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clementinecyrilla · 2 years

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Anyway here is a stranger things fic idea for Eddie Munson

The library.

Ive always really loved the library.

There was always something so serene, and comforting about being in one. I loved the smell of the books, I loved reading and holding them, it put a warmth in my heart.

Smack

A stack of books slammed onto the counter in front of me.

I snapped back into reality and stared at the stack in front of me. Sitting up straight as i quietly asked the person on the other side of the desk

“Checking out or returning?”

They blinked slowly at me, sighing

“Returning.”

As they handed me their library card.

Beep

I scanned their card and book quickly, apologizing to them as I fidgeted while I waited for the computer to upload everything.

Beep

It beeped loudly, letting me know it was done.

The receipt printed, as I tore it off and handed it to them quickly .

“Have a nice day.” I said as I handed it to them.

They scoffed quietly at me as they turned away, strolling out of the library empty handed. I quietly watched until I saw that they made it out the door, and now, lets see… lets see what this jerk checked out.

Technology for beginners.

Serves him right. I hope he never understands it.

The sound of a small stack of books sliding across the desk caught my attention, as I calmly looked up to see the adorable face of a curly haired boy who had been a regular here as of late.

He was always so polite, and sweet, and patient and understanding. He must be younger than me but it was always so nice to talk to him. He was such a little joy in my days seeing him.

I cleared my throat, straightened up, and asked

“Checking out or returning, Mr. Henderson?”

“Checking out.” He said, as he smiled sweetly at me.

I looked at his stack of comic books, grabbing the library card from his hands, as I started to scan everything

“Now… lets see what he's checking out today.”

I teased him, sticking my nose in the air like a snooty old woman.

“Ah, a He man comic, good taste.” I reviewed.

“Some… thor and black venom, also very good.”

He chuckled at me as I read them aloud, as I finished snootily

“And, a book on D&D plays?”

Goosebumps formed on my arms. It had been a while since I heard of that game but I remembered how much fun I had playing it. Dustin must have noticed me starong at it because he spoke up

“Have you ever… played D&D, Audrey?”

“Oh, boy did I have fun playing this in my days.” I told him. “Me and my friends would play this for. Ever. Playing this when I was your age.”

“When you were my age? That wasn’t that long of a time ago, Audrey.”

“Your card says you’re… 15 right? That puts a 7 year gap between us, buddy.”

I told him.

He looked at me, unconvinced, before very calmly and slowly pulling his books back to him.

“You're 22, not 200.” He said jokingly at me as he smiled kindly at me.

“Im just saying!” I said softly, putting my hands slightly in the air.

“Thank you, friendly neighborhood librarian.” He said to me, as he started to stroll away.

“Always a pleasure to see you, Dustin.” I said to him, as he continued to walk out of the door, as he nodded a quick and silent goodbye at me.

It was always just such a pleasant interaction seeing him, him and his friends, too.

I think they might have a D&D club, cause he and that other boy he brings with him are always checking out books about it, and they buy the dice sets from here, too.

And its sweet, I hope they love their little D&D group.

“Dude you’ve got to come and just check it out. There’s so much stuff in there that we could use and I need your input on what we should be looking at for it.”

“Why the fuck would I willingly, or rather, enthusiastically, go to the god damn library?” he muffled through his lunch.

Mike and dustin talked to him as they pleaded.

“Listen, you would probably know best what we need from this and we just think that you could find something that we couldn’t.”

He scratched his head as he listened to them, before telling them both

“Alright, fine. But only this once, alright?”

“Listen, we both have library cards so we'll both check out whatever we need.” Dustin told him, as they walked together through the doors to the gold mine that was the library.

They walked past the checkout desk, as dustin looked at the desk, and then the clock on the wall behind it.

“Huh, she must be on lunch break.” Dustin whispered to himself. Getting a quick glance from the other 2.

“Alright, just follow us.” Dustin said to eddie, as they walked their way down aisle after aisle, row after row, until they got to a dusty, musty shelf, that was stuffed from top to bottom with, as far as he could see, books about them.

Any, and every word he saw was, as they had told him, just. What. They. Were. Looking for.

They must have spent more time than they planned looking at everything there was there. They must have spent way too long in this spot because the building was practically empty by the time they left the aisle they’d been in.

Besides them, it must have been empty in there. Besides the people who worked there, of course.

They made their way to the desk to check everything out, as dustin spotted the familiar head of blonde waves that he'd become friendly with.

“Audrey!” he called to her, waving excitedly at her, as she popped her head up from the computer screen and squinted to see who it was. And when she saw, she gave him a happy wave back to him as she smiled at his face.

“Audrey, hello, it is I Dustin,” he said to me, before stepping aside to introduce the rest of his little group.

“I have brought company with me this time.”

I looked quickly at mike, before softly waving to him

“Hi mike.” I said quietly.

He smiled in response, nodding his head Hello.

“And this is my dear friend, Eddie. Who you have not met.

And Eddie, this is Audrey.”

You know those love stories that always say that time stops when you see a person you love?

I think time stopped for me.

His long, wavy, soft looking hair.

His tattoos, the big, sexy, bad ass rings on his fingers.

And his absolutely breathtaking face. He had the cutest, biggest brown eyes id ever seen in my life.

And he made my heart beat slow down.

His face made me melt a little inside, and I must have gotten so transfixed by this man, Eddie, because he had been holding my hand for about 30 seconds from across the desk.

When did we start shaking hands?

I asked myself.

Wait, was he staring back?

“Hello, Lady Audrey, I am Eddie.” He said with a small smile on his lips.

I gulped quietly, having to suddenly remember how to speak.

“Hi, he-hello Eddie. Hi, im um, im-im audrey.” I stammered out. I wasn’t used to talking to such attractive people. Matter of fact, id never met someone as handsome as him. He is absolutely, painfully gorgeous.

His lips broke out into an even bigger smile, as he laughed softly at me, before putting his elbow on my desk, with his face in his hands and a strand of his hair between his strong looking fingers, he beamed at me

“I know, audrey.”

Oh heavens, oh my.

Oh goodness, what is wrong with me?

I caught myself again and straightened myself up, as I turned to Dustin to ask

“Checking out, I presume?”

Dustin pressed his lips together, an apologetic look in his eyes as he dropped the fattest stack of books ive ever seen in my life onto my desk.

It made me gasp quickly as they loudly plopped down. And mike, red faced, came up to the desk, and dropped a stack equally large right next to it.

I sighed, slowly, so, so very slowly. Becoming exhausted just looking at them, I quietly asked

“Cards, please.”

They both handed me their cards, quickly, before apologizing profusely for this hefty stack I had to go through now.

“Its ok guys! I always try to encourage reading…” I started, as I became hypnotized by the beeping of my scanner.

“No matter how, um, tedious it can be for me.”

“And that’s why you're our favorite friendly librarian.” Dustin said to me, and it made me smile down at these books that seemed to be taking unusually long to load.

I could feel a pair of eyes on me as I sat there, scanning and scanning and scanning and scanning, someone’s eyes were burning into my face, so naturally, I peeked up to see whose they were.

And to my surprise, it was the tallest one out of the 3 of them. The one with the extra long hair, and the big, beautiful eyes.

He put his hands up to his face shyly, subtly trying to hide his growing blush spreading to his cheeks, as he let out the sweetest smile I think ive ever seen.

It made me smile and blush, too.

Dustin must have noticed the small interaction between me and him, because he spoke up

“So, um, Audrey, you said you play D&D, right?”

I let out a loud laugh, setting down the second to last book before responding

“Used to.”

“You- you play dungeons and dragons too?” the tallest boy said, his attention caught fully.

I was finally done.

Scanning the very last book, setting it down, and putting my hands together to stretch my fingers out.

“Yeah, I um, me and my friends used to play together. In high school, before I went to college and right at the beginning of it. We used to play it all the time.”

They had my full focus now, I have been so excited to finally tell them all about this.

“We, um, we called ourselves The Fellowship of the board.”

Eddie laughed out loud, he threw his whole head back and looked up at the ceiling, letting out a happy sigh.

“That is…. That is the greatest thing ive ever heard in my life.” Eddie gushed, turning straight to face me.

He walked up to the desk, put his elbows down it, making his face sit just a foot away from mine and with a smile stretching from ear to ear.

He had my full attention now, too. I wheeled my chair all the way in and out my elbows up, too.

Sitting back in my chair, I rattled on about the stories from my time as a dumb, nerdy teenager

“I was a level 20 Mage, Lawful good, and my name was… Lady Flowerpetal.”

Eddie was staring at me, his hands holding his face up as he listened.

“She wasn’t much to begin with, but, um, I got really lucky in all of my rolls and she got decked out pretty quick. Her favorite weapon was her mace and a bow and arrow… with poison arrows.”

Eddie threw his hands up, standing up from where hed been leaning over and hooting and whopping at me.

“Dude that is, that’s cool. Im sorry, but that’s cool as hell.” He said, making me blush at his words.

“We, um, we actually have a campaign going, me and these youngsters.” Eddie started telling me.

He was getting excited as he talked, I could tell. He was excited to talk and to listen, too.

“We’ve got a group that we get together and play, every week. You, u.-“ he had to catch his breath for a second, gulping as he said

“You are more than welcome to join, like, any time. Seriously, any time at all youre welcome to come and join, it would be more than a pleasure to have you, Lady flowerpetal.”

“Ill have to think about that offer, Mr…”

“Eddie.” He spoke up, twiddling the rings on his fingers as he smiled shyly at me.

We stared in a trance for a minute, eyes glued to eachothers, as I said to him

“I might just take you up on that, Eddie.”

Eddie got a library card of his own the very next morning.

And nearly immediately after, had was spending a lot more time in the library lately. He had started to become infatuated with the little librarian who had caught his eye.

He loved watching her help people, and doing the volunteer things with kids she does there during the week.

She does the lego club with them, and does toddler time, too. But his favorite to watch her do was reading to the little toddlers. They would huddle around her like she was a princess and cling to every word she read, her faces and voices matching whatever book she read them. She was an angel in every sense of the world and he enjoyed the calming aura she brought into the room, and the softness she embodied.

And she had noticed his presence, as well. She was taking slightly shorter lunch breaks, sitting at an angle where he can see her cute little outfits she wears, flip her hair subtly for him to see. But she was too shy to ever say anything to this gorgeous, manly man that made her even more shy than normal.

His game was to pick up random comic books and sit in the chair that had a perfect view of her normal spot but thay also kept him slightly hidden. He would stare at her nearly the whole time, holding the open book to his face to cover everything but his eyes.

She noticed him sometimes, she would always giggle very, very quietly and become bright pink across her face.

He had played this game for days with her, by the end of it he was purposely trying to get her attention.

He would clear his throat obnoxiously, making her snort quietly.

Flip the pages loudly, and lick his fingers sloppily before flipping them. He could see her cheeks turn red from trying not to laugh to loudly, but the sound and sight of her laugh made his heart flutter.

But one evening, she had finally decided to approach this clearly attention needing man.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Munson?” I asked him quietly, stiffling a laughter at him.

“Actually, Ms. Uh…..” he started, squinting dramatically at my nametag.

“Audrey, is it? Would you be so kind as to take me to the science fiction section?”

She smiled preciously at him, before nodding her head Yes and helping him up and out of his seat.

“Right this way, Eddie.”

She told him, as she led him through aisles and aisles of long shelves, stacked multiple feet higher than either of them with books, until eventually in an aisle close to a window, on the left corner of the library.

“You know, all jokes aside, I kind of want to see if you have Frankenstein.” He told you, starting to peruse the shelves and all of the different books on them.

“Oh Frankenstein? Heck yes its right down here.”

She said, squatting down to look at the shelf that was third from the bottom.

Eddy squatted beside her, scooting close to look for it too.

“Frankenstein is a really good book, actually. I bet you would love it.” You mumbled to him, quietly fixated on reading the spines of the books.

“Oh, actually I think I might see it over there.” He said, as he reached behind your back, tapping a few of the books on the other side of you, before sneakily sticking fingers against your side as you let out a quick, but high pitched squeal over it.

You jumped, nearly falling on your butt as he quietly laughed hysterically at you.

“Oh god, oh sbit, im so sorry. I didn’t know you’d do that.” He cackled, as you found your own laughter and covered your face with both hands.

“Youre such a jerk, oh my goodness.” She whispered to him through laughter.

His face was bright pink as he hid it behind his hair, he was stiffling his laughter

Chapter 2

4pm every single week day had slowly start to become the best parts of my entire week. I could hear them all the way out in the parking lot every evening from all the way in here. Every evening around 4, roughly or on the dot, their little wave of dark hair came through the doors and sat right down in the desk closest to the one I normally take solitude at.

Id watch them pull out all of their books, for homework, or D&D, or various fantasy novels, and just…. Sit. Sit and spend time with eachother.

Dustin and mike were always pretty focused on whatever they had in front of them. With their notebooks and various other things sprawled across the desk, but that I hadnt met until just this week didn’t seem to make much effort for any of it.

He likes to lean back in his chair, he likes to tilt his head back and act like hes not looking at me, which frankly he does a lot.

He likes to put his face behind a book he's propped up, only his eyes showing, and look over at me.

He likes to play games sometimes, he started to copy me from a few feet away and wait till I notice. Doing every single thing that I do until I notice and then laugh profusely at him pretending to be me.

It was nice, it was honestly really sweet, and kind of comforting to have them here. Its like a mother bird watching over little eggs. Except the eggs are teenagers and also, im not their mother at all. Or a mother to anything, matter of fact. Not even a pet. So I suppose that the smallest little sliver of their time, dustins friendly smiles, mike saying please and thank you constantly, and eddie, well, um, I guess being himself. It was nice, it was sweet, almost.

Fridays were my second favorite day of the week, behind Mondays. I loved getting to host the lego club here, getting to spend time with all of the kids and getting to see how creative they can be. Legos used to be my favorite thing in the world, and frankly if i hadnt already been told that I cant, I’d be sitting right down with them and building, too. But I cant, so, whatever.

“Ms. Audrey, look its an elephant!” a little girl squealed as she held up a vague looking elephant.

“That is so cool, Bonnie! That is such an awesome elephant.” I gushed to her, gently holding her tiny hand to examine her creation.

Squatting down to meet her at eye level, I smiled brightly at her.

“Ms. Audrey, I made a racecar!”

“That’s an awesome racecar, Thomas! Do you want to find some little people to drive it?”

“I made a zoo Ms. Audrey! Come look at all of my animals!”

The hour had finally passed, the kids had all been collected and taken home, and I was left to pick up the remaining scatterings of them all. Not that I mind, of course. I don’t mind at all, Friday night was my night to clean and close up, anyway.

To my genuine surprise, I looked out the window of the kids area and saw the same 3 heads that had been here every night. Except this time, dustin and mike were sitting alone at a desk, and eddie munson, id learned his full name when I issued him a library card, was sitting on the bench that sat under the window on the outside of this room. A goofy grin across his face, his palms pressed against the glass like a fish, as he lightly tapped in the window.

I giggled at him, trying not to make eye contact. But he was persistent. He kept tapping.

Squishing his face against the glass and puffing his cheeks up, I saw my chance to mess with him back.

Running up to the glass as quick as I could, I smacked it right where his mouth was and he jolted backwards.

“Jerk!” he shouted through the glass, as I chuckled at him. Holding a finger up to my mouth for him to be quiet, he stuck his tongue out at me. Poking my head through the door into the room where they all sat, I whispered to him

“Quiet in the library, Mr. Munson.” Before closing the door behind me, and padding away as I saw him jump off of his bench after me.

“Excuse you, ma’am!” he shouted after me, opening the door again and quickly catching up to me.

I was a giggling, blushing mess as he chased me through the short little shelves that filled the room.

“You think you can mess with me all you want, hm?” he taunted me, jerking side to side trying to trick me which way he would go.

“Youre the one always messing with me!” I squealed at him, as he suddenly jerked to the left and ran as fast as ive ever seen somebody run.

He was too fast for me though, he made it over to me in a matter of seconds, before I had even had time to start running away.

He had grabbed me around my waist and pulled my backside against his chest, his fingers very quickly finding their way to my sides and wiggling around, making me scream quietly.

“Stop it!” I shouted at him.

And with those words, he quickly took his fingers off of my sides and moved his arms to wrap around my shoulders.

His face was resting on my shoulder now as he mumbled lowly against my face

“As you wish, my lady.”

I melted onto him with his words, a tingle starting in my belly that im pretty sure id never felt before. Is this butterflies? Is that what this feels like? I think im gonna be dizzy.

He slowly pulled himself off of me, as I turned around to face toward him. He stood there, a hand on his arm and biting down on his lower lip, and he just…. Stood there.

It felt comfortable, I felt so calm with him, right now. It felt like this was something that was always meant to happen. Like we were meant to find eachother and meant to be here, together.

“I um, I actually made something for you too, Ms. Audrey.”

My heart was fluttering along with my stomach right now, I couldn’t find any good words to say, so I just watched him, as he excitedly pulled out a small paper box.

He handed it to my coyly, his eyes watching my fingers as they delicately took it from his hands.

Opening it, I could see that inside, sat a tiny piece of paper, cut out in the shape of a half heart. Picking up the half heart, I could open it up. And opening it up slowly, the inside of it read

D&D with me tonight?

My heart couldn’t take it, instinctively I put a hand over my chest and mouthed

“Oh my god.”

He chuckled softly at my reaction and spoke up

“Don’t think I forgot about that, Lady flowerpetal.””he grinned at me, he had the sweetest, most wholesome smile spread across his face that I could see.

But I couldn’t take my eyes or fingers off of this absolutely precious little heart sitting in my hands.

I don’t know what it was about it but just thinking about it now made me the happiest I think id been in, um, well, a really really long time.

And looking over at the adorable boy who had given it to me was making it even sweeter.

“What time will it start?”

“In 30 minutes, sweetheart.”

He batted his eyelashes at me, his smile beaming over at me as he leaned on the shelf next to us. But my heart sank hearing how soon it was.

“Oh, oh dear. Oh no, Eddie I am so sorry but I cant do it tonight. Im so sorry but I have to clean this place up. Im still not even done with this room and I still have the whole rest of the place to clean up.”

My chest felt so heavy telling him this, and especially when I looked down at him and he had the silliest, most absolutely adorable looking pout on his face.

“If I make those idiots out there help you, could we get it done?” he asked, standing up and quietly scooting himself closer to me.

“Honestly, I really doubt it. Its too much to do and… I don’t want to disrupt your plans anyway, you guys have been planning this for a little while probably.” I frowned, not making eye contact with this boy who was trying not to frown, too.

He cocked his head to the side, pouting at me, and pleading with me

“Please, pretty please, Audrey?”

My heart was filled with sadness as I looked at him, but unfortunately this wasn’t something I could get out of.

“Im really sorry, Eddie.” I spoke softly to him, as he very smoothly grabbed my fingers and twiddled them around in his.

“When do you guys get together? Do you do it like, every week or something?” I asked him, as he put my fingers to his face and muttered against them

“Every other week, my lady.”

Looking up at me to continue, the door opened, and the two teenagers that had been waiting outside were now demanding his presence.

“Eddie, we have to go. We’ve got to get our stuff ready.” Dustin spoke, as eddie quickly threw his hand up for him to wait a second.

“Oh, Audrey are you coming too?” he asked me from the door, but I shook my head no at him.

“No, I cant tonight. But next time, hopefully.” I told him, an apologetic frown sitting on my face.

It was empty again in here, and being naturally scared of pretty much everything didn’t make anything about this pleasant. It was dark outside, the night sky was poking through the blinds, and the periodic sounds of cars passing on the main road would make me jump.

Not to mention, the library was just… massive. It’s a considerably large and spacious building. And all of the rows and shelves in here frightened me with how dim it was between them.

Thud

The sound of a book hitting the floor made me jump, the previous silence was interrupted by a book it sounded like, hitting the floor somewhere on one of the back shelves.

Should I go check?

I asked myself.

I didn’t want to, I, actually, would probably rather die than do that right now. But I figured that im going to have to go back there eventually, I sighed, defeated, and set down the books in my arms and slowly, frightened, went to where the sound came from.

The silence was deafening as I walked slower than ive ever walked in my life. If this is nothing and nothing weird happened I will literally probably cry tears of relief.

Click

I flicked the lightswitch on to the very furthest wall, which was where I thought the sound had come from.

I looked into the row of books, and low and behold, a single book lay there, on the floor, at the very end of the row.

This is really weird.

I thought to myself. And now, unfortunately, I have to go and pick it up. At least I knew it wasn’t anything super weird or scary, I suppose. I walked nor.ally to go and get it, now. My footsteps making the o ly sound around me, I grabbed the mysterious book.

What heppens when you die?

The cover of the book, immediately giving my chills up my spine. Maybe its not what it looks like, though?

Flipping it over and reading the back, In thin, small white writing, it read

“Have you ever wonder what happens when we pass on to the other side? When our brain flatlines, our heart stops, and.our life as we know it is done for good? Here are some recounts from people who have made it to the other side and back –

SMACK

This time, the sound made me jump, and scream as well. I was clutching my chest, my heart pounding away in my chest, as I slowly, so painfully slowly, turned around to see what that was.

I couldn’t breathe, if I wasn’t scared already I was honestly pretty freaking scared right now.

Another book lay on the floor, right behind where I was. I was about to reach for it when

SMACK

another book fell and I jerked my head up to see it.

SMACK

One fell right behind me. My breathing was quick and shaky as thei frantically tried to figure out what on earth is happening.

“Hello?!” I yelled.

“If somebody is over there doing this I will call the police!” I screamed through tears.

And with that, the books stopped falling.

My heart was pounding , I was terrified beyond words right now. In the back corner of the library, all alone, and now someone is in here doing this.

I stared out into middle of the aisle, waiting to hear for a y footsteps for somebody who had snuck in here.

Silence

And suddenly, books started flying from every row and every side, every direction. Big, hard, heavy books were flying around me as I screamed and covered myself. Using my arms for shields and ducking my head, I ran out the door of the library and went straight for my car. The sound of the books hitting the floor a d shelves didn’t stop as I ran all the way out.

Sobbing hysterically and my heart racing I made it to my car and locked the door immediately. My strained voice was croaking as I sobbed in my seat, looking back at the building to see if anybody was coming out after me, looking around all of my windows.

I managed to wipe my face off and calm down, as I gripped onto the steering wheel.

Okay.

I told myself.

Okay, I am going to go home, and I am going to call the police.

I slowly pulled out of the parking spot.

I will call, and report this, and it will be fine.

I winced as a pain shot through the tops of my arms. Now that I was finally aware of things, I could see the blood dripping down all over the tops of my arms.

And now im going to have to do something about this. I groaned internally at the thought of everybody asking about this big, ugly and obvious injury.

Driving down the road to school, Eddie sees multiple police cars parked in the library parking lot. He sees audrey walking out of the door with 2 of them and listening to them as they talk.

Shes shaking her head and listening to them, shes responding to questions they ask, they write things down while she talks.

4 more officers walk out the library door with stuff in all of their hands. He sees her thanking them, taking a paper from the officer she had been talking to, and watching as they all pulled out.

She sat down on the bench by the door and slumps against the wall behind her, with very obvious tears in her eyes.

Honk honk

Oh shit, the light had turned green.

#Stranger things #Eddie munson #Stranger things eddie #Stranger things fic #Eddie munson story #Eddie munson fic

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wavesmp3 · 3 years

Text

[ksw] clouds

sunwoo x reader

wc. 5k warnings: medical inaccuracies, death, illness, hospitals, overall just a pretty heavy piece genre can only be described as an absolute mess inspired mainly by san junipero but also slightly by charlie kaufman and wong kar wai

a/n: this is supposed to be told nonlinearly but like the creation of it was very messy so i have no clue if it actually worked, so good luck trying to make this piece make sense of this :)

act iii. scene iii.

Sunwoo sits and watches the sun shift from pink and blue to an impossible shade of green. And it’s then he knows that without a doubt Clara has ruined the color green for him. Because instead of marveling at the color of the sky, Sunwoo is reminded of the doors in her apartment building.

“Thought I might find you here.” The voice of a stranger who Sunwoo loved once upon a time says behind him. He tries like hell not to turn around. Not to lean back towards the voice and wait for your hand on his shoulder or your shin knocking familiarly against his back. He focuses on the waves crashing below instead. The roar of the water beneath him is deafening, but only if you let it be. He does, and he almost forgets that you’re behind him.

“Where’d you go?” You ask, now sitting next to him, tugging at the long grass.

“I’m right here.”

“And what about in there?” You bring a finger up and poke at the side of his forehead.

He turns to you, facing you in full. He takes in your features like it’s the first time all over again. And, oh, he wishes he knew before how many firsts you already had together. This is just another. This is just the first time he’s seen you in the past six months and remembered the thousands of times he’s seen your face before.

He studied your cheeks. The one he now recalls running the back of his palm over after you left for the Cloud.

He memorizes, for the millionth time, your eyes. He used to swear they were darker than they are, but then he saw them in the sun. He was dying back then; then he saw your eyes and you saved him. Just like that.

Mr. Choi was right of course. As he always must be. You and him are like an old married couple. Not like. You are. Almost were.

“I had lunch with Mr. Choi today.” He tells you.

You squint at him. “I know. It’s Thursday.” You pull out a piece of the grass. “What’d he make?”

“Ramen.”

“Was it good?”

“It was okay.”

“Too spicy?”

Suwnoo answers with a sigh, looking away from you and back towards the water. The deafening waves crash against the cliffside. “I know you looked at your file.” He finally says. You stop pulling at the grass. You still. “Mr. Choi told me.”

