#in the last years of me staying in korea for holidays i had a tiny apartment next to an arboretum

[magistralucis]

@absolut--kurant!

Pyunggang Botanical Garden (평강식물원) // Hello Korea ♡

[joontopia]

Summer in December | KTH

pairing:  kim taehyung x reader        ↳ hufflepuff!taehyung x slytherin!reader

rating: nsfw, 18+

genre: hogwarts!au, friends to lovers!au, fluff

warnings: mild angst (?), reader is a little whiny about the weather (im so sorry idk why i did that), mentions of alcohol consumption, some cute hand holding, sweet kisses

word count: 4.7k

a/n: this is my secret santa gift to the lovely @sly-merlin​ for @kafenetwork​ Holiday Treat event! I hope you enjoy this! It’s been so fun getting to know you the past weeks! ♥️🐧 penguin

Also, thank you to my lovely soul-twin-mate @escapingreality4now​ for reading over this and editing it for me. you the bestest and i love you so much *smoochies*. And thank you to @kimtaehyunq​ for helping me fix my banner issue last minute, i appreciate you and love you!

Rain. That is what has been falling from the grey, cloudy sky for the last three days. Cold, pelting droplets of evaporated water are what you have shared your days with during this cold winter. Not the beautiful, white fluff that was promised in the forecast. Not the very weather that you stayed at school for over winter break instead of going somewhere summer-y with your family. No, that would just have been too perfect. Sitting at your table at the Three Broomsticks, you let out a sigh as you stare out the window, elbow perched on the table as your chin rests in your hand. It was nearly four in the afternoon, though you couldn’t tell by the vacancy left from the sun in the sky hidden behind darkened storm clouds. When you agreed to stay as one of the prefects on duty, you were hoping it would come with days spent playing in the snow. Building snow people, and having the occasional snowball fight. Not trudging through mud puddles and slipping on hidden ice patches. You nearly slip into another day dream when you’re interrupted by the barmaid approaching your table. 

“What’ll it be, dear?” The barmaid asks, a bright smile painted across her face despite the dreary atmosphere set by the disappointing weather.

“Oh um, two butterbeers, please,” you order as you sit up in your seat, trying your best to return a cheery smile as bright as hers. She lifts her brow at you with twinkling curiosity and a hint of laughter in her eyes.

“Terms that bad this year?” She asks with a teasing smile. 

You giggle, appreciating the light lift of the mood as you join in on the jest, “No, just the temperament of the weather.” You both let out a soft chuckle, your smile matching hers slightly more realistically with the slight change in mood. “I’m actually meeting someone, they should be here soon. They’re not both for me.” As if on cue, you both turn to the entrance at the bell chime of the door, signaling a new customer. Standing there was your friend and fellow Slytherin prefect, Ohria, searching the bar for where you sat. Once she spots you in the corner by the window, she waves and smiles, walking toward you with her cheeks rosy pink from the cold outside. 

“No judgement here, dear. Just poking fun. I’ll have those right out for you two,” the barmaid says as she turns back to you. She gives you a light pat on your shoulder and a wink before walking back towards the bar, nodding her head in greeting to Ohria as she makes it to the table, sitting in the vacant seat across from you. You sit back in your chair, smiling at your friend as she starts removing her scarf in coat.

“Sorry, I’m late! Had to make sure Joonie had everything he needed for the next two weeks packed and ready to go. For how smart that man is, he sure can be forgetful,” Ohria rolls her eyes in feign annoyance, the shy smile and blush of her cheeks giving away her true feelings of adoration for her boyfriend. “He’s meeting me here when he’s done if that’s okay. We’ll be leaving in the next hour or so.”

“No worries, it’s fine. I can’t believe you’re going to be visiting Korea. Leaving me here with the sleet and rain while you get to go build your snow creations of your future children with Namjoon.” Your bottom lip pushes out in a pout just a little as Ohria sticks her tongue out at you. You were happy for her, really. At least one of you will get to enjoy some snowy fun during the holiday break. 

“Oh come on, cheer up. I’ll be back before you know it and so will the snow. Besides, Joonie told me a certain Hufflepuff prefect is staying during the break as well. Maybe that can preoccupy your time before I get back, hmm?” Ohria teases you as she wriggles her eyebrows. 

You feel your cheeks warm, knowing the exact Hufflepuff prefect she was referring to. A one very handsome and tall Kim Taehyung, your classmate and longtime crush. You spent the better half of this school year innocently flirting with one another, enough to make you wonder if he felt and cared for you the same way you do him. You smile as you look away from Ohria, watching as the barmaid approaches with your drinks, placing them in front of you. You thank her before turning and continuing your conversation with, “As wonderful as that would be, I highly doubt Taehyung would want to spend the majority of his winter break with me.”

“Oh, please. He practically can’t keep his eyes off of you when you’re near each other. The both of you really. Just ask him. Besides, what else would there be for the two of you to do here but hangout with each other?” Ohria says before taking a drink, her last words more of statement rather than a question. 

You let out a little sigh, knowing there was no sense in arguing her point. You grab your drink, taking a sip as you ponder her words for a moment. “I suppose you’re right. But how do you suggest I even ask him? I wouldn’t even know where to start to find him. Just show up at his common room door and wait until he leaves?”

Ohria hums in contemplation before turning to look out the window, smiling slyly at whatever caught her eye. “Looks like you won’t have to,” she says nodding her head towards the window causing you to turn and take a look yourself. 

There walking past the window and towards the front door was Namjoon and Taehyung, the former holding his wand up as a clear light emits from the tip, forming into a makeshift umbrella for the two men. You feel your cheeks flush again as Ohria turns in her seat, waving the two boys over to your booth. You look up as they make it to the table, smiling as you make eye contact with Taehyung. You notice his cheeks are colored with a rosy hint as he returns a smile to you. You try to not think much of it, using the cold weather outside to be the cause. Ohria stands up from her seat, greeting her boyfriend with a kiss before sliding into the empty seat next to you, the two boys taking up the seats across. The barmaid approaches again, taking the boys order and returning again shortly with two more mugs of butter beer.

“Dreary weather, isn’t it?” Namjoon asks, breaking the silence before taking a big drink from his glass. Everyone nods as you hum in response, finding it suddenly hard to form words with Taehyung sitting across from you. You’re not sure why you find it hard to speak to him this time, always joking and conversing during the school year. Maybe the possibility of some possible time alone has you feeling slightly off your game. 

“How are you, YN? I hear you’re also staying here during the break,” Taehyung asks, softly smiling as he waits for your response. You smile back, lips beginning to part in response when Ohria jumps in and answers for you instead.

“Yes, she is! Sadly, I’m leaving her all by her lonesome for a while,” she says with a pout, wrapping her hands around your arm and laying her head on your shoulder. “You’ll take good care of her for me, Taetae, won’t you?”

You give Ohria a little pinch on her thigh and she lets out a tiny squeak, letting go of your arm. She lightly swats your arm before scooting away from you, Namjoon looking at her curiously as Tae shoots up an eyebrow and chuckles.

“It would be my pleasure. What do you say, YN? Mind keeping me company during the break?” He gives you another boxy smile and you smile big in return.

“Yeah, that sounds great,” you manage to squeak out, nudging Ohria with your elbow as she starts to giggle again next to you. 

Namjoon jumps in, talking about the plans he’s made for him and Ohria once they get to Korea. Taehyung throws out his own suggestions and you add your own commentary here and there, easing you and your friends into easy conversation. Before long, another hour has passed. Namjoon looks down at his watch before announcing his and Ohria’s time to go. Everyone stands up from the table, leaving tips and payment on the table for the barmaid before walking towards the door. 

Ohria turns to give you a hug before Namjoon begins helping her back into her winter coat. “If you need me, I’m only an owl away. I’ll be back before you know it. Promise me you’ll enjoy yourself?” 

“I promise,” you tell her. Waving to her as she follows Namjoon out the door, blowing you a kiss before it closes.

“Mind if I walk you back to the castle?” Taehyung asks you, wrapping his scarf around his neck as he looks down at you. 

You nod your head and smile, grabbing your winter coat off the hook on the wall. Taehyung reaches and grabs it from you, catching you by surprise. “Let me help you with that,” he says as he holds it open for you. You give him a shy thanks as you slip it on. He rubs his hands down your arm once it’s secure, his hand slightly brushing yours as he moves around you and opens the door. You were happy to see a break in the rain fall, allowing for the walk back be a little less treacherous in the cold. 

“So what would you like to do this break?” You ask, looking up at the tall man walking next to you. 

“Hmm,” he hums, puffs off transparent smoke coming from his mouth as he breathes out into the cold air. “I got a few ideas. I can run some by you now and we can discuss it over breakfast in the morning?”

“Sounds good,” you say with a smile. Taehyung smiles back at you as you both fall into another easy conversation on your way back up to the castle.

Rain, again.  You can’t see it, the sleeping quarters of the Slytherin dungeons lacking windows, but you can hear it hitting the ground above. And it’s coming down hard. You roll out of bed, your movements sluggish as you get ready for the day. You make your way into the common room, stretching your arms in the air as a yawn overtakes you. The room is nearly vacant. Only a pair of 2nd years hanging out on the couch sharing their collection of wizarding cards with each other. The door swings open, Yuta walks into the common room, looking around the room until he spots you and smiles. “Ah, Y/L/N. Perfect timing. You got a visitor outside.” 

You tilt your head to the side, wondering who would be coming to see you when your memory hits you. Your promised breakfast with Taehyung. Your eyes go wide as your cheeks heat up and you quickly make your way to the door. “Ah, yes. Thank you,” you say as you give a quick smile and wave to Yuta. He lets out a snicker walking past you further into the common room. 

Once outside, you see Taehyung leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, head tilted down towards the floor. When he hears the wall covering the door to the common room open, he looks up, blinking the tiredness out of his eyes. His boxy smile takes over his face when he sees you.

“Good morning,” he says, his low baritone dripping from his mouth like honey as he walks over to you. He gives you a quick hug, a kiss landing on your check right before he pulls away. You feel your cheeks warm again, a big smile forming on your face as you begin to walk side by side towards the dining hall.

“Good morning,” you squeak out. You clear your throat, your voice still hidden behind your own sleepiness. “How did you sleep?” 

“Not bad. Rain helped lull me to sleep. The smell of breakfast from the kitchen woke me up. How about --”

“Watch out!”

You both stop quickly in your tracks from the shout coming from a sideroom to your right. A white wisp in the shape of a dolphin zooms in front of you, dissipating into nothing as it crashes into the wall on the other side. 

“Sorry about that!” You turn to the doorway of the sideroom. Your classmate, Jimin, stands there rubbing the back of his head with one of his hands. A sheepish smile on his face as he looks at you and Taehyung.

You let out a giggle as you smile back. “It’s alright, it looked harmless. What were you doing with that dolphin though?” 

“Ah, I’ll show you. But you gotta keep it a secret, okay?” Jimin waves you two into the sideroom and you both follow him. There in the empty room, you see an oversized snow globe. Colorful wisps of smoke inside swapping from shapes of hearts into waves of water.

“I was trying to get that dolphin into here. It’s a Christmas gift for my girlfriend, Tina. I’ve been struggling with Charms class this year and she’s been helping me out. Her patronus is a dolphin, so I figured this would be something she’d enjoy.” Jimin waves his wand in the air, a new cloud of wisps spout from the tip, once again forming into a dolphin. He flicks his wrist, the dolphin successfully jumping into the water of the snow globe this time as he turns to you and Taehyung and smiles. You both clap your hands in applause as he bows, his eyes disappearing from the wide smile on his face when he stands straight.

“That looks awesome! I’m sure she’ll love it!” Tae praises.

“It’s really cute, Jimin. You did great!” You smile at him as you start to turn back out of the room. “We were just on our way to breakfast if you wanted to join us.”

Jimin shakes his head, smiling the whole time from your praises. “I’m going to work on this a bit more, but I’ll see you guys up there. Thanks!” He gives you a wave goodbye as you and Tae walk back out of the room, continuing your way towards the great hall.

Your first full day spent with Taehyung was wonderful. Something you needed to help take your mind off the mundaneness that has been the winter weather. It’s the next morning. You once again find yourself in the great hall, sitting across from Tae and Jimin as they are both talking animatedly about the last quidditch match that took place before the break. Your eyes are on Tae, watching the way his adam’s apple bobs up and down as he speaks. The way the soft curls of his hair bounce just slightly when he laughs. He flashes his boxy smile, the sight of it taking you back to the day before. 

After breakfast, you had both played a few rounds of wizard’s chess. You won every game but the last, finding the pout Tae gave you every time he lost was too cute for you to go easy on him. After each loss, he would jut out his bottom lip, begging you with matching puppy dog eyes for one more rematch. Only stopping once he finally came out the victor.

You spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the courtyards of the school grounds. The rain seemingly subsided for the day, leaving little puddles of water scattered on the ground. Finding a dry bench, you sit down next to Tae. He took the chance to entertain the two of you by charming the puddles, using droplets of water to create figure skaters that would glide across the surface or little fish and dolphins hopping back and forth across the puddles. You couldn’t help your giggles, how your eyes lit up in fascination as the figures danced across the water. You remember looking over at Taehyung, how your breath caught in your throat at the way he was watching you. His eyes warm with adoration as his signature boxy smile graced his face. You wonder if it was your hopeful thoughts playing tricks on you, the way it seemed like he was leaning in towards you. The moment being interrupted by the sky once again falling out. You were remembering how the warmth of his hand felt in yours as he pulled you to run for cover when the sound of your name pulled you from the daydream.

Back in the present, you notice Tae and Jimin looking at you expectantly. You blink owlishly at them, slight embarrassment creeping in as you realize you have no idea what they asked you. “S-sorry, what was that?” you stammer, looking down at your plate to hide your blush as Jimin snickers at you.

“Lunch at The Three Broomsticks and then afterwards we do a little walking or shopping. What do you think?” Tae repeats, a hopeful expression on his face. 

You go to respond when you’re interrupted by excited gasps that fill the great hall. “It’s starting to snow!” you hear someone shout. You look up at the enchanted ceiling, the previously dark clouds now turning a light shade of grey as little snow flurries start to fall. A wide smile grows on your face as you look back down at Taehyung who's already watching you with a smile of his own. 

“Let’s go get dressed,” he says, standing from the table. You follow him, rushing out of the great hall with the rest of the students. Tae turns towards the direction of the Hufflepuff common room, shouting over his shoulder “I’ll meet you back here!” before disappearing out of sight.

You run with Jimin to the Slytherin common room, racing up the stairs to your dorm to dress in something warmer. Your smile never leaves your face, excitement coursing through your entire body. The snow is here. Finally. The weather you have been waiting to see since you decided to stay at school for the holidays finally made its appearance. Dressed in your thick winter coat, you make your way out of the dungeons, walking back to meet Tae in front of the great hall. Once there, Taehyung’s face lights up with another smile. He offers his gloved hand to you and you take it, speeding up to keep up with his long strides as he pulls you to the doors leading outside.

The moment you step outside, you're met with the disappointed grumbles of other students, passing you as they walk back into the castle. Taking a few more steps outside, you turn the corner to see what has caused everyone to be so upset and your face drops. The snow flurries that fell from the sky not too long ago have turned back into cold, icy rain. Washing away any evidence of the snow that had barely stuck to the ground.

“Dang, I knew it was too good to be true,” Tae mumbles as he lets out a sigh, still holding your hand as he stands next to you. You shared his disappointment. Maybe a little too much with how quickly you could feel your mood turning south. You watch the rain, suddenly feeling the desire to be alone. The dreary weather sucking all the motivation for fun out of you. Dropping your hand from Tae’s, you turn back towards the castle to walk back inside.

Feeling the loss of your hand, Tae turns around and follows you. “I’m sorry, YN. I know you’ve been looking forward to the snow.”

You give Tae a soft smile, looking back down at your feet as you continue to walk back inside. “It’s okay, Tae. It’s not like you can control the weather.” Your attempt at a joke at the end is delivered poorly due to your mood. You can tell by the forced smile Tae gives you as he watches you with a sorrowful expression. Once back inside, Tae places his hand on your shoulder to stop you and you turn to face him. “We can still have a good time in Hogsmeade. You still want to go?”

You give him another soft smile, trying your best to make it look genuine. You want to go, you really do. But just the mere thought of spending anymore time out in the miserable, cold rain sinks your mood even lower. You know you would be no fun to be around like this. “I’m actually not feeling too well. Could’ve been something I ate. I’m just gonna take it easy for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You turn and start to walk away, barely hearing Tae’s “yeah, see ya” as you wave him goodbye over your shoulder. You make your way back to the Slytherin common room and towards your bed, planning on curling up in the warm sheets and hope tomorrow is a better day.

It’s been two days since you’ve seen Taehyung. Only catching him in brief passing at breakfast the morning after the teased snow day. You had every intention to apologize to him for your attitude, feeling guilty for having felt like you took your bad day out on him. Only he didn't give you the chance with how quickly he ran out of the great hall, saying something about needing to speak with Professor Flitwick and that he’ll catch you later. You didn’t see him for the rest of the day. The next day, you didn’t even see him at breakfast, only being made aware of his absence from an owl he sent explaining how he was going to be busy in the library the whole day. You couldn’t help but feel like he was avoiding you.

Making your way into the dining, you see Jimin waving you over, handing you a letter as you sit across from him. You open it, half expecting another letter of avoidance from Taehyung. You were happy to see that it was from Ohria, gushing about her trip with Namjoon to Korea. Wishing you a happy holiday and how she can’t wait to hear how your week has been going. You fold the letter and place it in your back pocket before filling your plate with food. You’re near down with your food when you spot a familiar figure running up to you from the corner of your eye. You turn towards him, standing from your seat as he reaches you.

“Oh, great! You’re here,” he says, grabbing your hand as he starts to pull you towards the entrance. “Come on, I have something to show you!” You stumble a little as you try to keep up with him. As you step into the hallway outside of the great hall, you decide now is as good as time as any to finally apologize.

“Tae, wait,” you say, tugging on his hand to stop him. He looks back at you, eyes wide as he looks at you, waiting for whatever you're about to say. “I want to apologize.”

He furrows his brow, turning to face you completely as he takes your other hand in his. “What? What do you have to apologize for?”

“The other day. I wasn’t in the best mood, and I was kinda rude to you. I just… I didn’t know if that’s why you were avoiding me the last two days.” 

Tae smiles at you. He lets go of one of your hands, lifting his now free hand to push a loose strand of hair behind your ear, causing your cheeks to warm from the sudden touch. “I didn’t mean for you to think I was avoiding you. My absence does have to do with that day, but not because you were rude. Which you weren’t, by the way,” he reassures you, tapping the tip of your nose. Your lips turning up into a smile from the cuteness. “Just follow me, yeah? That’s what I want to show you.” You nod your head, following Tae as he continues to lead you through the hall and out the doors into the castle grounds.

“Tae, wait! I don’t have my coat,” you whine. Tae pulls you closer to him, wrapping his arm around you as he continues to lead you to your destination.

“I know, I got it covered. Just trust me.” 

You go to argue, your words cut short when you see a large dome in the middle of the courtyard. In the dome, you see a cute little forest setting. Snow littering the ground and the tops of the evergreen trees. You’re at a loss for words, only a subtle whisper of a “wow” leaves your lips as you look at the enchanted globe in awe. 

Tae watches you carefully, drinking in the sight of your amazement. He grabs your hand again, pulling you closer to the dome and inside. He smiles at the giggles you let out while you step onto the snow. He commits to memory the beautiful smile that adorns your face with each crunch of your step across the snowy surface. He walks you to the middle of the dome, turning to face you once you reach it. “This is what I’ve been up to the last few days. Trying to learn how to control the weather.” 

You let out a snort at his joke, how he parroted your words back to you. You lightly push his shoulder, a big smile covering his face as he watches you walk around the globe. He pulls his wand out of his jacket pocket, pointing it up at the top of the globe as he gives a quick flick of his wrist. Suddenly, tiny snowflakes start falling from the top of the dome. You look up and close your eyes, smiling when you can feel the coolness of the fluffy ice land on your cheeks. Opening your eyes as you look down, you look back over at Taehyung as you continue to walk around the tiny winter wonderland. “You did this all for me?”

He nods his head, his eyes never leaving you as he watches you explore. “I wanted to see you smile. I love seeing you smile.”

You feel your own cheeks warm at his confession. Suddenly, you feel a little shiver run through your body from the chilly air. “This still doesn’t cover the fact that I don’t have my coat,” you tease as you walk back over to him. 

Tae laughs, shrugging off his coat and placing it around your shoulders. He points his wand back up to the top and flicks his wrist again. The top of the dome turns into the image of a shining sun and you can immediately feel the warming rays as if it was the actual sun in the sky. “Told you I got it covered,” he says as he winks at you. 

You look around, happy to see that the enchanted snow is still intact and not melting, the warming temperature from the charm not having any effect. You hear Taehyung clear his throat and you look back at him, noticing the light blush that now adorns his cheeks. “I learned one other thing,” he says nervously, once again flicking his wand, this time towards the nearest tree. 

You watch as a branch extends out above you, small leaves blooming until a big group of green leaves hangs over the two of you. You examine it, noticing the tiny white and red berries that are scattered through the cluster of green. “Mistletoe,” you breathe out in a whisper. 

You feel Taehyung's hand on your cheek, pulling your face back to look at him. His eyes twinkle with mirth as they meet yours, his lips turning up into a soft smile as he starts to lean in. “I know this wasn’t exactly what you had in mind, but I hope it at least made you happy.”

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him down, closing the distance between you as you catch his lips in a soft, quick kiss. Breaking apart, Tae leans his forehead against yours as you both smile. “It’s absolutely perfect,” you reassure him, watching as his beautiful boxy smile once again graces his features just before he leans back in locking your lips in another kiss.

