#he's so broken as Hwi

[thegreymoon]

My Country: The New Age

Yes!! Things are coming to a breaking point! I love it!

***

I think you should fuck about it 😋

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A Bang-won vs. Seon-ho fight???? Yessssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Interesting foreshadowing here.

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Ihwaru should have been wiped out long ago thanks to your stupid ass if this drama made any sense.

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Finally, we get to the flash-forward scenes from the beginning!

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He's just stupid hot 🔥🔥🔥

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Oh, Seon-ho 😢

He loves so absolutely.

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How many times must he be stabbed through before he dies?

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ARE YOU KIDDING ME 😭😭

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WATCH THIS WITH MY OWN TWO EYES AND STAY SANE 🤯🤯

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You have got to love how after all their squabbling who gets to kill Nam Jeon, it was Bang-won who dealt the killing blow.

Also, you have got to love how Hwi's poison wound just comes and goes when it's convenient.

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Favourite ever 💖

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Hwi just left him lying there???

Just turned his back on him and walked away??

Oh, Seon-ho 💔

***

There goes the Crown Prince.

Poor kid.

***

Oh, now you cry about it.

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Yes, call him out.

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Love this for him.

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I suppose nobody in this drama gets a happy ending.

Bang-won is too broken and steeped in too much blood. He will never be happy.

***

Such a good episode!

If I don't like the drama ending, I can always pretend the story ended here.

[pandacherryblossoms]

TNX Hard Thoughts - Hwi & Hyunsoo - request

Genre: Smut MDNI 18+

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, Bondage and Restraints, Teasing, Edging, Overstimulation, Dominance and Control, Degradation/Mocking tone

Hyunsoo – Restraint & Teasing

“Stay still.”

The command was sharp, leaving no room for disobedience. You whined, body straining against the silk binding your wrists above your head, but he just smirked—pleased with how desperate you already were.

“You’re so impatient,” he murmured, dragging his fingers slowly down your torso, not giving you nearly enough. “It’s almost cute.”

A frustrated whimper slipped out as you tugged uselessly at the restraints. “Please—”

He laughed softly, tilting his head as he traced circles over the most sensitive parts of you, purposefully avoiding giving you what you actually needed.

“Begging already?” His voice was smooth, teasing. “I’ve barely done anything.”

You shuddered as his lips ghosted over your neck, warm breath sending another wave of frustration through you. You needed him. Now.

“Hyunsoo,” you whined, hips shifting instinctively.

He tsked, gripping your thigh roughly to keep you in place. “I told you to stay still.”

You let out a desperate whimper, body burning from his slow, torturous pace. Every brush of his lips, every calculated touch—it was all meant to drive you insane.

“Look at you,” he murmured, dragging his mouth dangerously close to where you wanted him most—but not quite. “So worked up, and I’ve barely touched you.”

“Stop teasing,” you breathed. “I can’t—”

He smirked, running his fingers up your thigh, pressing down just enough to make you squirm. “Oh, you can.”

Your body jerked under him, the ache unbearable, the need suffocating. But he still wouldn’t give in.

“You don’t get to rush me,” he murmured, lips brushing against your ear. “Not when you look this pretty all tied up for me.”

A frustrated cry left your lips as you pulled against the restraints, but his fingers only tightened around your hips, keeping you exactly where he wanted you.

“You wanted to act like a brat earlier,” he mused, pressing a single, barely-there kiss to your stomach. “So now you can wait.”

You shook your head frantically, breath coming out in ragged gasps. “I—please, I need you—”

He pulled back just enough to meet your eyes, a wicked glint in his gaze.

“Yeah?” His voice dropped lower, smooth and taunting. “Then beg like you mean it.”

You whimpered, head falling back against the pillow as you swallowed your pride.

“Please,” you whispered. “I need you so bad—I can’t take it anymore.”

He hummed, satisfied. Then, finally, his lips moved lower.

“Good girl,” he murmured.

And then he gave you exactly what you wanted.

Hwi – Overstimulation

Your body jerked violently, overstimulated beyond belief, but he didn’t care. If anything, the way you trembled, the way your breath came in ragged, broken gasps—it only made him crueler.

“Don’t start acting shy now,” he scoffed, watching you try—and fail—to squirm away from his touch. “You were begging for me earlier. So take it.”

A choked whimper left you as his fingers moved again, pressing exactly where he knew you couldn’t handle it. Your back arched against the sheets, nails clawing desperately at anything you could reach, but there was no escaping him.

“I—I can’t,” you gasped, voice wrecked.

He laughed, low and taunting. “That’s cute.”

Your thighs twitched as you tried to clamp them shut, but his grip was firm, forcing them apart, keeping you exposed, helpless under his gaze.

“Look at you,” he murmured, tilting his head as if he actually pitied you. “So sensitive, so desperate—where’d all that attitude from earlier go?”

Tears pricked at your eyes as another wave of pleasure tore through you, overwhelming and unbearable, leaving you shuddering beneath him. He smirked, dragging his hand up your trembling thigh, nails scraping lightly against flushed skin.

“You’re shaking,” he mused. “That’s cute too.”

You whimpered, shaking your head, but he didn’t stop—of course he didn’t. He was drinking in every second of this, every broken moan, every twitch of your ruined body beneath him.

“You’re not done,” he muttered, fingers slowing to something devastatingly deliberate. “Not until I say so.”

Your body jolted violently as he worked you over again, and he let out a soft hum of approval.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he murmured, voice dripping with satisfaction. “Give me another one.”

“I—Hwi, I can’t—”

“You can,” he cut you off smoothly. “And you will.”

The smirk in his voice sent another shiver through you, pleasure and exhaustion mixing into something almost unbearable. His fingers didn’t let up, didn’t slow, forcing you right to the edge of another release.

“You wanted to act like a brat,” he murmured, voice dropping an octave. “Now look at you—nothing but a crying mess for me.”

Your body tensed, the pleasure hitting you too fast, too hard, leaving you sobbing his name. He let you ride it out, let you shake, let you crumble beneath him—before grabbing your chin, forcing your hazy eyes to meet his.

“You’re lucky I like seeing you like this,” he whispered, lips brushing against yours. “Otherwise, I’d really be mean.”

And then his hand moved again.

“Go on, sweetheart,” he purred. “Give me one more.”

……...……………………………..:><:…………………………………………….

Anon request - 🩷

[avochele]

I don't understand but I love you.

Request: TNX's reaction to you speaking in your native language - @dangerousmoonkitten

Pairing: TNX x gn!reader

Warning: none (please tell me if there are any, so I can add them)

Tags: fluff

note: i'm sorry for letting you guys wait for so long for an update. i'm in my finals right now and didn't really feel motivated to write. i hope you like it and don't always take life too seriously you guys.

STREAM FUEGO

Taehun

The both of you are invited to your cousins birthday. So it was no surprise that at some point you started speaking in your native language with your family. Taehun was amazed by the speed with what you started translating for him. At one point he stopped listening to your translations by how much he was admiring you. You teased him about it later.

Kyungjun

You were talking to one of your friends over the phone, when he heard you. He was confused at first because he didn't know if you were speaking in english or in your native language. You were in fact speaking both. You were sitting in the kitchen while he was laying on the couch with his laptop in front of him. So in order to be able to listen to you he turned his music on his headphones down. He loved listening to you speaking in your native language.

Hyunsoo

Your date had been crushed by your mom asking if you could babysit your babysister. So now the two of you were sitting on the floor, trying to entertain a toddler. At some point you had switched to your native language to talk to your sister. Since then Hyunsoo has been sitting on the floor with a toy in his hand just looking at you with sparkling eyes. You excused yourself for a second to get you something to drink. „Your pretty“ he suddenly hears in broken korean from your sister. He smiles at her. His date didn't get ruined at all.

Junhyeok

You were watching a series in your native language and you just couldn't get over how oblivious the main character was. You talked to your friend about it before, and now you started recording a voice message to said friend with Junhyeok listening in on it. You were talking fast and he had no clue what you were talking about. But he knew that it was the prettiest thing he had ever heard. (Next to your laugh and voice in general.) „What?“ you asked as you finished, you had caught him starring. „Nothing.“ he says. Little did you know his heart was racing.

Hwi

Your grandparents had invited you to dinner, forcing you to bring your boyfriend with you. So now you were sitting at the table with an enormous amount of food infront of you. Your grandpa had started to talk to Hwi in a very broken Korean, leaving you to talk to your grandma. As the hours passed Hwi started to listen to your conversation. He understood not even half of it but just listening to you made his day better. He made a mental note to learn your language later.

Sungjun

Being bilingual isn't easy sometimes and Sungjun completely understood that. But when you just started talking to him in your native language he didn't quite know what to do. So he just let you talk. Even though he didn't understand a word. He was always fascinated at how well you spoke both languages. “It would be great if you could say everything one more time in korean.“ You stopped smiling. You swear you saw him on Duolingo a few days later.

[dreamingkdrama]

Relationship analysis

Seo Hwi x Yi Bang Won

This dynamics between Hwi and Bang Won is very intetesting an for me it was one of the top things I liked about this show. Yet, there are still some unanswered questions. So lets take a closer look at this relantionship.

Hwi and Bang Won meet for the first time in episode 6. Hwi is unvoluntarily in service of Nam Jeon at this time. Nam Jeon is Bang Won's political opponent and he wants to use Hwi as a spy. However, Hwi has his own plan and he wants to use Bang Won for revenge on Nam Jeon for everything bad he has done to him and his sister. Hwi and Bang Won meet at a hunt where Hwi shows his archery skills. Bang Won is impressed not only by Hwi's skills but also his very immediate behavior.

However, Bang Won is smart and very suspicious. He sees through Hwi's plan to get to his favour and he order to beat him. He asks Hwi who sent him and he doesn't believe him when Hwi claims he is just a hunter. It's  clear that Bang Won likes him from the start, but he don't trust him and he would kill him if Seon Ho didn't come to save him at this moment.

Hwi is playing dangerous game, but Bang Won finally give him the chance. It takes them some time to start to trust each other and there are always some doubts and hidden secrets.

The breaking point is when Nam Jeon orders Hwi to assasinate Bang Won, but Hwi makes a plan how to save him. From this point, there is clear shift in their relationship. There is more trust and respect.

It seems to me that there is always some hidden doubt if the trust is truly mutual.

They save each other...

...they fight together...

...they start to understand their motivations and internal struggles....

