#bit seon

[flowerlovecharmer]

Mnet build up. The group is called 'B.D.U' and will be promoting for 2 years.

[maedhros-erchamion]

[rhaenys-queenofkhyrulzz]

seonhwi headcannon

I honestly believe post canon/canon divergent seon-ho (who's got a whole lot of self worth issues) and hwi (who wants to prevent seon-ho from getting so low he'd ever try to kill himself again) would benefit from locking themselves in a room in Ihwaru with mirrors running all across the length of one wall so that they can have some nice healing mirror sex with a side of body worship. Let my beautiful boy have a cathartic crying sesh while Hwi thrusts into him, his whole body rocking against the floor as Hwi cups his cheek, gently keeping his neck turned so that he's forced to look at how beautiful he is in Hwi's eyes as he falls apart beneath him, all the while, Hwi telling him all the reasons he loves him and needs him and is worth more than the world (both to him and in general).

============

Seon-ho would have his head turned away in an attempt to hide. "After serving Bang-won all these years, what do you think of me?"

Hwi kisses his eyelids and his forehead. "I think you are strong. A bit hard-headed at times perhaps...but with fervent desire to protect what's precious to you. I'm yours and you are mine, Seon-ho-ya. Let me show you just how I worship what's mine."

[chaoticfandomthot]

I have a lot of feelings about Seon Ho not being at Yeon's funeral

I don't really think he was outright forbidden from going BUT

I don't think he was invited either

I don't think he felt welcomed

I don't think he could face them with all the guilt he was carrying i don't think it should all be on his shoulder but he clearly does

I do think that maybe if SOMEONE had reached out he could've been there

[dyinggirldied]

Guess who decided to impulsively buy a (Korean-language) physical manhwa 😅

No regrets! Also, TeStar before they debut

And of course, the iconic scene worthy if being immortalized:

[whenthegoldrays]

So the more I tinker with Hardwick House, the more I feel that the story I want to tell doesn’t really lend itself to the novel format? I’m trying to tell a more episodic story, little moments all coming together to form a big picture, so I feel that it’d work best as a tv show or a webtoon or perhaps a series of graphic novels or novellas.

(A webtoon or graphic novel series actually sounds amazing, but that involves, you know, artistic skills which I don’t have 😅)

[bestinmecomic]

[I.D. A redraw of Dante and Virgil In Hell by William-Adolphe Bouguereau with the figures replaced by members of the Hi-Soles. In the foreground Eun, a fair-skinned Korean-American person with a bleached undercut and multiple ear piercings, grapples Seon, a fair-skinned Korean-American person with a dyed blue undercut and stretched ear lobes holding an empty box of Thin Mints cookies. Seon has xer hand tangled in Eun’s hair in an attempt to pull them off of xer neck and has an expression of agony. Eun drives their knee into Seon’s lower back and wrenches xer left arm back in an attempt to get xem to drop the box. Behind them Afra, a dark-skinned Indian woman with long black hair and a yellow sweater, lies on the ground crying because Seon ate the last of the cookies. In the background are Cezmi, a medium-skinned Turkish man with purple glasses and his arms crossed, Rose, a dark-skinned Black woman with an afro and a pink hairband, and Zedd, a bald light-skinned white man kneeling on an office chair and covering his face with one hand. They are all looking on in exhaustion and disappointment. The entire scene takes place in a brightly lit room with windows showing that evening is setting in outside. End I.D.]

Some betrayals are just too great.....

[lady-of-endless]

Seong Gi-hun (player 456) x player!reaader headcanons (season 2)

Author's Note: I woke up with notes on my other Gi-hun post and watched season 2, got hooked again, and decided to write this. I hope you'll enjoy it! Click here for a masterlist because there's more to come.

- The innocence from the first game is lost once and for all. He's unintentionally less approachable now, always stoic, always tense. After the first game, some thought he was either crazy or suspicious. Your gratitude for his help during the first game surpassed any way you pictured him before. So you decide to keep an eye on him.

- Gi-hun is too focused on the game system and guards to notice you studying him from time to time. He's both amazed and worried about how different the players are from the first time he was there. But if there's one thing that remains the same, it's the sudden greed when the prize is getting higher with each elimination.

