#is this even identifiable as jake đ
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Hi guys. Jake lockley among us suit
#this was a request from our partnerrrrz i love them. anyways#ill do smn better later but i put him in purple. cause i like purple on hom ^_^#i guess i could do a white n black suit for Comic / Character accuracy but auagrhd#ill do Steven n marc maybe next. hmm#steven maybe in all white ? with tiny gold or silver accents? and marc in all white with Big gold accents.#idk mannn#i wanna draw them âšď¸âšď¸#mk#mk art#kinda i guess SORRY!#jake lockley#art#seraph scribbles#its almost 1am ^_^ sorry#yes ik the arms are lazy. again i just did this quick for funs#is this even identifiable as jake đ#my art#moon knight
54 notes
¡
View notes
Note
my is dash just âquestion is about harry!!â âno question is gay!!â and i feel weird cuz iâm like standing in the middle of the ven diagram bc ik itâs about harry but also itâs kinda gay ngl đ
well⌠hold my beer lmao. thatâs how a song can have different interpretations for different people. iâve just seen a post saying that when they listen to a song they donât automatically think about who itâs written for, bc thatâs quite creepy tbh and i completely agree. i see it as how i interpret it and to what extent do i identify with it. obviously, after listening to it 80 times you start connecting dots and seeing âhidden cluesâ, bc deep down youâre still a swiftie who knows taylorâs life better than the press. but!! you still have nothing sure and the control to see things only where you wanna see them, yk?
for example: am i aware of the ootw call in question...? yes. of styleâs sad boy/good girl refs and the double meaning in gender roles? sure. but my head also considerates lines like âyou painted all my nights a color iâve searched for sinceâ, âyouâre not sure and i donât knowâ, âdid you wish youâd put up more of a fight when she said it was too much? do you wish you could still touch her?â or âhalf-moon eyesâ. and bc generally, questioning those things and kissing someone in a crowded room when everyone makes fun of you and claps /coughs kissgate, exclaims gay as hell. so based on my experience i will interpret it as such. besides is one of my fave songs of the album and i hate to ruin it by thinking about a guy i donât even know instead of dancing to it as a gay anthem.
then thereâs maroon, which is more of the same but even more explicit. everyone keeps saying itâs 100% about jake bc the first impression they got was thinking about the color red and taking everything for granted. thatâs it, there are no more possible interpretations! well, guess what?? there are thousands!!! and the most obvious one to me is if when listening to it i find âlaughing with my feet in your lap like you were my closest friendâ, âcarnations you had thought were roses, thatâs usâ and !!! âthe lips i used to call home, so scarletâ /that they left marks in her collarbone??? âŚ.like, sorry bestie but i refuse to picture jake with red lipstick leaving marks on you - or me ftm, if i relate to the song. i canât see it anyway. but you know what i can see, without even wondering who is she talking about??⌠i see perfectly how a gay relationship can be full of lipstick marks so, cheers to that
#đ olive#asks#sorry this got so long for whatever reason i just got excited sksksks#anyways the summary: i highly rec you to interpret it as u like and avoid picturing random ppl as the muse bc thats only gonna ruin it#if i say the straightest song is gay to me then it is
4 notes
¡
View notes
Note
this is a formal request for you to analyze navi!quaritch for us please đđđź i know itâs not a fic, but like a full out analysis! if thatâs okay đ¤
you know what, i actually really love the idea of this!! no, itâs not a formal fic or a fic at all but i love analyzing movies and characters and navi!quaritch is so interesting to me, so letâs do it!!
First, we have to talk about human!Quaritch from the first movie. He was literally the main villain, he was destructive and ignorant. Eventually, it wasnât even about completing the job for the âscience pukesâ, he was just so obsessed with defeating Jake Sully and being the victor.
Fast forward to Navi!Quaritch, who isnât even really Quaritch at all (as they acknowledged many times in the movie). He has Quaritchâs DNA and pre-death-memories, but Navi!Quaritch is still a separate conscience. Whatâs interesting about all the Recom Navi is that theyâre technically not Avatarsâtheir human versions are dead and they have both their humanâs memories/conscience and their own conscience.
Since Navi!Quaritch has human!Quaritchâs memories, he carries on the same attributes and desires, but not even completely. By now in the second movie, he only wants to kill Jake Sully because Human!Quaritch was so obsessed with it. Navi!Quaritch actually has no reason to work for the humans anymore.
This also leads to the idea that if he were to kill Jake Sully and fulfill his mission/purpose, there would be no use for him for the humans and he would most likely be killed. Then, you can speak on the idea that Navi!Quaritch was only created to kill Jake Sullyâheâs a living being who is programmed with a mission, but throughout the movie, heâs realizing he doesnât actually want that mission.
Spider is important because he is the character who shows Navi!Quaritch the beauty of Pandora. Even though Navi!Quaritch technically isnât his father, he still has the memories of Spider as a kid and has that connection to Spider; Spider is a big reason why Navi!Quaritch realizes he might not want to complete the mission heâs assigned with. He even admits to Spider that heâs not that man.
The scene where Navi!Quaritch is holding human!Quaritchâs skull in his hand is incredibly symbolic. It represents what Navi!Quaritch truly wants to doâhe wants to forget human!Quaritch. He crushes the skull in his hand as metaphor to say that he is not that man.
I also think the feathers on Neytiriâs bow are symbolic but not for the same reason. When he sees the feathers, you can practically see the fear and trauma in his eyes. Itâs interesting because these are memories of human!Quaritchâs death, which Navi!Quaritch does not have. So the question is how does Navi!Quaritch associate those feathers with that memory? Yes, he saw the footage of human!Quaritchâs death, but the fear in his eyes looks like heâs remembering it from experience.
Essentially, Navi!Quaritch walks around and he is constantly haunted by the ghost of human!Quaritch. Heâs not that man, but he lives with his legacy and he takes on the consequences of human!Quaritchâs actions. He struggles to identify himself, and I hope the future movies will cover this! I think his plot line as a character is ultimately meant to show that villains can become good people/people can change.
#sab's asks â Ë・đ¸â#whew#i kinda went off damn#avatar#avatar the way of water#atwow#atwow spoilers
4 notes
¡
View notes
Text
OMG THIS WAS SO CUTE!
Steven sounds like Sid from Ice Age, and it's sooooo cuteđđđđ
Also, I identify as a Marc sleeper. I flinch and twitch in my sleepđ
Jake with his sexy socks on while being nakedđI won't even delve there or how it made me horny mortified.
I loved these headcanons so much, Fen!!!!
Moon Boys Sleeping Headcanons
Rating: PG ⢠ Masterlist | ao3 | want to be tagged? ⢠ko-fi â˘
Warnings:Â some fluffy fluff, mentions of reader, not beta read
Word count: 861
Steven:
I firmly believe that this man constantly moves in his sleep.
Heâs rolling around all over the place.
One of those people that hold their arms/legs up in their sleep in the most uncomfortably looking positions.Â
There has been more than one occasion where you wake up and see Steven sitting up in bed, fully asleep, and you have to coax him back into lying down.
He is taking up all of the space, then hardly any.Â
Heâs got all the covers and then none.Â
Side and back sleeper, for sure. Loves to be the big or little spoon when going to bed and will twist himself into the most uncomfortable positions for himself if it means you're comfy.Â
There is normally at least some part of him touching you, even if he is out of it.Â
You have woken up to him holding your hand or your arm in his sleep. Or curled up into a ball and snuggled into your side.Â
His feet are always warm, no matter how cold it is.
Delights in eating in bed, watching TV cuddling with you. (Will tell Marc he never eats in bed with a completely straight face.)Â
Once he knows about Marc and doesnât worry so much about sleepwalking he has the ability to fall asleep anywhere and anytime. Literally his eyes are closed and a second later itâs lights out.Â
Mumbles in his sleep. Itâs never actual words, just little sounds. You video him sometimes to show him in the morning.Â
He laughs about it for ages.Â
Remembers his dreams in vivid detail.Â
Always wakes up with messy hair, no matter how hard he tries or what material his pillow is.Â
Prefers to sleep in pyjamas even when itâs burning hot, because it doesnât feel right otherwise.
Marc:
Back sleeper. Literally lays down like heâs going into his coffin, so stiff it should be uncomfortable.Â
However if youâre in bed with him he will snuggle up and lay all over your chest and tummy, and please play with his hair while he goes to sleep. He needs it.Â
Doesnât talk in his sleep, but flinches and twitches. The movements are usually small, like a mini electric current runs through his nerves.Â
Pulls a face at eating in bed, will get the handheld vacuum cleaner out and hoover the sheets. âSteven, why are there crumbs here?âÂ
âI donât know mate, donât ask me.âÂ
âThey're those stupid seaweed chip things you eat, youâre the only one of us that eats them.â
âFirst, they're crisps Marc, say it with me crisps.â
âSteven-â
âSecondly, Jake eats them too.âÂ
âI know it was you Steven, you always eat in the bed-â
âIâm the only one who changes the bloody covers, arenât I? I think Iâve earned it.â
âThatâs not-â
âI changed the covers last week.â Jake chimes in.Â
âYouâre right, you did mate, sorry about that.âÂ
âNo problem.â Jake gives him a mental thumbs up.
Marc is just like !!! Where is my apology for eating in the bed? !!!
However, if Marc wakes up before you he will bring you breakfast in bed and purposefully ignore Steven when he playfully calls him a hypocrite.
Sleeps in pyjamas if itâs cooler, but will also sleep naked if itâs hot.Â
Falls asleep quickly and doesnât remember his dreams at all. (He prefers it that way.)
Deep, but light sleeper. Goes into a deep sleep very quickly, but is awake and alert if something sounds âwrongâ. You once stubbed your toe on the bathroom door and let out a little yelp and he was up and by your side before youâd even realised.
Likes to put lavender and eucalyptus sprays and oils on his pillow.Â
Jake:Â
Very good at sleeping sitting up and power naps, but prefers you to be laying on top of him if you're in bed.Â
It makes him feel grounded to have your weight on him. If youâre happy to lay completely on him he is so content, it doesnât matter what weight you are, he just loves wrapping his arms around you like youâre his own weighted blanket.Â
You buy him a weighted blanket for a gift and he wraps himself up in it constantly.Â
Often complains about the cold when sleeping, even when itâs hot his feet are still freezing. He has taken to always wearing socks in bed.
Which leads to a rather amusing sight in August when it is boiling hot, so heâs sleeping naked, but his feet are still covered in fluffy socks.Â
He calls them his âsexy socksâ, and has pairs in a variety of colours. He prefers ones that have loud patterns and colours.Â
(I headcanon Jake as a kniter, so I think he would definitely make some for himself as well.)Â
Doesnât usually eat in bed, but does on occasion to affectionately annoy Marc.Â
Remembers his dreams, and remembers Stevenâs and Marcâs as well.Â
Likes to dramatically push you into bed, and throw himself in after.Â
Doesnât move around a lot in the night, but occasionally talks.Â
Never wakes up first if he can help it, usually stays asleep while Marc and Steven are up.Â
Thank you for reading!
@pleasurebuttonwrites @raven-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @whatthefishh
@romanarose @strangerhands @saturn-rings-writes @lonelyisamyw-0love @queerponcho
@steven-grants-world  @eyelessfaces @angel-of-the-moons @minigirl87 @lunar-ghoulie
@silvernight-m @autismsupermusicalassassin @apesarecuul @reallyrallyauthor @basicalyrandom
@alwaysmicado @mangoslushcrush @marc-spectorr @soft-girl-musings  @spxctorsslxt
@novarosewood @pygmi-cygni
If you'd like to be taken off the tag list please let me know here
480 notes
¡
View notes
Note
KAYYYYYYY!!!!! when are you goign to upload a new fic ???!! I've been dying over here. I've read Room For Five like a thousand times, I'm running out of oxygen here !!!!!!!!! please more fics !!!!!!!
Hahaha ,, actually let me tell you a REALLY funny story.
First off, thank you, Room For Five was so much fun to write, mainly because I wanted to make it as inclusive as possible, so I'm glad that came through for you guys.
But on another not-so-happy thought, I actually have been taking a bit of a break from Enhypen. it really all started with the Sunoo fat-shaming ordeal, just because as someone who identifies as plus-size, it really hurt to see them treating him like that. (even though he's not even big, or fat, or anything other than skinnyđ) That whole situation was probably the biggest reason I kind of hung back from really watching enha vids, or really even watching any of their content. And another would have to be their recent album. I pretty much hated every single song. I'm still giving TFW a try, but the other ones I just can't get into at all, and I've tried so many times.
But yeah, I haven't been keeping up with Enha in a while. It's so bad to the point where I have zero ideas as to what they're even doing, what they're up to, what their hair colors are, etc. I just learned a few days ago that Sunghoon isn't MC anymore, and something happened with Jake and some girls or whatever, but I literally couldn't get myself to care. Like it's bad, so bad that I gave away my tickets to their upcoming concert. I know, it's literally so terrible đ
Another reason that just popped into my brain was that I also got shadowbanned for a good month, and that annoyed me beyond belief so because of that, I kind of got used to not being on Tumblr, and even though I'm not SB anymore, I have zero motivation to get on here expect to read txt and Hoongjoong fics every so often if I'm in the mood.
I might come back to make txt fics if I feel like it, cause I do still love to write, so I've been using most of my time on A03 for other fandoms and stuff like that.
Will I ever write something for enha again? Eh, it depends if I get over this dread. I won't say it's impossible, but I can definitely tell you it's no time soon.
But, please enjoy the things I do have! I don't plan on deleting them or anything (I put in too much fucking work for that). Also, don't forget the other fics I have on my old account @en-hale-archives if you've read everything here.
Thanks !
11 notes
¡
View notes
Note
jake has to ask a little girl about a case and she's pretty scared at first and he donates her his police car in the middle of the conversation or something and amy is just đĽşďż˝ďż˝ďż˝ďż˝đĽ°
Sheâs at least stopped crying. Thatâs a good thing, right? Amy had given Rosa the most desperate looks as theyâd tried to calm the little girl down - Rosa had even been smart enough to swallow her usual comments about âmaking her stop that weird thing with her faceâ as Amy nervously patted her blonde hair while she whined and sobbed on the break room couch.
