#jeongyeon au

[knightyoomyoui]

[SMUT] TWICE x Male Reader - "One Of The Girls"

The final one-shot of my TWICE smut anthology book is here. I think this might disappoint for some readers here because yall might be expecting it to be long, but I made it as simpler and unique as I can be because I don’t think I’ll be able to write a Part 2 of this anymore due to my lack of interest of writing smuts. Thank you once again for atleast giving a try on reading my smut one-shots even though I’m not really expert at writing mature stuffs. Still, I hope this might come into your liking. WARNING: contains smut, R+18, mature and sexual content TAGS: fuckfest, friends with benefits, eighteensome (with a bit of threesome and foursome), harem, pairing, messy sex, anal, rough sex, blowjob, lots of sex positions, futuristic, clones, advanced technology etc. WORD COUNT: 5,500

You are currently hosting your own celebratory party with your only circle of friends in college. There’s a total of 10 people present around your house, which is the preferred location that was voted for by the majority since yours is the most spacious among them. Around your living room are Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, and you as the only guy in your squad.

Table occupied with bunches of snacks and empty cans of beer, some of the girls are nearing passing out from their drunken state, except the others, like Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo, who have a high alcohol tolerance, went on to continue chatting with you since they wanted to cherish this moment being complete together.

It’s been months since you’ve last seen them after getting graduated from college. Each went on to grab the degree of the profession they have chosen, and that brought them to achieve their dream job that effectively supports them even more in their personal life.

You were the one who initiated to invite all of them when few days ago, you unexpectedly encountered Jihyo in the grocery store and sulked about when will be there a time where all 10 of you will go hangout together again just like good old times. Since Jihyo is the one that all of you have been calling the “mother” of the group, you took note of her suggestion.

As you went home, chat app open, revisit your group chat with them, and send the invitation, which led you all in this predicament.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” Jihyo said as she looked at your window, waterdrops scattering as it disperses down through its surface. 

“We should’ve went home already after they passed out.” Jeongyeon said as she emptied her can of beer and peek at Momo and Chaeyoung sleeping both on her sides.

“Yeah, we got caught now by the rain outside. Nice.” Nayeon slumped her back on the couch. “Ahhh I hate it when I go home wet.” 

“Should we wake everyone up?” Jeongyeon asked.

Jihyo shook her head. “Maybe not yet, I don’t want to disturb their sleep just to get haggard going outside.” She said while stroking the wavy hair of sleeping Mina on her right.

“I think it’s much better if you guys should stay here.” You suggested. “You guys still have work, I don’t want to risk you all getting sick and take an absence.”

“Are you sure about it, YN?” Jeongyeon asked, lifting her brows in surprise. “Are we not gonna be a hindrance here around your house, I mean… we did put a mess already here but-”

“Nah, I’m positive. And I knew where you’re going at your words, Jeong. I’ll help you clean the place up tomorrow.” You smiled at her.

“Nice. Thanks for this, YN!” Jeongyeon high fives with you.

“Well that’s even better. I’m starting to like your place too anyway.” Jihyo joked as she looked around the interior of the house. “I mean, what do expect from our architect, am I right.” She smirked as you chuckled at her teasing.

“Aww, as expected, such a caring and thoughtful deed from our daddy~” Nayeon quickly cuddled your arm, much to your shock. You froze at your place, and Jeongyeon and Jihyo stopped laughing as their smile fades away with their eyes slowly stared towards the already drunk bunny that they thought was still with them.

“Uhm…” 

“Did we heard it right?”

“N-Nayeon, what did you just call YN here?”

“My daddy YN~” Nayeon said as she rubs her face in your biceps. “He’s the only man in our group and he takes care of us, does that make her our daddy?” She raised her head and smiled at you with her and shiny teeth.

“How did you… just end up randomly calling him like that?” Jeongyeon stiffles her laugh while perturbedly questioning Nayeon’s weird behavior.

“I mean, she has a point though, you are the patriarch, the one who formed our group anyway. You found us, YN.” Jihyo shrugged her shoulders. “But cmon, unnie. There’s no need to call him like that.”

“I don’t care. I love to call him that always, besides…” Nayeon’s stare went strangely different, eyeing you with an unspeakable aura clouding through her pupils. Her hand planted on your chest and rubbed it gently, smelling your scent from your shirt. “Daddy’s has been looking such a very hottie these days compared back then, that’s why he’s just simply deserves to be called with it. Besides, you love to hear that too from one of your girls, right~?”

“N-Nayeon…” 

Her movements are like a choke hold on you, making it difficult for you to talk normally. You are stammering when you speak. Gazing at Jeongyeon and Jihyo, you saw that they were merely observing Nayeon as she moved her hands around you. Their gaze shifted to you, and all of a sudden, even theirs felt a little awkward.

To your astonishment, Nayeon gently caressed your face and turned it toward her, planting a soft kiss on your lips. When you felt Nayeon's lips start to move more around your mouth and extend an invitation for a passionate duel, your eyes opened and your body gradually melted.

Hearing some gulps from nearby, it was coming from Jeongyeon and Jihyo drinking more beer that was left from the table. Their breaths became heavy as they continued to observe Nayeon doing these things to you.

You never crossed your mind that Nayeon would do this to you someday, just like right now, but it is undoubtedly true that she is deadly gorgeous, and to share this kind of intimacy with someone like her, consider yourself to be the luckiest guy in the world.

Speaking of being lucky, it looks like you’re about to experience another once-in-a lifetime moment and something that will forever change your relationship with the girls when you hear Jeongyeon moan as Jihyo starts to grope her breast. 

Your hand rest on Nayeon’s hand and continued to mash your lips against her, syncing her movements along to make your kiss even more sultry. As you remove first from her face, you stared at her and looked at Jeongyeon who is now also massaging her other breast to join Jihyo playing on her body.

“Are you girls sure wanna do this?”

“I’d like to give it a try. We haven’t done this before, and it pretty much looks very interesting, especially looking at our r Jeongie here enjoying my touch here like never before.” Jihyo smirks.

“How about you, Jeong?”

“Quit asking, let’s stay here for the night and have more fun.” Jeongyeon said, huffing one more time before she tilts her head and captures Jihyo’s face for a kiss of her own too.

“I knew they will follow us.” Nayeon said as she satisfyingly watched her friends going out at each other. “I pretty much knew how their hormones can get intense, and now that you are our only man around here, will you like to accompany us to it?”

“Oh whenever you want, Nayeon.”

You pulled the hem of Nayeon’s shirt upward, revealing her baby blue silk bra that perfectly hugs her average-sized boobs. You gnawed at the crook of her neck; she gasped at how ticklish and warm your breath hit her sensitive spot. While doing so, your hand squeezed along the soft skin of her arms, feeling its smoothness.

Locating the lock on her bra from her back, you unhooked it and removed the garment from her. Setting yourself apart from Nayeon, you have found the first glimpse of Nayeon’s bare top, her breasts proudly presented to you and ready to be devoured.

You placed your palms on top of her tits, squishing them as Nayeon invited you again for another kiss. Jeongyeon and Jihyo are still colliding in each other's bodies. As you checked on them, you have found that Jeongyeon is now stripping off Jihyo’s skirt as she also gets rid of her shirt, exposing her black bra that traces the width of her wide, flawless back.

Lifting Nayeon off the couch and leaving Dahyun and Tzuyu on your spot, you gently placed Nayeon on your carpet. Now being on top of her, you undid her jeans and saw her matching pants tucked securely on her rosy petals. Running your hands through her legs, you found her waistband, taking them off and giving her pants a lustful inhale before looking at the now fully naked Nayeon laying for you.

You kissed her again, with one hand caressing her cheek and another returning to nuzzle with her left breast. You heard a loud whimper coming from Jihyo, who is now being eaten by Jeongyeon as her head is between her legs, sitting on the carpet in front of her.

With your clothes and jogging pants now gone too, all 3 women went on to watch you loosen your boxers, and there they had to see your erected cock for the first time, increasing their sexual desires that had them craving the taste of your meat.

Jihyo’s moans went constantly seductive the more she stares at your cock while her pussy is getting pleasured by Jeongyeon who is now fingering her own pussy also. Nayeon who is even more aroused, gripped your cock to give it a pump, eliciting a gasp on your mouth.

“My god, YN. After all these years, I couldn’t believe we were almost impossible to release this beast begging to be let out and gain some attention. We could’ve helped you with it after all these years.” Nayeon said as she watched her huge hands exquisitely covering the length of your cock.

“You girls never asked though. Well now, you girls can have it anytime you want. Atleast unlike before, every single one of you has a chance to take this all for yourselves.” You said confidently.

“And I will enjoy every single bit of it.” Nayeon bit her lip before she gave you a trusting nod, signaling you to enter her virgin cavern. She flinched and rolled her eyes back as she felt every inch of you entering her pussycat.

Now buried deep inside of her, you subtly fucked Nayeon into a missionary position. Your arms rested on each side of Nayeon’s head to give you stability. She was holding onto it at first until she decided to support you in continuing to fuck her harder by roving her hands around your toned torso and back and licking your nipples.

Meanwhile, Jihyo has just finished squirting on Jeongyeon’s face, licking off the juices that she caught before scooping some and letting Jihyo have a taste of it, sucking Jeongyeon’s fingers lewdly. After that, they changed positions, wherein Jihyo is now paying attention to Jeongyeon’s fat pussy while groping her heaving tits.

Back to your state, your pace went faster, creating loud claps of your crotch and her ass contacting with each pound. Nayeon’s moan and frantic noises go fast as she watches you pour your efforts into dominating her. 

"Ughhh, yesss, keep it like that, Daddy. Fuck me, fuck your one and only bunnyhop with your gigantic carrot.”

Your groans intensified until you felt a sudden surge of tightness in your stomach. Unleashing the last remaining forces you need to snatch that climax, you finally pushed into her very deep, and Nayeon felt some gooey substance flowing inside her walls.

As you remove yourself from her, you observe Nayeon breathing erratically with her pussy overflowing with your cum. You wiped the cream off your cock through her thigh before moving on to Jihyo and Jeongyeon who are still having their own fun together.

But just as you were about to reach them, you were prevented by a grip from someone on your back, holding your wrist, stopping you in your tracks that made you to only watch Jeongyeon squirt into Jihyo. You rotated your body and found Tzuyu looking up at you mischievously. 

Additionally, you discovered Dahyun slowly opening her eyes as Chaeyoung, Momo, Sana, and Mina all find themselves staring at your cock with fascination as they watch the embarrassed pair perform an amorous act.

“Do you guys really think we would let ourselves be left alone?” Sana said as her action encouraged the rest of the girls to strip off their clothes, presenting their bodies only in their ravishing set of bra and panties with different colors, tempting you to get hornier at the sight of their sexy bodies all prepared to be claimed by yours.

They formed a devious smirk and lick from their lips as they saw your hardened cock twitch. “Aww looks like our YN here is liking what he’s seeing right now.” Momo said as she knelt beside you and stared at your thick shaft all fired up to invade their pussies one by one…

… but you have thought of an idea to make things faster, easier…and unique.