They are both very loyal, but I can feel there some kind of fear that this attachment has an expiration date. Towards the end of the story, there are some cracks in the so far solid wall of friendship. It's quite obvious how they like each other. Hwi definitely respect Bang Won a lot and share most of his visions. He is also very grateful for everything Bang Won has done for him. Bang Won's affection always seemed much deeper. He definitelly respects Hwi, but I think he really likes him for who he is, he admires him and has a soft spot for him. When their alliance starts to fall apart, he looks very sad about that.

You can really say that he is heartbroken and he is grieving over loosing someone who was probably the closest person he has. He know's that when the time comes, Hwi will choose Seon Ho over him. I would even say there is jealousy of unrequired love, but that would be just speculation. To be fair, it was mostly Bang Won's actions that forced Hwi to go against him and he knew it will end this way (it was also partially because of Hwi's unheathy friendship with Sron Ho). But Bang Won always prioritize his visions over his feelings.

The story of Hwi and Bang Won is a tragedy. Hwi promises that he will forget everything, leave and never come back if Bang Won spare Seon Ho's life and Bang Won agrees. But then things change and Hwi realise that his people will never be safe if he and Seon Ho will be a thread for Bang Won. So the two of them go to Bang Won and sacrifice themselfs for Bang Won's promise that he won't kill anyone else.

The ending is so sad, but kind of poetic. It's really tragic to watch how two young men die for nothing. And how one man sacrifice everything to win a throne and then he lives full of guilt and with broken heart for the rest of his life.

[woodohwanedandproud]

@candlewinds (OP) #seon ho every ep like 'i'm a bad b*tch from now on i'm done caring about people' he said caringly as he cared @whoisthatmovinginthedark #this is what he was holding in and hiding from everyone #look at his mask crumble #oh no just look at him #he was holding it in for yeon’s sake because that’s what he does #but in reality he feels so much #seon ho my beloved @boogiesheep #the way he always keeps his cool until hwi is involved #then all logic flies out the window @itsza #THE FUCKING WAY HE KEEPS TRYING TO HOLD BACK AND NOT APPEAR AFFECTED #BUT HE CAN'T #BECAUSE HWI IS ALIVE AND HE THOUGHT HWI WAS DEAD AND HE THOUGHT HE'D FAILED HIS FRIEND AND LOST HIM AND FAILED YEON TOO #he dares let himself hope here @bienmoreau #absolutely with you in the prev tags. im going insane over him. always. but specifically right now over this!! #he has crafted his mask with such dedication but the MOMENT there is the possibility that hwi is alive it all crumbles. #it breaks him open right down to his bleeding heart cause thats who he is. that always who hes going to be under all the armour & pretence #wdh owns my funking soul for what he did in this show @ithacanradio #insane that realizing hwi is alive hits him more than thinking he died #like he truly hanged on just for yeons sake #and the moment they tell him his best friend is alive all his carefully constructed composure and smiles fall in the face of relief @nubreed73 This bodies me EVERY TIME. Absolutely superb acting choices here. The way his face CRUMBLES INTO DUST. DEVASTATING. (Also not over @idrilka pointing out to me that when they're tied up in the barn that he calls Hwi "Hwi-ya") Bromance my ASS. Hwi is still Seon-ho's everything and always will be and nothing will ever convince me otherwise. @valarinde #the power this single scene has over me is unreal. acting…. acting.. #fuck . his face @mctna #I CANNOT BELEISVEEEEEEEEEE HIS FACE THE EXPRESSIONS THE WMOTIONS OH GOD @kanronotatsu #his face journey here #he deserves an award just for this @wack-overflow #the face journey to end all face journeys @lwjesbian #WHERE are his awards for this scene are you JOKING !!?.??.?.?.?.!?..?? he is so ……. #has no right to look so broken and relieved and scared and . and … #ahhhgrggrghgghhgah!!!!! #the way he calms down a little right before he asks ‘is he alive?’ @vyinter #woo do hwan's acting workshop on cryearning (crying+yearning) @evakant #WHERE are his awards #WHERE ARE THEY????? #ACTING #fuck!!! #op...... op! #oh op!!!!!!!! #speechless #he is so powerful

Did something happen to Hwi?

[river-r1t3s]

So, after my last post, I kept thinking about it, so I wrote this:

THAT'S IT!?!

Enjoy 😁

The members of ab6ix were all in the practice room together, preparing for their next comeback. Daehwi had been struggling against his allergies all day. He hadn't said anything, but the others heard him constantly sniffling. Fighting to keep the sneezes from coming out. "Hwi? You good?" Woong asked, getting a bit irritated by the maknae's sniffling. Daehwi nodded, he didn't want to speak, his nose so sensitive that just talking made him feel like sneezing. "Just sneeze. I think we all know you need to" Donghyun lightly scolded the maknae. Daehwi was slightly embarrassed, but also grateful his hyungs called him out because he honestly wasn't sure how much longer he could hold back his sneezes.

"HhtCChiUH- hhktCHiUHh- hhktcHHuih-kkTchUh- hhktChuHH- hhh- hh-ktchEW"

"Bless you" the members said, Daehwi thanked them softly, gratefully accepting the tissues Woojin offered him. He blew his nose, "sorry" the others waved him off, "you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, just my allergies" he sniffled, his breath hitched, "hh-hhKTChheh" he sniffled, he noticed his members staring at him in shock, "what?"

"That's it?" Woojin said, sounding shocked, "no, it can't be. It's never just one" Donghyun added, Daehwi shrugged, "maybe my nose is broken"

"Must be," Woong shook his head, "we need to document this. It's a never before seen sight, Daehwi only sneezed once" Woojin exclaimed, he pulled his phone out and pretended to record, Daehwi half-heartedly smacked the phone. "Guys I don't know why either. But- hhtKKtchu- hhektchu- Hh-hhh- ehhh- ehhktchh-uh- ktchhU"

"That's more like our maknae," Donghyun said as Woong handed Daehwi tissues, "yeah, it felt weird to only sneeze once." He admitted. "Felt weird to hear you only sneeze once" Woong said, the others agreed. "Must have been a fluke. I don't think that's ever happened before."

"Glad your nose is back to normal" Woojin said, as he threw his arm around the maknae's shoulder, Daehwi rolled his eyes and shrugged the arm off. "You guys are making this such a big deal"

"Well yeah, I mean in the nearly 4 years I've known you, you've never sneezed just once" Woong said, the others nodded in agreement. "Honestly I don't remember another time I've just sneezed once. It kinda sucks. My nose is so itchy after" he cut himself off with four sneezes in rapid succession. "Bless you, let's get you back to the dorm. You didn't take your allergy medicine this morning did you?" Daehwi shook his head, "alright, let's get you back to the dorm and taken care of" he smiled, "thanks guys"

"No problem kid"

[yichens]

10 Characters

tagged by the lovely @i-got-the-feels​​ ♥ thank you a ton! am trying to keep this short (and not too serious so forget about cool character analysis for now sigh) bc tumblr crashed. or my old laptop crashed? when i started this the other night but i won’t be giving up so here goes.

(my love for my blorbos is overflowing so placing all of it under a cut to spare ppl who do not care! but please do know i care about all of your blorbos a ton ♥)

so tagging in return: @dimpledpran @i-am-just-a-kiddo @ashenlights @psychic-waffles @s1utspeare @talaypuens @laowen​ @snimeat @luna-lina @machikeita​ @eohachu ♥

Fah (Mek Jirakit) Sky in Your Heart

- if i had to pick a (fictional) doctor, this would be the guy ♥ - deserves care and understanding more than anything else, so happy prince is giving that to him (communication! my biggest kink!) - an overgrown puppy on the inside, fighter on the outside - will charm you, your mom, and the whole of your friend group. with one smile. - will be a brat about it

Puen (Jimmy Jitaraphol) Vice Versa

- living his missed childhood in the other universe as he should bc he deserves to be himself for a moment - actually the gentlest man alive - owner of the puppiest puppy eyes you've ever seen, pls don't tell him no - unhinged, horny, and absolutely insufferable. i’m obsessed. - loves taking care of others but is actually a baby ♥ (- jimmy my beloved, i adore thee)

Nam Seonho (Woo Dohwan) My Country: The New Age

- my poor little meow meow. pathetic. broken. doer of evil deeds yet forgiven and loved ♥ - looks absolutely fantastic tortured and wet. i apologize for saying this (not) - his smile is his greatest weapon, be glad he doesn't get to use it too often (which is to say: give him happiness or else) - i would go to war for him, guess me and hwi have something in common - i would also kill his father for him so. idk. hwi take good care of him or i will replace you?

Riku (VA: David Gallagher/Mamoru Miyano) Kingdom Hearts

- i know maybe 10% of his whole story but he's my blorbo by choice - the emo boy of my heart ♥ - cool hair my dude, glad it's smaller now - i cry every time he's on screen while i play kh3 bc he's just So Good - did i tell you he's a cliché emo boy antagonist(?) bc he totally is

Cha Siwon (Kang Eunbin) Blueming

- never will move on from his story arc and all that happened there - he just really gets it. he really gets how hard it is to be loved in the wrong ways, in the ways you cannot enjoy, and then trying to accept the right ways, the ways you can enjoy ♥ - one of the best bl characters i've ever had the pleasure of watching - no one is allowed to hurt him - cradle him and tell him he's good the way he is, i beg

Bai Choufei (Liu Yuning) Heroes

- i have never ever before been this angry for a fictional character - like yeah i know he's The Worst but he deserved better (from the writers) and i will fight about that - he loves wang xiaoshi so much it's making me want to howl - the prettiest ♥ like pls if evil why so sexy - catch me talking about his final "it hurts" line even when am 80yo and in a retirement home, that shit hurted (- liu yuning the man that you are ;; ♥)

Tin (Tae Darvid) Triage

- now i feel bad about picking fah as my doctor guy bc tin's here too but ER is different i swear - the character development for him? phenomenal - someone who loves cats cannot be a bad guy - goofiest and the most endearing smile, i love he ♥ - his willpower so strong i bet it would've brought him back from the dead even without tol

Kan (Neo Trai) The Eclipse

- there are parts of me in this boy and i hate staring into the mirror every friday - but at the same time all i wanna do is pick him apart bc he's Me - if i could collect his smiles into a jar and keep that for the dark days of winter i would - he is so soft it's driving me insane ;; like who hurt you, i will fight them - never thought i'd love a neo character like this, yet here we are ♥

Five (Aidan Gallagher) The Umbrella Academy

- my fave 15yo grandpa, an absolute icon for us old souls - the best humor ♥ - so young, so old, so tired of this bullshit we call life. why must we remain - the oldest brother yet gets zero respect in that household - i actually adore how smart he is yet he's also just So Dumb (but does this family even own a braincell? questions for the universe)

Theo (Book Kasidet) Enchanté

- when we ignore the ending of this show, he truly is my beloved ♥ - theo losing his faith to love hit me like a truck. i never recovered. - i am so happy he got his own love tho, happiness looks so good on him ♥ (and so does marriage! thank you vv for that ;; new forcebook series when????) - the maker of chaos, the doer of tiny evils. cat behavior i'd say - his closet is to die for

thank you once more for tagging me and thank you for reading! let's see again, maybe next year, with yet another random assortment of characters :'D 

[tomorrowsdrama]

Hahahaha. Your lists never disappoint. I have another one. Top 10 loss-of-innocense scene. Theres a level of emotional whump that only few actors and actresses convey well when they are betrayed or they witness a brutality that changes them forever. And I'm excited to hear your favs

Oh anon, this ask is wonderful but terrible at the same time because I had to really dig deep and think about all the scenes that broke some of my favorite characters (and me).  Except for number 1, everything else is in no particular order.

