” I ask, adding the new paper to the wall under InJin Labs. It was almost completely filled up. Seeing how much we had on them, it’ll probably be time to pay them a visit.

“They moved,” Junmyeon says, looking through papers, “After all, when twelve Inhumans hellbent on revenge break out of your lab that is so secret not even the government knows about it, people deem it best to move locations after that.”

I frown, walking to the table, “Isn’t Kiyoung the worst one?”

I’m met with silence. Somehow, I gather the statement is true. I decide to change the topic, “So, why don’t you find footage of what these labs are doing and sent it to every free nation’s news outlets? Surely there are laws against treating living people like this?”

“Harder to hack out of a secure country than in one,” Baekhyun says, smiling. “However, this laptop was a piece of cake!”

“Why don’t you just hack into networks that are allowed to show things to other countries already,” I ask while absent mindedly looking through papers. “They’re showing propaganda, but if you can get into a place that already has access to the rest of the world’s internet, then you could upload what you want instead of their lies.”

“I’ve never tried that,” Baekhyun mutters, nodding, “That… that could potentially work. If I can gain access, then I’ll just upload footage they have of what they do to Inhumans, and their files and research and put it on the internet that isn’t locked down.”

“Why didn’t we convince Nayeon to add her to the team earlier,” Jongdae asks, running over to me and hugging me tightly.

“Nayeon would have killed us,” Kyungsoo retorts, smiling as well. “I hope it works. We could use some luck, and if it does, people all over the world would be outraged and perhaps something will happen here.”

“It’s violating many laws,” Junmyeon says, pointing at the many of disgusting files. He was tense, and lately it seems as if he’s always tense. He nods, “The Geneva Conventions were made to stop people being treated like this. All out war against the government could ensue if we manage this.”

“Miracle worker Baekhyunnie is on the case,” Baekhyun says, giving us a thumbs up. “I’ll start tomorrow, since it will probably take a whole day to get into such a secure network. Let me look through this first, and start to prepare for what I’m going to let out into the wild.” He glances up at us, “I’ll probably have to do it somewhere other than here, because they could find me since I’d be going after people with a lot of power and unlimited resources.”

I nod, “I think I’m going to nap.” I throw the papers I was looking threw down after hugging Jongdae back. “I’ve read a bit too much of this awful shit for today.”

I walk to the exit, waving at them. I hear Baekhyun say in a singing voice, “Give Yixing a kiss for me!”

“If you want a kiss get one for yourself,” I yell over my shoulder, prompting many laughs.

“Y/N, I didn’t know you were into sharing! So kinky,” Baekhyun fires back, making me blush as I continue down the hallway.

“Why do I put up with that sassy little shit,” I mutter with a smile, stretching. I was very thankful to have people like Baekhyun and Sehun in my life, even if they tease me like that. They treat me like a sister, which is a new feeling for me since I have no siblings. Everyone else teases me as well, though just not as bad or as often as those two. Minseok is different, though. He teases me one in a while, making it very subtle so many of the others don’t even notice. He was definitely like the older brother one would go to for advice. These past two or so months, besides being in the most danger I’ve ever been in, I’ve never been happier. This family I’ve found in them is amazing and I absolutely wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The halls were empty and cold as winter was completely here, the land outside completely covered in snow. The school was pretty cold in the hallways, since one of the heaters is busted. The rooms were mostly fine, mine colder than normal. Somehow air was escaping my room, making it extremely cold, but I was too stubborn to go sleep anywhere else. I was walking past the entrance towards my room, hearing the front door open, seeing two people come inside.

“So cold,” A voice says, shaking snow off of them. I smile, hearing them mutter curses. The one who spoke was almost completely covered from head to toe. A thick parka over him and dark wash blue jeans were all I could see except for his eyes. “It’s below freezing, why did it have to storm today?” Yixing took off the hat he was wearing, his hair in complete disarray. He shivers, trying to get the snow completely off of him.