“Wait, girls. Alright, I know all of you want to join but… I can’t do this for now with just only me taking you all each turn.” You said to them.

“So… lemme grab something from my room  real quick and come back here to show it.” You ran away from them and dug through your items until you have found what you are looking for.

Returning to the living room, you even adore the view more as you noticed that all of them are now naked, presenting you the contrast of their sizes and shape of their wonders but that doesn’t matter to you. You knew that all of them has one similarity and that is they all look breathtaking and fuckable tonight.

“What’s that, YN?” Chaeyoung asked as she looks at your hand holding a circular device.

“It’s a cloning device made by my brother who is an expert in robotics. He gave me this as a gift because I once shared to him that I feel bad sometimes that Alpha, my pet dog… I always left him here in the house alone.” You said as you looked around at its design, juggling it in your hands. 

“So he gave me this as a solution. Well basically as like what I’ve said… it’s a cloning device, which means I can create an artificial clone version of myself. He instructed me to use it as my replacement whenever I left the house for work, so that Alpha can still have me… but the other and fake “me” to still be his guardian. I can even use it to do some other errands while I’m away.”

They all are impressed at its purpose and quality. “Can I ask, YN? Is the clone you produce can touch something? I’m thinking that it may just be a hologram, so what if you have to feed your dog or bathe him while you’re out?”

“Oh, don’t worry. My clones can have a contact with anything around here. I’m not that much of an expert that’s why I can’t explain why but my brother probably inputted some system in this advance technology that doesn’t only shape my clones into a complete holographic-illusion type of figure.”

“A question also, uhm… does it only have a limited time to use?” asked Mina.

“Yup, it can only be set for a day if I’m only using it for one clone… but for multiple…”

“Wait, so you can also switch it to any number of clones of your choosing?”

“Yeah, but it’s only up to ten. So probably I can use it for like an hour and half or something since like I said, the more I activate a clone, the shorter the time I can only use it.” You said, until your lips form a sly smirk as you gave them a glance. “Which is why I want to use this for tonight…”

They all looked at each other until Jeongyeon understood what you are talking about, her cheeks blushed and eyes largened at the idea you have in your mind. “Oh this night just got even more chaotic.”

“... and make eight clones of myself so that instead of having you girls by turn, I can have all of you AT THE SAME TIME. Sounds good?” 

“Actually, that is brilliant. Atleast, we don’t have to wait for YN and… we can have him as our partner by pair.” Tzuyu applauded your idea.

“Wait, is it gonna work like… this is the first time you’re gonna use it on having sex, do you think it’s gonna function the same thing as what a real human like you can do?” Dahyun asked. “Like… can it even cum as you?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” You shrugged. Pressing the button of the device, you laid it on the floor and stood straight in front of it. The device scanned you from head to toe and set the number of clones to 8. It beeped repeatedly until to all of your amazement, you witnessed the device spawn a naked clone of you one by one until it reaches the necessary number.

The clones all look at you as if they are asking for your command. You felt something strange in your head, as if there’s a bunch of signals awaiting for your memory core to generate a thought that will be transported into the other end.

“Let’s continue where we left off.” You tried to use the ability you have just unveiled. You looked at your clones and then at the girls except Jeongyeon, and developed a thought in your head that commands them to have sex with the girls of their choosing.

All of your clones went on to approach the girls they have chosen. Since you don’t have any names to call them, you labeled them rather as your clone number based from the age order of the girls in which they partnered theirselves together. 

“Hi Jeong, looks like its you and I now.” You said to Jeongyeon who was left standing alone as the girls are now intimately engaging with your clones.

“Oh, so that’s why I was wondering why I didn’t get picked.” She scratched the back of her head, feeling embarassed at her dumbness. “Well, I like it much better that I get to have the real package right here.” 

She reached for your limp cock and gave it a few introductory pumps with her reversed hand. You kissed her while squeezing her ass from behind. Teasing her asshole, you inserted your index finger in it and fucked her slowly.

Her gasp enabled you to invade her mouth and swirl your tongue around inside. After licking her taste buds, you let Jeongyeon kneel before you and worship your cock in her own initiation.

As you looked around you, you were astounded that the girls also copied Jeongyeon; they knelt under your clones and checked if they could have contact with their artificial cock. Momo woah-ed aloud as she, along with the girls, confirmed that they can even touch their dicks too.

Jeongyeon chuckled and shook her head as she saw her friends enjoying your clones’ cocks for themselves. She slapped your abs to lure your attention back to her, and there she eyed you lustfully as she wiggled your now reawakened cock on her fist, slapping it on her cheeks before licking the underside of your shaft.

She ran her tongue through your length and traced the veins of your cock before slurping your mushroom head. She lifted your cock away to gain access at your hanging balls, not wanting them to be left out. She coated them with her saliva as she massaged the other one with care.

Back at your cock, she then proceeded to suck and gave you another blowjob of greatness that you will ever be thankful for your life. You patted Jeongyeon’s head as she dugs her face deep until she reaches your abdomen, giving you a deepthroat that is even par from her limit, but she still did her best to make you feel good as possible. “So big and thick… hope you don’t mind that I will always beg for this from now on, YN”, she said as she jerked it while grinning devilishly at you. “Good, because I don’t even know if I’ll get enough of your body too, Jeong.” You said as you grab a bundle of her hair and use it as your handle while she blows you hard once more. “Yes, continue to move that little mouth of yours. Show me how much you love my cock.”

The girls were now giving your clones their own style and direction of blowjob in which also lets out the satisfied feeling from them. Getting more aroused at the work Jeongyeon has been doing at your meat, you humped your hips and facefucked Jeongyeon until you blew your load, filling her mouth with your warm cum before you slip away.

Jeongyeon swallowed it all like a good girl and wiped off the remnants around her lips. After she presented her empty and clean tongue without any signs of your seed, you also found out that the girls each had the surprise on their face when they also felt some cum poured through their mouth and staining their face.

“Wait, so they can also feel what you feel?” Jeongyeon commented the same thing as you have discovered.

“Same as what I’m thinking.” 

“Heh, you’re the best, YN.” Jeongyeon shook her head and kissed you on the cheek before she pulled your arm to set yourselves up for a sex position. You also mentally commanded your clones to fuck the girls in any position they want.

She went close to Jihyo who is now being fucked by your clone in a sitting faceoff at the side of the couch. Jeongyeon spreaded her leg for you and invited you to come closer, standing between her and stick your cock at her pussy, which was very tight that sent chills in your skin. You savored banging Jeongyeon very deep that had her moaning uncontrollably at your massive length poking her womb.

Being too noisy, Jihyo teased her bestfriend by voluntarily stretching her body aside so that she can pull Jeongyeon’s head and forcefully have her suck her right tits with your clone who is playing on her left one. Jeongyeon continued to hum around Jihyo’s nipple as you went back and forth faster through her pussy.

You peppered kisses through Jeongyeon’s thick thighs and some sneaky squeezes on her butt until you felt your climax about to greet you again. Rapidly drilling her walls, you sent Jeongyeon into her world of ecstasy by filling her insides with your cum which led also to your clone to fire stream of its own load to Jihyo including the rest of the girls.

While you were busy with indulging Jeongyeon, Momo was being fucked by your second clone in a cowgirl, taking one of your couches all by themselves.

Sana and your third cousin are doing 69 beside the table. Her face has been painted white after she pointed the tip into her to empty the remaining area for some facials. Your clone also received the same treatment; his face got flooded with Sana’s love juices.

Mina is being ravaged by your fifth clone in a doggy-style way at the kitchen counter, her ass being roughly pounded with a thick cock while her pussycat is being sucked by Nayeon, who is being taken by her own clone of yours on the floor.

Dahyun is on the edge of the couch, getting piledrivered by your sixth clone as her body is positioned upside down, her feet being used as a handle while the back of your clone leans at the end of the couch for additional support.

Chaeyoung is on the front of the TV with her clone of yours, watching her reflection on the screen as she gets manhandled from behind, her body submitting from the full nelson demolition that is being applied on her own session of sensation.

Tzuyu is doing the same thing as Chaeyoung, but it's not her reflection she’s watching. She’s viewing the rainy atmosphere outside the streets of Seoul just to distract herself from getting penetrated by your clone in a one-legged standing. Her body is paralled with his body, and she kisses him to let your clone know that he’s doing a good job, filling her up to the brim.

As they all received your warm present oozing underneath between their legs, they decided with you to go on for one last round before wrapping up this party that became a sex-filled, erotic occasion.

You went on to find Jihyo, who has now abandoned by your clone on the couch, after you mentally commanded him to go after Jeongyeon next. Jihyo looked up at you and gave you a soft smile, to which you also returned the gesture.

To ride off her exhaustion, you sat beside her and took her tits all by yourself. You were definitely pretending to yourself if you were denying that Jihyo’s enormous mommy milkers aren’t distracting you whenever they look very evident and alluring at her clothes that felt too tight or revealing. 

It’s not because you are simply a pervert; being quite an introvert, you just don’t know exactly what to do to completely avoid it.

Now that you have her nice pair of bosoms resting neatly below her chest, it would be disrespectful of you to just continue ignoring such a pretty and sexy lady like her, especially if you are now free to have her for your own satisfaction as much as she has for you.

Without any further ado, you feasted a lot with her tits, kneading each of their softness and weighing them on your palm before you dipped your salivating mouth into her caramelized nipples and areolas.

Jihyo is just there, whimpering and sighing heavily at your mouth, marking her precious assets. She combs your hair like a good baby boy sucking off her mommy’s milk.

As you removed your face from her breasts, you stood in front of her and went on with another idea you had in store for her.

Presenting your engorged cock once again, you used her breasts to place it between them and sandwich it around your shaft before allowing you to titfuck Jihyo.

Jihyo lowered her head and spit on your cock as she attempted to catch your head with her tongue, giving it a few licks while you went forward. You didn’t go on for too long on going after her breasts because it's not only that who has to be recognized on. Her entire body should be praised for a goddess like her.

Now contented with the feeling of your cock passing through the deep valley of her cleavage, you pulled Jihyo with you and replaced her on the couch. You instructed her to climb on your lap, in which she sat down, gripping your cock and tucking it to her pussy.

“Ahh! Fuck me, augh yes just like what I imagined when I first had a look at your cock.” Jihyo said as she slightly twerked her plump ass.

You catched her waist and suddenly slammed her down as you made her furiously bouncing on your lap. “Shit, fuck you like that huh? You like getting hammered by my big cock don’t you, Jihyo?”

“Yes yes! YN go faster please!”

“Scream for me! Let everyone in this room know that no one can match my cock for your tight pussy!” You slapped Jihyo in the face and spanked her ass as you roared at her.

“G-GIRLS! O-OH GOD… OH MY GOD UGH YESSSSS!! FUCK, H-HE’S THE BEST AT THIS… I WON’T FIND ANYONE THAN YOU, YN! I JUST WANT YOUR COCK, NOT EVERYONE ELSES”  You pushed her closer to you and mashed your face at her tits as you rammed her like a madman.

You are fucking Jihyo so intensely that your groans of pleasure isn’t enough yet to let Jihyo know that she and the rest of the girls will get to experience whatever limits of sex they can reach just so they can feel like they’re locked up in heaven.