1. This goes to Ni Ni as Feng Zhiwei in The Rise of Phoenixes. I can’t really pinpoint one particular scene because the entire drama is just an exercise in how to break down the originally naive and brilliant Zhiwei through the cruelty of the palace and the fight for the throne. My goodness, Ni Ni is as amazing at acting as she is beautiful and you could just see the light slowly fade in Zhiwei’s eyes as more and more of the people she loved died because of her. I mean…

2. When Teng Zijing dies and Fan Xian goes on a rampage trying to seek revenge in Joy of Life. This really is the turning point for Fan Xian and the drama and it goes from “haha look at my charmed life Fan Xian” to “I will literally kill a man in the streets to avenge my friend Fan Xian.”  The story always retains its humor but after Teng Zijing’s death, there’s an added sense of danger and gravitas as it becomes clear that that one character you loved so much could drop dead at any second for no discernable reason or fanfare.  Zhang Ruo Yun amazingly portrays the duality of happy-go-lucky Fan Xian “transmigrated from modern times” and “I’m not above psychological warfare to achieve what I want Fan Xian.”  

3. Dae Gil in Chuno transforming from a soft and sweet noble young master into a jaded rugged slave hunter after his entire family is killed in a fire.  I can’t complain though because his hot points went up by like 1,000 after he lost his “innocence” ahaha

4. When Yeon Kyung witnessed Heo Im having to lower himself to the nobleman in order to try to save the servant’s life and you can see when she finally realizes just how harsh the caste system is in Joseon society and that they’re not in Kansas anymore.  Bonus points for how heartbreaking it was to see the usually playful and good-natured Heo Im desperately plead for the servant’s life by degrading himself to appease the nobelman

5. When Byun Yo Han’s character in Six Flying Dragons helplessly watches as his childhood crush gets assaulted by a group of man and all he can do is hide because he is a literal child who is understandably too scared to do anything (and would not have been able to do anything).  And then he becomes a deadly warrior to try to make up for that one moment of weakness in his life that destroyed both his and his crush’s innocence.  Bonus points for Lee Bang Won (played by Yoo Ah In) slowly but surely losing his hero worship of his father and becoming more and more disillusioned and cutthroat to achieve his goal of founding a new kingdom.

6. My sweet bb Hwi from My Country the New Age getting screwed over by the world over and over again.  All he ever wanted was to have enough rice to feed himself and his sister but what did we get instead...

7. Wolf boy thinking he was betrayed and turning from a sweet and innocent wolf boy with abs into super fine and hot asshole Prince Bo who kills without remorse and then back again to his former good self while still retaining the hotness of the asshole Prince Bo.

8. Minglan was always a bit guarded and didn’t trust people much outside of her adopted grandma after her mother was killed in childbirth, but I feel like she completely lost all hope and expectation in people when Qi Heng broke his promise to her and let her down.

9. Want to see a man get broken down to the point where he’s just a ptsd laden husk of his former self?  Watch Lee Byung Hun in Iris.

10. This is reserved for Luo Jin in Royal Nirvana.  Have only watched 3 episodes but @dangermousie ‘s posts about it tell me there’s a lot of emotional whump and torture to look forward to and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Luo Jin gets out unscathed.

[saturnsummer]

flutter and kicks

notes: from lay's @/__ryubeom tweet + a pregnant solhwi anon ask. in headcanon form since it's more spontaneous! 

hello tumblr fam! i know, it’s been long... but ficfest and all has kept me kinda busy. a little different this time! a headcanon after a long time, since it’s more fun and easy on the eyes!

extra notes: drumstick reference to hospital playlist episode 4! a little reference to @scripturiends twitter au “dynasty” at the end. have fun! as usual, grammar mistakes by me!

attorney sol and prosecutor joon hwi have been married for a couple years, now well into their early thirties.

sol and joon hwi always take walks in the parks and wondered what it would be like if they had their own.

sol was initially hesitant, with her experience of broken families and having no dad figure. what makes her think her child could grow up in a loving family, if she didn't have one she could be a role model or look up to?

but joon hwi had it worse, having been an orphan from young, and raised by his uncle, his cousins, aunts and relatives ostracising him. yet, he still believed in the happy family he always wanted with sol.

he dreamt of kissing his kids good morning, sending them to school before going to work and sending his wife to work. on nights, they would work on their kid's homework together in fun ways and tuck them in bed after bedtime stories. they would spend the weekends at parks, meeting with seungjae's kid, and the children of their friends.

sol came round eventually, seeing how joon hwi never stopped believing. this time, it was different. joon hwi is not her father, nor is he her step father. he is han joon hwi, the man that saved her lives multiple times. han joon hwi, the man that stood by her when lee man ho was her biggest threat to her family. han joon hwi, the man who loves her, despite being a klutz in school.

he is han joon hwi, the man that loves her for every imperfection and perfection she has.

sol and joon hwi start trying for a baby, which is especially timely when kang sol's mom asks when is she gonna have a grandchild to hold and byeol pipes up saying she would love to have a brother as opposed to sister. (15 years with sisters have made her wonder what it would be to have a little baby boy in the house instead.)

a few weeks after their first time trying passes and sol has been feeling more tired. she's been busy with case after case at kang and park, so she doesn't think much.

only when she misses her period, she freezes. as stressed as she was, even in law school, she has never missed her period or was late. with shaky breaths, she wonders at the slightest chance of having a little life grow in her, as her hand unconsciously travels to her stomach.

sol is excited, but nervous at the thought that maybe nine to ten months later, she would have a child she can call her own in her arms.

over the weekend, sol raised this to joon hwi. joon hwi stops everything and even though he is beyond excited, he stays calm looking at how nervous sol is. together, they go out to get two pregnancy tests, where sol takes it.

the ten minutes of waiting were a complete torture for sol, as she paces back and forth.

"sol, stop pacing. you're going to burn a hole in our floor."

"joon! what- what if it really happens? i'm not ready! how are we ready? you just started your career in the prosecutor office, and i'm buried under cases! i can barely take care of my mom and byeol and myself, what about the child? oh no, what if i'm a bad mom?"

"honey, sit down. look, we'll get through this together okay? no one is ever ready for their first kid. remember seungjae-hyung? he freaked out the day juyeon-noona went into labour and he's a doctor! it's okay, just calm down, alright? do you want warm water?"

when the timer rings, they look at both the tests, showing the double lines indicating a positive test.

sol was pregnant. sol was going to be a mother. joon hwi was going to be a father. their family was starting.

shaking, sol finally let her emotions hit as her tears fall. she was so caught up worrying about herself, life, her work, family; she hadn't had time to process her own feelings on her own. she wanted the feeling of joy of holding her child. she wanted to know what it was like to share a mother's bond with a child.

joon hwi, looking at his wife, only hugged her as she teared up in happiness. his dream of having a family is finally coming. even better, his best friend, his biggest cheerleader, was next to him.

"what are you crying about? you should be happy!"

"j-joon h-hwi ah... we're going to be parents.."

but their journey was far from over. they booked an appointment with juyeon and made juyeon stay quiet about this. seeing the ultrasound and hearing the heartbeats of their unborn child was enough to move sol to another round of sobs and joon hwi held his wife's hand while the tears ran down his face. together, they smiled, knowing that a life was born and growing.

all could have been hidden, but seungjae walked in that moment, asking if his wife wanted to join for lunch. sol and joon hwi were prepared to lie, but having a printed ultrasound scan in their hands, and the fact that they were in juyeon's clinic, a OB-GYN clinic, confirmed suspicions.

"juyeonnie, do you want to go for— joon...hwi?"

"oppa..."

"ah, congratulations sol. congratulations joon hwi." seungjae only smiled looking at the best people he knew become parents. he recognised the pride in joonhwi's eyes, the same eyes he had when juyeon told him they were expecting.

the new parents smiled at their brotherly figure as they wished them a good lunch.

but out from the corner, yeseul spotted joonhwi and sol as she walked into the clinic and she locked eyes with sol. sol slams the door shut and drags joon hwi back and groans, letting a defeated whine.

"sol-ah, what's wrong?"

"yeseul is here! she's probably here for a regular check up, the one she told me about last month!"

and with that, their phones started beeping with countless notifications.

yeseul could put two and two together, especially when it wasn't just sol, but joon hwi in the clinic as well. she texted her boyfriend, bokgi, who spat out his soup when he was eating with yebeom, who sent a string of messages to the group chat.

when sol opens the door again, yeseul only gives a sheepish smile.

"yeseul ah..." sol sighs and joon hwi only smiles, too happy to hide this secret.

"sorry unnie, i can't miss the moment. congrats unnie, oppa! hello, seungjae-oppa, juyeon-unnie!"

"thank you, yeseul. we'll see you next week, as usual?"

behind them, seungjae grumpily argues with his wife.

"why are my ex-classmates seeing you more than i do? i literally work, like, five blocks down at the police station! they live all over seoul!"

"honey, let me see yeseul first, okay? then let's go get lunch. i heard they are serving drumsticks in the canteen today.”