“Listen,” Minseok says, standing there in jeans and a normal short sleeve tee, completely unfazed by the cold. “It’s not that cold.” He smirks, “I mean, if it’s not cold to me it can’t be cold to anyone else! Besides, the roof had to be fixed! You’re the one who insisted!” The older man shrugs, wiping the snow out of his now recently dyed silver hair. He looks forward, smiling, “Oh, hi, Y/N! What are you doing?”

Yixing looks forward as he takes off his scarf. He smiles, biting his lip. I smile, feeling happy and like there were butterflies in my stomach, which is how I feel anytime I see him anymore.

“I was just going to take a nap,” I explain, “Spent way too long looking through files and, since I woke up at 4AM, I think I deserve one.”

They walk closer to me, Yixing taking off more and more. I take the hat and scarf from him, freeing his hands to hold more. “Thank you,” He says, with a soft voice. “Did you find anything,” He asks, trying to keep the chill from affecting his voice. The tip of his nose was red from the cold and I couldn’t help but find it cute.

“A lot of security things for a lot of labs, the ability to access their files. A lot of it is awful to read.” I frown, looking from one of them to the other. “I just… I can’t stop thinking that’s what you all went through and it just makes me sad and angry. I just need a break from it all for a bit.”

Minseok frowns, “Y/N, don’t think about that. Think about all the people we’re helping.” He smiles at me as Yixing’s coat lands on his head. He gives the younger man a playful glare, but still hold it for him anyways.

“We’re helping so many people, more than ever,” Yixing says, removing his gloves, “Bad things happen all the time. What matters is that we are actively fighting against it.”

I nod, “You’re right. So what were you both doing outside in the middle of a snow storm?”

“Fixing a part of someone’s roof,” Minseok answers as he takes Yixing’s gloves from him. “It’s been noticed that someone’s room is colder than the others because there was a bit of a hole in it. Nothing was getting in, but the warm air was leaving.”

“That’s great that you fixed it,” I reply with a smile, laughing as Yixing struggles to remove his sweater. He had it over his head, his arms still in the sleeves as his t shirt was riding up from it. “Lean down,” I say in an attempt to not just stand there and stare at him. A small laugh leaves me once again before grabbing at the sweater and getting it off him, making him stumble a bit, his hair now worse than before. I was very thankful that most of the others weren’t here to add a witty quip about that.

“Thank you,” He says, taking my face in his hands and kissing my forehead.

I yelp, pulling away, “Your hands are cold!”

He smiles, “Probably from all the wind. And the ice. And the snow.”

“You both were on the roof while it was windy,” I ask, frowning slightly. I cross my arms, looking at them. “You both could have gotten hurt. I’m sure whoever it is would have no problem bunking with someone else until the weather settled down a bit so it wasn’t as dangerous to fix.”

Minseok smiles, handing the clothes back to Yixing. “Yixing was there if I would have gotten hurt, and you’re here if he does.” He shrugs, turning on his heel as he walks to the room I just left. “Besides,” He says, peering over his shoulder at us, “We fixed HER roof so she wouldn’t be woken up at 4AM from being so cold. We could have done it sooner if she would have told us there was a problem, but like many of us, she’s extremely stubborn!”

“You both fixed my roof,” I ask, turning to Yixing who was taking back the things I held in my hands.

His faces was red, though this time not from the cold. He looked to the floor bashfully, clearing his voice, “You could have told us, Y/N. We’re never too busy to help you, especially me.” He shuffles so all of this things were under one arm, taking my hand in his free one. It was still cold, so I lace my fingers with his, trying to warm them up.

“You all have been so busy that I was just going to wait until you all had a moment,” I explain as we walk to my room once more.

“Well, next time tell us, because not only do I care and not want you getting sick, I got a very rude awakening from the person who noticed it,” He explains, looking a tad sad. “You can tell me anything.”