After he says it, there’s a silence that isn’t actually silent at all. The waves rage below his feet. The seagulls are there too, beneath, above, somewhere, everywhere. And then, of course, there’s you and Sunwoo, trying to be silent over the static in your heads and the machines you’re hooked up to in a universe far far away.

“Did he tell you about my file?”

He looks at you again. “No.”

“Oh.” You look away, brows furrowed, lick your lips, and then turn back to him. “So why are you upset?”

“After he told me, I went and I…”

“You didn’t.”

“I looked at mine.”

There’s another silence, except that this time it really is quiet. Sunwoo read once whilst in a rabbit hole of medical research that true silence only happens in a vacuum, where there is no medium for sound waves to travel through. This must be that. This place, the files, Mr. Choi and Mr. Chan, Clara and her apartment building full of green doors--it’s a vacuum. And they stick people in it then call it the Cloud. They call it extra time. But it isn’t. It’s nothing and he’s stuck in the middle of it. So Sunwo stares at you, straight through the vacuum of time and space you’re both lost in, waits for you to say something, and then waits for himself to hear it.

“You looked?” You finally say, voice folding in on itself.

“Yes.” Sunwoo’s own voice is barely there. You must be reading his lips which you’ve always been good at anyways.

“So you know now?”

“I always knew, and now, I remember.”

act i. scene iv.

There’s been an accident.

That’s what they say when the sun falls out of the sky and the world starts spinning in the wrong direction. It’s how they show up at Sunwoo’s door painted in shades of blue and red, with authority in their arms and hands on their hips. How they prepare him for the looming moment where they rip past his skin, blood, bone to shoot a gun straight at his heart. I’m so sorry for your loss, they say leaving him with a bullet lodged somewhere between his left and right atrium.

And those are the four words that play over and over and over in Sunwoo’s head as he gets to the hospital. Those are the words that crawl inside his open chest and turn him blue and black with infection. There’s been an accident, he remembers, staring at the extraordinary measures taken to keep your heart beating and lungs beating. This is it. Except that the accident isn’t that you’re dying, but that you’re dying. It’s always supposed to have been him. He’s supposed to be the one stuffed with tubes and hooked up to monitors, the one whose life is hanging on by a thread, and you’re supposed to be the one that saves him. It all feels like a play that’s gone horribly wrong because everyone switched parts after intermission without telling him. At what point did you steal the role of dying protagonist from him?

We did everything we could, a stranger in a white coat says. Except that it’s not some stranger, it’s your colleague and co-worker because this is the hospital you work at and the hospital Sunwoo met you in. There was too much damage to the brain, they explain as the image of their tear-stricken face goes from your friend during intern year to the doctor who operated on you as your brain went dead.

“We have two options, right?” Sunwoo is far too familiar with surgery and all this. He knows from his hospital days what’s supposed to happen next. But apparently, things have changed since then.

“Actually, there’s a third option.”

Sunwoo doesn’t waste a second. He jumps out of the chair stained red from his bleeding heart and asks: “What is it?”

“We can upload them.”

act iii. scene ii.

In fifty days of living in the cloud, Sunwoo has learned all about the people that he shares a building with. There’s Mr. Chan who lives behind a vomit green on the same floor as him and who hasn’t left his room since last January. There’s also Mr. Choi, who lives behind the emerald door and invites Suwoo over for lunch every Thursday. Clara lives upstairs, where the walls are painted in various shades of green--olive, seaweed, moss, hunter, shamrock, sage, and others that Sunwoo tries not to think too deeply about. He’s only met Clara once in the past fifty days and has no particular wish to see her again. He hadn’t expected her to be a kid. Cancer, you told him after their introduction in the lobby, poor girl was only seven. As said before, Sunwoo tries not to think about it.

And then of course there’s you behind the forest green door who has been slowly showing him all the good places. There’s the beach where you spent the day making seashell necklaces. The cafe which serves its tea too sweet for him, but sweet enough to be considered your favorite. Sunwoo just gets the chocolate bread. You took him downtown. To a club. The tallest building. And to midtown where the amusement park is.

But his favorite place you’ve taken him so far is the cliffside above the beach, where the waves crash against the rocks in a way that can only be described as violent. That day you and him laid in the grass and stared at the clouds with your heads dangling just over the edge and water spraying the backs of your necks. That day you turned to him and told him you’re sorry. For what, he asked. I’m so sorry you’re sick, you said, but it’s nice to have you around here. I think in a sense, we’ve both been waiting for this. Then, you smiled and stole all of the blood from his body. So yeah, that day, that place--it’s his favorite.

Today, you take him on a hike up a mountain.

“Do you believe in an afterlife?” You ask him after having spent thirty minutes silently staring at the view from the best peak.

“One after this?”

“Yeah. I guess. Although, I’m not so convinced this counts.”

“I don’t know.” Sunwoo shrugs. “Maybe.”

“Do you think we’d be able to be with our loved ones in it?”

His chest lurches. “If there is one, yes.”

“Do you think it’ll be different than this?”

Sunwoo turns to you finally. “Why are you asking about this?”

You shake your head. “Nevermind. It’s a stupid question.”

He turns back towards the view. From here, he can make out Clara’s building. He thinks about her, about Mr. Choi and Mr. Chan, who he recently found out were once married but who haven’t spoken since Mr. Chan read his file in January, and he thinks about you and about him.

“I think,” Sunwoo says, loud enough so that you can hear after wandering a little bit away from him, “that whatever the afterlife is, if it does exist, it’ll be worth it.”

You turn to him, but don’t make any move to come near him again. “And if it doesn’t exist?”

“Then life will have been worth it.”

The corner of your lip lifts. “I like that.”

Sunwoo only nods at the sentiment, and after a long while, he builds enough courage to ask, “you’ve been here a really long time, haven’t you?”

“Time doesn't work as linearly in the cloud as it does in the real world. Sometimes it feels like I got here and then you arrived the very next day.” You turn back towards the view and exhale heavily.

“But yes. I’ve been here for an eternity.”

act ii. scene i.

Before he actually sees you, Sunwoo feels you. Not you, in particular, but something in the distance, a presence in the corner of the room and a pair of eyes watching him from somewhere far away.

The scariest part is how much the feeling doesn’t actually scare him.

Two days after that, he starts to see you in the flesh. He tells himself that his mind is playing tricks on him, that the person he saw in the produce aisle wasn’t actually you at all and was just a stranger with the same hair.

He doesn’t go straight home from the store that day. Instead, he stops by the hospital and checks in on you, but even that doesn’t do anything about the fact that he sees a shadow of you behind the bed.

The day after that, you speak to him. Standing in the middle of his kitchen in broad daylight, you speak, you say hello, and the first thing Sunwoo thinks is that he’s dead.

You aren’t, you reply. You’re a zombie, he reasons, here for my brain. I’m not. A ghost. No. Are you, here Sunwoo falters, fear flooding out of his body to make room for the briefest blotch of hope that’s crushed almost immediately by you saying: I’m not alive, Sunwoo. You saw me in the hospital yesterday.

“So then,” he swallows, “what are you?”

I’m here. You look at him, stare at his face and without a sliver of doubt say, I’m here for you.

Sunwoo knows it’s impossible. You can’t be here. You can’t. And yet, you are.

Three years ago Sunwoo was told he had three months left to live, and he still remembers how impossibly you saved him from the brink of death. He remembers how impossible things happen all the time, and how impossibly possible it is that this is one of them. He steps towards you, touches your face, and feels the real, impossible thing against his hand.

“You’re here.”

On the fifth day of your haunting, Sunwoo finally has the sense to ask why.

Why what?

“Why are you here?”

I’m here for you.

“Stop saying that.”

But I am, you tell him. You asked, and that’s the answer. I’m a doctor, Sunwoo. I’m here for you.

Then, finally, he hears what you’ve been saying for the past five days. You’re here for him.

And the thing about doctors is that they’re there for you when you need them.

“I’m sick.”

Yes, you answer quietly, although it wasn’t a question.

“Again.”

I’m so sorry.

“You’re a hallucination, aren’t you?” Sunwoo’s shocked by how sad that makes him, how disappointing it is. “I’ve been hallucinating.”

Find me in the Cloud, Sunwoo. There’s something I want to say.

You’re gone by the time he gets to the hospital.

act iii. scene i.

Sunwoo stares at the hall of green doors, eyes darting from door to door in an attempt to stare down the shades until they confess which one of them is tea green.

“Clara, the landlord, likes colors.” A voice says from behind him. “Every couple of months she repaints all of the doors in different shades of the same one. Before the green, it was yellow.”

Sunwoo turns around to face you. When your eyes find him, they go blank for the smallest of moments. You give him a look that goes right through him, turning him inside out like you’ve seen the underside of his skin. It irks him.

“I’m Sunwoo. I’m new.”

You gulp. “You’re here.” He doesn’t know what to make of the statement. Do all people in the cloud act like this? “Why?”

Sunwoo nods, maybe you’re not so weird as much as you just have a weird way of posing questions. “I was told I’m sick.”

“I’m sorry.” You say, frowning like you actually might feel back for him.

“Have you been here a while then?” You nod. “Can I ask how long?” You shake your head. Sunwoo doesn’t think too much about it. Instead, he returns your earlier question “Why are you here?”

“Brain dead.”

“I’m sorry.”

You ignore it and point to a door down the hall. “I’m forest green. You?”

“Tea green. But I can’t find-”

You tap the door in front of him. “This one, genius.”

“Oh.” He laughs awkwardly. “Thanks.”

Your mouth parts as if to say something, and your face goes blank again. He feels his skin turning itself inside out because of it. “Have you read your file yet?”

He shakes his head. “I just got here.”

You inhale, softening, and mutter an ‘okay’. You continue down the hall towards your door. Sunwoo is stuck in place. “I can show you around here, if you like. Take you to all the cool places.”

Sunwoo takes you up on it.

A forest green door slams shut down the hallway.

act i. scene ii.

“Thank you for taking me out of the hospital.” Sunwoo says, exhaling. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a park like this.”

And it’s true, he really can’t. He’s been sick for so long now, and has been through a multitude of treatment plans and too many surgeries. When you’re sick and have 9 surgeons turn you down after asking them to save your life, you forget the joy of being outside and feeling the sun on your skin. You were the first doctor to agree to the surgery. You’re the only doctor to have ever treated Sunwoo like he wasn’t dying, like he was actually going to live.

“You don’t have to thank me. This is good for me too.” You say, head resting against the park bench and eyes closed.

Sunwoo inhales, taking in the park with all his senses. A visceral sort of thing you learn to do as often as possible when you’ve been as close to death as frequently as he has. He feels the wood beneath his body and the grass beneath his feet. He feels the light on his skin and the wind pushing against his arms and nose. He listens to the kids screaming at the playground at the bottom of the hill and to the dogs barking within the dog park beside it. He takes all this in, relishes in it for the last time as a dying person.

You sigh. “One more surgery.”

“And then I’ll be done with this sickness.”

You smile. He pretends not to see. “And then you’ll be done.”

“Thank you for saving my life.”

“Don’t do that.”

“No. Seriously.”

You smile again, this time at him. Sunwoo doesn’t have to pretend not to see. “I haven’t finished saving it yet.”

He leans back against the bench and closes his eyes. “But you will.”

You tap on your coffee cup. “Honestly though, you did more work than me.” Sunwoo frowns while you take a sip. “The other nine doctors you called are good doctors, and they made the same judgement call I would have made for any other patient. No sane doctor would have agreed to treat you. But you were the reason I said yes. You had such faith that you were going to live and so much faith that I could do it that I believed you. I might be the one doing the technical saving, but you, Sunwoo, you’re the one who convinced me to do it. You saved yourself.”

He stares at you. The light hits your eyes like it’s finding a way to break through them. In truth, before Sunwoo got sick, he didn’t think he was scared of death, but he is. He’s terrified of it. Sunwoo realized it two weeks after his diagnosis and the day after he was wrongly told he only had three more months left to live. But now, for the first time since he was diagnosed, he doesn't feel so afraid of it. Despite how far he’s come and how close he is to beating this fucking illness, while staring at the light woven through your eyes, Sunwoo thinks he could live with himself if he dropped dead tonight.

That thought alone, is almost as terrifying as death used to be.

act iii. scene v.

“I saw your ghost, you know.” It’s the first thing Sunwoo has said to you in over two weeks. “It wasn’t actually you though, was it?” You don’t even bother looking up from your cup of tea. Through the silence, Sunwoo orders a coffee.

“I didn’t know that.” The coffee turns lukewarm. “It wasn’t me.” You push an uneaten half of chocolate bread towards him. “It’s in your brain this time. Symptoms can include hallucinations.”

“Think you can still save me?” You can’t. If you know that much, you know he’s out of medical miracles, and that this time, he really won’t survive it. But it’s a joke. And you laugh at it.

“Definitely not. I never really liked neurosurgery.”

And all at once, he’s painfully aware of your friend somewhere in the real world that does like it but watched anyways as your brain died before her, split wide open.

“Anyways, how do you know all of this?” But what Sunwoo really wants to say is brains are killer. Literally. Figuratively.

“I’ve known since we...“ you hesitate, mouth stuck halfway through a word he can’t place. “After last time, I read your chart and looked at your scans.” Sunwoo nods. He expected as much. He doesn’t ask how you got them. “I’m sorry you're sick again.” You say to him quietly. “I’m sorry you’re dying.”

“I’m sorry you’re dead.” As soon as the words have left his mouth, he regrets them. Because you aren’t. And he knows you too well to think you’d look past the technicality.

You scoff, shake your head slightly, and with a spiteful smile say, “Can I say it?”

Sunwoo only sighs. “Let’s start over instead.”

You nod. He pushes the chocolate bread back.

act iii. scene iv.

Mr. Choi was the one to recommend that Sunwoo give you and himself space. It’s been a month since you and him last spoke, since that moment hovering above the waves after he read his file and after he found out you read yours. He misses you, and has been for so long now. Mr. Choi was wrong. Sunwoo’s standing outside your forest green door to prove it.

You open the door before he can knock. There’s no shock in your voice when you say his name, like you’ve been waiting for this day, expecting it.

He looks behind you, at your apartment in Clara’s building that looks just like your apartment in the real world. The same one he cleaned out after you died, still filled with things he gave to your family or donated or took back to his place. He wants to crumble just looking at it again. “Can I come in?”

“It’s only been a month.”

And he knows what you mean by it. Three months is the recommended time off after reading one’s file. To reacclimate, they say, to process. But the insinuation that Sunwoo was supposed to go three months without seeing you makes him feel sick. The insinuation that after a year of being without you in the real world he was supposed to be without you here too, enrages him. Then he remembers how long you’ve been here, and how long you’ve been doing this and feels slightly murderous.

All he says is: “It’s been a lot longer than that for you.”

Your lip twitches. You lock and unlock the open forest green door five times before saying, “Are you sure?”

He nods. You let him in.

Sunwoo used to imagine what it would be like to meet you again in the Cloud one day. He imagined tears and hugs and kisses. He imagined i love you’s and i hate you’s and i miss you. He imagined the scenario more times than can possibly be considered healthy. But he imagined something. He was waiting for the day. Waiting for this day. But this moment, sitting at your round wood table while you boil water for tea, is nothing like the million different ways he imagined seeing you again.

And as you set down two mismatched mugs and take the seat across from him, he doesn’t even try to create one of them. “How long has it been since you read your file?”

You watch the steam rise from your tea for a long moment, then stand, grab the sugar and pour a spoonful of it into your tea. You take another spoonful and look at him expectantly. “Want some?” He nods, and you pour the sugar into his. You stir the tea then taste, then cringe, then add more sugar and then ask if he wants it. He refuses. You stir again. Sunwoo watches the whirlpool and waits the eternity it takes you to say: “I read it on my first day.”

You put the sugar away, satisfied with the tea’s sweetness while Sunwoo marvels at how long you’ve known and how silently you’ve been carrying the knowledge of you and him since he came. And that knowledge is what makes him finally remember one of the reasons he came. “Is there something you want to tell me?” You look up at him when he asks it, exhaling like you’ve been wanting to bring it up for so long now, which Sunwoo guesses isn’t as much of a simile as he thinks it is.

“Yes, actually. I…” you hesitate, flicking the mug as if the right words will come hopping out of the tea. Sunwoo watches for it. “I’ve just been here for a long time now, Sunwoo.”

“Two years isn’t that long.”

“Time doesn’t work the same here as it does down there.” You tell him tiredly. “It’s been decades.”

He doesn’t say anything.

“In the beginning, I didn’t mind the waiting. I knew you were on your way, but I just,” you hesitate, “I didn’t think it’d take so long for you to come back to me.”

Sunwoo covers your hand with his. “I’m sorry.” You twist your palm into it, squeeze, then pull your hand away. Sunwoo swallows. “I came as fast as I could.”

“I know. I waited.”

“Do you regret it?” Sunwoo’s terrified of what the answer might be.

You don’t give it. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then?”

“I’ve been here for so long, and,” your head drops, voice breaking under the weight it carries, “it’s been so lonely.”

“But I’m here now.” Sunwoo says, leaning forward against the table. “You aren’t alone anymore.”

“I know you’re here. I know, and I thought that would fix it, but it didn’t. Seeing you in the hall that day was so bittersweet, because you were here but that also meant you were somewhere else dying. Because you were here and I still felt lonely.” You stop, chugg the remaining bits of your tea, and then wipe your cheeks. “Do you get what I’m saying?”

“No.” But it’s a lie. He does get it. He knows all about loneliness and the way it creeps inside, so slyly. The way it starts small and then grows, feeding on negligence, until it's too big for your body. He knows how it sits inside you, for all its enormity, and spills into everything. He knows how it lingers. How it has nothing to do with people or lack of them and everything to do with grief. Sunwoo knows all about loneliness. The day he read his file he felt a dam of it burst open within him.

“I’m saying that in the real world I saved you, and now it’s your turn to save me.” You gulp. “I’m saying that I want you to unplug me.”

It takes a moment for Sunwoo to even register what you’ve said, but when he does remember the life support that’s keeping your body alive somewhere in a universe far away, he doesn’t say anything. He just stands and walks out of your apartment.

act i. scene iii.

“Doctor, please present.” The attending announces, stepping into Sunwoo’s room for rounds.

“Mr. Kim,” a resident starts, flipping open his chart, “was diagnosed 14 months ago and has gone through several different treatment plans. When he came to us, the illness had spread and was deemed inoperable and untreatable by several other physicians. Our treatment plan was aggressive and grueling but ultimately, effective. Sunwoo is 20 days post op from his third and final surgery. The surgery went extremely well with no complications and his vitals were excellent. He has been a model patient all throughout recovery, and according to our latest scans, he is also now illness free…”

Sunwoo doesn’t even bother listening to the rest.

“So, now that I’m no longer a patient, if I ask you out on a date, will you actually say yes?”

“Well,” you say, signing his discharge papers, “only one way to know.”

“What is it?”

You look up at him, smiling. “Ask me again.”

He does.

You say yes.

act iii. scene v. take ii.

“I saw your ghost.” The first thing Sunwoo says after the last failed attempt.

You look up from your tea. “It wasn’t me.”

“I know.” Sunwoo orders another coffee. “But the hallucination was how I knew I was sick again. It made me feel like you were trying to warn me, like you were up here somewhere caring from a distance. Right after I pieced it all together you told me to find you here and that there was something you wanted to say.” The coffee turns lukewarm again. Sunwoo can’t bring himself to say it. You sigh and push the same piece of chocolate bread back towards him. This time, he takes a bite from it. And with a mouthful of chocolate bread, he cries, “I just got you back, and now you want to leave all over again.”

You frown. “I didn’t want to leave the first time, and it’s different now.”

“How?”

“I want to go. Isn’t that worth something?”

“And what about what I want?”

“Oh, Sunwoo,” you say, “I’m sorry you’re sick. The hallucination was you and your head, but for what it’s worth, I have been up here caring from a distance. I still…” you don’t need to say the words. He knows. He never had to doubt it. “I never stopped.”

“I’ve been thinking about what you asked of me.” Sunwoo tells you. He made the decision last week but today, right now, with your confession still falling through the air, is the first time he’s had the stomach to swallow it. “And I’ll do it. I will. I just need some time. You’ve had so long and in comparison I’ve had nothing.”

“Okay.” You say simply.

“How long can you give me?”

You smile. “You know I’d give you an eternity if you asked for it.”

“I’m scared.” Sunwoo confesses then. “I know it’s what you want, but selfishly, I don’t want to let you again. I don’t know if I’m a big enough person to do it.”

“I do.” You say to him, leaning forward against the table and looking straight through him. “I know because I was your doctor. I have cut inside your body, seen all your organs, and during surgery two, I held your heart in my hands. I felt it beating. So I know exactly how big it is, and I know it’s big enough for this”

Sunwoo feels the heart you worked so hard to repair bursting inside of him.

“God. Why’d you have to read your file so soon?”

You laugh. “I missed you. I couldn’t help it.”

And just like that, you’ve stolen the entire concept of fear from him.

“I’m ready.”

“What?”

He looks at you and feels the loneliness slither away.

“Ask me again.”

#sunwoo x reader #sunwoo scenarios #sunwoo imagines #sunwoo fanfic #the boyz scenarios #the boyz fanfic #sunwoo fluff #sunwoo angst #mine #*clouds

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lueurjun · 3 years

Text

𝖱𝖮𝖠𝖣 𝖳𝖮 𝖥𝖠𝖬𝖤. 𝗌𝗂𝗆 𝗃𝖺𝖾𝗒𝗎𝗇

“=⌕ sim jaeyun x gn!reader.

⌗ SUMMARY — becoming a tiktoker was never apart of the plan, but here you are, 4 million followers and a love for pranking your boyfriend.

. . ⇢ LUEURJUN’S NOTES — this is supposed to be gender neutral but if i slipped up at any point then i do sincerely apologise. this probably won’t be written the best, i was kinda sick and had a moment of inspiration. this is super fluffy and cheesy, so brace yourself.

₊❏❜ WARNING ⋮ uh tears of joy?? i guess.

2021 @lueurjun.

THE 30TH APRIL 2020 was the day that your life changed in ways that you used to believe only happened in movies.

Honestly, setting up your phone and telling your devilishly handsome, yet so pure, so innocent boyfriend that you wanted to have a child—whether that be adoption plans or getting pregnant—it was a small prank you decided to pull and film for your group chat. You never had any intentions of uploading it onto the internet, until Jay, one of your closest friends, suggested that you posted it to Tiktok.

Jake was cool with it, having not expected it to blow up as much as it did. Nobody had expected for you to get over 2 million views and over 600k likes on your first video. Nor did you expect the heaps of requests in your comment section of different pranks to pull on your boyfriend. And that’s where it began.

That one video was a rabbit hole into what quickly became your career.

Now, with over 4 million followers, you have created your own little fan base, who have grown to love you, your boyfriend and even your friends that occasionally end up in your videos.

ii.

The light in the kitchen flickered once as you set up your phone against a bunch of cookbooks that your parents had yet to read. Mentally, you made a note to ask one of your family members to change the bulb when they returned home. Focusing on your phone, which was now recording, you put your thumbs up and turned towards the door.

“JAEYUN!” Your voice echoed through the quiet home, bouncing off every wall until it met your boyfriend’s ears. Brief shuffling could be heard followed by the padding of feet across the floor boards. He was only in the next room, so it didn’t take long for him to appear right before your eyes.

The first thing your eyes set on was the crinkles in his shirt, suggesting that he had been laying down. His dark hair was hidden beneath a black hat, which he had placed on his head backwards. He was dressed so simple, but you still managed to fall in love once again at the sight of him. You often wondered how you had managed to bag someone like Jake, he was the epitome of perfection and you couldn’t really see why he would want to be with you. Jake never let these thoughts ponder in your mind for too long, since he was always quick to prove to you that you’re everything to him.

Secretly eyeing the camera, you put on a pout and fiddle with the hem of his shirt. Immediately, the alarm bells go off in Jake’s mind. You’re never normally this quiet and it’s rare to see you pout. He frowns a little, eyebrows knitting together as concern washes over his face. Using his index finger and his thumb, he lifts your chin and gently rubs the skin just below your lip.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just- don’t get mad,” you begin, forcing yourself to sound sad. “But I just think you could’ve been a little bit nicer to me today.”

He had been nothing but an angel to you all day, and you felt horrendous for making him think otherwise, but alas, Tiktok had spoken and they wanted you to do this prank. So, as bad as you felt, it wouldn’t cause much harm.

“Did I do something to upset you?” He looks genuinely hurt by his own actions and guilt immediately tugs at your heart strings.

You shrug and avert your gaze downwards, focusing on the tiled floor beneath your feet. This was partly to stop yourself from giving in too quickly, you’d always been a sucker for Jake’s puppy dog eyes and you knew if you looked into them any longer, you would stop the prank.

Jake cocks his head to the side and steps closer to you, nuzzling his nose against the side of your head. You feel his breath fan over your ear and you swear your heart stops beating for a second. His fingers trail over your waist and he plants the softest kiss to the side of your head.

“I just feel like you’ve been a little mean to me today,” you continue. And he nods his head in understanding, though you know he doesn’t understand at all. Jake doesn’t know what he’s done wrong, but if you think he hasn’t been nice to you then he’s not going to argue.

“I’m sorry, can you tell me what I did to make you feel this way?”

You lean your head against his chest and bite your lip, it’s hard to contain your smile. With his sweet response mixed with the scent of his cologne fogging up your brain, you have a hard time holding onto your act and he quickly notices.

“Is this a prank?” He asks, pulling away from you.

You let the giggles slip from your mouth and nod towards the phone, that you had done your best to hide. Jake turns, his hand still on your waist, and he looks for the camera. Once his eyes land on his figure, he throws his head back and a breathy laugh falls from his lips.