[leejungchans]

— dinner with the baek’s.

word count: 762 words

content warning(s): mentions of food

notes: words in bold represent those spoken in korean; it took me a while to get this up bc honestly i wasn’t very proud of anything i was writing for this particular scenario, so i decided to use the bullet point format instead to help with the writer’s block!! i hope you’ll like it regardless!! 💕

summary: things that happened when ateez visited juliet’s family during their filming for ateez treasure film — having dinner together was one of their group missions, though it really was an opportunity for the rest of ateez to spend time with juliet’s family.

a/n: hi!! i hope you’re doing well 💕 it’s getting cold where i live, if it’s the same in where you live, remember to stay warm ❄️ as always, take care and stay safe!! thank you so much for reading!!! and happy holidays!!!!!!!! ❤️

juliet was both excited and worried about this group mission

on one hand, it would be the first time her members met her family in person, and not through facetime calls

well, her family did attend their sydney concert and met everyone afterwards backstage, but everyone was pretty tired and they didn’t get much time to catch up

but on the other hand, her family agreed to be appear on camera, and the thought made juliet pretty nervous since there was no telling how people would react once the episode aired, and there was the concern that her family’s privacy would be invaded

on the car ride to her childhood home, the camera crew thankfully made sure to only film the members, and avoided filming out the windows in order not to reveal the neighbourhood her family lived in

the cameras only came back on when they were all inside the house

obviously, there was a lot of hugging involved since it was juliet’s first time being back in her childhood home in years

her brother, jensen, took her upstairs to get their cat, mercury

juliet was really shocked when she saw mercury because he had grown a lot since she last saw him

she’s seen mercury in facetime calls with her family, but nothing compared to actually seeing him in person

she was barely able to carry it :((( (a/n: i did some research and maine coons are apparently huge, and are called ‘gentle giants’ 🥺 awww)

“what did you guys feed him?????”

they went back downstairs where the boys were chatting with their parents, and juliet brought mercury over to one of the cameras to wave his paw so he could say hello to the viewers

“hi, atiny! i’m mercury!”

san fell in love with mercury :(((((((

juliet’s mom brought out some photo albums for everyone to look through

the boys certainly had fun seeing juliet’s childhood photos, to her slight embarrassment

“awww, look at you in a tutu! you were so tiny!” — seonghwa, very soft over toddler juliet in her tutu for a ballet recital

“you looked cuter as a kid, what happe—i’m just joKING STOP HITTING ME” — wooyoung (with jensen cackling in the background)

“i was still cuter than you ever will be >:(”

“TAKE THAT BACK!”

“does that happen often?” — juliet’s mom and dad to hongjoong, probably

“...you have no idea...” joong is a tired dad of 8 😭😭😭

soon, dinner was served, and there was a lot of food, and i mean a lot

after all, there were juliet’s family of four, the eight boys, their managers, and other crew members

mid-meal, juliet’s mom sincerely thanked the boys for taking care of juliet; that a lot of the times, they feel guilty for not being able to be in korea with juliet, but it makes them extremely relieved and thankful to know that she has eight amazing brothers who love and care for her so much in their (physical) absence

it got very emotional and there were a lot of tears and even more hugging ;-;

“mom, you can’t cry! crying is not allowed in this household!” — juliet, already crying

the cameras were turned off after that to give everyone some privacy, and so they could spend time together without having everything be filmed

when they came back on hours later, it was already very late and everyone was getting ready to leave

juliet said her final goodbyes to her family and cat, evidently reluctant to leave

a few more days in sydney before she would be away from her family for who-knows-how-long, yearning for her next return to australia

she was a very sad bean on the car ride back to the house, though she did her best not to show it until they wrapped up the segment and the cameras turned off for the last time that night

she may or may not have cried the whole time because of how much she’d miss her family :((((((

san hugged her the whole time; mingi wiped her tears; wooyoung cheered her up by trying to make her laugh; and the others took turns stroking her hair and holding her hand

— after the episode aired

her family, especially jensen, went viral among netizens for their good looks

many were shocked by how big her house seemed from the episode

they were also touched by her family’s interactions with the boys and the staff

#WeLoveYouJuliet trended on twitter for a few hours after many atiny’s pointed out how her eyes were red and teary in the end during the car ride home, obviously trying hard to keep it together in front of the cameras

[oohyansi]

ASYMPTOTE LINES.

"they always say to expect the unexpected, and sometimes you just have to go with the flow of life. i guess meeting you is not the worst thing after all; i never knew life could be this thrilling and beautiful again — i just hope you'll always choose to stay and never leave my side..."

PAIRING: idol jaehyun x idol reader

GENRE: fluff, angst, smut

WARNINGS: no warnings, just enjoy the ride & surprises (lol jk this would contain a lot of smut and fluff probably and a whole roller coaster ride)

CHARACTERS INTRO:

NCT as NCT, Jaehyun as the Jeong Jaehyun himself, You as a member of a 4-member girl group from SM Entertainment called IRIS, Johnny Seo as your cousin.

STATUS: coming soon.

PLOT: if there's one thing you can be compared to, that's a pretty solid rock. but everything changed when you finally decided to go back to Korea. entering the industry have let you meet people that that turned your life into something worth living again, and having him is one of the best part. from strangers to best friends, and who knows what's next? will it stay that way? will it be more than that? or will it fall apart?

PROLOGUE:

You have everything; the looks, the talents, the brains, and the perfect family. You are an only child, your family is known to be wealthy as your parents are both surgeons. Your parents might be busy at work, but they never failed to make you feel so loved. Little did you and your father knew, your mother was suffering from depression. You have everything — but not until she passed away. Your family became a mess and your father decided to leave and settle in another country for the both of you to move on with your lives. You were 10 years old when you moved to Canada, stayed there and studied Psychology. You are an excellent student, that's why you got accelerated and graduated earlier. Your father — he overworked himself. It's like as if you lost him as well with your mother. He still provided you with the comfortable life and everything you need, aside from attention and affection. This is why you grew up to be so reserved, an introvert, who forgot to express affection and how it felt; you became cold and heart could barely feel emotions at all. You never healed.

After you graduated, something in your mind sparked up. You ponder on things, a voice echoed in the back of your head, it was your mother's voice. She would often remind you that "life is beautiful" and that no matter what happens, always find a reason to continue and have the courage to keep going. This leads you to feeling the urge to go back home, and face everything you left there; all the memories that comes with pain, waiting for you — thinking that if you could finally and accepted what happened fully, you'll be able to overcome that burden in your heart for so long, hoping that you can live your life again. One night, without thinking, you booked yourself a flight to Korea and called your father, who's at work in the hospital, telling him you'll go back to Korea and you already made up your mind, although you know to yourself that you do not have any plans as you go back. He just agreed and said he's ask your cousin, Johnny, to pick you up and help you settle as you go back. You love your father and didn't want to leave him alone, you felt a bit of guilt, even though it seemed like he left you first. You love him but a part of you won't deny the fact that you hated him a little for almost forgetting he still has a daughter who needs him. But that's long gone, you don't need anyone anymore. You've become independent, so used to and comfortable with your own, not having the slightest need to depend on anyone.

7:00pm Seoul, South Korea

After a long flight, you finally arrived. Slowly opening your eyes as your plane landed, seeing a familiar place through the plane window where your heart beats rapidly for the first time in a while, you felt home. As you walk out the airport, your eyes instantly wandered looking for a familiar face. On the right side, you saw a hella tall guy with a wide smile plastered in his face, looking and waving at you. There he is, your older cousin Johnny waiting for you. You both aren't that close with each other since you both grew up in a different place, yet back when you were young and everything was fine, you played with each other a lot in family gatherings. He would send you messages on your birthday or holidays to greet you, you knew he's busy since he debuted as an idol. He also occasionally sends you messages asking how have you been, knowing how broke you've become after your mother's death. Seeing him again feels nostalgic and warm. You walked fast towards him and he welcomed you open arms giving you a quick yet tight hug, and you did the same as you both smiled.

"It's been a while, Y/N. You're all grown up now." He said after the hug, with a warm smile, patting your head like he used to before when you get annoyed by his teases when you were just kids. "How have you been?" He asked.

"Pretty good, hyung." You answered with a soft smile, although it's a lie. You've never been good for the past 9 years. You used to call him hyung before and not oppa for no reason. "You're the one who grew up hyung, look at you! I look like a tiny kid standing in front of you." You let out a small laugh, joking about his height as he also laughed, but quickly displayed a shocked expression in his face as he forgot something.

"Ah- by the way Y/N, i'm actually with someone here" He said as he slowly moved to his side, revealing another person standing behind him since earlier.

"This is Jaehyun, he's my member and a good friend. I asked him to come with me, you know, it's boring to drive alone" he said with a small laugh while scooting more to the side, giving you a full look on the guy he's referring to. You knew your cousin is an idol, you can sometimes saw their group's performances while scrolling through your phone, but you never really got to know about them. You had no interest, you rarely had interest in anything aside from studying. But you are so proud of your cousin just knowing that he finally fulfilled his dream.

Your eyes landed on him, you took a quick yet good look on him, enough to notice he's just wearing a casual attire with a pair of ripped jeans and a black shirt, looking so soft with his hair down.

"Hi, Y/N." He gave you a smile, and his deep dimples on the sides of his cheek did not remain unnoticed by you. Actually, it got you a little distracted; but you weren't that amazed. You've seen a lot of good looking guys back in Canada, majority of them asking you out, but you never really went out with anyone. You got no time and interest in dating, you couldn't even feel emotions by yourself.

"Hi, I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you" You said with a smile back, handing your hand over him for a hand shake. You noticed how he was staring at you with eyes you cannot explain what those meant, before he looked at your hand, back to your face. He reached his hands to meet yours.

"Me too." and the moment your hand touched, you felt how warm and soft his hands are, you felt a little flustered on how tight his hand holding yours, not tight enough to hurt tho. You held hands a little longer than the usual handshake would take, before you retreat your hand from him softly, beaming him another smile. You noticed how Johnny's eyes looked at you and Jaehyun for a couple of times with a very small smile on his mouth, almost not visible but you sort of knew what it meant. They gave each other a quick look you did not noticed as you looked at your phone to check the time.

"Y/N, it's half past 7:00, have you eaten?" Johnny asked.

"Not yet hyung. Have you? Let's go for dinner?" You replied to as he took your baggage.

"Sure! Bet you missed korean food, where do you want to eat?" Johnny asked as you walked out of the airport heading to the parking lot where his car parked. You are on the left side of Johnny, while Jaehyun is in his right side.

"Choose for me hyung, I haven't been here for almost half of my life. I could barely recall the restaurants we used to dine before" You said chuckling softly, realizing how long you've been away from the place that's supposed to be your home.

"Yeah, you never visited! You like Vancouver that much?" He said with a playful whine and you just smiled at him when you already reached the parking lot and his car. He started to put your luggage in the trunk, Jaehyun helping him.

"Nah, I didn't liked it that much, Vancouver is a great place but... nothing beats home, i guess? I just needed to stay there with no choice." You said and the last few words were said in almost a whisper. You're chuckling, but Johnny knew what you meant.

He walked to you and put his hand on the top of your head again and pat it, "Well you're here now! We'll pick up all you left and missed out, don't worry." He said, giving you an assuring smile. You gave a genuine smile back, knowing that this is the start of putting your life back into place. You sure had a lot of worries on your mind, not knowing where to even start or what to do, but all you hope for is that you don't regret coming back.

You all went to the car, you sat on the passenger seat while Jaehyun sat at the back. While choosing for a restaurant, Johnny asked Jaehyun for his suggestion and you all agreed to go on his favorite restaurant, it is a 45-minute drive from the airport but it's just fine as you can relax a bit in the car after your long flight. Johnny played relaxing music and asked you about your graduation, how have you been, and random stuffs for the first 20mins while the rest of the time he just let you rest on the seat.

Along the quite long drive, you did not fail to notice Jaehyun looking at you through the rearview mirror. You pretended you did not notice it, but you can feel his stares back and forth the mirror and your back.

JAEHYUN'S POV

Fuck. The moment I saw her walking out of the airport with that smile as she recognized Johnny, realizing she's that 'cousin' we're about to pick up, I couldn't believe my eyes. Of course I acted cool, but hell, I couldn't take my eyes off her. She's so beautiful. I felt my insides shuffle a little when I heard her voice, she sounds like an angel. I can smell her when she got close, and damn. She smells so good.

Seeing beautiful faces have become normal for me, for us in the entertainment industry, but I am lost for words for her beauty, I'm not even sure if the word beauty is enough to describe her. Her long hair just lying on her waist, wearing a pair of knee length boots and a black dress and coat, she looked perfect. How come someone out there, who's supposed to be in Korea, looking this good, just flashing right in front of my eyes just now?

What took you so long?

Those are the words on the back of my mind. She handed out her hand to me, I hesitated shortly before taking it, thinking 'am I even allowed to touch her hands?' God, she seemed like a porcelain, too fragile to touch and to beautiful to hold her hand for free. Her hand felt so soft that I don't even want to let go. I knew Johnny noticed it too, I almost lost my cool. Giving me the look, I know he understood.

i'm damned. i did not believe the idea of love at first sight, until now.

------------------------------------------------------------

author's note:

hi!! i'm actually hesitant to write this one, this is my first. I had this story on my head for quite a long time now, lol being an nctzen really get your imagination worked up 😆 I just wrote this semi long prologue to know if I should countinue this one or just keep this imagination to myself lol. PLS let me know if you're interested on how this delulu story would go. if you say so, I'm willing exert effort in writing this the best way I could to deliver the story at it's best too. all the love, czennies!!

ps. I am jungwoo biased but jaehyun, this guy... I know we can all agree that he has a special place in our hearts, that's why he's the main character in here. 🤍

and the title, i'm not a fan of mathematics but I loved the concept of lines. you can search what asymptote lines means... 😉

[uhgoodmoni]

Our Clock is Ticking | KTH

After a post Christmas breakup with his girlfriend Taehyung is celebrating New Years alone in a hotel. The ball drops, yet 2021 doesn’t come. 

Warnings: angst and some fluff

Ao3 - Wattpad

(Taehyung POV)

I pull my lips together in a frown, glancing down at the last text I sent. 

‘Merry Christmas I guess’ 

‘Read at 1:34 am’

A deep sigh heaves from my chest. Yeah. Merry fucking Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stuck in an unfamiliar country in an unfamiliar town by my damn self. Guess we picked the perfect time to pick a fight. I bring my eyes to the clock. It’s 5:00 pm on New Year’s Eve. I could be at home with the rest of the boys but nooo. She had to drag me out to see her damn family and then pick a fight with me so I’m stuck spending the holiday alone. 

My head falls back against the couch. What the fuck am I going to do now? It’s already passed the new year in Korea, but maybe I’ll call someone. Jimin… Yoongi. I don’t know. What would I even say? Hey, Mara and I broke up yesterday, and now I’m alone on New Years. Tch. Yeah. As much as I’d love to spill my guts out to them I’ve cried so much this week I feel just like shit. At this point, I just want to fly back home.

Luckily I was able to snag a flight back to Seoul for tomorrow. Not that it didn’t cost a lot, but there’s no way I’m spending another day here to wallow in my self-pity. 

The phone screen still shines up in my eyes and I look one more time. A tiny circular picture of her sits at the top of our text. Her tongue stuck out to touch the camera when I took the photo. Silly. 

When I take that flight tomorrow, will I ever see her again? I grind my teeth together, my thumb pressing against the power button. Despite how much anger is burning inside me, I hope the answer is yes. 

‘I’ll be happier if I lived this next year without you.’ She really said that. I roll over onto my side, curling up on the cushions. She’s probably right. I honestly did make everything harder for her. She was always so understanding though. I wonder if she even meant it. 

I sniff, wiping at a stray tear I hadn’t noticed. I’d like to think that she didn’t mean it. That she was just angry and it spilled out after all the dumb shit I said. Or what maybe I didn’t say. A shaky breath leaves my body, and my eyes clench shut. Oh, why can't I stop thinking about it? 

Maybe she did mean it. I had never seen her say something with more conviction and anger, her body shook as she had screamed it at me. Her face had gone red like the wine we were drinking. I’m sure that fueled our anger too. But there had to be some backing behind her words. Even if this fight had been the last straw there were so many feelings leading up to this. Every night she spent waiting up for me. How could I not see her patience running out? Slowly but surely our clock had been ticking. Every time we greeted each other, said goodbye, kissed. Had her patience been running out then too? 

Even I knew we weren’t fine. Fuck. I should have said something. Maybe I didn’t tell her how much she means to me often enough. Probably not. Of course, she cracked for the holidays. But did she really have to be so cruel?

I glance up from the couch, feeling the vibrations of a phone call. Damnit, I was hoping to avoid talking to anyone for the whole night. Should have figured, they are probably missing me. I sigh looking at the contact. Hoba hyung, a facetime. Not even just a voice call. Internally I groan looking myself in the reflection on my screen and making sure I don’t look like the shit I feel like. 

After a deep breath, I answer the call. “Heyyy hyung…” I try and push away everything that has happened. If I tell him he’ll just be worried for no reason. 

“Taeee, Happy New Year.” I smile lightly looking at him. He looks tired cause he probably stayed up all night. 

I grin, trying to hide away the frown that was stuck on my face. “Hobaa why are you awake so early?” He raises an eyebrow and just shakes his head. 

“Just am I guess, and knew you’d be awake so I wanted to call you. How’s the holiday with the missus?”

It’s awful. I said something inconsiderate and ruined the whole thing. We were drinking and I took her defensiveness as an attack on me. Maybe it was maybe it wasn’t. Doesn’t matter. We broke up and she said she doesn’t want to spend another year of her life with me. Now I’m sad and alone on New Years’ Eve. Probably won’t even watch the ball drop. Soak up my misery. I still have that bottle of wine I bought. 

At least that’s what I wanted to tell him. And I will. Eventually. Just not today. 

“She’s with the fam they are cooking in the kitchen.” I grin and he seems satisfied with that. Hobi is always fooled by my lies. Part of me wished that Jimin or Yoongi had called. They’d be able to call out my bullshit…

“Well, I shouldn’t bother you then you better go help…” 

“Yeah… well, how was your night last night?” I say, trying to get him to stay on the call a little longer. Damn, I wish I could go home. 

“You know… the usual. Jin passed out right after midnight. Me too.” He giggles. “But the others I guess you could say partied. Not really but we had fun.” I smile at this. Wish I had been there with them. 

“Wish I had been there.” I sigh, but smile softly to him, hoping to not reveal how I really feel. 

“No, you don’t silly. Go have fun!” He winks to me, “You’ll see us in a couple days anyway.” 

“You’re right.” I nod not feeling like telling him I’ll actually be on my way back tomorrow. It stays silent for a moment as he smiles up to me. 

“Stay safe and tell Mara I say hi!” He waves and I only nod. 

“Bye.”

“Bye.” He says and hangs up. Well… I look at the clock seeing it’s only been about ten minutes since I last checked the time. It’s gonna be a long night. 

~

My palms press into my skull. Trying to nullify the ache resonating in the back of my head. Oh shit. I groan, shielding my eyes as I tentatively open them. Trying to bring myself to life I lick my lips, the taste of that wine leftover on my breath. I cringe, taking a deep breath. Did I really end up drinking last night? I thought that wasn’t the plan. I lift my head from my pillow seeing the bottle resting on the counter. Still full. I swear I could remember at least drinking at least a glass though. Except now I no longer taste the wine on my tongue. As if it had never been there in the first place. 

I exhale and plop my head back down. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Fuck. 

Again I lift my head up, searching for my phone on it’s charger. What time is it? Oh God what if I slept too late and missed my alarm. 

2:34 pm. Fuck.

I pull up my ticket on my phone. 4:30 pm. Could I make it in time? Might as well try… I read over the confirmation email. 

Thank you for your purchase… Your flight is for 1/1/2021 4:30 pm.

I toss myself from the bed, heading to my suitcase. Should I change? Do I have time? At least I should brush my teeth. I flick through the email, feeling like I’m forgetting something as I shuffle to the bathroom. 

Sent at 2:00 pm. 

I squint my eyes at this. Specifically remembering that I got this email yesterday and not today. Maybe it’s like a reminder. I shrug and wet my toothbrush.

An alarm sounds from my phone as I set it down making me jump. I scrunch up my face remembering I had a headache, but it’s not really bothering me anymore.

 I look at the alarm… a reminder I set for myself. But it was supposed to go off yesterday. It did go off yesterday. 

Reminder: flight tomorrow leave by 1:30.

I shake my head, lifting my head to the mirror. I look like shit, but I have this whole week let's be honest. Setting my toothbrush down I pull up my calendar. Did I get it wrong or something? No, my flight confirmation definitely says the first. 

I glance at the little red dot on the calendar indicating the date. 12/31/2020. Pressing my lips into each other, I raise an eyebrow staring at the screen for a minute. It has to be wrong. I almost laugh to myself. Am I crazy? 

I check the time again on my phone. 2:40 Thursday, December 31. 

Have I completely mixed up the dates? I could swear that yesterday was New Years Eve. I push my hair back, looking back into the mirror. Though I didn’t watch the ball drop so maybe I was just mistaken. 

Just to be sure, I look up the airport’s number, and give them a call. There’s no chance I’m missing the flight. After a confusing phone call they confirm my suspicions. My flight isn’t until tomorrow. Feeling very confused I finish brushing my teeth and start running the shower. How could I have mistaken yesterday for New Years Eve? I guess it happens. But I so clearly remember the date. Hoseok even called me wishing for me to have a good night. Had I imagined that as well?

After being refreshed from the heat of the shower I check my phone’s history. No call from Hoseok, which means I must have been in a daze of grief. Still, It doesn’t feel right. The call is so fresh in my mind.

I look to the clock after cleaning up my room. It was a mess. I hadn’t picked anything up and would have had to pack last minute in the morning if I left it that way. Despite wishing I was on that plane back to Seoul right now. I feel much better than I did yesterday. I should stay productive, keep my mind off things. 

Time has gone by particularly slow today. Even after cleaning up myself and packing for tomorrow. I’ve been avoiding my feelings all day. I resorted to playing on Weverse and messing with Duolingo. Despite wanting to write, I knew that I would just dig myself into a hole. 

