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wonho-ssi · 3 years ago

Text

All That Glitters

Pairing: Yuchan x Fem Reader

Type: One shot, Hybrid AU

Warnings: Mentions of violence, prejudice/discrimination towards another race, swearing

Word count: 7.2k

『 She liked to think work was boring and a place for her to quietly lose her mind, but slowly a cute hybrid boy makes her change her mind 』

This was inspired by a prompt by @hybridfanfiction. Check them out!

The day had seemed normal enough when she first woke up. There was birds chirping and there was sunlight pooling in through the cracks in her blinds. Nothing she had done that morning seemed to be out of the ordinary, nor did her commute to work; people had crossed roads as carelessly as normal and they also had the same lack of self awareness as normal.

Really, if you have asked her that morning if anything had seemed odd, she would have responded with a bark of laughter and walked away with a shake of her head and a mutter claiming you were crazy.

However, as soon as she had stepped into the building, she found feel that something was off - more so than usual with an office building.

Everyone was quiet, eyeing each other with suspicion and slight judgment, their lips pulled into eerily similar straight lines.

Sitting down, the office chair squeaking under her weight, she swivelled around to face her desk mate: Changseok.

“Hey,” She whispered, though not really making any special effort to keep quiet, “what’s everyone acting so weird for?“

Changseok looked over at her, his brown eyes rolling in his skull to look at her blankly. Lips slowly forming a pout, he chewed on the inside of his cheek, shrugging. "Haven’t you heard?” He spoke cryptically and she had half a mind to give up there and then. The last thing she wanted to be doing so early in the morning was play 21 questions.

“No,” came her blunt response and he leant in, as though he was going to tell her the secret of the century. His eyebrows furrowed, voice even quieter than before, making her strain to hear it.

“There’s a hybrid here now,” He stressed the noun and she blinked, completely blind sighted. However, it wasn’t because of the revelation of the person’s species, but rather his attitude towards them and the way he was saying ‘hybrid’ like it was something dirty.

Closing her eyes for a few seconds to make sure she didn’t lose her temper, she exhaled - sound almost dulcet had it not been for the glare that pierced through him straight after. “Okay. Is that it?”

Changseok looked confused by her lack of reaction, repeating the word again, assuming that she hadn’t heard him.

“I heard you the first time. I was just wondering why it was such a big deal,” he moved back to his own space and she thanked every god she could think of. “They’re a hybrid. So what?”

His frown deepened and she could sense how she was going to have to contain an eye roll. It was always nice to find out someone you worked with was a piece of shit.

“It’s unnatural. They were made in labs so it’s not like they’re actually human,” she stayed silent, strong at him with an expression so cold that she almost wished he froze in front of her face. Upon her lack of a comment, he hurried to try and explain himself - not that he really cared to hear his opinion. “Don’t you think? They’re literally part animal, they’re freaks.”

With a lift of her eyebrows, she turned back to her work and shook her head. “Damn, I’ve always disliked you, but I guess now I have a concrete reason other than your simple idiocy. Never speak to me again.”

Changseok’s mouth opened (more than likely in a weak attempt to defend himself) however, she promptly ignored him and got up, shooting him one last withering look before walking away and to the ground floor of the building to the café.

While she was there, she decided that it would be nice to get to know this new coworker - there was always room in her life for being polite even if there wasn’t much of a chance for it with the people she was around. The intermingling scents of coffee and baked goods lightened her foul mood considerably, eyes grazing over the pastries before deciding that she didn’t want any today.

Purchasing a cup of coffee and of sweetened tea, she headed back up and began to ask around for the coworker. Everyone she asked gave her an odd look: some of them because she was asking about someone new when she had never cared before, and others because they were a hybrid. Nonetheless, she found out their location and the fact that they were a male.

Eventually she did manage to find him, situated at the further end of the floor with his head down and a hunched back. It wasn’t hard to deduce why, feeling the lingering stares burning into her own back as she walked towards him.

“Hi,” she greeted, feeling slightly bad when he jumped in surprise, “I’m (y/n). It’s nice to meet you,” pulling up a chair, his expression morphed almost comically.

He was good looking, she was willing to admit wholeheartedly, with his wide, rounded eyes and softly pursed lips that was complimented nicely by his sharp nose and silky looking brown hair. She was sure that if he wasn’t a hybrid, most people would have the opposite of an aversion towards him.

His swallow was thick, adam’s apple bobbing with the force of it, his slight body shaky and hands trembling - he seemed more like a newborn child than a fully grown adult. “I’m Yuchan,” he introduced finally, shocking her with how his voice had remained stable. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

The smile that spread across her lips was serenity in its truest form, a feeling of peace washed over her as she moved one sheathed cup towards him.

“Do you prefer tea or coffee, Yuchan?” His name tasted foreign on her tongue, yet it was light and airy. She could find comfort in saying his name, it seemed. “I didn’t know which one, so you can pick whichever.”

“You didn’t have to,” he lamented, the slightest shade of pink tinged his cheeks a subtle rose.

“I wanted to,” Yuchan’s eyes flickered between the two cups before slowly reaching out to take the one labelled coffee, “good choice.”

“Thank you,” His smile was beautiful and she thought that the gentle simper was much more fitting for his countenance than timidness. “You really didn’t have to.”

She could have echoed her earlier words, told him that it didn’t matter, however, all she could think to do was watch him. It was entrancing really how graceful he was, every movement of his fluid and poised. If she had been ignorant, she would have asked why he was wasting his time in a shitty office job when he was much more talented in other things.

Instead, she nodded and sipped her own tea before speaking again. “How are you settling in?” It must not have been easy, especially with the blatantly rude behaviour of the other staff as well as tensions across the country from the new laws.

He shrugged, licking his slightly chapped lips. “I’m doing okay. It’s nice here.”

‘If it’s nice here, what’s horrible?’ She thought, almost looking at him funny. “Do you need any help with anything? I can help you with whatever.”

Yuchan shook his head, nails tapping against the cardboard sleeve around the coffee cup. “Junhee-hyung helped set me set up and taught me how to use everything.”