Sliding her ass out more, Jihyo became confused on why did you paused after the horrific speed you just gave on her. Her answer came shortly as she felt another cock getting inserted in her another hole.

Jihyo screamed in both pain and pleasure as she is now getting double penetrated by you and your clone. While you continued to suck her bouncing tits, Jihyo looks around to check what the other girls are also receiving at the moment.

On her front view, there’s Nayeon and her clone having tabletop sex at the kitchen counter. Sana is giggling and and moaning at the same time with her shaky voice as she is bouncing up and down beneath your clone’s cock at the stairs in a reverse cowgirl. Mina is having her pussy being eaten by Dahyun whose front frame and breasts are pressed on the floor while her ass is being fucked in a flatiron position.

On her back there goes the scene where Jeongyeon is bent in half like a seashell by your clone while having her tits sucked, Momo getting some spooning treatment, her tits swaying at every thrusts she receives, Chaeyoung moaning for mercy as she gets hogged by your clone in an upstanding citizen, carrying her small frame while having her limbs floating in the air due to getting hooked around in her legs.

Lastly, Tzuyu continues to admire the night view of Seoul through the windows while his clone is pistoning her pussy in a stand and deliver.

“I- I can’t take it anymore, I- I’m going to let it out, YN!”

“I’m getting close too, Jihyo…”

“Perfect fucking timing. Let’s end together.” Jihyo said as is staring dangerously at you before she reached your face for one more kiss. 

You and your clone plowed Jihyo to the brink of fulfillment as a few more strokes and rough collisions of your skin slapping together took yourselves into orgasm. Jihyo shouts lewdly as she feels streams of her slimy nectar squirt around your cock while it pulsates the last set of your pearly cum straight through her cunt.

The room resonated with synchronized screams, moans, and curses as everybody embraced their climax. You quickly grabbed your device and switched it off, making your clones disappear in an instant.

You sat beside Jihyo, who is now knocked off after having her energy spent just like the rest of the girls with you. The room smells like sex, with cum overflowing from their gaping holes and puddles of crystal liquid all over the floor. Bodies slumped and scattered everywhere around the house.

But then in some of their surprise, they noticed that the cum that came out from your clones disappeared next, making their snatch feel a bit lighter now than earlier, except for the trio Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo.

“I guess those are also artificial and temporary just like them.” Jeongyeon said as she looked at the  evidences that gone missing.

“But not for us.” Nayeon smiled proudly and scooped some of your cum flowing on her thigh with her fingers, tasting it again.

“Ehhh that’s unfair!” Sana pouted as she looked at Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo with jealousy.

“You better give us next time, YN.” Momo challenged you.

“Yeah… I will, because for now I can’t do it anymore.” You laid down on the couch, and Jihyo helped you get some pillow. “I’m so goddamn exhausted.”

“Maybe that’s why the clones can feel what you feel and think what you think, because they are connected on your brain.” Jihyo said. “And since you mutiplied them, that goes the same with its effects to you.” 

“How ironic. I still felt like I had sex with you guys all by myself.” You panted. “You girls can sleep on my bed. Jeongyeon, remember to clean with me okay?”

“Yup. I know. Goodnight, girls.” Jeongyeon stood up on the floor. She also helped the girls to get up before they went towards you and sent a kiss to your cheek.

“Thanks for a hell of a time, YN. Goodnight.” Jihyo gave the last kiss and patted your chest before she left you sleeping on the couch. Few days later, you lived up to your words, You invited again the second batch consisting of MISAMO: Mina, Sana, and Momo and the School Meal Club trio Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu to finish what you started, a hot, wild, and exhausting hours of sex with all six of them. Thankfully, with the help of some expensive and strong viagra that Nayeon recommended for you to use, you were able to survive servicing these beauties, thrusting and spurting each one with a large amount of your irreplaceable cum within the depths of their pussy from dusk ‘til dawn.

[luxora]

Twice -> {Hybrid AU} -> Helping you through your heat

Requested: No

Group: Twice

Genre: Smut.

Warnings: Nsfw.Some body insecurities. mentions of abusive pasts. Mention of first times.

A/N: So I have decided that hybrids will kind of be like the omegaverse where hybrids do go through heats just as animals do if they are not fixed/neutered.

Nayeon

Your grip on Nayeon’s shirt was tight, so tight that Nayeon would not surprised to find a tear at the end of it, but that was not the most important thing to consider now. You were the center of attention at the moment, and your comfort was more important than some material of a shirt which she can easily replace. Nayeon pressed a tender kiss to your sweaty forehead, tucking away some sweaty strands away from your face before pressing a kiss to the middle of your eyebrows.

“Shhh, shhh Y/N, everything will be alright.” She whispered against your skin, her words only making you whine as you released her shirt to instead claw at her shoulder, fortunately it being covered so that your nails didn’t dig into her too much.

Nayeon was aware that a hybrid’s heat was intense, but nothing could quite prepare her for the intense need of release you begged for, needing Nayeon to tend to you as it was only your mistress’s touch that could soothe the scathing heat of your body. Nayeon had you laying down on her bed, your body bare with a perspiration layer on your skin, making her taste a subtle saltiness whenever she pressed kisses to your body.

“Nayeon...” You whined, your eyes squeezed shut as you arched your body off the mattress, pressing it against her equally naked one, which immediately made you whine even more at the feeling of her naked body.

Nayeon pressed a kiss to your neck, your head immediately arching to the side to give her more space to kiss, which she took advantage of. While she tenderly kissed your neck, the one hand which was resting on your shoulder glided down until she was cupping your breast, giving it a firm squeeze which made your whine pitch in a higher tone.

“Please!” You all but begged, needing more than just the touches on your chest which Nayeon was giving you, which made Nayeon squeeze your nipple with her thumb and index finger in small retribution for trying to hurry her up, but she also understood where it was coming from.

Hybrids are known to becoming delusional with need when they were in their heats, and since you had no other hybrid to sooth your heat with, it was Nayeon’s responsibility as your owner to help you in it, not that it was much of a problem as hybrids were more than just pets to humans after all.

Nayeon moved her head down until she was at your collarbone, and she gave you a slight nip while her hand released your breast and instead glided down along your toned stomach until she was inches away from your core. She lifted her head to look at you, your half-lidded eyes always staring at her before she locked eyes with your desire inflamed ones.

“It will be okay Angel.” She said before she finally cupped you, your reaction instantaneous as you sucked in a harsh breath and then immediately arched your hips to press yourself harder against her hand.

You were already so wet, though it was not surprising. Nayeon experimentally rubbed you, coating her hands in your arousal while she kept her gaze on you, watching in slight fascination as you instantaneous reaction to her touches. Although her rubbing you did not seem to be enough to sate your fiery need, as you started rocking your hips clumsily for more friction, which Nayeon pursed her lips disapprovingly at before she stilled her hands, making you yowl in disdain.

“Nayeon!”

“Shush.” She quieted you, fixing you with a firm look before she moved her fingers until they were aligned with your core, her fingers more than prepared enough by your arousal to provide you release. “Stop trying to rush me.”

While she was half tempted to leave you hanging for a few moments longer, she simply did not have the heart to do it, especially since you looked so close to tears in need. She slipped two of her fingers into you easily, her eyes widening slightly when you arched your body in relief, a long-guttural moan leaving your lip as you squeezed your eyes shut. Deciding not to wait too long, she began to set a steady rhythm, moving in and out of you with ease thanks to your slick, which was received with pleasured yowls and moans from you.

“Nayeon...Nayeon...Nayeon...m-mistress...”

A spark of electricity shot through Nayeon’s body when you called her mistress, a certain fire of her own forming in her belly as you began to chant the name over and over, her name being replaced by the new title you hardly ever called her. Prompted to provide you with more stimulation, Nayeon leaned down and took a breast in her mouth, sucking at it which immediately made you wrap your arms around her head to keep her close as she continued to thrust into you with her fingers.

“Mistress! Mistress!”

Your rocking movements were beginning to get clumsy, and your claws began to unintentionally dig into Nayeon’s scalp, making her wince in pain as she tried to pull her head away to escape your claws, but to no avail. You didn’t want her to move. So Nayeon ended up biting your breast hard enough to make you yelp in pain in offer for you to release her head, but Nayeon immediately moved her other hand which was being used to keep herself propped up to tender to your abused breast, rubbing the spot tenderly as she sped up her thrusts.

Your climax was an eruption of pleasure, your body clenching down hard on Nayeon’s fingers as your body tensed up in its release, Nayeon slowly moving her fingers to help you ride it out. Nayeon waited until your body had finally stopped shaking before removing her fingers form you, the sudden emptiness making you whine in despair as you were still so sensitive and needy despite having been giving a round of please.  Nayeon moved so that she could press a kiss to your lips, one filled with tenderness and care before she moved her hand to grip your hip, squeezing it gently.

“Don’t worry Angel, we aren’t done yet. I will take care of you very well.”

And Nayeon intended to do that, albeit she will allow you a few minutes of recovery before she will start up again. After all, this is her first time having to deal with a hybrid’s heat, she was going to draw out this first time as much as she could in order to make sure the experience sated both you and her physically and emotionally.

The first time was the most important between an owner and their hybrid after all.

Jeongyeon

Jeongyeon was taken aback when you had suddenly jumped on her during one morning, panting and clawing at her clothes in abrupt need that Jeongyeon nearly doused you with her sink tap to get you to release her. She has not had you very long and was still getting used to the fact that she was an owner of a hybrid and not just a hybrid sitter for her other friends. Her heart simply had gone out to you at that hybrid clinic where you were nearly wiped off the face of the earth, and so she adopted you, but she was still very vastly under-prepared for the responsibility that came with owning one.

Hence why she was kinda panicked during your first heat with her.

The thought never really crossed her mind, but then again she was naive to think that you were sterilized due to you living on the streets your whole life, being the cub of an illegal hybrid breeding facility who managed to run away from the prospect of being a replacement of your mother. You certainly lived a better life on the street but it did not mean that you were used to kindness, and only recently had you been opening up to Jeongyeon, but you suddenly pouncing on her in the kitchen completely took Jeongyeon off guard.

You were so needy, so clingy, your face had a layer of perspiration which shined in the natural light while you stared at Jeongyeon with flushed cheeks and a panting mouth, small whines leaving your lips while you squirmed on your knees before her on the kitchen floor.

“M-Master.” You whined, your thankfully cut claws dragging down to her pajama shorts and beginning to tug them off, much to her shock. “N-Need you master.”

Jeongyeon literally had to bat your paws off her and sprint away into her bedroom with a locked door to try get some sort of space from you, you practically on her heels and whining at the door as you failed to open it. Your desperate wails sent Jeongyeon into a mild panic, her hands quickly searching for her phone to dial her friend’s number, she being the only one to explain to her what was happening to you.

...

“I-I’m supposed to do what?” Jeogyeon asked with flushed cheeks, anxiously picking at her finger cuticles throughout the conversation with her friend.

“Help them through it.”

“H-How...” Jeongyeon started, only to flush even deeper at her friend’s following words.