Maybe this time around I’ll call Hoseok. I don’t want to wake him up though. It’s still early and I know he’ll want to sleep in after the late night last night. 

‘You awake?’ I text the group chat. Maybe Jin or I don’t know, anyone to save me from my thoughts will answer. Though, maybe it’s a good idea to talk about it with one of them. Maybe they could tell me what to do. Ugh, it’s so confusing. Even though Mara said she never wants to see me again I doubt that she really meant that. Right? I certainly don’t want that to be the last time we ever see one another. I swallow. She was so angry. So upset. Her hands shook as the tears streamed down her face, and she sniffed trying to hold back the storm behind her eyes. And I just stood there. Like a jackass. A deer in headlights. Didn’t cry. I couldn’t, I didn’t want to react, cause I thought she was overreacting. She shouldn’t have cared so much about what I said. It wasn’t meant to make her so upset. 

My face finds the palms of my hands. I’m so dumb. What the fuck possessed me to be such an asshole? All she wanted was for me to care and I didn’t. But I do. I really do. My cheeks form a blush as my face heats from the tears. I press into my temples willing myself not to cry. Stupid.

Feeling the buzzing of my phone, I look down. It’s Hoseok, and I huff before answering.

“Hey Tae bear!” He greets happily in my ear. I try to smile but I just want to be with him and not on this dumb call. Instead of being alone I wish I was home. 

My eyes start to water and a horrible feeling starts crawling up my throat. I know that if I try to speak I’ll just… 

“Are you there?” 

I swallow, trying to push back this feeling. But I can’t, It’s pushing back. Tears prick at my eyes, and I just want Hoseok to be here to hold me. Despite trying so hard to hold the tears in, the feeling overwhelms me and washes over me. I heave out a hard sob. Revealing a feeling I had been holding back all day. My breaths are fast and choppy as the tears roll, and I cling to the phone curling my knees into my abdomen. 

“Tae… Are you okay?” He sounds worried. I try to slow my breaths and answer him but I can’t. It just. I squeeze my fists. I hate this feeling. 

The stream of tears doesn’t stop as I hug myself closer. “Sorry…” I barely hiccup out.

“Taehyung are you okay? Are you hurt? What’s happening?” I shake my head, pressing my eyes into my knees. The tears soak at my pants and I take a deep breath, sighing out slowly to try and relax. 

“I’m sorry Hobi…” I sniffed, should have figured that would have happened. Wiping away at my face with my shirt sleeves, I start to explain. “Mara and I... it’s over.” I bite my cheek to hold my composure.

“Tae what happened?” he asks, sounding confused. Great, I shake my head. I just want to be with him. I don’t want to have to deal with this phone call. “I told her she doesn’t do enough.” I deadpan, taking in my own words myself. “I said that.” My heart twists, causing more tears to wring out from my eyes. Knowing now how it made her feel. Coming from the mouth from someone she loves. I meant it lightheartedly, but that’s no excuse now. I know her better than that. She does more than enough. God I hope she knows that. I hope that’s why she screamed at me. “What do you mean?” He practically shouts, but I can tell he’s trying to remain calm. “What happened? That doesn’t make any sense. When?”

I sigh, “Like a week ago…”

He interrupts before I can continue, “Where are you? Why didn’t you call?”

“I’m fine, I’m at a hotel and I’m flying back tomorrow.” 

He sighs, “What happened? You guys…”

“It was dumb. I said something dumb.” I groan, pushing my hair out of my face. “It just spiraled after that cause we were drinking and I thought she was overreacting cause I didn’t mean what I said.” Hobi listens as I go on, “ I could tell that it upset her but I didn’t care, cause I didn’t mean it like that. I should have immediately apologized. No. I shouldn’t have said it at all.”

“Why don’t you call her and tell her this?” 

I shake my head knowing he can’t see me. “She said she doesn’t want to be with me another year of her life.” It takes a lot to swallow that down. I really toppled the jenga tower. Instead of fixing the problem all I did was be inconsiderate and ruin everything. I’d like to blame the alcohol but it’s far too late for that. Not that she would believe me but truly it was a joke. My shoulders fall, a misunderstanding that I was too petty to reverse. 

“Oh.” He says plainly, leaving both of us in silence. Damn. Now I feel like shit. I should have waited to tell him. Now he’s just gonna worry too much. I could have waited to tell him.

“Sorry, I’m fine really I’ll be coming home tomorrow. I just want to be with you guys again.”

Hoseok sighs, “Tae don’t say you’re fine if you’re not... It’s okay, you’ve been with Mara over two years. You’re definitely not going to be fine.” A hot tear runs down my cheek, and I can tell my face is swollen. “Why don’t you stay on the phone with me and later all of the guys and us will be there for the ball drop.”

“No, no…”  I mutter, knowing that they’ll all just worry their heads off. “I’ll wait to talk to the others when I get home. I think I just want to sleep early and get this day over with.” What a hell of a way to start the year, I sigh. 

“Do you want to stay on the call?” He asks, and I really contemplate this one for a while. 

My breathing is shaky as I agree, “Just till I fall asleep, thanks hyung.” 

~

I slowly open my eyes, crusty, and still swollen from last night. The hotel room is lit up around the curtains. My alarm didn’t go off again? My hand wanders to the nightstand to pick up my phone. 

3:00 pm. My eyes widen and my heart jumps up with me in bed. Are you fucking kidding me? How in the hell did I sleep that long? Oh, God. There’s literally no way I’d make the flight. Why didn’t my alarms work? I stare at the time, wishing it would magically change to a couple hours earlier. How is it already the afternoon? Was I really that tired? 

Not even bothering to stand I press my cheek into my palm. What the fuck? My teeth grind together. Why? After all of this shit. Why now? Can’t I just have one God damn easy day? 

Is it possible to cancel my flight ticket this late? I should at least try. Maybe there will be some open tickets on a later flight. Though I highly doubt it as it’s New Year’s day and everyone is going home. God, I’ll be lucky to find a flight this week at all, I barely found this one. 

On my lap my phone pings. I look down expecting maybe Hoseok. 

Mara… Can I call you?

Immediately my stomach begins to spin. What could she have to say to me? I try to relax as I stare at the text. She’s already said the worst so it can’t be anything bad? Even if she tried apologizing I just... I fucked up. Would she forgive me?

After a moment I text her back, now anxiously awaiting her call. I hope she wants to talk it over. I hope that I can apologize. I hope she didn’t mean what she said. The phone rings, but I give it a moment before I answer. Stupid. I don’t want to seem desperate, but I am. 

“Hey this is so out of nowhere but what day is it?” She says, sounding completely normal. Like we had just been talking not that long ago. Like we had spent Christmas and this entire week together. What day is it? That’s what she's calling for?

I stifle a sigh, glancing at my phone’s calendar, “What do you mean? It’s the fi…” The phone says the same thing it did yesterday. 12/31/20. “No way…”

She gives an exhausted laugh. “I am going crazy over here… I’ve celebrated New Years’ twice, and this morning my dad asks if I’m ready for 2021. Please tell me I’m crazy.”

“Uh that's strange,” I scratch my head. Holy shit does that mean the other day I hadn’t been imagining it? That I really had already been through the 31st. Today is the third New Years’ Eve. “I… I don’t know what to say other…”

“Damn. I’m sorry Tae. I shouldn’t have called. This was dumb and I sound so stupid. I’m sorry I should leave you be…” I shake my head as if she could see, “hey, wait, wait, wait. You didn’t let me finish. Genuinely the same thing has happened to me but I thought I was just mistaken because I went to sleep early.” 

She huffs, laughing out of relief, “Ha, I thought I was still drunk from the night before…”

“Sooo, what does this even mean?” I ask knowing she doesn’t know the answer.

“Well, my parents don’t seem to notice so I don’t really know.” 

“Hoseok is the same way…” I add, wondering if he’ll call me again today. Shit does this mean I still have a flight tomorrow? If tomorrow ever comes. What the fuck.

“Sorry again, I don’t really know why I called you…” I frown at her words, “I… I guess you’re the only other person I could really ask.” Nothing makes any sense, and my head starts to pound from my thoughts jumbling in my head. 

“It’s okay, I… don’t mind.” I cringe, unsure of what else to say. She doesn’t respond right away, probably thinking the same thing. It’s a heavy moment. There’s so much to say but neither of us are speaking. Even though she isn’t saying anything I can only imagine how she looks. She’s probably curled up on the couch in her pj’s, probably making the same face I am. Just sad. Which is dumb, if we’re both sad then obviously the argument shouldn’t have happened. 

“Well, if this happens again I guess we are just fucked.” She kind of laughs, making me smile, but my face drops again as she continues, “I’ll leave you be then… Happy New Year’s Tae.”

“Mara…” The buzz of the phone line lets me know she hasn’t hung up. I close my eyes, trying to formulate my thoughts before I open my mouth. “I’m sorry.” I shake my head, feeling stupid, “You are more than enough, I…” My words get caught in my throat and I can’t finish my sentence. 

“Me too.” She mutters. 

I sniff, “Can we talk… like in person.” “I’ll try and tell my parents that talking to you is more important than the ball dropping.” She sighs, and regret washes over me. Her parents probably hate me. They had been in the house during the argument. My eyes fall to the floor. I really just fucked it up. “Where even are you?” 

“Oh, this Hilton near a movie theater I think.” 

“I shouldn’t have sent you out. I’m really sorry Tae, it’s probably not safe for you to just be in a hotel.” 

I almost laugh, at least I know she’s worried about me. “I’m a grown man…”

“Tch I know it’s just… I shouldn’t have let you leave in a city you’ve never been okay.” After another moment, “Well I’ll come later. Just text me your room number yeah?”

I hum in answer and she hangs up. That went a lot better than I expected it to go. 

~

As I step towards the door, I swipe my hands down my pant legs, hoping my hands aren’t sweaty, and hoping I don’t look nervous myself. God that shouldn’t even matter. Clearing my mind, I pull open the door to see Mara standing there awkwardly, with her hands folded together. 

“Hey.” I mumble, leaning against the wall to make room for her in the tight entrance, gesturing for her to come in. Her eyes are shielded by her hair as she walks past me, but she wasn’t looking up at me anyway. After closing the door behind us we silently walk over to the couch, each taking a seat. In my lap my hands fumble with each other, and I bite down my lip. I guess it’s a bit more awkward trying to find the right words in person. 

I nod a couple times, managing to psych myself up to start the conversation. “I… I’m really sorry Mara.” The words come out breathy as it finally feels right to say them to her. 

She lifts her pointed chin to me with a small smile, shaking her head. “I accept your apology, and I’m sorry I took it too seriously.” Her body turns towards mine as she continues, “I’m not even sure why it really got me that mad because it was a dumb joke and it just hurt my feelings.” 

“That's all that really matters, I hurt your feelings and that's a good enough reason to apologize.” I finally make eye contact, feeling comfortable talking to her again. Those eyes are just the same as they’ve always been. She’s not cruel. She has a kind heart and her eyes show that. Why am I acting a fool?

“If anyone should apologize…” She sighs looking around the room, “It’s me.” I look down at my hands still thinking. “God.” She sniffs, and I immediately bring my face up to see her crying. “That's such an awful thing to say.” She chokes out, hands covering her face. My mouth drops and I do what I would normally, scooch closer to her and wrap my arm around her. Her head continues to shake in disappointment with herself.

“Listen it’s…”

“No!” She pushes me away, looking at me, her eyes reddening already. “It’s not okay.” Her eyes squeeze shut, tears rolling down her cheek. Even if she did say it, my heart still pangs looking at her like this. “I… I didn’t mean it.” She shakes her head, frantically wiping at her face. “I can’t even believe that those words came out of my mouth.” Her face becomes hidden as she buries it away in her hands. 

I turn my head away from her, unsure of what to say. It’s not like I can say I knew she didn’t mean it, because that would be a lie. I still feel like deep down she feels like her life would be easier without me. And honestly it probably would. 

“Maybe you’re right though.” I whisper, surprised that the words came out of my mouth. I certainly didn’t mean them to, but they did. They just slipped, like the tears I hadn’t noticed forming in my eyes. I roll my eyes, wiping them away. No use in feeling pitiful. What was I to expect with this lifestyle? Maybe I’m just meant to be alone during this time. 

“No… no.” She sniffles, realizing that her words had taken hold. “Oh Tae,” She sobbed, pushing herself into my chest. “I need you in my life. I can’t express how much you mean to me. I really didn’t mean it. I can’t even believe I said that.” Her tears soak through the fabric and I barely hug her back. Even if she wants me back in her life there has to be some backing behind her words. Moments of unhappiness.

“Tae listen to me.” Her fingers grasp at my collar, bringing my attention to her. Her brows were furrowed in anger as she pressed her fists into my chest. “I love you. There’s no one like you. I…”

My eyes roll away from her, doubtful. The tears flowed smoothly now, there was no stopping them. I press my fingers into my eyes, trying to see through the tears. It just doesn’t make any sense why she would say that and not mean it. “T… there has to be a reason.” I hiccup, attempting to push her away from me. “There has to be a reason you said it.” I blubber, hiding my face in my shirt sleeve. Wishing I could stop crying. Wishing I believed her. 

I feel her wrapping herself around me, and taking my hands away from my face. Weakly I let them drop to my sides. Letting my lashes stick together by keeping my eyes closed. 

“Kim Taehyung.” Her breath is hot on my face, as her soft fingers trace under my eyes. “There’s no reason.” She sniffs, “I love you.” She leans into me, our foreheads touching. “Please don’t keep what I said in your heart.”

 My head slides away from her, resting on her collarbone, and taking heavy breaths. How can it not linger? This feeling. 

“Please forgive me Tae.” She hugs me closer. Of course I can do that. That isn’t the problem. “I want to go into this year with you… I want to spend all the years of my life with you.” She rambles on, “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” I can’t respond, and so she continues, “please we can fix this…” 

I sigh, collecting myself, and taking a deep breath against her skin. “Yeah.” It’s all I can muster, still not sure how I feel. It’s not like I don’t want to be with her, it’s just… Does she really want to be with me? I couldn’t live with the fact that she didn’t want to continue this but did anyway. I’m not even sure how I could forget this. I don’t want it to stay on my mind but I don’t think I’ll be able to help it. Though as we sit here, I’m just grateful to be in her arms. 

~

“Hey” I open sticky eyes, to the someone poking my cheek softly. Mara’s swollen but soft eyes are looking into mine, us still glued to each other on the couch. We must have fallen asleep, I blink a few times, stretching my arm out from under her. She has a small smile, one that makes me melt. Speaking softly she pulls her phone around to me. “Look.” With squinted eyes from the bright screen I see that it's 11:58 pm. She sets the phone down, leaning on her hand, “We didn’t miss the ball drop. Do you maybe want to watch it?” 

I smile whispering, “I thought you didn’t want to watch it a third time.” 

She sits up shrugging, “it’s different this time.” Her eyes find mine, and then she immediately looks away, “Though I doubt this tv gets the right channels.” I shuffle up in my seat as she gets up, rolling her head over her shoulders. 

After my mind has adjusted to being awake I stand, following her as she flips the tv on, scanning through the channels, though the time has already turned to 11:59. There's some news channels but they aren't showing the countdown. 

“Dangit we are gonna miss it.” She whines, but only looking half upset. 

I huff at her pout, quickly pulling up the ball drop on youtube. “See it’s that easy.”  25. 24. 

Her teeth show in a smile as she curls around me, watching the ball fall on the tiny little screen. 19. 18. “Can we kiss?” She kinda laughs at herself after asking, her eyes falling to the floor. Though I’m shocked she asked. 

“Yeah… of course.” She still seems hesitant, until I set the phone down on the bed, turning my attention completely to her. 10. 9.

She attempts to look in my eyes, but her’s just drag down to my chest once more. “I love you Tae.” 8. 7. My hand finds her chin, pulling it up slightly so our eyes do meet. And the blush forming on her cheeks makes me blush in return. Reminding me of the first time we kissed. 6. 5. I push my forehead onto hers, rubbing circles on her temples. 4. 3. 

“I love you too.” 2. 1. And I pull her face into mine, our lips softly clashing. Making me miss her more, and never want to let go. But I do. Breathing softly onto each other’s faces, breaking into smiles. 

She looks down to my phone with a grin, pulling it up to my face. “Look! It’s 2021!” 

[just-a-demi-bean]

Adventures in Korea

So my grandparents save a lot of things. There’s two bookshelves full of boxes in the bedroom that my sister and I share. My mother asked me to go through it.

Here’s a bit of background: my father is Japanese and my mother is Korean. And my grandparents hated my father from the very start. He was an Japanese-American, who didn’t speak a lick of Korean. And the only thing they wanted from my mother was for her to marry a Korean boy and become my grandfather’s secretary.

My mother was rather rebellious. She took off the to US for university and grad school, leaving them in Korea. Rather than work for my grandfather, she got her own PhD. And she met my father, and they despised him. They pulled my mother out of school and brought her back to Korea.

My dad has plenty of stories from this time. How the two worked out a system—my mother would call him collect, and he’d reject the call, and then call her back, so it wouldn’t show up on her phone bill. He’d write her letters using the address of one of her friends. Eventually, she convinced my grandparents that she should finish her education in the US, and they sent her back to live in a tiny apartment in Philadelphia. My dad rented the apartment under hers.

It took them a very long time to approve of him. He took a trip to Korea and visited them, just to tell them how much he loved her. And finally, they got married, three years later.

Back to the bookshelves. There were some interesting things! So many photos. Photos of my grandparents, my mother, my uncle, me, my sister, my cousins. Random trinkets, antiques. Two Walkmans and boxes of tapes. Scrapbooks with old stamps. Tickets to movies, plays (after some hunting, my dad found two stapled Northwestern Basketball tickets from the 90s). Manuals, maps, books.

My grandmother had five boxes stuffed full of letters. One was full of thing from their wedding—invitations, rehearsal dinner invites, photos. Another had holiday cards, thank-you cards, birthday cards (my mother wrote in one of them “P.S. Come visit us in Philadelphia! Don’t just go to random churches with strangers”). Another had photos and postcards of when my grandparents were younger, traveling the world together. Another box was full of postcards from my uncle when he was traveling—complaining about the weather, talking about the things he’d seen—from London, Paris, Japan.

And the last one was full of handwritten letters.

Some of them were pages long, with painstakingly handwritten Hangul. Some were short. Some of them were unopened. All were from my parents.

My dad wrote several of them. He told them that they’d probably never approve of him, but he loved my mother too much to let her go. After all they’d been through together, wouldn’t it be useless to give her up now? Page after page of crinkled paper of my father talking about my mother. I don’t think my mother even laid her eyes on those letters.

My mother wrote more. She talked about wedding plans. She talked about how she missed them. She talked about Philadelphia, and then when they moved to New York, she talked about the city. She talked about my sister. She talked about me. She talked about her brother.

And yet she’d talk about my father for page after page. What he made for dinner. What they did last week. What they were doing this week. Their plans for the weekend.

“I was thinking you a lot, the past week,” she told them. “I had a cold (don’t worry, I’m fine) and stayed home yesterday. I miss you both.”

I’m starting to wonder if they ever wrote back.

[jeongyunhoed]

(a little festive something something from the superpowers au - you can check out Past-Present-Future if you want!)

Group: ATEEZ Pairing: Yunho/OC

Things: Christmas! a tiny suggestion of s--, a tiny mention of death, proposals, mostly fluff!

A/N:  I needed to get out of a writing funk, and here it is. This is only slightly edited so it’s not the best of works but hey here it is again. 

Tagging @closer-stars and @barsformars 

“What do you do on Christmas?” 

The question made Lee Mirae look up from her desk. She was in the back room, typing furiously on her laptop for a paper she needed to submit for the post-graduate studies she was taking. “Me? Not much, really. I mean, I put up some decorations here but nothing more than that, I guess,” She shrugged. 

“Really? What about at home?” Her half-brother Choi San pulled up the chair in front of her and sat down. “You don’t do anything at home?” 

“Not really,” She shook her head. “Well, Jihoon puts up some Christmas lights and we get each other presents and eat takeout from restaurants we haven’t tried yet, but that was about it.” 

San looked at her like she said something absurd. “Really? All these years since the sanitarium and you’ve never had the whole Christmas thing?” 

“Well at the time Miran and Changseok were busy with the store, and Jihoon was always tired from school, we just never really bothered to go all out,” Mirae said. “Do you still manage to do all of that at this time?” 

“Of course!” San pointed out. “It’s Christmas! Wherever I was staying, if I was staying for the holiday, I’d hang up lights and make sure there’s a tree and if I can’t do those things, I’d go out to where people are celebrating!” 

“Really? Even with what you used to do?” Mirae raised a brow at him. San nodded. 

“I guess you’re in luck now because I just bought a lot more Christmas lights to put up at home,” San said as-a-matter-of-factly. “Once you’re done with that, we’re going to look for a tree and then we’ll go buy decorations and stockings for the tree. I won’t take no for an answer, this is our first Christmas together, our first Christmas together again,” His expression softened at the realization he pointed out. 

“I can’t even remember what our Christmases used to be like with mom and dad anymore,” Mirae said. “I can’t even remember what they look like,” She wrinkled her nose. 

“Well, you don’t need to think about that anymore because I’m here, and we’ve got each other,” San nodded. “So? We need to go now before the place that sells the Christmas trees closes down for the day,” He looked up at the clock. 

“Alright, alright,” Mirae looked amused at his enthusiasm, closing her laptop and placing it in her bag. “What about Yunho?” She asked. 

“I told him about this before I went here, so he’s already going around buying other things we need, like food and wine,” San was beaming as he gently tugged on her arm to pull her out of the chair. 

“Good thing I already got presents for all of you before you’ll drag me out of here,” Mirae got up, slinging her bag on her shoulder. 

“I know, I saw the pile in your room and brought it out to the living room where the tree’s going to be, let’s go!” San said, leading her out of the back room and out of the store to the car before she could react. 