“You know the boss?” His expression quickly turned worried, more than likely thinking he overstepped a boundary, nonetheless she was faster to speak, “that’s good. It’s nice to have connections in places like this. Junhee is a nice man, I like him.”

His visage melted into one of a relief, chewing the inside of his cheek slowly. “Yeah, Hyung’s really nice and helpful. I’m happy I got a job with him as my boss.”

There was another silence that fell, this time a lot more comfortable than the first. Soft sounds of the clock ticking made her glance down at her watch, realising with great irritation that she needed to start doing work or face getting scolded by the supervisor. “I have to head back to my own desk now, but if you ever need anything, feel free to shout for me.”

Getting out of the seat and putting it away, he waved her off and she felt immediately more energised; enough so that anyone she caught who dared look at Yuchan with even a glimmer of disgust was shot down with a scowl and a silent dare to carry on further.

Maybe having a new, less annoying coworker would finally make her feel excited to come to work.

The next day, she had decided that walking to work would be a lot less stressful and more cleansing to the soul. (It also meant that she wouldn’t have to pay the parking fee but that was only really a bonus.)Walking also meant that she could now head into her favourite bakery - one she hadn’t managed to go into a for a long while due to simply being busy and overrun with work.

A gentle jingling from above her head signalled her entrance, the pretty cashier behind the till giving her a smile and a nod of acknowledgment. The familiar scent of honey and cinnamon was comforting, enveloping her in warmth and lightening the burden in her chest. Honestly, if she could afford to do something, she would have bought out everything in the quaint and idyllic shop.

Browsing through the pastries put into baskets and the cakes hidden behind glass, she decided on buying a favourite that always held up to the test of time; chocolate chip cookies. Theirs were always soft and melted in the middle, with chocolate always lingering on the back of your palette for a long while after being consumed. Maybe she was being dramatic, but she considered it a slice of heaven amongst her life of abject sin.

Thankfully, as they had just opened, there was an abundance of sweet treats and she took great pleasure in filling up a paper bag with 6 of them. However, just as she was about to pay, she remembered Yuchan and figured she may as well get him some too.

Grabbing another bag and three more cookies, she paid swiftly with an expression of gratitude before returning to her trek to the cursed building she was set to be in - which only took her around another 5 minutes.

It was nice to see that even though Changseok was there, he made no move to speak her like normal. 'Good,’ she mused as he avoided eye contact, 'I guess he got the message.’ It was no loss on her end, in fact, she classified it as a win.

There was a lot less under breath murmurs today, with people only glancing at Yuchan from the corner of their eyes instead of staring at him like a circus attraction. It wasn’t ideal, though it certainly was an improvement.

“Hi again,” she spoke softly, not wanting to scare him like yesterday.

Looking up from the computer screen, wide eyes met hers, softening into crescent moons. “Hi, how are you?”

“I’m good,” she held up the bag of cookies ad shook them with a pleased grin, “the bakery had my favourite cookies. I thought you would like some. They’re really good,” She put the bag beside his hand.

Thumb grazing over the paper bag, his hues roamed over the delicious looking cookies within and his smile widened considerably. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s alright, you don’t have to thank me,” she sat in the empty chair beside him, spinning on it gently by using her feet. “How is it going today? Everything’s okay?”

“Mhm. I haven’t had any issues, I actually just started on a new project,” he found conversation coming easily despite his nervousness. Who wouldn’t be nervous when a pretty girl with a notorious streak for being blunt was speaking to you?

“Really?” She questioned genuinely interested, “what’s it on?” The company they worked for mainly dealt with collaborating with fashion brands and shipping so anything new was always welcomed.

“Well uh, Hyung asked me if I could help to design a website for one of our new shareholders,” He fiddled with the paper bag, the soft crinkling providing a background noise, “I’m not too sure about where to start if I’m honest.”

“Oh,” She leant closer to look at what he already had, the landing page currently being edited, “do you have a basic template?"

"Not really, they only gave us a small brief to work from. They said 'make it look like h&m’, which is helpful,” The soft giggle that left her mouth made him pause, fingers stilling in their fidgeting.

“Clients like that are the worst,” Nodding in agreement, he saw her mouth open to say something more before she also stilled.

Her eyes closely followed a figure with red hair as she slowly got up, shoving the seat under the chair. “If Kihyun sees me here he’s going to grill me, I’ll see you later, Yuchan,” before he could even say bye, she was already up and running - leaving him alone with his cookies.

His mouth was left wide open, watching her rush away like a thief about to be caught. A few moments later, the head of red hair was in his vision, the man’s smiling face soon following as he greeted Yuchan.

“Morning,” Kihyun spoke, following his gaze and spotting her sitting down in her chair and then looking at his own out of place one. “She was just here, wasn’t she?”

Yuchan pursed his lips, not wanting to speak up in case she got into trouble; she was one of the only ones that made an effort to check up on him after all. Kihyun seemed to notice this and laughed, patting his thigh reassuringly.

“It’s okay, she won’t get into trouble. I like her so I wouldn’t say anything, we just like to bicker,” Yuchan’s ears perked. He had noticed how people seemed to shrink away whenever she walked by, almost as if they were avoiding her gaze and he never quite understood why. She was always kind to him.

“Who is she?” He couldn’t help but ask, clamping his mouth shut a second later as he realised he might have overstepped a boundary. “Um I- i mean, I know her name but-”

“She’s one of the best IT techs we have. She likes to keep to herself and she’s got an attitude if you piss her off, and considering the assholes we work with, I don’t blame her. If you’re nice to her or joke with her, she’ll return it. You don’t have to worry about it, Yuchan, she seems fond of you,” He flushed upon hearing the pride, cheeks dusting the faintest shade of pink as he nodded and put up head down.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out Kihyun shaking his head and grinning to himself at his bashfulness. Nonetheless, he didn’t notice it too much, lost in his own thoughts. She was fond of him? He mused, absentmindedly click on the screen.

A small smile made its home on his face, plush lips stretching into a subtle upwards curve.

Yuchan found he rather liked the idea of her liking him.