So, the little girlâs stopped crying now, which is a plus, but sheâs also not speaking, which is a big fat minus. Sheâs just sitting on the couch, curled up like a little cat trying to hide, her eyes still swimming.
They got her contact info out of her after Charles brought her in from the crime scene her neighbour called in, at least, and child services have been âinformedâ, but that means thereâs still a good few hours waiting for them to do anything while the poor girl sits in a grimy police station break room, crying and not speaking.
And they really kind of need her to speak.
âShe was hiding in a cupboard.â Charles mumbles across the desk where theyâve congregated. âShe probably didnât see much anyway.â
âI tried to talk to her.â Terry sighs, his shoulders flexing under the stress. âBut itâs no surprise sheâs scared of me most. The three guys we brought in are all bodybuilders.â
âDo we need her to talk? Canât we just, you know, hand her over to a therapist who knows how to deal with this stuff anyway?â Rosa sounds as disinterested as ever, but Amy can see her jaw grinding as she shoots worried looks into the break room.
âThe child therapist we have on file is off until tomorrow at 9. And sheâs our only witness. If she canât identify anyone, weâll have to let all three guys go in 24 hours. One of them did put her mom into the hospital. And she saw it.â Amy tries to school her voice back to professional, but it doesnât stop her from breaking at the last sentence.
Jake, a desk behind them, hasnât said a word. He seems more interested in his own files than whatever is going on at their little meeting, but when they break apart again - Teddy saying heâs going to look up other therapists, Rosa going back to the Holding Cell to maybe pressure one of those douchebags into a confession, Charles suddenly worrying about whether or not the little girl might be hungry and checking the breakroom fridge for actually edible food - Amy sees him roll his eyes before grabbing something off his desk, pushing his chair back and slipping over to the breakroom.
She doesnât dare follow him directly, but she is exceptionally good at hovering near doorways without being noticed.
He walks past the little girl on the couch, whose eyes are clearly following him the entire time, and makes his way to the vending machine instead. The eerie silence is interrupted by the clicking and whirring of a transaction before he settles down next to the girl, at a safe enough distance, ripping open a bag of skittles and tossing them into his mouth.
The two of them lock eyes before he holds the bag out, and it takes a few seconds and a lot of courage for the girl to stick her hand in and then stuff her mouth full with skittles.
âYeah.â Jake says, in a voice so soft it makes Amyâs heart ache as she eavesdrops. âSkittles are always good.â
âReeseâs pieces are better.â The little girl almost whispers.
âOh, we ainât fancy enough for Reeseâs pieces in our vending machines.â Jake grins with rainbow-stained lips, and thereâs the tiniest little giggle from the girl next to him. Itâs enough to encourage him, it seems, as he holds up whatever he picked from his desk towards her.
âYou know how to play this?â
She nods after a good look.
âGood, because I keep messing up and itâs really bugging me. Help me figure it out?â
Amy watches with wide eyes as the girl climbs over the couch to Jakeâs side, staring at the logic puzzle in his hands that heâs twisting and turning without much result.Â
âYou need to go right first.â
âWhat?â
âRight! You twist, anâ then-â
They spend a good few moments with the wood block in his hands, the little girl continuing her directions while Jake obviously turns it all the wrong ways, her replies of correction getting louder and louder.
âYouâre so bad at this!â She pouts, and Jake sighs over-dramatically.
âYeah, duh, I know! You think youâre any better?!â
âI am.â
âNo youâre not.â
âI am!â âPsh, no way.âÂ
âYes way!â
She looks at him all huffy, risen to her knees on the couch, nothing about her trying to fold into itself or hide away anymore, as Jake holds up the little toy with a daring grin.
âProve it, then.â
She yanks the toy out of his hands and drops back onto her seat, twisting and turning with a vengeance as Jake looks up and catches Amyâs eyes with a grin and a wink, as if heâd been aware sheâs been watching the entire time.
Maybe he was.
Amy moves to the side of the doorway some more, hiding away from her boyfriendâs grin, and hiding her blush at being discovered so easily, when the little girlâs arms drop in frustration.
âThis game is stupid.â
âAh, not so smart now, are you?â
âIâm plenty smart. The game is stupid.â
âAlright. Want some more skittles instead?â
She digs in right away, leaning over to Jakeâs side to almost empty the plastic bag, and his voice turns just as soft as it was before.
âHey, can you help me out with something else? Itâs pretty stupid too, but I think youâre the only one who can do it.â
She nods, a bit hesitant.
âSee, we got these three guys in, and we know that one of them was there when we found you in the apartment.â Jake says, carefully. âBut we donât know which one, and you could tell us if you saw them, right?â
Amyâs forehead wrinkles with worry as she watches her shrink away again, her arms linking around her knees.
âYou donât have to. We can keep playing and eating snacks here if you want. But itâd be a really, really big help for us.â
âAre they gonna see me?â
âNo. Theyâll be behind a wall with a mirror, and they canât see us or hear us at all.â
âYouâll come too?â
âOf course. I wanna see you solve that puzzle all smartypants-like.â
The little girl giggles before she nods, and when Jake stands up with his hand held out to her, she reaches for it.
She solves their puzzle with no problem - clinging to Jakeâs hand in the room across the line-up, pointing and even naming the perp whoâs exposed as a blind date turned aggressive stalker once they can dig into his cell phone history.Â
She spends the rest of her stay at the precinct at Jakeâs desk, asking a million and one questions about the knicknacks on his desk, half of which she ends up pushing around over files exactly the way he usually does when heâs bored, being fed an endless supply of skittles by Jakeâs trips to the vending machine.
When her grandfather practically storms the place two hours later, after finally being reached thanks to Amyâs contact research skills, she jumps into his arms as he hugs her tight. But then she turns and hugs Jake, who went down on one knee to reach her height, just as tight to say goodbye.
âThanks for your help, smartypants.â Amy hears him say, soft and smiling again. âYou can keep this one until you figure it out, too.âÂ
The little girl sticks her still rainbow-coloured tongue out at him even as she grabs the wood puzzle heâs holding up.
-*-
Amy is still staring at him in the elevator down to her car to drive them home, a good few hours after the girl and her grandpa had left with many thanks (and the number of a good child therapist in grandpaâs pocket, despite the girlâs cheery appearance, slipped there by Amy).
âWhat?â Jake says as he notices her eyes locked onto him, a slightly unsure grin on his face.
âYou handled that really well. With the little girl.â
He shrugs and scratches his nose.
âBest way to get someone out of their shell: poke âem and double dog dare âem to do stuff you know theyâll be good at. Or, if that doesnât work, snacks.â
Amy stares at him some more, but the gears in her head are already working.
âThatâs- is that-?â She huffs, all of a sudden, shocked by the realisation sheâs just come to. âThatâs what you did to me when I started here!â
âYeah.â Jakeâs grin is not so unsure anymore as he shrugs again. âIt works on all ages of smartypants.â
He lifts his arm up to protect himself before she can even play-punch him, but he still gets a good one into his side as he laughs.Â
âBut then you had to go and be way too good at everything I dared you to.â He continues, grabbing both her hands as she tries to land another hit, holding back her own laugh. Â
âI guess Iâm just way more of a smartypants than youâd expected.â
âNah.â He sneaks a kiss onto the tip of her nose. âI knew you were, like, smartypants-squared from the first day. I just didnât expect you to be as competitive as me.â
âGood thing I am, or you wouldâve had to move onto the Snacks option instead.â
âHey, I got you loads of street meat.â
Heâs let go of her hands enough for another soft punch to his arm, but then she wraps around it instead, pulling him close as the elevator doors open to the garage.
âWell, Iâm glad to know you can handle smartypants-girls of all ages.â She says as she leans up to kiss his cheek. âHelps with the planning, I have to say.â
âWhat planning?â He asks, but she only laughs as she lets go of his arm, walking towards her car knowing full well heâll follow her with the most confused look on his face.
âAmy, what planning?!â
52 notes
¡
View notes
Note
001 for B99
Oooh okay, thanks and also apologies
001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:
 Favourite character:
gina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Least Favourite character:
eh, probs Hitchcock and scully
 5 Favourite ships (canon or non-canon):
I can't recall ever having super strong shippy feelings about this show so I guess raymond/kevin, rosa/Adrian, jake's parents (why not, I just like it when Brad and Katey are on screen), rosa/holt's nephew, rosa/gina Rodriguez
 Character I find most attractive:
Like their face or their personality???
Melissa fumero is objectively stunning, and there are few things in this world I like seeing more than Chelsea peretti's face.
Rosa's personality is basically perfect.
 Character I would marry:
Mm, I guess I don't have exactly moral objections to marriage, and I love a wedding, but I'm very skeeved off the idea of it for myself so unless there was huge financial gain in it or it would be useful in terms of bureaucracy for someone involved, no one.
 Character I would be best friends with:
I would only want to be best friends with rosa and Holt, the others need to calm tf down.
 a random thought:
I think referring to this show as cop propaganda is a little inane. There are a lot of shows set in law enforcement workplaces. I think criticising the way that those inform the public consciousness and excuse eg wandering in without probable cause or tricking suspects is totally reasonable and should be encouraged!!!! But I don't know that yelling about a dumb sitcom or making people excuse the fact that they like a dumb sitcom is a great use of time.
Do they get funding for a positive portrayal of law enforcement? I don't even know and can't be bothered to look it up. It wouldn't surprise me if they did. Capitalism is bad. Shocking, I know.
 An unpopular opinion:
Mike schur's shows are fine, but they're not as great as people make out. They're too samey and i feel like this one has gone on long enough tbqh
 My Canon OTP:
I guess raymond/kevin!
 My Non-canon OTP:
Gina/still being on the show đđđđ
 Most Badass Character:
gotta be rosa
 Most Epic Villain:
probably the vulture?? I'm lowkey kinda obsessed with Dean winters
 Pairing I am not a fan of:
gina/Boyle, ewwww
 Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):
Amy, kinda? I've been finding it harder to like her (and I used to like her! And I wanna like her!) in the last few seasons. I know I'm a broken record but her and gina bouncing off each other when they were both being loons was so fun!!! Instead she often feels v flanderised and they make her seem cruel and unfair to jake or rosa or whoever :(
 Favourite Friendship:
Oh this is hard because I love gina and jake's friendship, and it's so cute cos chelsea and Andy are childhood friends, but also I love gina amy rosa friendship but... I think it's ultimately holt and gina
 Character I most identify with:
I think an exact even split between holt and gina
 Character I wish I could be:
Hmm wunch? I need a nemesis worthy of me
8 notes
¡
View notes
Text
i saved this picture on may 30. the time to use it is finally here. SPOILER ALERT BTW đ¨
ok i apologise in advance if this ends up being all over the place LMFAO i was trying to guess what happened so my thought process was all âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸ ALSO i am guilty of scrolling to the end of the fic and reading the last line first bc im a stupid bitch who loves suspense but also needs to know how the story ends even before she starts it đ§ââď¸ and then i read ur authorâs note too which was a bad idea bc i got confused like HUHHHH whats she talking ab wdym jakeâs was an unfiltered version WHAG IS GOING TO HAPPEN. this information does not contribute to the review whatsoever but. we move đ
ok at first i was suspicious of sunghoon bc hes not there in the first scene and y/nâs protecting jake + jay is just a ft. guy in the pairing so i decided he must be irrelevant (sorry jay) LMAOAOAO also it made me suspicious of JAKE bc WHY is y/n protecting him đ¤¨đ¤¨ btw heeseungâŚâŚ.. i kept focusing on him wdym biceps flexing under his white button up đđđ i am not normal!
the part ab y/n feeling awkward for calling sunghoon hoon lowkey resonated w me bc i get so awkward calling xyz person by a nickname that has ALREADY been given to them by someone else before đđ jae is such a cute nickname tho im telling u i felt something Awaken in me when i first read it đŤľ
i lowkey started rooting for jakeyn once sunghoon isolated himself from everyone else đ
BTW. my first thought when jungwon was murdered was that sunghoon did it but it ended up being for a completely different reason than it actually was đ i could identify that sunghoon was into y/n bc of what he said after she had a breakdown which is why i thought he was ??? being possessive of y/n in some twisted way ??? LIKE. maybe jungwon said smth related to y/n that pissed him off which is why he k worded him LMFAO i fear this is a result of me indulging in bookstagram for romcom recs but somehow ending up on the dark romance side đ OKAY BUT IN MY DEFENCE. sunghoon also texted her saying how it was two of them against the world which is what reinforced my theory of him being a crazy in love maniac. like broâs gone radio silent on her and then he suddenly shoots her these shady texts ????
omg btw this was my fav line from the entire story it was soooo impactful i LOVE
also iâm guilty of not suspecting jay when he revealed sunghoon was the one who killed jungwon đ§ââď¸ it was only after jake pointed out how it was weird jay never reported sunghoon to the authorities despite knowing the truth that i realised how STUPID i was đ i couldnât even be pissed at y/n bc i had the same fucking skill issue.
in jakeâs pov i was sooo surprised to see jay be the one who casually walked out onto the port bc i was CONVINCED it would be sunghoon. i also lowkey thought it was sunghoon forcing jay to be hysterical on the call w y/n so he could lure her outside .. jay was so terribly innocent in my theories HAHA i felt so bad for jake when jay made the comment ab him liking y/n đ and then sunghoon came and started taunting him đđ GIVE MY MAN A BREAK.
when y/n stopped jake from lunging at sunghoonâŚâŚâŚâŚ. i can treat u better jakey đđ but i could see where she was coming from bc sheâd been pining after hoon for suchhh a long time :( she was prob still in love w him and couldnât process his betrayal immediately
THE PART WHERE IT WAS REVEALED THEYD BEEN PLANNING Y/NâS MURDERâŚâŚ. OHHH i was STUMPED i did not see that coming AT ALL it was the craziest thing everrrr LOVEDDD the plot twist!!!!!
y/n killing jay bc he accidentally killed sunghoon was INSANE she was ready to ruin her entire life for a guy whoâd been planning her murder for 4 years đ her blackmailing jake broke my heart đđ i thought they were 4lyfers DONâT DO THIS TO MEEEEE WHYS SHE BEHAVING THIS WAY đđđđđ
omg also why is the police always so horrible in thrillers bc there was an inconsistency i noticed in y/n and jakeâs versions LMFAO y/n said she accidentally killed jay in self defence but in jakeâs version we see that she stabbed him MULTIPLE times. heeseung should have known they were lying immediately BOOO HEESEUNG
AAAAAA i loved this fic sm âââ thank u for contributing to spooky szn w an actual spooky fic i was tired of seeing kinktober smut everywhere HAHA this was suchhhhh a good read!!! i especially enjoyed the build up it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!!!! đĽđĽđĽ
against the world
PAIRING ⸠park sunghoon x fem!reader x sim jaeyun (ft. park jongseong)
GENRES ⸠fluff, angst, psychological, horror, thriller
WARNINGS ⸠profanity, murder, descriptions of gore, unrequited love, found family, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, mc is an unreliable narrator
SUMMARY ⸠if you could change anything about your life, it would be meeting park sunghoon.