-----

pregnancy wasn't easy for sol. she insisted on working, despite attorney park's orders to take on lesser cases in court. sol couldn't find it in her heart to reject her clients.

yeseul, working closer to sol, would lunch with her to make sure she eats for the sake of her baby. joon hwi did his best to join, despite sol's arguments to not bother and that she can care for herself.

her morning sickness was bad, and she would wake up giddy and nauseous. many times, joon hwi wanted to call jiho to ask him to cover him, but sol would not let him do it. she'll pull herself together and go to work, and promise to take work lightly.

on days she couldn't get out of bed and she was too tired, her mother would come over and cook her nutritious soups, stock their fridge with vitamins and supplements and tonics for sol.

sol's cravings were also odd. she was never one to like sweets, but she found herself craving sugary cakes, cookies and pastries. joon hwi made it a point to stock their cabinets with cookies and buy a cake whenever he could for his wife.

joon hwi was honestly the best husband anyone could ask for. he helped to tidy the house, clean the house while sol was resting. he made soups and tucked sol in bed on her down days.

sol felt bad that she was being cared for and doing nothing in return, but joon hwi would always remind her that she was already doing the most important job, which is to literally grow their kid inside her.

many nights before bed, they would sit together and their hands would rest on her stomach, as they whisper sweet things to their to-be child.

when sol first felt the kick of her child with joon, they smiled so wide, all exhaustion from reports and arguments in their offices were gone. all that mattered was their child responding.

yeseul was beyond excited, as she helped sol with getting furniture and clothes. the study group came together to help them set up a new cot in their small apartment, as the ladies sat while looking at the men, fixing a cot with much difficulty.

aunty yeseul was the first to buy a stuffed bunny for her unborn child, and sol b, even though she was usually cold, offered to babysit in the future.

eventually, attorney park made sol work at home instead of going to the office. she argued that professor kim eunsook was able to teach while pregnant, but attorney park only said "yang jonghoon's orders" and it was enough to shut her up from any complaints.

of course, professor yang. the only person attorney park really is afraid of and listens to.

when they found out that sol was having a boy, joon hwi was lost in thoughts, wondering if he will grow to be like himself. but sol only placed a hand over his and gave a comforting smile.

"remember what you said at the beginning? whatever it is, he will be of the next generation. from him, it will be different."

they then would discuss how they wanted joon hwi's dimples, sol's twinkling eyes and cheekbones and joon hwi's charming smile.

closer to the due date, jiho stepped in to cover for joon hwi as he started to work half days, afraid of leaving his wife at home. sol, now heavily pregnant, really only commuted to the bed from the bathroom and then to the table, where she would spend most of her time reading or doing something relaxing.

yeseul made sol put her on speed dial with sol b, just in case, and so they would be the first to know too.

the morning came when sol woke up to a wet bed and shook joon hwi awake when the contractions kicked in. joon hwi snapped out, grabbed their hospital bag and guided sol to the car where both of them spent the next day in the hospital as sol went through nine hours of labour pains, and another two hours pushing her baby boy.

joon hwi never left once, standing by her side and holding her hand as she pushed her baby out, wiping away the sweat from her face.

when the time came for him to be held in his mother's arms, sol only smiled, knowing that as tough as the past ten months of working, no caffeine and staying up late nights was, it was all worth it for the little life in her arms.

as his son's hand grabbed onto joon hwi's finger, joon hwi made a promise to love this child unconditionally, to guide him in the right direction and bring him up well. sol was right. from him onwards, it will be different.

welcome to the world, seungjun.

[nubreed73]

AO3 wrapped!

Tagged by @idrilka and I completely forgot until @stickmarionette reminded me!

Because I write AND vid I’ll be including the vids in my numbers too

Works Published: 26 - 3 fics, 1 fic WiP (unfinished),  14 vids (WTAF) and 8 vidlets/edits 

Total Word Count: 86,081 - most of that for my unfinished WiP

Most Popular by Kudos: This is a no-brainer because in April I went from a juggernaut fandom (Chen Qing Ling/The Untamed) to a miniscule one (Naui Nara/My Country the New Age) and my unfinished WiP Lotus Flowers Rising From the Dark Mud has the lion’s share of my kudos for 2022.

Most Hits: Also Lotus Flowers

Longest: I feel like a broken  record, but Lotus Flowers, unfinished at 122k is the longest story I have ever written by around 200% and that’s with it still being incomplete!

Shortest: My SeonHwi post-canon-divergent fic that I posted on New Year’s Eve:  can’t hold my heart hostage

Vid that made me cry: I’m changing this one up because @rhea314‘s SeonHwi vid, Iscariot, which I saw in the Fanworks Minicon in April this year immediately destroyed me and it’s what made me watch My Country the New Age in the first place which has occupied my brain for nearly nine months.

Fic that made me cry: Deer Heart (Beyond Evil) by @drivingsideways which is an extremely devastating Park Jeong-je character study along with extremely messed-up Jeing-je/Dong-sik fucking around post-series. It is absolutely eviscerating.

Fic that made me smile: sing for the damage we've done (and the worse things that we'll do), by kinkywrists which was my gift for the Hongbao Exchange - Lounge Singer!Xiao Zhan and Bodyguard!Wang Yibo - just a delight from start to finish

Vid that made me smile: This delightful Do-hwan/Se-jong constructed reality AU vid by flwrjus

Events participated in: Hongbao Exchange for Lunar New Year.

Most Underrated Fic: it’s hard to say if they’re underrated because the fandom is so small, but probably my most recent MCTNA fic (can’t hold my heart hostage) it is short and I say it’s a PWP but the porn is not really the point here. What this fic is is a deep dive into Nam Seon-ho’s insecurities and abandonment issues and the fact that these have not magically disappeared just because he has Hwi in his life again.

Coming in 2023: Oh god. SO MUCH MCTNA fic. I have the following I am already working on: 1) another post-canon fixit fic 2) a companion piece to the post-canon-fixit fic already posted 3) a canon-divergent fic where Seon-ho and Sung-rok are taken by the Jurchen before they can return to the capital post-Liaodong and Seon-ho becomes a warlord. 10 years later, Hwi (who thinks Seon-ho is dead and vice versa) is an emisary for Bang-won and is found in unfriendly Jurchen territory and is taken as a warprize, unbeknownst to Seon-ho, 4) my crime family Modern AU, 5) my planned Kushiel’s Legacy fusion and about 6 more (lol i know i know)

(edit: also maybe some RPF shhhh don’t judge me)

Plus approximately 46598049856046 vids for MCTNA, Little Women, Under the Queen’s Umbrella, All of Us Are Dead and the list goes on

I am probably too late to tag anyone but anyone who wants to do it PLEASE DO

[rhaenys-queenofkhyrulzz]

@pashminabitch ofc it's not too much to ask! :) In fact, I used it as an opportunity to rearrange the tracks with my free premium apk so the vibes flow into each other nicely. Without further ado:

River Flower by Various Artists – yep its the best ost on the mctna soundtrack imo!

Family Line by Conan Gray – gotta start off with sad childhood vibes

Atlantis by Seafret – referring to losing the nature of connection he had with hwi and yeon before sending Hwi to Liaodong

Family Tree by Ethel Cain – Nam Family vibes but specifically post ep 2 when Seon-ho kills the bribed military exam officer

Gilded Lily by Cults – he never wins

Daddy Issues by the Neighborhood – pretty self-explanatory i think

Softcore by the Neighborhood – divorce era seonhwi from Seon-ho’s perspective

Daylight by David Kushner – the vibes from ep 14-16 specificity with the sun and moon symbolism

Train Wreck by James Arthur – we've all seen the edit

Broken by Isak Danielson – this one might be controversial cuz I initially picked it with kisaeng!seonho and bangwon in mind but it could apply to canon Sung-rok addressing Seon-ho about Hwi

Master & A Hound – tysm to hazel for giving me this awesome seonrok rec

Battle Cry by The Family Crest – riding together on horses towards the palace for the last time

Inkpot Gods by The Amazing Devil – remembering his mother

Youth by Daughter – the end of innocence aka the ending of ep 2 when hwi is told Seon-ho is the one who reported him

Nothing's New by Rio Romeo – still can't win

The Water is Fine by Chloe Ament – river incident

Arrow by Candace Coker – we all know who he's addressing here

Hard Times by Ethel Cain

labour by Paris Paloma – specifically sea's Half of Your Fate concubine Seon-ho (and boy I could go on a rant about that one)

To Ashes and Blood by Woodkid – from ruler of darkness to challenging Bang-won in ep 15's end

Beautiful Crime by Tamer – mega Jurchen seonrok vibes except the chorus interpretationis that they're fighting on the same side

Brand New City by Mitski – also leaning more towards kisaeng!seonho

Habits (Stay High) by Tove Lo – opium den vibes both after yeon's death and ep 13 alcoholism

Habits by Genevieve Stokes – divorce era carried through till ep 16

die first by Nessa Barrett – both ep 1 and ep 16 but not really the ones in between

You Were Perfect And I'm Sorry by Mickey Darling – LISTEN I'll defend this song as a modern au with my L I F E

But yeah hopefully you guys like it too!

Nam Seon-ho playlist

made this on spotify since last year and I think there's a decent variety on there now that I'm confident in my song choices. Especially in the second half of the Playlist.

[shinysobi]

i came in from the outside, burnt out from the joyride

this was born out of a conversation with @akinosakiya, so all credits go to her >.<

chapter i | chapter 2 (coming soon)

Han Joon Hwi and Kang Sol, years after graduation. post-canon fix it, idiots to lovers.

ao3

a/n : i got this idea as i feverishly dm'd my friend about a solhwi prompt,,, i took it too far i think >.<

please tell me if you like it!!

a/n: title taken from Hozier's Almost (sweet music) which i recommend while reading this.

chapter 1: you and i are lovers in the dark

There has got to be another way of doing this. I can’t be doing this all my life.

“You know,” the words from Yeseul makes her look up, “you didn’t have to do this to yourself. You could have not taken the case, eonni. I told you not to take the case.”

Sol doesn’t say anything, just hangs her head in shame. The soju burns as she tips her head back, draining the last dregs of it, “I knew I shouldn’t have asked you for help. You’re being insufferable now that you’re dating Bok-gi.”

Yeseul laughs, reaching for the soda can, “eonni, I think you’re thinking about it too much.”