With every day that passed, he found himself looking forward to her daily check ins. Her smile was pretty and her aura was comforting, like a cup of warm coffee that warmed you from the inside out on cold, frigid days.

He had been looking around the shops one day, spending his free time poking around instead of being cooped up in his room (and being scolded by his roommate as well as his mother likewise for being antisocial and a neet). The days were turning colder, frostier. With every breath he took he could see his own contribution to the looming clouds above.

As he walked around, eagle eyed for anything that might have caught his interest (i.e anything shiny) he weaved through the aisles of the old antique shop he had wandered into. The store had the smell of old wood and of slight citrus, a scent that shouldn’t have gone together but it did so beautifully.

Yuchan hadn’t really been looking to buy anything however, as soon as he has spotted something glinting dutifully under the golden lighting, he had to have a look. Pushing aside the objects in front of it, he grinned broadly to see a beautiful bejewelled keychain.

It was in the shape of a bird: a peacock if he was recalling correctly. Azure and emerald gems decorated the body of the beard, the eyes of its feathers painstakingly done with brown and yellow.

Of course he was a sucker for anything cute and sparkly, hence his lack of self restraint as he picked up the keychain, cradling it gently in his hands. It shone with every turn of the head, the black stones used for the bird’s eyes almost lifelike. Though at least he had on justification for this purchase; he was going to give it away.

Which is where he was currently, sitting in his office chair with a bouncing leg as he bit his lip nervously. She hadn’t come to him all day and he was growing worried that she was getting bored of it - he really hoped that it wasn’t the case.

Taking another glance over, he swallowed thickly and relaxed as he saw her hunched over her desk, typing furiously on her keyboard before pressing the enter button and glancing at her watch. The time seemed to make her happy as she immediately smiled to herself and shut off her computer, kicking up her bag and throwing it around her shoulders.

For a second he thought she was going to leave there and then, but they were soon proven wrong as she walked towards his direction, a bounce in her step.

“Hi Yuchan,” she greeted and he returned her jovial simper with a small wave. “What are you doing now?"

"I’m just finishing up the website. I just need to edit some banners and code and I’ve finished,” Her lips formed a soft 'o’ shape as she sat down beside him, stealing Kihyun’s chair once again. “What are you doing?"

Her fingers picked at her shirt sleeve as she rocked from side to side on the office chair. "I finished all my work for today. I’m thinking of leaving early, I just need to go to Junhee-ssi and tell him.”

Yuchan’s nervousness immediately skyrocketed and fingers tapped on the table, drumming on it lightly but still loud enough so that it drew her attention. “You okay? You seem anxious, your website is amazing, I promise.”

Finding her reassurance cute, he forced himself to stop messing around with any of his body parts and smiled at her instead. “Thank you. I’m just thinking about something. I appreciate it, I appreciate you,” he added the last part only in his head as he was too much of a coward to actually say them outloud - though judging by her broad and bright smile, she seemed to understand the worldless implications just fine.

A comfortable silence fell over them both, his shoulders slumping as he finally felt comfortable to relax. She slipped her bag off her shoulders and placed it in front of her, rummaging through it before producing a brown paper bag. “I went to the bakery this morning. I saw they had some brownies today and I thought you would like them.”

“You don’t have to always get me something,” She waved off his concerns and he felt his heart flutter in his chest - his cheeks immediately tinging a subtle shade of rose despite himself. “I’m okay with just you."

"Oh, you’re so adorable, Channie,” She spoke smoothly, like she hadn’t noticed that cute nickname leave her mouth and fluster him beyond belief, “I want to get them for you. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Glancing again at her watch, her lips pursed and she stood up. “I should get going now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

His mouth opened, hand lifting up to stop her before he let it fall back down to his desk, internally groaning at his cowardice. Instead of getting up and giving the gift to her, he watched her disappear down the stairs, not to be seen until tomorrow.

'Damn it,’ he looked at his bag, deciding to do the next best thing - leave it on her desk. Opening up his bag, he took out the small wrapped box that he had painstakingly covered with sparkly gift wrap. A red glitter box was on top, his reflection staring back at him hundreds of times as he stared hard at it.

Getting up, he clutched the box tightly in his hands and walked towards her desk, thankful that people had (mostly) given up on staring at him whenever he passed by. As he approached her workspace, Yuchan fell a glare burning into his skin, his saliva thick as he swallowed. He knew quite clearly that it was coming from her seatmate.

Ignoring it to the best of his abilities, he opened the first drawer to her desk and placed it gently within, giving it a soft pat of reassurance before closing the drawer again. Hopefully she would see it when she came back.

He straightened up, eyes meeting blank brown hues that seemed to see right into his soul, sending shivers down his spine. Barely managing a smile, he rushed away when he saw Changseok’s scowl deepen. He wasn’t going to stay where he wasn’t wanted.

Despite this, his cheery mood couldn’t be dampened. He had accomplished his mission even with the few hiccups during the way and that was good enough for him.

Work tomorrow suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

His leg was bouncing again today, though this time for a completely different reason than previously. Yuchan’s gaze was constantly on the door when it wasn’t focused on the screen in front of him. Right now, he couldn’t have cared less about working on a banner for another makeup company, his sole focus being on seeing her reaction to his gift.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally appeared through the door and his heart felt like it was going to beat straight out of his sternum. Chewing nervously on his bottom lip, he was growing incredibly impatient - Yuchan had half a mind to go over there and open the drawer for her.

However, his waiting finally paid off when she did open the door, the soft furrow of her brows and pursing of her lips making him bite back a hearty grin. The red bow was removed, placed delicately on the desk as she slid her finger under the folds, pulling the wrapping paper away without ripping it. Then finally, she opened the lid and looked in, pulling out the glittering keychain with the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face.

To a couple of minutes she did nothing more than sit there and admire the gift, her finger tips smoothing over the gems and across the beautiful design of it. That was all he could ask for - to see her smile because of him. Though, it did present another problem for him; he could already feel his crush on her growing tenfold.