WORD COUNT ⸠14,064 words
PLAYLIST ⸠back to black by amy winehouse ⢠the french library by franz gordon ⢠perfectly splendid by the newton brothers
AUTHORâS NOTE ⸠hello !! this fic is a rewrite of one of my first horror fics that iâve written :') it badly needed reworking and i completely changed the ending. i hope you guys enjoy my spooky szn contribution âĄ
THE TRUTH WAS, YOUR LIFE BEGAN TO FALL APART EVEN BEFORE YOU MET SIM JAEYUN.Â
You realized this as you woke up, face pressed against the ice-cold, concrete floor of a holding cell; when the guards dragged your uncooperative, limp body into an interrogation room; when you were face-to-face with Detective Lee Heeseung and handcuffed to a cold, metal table as he read your Miranda Rights. The handcuffs dug into the flesh of your wrists, but you only fought against them once and gave up as soon as you realized they wouldnât give in. You just wanted to thumb away the crusted blood staining your hands and pick out the flakes under your nails.
The room was foreign to you. It was something youâd seen in movies and read in books, but you never fathomed the idea of being in an interrogation room yourself. There was a two-way glass that you aimlessly stared at, wondering who was listening in on the other end.Â
You couldnât figure out just how you ended up in this situation. Everything was smooth in your memory up until your supposed arrestâa tear in the fabric of your recollection. You hardly remembered what happened on the way to the police station or when you were getting booked in. You dug your palms into your temples and then pressed against the soft flesh under your eyes, frustrated by the stunted gears in your head. As much as you begged than to click and start spinning, they remained stuck and rusted in place.Â
But you couldnât ask the brooding man standing over you. You couldnât look up into his cold, unforgiving eyes. After all, he knew you were a murderer.Â
âThereâs no use in lying to me, Y/N,â Detective Lee said gruffly with a gaze like steel, âthe prints match.â
You drummed your fingers against the tableâa habit that was rooted in your anxiety. Your fingers were stained and pruned like roses, and as hard as you tried to paint the table red, it only flaked off. You were sure your heartbeat was faster than the tapping of your fingers, your mind perhaps speeding off twice as fast.
Your stomach twisted. If Jaeyun was going to prison, too, then you could no longer protect him.
There was a limit to how much he could take; you knew that being thrown in the slammer would be intolerable for him. You knew you needed to get to him immediately because Jaeyun was the guy who felt too little and too much at the same timeâthe guy who looked for the part of him that ran away, who self-destructed when he felt the world closing in on him.
After all, Jaeyun was a stick of trinitrotoluene lit at both ends.Â
You worked up the courage to look Detective Lee in the eye, which made him stiffen up, biceps flexing under his white button-up.Â
âWhereâs Jaeyun?â you asked.Â
Detective Leeâs lips pressed into a thin, grim line. Cutting into his pale cheeks. You decided that couldnât be a good reaction.Â
You continued, âHe didnât do anything, I swear. He was just there. He didnât do anything.â
âIf you cooperate with us, then you can see Jaeyun again,â the detective answered in a clipped tone. âI can sit here all day and wait.â
Cooperate. You hated that word.
You knew Detective Lee was just trying to sugarcoat your betrayal. You knew he was looking down on you, ready to push you to your limit.Â
But there was nothing you could do in this room. There was no way for you to escape or talk your way out of it to see Jaeyun. You knew quite well that staying silent would only prevent you from making sure your boyfriend was okay.Â
You had no other choice but to work with Detective Lee.Â
âWill you at least make sure heâs not hurt?â you inquired, to which Detective Lee agreed with a nod.
âIâll ask again: Will you cooperate?â
You stayed silent. You despised your old habit of shutting down like this, but you couldnât help it.
Detective Lee sighed and sat in the chair across from you so that you both were eye-level with each other. âListen, Y/N, youâre young. This murder investigationâthis is serious stuff, okay? We just need to know the full story before we jump to any conclusions and make a false arrest. Can we start from last night?â
Deep down, you understood. But itâs all too freshâtoo soon. The grief had yet to settle. The recollections of blood and lifeless eyes poisoned your head; it was all you could see when you closed your eyes.
You sounded hollow when you said, âIt didnât⌠start from last night.â
Detective Lee acknowledged this and leaned forward, hands clasped in front of him. âThen letâs hear it from the beginning.â
If you could change anything about your life, it would be meeting Park Sunghoon.
Your first meeting was at the age of fourteen. Moving schools was an unexpected shift in your life, and you didn't expect to find many friends at your new school. Starting new in the beginning of the year was one thing, but entering unknown territory with people already acclimated in their respective groups was another.Â
People flocked to comfort, and you were sure that no one would want to step out of their comfort zone to bring a stranger into their friend group.
And then Sunghoon swooped in, like an angel sent from the heavens.
Initially, he was awkward. You were both fourteen-years-old and going through the initial stages of pubertyâall voice cracks and awkward intervals of growth stunts. Sunghoon was soft-spoken and didnât have many friends when he approached and befriended you.Â
It started when you both found out you shared a love for novels. You spent hours talking about your favorite books, and Sunghoon shared his dream of wanting to craft the perfect story. Oftentimes, Sunghoon would share some of his writing with you, and then his eyes would sparkle upon hearing your feedback.Â
You two were classmates, sitting right next to each other in the back of the classroom, conveniently right next to the door. You got to know Sunghoon slowlyâthe same gradual feeling of starting to care for someone. You knew his boundaries, though, because you were aware that you could never be the closest to Sunghoon. He and Park Jongseong were attached at the hip, and you couldnât lie to yourself; you felt like a third wheel in the beginning.
But there was some comfort in the security of your friendship.
âItâs you and me,â Sunghoon would tell you, âthe two of us against the world.â
You knew you should have been grateful to have made friends in the first place, but you didnât exactly know if you belonged with them. As comfortable as you felt, there was always a whisper in the back of your head, telling you that you would never be their number one.
You would never be anyoneâs number one.
âI donât understand girls,â Jongseong said one day, hands tucked behind his head as the three of you were hanging out in Sunghoonâs room. You were flipping through some comic book that Sunghoon had laying around, and you shifted uncomfortably upon hearing the question.Â
âYou donât have to.â Sunghoonâs eyes flitted from you, and then back to his phone. He swiped through some apps, but you could tell he wasnât really paying attention judging by the glazed-over look in his eyes. âGirls make no sense at this age.â
Jongseong nudged you. âYou have anything to say about that, Y/N?â
To be honest, you didnât understand yourself much either. You were just starting to go through puberty, and it wasnât ideal for a teenager as young as you to only have guy friends. You couldnât relate to any of the girls your age, nor could you ask them if they were going through the same changes you were.Â
You were acquainted with several girls, of course, but you never got close enough to ask what feelings and experiences they had. You wanted to know if they were becoming as conscious of themselves and others like you were, but you kept those questions bottled up since you only had Sunghoon and Jongseong.
âNope,â you replied. âI couldnât tell you.â
You supposed Jongseong was having girl problems again, and it all clicked because lately, he had been hanging around a pretty girl in their class. They were cute together and clearly into each other, but you could pick up on the issue: Jongseong was on the down-low about their relationship. More importantly, he had been on the down-low about it around Sunghoon, which had to have been breaking some sort of best friend code.
Jongseong asked, âYou like anyone, Hoon?â
Hoon, your brain echoed, and you imagined yourself using the name as casually as Jongseong did. It sounded awkward coming from you, though. Friends gave each other nicknames, right? What if you gave Sunghoon a nickname? How would he react?
Sunghoon flushed behind his phone screen. You could tell he wanted it to go undetected, but you caught a glimpse of his flustered expression before he was able to compose himself.
âOh, not really,â he replied with an air of indifference. âI dunno. I guess I havenât really been looking.â
âHow about you, Y/N?â
You faltered for a moment before you realized you had been addressed. It was a normal question; you should have expected it, but it hit you like a tornado and your mind was swirling. Dating had crossed your mind a few times, sure, you had never prepared an answer because you thought it was going to be straightforwardâa simple âyeah, thereâs a few cute guys in class.â But that wasnât the case this time, and you were wondering why there wasnât any clarity in your head.
Come on, Y/N, you urged yourself, as if you were complaining to multiple, uncooperating attendants working in your brain. Just say somethingâanything.Â
Your mind was blanking, though, and you were scared. You couldnât quite grasp why your stomach felt like a never-ending pit, but it only worsened when you couldnât spit some guyâs name out. You wanted to open up your skull, thoroughly examine your head, poke at the areas refusing to work, and figure out who you couldnât just list some attractive guy in class; on top of that, you wondered why you couldnât just flat-out refuse the statement and claim that there was no one you were interested in.
You were struck with a painful realization that there was only one person you could think of.
Sunghoon.
No, no, no, your brain and your heart screamed at each other. Get ahold of yourself.
You quickly decided that it was just a passing feeling that you needed to suppress until it went away. It was just stupid teenage hormones and puberty making you feel this way and starving you of affection that you didnât actually need in the first place. If you didnât get a hold over yourself, you were going to crumble and ruin the good things you had going.
You internally convinced yourself that everything was fine. There were plenty of teenagers your age who had moments of weakness like this with their guy friends. You just needed to branch out more, that was all.Â
Sheepishly, you replied before the boys could chew you out, âThereâs no one Iâm interested in right now.âÂ
You werenât a very good liar, but as long as Sunghoon and Jongseong were sold, you were content with how things were.Â
Your group expanded when you turned fifteen, and you and Sunghoon grew closerâmaybe even closer than Sunghoon and Jongseong were.Â
You were laying down in your bed one night, breaking into sobs when you realized that you needed more than one hand to count the number of friends you had now. Your shell was broken and your world was bigger. You normally lived like your uphills were mountains and your downhills were cliffs, but, lately, the mountains were getting easier to climb and the downhills werenât that big of a drop. You didnât need to stop and catch your breath or worry about hurting yourself on the way down.
You never felt lonely anymore. If Sunghoon or Jongseong werenât free, you would call Nishimura Riki to catch grasshoppers in the creek with you, or youâd go play video games with Yang Jungwon. Kim Sunoo called you nearly every night to bother you, but you didnât mind. You liked them; they made you feel important, like you were wanted.
âCome on,â Sunghoon teased Jungwon one day as he was blushing over some girl. âWhat are you being so shy about?â
âItâs embarrassing!â Jungwon complained, and you giggled over how a flush of red started creeping from his ears to his cheeks. âIâm not a smooth-talker like you are, Hoon.âÂ
Sunghoon snorted. âIâm not a smooth-talker.â
âHeâs practically, like, bulletproof,â Jongseong chimed in. âWe canât tease him about anyone. He just brushes it off.â
âIâm not bulletproof,â Sunghoon argued, but anyone could see the pride behind his expression. âIâm just not interested in anyone right now.â
You thought you had finally squashed the weird, gooey feeling that arose in your chest every now and then whenever Sunghoon came close. It was primarily due to the fact that Sunghoon was a respectful individual who didnât try to weasel his way into your personal bubble as he pleased. That was probably for the best because you were sure your brain would go haywire if Sunghoon was too close for comfort.
And then there was Sim Jaeyun.Â
Jaeyun entered your circle pretty easily. With his radiant personality and warm presence, it was no shocker that he was accepted by the group instantly. He possessed some odd charm that drew people to him, and you couldnât seem to figure just how that worked. You were almost jealous of him, honestly, with how much of a social butterfly he was.
Out of all of them, Jaeyun seemed to take a particular interest in you. It drove you crazy, though, and you couldnât figure out how to get the guy to stop teasing and messing around with you. The others couldnât figure it out either; you just werenât as bright and bubbly as Jaeyun was, so it was odd that he kept nagging the one person whose wavelength wasnât on par with his.Â
Sometimes it was cuteâendearing evenâbut sometimes it was just flat-out irritating.
âHey, Y/N.â Jake grinned, and his voice was all light and airy as he approached you. âWhatâre you doing for the summer break?â
âProbably sleeping in, hanging out with the others, and some more sleeping,â you replied, hardly sparing him a single glance.Â
You were too focused on clearing out your locker of all the books and papers you had tossed in during the year. Gotta keep this, gotta throw this away, gotta return this one, you rattled off in your head, mentally preserving a reminder of your various items. But Jaeyun knew how to push your buttons and grab your attention. He never took your deflection without retaliating back. That was one of the many reasons why you found it so difficult to be around him.
âAnd hanging out with Sunghoon, huh? Have you realized it yet, or are you still pretending itâs not there?â
You closed your locker with a swift swipe of your hand, revealing Jaeyunâs smug expression. Your eyes were practically bugging out of your sockets as you stared him down. Somehow, you knew exactly what he was hinting at, but you refused to spell it out for him.
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â you questioned, but Jaeyun was already walking away from you. He was turned away, but you could visualize that stupid smirk of his like it was carved into your memory.
Jaeyun was smart. Too smart.
Your summer was filled with laughter, beach trips, and shy glances at Sunghoon. He drove you around places and you sat in the passengerâs seat next to him, toes curled in your shoes because you were so overjoyed. The car was always loud with music and laughter, and whenever it was silent, it was because everyone else was sleeping on each other after a long day of being outside.
You still masqueraded around, playing the role of Sunghoonâs best friend who definitely had zero romantic feelings toward him. It was quite hard when you had to pretend like your heart didnât flutter whenever Sunghoonâs fingers brushed against yours.