~ 

“How did you two even manage to get everything together while I was at the store?” Mirae looked astounded at the sight of the large Christmas tree and the boxes of ornaments that they bought the night before. Yunho was humming cheerfully while he helped hang the lights all around the apartment. 

“I mean you were preoccupied at the store,” San looked over at her while he was hanging up the Christmas stockings on the wall behind the television. She noticed there were three stockings: one for her, one for San, and one for Yunho. 

“It took a while for me to get back here last night, I had to talk to the people at the store that sells wine about the best one they had but they wouldn’t sell it to me,” Yunho glanced at the bottle in the ice bucket. 

“Good thing I was there to convince them, wasn’t I? Had it not been for me, you would’ve been stuck with cat piss and I refuse to indulge my palate with that,” Yeosang suddenly appeared from the doorway bringing piles of stylishly decorated presents, including a stocking that had his initials embroidered in gold thread on top of the pile. 

Mirae looked even more surprised at the sight of him. “You celebrate this too? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised,” She asked him. 

“I’m immortal, not Scrooge, my dear,” Yeosang glanced at her while hanging up his stocking next to the three others. “Everyone, literally everyone, celebrates this holiday in some form or another. It would be the first time I’m spending it with people in what seems like decades.” 

“That, or you didn’t have anywhere else to go,” San teased. 

“That would be too honest of me, wouldn’t it?” Yeosang shot back. 

“Okay,” She said in defeat, smiling in amusement at the sight of the three men trying to decorate the apartment. “While the three of you decorate my house, I will try and bake Christmas cookies if we even have ingredients,” Mirae went into the kitchen, taking out her phone to look for a recipe. She opened the cupboards then glanced back at the three men. “...San?” 

“Yeah” He replied with a cheeky grin already knowing what she meant, nearly falling off the stepladder. 

“Well, now I’m really convinced you planned ahead so I wouldn’t say anything,” Mirae said, getting to work on the dough. “Can the three of you at least make the icing later while this is all baking?” She asked. 

“Your wish is our command, babe,” Yunho replied and she blushed at the sudden pet name. “I even got cookie cutters so you don’t need to worry about that.” 

“Okay, but when the cookies are cooling, if any of you touch those before we decorate no wine for you,” She teased, carefully measuring the ingredients that she needed on the kitchen counter. As Mirae got to work, she observed them decorating the entire apartment, still so amused at the three of them working together. 

It wasn’t that she hated the holiday but rather, she found herself forgetting about it more often that she’d only remember it was Christmas on the day itself with the constant greetings. She knew Hyuk would be spending it with his colleagues at his company, and Chanyeol had his family to celebrate it with. It would be the first time that the three of them would’ve had to spend the holiday separately, and it would be another year that she spent Christmas without Jihoon, not that she wanted to dwell on that fact but it was going to be. It dawned on Mirae that their little world, that used to be just the three of them, five if she counted Junhong and Ino, was now a little bigger and a little better. San was with her now, Yunho was back with her, and Yeosang also joined them even if he couldn’t admit out loud that he liked to be around them. 

The ordeal months ago seemed like it happened years prior, it was now a distant memory to her and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Those thoughts kept Mirae company as she kneaded the dough, watching the three men in front of her try and sort out decorations. San and Yeosang were already bickering at the placement of presents under the tree - the former opting for his presents to be the most noticeable while the latter argued that his presents for all of them looked significantly better as evidenced by the branded ribbons that tied each box. It was surprising enough that Yeosang would get them presents, at least to her anyway. 

Eventually rolling out the dough cut up into different shapes, she didn’t notice that Yunho was watching her the whole time while he hung up the ornaments on the tree. It was going to be their first Christmas together again after so long. He could hardly remember what the holiday was like back at the Sanitarium they were interned in, just a vague memory of nurses probably handing out Christmas cards. 

Yunho knew Yeosang was right, in that people celebrated the holiday in some form or another. Traveling back to Korea, he saw people would sometimes have a quiet meal, some would sing in their homes, and some didn’t celebrate it at all but were given food and presents from people who did. It seemed like one of the few times of the year where people were genuinely nice to each other. He had a lot of stories to tell about the journey he made since waking up as an immortal, and he felt like he hadn’t told Mirae half of it yet. Those stories of his could take up years, and it made him realize that Mirae was the reason he kept going, the reason why he was so determined to come back to Korea. All this time, it was her. 

Mirae looked up, seemingly having heard what he was thinking. “Don’t distract me, Yunho,” She teased, rolling out the dough again to cut more cookies. “I’m going to need all of you to make the icing because these are going to bake.” 

“Great, in time for the party later,” San said, making her shoot him a look. “...Didn’t I tell you? We’re celebrating it like a party.” 

“You did not, San!” Mirae said with an exasperated sigh, while her brother gave her a sheepish grin in response. “I’ve been ambushed, that’s what this is.” 

“It’s a time of new traditions, isn’t it?” Yeosang quipped. 

“Perhaps,” She nodded. “Well, in the case of new traditions, who’s getting the food?” 

“I believe, my dear, it would be my pleasure,” Yeosang nodded. “I’ve already called for special orders to arrive here, in,” He paused hanging up ornaments to look at his watch. “Three hours. That leaves time for each of us to dress up appropriately.”

“Seems like you went all out this year,” Yunho pointed out. 

“It’s just as special a holiday for me as it is for Mirae, I plan on making the most of it,” Yeosang replied. 

“Wow, all three of you left me without anything much to do, huh? You usually get me ordering the food or cooking,” She eyed the three of them. “In that case, I will make the icing myself, the three of you can go on with the decorating and the food. The three of you, yes even you Yeosang, are being very fishy.” 

“What could be so suspicious about decorating and getting in the holiday spirit?” San argued, raising a brow at her. “Well, you work harder than any of us, I thought I’d give you a break from the work, is that so bad?” He added with a slight pout that made her wrinkle her nose. 

Mirae noticed the satisfied grin on her brother’s face as she cleaned up the counter. Even though she was able to read Yunho’s mind, she opted not to. After placing the cookies in the oven, she went over to help San and Yunho with the decorations. “I think I made enough that I can give some to Ino and Junhong. Did you invite them?” She asked them. 

“Yes I did, they’ll be coming around the same time the food will arrive,” San nodded, chuckling at the question. “I have a question, why are there more guy mutants than there are girls? Almost every mutant I met is a guy.”

“From what Junhong told me, the males usually carry and pass on the mutant gene, so it shouldn’t be surprising that there are more guys than girls that are mutants,” Mirae recalled. “I wasn’t the only girl in the Center back in the days, just so you all know. There were three of us.” 

“What happened to the other two?” Yeosang asked. 

“I...I don’t know,” Mirae shook her head. “The last time we saw each other was during the Seoul attack. They could be hiding, away, or probably six feet under by now. It’s been years. We naturally stuck together because of all the guys, but obviously we all kind of had a falling out when the attacks started. It was a bad time for all of us,” She recalled, handing Yunho a candy cane ornament for him to hang on the top parts of the tree. 

“Things really haven’t been the same since that day, huh?” Yunho paused at the realization. “But it’s for the best, isn’t it? Had those things not have happened, San wouldn’t be here with you, Yeosang would definitely not be here, and I probably would’ve found you again but you probably were still at the Center.” 

“Probably, yeah,” Mirae nodded. She smiled and handed him another ornament. “Well, there’s no use dwelling on that now, it’s been years. Like Yeosang said, it’s a time of new traditions, and I’ll save whatever else I want to tell you all later at dinner.” 

“It’s snowing,” Yeosang suddenly spoke, looking out the window. The three of them stopped to look out as well. 

~ 

As San had announced, the party had begun when Ino and Junhong arrived. They were all clad in their suits and Mirae wore the dress she was wearing during their Sky Sushi visit. If this was going to be what they plan on doing every Christmas from now on, she wouldn’t mind. It now gave her a reason to look forward to more holidays, seeing the smiles and laughter from almost all the men in her life surrounding her over food and drinks at the table. 

“I believe,” Yeosang tapped his champagne flute with the dessert spoon. “Our dear Mirae has something to say? Didn’t you say you wanted to tell us something?” He asked. 

“Oh, right, I do,” Mirae nodded, unsure of whether or not she should stand up for it but she did so anyway. “Well, I’m not one for speeches but, I’ve often forgotten about this kind of celebration and Yeosang just so happened to tell me earlier that it’s time for new traditions when San ambushed me into getting in the holiday mood,” She glanced at him, and he was beaming. “But from what happened the past several months, from the Kang mob, finding Yunho again, getting through all of that? I couldn’t have asked for better friends, for better people to be around than all of you. I mean, Ino oppa’s been there for me for a long time, Junhong too, both of you believe in me too much-” 

“I’m never wrong about that though,” Ino grinned knowingly, making them laugh. 

“Yeosang believes in me in a very violent way, I guess, if he’s been egging me on to show my powers,” Mirae pointed out with a laugh. 

“I’m not wrong about that either, my dear,” Yeosang replied. 

“So do San and Yunho. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve people like you in my life, but all I want to say is that I feel incredibly lucky to have you all as friends, as people I can rely on, no matter what,” She smiled. “Cheers!” 

“Cheers!” They clinked their glasses. 

Mirae was about to sit back down until Yunho placed his hand on hers to stop her. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something, let’s go downstairs,” He said, his voice low. 

“Sure,” She put down her glass and they excused themselves. Yunho led her to the shadowy part of the hall leading to her bedroom and without letting go of her hand, they teleported into his apartment, and Mirae noticed that it was just as decorated for Christmas as her apartment. The only thing that was missing was the stockings and she figured it was because Yunho’s Christmas stocking was already hung with hers and San’s. 

“Wait here, I need to clean up something in my room first,” Yunho said upon leading her into the living space. He padded off towards his room and Mirae looked around. 

“I don’t think they’d appreciate us sneaking away to do something other than talk, you know,” She teased, looking at the ornaments on the tree. 

“We can always do that later when they’re gone” Yunho called out from his room and she laughed, shaking her head. 

Mirae noticed the snowglobe on the table by the tree and picked it up, shaking it to see the sparkles and bits of glitter shower over the model of a town covered in snow. “Yunho?-” She turned around and stopped, her eyes widening. 

Yunho was on one knee and he was holding up a robin’s egg blue velvet box that had a dainty diamond ring inside. 

“I know, it’s sudden isn’t it?” He said, gazing into her eyes. “I don’t know if what I’m doing makes sense either, but I know we make sense. There’s a reason why I was able to come back here, to you, and it is you. All this time it’s been you,” He took her hand, still looking hopeful. “You’ve kept me going all those years we were apart, and all those years I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else. You’re all I see, and all I look for. It’s the reason why when I turned out to be immortal, I could only remember you, your face, your name, just you. You’re all I want and I know you feel the same way,” He noticed her eyes welling with tears. 

“...Really?” Mirae managed to speak, trying to process what was happening. 

“Yes. I know what you’re thinking and maybe it is still too soon, but we don’t need to rush into it if we don’t want to make it official yet,” Yunho replied without missing a beat. His eyes were welling with tears as well. “We can be on a prolonged engagement, I don’t really mind, I just know I want it to be with you,” He squeezed her hand. “Lee Mirae, will you marry me?” 

“Yes,” She replied right away, a tear falling down the side of her face as he slipped the ring on her finger. “Yes, I will.” 

Yunho felt his heart leap at her words and at the sight of the ring on her finger. He got back up and took her into his arms in an embrace. Tears were also falling down the sides of his face as he held her close. While the world didn’t make sense, they did. 

[princessjungeun]

Christmas Time: Momo x Reader

Request: Momo and you reuniting after breaking up for years. It's christmas and you spent your time together because no one else was available and you fall in love again.

The cold December air hit your skin sending chills down your spine. You just got home from being in Korea. It was December 24th and you had absolutely no plans for Christmas. On top of this your parents and younger sister were on a vacation visiting your grandparents in Okinawa. But unfortunately their flight got cancelled last minute, and they wouldn’t be coming home until the 27th. Which meant you were going to be spending the holidays alone in Kyoto.

You’ve never spent a holiday alone and it was worse because your parents just moved here a year ago. You were born and raised in Okinawa with your parents and grandparents. Your little sister was born once you were in University. But, when your dad was offered a better job here in Kyoto, your parents didn’t hesitate. After all you were a university student in Korea, it wasn’t like you’d have to move schools and leave all of your friends.

As you walked through the streets of Kyoto you remembered how just two years ago you spent the holidays at your girlfriend, now ex girlfriend’s place. She lived very close to where you were. You remembered the way you two would make Christmas cookies together, sing Christmas songs as loud as you could at 2 am, and how you’d watch Christmas movies in pajamas with her dogs curled up to the two of you. You felt your heart sink a little as you remembered how much you used to love the holidays, but now they weren’t as nice.

You and Momo were together for three years until she broke up with you. With time her schedules became more and more busy giving her less time to see you. As things happened she felt like she fell out of love with you. She didn’t want to drag along a relationship where she felt like she didn’t love you anymore. She thought it would be selfish. She knew that if there was nothing there to just let go.

So she did.

Since then you’ve been on a few dates here and there but none of them even got past the second date. Momo had been on a few dates with two idols you happened to know, they were friends of yours too. Not close enough for the girl code rule to apply but they were definitely close enough for you to be slightly hurt when you found out.

You walked mindlessly through the streets trying to familiarize yourself with the city. As you walked you saw a dog strolling along beside you, it was a cute little brown one. You tried your best to pay no mind to it but the second the dog started sniffing your feet and jumping to be pet you gave in. Crouching down you petted the little dog and scratched behind its ears. He licked your hands and made those cute happy dog noises.

You looked at the Monsters Inc dog collar around his neck. Reading the name plate your heart stopped:

Hirai Boo

You told yourself “ok maybe it’s not the same Boo that Momo adopted a few weeks before you two broke up. Also Hirai is a slightly common last name...ish.” Slowly you flipped over the name plate hoping and praying Momo’s phone number wasn’t printed on the back. Sure enough. It was.

You immediately stood up and looked around in a circle. Behind you a few feet away stood your ex girlfriend. You both stood looking at each other for a minute before actually saying something.

“I-I’m sorry he ran away before I clipped on his leash.” She responded as she reached down and picked up her puppy. You replied “it’s fine. He was no trouble...still as cute as the day you got him.” She laughed and kissed her dog’s head.

“Why’re you here? Like in Kyoto?” She asked curiously. You responded “my uh... my parents live here now. My dad got offered a really good job a few months ago” She hesitated for a second then asked “what are you doing for Christmas?” You replied “probably sleeping all day. My parents are with my grandparents in Okinawa and their flight got cancelled. So they’re coming home a few days after Christmas...how about you?”

She stated “my parents are in Hawaii with my sister. Originally the group wasn’t getting a break due to promotions but things changed I guess. So it’s just me and Boo this year.” You nodded and found it funny how you both were alone on Christmas.

You shifted your weight back and forth before asking “since you’re gonna be alone...and i’m gonna be alone...do you maybe wanna-” She cut you off “I’d love to” You told her “I’ll come over later tonight.” She responded “deal. But in your pajamas.” You gave her a thumbs up before turning around and walking back home.

You got home and showered before choosing your red Christmas onesie your little sister got you last year. Heading out the door, you walked letting your mind lead the way. After a few blocks you ended up at Momo’s house. She opened the door in her pajamas and looked you up in down, your onesie that matched your little sisters.

Out of nowhere she asked “So have you seen anyone?” You responded “here and there but they never went anywhere. And you?” She nodded and said “yeah but both times we decided it was too weird and to just be friends. Those both ended after a few dates too..”

An awkward silence fell between the two of you before you asked “do you remember when we made Christmas cookies and had a holiday movie marathon?” She nodded and laughed at the memory of you spilling sprinkles all over the countertops and floor as she tried to hold back Boo from licking them up. She asked “Wanna do it again?” You immediately nodded and you both ran to the kitchen.

Momo in the kitchen was definitely a hit or miss. In this case it was a miss. She was possibly the worst baker you’d ever met. The ingredients almost always landed on the floor or in her mouth instead of the mixing bowl. But eventually you were able to somehow make enough cookie dough to make two dozen cookies.

As they baked Momo decided to grab her old karaoke machine before loudly singing her rendition of My Heart Will Go On. The two of you couldn’t take each other seriously whatsoever.

When the cookies were done she pulled them out of the oven, almost burning her hand off in the process. When it came to decorating Momo took it very seriously. You watched as she focused intently on perfectly icing the small snowflake cookie. Watching her you couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked. Even with a messy ponytail and flour smeared on her cheeks, she was still as beautiful as the day you last saw her.

She caught you staring at her “What?” You shook your head “nothing...just looking at the huge splotch of flour on your face.” She shoved you playfully and went back to decorating her cookies. You ended up decorating all of them the same because you liked everything to be coordinated. Momo’s however were an array of different colors. You could barely see the cookie underneath all the sprinkles and icing but that’s just how she likes it.

She turned to you “are you up for a little competition?” You raised an eyebrow and she responded “let’s have my fans judge who’s cookie is better.” You nodded and said “and what does the loser do? She responded “sing a song... For real this time.” You remembered how much Momo loved hearing your singing voice when you two were together.

Momo knew immediately her fans would know which cookie was hers, was she setting you up? Yes. But would it pay of later? Possibly. She took a picture of her favorite and your favorite cookie before adding a poll. She posted the picture and said “Ok and now we wait!”

In the mean time you two both cleaned up the kitchen and your faces. It took an hour to clean everything but eventually it got done. She stated “Ok let’s look, I think mine won.”

You knew she was probably right. Everything Momo did was praised by not only her fans but also her members. She could literally clap to the beat of a song and everyone will treat her like she just put all the stars in the sky. But it was cute, especially when you all saw how happy she’d get.

Sure enough Momo’s cookie was the one that won the poll. You begged the older girl “please don’t judge me, you know I can’t sing like you.” She responded “you’ll do fine.”

She handed you the microphone and you watched as the lyrics came into the screen. As you sang the lyrics she felt her heart sink a tiny bit. You didn’t want to sing because you didn’t like your voice. But she won fair and square.

I won't tell you I'm lonely

'Cause it might be selfish

I won't ask you to hold me

'Cause that won't mend what's helpless

There's not a thing I could say

Not a song I could sing

For your mind to change

Nothing can fill up the space

Won't ask you to stay

But let me ask you one thing

Oh, when did you fall out of love?

Out of love

Oh, when did you fall out of love with me?

I can't float in an ocean

That's already been drained

I won't cry at your feet now

I know my tears will fall in vain

There's not a thing I could say

Not a song I could sing

For your mind to change

Nothing can fill up the space

Won't ask you to stay

But let me ask you one thing

Oh, when did you fall out of love?

Out of love

Oh, when did you fall out of love with me?

No use wondering

While your change in heart has wandered

So I ask you this question

'Cause it might help me sleep longer

Oh, when did you fall out of love?

Out of love

Oh, when did you run out of love for me?

Out of love

Out of love

Out of love with me

When you finished singing you turned around to her and tears were welling up in her eyes. You stood in front of her and asked “when?” She opened her arms and you sat in her lap. She tried her best to hold in her tears “When I broke up with you I thought I didn’t love you. But then I realized I made a mistake. I tried to move on but I couldn’t love anyone like I loved you...I-I still love you Y/N.”

You looked at her and held her face in your hands. She let her tears flow down her cheeks internally hoping you felt the same way.

You wiped her tears and said “I still love you.” Pulling her close you kissed her softly. When you both pulled away you hugged her close allowing her to release the second wave of tears. You kissed her head and whispered “Merry Christmas Momo.”

[youarejesting]

BTS Seoul mates: Ribbon Couple

[MASTERLIST]

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Summary: Jungkook hated leaving Korea, it made the strings pull taut on his finger, and he always feared it would snap. You had set out on a journey not wanting to sit still but follow the yarn where ever it would lead. 

Jungkook had been to many countries. He stopped counting after 13. And no matter how hard he looked the only red string he ever saw was his own steadily stretching out from his wedding ring finger. It captivated his attention whenever he had a free moment. The only magic he had ever personally experienced was this shape shifting thread.

It would stretch when he would travel. And he would find himself entangled in it when he woke. It never retracted unless he retraced his steps otherwise it would continue growing. At every new city and town they visited as a band he searched for some trace that his soul mate had been there.

His biggest fear was one day running out of thread. That he would be on the stage and wouldn’t be able to move tangled up and the pull would become too much and it would snap leaving him alone in the middle of the stage, in the middle of his life. He was part of a group online of people with the same soulmate link, he remembered watching a video series of a girl traveling to find her soulmate.

She had been traveling since she was ten years old with her very supportive family. He had witnessed her laugh, cry and overcome so many things. He reached out and the two of you had become friends he even gave you tips on all the places you were visiting. Happy he could make your journey exciting and proud with his knowledge having been to ever place you visited. But while he traveled creating length to his fate cord, you traveled minimizing yours and it made him a little jealous.

He stepped onto the stage and sang Euphoria holding out his hand, imagining another hand wrapped in ribbons of red interlocking with his. The concert ended and he tried to relax watching your latest video. The last he had seen you had broken down on camera because your soulmate had traveled back to America and then London and then to Japan. You were exhausted heading to Saudi Arabia the last he heard and he gave a good recommendation on some food and places to visit.

He saw you smiling as you introduced the video and you began talking about taking a break from searching and having fun instead. “Hi guys, originally we were supposed to be staying the extra week tracking the thread in Saudi Arabia but instead we are boarding a plane to Seoul to see the final Speak yourself concert. My good friend Jeon Jungkook has helped me so much, leaving me supportive messages and well I want to support him. But also we know that Korea, is a frequently visited place for my soul mate and I have a theory they are from Korea and with Christmas coming up, I might be able to catch them when they are home for the holidays.”

Jungkook kept watching until he got a call, he answered curiously, seeing your smiling face, “Kookie, the wire got shorter, I know I am getting close” You cheered he smiled and congratulated you wishing you good luck whilst his thumb ran along the red twine. “Are you free? I know today was your last concert?”