“I should’ve known.”

Yes, yes he should’ve but you still made up for it with plenty of kisses.

iii.

Picking Jake up from football practice had become a ritual.

You didn’t need to be asked anymore, you’re just always there waiting for him and he loves that. The excited smile on his face whenever he sees you patiently sitting behind the wheel never gets old. Picking him up, as sad as it sounds, has become your drive to get through Tuesdays. They’re not your favourite day of the week, but knowing you get to see a smiley, yet sweaty, Sim Jaeyun at the end of the day gives you more than enough motivation.

Just like any other Tuesday, you’re waiting. You like to get there early and so, you have about fifteen more minutes until you see your favourite boy walking through the gate. Music plays softly in the background as you lean back and scroll through your comment sections—people are so sweet, though you do get a bitter taste in your mouth when you see people fawning over your boyfriend like he’s a piece of cake.

You ignore the thirst comments and look through the requests. Not many catch your eye, until you come across a particular one and a smirk appears on your face.

Fifteen minutes turns into twenty and finally you see your worn out boyfriend heading towards your car. As tired as he never fails to smile and pick up his pace. He pulls open the door and slips inside. You reach over and greet him with a chaste kiss before pulling away.

“How was practice?”

“Exhausting. Can we take a nap together when we get to your place?” He asks whilst adjusting his seatbelt.

A nap sounds amazing, and you waste no time in nodding your head. “Before we go, I went shopping today. I picked you up a few things, let me show you.”

He melts then and there. Reaching back, you grab one of the bags and aggressively tug it towards you, making sure you hit Jake on the side of the head. He hisses and turns to look at you.

You don’t even apologize.

“No this isn’t it,” you mumble to yourself.

You grip the bag and throw it back where you got it from, once again making sure to slap your boyfriend with it. He stares at you, annoyed with your aggressiveness, though you don’t look back at him and instead, you hit him a third time with a new bag but you instantly regret it. You ended up attacking him with the new pair of shoes you treated yourself to and you can tell this one pained him.

Quickly giving up on the prank, you drop the bag and reach over to rub the back of his head. “I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

He whips his head towards you, looking at you as though you had just murdered an entire family in front of him. “What? So you meant to hit me?”

You drop your hand and retreat back to your seat, attempting to look innocent. Jake then finds your phone, which is pointing right at him and he sees that it’s recording. You feel guilty, having not meant to hurt him so hard, you can’t meet his eye. You are about to start driving again, when you feel an impact on your arm and a yelp parts from your mouth.

Jake sits beside you, a smile on his face and a bag clutched in his hand. You scowl and he only grins wider.

“Now we’re even.”

Oh, he is evil.

iv.

On the 10th May 2021, you hit 5 million followers.

It was a shock, you rarely kept track of your follower count because you weren’t really in it for that ( though you are grateful for every single person that supports you ) so, you really hadn’t been expecting to hit such a huge milestone. In fact, you were so unexpectant, that you were sleeping at the time.

“BABY!” Your eyes flew open as the bed shook. Jake had jumped on the bed, plastering kisses all over your face. “You hit 5 mill!”

Disoriented, you blink. “Pardon?”

Jake chuckles at your sleepy state, even with messy hair and puffy eyes, he thinks you look so attractive. His dark eyes trail over your features as he uses his thumb to rub underneath your eye, almost like he was trying to wipe away your sleepiness.

“You hit 5 million followers, you did it.” His voice is softer this time, quieter but still filled with enthusiasm. You gape at him, and he laughs.

“I did?” You ask, pointing to yourself.

He nods. “You did.”

The realisation crashes down at you at once and suddenly, you feel your nose sting as tears form in your eyes. Your fingers curl around the fabric of your boyfriend’s shirt whilst the other hand comes up to cover your mouth. Stray tears drop down onto your skin. You can’t believe it. 5 million people followed you. They like your content.

Jake coos at the tears that leak from your eyes like a waterfall. He’s quick to wipe them away, before he presses a kiss to your wet cheek. He’s proud and he’s filled with pride, his baby got 5 million followers and he couldn’t wait to brag to everyone about how talented and cool you are. That’s his favourite thing to do. Jake loves to brag about you.

You sniffle and press your hands against his cheeks. Gently, you rub your nose against his own. “We did it. It’s your account just as much as it is mine, I wouldn’t have got this far without you. After all, you’re my main prank victim. So, we did it. We hit 5 million together.”

You weren’t taking all of the credit, Jake was just as involved as you and he deserves the praise. You had done this together.

“You do know Jay is never going to let you forget that he was the one who suggested uploading it to TikTok...right?”

You laugh, nodding your head. “Yep. I know he’s gloating in the group chat, right now.”

And he was. Jay was so proud of you and Jake, but most of all, he was proud of himself because without him, you would have never uploaded that first video. So, you let him have his moment.

“To millions more!” Jake cheers as he lifts the pizza in his hand, the two of you had decided to celebrate with a victorious take away and a movie marathon.

“To millions more,” you repeat softly.

Whether you had 0 followers or 5 million, as long as Sim Jaeyun was by your side, you didn’t mind.

#enhypen #enhypen scenarios #enhypen imagines #enhypen x reader #enhypen x gender neutral reader #sim jaeyun #sim jake #jake enhypen #jake scenarios #jake x reader #sim jake imagines #jaeyun x reader #jaeyun fluff #jake fluff #sim jake scenarios

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tobesolonely · 4 years

Text

muse

A/n: hello everyone!! im very excited to put this out :-) i was going to make a long one shot but ive never written anything multi-part before and i wanted to give it a go!! also my first time with an oc 🌟so i hope everyone enjoys!! not sure when the next part will come out but i wanna upload at least once a week or every two weeks or something idk haha but anywayssss lmk ur thoughts!

biggest, biggest thank u to my love @harryysstyless for beta reading and being so encouraging<333 luv u!!

photographer oc x harry styles

please let me know your thoughts on miss aminah, iman, serena, and harry!

my ko-fi! thank you :)

Los Angeles was your newest muse.

You had always been the spontaneous type. It came as no shock to your family and friends when you told them you had purchased a one-way ticket and were moving across the country. Although your parents weren’t too keen on the idea of their daughter moving so far away from them, they helped you withdraw your savings and find a modest apartment in LA before sending you on your way.

Your reason for moving to LA was simple, really. You were a freelance photographer that felt your career was growing rather… stagnant. You had a thick portfolio and were proud of the work you produced, but your clientele wasn’t as impressive as you’d hope it would be after nearly six years of working at it.

And so began your desire to move from New York to Los Angeles— one big city to the next.

People who knew you often described you as ambitious, fiery, and an absolute go-getter. If your big move scared you in any way, no one knew any better. Your confidence never faltered— not even in the slightest.

After nearly three months of being in LA, you developed a routine of sorts. You’d wake up, eat a breakfast that almost always consisted of avocado toast and coffee, and go on a run. After your run, you would come home, shower, and decide how far you wanted to venture to take pictures that day.

Sometimes your roommates, Serena and Iman, would join you to keep you company. Although you’d never met either one of them before answering their ad for a roommate on Craigslist, you had grown extremely close to the girls in the few months that you’d known them. Despite the two girls being friends since their childhood, they never made you feel left out, and you fit in with them effortlessly.

During your short time in the city, there were so many places you had been, but still, even more you had yet to see. Serena and Iman, both native Angelenos, would often suggest spots for you to check out and even offer to drive you around— you were from New York after all, and at twenty-four years old, you were still not the owner of a driver's license.

“You’ve never been to North Hollywood yet, right Aminah?” Iman questioned as you all lounged around, trying to come up with a place you had not yet been.

“No, I haven’t really gone anywhere farther than walking distance,” you reply, looking around the cramped living room for your camera bag. “Or the places you guys have driven me. That was still considered Downtown though, right? Where we went the other day?” You were still getting used to how absolutely massive Los Angeles was.

“We should go to Santa Monica or something— wait, Malibu!” Serena exclaims. “We have to go to Malibu, Mina. It’s so nice there, you could totally get a bunch of good shots.”

“Yeah, we might even see a celebrity!” Iman chimes in, stifling laughter.

It was an on-going joke between the three of you. When you first moved to LA, you told your roommates that you couldn’t wait to make your way around the city because you were hoping to run into a celebrity. It was Los Angeles after all— you figured they were everywhere.

You quickly learned that wasn’t the case. Celebrities here kept a low-profile and even if you did encounter a celebrity, it’s not like you would approach them. “You’re not funny, Iman,” you tell your roommate with a roll of your eyes.

“Yes I am,” Iman quips, wiggling her eyebrows. “If we’re gonna go to Malibu then I gotta change. Can I borrow a cute shirt from anyone?”

A short twenty minutes later, the three of you were piled in Serena’s car on your way to Malibu. You’d heard of the city before and knew it was a wealthy area, but that’s about it. Your roommates promised you that out of all the beaches in LA, Malibu had the nicest ones, and lots of places to take pictures. Since none of you had anything to do, you all decided it was as good a day as any to have a beach day and get some shots of your roommates to add to your portfolio. Since you didn’t know anyone except Serena and Iman, the pictures on your camera from the last few months consisted entirely of nature and inanimate objects. While it was good practice, you really preferred to photograph actual people.

“Traffic is so bad today,” you say from the backseat after traveling approximately two feet in five minutes. Iman snorts from the passenger side.

“When isn’t traffic bad, Mina,” she turns to look at you, an amused look on her face. “Don’t worry about it. It always gets backed up at this fuckin’ exit and then as soon as we get past it there’s like, zero traffic.”

“Right! I always complain about how shitty this exit is. I have no clue who designed it,” Serena adds, skipping through songs on her playlist. “It’s still early in the day, though. I’m just hoping the beach won’t be too crowded by the time we get there.”

“I don’t care how crowded the beach is. I just don’t want it to take us forty minutes to find parking…”

You tune out your roommate's voices, instead choosing to focus on the traffic jam outside the car. To Serena and Iman, people who were born and raised in Los Angeles, the city wasn’t necessarily anything special. Sure, they loved how there was always something to do, but the bad drivers, traffic, and smog got old. The novelty of LA hadn’t yet worn off to you, though. You didn’t know how your roommates were content to sit inside the apartment all day when there were tons of things to do basically right outside your doorstep. You felt like you were the one convincing them to go out with you half of the time, and you didn’t even know where you were going.

After what feels like almost entirely too long but was really only half an hour, Serena pulls into a fairly empty parking lot. “Are we not allowed to be here?”

“Why do you think that?” Iman asks, squinting her eyes to read a sign. “It doesn’t say it’s closed. I mean, there are a few cars–– look.” She points to a few cars scattered around the parking lot.

“I mean, it is nine in the morning on a Wednesday. People are probably at work,” you tell the two girls in the front seat. “Besides, there’s someone in the parking booth. Can you even close a beach?”

Serena drives forward, rolling down her window. “I mean, I guess not. You can close the parking lot, though.” You hum in agreement. She quickly pays for parking and tosses her receipt on the dashboard before driving slowly through the parking lot.

“I love when no one’s at the beach,” Iman sighs, clapping her hands. “No one will get in the way of your picture-taking either, Meens.”

You smile at the nickname. “Yeah, that’s true. We picked a perfect time to come too, guys. The lighting’s great.”

“Really? Is it gonna make my skin pop?” Iman turns around and sticks her arm out, sensually running her fingers along it.

“You always look good no matter what the lighting’s like, Iman,” you reply, refraining from rolling your eyes at her. “You have the glowiest complexion out of all of us.”

“We’re literally all the same skin-tone, Aminah,” she retorts, crossing her arms.

“We have different undertones, though,” you answer. “So not really. Plus, Serena is way lighter than us! What are you talking about?”

“Should I park here?” Serena asks, interrupting your conversation.

“Why here? All these empty spots and you wanna park directly next to this car?”

“This is a good spot, Iman. It’s a parking lot. If they didn’t want anyone to park next to them, they should’ve taken an Uber and got dropped off.” She turns into the spot, quickly putting the car in park and crossing her arms to prove her point.

You unbuckle your seatbelt, smiling at your friends’ bickering. They were so close they were basically sisters. They argued sometimes and were quick to call the other out on their shit, and you loved it.

“I just think you’re weird for parking next to this car. It’s a nice car.”

“Who cares, girl?” Serena groans, exasperated. “We’re gonna be on the beach. They’ll probably be gone before we will.” She pops the trunk before unplugging her phone from the aux cord and stepping outside. Iman mimics her before flinging the door open as well and stepping out of the car.

You make sure your camera bag is closed all the way before situating it over your shoulder and climbing out of the car as well.

“It’s kinda cold,” Iman says, wrapping her arms around her body. “If I knew it would be so overcast I would’ve bought a jacket.” Serena hums in agreement and you look up at the sky, unphased.

“It’s like, seventy degrees?” you look at the weather app on your phone in confirmation.

“We get it, Meens. You’re from New York,” Serena teases, closing her trunk. She hands you a few towels and a blanket to carry while she rolls the cooler and Iman carries the beach chairs and umbrella.

“It’s a cold seventy degrees and you know it,” Iman defends. “Look at my goosebumps. I can’t fake this shit.” You shake your head at your overly dramatic friends and follow them down to the beach. You take off your sandals as soon as you’re off the pavement, wiggling your toes in the cold sand.

“We can set up pretty much wherever we want,” Serena points out, tucking flyaway curls behind her ears. “Where do you think the best place to be is, Mina? Y’know, so you can get good pictures?”

“It doesn’t really matter, to be honest,” you tell them distractedly, too busy looking around the beach in awe. Your friends were right–– out of all the beaches you’d visited in Los Angeles so far, this one was the nicest (and cleanest). “Maybe we can get a little closer to the water?”

The three of you walk for a couple of minutes before Iman abruptly stops, dramatically dropping everything she was carrying. “Let’s just set up here. There’s no one around anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

“There actually is someone around,” you tell them, looking at a stranger who seemed to be fixated on staring at you and your friends. “Don’t look, but a cute guy is staring at us.” Serena and Iman immediately turn around, shading their eyes from the bit of sun that was starting to peek through the clouds. The guy couldn’t have been more than twenty yards away from where you were setting up.

...“Huh,” Serena says, turning back around. “Is it just me, or does that guy look a lot like Harry Styles?” She looks back over her shoulder again, but he’s no longer staring at the three of you, focusing on what appeared to be a book instead.

“Why would Harry Styles be at the beach by himself at nine in the morning?” Iman asks, unfolding a beach chair and flopping down on it.

“Why wouldn’t he? It’s Malibu, dude,” Serena responds. You could tell your friends were about to start bickering again, so you quickly jump in.

“Doesn’t matter. Neither one of you would go up to him even if it was, so what’s the point in arguing about it?” They both raise their eyebrows at you.

“And you would, Mina? Bullshit!” Iman exclaims, laughing. “I dare you to go see if it’s him, and if it is, ask him if he wants to join us.”

“That’s weird! What if it’s not him?”

“Even if it’s not him, we’ll still get to hang out with a cute boy.” Iman points out. Serena nods in agreement and you can’t deny that she makes a convincing argument. “Just ask him if he wants a mimosa or something!”

“No, don’t ask that,” Serena interjects. “Tell him that you’re a photographer and you’re working on building a new portfolio. Ask him if he would be cool with you photographing him.”

You narrow your eyes at her. “Are you sure that’s not weird, Serena?”

“Aminah, trust me. I wouldn’t deliberately let you make yourself look weird.” Your roommate reassures you.

And so you found yourself clearing the short distance to where the handsome stranger was laid, half hoping it was Harry Styles, half hoping it was not. You couldn’t act like you weren’t a fan of him–– you thought he was incredibly attractive and enjoyed his music just like most people. If Harry Styles was the first celebrity you encountered during your short time in Los Angeles, you‘d never stop talking about it. Ever.

When you’re almost to him he looks up, dog-earring the page he’s on. After making eye contact with him, there’s no mistaking that this is Harry Styles. You pinch the back of your hand, urging yourself not to freak out. He has a knowing look on his face and you’re grateful for your darker complexion that hides your blush.

“Hi,” you speak first, stopping a few feet away from him. “Uh, my friends and I are just uh, we’re... you know.” You internally wince at your inability to form a coherent sentence. His gaze never breaks from yours and you look away first, growing shyer by the second. If you thought he was beautiful on Instagram, he was even more gorgeous in person. It was incredible.

“Hi,” he finally says after a brief moment of silence. “‘M sorry if I was starin’ at you ladies a moment ago. I jus’ usually never see anyone else this early out here. Are you a photographer?”

You almost ask him how he knows when you realize your camera is still hanging around your neck. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I am.” He’s still staring intently at you.

“Would you like to sit?”

You look over your shoulder at Serena and Iman who were pretending to be preoccupied putting on sunscreen, but you know they were waiting for you to come back with the man you now knew to be Harry Styles.

“Oh, my friends are waiting for me,” Harry looks up at you patiently, waiting for you to continue speaking. “I was actually going to photograph them. I’m working on building up my portfolio. I understand if you can’t for… I dunno, legal reasons? Or if you just don’t want to–– and that’s fine if you don’t, but would it be okay if I photographed you as well?”

“That actually sounds like a lot of fun. It’s kinda boring jus’ readin’ out here on my own,” he agrees quickly, surprising you. Harry stands up and stretches a bit before leaning down to gather up his blanket, towel, water bottle, and book. “What’s your name? I’m Harry.”

You know that Harry knows that you know exactly who he is, but the fact that he introduced himself to you makes him even more endearing. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Aminah.”

Harry extends his free hand to you. “It’s very nice to meet you, Aminah.” You love the way your name sounds coming out of his mouth.

As you approach Serena and Iman, their eyes go wide when they realize it really was him. Serena nudges Iman and you know without even having heard it that she’s saying, “I told you so!” Harry stops a bit behind you, smiling at them.

“Hello,” he starts. “S’okay if I join you ladies? Aminah here extended such a nice offer that I jus’ couldn’t pass it up, but wanna check with the two of you first.”

Serena’s mouth is shamelessly hanging open, and you realize that she may have been a bigger fan than she let on. Iman answers for them. “Of course! Mina’s building her portfolio and I bet it would look like, super cool, if you were a part of it!” Harry nods, setting the few things he had with him down.

“I don’t think I would even be the center of attention if ‘m sittin’ beside you beautiful ladies. I’ll jus’ act as a prop or something,” he flashes them a dimpled smile. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are your names? I’m Harry.”

“We know,” Iman answers a little too quickly. “I’m Iman and this is Serena.” Serena gives him a timid wave.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you all. Are you guys from around here?” He lays his blanket beside all of your stuff and sits down cross-legged, not once breaking eye contact with any of you. You had no idea how he did it.

“We live Downtown. We’re only over here so Mina could get some good pictures, she’s a photographer,” Iman answers proudly. “She’s amazing, but she’ll never admit it.”

“Iman…,” you trail off. “Stop, dude.”

“It’s true,” Serena jumps into the conversation, now seemingly over the initial shock of who was sitting barely two feet away from her. “She’s the best photographer I know.” Harry turns to look at you, an amused look on his face.

“That’s a hefty claim. I can’t wait to see your photography skills, Aminah.”

“They’re just hyping me up,” you reply, making a mental note to yell at your friends for embarrassing you once the three of you were alone again. “I’m not that good.”

“That looks pretty professional to me,” Harry says, gesturing to the camera that has not yet left your neck since arriving at the beach. “I bet you’re just as good as they say you are.” You look away, hiding your face. Iman, being the wing woman she is, can tell you’re growing flustered from all the attention and moves the conversation away from you.

“Do any of y’all want a mimosa?” Before anyone can even answer her, she’s popping open the champagne and handing the orange juice to Serena to open. Harry politely declines, as he drove himself to the beach that morning. You and Iman are ultimately the only ones who indulge in a drink since you were the only ones not driving.

Talking to Harry was like catching up with an old friend. He wanted to know everything about the three of you and whenever he felt the conversation was becoming too much about him, he quickly changed the subject. Harry learned that Iman and Serena have been friends since the second grade when Iman pushed some boy off of the monkey bars for teasing Serena. He learned your favorite take-out spots, your favorite bars, and what freeways Iman and Serena tried to avoid at all cost (it was the 405, which he agreed with). What seemed to intrigue Harry the most, though, was him learning that you just moved from New York and had never even been to Los Angeles before moving.

“Why did you pick somewhere all the way across the country that you’d never even vacationed at before?” He had a look of confusion written across his face. You shrug, not really knowing the answer.

“I mean, I’ve seen it on TV shows and in movies. That doesn’t count?” you joke. Harry still looks utterly bewildered.

“I mean… no?”

Serena laughs. “We were just as confused as you were, Harry. We were scared for a moment when she moved in because we were like, oh shit, what if she’s insane? You know? Like, what sane person would move all the way across the country to live somewhere they’d never even vacationed before?”

You let out an offended, “heyyyy”, lightly smacking Serena’s thigh. “I just needed a change and I’m a drastic person! I either go all-in when I do something, or I just don’t do it at all.” You defend yourself.

“I actually think that’s really fuckin’ cool,” Harry says after a moment. “Sometimes I wish I could just… up an’ go. Y’know?” you all nod, and it falls silent again. “Well, should we take some pictures now?”

Any intimidation you felt to photograph Harry disappeared as soon as he started posing for you.

Being that he was a major celebrity, he was no stranger to posing for a photoshoot. Harry was ethereal–– you knew the pictures of him would most likely require minimal to no editing. Serena and Iman also looked incredible, and you were thankful to have such gorgeous people as your muses. You were taking pictures of them in various places around the beach, only stopping once it started getting too crowded. There were starting to be too many people in the background of your shots and Harry wanted to get going, not particularly in the mood to be recognized. The three of you decide you should get going too. You had more than enough pictures to go through and besides, you were all starting to grow hungry.

Harry follows the three of you to the parking lot, keeping his head down the entire way. The closer you got to Serena’s car, the sadder you got. You didn’t want to stop talking to Harry and photographing him. However, you knew you were just in the right place at the right time, and it was likely that you’d never cross paths with him any time soon–– if ever again.

“Thank you for letting me photograph you,” you tell him sincerely once you were almost to Serena’s car. “That was really kind of you. I can promise you I won’t post them anywhere without your permission or like, disclose the location or anything like that.”

Harry finally looks up, determining you were far enough away from the crowds and he was no longer at risk of getting recognized. “It was my pleasure, really. Thank you for inviting me to hang out with you and your friends. It was a lot of fun getting to know you all.” You feel your body heat up.

“Where did you park?”

“Right there,” Harry points straight ahead. “You?”

You let out a loud laugh, causing Serena and Iman, who was walking slightly ahead of you and Harry, to turn around and look at the two of you. “We parked right next to you! Iman was getting on Serena for parking next to you because the lot was pretty much empty when we got here this morning.”

Harry lets out a breathy chuckle. “I guess it’s fate that we crossed paths then, yeah?” You let out a quiet hum in agreement, stopping a few feet in front of Serena’s car. You hear her and Iman debating on where you should stop for lunch, but you were waiting to see what Harry would say next.

“Aminah? After you get a chance to look at those pictures, do you think you can send them to my manager? His name’s Jeff. I’d love to see how they come out.”

“Oh yeah, of course! Do you have his business card or something?” You were excited that Harry actually cared to see your work but based on the couple of hours you spent interacting with him, you learned he was just an overall insanely kind person.

“I can jus’ put his contact info in your phone? If you don’t mind,” his gaze falters, a sheepish look on his face.

“Totally! Let me just unlock my phone,” you dig in the pocket of your shorts, pulling your phone out and unlocking it with your face. You hand it over to him and while he’s looking down typing you glance over at your roommates who had shocked looks on their faces. You would explain to them later that he wasn’t giving you his number, just his managers, but for now, you’d let them think he was giving his number to you out of all people–– a total stranger.

Harry hands it back to you a few moments later, running his fingers through his hair. “Thank you again for such a great morning, Aminah. I’ll let you get goin’, don’t wanna hold you ladies up any longer,” he waves at Serena and Iman. “It was really nice to meet all of you. Hope to see you all again soon.” You notice that his gaze lingers on you for a moment when he says that, and you feel your body heat up for what must have been at least the tenth time that day.

The three of you watch as Harry unlocks his car and throws his items haphazardly into the passenger side before climbing in, slamming the door shut. His car starts immediately afterwards and he gives you a quick nod before quickly backing out of the spot, leaving. None of you say anything for a bit, just processing what just happened. Serena is the first one to speak, her hand on the handle of her car door.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Harry fucking Styles?” her voice raises at least two octaves and you know she’s about to have a mini freakout. “Did he ask for your number, Meens?”

“No dude, he just gave me his manager's number. He wants to see how the pictures come out after I edit them,” you tell her, opening the backseat of her car. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Uh, that’s definitely a big deal, Aminah. Stop being so humble,” Iman tells you, exaggerated annoyance lacing her voice. “Did you see how he looked at you? When he said, ‘Hope to see you all again soon’?” She puts on a terrible posh accent.

“You’re so annoying,” you groan, shaking out the blanket and beach towels before throwing them onto the seat. “Where are we gonna eat?”

Iman and Serena pile into the car as well, telling you about the three restaurants they were stuck choosing between. You hum distractedly, typing the name ‘Jeff’ into your contacts to see if Harry left a number and an email, or just an email. Your brows furrowed in confusion when you see the name is nowhere to be found in your contact list. You chalk up the mistake to Harry just forgetting to press ‘save’ after creating the contact and figure you can just find his manager’s contact information on the internet somewhere. As you’re scrolling back up through your contact list, your eye lands on a name that makes your breath hitch in your throat.

Harry Styles.

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles blurb #harry styles fluff #harry styles x oc #harry styles one shot #uhhh idk what else to tag this #enjoy!!

