#but i thought that would embarrass jaehee too much and this was cute enough hehe

[space-kitten-606]

Oh oh, requests are open? Thennn give me something about some shenanigans you and Saeyoung would do together if you're okay with that, hehe. You two fit so well I honestly ship u with him (u definitely know who I am but I will still be on anon just out of spite lol)

You ship me with him?! Omg thank you sweetie! You have no idea how happy that makes me! Now, I am a very boring person, and I cannot think of something that could be called shenanigans I’d get up to, really, so I took another thing I was writing that was inspired by a random thought I had at work! I’m sorry if there’s some awkward places, because I changed my mind last minute and replaced Mc with Kitten via an autofunction. I read it over and it looked alright to me, but there’s a chance something slipped through anyway! 

Ambidextrous

Sitting in a cafe together like this was nice, especially since meeting Saeyoung had become a rarity. He was working hard on helping his twin recover and didn't want Kitten to be too involved. After all, he had told her, she went through enough because of him already. So for the most part she had no choice but to sit idle, waiting for him to tell her what was going on. 

Despite Kitten not being a part of this, he was not working alone. The RFA helped him to the best of their abilities. Jumin and Jaehee were working very hard. The heir had the contacts and his assistant was tasked with organizing meetings and collecting information from them, without revealing what Saeyoung had done, of course. It was a dangerous game all around. Kitten appreciated that her boyfriend didn't want her to be worried about all of this, but it was frustrating to just watch as everyone else handled what they could. Why couldn't she do anything? Well. Thinking about it, there really wasn't much she couldn't do in the first place. It would probably just burden him and his friends more if she tried to help. 

Saeyoung watched her intently as she moped, her eyes flicking back and forth. He didn't mind sitting in silence with her like this. Considering his brother's outbursts, comfortable silence was nice for a change. But he couldn't help but notice that there was clearly something going on in her head. And for one reason or the other, she didn't want to tell him. Was she sick of him maybe? Now that they had spent plenty of time apart, maybe she noticed that she wasn't in love with him after all. The thought alone made his heart hurt, but if that was how she felt he'd respect it. 

After a few minutes more of silently enjoying their drinks, he swallowed his anxiety. 

"Is something bothering you? You look upset," he spoke softly. His hand reached across the wooden table, intertwining their fingers and squeezing lightly, "You know, you can tell me if anything is bothering you. Please don't struggle on your own. No more secrets, remember?"

Kitten sighed at the reminder. "You're not gonna laugh?" 

No even more concerned, Saeyoung frowned. What could have happened that embarrassed her like this? Regardless of his thoughts, he squeezed her hand again, replacing his frown with an encouraging smile. 

"I...don't want to sound fake deep, but currently, if we say the RFA is your right hand in helping with Saeran, I feel like I'm your left. Kinda useless and can't do anything on it's own."

Saeyoung let out a low chuckle.

"I told you not to laugh!!", she immediately called him out, pulling her hand away from him to cross her arms in front of her chest.

He raised both his hands in front of him, an apologetic look on his face. "I couldn't keep myself from doing so. It's such a cute analogy," he laughed again. 

Not finding this half as funny as he did, Kitten turned her head to the window, pouting at his reaction. She was trying to pour her heart out and all he did was laugh at her for it. She should've just kept it to herself. 

"I'm sorry Kitten. I didn't mean to upset you. But you seem to forget I am ambidextrous. My left hand is just as capable as my right, and the other way around."

"God," she rolled her eyes, "stop being a smart-ass. You know what I meant."

Leaning back in his seat, Saeyoung nodded. "Yeah. But you see. I think you're a perfectly fine left hand. So to me, being ambidextrous is a good example for this." 

"You're not making any sense."

"Mmh. Is that so? Let me try to explain. I think the things you do - being here for me and cheering me up - are just as helpful as the work the others do. You're not any less important than the others in helping me cope with the things going on right now. And even if not, your analogy is barely holding up. Even a right handed person couldn't do their craft well without their left hand. It may not be quite as precise, but it has an important supporting role in day to day life. Just think about all the things you need your non dominant hand for." 