“Jeongyeon, you and I both know that you are not that naive. Just focus on their needs first, they are in a delicate state and for them to come approach you to help them, clearly they trust you enough to take care of them in all ways. Its quite a delightful experience, I assure you.”

Jeongyeon hanged up the phone with a bright red face, and she couldn’t help but contemplate her next actions for a few moments before nervously glancing at the door, your wails and whines have quietened down but she could still hear your pants the other side, along with a few groans. She knew that she could not stay in her room forever and from what her friend told her, your heat would go on for at least a week, and she knew that as your owner, she was responsible to care for you in all ways necesarry.

Even in this kind of way.

So eventually Jeongeon relented, opening the door to you and quite literally carrying you to her bed after she managed to unlatch you from her legs and your adventures hands as they moved for her pajama bottoms again. When she placed you gently on the mattress and moved to readjust your laying position, your surprised her once again with your hands on her collar and all but pulling her on top of you where you then pressed your lips to hers into a desperate kiss.

It was desperate and a bit sloppy, your mouth already open with your tongue trying to enter her own, taking Jeongyeon by surprise with your sudden aggression. Usually you were quite reserved with Jeongyeon, not openly distrusting of her but also not fully trusting. You have been through a lot and Jeongyeon knew that she was not exactly being owner of the year due to her under-preparedness for you; however, seeing you so desperate and needy for her her, Jeongyeon will admit that it somewhat eased some of her previous insecurities of her capabilities as an owner.

So getting a hold of herself, Jeongyeon pulled herself away from your lips, only for you to whine and attempt to pull her back by the neck, which prompted her to grab your hands and remove them to pin them to the mattress, forcing you to stare up at her with wide eyes as she propped herself up on top of you. Jeongyeon couldn’t help but smile at your stunned expression, eyes trailing over your features before eventually looking into your eyes.

“What exactly do you want Y/N?” She asked, her thumbs gently tracing circles around your wrist bone, the actions making you shudder and arch your hips up against Jeongyeon’s.

“Y-You master.” You husked, prompting Jeongyeon to lean down to press a soft kiss to your neck, making a sharp gasp break past your lips and prompting you to angle your neck towards Jeongyeon, offering your neck to her like some kind of holistic sacrifice.

“How do you want me?” She murmured against your neck, gently kissing the skin as she began to journey up the delicate column, giving a small nip to your pulse point. “Mmmh?”

“Y-Your f-f-” You began to stutter, unable to get a word out as you felt yourself succumbing to Jeongyeon’s touch, the owner knowing it as she almost felt your body trying to meld itself against her own, your feet curling around her legs to press themselves into her calves, keeping her in place. She pressed a kiss to your jaw.

“Yes Y/N?”

“F-F-Fi-ingers a-and m-m-mouth...” You stuttredd out, your panting increasing tenfold as Jeongyeon’s trailing along your jawline before pressing a kiss to your earlobe and then gently sucking it into her mouth. “A-AAAH.”

Jeongyeon felt your entire body jerk at her sucking action, her teeth barely grazing your earlobe. Your legs wrapped themselves around her thighs, trying to pull her closer into your body as you continued to arch your hips even more against hers, albeit with difficulty due to Jeongyeon pinning your top half down to the bed. It seemed that your ears were quite sensitive, because as Jeongyeon continued to experiment nibbling and succkling your earlobe, your whines were increasing in pitch and your hips began to thrust against her despite meeting no friction.

You were becoming so needy for her, Jeongyeon couldn’t help but flush at your blatent need for her. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but smile. She pulled away from your earlobe to instead hover above your face, nose touches one another.

“Promise to behave?” She asked, earning an frantic nod from you. She smiled. “Good kitty.”

She then pressed her lips to yours, this time taking control of it as she lowered her entire body against yours and pressed her tongue against yours, starting a passionate dance of tongues which continued until late afternoon when she finally managed to satiate your enough to fall asleep.

Momo

Momo had done her research on the responsibilities of a hybrid owner, and of course she was willing to carry them out, but she will admit that she was astounded by the intimate needs required of an owner of a hybrid, especially during a heat. Momo held you close to her as you trembled, pants escaping your lips every few seconds as you remained in between Momo’s legs on the bed, head arched backwards to rest on her shoulder while her fingers delicately rubbed against your core, coating her fingers with your slick.

Momo couldn’t help but gaze in amazement as your supple body, so lean and delicate but so perfectly fitted with hers, legs parted to accommodate her welcomed hand, one hand interlaced with her own while the other dug into the mattress, claws tearing a hole into the sheets. Momo leaned in and pressed a kiss to the column of your neck, earning a whine from you and the further arching of your head to provide her with more access. She couldn’t help but smile against your skin.

“Are you okay, my sweet little kitty?” She cooed, slightly intensifying her rubs against your core which prompted a gasp out of you. Momo pressed another kiss to your neck. “Am I doing enough for you?”

You shook her head, turning it to instead smash your lips against hers, your hand on her sheets moving to clutch at her neck, lightly digging your claws into her skin but not enough for it to be painful. Momo easily allowed access to her mouth, entwining her tongue with yours as you desperately began to rut against her hand, hoping for more frictions from her. Momo grunted when she felt your fangs dig into her bottom lip, tugging it back slightly before letting it go with a pop, your dilated gaze locking with her own eyes as you panted in her arms.

“I need more.” You husked, making Momo smile innocently before she pressed a finger into you, making you howl and dive your face into her neck, shaking as your vody welcomed the digit, tightening and squeezing around it while Momo allowed you to get used to it.

It felt absolutely delightful to be in you, and Momo couldn’t help but feel even more deeply connected to you because of it. You were so snooty that one may mistake you for a pedigree, an incredibly proud creature, and yet you were trembling desperately in her arms, yearning for her to take care of you like a good owner should, and Momo couldn’t be anymore delighted than she already was. Momo removed her hand from yours to instead wrap her arm around your waist, keeping your back pressed to her front, forcing you to pull your face away from her neck and to instead face forwards.

Momo hooked her chin over your shoulder and gazed down at her hand, watching it as she slowly removed her finger before entering you again, prompted a desperate yowl from you as she tortuously moved her finger, testing your limits.

“P-P-Please...” You yowled, thrashing your head at the tortuously slow thrusts Momo was making.

Momo couldn’t help but smile and moved her head to press another kiss to your neck before adding a second digit, maintaining the same face but attempting to stretch you out, which easily occurred as you seemed to greedily try suck her digits back in, trying your best to keep her as intimately connected to you as possible. She kissed and nipped at your neck, giggling slightly as you whines and managed to pull away in time before your thrashing head connected with hers.

“Be careful Y/N, you might hurt yourself.”

“I don’t care!” you suddenly exclaimed, whipping her head to stare at Momo with heated eyes. “I just need you to fuck me!”

“Ah, such a dirty mouth for such a sweet kitty.” Momo scolded, smiling as she removed her fingers entirely front you, prompting a horrified yowl from you. “You know what I have said about that kind of language Y/Nnie.”

“N-No please!” You suddenly begged, your hand moving to grab Momo’s retreating one and snapping your legs shut to keep her hand captive, your eyes staring pleadingly at her with flushed cheeks. “I-I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me. Please.”

While Momo had no intentions to leave you unattended for during her heat, her heart couldn’t help but melt at your pleading voice, a usually so proud feline hybrid rendered helpless and needy for her touch. Momo did not see herself as a sadist, but she will admit she did enjoy the thrill that you begging gave her. So with cooing words, Momo moved her hands back to your core and inserted two fingers again, slowly moving them again before leaning in to press a kiss to your bottom lip, sucking its slightly before pulling back.

“Do you trust me to take care of you sweetie?” She asked, keeping her eyes locked with yours before she increased her pace just by a little, although your body immediately welcomed it as you parted your legs again and threw your head against her shoulder, mouth wide open with pants before you nodded.

“Yes! Yes! Yes master, I trust you!”

Momo smiled and pressed a kiss to your neck again before finally speeding up her fingers, hooking her chin over your shoulder and watching herself pleasure you with hooded eyes.

“Good kitty.”

Sana

“Shhh baby girl, don’t worry, leave everything to me.”

Sana pressed a soft kiss to your jaw as she slowly began to trail down your face and neck, pressing sweet kisses along your skin while you clutched at her, arching off the mattress while Sana kept you pinned with her hands and body.

Sana understands that it was incredibly difficult for you to trust others, especially given your previous life on the streets and the constant abandonment you had experienced from past owners, but all Sana want to do was to wash away those bad memories and to replace them with new ones, ones which consist of her absolutely adoring you and showing you her love for you in different ways, particularly in a pleasurably way such as this.

Despite being naked before her before, whenever Sana came across one of the many scars which littered your body, a small fire of anger would light up within her. How could people be so cruel to someone as sweet and vulnerable as you. Some of the scars were from fights on the streets, and others were the results of the injuries inflicted upon you from past owners. 

She hated them, despite not knowing who they were, Sana hated them. They left permanent blemishes on her baby girl and to this day you still flinched at touch, even though Sana offered nothing but soft caresses and tender touches, proving time and time again that she would never hurt you, and yet your past has hurt you so horribly that you always anticipated it despite Sana never raising a hand to you. Sana’s heart truly went out to you and your flinches to touch only motivated her even more to care for you in a way no one has cared for you before.

Each blemish and scar she came across during her journey down your abdomen, Sana pressed a tender kiss to it as if she was capable of making it disappear with her lips. Obviously it could not happen, but she wanted you to know that she was not disgusted by the sight of your damaged body, but rather care for it even more. Each time she did it, your hands and legs clutched at her even further, your legs around curled around her waist and only moving upwards to her back as she moved down your body while your hands remained tangled in her hair.

Your chest was rising and falling rapidly, a layer of perspiration already evident on your body due to the incessant heat of your body. You always dreaded your heats because you had no idea of the kind of surrounding you would find yourself, most often needing to defend yourself from unwanted hybrids and people who noticed your vulnerable states. Often you would hide in some abandoned buildings or wooded areas in an attempt to deal with your heat on your own, but most often you simply suffered because you did not have anywhere safe to nest and tend to yourself without the possibility of danger.

But Sana provided you a safe haven. She ensured that you were cared for and she absolutely did not mind littering your body with love and affection, moving down to press a kiss to your mound before finally settling between your legs, hands parting your thighs to accommodate her presence and to keep you in place as she gazed at your core.

You were desperate for her, Sana could tell but the amount of slick coating your thighs as well as the sheets. Despite Sana seeing you naked and needy for her touch before, you always got embarrassed whenever she was so close to you intimate area. But Sana knew that the main cause of your embarrassment was not because of her presence to your intimate area, but rather of scars that littered your inner thighs, reminders from past owners who believed they needed to leave a permanent mark on you to show others that you were owned.

You were ashamed of your scars, but Sana did not see the shame in them. Instead she saw them as reminders of your strength and resilience. She did not want you to be ashamed of them, she want you to understand that despite of them, you were still beautiful, hence why she  moved her head to kiss at the burn scars on your inner licks, tongue trailing along your skin to taste your sweet nectar, moaning at the taste.