“I am, aren’t I?” she looks at the other girl, clearly panicked, “does it show? Oh, it shows, doesn’t it? Oh, what am I going to do—”

“Ah, noona, you shouldn’t have taken this case on, then,” Bok-gi says as he enters the room and take in the sight of a dishevelled Sol and a grinning Yeseul, “oh, Yeseul noona, I was looking all over for you!”

Sol scowls, “haven’t the two of you been dating forever? Why do you still have the honorific? And for your information, I took the case before I knew it was going to be him that I would have to go up against.”

Bok-gi looks affronted, and Yeseul comes to her boyfriend’s rescue, “ah, I like it, eonni.”

“Of course, you like it, you’re just as gone for him as he is,” she grumbles, “so, Bok-gi, Yeseul’s been telling you everything now, has she?”

“Ah, eonni, leave him out of it,” Yeseul soothes her, rubbing circles into her back, “do you want me to take the case? Instead of you—”

“The client won’t agree on it,” Sol whines, “and just when I thought I had got rid of him.”

“Rid of who?” so Bok-gi doesn’t know, Sol notes with some amount of pleasure, good. At least Yeseul didn’t tell him about the fact that—

“Oh, eonni might have to work with Joon-hwi oppa,” Yeseul chirps, looking entirely too pleased for Sol’s liking, “she’s the public defender for Joon-hwi oppa’s case.”

“The attempted murder one?” Bok-gi sounds as perplexed as Sol is, “but I thought hyung only dealt with financial cases, what happened? Didn’t you say you had some other prosecutor to deal with, noona?”

Sol groans, “apparently he’s taking criminal cases too, and the first one he chose to take was mine,” she stands up, “can’t I ever get rid of him?”

Yeseul blinks, “why did you have to get rid of him in the first place?”

Sol groans, sitting down on the chair with a thump. This was becoming a frighteningly regular occurrence, groaning at the mere mention of his name, “I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

“You sound like a sixteen-year-old right now, noona,” Bok-gi giggles, and she scowls at him. How dare they find happiness in my misery. Just because she loved them didn’t mean she would put up with everything that they did.

Liar. You’ll always put up with whatever they do.

Wait, why did that sound like him? Did he finally manage to get inside her head?

No. no, calm down, Kang Sol. Joon-Hwi is not inside your brain. Your brain is filled with statutes of law, precedents, your grocery list, the things you need to buy Byeol for her birthday—

You have too many things on your mind.

Ah, fuck.

She stands up again, taking a look at Bok-gi and Yeseul’s surprised faces, and sits back down, “never mind. It’s just him. how bad could it be? We just lost touch over the years, and I specifically made sure to not keep in touch with him after we graduated—I’m going to die, Yeseul-ah.”

“No, eonni, you won’t,” Yeseul props her up gently, pushing the bowl of bibimbap towards her, “at least eat something before you cry.”

“No, you’re right,” Bok-gi agrees, although Sol knows he’s laughing at her internally, the little shit, “it’s wrong to cry and not eat. I’ll be dehydrated.”

The food tastes bland in her mouth, although she knows she’s made it spicy, but Sol works her way through it with tears in her eyes (she passes it off as due to the spice) and promptly starts sobbing again, lamenting her crappy life.

“Eonni, the trial isn’t until next month, you have enough time to prepare,” Yeseul tries to placate her, but it only increases the volume of her groans.  A whole month spent dreading the presence of Han Joon-Hwi as she prepared for the trial. “You’ll win it, right?”

There. That was what had been bugging her. The fact that he hadn’t lost a single case since he’d become prosecutor. It isn’t like she hadn’t expected this from him, coming first in her class, but—

“Is this even fair?” she wails, “the attempted murder case doesn’t even have to have him as the prosecutor, it is going to be easy for me to win, the client was framed, and there is no evidence—”

“Noona,” Bok-gi peers at her, his eyes going wide, “you’re scared, aren’t you?”

“Ah, it isn’t like that!” she tries to defend herself. But Yeseul just stares, “fine. You caught me. I’m scared of losing to him, he hasn’t even lost a single case since he made prosecutor, he’s on his way to becoming head prosecutor in less than a decade, and I’m—I’m barely surviving as it is, so why did Attorney Geun-Tae give this case to me?”

Both Bok-gi and Yeseul look shocked, and Sol isn’t surprised. They should be. She was the one who cut off contact with Joon-Hwi after graduation, claiming he didn’t need her to weigh him down, and she was the person who did everything without a single glance backwards, so why was she being so defensive? “It’s not like I don’t want to whine all the fucking time, it’s just that—”

“Whoa, noona swears a lot when it comes to Joon-Hwi hyung, who knew.” Bok-gi says, clapping a hand over his mouth, “have you always been this way, or did this just happen after you found out that you were going up against him?”

Sol scowls, “you’ve been trying to act cute, don’t try that with me, Min Bok-gi.”

Yeseul nods at Bok-gi. Sol scowls again. Traitor.

--

The truth is, she should have known this was coming. Their field doesn’t leave much for anonymity, and even if it did, why did she think it would be so easy to avoid Joon-Hwi? The boy—sorry, man, she supposes she should give him at least that much, they were both in their thirties now—the man was everywhere, the newest rising star in the prosecution. Even her boss, the clueless Park Geun-Tae knew about it, and had requested her to work in a case against him. her, the person who barely passed her law school course at Hankuk. Who has a sister far smarter than her, better than her at all aspects, who really isn’t cut out to be in this profession, something which she’s heard all too often from everyone, and all she wants to do is yell I know, I know, she knows it all.

Which is why, when Han Joon-Hwi approached her after the graduation ceremony, a determined look on his face, she dreaded the words that would come out of his mouth, and instead chose to flee. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best decision, but Kang Sol A isn’t known for making the best decisions.

She still lives with her mother and Byeol in that same house, where Joon had once installed a CCTV camera, which Lee Man-Ho had broken with a well-aimed rock, but the camera is still there, and while Byeol is in middle school now, a big girl, who doesn’t like Sol picking her up from school every day and who is already getting into trouble with that big mouth of hers, and certainly doesn’t need protecting, the camera is still there, and every once in a while, she likes to take a look at it, sipping beer after a long day at work. It’s obviously dysfunctional, but she likes to imagine that Joon-Hwi still takes a look at the camera feed, doing whatever “top secret” things he did.

She sighs, opening the door to their home. I have work to do if I need to beat Joon-Hwi.

--

“Why was I assigned to this case?” Joon-Hwi asks, surprise evident on his face, “I usually take financial dispute cases, this is an attempted murder, and the evidence doesn’t even look solid. Why am I being given this?”

He’s speaking to the wall in his office, and his paralegals are out on break, but he feels as though he should at least vent about this to something, if not someone. He’s supposed to be a star prosecutor, someone who hasn’t lost a single case since they stepped foot into the District Prosecutor’s office. And it’s true, he hasn’t lost a single case since he began working here, spurred on by a desire to both step out from under his uncle’s shadow and to prove himself.

The cases he has handled until now, have all been financial, catching the people who use money to get their way in the world, much like Ko Hyeong-Su, people so entitled to the world that they didn’t consider the rest of them as human beings. He liked bring them down to their level. Hell, he loved it.

But his specialty is not criminal law, and that too, a case that would be difficult for him to win, given that there was very little evidence and whatever he had, would never fly in a court of law. He’s kind of pissed at Prosecutor Lee for giving him the case. No, scratch that, he is pissed at Lee for giving him the case.

Defending lawyer—

Defending lawyer, Kang Sol.

Could it be?

He turns to his computer, and contemplates for a second if he should ask the police officer about the defending counsel, but decides against it. I don’t want to seem like a fool. Which—is correct. He is a fool.

So, he calls up the person who had the case before him, Prosecutor Shin, and tries not to hide the excitement in his words when he asks, “did you meet the defence counsel when you arrested the defendant, Prosecutor?”

“She didn’t have one,” the prosecutor replies, voice scratchy, and he wonders of he did the right thing by disturbing someone who was in the hospital, “we’ve indicted her, but the defence counsel was changed at the last moment, something about the public defender dropping the case. Her new counsel is some young lawyer, although she has a lot of experience.”

A lot of experience. “A lot of experience?”

“Yes,” the voice on the other side cracks, and there’s some commotion in the background, “I remember meeting her in the courthouse once. People call her crazy, the lengths she goes to defend her clients are insane. She’s a good egg though, doesn’t take on cases that she doesn’t like.”

“Hmm, thank you, Prosecutor,” he mumbles, hanging up the phone. So that’s what you’ve been doing all this time, Kang Sol. how long has it been, four-five years? And we’ve never met once, impressive.

He’s suddenly very excited for the initial hearing, even if he knows its going to be nearly impossible to win. But at least he can see her for the first time in years, even if its on the opposite side in a court of law. At least he has that.

—

“You’re being stupid,” Jiho says without much in the way of context, but Joon knows what he’s talking about, “you had to take a case just to meet her? A case you are most likely going to lose? What kind of person does that?”

Joon-Hwi rolls his eyes. Jiho was a good man, but sometimes, he really didn’t know the reason behind things. Or to be more specific, why Joon-Hwi did some things. Still, it was understandable as to why he would behave like this. Neither of them has had any connections with each other over the past five years, missing each other by mere moments at times, and yet, he’s still enamoured by her memory, of the way she used to look at her law books and the way she used to stick her highlighters in her hair, her triumphant smile after she answered something correctly; he remembers everything, and he gets nostalgic sometimes, but such is human nature, one supposes.

“It’s been five years, hyung,” Jiho mutters, pushing the bowl of soup towards him, “isn’t it time you gave up on Sol noona?”

He raises an eyebrow, “I didn’t think you addressed anyone as noona.”

Jiho shrugs, “she’s older than me, so it’s only right. And I did work with her on a case about three—two years ago, and she’s really become good. Or is it all the experience that she has had now, working as a partner at Attorney Park Geun-Tae’s firm, which is unheard of, at her age, but she’s far more competent than him—”

He’s talking, but Joon-Hwi doesn’t register anything anymore, “you’ve worked with her? Together?”

“Hmm?” Jiho mumbles, thrown off his track, “yes, I literally just said that I did, what are you thinking about?”

“No. no, back up a little,” he insists, and Jiho’s confused expression clears when he realises what exactly is Joon-Hwi implying.

“Really? You’re jealous over the fact that I worked with Sol noona? That’s how petty you’ve become now, hyung?” Jiho rolls his eyes, and Joon has the incessant need to just—bury his face in his hands, “you could just give her a call, you know.”