“Uh yeah free until the twenty third when I have to go to japan for a fan meet” he smiled, fiddling with the red string pooled around the ground. “I saw your newest video that you were heading to our concert, did you make it?”

“uh yeah I am uh outside. Would it be too much of a hassle to see you? Or should I wait for another day?” Jungkook sat up his heart racing, he was going to meet his long-time friend and he was nervous. He told you to wait by a security guard and you did and a radio came through and the two guards looked at you and reported back one of them telling you in broken English that he would escort you to Jungkook.

Jungkook put his phone down, trying to flatten his messy hair and clean up his after concert sweaty make up mess. There was a knock and Namjoon opened the door nodding to the guard you walked in but you were filming staring at the ground the thread in your hands gently pulling it as you walked forward. Jungkook watched you frozen as he saw the entirety of the string between you both. He watched your small hands wrapped in the crimson twine and your hand slid up the rope your hand bumping into his as your head hit his chest. Jungkook wrapped his hand around yours and it felt better than any day dream the warmth that flooded his body. Shakily you looked up, and let out a choked sob and he pulled you too his chest, “We are soul mates” he grinned down at you.

You sobs grew as you slammed tiny fists against his chest. “You jerk, I traveled across the world to find you and you couldn’t just stay in one place.” There was a series of broken words that Jungkook suspected even you didn’t know what you were saying as you fell still against him your shoulders shaking a lot less. You sniffed and recoiled. “JK you smell like wet socks”

[tipsydipsydo]

Pairing: Namjoon x Reader 

Gender of the reader: gender neutral

Word Count: 3.3k

Genre: pure Fluff, a tiny bit of Angst

AU: Exchange Student AU, Roommate AU, Roommate-to-Lovers AU

Warnings: Nothing too bad, but mentions of homesickness

A/N: Hello again!! After having been nonexistent for almost a month, I'm back here with a little sweet fanfic, perfect for Christmas! Unfortunately only without any Christmas feeling! I wanted to write this story for a great friend a long time ago, but school always thwarted my plans. That's why nothing came from me for so long, but perfect for Christmas I managed to get a small present ready for my dear friend and for you guys!

Merry Christmas!🎅🦌

Summary: You finally managed to spend your two semesters abroad studying in Korea! However, after some unfortunate circumstances, you want nothing more than to finally be able to fly home again. But your roommate Namjoon has some ideas to make your year abroad still wonderful...

「© tipsydipsydo」

This following story is my intellectual property and belongs only to my blog tipsydipsydo.tumblr.com!

I’ll not accept any kind of reposting, stealing or using/editing my work!

That includes reposting my content on other social media platforms too, even when you link me as the original author.

Thank you.

A shaky sigh escapes your mouth before you quickly press your lips together and press your face into the soft fur of your fluffy teddy bear, which your best friend gave you as a goodbye gift. Fortunately, this stuffed animal catches your sobs and tears, so that just only quiet and muffled noises can be heard. Your body is shaking again and again by crying and you've pulled your knees up to your chest.

At some point you no longer have the strength to keep yourself upright and let yourself plop to the side onto your mattress. You involuntarily made yourself small, as if you were a helpless baby. And that's how you feel at that moment to be honest.

You had been looking forward to your year abroad in Korea so badly in the last few months, you were accepted directly at a university in the capital Seoul for the two semesters of your studies abroad in an other country and after a long, painful search full of despair you finally had found an affordable room in a shared apartment with a young Korean man.

And now? Now that one of your life dreams has finally come true, after a few holidays in this beautiful country, to be able to live in Korea for a longer time, you want nothing more than to finally fly home in eleven months. You're homesick. You feel nothing than unbearable homesickness.

Homesickness had never been a problem for you before, rather it was wanderlust that made you crazy when you were stuck in your hometown for years and couldn't get away. During your school days you also spent a year abroad to perfect your knowledge of your second foreign language. Of course, you also had days when you longed for home, your family and friends. However, it was only a few days ... not whole weeks. You have been in Seoul for a month and there have only been a few moments when you felt not lonely and alone.

In your year abroad, you also had a host family, a highschool with a teacher for exchange students and took care of all their questions and needs. And your host family gave you a room that was discreetly furnished just for you! It's precisely in these moments that you remember the pastel green wall color of your room at that time. You just had to personalize your room a little bit, fill it with your own elements of your personal life!

You open one of your tear-glued eyes and look at the bare white wall that is opposite your bed. It's one of the three other, also white walls. Surrounded by white, lifeless walls. They make yourself feel so inconspicuous and small.

Most likely, the circumstances of how you had to shape this new phase of your studies and ultimately of your whole life make you so unhappy. You had to move to an other city for your university after finishing highschool. From your hometown to the city where your university is located. But that wasn't so tragic back then, it was far too exciting to finally move out of your parents' house and be allowed to live of your own. And everything you couldn't take with you could stay in your old room in your parents' home. But not this time.

This time you had to sell or donate most of your furniture, books, decorations, and even your clothes, since you weren't allowed to take more than two suitcases to Korea. And your parents live too far away to bring all things to them and store them there. Most of your friends are still students too and either live in a shared apartment with other students or have their own apartment but this is mostly so small that they barely have enough space for their own stuff.

So for better or worse, you had to give away almost everything that you brought back from home two years ago or that you bought yourself over the past two years. Even a large part of your merch collection from your favorite K-Pop band, so that you can take the most important gifts from friends with you.

This process had been more painful than you could ever have imagined. In short, you had to try to stuff your previous life into two suitcases and a small backpack. You have nothing more than this.

And unlike in your year abroad, you're no longer just a sixteen year old teen who has to be taken by the hand and everything has to be done for them. You're a grown up adult now and you are old enough to find your way in a foreign country on your own. Usually you are very positive and confident, not often something quickly upset you. But so many sudden changes in such a short time leaves you unsettled and with a feeling of helplessness.

The last few days in your old apartment, which was almost completely empty at that time, together with all the farewell parties with your friends leaves you depressed and melancholic. It felt like you had given up yourself and given away your entire life. Left behind with no more than two suitcases and a backpack. You felt in a strange way... homeless.

When your current roommate Namjoon received you a month ago and showed you to your room, your heart sank. A bare, sterile room with four white walls was in front of you, with a small white desk and a metal, also white bed frame with a mattress. This room reminded you of a hospital, a prison cell, a patient room of a sanatorium from a horror film. So lifeless. So cold. You got goosebumps when Namjoon left you alone in this room, your room for the next twelve months.

You don't want to feel that way. You want to enjoy your time in Korea to the fullest, live your dream and not just let this unique opportunity pass away. But every time you go to your room and are greeted by four sterile white walls, you feel like a prisoner in his cell. Like a prisoner in your own dream.

Since you'll only be living here for one year, you will try to avoid unnecessary things as much as possible. You neither have an excessive amount of money for it, nor space in your suitcase to just take everything with you. You don't want to end up throwing away your entire life again, which is why you try to be as minimalistic as possible. So that means continuing to perch in your little private prison and staring holes in these damn white walls.

A little knock on your door wakes you up from your pessimistic trance. A light blond thatch slides between the door and his frame and the owner of the blonde hair smiles brightly at you.

"Hey Y/N! I was going to order dinner from the delivery restaurant, so I was going to ask if you want somethin-"

"Wait, are you okay? You look so sad and your eyes-"

Immediately you rub your eyes vigorously, although you don't know with what goal exactly you do this, because your tears have already dried and your eyes would only swell more and become even redder.

"No no, everything is okay! Don't worry," you stutter in Korean, which you speak fluently, but with a very noticeable accent. However, Namjoon doesn't really buy your half-hearted answer, still has a worried frown between his eyebrows.

Namjoon is the best roommate you could imagine as a helpless exchange student. In your first week in Seoul he guided you through the campus of the university, showing you when, how and where you register for important seminars and deadlines, where you can find the lecture halls for your lectures. He took an incredible amount of time for you and your questions, is very patient with you and encourages you to speak Korean again and again if you automatically switch to English if you are unsure.

But that doesn't necessarily make it better, since he's also fluent in English and has almost no accent. And then he studies law, has an IQ of 148 and also scored 900 in TOEIC ... while he was in middle school! By the time you got all of this information from his friends (according to Namjoon, they were just terribly curious about you and wanted to know what kind of roommate their best friend would have for the next year ...) you were a little intimidated by this genius, You felt even more stupid with every mistake that came across your lips.

But relatively quickly, to your own relief, you discovered that your Einstein-Roommate also has his weaknesses. You shouldn't leave him on the stove unobserved, but it's the best to lock the whole kitchen with childproof locks. Therefore, he has developed into a "hunter-gatherer" Perfectionist of take-out restaurants in order to survive his studies.

While his friends, who are more talented in cooking, had strongly advised against conjuring up a welcome menu for you, Joonie can also be very stubborn. On the day of your arrival, an unbearable beep from the smoke alarm penetrated the eardrum of your ears and let you run like crazy into the kitchen, where your roommate stood with an embarrassed smile on his lips and held a charred frying pan in his hands, but with a half burned but also half-raw piece of meat in it. So far you didn't even know that something like this is physically ... chemically ... biologically ... whatever you want to call this phenomen... was even possible.

Unfortunately, after only one month with Namjoon as a roommate, you're already very familiar with the smoke detector beep sound. To your horror, you had to find out that even his fried eggs are a complete fail. And he almost made the rice cooker explode. Therefore, you have decided to be the one who defaces the kitchen, but this still takes place within a reasonable framework.

His friend Jin showed you the functions of all the kitchen appliances, where Namjoon was leaning against the door frame all the time with a pouting face. Apparently frustrated not being able to show you all of this himself.

All of this only made him more lovable and it is becoming increasingly difficult for you to interpret nothing more than a normal, friendly relationship in his nice gestures.

Just like now that he has sat down on your bed next to you and is watching you carefully.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, or the reason is too private ... I just want you to know that I'm here if you need me. I know we haven't known each other for a long time, but when I was abroad for a year because of my studies I know how hard it is when family and friends are so far away when you need them the most ... "

Nothing stops you and you only feel the tears running down your cheeks and you start to sob. Namjoon's eyes widen in shock and before he realizes it, he has already put his arm around your shoulder and is stroking your back, trying to calm you down somehow. He grabs a tissue from your nightstand and hands it to you, apologizing to you again and again that he shouldn't say that and in no possible way he wanted to make you cry.

After you calmed down a little bit and your tears gradually dried up, you shook your head vehemently and stuttered: "N-No, no! It's not your fault, Namjoon! I-It's just that... that I feel a little bit like I don't have a home anymore. "

Now the blonde directs all his attention to your next words and you start to tell him everything about how it came the point that you developed this questionable feeling. He listens to you very carefully, tries to understand every feeling that you convey to him through your facial expressions.

"Ah okay ... now I understand a lot, Y/N. I was wondering why your room still looks so sterile and empty after a month without any personal elements. But I didn't want to talk to you about it, maybe it’s just your personal style. ...Well. Apparently not.", he mumbles and rubs his neck.

You sigh and look at your phone, which is next to you on the bed, and take it in your hand. "When I imagine that most of my whole life is in here... contact information about my friends, my family, the last pictures of my best friends and me that we took together... I think that's kind of...extreme? Just in this little thing." Namjoon nods his head slightly and looks thoughtfully at your phone and then at his watch.

"... it's too late for today."

"What did you say, Namjoon?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday, we would have the whole day for it! Y/N you don't have any specific appointment tomorrow, do you?"

"N-No, but why do you-"

"Perfect!"

"Namjoon, it's Saturday ... Saturdays are there to sleep in. Why did you call me in the kitchen for breakfast at seven o'clock?!", you grumble and try to warm your cold hands with your cup of coffee. But Namjoon doesn't seem to be listening to you properly, he's staring too excitedly at his iPad and scrolling through some sites and making questionable notes on his "top secret" spiral-bounded notepad until he asks you out of the blue for your favorite color.

"Purple... and red. But why all this?"

"We're going to the hardware store together and you choose a wall paint! Then we clear the few things from your room into my room or put them into the hallway and paint your room! Then it doesn't look so sterile anymore!", says Namjoon and smiles at you with great satisfaction of his idea, so that the dimples in his cheeks are only more noticeable.

You almost choke on your coffee and look at it as if he went completely crazy.

"Namjoon, I don't have money to paint my walls and anyway, the rental agreement says that the walls must remain white and no new nails can be hammered into the wall!"

"So if you take the contract very seriously, the walls just have to be white again when you move out. So what you do with them between moving-in and moving-out is up to you.", retort Namjoon and grins at you.

"Joon, but that was interpreted quite freely by you, you have to admit it! In addition, you are the one here who studies law and is responsible for ensuring that the rights and laws of the individual are granted!"

"Oh, don't be like that, Y/N. There are always legal grey areas and free judicial spaces!", he chuckles and winks at you, which makes your heart jump.

"Okay, okay. You won ...", you admit and sigh.

"Don't worry about the money, I'll pay for you. I don't want you to remember your year abroad in Korea as a nightmare!"

"But you can't do that-"

"No buts! Please accept it as a gift from me. Okay? Please!"

He throws his irresistible look at you, which makes your eyes roll and finally leaves you beaten.

You were so punctual at the hardware store that you even stood in front of closed doors for ten minutes before you could storm the painting department. It was just nine a.m. when you were already pushing the furniture out of the way and spent the next four hours trying to get most of the paint on two of your walls, and not just spreading it all over each other!

You haven't laughed that much in a long time and overall, you haven't been so happy and optimistic in ages. It's really a blessing to have a person like Namjoon around. He's always up for a joke and still be able to talk to him about every kind of deep and philosophical topic.

You can hardly believe it, but now, at this moment, Namjoon seems to make you feel "home", in that way you've missed so much.

You quickly shake your head, try to get rid of this thought. Fortunately, Namjoon immediately pulls you out of your wild dreams and initiates you into the next part of his secret plan.

"Yesterday you said that almost your whole life has been in this smartphone... what's about to try to bring this memory alive and decorate your room with it! I know a small shop with a cool photo booth where you can take your photos print out in polaroid format! ... and then we stretch a clothesline from here...", Namjoon runs his finger from one nail across the room to another nail "...to there and hanging all your pictures of your friends and family on it. What do you say? Do you like the idea?"

He still asks you if you like the idea? And whether you like the idea, you love it! Before you can control your emotions, you jump around his neck and trying with all your strength to suppress your tears.

"Thanks Namjoon. I don't know how to thank you for all of this here." When you notice that you are clinging to him like a coala, you quickly let go and stumble back, you're too embarrassed to look at him.

"Sorry ... I didn't want to... sometimes I do strange things when I'm happy ..." you murmur and quickly turn away from him, pretending that the empty paint buckets suddenly become terribly interesting.

That's why you can't see his smile full of affection.

It is already late evening when you start putting your things back in your room. However, you don't push your bed and other larger furniture directly onto the wall yet, so that the wall paint can dry completely overnight. With an exhausted sigh, you put down the last box in your room before you and Namjoon can look at your complete masterpiece.

He was right. What only two colored walls, a clothesline with photos and a world map (which you will only be able to put on the wall tomorrow ... because of the wall color) could change. Your room has become so much more cozy and private for you. It's finally your room and not just any prison cell anymore!

"Y/N ... I have something else for you. Just wait a moment!"

You look after him puzzled as he disappears into his room and comes back with a large, flat, rectangular box.

"Something else for your wall ... I hope you'll like it ...", he says quietly and looks nervously at the large box. You excitedly fumble with the opening before you can open it finally and pull out a huge, oversized poster. Of your favorite k-pop band. To be more precise, of your ultimate bias. A poster from a limited edition that has been sold out for a long time.

You don't know what to say. Your cheeks turn red with excitement, but also with a bit of embarrassment, you didn't want to give the impression of a crazy K-Pop Fan.

"...T-Thanks! B-But how did you know that I-"

"... when we were printing photos together today, I looked over your shoulder and saw different folders from the band in your gallery and there was a heart behind "XY", so I thought it could be your bias ... ", he says and grins at you like a little school boy being caught by doing something forbidden.

"You are pretty good at speculating the right things..." you murmur with a little smile, confirming his guess.

He nods, still smiling, but seems to think about something else.

"Do you think I have any chance next to them? So... that you maybe would go out with me...for a coffee or so? Even if I don't look like your bias in any way and in general, if you would date anyone here because you're only had one a year here in Korea and because of the risks of a long-distance relationship and- "

"I think ... I would try it, Namjoon. Risks are everywhere. And ... I would like to try it with you," you whisper and give him a shy smile.

[Links]

My Imagines 

My Masterlist

[agustdef]

Annoying Family| Christmas Oneshot

Pairing: Namjoon x OC 

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 4,404

Warning: None.

Prompt: “So, still no boyfriend this year, huh?” // “Still no job, huh?” 

Author’s Note: This is my second and last Christmas prompt. It’s a tiny bit more festive but not much more than the other. 

“Are you happy? Can I go inside now?” Lane asked.

With a shaky hand, she tapped the icon on the screen so her front camera was in use again so Namjoon was looking at her. He wore a stupid grin and shook his head no.

“And why not?”

“You only let me see it for a few seconds. Let me look at it longer. It’s beautiful the way your mom decorated and all the snow makes it better,” he said as he pouted.

“Yeah. The snow that is making my feet cold because I’m standing in it. The snow that is being maintained because it’s cold outside, which is making the rest of me cold.”

Rolling her eyes, she stood there for a moment, watching him try to intensify his pout in order to sway her. Those damn dimples almost had her, but in the end, she stormed back towards the house and walked inside, slamming the door behind her.

“Lane…”

“Lane my ass. It’s cold. And you act like you won’t see this entire set up when you get here in a few hours.”

“But it’ll be dark by then.”

“Do you plan to come for the evening and leave tomorrow morning or something? Have you suddenly decided not to be here for almost two weeks?”

Lane was having a hard time humoring him anymore as she kicked off the slippers she’d been wearing and searched for another pair. The clear irritation on her features wasn’t much of a deterrent for Namjoon though. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could or she could cut him off another voice rang out and caught their attention.

“Lane!” her mother shouted.

Without a word just Lane just walked towards the sound of her voice, finding her and a few aunts moving about the kitchen getting stuff done.

“Yes?” Lane asked.

“Call your brother and make sure he brings home enough pet milk for the banana pudding. And also make sure they’re on their way back and not making sixteen other stops. I need it now,” she said, all while never turning away from stirring something in a pot.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Just as Lane was about to tell Namjoon she’d call him back he shouted, “Hi mama!”

That got her mother’s attention. She turned her head to the side and motioned Lane forward so she could see the phone. Lane moved closer and held the phone out, avoiding the steam since the thing was half dead and if a hint of water got into the port, she wouldn’t be able to charge it for hours.

“Hi, baby. Are you almost here?” she asked.

Namjoon smiled and nodded. “Yes, I just have this last flight out of Chicago. They said we’re boarding early.”

Lane scoffed. “Only you would have the luck of a flight boarding early with snow in the near forecast.” 

That made both of them glare at her, but she merely shrugged and shifted her attention to her aunt working on the dressing. She was stirring the mixture before pouring it into the pan and it made Lane’s stomach stir in wanting and disdain. It was her least favorite food for the holidays and they’d made a big batch. Her mother would probably try to coerce her to eat at least one serving of it, even if it was just a forkful.

“Okay, make sure you message La before you land so we can send someone to go and get you. No reason to pay all that money a taxi or Lyft will charge you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Namjoon said.

A tap on the shoulder brought Lane’s full attention back to the two of them. Her mother was focused on the pot again but glanced up for a moment.

“Lane go get ready and call your brother, please. We’ll need your help in here in a minute and you won’t have time to change later.”

Nodding Lane made her escape upstairs to her old bedroom to get ready. She’d kind of forgotten about Namjoon being on the phone and tossed it on the bed as she slipped out of her gray tracksuit onesie. It wasn’t until she was leaning over it, breasts practically spilling out of her bra that she remembered. 

Or was reminded.

“I was going to complain about being forgotten, but this makes up for it,” Namjoon said. 

Lane rolled her eyes and picked up the phone, the shirt she was reaching for momentarily forgotten. 

“Never mind. I don’t want you to come here for Christmas. Go back to Korea, I’ll see you in two weeks.”

He tried to stifle his laugh, but no matter how much she frowned and looked ready to throw a tantrum his lips quirked up. 

“You really going to make me spend Christmas Eve in this airport and then Christmas on a plane back home? With your present in hand?” he asked.

She almost said yes. But he’d take her up on that bluff and she would never deny that she missed the dork and didn’t want to wait another two weeks to see him again.

Lane sighed. “No.”

“Exactly, so…” Before he could finish his sentence, a voice sounded on his end and though Lane couldn’t hear it clearly, she saw people moving, which meant it was time to board.

“Okay, I have to go.”

“That’s fine, I needed to get ready and call Jacob anyway. Do not want my mom killing either of us. But make sure you to text me like twenty minutes out.”

Namjoon was distracted grabbing his carry-on stuff that she thought she’d need to repeat herself until he’d had his ticket scan and he was walking towards the plane. His attention moved back to her.

“Okay, I will. I love you. Later.”

“I love you too.”

And with that she hung up the phone, rushing to slip her shirt over her head and slip on her pants as well. She managed to call her brother and get her hair out of the twists she’d put them in the night before. Having wanted to braid it but decided that it would be too much work. 

Cutting her hair a few weeks before meant that she had to blow dryer or flat iron her hair straight so it was long enough for some styles and she wasn’t in the mood for all that. It could live its life in a curly-coily fro atop her head until she felt like doing something more with it or it grew out long enough. 

Once finished she got downstairs and was thrown into one task after the other. She helped in the kitchen to finish up or start some of the dishes. Somehow when her brother arrived, she was roped into helping with the Christmas lights on the tree since the others blew the night before, but he’d neglected to tell her he hadn’t bought new ones. Instead, she spent forever on the floor detangling the ones that he brought.