- But he doesn't see that in you. After the first game, you understood the gravity of the situation and forgot about the money. The moment the piggy fills with money and everyone is in awe except for him, you look around and your eyes lock with his. He finally notices you then and there. Why? Because you're the only one not looking at the money anymore.

- The second time he will notice you is when you won't eat well because of all the stress and shock. Gi-Hun silently approaches you, sits next to you, and calmly explains how you must eat to have energy for the next game. Despite his stoic tone, you can see worry in his eyes.

- During one night, when he is the only one awake to watch around, you join him in silence. That's when you start opening up to him more. He wasn't expecting it at all.

- He will never judge your reasoning for entering this wicked game. Gi-hun will just listen and try to show understanding.

- Since then, you stayed close to him. He didn't mind it at all. Plus, his mind was already busy with plans and possibilities to save as many as he could.

- You'd think that he might've developed trust issues but his heart didn't allow that. Not when he got attached so fast. You were always there to support him or help him find the right words to convince other players to stop the game from continuing. Slowly, you become something like his confidant even if he forced himself to be cautious around other players.

- When he opens up to you, he opens up about his experience first. He's done it before, telling people what he went through with this damned game but no one asked him how he feels after everything, except for you. He's stunned. It feels like you somehow made your way inside and he's powerless, he can't do anything about it,

- His hands twitch and his body tenses every time you risk getting hurt. He's not even aware of how ready he is to rush to you and help if you need it. But the others are aware. Some will notice how you two simply gravitate closer to each other. Watch out for a jealous-looking Hwang In-ho (player 001).

- Seon-Nyeo (player 044) talked to you two about how you are doomed because of a curse and other scary spiritual details, the way she does with everyone. Gi-hun was unfazed but his eyes softened when he saw you a little bit worried and disturbed. He comforted you, put a hand on your shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze with a half smile (it's still hard for him to smile again, but he'll do it for you).

- He promises you that he'll get you safe out of there, every day and every night.

- Whatever you two will have, he will insist on being kept secret so you won't be in any additional danger because of him.

[mrinafria]

When you realize these two things.

Two things:

That scene in the finale which is bellissimo. PICTURE PERFECT. Because she is about to touch his hair/head and he bends down juuust enough because he craves her touch her affection her love really that much and also so that it's easier for her to reach him. Because even fitting into each other like puzzle pieces is not enough in that moment.

But then you also realize that she is reaching out to part his hair/bangs ever so slightly, almost absent-mindedly, because she is confirming he doesn't have a scar there, like he used to in the ALT 2023 timeline. He doesn't have it anymore. As if that's the last bit of evidence she needed for her own peace of mind, a silent verification, to make sure her Seon Jae is finally, really, safe. A proof that her prayer has been answered in the end.

Of course she knows. She's been there all along, after all. But after everything she--and they both--have been through, I don't think either of them can quite believe it in this moment. That this is it, it's over: she doesn't have to look for any impending doom coming his way, and he doesn't have to fear losing her to the most heartless adversary that is time.

I cannot gush enough on the writing of this show.

[creamecafe]

How Squid Game Season 1 Characters would react to Season 2 Characters

Kang Sae Byeok

Thanos:

Hates him no questions asked

Player 196:

Hated her at first, but seeing you both dislike Thanos, she somewhat tolerates her behavior.

Lee Myung-Gi:

Also doesn't like him but tolerates him a bit

Kang Dae-Ho:

Tolerates him and likes being in his company.

Rolls his eyes when he brags about being in the Marines.

Gyeong-seok:

Doesn't talk to him much or pay attention to him

Has a soft spot/compassion hearing about his sick daughter

Hyun Ju:

Friends with her immediately

Defends her if anyone tries to misgender her

Yong-Sik

Wonders why a son and mom would ever join this game?

Geum-Ja:

Has a soft spot for her

Jung-Bae:

Doesn't know how he's always optimistic

Jun-Hee:

Would ask about the baby

Curses Myung Gi

Seon-Nyeo:

Finds her amusing and funny

Min-Su:

Soft spot for him

Nam-Gyu:

Hates him but not as much with Thanos

Se-Mi:

Best friends with her immediately right on the spot.