Turning back to his screen, he felt content. As long as she was happy, he was too. His pulse continued to race and thrum, his aura giddy and joy clear enough that even Kihyun gave him a sideways glance from his side.

“Yuchan!” His heart lurched again in his throat and he sat up straight, watching her come over with her hands covering something in her hand. “You won’t believe what someone gave me, it’s so beautiful.”

She pulled up a chair, stealing it from the row in front without a care and sat down, moving her hand to show him the peacock he had grown very familiar to.

“That is pretty,” he commented, trying to keep his cheeks from turning red and exposing him, “it would look nice on your bag.”

“You think so?” She asked, inspecting it, “I think it’s too nice for that. I might put it with my keys instead.” Pulling her keys from her pocket, he watched her clip it to them, the gems continuing in their glittering. He swore they were shining more in her presence. “I wonder who it was. They didn’t leave a name and I highly doubt it was Changseok.”

'Not with the dirty look he gave me,’ Yuchan thought though did not verbalise, instead only smiling and nodding. “They must like you. It suits you a lot.”

“Oh hush,” she placed a light finger against his lips, “I got you coffee, but I left it at my desk. One second,” she rushed away and he covered his face with his hands, running a hand through his hair.

The steaming drink was placed at his side, the chair squeaking as she sat back down. He could feel Kihyun’s amusement at his obvious predicament. 'Whatever,’ he huffed, 'let hyung laugh,’ and then he looked up at her again.

Her features were bright and they were beautiful, accentuated even more by the elation of the gift. Yuchan took one more look at her visage and knew he was smitten: or in other words, he had completely fucked himself over.

It became almost a tradition, every Thursday he would leave a gift in her top drawer that she would come to find on Friday and guess about. It was the highlight of his entire week and Yuchan couldn’t have cared less about the looks Changseok gave him every time he came to drop one off.

She pushed open the door again, already excited for what she was going to get. The only thing she wasn’t fond of was the fact that she didn’t know who they were coming from and she couldn’t pay them back.

Sitting down in her desk, she started up her computer and opened the drawer, overjoyed to see a small rectangular box covered in the same sparkly wrapping paper the others had come in.

Pulling it out and closing the drawer with her knee, she was just about to unwrap it when she heard a voice speak beside her - one that she hadn’t heard for a while.

“You know it’s him, right?” She blinked, not expecting to hear Changseok speaking to her after weeks of God given silence.

“Pardon?”

“It’s him, that hybrid, he’s the only leaving you all this shit in your drawer,” He spat like he was disgusted to even think of it. Her blood boiled, anger swallowed down as she held the gift in her hands.

“What? Are you talking about Yuchan?"

"Yes, that disgusting hybrid. He’s been leaving shit for you every thursday,” Her eyes narrowed, beyond giving a fuck about his opinion and of the proper professional conduct.

“He’s better than you’ll ever be, you piece of shit. What are you doing mad about? The fact that people like Yuchan and not you? Maybe if you weren’t so unlikable, you would have friends too,” About to turn around, she felt her body jerk as he pulled her chair and scowled, obviously offended that she hadn’t given the time of the day.

“What? You’re defending him? I always knew you were someone who fucked inbred shit like him,” Astounded by the words coming from his mouth, she fell silent for a moment before poison dropped from her words.

“You’re the worst goddamn kind of person, the type who can’t face the fact that they’re a piece of shit. Yuchan is 1000 times more humane than you’ll ever be,” she stood up, glowering at him with danger setting fires in her eyes. “I told you never to speak to me and you open your mouth to talk shit? I shouldn’t have expected anything else.”

He stood up also, the entire office falling silence as they watched them both. Kihyun got up immediately, knowing it wasn’t going to end well - there had always been tension between them and it all seemed to be bubbling over in one terrible mess.

“Fuck you,” he hissed, “I bet you’ve sucked his dick and that’s why you’re so far up his ass,” she scoffed at his childish response, rolling her eyes.

Changseok seemed to not like that, his hand reaching towards her shoulder to try and coax a reaction from her, however she was faster.

Within a second, he was clutching his nose, shock clear in his eyes as she clenched her fist, his head snapped back for a moment as the sin of wrath coloured her features.

Kihyun rushed over, as Changseok moved forward, grabbing his hands as she grit her jaw, teeth grinding against each other with the force she was using to not punch him again.

“Changseok, you pathetic fuck,” she hissed and Kihyun held out his hand, trying to keep the damage at bay. She paid no attention to him, her stare enough to burn through his skin. “It’s so sad watching you show your true colours. Maybe one day someone other than your mother who will love you, though I highly doubt she does either.” She turned on her heel, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, her actions reverberating off the walls in the near silent office. “I’m not coming back until he’s out of my fucking face.”

Those were the words that echoed loudly within the four walls, glances exchanged as people looked at each other in disbelief, the door shaking behind her as she slammed it shut.

Changseok shoved away Kihyun, storming towards the bathroom with both a bruised ego and face.

And it was then that Yuchan finally felt his face burning, his eyes watery as he tried to wipe at his face as inconspicuously as he could. He wasn’t stupid, he had always noticed how Changseok didn’t like him, but he never would have thought he hated him to such an extent over something he had no control over.

The screen in front of him blurred, the glances and whispers of everyone else making him feel like he was back at his first day, being judged and scrutinised for everything he did.

Wanting nothing more than to curl up into a ball, he was thankful for Kihyun as he barked at everyone else to carry on working and to stop looking at him. A gentle hand found it’s way on his shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

“I’m sorry, Yuchan. You don’t deserve that.”

He shook his head, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall. “I don’t want her to get into trouble. Especially not over me.”

Kihyun’s eyes were warm, filled with sympathy ss he shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Changseok started it so he’ll get the most of the punishment. She’ll be okay,” he sniffled, comforted at the thought, “if you want to go home, that’s completely okay. I’ll tell Junhee for you.”

Thanking him quietly, he got up from his seat, swallowing down the bile that threatened to make it way up his throat, his mind weighed down by the thoughts racing through his head. Barely looking anyway apart from straight ahead, he raced out of the building and kept his head down, finally able to wipe his face in peace. At least in the streets of Seoul no one acknowledged each other, too busy caring about themselves to care about him.