He glares. Jiho nods, “guess not,” and resumes eating. He takes another look at the case file, and sets it down, proceeding to shove food into his mouth. The Japanese restaurant has good food, he does agree, but nothing beats eating too-hot ramyeon at three in the morning with your best friend after you’ve finished reviewing three lectures’ worth of notes together. Crap. He still remembers her as his best friend, even though they haven't had any contact over the past years now. Pathetic.

But self-deprecation isn’t his forte, and he shakes his head at Jiho, who’s determinedly eating, “how’s Sol B doing? Isn’t she going to be a judge?”

“She’s still practicing,” Jiho replies, “her mother wants her to be a judge, although I don’t think Sol wants to do it. She’s happy being a legal scholar. Wants to become a professor at Hankuk later on, if the constitutional law position opens up.” His face has a curiously fond look when he’s talking about her, Joon notices, or perhaps it’s a trick of the light, because Jiho straightens up, “who gave you the case, though?”

“My superior sent it to me because the prosecutor in charge had fallen ill, and had to be taken to the hospital,” Joon-Hwi replies, “it isn’t east for me to win this one, even though—”

“Even though you’ve never lost a single case?” Bok-Gi’s voice almost makes the two of them jump, and Jiho sends a well-aimed smack his way, “so you’re taking noona’s case, are you, hyung?”

Jiho snorts, “he’s losing sleep here.”

“When did I say I was losing sleep?” Joon-Hwi begins to say indignantly, but Bok-gi is still grinning as he slides in beside Jiho, “who told you that, Seo Jiho?”

Jiho doesn’t say anything, so Bok-Gi fills in for him, “hyung, you look terrible. Haven’t you been eating properly?”

Joon-Hwi squints at the other boy, how did he know I haven’t been sleeping well? Does it show on my face? Is it that bad?

“It is that bad, hyung,” Jiho pipes up, “you look like death warmed over.”

“It isn’t that bad, honestly,” Bok-gi says, and promptly shuts up under Jiho’s glare, “jeez, all right, all right, he looks bad. Very bad. Bad with a capital B.”

Joon-Hwi groans. He was supposed to have been handling another financial scam by this time, but he’s now talking to two of his classmates, preparing for a case that he was sure of losing, just to see the girl of his dreams.

Pathetic.

--

It had been two weeks since she had found out that Han Joon-Hwi was going to be the prosecutor for her newly-assigned case, and Sol already felt like she was going to drown amidst a sea of precedents, case studies, and more cases that she needed to read just once, in order to keep her client from getting a guilty verdict. She would have to work harder if she needed to beat him, and had even contemplated asking Professor Yang for help, not that the man would do anything to make her life any easier.

Instead, she settles for the next best thing, calls over Sol B and Yeseul for help, and while Sol B grumbles, Yeseul agrees enthusiastically, even offering to bring over Bok-gi for an extra pair of eyes. Not one to be outdone in anything, Sol B offered to bring over Jiho, who grumbled more than Sol B (if that was possible), but agreed to come along nevertheless, and they all sat in her tiny living room, looking as though they had lived there all their lives, and had helped her with the case, although the boys were more interested in devising ways to make Joon-Hwi lose, as Jiho put it, “noona is our best bet, and he owes me food if he loses.” No one could argue with that, honestly.

Except she feels like drowning, and the trial was only two weeks away.

Stupid Joon-Hwi. Why did he have to take my case? Why couldn’t he just remain in civil law? Why did he have to do this? Why, why, why?

She knew that she was being irrational. He didn’t have much control over the cases he was assigned to, and given the fact that the prosecutor in charge had been admitted to the hospital, she doesn’t think he had any sort of control over what cases he would be assigned to. Still.

You’re being irrational now, a voice that sounds surprisingly like Professor Yang’s pipes up in her mind, you’re being distracted right now, Kang Sol. You won’t win if you’re distracted.

Right. She turns back to her papers, trying her best to push the thoughts out of her mind.

I can’t be distracted.

—

He was distracted.

It wasn’t his fault, perhaps, but Joon-Hwi feels guilty nevertheless, especially as he stares at his two paralegals who are stuck alongside him, working into the night.

He’s been staring at the same picture for the past thirty minutes. In his mind, it qualifies as work, but what sort, he isn’t sure. It’s a picture from their graduation day, the seven of them (Seung-Jae hyung was behind the camera) and Professors Kim and Yang, Yangcrates even had a rare smile, something which he hadn’t ever imagined witnessing, at least not sober. Him with his arm around Jiho, who clearly didn’t want to be dragged into a conversation then, his attention focused on someone else. Sol B, staring straight into the camera, grinning ear to ear. Bok-gi and Ye-beom, the latter gesticulating wildly and Bok-gi just laughing at him, Yeseul with her head thrown back in laughter, and Sol—Sol was radiant, (he laughs at that, radiant, the Greek meaning fitting her like a glove, Sol, the Sun) the way she smiled at the camera, her hand held up in a peace sign. It was an imperfect picture, and he has the final, proper version hung on his living room wall, but it’s the warmest picture he has ever been in.

The trial is the next day, and he should be getting some sleep, but he finds himself staying awake even after his two paralegals have gone home, apologising profusely for leaving him alone, and then he takes out his phone, which has been blowing up with messages from Bok-gi and Jiho, asking to come out with them for dinner. He knows it’s a bad idea, that they would try and get him drunk, or worse, that he would voluntarily get drunk, and showing up hungover at the courthouse isn’t a great idea.

Except… he really wants to do so. It’s like he’s back in university again, trying to find ways to rile Kang Sol up, teasing her, to revel in the way she would get angry with him for cutting short her study times, even though she should have been in bed three hours prior. She would always look at him with that strange sort of expression in her eyes, Joon-Hwi remembers, as if she couldn’t decide whether to hit him or to just kiss him and shut him up.

His phone pings, and it’s a text from Jiho, telling him that hyung, do you want to come out for dinner? Sol’s buying.

He really shouldn’t. even if it had taken him a moment to know which Kang Sol Jiho had been talking about and even then, he couldn’t stop his heart from skipping a beat at the mention of her name, he shouldn’t.

Oi, Han Joon-Hwi, aren’t you a little too old and a little too responsible to be drinking before the day of an important trial?

The voice in his head sounds suspiciously like Sol, not Sol B—Sol A, although he doesn’t know how anyone could confuse themselves between the two—they were as different as light and day, and the one on his mind was not the one who was offering to buy him drinks and dinner. He sighs, texting Jiho a quick apology before he heads out of the office. He needs to be alone tonight, trying to get his thoughts in order before he faced Kang Sol in the courthouse the next day.

Even though he’s sure to lose, he just might win.

--

[sxfik]

push and pull (II)

part I | part II

read on ao3 • main masterlist • law school masterlist

summary: It's been a week since their incident in the courtroom, a week since her best friend, and crush, had kissed her. Despite her better instincts, Sol decides that it's best to test his feelings for her. After all, he's bound to get jealous right?

or: Sol riles him up and now she has to face the consequences.

request by anon: OP you are writing a sequel of push and pull? Right? Right? 🥺 As joon whipped pointed out, this isn't over. And as a prompt/ask for part 2 or a new drabble– like can yeseul find the hickey joonhwi definitely left from the neck kisses? Okayyy byeeee

PS peace is not known to man is alsooo amaze! All your fics are amaze!

a/n: AAA yes i was always planning to do a sequel to push and pull but anon you really gave me the BEST idea! thank you so much for sending something in <3 this honestly kinda got out of hand, i was not expecting it to be this spicy (don't worry, no smut yet lmao) but i really hope you guys like this!!

It's been a week since Kang Sol decided to practice her argument as the defense counsel. A week had passed since her best friend, and crush, Han Joon Hwi, had kissed her in the sacred court of law, and for a week everything was startlingly normal. It was like everything that went on between the two happened in another dimension, when he was just as in love with her as she was for him.

After leaving her confused and dazed outside the courtroom, they had gone back to normal life, into their regular routine. They would study together in the library, work on their case for the upcoming mock trial, and work at the legal clinic. The two of them shared lunches and all their classes together, and for a moment, she almost forgot that she kissed Han Joon Hwi. But what could a girl do, swamped with cases and professors who thought it'd be best to swamp them with assignments.

So since he didn't mention anything about that day, neither did she. For the most part, she was so distracted by her classes and the anxiety that followed with being a student at Hanguk Law School that she was able to act regularly around him. But it didn't erase the memory of how he had looked at her, from across that courtroom, eyes dark and heavy. It didn't erase how warm his hands were on her, how his hands tangled in her hair as he pulled her in, how soft his lips felt against hers as he pulled her into a bruising kiss. It didn't erase how right it felt, having him press against her and it certainly didn't erase how much her feelings had grown for him.

There were moments, when their hands brushed against each other while reaching for the same book, or the way his shoulder would press against hers as they sat in the hideout, where she was sure that she would never get over him. Or the smiles he would send her, only her, across the classroom that would make a certain satisfaction spread through her like wildfire. It was like her mind and body lit up each time he looked at her with so much as an expression of happiness.

But Joon Hwi? He was completely fine. He was still right by her side, smiling and teasing, spending time with her as if they hadn't broken the cardinal rule of friendship. It bothered her, how he could act so normal around her, like nothing ever happened between the two. The anger rose as the days passed by, at how he could kiss her like that, and then pretend like it was nothing.

Kang Sol was always one for action, never one to sit back and let things happen to her. Even with the chance that she could make the situation so much worse, she plotted with Ye-seul. Her best friend had known of course, way before Sol could even understand why or what she felt for the boy that had kept her company through her lowest moments. In fact, she was the one who suggested the brilliant plan of testing his feelings, trying to see for herself if she was just hallucinating or if Joon hwi actually did feel something for her.

Her solution came in the form of a boy,  Lee Min-seok. Min-seok was always a close friend of hers, one of the few students that didn’t shame her for her low scores. He knew about her crush on Han Joon Hwi, figuring it out after they got drunk together. Not that it was all that hard, considering Sol had basically wailed, asking why Joon hwi didn’t see her the way she saw him. Luckily for her, he also had someone he wanted to make jealous, a girl named Seo Ae Ri, who was in their constitutional codes lecture.

Ye-Seul, Min-Seok and her had put their heads together, planning to work together on their project for Professor Kim's class rather than working with Joon Hwi like Sol usually did. It was simple really: Sol would act nice with him, just like she did with Joon hwi and see if he would react. In case they needed extra measures, Ye-Seul would tease her, really testing him once and for all.