Cho Sang Woo

Thanos:

Wants nothing to do with him and thinks he's an absolute waste of time

Probably would team up with him at some point seeing how determined he is to betray others

Player 196:

Wants nothing to do with her either

Like literally nothing

Lee Myung-Gi:

Finds his YouTube channel pathetic

Kang Dae Ho:

Thinks that his marine story is bs

Gyeong-seok:

Nothing for him really

Hyun Ju:

Doesn't really care but wonders why she transitioned

Yong-Sik

Wonders why a son and mom would be in this game as Sae Byeok did

Geum-Ja:

Feels bad for her a bit as he believes she won't last long

Doesn't really care about her that much but also leaves her be

Jung-Bae:

Wonders why he's so happy like Ali

Jun-Hee:

Pretends to not care but has a soft spot because she's pregnant

Min-Su:

Doesn't care about him that much

Se-Mi:

Thinks she's a weird like Saw Byeok

Ali Abdul

Thanos:

Would ask Thanos why he dyed his hair purple and why he has tattoos

Confused on why his name is Thanos

Player 196:

Would think she's spoiled

They probably would be good friends

Lee Myung-Gi:

Probably be annoyed at him

Would feel bad that he gets bullied by Thanos

Kang Dae Ho

Those two would be good friends you can't tell me otherwise

Gyeong-seok:

Comfort him about his daughter

Would be his friend

Hyun Ju:

Becomes curious of her background

Yong-Sik:

Would be his friend

Be annoyed at him of how he treats his mom sometiems

Geum-Ja:

Would respect her so much

Excited about the things that she says she'll cook when they escape the game (WHICH THEY DID GUYS)

Jung-Bae:

Become his best friend and talk a lot

Jun-Hee:

Tell her about his baby son and comfort her

Always asking if she's okay

Would give her extra food

Be upset at Myung-Gi for telling her to get rid of the baby

Min-Su:

Same as Jung-Bae

Se-Mi:

Would compliment her lip piercing

Ji-Yeong

Thanos:

Thinks he's weird and a bit pathetic

Player 196:

Finds her amusing

Lee Myung-Gi:

Intrigued by how many people are mad at him about the crypto scam

Kang Dae Ho:

Thinks he's interesting and likes being around him

Gyeong-seok:

Would talk with him if she's bored

Asks about his daughter

Hyun Ju:

Loves her a lot

Would talk nonsense with her

Yong-Sik

Nothing much for him sorry

Geum-Ja:

Respects her

Smiles at the amount of food she says she'll cook when they get out (If I see a single comment that it's not true, I'm blocking you)

Jung-Bae:

Admires how smiling he is

Jun-Hee:

Asks if its a boy or girl

Min-Su:

Asks why he's so quiet even though she's the same

Se-Mi:

Friends immediately

Now Hyun Ju, Jun-Hee and her girlfriend are having Mojitos on Jeju island

Navigation | Main Masterlist | Squid Game Masterlist | Join my taglist!

[smallpwbbles]

Consider- Shadow supposedly killing Tom, having Sonic ask him what he did, and then watching Sonic scramble around rubble, calling for his parent, feeling a little bit of deja vu. Maybe Shadpw says something snarly, maybe he's annoyed by how carefree Sonic is, how *light* he is.

And then Sonic's quills turn *black*. Then they rise up, in a mimicry of what Shadow's looks like but somehow worse, and Shadow realizes that he became the thing he wanted revenge on for seone else, and Sonic shows *exactly* how dark he can be.