The last thing he wanted to do was be the reason that she was fired, though he couldn’t say that the fact she defended him hadn’t left his chest feeling warm and fuzzy. It was just that his feeling of guilt was overpowering it.

He couldn’t imagine coming into work and not seeing her pretty face coming up to him with happiness and a genuine excitement for meeting him. Yuchan didn’t want to imagine it either; she hadn’t even opened the gift he had gotten her this time.

Then, as he was walking, he heard his name being called. First it was very failure, almost a figment of his imagination, before he heard it louder and clearer.

“Yuchan, wait!” He looked over his shoulder to see one of his seniors running towards him; Yoongi, one of the quieter but well respected higher ups. Yuchan hadn’t really interacted with him before save for the occasional smiles as Kihyun bothered him.

He paused in his walking, desperately hoping he didn’t look like shit.

Yoongi rushed up to him, looking slightly out of breath but still coherent enough to talk. “I’m sorry for what happened Yuchan. You shouldn’t have had to hear all that shit coming out of his mouth ”

“It’s o-”

“It’s not,” Yoongi shook his head, “He’s going to get fired and even though (y/n) will get a strike for punching him, she won’t be let go. We should have sacked him a long time ago,” his heart felt a million times lighter hearing that, a smile breaking out on his face and stretching across his cheeks.

Yoongi patted his shoulder. “Keep up the good work. We understand if you want to take a couple of days off. Stay healthy, Yuchan.” Yoongi. walked away again with a dip of his head.

Even though the feeling of guilt still lingered, he was so much more jovial, now walking home with a skip in his step rather than pulling his feet along behind him.

Her empty desk was slowly getting on his nerves. He knew in his heart of hearts that she would be coming back soon and that it just took a while for them to properly clean up all of Changseok’s belongings; he was still impatient.

Yoongi had said she would be back and he had to believe that it would be soon.

His headphones were over his ears, a half eaten sandwich in its wrapper on his desk. He didn’t have much of an appetite while at work anymore - subconsciously associating it with her and her presence. It didn’t feel right to eat if she wasn’t at least there or had said hi that day.

Music played loudly in his ears, focused on completing the banner so he could go home and bury himself under the covers for a weekend.

As he changed the colour of it, his attention was diverted by a box being set down between his arms. Wrapped in silvery paper and a glittering gold ribbon, it was incredibly reminiscent of his own packaging methods.

Pulling the headphones around his neck, his breath hitched in his throat as the smile he had come to adore beamed down at him and bathed him in sunshine. He swallowed, words suddenly glued to the tip of his tongue.

“Hi,” She spoke first, sitting down beside him, “how are you, Chan? Everything’s going good?”

He nodded, wishing he could have said something instead of becoming silent.

“That’s good,” she mused, “He’s been fired so I’m back. I got a warning though, but that’s whatever."

"I’m glad you’re back,” he finally vocalised and she grinned, “I missed you.”

A silence followed and he was worried he had overstepped a boundary, rushing to try and rectify it - only to be stopped by her soft giggle.

“You did? That’s cute,” she replied, her finger tapping on the box lightly, “thank you for the gifts by the way. They’re always so beautiful and I really enjoyed getting them.” Even though she only knew it was him because of Changseok opening his mouth, he couldn’t help but still be delighted and slightly embarrassed that he had been found out.

Slowly, he reached out to slide his finger under the seals, copying her care and delicacy, before pulling the ribbon away and opening it up. Inside was a small rose charm, the rose tinted metal glittering brightly and with the sole purpose of catching his attention.

“I know it’s not as pretty as everything you got me, but I hope you’ll like it more when you find out the second thing I got you,” he looked back inside the box, visibly confused when there was nothing there. “It’s a date. I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me, Channie.”

He froze up immediately, eyes wide and turning into the size of golf balls as his mind screeched to a hold. Did she seriously just ask him out? The girl he had a crush on for months, asked him out?

If he wasn’t so gobsmacked he would have been mortified at his lack of response, her face dropping almost unnoticeably at his lack of reply. God, could he be anymore of a moron?

“Yes!” The exclamation came way too loudly and he cleared his throat, unable to meet her gaze ad he fiddled with the charm. “Um, yeah. I would really like that.”

“That’s great,” her hand was warm, resting on top of his as she squeezed his gently, “could I have your number then?"

Fumbling with his phone, it almost slipped through his fingers as he handed it to her and he cursed himself for being such a mess. Thankfully, she seemed to find it endearing, sparkles lighting up her eyes as she saved his number in her phone and sent him a text. "Thank you, baby,” his cheeks flushed an even more vibrant crimson and he was sure he matched Kihyun’s hair by now.

Even so, the last nail in his coffin had to be the gentle way her hands cupped his face, leaning closer so that her gentle and comforting scent invaded his senses. Her lips were soft against his cheek, the skin tingling even as she moved away - fingers brushing across the side of his face.

He could only stare owlishly at her retreating figure, all thoughts disappearing. Yuchan could not believe that any of that had happened.

Then, like a bucket of cold water being thrown onto him, he heard Kihyun laughing from beside him, his foot landing on the side of his chair to spin him around. “I can’t believe you got her to ask you out. I never thought I’d see the day, you really are special if she likes you, Yuchan."

Attempting to cover his face with his hands, Kihyun only continued to find amusement in his shyness, poking his side lightly before turning back to his work - still laughing. Nonetheless, Yuchan couldn’t have cared less. He had a date to worry about now.

The flavour of coffee and sugar coated his tongue, sweetness spreading across his mouth as he took another sip of his drink in an to attempt to pass the time which seemed to be passing by both incredibly quick and irritatingly slow.

15 minutes had gone by and he was beginning to think that she had stood him up. That thought alone hurt to have and he could feel his stomach twist the more he lingered on that idea. That was the last thing he wanted to believe - to even consider. She wasn’t the type of person to do that, was she?