“You keep looking at him,” Min-Seok said to her, snapping her out of her thoughts and back to the project at hand.

“Hm?” She turned to look back to the boy sitting across from her at the tables in the main hall. She shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I was just-"

"I know," he smiled, before tilting his head towards a girl sitting a couple tables away from them, "I'm getting distracted too."

"This is a bad idea, isn't it?"

"Probably, but we're both desperate losers, aren't we?" he grinned, and Sol laughed, the statement way too accurate to describe the both of them.

Being friendly with Min-Seok was easy but flirting with him was much harder than she thought. Sol had worn her hair down today, in an attempt to look more like she’s on a date rather than working on a project with a friend. She dressed up slightly, upgrading from her Hanguk university sweatshirt to a regular beige sweater. Still, it was impossible for her to keep her eyes on the boy in front of her when the real guy she liked was sitting right behind him.

Min-seok would lightly touch her hand, grazing past her and she would laugh at his jokes as if they were the funniest thing she’d heard all day. She tried her best to keep her eyes off of the Joon hwi and her focus on Min-seok, both of them trying their best to appear as though they had something more than friendship. Both of them joked and worked, trying to let their gazes linger on each other rather than their crushes sitting a couple feet away from both of them. She was still laughing at his joke when she looked up and noticed the empty seat where Joon hwi once sat.

Her laughter died down slowly as Sol watched him disappear behind the marble pillars of the school, without even sparing her a glance. I guess this was for nothing... Her hands squeezed into a fist, the pain and disappointment growing in her chest. She turned back to Min-seok and smiled, trying to not let her disappointment choke her.

It was evening by the time she left the main hall, after grabbing something to eat with Ye-Seul and Bok-gi at the cafe. Even with the delicious food, her mind was still on Joon Hwi, the figure walking away from her that afternoon permanently pressed into her memory. Even though it was just a memory, it weighed down on her shoulders as if she was carrying something physically on her back.

She sighed, making her way back to the dorms, stepping out of the main hall when she felt a tug on her elbow. Before she could process what was happening, she was whisked away to the corridor between the stairwell and the main hall.

“Wha-” she attempted yelled out before a hand came to cover her mouth.

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s just me,” Joon hwi was wide eyed, as he took his hand off her mouth after she saw it was him, letting her calm down. Her heart thundered in her chest, breathing fast from the shock.

“Yah!” she hit his chest lightly, “Why would you shock me like that? I almost had a heart attack.” She tried to slow her breathing down, closing her eyes to avoid his gaze on her. Silence stretched between them and slowly, she opened her eyes to meet his gaze. His head was tilted slightly, almost like he was trying to piece her together like a puzzle.

“Who was your partner for Professor Kim’s project?” he asked, his face still deep in thought.

“Oh, just Min-Seok,” she answered, trying to keep her voice as nonchalant as possible.

“Just Min-Seok?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes on her. She squirmed slightly, her mind racing to come up with an answer that’s not you kissed me and then didn’t talk about it so I needed to test if you liked me. He took a step closer to her as she stepped back, her back hitting the wall of the corridor. His eyes were the same shade they had been in the courtroom, impossibly dark and staring into hers. It was intoxicating and she found herself unable to look away or do anything except stare back.

"You just like watching me in misery, don't you sunbae?" His voice was taunting, much deeper than usual. The air was almost suffocating with tension, with his proximity. She swallowed as she met his eyes, watching as the passion and fire in his eyes made her body overheat. “Taunting me, making me watch that guy touch you and flirt with you like he knew you,” His head dipped in then, tilting slightly as his gaze dropped to her lips.

“Like he knows how you liked to be touched,” he said, teasing as he kept the distance, his hands cupping her jaw, tracing her skin lightly in a way that made her shiver. It sent her body into overdrive, every inch of her hyper aware of Joon Hwi, his intoxicating smell enveloping her senses. “Like he knows how you like to be kissed,” he whispered, and his lips were against hers, soft yet unyielding, before she could even register it. His kiss was like fire, threatening to burn her up, but she didn’t mind. Sol would burn and burn for him, if it meant a few more moments with his lips on her.

Her hands found his shirt, tugging him closer to her as he shifted his head, pulling her in deeper. His tongue brushed against hers, driving her insane with the need for more. His kisses were addicting, pulling her in for more and more. Her hands were then in his hair, pulling him in closer  against her as she kissed him with fevor, her tongue brushing against his lower lip enough to make him groan into her mouth. His body only pressed into her more, his warmth bleeding into hers. His hair was silky and soft against her fingertips, and the need and want for more, more, more, driving her.

He pulled away shortly, panting as he caught his breath. His lips were bright red from her kisses, his eyes darkened with lust and want for her. She was still pinned against the wall as he brought his fingers close to her throat, the pads of his fingers grazing the spot he once left bruising kisses on. She drew in a sharp breath, the delicate touch of his hands enough to clear her mind.

“Ah, Sol-ah, such a pity. The hickies I left have faded away,” Joon hwi smirked slightly, his voice gravelly from the kiss. God, he’s insufferable. “We can’t have that happening, can we?” he raised an eyebrow, then dipped his head closer to her throat. She tipped her head back, wanting, needing, but he paused, his warm breath against her neck, like he was waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” Sol gave in, her voice breathier than she’d care to admit, “Yes please.” He obliged, finally dipping his head fully to leave open-mouthed kisses along her throat. The feeling was torturous and delicious, his hand curving around her neck to adjust it as he pleased. His other hand found the edge of her shirt, his body pushed against her in a way that was designed to haunt her.

“Joonhwi-ah,” she moaned, her voice embarrassingly needy as his fingers grazed her waist, and then his warm hand pressed against her bare skin. His thumb grazed the edge of her bra as it rubbed soothing circles into her skin as he continued placing feverish, bruising kisses against the delicate skin of her neck.  Her mind was completely blank, with only his name and pleads for more leaving her lips. It was too much and too little at the same time, the sensations clouding her mind but her body only craving more.

Slowly, he pulled away, his pupils still blown out from what they just did as he panted, trying to catch his breath. Sol was left dazed, still blinking at what had transpired between them. The air was still thick as they looked at each other, the silence enveloping the two. Sol looked at the man in front of her, but her brain was still catching up to the fact that Joon Hwi kissed me. His hair was a mess, and his lips were still red and swollen from their kisses. She was the first to crack a smile, unable to conceal her happiness at the fact that her plan worked.

“I should have done that earlier if I knew you’d kiss me like that,” she joked with him, the warmth and joy leaking out of every seam of her body. Joon Hwi narrowed his eyes at her, finally catching on to what she had pulled.

“You really riled me up on purpose?” His expression was slightly incredulous, but still adoring. His voice was still gravelly and deeper than usual, yet he was still the Joon hwi who she grew to love.

“You left me no choice! You kissed me in the courtroom and then you never addressed it,” her voice raised slightly, and he laughed in response, the corners of his eyes crinkling in the familiar way.

“I know, I’m sorry Sol-ah,” he looked down at the ground before looking up at her, sheepishly, “I wanted to give you time. I- i know that the last kiss came out of nowhere so I didn't want to rush you or push you too hard. I was going to talk to you about it today, and then well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” she grinned at him. They stayed like that, just for a few moments, grinning as they looked at each other. He pulled back slightly, releasing her from the wall.

“Come on, Sol-ah, I’ll walk you back to your room,” Joon hwi grinned, her hand going out to hold hers as they made their way to her dorm room and to start a new chapter together.

bonus

The next morning arrived surprisingly fast, and Sol was happier than she had ever been. After the Joon Hwi had dropped her off at her room, leaving her with another kiss that would live in her dreams forever she had crashed, blissfully sleeping despite the eventful day she had.

Sol shuffled into the small kitchen area, stretching out her arms in a yawn. She was still clad in her hanguk university sweatshirt, her hair in her signature messy bun as she walked past Ye-Seul and Joon hwi, both sitting at the table looking at their phones and having some breakfast. She greeted both of them, her voice cracking slightly from disuse as she made herself coffee, needing the bitter taste to jumpstart her system before class.

She grinned at both of them before taking a seat next to Joon hwi, the three of them blissfully enjoying their mornings. Everything went by as normal, Joon hwi looking cuter than ever, Ye-Seul still soft and beautiful as ever. Though, as she drank her coffee, she noticed her best friend squint at her slightly, the younger girl’s head tilted inquisitively. But Sol was still on the high from yesterday and seeing Joon hwi in the morning only fueled it more so she didn’t pay the look much heed.

Almost 15 minutes passed before Ye-Seul stood up, making the move to clear her plate and wash her mug. She turned and cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Sol. “Unnie, you might want to use some concealer before you go to class today," she quipped and suddenly, Joon hwi sputtered, choking on the coffee. Sol patted his back soothingly, before she turned around to Ye-Seul in confusion, but the younger girl was gone, disappearing before she could ask what she meant. Joon hwi was still laughing, while Sol was left in utter confusion.

Sol pulled out her phone, switching to her camera to look at what exactly she needed to cover. Did she have a pimple? Did she break out?  But she gasped as she looked at herself in the camera, her eyes wide. Her neck, once pale and clear of any marks, were covered in dark bruises. Hickeys. They spotted all over her throat, the curve of her neck, everywhere.

“Yah, Han Joon hwi!” she turned to him, his laugh only getting louder as she berated him, “I’m going to have to wear a whole bottle of concealer to cover this up!” He grins at her in response, mischief and a certain look of pride tainting his expression and Sol doesn't know whether to kiss him or hit him over the head. But his laughter infected her, and despite all her better instincts to stay angry, she laughed along with him, knowing that she could never stay angry too long at the boy she finally had in her arms.

[jwoongz]

omg hiii chrissy!! ofc i have to ask about tnx but if someone already has then maybe enha? 💞

Hiiii hiii Meg! Omg thank you for asking for my TNX boys! I love them. I haven't answered either so I will go ahead and do both! Thanks for asking, Meg!!

TNX

✦ my first bias: Kyungjun

✦ my current bias(es): Still Kyungjun but also love our super talented rapper/songwriter Hwi!!

✦ my album and/or era ranking (or favorite of each): Since we really have one option I'll just rank the 3 songs they promoted!!! Move > 180 Sec > My Favorite Melody. Although I will say the styling they had for MFM was sooo cute.