When that was finally done, she’d ended up back in the kitchen and helping remove things from the oven to switch them out with other stuff. By that time, it was too many people in there, others arriving and trying to talk, sneak something, or help where it wasn’t needed.

It’s how she ended up releasing a loud, but short scream and nearly dropping the macaroni and cheese she was trying to put into the oven. Her cousin was trying to sneak by to grab something she was told to let be and was bumped by another cousin trying to help with something and her arm hit the stove door.

“For the last time: everyone get out!” her aunt yelled.

With that they all scattered and if they didn’t move fast enough, they were practically shoved out. The remaining people converged on her and got her away from the stove and towards the sink. It wasn’t until her wrist was tightly wrapped in gauze that the pain moved to a dull ache.

“Go sit down and don’t let anyone tell you to do anything or help them with anything. Also, tell Miss Kendall if she want to be in here so damn bad touching stuff, she can come help us cook then,” Lane’s great aunt, May, said.

She nodded and headed out, only needing to make eye contact with Kendall for her to know what to do. This wasn’t the first time she’d been caught doing something and was forced into helping with the cooking - and it was never the fun or easy part of the cooking either.

Lane just kept going though, finding an empty couch and plopping down. She wasn’t alone for long though, because soon her nephew was beside her and other cousins and aunts were sitting nearby.

“Why was Ken so mopey going into the kitchen?” Marie - her aunt, who was younger than her, asked.

Lane and her cousin Xavier spoke at the same time.

“She bumped me and I burned my arm.”

“The uncles got ahold of her boyfriend and are holding him hostage to scare the shit out of him in the den.”

His comment had everyone whipping their heads to stare at him, eyes wide in shock. Even Lane didn’t think her burn was as bad as what they’d heard.

That poor man was in danger. They were assholes and would poke and poke all they wanted until they got the result they wanted. But she didn’t want that thought to dampen everyone’s moods.

“I’m sure he’s fine.”

“He’s the one who broke up with her because he let his friends tell him that he needed to branch out before he could truly say he was in love with her,” Marie said while stifling a giggle.

Lane grimaced but tried to rein in her expression. “I’m sure, they won’t… murder him or make him cry.”

They all just stayed there for a moment, mulling over her words and trying to figure out what to say next. Lane was feeling bad for the girl and didn’t know what exactly to do.

“Fu…” Marie started, but then realized Lane’s nephew was sitting there. “Skip it, I’m going to go save him.”

She strutted off with that and Lane was sure she’d get him out of there. Despite being the youngest they all listened to her because she was, in fact, an aunt and the sibling to two of them. Plus, she was mean as hell when she needed to be.

In her absence Lane planned to continue the conversation, but then her phone buzzed aggressively in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw something coming through via Messenger.

Joon: Landing in 20

Joon: Might be slightly sooner

Joon: Getting mixed messages from pilot

Joon: Either way, there in 20

Lane had already started glancing around for her brother and after a few seconds made eye contact with him. All she had to do was raise her phone and he was moving towards the door.

“Where is dad going?” her nephew, Alexander, asked.

“Joon texted me,” she said.

“I’m going with him!”

And with that Alexander shot off the couch and headed towards the door. Shouting for his dad to wait for him as he headed out of the door.

Marie returned by the time they’d left and she had a man with her, who looked only a little bit scared. She directed him to the kitchen where Kendall was and then plopped down where Alexander had been sitting before.

Lane:  Jacob and Alex are on the way

Marie was leaning over as she typed and she had to push her head away until she pressed send and put the phone back into her pocket. Turning her head, she stared at Marie.

“Can I help you?” Lane asked.

“Is that him?” Marie whispered.

“Yup.”

“He’s coming now?”

“Yup.”

Then Marie swatted her arm. “Girl you better give me more than a yup.”

“What more do you… Oh my goodness you have got to be fucking kidding me?” Lane was prepared to keep messing with her, but then the front door opened and in strolled her cousin Shaun.

He was wearing that cocky smirk and had some girl attached to his arm. She seemed nice from first glance, but the fact that she was with the little shit made Lane very weary of that.

“I thought he wasn’t coming,” Marie said.

“I almost prayed so he wouldn’t come,” Lane muttered.

Xavier, who’d gotten distracted in a different conversation leaned over. “He said he wasn’t coming and then last minute changed his mind. We all hoped he’d just go off to Greece or wherever the hell he said he was going.”

Lane felt her mood drop so much. Shaun was annoying as hell; he had been his entire life and it only got worse as he aged. And when he’d gotten a job that allowed for travel that just completed his transformation. Lane was the kind of person that traveled and encouraged her family to do the same but didn’t use it as some sort of thing that made her better. Shaun however, enjoyed being the bougie person who held all his travels in high regard. The little shit saw himself as elite and at one point regarded Lane as the same. Until he realized she was exploring the world like him, but not treating that ability as something that made her superior.

For four years she’d had to deal with his bullshit and when he locked eyes with her after hugging his mother, she knew he’d continue it. 

And without missing a beat, he made his way over towards their little collective and smiled down at her. 

“Hey everyone,” he said.

Xavier, his brother, got up to hug him and everyone else just muttered soft hellos. No one really liked dealing with him, but not speaking meant that he’d get extra annoying and no one wanted that either. 

“And this is my girlfriend, Kiara.”

Another round of hellos went out, though they were much nicer and enthusiastic than the other ones. They didn’t know her, so there was no need to be jerks towards her. That was reserved for Shaun until she did something to set someone off.

And then his attention was on Lane. “I’m so glad that we could be here at the same time La. We’ve missed each other for like three years on Christmas.”

“Sure,” Lane said.

Shaun sighed, still staring down at Lane; but the smile was gone and replaced by a fake ass look of concern that she could spot a mile away. 

“Did you…”

Before he could finish Lane’s name was called from the kitchen and she happily excused herself. When she entered, she was asked to handle the banana pudding because she was one of the few who knew how to do it right. So, she washed her hands and got to work laying down the layers of cookies and bananas in the pans. Once finished she poured over the cooled - but still hot as hell - pudding mixture over top each of them. She only poured a little at a time so not to accidentally overfill anything. 

By the time she was done and shooed back out of the kitchen, people had dispersed and she found her former spot empty. She plopped down onto the couch and was joined by her niece, who’d disappeared the moment she entered the house hours before.

“Can you play this round for me? I can’t get passed it,” Alexis asked.

Lane looked toward her and noticed that she was playing Luigi’s Mansion 3 aka the early Christmas present that she’d slipped her when she’d arrived home for the holidays a week before.

“I can try,” she said.

Taking the system in her hands she focused on the screen, trying to remember how to get through that part of the game. She had it for her own Switch, but it had been a few weeks since she’d had it right in front of her.

Several attempts later and they’d cleared that part of the game and Alexis took over again, though she remained where she was. So, Lane watched on as she continued through the game. 

It was nice and peaceful until Shaun showed up again with his girlfriend still clinging to him and looking nervous. Lane tried to ignore him, but he just kept standing there and being weird. Which was also something she could ignore, but then he spoke.

“Did you come by yourself this year too?” he asked.

Lane just rolled her eyes and continued focusing on the game. The creepy music that started as something lurked pulled her in and she was almost completely unaware of him, but he just kept talking. 

“So, yes?” 

“Why would you assume that?” Lane asked without looking at him.

“You look so lonely over here. Sitting with a kid instead of talking to the adults,” he said.

That made her look up to see his stupid, smug face and his girlfriend’s obvious discomfort.

“So, spending time with my niece and playing a game with her, screams lonely to you? Maybe if you spent time with yours, you’d see it’s anything but that.”

Shaun scoffed. “I’m busy and can’t see her often. That doesn’t mean I don’t spend time with her. And even so, that doesn’t mean I’d abandon Kiara to do it. So, you have to have come alone.”

Lane opened her mouth to respond but thought better of it and refocused on Alexis and her game. She’d made some major progress while Lane’s attention was elsewhere. 

Again, she’d hoped that it was the end of their conversation, but Shaun just stood there and said nothing. Minutes went by and it just grew more uncomfortable and Lane was ready to snap.

Then Shaun sighed, though it was more like a sound of pity than anything else. Who he was pitying she was unsure, because he surely couldn’t have deluded himself into thinking she needed pity, let alone his pity.

“So, still no boyfriend this year, huh?” he asked.

“Still no job, huh?” she asked, not missing a beat.

Shaun’s eyes went wide and his lips parted, a soft gasp leaving them. He didn’t seem to know what to say, mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the right words. It was amusing to watch. He was floundering for something, probably never expecting her to be aware of his little secret.

After a minute of silence, he finally found his voice. “What the hell gives you the impression that I don’t have a job? You know very well I do. I even came to your company last month to work on a project.”

“Yes. A project you failed to see through and thus were let go for. Which wasn’t the first project you’ve messed up for that brand and thus why your termination came about so swiftly.”

Again, he seemed unable to speak and his girlfriend looked like she was holding in laughter at his expense.

“H-how...”

He didn’t get far before the front door swung open and in came Jacob with two bags in his hand and Alexander trailing behind him. A few seconds later Namjoon appeared in the doorway, eyes sweeping the space until they landed on Lane.

Lane quickly rose from her seat, though not faster than Alexis who’d bolted towards him before she could. By the time she reached him Alexis was done hugging him and showing the game Lane got her, so she had his full attention. 

Without a word, he pulled her into a tight hug and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I missed you,” she said, though it was muffled in his shirt.

“I missed you too,” he said.

They stayed like that for a bit until there was a squeal heard from behind them. Namjoon pressed a kiss on her forehead before turning his attention to her mother who was politely shoving Lane to the side in order to hug him.

“I’m glad you could make it.”

“Of course. I said I wouldn’t miss it, mama.” 

They hugged for a little longer before Lane’s mother turned around to address the room, which had grown in capacity since everyone heard the commotion. 

“This is my baby, Namjoon. He’s Lane’s boyfriend and all of you will leave him alone. I don’t wanna see not one of you pestering him or trying to intimidate him. He’s too damn sweet for all that.”

Everyone remained silent, most people just nodding in agreement while others just continued to assess the situation. But none of them looked ready to try her, which was good because the way she glared at them had Lane nervous and she was one of the few definitely safe from her wrath.

Seconds passed and everyone went back to what they were doing. A few not in the living room before lingered and watched, possibly waiting to talk to him or observe their interactions.

Lane led him through the house so he could speak to everyone and then they made their way to the couch where the twins were. Plopping down they only released hands so Namjoon could wrap his arm around her shoulders.

His attention went to Alexander showing him the game he was playing until they were ambushed by cousins and aunts asking a million questions. And at the very back of the group stood Shaun, pouting but listening closely. 

--------------------------------------------------------

“Tell me why we had to come to the hotel instead of just staying at the house, where you have a room?” Namjoon asked.

Lane sighed and turned to look at him as he walked out of the bathroom with a towel on his head. He was only wearing pajama pants because the room was very warm and neither of them were to keen on making it cooler just so they could wear extra clothes. She had opted for just wearing one of his shirts over her undergarments. 

“Because they’re too many people there and my aunt was staying over, so her taking my bed was a better idea. Plus, you already had this room and needed to check-in before they thought you weren’t coming.”

Namjoon huffed. “It’s 2:00 am they should’ve already given it away.”

Rolling her eyes Lane finished tucking her hair under the black bonnet she wore and laid down on the bed.

“Can you just come to bed so we can sleep. Unless you want to whine about it until it’s too late for us to go to bed?” 

Namjoon huffed, tossing the towel onto the back of the chair and flopping onto the bed with all his limbs spread out. His eyes remained closed and he refused to look at Lane. For a minute or two, she thought he was asleep, and then he groaned.

“And we have to get up early to get back over there?”

Lane scoffed. “You classify getting up at eleven early?”

Namjoon shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide as he stared at Lane. “Eleven? You mean we don’t have to get there early for other stuff? Breakfast? Presents? Some sort of family event?”

Lane rolled onto her side and shook her head.

“We eat on Christmas Eve because no one feels like cooking on Christmas. We know that’ll last until late and also loathe the idea of getting up early for presents that will be there regardless of the time. And everyone is in charge of their own breakfast if they get up for it. Lunch is leftovers and dinner is when we all go out to a restaurant. Sometimes we break up into groups and people go to different places because it makes no sense to have to eat out where you don’t want to.”

The more Lane said the more relieved Namjoon appeared to be until he had slumped to the point that he was laying down again. His body was much more relaxed than when they’d gotten to the hotel.

“I love your family,” he mumbled.

“Yes, they’re great. Now could you please cuddle me. I missed it. And it’s Christmas, so denying me would be rude,” Lane whined.

Namjoon’s entire demeanor changed and suddenly their bodies were pressed together, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist - there would be no escape for her, even though she had zero plans of escaping.

He smiled at her, dimples clear as day and deepening the longer he stared at her. But she stayed strong and decided not to melt instantly.

“It would be rude? What was cuddling on your list to Santa this year?” he asked.

Lane had no shame and nodded. “Yes, it was. Now you must fulfill it on his behalf. Please, and thank you.”

“But I fulfilled one of the other things on the list. If I have to do more than one than what the hell is he doing?”

“Give me my damn cuddles you LOTR elf. I have been deprived long enough.”

Namjoon laughed. “Okay, okay. Damn.”

Releasing her he got out of the bed and turned off all the lights and turned on the TV. He went to Netflix and put on The Office before climbing back into the bed. Laying on his back he pulled Lane closer and she threw a leg across his waist and rested her head on his shoulders. His arms went around her, one resting on her butt and the other her back.

After a few seconds they both settled in and Lane felt her body relax better than it had in a while.

“I missed this,” she mumbled.

“Me too.”

Lane felt a hand under her chin and then her head was tilted back. From that angle she could look directly at Namjoon, who was smiling at her, despite looking so tired that he could pass out.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He leaned closer and kissed her, it was gentle and warm. There was no attempt to deepen it or make it something more, just a simple kiss. When he pulled away, he was still smiling, but his eyes had fluttered closed.

“Merry Christmas baby,” he said as he drifted off.

“Merry Christmas.”

And they both fell into a deep slumber, wrapped in each other and comfortable for the first time in weeks. 

[purplesurveys]

711

How fast can you say the alphabet? I can say it quickly without my accent failing me, I guess? I’m too lazy to time it. What are you allergic to? None. How many serious relationships have you had? Just one. If you could read one person's mind, who would it be? I wouldn’t want to target one person like that. I’d only be picking my dog’s so I can hear what he thinks of me, ha. If someone dared you, what dare would you be afraid to attempt? Eating/drinking anything rotten.

How do you like your eggs? Scrambled or over easy. What's your most expensive piece of clothing? Probably my shoes. Most of them are several thousand bucks. What was your last big achievement? The last objectively big achievement I made was finishing the first half of my thesis and getting the go signal to finish the rest of it. But if we’re counting tiny steps that feel like big achievements, it’s having an article published in my org’s publication this week. I co-wrote it with JM and Rick, but it still feels nice to get to say I was productive during the quarantine. What famous person's memoir would you like to read? I’m willing to read anyone’s biography/autobiography since it’s one of my favorite genres. But at the moment I’m probably most willing to read something about Kim Jong Un since it’s generally hard to find material in North Korea as it is, and it would be fascinating to hear about their life and culture there. Have you ever had a "false alarm" moment, what was it about? Sure. A few months ago I was in Manila for a workshop and my car wouldn’t start when it was time to drive back home. Pressing any button on the key fob wouldn’t work and I couldn’t open the doors, so I was pretty much just locked out. I was already stuck there for a while and I was starting to panic, so I called up my parents to ask for help and they were already getting dressed to drive all the way where I was. Right before they left the house Jhian was mysteriously able to make stuff work and opened my door and I gave my parents the happiest “false alarm” ever haha. Do you know how to ride a bike? I don’t. My dad recently pumped air into the wheels of the bike that we have in the house so I can practice riding it throughout the quarantine, but I just can’t. I never did learn what my friends say when they tell me to just “find my balance.” If you could breed two species together what new animal would you create? No thanks. What 5 world leaders would you make sit down in a room to discuss issues? Isn’t that already the point of UN? If you were in the hospital who are the two people you'd want by your side? Gab and my dad. When was the last time you cried and what made you cry? Ooh ya got me. With this quarantine not letting me go anywhere and giving me new experiences, I’ve had no reason to cry lol. 

The last most vivid reason I remember crying was that one Wednesday in February where everything went wrong  – Andrew and I got red marks all over our thesis and we got practically yelled at over how bad our work had been so far; accidentally spewing peanut sauce all over the said thesis draft immediately after it was returned to us; almost losing this one thing for the org that I 100% WAS NOT allowed to lose, and having to ask Andrew to go back to campus at mid-fucking-night just to retrieve it and feeling shit the whole time for asking that of him; and having to deal with an unresponsive source for an article I needed to write and finish ASAP. I cried nonstop until like 2 AM that night. If you could ever take a street sign, what sign do you want? It’d be such a pointless steal, so no thanks. What is your favorite ride at any amusement park? Haha anything mild and for kids tbh. My stomach can’t handle rides. Have you ever raised money for charity? I haven’t spearheaded any fundraisers but I’ve donated for some, like whenever workers from exploitative corporations go to UP to visit some classes, talk about their struggles, and ask for support. How do you feel about growing older? I’ve got little time to be scared of it because getting old just happens all the time and constantly. I just take it for what it is and learn along the way. What wild animal scares you? Probs lion. I’ve never seen one in real life and movies and shows have conditioned me to think they’ll attack any human that comes close enough, soooooooo no thanks. I’d love to be corrected and to find out that they’re big softies, though. Do you think actors and athletes are overpaid? I can argue that for some actors, but definitely not athletes. Athletes bust their ass day in and day out and are in constant need of training, transportation, and the adequate gear, equipment, etc. Some actors just have to sit pretty and they wouldn’t even be good at it. Have you ever been alienated, if so for what? This was me for most of what you’d call middle school. People were starting to be more conscious of trends and using it as a basis for who to hang out with, so while everyone had a Blackberry, got side bangs, and listened to The Summer Set, I was struggling to fit in a place where my love of wrestling would be accepted. Of course there was none, and I felt left out for a while.

More recently, this was also me in applying for AIESEC but I’ve already touched on that a couple of times here. The alienation was so bad my friends and I just resort to laughing about my experience whenever it gets brought up. Have you ever not returned something you borrowed and if so what was it? I have a couple of Gab’s jackets, but she doesn’t mind me keeping them since I get cold quicker and more often. When you pack your lunch, what's your favorite packed lunch? Loooove when my dad makes curry for me to bring to school. What was the one most important thing you learned from your parents? It’s impossible to start at the bottom and work your way to the very top. I’m constantly worried about staying at the bottom, so it’s always comforting to see how far they’ve come.

On a parenting note, I’ve learned that I should talk to my future kids the way they are – kids. Ever since I can remember my mom has always gotten mad at me as if I was already an adult, so it’s made me permanently terrified of all adults/the idea of pissing anyone off. She would always just get mad, banging stuff around, and never explain to me what I did wrong, so to this day I get very self-punishing when I feel like I’ve done something wrong but don’t exactly know what it was I did.

How fast can you run? I used to be good as a kid which is what landed me on the track team in grade school, but I didn’t enjoy running so I did it less and less every year. Now I’m just meh at it. Have you done something you worry could come back to haunt you, what? Nothing that bad, no. What is your most favorite feature of your favorite electronic device? I’m very happy with the battery life of my laptop, considering how 1) my old Macbook Air only had a battery life of one hour, and 2) the laptop I had before had a damaged battery to begin with so I couldn’t even use it/bring it anywhere unless it was plugged in. The 10-hour battery life for my current one is a fucking dream for me lmao. If you had to build a small ark, what 7 animals would you save? All the endangered ones so like an elephant, Philippine eagle, panda, orangutan, tiger, and a rhinoceros. I’d save the last slot for a stray dog. What is your favorite Christmas or holiday tradition? I love going over to my mom’s cousins’ place and have our tradition of exchanging gifts singing My Monito/Monita. What novel would you love to be transported into to live out your days? I prefer non-fiction, soz. What is your favorite hiding place? MY CAR. It’s seen my worst breakdowns, my sleeping sessions in the middle of the day, and the days where I’m okay but simply need a break from everyone. If I feel like being alone I just head inside, recline my seat, and tune out the whole world. What is something your parents love that you actually love too? Indian food. Have anyone ever said "I love you" and you couldn't say it back. This is me with my mom. I’ve stopped saying “I love you” ever since I came to terms with the fact that she has brought a lot of trauma into my life and it would be unfair to the both of us (mostly me, heh) if I said it back. Have you ever ridden a camel? I haven’t. It would be very difficult to find a camel on this side of the planet.

What's been the hardest loss you've had to take? My grandfather and Nacho. What emotion is your least favorite and the one you are not in touch with? I hate feeling embarrassed obviously, but I’m regularly in touch with it because there’s always at least one event a day where I fuck up and I feel extremely embarrassed. Do you think facial moles or freckles are cute? I don’t mind them. They’re not a common facial trait where I live, so I’m more fascinated by them than anything else. Would you ever pick up a hitchhiker? I’ve read too many accounts of serial killers where hitchhikers were involved to feel skeptical about them but I know I’d also feel bad if I ignored them. I honestly don’t know what to feel about them as I don’t live in a hitchhike-y area.