Kitten sipped on her coffee, thinking about that last part. She did use her left hand for quite a lot of things. And he was right about not being able to just use the right hand exclusively. Even then, however, she was not quite pleased with what he tried to tell her. 

“What if I don’t want to be just a supporting part. I want to help you like everyone else. I feel so powerless in what you’re doing. You’re always so tired and I just. Sit there and do nothing.”

It wasn’t like he did not understand her need to be more involved, to help him with a problem he created himself once again, but why couldn’t she see what she was really doing? How much she was doing by just being by his side like this? He hurt her enough already with all that happened since they got to know each other. 

Saeyoung sighed, his eyes falling shut as he did so. “I wouldn’t even be here without you, Kitten. Saeran wouldn’t be with me. He would still be stuck in that hellhole for all we know, and I would still waste my time working for that god forsaken agency. You have already done the biggest part of this whole situation - opening my eyes to finally see what was going on. To see what I tried so hard to ignore. I understand that you feel like you’re not doing much, but quite the contrary is the case. You have done so much more than anyone else involved in this. Don’t you see that? Please, Kitten. Allow yourself to take a break.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Kitten bit her lip. She did put a lot of energy into helping them, even put her life on the line for them. But now…

“I’m so glad I get to have some down time seeing you.  Things are very stressful and complicated back at my place right now. There are….things happening that I don’t even want you to think about. But when I am here, I can ground myself by being with you. I would like to be like this with you every single day of my life, but it will still take some time until we get there. So….meeting you like this. It’s heaven. It’s important. Hearing your words of encouragement and how you ramble about your day. It means so much to me, Kitten.”

The message slowly began to sink in, shutting down her troubled thoughts bit by bit. Right. She might not know specialists or the knowledge to tell Saeyoung what to do, but if she could refill his energy to deal with the stress he would have to face...wasn’t that enough? He said it was so why couldn’t she just accept that? 

“Okay,” Kitten mumbled, finally looking back into those golden eyes that made her heart jump in her chest, “But if there’s ever anything more I can do for you or your brother, you’ll let me know, right?”

Saeyoung nodded, smiling at her insistence. Kitten’s kindness was truly special. “I will. So, what do you say we’ll take a walk in the park after we finish our drinks, hm?”

“Sounds great! But no tricks, or I will pay you back double!” Her beautiful smile and the playful quip made him laugh. There she was. Saeyoung was ready to remind her of her importance every single day, if it meant he got to see Kitten this careless for the rest of their days. 

[commander-yinello]

Happy 2019 all! I wrote up a drabble last year (hehe) inspired by the Christmas MM tree picture, and found the time to finish it recently! Because she is so wonderful, it comes with adorable art drawn by the wonderful @irageneveart!! Please check out her amazing work! I hope you enjoy some doll silliness, and there’s more to read under the cut!

“Yoosung, what is this?”

Zen opened a small box that Yoosung had just carried in. There were more boxes around his apartment, filled with Christmas tree decorations, ones that Zen always offered to hold so it’d be easier to bring to the party tomorrow. This box was new however.

“I bought those from a friendly old lady on the market! When I saw them, I thought it would be super cool to have them on our tree!” Yoosung said, putting down the last box and smiling when Zen held up their latest decoration for their party tree – a doll that looked exactly like him.

“Dolls? Wait, you actually have the entire RFA in here?” Zen grabbed another doll, one resembling Seven way too closely for comfort.

“Isn’t it great? I know we’ll see everyone tomorrow but this way we can all be together for the entire holiday! Err, on a tree, but still!”

The dolls were simple, but detailed enough that Zen could recognize each of them. He especially liked the Zen doll, in its ponytailed glory. Damn, Yoosung has some quality decorating skills, he thought. Taking them out one by one, he came across the only doll that could made him frown.

“Ugh! Yoosung, did you have to have one of the Trust Fund jerk as well?” He dangled the Jumin doll by its leg far away from him, as if it were diseased.