I NEED THIS

[neominthe]

Practicing character design with some novel's MCs. Here are my headcanons:

Cheong Myeong

Bulky and beefy body. Big arms and hands, which can't be seen as his robes are too big on him

Tanned skin as he trains in the sun a lot, but only on the hands, face and neck since they aren't covered by his Mount Hua robes

I headcanon him as short since he started exercising from an early age in unhealthy amounts, stunting his growth

Super curly hair which Cheong Myeong keeps constantly in a ponytail. At one point in time he will pull in a bun to keep it from tangling

Sharp eyes with extremely long eyelashes

Han Yoojin

I'm a sucker for gaining weight representing character is in a safe and happy place for them

His nose is like a button, a feature he shares with Yoohyun

Yoojin has curlier hair than Yoohyun, though does not care for it. As a result, it's constantly messy and tangled, adding to the 'single mother who has two jobs' look

In the novel (I can't remember which chapter) it is mentioned that Yoojin gained a bit of skin color, making him look healthier. I followed the webtoon skin color (which was like white paper) and darkened it a bit, to look healthier but still very light

Yoojin has pieces of Sung Hyunjae's wardrobe on him. The guy has a lot of money, surely he won't be missing his 100k dollar suit right? (Hyunjae allows it since it is Yoojin stealing and it kinda "marks his territory". You know, like a dog)

Park Moondae

After receiving Idol Inc' sweather, he always wears it as Moondae is too lazy to go buy his own clothes (and to save money)

He got the shoes from Seon Ahyeon, which were one size bigger than his. Moondae doesn't bother telling Ahyeon he got the wrong size, so wearing it causes blisters

Moondae has "dead fish eyes" and a small mouth, making him look like the emoji '-' Fans find it adorable, though

He got a soft jawline and a thin face, as well as a pointy nose

It's possible to determine Moondae's emotion by the glint of his eyes, but only his close friends can do it precisely

Kim Dokja

I didn't intend to make him look like a corpse, but as I kept drawing it felt more and more right for him to be that way. He was an office worker and only had one happiness: a webnovel

Dokja spends most of his time indoors, so he is very pale and lacking of vitamin D. As he became a constellation and Demon King, his complexity worsened and looked inhumane, turning grey ash

He is able to retract his wings, but not his horns. They are constantly out and a burdensome, since Dokja often forgets they are there, making him hit the doorframe several times

Dokja's hair covers a part of his face (an ode to the damn censorship Bihyung added) and is choppy because he cuts his own hair. If cared and brushed almost every day, it would be like his mom's: flowy and soft

He has long eyelashes, especially on the lower lid, and downturned eyes, which makes him look gloomy and teary-faced

I imagine Dokja having a bit of a hunchback from all the time he spends in his phone and working in a computer

Dokja also has long legs, which he keeps hidden under his tattered coat

Cale Henituse

The man has a thin and tall body, to the point he seems both elegant and fragile at the same time

Cale has light skin due to his time spent indoors or under every shade he can find whenever he has to go out

Cale's features are mostly pointy, with sharp angles and straight lines running down. His nose is upturned, has arched eyebrows and sharp eyes

The straight hair was inherited from Deruth's parents, Cale's gradparents and red obviously from Jour

[whenthegoldrays]

Obsessed with her

Kang Seon-hwa in 1) an approximation of her Joseon look, 2) an approximation of her Victorian look, 3) her modern look

[maspers]

I feel like those of us in the Cosmere fandom don't appreciate how the Stormlight Archive isn't a murder mystery.

(Well okay there's a little bit of one in Oathbringer but we aren't talking about that)

It could have been so easy for the death of Gavilar Kholin to have been a murder mystery. Let's look at the scenario, shall we? There's a big meeting and party, where peace is supposed to be declared, and then the King dies. Say we DIDN'T know whodunnit. Gavilar's death haunts the narrative, and every subplot in the story soon ties back to that single driving question of "Who Killed Gavilar Kholin?". Over the course of the story, we've seen the layers slowly peeled off, one by one, revealing a whole bunch of suspects.

There's Dalinar, the King's brother, seemingly a depressed drunkard but was once known a deadly warrior and general.

There's Sadeas, the highprince who is seemingly loyal to the king but is otherwise a backstabbing slimeball.

And there's another highprince, Amaram, who was talking with Gavilar for quite a while earlier in the day.

Jasnah, the King's heretical and highly intelligent daughter, and...

Also the person who hired Liss, an actual assassin, to spy on the event and possibly kill someone else.

Then there's Elhokar, the King's incompetent son who is nonetheless next in line for the throne.

And Elhokar's hedonistic wife, Aesudan, who was apparently enough of a problem that Jasnah was planning on killing her.

Speaking of wives, the King's own wife Navani is soon revealed to be cunning in her own right... and angry with her husband.