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alphabravocharliedelta · 3 years

Text

Therefore I Am | Russell Adler x Bell! Reader III

Series: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Therefore I Am | Russell Adler x Bell! Reader

Chapter III

Word Count: 5300+

[Chapter II] [Chapter IV]

Summary: [Y/N] “Bell” [L/N] was content with dying. Shot by the person whom they admired and left to die, the world was now left in the hands of the team they once thought as family. However, it seems that fate had other plans in mind…

Content Warning: mature content, gore, vulgar language, blood, injuries

Notes: This chapter is a bit long, whoops! I had to scrap the original draft and rewrite the entire part so it fits the narrative a bit more. As for the update schedule, I’m planning to keep it to around early in the week, but I might upload more during the week if there’s not much to edit. Thanks again for your support!

[Y/N] “Bell” [L/N]

July, 1983

???

You opened your eyes, and found yourself in a grey corridor.

The place looked like it had seen better days. It looked like it had just been flooded, water dripping from the ceiling as the lights flickered. A musty smell wafered throughout, and it was clammy. At the end there was a white metal door that just seemed to call out to you.

Approaching it, however, it never seemed to get any closer. You started off at a walking pace, before starting to jog. It felt like the hallway was just getting longer with each step you took.

You didn't know how long you've been going, but the door eventually found itself in front of you. Hand on the knob, you twisted it and pushed against the metal. The door wouldn't budge, and you tugged on it a couple of times before giving up. Looking to the left, another path had opened up.

It was the same corridor again, but it felt different. The walls felt a bit closer than before. Turning around, you were going to compare it to the one you had just walked through, only to find yourself closed in and facing yet another wall.

At this point you were running, and with each left turn you took the walls seemed to shrink. It felt like they were going to crush you, and the air suddenly seemed to be wearing thin. You felt like you were being suffocated, and any attempts of trying to gasp for air only made your throat constrict. Panic began to take a hold of you, and yet you had no choice but to move forward.

The lights were starting to disappear as well. You could barely see your hand in front of you as you practically crawled. Once you planted your hand down, you felt something wooden give out beneath you, and you fell.

You landed with a loud thud, and your bones groaned out in pain. Forcing yourself back up, you were in someplace different.

Rectangular in shape, the walls of the room resembled the one you woke up to after nearly drowning. The floors and roof mirrored the same. The only difference other than size, was that there were a bunch of carts around, TVs sitting on top. There were a few chairs here and there, with leather straps going around the armrest, and your wrists felt itchy just by the sight of it.

It was the lab. The one where you were handled and drugged relentlessly. As if getting the answer correct, a single bell chime resonated inside your head.

“The subject’s programming is beginning to take hold.”

Then you noticed that you weren't the only one in the room. A humanoid figure stood at the opposite end of the lab, facing away. Their posture seemed familiar, and upon getting closer you realized it was no one other than Helen Park.

Like always, she wore her black leather jacket, with a maroon colored button up blouse underneath, and regular blue jeans. Her dark hair never grew past her chin. She was speaking, but you were unable to make out what she was saying. Whether she was addressing you or someone else, you didn't know. There was something else that grabbed her attention in front of her, and you could see her arms moving, toying around with it.

"Park?" you called out hesitatingly.

She ceased all movement, before pivoting and facing you. Seeing her face, you felt your soul leave your body.

Bullet wounds riddled her body, and blood was running down her face. Her flesh was beginning to peel away like a rotting corpse. Along with the blood and flesh, you could see a bit of her cheekbones exposed. Park's neck, which was always covered with a scarf, was exposed, revealing the long scar she had received. It seemed to be the only place untouched by all the horror, while everything else reminded you of your failure to save her.

But the most uncanny thing of it all was that her eyes were fixated on you.

It felt like she could see right through you. If you had a secret, she probably knew. Any thoughts you had suddenly felt public. You could feel your heart beating inside your eardrums at an irregular pace.

“We just need to give the subject a name.”

"Bell."

Her voice reverberated through your body. It sounded completely normal, her accent still detectable, and yet it compelled you step back. Comparing the face to the voice, it didn't feel like Park any more.

Abruptly, she ran towards you at breakneck speed, tackling you. You both fell onto the hardened floor, and her hands flew towards your throat. You seized hold on her wrists, trying to pry them away, but they were fixated in place. Veins were beginning to protrude from your skin.

Park’s eyes bore into you, and they had no light or feeling in them as she continued to strangle you to your demise.

She was dead.

And you killed her.

0000

You woke up, gasping for air.

Your hands shot up to your neck, massaging it. However, as you did, you hear the sound of metal jingling, and look down to see that handcuffs were secured around your wrists, bounding them together. Your gloves were caked in dried blood that already darkened to black flakes. A wave of nausea hit you; it felt like you just got hit by a truck. The experience felt too real, and you swore there was still a bit of pressure lingering around your throat.

The bed underneath you felt like you were lying on newspapers, the mattress making noise with every little movement. Underneath it was a tiny vent, a mellow humming noise coming from it as air blew into the room. Everything else was rather dull and lifeless. The walls were grey, made from concrete. Across from you, a large glass window, although you couldn't see the other side of it. It felt like you were in a prison cell, but at the same time, there was a sense of familiarity.

Fighting against gravity, you pulled yourself upward and nearly toppled over. You were lighter than usual now that you didn’t have your vest or belt on.

Almost on cue, a buzz went off from right outside the door, and you could hear it unlocking. You tense up as a result, listening to the handle rattle.

The door swings open, and from behind, an older middle aged man reveals himself. He had whitening blond hair with a receding hairline, a few wrinkles apart on his face. Though, despite this, he was decently built. A badge hung around his neck, but it was facing inward, so you could only see a barcode on the back of it.

“Get up,” he demanded. “No questions, just follow me.”

He led you down the hallway. It was fairly quiet, the noise of your boots clicking echoing with each step you made. There were no other personnel wandering around. It was a bit eerie, you had to admit. You both pass a couple of empty rooms, and taking a quick peek through one of the windows, there was just a metal table and two matching chairs, with a light dangling right in the middle.

Then dawned on you.

The CIA Headquarters. The one where they initially took you after they found you alive when Arash decided to abruptly cut ties.

A sick feeling settled inside your stomach. So, that’s how it was.

“Keep moving.”

He took you to a room at the end of the hall. Walking in, nothing about seemed out of the ordinary. There was a camera placed in the corner, a red light blinking to show that it was now recording. Like all the other rooms, it has a one way window and you could only assume that there was a room behind it.

Taking a seat, you could feel the chill of the metal through your clothes. The guy who led you here left the room, only to be replaced shortly by someone else you never seen before.

This time it was a younger male wearing a baseball cap, dark strands poking out from underneath. Judging from the quality, it's seen better days. He wore a simple white collar button up and black dress pants, and a swiss watch on his left wrist. The guy looked rather well kept, but it couldn't hide the fact that he was a bit on edge, You couldn't help but simper.

“Looks like the CIA just hires anyone nowadays, don’t they?” you say, gauging his reaction.

He understood you clearly, stiffening a bit at the sound of your voice before coughing into a fist to clear out his throat. Whatever he was doing, you found it amusing.

“Let’s start off by having you tell us your credentials, shall we?" he starts in a deep tone at a failed attempt at intimidation.

“[Y/N] [L/N].”

“And you also go by ‘Bell’, is that correct?”

“...Only comrades call me Bell.”

“Well, [L/N]. You’re currently here under suspicion of going AWOL, and I’m here to find out where and what you have been doing since deserting your post since March, nineteen eighty one.”

You tilt your head slightly. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Just when did you go missing? You didn’t run off to frolic and prance with some Soviets, you were caught up in an attempted murder. That was a fact, so to hear those words come out of his mouth ticked you off.

You were going to protest in defense of yourself, but decided to keep shut. It was clear the guy wasn't going to tell you anything as to what the hell he meant, even if he was a nervous wreck.

"Jason Hudson reported that you have gone missing shortly after the raid on Solovetsky Islands, correct?"

“Sure.”

Something was amiss here, and you were going to find out.

So, you played along.

…

“This isn’t going anywhere.”

Adler rubs out the butt of his cigarette on the small tray in front of him while maintaining his focus on you. “Bell’s toying with him.”

Behind the reinforced glass was a small room where Adler and Lazar were currently situated in. They watched keenly as they listened to your voice come through the small speaker on the table.

"You've been living in that base since then?"

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

Despite being held and questioned, you maintained a casual posture, leaning back in your chair and bouncing your leg in boredom. Both Adler and Lazar could tell that the person interrogating you was already beginning to lose his cool as you continued to respond in short, snappy sentences. Not only that, but you didn’t even bother to speak English to the poor guy.

You did the same thing with him and Park. Tight-lipped and witty, you wouldn’t reveal anything to them other than your name. Everything else about your background and association with Perseus you refused to spill. They used almost every method at their disposal, and you wouldn't break. So, this wasn't anything new.

“Let me talk to Bell,” Lazar suggests, closing the folder in his hand. He was glad to see that you haven't changed since the last time you've met, still exerting that rash behavior of yours.

“They won’t allow it.”

“Well, considering our options, it seems to me like I’m their best bet.”

Adler ponders over it. Considering that you didn’t hold any personal grudges against Lazar, it was the most probable angle to go at. Under the guise that you defected back to the Soviets, you were put under a watchlist, and upon discovering your whereabouts, you were to immediately go under interrogation to find out what you have done for the past two years. They didn't want another Robert Aldrich running about.

Then again, you were a special case.

Flipping the pen between his fingers, Adler sets it back down and comes to a conclusion. “I’ll talk with Black.”

Well that was surprisingly easy, Lazar thought. He expected his friend to come up with a couple more excuses to prevent anyone you knew from getting into contact, but Adler caved in without putting much of a front. And because of that, Lazar couldn't help but muse over that something was bothering the guy; he was awfully quiet and didn't even defend himself after finally reuniting with you.

They both leave the room, gathering any remaining papers from the desk. Adler gives you one last glance before closing the door.

"Have anything you want to tell Bell?" Lazar inquires lightly. "I'll pass it on for you."

"No," Adler states firmly.

“...Is that what you want me to tell them, or?”

“We don’t have all day Lazar.”

Adler didn't waste a second more, and strides past him.

“Well, alright then.”

Lazar watches Adler’s form walk the opposite direction, going a good distance before turning left at a corner. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, like always. Rubbing his hands together, he adjusts the front of his coat and sleeves, making sure there wasn’t anything out of place.

He reaches for the handle, but stops right above it.

There were steps to follow regarding interrogation, he knew, but this wasn’t his field. But what he did know was that you were his friend, and whether you considered him one as well didn’t matter— He never forgets the people he owes.

Your mood seemed to brighten a bit the moment you set your eyes on Lazar as he cracked the door ajar. The man across from you cranes his neck towards him as they whisper to each other for a bit. Coming to an agreement, they switch roles.

Lazar settles in on the chair, setting a cream colored manila folder in front of you. The tab had your nickname on it written in capital letters.

“This probably wasn’t the reunion you expected," he greets in a weary but soft voice.

You smile a bit, hearing his voice. His accent was still the same. “Couldn’t have it any other way.”

"Give me your hands for a bit."

Lazar sticks a hand into his coat pocket, before pulling out a small silver key. You place your hands on the table, grimacing a bit as the edges of the cuffs dig into your skin. The area around it was starting to develop a rash. Twisting the key, a click occurred and you could feel it loosen up. You massaged your wrists and rotated them.

You offer him a grateful look. "How long has it been?"

"About twenty eight hours. We had to knock you out since you kept trying to bash Adler's knee in."

Seems about right. “And the others?” you ask.

Lazar narrows his eyes a bit. "What do you mean?"

"There were five of us on the base. One of them died, I'm here. So, where's the rest of them?" You waited for a response. Instead, he leans back and pulls his arms off of the table, just looking at you, and you could feel your heart drop. His facial expression already told you the answer, but you needed to hear it. “Lazar, tell me."

He deeply sighs. “You know how things work around here, Bell.”

“So they're dead," you confirm with malice. "And you guys said I was trigger happy one."

"We were instructed to get rid of any hostiles and retrieve the asset, which was you."

“Riiight."

"Why do you care so much?" Lazar pressures, feeling a bit apprehensive. It was a bit daunting to see your mood shift this easily, yet you should be used to this kind of stuff. He wanted to believe that you were innocent in all of this, but he found it difficult to do so knowing the fact that you actually were roped back in with Soviets. "They're the ones that tipped your location off."

You lean forward with your arms on the table, giving him an accusing glare. "What do you mean 'tipped my location'?"

"An associate with the CIA was near the area, and happened to catch a transmission. I… think it's better if you see it yourself." He opens up the folder, sifting through the contents, before singling out a sheet and handing it over.

Most of the text was censored with a black bar, a large red stamp with the words CONFIDENTIAL on the top. Towards the middle of the page you could see a familiar set of Soviet encrypted messages. Handwritten arrows circled key parts of it, leading to a series of translations. Mostly consisting of the GPS coordinates and pleas for extraction, everything seemed to line up until you read up to the most recent transmission.

[[L/N]]. It was just your last name, and it was repeated over and over. Was this what Mikhail and them had decided to put out?

"This doesn't mean anything," you try, but you couldn't mask the disappointment.

You were at a loss for words. Why just your name? There was nothing special about it, nor was it too special for people to do a double take. You were sure that you never told them anything about your relations to the CIA, or Perseus. The only thing about your history you mentioned was when you were part of the KGB. Nothing more, nothing less. You weren't that dumb.

"There's been a bounty on your head for quite a while, remember? Perseus wants you back, dead or alive. You're famous."

Or, maybe you were.

You recalled Vadim's final moments: "I don't even know what Mikhail was thinking—". This is probably what he meant. It would explain that strange face he made when you told him your name. He probably recognized you.

“Still think they’re friends?”

“...It doesn’t change the things they did for me." You slide the paper back over. "Mikhail saved me. Regardless, I owed them. If he thought using me as bait would get the attention of the people back home, then so be it."

But in the end, it was your name that got them killed.

"You keep saying that this Mikhail guy saved you. From what?"

"From dying," you state bluntly. “Because someone had the bright idea to shoot me.”

Nothing in the report said that you were injured. Or rather, Adler didn't say anything about any weapons going off between the both of you that day. "Who shot you?" Lazar inquires.

"You tell me. Who else would take it upon themselves to finish loose ends?"

He takes a moment, lingering on your words. Your stories weren’t matching up. It couldn't be him. "Stop beating around the bush Bell. Just tell me the truth. You were on that base for two whole years, working with the other four spies to relay information—"

"They weren't spies!" you shout, slamming your hands on the table in annoyance. "I'm telling the truth here! We were genuinely stuck there for the past two years, surviving on game and MREs. Since when did I ever fucking lie?"

"That day you went missing, Adler claimed you asked him to talk in private," Lazar retorts in defense. "You both leave together, but only he comes back to the base, alone. Adler told us that you knocked him out, and when he came to, you were gone."

You scoff. Unbelievable. "You're fucking joking. He's deceiving to you."

Lazar's gave you a befuddled look, unsure who to believe in. If you were right, then the truth that he knew for the past few years was suddenly thrown out the window. “Your mistaken—”

“How the hell would I be mistaken? Adler brought me there to the cliff, gave me a speech about how my actions saved many lives and tried to kill me! Shot me in the square in the chest and threw my body into the ocean. I even have a scar to prove it."

You take a deep breath, reigning in your emotions. Lazar wasn't to blame, so why were you getting so infuriated at him?

"Thus, when I say I stayed at that base for two whole years doing nothing, I mean it. I didn’t go ‘AWOL’, I didn’t run back to Perseus. I don’t have anyone except you guys, so why the fuck would I go back?"

He didn't say anything, and you waited as he pieced everything together. Adler had lied, proclaiming that you were a traitor who had beat him unconscious and ran away like some coward. To make matters worse, everyone believed him. The bastard really thought he finished the job, and went off to tell stories while resuming life as if you never existed. You wanted Lazar to say something. Anything that would tell you that they didn't just fall for Adler's lie.

"And you guys just took it for granted?" you scoff after a moment of silence. "Some teammates you guys are."

"It was convincing enough for us at the time."

"That only goes to show how much you guys actually trusted me."

"Well, you're here now." Lazar folds his arms. "And going on the notion that you're telling the truth, whatever... happened between you and Adler, it's fucked up. He didn't tell Woods, Mason, or myself any of this, we were kept in the dark. And I'm sorry for that."

"...You're not the one that should be apologizing," you sigh, a bit of guilt trickling in.

Memories of Park, as well as the dream came forward as you said so. You saw how close she and Lazar were, how happy they looked together and you took that away because of your own incompetence to act fast enough. You never really did apologize to him for that, and it hurt even more knowing that he was grateful for you saving him in Cuba. In a way, you couldn't help but feel like your own existence was an extension of Death's grasp. You got Mikhail, Vadim, Anton, Artyom, and Park killed in cold blood thanks to your recklessness.

And you couldn't help but wonder: is this all your fault?

"Look. In the end, we're not the enemy here Bell," Lazar bargains. "Think of it this way. You're here so we can determine whether or not you're viable to be put back on the team. You just need to provide anything to prove that."

"There's nothing to prove," you say. Adler's influence expanded pretty far, so to see that even Lazar was skeptical was a kick in the gut. "The allegations you have against me are hearsay by Adler and whoever else instructed him to do what he did. We're just going to keep going in circles, unless they all come clean. You either believe me, or don't, until they do.

"If they want me on the team, then fine. But if that's the case, I want to know every fucking thing that happened from the time I 'joined' the CIA until this point, and I want them to come clean about what they did to me. No more secrets and lies."

0000

After being questioned and giving your demands, the same guard from earlier escorted you back to the room you woke up in.

Approximately three days passed without any sort of activity. You just either lazed about in bed, staring at the ceiling. Park didn't come to visit your dreams unlike prior to, but then again you couldn't even remember what you dreamt about nowadays. It was for the better.

It seemed best to assume that you were being detained on the theory that you had abandoned your post and returned to Red. Whoever was in charge around here at least gave you the decency to use the bathroom (with someone staying right out the door) as well as hygienic products and toiletries.

Food came three times a day during their respective times. It tasted bland, but was better than the saltine crackers you've been rationing on. Occasionally, the meals looked like they were ordered from outside, consisting of fast food or take out, and you pondered if Lazar was the one who brought it. If it was, then you felt even worse for shouting at him.

At this point you expected them to charge you with a crime, or even move you to a more fitting prison cell, but no such thing occurred so far. You weren't even a U.S. citizen, unless Adler had forged one to get you on his team in 1981.

Regardless, today was different.

The guard leads you back into another room, the same metal table and chair not moving an inch since last time your presence was in the room. He closed the door behind you with a click, muttering under his breath to 'wait here'. With nothing to entertain yourself, you took a seat.

Eventually, the door creaked open and an old but recognizable figure slipped through.

"That you Mason?"

"It's been a while hasn't it? I almost didn't recognize you."

“I could say the same to you.”

He gives you a fatigued chuckle. “Yeah, one of the perks of having a kid.”

Mason closed the door behind him. Nothing about him has changed since you last saw him, and he still had those dark circles under his eyes. You stared at him briefly, searching for any sign that gave his intentions away. “You have a kid?”

“His name is David, four years. But enough of me, let’s talk about you.”

Straight to the point. He watched as your expression darkened.

"Did Adler send you in here?" you challenge, shifting tones.

"I came here on my own."

"Are you here to interrogate me privately?"

"Loosen up, will you? I'm not here you hurt you."

Despite being told that, Mason's demeanor was intimidating. You remembered how he and Woods nearly made you shit your pants when you talked to them, only for them to laugh at their own antics and pat you in the back. Knowing how a good chunk of time passed since you last saw him, you weren't sure if anything about him has changed.

"Look, I know you probably despise us right now. Woods just told me what happened not too long ago. Trust me, we're a bit confused too. Both of us actually didn't know about your... brainwashing until he told us a couple days ago. Adler just wants you to stay in here for a couple more days until we know that you're mentally stable. You did beat the shit out of him after all.”

“Because being here half a week isn’t enough,” you comment snarkily.

"From what he told us, they wanted to cover their tracks to make sure this wasn't in the books. Adler was instructed to kill you, and when he returned to the hideout without you, he lied to us, saying you defected.”

"He told you guys?"

"Yeah. They decided to take your deal. Hudson and Adler are keeping this under wraps for now, lucky you." He paused, watching your reaction as you processed the information. "Yeah. I know. I know how it feels. I went through some similar shit."

"You?" This was new.

"It was a bitch to handle." Mason tapped his head with a pained smile. "Soviets. Got captured while trying to clear a runway to escape from Cuba. They messed with my head, then I was thrown into Vorkuta and forced in labor. We managed to escape. My memory's a bit fuzzy about some events, but you get the gist. Same thing, just different sides."

You never heard about this before. Mason's brows were furrowed in thought as he recalled the memories, his eyes giving a hint of sadness and torment. You suspected there was more history behind Mason's story, but didn't prod him of any more details than necessary. It was a bit comforting, actually, knowing that there was someone you knew that went through the same stuff you did.

"Do... you still feel it sometimes?" you ask, searching for the right words to say. Mason's expression was empathetic, and it made you want to just spill out all your feelings. "I… I hear you guys sometimes. Especially Adler, telling me what to do. There's flashes here and there, and I-"

"Yeah, I do. Numbers, actually... I probably would have gone nuts, if it weren't for Woods and Hudson to keep me in check."

You nodded in understanding. So he saw things as well, and he had companions that helped keep him sane as he tolerated the after effects of it. "It doesn't seem like the both of you get along with him very well though."

"It's complicated. We've had each other's backs for ages, but there's still stuff we can't agree on." Mason rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "But, Hudson didn't give up on me. I owe him that."

There was a knock at the door, causing you to jump a bit. Mason seemed unbothered, but you could see a flash of irritation written on his face. "Sorry, getting off topic. They don't want me talking about unrelated subjects."

“I thought you came here on your own.”

“I volunteered, actually. Adler pulled some strings just so I could talk to you. I’m here to catch you up on what happened the past couple years, as you requested." He takes a moment. "We really want you back, Bell.”

Mason proceeded to tell you about the important events that had occurred while you were gone. The team apparently was temporarily disbanded as they were unable to find any info related to Perseus, and moved on under the assumption that he had gone off the grid after the embarrassment in Solovetsky. You knew Perseus was a meticulous man, always planning steps ahead to get the upper hand, so he must have been putting together something to make up for his losses during that time.

It wasn’t until a couple months ago that the CIA eventually got some insider information that potentially linked Perseus to ongoing activity in the depths of the Soviet Union. Knowing that, Hudson reassembled the team in uniform fashion. They gathered everything they knew, attempted contact with any double agents available, and tried to sap out any info from people they held captive.

"And then that's when we heard about this old military base. Nothing seemed important at first, but then one of our associates happened to be near the area and managed to pick up pings of a radio frequency. Sims managed to crack it with the notes you left behind. Woods and I actually didn’t know [L/N] was your last name, until Hudson made us check it out. Adler wasn't too keen on it, but from the sounds of it, they were getting a bit desperate. That's where we found you, still alive and kicking."

"That's all?"

It wasn't as dramatic as you imagined. They didn't do as much as you thought, and hearing how they struggled without your help was a bit provoking, yet satisfying. They couldn't do shit without you, and they tossed you away like trash.

"Like you did anything more exciting," Mason quips lightly. "I should nickname you ‘Crackers’."

Before you could retort with anything else, a loud knock banged against the metal door. Mason, unwavered, leaned back and opened the door to a crack. You saw him whispering something, nodding every second to whoever was on the other side.

He stood up, and you already felt a pang of disappointment that your visitor was already leaving.

"Sorry, Bell," he apologized. "That’s all I’m allowed to say… If you want to talk about shit, feel free to ask me or Woods. He may not look like it, but he's a good listener. We'll see you soon."

The door closed, leaving you in solitary confinement again. Tuning in a bit, you heard Mason talking to someone behind the door, though you couldn't establish who it was. Their voices soon trailed off as they walked away.

You were left alone again, just trying to connect everything together.

#russell adler #russell adler x reader #russell adler x bell #cod black ops cold war #black ops cold war #call of duty #bo:cw #text #bell #call of duty x reader #call of duty imagine #fanfic #IM SORRY IT'LL GET GOOD IN A FEW CHAPTERS I PROMISE #abcd briefing

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angstysebfan · 4 years

Text

What’s Done is Done - Part 2

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Requested by: @joannie95

It’s been 3 months since you moved out of the tower. You still went on missions with the team, and would go there to train during the week, but other than that, you stayed far away. Wanda and Nat would meet up with you for girls nights, and you would hang out with Sam frequently, but all out of the tower. You didn’t know this, but Bucky was miserable not seeing you. The only times he got a chance was briefings and a few missions. You begged Steve and Tony to keep you on separate missions, unless the whole team was needed.

The whole team gave Bucky the riot act after you moved out. He knew what he did was stupid, but he just couldn’t understand how a beautiful and kind woman such as yourself could love him. You had helped relieve the nightmares, but after a mission where you were being openly threatened to get a reaction out of him, he just didn’t know what else to do. He thought you would break it off after being threatened because of him, but no. You told him it wasn’t his fault, which just made the guilt even worse.

He knows he went about things all wrong, and he knows the longer he waits, the worse things will be. However, out of respect for you, no one will tell him where you are. Even FRIDAY is keeping it confidential. He tries to follow his friends, but it’s like they know he would be doing it and make sure that they don’t go near you. He just wants to apologize and beg on his knees for forgiveness. He is lying on his bed on morning thinking of begging Steve for information when there is a knock on his door.