“I knew you’d complain about Jumin, but we wouldn’t have the RFA without him, Zen.” Yoosung calmly stacked the other boxes against the wall. “Please don’t throw him away. I don’t think I’d find that lady again. If you want, I’ll take him with me.”

That made Zen huff. “Why the hell do you think I’m going to throw this away?!” Admittedly, the idea was tempting. The serious look drawn on the doll face made Zen narrow his eyes, locking them a staring competition he couldn’t possibly win. “Leave him with the rest, I promise you’ll have them all tomorrow for the tree.”

Yoosung smiled, clearly not convinced. “I hope so, Zen. Gotta go, good luck babysitting the RFA!” the blond waved and walked out of Zen’s living room, leaving Zen with the array of dolls piled on his kitchen table.

“Humph! Yoosung has no faith in me. You’re just a dumb doll, even if you are Trust Fund doll,” Zen poked the Jumin doll’s forehead. “I bet I won’t even remember you exist.”

***

It had to be Yoosung’s comment that kept him thinking of that damn jerk doll. That’s what Zen told himself when he caught himself glaring at Jumin doll for the 500th time. The dolls were packed back into the box, Jumin lying on top of the rest. Maybe he should bury it underneath everyone, Zen thought, and he picked it up. To his surprise, the doll felt warm to the touch, almost a mini heater.

Did Yoosung pack heat pockets into their cotton bodies?

The warmth was pleasant, especially with the cold winter air chilling his apartment and Zen not wanting to increase his heating bills. Jumin doll’s head was a bit too big for him to hold, but Zen had a good grip on his back, cradling it like a baby animal. The doll certainly was as helpless as one, and he used his other hand to make sure Jumin doll was held upright.

Zen snapped out of his wandering thoughts, realizing he had been holding Jumin for a while. Yikes. Weird. Quickly he dropped the doll. He wasn’t that desperate for heat.

***

He changed his mind once he sat down in front of the tv. Sitting still made him colder, even with two sweaters on. Zen considered surrounding himself with all the dolls, but something in him felt that was too weird. The only doll he had with him was Jumin’s. Jumin doll seemed even warmer now and Zen couldn’t figure out why. He pressed into different parts of the doll, ignoring the reality show on the screen in front, wondering what it was filled with.

“Would it kill you to smile?” Zen asked. The doll’s smile remained a straight line.

Jumin doll’s clothes were really fancy, its tiny suit made from actual suit-like material, complete with black shiny buttons. The cotton hands were smooth and pleasant to the touch, possibly silk. Zen wondered what Jumin doll looked like underneath the fancy clothes. He undid the buttons and started to tug off the jacket covering the shirt before he stopped himself.

What was he doing? Surely he didn’t want to see Jumin, even if it’s a doll, naked. It’s just curiosity over doll craftsmanship, he told himself. But Yoosung would kill him if he ruined the student’s hard work, so he re-dressed the doll.

No harm done, Zen observed. Yet he still felt embarrassed. The reality show had ended long ago by the time he snapped out of his odd mood.

“I’m not obsessed.” he said to the doll. The doll said nothing back.

***

Okay fine, he was a little obsessed. The night made the temperature drop further, and now he was lying in bed with Jumin doll, questioning his sanity. He could just get another blanket. He could fill a hot water bottle. He could exchange Jumin doll for Zen doll, which would be perfect for him. But he didn’t want to.

There was something serene and comforting, the way Jumin doll cuddled close to his chest, large head pressing into his cheek. The part of Zen that was awake wondered if it had been too long since he last dated. The part of Zen that was nearly asleep wondered what it would like to cuddle Jumin, if he’d feel just as warm, if those expensive pajamas he must undoubtedly wear was just as smooth.

His bed must be covered in cat fur. Would he clean it for… visitors?

The sane part of him would’ve loved for Zen to run outside into the cold to kill that curiosity once and for all. One did not imagine Jumin Han in bed of all things, and certainly not what he’d do to bed partners.

Before Zen got to chastise himself further, those thoughts let him drift to sleep, arms wrapped closely around Jumin doll.