She felt your legs flinch at her ministrations, sending her heart thundering but she continued as she felt your heels push into her back before eventually curling around her body to keep her enclosed and close, not wanting her to leave you so desperate. But Sana would never do that, she would never leave you abandoned with your natural desires and instincts. She promised you that she would take care of you in all the ways possible, and tending to you in a period such as this was only her honor.

After kisses all scars on both thighs, Sana raised her head slightly to look at you, your head arched into her pillow, body twitching as you waiting in anxious anticipation for her mouth. She smiled at you, removing one hand from your thigh to reach out and to caress a breast before squeezing it, thumb and index finger gently twisting one of your nipples.

“Look at me.” She softly ordered, your response almost instantaneous as you looked down at her, cheeks flushed bright red as you locked eyes with her as she lay between your legs. Sana smiled “I love you.”

She always told you those three little words. She has lost count of how many times she has said to you throughout the day, no matter the context the two of you were in. Sana has never been one to hide her feelings and she is not ashamed to admit them, her having developed such a strong love for you ever since she saved you from that accident. You knew of her feelings, and you responded in kind, but Sana couldn’t help but constantly remind you in moments like this because she wanted you to know that she was not simply physically tending to your needs like an owner should, but that she was making love to you like a woman would to her love.

“I-I love you too.” You whimpered, your eyes reflecting your adoration for Sana, making her smile.

“Thank you baby girl.”

And then without further prompting, Sana pressed her mouth to your core, eagerly pleasuring you as you body thrashed and twisted on the bed, yowling in pleasure and screaming out her name as she made love to you.

Jihyo

All Jihyo wanted was a moment to herself, for at least ten minutes, but it seemed to be an impossible ask from a puppy whose stamina and energy seemed to increase tenfold due to the natural reaction within their body that is released during their heat.

Jihyo knew that you would never purposely harm her, but it seemed that during your heat that you forgot your own strength and naturally allowed your instincts to take control over your body, resulting in your apparently staking your ‘claim’ over Jihyo in multiple ways and multiple times, the shower water stinging slightly as she washed herself, her shoulders and neck littered with bite and scratch marks, remnants of their continues activities to try ease your heat.

When she had snuck out of her bedroom, you were fully passed out in her sheets, a blanket half covering your lower body while your face remained pressed into her pillow, the most important object in your previous nest before Jihyo arrived home from work. Jihyo did not realize that you heat had started until she was being tackled to the couch by her over energetic puppy, your hands groping at her body at such a fast pace that her defensive instincts kicked in for a few moments until she finally learned of your condition, judging from your desperate whines and pleas for her.

She had half the mind to kill her sister for never getting you fixed, but then again it would have been against the norm as most get hybrids as companions and their heats are only natural instances which deepen the bonds between the hybrids and their owners.

And so she could not really be angry with you simply following your natural instincts to deepen your bond with Jihyo, albeit she will admit that she did not expect her care for you to be so...intensive.

Jihyo has never been more spent in her life, the love making going on for hours as your boundless energy only seemed to become more limitless, and Jihyo was certain that she was going to pass out alongside you due to your insistence to constantly return the favor to your owner, resulting in Jihyo reaching the peaks of pleasure several times due to your rapid techniques.

She thought for sure that she was going to have few minutes of peace in the shower, to simply relax for the first time since arriving home, but it seemed that fate had other plans for her when she suddenly felt arms wrap tightly around her waist and a warm body press itself against her back, hips grinding against her back side in a desperate tandem while sharp teeth nipped at her neck.

“Maaaster.” You whined, nibbling and sucking at Jihyo’s neck while you joined her under the shower, your shaggy gold locks instantly getting soaked with water. “Why did you leave me?”

Jihyo opened her mouth to answer but gasped when she suddenly felt your hand cupping her, your thumb immediately twirling around her already sensitive nub while your other hand moved to cup her breast, giving it a rough squeeze. Hearing her gasp, you pushed your body against hers until she suddenly felt the cold tiles pressed to her front, making her gasp at the sudden temperature change while you sandwiched her against the wall with your own body. Panting in her hear, you began to rut your hips against her backside, sloppily seeking frictions against her body while groaning

“Maaaster.” You whined again, this time hooking her chin over Jihyo’s shoulder and panting openly against her ear. “I need you so badly.”

“W-We have just finished.” Jihyo said pathetically, biting her lip hard to try combat the pleasure you wee providing her with your fingers, but to no avail as she groaned as you entered your fingers into her, roughly moving them inside her.

“I need you master. I need you so badly.” You confessed, rutting against her backside a bit harder, only to let out a frustrated growl. “I can’t get enough of you.”

Jihyo opened her mouth to say something, although she was not quite sure what she was going to say, only to groan in dismay when you suddenly removed your finger with her, filling her with an emptiness which didn’t  enjoy at all. But then she felt your hands on her hips and then she was suddenly turned around so that her back was pressed against the tiles instead, prompting a hiss out of Jihyo before her eyes widened at the sight of you.

You were directly under the shower head and you looked feral. You eyes were so dilated that they were practically black, and your body similarly littered with marks courtesy of Jihyo during moments of passion. But instead of feeling ashamed of her seemingly lack of control, Jihyo couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride in her actions. You were her hybrid after all, and so to see some sort of mark of possession did fill her in satisfaction, albeit not as much as you as you traced the most significant bite mark you left on her neck, at exactly the point her neck and shoulder met.

Your eyes stared at it intently before pressing yourself against Jihyo’s body to press an open-mouthed kiss to it, growling possessively before you moved your face until it was directly in front of Jihyo’s.

“My master.” You growled before smashing your lips to Jihyo’s, easily dominating her before your tightly wrapped your arms around her, forcing her to be directly pressed against you, feeling every single curve and surface of your body.

Jihyo had no choice but to submit to you, unable to fight you off but also unwilling, as she couldn’t help but admit that she adored the absolute worship you seemed to have for her despite being your second owner. Her bond with you was only second to her sisters, and yet you seemed to worship her as if she was your absolute savior. And worshiping her was something you adored to do during your head as suddenly you were kneeling before her and shoving your face into her core, eagerly pleasuring her while she struggled to keep herself upright.

She slammed her head back against the tiles and couldn’t stop her cries of pleasure escaping, the sounds only motivating you to continue in your ministrations until you finally pushed her over the edge, which prompted you to scoop her into your arms and carry her to the bedroom where you continued to lavish her in attention.

She had no idea how she was supposed to survive an entire week of you like this. Her body simply was not going to make it.

Mina

Mina couldn’t help but notice how perfectly fitted your and her bodies were with one another, you serving as a perfect smaller piece to Mina as she held you. You were still trembling from the after-effects from a strong release, but Mina tended to you gently, peppering kisses along your shoulders as she held you from behind, your and her sweaty bodies sticking to one another.

Despite being in a state of post-bliss, your tail was still tightly curled around Mina’s thing, hoping to keep her as close as possible despite her making you well aware that she had no desire to be separated from you. Mina loved her precious little kitty, you filling the entire space within her heart. Mina never thought she would become so attached and reliant on someone, and yet you have proved to her just how much she was able to love, and it only continued to grow with each passing day. She gently squeezed at your breast while her other hand steadily rubbed up and down your sides and legs, her finger trips ticking your skin and bringing you back to reality.

“My pretty little kitty.” She cooed against your neck, kissing it and trailing up towards your ear, while she pressed a delicate kiss to it. “Such a good kitty for me.”

You whined at the compliments, your flush traveling to your shoulders. You have always been weak for Mina’s compliments and it made her smile due to her awareness of her effect on you. You were so responsive to her and Mina loved it. She loved all of your expressions, be it giddiness, embarrassment, feisty frustration or desire, she adored all of them. And seeing you so flushed despite having already been tended to in so many ways, it just made her giggle.

As your trembles eventually died down, your body fully relaxing against her, Mina decided to slide her hand between your legs again, sucking as your shoulder as you jumped at her cupping hand, a shaky growl leaving your lips.

“M-Mina...” You stammered, voice rough from the previous screaming and yet having a lull of lust in it, making Mina respond with a kiss.

“Shh, don’t worry pretty girl, you don’t have to do a thing.” Mina whispered before she pushed against your back until you were half-laying on your stomach, Mina hooking her leg over your waist to keep you pinned before she removed her hand from your core, prompting an immediate whine.

“M-Mina.”

“Shhh, let me love you.”

Once she fully moved you onto your stomach, she then began to descend down your back, pressing kisses along your spine, hands grazing their fingertips along your side. You immediately fisted at her sheets, claws digging holes into them and yet you did nothing to stop Mina as she kept moving until she was finally near your back side, your slicked core peering at her, making your desire for her most obvious. Mina smiled before she grabbed one of her stray pillows and tapped at your waist.

“Hips up pretty girl.”

You immediately lifted your hips and Mina slid the pillow under you before she moved back up your body to press a kiss to your shoulder, keeping herself up on all fours as one of her hands returned to cup you, coating her fingers in your slick.

“Who is a pretty kitty?” she murmured in your ear, prompting you to turn your head around so you could face her, your cheek still pressed into the mattress.

“I-I am.” you answered, your bright flush still so obvious. She smiled and pressed another kiss to your shoulder before she finally slid two fingers into you, immediately being welcomed by your warm wall.

“That’s right. My pretty kitty.” Mina murmured, thrusting into you with a passionate pace, her lips immediately meeting yours to swallow your moans and squeals as Mina pleasured your over sensitive core, the sound of her hand smacking against you echoing around the room, your tail wrapping itself around her waist to keep tugging her back.

You were such a good little kitty for her.

Dahyun

When Dahyun told her hybrid sitter to call her during emergencies, she did not mean to call her for emergencies such as this, but then again, she did not want anyone else to deal with you in such a ... delicate state.

Your yowls of desire and pleasure were coming from her locked bedroom, the hybrid sitter explaining the occurrence between you and her with flushed cheeks that eventually Dahyun wavered her off to spare the girl from nearly having a heart attack from embarrassment. Apparently during the start of your heat, you had opted to approach the hybrid sitter for a possible source of relief; however, it only led to you getting soaked with her glass of water before getting chased into the bedroom where you have been for the last few hours.

She appreciates the fact that the hybrids sitter did not opt to entertain your desires because such things should only be dealt with between owners or other trusted parties, not some strangers who were paid to take care of you. After dismissing the hybrid sitter with extra pay, Dahyun sighed before she took off her jacket and loosened her collared shirt before prepping herself to enter her room, blushing at the sound of your desperate calls.

This is not the first time she has had to deal with your heat, but it is the first time she was called back from an important business trip to essentially rock your world. From how the hybrid sitter called her, she had assumed that you had gotten into a terrible accident and that was how she had phrased it to her colleagues and boss, which was met with great understand. But now this was a different colleagues and she did not think that they would be as understanding, especially since Dahyun was in charge of the project they were covering that weekend.

...

Well, what they don’t know, won’t hurt them.

But nonetheless, Dahyun had smooth her features before she unlocked her bedroom door and stepped inside, being greeting by the spectacular act of  you sniffing one of her shirts while one of your hands was trapped between your thighs.