“Who told you,” I question, as we stop at my room. Opening the door, walking in and holding it open for him. He follows me, setting all this winter clothes on an empty spot on the desk.

“Well,” He says, turning back to me before reaching over and turning on my space heater. “Imagine being so tired that you fall asleep in the little day bed in your room, only to be woken up with a bucket of ice water poured on you.” He leans back against the desk as I take off my shoes. “So I stand up quickly, shivering from freezing water that, honestly, was more ice than water, only to see a very upset Sehun looking at me.”

“Sehun, Really? Wow.” I let my hair down, yawning as I feel exhaustion creep into my bones. I was more tired than I originally thought. “I mean he came to get me earlier before he left yesterday, so I guess that’s when he noticed.”

Yixing laughed, “Oh, he noticed. He glared at me, crossing his arms. He was upset. He told me things like ‘Your girlfriend is freezing her ass off all night long! Why are you not there? Or fixing it?’” Yixing smiles as he looks down at his feet before letting his eyes meet mine. “I felt awful that I never knew. Sehun told me how ‘Y/N is amazing’ and how he cares a lot about you and that if he cared that much he can’t imagine how I feel. He glared at me, telling me to fix it somehow because ‘noona shouldn’t have to suffer’.”

I smile, “That man is a huge brat, but he has a huge heart too.”

“People often mistake his sarcasm and sass for indifference, but he cares so much,” Yixing replies, nodding. “He saw Minseok and I fixing it when he came back and proceeded to throw snowballs at me.”

“Not at Minseok too?”

“He knows better than that,” He laughs, “Hyung would snap him in half like a twig!”

I walk forward, wrapping my arms around his waist, hugging him. “Thank you. I’ll tell you next time something like this happens, though I have to admit, the thought of Sehun doing something like that is very tempting!”

His arms wrap themselves around my shoulders, holding me tightly. “It’s not exactly the best way to wake up. Apparently, Minseok had a hand in making all the ice for him, so that’s why he helped me.”

We stay like that a few moments. He was still rather cold, his hands especially. It was nice, having someone to hold you and care for you. I understand why people talked about how great it was to be with someone you cared about. I use to roll my eyes and not understand. I thought people were just blowing it out of proportion. But it’s not true. His heartbeat is soothing as I feel myself yamn against his chest. His laugh rumbles, making me look up at him.

“Get some rest,” He mutters, looking down at me.

I smile, looking away, “Would you stay, for a bit? Not for… I just… It’s still cold and I just feel so relaxed with you and…” I pause for a minute, giving him time to think. I could feel my face become flushed as he doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. The embarrassment I feel makes me shift as I try not to look at his face. I pull away, “I’m sorry, I’ll jus-”

I feel someone tilt my head up so that my eyes are locked with his. He smiles that beautiful dimpled smile, his hair still in a complete mess. Yixing leans down,giving me a chaste kiss on the lips. “I could use a nap too.” He nods, “Especially since Sehun apparently set an alarm just to do that to wake me at 4 in the morning.”

I laugh, “Well, I’ll have to remember to thank Sehun, then.”

“Don’t please it will just encourage him,” Yixing says, untying the laces of his boots, taking them off quickly.

“I doubt he’d need encouragement from me to keep doing things like that,” I say, walking over to the bed. I get in and scoot over a bit, leaving him some room.

“That’s true.” Yixing gives me a smile again before flicking off the light switch. He see him walk over, “But telling him that will definitely make him do it more!” He quickly lays down, pulling the blanket up over us.

I snuggle into the pillow, smiling as I see him yawn as well. He’s sitting up on one elbow, looking down at me. His smile was making me melt inside. I couldn’t help but notice his face flushing red as he looks away.

“Um… Y/N,” He says. I look up at him, smiling. He leans down, kissing me softly again.

The next thing I know, I was being pulled so that my head was resting on his chest. “If you wanted me to cuddle you, you just have to ask,” I mutter, resting one hand on his chest.