***

All the dolls dangled on the large Christmas tree, and Zen found it cute yet slightly morbid to watch them smile in between the other sparkly ornaments. Jumin doll was halfway up the tree, and Zen thanked his lucky stars he didn’t manage to wrinkle the whole thing in his sleep. It was bad enough he hugged a doll like a kid, but Jumin dolls of all dolls… A shiver ran up his spine.

Everyone around him was busy putting up decorations in the large party room. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jumin and Jaehee approach. Jaehee, giant clipboard in her hands, gave him a big smile while Jumin was his boring, serious self.

“Way to be late, CEO-to-be.”

“I had a few last-minute calls to make.” Jumin’s gaze fell on the dolls. “What are these?”

Zen rolled his eyes. “What does it look like?”

Jaehee, visibly unsettled, touched her own doll. “Are these… voodoo dolls?”

Now considering it, Zen could see why she came to that conclusion. He shook his head and laughed. “No way! Yoosung made them.”

“I hear my name.” Yoosung comically poked his head out from behind the tree.

“These are quite well made. Yoosung, have you considered selling custom dolls?” Jumin remarked.

Just as Zen wanted to yell at him for only thinking about money, Yoosung replied: “Oh no, I didn’t make them! Like I told Zen, I bought them from a very sweet lady on the Christmas market. When I saw they looked like us, I had to get them!”

The three of them froze to stare at Yoosung. Zen was the first to react. “Wait a minute. They already looked like us?!”

“Yes?” Yoosung cocked his head.

“And you didn’t think that was incredibly weird?”

“No? Actually, I did think she underpriced them. Do you think I should have paid more?” Yoosung fretted. “I didn’t want to rip anyone off, but I was so happy to find gifts for everyone within my student budget!”

Zen knew if he facepalmed right now, it would hurt his face.

Jaehee was in a state of light panic. “Oh my God, they could be actual voodoo dolls! We should remove them from the tree! What if something happens to them!”

“Hold on, hold on, it might just be a lady who happened to have visited an RFA party and made dolls out of us.” Zen was aware how much creepier he made it sound. “I mean, none of you felt anything strange yesterday, right?”

Jaehee and Yoosung both shook their heads.

“Now that you mention it…” Jumin furrowed his brows, making the hairs on the back of Zen’s neck rise. “Last night, during the evening meeting it got colder for a few minutes, as if I suddenly had no clothes on. And then when I was trying to sleep, I felt something press up to me that I couldn’t see. I would have been more worried, but it was very warm and… pleasant. Different from Elizabeth’s comfort, yet close.” Jumin’s eyes softened for a second before it vanished, but Zen didn’t miss it. “I don’t suppose-?”

“I think that’s just coincidence Jumin. Zen didn’t touch the dolls after I brought them. Right, Zen?” Yoosung asked.

“Y-yeah, of course,” Zen chuckled awkwardly, while inside his mind he was freaking out. “It’s not my fault Trust Fund has an overactive imagination.”

Jaehee’s frown remained but thankfully dropped the subject to check other party details with Yoosung. However, Jumin narrowed his eyes at him and Zen wondered if he knew, that somehow Jerkmin knew what Zen had done last night.

Zen had never excused himself so fast.

At the end of the party, Zen made sure to collect all the dolls. Placing all of them safely in their box, he hesitated when he held the Jumin doll. Then he quietly shoved it in the inside pocket of his jacket, questioning his sanity even further.

Unbeknownst to him, Jumin watched a few meters away, and when Zen conveniently lifted the box to hide what was in his jacket, a smirk formed on his face. He decided to leave early, looking forward to another interesting night.

[immortalviridian]

parting is such sweet sorrow

@juminvweek

Day Two - Reunited

3,533 words

Fluff (mostly)/Slight Angst

Pre-Game

Source

After a painful year and a half, Jumin Han and Jihyun Kim finally had a break to come and see each other again. They had four days and three nights together. Both intended to make full use of them, even if it meant that they would draw their own silent conclusions about each other, for better or worse.

The scary story was taken from Sakura/Azura’s supports in Fire Emblem: Fates if you know what they are because I suck at telling scary stories.