Dalinar's sons, Adolin and Renarin, don't seem to have been in attendance, but considering everyone else in the family was there there's no reason they couldn't've been around as well and nobody mentioned it.

There's Eshonai and the other Parshendi drummers, a.k.a. the opposing faction. Eshonai in particular seems to be dangerous.

And her sister, Venli, is also dangerous, was also present, and probably wasn't supposed to be.

At least four of the legendary Heralds are soon revealed to be present as well. The King was planning on betraying Kalak and Nale, Jezrien was drinking with Dalinar, and Shalash was defacing the artwork.

Taravangian, the seemingly weak and compassionate King of Kharbranth who secretly is planning on orchestrating a LOT of murdering.

There's the mysterious "Thaidakar", leader of the Ghostbloods who Gavilar himself thought was the one responsible for killing him.

Since it's a Cosmere work and we didn't yet know Hoid couldn't hurt people, it would be easy to assume he's an available suspect as well.

Gavilar could have even committed suicide, as some part of an elaborate scheme.

A huge assortment of servants and partygoers, all of which could have been the killer. Not to mention the spren (and a seon!), who are soon revealed to not necessarily be as mindless as they seem.

Literally anyone else in the story becomes fair game at first glance. Even though she definitely wasn't there at all, Shallan Davar is revealed to have history with that particular night as well. You can keep going and connect everyone to the murder somehow, at least at first.

And lastly Szeth-son-son-Vallano, a mysterious Shin man in white, seen roaming the halls with a very bizarre sword.

Of course, we all know what happened. It was Szeth, in the King's chambers, with the honorblade. And he did it on the orders of the Parshendi. There's no whodunnit, or even a howdunnit (and even the whydunnit is only partially hidden from the reader, Jasnah's POV reveals Eshonai and the other Parshendi were pretty upfront about why they did it). There's no ambiguity, the death is merely a spark that kicks off the plot into motion.

"The Mysterious Murder of Gavilar Kholin" would have been a crutch. It would have been so easy for Sanderson to use it as a backup sideplot, supporting the other stories and keeping things tied together. There's an AU out there where Kaladin ends up being the amateur detective who puts the last piece together and confronts Szeth in an epic battle in the sky. That could have happened. But it didn't.

Brandon Sanderson does not need to rely on a murder mystery to keep his story standing. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, he had enough faith in his narratives to make them stand on their own, moving forward beyond the death of one pathetic man. The Stormlight Archive is not about how people die, it's about how people choose to live. So it cast aside its crutch, walked forward on its own legs, and became one of the best dang fantasy sagas in history.

And then, in the ultimate "psych!" moment, things went back around and kept connecting to that night anyway. Like a bizarre episode of Columbo, where everything else around the extremely upfront murder gets revealed instead. Instead of using the murder mystery as a device to support the plot, the entire rest of the story is used as a device to support the account of the murder. So that even though it WASN'T a murder mystery we're thrown by the plot twists anyway.

And then, of course, while we're still reeling from those reveals, the rest of the plot hits us with some more Sanderlanches, because this story is still going. And it was never really about Gavilar, anyway.

It's brilliant. How the heck does Sanderson pull these crazy writing shenanigans off?

[maomao-words]

Okay everyone, I got sucked in Debut or Die's hell, and I am (most likely temporarily) out of my hiatus just to write this.

Here are some HCs of my favorite DoD boys with a tiny dash of angst in Ahyeon's part.

Fair warning, I am only a manhwa reader, so please forgive anything that you deem different or out of character in comparison to the novel.

With that, I hope you enjoy my obsession-fueled work.

Debut or Die Boys: How they deal with jealousy.

Cha Eugene:

Cha Eugene is a simple man. He recognizes he is prone to possessiveness and knows he can become jealous at the slightest of sign of attractiveness given from anyone towards you. Cha Eugene is also a smart(?) man. He knows he will not be able to suppress his anxious feelings and act as mature as his other hyungs might do.

So in response, Cha Eugene pouts. He pouts to you whenever he seems to think you were paying another man too much attention. He tightly clings to you, strong body enveloping your frame from behind as he plops his head on top of yours, and starts babbling about how much he misses you and how much he wants to be by your side at all times.