After alerting the person they can come in, Sam enters with an annoyed expression. “Listen, Y/N is coming to the tower today. This is the first time he is coming to hang out with the team, and you better not ruin it. You have done enough. Got it?” he sneers at Bucky. Bucky sighs, “Sam, I told you everything. I want to apologize to her. I get it if she won’t take me back. Just please let me apologize to her,” Bucky begs.

Sam shakes his head, “If she lets you then fine. But don’t be afraid if she doesn’t. She is finally getting back to her old self,” Sam says before leaving the room. Bucky quickly flies out of bed to shower and change. He makes sure to wear your favorite shirt of his, hoping that will get your attention. He heads out to the common room and hears everyone talking. His heart pounds when he hears your voice, but quickly drops when he hears what you announce to the room.

“Everyone, this is my boyfriend Tommy,” you say with a large smile, while holding Tommy’s hand. Sam gets up and shakes Tommy’s hand as he looks behind him to see Bucky’s fallen expression. Although Sam is pissed at Bucky, he somewhat feels for the guy, but then thinks he deserves it. You continue to make introductions with the team before you finally turn around and see Bucky. Tommy looks up at the man, not realizing who he is and goes to shake his hand. “Uh... Tommy, this is... Sergeant Barnes,” you say nonchalantly.

Bucky looks at you when you address him with his title, and his heart breaks slightly more, but he knows he deserves this and more, so he keeps his mouth shut and jealousy pools throughout him. Bucky shakes Tommy’s hand, and makes sure to squeeze just a little too hard, which makes Tommy flinch. You pull Tommy away and into the common room with the rest of the team, hoping Bucky will just leave, but of course he doesn’t.

The team is asking how you guys met, and how long you had been dating. Suddenly Bucky’s voice pops up, “So... have you fucked yet?” he asks. You look at him with wide eyes. Tommy clears his throat, “Uh... that’s kinda personal Sergeant Barnes,” he says, looking at you. You squeeze Tommy’s hand, trying to tell him to ignore him. “Well if you need pointers, I know all the things Y/N likes in the bedroom so,” Bucky says like he is talking about the weather.

“Bucky!” you yell. He just shrugs his shoulders like he hasn’t said anything wrong. “Tommy, please ignore him. He is an asshole,” you say glaring at Bucky. He gives you innocent eyes, and you can’t help but want to laugh because he looks adorable, but you shake your thoughts away. “Well, maybe we should just go, if this is how today is going to go,” you say standing up. You hear the group begging you to stay and yelling at Bucky. “Doll, I’m sorry. I’ll stop,” he says with pleading eyes.

You nod and sit back down, getting back into easy conversation with the team, trying to ignore Bucky. You kept looking over at him and he would give you a small smile each time, that would make butterflies form in your stomach. You scold yourself because he hurt you so damn bad, but your reaction to him cannot be helped. Especially since he is wearing your favorite shirt. You love the way it fits on him, showing all his bulging muscles. It’s like he did that on purpose, but you know he doesn’t care about you.

After spending the afternoon, you and Tommy take your leave. You say goodbye to your friends and are heading out when you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see Bucky, “Uh... I was hoping maybe we could talk.” You shake your head, “I... I don’t think I’m ready to talk Bucky. Don’t you have a date with some slut or something to get to?” you ask before going to walk away. Bucky grabs your arm, “If you think that man could ever make you feel the way I make you feel, you are only joking yourself,” he says in a jealous rage.

You yank your arm away, “You’re right. He doesn’t make me feel the way you did. He is so much better,” you say before walking away. Bucky just stares at you, wanting to run after you. He didn’t mean the talk to go that way, but his jealousy got the best of him. Sam glares at him as he walks past, “Told ya not to get your hopes up Barnes,” he says before walking away.

A big mission came up a few weeks later. The whole team was brought it, which you hated because that meant Bucky was going to be there. You did your best to just ignore his existence and focus on what Steve and Tony were saying, but you felt his eyes on you. Once the briefing was over, you go get dressed in your kevlar suite and start grabbing all your weapons before heading to the quinjet.

You make sure to sit on the opposite side of the jet from Bucky, getting yourself psyched for the mission. Nat walks over to you, “You doing alright?” she asks. You look at her and smile, “It’s my job, I’ll be fine,” you respond. She nods and walks up to the pilot seat as Sam walks over, “If you want I’ll shoot him from the sky and say it was an accident,” he says making you laugh. “No, it’s ok Sammy. I’ll be fine,” you say giving him a hug.

Steve calls everyone over to go over the game plan 1 more time. You and Nat were the ones to get into the computer to upload several files we were after. It was Steve, Bucky, and Wanda’s job to get you there. Sam, Tony, Clint, and Vision were to maintain the outside parameter. Bruce was to stay onboard unless he was needed to go green. You all nodded in understanding and got ready to to disembark the jet.

Once the jet landed, Steve, Bucky and Wanda went out first, followed up Sam, Tony, Clint and Vision. You and Nat came out last waiting for the all clear sign to enter the building. Once you were inside, you both followed the map, given to you, to get to the computer. You didn’t come across too much action while inside, maybe an agent here or there, but they were dealt with quickly.

“Almost seems too easy, right?” you ask Natasha, who nods in response. You both finally make it to the computer room and Nat sits down to start the upload, which will take about 10-15 minutes, while you stood guard. After almost 10 minutes, and no one was trying to stop you you turn to Nat, “Something is not right,” you say. You try your comm to call Steve, but there was nothing.

“My comm is out, what about yours?” you ask Nat. Nat also tried to call out to the team with no response. Once the upload was done, you both start to head out the way you came. As you turned the corner, you come face to face with 15-20 HYDRA soldiers with their guns drawn. You and Nat both draw your weapons ready for a fight. It took all of 2 seconds for all hell to break loose.

You and Nat are working seamlessly side by side, until you feel a sharp pain in your ribs. You look down and see a knife sticking out of your torso and you drop to your knees. You already know your lung has been punctured, but you keep trying to fight, as breathing gets harder. Nat turns and looks and sees you down, and fights hard to get to you.

You are then kicked down and collapse on the floor. You hear Nat yell, but don’t hear what she is saying. All the chaos around you sounds so far away. Suddenly you feel yourself being lifted off the grown, “Y/N, open your eyes, Doll. Open your eyes,” you hear, but you can’t seem to open them. They are just too heavy.

Bucky runs back to the quinjet with you in his arms. He is panicking, as you are unresponsive. He brings you to Bruce, you immediately sets you up on a machine, and they see the faintest heart beat. Bucky holds your hand, begging you to be ok. Bruce asks someone to take Bucky away, which Steve does. Sam is being held by Nat, as he is also freaking out, as Tony flies the jet home.

“Steve, I need her to be ok. Please, I need her to be ok. She needs to know... she needs to know,” Bucky says as Steve hugs him to keep him away from you. “Know what?” Steve asks, trying to get Bucky to calm down. “She needs to know that I never stopped loving her. I was stupid and didn’t think I was worthy of her. She could have died because of me and I... I didn’t think I deserved her. I’m sorry... I’m so fucking sorry,” Bucky says sobbing.

Steve holds onto Bucky, as he is still trying to get to you. Meanwhile Bruce has you hooked up to oxygen and an IV and regulates your heartbeat until you can get to the compound. Bucky looks helplessly at your pale skin, thinking how you could possibly die without knowing that he really did love you. That he didn’t mean to break your heart. That he wants to die, instead of you.

Part 3 coming soon! Happy New Year Everyone!

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Story Taglist: @calwitch, @jaysayey, @shamelessfangirl-3, @tcc-gizmachine

#Bucky Barnes #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #Bucky angst #bucky fanfic #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x reader

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euphoriara · 4 years

Text

By Your Side

you turned up with casual clothing the next day. and the first time he saw you with normal clothing, he could only stare with his mouth agape, like a fish out of water. you look smaller with the oversized sweatshirt, hair styled naturally instead of the usual professional look you go for. you're also slightly shorter since you forego the boots you usually wear for a pair of comfortable sneakers. the only thought that ran through his head at the time was "find you a woman who can do both."

alternatively

you just want to get your job done, but it seems like jungkook is determined to get in your way (and steal a spot in your heart in the process).

pairing: jungkook x bodyguard!reader

genre: action, fluff, tiny pieces of angst sprinkled throughout, bodyguard!au

word count: 22k

warnings: swearing, violence, weapons, abduction, implied/reference to sleeping pills, politics. (it sounds like a lot but it's not too much, promise. they're mostly at the first half of the story)

a/n: ahahahaha hey, i deleted the first part and decided to re-upload it as one part bc posting the second part was giving me a headache so here it is as a one piece instead. apologies to the people who read it before, there was like 7, im sorry lol. hope you can find it again since the first part left at a cliffhanger im so sorry. i still suck at summary but like at this point who's surprised anymore. but here it is, the longest thing ive ever written probably. to the people reading, thank you for giving it a chance, i appreciate it a whole lot, have a good day!

the cold air causes jungkook to nuzzle deeper into his sweatshirt, pulling up the hood to maintain his body temperature. outside of the convenience store, the busy street has started to wind down, only a few stragglers walking home from a long day at work. he pulls up his mask to cover more of his face, gripping the bag of snacks tighter to his body before opening the door.

when he steps outside, he's too busy ruffling through his snacks to realize there's someone sitting at the plastic chair in front of the store, who quickly stood up when they saw him making his way out. it isn't until he feels the slightest press of cold metal against his back that he realizes something is definitely wrong.

"just pretend like nothing's going on, walk normally and i won't hurt you." the girl is just as tall as him, whispering the muffled threat right into his ear so nobody else can hear it. from outside perspective, it might look like just two friends catching up with each other, with the girl having an arm slung over his shoulder from behind while her other hand concealed a dagger behind his back.

he quickly schools his expression into a mask of calm, though his mind is racing with how to escape this situation. he follows her instructions when she subtly shoves a knee to his thigh, signaling him to walk with her. "if you want money, i can give it to you right now. don't hurt me, i promise i won't tell anyone."

the girl scoffs next to his ear, "be quiet, I'm not letting you go. just listen to me and you won't get hurt. i said that already."

jungkook tries to hide the tremble in his hand by holding the bags tighter, nodding in response because he's too scared to talk. he's worried if he does try to talk, a sob might escape.

the girl shifts so she's walking by his side, arm with the weapon now wrapped around his waist, playing into the illusion of a couple taking a walk together.

unfortunately for jungkook, they didn't encounter anyone on their walk. nobody that he can signify to ask for help.

she leads him into an alleyway, and that's when jungkook's legs start to shake as well, causing him to lag behind. fear starts to course through his veins faster, heart beating a mile a minute.

he sees the girl raises one of her perfect eyebrow, eyes impassively staring at him. the rest of her face is concealed with a mask, just like him and she wears a baseball hat to hide the rest of her hair. "for fuck sake, i told you already I'm not gonna hurt you. you don't have to worry about your pretty little face, alright?" her tone is annoyed, patience clearly running out and jungkook just nods, afraid he might set her off if he doesn't.

he will himself to walk normally again when he sees another person emerges from one of the dark corners of the alley. a male and he's holding a gun, he realizes right away. he can't help himself when he audibly gulps at the sight of the weapon, fear rooting him in his place, unable to move.

"don't worry, he's just a precaution so you won't try to run away. we're not stupid." the girl tries to reassure him but all he could think about is the gun that the male has shoved into his jacket pocket.

they walk by his side now, and with the assurance of a gun, the girl pulls back her knife and shoves it into her pants pocket. jungkook tries to will his mind into coming up with a plan, but he's too scared to try anything with a threat of a gun next to him.

he scans his surrounding area, but couldn't find any loophole for him to make his escape. they eventually make it into the other side of the road where a black SUV is waiting. she opens the door of the car and gestures with her head, "get in."

he hesitates in his steps, if he climbs inside, there might not be a chance to escape anymore.

"i said get in, I'm not asking again." he feels the press of a gun on his lower back and decides to listen. he climbs into the car where somebody is already waiting at the driver seat. another person is sitting next to him, possibly to prevent him from jumping out of the car.

the male from before hops in next to him, while the girl climbs into the passenger seat in front.

he takes the down time to memorize details, not that there's many, since everyone in the car, including him are wearing a mask to cover their face and a hat, and have their hood up. each person only reveals a sliver of their eyes, hair hidden away by the hood of their jackets, and hands covered with leather gloves. their whole person is covered by clothing, making sure no skin is exposed.

when the car starts pulling out of the side of the road, the person next to him dangles a black cloth in front of his face. "now jeon jungkook, we need to cover your eyes and tied up your hands to make sure you don't become a loose ends." he faces the girl next to him, her voice is deceptively sweet and jungkook can't tell if she's faking it or not. despite not being able to see her face, he knows she's smiling from the way her eyes crinkle and the revelation brought a shiver up his spine.

the driver chuckles, causing jungkook to whip his head to stare at them on the reflection of the mirror.

they made a brief eye contact when the person looks back, holding his gaze in curiosity before his vision becomes dark.

he feels the male next to him shift, taking the bag from his trembling hands and tying his wrists with a cloth. he gives it a few tugs and when he's satisfied, he moves back to rest against the seat. "don't worry 'bout your snacks, pretty boy. I'll keep them safe." his voice is deep, raspy, amusement clear as day.

he drawled out his words, a clear sign that he's relaxed. jungkook thinks it's unrelatable.

the whole ride was silent, except for the music playing from the radio. jungkook tries his best to listen to his surroundings in hopes of being able to find clues of where they're taking him. but alas, the sound of the music is loud enough to drown out any other noises. he tries to focus on the direction of the car, tracing it inside his mind from the starting point when he got into the car.

however, it seems like his captors knew this because jungkook can tell they've been driving aimlessly for the past 20 minutes or so. it's not until 10 minutes later jungkook hears the difference in the road they're driving. briefly, the car drove through gravels before smoothly going back to pavement. and then going back to driving through dirt road.

at this point, jungkook has lost any sense of direction and has no idea where he is and where they're taking him, so he slumps against the seat, trying to come up with something else. he doesn't know what they want with him.

well, he does have an inkling about what they want.

another 10 minutes later, and the car finally stop. he hears the door being opened and closed, feels the people next to him climb out of the vehicle. except, he stays rooted to his spot, not knowing what to do since nobody instructed him to get out.

then, a hand reaches out to him, causing him to flinch when he feels someone grabbing his arm. "chill, it's me, come on. get out." it's the guy from before, tugging him by his sweatshirt.

he feels the gravel beneath his shoes which turn into soft grass after a few steps. when he steps inside the building, the first thing he notices is the smell. smell of old, rotting wood and dust.

somebody yanks the black cloth off his head, revealing an old empty warehouse with a chair in the middle. that's where he'll be spending his time, he guesses.

he hears the crinkling of his bag from the side, looking to see the guy from before dumping his snacks into the table next to the window. "minhee, tie him to the chair. I'm just gonna take a look at his taste in snacks."

the girl who threatened him steps forward, shoving him in the direction of the chair. "sit here, pretty boy."

the driver from before brushes past his side before he got the chance to move, murmuring, "please don't worry. we're not gonna hurt you. i promise." oddly enough, jungkook believes her.

after the reassurance from someone he doesn't even know, he complies with the girl, that he now know as minhee. for the first time in the last hour, jungkook finally opens his mouth. "are you not worried about revealing your name like that?"

minhee raises her eyebrow and scoffs, husky voice laced with amusement, "if it's not safe then do you think he'd have said it?" she yanks the rope around his wrist harshly, "i told you, we're not stupid." she doesn't elaborate, not like jungkook was expecting her to.

"haeun, did you queue the message?" she turns to look at the girl who sat next to him, the one with the terrifyingly sweet voice. a cheery voice replies from somewhere in the warehouse, "yup! all set. he'll receive the message first thing in the morning!"

"and did you take care of any possible recording or evidence?" he sees the guy opening one of his chips, turning away from him to pull down his mask to pop a few into his mouth. his voice sounds clearer without the barrier of the mask.

the sweet one, haeun, scoffs, "what do you think of me, yoongi? an amateur?" he sees yoongi shrugs, "I'm just making sure. no need to be salty 'bout it."

jungkook is thoroughly confused, why are they using their name so freely like that? are they not worried he'll tell authority about them? though judging from what minhee said, they have reasons to not be worried. he wonders what that means.

a new voice pipes up from one of the doorways, the girl who drove the SUV. she's the one that hasn't had a name associated with her yet. "yoongi, don't forget to feed him and give him some water."

yoongi turns around, mask now back in place, and frowns. he sighs loudly before grabbing a container and a water bottle from a bag he didn't notice before. "I don't understand why I'm stuck with the babysitting duty."

"oh shut up, all you gotta do is feed the kid. it's not that hard of a job." minhee snarks from where she's sitting near the window, eyes glued at the phone in her hand.

"the kid's hands are tied, how's he gonna eat and drink?" yoongi ignores her, making his way in front of jungkook. "i told you, you feed him." driver says, clearly amused at the way yoongi grumbles and complains.

begrudgingly, yoongi opens the bottle and tilts it towards jungkook, telling him wordlessly to drink. obviously, jungkook hesitates. what if the drink is poisoned?

the driver answers his question without him having to voice it out loud, "it's not poisoned. we're just trying to keep you away from dehydration and starvation."

he looks up at yoongi, who has one dark eyebrow raised in question, before deciding to trust her again. seeing how they have kept their promise of not hurting him, he doesn't see why he can't accept the food and water.

yoongi makes him finish the whole bottle of water before feeding him pieces of kimbap. offhandedly, he thinks the kimbap is delicious. so much so that he's tempted to ask his captors where they got them from before resisting the urge to open his mouth and make a fool out of himself.

when he's done eating, yoongi goes back to the table with his snacks, once again facing away from jungkook to probably finish the rest of the chips he opened. the driver speaks up again from where she's standing, now perched next to the snacks table with her hip resting against the side. "don't worry too much, you'll be home in no time and we really do have no intention to hurt you. you're just…" she trails off and stares outside the window.

"a helping hand to get us what we need."

and then it clicked in jungkook's mind. he was right, these people wanted money and holding him hostage is a quick and surefire way of getting it. clearing his throat, he decides to brave himself and ask for confirmation himself. "what do you want from me?" he holds the stare of the girl, curious and amused eyes staring back at him.

it's minhee who answers his question, "it's not what we want from you. it's what we want from your father." she stands up from her seat and sends a cold glare his way.

"money."

---

"Good morning Governor Jeon! What a lovely day today, isn't it? What a shame your son isn't able to see the sun himself today! But, don't fret, we can surely change that.

Now, Governor Jeon, all we ask from you is your cooperation and we won't hurt your precious son. Cross our hearts! We know how much you love him, so please don't worry too much. You just have to listen and comply.

Our only demand is, you guess it! Money! We want $5,000,000 in cash, delivered at an address we'll send to you after confirmation that you had prepared the money. After you give us what we want, we'll send you a location where you can find your lovely boy. He's quite a charmer, isn't he? And his taste in snacks is pretty good, if I say so myself. Sour cream and onion potato chip is delicious.

I must remind you however, do not try to get any authority involved or we can not promise your son will return unharmed. Do not try to trick or fool us, Governor Jeon, we have eyes on you and a gun in the same room as your son.

We know you're fully capable of giving us what we want so no negotiations, I'm afraid. Once the money reaches the location, open the bag and show us that you're not fooling us and then leave the premises and do not return back. Do not send anyone either or you won't get your son's location.

Now, as I've made clear before, if you or anyone else for that matter, violates one of the rules I've set in this message, I'm afraid your son will have to pay for that Governor Jeon. We would hate for that to happen, wouldn't we?

Anyway, you have 24 hours, starting from the moment you close this message.

Say Governor Jeon, isn't it lucky that the people that got your son are kind people who won't hurt him? Well this time at least. You should up your security around him, don't you think? It was quite easy for our people to get to him. What if somebody else got him again, but they're not as nice as us? You and him would be in big trouble, huh? Consider this as a friendly reminder from friends to friends, yeah?

Lovely time talking to you Governor Jeon! Hopefully we'll see you soon! Here's to no one getting hurt! Wait for our information!

---

jungkook quickly fell asleep last night after finishing his kimbap. it's no brainer since by the time he got to the warehouse, it must have been along the time of 1 in the morning.

he woke up uncomfortable, back and neck complaining at the awkward angle he had to sleep in. there's a shuffling sound close to him and when he turns his head around, he sees yoongi, with new clothes but still covered from head to toe, walking towards him with another container of food.

wordlessly, he opens the box, revealing a stack of pancakes with a side of fruits and a bottle of orange juice. he muses that at least they give him good food and one that's appropriate with the time of day. silently, he starts eating the food offered to him, eyes occasionally scanning over the room. though there's really not much to see.

the warehouse is empty save from a few scattered chairs, and a table. he notices the window from last night had been covered this morning, no natural light coming through the gaps. the only source of lightning is the few lightbulbs scarcely hang around the room.

there's a few doors to his right, but he couldn't see what's beyond it. although he can faintly hear the sounds of keyboards clicking from one of the doors, so he guess that's their temporary workspace for now.

"what time is it right now?" he asks after finishing the last of his orange juice. "almost 10 in the morning. here's to hoping your father fulfill his end of the deal, huh?" there's an underlying threat laced around his playful remarks and jungkook can only sigh at the statement.

"hopefully, i have assignments to finish and essays to write." at this, yoongi laugh, low and deep. "you sound much more composed than last night."

that's true, jungkook is a lot calmer now, talking about this whole situation like it's a minor convenience. but it's because he trusts that these people genuinely won't hurt him or they would have done so by now. also because he knows one way or another, his father will somehow get him out of here.

yoongi seems like he's expecting an answer from him, so he truthfully tells him his reasons. despite not being able to see his lower face, jungkook can tell he's smirking after he finished relaying his thoughts. "yeah well, maybe you should worry. we can't promise we'll let you go unharmed if he doesn't comply."

that brought his thoughts to a screeching halt, doubts and fears starting to plague his mind again. "we did promise not to hurt you, but only if you and your father listen to our demands. so your second statement is still up in the air. there's no 'one way or another" jeon, there's only one way if you want to get out safely."

one statement and his facade of bravado crumbles. what if his father doesn't comply? what if he makes a mistakes? what will happen to him? what will they do?

before he can scares himself further, minhee calls out for yoongi from the other room.

"that's my cue, be patient, pretty boy. you'll be out of here soon." even in the haze of his anxiety, he can't help but frown at the nickname. "stop calling me that."

"whatever you say, pretty boy." he hears yoongi's footsteps fade, and sighs to himself again. he cuss himself for forgetting his phone at his coffee table last night, and tries to move his wrists to see if he can loosen the tie.

unfortunately for him, the knot is too strong. so strong that he thinks it might be the impossible knot. he scans the room for any sign of weapons, only to come up empty. which means two things. one, his captors have all the weapons. and two, he won't be able to defend himself even if he got loose.

he hears a slight commotion from one of the rooms on his right. a second later, yoongi emerges, walking slowly towards him with his hands inside his pockets. "guess your father cares after all." before jungkook gets the chance to ask him what he means, he feels his eyes getting heavy, mind hazy, unable to fight it when his senses become dull.

"sorry 'bout that." and then everything becomes dark once again.

---

jungkook wakes up to a hand gently tapping his cheeks and a mean cramp in his neck. he slowly blinks his eyes open to see a stranger in a uniform crouching in front of him. when the stranger sees that he's awake, he's quick to gesture other people to start working on his bind, loosening the tight ropes around his wrists and legs.

"Mr.Jeon? Can you hear me?" he blearily nods at the question, mind too hazy to start speaking just yet. he slowly looks around the room to see crowds of people searching the perimeter. he doesn't see any signs of his captors however, which probably meant that they got away after rendering him unconscious.

he's lead to a Lexus RX that's parked outside of the warehouse, but not before being bombarded with questions from what he assumed are the paramedics. he tells them that he's fine and that they hadn't hurt him. they run a quick check on him and seem to be satisfied by his answer, letting him climb into the familiar leather of the car.

he tells the driver to drive him to his apartment, head heavily resting against the cushion of the car, "but Mr.Jeon, your father wanted to see you."

"tell him I'll meet him when i can, right now i just want to go home and rest properly." he doesn't want to deal with his father just yet, not knowing how he's gonna react. would it be anger? concern? indifference? he tries not to think about it too much.

thankfully his driver listened, sensing the exhaustion rolling off his being, and drove him straight to his apartment without any more questions.

he slams the door and make sure to check that it's locked before going around his apartment to make sure it's safe. he double checks every window and room, a slight anxiety still lingering at the back of his mind. he makes his way towards the bathroom, planning on taking a shower to rid him of the heavy weight pulling his limbs down.

on his way to the bathroom, he sees his phone lights up from where it's perched on the coffee table. curious, he snatches the phone to check the message. it's from an unknown number.

"Hey! What did we tell you, we won't hurt you right? We kept our promise! Just messaging you to tell you that Yoongi's sorry about the orange juice. We needed you to be unaware of what we were doing while we were preparing for your retrieval. Oh, and also tell your father to not investigate further too. Or something unpleasant might work it's way to your building. We wouldn't want that, do we?

And don't even try to track this message, you won't find anything. I guarantee. I'm good at my job. Anyway, don't forget to close your windows and lock your doors, wouldn't want a repeat of last night huh? Alright have a good day now Jungkook!