Everyone knew that Jumin Han worked harder than anyone else in his company, even more than Jaehee Kang. However, there were some things he just couldn’t miss out on, especially since the window of opportunity was rather tight. One had to consider though: what kind of friend would he be if he were to turn down a three-day vacation with Jihyun Kim after all? Their itinerary would be a tour of the finest beaches and many high-end restaurants along the coastline. From there, V would head off on his most recent flight and Jumin would attend a business meeting in Busan in their financial center, just as they had agreed.

Carefully, the first night, the two had settled into their hotel room, sharing a single bed and flat screen tv in the lounge. There was a mini kitchenette as well. It wasn’t like the two were tight on money, of course. They just were used to this set up at their own homes, but the homes they currently had were filled too much of recent pains. Jumin and V wanted to go back to better days. So they would stay in a high rise that looked over the glittering water of the southern coasts. It was breathtakingly beautiful, just as the two men would have preferred. They rested side by side on the bed, lying down but not asleep or dozing off. With a one-armed, lazy embrace, the teal haired man, his best friend drew him closer. Jumin arched a brow and narrowed his stormy gray eyes at the other man. Quickly, they widened though, as Jihyun pressed his soft lips against the shell of his ear with a mischevious grin.

“Jihyun, I just realized, it’s been a really long while since you’ve told me one of your stories, hasn’t it?”

“Quite. Work and traveling have often gotten in the way, but I thought you didn’t like my scary stories. I guess you liked them after all.” The ex-photographer chuckled, taking off his jacket and setting it aside. Jumin followed suit.

“Hardly. They were over-dramatized little tales meant to scare me, but you told me them so very earnestly that I couldn’t help but yearn to know what the endings to those stories were.” He snorted lightly in amusement, humoring the other man delicately.

Jihyun explained with a hint of a smile on his face,“You know, sometimes people want to be scared. It helps them keep their minds off of things.”

Jumin couldn’t resist wearing a smile as well. “I would have to say I am not one of them. I simply enjoyed staying up all night with you and talking to you.”

The cat lover let out disgruntled sounds as his best friend attacked him with feather-soft pokes, meant to tickle and tease at him. “Hehe,” the little rascal started, “I still remember. Your eyes were as wide as saucers!” He couldn’t help but roll his eyes as the older male made embellished hand gestures to supplement this barrage of foolhardiness. “You’d be shaking like a leaf!” Another poke came Jumin’s way, right on his side, and an unwilling laugh bubbled out of his mouth. “But still…” Turquoise orbs danced with mirth as Jihyun continued with the light and slightly malicious tone of a storyteller who enjoyed himself far too much. “You’d plead with me to keep going. You had to know the end!”

“Stop this at once, Jihyun! Did you forget that I was only six then? I was quite little at the time - don’t you dare go around telling others I’m a scaredy-cat!”

“Pfft.” The mint haired male wiped his lips as he recovered from a long burst of exuberance, gasping for air with a shit-eating grin. “You have my word, Jumin, but there are no promises that others can’t see it for themselves. You were so very cute then.”

V didn’t quite give in as easily as Jumin had thought he would. He aimed an analytical gaze at the CEO, his lightened teal eyes now sparkling with more life than he could recall, forcing a feeling of nostalgia upon Jumin. It was quite bittersweet. This past year and a half were rough on both of them. There was a great distance between them even long beforehand, with Rika around. Especially when she was around - Jumin could recall upon his memory that he wanted her to be his. For a while, he wondered why - the photographer and CEO were much more alike than many would have suspected. Rika found love and inspiration in Jihyun’s work, and in turn, Jihyun had grown to love Rika for how she viewed the world - so beautifully, so painfully naive. His heart felt like it was tearing in two, almost, since it appeared that he too was losing his best friend. In the end, Jumin had found the blonde’s mysteries intriguing; he felt like someone understood him other than V could listen to him.