“Dahyun...Dahyun...” She heard you muttering, obviously not realizing that she was in fact in the room with you.

You had made some kind of nest on her bed with various articles of her clothing, and as Dahyun stepped more into the room, she could smell her favorite perfume, which indicated that you had in fact sprayed it either in the room or on the clothes in order to increase her scent, which brought a small smile to her face. As she got to the foot of the bed, she cleared her throat, which made your face snap in her direction.

“Hello Y/N.” She greeted, which instantaneously triggered you to leap for her, your arms wrapping around her shoulder and her lips meeting your in a hard, vicious kiss.

Dahyun winced at your teeth clashing with hers, you not having full control over your movements. But soon the pain became forgotten as her tongue met with yours and become enveloped in a passionate dance which prompted her to push you backwards onto the bed and to follow after you, her elbows propping herself up as to not crush you under her weight. You weren’t phased by the sudden movement and instead pulled your lips away from Dahyun’s in order to smother her neck with open kisses, teeth threatening the surface of her skin which caused Dahyun to grab you by the hair and tug it back firmly, forcing you away.

”What have I said about your teeth Y/N?” She asked with a mildly annoyed tone, albeit she was not being serious although during you daze, you couldn’t help but whimper at her tone.

“T-To be careful.” You responded, which Dahyun responded with a hum.

Dahyun released you hair and instead leaned down to press her own open kisses to your neck, traveling down to your shoulder point before biting down hard, the pain making you squeal but then moan at the possessiveness and the pleasure it imposed on your body. Dahyun pulled away with a smile, her hand moving to tracing the bite mark in some sort of soothing motion.

“I need to go out in public sweetie, but you on the other hand...it sounds liek I need to remind you who your owner is.”

Dahyun knew that she could not entirely blame you for seeing the hybrid sitter for a sense of relief to your vulnerable state because hybrids in their heat tend to lose their logical thinking and tend to look for the closest warm body to help them during their moment of need, but still...the fact that you were her hybrid but sought after someone else did affect her pride a bit; which in turn, motivated her to remind you who you belonged to.

And it seemed to understood where she was coming from, albeit you were instilled with a sense of fear as you gazed at Dahyun’s slightly hardened eyes.

“P-Please Dahyun, d-don’t leave me, I-I didn’t mean to-”

Dahyun didn’t let you finish as she instead cupped you, immediately greeted with your slick which had been procured by your own hand since being locked away. You immediately moaned at the touch, your words becoming lost in your throat as Dahyun experimentally rubbed against you, but her thumb immediately sought your hardened nub, circling it teasingly as she lowered her lips to your ear.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I won’t leave you. I am just going to show you what it means to be mine.”

You moaned at the possessive edge of Dahyun’s words and eagerly responded to her kiss as she entered two fingers into your warm cavern setting a steady pace to satiate your immediate desire while also asserting her own dominance over you.

Chaeyoung

Chaeyoung honestly did not know how much luckier she could get in this moment, especially since anything she ever thought she needed faded in comparison to the opportunity to show you how much she loved you.

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but stare at you in memorization as you rocked against her thigh, whining and moaning in pleasured while her finger tips dug into your hips, forcing you to move fasted against her while she sat on the living room couch, both of you naked as the day you were born. Both of your bodies were coated in a layer of sweat and had flushed cheeks which highlight your respective excitement and overheating from the intense session the two of you have been having.

Whenever you were heat, an entirely new side came out of you. While you were usually reserved and at times snooty, whenever you need Chaeyoung, you became so reliant on her touch to get anywhere. Despite wanting to have nothing to do with her in the beginning, you have easily fallen into rhythm with Chaeyoung and accepted the love and adoration she had for you.

And the fact she was a passionate lover was so helpful for you during your heats, as she did not stop until you were fully satiated no matter how many hours it may take.

Your claws dug painfully into her shoulders but Chaeyoung did not even react to them as she instead leaned forward to suckle at your chest, causing you to moan twice as loud before one of your hand ministrations cradle the back of her head, keeping her close and encouraging her to continue with her ministrations.

“H-Harder!’ You yowled, or demanded, which Chaeyoung immediately obeyed as she hollowed her cheeks as she sucked at your nipped, twirling her tongue around it before lightly biting against it, prompting another sharp gasp and moan out of you.

“C-Chaetoung!” Yous creamed, your hips moving even more sloppily against her which she only encouraged, tensing her leg to try provide you more friction which was nearly instantaneously. Your slick was already coating her leg and your head was thrown back in pleasure while you kept chasing that peak of pleasure until Chaeyoung released on of your hips to pinch your hardened nub, finally pushing you over the peak of pleasure.

You screamed as you came, thrusting yourself forward on Chaeyoung to cling at her, teeth immediately going to her shoulder to bite down hard. Your teeth pierced her skin and Chaeyoung couldn’t help but hiss at the sensation, albeit she couldn’t help but smile at the action as it was a sign of marking from a passionate hybrid who waited to stake their claim on the one that they deemed at theirs. You have given her the mark plenty of times during intimate session, but during her heat, it seemed your possession of her only increased tenfold due to your instincts begging for you to be ravished by a partner.

However, the only one who would ever be able to ravish you again would be Chaeyoung, as she wanted you and planned to be the only one to care for you, not that you minded as any life filled of pain and suffering that you experienced before was all but forgotten ever since Chaeyoung brought you into her life.

You trembled in her arms, the aftershocks of such an intensive session getting the better of you, causing Chaeyoung to coo and gently rub at your ears as you attempted to recover.

“Awww my sweet little baby. Are you feeling alright?” She teased, knowing how fabulous you felt since your release.

You didn’t give her a verbal answer, but judging from the bright flush which embarrassed down yo your shoulders told Chaeyoung that you were immensely pleased with her efforts but were too embarrassed to thank her, which prompted Chaeyoung to laugh before moving the two of you until your back was pressed against the couch and she was on top of you. You moved to look at Chaeyoung in confusion but was instead met with a pair of lips which insistently moved against yours, causing you to close your eyes and meet Chaeyoung tongue as she entered your mouth.

Yo absolutely drove Chaeyoung crazy and she was quite surprised with herself with how intensely she craved you. But then again, she practically fell in love at first sight of you, and just being able to have you in her arms like this was such a blessing. A blessing she was thankful for repeatedly, as highlighted through her kissing down your jaw, throat an chest until she was reaching you abdomen, where she pressed a ticklish kiss to your hip bone.

“You are so needy my baby.” She teased, smiling at your lack of rebuttal as you knew it was true, She winked at you as she parted your still trembling legs and moved towards your core. “But it makes me glad that you are needy for me.”

You didn’t even bother to try say anything as once Chaeyoung’s mouth was on you, your legs immediately enclosed themselves around Chaeyoung’s head, your head getting thrown back in pleasure while you clutched at the back and armrest of the couch, hip moving along with Chaeyoung’s tongue thrusts, attempting to get as much pleasure as she could from Chaeyoung’s ministrations.

Chaeyoung absolutely loved it whenever you went into heat, because it gave her a weeks-worth of opportunity to show how much she loved you, both physically and emotionally. And she would make sure that the both of you were sated every hour, every day until the end of your cycle. And judging by how loudly you were screaming her name, she can assume that you are appreciating her efforts.

Tzuyu

Tzuyu couldn’t help but feel nervous because it was her first time having to be intimate with someone, and yet she was giddy due to the fact that it was with you. It has been difficult for her to be able to connect with others, and yet you were someone who offered her infinite love and loyalty that you managed to make the most recent move much more bearable.

And now you needed her. Badly.

Your whines for her echoed around the room, making Tzyu flush as she crept closer to her bed dressed in nothing but her underwear. You were completely naked, having been for the past while as you tried to tend to yourself, not wanting to push Tzuyu and yet craving her so badly.

It was only natural for hybrids to seek out their owners or other hybrids to be able to be tended to during their heat, but you did not want anyone else but Tzuyu. She was your master, your mistress, your owner, your everything. Tzuyu always felt your boundless love for her, and even in moments of such extreme vulnerability, your love for her was more obvious, such as the slick which was messing on her sheets.

Eyeing the sheen on your thighs, Tzuyu couldn’t help but swallow nervously as she crawled towards you, your honey colored eyes locking with hers, prompting your tail to wag excitedly at her approach, but at the same time you whined and twisted your body into yourself, seeking a energy of release despite Tzuyu being so close. Tzuyu paused when she was close to you, unsure what she was to do first, but then she slowly reached out and laid a hand on your thigh, which prompted you to immediately swing yourself on your back and part your legs for her, making Tzuyu yelp at your obvious excitement.

“M-Master.” You panted, your golden ears propped up excitedly, making Tzuyu’s nerves increase tenfold.

She has tried her best to research the best course of action, both through books, the internet and some of the friends she managed to make due to bonding over the ownership of hybrids but nothing really prepared her for the real thing. But then again, she was willing to do this, since she declined her friends offers to allow their hybrids to tend to your needs instead since Tzuyu was still a new owner to a hybrid.

While it would have been easier to simply let you be tended to by another hybrid, she did not like that idea. You were currently experiencing your first heat and it should not be dealt with by someone who did not know or have a close bond with. You deserved to be treated with love and gentleness, just as you would treat someone due to your compassionate nature. And the only one close enough to you to do such a thing was Tzuyu.

Tzuyu adored you with everything that she had, becoming so connected to you that it was almost as if the two of you had known each other all your lives. Hence why Tzuyu motivated herself to crawl closed to you, settling between your legs in order to prop herself on top of you, her face hovering above yours.

“Y/N.” She whispered your name before pressing her lips to yours in a kiss, it triggering the start of many more as your immediately went to clutch at her neck, fingers tangling themselves in her hair while your legs went to wrap around her waist and tug her body down.

Tzuyu yelped into the kiss when you tugged her down, her body getting pressed to your entirely bare one, eliciting a pleasurable spark through her body despite the newness of the sensation. You seemed to melt under her body, clutching at her tightly before you suddenly began rutting your hips against her own, seeking for some type of friction while your sweet arousal began to smear itself on Tzuyu’s lower stomach, making her blush.

She attempted to pull away for some air, but you held firmly onto her, moaning against her lips while your tongue sought hers. You were so excited that Tzuyu was tending to you that you have forgotten your own strength, to the extent that Tzuyu eventually had no choice but to grab at your hair and tug your head back in order to give herself the chance to breathe again. But instead of feeling hurt but the sharp pain, your whined in pleasure at the sensation of your hair being pulled, your mouth open in pants as you stared at Tzuyu lustfully.

“Master.”

You called out to her so needily, so desperately, so...lustfully, it made Tzuyu flush brightly, but also prompt her to lean down and press a kiss to your pulse point, a sweet tender touch while one of her hands ventured your body.

Her fingers glided down your collarbone and sternum before hesitantly moving to one of your breasts, where she cupped you, prompting a sharp gasp out of you which made her flinch away but then return when she realized it was a gasp of pleasure. Tzuyu bit her lip as she squeezed and groped, experimenting with the touching pressure before alternating to your other breast, her eyes fixed on your face as she watched your expression with fascination.