Consumed by his own thoughts, he didn’t hear the bell to the shop open and a hurried figure walk in. Only when the chair beside him scraped against the floor and and apologetic face was in front of his visage, did he realise who he was staring at.

"I’m so sorry, Channie. I got caught up with my roommate, she couldn’t figure out what to get her girlfriend and dragged me into helping her,``she huffed and he found the puff of her cheeks to be adorable, his eyes turning into gentle crescent moons ad he forgot about all the negative emotions had felt just moments ago.

"It’s okay, it was only 15 minutes, I don’t mind,” He really didn’t mind, not even she was looking so pretty just for him, her countenance as beautiful as ever - if not slightly more so today. “You look really nice today.”

Her eyes roamed over his body, looking over the maroon jacket that he had coupled with a black turtleneck and then back up to his face. “You look extra cute today as well.”

Yuchan swore he was going to become permanently pink faced around her.

Now that she was here, time seemed to fly by, speeding past until she placed her hand over his and suggested they leave the café in favour of walking around the nearby botanical garden. And how could he disagree to walking with pretty flowers and a stunning woman beside him?

Her arm looped around his, content written across her features as she spoke about whatever. Then, she paused for a moment and looked up at him. “Yuchan, can I ask you a personal question?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Are you a crow hybrid?” He was a little bewildered that she had figured it out; he was sure he had never given any indication towards his species.

“Mhm. How did you find that out?”

“Well, for one you’re really intelligent and can pick out problems and solutions really quickly. And two, I noticed you really seem to like shiny things and collect them.- all the jewellery you wear is really bright, I think it’s cute,” His smile was broad, hiding his face in her shoulder as she ruffled his hair, smooth in the strands gently between her fingers.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you defend me and risk your job like that?” She stilled for a moment, but she carried on brushing her fingers through the silly black strands.

“Because I don’t like him and his views. He’s a piece of shit that thinks he can say things like that and get away with it. I would have done it for anyone, but it annoyed me especially because he was saying it about you. You’re so sweet, Yuchannie and he refuses to acknowledge that,” Her voice was soothing and he found himself relaxing against her touch, “and besides. I got to punch him and keep my job, I think it’s a win win situation.”

He laughed, the sound full of mirth and of gratitude. “That’s nice to know,” He remarked teasingly and she pulled him down onto the bench with a finger against her smiling lips.

Her fingers slipped into her coat pocket, rummaging around for something before she pulled out a small velvet box. The small thing was opened up and within there was a dainty half heart necklace, encrusted with red gems and a single pink one in the middle.

Without giving him a chance to speak, she unclasped the necklace and gestured for him to lean down, placing it gently around his neck and patting the spot above his heart. She reached under her shirt and pulled out her own identical necklace, the other half of the heart.

“There,” she spoke as she tucked it back under her shirt, “now I can add you to my collection of pretty things."

Oh god, he thought as he pressed a kiss to her cheek in an attempt to do something with himself, she’s going to make me fall so hard.

#chan x reader #yuchan x reader #a.c.e x reader #a.c.e imagines #a.c.e scenarios #yuchan fluff #chan fluff #chan scenarios #yuchan angst #yuchan imagines #yuchan scenarios #chan imagines

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jeongyunhoed · 4 years ago

Text

Past-Present-Future

What do you do

When everything you’ve done

Comes back to haunt you?

Group: ATEEZ

Superpowers AU!

Mutants, assassins, confronting the past! a little dive into the concept of romantic soulmates!

with OCs

Genres: Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure, Angst, Implied smut, Fluff, Gen

Flashback-heavy

Featuring mentions of: Park Jihoon (solo), Chanyeol, Dean, Zelo

Warnings: Blood, gore, death, violence, character deaths

She has lived with guilt. Slowly remembering details of her checkered past when interned at a sanitarium years ago. The sudden reemerging of a person she remembered dying and the resurgence of a powerful crime syndicate will have her trying to walk the line between the person she has become and the person she was once destined to be.

A/N: I wasn’t sure if I wanted to post this at all, but I guess it’s worth a try to increase my works on this platform again. The masterlist for this will be up shortly once I figure out/try and make a good graphic. Keyword: TRY (as I suck at photo editing)

Chapter 1.

“As of today, the seven of you will become a unit, a covert unit. To put it simply, if I want someone killed, you will do it for me, if I want people killed, you will do it for me, if I want information, you will retrieve it for me, all in all, if I want something, you will get it for me, I am good they are bad,” A woman, whose face was obscured in the dark, told the seven people - six men and one woman, all of whom had vacant expressions and were staring into space.

They were lined up in a padded room, a secret room in the sanitarium that doubled as a training room from the shelves upon shelves of sharp weapons on display at the very end of the room. She knew they could hear her, they just couldn’t speak.

“Kim Hongjoong, Park Seonghwa, Jeong Yunho, Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung, Choi Jongho, and,” A man said this time, his face also obscured in the dark, reciting each of their names before rounding on the sole woman in the lineup of people wearing sanitarium uniforms. “Lee Mirae,” the man was smirking in the dark. “The future of our program, you will lead this unit, your progress from all the training these past few years has been exceptional, near-perfect, I would like to think.”

Mirae said nothing. “Quite an impressive one you are, Lee Mirae,” The woman spoke again. “It’s almost as if you were born for this kind of job. Changseok, what do you think? She is the most successful one we’ve trained under the program, right?”

“Quite right, honey. Lee Mirae, you are the most successful experiment in this program of ours. It’s not hard to see why, you were born with the mutant gene,” The man seemed to stare at her. “Your own parents didn’t realize your true potential when they interned you in here, but consider this as a way to lead you to what you are destined to be. The most-feared mercenary the world has ever known. The mere sight of you will bring even the most powerful people to their knees, begging you to spare their lives.”

Mirae still said nothing. Like the others, she could hear them, she just couldn’t speak. “You will be pulled out whenever we have a mission for you. This will entail traveling to faraway parts of the world. While you’re all built to be killing machines, I don’t think any of you are invulnerable to harm. But don’t worry, after every mission, upon returning, you will all be subject to electroshock therapy. Just enough to make you forget what you’ve done, where you went, and whom you might have killed,” The woman spoke again.