But each time you gently try to peel him off of you, because no matter how much you enjoy being in the comfort of his arms you both need to go back to work, Eugene whines. His clinginess increase in folds and his babbling turns into soft whimpers of how cruel his noona is being to him, and how unloved he feels at the moment.

Without fail, all of Eugene's actions bring you both to the same result every time. With you giving in to his large kitty eyes, you resign yourself to be smothered in his embrace for the rest of the day, as you mumble words of affection and comforting into his chest. Cuddling seems to be the fastest way to calm down your lover and to allow you to soothe his tantrums.

But as you watch Eugene beam at each praise you offer to him, cheeks colored in the loveliest shade of red, you only find yourself falling harder for him.

Park Moondae:

If asked, Moondae's sole response on the topic would be "Jealousy is not a word I’m familiar with."

It is not because he does not love you enough, or that he does not appreciate having you as his partner, nor it is due to any lack of attention on his side. Moondae simply trusts you. He trusts your feelings, dedication, and loyalty towards him and would never insult you by doubting your love.

Hm? What do you mean that every man who dared to glance at your figure with a flirty gaze seems to start avoiding you once they had the pleasure of meeting Moondae?

And what do you mean that your clingy and self-absorbed ex, who you thought would harass you to eternity, almost never reaches out to you anymore except with apologies tinged with a hint of terror?

Ah, now what? What does Moondae has to do with the way the rest of his teammates seem to be obsessively protecting you from anyone they deem 'dangerous' whenever Moondae's work holds him up? If they are acting as a band of professional bodyguards around you, it is definitely their own choice.

Once again, Moondae's response to all of these questions would simply be a nod, an indication that he has been listening to you attentively, followed by a soft smile. Moondae never lies to you, but he also never admits his involvement out loud. All he does on days were he is definitely not jealous is to hold your hand a bit tighter, smiles more brightly at your antics, and kisses your forehead with more tenderness than ever.

Seon Ahyeon:

Ahyeon's jealousy is at both endearing and worrying. While, unlike Moondae, he does acknowledge that he gets jealous over you, Ahyeon never finds it in himself to act as openly as Eugene is with his own worries and feelings.

On days where your work requires you to pour all of your attention away from Ahyeon, or on nights where you lay next to him and show off the pictures you took with your friends on your latest trip, this angel simply becomes sad.

He is aware that he cannot keep you locked away from all of the eyes surrounding you, nor does he want to, as you shine the brightest while doing whatever your heart desires. But Ahyeon cannot help but be afraid. What if you find someone else? Someone better than him? Someone who is more confident, who is able to properly tell you how much you mean to him, someone who would dedicate all of his time to you?

Ahyeon's worries bubble to the surface each time he becomes jealous. He tries to bury them at times, work through them at others, but mostly, he tries to express his love for you a bit more. He buys you small pieces of chocolate-covered candies and the fluffiest of scrunchies in your favorite color. He offers you the soft plushie he won during the variety show he was on that day, or even orders you that limited-time lipstick he saw you eyeing a week ago.

Ahyeon also kisses you more tenderly, holds your hand tightly, and sends lengthy texts for you to open as soon as you wake up from sleep. On the days he is jealous, Ahyeon chooses to love you.

The soft smiles and gentle words of gratitude Ahyeon receives from you in response never fail to soothe his worries. He knows that the day where he can fully open up about his anxieties to you without any fear is almost here.

[quack-quack-snacks]

Time Will Tell - Chapter 1.22

My Time Will Tell Masterlist

My Cha Hyun-su Masterlist

My Navigation and Masterlist

The Time Will Tell Glossary

Warnings: Kim Seok-hyeon's death tehe. Word Count: 1,879 Author's Note: I couldn't find a gif for today's chapter :(

prev | current | next

The rest of the day as well as the morning and afternoon of the next passed by quickly. You’d mostly played with your siblings, finally starting to feel better after that much-needed crying session on Hyun-su’s shoulder. You visited Hyun-su during both the morning and afternoon, just to check up on him and make sure he was doing okay. You also saw him when he stopped by to ask if you needed anything on his next trip up. Like always, you shook your head and refused, thanking him for the offer and wishing him safe travels. 