“Master...master...master.” You continuously repeated, speaking as if you were in some kind of trance and praying to some kind of deity. A smile was constant on your face, albeit it would be removed from the gasps that kept escaping from you in response to Tzuyu’s touch.

Suddenly feeling an urge to be close, Tzuyu removed her hand from your chest to instead slide under your body and embrace you tightly, her face going to your neck to nuzzle against it. Your arms automatically wrapped themselves tighter around her body, lightly digging your claws into her back to give the threat of pain and yet not following through on it. You would never hurt Tzuyu and it made Tzuyu smiled as she pressed another kiss to your neck before moving to kiss your jaw.

“I love you Y/N.” She confessed, the words needed to be said before she continued any further, which prompted your tail to wag excitedly underneath the two of you as you moved to press an excited kiss to her forehead.

“I love you too!” you exclaimed before you suddenly spun the two of you around so that you were now pressing Tzuyu to the mattress, your tail wagging constantly as you stared into Tzuyu’s shocked eyes. “I love you! I love you! I love you!”

Tzuyu had read that words would have a strong impact on your even more so during your heat, but she did not realize that it would be this impactful. But despite of it, Tzuyu couldn’t help but laugh before wrapping her hands behind your neck and tugging you down into a kiss, immediately opening her mouth to allow you entrance as you eagerly responded. While she was still nervous, your jolliness just settled her a little bit, and Tzuyu couldn’t stop the small sense of pride as she wrapped her legs around your waist and experimentally rocked her hips against yours, making you suddenly growl in pleasure at feeling her clothed core against your own.

With a bit of effort and confidence, Tzuyu twisted her hips to knock you off balance and give her the opportunity to be the one on top again. But instead of being shocked, you instead pulled her into another kiss, rutting your hips against hers against for friction, which prompted Tzuyu to press her lower half against yours in some sort of pinning, but not for longer.

She pulled away with a gasp for air, but instead of stopping, she instead moved to kiss along your neck, experimenting with your different reactions as she kissed different area, smiling at the times you reacted the loudest. She was still learning, but something tells her that you will be a quick study to figure out what you liked. Hopefully she will be able to please enough, although judging from your reactions, she thinks that she will able to tend to your properly.

[butchyeons]

aaand the new poly najeonghyo au fic is here!! it’s a bit longer than usual bc i got carried away lmao. consider it a late birthday fic for jeongyeon. i hope you guys enjoy!!

here’s the summary and stuff

let me know what you guys think!! ty for all the support as always, mwah

[insomniakisses]

Our Cute Puppy

Requested? yes. 

Reader type;  Puppy!Hybrid Reader, GN!reader

Warnings/Notes; Hybrid au, Polyamorous Twice, Member x Member x Reader, Fluff

Being an idol was hard on its own, but being one of the very few hybrid idols was even harder. You battled with hate from people who didn’t understand hybrids, or care enough about the difference of hybrids and animals. In addition to that you put so much extra pressure on yourself in order to hopefully avoid extra attention that your anatomy didn’t already do.

The girls always worried that you would overwork yourself, so much so that they always mad sure to baby you a little extra. Not because they see you as less than then but simply because they found you so cute and they loved you just like they love each other as partners.

Today was just like any other day for you, practically passing out in the practice room after staying hours longer than the rest of the group. It was almost 4 am when you got back, shuffling through the dorm as quiet as possibly halting when you say the TV on ears flicking on your head at the low noise yet still audible with your ears.

“Hello~” you whisper into the darkness of the living room, your yelp being muffled into Chaeyoung’s shoulder as she hugged you.

“Shhhh Y/n, Nayeon needs her beauty sleep” she winks while you both giggle quietly.

“C’mere!” She cheers quietly, well as quietly as the baby beast can, while pulling you into her lap. You cant help but stare at her while she wraps a blanket round you smiling when she changes the channel to your favourite movie, rubbing your ears and lulling you to sleep.

-

When you woke up there were hands on your ears and tail and a pair of arms wrapped tightly around your waist. Lifting your ear up you heard the giggles of Nayeon and Sana, opening your eyes you were met with Sana brushing your tail out while Nayeon rugged at your ear. Chaeyoung still fast asleep you knew you couldn’t move yet, so with a sleepy smile you nuzzled back into her arms.

“Morning you two” you smiled at them both, ears perking up as the smell from the kitchen finally met your nose. Tail wagging uncontrollably, you felt chae wake up all three giggling at your love for food.

Jumping up you rushed into the kitchen where Jeong was making you a coffee, passing it to you with a kiss to the ear and scratch to the other. Sitting next to Tzu you leaned your head on her shoulder kissing it as she began to rub and scratch your ears.

After a breakfast you all went to go get ready, climbing out of the shower and throwing on your sweats you called in Jihyo to help comb out your tail. Coming inside she smiled softly at you, sitting behind you to softly comb your tail out knowing how painful it sometimes can be. Once it was all over she’d give you a kiss for each cheek and hug you while playing with your ears to calm you down.

Practice long and hard as usual, the girls making sure to take regular breaks. About half way through Momo and Mina made sure you sat in between them for a break knowing you wouldn’t take one yourself. You still squirmed around and tried to cut your break short so you ended up in Momo’s lap her placing kisses on your neck to distract you, your tail wagging softly. Hitting Mina knee with every wag causing her to giggle lean over to kiss your cheek.

After practice you all opted on a movie night, having tomorrow off there was no need for an early night. Dahyun had claimed you, pulling you into her arms and demanding cuddles and stealing kisses now and then not that the others minded as they were all doing the same with each other.

a/n; T^T theyre so cute

[tiny-pretty-sana]

push and pull | jeongyeon x jihyo

[request 1] [request 2] pairing: jeongyeon x jihyo genre: plot with smut and a bit of angst warnings: nsfw (+18), minors dni tags: ceo!jeongyeon, ceo!jihyo, service top!jeongyeon, rival relationship, enemies to lovers (kinda?), betrayal, happy ending, other twice members w/c: 18.4 k a/n: first time writing smut, i'm nervous!! i'm also nervous bc i made jeongyeon a woman in stem and i'm not so i just used big words randomly. i tried to turn those requests into this and i hope i made justice to what you had in mind even though it took me longer way than i expected. feel free to leave any comments, feedback or suggestions 🖤

"You could have sent me a message" is the first thing Jeongyeon says to the woman who just entered her office bowing ninety degrees with a serious face. "This better be important, Mina-ssi, no one should see you enter this building" she says, warning the young woman.

She just nods as she looks for the right words thinking about the dialogue she has been practicing in her head since she decided to address this issue face to face without intermediaries. At first she hesitates, but decides to be clear instead of beating around the bush.

"Excuse me Jeongyeon-nim, but I think this will interest you" she finally speaks and the other waves her hand inviting her to sit across the table of her huge office, making her take a seat immediately before continuing. "ZoneTech is starting to work on video games."

As soon as those words leave her mouth, the Signal Systems CEO's face changes and her body takes on a different posture, her jaw tightens and her fists clench tightly. On the other side of the big desk Mina, analyzing her every move, notices her obvious frustration. For a few seconds she remains silent waiting for any question or comment from the other woman, but this one, who is somewhere between surprise and anger, does not utter a single sound beyond a breath that deepens and accelerates as the rage invades her. This is a personal attack. It’s not the first time something like this has happened; after all, this whole war has been going on for more than half a century.

In 1942, friends and partners in business, Yoo Byungho and Park Youngho, opened a home furnishings store. At that time, the country was going through difficult times with the Japanese occupation and the subsequent Korean War that led to so many years of political instability, but thanks to Yoo's creativity and Park's sales skills, the business not only survived but grew from a humble store to a small and promising company. In the early 1960s, a new era of prosperity would come for the country and for these entrepreneurs as well when they expanded the business importing and selling  household appliances, founding Zone Systems. Unfortunately, due to constant disagreements between Yoo Byungho and Park Youngho, this pioneering company would not reach its fifth anniversary, as the partners broke their alliance and created Signal Systems and ZoneTech, respectively. Against all odds, taking different paths was the key to success for both.

Today, Signal Systems and ZoneTech have established themselves as the most important companies in the country, having a great influence on economic, political and cultural development. Despite the impressive achievements of each of them individually, it is impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other, the reason for this is not the shared origins but the numbers, data and rankings always place one behind the other with slight difference, if one year the market has been dominated by ZoneTech, it is most likely that the following year those numbers will be surpassed by Signal Systems. If you ask any technology expert, economic expert or ordinary consumer which brand is better, the answer will never be unanimous.

And it is a really complex answer since both cover the same businesses such as consumer electronics, technology, finance and, in recent years, have incorporated entertainment. The only thing that makes them different is that SignalSystems is known for creating and using the most advanced technology always wrapped in the most sophisticated designs, while ZoneTech stands out for making that technology accessible to the general public with more affordable prices and more practical designs.

This is how a disagreement between partners has now become a war between the largest South Korean business groups, a battle that has been going on for six decades and in which four generations of the Yoo and Park families have already participated. A dispute that is now at its peak since the great-granddaughters of the two businessmen, Yoo Jeongyeon and Park Jihyo, took over as CEO, and, like their ancestors, they were friends before they were rivals.

"How do you know?" is the first thing she asks.

"Well, as you know I am a programmer. This last month they have been doing individual interviews to workers from each of the departments telling us that they are looking for new ways to organize the work teams according to our interests, aptitudes and skills, since they want to release different products next year and they need the highest efficiency" she begins to explain confusing Jeongyeon, who doesn't quite understand what Mina is trying to say with all of this. Still she listens to her carefully trying to get answers.

"At first they were normal questions about our work interests and whether we had hobbies related to our work, but when I mentioned my liking for video games they seemed interested. The questions started out generic... what kind of video games I play and so on, but then they asked me if I think the company would have the capacity to create their own games and if I would be interested in working on that hypothetical project" she seems to conclude.

The CEO, with an increasing anger, gets up from the desk without knowing what to do with her hands and tries to calm down her nerves before speaking "I want information, I want data and I want documents that prove what you tell me, that's what I pay you for, not for you to come to me with assumptions''. At no time she raises her voice, but her tone is stern and threatening, although not enough for the programmer to lose her signature serene demeanor.

"I know, that's why I didn’t come until now" she replies "I was handed this morning" she says as she takes a folder out of her briefcase and puts it on the table.

Seeing that it is a folder with the orange logo of the rival company neatly printed and partially covered by a red and black stamp warning that it is confidential information, she returns to her chair and takes the papers in her hands. A quick read is all it takes for Jeongyeon to come to the same conclusion as her informant "ZoneTech is going to create a video game" she mutters to herself. As she reads her jaw tightens again and her fists clench the pages until she stands up and begins to scan each page. When she has a copy of the thirty pages that make up the document, she places them back in the folder and returns it to its owner.

"You may leave, Mina-ssi" is the last thing her boss says and she does what she is told, taking the folder and her briefcase, not without bowing before walking through the door.