They could hear her. They just couldn’t speak. “You are all ready for your first mission. It’s in Busan. You will be briefed on the way. It’s time to open Pandora’s Box.”

The seven of them twitched in their places. As the man known as Changseok began to repeat the last two words, the seven of them continued twitching, tilting their heads as if hearing something that hurt their ears. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, forks scratching ceramic plates. When Changseok stopped, all of them stood still, a blank look in their eyes as if in a trance. “Remember, regardless of the weapon you pick, you are the true weapon.”

Seoul. 9:00 p.m. Present day.

Five years have passed since the Seoul attack that changed everything. Almost everyone that was part of trying to stop it was gone, either dead or missing. Lee Mirae stared at the rain tapping on the windows of her apartment. It was now four years since the Utopian cult, the encounter that gave her a rude awakening, the encounter that made everything seem like a lie, the encounter where she lost her adoptive brother Jihoon. There was a memorial in place for the lives lost during those times, placed on the site where the Center for Paranormal Research once stood.

This was no longer the place she once knew. Even the brightest colors from the lights by the river seemed to have a grey, almost black tinge to it all. For some reason, the place she called home was no longer as bright as she knew it to be. It was a lot darker, and it wasn’t only because of the constant dark clouds hanging over the city, but it was also because the crime rate was still at its highest. Gangs were rampant all over. Law enforcement couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t hard for Mirae to realize how much things weren’t so bright and cheerful since the Seoul attack. It was never bright and cheerful. She just wasn’t paying much attention.

Mirae was a mutant, and had the ability to manipulate energy. She turned the smallest things into extremely explosive projectiles, and she often did it with a deck of cards. Being an omega-level mutant, the fullest extent of her powers allowed her to turn into an energy being, aside from a healing factor that made her almost immortal, and it also slowed down her aging process. She was a fighter, gifted with many forms of combat, and she was often told by her adoptive brother that no one could beat her in any way, but she knew that wasn’t true nor was it going to be true. She often used a steel bo staff made for her by Junhong, one of the surviving tech guys from the attack, who also took it upon himself to make changes to some of her things, including her car and the windows of both her apartment and the record store she owned and operated.

Her powers didn’t stop there. From the two big events that shook the city came her ability to trap souls into objects, usually her cards. This also resulted in a white streak in her hair that she never bothered covering up, not even when she tried to dye her hair.

She heard the door open and turned around. It was her half-brother, Choi San, coming back from getting take-out at the nearest restaurant. San was a mutant like her, and was also gifted with the ability to manipulate energy, only he channeled it through his harpoon. His healing abilities were just as strong as hers, granting him near-immortality. San was also skilled in combat, and when they reunited, he was working as a mercenary for hire. He still was one. Like her, he also had a streak in his hair, a purple one that seemed to cover up the white that formed upon using his powers to their fullest extent.

Mercenary. The mere word made her shake her head. That wasn’t her. If it was, then it was the old her. She was no longer under the control of her Utopian cult. The trigger was gone, taken out of her head. She knew this well. She was the one who drove the sword into the leaders of that cult, her own adoptive parents.

“I’ve come back bearing meat, I figured we could grill some over the stove for dinner tonight” He said, holding up a black plastic bag. San tilted his head. “You had another dream, didn’t you?” He figured.

“Yeah,” Mirae let out an exasperated sigh. She had trouble sleeping, knowing that her dreams would present her flashes of memories from her time at the sanitarium. Only this time, the memories she would have would lead her to wake up in tears as those memories were of Jihoon. Jihoon, whom she promised to protect with her whole life when he got out, whom she practically raised, and whom she ultimately failed to save.

“What was it this time?” San asked, already bringing out a griddle pan to pan-fry the meat instead.

“The first mission I had, or at least that’s what it sounded like, the usual stuff,” She replied, setting the table while he cooked the meat.

San’s expression turned into that of concern as he glanced at her. It made him wonder how he could somehow help her get out of this, out of her inability to sleep. “I could get you sleeping pills if you need it,” He said carefully.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Whether or not I take them, I still have those dreams,” Mirae shook her head, helping him out with cooking this time.

“Hasn’t Junhong… tried to come up with something to help you? What about your friends? Chanyeol? Hyuk? Have they thought of helping you?” San’s tone was becoming increasingly concerned.

“How can they? Hyuk’s not that powerful a telepath, what can Chanyeol do, burn my head? Ino… well, he’s too caught up in trying to manage his own powers to even try and help out other people,” Mirae answered. “Even if they tried, when the trigger was taken out of me, the psychic block in my head grew stronger, they can’t read my mind even if I wanted them to.”

San frowned. He hated that he couldn’t do anything to help her either. “I hear you crying in the middle of the night sometimes,” he said, partly wondering if it was the right time to point it out. “At first I thought you were crying because you missed Jihoon, but over time I realized it was something else,” He quickly turned the meat over in time before one side burned.

“I will always miss him. But every time I go to sleep I’m always haunted by what happened to me before,” Mirae muttered. “I’ll be fine, San. Really, I’ll be fine, I can cope with it,” She assured him. “Maybe some sparring will help clear my head. Want to spar with me later?”

“Will you let me win this time?” San teased, in an effort to lighten the mood.

“I can’t promise you that,” Mirae teased back.

“I thought you said you were training yourself?” Mirae asked later on in the training room down the hall from their apartment later that night. She managed to put San down on the mat in less than a minute during their first try.

“I was!” San argued, sounding frustrated as he got back up on his feet. “You’re just that good!” He pointed out, charging towards his sister, who easily blocked every strike he made while he did the same yet with a few maneuvers later, he was back down on the mat.

“That’s not true, you’re probably just not training enough,” Mirae pointed out, helping him back up.

“Hey! I really was!” San got back up. “Maybe we should just go through the obstacle course kind of training instead,” He said. Although he was frustrated at how he never seemed to be able to one-up Mirae, he couldn’t stay frustrated for long. He wanted to help her clear her head and he was determined to make it happen, even if it was at his own expense.