âSunghoon,â Jaeyun would complain, rousing laughter from everyone at how impatient he was, âare we there yet?â
âYouâre so annoying,â Sunghoon retorted, clearly as a joke. You couldnât help but laugh at his outburst, but it quickly died on your lips once you caught a glimpse of Jaeyun winking at you in the side mirror.
Jaeyun had a mischievous glint in his eyes when he said, âBut you still love me, Hoon.â
Oh.Â
He was trying to make you jealous.Â
You fought down the urge to laugh at him. You might have been harboring a small crush, but you were never the jealous type, especially not over petty things like this. There was one little thing, however, that you couldnât seem to shake.
For some reason, the anticipation to call Sunghoon by a nickname made you anxious. You never tested it on your tongue; it just floated around in your head. However, when you addressed him as Hoon one day, your heart skipped a beat when Sunghoon responded with a smile that rivaled the brightness of the sun.
You grew closer to Jongseong, too. You didnât feel like the third wheel with him and Sunghoon anymore; you felt like you were all at the same level of closeness. You and Jongseong hung out sometimes without Sunghoon, and despite a few awkward pauses in your interactions, you two warmed up quickly and you learned how to joke around with him easily.Â
Jongseong wasnât all stiff and dry like you were initially afraid of; rather, he was surprisingly fun, and every time you learned something new about him, like how he adored cats but was allergic to them, you were even more amazed.Â
It wasnât just Jongseong, though. You and Sunghoon grew far closer than ever before, whether that was for the better or worse.Â
Sunghoon only lived a street away, so it was convenient to hang out, and when you didnât hang out with him, you two called each other. You could see him unravel in front of your eyes; he became visibly more comfortable when it was just the two of youâsmiling, laughing, and bursting into laughter with tears of unrestrained happiness.Â
It wasnât just the jubilant memories that tugged you two closer, though. It was also the despair.
In the first place, it was an accident that you even happened to break down in front of Sunghoon.
You two were in his room when it happened, and things were as they always had been before you sensed the calm before the storm. You joked around as usual and passed the time by playing video games. Sunghoon was perched on his usual spot in the corner of the bed. You looked over at him and realized how close you two had become as friends.
Friends. Just friends.
It was right at that moment when you realized that this wasnât what you wanted. You didnât want to just be Sunghoonâs best friend. You wanted to be the reason why he smiled, the one to make him blush, and the one he could share his pain and happiness with.Â
But your feelings were the scariest thing youâve ever had to face, and you felt ashamed for even wanting to cross the line drawn between you and Sunghoon.
You couldnât dare bring yourself to confess. You were almost positive that Sunghoon didnât feel the same way, and you would be risking a fall-out in your current relationship if you admitted anything. What if Sunghoon ended up hating you? What if you lost him and all of your other friends? What if you werenât the closest person to him anymore?
That was why you felt like Sunghoon was in another dimension, always a layer away. Always.
This was your own fault. You were the one who fell for your best friend. You were the one who did this to yourself. You broke your own heart.
You couldnât help it when you started falling apart in front of him. It started with a broken cough that was supposed to cover up a sniffle. You were thankful for the loud battle sounds in the game that drowned out your quiet sobbing. But the video game didnât stop Sunghoon from noticing your shaking hands gripping the controller.
âHey, whatâs wrong?âÂ
âDonât worry about it. Iâm okay.â
Your voice is so shaky, so broken. Sunghoon knew you were crying before he could see or hear it.
He paused the game and put the controller down, but your eyes were still trained on the screen, hands shaking as you clutched the controller until you were white-knuckled. Sunghoon was on edgeâpanicked. Although, it was a different kind of panic from all the times you would be stressing over an assignment and Sunghoon would offer some lame piece of advice in return.
âWhat happened? Whatâs wrong?â His tone was frantic now as he searched your face for an answer.
You smiled, although faint melancholy was tucked away in the curl of your lip. âNothing. Iâm fine.â
âNow, I know thatâs not true.â
Your smile broke. It was so unfortunate that Park Sunghoon had to have a heart so big.
You could almost hear Jaeyun in the back of your head: Have you realized it yet, or are you still pretending it isnât there?Â
You started crying, and it wasnât something soft with a gradual crescendo. It was loud and all at once, like a wounded animal. Your hands shook more, and you finally dropped your controller, burying your fingers into your roots, as if tugging your hair hard enough would make it all stop, as if it would hurt more than the ache in your chest.
Sunghoon was quick to get off his bed and slide to the ground, right next to you. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and it only made you feel ashamed. You stiffened up and shrunk back, hoping he wouldnât notice how you tensed up at his touch. You could hear your own heartbeat, but you were pretty sure you were hyperventilating at a faster pace than the pounding in your chest. The world under you moved, bounced, so you decided to lean into Sunghoon.
The logical half of your brain informed you in a calm, clipped manner that you were having a panic attack. The other half meanwhile was screaming and shutting itself down.Â
Five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste, you tried telling yourself, but your senses overwhelmed you completely. Your tears were blurring your vision, you couldnât hear anything but your sobs, and your lungs felt as if they were on fire.Â
âY/N, talk to me,â came the softest voice that eased the painful ringing in your ears.Â
âI canât,â you stuttered out. âNot right now.â
You wish you hadnât let it get to this point. You were completely humiliating yourself in front of Sunghoon right now. This was the one thing you couldnât let him find out about.Â
Your heavy gasps grew more labored. You then curled into yourself, sweaty hands tugging and knotting at your hair. And, shit, you couldnât breathe.Â
âI canât, I canât,â you repeated again and again, like a broken record. The desperation in your voice was so ugly.
There was something fierce in Sunghoonâs eyes, like he was ready to protect you from anything or anyone that tried to hurt you, but there was also softness in his voice. âYou know, you can tell me anything. Whatever it is, Iâll hear you out. I donât want you to suffer alone, Y/N.â
With a small smile, he added, âItâs just you and me, right? The two of us against the world.â
That only made you cry even more. You just replayed Sunghoonâs words in your head, like it was your favorite song.
âAlright.â You breathed in real deep, through the aching chest and everything. âItâs really stupid.â
âIf it makes you cry this hard, it canât be stupid.â
You bit your lip, embarrassed. âI think I like someoneâsomeone I canât have.â
Sunghoon didnât respond for a moment, and it rattled your brain. He probably was wondering this underwhelming confession warranted a breakdown from you, and you couldnât blame him. However, it was the only way you could avoid lying to your best friend without giving him the whole truth.Â
For a split second, you wondered if Sunghoon simply just didnât hear you. But you didnât want to repeat yourself; you didnât like repeating yourself.Â
To your surprise, Sunghoon just smiled. âDo I know them?â
You opened your mouth to speak, but no words were stringing together in your head to form a coherent sentence.
âUh, well, you donât have to tell me if youâre not ready,â Sunghoon continued. He flushed and flicked his thumb under his noseâan awkward mannerism of his that you grew to love over the years. âActually, I think weâre in the same boat. Thereâs someone I like, too. Someone I canât have.âÂ
His words bounced in your skull. Settled. Bounced again.
âReally?â you spluttered out, and it took you a moment to recuperate from the heavy sadness that was filling your chest. You brought yourself to ask, âI mean, youâre so popular, so why donât you just ask them out?â
âCanât.â
âWhy not? Are they dating someone else?â
There was a sad smile on Sunghoonâs lips when he answered, âNo, Jongseong likes her, too.â
At the age of sixteen, you realized that you couldnât get over Sunghoon, but you could suppress your heartbreak and lingering feelings.Â
It physically hurt to think about how deeply ingrained your concept of friendship was with him, and the possibility that Park Sunghoon would never think of you as more than a friend. You two had shared too many experiencesâworn each otherâs shoes and walked milesâto ever become more than what you were.
Nothing would ever change.
You were hanging out by a creek near Jongseongâs house. It was just the two of youâno Jaeyun to poke fun at you, and no Sunghoon to distract you. It was just the two of you, and it was somehow so easy to be with Jongseong like this. You could laugh with your stomach and smile with your eyes without feeling the need to close up or shut down.Â
âItâs getting annoying, isnât it?â Jongseong asked under his breath at one point. When you shot him a puzzled look, he clarified, âSunghoon.â
You picked up on Jongseongâs annoyance toward Sunghoon over the past few weeks, but his words confirmed your suspicions now. You wondered if it was geared toward the girl they both likedâwhoever she was.Â
You never thought to ask, mainly because you didnât want to know. Either way, if Sunghoon wanted to share, he wouldâve done so already.Â
You swallowed down the lump in your throat, trying to grab at words and shove them together, but you genuinely didnât know what to say.Â
It had always been you, Sunghoon, and Jongseong. You never thought about them turning on each other. The very idea made you feel sick to your stomach.Â
Over the past week, you had seen Sunghoonâs indifference toward Jongseong, but you were too afraid to ask about it. Your friend group was slow to pick up on it, but you noticed the way Sunghoon would purposely avoid conversing with Jongseong, or the way Jongseong would walk quickly past him if they crossed paths. It was odd, though, because everyone knew that Sunghoon and Jongseong were the best of friendsâinseparable. How could you hold onto someone for so long and just let go of them like that?
You recalled that Jongseong and Jungwon went over to talk to Sunghoon about his moody behavior, but Jongseong never told you whether the talk went well or not. You figured it just never happened because Jungwon called in sick the very next day.Â
You prayed that he would hurry up and get over his cold. He had been out sick all week, which checked out since everyone was getting sick around this time of the year. Jungwon would know how to get Sunghoon and Jongseong to reconcile. He was always the friend that helped everyone patch things up.Â
âYou guys are best friends,â was all you could say. âYouâll make up in a few days, right?â
Jongseong clicked his tongue loud enough to make your skin crawl.Â
But you didnât want to drop it this time, you asked, âSeriously, what happened between you guys?âÂ
For a moment, you wondered if you shouldâve brought up what Sunghoon confessed to youâabout him and Jongseong liking the same girl. But this couldnât have been about that; Sunghoon would never let a girl get between his friendships.Â
âSunghoonâs hiding something dark,â Jongseong blurted out. âI donât think I can get him out of this one.â
âSomething dark? What is it?â
âI donât really knowââ
âJongseong,â you cut in. âIf you know something, then just say it. Heâs my best friend, too.â
Jongseong shifted uncomfortably, restless. He was silent for a long period of time, so you just waited for him to collect his thoughts. Uneasiness bursted from the tips of your fingers and crawled under your skin. You felt the heat of the sun against your face, so you looked up and covered your eyes with a hand, blinking back red.Â
âIf Sunghoon did something unforgivable,â he started in a murmur, âwould you forgive him?â
âI donât know,â was all you could say.
âYeah,â Jongseong replied, his terse words nearly making you flinch. âI donât know, either.â
The sun grew hotter against your face, and all you could see was blood red behind your eyes.Â
You didnât know how exactly it started, but you slowly started to find solace in Jaeyun.
You didnât want to admit it, but you were starting to care for him a little more than the people around you. You were starting to get swayed by himâthe things he said, the way he looked at youâand it scared you a little.
But Jaeyun felt safe. He felt like home.
You two called at night, sometimes. You werenât normally one to be vulnerable in front of others, but you shed some tears in front of Jaeyun a couple of times.
The only other person you had cried in front of was Sunghoon.
âItâs kinda sad,â Jaeyun told you one day. You two were spending the afternoon studying together at his place, and you were feeling self-conscious because you were starting to regret not dressing a little cuter. âIâve known you for a year, but weâve only gotten close now.â
âI donât think either of us cared about deepening our friendship back then.â
He narrowed his eyes at you. âYou think I didnât want to be closer? How do you think I picked up on you liking Sunghoon?â
âBecause I was obvious about it?â
âNo, idiot, because I like you.â
You blinked a few times until you fully processed his words. I like you, your brain repeated, and then you reprocessed the information.Â
No, there was an âidiotâ before that. Not only were you liked, but he thought you were stupid, as well.Â
You became painfully aware of your knees touching Jaeyunâs, but you still couldnât wrap your head around the idea of him liking you romantically. You had never been in this position. Since your crush on Sunghoon had been one-sided for the past few years, you never expected to be on the receiving end.Â
âYouâŚâ you trailed off, floundering to find something to sayâsomething that wouldnât make you sound stupid or mean. You settled with, âYou, too?â
His eyes beamed with hope. âFor a year now.â
Your world was so small before. It was just you, Sunghoon, and Jongseong.Â
Before you could even wonder if there was space in your heart for Jaeyun, you realized that you had already let him burrow his way in there.
âCan I kiss you?â Jaeyun asked.Â
You couldnât help but breathe out a laugh, and every once of nervousness slipped away. You always thought you could attain this level of closeness with Sunghoon, but maybe your relationship with him was just that fragileâwhere you could just grab the string binding you two together and snip it completely.Â
But it was different with Jaeyun.Â
âYeah,â you answered, smiling, âyou can.â
And then, with Jaeyunâs breath fanning your lips, you felt Sunghoon completely dissolve from the impounding thoughts racking your brain. Right now, it was Jaeyun and only Jaeyun.Â
You leaned in first, cupping his cheek and pressing your lips against Jaeyunâs soft ones. It was weird, kissing for the first time, but he leaned into it instantly so that your movements were less awkward and more guided.Â
A fire blazed inside of you, burning hotter than imaginable. You didnât expect Jaeyun to drive you this crazyâto crave more, to want more. You drew back before you slid your hand into his hair, although you were tempted to go further when his pillowy lips peppered soft kisses along your jawline.Â
But you didnât want to go overboard or ruin anything by going too fast. You settled for leaving another chaste kiss against his lips before pulling back, and you were delighted when you saw how pleased Jaeyun was. He was practically glowing.Â
From then on, you and Jaeyun had a relationship that extended past something platonic, but it wasnât like you two were official. Naturally, you ended up confiding in him over everything.Â
While Sunghoon still held a place in your heart as your first love, you grew to care for Jaeyun, who kindled a gentler fire in you. Sunghoon, on the other hand, left you burned and scarred.Â
You didnât want to rush into a relationship, mainly because you didnât want Jaeyun to think he was a rebound, and he respected that. So he waited for you to figure out your feelings and let your heart choose who was right for you.Â
You werenât stupid, though; you knew that chasing after Sunghoon was a hopeless cause.