“Well,” He says, “I just… anytime you rest your head against me, you always seem more relaxed and less tense. I wondered why, then I just assume it’s because you like listening to my heart.” He puts a hand over the one that’s on his chest, as I hear his heartbeat pick up. “I could be wrong, but…”

“You’re not,” I explain quietly, trying to hide all of my blushing face from him.

The silence that followed was peaceful, but lasted only for a few moments. His hand that rest on my back rubbing soothing circles, his voice softly singing. I couldn’t understand the words, but his voice was beautiful. The steady sound of his heart along with his singing lulling me into sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was met back with the sight of Yixing’s grey shirt. I could feel him breathing slowly, fingers running through my hair. I smile, closing my eyes and cuddling closer. His hand pauses for a bit, before continuing. I close my eyes once again, sighing.

“I know you woke up,” He said, his voice a bit rougher with sleep.

I smile to myself, “You don’t know that, shhh.”

He chuckles, making me move because his chest was moving He pulls me closer, leaning down and kissing my head. “You’re right, you’re still asleep. However, if somehow you can hear this, I’m just warning you that I will have to wake you soon so we can have dinner.” I could hear the grin on my face, “Oh, and Y/N?”

“Yes,” I say, shifting so I could look at him.

He grins, but not in the usual sweet kind of way. It had a very cocky air to it. “If you wanted my shirt off you could have just asked.” He points down, making me look.

My cheeks go red as I see that, while sleeping, my hand slipped under his shirt. “Well,” I say, looking back at him, “To be fair, your skin is very soft and smooth. Who wouldn’t want to touch it?”

He laughs, throwing his head back, I smile at him, trying to keep the sound in my head forever. “You know, I didn’t expect you to react like that. I thought you would have blushed like mad, jumped away and been embarrassed.”

I grin, “Well, I am blushing and I am a tad embarrassed, but my hand is already there so why not just admit it and enjoy?” I run my fingers to his side, wiggling them, making him laugh and sit up, his head almost colliding with mine.

“Stop,” He begs, laughing, his hand catching mine and pulling it away. He looks back at me, grinning. “I can’t believe you’d tickle me.”

“Can you really not believe it,” I ask, trying to fight against his strength and tickle him some more.

“Two can play at that game,” He says with a grin, pulling me so my back was on the bed, his free hand running along my sides. My laughter explodes from me, the air filling with my giggles.

“No! Stop,” I say between laughs, thrashing my body trying to escape his fingers. I use my free hand to try to pull it away like he did, but I’m noticeably weaker than he is.

“Then tell me why you tickled me,” He says, grinning down, laughing a bit at me as I try to escape him.

“Because I like hearing you laugh! Now please have mercy,” I admit, finally getting his hand away from me. Though, I’m sure he let me pull his hand away.

“I like hearing you laugh, too,” He says, smiling. He was leaning over me, the fading sunlight being the only light in the room. His hair was still a complete mess, sticking up all over, making him look even better somehow. He leans down, his eyes moving from mine to my lips, before looking back up. I lean up the rest of the way, kissing him softly.

He leans me back down, so I was completely against the bed. His hands were both in mine, fingers lacing as he holds them a bit over my head. It wasn’t as awkward as the first kiss, it was still slow but sensual. Yixing’s lips left mine, moving to kiss my jaw, going down my neck. My heart was racing, his lips were soft against my skin. I could feel him smirk, then that feeling is replaces with his teeth lightly nipping at me. I let out a soft moan before I could stop myself, feeling my face become red.

He moved to look me in the eyes, a smile. “That was cute,” He mutters, “Why so embarrassed?”

“Shhh,” my voice was soft as I spoke, trying to distract from my embarrassment. “Just kiss me.” I lean up, kissing him again. I could stay here all night, kissing him.

This time, his kisses were faster and deeper. He lets go of one of my hands, moving it so it rested on my side, under my shirt. I shivered at the feeling of his thumb rubbing circles on my hip. With my hand now free, I tangle it into his soft hair. He bites my lower lip, pulling it softly as I groan. His teasing just too much.