Yet, he could not understand her. After all, V had gravitated from Jumin to meet Rika at her own philosophical end; such philanthropy knew no bounds. As much as he coveted a mirror that would show who he truly was and who he wanted to become, nothing was more important than the bond he had built up with V. He remembered when V used to look at him that way, when the young six-year-old had imprinted on an overly mature boy who yet somehow succeeded to be about one month younger. Jumin remembered how Jihyun had followed him around like a reverent temple worshipper. It was almost embarrassing and it lasted for many years. That was until V and Rika had met.

There was a part of Jumin that was gnawing at the truth. V was becoming like Rika; he was imitating her even, albeit far from perfectly. He went with all her plans without complaint or inquiry because he believed in them too, until the last few weeks surrounding his fiance’s death, when he just seemed plaintively desperate. It broke Jumin’s heart to see the man close up and grieve on his own - V wasn’t that much of an extrovert, nor someone with lots of self-confidence. Neither did he reveal his secrets easily. However, there was only something Jumin knew and that was that some way, somehow, Jihyun was hurting, like he was lost or like he was missing something. The name Elizabeth 3rd reminded him of the days when Jihyun was much more stable and when Jumin had two people to listen to him without it having to become a crowd. And the cat reminded him of the company, of the understanding and stability that Jumin had always longed for. Yet, the now twenty-seven-year-old man was making excuses of his own.

Perhaps he had wanted Rika, but he had never wanted her alone - no, he wanted her because it was the only way he could have V by his side at that point. It was why he didn’t act on his feelings. What kind of friend would take away what V and Rika seemed to have? Truth be told, Jumin didn’t quite understand what the two had between them. Whether it was his own lack of experience or perhaps just plain disinterest, the CEO of C&R International really only longed for the friendship he had had with Jihyun; the one where he was a sort of knight who had defended and guided a gentle prince who was able to zero in on all the elegance of the world, even as a small child.

Seeing that Jihyun had fallen asleep, Jumin was able to smile freely yet sadly at long last. There were still traces of that little prince left. Now, if only the rest of that bright, energetic boy would come back home too.

Their second day was quite productive, the raven haired male thought. Lightly embarrassed and a little frustrated too, Jumin had to constantly remind V to put on his sunscreen and to not stay out in the sun for too long. His strong grip was always around the other man’s warm palms or slender wrists; Jumin didn’t mind guiding and guarding his charge, but it almost was like Jihyun had forgotten he could only really see with one eye. Sometimes he reached for his absent camera like it was a phantom limb. He constantly wandered near the water, when he could easily drown or get lost in the waves and end up only God knows where. It was so troublesome that Jumin had begun to show signs of what he considered heart palpitations, even though technically he was far too young to have them, but a man of his status ought to have been prepared for everything. Or at least, he thought he did.

Yet somehow, they both managed to have every meal of the day - a full English breakfast, the specialty barbecue of their hotel for lunch, and last but not least, a surf-and-turf dish at a restaurant right on the waterfront. It was so luxurious that V had suggested one time, “If and when you find someone special enough to love ever so fully, maybe you should take them out on a date like this. I am quite certain that if your suitors saw me with you like this, they would get jealous.”

“To hell with them, Jihyun. You’re the only one I want with me.” In response, his guest had blushed rather prettily, for a lack of better words. A smirk crept onto the businessman’s face without realizing it before he took yet another sip of his Chianti Classico.

It only widened when V shrank back in his seat, hiding his face behind a menu as a great heat rose up to his face and ears. Satisfied, Jumin stole a glance of rosy red cheeks. They had stayed silent until it was time to order dessert: six petite cream puffs filled with custard and pelted with confectionary sugar. It was one of their favorites as children whenever the two had dinner at the old mansion Jumin used to live in. He missed those sleepovers. Bright blue eyes blinked their fine eyelashes at him as if they knew what the corporate heir was thinking. He seemed composed enough now, so Jumin braced himself for whatever was in store.

“Hello, Jumin. Are you ready for another tale of mystery and horror?”

The younger of the two shook his head slowly and firmly. “No! Honestly, where do you come up with these frivolities?”

Very simply, Jihyun replied almost carefreely, “Luciel had told me it.”

“Oh, great. Well, if you’re interested in telling me another one of those silly stories, you’re out of luck. The last one was annoying enough.” Haughtily, he wrinkled up his nose, before suddenly, Jihyun had caught him off guard with a question only two milliseconds later.