You and Jaeyun drifted about in a limbo-state of your relationship. You two went on a couple of dates, got to know each other at a deeper level, and spent a lot of time together. He became the person you thought about when you were falling asleep and when you woke up in the morning.Â
You two got along surprisingly well, and you wondered why you ever had doubts about him in the beginning. Sure, Jaeyun still got on your nerves at times, but you just found it funny after the wave of annoyance passed.Â
Your friends started to talk about how close you two were and frequently brought up the idea of you two dating. Of course, you always denied it, enjoying the privacy you and Jaeyun had.Â
But as your relationship blossomed into something more serious, you decided that you didnât want things to stay casual any longer. So, you asked him out, and Jaeyun, being the lovesick puppy he was, accepted without a second thought.Â
You thought about how much had changed in your life. Sunghoon stopped hanging out with you completely, resorting to being alone most of the time. Everyone was concerned about his behavior, but after several attempts of failed confrontation, they all collectively gave up. You and Jongseong still kept an eye on him, using roundabout ways to find out how he was doing; it was the most you two could do given how little opportunity you had to talk to him.Â
You didnât share many classes with Jongseong anymore, but you two were still close, even after your âtwo of us against the worldâ friendship with Sunghoon had gone to shit.Â
Jongseong was kind, though, and despite how he was rough around the edges, he was gentle enough.Â
But he knew that Sunghoon was hiding something dark, and that alone made you somewhat nervous around him.Â
You felt unsettled the entire day, but when your group chat started flooding with texts about Jungwon in the middle of the night, you felt an icy chill travel down your spine.Â
It was all over the news. The whole story about him being down with the flu was just a cover-up while authorities were looking for him.
You felt nauseous.Â
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FOUND DEAD NEAR WOODS. FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED.
The 16-year-old boy was found dead at the scene. The parents of the deceased student have identified him as Yang Jungwon. As of now, there are no leads, but authorities have ruled the case as a homicide.Â
Police have asked anyone with information to contact their local police department.
You read the headline again. Over and over again until your vision was blurry and the words were convoluted. Your fingers were raw and bitten down to the nail bed by the time you were able to put your phone down so that you could just cry into your hands.Â
By the time you got around to reading the details, grimacing at the descriptions of mutilation done to Jungwonâs body and how his body had been decomposing for weeks now, you had to run to your toilet and dry heave everything out.Â
You werenât the closest to Jungwon or anything, but imagining such a bright person meet such a horrific end wasnât easy to process. For hours, you ignored all of the calls and texts and attempts to comfort from your parents. You stared straight at your wallâso terrified that your chest hurt and your breathing was ragged.Â
Later that night, when the world was quiet and dreaming, you received a text from Sunghoon.Â
sunghoon: Hey sunghoon: Iâve been thinking about you. Are you doing okay? sunghoon: I havenât been a good friend lately, Iâm sorry sunghoon: Itâs still the two of us against the world
There was a time when those words made you feel like you were on top of the world, soaring high over the clouds.Â
Now, though, all you could feel was a horrible sensation of dread.
It had been months since Sunghoon and Jongseongâs falling out.Â
You were seventeen now, but you felt hollower as you aged. Sunghoon showed up to school and lingered within your group silently, only contributing when spoken to directly. He didnât approach you anymore or ask to hang out after school. Actually, no one knew what he did after school. He would head straight home and then go completely off the radar.Â
Gone off the rails, as Sunoo called it.Â
You cried several nights over it. You felt like not only was your best friend slipping away from you, but Sunghoonâs disconnect from the group would soon make you pull away, too. You had Jaeyun, of course, but nothing felt the same anymore. With Jungwon dead, the group felt tense and gloomy. You all started hanging out with other people and slowly stopped responding in the group chat.Â
Part of you realized that Sunghoonâs detachment was because you didnât reply to him the night Jungwonâs murder was publicized. Back then, you suspected that Sunghoon could have been behind it, judging by your conversation with Jongseong earlier. It all added up in your head, but the only thing that was stopping you from believing it fully was that you couldnât fathom Sunghoon ever doing something so evil.Â
âI donât know whatâs going on with him,â you whispered into the phone, even though there wasnât anyone around that you were worried about listening in. âHeâs shutting me out now. Something mustâve happened to him.âÂ
You heard Jaeyun hum and contemplate for a moment before he replied, âMaybe he just needs space.âÂ
âI think something happened between him and Jongseong,â you admitted, âbut I canât imagine Jongseong saying anything that would make Sunghoon ignore him for this long.â
âIt mustâve been serious, then.âÂ
âBut⌠but itâs Sunghoon; heâsââyou paused as you recalled what Jongseong once called himââbulletproof.â
There was a pause.
âI guess thatâs the problem with being bulletproof,â Jaeyun spoke gravely. âPeople think they can just keep shooting.â
What Jaeyun told you that night kept replaying in your head over the next weekâover and over again. It hit you a little too hard, and you waited to confront Sunghoon about it. You wanted him to know that he could be vulnerable, too. But you couldnât even speak to your best friend these days. He had been avoiding everyone like the plague.
You assumed it had something to do with Jongseong, but when you talked to him about it, he was hesitant to get into it.
âYouâre the closest person to him,â you told him. Today was colder, and you rubbed your hands together for warmth as you and Jongseong stood by the gates after school. âI think if you guys sit down and talk things out, then heâll start being himself again.â
âI was the closest person to him,â Jongseong corrected with a scoff. âPlus, thereâs nothing to talk about.â
âNothing to talk about? What about your friendship?â
You couldnât stop the words from leaving your mouth. Anger roiled deep in your chest, and you were too furious to realize that Jongseong only looked dejected in response. If he wasnât going to explain what happened, then you couldnât understand what was eating away at their relationship.Â
âThere is no friendship, Y/N,â he said slowly, in a voice so low that it sounded like the calm before the storm. His words made everything come to a halt, and you felt like time itself had frozen. âI suggest you let go of Sunghoon, too. Youâre hanging onto someone whoâs beyond help.â
âBut I donât know what you know!â you exclaimed. âI canât let go of someone just like that, Jongseong. I need answers.â
He was quiet before he asked, âDo you remember when Sunghoon stayed over at your house once when we were fourteen?â
âWhen his house caught on fire?â you recalled, but the memory was sort of hazy for you. All you remembered was how you were in complete awe that Sunghoon was unscathed and unbothered by the incident.Â
âYeah,â Jongseongâs voice was grim as he said, âand I bet he never told you that he was the one who started that fire on purpose.â
It was like a punch to the gut. You could only shake your head blankly, lips parted in disbelief.Â
He continued, âWhen we were fifteen, he thought it would be fun to plan out a murder without getting caughtââ
No.
ââand, at sixteen, he actually did it.â
No. No.Â
âJongseong,â you whispered, your voice smaller than you intended, âwas itâŚâÂ
âJungwon?â He said the name so carefully, as if the world would explode into nothingness if he did. You had been gnawing at your lip so hard that you drew blood, yet that couldnât distract you from the haunted look in Jongseongâs eyes. âYeah, he killed Jungwon.â
You felt like you had just been doused with ice-cold water.Â
âI shouldnât have brought Jungwon with me. I knew Sunghoon was gonna do it to someone, but I didnât knowâŚâ He sucked in a deep, shuddering breath that racked his entire body. âI didnât think it would be him. I brought Jungwon to talk him out of whatever was going on, not toâŚâ Jongseong stopped himself again, covering his face with his hands to wipe away the tears that had started to fall.Â
Itâs you and me, Sunghoonâs voice chimed in your head. The two of us against the world.
You thought your world had been shattered, but then you realized that it had actually been broken for a long time.
That night, you asked Jaeyun to come over, and he arrived at your door in record speed.
You two were sitting on your bed, controllers in hand, but the screen was off and neither of you were even in the mood to play. You must have trusted him more than anyone by now because the words started spilling with no preamble. You ended up explaining most of your conversation with Jongseong after you had Jaeyun swear on his life that he wouldnât tell a soul.
Of course, you didnât expect any normal person to compliantly come to terms with the fact that their friend murdered their other friend, but Jaeyun was a bit different when it came to you. Instead of accusing you of lying or denying the truth, he believed you wholeheartedly. You couldnât tell if he was patient with you, or if he was just horrified by everything you had told him.Â
It had been an entire year since Jungwon had been found dead and the case closed as an unsolved murder, but your words sucker punched Jaeyun like it had just happened yesterday.Â
Jaeyunâs tone was urgent when he said, âWe have to tell someone.â When he noticed your hesitation, he shook his head at you with a disapproving frown. âY/N, this is serious. This is Jungwon, my best friend.âÂ
Your mouth went dry. âI-I know, itâs justââ
Jaeyun didnât have to cut you off. You froze right when you saw tears welling up in his eyes.
âY/N.â He said your name gently, but you still flinched. You had never heard your name being called with so much despair. âIf Sunghoon really murdered Jungwon, then I canât keep this a secret.â
âGive me a few days,â you pleaded. âI just want to hear Sunghoon out. No matter what he says, Iâll come with you to testify.âÂ
He shook his head immediately, eyes fierce. âYou are not going anywhere near Sunghoonânot after what he did to Jungwon.â
âThen let me ask Jongââ
âY/N,â Jaeyun interrupted, letting his hand slide over yours. His eyes were full of concern when he asked, âHow do you know you can trust Jongseong?âÂ
Your hands started to shake.
âY/N,â he said again, âif Jongseong took Jungwon to see Sunghoon, what do you think he did after Sunghoon killed him?â
Your pulse raced.
âIf Jongseong knew about Sunghoonâs behavior for this long, why hasnât he ever done anything?âÂ
All this time, you thought your world had grown a little bigger ever since you met Sunghoon and Jongseong.Â
But you were living in a fantasy by yourself.Â
Not so long after your talk with Jaeyun, your phone rang. You were in the middle of finishing up your history paper when you saw the caller ID flash across your screen.
It was Sunghoon.
You didnât even give yourself time to think about it first. You just picked up the phone immediately. It was an old habit; you saw Sunghoon and accepted the call without a second thought. You never expected Sunghoon to ever call you again, so you didnât exactly have any practice in rejecting his calls.
âY/N?â came the familiar voice of Park Sunghoonâgentle, but almost like he was a caged animal.
âSunghoon?â You swallowed hard. âUh, how are you? Itâs been a while since weâve talked.â
âIâm so sorry,â he apologized, but you werenât sure what he was apologizing for. âIt was supposed to be the two of us against the world.â
You frowned. âSunghoon, whatâs going on?â
Instead of answering your question, Sunghoon hesitated before saying, âWe should catch up sometime. You can read part of the story Iâm writing.â
You paused, and before he could ask if you were still there, you replied, âYeah, sure.â
âRight.â Sunghoon sounded like he had more to say. You almost didnât catch it because he was so quiet, and the last thing you heard before he hung up was a quiet, âBye, then.â
Your deepest regret was answering your phone later that night.
It was hours after Sunghoon called you. Jongseong was more of a texter, so you were surprised when his caller ID flashed across your screen. It was definitely not a reasonable hour for a high school student to be out and about, but nothing could have prepared you for what you heard on the other side of the line.
Jongseong was sobbing.Â
The sound chilled you to the bone. You never heard Jongseong cry, but this didnât feel normal; this cry was frantic and mangled, like he was spiraling out of control.Â
âY/N, you have to come over quickly,â Jongseong begged through broken sobs and heavy breaths. âPlease, Y/N, I donât want him to hurt anyone else.â
âJongseong, calm down. Tell me whatâs happening.â
âYou have my location, right? Just hurry. Please.â And he hung up.Â
In a daze, you called Jaeyun and asked him to pick you up.Â
âI really think we should just call the cops,â Jaeyun offered, almost pleading. âI donât know whatâs going on with Jongseong, but this sounds sketchy, Y/N.â
Pitted fear festered in your throat. You knew something was off, but you werenât sure if you could handle losing Jongseong, too. You had gotten so used to not being alone that you were paranoid of returning to having no one.Â
âCall them as soon as we get there,â you said. âI just need to make sure Jongseongâs okay.âÂ
Jaeyun pressed his lips into a thin, grim line, but he kept driving.Â
It was a port that Jongseongâs location directed you to, and discomfort crept into your limbs as soon as Jaeyun pulled into the area. Maybe you shouldâve stayed back where it was safer and let the police handle everything, but you must have been a fool. It was just that Jongseongâs cries echoed in your head whenever you started having second thoughts.
You could hear him before you saw him.
Jongseongâs soft sobs could be heard from behind a metal storage unit, and you and Jaeyun inched closer carefully after getting out of the car. Your heart dropped to your stomach; you were dreading the worst, and when you turned the corner into the closed area Jongseong was in, you realized that the sight before you was the worst it could get.Â
Sunghoonâs body.
You waited for his chest to rise, but not even a shallow breath escaped his blue-tinged lips.
It took you a moment to reorient yourself and realize that Sunghoon wasnât just passed out, he was dead.Â
You saw the blood pooling around him and the wounds piercing his torso, staining his white shirt, but you wanted to believe your mind was playing tricks on you. You convinced yourself that Sunghoon was going to get up any second now and start laughing, and then Jongseong would join in and tell you it was all a joke.Â
But that wasnât the case.
It wasnât fear that overtook youânot an overwhelm of emotionâit was numbness. You stared at Sunghoonâs body as he bled out onto the concrete, blood pooling into the cracks in the ground. You felt an odd sort of disconnect.Â
You tilted your head to see Sunghoonâs face turned to the side against the concrete. His blank eyes just stared into nothingness, and you realized that you would never get to see Sunghoonâs warm, sincere gaze ever again. You were never going to see his bright smile. You were never going to hear his contagious laugh. You were never going to read the wonderful stories he wrote.Â
You supposed your life was always meant to be a tragedy.Â
âH-Hoon?â Jaeyun choked up behind you. He was staring down at Sunghoonâs lifeless body in horror before his expression was slowly replaced with anger. âJongseong, what the hell did you do?!â
âIt was self-defense, man,â Jongseong whimpered out before his body was racked with sobs again. âHe pulled a knife on me out of nowhere. I tried to stop him, but he was trying to kill me. I couldnât do anything else. I couldnât run, I couldnâtââ He exhaled shakily. âI couldnât do anything else.â
You didnât say anything. You just stared at Sunghoon.