“Deal. I would never fight you anyway, unless you need to because I might be hypnotized or something,” She assured him, flipping one of the switches to start the courses in front of them. Several dummies were already positioned at the end along with spiked gauntlets that were rotating.

When Mirae flung a few cards towards the dummies in front of her, it signaled San to attack as well, his harpoon gun piercing through the dummy head and as the arrow pulled back, the head was nearly ripped off. The two of them rolled over to either side of the room, picking up the nearest weapon they could get their hands on: Mirae, her staff and San with a pair of nunchaku.

They attacked the spiked gauntlets at the same time with their weapons, kicks, and punches. Their attacks seemed incredibly effortless and precise. San smiled to himself at how they attacked at the same time, and he could tell Mirae was smiling as well, some blood staining the backs of their shoes from kicking a little too hard and breaking the spikes off. When they reached the end of the course, they looked at the nearly broken down obstacles, satisfied with what they did. Mirae handed him a pair of shurikens and the two of them kicked each one towards the dummies that fell out from the ceiling. While San’s hit the dummies on the legs, Mirae’s hit them squarely on the chest and on the head.

They hit high fives. “Close enough, but we did great!” San enveloped her in a hug with one arm. “One day, I’ll hit those dummies just as good as you did” He said, eyeing the shurikens on the legs of the dummies hanging from the ceiling. “I’ve always wondered why you don’t have guns in here.”

“These weapons existed long before there were guns,” Mirae pointed out, retracting her staff. “And they’re a lot cooler to use,” She winked, making San chuckle.

“Okay then, let’s call it a night, I’ve got a game to play and we’ll clean all of this up tomorrow, don’t clean it up, let’s do it tomorrow” San pushed her towards the doors before she could object.

Mirae allowed herself to be led, still feeling the rush from their training session. As she set foot outside the room and into the hallway, she froze as she saw a tall man dressed in black from head to toe, wearing a mask and a fedora. She could tell he was looking right at her before he fled. The way he was dressed seemed familiar to her yet she didn’t know how, it felt a little too familiar as if she wore something like that before. He himself also gave off that familiar feeling.

The man fled before she tried to follow, but as Mirae ran and tried to catch up by the elevator, he was already gone. San caught up to her. “What is it?” He asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing, a stray cat got up here” She muttered. “Let’s go back inside.”

San frowned. “We could’ve taken that cat inside, gave it food, it was probably hungry” He said as they turned back to their apartment. “We could’ve even taken it in for good, like a pet” He eyed her.

Mirae shook her head again as they entered their home, taking their stained shoes off, revealing the bloodied socks they were both now sporting. She was still thinking about the man in black. Why was he so familiar to her? “You can shower first, I’ll go in after you” She said, heading to her bedroom.

“Really? Okay then, I’ll let you know when I’m done” San raised a brow, sensing that something was on her mind. Not wanting to ask further, he went straight to the bathroom.

“Remember our promise, okay?” Yunho choked, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as Mirae tried to hold him. They were in the middle of a desert-like place, somewhere far away. “Remember it-I’ll look for you-I’ll find my way to you when either of us get out, okay?” He sputtered, looking up at her, eyes becoming glazed over.

The strong wind hit their faces but Mirae didn’t care. Hot tears were streaming down her eyes as she held him, trying her hardest to stop the bleeding coming from his side but failing. “Mirae! Get back here! Leave him!” Hongjoong was yelling as they were on their way back into the military plane, trying to get away from the larger group of what looked like soldiers that worked for their target.

“He’s a lost cause, you can’t save him, Mirae,” Seonghwa tried to pull her up but Mirae refused to budge. “You’re our leader, we’re not leaving without you” He added.

“Go with them-go with them” Yunho sputtered. “I love you, Lee Mirae. I love you. Remember that” and his eyes closed, his form collapsing under her.

More tears fell down the sides of her face as she held his lifeless body close. The pain she felt was slowly being replaced with rage, and as she saw the oncoming soldiers running towards them, about to fire their weapons, her eyes glowed red making all of them combust, exploding in front of her including the weapons they were carrying.

Seonghwa and the others stared at the scene in shock. Tears were still flowing down the sides of her face as the glow in her eyes faded. He was gone. Yunho was gone.

Mirae’s eyes shot open in the middle of the night and she sat up. An overwhelming sadness came over her and before she realized it, tears were already flowing down her face. Her hands were shaking as she sobbed into them, She had forgotten his name, but he must have been someone important to her. Whoever he was, his death felt like a heavy blow, like her heart was being broken over and over.

She had been dreaming about him a lot more lately. Mirae got out of bed and stepped out of her room, sneaking past the sofa bed that San was sleeping on and going to the kitchen. She still felt that overwhelming sadness as she took a drink of water, trying to wipe her eyes from the tears that managed to escape even as she felt like she had already cried her eyes out for the past few minutes.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how her time at the sanitarium was more than just a blur, more than Jihoon, more than the electroshock therapy sessions she often had to go under. Mirae figured she fell in love while interned, with the guy she was dreaming about, the guy whose face she was being made to remember.

“Mirae,” San was already sitting up, looking at her with one eye open. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Go back to sleep, I’m fine,” Mirae assured him quietly.

“It’s getting harder for me to see you like this, I can’t just go back to sleep,” San got up and made his way towards his sister. “What was it this time?”

Mirae didn’t know how she could tell him. “Someone who isn’t Jihoon, dying in front of me, I killed a lot of people in return. I can’t remember his name, but I’m remembering his face more and more.”

“Must be important to you, whoever they are” San said.

“He must be. Otherwise I wouldn’t have killed all of those people in front of us.”

San rubbed her back and wrapped an arm around her. “Like what you told me, sis. You’ll be okay. This is what’s helping you heal.”

“I hope so, San,” She looked up at him, feeling the overwhelming sadness and heartbreak again. “I hope so.”

San stayed up with her to keep her company for a little while more until she urged him to go back to sleep. Neither of them were aware that the man, dressed in black from head to toe with a mask and a fedora hat, was looking up at them from outside the building.

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