-Haeun"

he doesn't realize he's trembling until the phone almost slips out of his grasp, the taunts only adding to the growing anxiety at the back of his mind. the fact that she's brave enough to send a message to his phone, with yoongi's and her name in it means she's confident that they can't and won't be tracked. imagining the sweet voiced girl brought another shiver up his spine. he doesn't know why but haeun terrifies him.

he decides to delete the message and try to forget about the event from the last 24 hours, making a beeline towards the bathroom where he hopefully can wash off the reminder of the exhausting night.

once he's refreshed from his shower, he flops onto his bed and stares at the ceiling on top of him. he tries to rearrange the chaotic thoughts inside his mind.

concerningly, he thinks, he's not necessarily afraid of his captors from last night. maybe it's from the way they repeatedly assure him that they're not gonna hurt him. or from the way they fed him actual food, delicious one at that, and water.

no, it's the thought that he's a pawn in this game that terrifies him. the fact that he's stuck in this game of politics, money and power all because his father is the governor. the thought of being taken by another group that won't be as merciful is scary. years have gone by with his father involved in the politic scene but his family had never been threatened before. should he start worrying now?

before he can overthink like he usually does, the phone in his hand ping with another message. it's his father, asking for him to meet tomorrow to talk. closing his eyes, he sighs, shooting a quick agreement before trying to fall asleep to the sound of rain that starts pouring outside.

---

the next day finds him sitting in front of his father, fidgeting hands placed on his lap. his father doesn't mention anything, doesn't ask about what had transpired that night. jungkook can't help but think that his father had changed.

"i will be assigning you a bodyguard from now on, to ensure your safety." so there won't be a repeat of last time. "she will be with you at all times, except for when you're at home. and even then she will be staying at the apartment in front of yours so you can easily ask for her assistance. you are not permitted to leave and go anywhere without her. understand?" i will not let you cost me my reputation and money again.

his voice is cold, authoritative, daring jungkook to disagree with him.

jungkook bows his head low, muttering, "i understand," without making eye contact with the man in front of him. one he's not sure he recognized anymore.

"call her in."

jungkook hears the door open, two people coming in to stand next to his father. he sees you facing him and looks away before you can catch him staring at you.

"her name is (y/n)." you bow your head in his direction, face carefully blank when you look up again. your hair is styled neatly, suits tailored to fit. "it's nice to meet you Mr.Jeon." he blinks at your voice, not expecting you to speak to him. "oh! uh, nice to meet you too."

his father claps once to bring the attention back to him, "alright, you're dismissed, you can leave now."

he quickly stands up, bowing at his father before making a quick exit. the room feels suffocating and cold. he hears you trailing behind him but doesn't turn around until he's in the elevator, going down.

he debates on how to start a conversation with you, but you beat him to the punch. "no need to worry about making pleasantries with me Mr.Jeon. you can pretend that I'm just a shadow following you." he turns to see you with a slight smile on your face, before trailing his gaze to the holster strapped underneath your suit jacket.

"right…" he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "you can call me jungkook. no need to address me so formally like that."

he sees you nod in confirmation before falling back into awkward silence. for him, at least, it's awkward. but you seem content with it.

he walks toward the awaiting car in front of the building, his father had sent someone to drive him around in the meanwhile, not yet allowing him to leave on his own. "i heard you're moving to the apartment in front of mine?" he hesitantly asks when you settle into the seat next to him in the car.

"yes i am. my belongings are being moved right now, actually. i will settle in tomorrow." he nods at your answer. "so, you'll be with me for," he frowns, "24 hours?"

"not necessarily, i won't be intruding on your personal space that is your apartment, but i will be accompanying you whenever you go outside."

"including university?" he doesn't think he likes the sound of that.

you purse your lips sympathetically, "I'm afraid so."

he stays quiet after that, looking out the window at the passing scenery to distract himself. he doesn't know what to think of this whole situation. in one hand, he's slightly relieved at the extra protection but on the other hand he's slightly uncomfortable at the thought of being followed everywhere he goes. at least, he thinks, he still has his home as his personal space.

a few minutes pass by in silence before jungkook feels you shifting next to him, body leaning forward to talk to the driver. "someone is tailing the car."

he guesses you have intended to whisper as to not worry him, but he hears you anyway. body immediately going rigid, he moves to look at you anxiously. "what?"

you lean back after the driver nodded, sending a curt nod his way, "a car has been following us ever since we left your father's building. we will try to shake them off before reaching your apartment." jungkook feels the car turning into a busy highway, now surrounded by more cars than before.

he anxiously glances between you and the rearview mirror, trying to find the car you're talking about, but with various cars in the highway, he can't tell which one is following him. you seem to understand what he's trying to do, "black honda accord."

he briefly sees the car you're talking about before it slips past him and speeds up, leaving him confused in his seat. when he turns to look at you, he realizes he's not the only one confused by the turn of events. you frown at the fading car, before blinking your expression back into a state of neutral.

"why did they just, leave? what do they want?" he asks, breaking the tense silence between you. "I'm afraid i don't know either jungkook. don't worry, i have their plates memorized, I'll make sure to tell your father about it."

the statement doesn't comfort him all that much, but he chooses to stay quiet. soon enough, he reaches his apartment building. he had always thought his apartment is safe, located in a building with strict security, but that doesn't make being followed home any less scary.

when you step out, you make sure to asses the surrounding area first, making sure nobody is following the two of you. once he reaches his apartment door, he asks you one last question. "do i have to call you when i want to go to the convenience store too?"

he sees a slight amused smile pulling at the corner of your lips, "with all due respect jungkook, it was going into the convenience store by yourself that got you into trouble, so yes, i will be accompanying you to the convenience store too."

embarrassed, he quickly nods and opens his door, bidding you a good night before disappearing into his apartment. he makes sure to check his whole space again, locking the doors and windows like haeun had reminded him yesterday.

he falls into his couch, turning on the tv to some news about an anonymous donation to fall asleep to. he lets his eyes close and sleep to overtake him, trying to shake off any remaining anxiety weighing his limbs.

---

having you as his bodyguard is not that bad, jungkook thinks. on the first week, you had been quiet and serious, accompanying him whenever he went to school and hanging back whenever he went out with his friends. though he received some strange looks at school because of your presence, it also brought a sense of security and calm for him.

after the first week of adjusting with having a bodyguard, he started breaking the ice between the two of you, occasionally striking conversation with you and asking about trivial matters. you were quiet, but you keep up with his conversation well, firing back questions after an answer to keep the conversation going.

by week three, jungkook considers the two of you as friends. he even managed to convince you to wear normal clothes instead of the suit you always wear, when you're not going somewhere formal. a feat that he's proud of.

"it'll look weird if you wear suits when accompanying me to the convenience store." he had said one afternoon while at the library. he's procrastinating his essay, choosing to strike a conversation with you instead. "this is basically a uniform, jungkook. I can't not wear a uniform while on the job." you leaned back in your seat in front of him, arms crossed in front of your chest. he tries to not let his gaze lingered too much.

coughing, he averted his attention to the highlighter next to his laptop, "but come on! wouldn't it look suspicious if you keep wearing that everywhere we go? why is it necessary for you to wear a uniform anyway? I'm sure they're not as practical. and they're probably not mandatory for your job." you had sighed but stayed quiet to let him speak.

"don't you need to be more subtle? and i bet it's a lot of work having to put on a suit every time i need to go out to get a cup ramen." he saw you mulling over the proposition before relenting. "fine, I'll start wearing more practical clothing but i still need to wear a suit when it's formal." jungkook nodded, "i understand, don't worry."

you turned up with casual clothing the next day. and the first time he saw you with normal clothing, he could only stare with his mouth agape, like a fish out of water. you look smaller with the oversized sweatshirt, hair styled freely instead of the usual professional look you go for. you're also slightly shorter since you forego the boots you usually wear for a pair of comfortable sneakers. the only thought that ran through his head at the time was "find you a woman who can do both."

by the second month of you being his bodyguard, he has started inviting you into his apartment to hang out with him. he often challenges you to play video games with him, competitive nature resurfacing everytime you win. though, he never asked to go to your place and you never offered.

your presence lets him forget about the events that took place many months ago, providing a calm reassurance everytime he walks. now, he doesn't check his apartment obsessively anymore, merely making sure to lock the doors and the windows. it also lets him feel normal for once.

despite being someone who works for him, you don't let that become a gap between the two of you, befriending him who sometimes finds it hard to make friends due to his status as the governor's son.

all in all, jungkook thinks having you as a bodyguard isn't that bad.

---

walking at night doesn't feel as scary as before now, with your warm presence next to him, steps aligned with his. he chatters away about his upcoming project, asking for your opinion once in a while about a certain topic. it isn't until he feels your hand on his bicep that he realizes you had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, eyes cautiously trained in front of you.

he frowns, turning to look at you, "what's wrong?" he follows your gaze to see two people standing at the other side of the road, appearance reminding him of those people that had captured him all those months ago. a hat, mask and a hood to conceal their identity. hands shoved into their pockets to conceal any weapon they have.

he tenses when he feels you shift next to him, fight or flight instinct sounding in his head when he sees them slowly making their way over. he's too caught up in his mind to realize that you had drawn out your gun, shoving it into his trembling hands. "jungkook, take this. if any of them tries anything, aim and shoot."

"wh- what? what about you?" he'd be embarrassed of the tremor in his voice if he weren't so scared. these people don't look nice.

you throw a smirk his way, "don't worry about me."

any reply dies on his tongue when he sees one of the people swings their fist towards you, one you quickly dodge by stepping to the side. he sees the other person charging towards him, moving away from the direction he pointed the gun at to tackle him down.

they both fell to the ground, his back hitting the cold pavement with a loud thud. the male pins jungkook to the ground with his knees, gun having fallen away in the moment of scuffle. he draws back his fist to punch him but jungkook manage to throw him off balance by slamming his knee against his back. he pushes the male away from him, wrapping his arm tightly around their neck while searching for the gun with his other hand.

he's momentarily distracted when he hears you yelp in pain, looking over to see you hunched over a few feet away from him. he sees the person you're fighting aiming a knife at your shoulder, sending him into panic. when he grabs ahold of the gun, he shots the person in the thigh.

the knife clatter to the ground, a hiss sounding from the person standing in front of you. he sees you stand up to neutralize them, throwing a punch and stepping on the thigh jungkook had shot before. he then turns to the person in his arms, debating on what to do. the male senses his hesitation, using their strength to throw jungkook over their shoulder, causing jungkook to loses his grip on the gun once again.

in the moment of weakness, the guy had managed to grab the gun from him, the barrel of a gun now pointing at his forehead. jungkook closes his eyes and brace himself, fear gripping every inch of his body, replacing the adrenaline.

but the shot never rang. instead he hears a heavy thud, and when he opens his eyes again, you stand in front of him, gun pointed at the guy kneeling in front of you.

"who sent you?" you ask, voice cold and emotionless, it reminded him of the first sentence you've spoken to him. the person doesn't answer, eyes trained on you while occasionally flickering to his friend still laying on the ground, obviously in pain.

"you're not gonna answer?" your question sounds more like a statement, and a few seconds after you finished your sentence, jungkook hears the telltale sound of the police cars. you must have alerted the authority the moment you saw them.

he sees the male nervously glancing around, fidgeting like he's trying to find a way to escape.

"go on, try to run, I'll make sure you end up like your friend over there." bleeding, unable to walk, let alone run.

slowly, the male moves his hands out, holding it up in the air in surrender. your hold on the gun tightens momentarily before relaxing again when the police arrive to apprehend the two.

he sees them being handcuffed and lead to the awaiting police car ready to take them to the station. you drop your hand to your side, still clutching the gun in precaution.

an officer walks towards the two of you, placating hands in front of his body. "are you two okay? do you need medical assistance?" it's not until he mentions it that jungkook notices there's an ambulance parked next to the sidewalk, a few medics tending to the guy he had shot.

you turn to look at him, scanning him head to toes for any injuries, "do you need medics? are you hurt?" he shakes his head, hands still shaking, "no i- I don't, i don't think so." you frown at his answer, taking a hold of his wrist gently, "still, you need to get yourself check out. let's go."

jungkook is tempted to hold your hand but managed to refrain from it. he needs some comfort, but he's not sure if he can ask it from you.

you lead him to the ambulance, the male from before had been taken away to the hospital, so there won't be any awkward encounter between the three of you. "he might have a bruise on his back, he was thrown to the ground twice." you tell the medics.

he didn't realize he might've been injured too, but your words makes him realize there's a dull pulsing on his shoulder blade and his back. the medic nods, gesturing to his shirt, "may i check?" offhandedly, he nods, letting him lift his shirt to check his back, but moves to grab your hand when you turn to walk away.

"where are you going? you need to get checked out too, you probably sustain more injuries."

"I'll get checked out later, I'm going to give you some privacy." you smile at him, hand gently prying his from your wrist.

he furrows his eyebrows, "i don't mind, really. you should really get yourself checked." he eyes the cuts and bruises on your knuckles. "did you know your knuckles are bruised?"

you look down at your hands, chuckling to yourself. "did you forget this is my job, jungkook? this is not a big deal."

thankfully, the other medic is quick to agree with jungkook. "come here, let me tend to your wounds." she doesn't let you disagree, sitting you down and making quick work to clean the scrapes on your hands.

he hisses when he feels someone poking the bruise on his shoulder blade, "just some minor bruising on your shoulder and your left lower back. when you get home, you should ice it and rest to let it heal by itself." he quietly nods and watches as his medics move to help tend to you.

"and you, miss? any other injuries besides the knuckles?" he asks as he crouches behind you.

you turn your head to the side, pondering the question. "probably just some bruising too since he managed to get a couple of punches."

the medic nods, "is it okay if i check your torso?" you purse your lips, eyes flickering to jungkook at the back of the ambulance. "sure."

jungkook averts his eyes when the medics start to lift your shirt, only looking back when the male starts talking again. "there's a shallow laceration on your side, quite a few bruises too. do they hurt?"

"not that much."

he sees them nod, "alright we'll take care of the bleeding wounds and then you can go. don't forget to let the bruises heal."

a few minutes later, you're walking home, side by side. he eyes the gauze around your knuckles, heart heavy with guilt.

"I'm sorry." he mutters.

you stop to look at him, eyebrows raised in question. "for what?" "you got hurt protecting me."

"it's my job, jungkook. you don't have to feel sorry." he sighs, kicking at nothing. "i know, but still."

you place a comforting hand on his biceps, "and it's not your fault. don't beat yourself up." he can only nod at your statement, still uneasy at the thought of you getting hurt. the rest of the walk is blanketed with silence, millions of thoughts running through his head. he thinks about who those people were, about what they wanted. he shivers at a particular thought. what if you hadn't been there with him? what if he were alone, like that night at the convenience store?

he doesn't want to think about it.

when he arrives at his doorstep, you place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from entering his house. "don't forget to ice your back." jungkook blinks, he just remembered that. how is he gonna ice his own back?

he sees amusement dancing in your eyes, it's like you can read his mind. "do you need help?"

embarrassed, he quietly nods, opening the door and inviting you in.

"lay down on the couch, I'll get the ice."

he complies wordlessly, laying on his stomach on the plush couch and closing his eyes. he hears you move around in the kitchen, and struggles to keep his eyes open. he hears you ask him if it's okay for you to lift his shirt, answering the question with a short grunt.

you lift the shirt off his back, hissing when you see the bruise on his shoulder. "damn," is the only thing you say before placing the ice pack at the right spot. he tenses for a moment at the cold sensation, before melting back into the couch. "didn't they say there's another bruise, jungkook? where is it?"

at the mention of his other bruise, his eyes pop open, realizing where it's located. "uh…"

he waves his hand around, "don't worry about that one, i can take care of it." he can't see you but he's sure you're frowning in confusion. "i thought they said it's on your lower back?"

"ye- yeah. yeah it is. it's um…" he's too embarrassed to tell you it's on his butt. "don't worry it's fine."

it's silent for a few minutes, jungkook thinks you might let it go but then he hears you trying to stifle your laughter. he pouts, "don't laugh! i fell on my butt when he threw me off his shoulder!"

you let out a single laughter before composing yourself, patting jungkook on the head. "it's okay. that's good actually, you didn't fall on your tailbone and risk injuring it." he hums at the compliment, good point, kudos to him for moving his body slightly to the side when he was up in the air.

"you sure you don't need my help compressing it?" you tease, moving off the couch back to the kitchen. "m'sure."

"do you want warm milk, jungkook?" you call from the kitchen. "yes please!" milk sounds nice right now.

when you come back, you place the warm cup of milk on the coffee table, "i put some honey in it, like in that movie you showed me last week." jungkook's heart clenches, you're so cute. he mutters a thanks to his folded arms, trying his best to keep his eyes open. "I'm gonna go home now, rest and take care not to aggravate your bruise too much, okay?"

he moves his head to the side, "do you need help? with your own bruises?" you shake your head on your way to the door, "nah, it's fine. i can do it myself, i didn't get thrown to the pavement." he throws another pout your way.

"good night, jungkook." the door closes before he can say it back.

---

a few weeks pass by without any more incidents, his body returning back to its normal condition in just a few days. for a couple of days, you diligently helped him iced his shoulder, not forgetting to tease him about the one on his butt each time.

everytime he offered to help you with your own injuries, you always shot down the idea, telling him you can take care of yourself. so jungkook decided he'll help by going out less to let you rest a bit more, so your cuts and bruises can take their time to heal.

he invited you over more often, offering to watch movies together with him or to play video games. sometimes you had to decline, telling him that you still have some things to do, but more often than not you'll sigh and roll your eyes fondly before agreeing.

this week however, he hadn't seen you that much except for when you accompanied him to school. mostly because he had been cooped up in his own apartment, only leaving for his exams in the morning, studying and focusing on his big project for the rest of the day.

he'd given you a heads up before the week started, as to not worry you when he doesn't knock on your door to ask to go the mall.

"I'm gonna be pretty busy next week," he had said over a plate of fried rice, sitting on his dining table with you across from him. you raised one eyebrow in question. "finals week means i have to study everyday and i have to finish a project I've put off long enough."

he chewed the fried egg, gulping it down before continuing, "so i probably won't go anywhere except for school. think of it as like a vacation for you." you had nodded and smiled at him, but didn't say anything, scooping up more rice onto your spoon. jungkook didn't notice your smile didn't reach your eyes.

today is the last day kf exams for him, every finals done and project sent to his professor 15 minutes before the deadline. he flops down into the floor in a heap, exhaustion rolling off every inch of his body. he had only gotten a total of 25 hours of sleep this week, and had not been taking care of himself properly.

he groans and stands up when he hears his stomach grumbles, making his way to the kitchen to look for some food. there's a slight headache at the back of his head, vision blurring for a moment before returning to normal. he shakes it off as exhaustion, opening the fridge only to see it empty. he tries the cupboard but comes up with the same thing.

throwing his head back, he decides he'll have to go out to get some food, it's not too late at night yet, clock showing 8:15. walking to the door to get you, his vision blurs again when he reaches his door, hand gripping the doorknob to prevent him from falling. he definitely needs to get you now.

when he opens the door, he finds you conversing with someone in the hallway, opening the door to let them in. he can't exactly hear what you're saying but the other voice causes a flicker of familiarity to light in the back of his mind. your eyes quickly snap to him when you realize he's standing behind the person, widening in surprise and… nervousness? fear?

he was about to ask you who it is when the person turns to look at what made you freeze, jungkook's body going rigid at the realization. the voice, the eyes, he remembers them, memories from the events all those months ago surges to the front of his mind. his vision blurs again, this time slowly going dark around the edges. only one name crosses his mind.

"minhee."

---

you watch as jungkook's body goes rigid when he sees minhee turning around, he had obviously recognized her. you hear him mutter her name before going limp and move to catch him before he collapses, supporting his weight so he won't fall to the ground and hurt himself. grunting, you adjust his body in your arms, "minhee, a little help?"

she sighs loudly, moving to stand next to him and slinging his arms around her shoulder to help you carry him to your apartment. "the fuck are we supposed to do now?" she asks, kicking open the door and helping you move him to your couch. "i have no fucking idea."

your mind races with all the possibilities, trying to come up with a solution to the new problem in your hand. you unceremoniously drop him to your couch, feeling his forehead to check his temperature. he doesn't have a fever, though he look pale and exhausted. you figure he hasn't been taking care of himself.

haeun emerges from the kitchen, holding a bowl of seasoned popcorn. she munches and raises her eyebrow at the sight, "what's going on?" she looks at the boy on your couch, "why's he here?"

you pinch the bridge of your nose, pacing in front of the door while minhee sits on the chair next to the tv. she answers haeun question for you, "pretty boy here, recognized me and then fainted."

haeun chuckles, "he fainted because he saw you?"

"no, i think he fainted from exhaustion and possibly dehydration, seeing minhee just add to the shock. how long do we got until he wakes?" minhee clicks her tongue, "few minutes? maybe? I don't know but you need to figure something out, quick."

you talk out loud so minhee can hear you, maybe her opinion can help. "well, one thing for sure is we can't let him go and pretend nothing happened, can we?" she shakes her head no.

"but, maybe we can? i can just say that he hallucinated because he was tired? do you think that would work?" she shrugs her shoulders.

"do you think he'll believe me if i told him that?" she nods her head yes.

you stop your pacing, "what? you think he'll believe me if i told him he hallucinated?" she plasters an innocent look on her face, blinking at you from where she sits. "i think so. pretty sure he'd believe you if you tell him the cashier at downtown McD is an alien."

you tilt your head to the side, not understanding what she meant. "what?" before she can respond, haeun places a glass of water on the coffee table and you shoot her a grateful look. "okay you know what, you two go hide in my room. I'll try to see if i can get him to believe nothing happened."

"no, he's not that stupid. you know that's not gonna work," a voice is heard from your doorway, and when you turn to look, it's yoongi with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

you groan in frustration, "then what am i supposed to do, yoongi?"

sighing, he walks into your apartment, closing the door behind him. "I don't know yet but i think we should take him with us." he stares at the sleeping boy on your couch, using his shoes to nudge his knee. "it's too big of a risk if he knows and we let him go, you know that. we can't let him walk around with that knowledge, not yet. he now knows of your identity and hers. we'll figure out what to do after our main goal is done."

minhee and haeun stay quiet, letting the two of you figure out what to do with the governor's son. "if we disappeared, they would no doubt be suspicious of me, and then my cover will be blown." yoongi sits at the table, legs crossed, "I'm sure you can figure out a reason, right?"

you drop your head to your hands, racking your brain for any solutions. "whatever you come up with, you know I'll be able to help you with." haeun offers, watching your eyebrow furrows in deep thought.

you look at jungkook, it's been a few minutes and he hasn't woken up yet, which probably means he won't wake up for a little while.

hesitantly, you let them know of your plan, "i can tell his father he's going on a trip with some of his friends to celebrate and that I'll be accompanying him. I'll tell him he won't be able to reach us because we're going somewhere secluded but I'll keep him updated and that it's an impulse trip."

you turn towards haeun, "can you deal with the logistics of all of that? tie up any loose ends and cover any tracks so he won't get suspicious. I'm going to message him right now and see what his response is and then we can go on from there."

haeun nods, and you trust her. you trust that she'll be able to handle it, she's good at her job after all, and a genius on top of that. you quickly send the message, receiving a reply in less than 5 minutes.

"Alright, keep him safe. I'll transfer the expense to you once you return. Tell him not to do anything stupid."

you scoff at the response, you can't believe that would actually work. he doesn't question why jungkook didn't tell him himself? doesn't question jungkook going on an impulse trip with his friends? you wonder about his relationship with jungkook.

but you guess right now, it's a good thing that he doesn't question you and he trusts you that much.

"minhee, can you pack me my bags? in case anyone checks, we need to keep up the illusion of going on a trip. I'll go to his apartment to pack his." she nods and makes her way to your room, while you order yoongi to keep an eye out for him.

you quickly walk to his apartment to pack his bag, grabbing only the necessity and some pieces of clothing, turning off all the lights and electronic appliances and taking his phone and laptop with you. once you're done, you walk back to your door, briefly musing about the security cameras. you'd need haeun's help to take care of that later.

when you get back to your apartment, you see minhee holding two bags, standing next to yoongi while jungkook stays fast asleep on your couch. you shove the bags you're holding to haeun so you can lift jungkook with yoongi, making sure everyone have their mask on before leaving the apartment. you tell them not to wear their hood as to not rouse any more suspicions and make your way to the parking lot downstairs where you deposit him in the passenger seat of your car.

fortunately, you didn't meet anyone on your way down or you'd have a hard time explaining the unconscious boy in your arms. climbing in to the driver seat, you pull out of the parking lot, driving to a place you know to be safe.

"haeun, can you take care of the security footage?" she hums from the backseat, "don't worry I'm already working on it." you nod at her words, glancing at the boy next to you.

"I'm sorry, Kook."

---

when you reach your house, you take jungkook to your bedroom to let him rest and ask minhee to get some water for when he wakes up. you need to assess the situation after he wakes up too, to determine if he remembers what happened or not, maybe you can still convince him that nothing had happened and take him back.