✦ how I got into them: I watched them on LOUD so I was super excited for the debut! It was so cool to see how their debut group was the original PNation trainees + Hwi. It was like they just needed that missing piece! They work so well together and I just remember be so impressed by them the first time they (minus Hwi :((() came out and performed Win!

✦ which member would be my best friend: Not to be a broken record but Kyungjun! He's reserved but he always seems thoughtful with his members and I just think he would be an easy person to get along with.

✦ something I associate with them (or with a bias/any member): Definitely you, Bie, and Rachel who are my beloved TNXtuals!

Enha:

✦ my first bias: Sunghoon

✦ my current bias(es): Still Sunghoon! Probably... always going to be Sunghoon! LOL

✦ my album and/or era ranking (or favorite of each): Dimension: Answer > Border: Carnival > Manifesto: Day 1 > Dimension: Dilemma > Border: Day One. So many people hated Blessed-Cursed but... I love it????? It was the era that took me from "I like these guys" to almost being an ult group.

✦ how I got into them: Another group that I watched their show! LOL I've been with them since the beginning :)

✦ which member would be my best friend: This one is harder. lol I think probably Jake?? He seems funny and relaxed so I will go with that .

✦ something I associate with them (or with a bias/any member): Really bright colors and patterns, ripped jeans, and oversized hoodies!

[seamayweed]

To answer wusopiejung25:

Both Bang-won and his father are very charismatic people who both pursue the vision of a better country, so it doesn't really surprise me that they both have so many supporters - including Hwi and Hui-jae in Bang-won's case. I can't blame Hwi for supporting Bang-won either (despite Bang-won's bigotry/open discrimination of bastards) since, at least until the last ep, Bang-won appeared to be the only person in power who had never abandoned him.

While Bang-won sheds the blood of innocents just like his father, the difference is that it takes a toll on Bang-won who will live with the guilt forever? And in at least that, he's better and preferable to YSG who doesn't really seem to care at all. There's also the fact that YSG used him to do his dirty work/shed blood for him in the past and has been a very cold, loveless, negligent and manipulative parent to Bang-won who desperately craves his love and was vulnerable to his manipulations for a long time, which makes the latter far more sympathetic than the former. You could also argue that Bang-won only became a monster because of YSG.

And yeah, they really did make Nam Jeon almost comically evil (despite his dream of a country of subjects) to make Hwi and Hui-jae side with Bang-won lol.

(Rather, the more impossible, unbelievable thing to me is that Seon-ho didn't seem to have any supporters at all aside from Sung-rok despite having ideals for a better country just like Bang-won, YSG, Nam Jeon etc. + possessing an unearthly beauty that poets would write songs about + knowing how to be charming too as shown in the first two eps, not to mention his penchant for grand speeches like with Sung-rok or the Jurchens in the Northern Township later on. Who wouldn't fall in love with him and swear their life and eternal loyalty to him?? But I digress haha.)

To get back to OP's points:

1. The tragedy of it all ended up being that Hwi was never Bang Won's person, or anyone's - he was always stubbornly his own. And so we get that ending.

The thing is that Bang-won betrayed Hwi first - in fact, he has betrayed and deceived Hwi from the start. He is the one who proved himself not to be Hwi's person or someone trustworthy or worthy of being followed by him. Hwi was willing to support Bang-won and be his person as long as Bang-won kept his end of the deal and didn't abandon him or his people as every other person in power had already done so far - he even said he wanted to save both Seon-ho AND Bang-won when he still believed Bang-won to be his person. Why is Hwi expected to blindly follow Bang-won and be his person in spite of that? Why is Hwi expected to be Bang-won's person when Bang-won isn't Hwi's person and turns out to have never been his person at all? Also there's honestly nothing wrong with being your own person?? It's extremely telling that Bang-won kills him for that - because he can't have him. What does that make him if not a tyrant?

2. PS It is so bleak how even taking responsibility for one's monstrous acts is a rarity in their world.

In what way, exactly, does Bang-won take responsibility for his monstrous acts?

He says here that all the blood shed under his orders will be on his hands and his hands only, but -

What's this then?

3. One cannot imagine YSG saying that, you know.

On the contrary - I think that's very much something that YSG would say too. He is the king of PR as the beloved war hero and general who beat back the Red Turbans and whom children sang songs about and whom the population opened the gates for when he returned with his army from Wihwado to take the capital; if we think back to the beginning episodes, he was a widely admired hero who believed in social mobility and even gave Hwi the broken half of his red arrow so he could apply for the military exam instead of getting excluded due to discrimination. Also they are just that: words. Anyone can say them. It's the actions that you have to pay attention to.

As established in the previous point, Bang-won's actions are very much the opposite of his words.

One last thing:

(the subs are a bit funky, but it should be "your" and not "our" lmao)

While I don't think Bang-won is wholly to blame for killing Poeun and Seo Geom (those were clearly done on indirect orders of YSG and to protect his family), the rest is very much on him. Again: In what way, exactly, does Bang-won take responsibility for his monstrous acts? By feeling guilty about it?? By getting taunted by others about it???

More grand words that do not match his actions at all! In what way does he own up to it? By historically killing even more people and family/relatives who get in his way once he becomes king?? Going down in history as the kinslayer and tyrant he was is NOT owning up to his actions - not to mention that people still praise him for consolidating the power of the monarchy and for being the father of King Sejong the Great; he NEVER actually gets punished for his actions!

To be truthful, I had to laugh and thought it was rich for him to talk about getting taunted and how painful it is in front of Seon-ho of all people.

Especially since he was among those to constantly taunt Seon-ho about his status as a half-lowborn bastard and discriminate against him, threatening him and people like him with incarceration, disenfranchisement and disempowerment.

I'm sorry, but living with the guilt of your own actions and choices and getting (rightfully) called out/mocked for that is nothing compared to getting mocked/discriminated all your life due to bigotry because of something you can't help: being born a slave who by a stroke of luck (or bad luck, depending on your perspective) is lifted to the status of a half-lowborn bastard!

As Seon-ho would say -

Bang-won is very much a hypocrite and deluded in his own way too - and I actually like that about him!! I think it makes him an extremely complex and fascinating character and a very compelling foil to Seon-ho and vice-versa.

This is a very interesting scene in retrospect because both BW and SH prove to be correct.

The tragedy of it all ended up being that Hwi was never Bang Won's person, or anyone's - he was always stubbornly his own. And so we get that ending.

But that thread runs throughout, doesn't it?

(That's a spectacular response on BW's part btw. I ship it.)

PS It is so bleak how even taking responsibility for one's monstrous acts is a rarity in their world.

One cannot imagine YSG saying that, you know.

[jane-doh]

King’s Affection ep 15

„I wish you to stay in palace a little bit longer” she said.

So the precious time is now, it doesn’t matter how it will end. They will stay faithful to the feelings they are feeling today.

But behind the scenes there is someone else who is looking for an answer and the other who’s greed for power is destroying the balance built by the King. …

Please be aware, this post contains tons of SPOILERS!

Jung Seok Jo was fighting with anger after putting all the pieces together and realizing who Crown Prince really is. Jiwoon came back home. Father, with the feeling he had inside he felt the need of having a sparring with son. Yes, this episode gave us fire from the start. After the fight they sat down and drink. Father was all the time trying to start the subject about the maid that Jiwoon knew back in the days. So he asked – does he know what happened with her? Jiwoon still don’t know the truth about the (now)Kings real identity. However Seok Jo wasn’t convinced if son is telling the truth. To be honest, I feel for him. For some reason we can see how he is breaking slowly, we could see that especially at his last scene when he had to kill the guy from rice and short chat with son after that.

Bodyguard

The servant he saw that night when the King passed away was dead, he found his body hanging and couldn’t catch the one who killed him. Bodyguard visited his home and meet wife. He was told in secret what connection did servant had with Sangheon. Yoon came and heard everything. I knew something will happen from that.

The Kim Ga On’s character is very fascinating for me. His story alone is very interesting and sad. I see him as a child whose family was taken from him and the only what he can live for is revenge. Lonely and lost looking for an answer. In this episode he had more time on screen comparing to before, we could get to know him better. I hope he will have a happy ending, unfortunately I have a feeling he will be “that one” who needs to sacrifice… Please, I hope I’m wrong…..

Also Yoon asked him to work together.

Yes! 🤩

There is so many funny and heart-warming moments in this episode!

When Jiwoon was looking into that deformed funny mirror 🤣

And the talk between eunuch, King and Jiwoon about lanterns 🤣

Also let’s mention the main action from the episode. So, the lord Shin Yeongsu was reinstated. It started wit many scholars begging King to remove Sangheon. He was very frustrated and meet King for discussion. Bringing back Yeongsu was a plan to minimalize the protests as much as it’s possible. However, after looking at Kings face, I just felt she is plotting something. She left a note for him to be delivered with hidden message. Then when he came back, she gave him first assignment…and then it started. I’m glad she is secretly planning to remove grandfather. When Yeongsu invaded the “guy who stole rice” place was entertaining. The moment she entered the room I knew - she will not sit down and obey grandfather. Eun Bin is such a good actress, the Hwi she portrayed is more powerful than most of the man in this drama. I felt chills whe she spoke.

And then a Kiss 🔥❤

Did I mention? Despite loving Jiwoon x Dami or JiDami relationship, I have a hidden second lead syndrome as well 😅 Poor Hyun, when he was giving the book to eunuch and later when he spoke with Jiwoon it makes me feel sad about  his broken heart (in past and future) and fighting with best friend…

Princess was a fire this episode! She is unstoppable😅

The secret meeting she had with both boys was hilarious! Their race in who knows more about King haha and she is so pure I just can’t… I’m feeling bad about her.

Bodyguard time again.. I just loved the scene when he visited father’s grave!

And later when he came with Yoon to speak with King.

❤

And now… ladies and gentleman…! Probably only ladies tho haha

The scene where Hwi feel asleep under the tree and Jiwoon came and rise his hand so that the sun did not shine on her face! That was so sweet 🤩 and then another kiss...could happen BUT guess who came haha yes, it was unstoppable princess. Jiwoon hide behind the tree and was watching her almost kissing King 🙈

Later he was jealous…he is such a cutie pie

There was no preview for tomorrow and that makes me not happy because I don’t know what to expect. Please, lots of bodyguard and JiDami 🤩

Anyway! It was long but anyone who reached end of this post - I really hope you like it! And please leave a heart if you did ❤