âCome on, guys,â Jongseong pleaded. âI canât go to fucking prison. Iâm eighteen now; itâs not juvie, itâs a life sentence.â You didnât know what he was getting at until he requested the unthinkable, âHelp me get rid of the body.â
You wanted to puke. You eyed the shiny metal soaked in blood that Jongseong was clutching. You were never going to see Sunghoon again. You were never going to hang out with him over the weekend. You were never going to hear his voice again.Â
âGet rid of the body?â Jaeyun raised his voice, exasperated. âWhat the fuck are you gonna do when they realize heâs gone missing? You just killed someone! This is on you, Jongseong, not us!â
âAre you going to help me get rid of it or not?!â Jongseong tugged at his hair. âJust help me throw him off the dock, and we can all walk away from this.â
You watched helplessly, horror-stricken. âI⌠I canât.â
âThe bodyâs gonna float and show up somewhere,â Jaeyun countered with stony eyes. âTheyâre gonna catch you.â
Jongseong looked terrifyingly pale. You wondered if it was just the glow of the moon, or if he was also holding in his urge to puke. âIâll just cut his stomach so he sinks.â
Disgusted, Jaeyun scowled. âYouâre a monster.â
You watched as Jongseong tried hauling Sunghoonâs body before giving up and dragging him by the legs. You shot Jaeyun a warning look, mouthing for him to call the police before Jongseong noticed. He lingered back to do so while you followed Jongseong to plead him to stop. His arms gave out as soon as he stepped onto the planks, and he let Sunghoonâs lower half collapse onto the solid wood.Â
âY/N, help me cut open his stomach,â he ordered, hardly sparing you a glance. If he did, he would have seen how horrified you were.
âOh,â you said, voice wavering, âthatâs⌠thatâthatâs hisâŚâÂ
âY/N, help me.â
âJongseong,â you begged, âplease⌠please stop.â
He paid you no attention, though. You felt ghastly as Jongseong used a paring knife to make an incision on Sunghoonâs stomach. The smell was putrid. You screwed your eyes shut as the metallic smell of blood invaded your nostrils. Your nausea plunged into your gut, and you had to fight the pervasive urge to hurl.
A stream of Sunghoonâs blood made its way to your shoes, staining the soles.Â
Jongseong was cutting your old best friend open.Â
The dread had kept you numb for this long, but it was when reality settled in that you finally lost it. You couldnât handle it anymore and pitched forward over the edge of the dock, throwing up until you were heaving up bile. You sobbed through it all, mournful and low, and your friend paid you no attention while he was cutting through flesh.Â
When Jongseong was done, he wiped at his cheek, leaving behind a smear of blood. Sunghoonâs blood. You stared at him, and you had never been more terrified of him in your life.Â
And then you really noticed Jongseong. You noticed how Sunghoonâs blood was coated all over his hands, how he hardly had any scratches or bruises on his body, how merciless his eyes were as he stared down at his old best friend.Â
The realization that washed over you was frightening.Â
âSunghoon didnât actually try to kill you, did he?â you managed to warble out. âYou killed him yourself.â
A deep silence from him followedâheavy and wretched. Sunghoonâs blood was so dark that it nearly looked black under the dim light, and you could only stare helplessly until Jaeyun made his way to the dock, placing his hands firmly on your shoulders.Â
Jongseong turned to you and Jaeyun, clutching his knife tightly. You could hardly recognize the boy in front of you. You never truly understood the term âparalyzed by fearâ until you saw the crazed look in Jongseongâs eyesâcold and haunting.Â
Jaeyunâs eyes glistened with tears and his throat was thick with emotion when he said, âJongseong, pleaseâjust hang on and⌠and we can talk this out.âÂ
The hand gripping his knife started shaking. âYou wonât tell anyone, right? You guys wonât snitch on me, right?â When there was no response from you or Jaeyun, Jongseongâs desperation grew stronger. He turned to you with his eyes big and terrified. âY/N, come on, weâve known each other for years. You know Iââ
âShut up!â Jaeyun yelled. His protective grip on you tightened. âCut the bullshit, Jongseong. The police are gonna be here soon, and theyâre gonna take you straight to prison once they see what you did to Hoon.â
It was like a switch flipped in him. A distant part of your mind wondered if you could get everyone out of thisâsomehow bring Sunghoon back and go back to your normal lifeâbut you immediately shut down that fantasy as soon as Jongseongâs eyes darkened.Â
In the darkness, you could make out an amused expression on his face. His smile took on a cold edge.Â
âFine,â he bit out. âIâll just have to get rid of you two before the police get here, then.â
You felt like your world slowed. Your eyes burned with the threat of tears. You could tell Jongseong was walking closer to you while Jaeyun was desperately trying to tug you and get you to run, but you were frozen in place. You wanted to believe that your old friend wouldnât actually hurt you, but then you didnât know what to think when he raised his knife.Â
It had all happened so fast. Too fast.Â
In your brief struggle as Jongseong tried to stab you, you heard a sharp gasp that tore you from your haze, like you had just been drenched in cold water. Brutally sober. You tried to push Jongseong off of you, but he was too heavy, too limp. Jaeyun shouldered his way between you two and shoved Jongseong back, grimacing when his skull hit the wood with a thud.Â
You heard one last, strangled gasp from Jongseong before he stopped breathing. The last star in his eyes twinkled until it dimmed for good.Â
Jongseong laid flat on the dock with his knife piercing his chest.
As you heard police sirens go off in the distance, Jaeyun wrapped his arms around you before you finally broke down into his chest.Â
Your best friends were dead and your world was broken beyond repair.Â
âSo, it was self-defense?â Detective Lee asked, his piercing eyes boring right into yours. âPurely accidental? You had no intention of harming Park Jongseong?â
You shook your head. âI still couldnât process the fact that he killed Sunghoon, so I didnât think heâd actually try to hurt me.â
You wanted to cry. You bit your chapped lip, but all you could taste was blood that you doubted was even there. You couldnât even say Sunghoonâs name without seeing that radiant smile of his stained with deep red.Â
You sucked in a shaky breath. âIâve told you everything I know. Can I see Jaeyun now?â
Detective Lee eyed you for a moment. Finally, you saw some sort of sympathy in his gaze, although you felt sort of repulsed that you were being pitied in this state. The detective muttered something about him being back later, and he left the interrogation room, leaving you handcuffed to the table.Â
A minute passed by. Another. Several more.Â
You were pretty sure it had been at least an hour or two of staring at the wall, but the passage of time felt meaningless now. You could wait hours, even days, but you didnât think you would ever be ready to confront what cruel reality awaited you.Â
You were so tired of everything, so exhausted that you didnât even think about your parents until now. Were they here? Were they informed about your arrest? They must have been worried sick all night.Â
When the door opened, your head shot up.Â
âYouâre free to go, Y/N,â Detective Lee said, pulling out a key to uncuff you from the table.Â
You were frozen. You just stared up at Detective Lee with your jaw hung open.Â
âI know this took awhile, but there was no security footage at the scene to confirm your story,â he elaborated. âBut your stories matched up, and we found more evidence in the trunk of Jongseongâs car that he had been planning this murder.âÂ
He helped you to your feet and escorted you out of the room. You were able to pick up everything they took from you before you were locked up in the holding cellâyour keys, wallet, and your phone. Then, you were taken to the waiting room where your parents were seated at the far end.Â
At the sight of you, they all but leapt from their seats to rush over, hands cupping your face and arms embracing your weak, battered figure. There was so much love in their eyes, and their fear over possibly losing their daughter replaced any anger they had toward the situation. However, you wouldnât have been surprised if you ended up getting an earful the next day.Â
âMom, Dad,â you whimpered out, suddenly overcome with emotion. You were immediately aware of how weak and pathetic you felt. âIâm sorry, Iââ
âShh, itâs okay,â your father silenced you by rubbing your back in soothing circles. âJaeyunâs family wanted us to let you know that heâs okay, too. They just took him home about ten minutes ago.â
You were slightly disappointed. Part of you was hoping that he would wait for you, but you figured Jaeyunâs family would have wanted to go home right away. You definitely would have felt better if you got to see your boyfriend in the flesh to make sure he was alive and well, but you werenât going to complain now.Â
There was still a ghost of a smile on your lips as your parents walked you to their car. They gushed and gushed about how glad they were about you being safe and sound, and about how they never wouldâve expected Jongseong of all people to end up being a murderer.
You were happy to be alive, of course, but you felt so empty.Â
You pulled out your phone to try and text Jaeyun, but, as you thought, it was dead.Â
âMom, can I use your phone?â you asked, and you dialed Jaeyunâs number immediately as soon as she handed it to you. You had it memorized because it was a combination of numbers that was fairly easy to remember.Â
It rang four times, and by the fifth ring, you were scared that he wouldnât pick up. But then, it beeped.
âHello?â Jaeyun answered. âWho is this?â
It was like a huge weight was lifted off of your shoulders once you heard his voice. Despite Detective Lee informing you that Jaeyun was, indeed, alive, you felt more reassured hearing it from your boyfriend himself. You wanted to cry then and there, but you didnât want to make your parents worry unnecessarily.Â
You forgot you were even supposed to respond when Jaeyun spoke again, âIs anyone there?â
âJaeyun, itâs me,â you mumbled softly. âY/N.â
You heard him suck in a sharp breath. âAre you okay? Are you hurt?â
âIâm perfectly fine.â
Jaeyun gave you the breakdown of how his experience went, which took a completely different turn than yours. After receiving medical attention, they brought him back to his holding cell to sleep for hardly a few hours. The detective interrogating Jaeyun tried to build trust with him, telling him they wanted to help and just needed his confession. They lied about already having evidence that he killed Jongseong, but Jaeyun denied it and told them the whole story. He was only free to leave after they cross-examined his story with yours.Â
âJesus,â you whispered into the phone, breathing out a small laugh. By now, you were already parked at your house and walking to your front door. âThis is so fucked up.â
âYeah,â he mumbled, âbut weâll get through it.â
âYeah, Jae. Us against the world.â
Sim Jaeyun spent nine hours being questioned by authorities.Â
He knew the nature of the crime that occurred was complex, and he was still reeling from the loss and betrayal that left a deep wound in his chest, but there was something that terrified him still.Â
It wasnât the murderous look in Park Jongseongâs eyes, or the blood completely drained from Park Sunghoonâs face.Â
Rather, what scared Jaeyun the most was that he spent so long pining after you and getting to know you at a deeper level. He genuinely fell hard for you, even though you had monsters in the closet. He thought he knew almost everything about you, like how you were a terrible liar.Â
Yet, you had just lied about everything that went down last night for nine hours straight.Â
What scared Jaeyun the most was how clueless he had been about who you really were.
Truthfully, he was also in the wrong for going along with your lie. It was definitely going to bite him back one day. In the moment, though, he was far too much of a coward to go against you. Although he was able to get Jungwon the justice he deserved and allowed his family to finally be at peace with answers, Jaeyun still felt horrible. He just remembered the desperate look in your eyes as your face and hands were stained with blood, begging him to protect you.Â
Jaeyunâs downfall must have been that he liked you too much to say no.
It was true that Jongseong called you in a panic, begging you to show up at the port as quickly as possible, and it was true that you wanted Jaeyun to drive you there instead of calling the cops first.Â
Jaeyun knew deep down that you were making the wrong choice, but he had hope that you knew what you were doing. Truthfully, although he liked you a lot, he was still wary about how you felt toward Sunghoon. He just couldnât understand how you were still unconsciously protecting him after hearing what happened to Jungwon. He knew that you wanted answers, but Jaeyun was worried about how youâd react once you got them.Â
The real storyâthe one neither of you told the detectivesânever started with Park Jongseong killing Park Sunghoon.
It really started when you and Jaeyun arrived at the port to see that no one was around. It was eerily quiet, and Jaeyun was starting to regret not turning around and heading straight for the police station. When you two got out of the car, you walked several feet down the line of shipping containers before returning to Jaeyun with a confused look on your face.
âI donât see either of them,â you said, but then your eyes grew unfocused as you stared at somethingâor, rather, someoneâbehind Jaeyun.Â
He turned around to see Jongseong walking over to the two of you in a calm fashion, as if he had no other care in the world. The port was relatively an open space, so he had no idea where Jongseong could have emerged from. Jaeyun rolled his neck, more frustrated than anything.Â
âJongseong!â you called out.Â
When he neared you two, Jongseong shoved his hands into his pockets. âOh, you brought your boyfriend.â
âWhatâs going on?â you urged. âIs it Sunghoon? Did something happen to him?â
âWow, that hurts, Y/N.â Jongseong barked out a laugh, but nothing about his tone sounded sincere. âI call you in the middle of the night and all you can think about is Hoon? Wow. How do you feel about that, Jaeyun?â
Jaeyun didnât respond. He just glowered.Â
Nothing about this felt right.Â
You stammered, âI-I just assumedââ
âPut yourself in my shoes,â Jongseong cut you off with little regard for your excuses. âSorry to say this in front of your boyfriend, but imagine how I feel when the girl Iâve liked for years only cares about my best friend.âÂ
The air went still.
Your voice was barely a whisper when you asked, âExcuse me?âÂ
Jaeyun pursed his lips together, and, for a moment, he thought his tongue would start bleeding if he bit it any harder. Sunghoon liked the girl that Jongseong liked, and if that girl was you, then Jaeyun was worried that he already lost you. He knew for months that he would never truly have you the way he wanted. Your feelings for Sunghoon were stronger, and although Jaeyun was able to pack his insecurities into a tiny ball and shove it down his throat, it was all coming out now.Â
His uneasy heart shattered into a million pieces once he caught a glimpse of your expressionâhopeful and longing. And it wasnât for Jongseong; it was for Sunghoon.Â
âNow thatâs a great expression,â came an overly-enthusiastic voice from Jaeyunâs right.
Park Sunghoon was leaning against one of the shipping containers, arms folded across his chest before he uncrossed them and made his way toward the three of you. He must have been hiding behind the containers this whole time because Jaeyun hadnât seen him at all before.Â
The situation was getting increasingly uncomfortable. Jaeyun wanted to shrink back when Sunghoon suddenly took great interest in him, keeping his eyes fixed on him instead of you or Jongseong. He used to have such bright and happy smiles, but, this time, Jaeyun almost thought his grin had been sliced into his face with a blade.