10 minutes later, you see jungkook stir as yoongi and minhee steps outside your bedroom, so you gesture for them to hurry up. when jungkook fully wakes up, they're both hidden from sight, door closing quietly behind them.

he groans from his position on your bed, hand coming up to rub his forehead. you sit next to him on the floor, tentatively touching his shoulder. "jungkook?"

he jolts when he hears your voice, scrambling to put a gap between the two of you. "hey, hey it's okay. you're alright, you're safe." he keeps quiet, eyes wary, and you can't tell if he remembers seeing minhee or not. you keep talking in a soft voice to placate him, "you're okay. you fainted from exhaustion in front of my door. i heard a knock and when i opened the door, you collapsed before i could ask you what happened."

you place your arms on the bed, showing him you're not gonna hurt him. "you look really pale when i opened the door, do you want some water?" you gesture to the glass on your nightstand.

he furrows his eyebrows, glancing at his surrounding, confused eyes scanning the room. you think he might have forgotten until he opens his mouth, "are you gonna poison me?"

you freeze, blinking at him. "what are you talking about? of course not, why would i?"

he blinks back at you, face blank and void of emotion. "so you can use me as a "helping hand" to get what you need." he repeats the word you said to him that night, proving that he remembers. you try to play it off, "jungkook, i really don't understand what you're saying."

hesitation flicker in his eyes for a moment before disappearing again, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "minhee," is the only thing he says.

you frown, "who?" "the tall girl in front of your door earlier." you purse your lips, he remembers.

you sigh, dropping your shoulder and gesturing to the water, "at least drink some water first, i promise you it's not poisoned." you reassure him the same way you did that night.

he doesn't move so you take the glass, taking a gulp of water to prove its harmless before offering it to him. he eyes the glass with distrust, gazing at you for a few moments before taking it from your hand. you notice he tries to not make any contact with the hand you have wrapped around the glass.

"jeon jungkook, if you don't forget and pretend nothing happened, i can't let you go." you sit at the couch on the left of the bed, putting more space between you so he'll be more comfortable. you put on your persona and offer him a chance to walk away.

he scoffs at your statement, "where am i? and what the fuck are you talking about? you want me to forget that you were with the person who captured me all those months ago? and goes on with you as my bodyguard? don't you think i need an explanation?" he slams the glass on the table, hand raking through his hair in frustration.

the way he phrases it captures your attention, does he not know that you were also there?

"you're in my room, and if i tell you, jeon jungkook, i can't let you leave this house. i don't want you to get more involved than you already are."

"stop calling me that!" he nearly shouts. you widen your eyes in surprise at his volume.

he lowers his voice, hands gripping the sheets underneath him, "don't call me jeon jungkook, don't put distance between us."

softening your eyes, you cross your legs, softly calling his name, "i can't tell you, jungkook." he snaps his gaze towards you, recognition dawning on him.

he throws his arms up in the air, "even if you don't tell me, there's no way you can let me go anyway, right? i know about you and minhee, i know you were the one driving the car."

there it is. confirmation.

"but if i tell you, you'll get tangled in this mess."

he scoffs, "like I'm not already?"

"you might hate me if i tell you," you worry, biting your lips in an effort to not let it all spill out. the moonlight shines through the blind on your window, providing a dim light that illuminates the room. there it is, the reason you're so hesitant on telling him.

he purses his lips, "what makes you think i don't already?"

your heart drops to your stomach at his words, tears unconsciously welling up at the corner of your eyes.

it's a fear of yours that manifested the moment he invited you over to play games. a worry at the back of your mind when he convinced you to wear casual clothes. you know you shouldn't have let your guard down so easily, but he had been scared, lost, sad, lonely. so you give in, opening your heart for him to nestle himself in.

you close your eyes and will them back, fisting the blanket on your couch. eventually you nod, deciding you owe him an explanation at the very least. "okay."

"that night, we staged the capture. we were never planning to hurt you in any way, money also wasn't the reason." you see him starting to relax, hands fiddling with the string on his sweatpants. "we needed your father to hire someone to protect you, so i can infiltrate my way in to gather intels. we have someone on the inside, someone who will make sure I'll be the one he chooses. i also needed to keep an eye out on you to determine if you were involved."

"the two people who attacked a few weeks ago wasn't us. they were people who wanted to get you because they realized your father will pay them if they managed to get their hands on you."

he knows that, but keeps quiet, letting you continue with your explanation.

you stay silent for a minute, before, "your father is involved in multiple cases of money embezzlement. he had been taking funds from a few public projects, and had also been receiving bribe money from certain companies." jungkook freezes at the reveal, mind going numb at the information.

"we are here to gather information, to reveal it to the public in due time. we are also working to expose the authority so that when we come out with the evidence, it won't be swept under the rug." you shift in your seat, wringing your hands in front of you. "i figured you weren't involved and had no idea about it."

it's a question masks as a statement. dazed, he shakes his head. "he started doing it one year ago, and our mission had been on going for around half of that time. our information wasn't enough just yet, so we needed a way in. i had been collecting evidence, sending them to my team for them to process."

jungkook is still bewildered, mind starting to connect the dots. before he can spiral, however, you intervene his thoughts, "don't worry jungkook, the illegal money is all in an offshore account and had never been used until that night with the 5 million dollars and to pay people to keep quiet about his secret."

he snaps his gaze towards you at the mention of the ransom money, "what did you do with those money?"

you smile sympathetically at him, "we gave it back to the institution." his mind flashes back to the news of an anonymous donation the next day after the incident and a small weight lifted off his shoulder.

you sigh, leaning back on your seat. "I'm sorry to say but right now, you're in my room, in my house. not the apartment."

he blankly stares at you, waiting for more explanation. "unfortunately we can't let you walk around with this knowledge, not now. but once we reach our main goal, I'll make sure you'll be able to leave safely. please believe me when i say we won't hurt you." your words are sincere, eyes gazing at his to convey your honesty.

he hears the door to your room open before he could open his mouth, two people walking in. the smooth voice of minhee cuts through the air, laced with amusement, "so I'm guessing your plan of lying to him didn't work?"

you glare at her from your spot, "don't act like you didn't hear our conversation min." you lay down on the couch, eyes closing in exasperation. "so, what are we supposed to do now?" he recognizes the voice as haeun, a slight shiver running down his spine.

"I'm not gonna say anything." he hopes he sounds convincing enough.

minhee scoffs, rounding the room to sit next to you, lifting your legs and placing them in her lap. "even so, we can't risk it. our identity is on the line, you have to stay here under surveillance until we can figure out what to do with you."

"i don't see any reason why you need to keep me captive if i promise not to tell anyone. nobody will know and your identity will be safe if I'm the only one who know," he argues back, he knows it's probably pointless but it's worth a shot.

"he has a point," you mutter, haeun coming over to lay herself on top of you, crushing you with her weight. minhee swats at her but doesn't complain.

"absolutely not, we can't let him go." a new voice speaks out from the doorway. when jungkook turns his head to look, he found three males standing there, one he recognized as his driver.

he suppresses his gasp at the fact. they walk into the room, closing the door behind them.

"and why not?" you question from under haeun, who is squishing your cheeks with her palms, like you're too cute for her to handle. jungkook doesn't understand why she's doing that.

"he knows too much, simple as that." it clicked in his mind when he hears the drawl of the voice. it's yoongi.

you sound more muffled now, "but he's not gonna tell anyone, i believe him." his heart skips a beat at your declaration. yoongi raises his eyebrow at him, "yeah? but i don't."

minhee is the one who speaks up next "so how long are we planning to keep him here?"

yoongi shrugs and drops to the floor in a starfish position, "as long as it needs."

his mind reels, for the topic of conversation right now, all of you seems to be very relaxed, not worried about jungkook running away and ratting you out to someone. you're basically in a cuddle pile for fuck sake. he confusedly look around, catching the eye of his driver who lift his hand to wave at him.

"oh yeah, that's taehyung. he's also one of us. he's the one who's in charge of getting the information at first, but when we realized it won't be enough, we had to find another way." you had successfully pushed haeun away from you, rolling over so you're now lying face down on the carpet. you sigh loudly "yoongi, what are we supposed to do next?"

the man in question snorts from his place, "i don't fucking know, isn't it your job to figure it out?"

jungkook can stand up right now, he realizes. he can stand up and bolt out the door and away from whatever this is since all of you are distracted. oddly, he doesn't feel the need to.

you roll over on your back, "oh! and that last guy is jimin." the guy in question lift his hand and wave, offering jungkook a friendly smile.

"so you basically kidnapped me, again?" jungkook asks as he leans back on your bed, staring at the navy blue sheets.

"uh… i guess? in a way?" you sound so confused, so unsure, it reminded him of the other version of you he thought he knew. he realizes the two of you would need to talk it out later.

"you're not worried about my father?"

"oh, well, you see, i told him that you impulsively decided to go on a trip with your friends to somewhere where we can't be reached, but i told him I'll keep him updated and he agreed."

he nods, storing that information for pondering later when he can't sleep at night.

the room is quiet after that, each person caught up in their own world. he sees haeun poking minhee in the face, while the girl type something in her phone. taehyung, his former driver is conversing quietly with jimin while you and yoongi appear to be asleep.

he sighs loudly to announce that he is, in fact, still here, garnering your attention from the floor. "this is too much information for one night, can you all leave, i would like to be alone."

they all wordlessly stand up from their spot, yoongi had to be pulled up by both minhee and taehyung, and steps outside your bedroom.

except for you.

you scooch so you're sitting next to the bed, staring up at him, "please don't try to run away or you might get hurt in the process. we have plenty of surveillance and guards that will prevent you from leaving and i can't promise they won't hurt you while doing so."

he holds your gaze, reading the emotion behind it before closing his eyes. "fine but we need to talk."

nodding, you gently take his hand in yours. "i know, we'll talk tomorrow okay? you should get some rest, you did faint after all."

you stand up, letting go of his hand and walking out the door, "finish the water, I'm going to get you some food and then you can go to sleep."

the door shuts behind you, leaving jungkook alone with his thoughts. he wanted badly to stay awake and process all the information but after finishing his meal, his eyes can't help but droop and he decides this time to let sleep overtake the chaos in his mind.

---

when he wakes up the next morning, the curtains are drawn, letting him sleep undisturbed by the blazing sun outside. he rolls over and groans, trying not to think about his situation too much or else his head will explode.

for now, he's just gonna go out on a limb and give you a little bit of his trust, you said you trusted him last night with the identity of you and your whole team, despite how dangerous it is if people found out so he thinks he'll give you back that trust, even just a little bit.

he was about to fall asleep again, the plush bedding and warm blanket lulling him back before the door cracks open and someone walk in. he pretends to be asleep, not knowing who it is.

he feels the bed dip at his side, a hand caressing his head gently. he will his body to relax so the person won't realize he's awake.

"Kook, I'm sorry." it's you, whispering because you think he's still asleep. "i didn't want you to get involved in this mess but I guess… i guess I'd gotten you involved the moment i became your guard, huh?" you're rambling to yourself, hand still gently stroking his hair. "Or maybe the moment i decided to staged that incident."

he hears you sigh, low enough that he thinks you still don't know he's awake but loud enough that he can feel your frustration through it. "i really am sorry, Kook." you whisper one last time, before standing up and tucking the blanket around his shoulder. he hears the door close, and opens his eyes, staring at the wall in front of him.

it's the first time you call him by his nickname.

///

you watched as his friends drove away, waving from inside the car and shouting at the top of their lungs despite only being a few steps away. "bye, kook! We'll see you later! Don't forget to send us your part of the project or I'll hunt you down!" he laughed at the threat, shouting back his confirmation before turning back to you. "come on, let's get inside before we freeze out here." he ushered you inside, bright smile still plastered on his face.

when the both of you were standing in the elevator, you turned to face him to see a thoughtful look on his face. "hey, (y/n)." you hummed in answer. "we're friends, right?"

you blinked at his question, honestly not knowing the answer yourself but he had continued, not waiting for you to answer. "you know, i was thinking, since we're friends, why don't you just call me by my nickname? it's probably a hassle to call me by jungkook all the time, right?"

you hesitated in answering him, because you don't know if you can. it's a warning that minhee gives you everytime she comes over, "don't get too comfortable." it floats around in your mind, plastering itself at the front of your head everytime you give in to his request in trying to befriend you.

he silently stared at you, waiting for your answer. you pursed your lips, trying to lightly brushed it to the side without hurting his feelings too much. "hm, i don't know jungkook. i think I'll stick to calling you by that name, i need to maintain an air of professionalism, right?"

his shoulder dropped at your answer, turning his body to stare at the elevator door in front of him. he sounded dejected when he replied, "yeah… i guess you're right."

not wanting for him to be upset, you quickly reassured him, "but i am your friend, jungkook. just because I'm not calling you by your nickname doesn't mean I'm not." he's still tensed at your response, nodding to signified he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

you wordlessly complied with his request and he eventually let it go, never bringing it up again in conversation.

///

he ignores the loud chatter inside his mind, all the confusion and doubts cruising through his head. he'll make sure to talk to you later to quiet them. for now, he's going to get some breakfast. looking at the clock which read 8:43, he stands up from your bed, making his way to the door.

only to realize he's completely unfamiliar with the house and won't know where the kitchen is. he debates on waiting for someone to get him, but his grumbling stomach protests his decision, causing him to try to brave through the house by himself.

opening the door to your room, he's greeted by an empty house. he takes his time admiring the place, it doesn't look too big, but it does look luxurious. with marble flooring and ivory walls, the house looks like it's sparkling. he turns right to make his way down the stairs, observing the left of your room has another set of stairs that go up.

he finds himself in what he assumed to be the living room, a place that looks more cozy down here than when he's looking at it from above. he sees a door at the side of the room, walking towards it when he hears people talking.

he walks into the space to see haeun placing two slices of bread at the side of taehyung's face while jimin sits at the counter, giggling. "what are you?" haeun screams. taehyung answers with a deadpan and blank face, "I'm an idiot sandwich." causing jimin to laugh harder, folding in on himself, jungkook fears he might tumble off his chair.

"okay, I'm not eating that bread, it touched tae's face. haeun! stop wasting our bread!" he doesn't realize that minhee is standing by the fridge with a bowl of cereal in her hands. "it's fine, this is tae's bread." the male sighs, taking the bread from haeun and walking over to the toaster. he pops the bread into the toaster before turning around, catching sight of a confused jungkook standing at the doorway.

"oh hey, you're awake. help yourself to some breakfast. we've got plenty." he gestures to the array of food on the table, ranging from fried rice to waffles. "why is there so much food?" is the first question that comes out of his mouth.

"soomin stress cook." minhee answer simply, grabbing a piece of bacon and french toast and plopping them into her empty bowl. jungkook shrugs when nobody else bothered to elaborate, grabbing a plate and scooping a plate of fried rice and some noodles on the side. "dining room that way." taehyung points to the hallway that leads to the side, "(y/n) is there, i think."

he nods at taehyung in thanks, making his way to the dining room after grabbing a glass of milk for himself. he sees you sitting at the table in the middle of the room, laptop and documents splayed out in front of you while you mindlessly munch through your plate of waffles and fruits. two other people sit at the table with you, yoongi on one side and another girl he doesn't recognize on the other.

yoongi notices his presence first, gesturing for him to sit down at the table in front of him. jungkook frowns, is he allowed to be here right now? it seems like you're working. "yes you're allowed, we're not working on anything confidential right now." yoongi answers, apparently he had voiced his question out loud.

nodding, he sits on the table, occasionally glancing at you from the corner of his eyes. you smile at him when he catches your eyes, mouthing "we'll talk later, i promise" before going back to your laptop.

"hello, my name is soomin. i don't believe we've met yet." he snaps his gaze to the girl who just spoke, offering an awkward smile her way. "oh, uh. I'm. I'm jungkook."

she smiles warmly at him, "i know, I've heard about the situation, don't worry. i believe (y/n) told you everything already, right?" he shyly nods.

"then please don't worry, we won't hurt you as long as you don't try anything." his body goes rigid at the thinly veiled threat, hand freezing with the spoon tightly grasped between his fingers. "soo, don't scare him like that, i already talked to him." you step forward when you see him react, trying to quell the tension that suddenly fills the room.

soomin smiles at him before looking back at you, "i know. I'm just making sure. this is our whole team we're talking about here so i just want to make it clear."

you close your eyes and sigh, "i… i know. i just." he turns his gaze to see you biting your lips, eyes staring at the dark wood in front of you.

"I'm so sorry." your apology sounds so small that he's sure he wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for the stillness of the room. soomin's gaze softens, hand moving to squeeze yours that lay on top of the documents, "no, hey. it's okay. it's not your fault."

there's an odd feeling sitting on his chest. a stuffiness that he can't explain everytime he hears you apologize. he decides he doesn't like it. doesn't like it when you blame yourself, doesn't like it when you sound so small like that, doesn't like it when you keep things from him.

yoongi purses his lips at the exchange, "soo, let's go to the kitchen to get some more coffee?" he stands up with his plate and mug, (y/n)? you can take a break and enjoy your breakfast." soomin nods, leaving the two of you alone in the big dining room.

you close the laptop in front of you, gathering the papers into one neat pile before storing them in a briefcase he didn't notice were there. the two of you stay quiet for a while, each enjoying your own breakfast at your own pace.

eventually it's you who break the silence, "any questions you wanted answer to, jungkook?"

he ponders it for a while, starting with "was the you i knew then was real?"

you frown into your plate, lips forming an adorable pout that had jungkook almost cooing at the sight. "well, yeah. why wouldn't she be real?"

he purses his lips, "did you befriend me because you have to?" this time you shake your head, "no. in fact, i wasn't supposed to. i was actually told time and time again to keep my distance."

he gulps at your confession.

"but i chose to be your friend anyway, because…" "because?"

you look up to meet his gaze, honesty coloring your eyes, "because i wanted to. and because i saw that you needed, no, wanted a friend too." his gaze softens at that.

you continue, "everything between us was real, it wasn't because it was my job to be your friend, gain your trust and betray you in the end. i-" stuttering, you bring up your hand to wipe a stray tear. "i didn't want to hurt you, even though i guess in the end, i would have regardless."

because in the end, your goal is to take down his father, essentially betraying him in a sense. befriending jungkook wasn't part of the plan, it was something you didn't see happening while you were mulling over the plan to take down the governor.

jungkook stays quiet, processing the information you just laid out for him. you stand up with your plate, sensing the conversation is over for now. when you pass by him, you place a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it once to provide reassurance. just before you walk out of the dining room, you ask "and jungkook, you know that I have to reveal it to the public, right?" i have to take down your father, is left unsaid.

he nods because he knows. no matter what, the people need to know about the corruption, the authorities need to do something about it, and his father needs to own up to his actions.

you nod at him, sending a quick smile before leaving him by himself so he can think.

---

a few hours later, he finds you crouching in the garden next to the house, watering and tending to a variety of vegetables. he hesitates on how to strike up a conversation.

"so, uh, the bedroom I'm staying in is yours?" you flinch when you hear his voice, not expecting someone else to be in the garden with you. you look up at him from your position, hands midway to picking a tomato off its vines, "oh! uh yeah." he nods awkwardly, eyes scanning the content of the garden. "where are you staying then?"

you pick the remaining ripe tomatoes off, placing it in the basket next to you, soomin is going to be overjoyed that they've grown so well after that disastrous harvest. "in the guest bedroom next to the dining room. it's usually unoccupied so i can stay there as long as i need."

he crouches down next to you, grabbing a tiny shears to help. you watch curiously from the side, wondering if he knows which one to pluck off and which one to leave behind. you pull out the pesky weeds next to your precious cucumbers, keeping an eye on jungkook to make sure he's not going to accidentally ruin your crops. soomin will murder both of you.

curiouslyly, he knows exactly what to do with his tiny shears, removing the excess branches and cutting off any dead leaves and buds. "can you show me around later? around the house? it's… uh… a pretty large house."

you eye the patch of leafy greens at the side, debating if you should pick them today or leave it another week. "yeah okay, sure."

the air is tensed between the two of you, but you can't exactly pinpoint the reason. is it you? did the talk affect you more than you thought? or maybe jungkook just doesn't trust you anymore, given the circumstances. maybe he decided that you're-

you feel him grabbing your wrist before you can finish your thoughts, staring at his wide eyes in front of you. "you were spacing out while holding a scissors." frowning, you look down to see that you are indeed holding a scissor that look too close to your other hand for comfort. you mumble, "sorry."

jungkook huffs at that, gentle but stern when he talks, "why do you say sorry so much? i don't think you have anything you need to apologize for." widening your eyes, you stare back at him, not understanding what he's saying. he sighs at your expression, shaking his head at you before continuing with his task.

you decide to let it go for now when you see his annoyed expression, watching as he cuts dead leaves off your cucumbers plants. curious, you ask, "how do you know about pruning?"

he huffs a laugh this time, "i think even without gardening knowledge, anybody will know that you need to cut off these stems and leaves."

"yeah, but you pruned the branches of the tomatoes, the new ones." he hums at your question, "i used to help my mom when she worked in her garden." you blink at the unexpected answer, you don't think you've ever heard him talk about her in all the months you've worked alongside him.

a small "oh" leaves your lips, not wanting to pry any further. it garners an amused smile from him. "currently, she's in another country, had been for the last two years. but we keep in contact quite often."

you purse your lips from trying to ask a question but it seems like he reads it on your face anyway, "they both have a pretty good relationship, he's pretty supportive of her pursuing her interest." and he leaves it at that.

the two of you work in silence for the next few minutes, making sure there's no pests or weeds left that risk ruining your, well soomin's, perfect garden.

you stand up once you're done, almost falling over when you realize your legs fell asleep while you were working. thankfully, you caught yourself, wrapping your palms around jungkook's biceps to prevent yourself from face planting into a patch of cabbage.

again, soomin will murder you if you damage her precious veggies. you don't know why she's so protective over her cabbage in particular.

jungkook snickers at your blunder, placing the shears on a toolbox next to his feet. you immediately let go of him when you feel the muscles shift underneath your hands, resisting the urge to slap yourself out of it. he moves to grab the basket full of vegetables, placing a hand between your shoulder blade to help you walk.

you turn your face away, hoping he didn't see your flaming cheeks. absentmindedly, you think, the two of you are okay.

---

you stand in front of the door with jungkook next to you, hands on your hips, "this is the front door." he blinks at you, "yeah i know?"

you point at the room behind it, "that's the living room." "I'm perfectly aware."

you throw your hands up, "you said you wanted me to show you around!" he laughs loudly at that, "i already know about the first floor. beside! we're standing outside the house right now! I'm 100% we look ridiculous. you're pretty bad at being a guide huh"

you pout, "fine," and walk inside the house, flopping down onto the couch in the middle of the living room. "I'll explain it verbally instead. first floor is the living room, the kitchen, dining room, a bathroom and my bedroom."

he maps it in his mind, your bedroom must be at the back of the dining room. "second floor is the rest of the bedroom and a family room, next to the bedroom you're staying in right now. that's just where we hangout usually."

he looks up at the second floor at that, counting the doors, "how many people are there?"

"10 including you."

"there are only 7 rooms on the second floor."

you nod, grabbing the remote at the coffee table in front of you. "jimin and tae share a room, mirae and narae also share a room."

you turn on the television, stopping at a documentary channel, "there's also two more bedrooms on the third floor, along with a gym room, an office, and a game room."

"big house, huh." he mutters.

"it does have 9 people living in it so yes, it needs to be large to be comfortable, don't you think?" a voice speaks from upstairs. when he looks up, it's soomin. "i- yeah. i guess so."

he watches as she walks down the stairs, and freezes in alarm when she stops in front of him. "I'm sorry about this morning, by the way, i was just protective of my team."

her gaze flicks to you when she says, "surely you understand, right?"

he purses his lips together, brows furrowing. "yeah." his gaze moves to you for a second before going back to her, "i understand."

she nods in satisfaction, hiking her backpack higher before addressing you, "well i gotta go now. I'll be back in a few days, don't cause any trouble while I'm away, okay? please keep haeun away from my garden."

you nod distractedly, eyes still glued on the tv in front of you, "bye! stay safe!"

she fondly rolls her eyes before sending a quick smile his way in curtesy. she closes the front door behind her and a few seconds later jungkook hears the sound of a car driving away.

"by the way, do i get any access to internet? phone? computer?" he knows the answer but no harm in asking. he sits at one of the comfortable armchairs next to the couch.

you hum from your seat, "I'll see what i can do but I'm afraid I can't give you your own phone or computer. haeun will probably do something about the phone situation and if you want, you can go to our game room to use the computers. everything's been secured there."

you side eye him, "we can't really risk you making contact with anyone outside. just, you know. a lot of, uh" you stutter, obviously trying your best to not insult or hurt his feelings. he had to bite his lips to keep from laughing at your endearing reaction.

"it's okay, i get it, really." you sigh in relief at his reassurance, nodding at him before going back to focus on the tv.

he hears a door open somewhere, haeun emerging from the kitchen with a bag of chips in one hand. jungkook averts his stare, she still scares him a little bit, not a lot, just a little. on her way to the stairs, she tosses a box in his lap and when jungkook looks down, it's a brand new phone.

"it's been secured, no way you can contact anyone without me finding out so don't even try." and then she disappears into one of the rooms upstairs just like that. he notices her room is the one to the left of yours.

you smile at him, "sorry, you're gonna be off the grid for a while." he shrugs at that, he thinks he doesn't mind it too much now.

---

he's only been here three days, but he already finds himself getting comfortable around your friends. once the wariness had wore off and they're sure he could be trusted, they had started warming up to him.

jimin had been one of the first one to approach him, asking him if he wanted to work out with him in the gym room. jungkook had accepted the invitation and now jimin had dubbed him as his workout buddy since yoongi and taehyung won't budge when he asked them.

they usually spend a few hours in the gym, exercising together and making light conversations. he finds jimin to be very friendly, sometimes a little too friendly for someone he literally just met a few days ago.

taehyung had been the second person he befriended. apparently, walking into the game room had been enough to get taehyung to open up to you. now, taehyung pesters him to game with him anytime he has time to play, complaining that no one else in the house is interested in playing with him except for haeun who's busy most of the time and jungkook is happy to entertain him.

on the other hand, he doesn't see the trio all that much around the house, and the time he does, the interaction is usually short lived and curt. but he does feel that they're trying to be nicer to him. it's just that, with the history of their past interaction, it gets kinda awkward sometimes.

he also doesn't see you as much as he would like now, only seeing you in the morning for breakfast and at night for dinner in the dining room, each time always checking up on how he's doing. he doesn't know where you go for the rest of the day.

truth be told, he misses hanging out with you.

he rolls over in bed, standing up to close the curtains when he hears a knock on his door. tilting his head to the side, he wonders who it is and opens the door to you standing in front of him, hair wet like you just took a shower, flustered.