What you were doing right now, though, was sitting in the apartment complex’s alcohol room with your two siblings sitting beside you. You were helping along with some other residents empty beer bottles and then filling them with water. The sun outside had already faded away behind the horizon, leaving the stars glinting in the black sky. Your injured hand still hurt with every movement but you made a point to not complain and just keep doing your part in the work. 

“When do you think Hyun-su will be back?” Seung-wan asked after there was a lull in the previous conversation about Byeong-il drinking the beer. 

Your hands stilled above the bottle you were holding and you looked down. 

“I don’t know. He’s late today,” Hye-in replied nonchalantly. “Do you think something happened to him?

You hadn’t even realized how much time had gone by but it had been a while since he left indeed. It scared you a little bit, wondering if he was safe and well. 

“You know he doesn’t die,” Jae-hwan answered with a condescending voice. “Even if he gets hurt, he gets better after a nap.”

“And that’s an excuse as to why we shouldn’t worry about him?” You asked him, fixing your cold glare on him. He shifted in his seat and looked away. 

Just as he was about to respond, the whistle signaling a monster sounded through the propped-open door. It continued to blow frantically, like the person was hyperventilating while blowing into it. 

Everyone shot up from their seated positions and ran out the door, ready to take on whatever it was that was in their safe zone. 

Everyone was screaming and shouting, panicking over the slow-moving monster that looked like a human-mop hybrid. 

Sang-wook walked forward, ready to fight it off when Seon-yeong put a hand on his arm to hold him back. “That’s my husband. Stay back.”

She walked forward, ignoring everyone's calls for her to get away. “Don’t go near it Seon-yeong!”

She paused a few feet in front of him. “Pull yourself together, Kim Seok-hyeon,” she demanded. He growled and took another step forward, his hands breaking through the mess of hair surrounding his body. “Kim Seok-hyeon. Pull yourself together!” She raised the pipe in her hand up like a baseball bat before swinging it down on him. 

You looked around for your siblings and saw them standing beside Mr. Han. You ran over, grabbing both of their hands and leading them away from the scene. You heard screams and sobs echoing behind you as you led the two into the nursery. Jin-ok wasn’t far behind you when you sat them down and told them to ignore it. 

“I’ll come back in a bit when everything has settled down, okay?” You told them and they nodded. Jin-ok nodded as well, thankful you were there to protect their innocence for as long as possible. 

You ran back to the lobby when you suddenly heard the buzzing noise of the door to the stairs ringing. You walked up quickly and opened it, not at all surprised to see Hyun-su standing there. 

What you were a little surprised about were the endless voids that stared back at you in the place of his eyes. You would probably never say it but you thought those black eyes were one of the most beautiful things you’d ever see.

But they would always remain in second place to the brown eyes that lie underneath those voids. 

He was leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. When he pushed off the wall to start walking in and stumbled, you rushed forward to grab him, standing unnecessarily close to him. You looked up at him only to find him staring back at you, his black eyes fading as soon as your eyes met his. 

The sobs from Seon-yeong interrupted your moment and you remembered where you were. 

You looked away first, not letting go of him yet as you asked, “Can you walk on your own?”

He didn’t answer for a second until he nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay, I’m going to let go of you then,” you warned him, though your grip didn’t loosen at all for a long moment. You gave him a small smile that his own lips didn’t respond to, but you could see it in his eyes how much he wanted to return it. 

When the two of you reached the bottom of the stairs, Seon-yeong had just delivered the final blow to her husband. Blood was scattered all over her face and neck, a pool of it flooding the area where Seok-hyeon’s body laid. 

You could see the horror on Hyun-su’s face as he scanned the scene in front of him, and the way he actively avoided looking at it as he started heading toward the arcade room. He stopped halfway there and looked at the pool of blood reflecting his own face, standing there for a minute before dropping the bag of stupid supplies and continuing to the room designated to him and his ‘infection’. 

You started to follow him but you were stopped by Eun-hyuk grabbing your arm and shaking his head. So, with a few hesitant looks between Eun-hyuk and the direction Hyun-su went, you started heading to the nursery to check up on the three people in there.