Sunghoon slung an arm over Jongseongâs shoulder. âWow, Jae, now I really wanna see the look on your face when youâre in total despair,â he crooned, almost mocking. Jaeyunâs blood rushed in his ears when Sunghoonâs tongue swiped across one of his fangs. âYou shouldâve seen the look on Jungwonâs face.â
Jaeyun lunged before he could even think, but he stopped himself as soon as you held onto him, stopping him from hitting Sunghoon.Â
And that was when he knew he already lost you.Â
âDonât,â you insisted.
âAre you serious?â he breathed out, brows knitting into a frown as he looked down at you.Â
Shame clung to your throat, keeping your mouth shut, but Jaeyun was more concerned now about the sharp blade pointed at his throat.
His Adamâs apple bobbed.
Jongseong had a paring knife pointed straight at him, and Sunghoonâs smile never faltered. They were clearly on the same side. There was a reason why Jeongseong never did anything about Sunghoon after killing Jungwon.Â
Jaeyun felt stupid for not putting it together earlier.
âIâd listen to your girlfriend,â Jongseong warned. His voice crawled all over him, freezing Jaeyun cold to the bone. âYou might as well hear us out before you die here tonight.â
âCanât exactly let you two run off now that you know what happened to Jungwon,â Sunghoon added.
âJungwon was our friend,â Jaeyun hissed. âHe was my best friend, you sick freak! What did you do to him? Why? Heâs never⌠he never did anything wrong!â
âYouâre right. He didnât do anything wrong,â Sunghoon confirmed, surprisingly calm and collected. âIn fact, he exceeded my expectations. It was a great performance, actually.â Jaeyun clenched his fist tightâso tight that his nails dug into his palms and drew bloodâand Sunghoon took notice of this with a delighted hum. âYou shouldâve heard him scream, Jae. I had my doubts about him at first, but when he was begging me for his life, Iâve never seen anything so beautiful.â
You were distraught. âSunghoon, youââ
It all happened in seconds, like a rubber band finally snapping after being stretched too thin. Jaeyun used his elbow to knock Jongseongâs arm out of the way, and he shoved Sunghoon as soon as he found an opening, driving his hands into his ribs. He heard you cry out, but Jaeyun could only see red until he was dragged back up by Jongseong, the sharp blade of the knife being pressed to his throat.Â
âStop!â you cried. âLeave Jaeyun out of this! You wanted me, right? Just let him go. Please.âÂ
âI donât think so.â Sunghoon wrapped an arm around you. âYou two already know too much, and Jongseong and I have been waiting for this finale for years.â
Your eyes had a faraway look in them for a moment before you turned your attention back to Jongseong. âYou told meâŚâ
âI told you that when we were fifteen, Sunghoon thought it would be fun to plan out a murder without getting caught,â Jongseong filled in the blanks for you, a haunting smile playing on his lips, âand I was in on it.â
Sunghoon tutted. âBut you got it all wrong, Y/N. It wasnât Jungwonâs murder that we were planning; it was yours.â
You looked up at him in horror.
Jaeyun struggled against Jongseong for a moment, face taut with unbridled anger. He just wanted to get to you. Get Sunghoonâs filthy hands off of you.Â
âIâm a writer. I write stories,â Sunghoon continued. âIsnât it a great twist? Convincing my childhood best friend that I loved her all this time, only to reveal that sheâs gonna die at my hands.â He scoffed. âJungwon was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he was good practice. I was too careless back then. I shouldnât have left all those drawings and papers out like that when he came over, but now Iâm gonna finish the job properly.âÂ
Your breathing was shallow. Jaeyun could see the flood of despair racking your body with soft sobs and quick pants. Your gaze fell to the ground, and Sunghoon peered to catch a better look at you.Â
âGood,â he praised. âThatâs what I wanna see. Wow, thatâs great, Y/N. I canât wait to see more whenââ
âGet the fuck away from her!â Jaeyun yelled, grunting when Jongseong pressed the knife harder against his supple skin.Â
With an exaggerated flourish of his hands, Sunghoon raised both arms and backed up as if he was a deer caught in headlights. He wore an easygoing smile, yet something sinister was tucked behind the curve of his lips. Your inconsolable self stayed fixed in place, staring helplessly at your shoes.
âFor the past two years, Iâve been isolating myself from the friend group for the sake of this story and its ending,â Sunghoon said. âI think I deserve a little fun right now, Jae.â
âFuck you,â Jaeyun spat. âYou deserve to go to Hell.â
Sunghoon took a step closer to Jaeyun, ducking his head so that they were at eye-level with each other. Jaeyun tried to struggle against Jongseong once more, but he froze when the knife pierced his skin. He felt something trickle down the column of his neck, and he soon realized it was his own blood.Â
âItâs hard, isnât it?â Sunghoon mocked a pout. He lowered his voice by an octave, only for Jaeyun to hear. âCompeting with a childhood friend is brave, Iâll tell you that.âÂ
Jaeyunâs blood boiled. To his surprise, Sunghoon gestured for Jongseong to let go of him. He took the paring knife from his friend and handed it to Jaeyun.Â
âTake it,â Sunghoon said. âWhy donât you try killing me? You wanna get back at me, right? I killed your best friend, after all.â
Owlish, he blinked back at Sunghoon, almost absently. Jaeyun really considered it for a momentâlike, really considered it. Some part of him wanted to senselessly beat Sunghoon up until he was unrecognizable, but the morally righteous side of him knew that he could never stoop to Jongseong or Sunghoonâs level.Â
Jaeyun took the knife by the handle, weighing it in his palm experimentally before chucking it awayâfar from both Sunghoon and Jongseong. Jaeyun was pretty sure he could overtake Jongseong if Sunghoon turned his back, but he wasnât sure if Jongseong had another weapon up his sleeve. He heard the blade skid and scrape against the concrete, and he could only hope that Sunghoon and Jongseong being distracted by him would give you time to escape.Â
But Jeongseong immediately stopped you as soon as he saw you picking up the knife, and he let go of Jaeyun to grab ahold of you. Jaeyun tried to yank Jongseong back by the back of his shirt, but Sunghoon grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed his head against the metal of one of the shipping containers.
Jaeyunâs world was thrown off-balance. The ground bounced, tilted, swayed. He was so dizzy and disoriented that he couldnât tell if his head was spinning or if he was collapsing.Â
The corners of his vision grew hazy with white splotches dancing around. Jaeyun tried hard to focus, making out some of the yelling that was going back and forth, but he couldnât think at all when a newly-formed cut on his forehead was getting blood all over his face and hands.Â
He doubled forward, falling onto his knees. Jaeyun had to stay there for a while and ride out the intense waves of vertigo until he was stable again. When the world finally returned to its normal axis and stopped bouncing under him, Jaeyun lifted his head to see you and Jongseong screaming at each other.
And Sunghoon was on the ground.
He stumbled over, and it was as if the white noise in Jaeyunâs ears had drowned out everything in the background. He couldnât see or focus on anything except the pained look on Sunghoonâs face as the color drained from his neck. Blood was gushing from his jugular vein, and he was digging his palm into his neck to put pressure on the wound.Â
ââyou stabbed him!â you screamed at Jongseong. Your voice was hysterical; Jaeyun had never heard you sound so desperate, not even when he was being held at knifepoint.Â
âFuck, Y/N, I wouldnât have hurt him if you didnât pull on my arm!â Jongseong yelled back. He sank to the ground, simultaneously dropping the knife and dropping his head between his knees.Â
The sight was miserable to watch. Jongseong wailed loud and mournful until he couldnât take it anymore, doubling over so that he could throw up until nothing but bile was coming out. When it seemed as though he had nothing else to heave out of his stomach, Jongseong sat up for a brief moment. You and Jaeyun watched as his eyes rolled back almost instantly, falling onto his back and hitting his skull against the concrete. The exhaustion must have finally caught up to him, and you two didnât have long until he was conscious again.
Jaeyun turned his attention back to Sunghoon, watching his life bleed out of his body slowly. For some reason, an odd disconnect came over Jaeyun, and he bent down to help apply pressure over Sunghoonâs wound. At first, Sunghoon gritted his teeth, but even he knew when to accept help when it was needed.Â
Sim Jaeyun was pretty sure he was broken beyond belief by now, but it was impossible for him to ignore someone who was dying right before him.Â
Even if he murdered Jungwon.Â
âY/N, we need to get him to aââÂ
Jaeyun cut himself off when he looked up at you to see that your expression had changed. Something was different. You looked like numbness had seeped into your body, coiling around your heart until you couldnât feel anything. The way you looked down at Jongseong, clutching his knife tightly, made Jaeyun worry.
âY/N,â Jaeyun said againâslower, âwhatever youâre thinking⌠please put it down.â
It didnât seem like you were listening, though. Almost as if your body and brain were at two different places.Â
âY/Nââ Jaeyun shuddered when you brought the knife down, driving it straight into Jongseongâs chest.Â
Jaeyunâs stomach lurched. He watched as Jongseong struggled for his life, hardly conscious as you repeatedly stabbed him over and over again until Jaeyun was yelling at you to stop. He was sure he would never be able to close his eyes again without hearing Jongesongâs blood-curdling screams and seeing Sunghoonâs face drained of color.Â
âWow,â Sunghoon choked out. One last amused look crossed his face before it fell apart painfully. âI told you, Jae, thereâs no competing with a childhood best friend.â Jaeyun flushed with anger, but it dissolved quickly when he realized Sunghoonâs breathing got slower, shallower. The look on his face was one of someone accepting their untimely death. âThanks for the show, though.â
In his arms, Sunghoon took his last breath and went still.
It wasnât grief that Jaeyun felt. It was something far greater.
âJaeyun, IâI didnât mean to,â you sobbed out, shakily holding up your bloodstained hands. âIt was self-defense! I tried to stop him, but he was trying to kill me, and then he⌠he killed Sunghoon. I couldnât do anything else. I couldnât run, I couldnâtââ You exhaled shakily. âI couldnât do anything else.â
Jaeyun didnât respond. He just stared at you in disbelief.Â
âCome on, Jae,â you pleaded. Oh, so it was Jae now. âYou have to help me get rid of their bodies. I canât go to prison!â
âGet rid of the body?â Jaeyun raised his voice, exasperated. âY/N, theyâre dead! We have to tell the police everything. I mean, what are you gonna do when your prints match?â
Your lips pressed together in a grim line. âYour prints are on the knife, too.â
Were you blackmailing him? Jaeyun couldnât believe what he was hearing from you. He never expected you, of all people, to be the one to throw him under the bus like this. He had trusted you with his life before, and you threw it all away in seconds.Â
âAre you going to help me or not?â You looked toward the dock over the water. It was a good enough distance for you to drag Sunghoon and Jongseongâs bodies over to, but Jaeyun sure as hell didnât want to get involved. âJust help me throw them in the water, and we can both walk away from this, Jae. We can go back to our lives, okay?â
He shook his head sadly. You just sounded like a stranger to him.Â
âPlease, Y/N,â he pleaded, tears stinging his eyes, âplease stop this. You have to turn yourself in.â
But his resolve was shaky. Jaeyun knew that he would still be booked once they found his prints at the scene, and there was no telling what you would do to protect yourself. By now, Jaeyun wouldnât have been surprised if you somehow pushed the crime onto him.Â
âJae, listen to me,â you insisted. Your eyes were wide and brimming with tears, and Jaeyun couldnât help but think you looked a little crazed. âWe can both get out of this, but you have to help me out here. Weâre gonna tell them that Jongseong killed Sunghoon before we got here, and then he chased us until we ended up stabbing him out of self-defense. I mean, thatâs all this was, anyway! It was self-defense!â
A distant part of Jaeyunâs mind wondered what happened to you. He wondered if you had always been this way, perhaps keeping it tucked away. In the end, you were still trying to protect Sunghoon in your own way. You were still trying to protect some fragment of his golden image.
âItâs you and me,â you whispered, kneeling down by your boyfriendâs side until you were cupping his face with your hands, staining his cheeks with Jongseongâs blood, âthe two of us against the world.â
Just hours ago, Sim Jaeyun looked at you like you were his entire world.
And now, with your bloodstained hands holding his face, there was unmistakable fear behind his eyes as he looked up at you.
AUTHORâS NOTE ⸠thank you so so much for reading if you made it all the way to the end !! i would lovee for you to guys to share what you thought, but just to point a few things out, jake's pov was the unfiltered version of what went down that night. the dialogue from mc is similar to jongseong's because while she painted him out to be the villain in the end to protect sunghoon, it was really her who said those things. originally this had a happier ending but i'm a lot more satisifed with this one actually. i hope you guys liked it !! <3 also i am deciding against using my permanent tag list this time because i haven't used it in a year and don't know if anyone exactly signed up to read horror đ§ââď¸
1K notes
¡
View notes
Note
you don't know how much i love THIS NEW HEESEUNG FAN-FICTION,,
STOP- I get home & i'm like "ok time to read đ¤đŻ" I'M SO INVESTED,
like i've only seen this trope in manhwas but seeing it in this way is a whole ass chef's kiss, BETTER THAN THAT EVEN.