"uh hey."

"hey."

"so- sorry. I'm just here to grab some stuffs?" he remembers that this is, in fact, your room. "Oh! Of course," and steps to the side, allowing you to come in.

you make a bee line to your wardrobe, throwing the door open to grab your clothes. he hesitantly sits on his, well, your bed, hand awkwardly placed in his lap while he watches you sort your clothes into a bag you have with you.

he coughs to get your attention, "um, you know. you can just stay in this room?"

you freeze in your place when you hear him, "wha- what. what do you mean?"

he notices how he phrases his question, quickly backtracking to avoid embarrassing himself, "i mean! maybe you can just stay here and i can stay at the guest bedroom you're staying in right now? this is your room after all and all of your things are probably here while i have my things in a bag and can easily relocate to the other bedroom, i also don't want to intrude on your private space."

you turn around to sit next to him on the bed, "are you sure?" "yeah, it's fine."

you mull over his question for a while, "no, it's okay. this room is closer to the other's rooms."

he deflates at that, he thought you trusted him? "so it doesn't feel as stifling as that one since it's so far away." you shift your body towards him, "this room feels a lot more comfortable, so i would like for you to stay here instead so your stay here would be more comfortable too." he perks back up at that, heart skipping a beat at your thoughtfulness. "this room is also bigger."

"you're really cute." oh shit, he said that out loud. your expression doesn't change, most likely because you're so surprised but he does see pink tinging your cheeks.

"tha- right. oh! i mean, thanks. i- i guess?" you're really cute, he thinks. you quickly stand up, going back to your wardrobe with impressive speed, "right i need to, uh i need to pack some more clothes."

you start shoving clothes into your bag, and jungkook worries he made you uncomfortable.

"sorry, i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." he apologizes, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

you stop packing, a black garment in your hands when you turn back around to look at him. "no! it's not- I'm not- don't apologise- it's-"

he raises his eyebrows at you,

"I'm, I'm just embarrassed, sorry."

"you don't have to apologize."

"right! right, sorry."

he chuckles at that, redirecting the conversation to another topic to avoid prolonging the awkwardness, "so, um." he doesn't really know how to bring it up but he decides to just go for it. "where have you been lately? i haven't seen you around that much."

you continue packing some clothes and move to the desk to grab some more things. "oh, I've been kinda busy lately, with some-" you cough, "with some work. it's just some documents and things and yeah."

he senses that you're trying to not to reveal too much which probably means it has something to do with why he's here. he decides to let it slide, not wanting to pry too much into it. "i see."

you zip up your bag once you're done, turning around to sit back beside him on the bed, "why? is something the matter?"

"oh, no. it's just." he hesitates for a brief moment. "i just miss you, it's all." he grumbles underneath his breath, kind of embarrassed.

you take his hands in your and squeeze, "I'm sorry. i know it must be hard to adapt to a new environment without someone you're familiar with, right? I'll try to make more time, okay?" he wants to tell you he's perfectly adapted to his new environment and that he just misses spending time with you but he keeps his mouth shut, running his thumb across your knuckles.

he nods but stays quiet, staring at your hands between his. "how about we go watch some movies? I'm free right now," you offer after hearing his prolonged silence.

his shoulders perk up at that, "really?"

smiling, you nod enthusiastically. "yeah! you can go pick a movie and I'll get some snacks downstairs." you stand up, pulling him with you out the door and guiding him to the room next door.

he's never been to this room before. "I'll go get the snacks!" you shout as you quickly run downstairs, to the direction of the kitchen.

the room is large, being one of the master bedroom, and cozy. half of the floor is covered with comfortable rug, soft enough to lay on with a large tv pressed against one of the walls. a shelf sat underneath it with a coffee table in front of it, surrounded by large sofas and multiple bean bags covered with blankets.

he makes his way towards the shelf under the tv after turning on the light, browsing through the movie selection of the house. you come back a few minutes later with three large bags of potato chips and two bottles of water, dumping them on the coffee table before joining him in browsing for the perfect movie.

he settles on the floor after picking the movie, leaning against the couch behind him so he can be closer to the chips. you lay down on the couch behind him, hand dangling over his shoulder to steal some of his chips instead. "you haven't seen this one yet, right?" he asks around a mouthful of chips.

"no." you mumble into the couch, one hand unconsciously massaging the knots on his shoulder. he shivers at the sensation, willing himself to stay put. "do you know what kinda movie this is?"

"no."

"it's a horror movie."

"oh."

he twists his body to look at you, "are you okay with that?" you blink sleepily at him, lips curving down into a confused pout, "yeah I'm fine with that." he nods at that and focuses back on the screen.

he's pretty embarrassed to admit that he flinches more than you despite being the one who picked the movie but the feeling is overshadowed by his feelings of contentment to be able to spend some more time with you.

one movie turns into a marathon and before he realizes it, the both of you had fallen asleep, comfortable in each other's presence.

---

contrary to what you said, for the next couple of days, he actually sees less of you than before, only seeing you in the morning for breakfast. in fact, he had seen less of the others in the house too. it's like he's back in his apartment again, alone, just in a bigger space.

today is the first time jimin had asked him to go to the gym again, citing that he was busy the last few days and unable to work out. he walks into the gym expecting to find jimin already on weights but is surprised when he sees you and yoongi at the corner of the room, sparring.

"hope you don't mind." jimin says from next to him, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the towel around his neck. he jumps in surprise when he hears him, quickly shaking his head to bring his thoughts back, "no i don't mind it's okay."

he steals a quick glance at you, eyes scanning over your practice clothes. flustered, he coughs when he sees you throw a punch to yoongi's rib, and averts his eyes somewhere else, feeling his cheeks heat up.

not looking back at where you are, he makes his way to the treadmill at the other side of the room, putting his headphones on so he won't be tempted to look back.

it's not like it's the first time he's seen you in a more casual, more revealing clothing. it's just that the sight amplifies the odd butterflies he feels on his stomach.

he feels his heart beat a little quicker but he doesn't think it's the treadmill. for now, he'll shove it all into a box labeled "later" for him to address another time.

these past few days, he can feel the tension in the house rising without a single word being exchanged, and seeing you practice with yoongi confirms his thoughts. all of you were planning on something, he just doesn't know what.

when he's done with his run, he takes off his headphones and moves to the weights. focusing himself on his exercise instead of you, snapping his gaze up when he hears the door to the gym open. "(y/n), yoongi, come with me. we need to talk." soomin says, turning around to leave before receiving a confirmation.

he sees you and yoongi stand up, gulping down water before walking out the door without so much of a nod of acknowledgement. before you close the door, you send an apologetic smile his way.

he hopes everything's alright.

---

that night, he couldn't quell his curiosity and finds himself walking to your door after dinner. you didn't come down from the office for dinner, only appearing for a short while to grab a cup of coffee before disappearing back into your room. he knocks on the wood and waits, shifting his weight around when he doesn't hear any movement.

he was about to turn around to leave when the door swung open, revealing you on the other side. if jungkook pays close enough attention, he can see the faint dark circles underneath your eyes. "hey jungkook. what's up?"

"can i… can i talk to you?" he toys with the zipper on his jacket, gaze bouncing around to avoid looking at you.

you step to the side to let him in, "sure. what do you want to ask?"

"it's just, I'm just wondering." he sits on the chair next to the door while you take a seat on your desk where he can see piles of papers scattered on top of it. you tilt your head to the side in question, urging him to continue his question.

"why is everyone so busy lately? it seems like everyone's a little tense?"

you freeze at his question, eyes going wide for a split second before you sigh, slumping into the leather chair. "i guess i should tell you."

he frowns, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his lap. "tell me what?"

"we're publicizing the information tomorrow. regarding your father."

he tries to process the words, he really did. tries to find a place in his mind where he can store the sentence, but he just couldn't. he doesn't know what to think. should he be upset? angry? terrified? sad? relieved? he doesn't know.

he just feels numb.

you continue when you don't hear him speak, "he will be arrested and the money will be seized by the government. I'll try to damage control as much as i can so your family doesn't get the brunt of it."

he didn't realize that you had moved to crouch down in front of him, placing a reassuring hand on top of his to bring him back from his mind. "we'll be returning from said vacation in about two days in pretense that we heard the news, and then I'll either get fired or resigned so my cover won't be blown. and i," you trail off, gripping his hand just a little tighter.

"i really hope that you don't betray my trust. i know that, that it's risky. it's so, so risky to let you go with the amount of information you have on us. especially now that you know significantly more than anyone else ever involved with us. but i just, i can't let you get tangled in this mess much more. so i really hope that once all of this is over, i can let you go and you can move on with your life, try to forget about us. put all of this behind you and live happily.

"i hope that me trusting you with all of this won't be my downfall. because i know how easy it is for you to just walk to the authority and reveal everything you know about us. but i really really hope that my choice to believe in you won't hurt my team because i really don't want you to get hurt anymore either."

his mind runs through every concerns you just revealed to him. pulling you onto his lap, he wraps his arms around your waist, face dangerously close to yours. "i don't want to forget about you." his voice is so faint that you doubt you'll be able to hear it if not for the proximity of your face.

he closes his eyes and sighs, resting his forehead against yours. you place your hand on his shoulder, eyes softening at the emotions coloring his face. "it's my turn to talk now, okay?" he opens his eyes to stare at you, gaze more intense than that time he lost to mario kart. you nod mutely at his request.

"i know you're scared of me holding this knowledge with me because you're scared that i might be angry at you and your team for what you're doing but it's not true." his gaze softens when he looks at you, soft lights framing your worried face. "I'm not angry at you, what you're doing is necessary, I'm more angry at him, angry at myself for not knowing but mostly angry at him for letting greed overcome him. so don't worry about me going to the authority, i won't."

he rubs comforting circles at the small of your back, watching as your posture relax slightly in his hold. "i also don't want to move on and forget about you. i don't want to lose you, don't want to put you and everything else behind me." it's obvious you want to interject, but you kept your promise of letting him talk.

"despite it all, your team had become my friends too so i don't want to forget about them either. i hope that once this is all over, you'll let me stay by your side and be around you. i feel safer with you, I'm happier with you." he'll keep the rest of his confession to himself for now, deeming it not the right time just yet.

you rest your head on his shoulder, hands unconsciously playing with their hair on his nape. "but i can't let you stay, it's dangerous and complicated."

you sound so confused, so lost, unsure and uncertain, that all jungkook wanted to do is hold you tight to him and assure you it'll be alright.

he rests his head against yours, "we'll figure it out. I'll be by your side, i promise."

---

"Governer Jeon revealed to be involved in embezzlement."

"An anonymous tip was received last night, revealing that the well respected governor had been embezzling money from multiple public projects and storing them in an offshore account. Other than taking money from the goverment, it's known that he had also been receiving bribe money from multiple companies for various reasons for the past year. Many questions how he had been able to avoid detection for quite some time.

Since the information had been revealed, Governor Jeon had been arrested this morning and taken into custody to await for trials. All of the money will be seized by the goverment and will be redistributed back to the projects with lacking funds.

It's revealed that all the money has never been used before other than paying other involved parties, except for a withdrawal of 5 million dollars a few months ago, apparently after the kidnapping of his son. Some posit a theory that the 5 million donations the next day have been from the people who took his son, determined to get the money the former governor had stolen back to it's rightful owner.

Staffs and family members will be questioned by the police, but it is believed that none of his family members had been aware of his secret, being that he had never withdrawn the money for anything else, suggesting he was hoarding the money for himself for when his reign as the governor end next year.

Read more to find out about the full evidence submitted last night and other parties involved in the scandal."

---

jungkook busies himself by staying at the game room today, not in the mood to talk to anyone or accidentally listening to the news. it's not that he's angry at you and your team, he just doesn't want to know what kind of look they will give him. remorse? pity? disdain?

he knows that they know he's not involved and that he's against it as much as them but he can't help but fear how the reveal might change their perspective on him. thankfully, they didn't bother him, letting him have his time alone to process everything. that, or maybe they're busy. he'd like to believe it's the former.

he also needs to brace himself for the hectic days that's to come when he gets back, no doubts he will be questioned by the police and quite possibly run into some news reporters, eager to write the story.

he's glad that it's his break or he might lose his mind if he has to go to school on top of everything. he's restarting another game when the door opens, internally groaning to himself, he really doesn't want to be bothered today.

he feels someone placing something on the desk next to him, it's a plate of noodles and a glass of milk. he turns his head to find you standing next to him, sending a quick smile before turning around to leave.

he reaches for your wrist before you can take a step, patting the chair next to him when you pivot to look at him in question. you wordlessly comply, sitting down and scooting the chair closer to him.

he's the first one to break the silence, "what am i supposed to do with the police and reporters?"

"answer the police truthfully, they already know you're not involved, it's all just for show and protocol. same with the reporters, they just want confirmation for what they already know. I'll still be your bodyguard for the next few days, so I'll help you deal with them."

" and if it makes you feel any better, your mom has arranged you another bodyguard for the time being."

he straightens at that, turning his chair to face you. "really? how did you know?"

"she contacted me, said she'll assign another person to help because one probably won't be enough for now. at least until everything has settled."

nodding, he grabs the glass and chugs the drink inside. you'd think he's taking a shot if it doesn't look like a glass of milk.

you place a hand on his back, and he muses he likes it when you touch him. "it's gonna be okay jungkook. I'll be by your side, okay?"

"i know."

you spend the rest of the day in the game room with him, watching him play games by himself and occasionally making snarky comments from the side. nobody else came to bother him that day, a fact that he's grateful for.

---

the morning came too soon for his liking, the day he has to go back and deal with everything causing his heart to beat loudly in nervousness. he hikes up the bag on his shoulder, waiting in the living room for you to come out of your room.

haeun tosses his phone back to him and when he checks, he has hundreds of unread messages. some from his mom, a few from unknown numbers, and a lot from his friends. true to your words, it seems like everybody believes that his family and himself is in no way involved with the incident. most texts are asking if he's heard the news, if he's okay and to contact them back when he can.

everyone seems to be aware that he's on a supposed vacation where he can't be reached and he's sure it's haeun's doing.

he's still scrolling through his message when you come to stand next to him, with your own bags to make it look believable. "ready?" you ask.

shrugging in response, he shoves his phone into his pockets, deciding he'll deal with them later. "i guess."

"alright, there's a car that'll come pick you up in a minute and it'll drive you back straight to your apartment." haeun tells him, walking up the stairs with a loaf of bread in her hands to get back to her room.

a second later he sees a car pulling up to the front of the house, a sleek black SUV waiting for him. you settle yourself on the back seat, but he hesitates briefly before climbing into the car, this time without a threat of a gun pressed against his back.

the drive is silent for the rest of the way and he's ought to thank you for that. he doesn't really want to think, let alone speak. instead, he spends his time going through his messages, replying to every message and deleting the unnecessary one, namely from press. he should probably change his number after this.

soon enough, he arrives at his apartment building where a few reporters are waiting outside. it's not as crowded as he thought it'll be and he's glad for that. you slide out of the car before him, putting on your bodyguard persona once again before opening his door for him when you deem it safe.

they immediately rush to him, throwing questions after questions without listening for an answer first. thankfully, with your presence next to him, they don't crowd around him, standing far enough that he can still move around. he listens to what you told him last night, answering the necessary questions truthfully and that seems enough to placate them into letting him walk inside his building and away from them.

before he gets the chance to get inside the elevator however, he's stopped by your hand gently clasping around his wrist. "your mom's bodyguard is here."

he looks to see a tall man walking his way, with a suit similar to yours and sleek back dark hair. "hello. I'm kim seokjin, your temporary bodyguard."

he curtly nods in greeting, he just wants to get back to his apartment, not feeling like exchanging pleasantries with anyone. without saying another word, he speed walks to the elevator, pushing the buttons in agitation.

in record speed, he reaches his door and before entering, addresses the both of you, "i want to be alone for the rest of the day, please. I'll come get you if i need to go outside."

you nod in understanding, sending a glance to seokjin who also nods before walking to the end of the hallway. "are you gonna be okay?" you ask once seokjin is far enough. he purses his lips, "eventually," and close the door behind him.

---

for the next few days, jungkook is preoccupied with the police and press, and when he's not going out to attend the meetings with the authorities, he stays inside and shuts himself out. you're starting to worry about him, but you know he really does need the time to himself.

in the meanwhile, you familiarize seokjin with everything he needs to know, telling him that your contract is about to end and there's a possibility you're not going to be jungkook's bodyguard anymore. he had nod in understanding and promise to you that he'll do his best to protect him.

you knock on the door to his apartment, nervously shifting in your place. when he opens his door, he looks exhausted, prominent dark circles decorating his face. worried, you frown, stepping inside his apartment and placing your hands on his face to examine him.

"are you okay? you look like you haven't been sleeping."

he closes his eyes at your touch, "yeah, yeah everything's fine, i don't know I'm just." he wraps his arms around your waist to pull you closer, resting his head in the crook of your neck. "there was just some things i needed to take care of. everything's fine now."

you nod, bringing a hand up to rub his back. "i came here because i needed to tell you something."

he hums, arms slightly tightening their hold on you. "i know, your contract ends tomorrow, right?"

you hum in answer, pulling away from him to guide him to the couch. he sits close to you, resting his head on your shoulder and holding your hand between his. "so after tomorrow, you're not someone who works for me anymore."

"uh huh."

"so should i tell you i love you after your contract ends or can i tell you now?"

you freeze in his hold, not expecting him to bring this topic up right now. both of you had been skirting around the conversation long enough. your heart skips a beat at his statement, and you try to supress the smile playing on your lips.

"well, do you want me to tell you i love you too after or before my contract ends?" you don't know when you realize you were in love with him, but you have a feeling it's before he even fainted into your arms and had to be taken to your house.

the realization wasn't a loud declaration, but more of a soft whisper at the back of your mind. when you told minhee about it, she had barked out a laughter and said "took you long enough to realize."

he squeezes your hand, turning his head to place a tiny kiss on your jaw. "tomorrow then."

laying on his bed that night, jungkook thinks tomorrow can't come soon enough.

---

the next day, you walk out of the office with lighter steps, your mission is done, your undercover role is thoroughly finished and you can finally go back to your house again.

while packing your bags in your former apartment, you can't help but think about how jungkook will fit into the puzzle. he had stated that he wanted to stay, and had been pretty determined in his stance. you entertain the thought of him joining your team for a whole second before throwing it out the window.

you don't want him to get hurt, you don't want him to be involved in something so complicated and confusing. you want him to be able to live normally and happily.

a knock on your door startles you out of your thoughts, you zip up your bag before placing it on the ground, opening the front door to find jungkook standing there with a big smile on his face.

"can i come in?"

you smile back at him, stepping to the side to let him in before closing the door behind you.

you turn around to see him standing behind you, hands reaching out to pull you close to him. "I love you. I'm so in love with you."

you wrap your arms around his shoulder, burying your face in the crook of his neck. you mutter loud enough for him to hear, "I'm in love with you too."

the confession fills you with warmth and makes you feel lighter at the same time.

he moves the two of you back until he can sit down on the couch with you on his lap. "can't you just move into my apartment or something." he grumbles to your hair, hands splayed on your shoulder blade.

you chuckle at his tone, peppering light kisses to the side of his neck that cause him to squirm. "no, i can't. I'm sorry."

he sighs, "i guess it's fine." hesitantly, he asks, "i can still meet you and go to your place, right?"

you pull back to look at him, pursing your lips in thought, mulling over the situation, "not yet."

he frowns at that, "what do you mean?"

"seokjin is your bodyguard now, you can't go anywhere without him and we can't have someone knowing about where we live or who we are, even though he has no idea about it."

biting his lips, he closes his eyes in frustration. "so? am i supposed to wait until he's gone to see you?"

you take his face between your hands, smoothing his eyebrows with your thumbs, "hey, i can still come over and meet you. you just can't go to our house. it'll be fine."

his frown turns into a pout, one you want to kiss until it turns into a smile. so you gently place your lips on top of his, feeling as the corner of his lips turns upwards. he reciprocates the gestures, capturing your lips between his and pulling you impossibly closer to him. you pull back when you need air, jungkook chasing your lips before opening his eyes. you muse on how beautiful he look.

"how about you come over to my apartment right now?" he playfully smirks at you, hands moving slowly down your back. you bit back a smile at his offer, "yeah? what for? i should be heading home right now, you know."

he moves closer to your face, "just, you know. to play games." you try to contain your laughter, "no can do. gotta get going, have some errands to run."

he pouts at your answer, moving to steal another kiss before relenting, "fine."

standing up from your seat, you grin at him, slinging on the backpack and grabbing the bag you have with you, "maybe next time, kook."

his face breaks out into a large smile at the mention of his nickname, eyes scrunching cutely. he stands to accompany you, reaching for your hand to intertwine with his. you meet seokjin on your way down, nodding at him in goodbye and gratitude. jungkook orders him to not follow him, garnering a protest from seokjin that results in a back and forth bicker between the two. you watch with amusement as seokjin lectures him, jungkook shooting back rebuttal in a playful manner.

eventually jungkook wins, letting the two of you have more time alone before having to depart. once you reach your car, you squeeze his hand one more time, reaching to plant a kiss on his cheek. he seems unsatisfied with it, moving to capture your lips between his once again.

you giggle into the kiss, feeling him smile underneath your lips. reluctantly, he parts way from you when minhee taps on the window impatiently.

"I'll call you, okay?"

"okay. I love you."

you softly smile at him, eyes crinkling in endearment, "I love you too," and climb into the car. as the car drives away, you think, the two of you will be alright.

---

the sun shines brightly through the windows, causing you to groan and roll over to avoid accidentally blinding yourself when you open your eyes. the person next to you stirs, grip around your waist tightening momentarily before relaxing again. hoarsely, you cough out a question, "babe, did you forget to close the curtains last night?"

jungkook mumbles in his sleep, something that sounds like "what are you talking about? what's a curtain?" you're not quite sure but it sure doesn't sound like "i didn't close it, I'm sorry." so you roll over again until you fall to the carpet, sitting up and dragging yourself to the window to pull the curtains close so you can go back to sleep.

when you flop back onto the bed, you mumble sleepily into his ear, "kook, it's already 20 minutes past 8, you should probably hurry to your meeting with mirae and narae." at your words, he bolts up from his position, looking more awake like he had chugged 3 cups of coffee in one sitting. that's the effect the twins have on people, they truly hate it when people are late.

he scrambles to change his clothes, not even bothering to go to the bathroom to freshen up, muttering a chant of "fuck shit they're going to be so fucking pissed. fucking damnit."

he doesn't forget to kiss you before bolting out the door, slamming the door shut behind him as you hear his footsteps echoes through the house. if the twins don't get to him first, yoongi will, since you're sure he just woke him up.

2 months ago you completed your mission and moved away from your apartment. 2 weeks later, you find jungkook at your doorstep with a proposition in his mind and no seokjin behind him. a week later, you watch as jungkook chugged a glass of beer mixed with hot sauce, something taehyung and haeun dubbed as "initiation" but jimin preferred to call it a "celebratory" drink as jungkook officially joined your team.

it's been a little over a month since he settled into everything, and it seems like he adapted well enough into his new life. you smile to yourself at that. sure, you'd been apprehensive at first at the prospect but when you see how determined he is, you decided to relent and follow along.

unsurprisingly, he's good at whatever task soomin threw his way, easily completing it in record speed and usually leaving her speechless when he goes to report to her. he also learned martial arts pretty quickly, something you know yoongi is pleased at because of how he call him his "best student" and "(y/n) it took you 5 months to learn this move and this guy got it in 2 days." which cause your eye to twitch in annoyance that you have to supress the urge to throttle yoongi.

he hadn't been assigned any significant mission just yet, only helping others with theirs for now, but by the look of it, yoongi and soomin might let him lead his own mission soon, impressed by his capabilities.

you look over to the clock at your bedside table, groaning to yourself when you see the 8:58 blinking back at you. deciding you won't be able to fall back asleep, you drag yourself downstairs to get some breakfast, remembering that yoongi is cooking today since soomin is out of town. the thought of yoongi cooking relieves you since the last time both of them were out of the house, haeun had managed to burnt 3 pots and broke two cups while taehyung stands to the side with a bucket of water in case something caught on fire.

when you reach the kitchen, you find it to be empty, plates of waffles neatly stacked on the counter with some foil over it to keep it warm. you fix a plate for yourself and jungkook, sitting at the counter with a glass of orange juice next to you.

before you finish your plate, you feel someone wrapping their arms around your waist from behind, jungkook's head resting against your shoulder. "i narrowly escaped their wrath."

"yeah? how angry were they though?"

"angry enough to keep me on garden duty while soomin is out of town."

"huh, not too bad. once, taehyung was late for literally 47 seconds and they had his games restricted for a week." he hisses in sympathy, "yikes."

"uhuh, they're going easy on you. i fixed you a plate of waffles already, and there's a new carton of milk for you in the fridge." you detach yourself from him, putting your dishes on the sink before turning to look at him. "i have some documents i had to send, so I'll be at the office, alright?"

he kisses you deeply before you leave, one hand resting on the small of your back while the other holds the side of your face.

"bro! this is a kitchen! take that shit somewhere else, some of us are single!" haeun screams from the doorway.

you part way from his lips, laughing loudly on your way out. "I love you babe."

he shouts back from the kitchen, "I love you too!"

yoongi shouts from his room. "shut the fuck up!"

the house breaks into a laughter at that, and you reckon, the house feels warmer now.

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