What was your funniest computer or phone wallpaper? Eh, I don’t really pick wallpapers to find them funny. If you're searching for a relationship, where is your go place to look? Unapplicable for my demi ass. When and where are you happiest? Either anywhere with Gab or Skywalk with my orgmates. What was your favorite age, so far? 16 has so far been the year with the least fuckups. What is your favorite part of the day? Typically, it would be the moment I realize I’m done with everything that needed to be done for that day, like if my last meeting has ended or if I’m finished with my last class, and all that’s left to do is to drive home. What book have you read multiple times? The Septimus Heap series up til the 5th book (there are 7) only because in the past I had always made plans to restart and finish the whole series, but I never did get around to finishing it so I’ve only just kept restarting and restarting the books.   Do you keep a budget? No budget. What matters to me is at least being able to have savings at the end of the week, which is tbh not the smartest thing to do. Have you ever test driven a car you knew you weren't going to buy? Nope, I’ve never gone car shopping like that. Pretend you're doing an interview, what's the first question? Uhhhhhhhhhh idk depends on what the interview is for? What do you have a hard time visualizing? Everything. I’m not a very visual person and creativity is my weak point, so I genuinely struggle if I do have to imagine anything. Abstract reasoning has always been my least favorite part of tests. What makes you feel uncomfortable in group settings? If all of them already know each other and I am just starting to try and fit in – it’s worse if they’re all loud and extroverts. The former is what made my internship hard for me in the beginning, but thankfully they were all very nice and could tell I was shy so they knew not to overwhelm me by being too loud. What was your worst date ever? I haven’t had a bad date. Have you ever gotten in a bidding war on Ebay, if so for what item? Nope. If you had to pick one food to eat everyday for life, what would it be? Risotto or chicken wings. For dessert, macarons. Are you supportive of your friends even if you don't agree with them? As long as their choice doesn’t entail stepping on human rights, e.g. not being pro-choice or supporting a president that supports killing the poor, I’ll be fine with the disagreement. Have you ever used the opposite sex restroom in an emergency? Yeah I had a bad nausea attack one time and needed to vomit but I only had enough time to run to the men’s bathroom before I started throwing up everywhere, so that’s where I ran. What did you think was stupid until you tried it? Ube cheesecake. I really hate ube flavor and I hate everything it’s in, but I gave it a chance when a local bakeshop incorporated ube in cheesecake since it’s my favorite kind of cake. I ended up really liking it and now I often look for it when we have family get-togethers. What subject do you and your parents never see eye to eye on? Politics, duh. Where do you see yourself in 1 year's time? Having a job, out of the quarantine, maybe saving for a trip. How scared of the dark are you? I’m fine with the dark as long as I’m not somewhere that’s meant to be haunted. What is your favorite type of seafood? Crab fat, sashimi, eel, and sea urchin. What triggers your inner shopaholic? I don’t really have a trigger. I don’t even consider myself a shopaholic. I just shop for new clothes once I feel like I’ve been repeating my clothes too much. What is the rudest thing a person can do to another person in your opinion? Insulting dead parents is one. Except if you’re the Marcoses, heh. What public figure do you disagree with the most? President Duterte, obviously. I wanna barf just having to call him President. Do you think you could ever be a firefighter, why/why not? Nope, because I’m terrified of fire and I don’t have half the stamina needed to carry the shit they have to lift when they have to put out fires. What is/was your favorite bedtime story? I don’t have any. My favorite kids’ book was Corduroy, though. What was the last thing to make you feel happy? My dog going down the stairs and going straight to me for pats once he was done. What is your opinion on rats as pets? Rats are pests here so I find it pretty disgusting. I think hamsters are fine, though. What is something you're afraid to try? Cliff diving, bungee jumping... anything that would give me the sensation of leaving my stomach behind lmao. What cartoon character best describes you? Mr. Peanutbutter from BoJack Horseman. What keeps you interested in your goals or dreams? The fact that I went through so much shit as a child/teenager that I absolutely have to make myself happy in the end, and I can only do that by achieving my goals. What is your favorite actress beginning with the letter J? Jessica Chastain. What song makes you dance uncontrollably? Crazy in Love by Beyoncé, heh. If you wanted to live off the radar where would you live? I was gonna say Sagada but everyone knows it’s my favorite place so it’d probably be one of the first areas they’d start to look... so I’d go with Batanes. That place can’t get any more secretive with their sporadic phone signal and nonexistent internet/data connection. Do you like nachos, if so what topping is a MUST have? Melted cheese. Do you have any subscriptions? Netflix and (technically) Spotify. Which is better, Mario or Sonic? Mario. I’ve never played a Sonic game and I’ve only ever encountered him playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is a Mario-themed game to begin with. Who is the most creative person you know? Alex, someone from my high school who can recreate any. thing. Art is in her blood; she was my seatmate for one sem and she was constantly doodling and drawing and making new stuff in every class we were in. Besides a pickle, what is your favorite thing pickled? I hate pickles and anything pickled :/ Not really in the Filipino palate. What did you do for your 21st birthday? If not, 21 what are your plans? I celebrated it mostly alone because Gab couldn’t be present. Angela made me feel better by taking me to dinner and an arcade.

Are you a role model for anyone in your life? I dunno. I hope so, for at least one person. What song do you hate the most? Any song by The Vamps or Meghan Trainor. Do you think you need to slow down and enjoy life more? Isn’t slowing down what we’re all kinda forced to do right now? Can you impersonate anyone famous? Eh, sure. It’s fun to copy Gordon Ramsay for one hahaha. If you could go back in time to change one thing what would it be? Going out of my shell as early as freshman year and avoiding the semester-long breakdown/depressive episode I had. Can you honestly say you're enjoying your life right now? I can’t say I’m unhappy lmao. I have no problem doing nothing at home for more than a month – besides, this already serves as the break I planned to have shortly after graduating. After this I’ll be really ready to start looking for a job. What is your favorite salty snack? Pringles. What is your favorite restaurant? Yabu, Torch, Pound by Todd English, or Frankies. Idk man, I’m craving so much shit now that I haven’t eaten out for more than a month.  Have you ever been in a play for school? Yeah, we were all required to be in all the annual school productions from kinder to senior year.

[crimsonblackrose]

2019 is over and seeing 2020 on my calendar is strange. I had planned to go to bed early and get a lot of things done today, but instead I’ve found myself just wanting to spend my day resting.

My mindset this year was, it’s my last year in Korea so if there’s something I want to do, do it.

January

In January I was teaching my final camp (a cooking camp) for my country school and saying goodbye to friends who were going home.

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February

In February I was desperate to make up for 2018. I wanted to go back to the states and try to have a time that didn’t…emotionally scar me and the results were…better? I got to spend my 27th birthday with my family. I got to play with my baby cousins and eat delicious cake (I’ve missed American cake) and I got to visit LA for the first time and see friends and it was both too short and at times too long. My phone, which I dropped at Monkey Mountain during the previous summer in Japan, also finally died from water damage. And I awkwardly ran into Target to get a prepaid phone to survive on for the rest of my trip and when they asked if I wanted insurance I laughed and said “No, I’m leaving the country.” And then belatedly realized how creepy that sounded, like I was on the run and I’ve never sped walked out of a Target so fast and so embarrassed, which I’m sure didn’t help.

Before I moved out of Gapyeong I  also made sure I did everything I wanted, which meant taking myself to see le Petite France before I moved. And I did and then I moved to Gunpo. A friend helped me find someone to help me move which was essentially a guy with a truck.  It was a long journey with lots of traffic and I was worried about being late to meet my new coteacher, but it turned out it was all fine because my room wasn’t ready yet. My driver even fell asleep while we stopped at rest stop so I could use the bathroom. One of the reasons I’m always glad I always have a book with me. It was not a fun move, I forgot my coat in the back of his truck since he took it from me and threw it in the backseat when I got in, and I was so stressed with getting everything out of the truck and into the hallway that it slipped my mind. I had to pay him to come and bring my coat back to me. And then I spent several hours sitting in the hallway waiting for my room to be ready.

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March

This brought on the spring of flowers. I’ve never spent so much of my spring immersed in flowers and I kind of loved it. I started my March off with adjusting to my new town and my new job. I got to meet other teachers in the area, I enjoyed life in a city which was insanely lovely in comparison to my old tiny town and the going away gifts my coworkers had given me from homemade candles to Gong Cha free drink coupons. I even met up with new friends I’d made. The adjustment to my new job was rough, there was so much to learn and there were so many more students and classes and coworkers than I had ever had in my 4 years at my old school.

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April

April found me on a bus to Jinhae to follow the Cherry Blossoms and back to Gunpo to enjoy the Royal Azalea festival. It also had maybe one of my busiest days, which was Nathalie’s birthday and Mika’s wedding party.  I also stayed at a jimjilbang for the first time.

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May

In May I was in Singapore surrounded by Orchids and heat, humidity, and rain. I also went to Goyang for one of the most beautiful and intense flower festivals I’ve ever seen. It was also when we threw my friend Esme her Alice in Wonderland themed tea party bridal party and when I went to a lot of festivals and took the start of my tea classes with Kew and Leaves.

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June

June brought Esme’s wedding and it was fun to help out and be part of the behind the scenes of a wedding in Korea. I also went to a popular Korean hair style chain where I got a cute short expensive hair cut that I loved but when I got home I realized they’d completely missed a chunk of my hair which greatly disillusioned me with the chain. And in an effort to deal with some stress I tried learning traditional Korean wrapping and making an embroidery project as well as taking some a matcha course. Which I needed because I was in pain, it was vague and eventually turned into chest pains as the months progressed.

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July

July brought my first camp at my new school which was very different from my old camps on almost every way and more stress. It also brought new waves of goodbyes of friends heading home. My chest pains got worse in July and of course I googled them which sent me into a panic so I went to several doctors and there’s a good chance it’s from stress, so that’s fun.

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 August

August found me in Japan again. This time my big trip with a plan of visiting Hokkaido and the hopes to finish everything I wanted to do in Japan. It was full of misadventures and very hot but it was also fun. I also finally made it to Seoul Comic Con. It also found me with ear infections and what probably was/is tendinitis.

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September

In September I returned to Taiwan to visit Taipei on my own. It was very hot and during a holiday that meant a lot of places were closed so I went out of my way for places that were closed. It also found me with visitors to show around and a rather scary fever where the doctors told me either I had a cold or my liver was failing and that was not fun to hear. It was just a cold.

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October

In October I decided to start Adventuring Bibliophile as a Instagram and I tried several ways to make it it’s own blog only to get very frustrated.  My school had it’s school festival and I went on an insane flight to get home for a wedding. I was in the states for a day. I’ve never cried so much during a wedding. But I also never ever want to do such an insane trip where I spend more time in the air then on the ground ever again, especially not on an airline that’s so cheap. My school also took us to see the musical Marie Antoinette and I hosted a Halloween Party.

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November

November found me wedding crashing an old coworkers wedding. (Not wedding crashing in Korean culture, but definitely in American culture) It was so weird to see my old coworkers and I didn’t get to chat with a lot of the ones I wanted to and just found myself awkwardly not sure what to do, having not expected showing up late or staying. Then I went to the silver grass festival which was not something to do on a poor air quality day since it requires a lot of hiking and not something I particularly enjoyed to do in my dress. I made kimchi, I celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and tried an escape room for the first time.

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December

In December I was pretty bummed. The air quality was bad, classes were ending and I didn’t get an opportunity to really say goodbye to my students and tell them that no one would be replacing me. My job is gone and I’m the last teacher to have this position. I got to tell one class and we had a mini party which was delightful and touching. I also learned that the teacher who replaced me at my old school have also found their contract without a chance for renewal due to similar budget cuts. My friends are mostly all moving or also leaving and I spent much of December sort of frozen in fear. Where do I send all my stuff? Who do I give it to? None of it can stay and I don’t know where to send it. It’s overwhelming. My school had ceramic teachers come and teach us how to make traditional ceramic pieces in Korean style. But I found the process stressful. I made a mug but despite liking how it turned out, a bit like a tree stump, they told me it required too much work to fix to show me how to do the Korean style bits. So a coworker rushed to help me make a plate in the hopes that I could do the Korean aspect with it, only to be told again that it would take too long to fix. In the end when I got back my mug they hadn’t done the the thing I requested and the mug looks nothing like what I gave them. I was not happy. The plate didn’t come back. I tried to watch my students graduate only to learn that the space was too small and cramped to actually watch the graduation and then I was whisked off into a meeting so I couldn’t say goodbye to any of them afterwards. My Christmas traditions didn’t happen and it made me feel so much worse. All I wanted was to be home. And I ended the year feeling nervous, winter in 2018 was a wreck with family emergencies and pain and every small thing makes me so much more twisted up about being away.

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I don’t feel like I had a busy 2019 but when I look at everything I did it really was busy. I get why my coworkers and even one friend told me you’re always so busy. But it’s my last year in Korea and I’m trying to do everything I want to. I also am also trying to be more social and get out more now that I have the opportunity. I didn’t try as hard after my mother died and so I tried really really hard this year to push forward and I don’t know whether I did it in a healing way or in a way that burnt me out by the time I reached the end of the year. I also spent a lot of time this year going to the hospital, usually only to find out it was due to stress. It seems I react to stress physically so I don’t always noticed how stressed I am, unless I’m unable to sleep. And I had a lot of difficulty throughout this year sleeping.

A Review of last years Resolutions

Last year I tried my hand at resolutions.

I wanted to cook and bake more. I did do some before I left and this winter, but my new place didn’t come with an oven or a rice cooker, so baking didn’t happen. I did cook more but I also got sick of the things I made for myself fairly quickly. But I do think overall my diet has been healthier than it was in the country side. But it helps that the grocery store has lots of different types of things and is open past 6pm.

I did catch up with my podcasts but then with my reoccurring ear infections I stopped listening for awhile in a try to figure out what was causing it, even though my headphones were suppose to be fine. So I’m behind again.

I moved. And well, I’m moving again. Fun.

I didn’t want to regret moving. And that’s a toss up. I love where I live now. I love living in the city and I like my coworkers and my students but I taught at my old school for 4 years. I miss my coworkers, I miss our lunches, I miss all the big open spaces and the quiet and the stars and I do occasionally regret leaving my kids because I get messages of “Teacher when are you coming back?” and it breaks my heart.

Travel to: Singapore √,  Hong Kong x, Taipei √ , Japan √  (Okinawa x), home for wedding √, home for funeral X

Finish all the physical books I have (working on it, but I did finish the books I listed)

Go out more √ , spend more time in nature √ , spend time with friends √ , call home once a week √ , yoga and mediate x, learn something new √

The end of a decade

It’s really weird to realize it’s 2020. I graduated high school in 2010. Which means the majority of my life alone has been within this last decade, my time as a young adult. I don’t think high school me or even kid me would have guessed what I did. But maybe I would’ve. I always knew I wanted to leave the states and travel. But I was a huge scardy cat. I think though I would’ve expected to have gone to Japan though rather then South Korea. I graduated high school, went to college, lived in Chicago, wrote a lot, was an RA, met some amazing people, explored the city, started a blog, became a tutor, studied abroad in Prague, spent a spring break in London, organized and  hosted a ridiculous amount of events, graduated college with a BFA and after studying from some really cool writers and artists, moved across the globe to RURAL South Korea, made new friends, taught elementary school kids, explored, traveled with friends, traveled on my own, visited 8 different countries, wrote A LOT.  While I don’t feel like I’m where I wanted to be, I still have to be proud of the things I have accomplished.

The Future

I’m not going to do resolutions this year. I’m going to go back to doing gentle goals. Because I know this new year is going to be rough and I need to be gentle with myself. I’m at a crossroads that every friend before me who has taken has spoken to me with warnings and a tinge of regret. Moving back home is difficult. My aunt did it and said she felt like she left part of her soul somewhere over the ocean. I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I know there are some things I Have to do. Some are difficult and others less so.

Finish sending gifts home. (So late on holiday gifts. December caught me like a deer in headlights and I’ve been feeling stuck)

Start giving things away or selling them. My school isn’t keeping my apartment so everything that is mine must go. That’s 5 years worth of my life on my own. 5 years worth of memories I have to go through and make drastic decisions on.

Whatever I want to keep must fit in my suitcases or be shipped home.

Eat as much of my food as possible.

Drink as much of my tea as possible. (As much as I love the idea of coming home with tea from all sorts of different countries it also means less space for things like clothes)

Finish all the books on my bookcase

Buy my ticket home.

Close up accounts, do paperwork.

Have mothers funeral

Deal with mother’s things

Family vacation?

Go through all my stuff that my aunt has been watching

Figure out my life

Okay so that last one isn’t some gentle thing. I honestly don’t have an answer for it. I have half baked plans, but none of them are long term. Which kind of stresses me out. And really that’s all stuff I have to do like a to-do list not really goals. Okay, let me try that again.

Rest

write more and edit

spend time with family and friends

travel when possible.

Current planned trips, later this month:

Paris, France

Okinawa, Japan

Go to more bookish places in Korea

eat delicious foods I’ve missed

enjoy a bath

enjoy a dryer

Cook, bake, exercise, spend time in nature and with animals

Not sure if that’s better but it feels better. I feel like there’s so much that has to get done that the thought of what I’m doing after is too difficult to fathom. So I’m doing my best putting one foot in front of the other at the moment.

How was your decade? What do you hope to do in this new one?

Happy New year! May your 2020 bring you wonderful things.

  Year in Review- 2019 2019 is over and seeing 2020 on my calendar is strange. I had planned to go to bed early and get a lot of things done today, but instead I've found myself just wanting to spend my day resting.

[seulserenity]

Obligation - Krystal scenario

[a/n] I've wanted to do a mafia au for a long time now, the prompt for this is "I was supervising, not participating"

Working for the sicilian mafia had always been something of a challenge for you as a child, it was the ultimate quest you had to defeat and now aged 26 you were finally finishing the challenge. As you sat in your chair overlooking the sicilian streets you reminisced on your first days with this crew, your crew. Aged 19 you joined the mafia, located in Naples and working with burly men your father's age. You performed the menial tasks, fetching the money and land off of scammers and families indebted to the group however when you were 20 it no longer was viable to live the way you did within that mafia. Indeed as a child you had been told stories of great gangs that dominated Italy but as you grew so did the world around you and as it evolved mafias began to die out, their services and even their threats dwindled with time.

At that point you moved to Sicily, the sicilian mafia was still widely known and respected and it seemed that the work would be profitable there. Landing a role within the group was easy enough and by 22 you were a fully fledged member of their close knit group; life seemed to be floating by but you didn't mind. That exact October you met her for the first time, Krystal Jung Soojung. She owned the antique/rustic Italian 2 storey terrace that you were sent out to with some lemons and an envelope filled with cash. It was no secret that to survive and thrive in sicily as a town member you'd have to cooperate with the mafia, the residents and mafia coexisted with both sides benefitting from the almost business like deal between them. It seemed this derelict and depleted mansion was only occupied for a few weeks each year by the mysterious Miss Jung and that when she was on the island your boss had urged you to deliver these parcels despite knowing you were higher in the ranks than a mere messenger.

You remembered knocking on the door that time and seeing her in a silk robe, purple face cream painted her face and she had resting on her head a pink band that pulled back her dark brown hair away from the purple cream. She had welcomed you in and even offered you some rosé seeing as it was after 9 so surely you'd have been clocked off. You let yourself be pulled in for a glass or two and you spent the evening getting to know the Korean beauty. Every holiday she visited, you would always offer to deliver the envelopes regardless of your position in the gang and slowly you two formed a bond. She was the closest friend you had in Italy other than your gang and the old lady you checked up on for your boss each week.

Aged 26 you were settling into a new role in the mafia, just last month the boss had assigned you as his successor purely based on your managerial skills and knowledge of the clients in the area. Stepping up to the bat had never been more terrifying, in fact taking on this large position felt even more daring than when you had first go in contact with the mafia in Naples. Hundreds of men and women relied on you and listened to your every command before dutifully following it out. Not only were you in control of your own people though but you also assisted with the general management of trade and daily life on the small island. Krystal was due to arrive this summer, you couldn't wait to see one of your closest friends again, especially since she had been thrilled to know of your promotion (she'd heard of this news through a crappy touristic postcard that you'd found was the easiest way to keep in touch with the busy Korean idol) and what better way to describe your new role then to show her. The new role as a boss came with a suite on the top floor of a mafia run hotel and you thought it was about time she came to yours for a drink. In the past she'd always invited you to hers for it was unsafe to reveal your accommodation while you worked as an assassin, now you had the protection of many other men and women you were finally able to bring her round.

Unbeknownst to you Krystal had always admired you, it had started with a mere fascination of your job and the sacrifice you made for the mafia. As your friendship grew and the two of you became inseparable when she visited Krystal felt the admiration turn into something slightly more. The longing to stay with you in Sicily rather than returning to Korea often tugged at her heart and the little habits you'd developed endeared her. One of these quirks would be holding your hand as you wandered through markets or when you dozed off whilst watching movies and all the time you saw these as friendly or meaningless gestures Krystal had put meaning behind each action.

She arrived at the airport wearing tiny denim shorts and a figure hugging tank top, her dark hair was pulled back taut in a high ponytail and she wore a face full of makeup (something about being an idol she would say) and even though you'd seen her before like this somehow she looked so good. Shrugging it off you ignored it for the sake of your friendship, your strong arms circled around her small waist and grazing under the back of her sweatshirt you held her close to you. Memorising her scent and mapping out the contours of her body against yours, she felt like she was meant to be in Sicily with you. Once you released her you grabbed her luggage and both of you headed for your favourite ice cream bar; it was a large chain on the island and offered so many flavours that both of you were sure you'd never run out of options. A strawberry cone and oreo tub glided across the counter whilst you slid some coins to the flirty cashier, as soon as you could you both left the little shop giggling at the very obvious cashier. Krystal led you to the park in front of her house where she promptly laid down the toy story 4 blanket which she'd brought in Walmart. The afternoon merged into evening and still you laid in the park on Forky and Rex's faces but as the night crept in Krystal checked her expensive watch and nagged at you to leave for your shift. You bid her goodnight in the park and watched as she unlocked her peeling door and slipped into the shadowy building.

At 1:00 your crew had rushed upstairs with news of a new rival gang attacking one of your clients. At once you rose from your chair and asked for an address of the client, the eldest in the gaggle of men spoke. " Its no. 10 opposite the park." immediately your brain spun, confusion and possibilities swirled around like a merry-go-round. You wondered how a rookie gang could even know what your biggest weakness was or whether it was pure luck, if so the bastards were so very lucky but now you'd teach them a lesson. You ordered for your best snipers to be on watch nearby before commanding some of the lower rank members to go and drag the gang away before beating the new gang to a pulp after all the Sicilian mafia weren't known for simply managing business, the reputation of being the most powerful gang came with incredible fighting skills.