You sat in the nursery with the rest of the residents, candles lit all across the room since the power went out. Yeong-su sat in your lap and you rubbed his back while he cried. He was never good with the dark, always picturing monsters lurking in the shadows.

It didn’t help that now his fears were rational. 

“Let’s wait a little, Ji-eun,” Seung-wan said consolingly to your left. “It’ll be okay.”

Hye-in scoffed lightly when she sat down. “How do you know? It’s obviously not okay.”

“What’s gonna happen now? I hear we’re about to run out of food,” Jae-hwan said worriedly as he snuggled up against Hye-in. 

“The water will be cut off soon,” Ji-eun said, her voice shaking. “I’m really scared.”

“Noona, are we gonna die?” Yeong-su asked. Tears had already streamed down his face despite you trying your best to comfort him. You couldn’t say anything in fear of it being a lie, so you just held him closer in your lap, squeezing him reassuringly. 

Everyone was silent for a moment as they thought about the boy’s words. It was only broken when Byeong-il broke and spilled his fears. “Yeah, it’s over. We’re all totally fucked!” He yelled.

“Hey!” You yelled at him, using a leg to kick him harshly on the thigh. He groaned in pain but you didn’t care because the whimper of fear from Yeong-su and Su-yeong caught your attention more. You whispered words of care and love into their ears as you wrapped an arm around Su-yeong as well and pulled her into the hug. 

“I really hope I go to Heaven when I die,” Byeong-il continued, yelping and groaning when you kicked him again in the same spot. 

“So what?” Eun-yu asked. “So what? Who cares? Do you want us all to drink the fucking Kool-Aid and just give up or something?” She yelled at him before standing up. “Stop whining, asshole! Whining won’t change anything. Trust me,” she finished and walked out while you still held your crying siblings close. 

“Okay,” you decided. “It’s time for bed, yeah? Get comfy and I’ll read you a story, okay?” 

They nodded, excitement momentarily taking over their fear. They always loved when you told them stories since you did the funny voices and had a great way of painting a picture in their minds.

You told them the story until they fell asleep, cuddled up against each other with tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes. You smiled at them with loving eyes before standing up. The rest of the people in the room were also quietly getting ready for bed so you weren’t worried about them waking the tykes up while you went to go check on Hyun-su. 

You grabbed your book, a flashlight that was sitting next to the door, and the first-aid kit you grabbed from your apartment before you set off towards the arcade room. You hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Hyun-su since he stumbled through the door after you opened it. It really looked like he had a bad encounter during his trip upstairs and it scared you. You hadn’t seen any visible signs of injury on him but the way he limped and couldn’t seem to catch his balance was enough to show you he probably had some sort of concussion and/or a leg injury. It would probably be healed by morning but it was still scary to think about. 

When you got to the room, you entered quietly, not wanting to wake him up in case he was asleep. It was a good thing, too, because he was out cold on a little bench next to a pillar. You tiptoed over to the chair placed next to his head and sat down, setting the first-aid kit under your chair. Before you opened your book to start reading, you folded the jacket wrapped around your waist and gently lifted his sleeping head to place it underneath. After you finished, satisfied with how he looked at least a little more comfortable, you opened the book and started to read, balancing the flashlight you brought in the crook of the chair’s headrest and body so you could see the words on the pages. 

It must have been at least an hour or two before Hyun-su started to stir. You thought nothing of it at first until it happened again. He let out a small sound you almost didn’t hear but from the way he was moving and groaning you knew it must have been a dream that wasn’t all that dream-like. 

You placed your hand on his forehead to feel his temperature and it seemed like an instant change in his behavior. His groans quieted and he stopped moving, save for the occasional twitch. You lifted your hand, satisfied that he was calmer and returned to your book. It was only a few minutes later that his thrashing and mumbling and groaning returned, this time seeming worse and more intense. You hesitated but placed your hand on his forehead again, experimenting and seeing if what you thought might happen would happen.

Sure enough, he calmed down almost instantly and you sighed again. Moving your hand, you brought it down to his bicep instead of his head, leaving it resting there while you used your other hand to continue reading your book.