And?!?!?! how're u this good at this. i am shooketh,,,,,,, but really keep going!, it's amazing :)
also pretty scared to send this since it's my first anonymous msg haushehjsushe-, the amount of spice in this story has me gripping the sheets, kinda hoping yui gets exposed and jake finally gets his villain arc, justice will be served mf
-new anon who's never posted anything like this
logging off, 4:26 AM fri-aug-12
(can i use this emoji "đââď¸" thingy to identify myself? lol)
???? OMG NONNIE??? I LEGIT LIKE SQUELED WHEN I SAW THIS, ATP I WILL BAWL MY EYES OUT đđ YOU REALLY MADE MY DAY FOR REAL âĄâĄâĄ đ
BUT YES OMG??? I'M A HUGE FAN OF REINCARNATION MANHWAS AND OMG I WAS CURIOUS TO HOW A PLOT LIKE THAT WOULD FARE AS AN SMAU. IM REALLY REALLY GLAD YOURE ENJOYING IT đĽşđ
Omg but I have some more twists and in store for u hehe đ but also yes we need yui gone now!! Girlie is really annoying fr. Idk if you've read "miss not-so sidekick," but yui is based on the character "ibelin" who is the story's original female lead but isn't who u think she is :] âĄ
But bestie no stop ur ask legit made my day, you're so sweet and I'm so excited to interact with you aaa đĽşđ I'm honored to be ur first anon ask,,, but thank you sm for reading reality check ilysm đ âĄâĄâĄ
1 note
¡
View note
Note
he is been that good since day 1 though its just that han do much better these days HSJKHS there's something about seungmin that makes you attached to him like really! we can talk about him all the time, he's really irresistible and you won't get bored when it comes to him đĽş
jaemin's smile is contagious too đ oh yes, treasure is so unique! i love their jikjin era and the bsides as well, my bias is yoshi đ my enhypen bias is either heeseung or jay?? my most favorite album is the dimension:dilemma and as for txt my bias is soobin, i don't have any favorite albums yet since they're all good and day6 as well, it's so hard to choose đŤ how about you? do you have other favorite groups? who are you biases too đ
actually based on my experience, price ranges depends on the demand (sparks) han's pcs are actually expensive than seung (in my country) well in korea, seungmin's pcs are the ones who are expensive along with hyunjin and lee know, but i think it's about all the sparks just like how han's pcs grew expensive during christmas eveL era (those purple ones) but it changes all the time, sometimes they all have the same prices or some members have high prices and sometimes depends on the popularity of the member too đ
in my dreams really hit the spot where almost every one can relate and yeah! beg for me is a good song toođ
ăźâď¸
i've been watching han closely nowadays and his stage presence!! đŻ i watched this particular facecam from the recent era and even when he isn't center, he keeps that energy up and i don't observe that on every idol. so admirable. aside from that, he's hilarious. that's just the cherry on top.
i think i'm on the waning stages of my seungmin brainrot but i think it's just bc i'm getting busy. talk abt irresistible. i've never seen a kpop guy appeal to me so much in the cuteness spectrum bc i'm never a fan of that??? and he's just standing there, blinking.
we have the same treasure bias! jikjin literally carried my self-confidence last month. do you watch their reality show, tmap? i miss enhypen! i feel like they shd be making a comeback by now but i realized that they did but i just didn't like it that much dkjskf also that's interesting, i've been thinking of that album lately but my fave is still border:carnival đ i was never interested in enhypen until that era. i always struggled in trying to identify who was who but somehow i always ended up saying sunoo appealed to me the most (even in different looks, in different eras, even when i didn't recognize him) up until b:c jake bc he def bias wrecked me :D ALSO, do you agree with the skz 2min similarities with enha sunghoon and jake?
i feel like my current bias for txt is soobin as well just bc of their interview with jessi T_T i'm such a sucker for soft boys recently. it feels weird. as for day6, i just look out for their songs. i don't think i have an established bias in the group, nor a fave album, but i do have a favorite track: not fine :') and no one ever talks abt it đ¤
as for the groups i stan, there's svt (highly recommend if you need laughing pills, i swear all 13 of them are hilarious and they share a single braincell) and recently ggs ive, itzy, stayc (all casual tho)
my bestfriend collects han and yeah, she did mention that han's christmas evel pcs were suddenly high priced w/c was a bummer for her bc lino was already expensive and this other dude too. anw, STOP OVERPRICING PCS THEYRE LITERAL CARDBOARDS DKAJFK
also, hi. i'm so sorry for responding late. i got busy and i didn't have the headspace to type out a coherent response. i hope you understand! :(
0 notes
Note
Okay, I rewatched the whole show because, let's be honest, it's short as hell but it's also THAT good.
I had definitely forgotten some stuff, especially from season 2, which I'd only watched once. It was cool watching when you already know Fiona is Simon Says because it allows you to see all of the little clues that you didn't notice the first time around. (This isn't exactly that but I noticed Jake told her "See you on the other side" at the Halloween party right before he got killed, which is exactly what Simon said to him before Jake let him die. That was certainly a choice by the writers.)
I take it back about Bronwyn overreacting. She wasn't overreacting. What Maeve did was pretty bad. She might have saved them from jail but she sure almost got them all killed. And the fact that Cooper's ability to play baseball may be affected... He was never super interesting to me because I don't care about baseball and that was one of his big things but I would have really liked to see how that plot line would have developed. This really made me feel for him and I wanted to see him get back to the thing he loved. Not to mention that his family is financially dependent on his success. If he was unable to continue playing, they might have had to leave Bayview and the friend group would have been broken up (along with my heart đ).
But back to Bronwyn and Maeve, I do definitely stand behind what I said about them trying to force their own PoV on the other. As the older sibling, Bronwyn is definitely trying to make decisions for Maeve without consulting her and I can see how Maeve can get sick of it. She is right that she's helped them a lot and saved them but that need to be acknowledged kinda drove her too far. She decided to override them all and do things her own way and almost got them killed. I get that she was frustrated with how they weren't seeing she was right about the holes in their plan but sometimes you have to let people make their own mistakes or you do end up being the bad guy.
However, the show is really clever by absolutely making you feel for Maeve and even agree with her on some level because it wasn't just about them going to jail. Fiona herself said it - them going to jail wouldn't end the game. She would have still been around and could have hurt other people. So Maeve was right in wanting to do something, just not about the way she did it. But then again, they didn't really give her another choice. It was certainly a very complicated situation, which just speaks volumes about how good the show is!
The way that they've identified the empty spaces in the original story where they can add more details to spin more plot lines is amazing! Like I said, I don't think in the book there was anything about Jake lying about where he's been during the summer (though I certainly might be wrong) while in the show they've added so much there and managed to completely recontextualize the first season without ruining any of it. If anything, they made it better because they explained how Jake was able to hack Simon's app and now it makes even more sense! Not only that but they have included Vanessa in the thematic arc about overcoming the crushing blow to one's self-esteem that is everyone expecting the worst of you and thinking you're a failure/shallow and only what they can see on the surface. The writers really did their homework and the end result is great!
Speaking of, I definitely think that Jake was just using Fiona. He was certainly pretending during every moment that we saw of them outside rehab. Dancing in the bathroom almost looked real but then you remember that he was pretending he didn't know about Addy cheating on him for weeks and all the acting he did about everything that happened with Simon. He was very good at manipulating people. The reason why he told her his secret was probably what you said - he wanted to tell someone. He was probably tired of the pressure of keeping it because Cole seems so determined to keep it. Jake might have just wanted to rebel against that and Fiona still paid the price for it because I'm pretty sure it was Cole that killed her.
I didn't know there is a third book (which is kinda understandable since it's pretty new). I now have to go to the bookstore and acquire it! But first, I have to step up my reading game and reread the first book and then actually read the second. I'm surprised to hear about Jake's secret being in it but it's possible that the author included it when the show got cancelled in order to cover the fans (which would be a really nice thing of her to do). I'm definitely looking forward to reading that when I make my way to the third book!
Btw I realized I never answered your question about which season of the show I preferred. Maybe it slipped my mind because I couldn't decide but now that I've watched them both again, I think I have to go with the second. The first is pretty good too but there are things from the book that I wish they wouldn't have changed. I mean, overall, I still prefer the show but I feel like Bronwyn and Nate's relationship suffered a little in it and it was my favorite thing about the book (and you know, I'm still a bit salty about Addy's sister not being in it). But that's not the reason why I prefer the second season.
I like it more because Murder Club are genuinely friends in it. In the first season they are mostly forced together by the circumstances and while individual relationships between certain characters develop, they aren't really a friend group. Meanwhile, in the second season they absolutely are there for each other and I love it! My favorite episode has got to be the Christmas one because they get to spend some time together and just be friends and I love it! That and the council gathering in Bronwyn's vacation house, which is totally polar but I love the way they all come together to solve the problem.
So yeah, my biggest insight has been that "great show is really great", I guess. XD
Ooh, you watched One of Us Is Lying! I love that show! I read the book last year and I thought it was pretty good but then I watched the show and while I don't like some of the changes they made, I think the show is actually much, much better! It treats all the characters as people, not just our 4 main characters. It was definitely a big surprise and I'm glad to see you've enjoyed it too!
Yes!! Just finished it last week after watching it over a few months! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it half as much as I did, but the mystery each season really kept me on my toes! It was so hard to keep from binging it. Definitely gonna check the book series out! Do you know if the book series continues from the shows s2 cliffhanger? That finale was incredible, but the cliffhanger to finding out it was cancelled!! It's a shame the characters aren't as fleshed out in the books. I loved how the show got me to like characters I initially didn't. I'll probably have to mix book canon with tv show canon where possible.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I gotta know, who were your favourite characters/ships and what were your favourite parts? Did you guess the murderer in s1 and/or in s2?
#one of us is lying#intothewickedwood#maeve basically admitted that she first contacted fiona during the christmas episode (which is why tj got arrested)#but i don't think they were really working together at that point#i think maeve only started really snitching on the others to fiona during their escape to the vacation house#she was worried that fiona would retaliate and so she decided to take matters into her own hands#it could explain why she was so frustrated that they didn't tell her#that way she wouldn't have known and her contact with fiona could have gone south which was her only way of keeping them#all out of jail
22 notes
¡
View notes
Text
Day 1 - Favorite Book: Endless Summer (all 3 you canât make me choose!) This series was amazing in every way - except the rushed ending, which was a bummer. But the story was interesting all the way through and the characters had depth and growth. I donât think any will come close to this one unfortunately.
Day 2 - Favorite MC: Well, I want to say Endless Summer MC because she was awesome in every way, but just so that my answer isnât the same as last one... Bloodbound MC. That girl had some awesome sassy lines to give to the other council members and I like that about her đđť
Day 3 - Favorite LI: I mean, clearly, itâs Jake McKenzie for me đ I loved him from his first sarcastic line. Getting to know him throughout the books was amazing and how he opened up and changed and trusted MC completely. They had such a great story together đ
Day 4 - The Character You Identify With the Most: Ben Park. Dude is so nerdy and doesnât care who knows. He is proud of what he likes and his passion for it. Iâm the same way. I love what I love and I donât care who knows or if they think itâs dorky or not! đ¤ I just wish I could say I have some awesome job related to what I love like him, but I canât. đ¤ˇââď¸
Day 5 - The Character You Wish You Could Be More Like: Perfect Match MC. She had a witty comment or sarcastic line all the time. I wish I could think of funny things at the drop of a hat. But I always think of them like the next day đ
Day 6 - Best Quote in the Books: (gonna have to think and come back for this one!)
Day 7 - Favorite Chapter Across All Books: ES Book 3, Chapter 10. Marrying the most amazing LI of all the books - Jake McKenzie. And also having our amazing little honeymoon. I loved getting to pick a maid of honor (though that was one of the toughest choices of the book because I love them all!). It was the best chapter and I just loved it all! đđ
Day 8 - Least Favorite Chapter Across All Books: uh pick any from the Junior because stupid MC hid stuff from her friends in like every chapter and made the worst choices possible...
Day 9 - Most Attractive MC: #LoveHacks or Perfect Match
Day 10 - Most Attractive LI: So hard to pick one... Ben Park or Mark Collins
Day 11 - Favorite Villain: Mr. Red
Day 12 - Favorite Premium Choice: The Honeymoon in ES
Day 13 - Best Drawn Location: the Beaches
Day 14 - Favorite Supporting Character: Olivia Nevrakis
Day 15 - Least Favorite Supporting Character: Sereena
Day 16 - ??
Day 17 - Book with the Best Original Soundtrack: Endless Summer
Day 18 - Favorite Single Track:
Day 19 - Best Character Development (MC or Supporting):
Day 20 - Favorite Romance Book: #LoveHacks
Day 21 - Favorite Adventure Book: Endless Summer
Day 22 - Favorite Mystery Book: Most Wanted
Day 23 - Favorite Horror Book: It Lives in the Woods
Day 24 - Least Favorite Choices Book: Home for the Holidays
Day 25 - Least Favorite MC: the Junior
Day 26 - Least Favorite LI: Drake Walker (donât hate me!)
Day 27 - Favorite Pairing: MC & Jake or Violet & Chaz
Day 28 - Least Favorite Pairing: Nicole & Audrey- simply because they did not work. They were opposites. Audrey took away Nicoleâs dream that sheâd wanted her whole life and made her feel bad for even wanting it. đ
Day 29 - Personal Favorite Scene of All Time: itâs so hard to pick just one! I loved ES B2 Ch1 when MC and Jake start dating & I loved the scene with Flynn on the beach
Day 30 - Best Shock of all Time: the Vaanu ending of ES (I ugly cried đ)
30 Days of Choices Challenge
Hey all, I created this because why not? I want to know peopleâs preferences and also the reasons why you chose what you did. Sound off in your posts and share it with others. Feel free to reblog or copy this (with credits hopefully haha!)
Day 1 - Favorite Choices Book
Day 2 - Favorite Choices MC
Day 3 - Favorite Choices LI
Day 4 - The Character You Identify With the Most
Day 5 - The Character You Wish You Could Be More Like
Day 6 - Best Quote in the Books
Day 7 - Favorite Chapter Across All Books
Day 8 - Least Favorite Chapter Across All Books
Day 9 - Most Attractive MC
Day 10 - Most Attractive LI
Day 11 - Favorite Villain
Day 12 - Favorite Premium Choice
Day 13 - Best Drawn Location
Day 14 - Favorite Supporting Character
Day 15 - Least Favorite Supporting Character
Day 17 - Book With the Best Original Soundtracks
Day 18 - Favorite Single Track
Day 19 - Best Character Development (MC or Supporting)
Day 20 - Favorite Romance Book
Day 21 - Favorite Adventure Book
Day 22 - Favorite Mystery Book
Day 23 - Favorite Horror Book
Day 24 - Least Favorite Choices Book
Day 25 - Least Favorite Choices MC
Day 26 - Least Favorite LI
Day 27 - Favorite Pairing
Day 28 - Least Favorite Pairing
Day 29 - Your Personal Favorite Scene of All Time
Day 30 - Best Shock of All Time
581 notes
¡
View notes