The angelic smile and blinking wide eyes on the light blue haired man’s face was the perfect epitome of faux-innocence. “Which one was that, Jumin?”

“The one about the monster in my family’s mansion, back in our old neighborhood,” he allowed graciously, desiring to entertain Jihyun for the rest of their summer nights. His heart fluttered; nothing, not even the cream puffs, were sweeter than the picture of V smiling beautifully and innocently in front of him - he wanted to preserve it forever and ever despite knowing it simply could not last. Jumin pushed aside this gentle pain; there was more to their future than this.

A dulcet giggle sounded from the ex-photographer, as he eyed Jumin with those fox-like eyes once again.“Oh, that one WAS good! I remember now. I overheard that one from a few of the servants… Hanging in the castle was the portrait of a middle-aged man. At night, he’d sneak out of the painting and steal the maids right from their beds!”

“Jihyun… this is ridiculous. I don’t need to hear it again-”

Jumin was quickly silenced by his own intrigue. It was a milder version of being hung by his own leotard, he remarked mentally, except he would never in his right mind even dare to wear something as frivolous as that kind of garment. Still, he, with a bated breath, waited for V’s tale. “Heehee. I’m not sure I told you the ending to that one… On a moonless night, a maid heard footsteps coming from a dark hallway. Everyone else was asleep, so where do you think those sounds were coming from?”

“I don’t know. Where?” Jumin gazed at Jihyun curiously like a cat.

The teal haired man’s face lit up as he answered, “She was too scared to look, so she hurried off to bed. The maid couldn’t sleep a wink! When morning came, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and headed to work… Except everyone in the castle was acting odd and speaking in hushed whispers. Then, when they rounded up the maids, half of them had vanished!”

“Wha!?” His listener sputtered, partially because it sounded like another story being passed around by the mansion’s old maidservants. It probably was.

Jihyun took a deep breath before continuing. “The maid asked around, ‘Where are the other girls? "If they overslept, they’re going to be in trouble!’”

To his delight, Jumin became one shade paler, forcing himself to stay calm but he couldn’t as his guest leaned over him. They were close, so close! At first, it was pleasant to have V on top of him - it was like the rough housing of their earlier days. “Wh-what did the servants tell her?!”

With a voice as deep as a mummer's, V whispered in Jumin’s ear even more theatrically than what Jumin imagined to be Zen’s work, “They said, 'What maids? We’ve never heard of them before…’”

The tempo of Jihyun’s voice sped up as he pulled the black haired man closer to him. There was a painful pause at the start before Jumin uttered out a meek sound: “Huh?!”

Almost immediately, Jihyun started up again. “The poor maid searched the entire castle, but couldn’t find a sign of them. The maids’ rooms were completely empty- as if they’d never existed! Then she remembered the painting, and she knew. It was him! He’d come for them!”

The fast pace and the close proximity he had to his best friend made Jumin feel dizzy. Covering his ears, he let out a loud gasp and strangled yelp as V got up and tackle hugged him from behind.

Despite this, the story did not stop, not yet. Perhaps what made the next few words more frightening was that they were told in a whisper. “The maid wondered why she’d been spared. Was he coming back for her?”

“Jihyun…! I asked you to stop! It’s too scary. It’s TOO scary! Thanks to you, I’m probably going to have nightmares for a month!”

Gently, the storyteller patted Jumin’s back and rubbed it with both hands in a soothing circular pattern before suggesting, “Well, then, if you want, you can remove the bolster from our bed and sleep with me properly.”

“Y-You don’t mean that way, do you?”

V nodded before winking at him. “Unless if you want me to.” Jumin lightly whacked V on the side with his napkin before laughing.

“Alright, I will take up on your offer,” the CEO conceded with a sigh, “but I will have you know I am far too old to be afraid of these antics between you and Luciel, and far too old to be afraid of the dark, too.”

Jihyun only smiled serenely. “Haha, are you sure about that?” Time would tell.