Suddenly, I hear commotion from the right. The door flings open and I see Minseok standing there, a look of panic on his face. “Yixing,” He says, his voice serious as he doesn’t even take time to laugh or teases us. “Neon’s base of operations, police are about 10 minutes away from busting in the place! We have to go and help!”

Yixing jumps up, looking at the older man. His face now completely serious, no hint of a smile on it. “What is the plan?”

“Jongin is going to take us there,” Minseok says, “We help destroy the information she has, fry their computers. We can’t let other sites like hers be known and she has a lot of things with places like that in them!”

I stand, looking at them both, my heart now racing in fear. “What about the people there?!”

Minseok looks at me, “Thankfully there is only seven besides Neon and her little sister. Jongin says he can handle bringing us all here but we have to go!”

Yixing looks at me, taking a moment to take my face in his hands, pressing his lips to mine. It was quick, but I could feel him trying to convey so much of his thoughts and feelings with it. “I’ll be back, okay?”

I nod, “I’ll go get rooms prepared for them or something. Go! Be safe!”

He nods, and in the blink of an eye, him and Minseok are out of my door. I glance down the hall, seeing Baekhyun speaking to the other men.

“I’ve hacked into her computers and got all the information from them we need, but just to be sure, destroy them,” He instructs, looking down the hall seeing Yixing and Minseok running to them. Kyungsoo hands them their masks. The second they had them on, Minseok grabbed onto Yixing and Jongdae and they vanished.

[blomkvits]

I was tagged by @milky-waee thanks lovely girl, of course I’m doing both ‘cause i love these things!

1. Who was your first bias and who is your current one? My first was Sehun, I suppose, because really, he’s gorgeous and dances like a king.

But, since I’m into BTS more now, I DON’T KNOW DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE. It’s between the maknaes, though, but how am I supposed to choose between the talent, charm, and beauty in the three unreal guys?? don’t

2. Why did you get into kpop? I kept seeing these pictures of Yixing who’s gorgeous in tumblr and I was in awe and then I showed him to my sis and she watched Monster on youtube and showed it to me and i was like WOW WOW WOW. So yeah.

3. If you could join any kpop group, who would you choose?

Bts without a doubt (if I were a boy and all that).

4. If all your biases proposed to you, who would you pick? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME. 

5. If you could be in a fanfic, what genre would it be? romantic with sMUT *hides in embarassment*

6. What mythological creature would you be if you had the chance?

is this a thing?? angel maybe :))))))) (or like dantalion hehe)

7. Supernatural!au or Mafia!au

Mafia, always.

8. Which kpop idol would you switch bodies with? Jimin so I can be a tease ;)

9. If you could have any idol as a pocket sized companion, who would you pick?

Probably Baekhyunnie or Hoseok ‘cause it’d be hilarious

10. What idol would you want as a sibling? Namjoon or Jin :)

11. If you were able to say five words to your bias, what would you say?

Let’s talk (that’s all I want if I can’t get more so)

And I was also tagged to do the Get to know me tag

Get to Know Me Tag Part 2

Countries I’ve lived in: Argentina Favorite fandom: Bts Languages I speak: Spanish, English, German.  Favorite film of 2016: Deadpool? Can’t remember another, sorry  Last article I read: No idea Last thing I bought online: Booksssss Last person I dreamt of: I don’t dream lately… A recurring dream: None. Phobias / Fears: Can’t think of one. How would my friends describe me: no idea sorry If I had $$$ to spend what would I buy first: A house in London.

Shuffle your song library and list the first 3 songs that play:

Blood sweat & tears - Bts 

Lost Stars - JK

Beautiful - Exo

I tag @starksexual @chiaku @littlekookiecrumbles

[starrynightaee]

Baekhyunnie no doubt 💛

Aw, thank you💗💜