Krystal heard five men barge down the door and within minutes the rival gang was squirming on the floor with hands twisted behind their backs and weapons cast under her old creamy sofa. Looking at their faces Krystal recognised them but y/n was nowhere to be seen amongst them. Krystal thanked them in Italian before going to open the door and let them out with their new victims, as she opened the door y/n strolled through.

"Are you okay?"

Krystal scoffed, was this all y/n could say? She'd always fought for Krystal but this new promotion seemed to cause a separation between them.

" Why weren't you here? Maybe then you'd have known that just 7 minutes ago I was not even remotely okay!" Krystal seethed.

" I know what happened Krystal, I was supervising, not participating. My new role means I need to oversee rather than..."

"For once I hate this new promotion, I thought you would still be here to protect me. I thought I meant something to you, I was something more than just a fucking friend to you but it seems I'm just another client you have to deal with. I mean do you even know how confusing you are? Like genuinely, or is your head stuck so far up your mafia ass that you can't even see the mixed signals you gave off. You know what, fuck you y/n! I was hoping this summer something would actually happen between us, I waited so long and finally this year I was gonna make my move but you went first. Congratulations, dickhead. "

Her lithe figure stomped upstairs to her room and you were left looking at five very uncomfortable henchmen. The eldest and your longest confidante murmured "We'll leave you boss and take the idiots, I promise we'll do a clean up tomorrow as long as the Missus doesn't mind?"

"That's the furthest thing on her mind right now, don't worry. I'll close up after you."

" Boss, stay and sort her out, we'll be fine on our own and we can cover you for tonight."

With a simple nod at him you headed up the old trodden stairs to her room, hangul was sloppily painted on the door and you vaguely recalled Krystal painstakingly trying to teach you her language. Pushing the door open you heard a sniff before the cheetah print pillow was lobbed at you, laughing at the meagre attempt you padded into the room. Maroon carpet swallowed your footsteps as you walked over to the double bed, you sank next to Krystal on it.

"I think we both need to clear the air Krys."

Suddenly you were jolted out of your trip down memory lane by two arms which looped around your neck. Words were muffled by your skin as she burrowed into your exposed neck

" Whatcha thinking about beautiful?"

"You and my mafia days, love" you murmured back to her before gently bringing her cheek across to kiss you. As you pulled away you stood up from your chair and let Krystal drag you out of the hotel. Yelling a goodbye to your crew as you were eagerly pulled out of the building some wolf whistles could be heard. The pair of you ran to the little ice cream store, this time only ordering one cone with two scoops. One scoop oreo and one strawberry and when you reached the cashier Krystal pulled your face in for a huge sloppy kiss before grabbing the cone and walking out the door.

As you headed to the park you saw that same kiddish blanket on the grass and you smirked, no matter what distance you two might suffer you'll always have these moments and these sort of moments made you feel you'd last forever.

That was how your fiancée Krystal Jung Soojung made you feel, cringy as it was.

Fin

[eallisnwndrlnd]

Moving On From 2018

One thing I can say that I love about New Years is that it’s like life feels like it gave you a bit of a reset button. Not erasing anything but at least working towards improving what you did or didn’t do the past year. I definitely need that reset for this past year 2018. 

Most of the year was in a bit of a stressful blur. I’m not going to bother reflecting on my previous New Years post since most of what I had hoped to come into fruition didn’t. All I can say is despite my battle with my depression and anxiety being the major factor in my stressed out year, I managed to accomplish some things. May not have been most of what I had planned but hey, that’s life sometimes. 

This past 2018 I completed my 3rd year, completed my internship hours and my first semester of my last school year in college. 

Even if I didn’t get in any of the companies I may have wished for my internship, I was lucky to find a company where I had a chance to utilize my skills and creativity in my writing and photography. It was pretty stressful initially when I was not getting any response from any of the fifteen companies I applied to. Thankfully it all worked out in the end. I even had fun and made it feel like a vacation with a classmate that became roommate and friend. I was feeling less claustrophobic when I was in our shared apartment in BGC, Taguig, away from the many reasons for my stress and anxiety. I was able to let myself forget about it at least during those short two months during break. 

Going straight into the start of 4th year with unresolved issues and things that needed to be done, my stress and anxiety kicked into overdrive as schoolwork and personal issues at home gradually stacked up against me. By the end of the semester I was completely wound tight and sensitive as hell where I felt at any moment I could break. There were some close calls close to the end that’s for sure. Especially with some family drama that nearly buried me in an emotional quicksand. I ended up breaking down in front of my teacher for thesis because I thoroughly let myself down on that one. I was in no shape to complete it in time for the scheduled defense that was a few weeks ago. When it all comes down to it, no one is harder on me than myself. I put the high expectations on me and when I don’t meet them or make a mistake or complete it short of perfection, I dwell on it to no end. Then there was the matter of film and theatre class, where if I were back home, I may have enjoyed and been extremely enthusiastic about but alas due to my poor fluency in Tagalog I wasn’t able to truly be a part of the major projects we had to complete. I ended up taking roles that were so far away from what I really wanted to contribute but as the stories were in a language and culture that I still didn’t fully understand, I was in no way able to contribute in the way I would have wanted to anyway.(One of the brighter spots of film was being able to share some of my favorite films of all time and also participate in our groups documentary on a Badjao community despite being in pain and sick more than half the time. Seeing and meeting some of the people with their strength and courage and determination despite their hardships, really helps one put things in perspective.) With the organizations I am a part of, even if I had a minor role in all three, I still didn’t feel up to the task. I really kind of played dead dog for most of my responsibilities in ISO. 

Honestly, this semester and even last semester, I felt myself ever so slightly detach from everything and kind of just mechanically go through the motions just managing to barrel through out of sheer need to complete my four years in college, do well and graduate. This semester is the first time in over four years where I found myself nearly having an anxiety attack. Not once, but three times. Once during debate when my brain refused to memorize my speech and then I fucked up completely during the recitation for my midterms. (I’m just thankful that my written speech helped me pick my grade up for that. Writer I may be, but speaker I sorely am not) It didn’t help that I still get a bit of stage fright every once in a while. Then the second was when my cousin messaged me about my mother having a schizophrenic episode and that it was causing drama and issues. The third one was during one of our theatre rehearsals and that one had no initial trigger except my stupid bronchitis that refused to go away that came out of a cold that has lasted frakking forever. Toss in several emotional breakdowns and smoking a ciggy after three years ciggy free and I could say I was down for the count. These past holidays of Thanksgiving and then Christmas were kind of meh considering I was sick for the first one and ma and I both were sick for the latter. But I pretty much had been sick on and off all this past semester and throw in my fibromyalgia kicking in worse than its been in the past four years, bringing spasms of pain that brought me to tears and bouts of insomnia this entire past year, 2018 brought more pain in more ways than one than anything else. I’m just thankful my ma, pop and family and friends (and my possessed cat, Gandalf) are still healthy and those that aren’t so much are on the road to being so, hopefully soon. 

This new year 2019 is hopefully the year where I finally meet one of my lifetime goals of graduating and getting a college degree. After so much work and sacrifice not only from me but my parents, I need to reach that goal. I will be starting my fourth year second semester at the end of this month but before that hopefully will have completed our final film and theatre projects as well as getting some traction in completing my thesis that is now not a solo one as I included three classmates to be a part of it. At the end of the day, even if I had wanted my thesis, that I started with on my own, to be solely mine, I had to consider my health both mentally and physically which became the deciding factor in no longer trying to push myself in such a way that would’ve hurt me rather than help. As I near graduation, I will set out in determining what I want to do afterwards. Whether I stay here (that’s only if I get an opportunity down the road) or go back to the States or go to another country has yet to be determined. If I were to go back to the States, I’d then have to decide which state I’d be moving to. Or rather, WE would be moving to. We as in me and mother. Yes, my mom is a big factor in my decision. She has to be, there’s no point deluding myself that I would be comfortable with any other scenario. I’ve watched over that woman pretty much all my life and have been a sort of parent-like person for her since I was a kid. As she grows older and goes deeper into her schizophrenia and becomes more fragile, I cannot in my heart think of any other alternative other than keeping her with me. It’s not some martyrdom complex or anything like that, it’s just how I am wired. Even with all my issues and the mental, emotional and physical toll it has taken on me, I love my mom and she brought me up the best way she knew how or could do. I can’t fault her for her illness and I can’t ignore the fact that she needs me as much as I need to know she is ok...as ok as she is capable of being. I may gripe and such but let’s face it, these are the cards I was dealt and I’ve managed all this time somehow and I’m pretty sure as I get older and wiser I’ll get better and better at doing so. But for the most part I can say I’m at peace with my decision (even when a tiny voice inside my head screams at me WTF are you thinking!!! HEEELP MEEE!) Now I’m just torn between should I stay or should I go (now. ....sorry had to. As I was typing those words I was singing it dammit!!!) And if I go, go where exactly? What do I do with my cat? How tf am I getting the beloved furry pain in my butt to come with me? What best fits not only my needs but my mothers and (if my furbaby is coming) Gandalf? New York? (That’s expensive AF) San Francisco? (SAME! but but SWEATER WEATHER LOVE!!!) L.A. (I’m not gonna lie, my home city is the last choice on my short list) Seattle? (perhaps but can my ma stand the so called gloomy weather which I am partial to?) S.A. (STOP! HAULT! DO NOT GO THERE! Though I have many fond memories and do love the city in many ways including my family and friends..and cheaper rent per square foot...and delicious bbq...I just can’t...cuz politics, namely its states’ politics. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want my tree hugging, In-N-Out loving ass either anyhow.) I guess I can only say We’ll see. As I get closer to the end of my fourth year I’ll be more sure of which direction I’d want to go but so many things can still happen from now to then so I just want to leave myself open to any possibility that I may not have even thought of. 

So besides all that ‘off to the future I go’ crap, lets see...what do I want to see myself accomplish this year. I...

Must read more books (last year was depressing af for my bookwormish self as I only read three books, actually technically two were only completed in 2018 but I started in 2017. Now that’s sad for someone who used to down one to two books a day and read as she walked) 

Must get rid of more of my shit (I actually have been slowly accomplishing this little by little but seeing as it is nearing the end of my time at UB I must do this in its entirety by the middle of the year.) 

Must write at least one script of my own and complete it. (I have a few synopsis ideas written down, I just need to sit my butt down and make it a full story) 

Hope to go to Tokyo, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and again to South Korea. (At least Tokyo I hope for this year) 

Must lose the weight I gained only during this past semester. (I can only fit my rollies into two of my jeans and both have holes, one was bought that way and the other lost the battle with a tricycle and a school chair) 

Must cook more (I actually have been little by little doing just that, thanks to Instagram people who post recipes that motivate my lazy ass into wanting to cook what’s in the picture.) 

Must regularly volunteer again(Unfortunately I haven’t taken much time to do any since I’ve been here. Hopefully once my workload at school eases I can finally take the time to do this. It’s one of the things I love doing with my time because it’s the time when I can do something that isn’t for me but for someone else which I guess in a way is also for me in the sense that it just makes me feel good.) 

Must explore more of the Philippines (hopefully after I graduate we can do this) 

Hope to get to Guru level on Gurushots (only need to mark off four more of the criteria to get there) 

Hope to learn a third language (I’m thinking either Spanish or Korean since I at least know some vocabulary and short phrases already. The fact that I would love to be able to watch my kdramas without subtitles definitely gives me the incentive to lean toward the latter.) 

Hope to get more than four hours of sleep on average. (I would love that, only if my neighbors (front, both sides and back) dogs and Gandolf agree to keep it quiet during the wee hours in the morning)  

Must follow my daily, weekly, monthly goal checklist for more than just one month (yup that’s pretty much all that it lasted give or take a few weeks then days, last year) 

If I can manage to even complete a fourth of that which is mentioned above, I will have done this long ass blog entry justice. So if y’all managed to reach the end of all this ridiculousness, I wish to say to you HAPPY NEW YEAR and may this year and the many years to come bring you all you hope for and more. Let’s 2019 the shit out of this frakking year and make it our bitch!!!

(At least I can say with this yearly blog entry that I’ve managed to keep this one and only friggin tradition during New Years)

[kihyuni3]

NCT 127 Reaction When They Get to See Their Long Distance S/O After a Long Time (Hyung Line)

I wasn’t entirely sure which unit you were asking for, so I just went with 127. I hope that’s okay. I also changed the request a tiny bit. If you want another unit please send in another request and I’ll get to it as soon as I can. Thank you so much for the request.

P.S. This ended up being hella hella long so I decided to split it up into Hyung and Maknae line

~Izzy

Scenario: You are a study abroad student, or just visiting Korea on a holiday visa (they usually only last 6 months) when you meet him. The two of you date for a few months before you have to return to your home country (in this specific reaction I’m using the US I’m sorry if that is not where you are currently living). It’s been a year since the two of you could see each other in person again.

(I accidentally changed the scenario for Doyoung, my bad)

Taeil:

Honestly I feel like Taeil will be the most apprehensive about having a long distance relationship in the first place. When he first met you he knew he was attracted to you but tried his best not to fall for you because of that. However, all that went out the window when you asked him if he would want to go get coffee with you (yes, you had to ask him out first). There was no way he could say no to you. The two of you continued to date for 3 months in Korea before you had to leave. It was a teary goodbye, but he understood that you had to go, and promised to stay with you no matter what.

After a year of waiting you finally were able to get back to Korea. As soon as you found out you called him. Both of you were so excited that you booked a flight right then while you were on the phone with him. The day of your flight he was at the airport hours before your flight was even supposed to land because he just couldn’t wait to see you again. The second he saw you enter the baggage claim area he would have to hold himself back from running to you. Your relationship was still a secret and he was trying his hardest to not be suspicious but he just couldn’t help it. When you reached each other he couldn’t help but give you all the sweet pecks and cheek kisses that you had missed out on over the last year.

“I missed you so much,” He would say to you softly in between kisses “I’ll never let you go ever again.”

Johnny/ Seo YoungHo:

You met Johnny at a street market. You and your friends had decided to rent a guest house together to stay in Korea for a few months and experience the culture. For the most part it had been incident free, that is until you were sent out grocery shopping and for the life of you couldn’t remember the word for squid and were struggling to describe what you needed to the poor confused lady at the stall. That’s when you felt a tap on your shoulder. Turning around you make eye contact with a very tall and handsome, but very intimidating man. You thought he was just trying to get passed you to buy something but as you were going to walk away he stopped you.

“What were you trying to get?” He asks sweetly gesturing to the stall.

After that he escorted you around the market ‘just to make sure you didn’t get into anymore trouble’ and everything just fell into place.

Long distance with Johnny didn’t feel long at all. You guys talked at literally every opportunity you could. This boy only wanted to take care of you and couldn’t handle the thought of you being lonely. He would even ship you little presents of things that reminded him of you and sometimes you would receive the latest NCT merch as well.

Johnny wouldn’t even tell you he was coming. He had told the company he was going to visit his family for two weeks on their break. Which wasn’t entirely a lie, he did spend the first week with his family, but the second week he reserved entirely for you. As he arrived in front of your house/apartment he gave you a call. He tried to play it off like he was just seeing if you got the last package he sent, but when you opened the door he was standing there not some little trinket he sent. While you were still in shock, he would pick you up and spin you around. He missed you so much the last year and he wasn’t going to waste his time with you on casual greetings. No matter what you were wearing he would pull you out so you guys could start a date right then.

“I don’t have a lot of time,” He would say pulling you to the car he borrowed from his parents “We have to make as many memories as we can before I go back to Korea.”

Taeyong:

I know I said Taeil was the most opposed to a long distance relationship, but I forgot about this boy: Taeyong was the most opposed to long distance. When you first met, you were walking into a coffee shop with your friends as he was walking out with the other NCT boys while they were on break from practice. Unfortunately neither of you saw each other and literally ran into each other. He ended up spilling his coffee on you, but was able to react quick enough to catch you before you fell down. He apologized profusely but couldn’t be late for practice so he told you to meet him here tomorrow at the same time and he would buy you a coffee to make up for it.

The two of you didn’t actually start dating until right before you had to leave. He didn’t want too much on his plate being leader and all that, but he definitely had feelings for you. One time when you went out together he got very serious with you and explained how he felt, and said that if you two were to date you needed to be absolutely certain about it and plan everything out about long distance before you had to actually do it. You shut him up by kissing him which, he would never admit, but he was glad you did.

Since you and Taeyong hadn’t been dating long before you had to leave he never really got to experience skinship and intimacy with you to the fullest extent, and as the months went on he was really feeling the effects of that. All he could think about was what it would be like to be able to hold you and touch you without any hesitation or pleasantry like he had in that little time you were together in Korea. He couldn’t meet you at the airport, because of his schedule, but he promised to meet you where you would be staying as soon as he was done. When he arrived and you opened the door for him he didn’t give you time to say anything. His lips were immediately on yours, his hands wandering from your waist to your cheeks and everywhere in between. He had no intentions of leaving you that night, or for the rest of you trip for that matter.

“God I waited so long to do that.” He would say to you as he pulled back to catch his breath, fully intent on returning to your lips when both of you were up for it.

This gf has me so weak tbh

Yuta:

I feel like Yuta wouldn’t be thinking about the fact that you would have to leave Korea when he first asked you out. All he could think about was how you made him feel now and the fact that he wanted to be with you in the present and not think about the future. And for the few months you were in Korea that was amazing, but you couldn’t pretend forever. When he came to pick you up for one of your last few dates before you had to leave, he found you crying. When he asked why you explained that you didn’t want to break up or stop seeing him, but you knew you had to. He would be taken aback by this at for a moment before pulling you into a tight hug.

“Who ever said we had to break up,” He would say sweetly, rocking you back and forth “I like being with you in person, it’s true, but that’s even more of a reason to hold onto you while your away. It’ll be something to look forward to when we see each other again.” The two of you stayed in that night, no exciting date like usual with Yuta, just a relaxing night of cuddling, sweet kisses, and too many bad movies.

When you first heard that NCT would be in the states for their first US tour you were ecstatic. Yuta already told you you didn’t have to come seeing as it was in a completely different state, and he didn’t want you to worry about travelling to see him,but there was no way you weren’t going to see him.

Even though you knew he couldn’t stop and see you at the airport because of all of the fans and cameras that would be there you wanted to surprise him anyway. You ended up toward the front of a rather large group of fans waiting outside the airport where they would be, you even made a sign that read ‘I’ve missed you baby’ with a picture of him that you had taken together (except you had to crop yourself out of it so no one got suspicious). When the group exited the airport he didn’t see you at first. That was until one of the other members caught a glimpse of you and pointed you out to him. You weren’t expecting him to do anything, but you would be wrong.

Yuta broke away from the rest of the group and went straight to you. In shock you dropped you sign. You had no time to ask what he was doing before his lips were on yours and every fan and camera was looking at you. When the two of you broke apart he smiled at you.

“The company said I could tell everyone about you, I was planning on telling you while I was here but I guess this works too.” He whispered in your ear. Looking down he grabbed the cute sign you had made for him before being pulled away by his staff

“Thank you for this by the way,” He yelled before getting in their car “it’s very cute.” and with that you were left blushing surrounded by a thousand questions by his fans.

Doyoung:

You were in Korea on an internship with SM’s publicity and production department. This allowed you to participate in the filming and promotion of NCT U’s Boss. This is how you met Doyoung. You were tasked on assisting in the shooting of his solo shots. When you first started the shots seemed very plain and lacked dynamics like the rest of the MV. It had nothing to do with him, but instead the staging. You were actually the one that suggested the in the final cut the shot was sideways. Doyoung was super intrigued by you creativity and watched yo work and take notes for the rest of the day.  

When the MV shoot was wrapped and the group was going around and saying their thank yous to the staff, Doyoung specifically went to find you and complimented you on you creativity and your eye for things like this. You were definitely flattered seeing as it was your first time working on a set like this. After that you saw each other very often. You were always working on their shoot and any sort of event they were at you were at too. Eventually you became a regular staff so it wasn’t weird that all the boys had your number.

You and Doyoung had been closer than the rest of the boys, and you talked more often but it wasn’t anything that hinted at romantic. The both of you had feelings for each other, but neither said anything about it or showed it in anyway. That is until you stopped showing up for shoots and events. Doyoung got very worried that he would never see you again. He hadn’t used your number for anything more than questions about shoots, but this time was different.

When you received a very panicked message from Doyoung about your absence your heart began to pound. Did he really care that much? You had to explain to him that you visa had expired so you had to end your internship. This lead to a long conversation about how he never got to say goodbye and some profuse apologies from your end. You thought that would be the end of your contact with Doyoung, but it wasn’t. The two of you actually continued to keep in contact, you would call and text everyday. It was actually over facetime that he had confessed to you. When you said you also had feelings for him he immediately asked you to go on a date with him when you guys saw each other again. Whenever that may be.

It wasn’t until a few months later that Doyoung called you excitedly saying the company would help you renew your visa so you could come work on their next comeback, that the nervousness of everything that had happened actually set in on you. You would actually get to see him again, not just through a phone screen.

You weren’t going to see him until the shoot was scheduled and you had no idea what to say. When you arrived he was nowhere to be found. The other boys were waiting and excited to see you. After exchanging pleasantries with them, you kindly asked where Doyoung was. They pointed you in the direction of the room where they all get ready for the shoot. You assumed he was almost ready and just getting his hair or makeup done so you walked in. What you saw was a shirtless Doyoung looking for his outfit for the first scene. When he looked up and saw it was you he smiled, but all you could do was apologize and turn away towards the door. Before you could leave he grabbed your arm and turned you around pulling you to his bare chest. You were still blushing but the feeling was comforting.

“I missed you so much,” He said tilting your chin up so you were looking at him. “I couldn’t wait to do this.” He said as he leaned down to press a sweet kiss to your lips. You blush again hiding your face against his chest.

“Can I cash in on that date now?” He said laughing at your cuteness.

pls ignore the caption