Jumin Han had never slept so soundly and peacefully before, except in a long while. He, of course, woke up first to order in breakfast before pulling the covers over the teal haired male gently. The rest of the day was relatively calm. They had gone to see, or rather, hear a musical at a festival nearby, put on by an independent troupe of actors. Every time V had smiled or clapped to the beat of the show tunes when he thought no one was noticing, he gazed at the older male especially tenderly. Jumin swallowed a gulp, trying to speak as minimally as possible for the remainder of the day.

In the early twilight, he finally got up the courage to continue speaking naturally to V.

“What’s wrong, Jumin? You seem a bit troubled,” his companion remarked before carding slender fingers through locks of shiny raven black hair.

“That story you told earlier… I’m surprised you were able to remember. Was it difficult?” He managed to keep his cool. Good.

Jihyun started to scratch his own head in thought. “No, the fun part was seeing how you reacted, although I’m sorry if it irritated you instead.”

“A long time ago, the students at our school used to gossip about you,” the younger man admitted. “They said you were weird, weak and frail. That something was wrong with you - like you couldn’t communicate properly. They poked fun at how… effeminate you are.” Well, he couldn’t deny V had a slender, refined figure. “I… I should have done more. I silenced them whenever they treated you so uncouthly if they joined a conversation of mine. Now I know I ought to have doubled my efforts…”

“Jumin-”

Gently, he intertwined his fingers with Jihyun’s and brought his hand up to kiss its knuckles sweetly, courage and adrenaline breathing new life into the gesture. “They were wrong. They had no idea how kind and beautiful and strong you are.”

“It was a long time ago, Jumin. Please don’t fret over it.” The mint haired male smiled uneasily at him. “Thank you…”

“No, thank YOU. You were my one source of light these days and in previous ones. You have no idea how special you are to me. I should have spoken up more. I’m sorry.”

“I should be the one apologizing; you’ve always had to stand up for me whenever I was too shy to to do it myself,” V insisted, holding onto Jumin’s hands tightly, now with both hands. “I’ll become even stronger for you and everyone else then.”

The businessman glanced over the other man’s profile carefully. “Is that so?”

“Yes, but you should try harder too. You’re very kind to everyone in the RFA, but you know, you can trust them more like you do for me and Elizabeth the 3rd. Sometimes you need to be reminded that we’ll patiently try our best to help you in any way we can.”

Nodding his assent, Jumin watched Jihyun watching him and realized that they all were getting older - yet, the sweet boy that Jihyun once was never had left. It filled his heart with warmth. They stayed like this for a while too, under their bed covers, until they slowly drifted off to sleep.

Their goodbye the next day was a particularly tough one. Both men were fighting back an urge to cry, so instead, they hugged each other, this time more firmly than they could remember. There was something ominous in V’s tearful smile - those pale, unseeing and misty eyes reflecting back a darker truth he wished he didn’t have to handle. “Will we talk soon? Will we talk soon?” Jumin had asked him. Jihyun only shook his head. He said he didn’t know. But it wasn’t all sad; they had stopped by the duty-free goods shops at the airport and they found a selection of very cute stuffed animals. Particularly, Jumin took a liking to the one like his own cat; he already missed her dearly, but at least the fun he had made it all worth it.

“Oh, it’s beautiful. Wouldn’t Elizabeth be afraid of her replacing her like the little princess she is?”

Jumin chuckled. “Oho, not at all. It’s a boy. I’m thinking of naming him Jihyun, after you.” V blushed at this, and he patted the former photographer’s back before he suddenly searched with blurry eyes for a black cat himself. V was pouting, and it was quite adorable.

“I refuse to go without one of my own then! I’ll name this one Jumin!”

It was then that the businessman had smiled more than he could ever bear to remember. It made parting so much easier when Jihyun had to leave for his flight. He bit his lip. There would have been more pain if he had tried to kiss V, Jumin supposed. It was a heavy thing to accept, that he was in love with his best friend.

Until he had disappeared into the aircraft shuttle, silver orbs followed Jumin’s best friend until they could no longer see him.

That was the last time Jumin Han had seen Jihyun Kim alive.