Once she is alone in her office, she goes through the papers again, this time more carefully and without losing detail. Unlike Park Jihyo, she does get involved in the development process of many products, as both her hobbies and her studies have always leaned towards engineering and programming and not on business and economics like her rival. In fact, the ten video games that have been released in the last three years under the Signal Games brand were Yoo Jeongyeon's own idea and creation, who saw an opportunity in this market in which the company never dared to venture before. Perhaps this is why she gets the best of her for the first time and grabs the phone.

"Dahyun-ssi, I need the usual apology basket for Miss Im, but this time write ‘thank you’ on the card" she asks her secretary.

Just a few meters away from the door of her office, Kim Dahyun tries to hide her surprise and takes note of the instructions given by her boss "Okay, you will have the basket ready in an hour. Should I also add the usual bouquet with flowers that mean friendship, or would you rather I also exchange them for thank yous?"?"

"Mhm… good point, Dahyun-ssi, I hadn't thought of that. Use both of them and add some blue if possible, I trust you. When it's ready, send everything to her home and also free up my schedule for the rest of the day. Thank you very much."

Of course, the favor she asks to her longtime best friend, Nayeon, costs her more than a basket of her favorite foreign snacks, three packages of the best meat on the continent and of course the latest model of the Signal System cell phone. ₩ 10 billion for his next movie is exactly what it costs her. That is the price of Jihyo's personal phone number. For anyone else it would be crazy, but for the CEO, who was putting her friend in such a compromising situation after the latter had for years stayed out of the fights between them, the price seems more than reasonable.

The negotiation was not easy, but as soon as Nayeon had the basket on her doors and the first payment for the financing for her next film project, Jeongyeon received a message with the phone number. Minutes later, at the other end of the Central Business District, Park Jihyo smiles with satisfaction when her phone lights up with the name: Yoo Jeongyeon.

"I was waiting for your call, Jeongyeon-ssi" is what Jeongyeon hears after a single tone.

"Then I'll save the explanations, I have an offer. It will have to be face to face and just the two of us. As soon as possible. I want neither intermediaries nor interveners."

"Where will we meet? You know perfectly well that if we are seen in the same building the effect on the stock market would be immediate, but if we do it in secret and the press catches us it will be all over the news making all kinds of assumptions and spreading all kinds of rumors. And I don't think your father would like that, would he?" she says with a sarcastic and mocking tone.

"Jihyo-sunbaenim, I'm not for your stupid games right now" she says with a tone that denotes that her patience at the moment is at its limit. "I'll take care of the place, it will be neutral, casual and public enough so as not to raise more suspicion than is necessary. Try to keep it discreet and of course don't wear or bring anything that would imply that this is a business related meeting" she makes clear with a serious tone that only provokes Jihyo more to keep pushing Jeongyeon's buttons.

"And why would you and I be in one place if not for work?" she says with obvious sarcasm in her tone that doesn't go unnoticed by the other one. 

"We can just be some old friends getting together to catch up" as soon as she says that a loud and snarky laugh is heard but no words precede it, so she keeps talking. "I'll send you the address, see you there" she declares.

"Wait!" she says before she can cut the call "Did you have my contact saved or did your spy give it to you?" she adds but before she gets an answer she hears a few beeps indicating that the call has ended.

That’s how the first private conversation the two have had in four years ends, a conversation that leaves both of them with such a strange feeling. It's not as if they haven't spoken during all this time, they have actually crossed some words on more than one occasion during all kinds of events acting as complete strangers with empty words without any purpose beyond showing a cordial and polite relationship in front of colleagues, business partners, politicians and the press. Now, although the conversation was brief and straight to the point it felt personal somehow with the warnings, the sarcasm and the challenging undertones of the conversation that is never present or at least not so obvious in the formal and aseptic talks they usually have in front of others.

It was almost like going back to that usual bickering between the two that used to annoy Nayeon during their high school years when the three of them were inseparable friends. However, the difference was that this time it did not come from playfulness but from the current hostility that exists between the two businesswomen.

There was a time when things were different. It had always been Jeongyeon and Nayeon until the first week of their senior year when they were approached by a short girl with big bright eyes that introduced herself to Jeongyeon even though they both perfectly knew well who the other was and with determination told her that she would be as good or better then her. From that day their friendship but also a friendly competition between the three of them began. By the middle of the school year, Jihyo had already surpassed the highest grades and top scores in all the clubs and sports that up to then belonged to his unnies Nayeon and Jeongyeon.

This situation, far from distancing or confronting them, made them get closer and become great friends. Despite the rivalry that had marked the relationship between their families, Jeongyeon did not mind because she expected the new students to beat records and records just as she had done since she arrived. On the other hand, Nayeon enjoyed having someone as competitive as her while Jihyo did not really care as she considered Jeongyeon her greatest competition and example to follow because, like her, she would inherit a big company and had to be as good as her. This was not the case with Nayeon, who, although she had an impressive academic record like the other two, she was the daughter of an actor and a writer, so outside of school their competition was a simple game with no major meaning for both of them.

Needless to say, many things have changed over the years and nothing is the same now. Nayeon has been there for both of them as a friend, confidant partner in crime and sometimes even as a wingwoman, but they are no longer '3mix' as they used to call their small squad. Now they are just Nayeon and Jeongyeon on one side and Nayeon and Jihyo on the other.

Two days after the call, the two find themselves staring defiantly at each other in one of the best restaurants in the city. The older one arrived early and was already seated in a more distant and private corner of the establishment when Jihyo arrived led by some waiter. As soon as he left, they exchanged a cordial greeting and the first words.

"So a restaurant," is the first thing Jihyo says with a provocative smile as she takes a seat.

"Can you think of anything better? I thought you usually like my ideas quite a bit" she replies immediately without thinking much and as soon as those words leave her mouth she regrets it, she has come here to look for solutions not to make the whole situation worse.

"It's not a complaint, but don't think that by inviting me to dinner I'll take you up on your offer" she replies in the same defensive tone.

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes at Jihyo's unassertive attitude, although she understands that she herself has not been very welcoming so far. They haven't even ordered yet, so there's still time to change the course of the conversation and the dinner, so she intends to do her best to leave this restaurant with a closed deal and not a fight that will make the problem grow even bigger. And she knows for a fact that falling for Jihyo's games will only make things worse.

As if the waiter had heard her thoughts, he appears with the menu giving them a chance to make a fresh start and forget the little run-in they had just a few seconds ago. They both take it, thanking the waiter and strat going through the expensive and exclusive dishes, looking up from time to time to stare at each other, as if making sure that they are really at the same table about to share a dinner, just the two of them with no one else around. The last time they did something like this was so long ago that it seems like a dream, as if those memories are not theirs. Jeongyeon looks at her trying to read her, long ago a single grin, frown or sneer was enough to guess her mood or if something was on her mind, but now it almost feels like the person in front of her is a complete stranger.

Jihyo is no longer the enthusiastic, competitive, playful but insecure and innocent teenager who used to call her unnie with those big bright eyes, those cheeks that made you want to pinch them and her characteristic long brown hair. Now she has an ambitious and confident woman in front of her, still with reminiscences of her playful personality, it is obvious that she still likes to play games, but they are not innocent anymore.

She knows what she wants and does whatever it takes to get it, that is something she has made that clear to Jeongyeon these past years with her mind games, strategies and foul play. The sparkle in her eyes has disappeared and they are no longer so expressive, the gaze is cold and she feels like she is analyzing each and every one of her moves. Her appearance seems to have changed according to her personality, it is obvious that she looks much more mature, she is now a 26 year old woman, but it is not only the passing of time, her look is also a statement.

Her hair is shoulder-length, a little longer than hers, and dyed black. Her features are more defined and her jaw is sharp, her characteristic cheeks have disappeared with age, but her mole is still on the tip of her nose. Actually, her whole body is much more defined even though the black blazer style dress she wears covers her arms, Jeongyeon got a glimpse of her toned and tanned legs before she sat down.

"You look great, Jihyo-sunbaenim" she compliments her to break the ice and tries to show that she didn’t come here looking for a challenge or a fight.

This catches the younger one off guard, surprising her, none of the thousand scenarios of the encounter she has been creating in her head these days had prepared her to receive a kind comment from Jeongyeon that seemed sincere. She has always been a person with a cold and distant attitude, saying nice words, giving or receiving displays of affection is not her thing, or at least it wasn't. Maybe she has changed too, Jihyo thinks to herself.

"You too, you look good, Jeongyeon-ssi" she replies with a small smile without showing her teeth and takes the liberty to tease. "I see your style has been refined, I hope your dad didn't have to burn your sweatshirts like she used to promise."

The comment makes them both relax and the tension dissipates slightly with their soft laughter, for a moment they seem to know each other and it’s like nothing has happened between them just for a few seconds.

When they were teenagers and were forced to attend all types of social and business related events, it was common to see Jeongyeon wearing a sweatshirt among the elegant women's dresses and the boring men's suits. That always annoyed her father, but also the young Jihyo who would always lectured her about the importance of etiquette and reminded her that in the future she would be the heiress of an important company, so she should dress like one.

Now Jeongyeon is in front of her and still keeps a somewhat more casual style than expected from the CEO of one of the biggest South Korean companies with her blonde highlights in some parts of her hair and her characteristic tomboy style, now much more sophisticated. Black pants, a beige shirt with a brown turtleneck sweater underneath. Comfortable and discreet, but it really suits her.

Jihyo shakes those thoughts out of her head when the taller one asks if she would like to have the same wine as her. Usually, Jihyo would order a beer, but in a restaurant like this it's more suitable if she orders wine, especially when Jeongyeon points out the wine she chose would go very well with her meat. It kind of hurts her pride but she knows she is right.

After the waiter takes their order they continue a conversation so superficial that they will surely forget it before dessert, however they do not take their eyes off each other analyzing and memorizing every movement, no matter how subtle it may be. It is not until they drink their second glass of wine that Jihyo dares to talk about the reason that has brought them here, or rather to ask what it is.

"I’m guessing you didn't invite me to dinner to talk about wine," Jihyo says with a slightly sarcastic tone. "What's that offer you mentioned? It must be very interesting for you to have dared to call me and even put Nayeon-unnie in the middle of it."

At this Jeongyeon nods "Always straight to the point, some things never change" she says receiving a shrug in response. "Well let's get down to business then...". She takes a a long sip and says "Forget about video games and in return Signal Entertainment will disappear from the industry with the only condition that the group becomes part of your company, with no cost, those girls have worked hard and are succeeding, it wouldn't be fair to them" she states in the shortest and most concise way possible.

For the first time since they sat down, Jeongyeon can read Jihyo's expression, the surprise on her face is more than obvious, but it soon changes to one of satisfaction. Her strategy was working like a charm, even much better than she expected.

"I knew the video game thing would get you to react right away, but I have to admit I'm getting more than I intended" she says amused "Actually some things never change, you're still the same nerd you were in high school" she laughs.

"Do we have a deal then?" she asks, ignoring her remark.

"Not so fast. If I remember correctly your Itzy girls debuted a year after ZoneMusic debuted StrayKids...if we brought our own video games to market we'd be balancing the scales don't you think?" she says, unable to help grinning. "Why would I turn down the chance to beat you on your own ground?" she adds defiantly.

"I didn't want to get to this part of the deal, but if you don't accept it I will file a lawsuit against ZoneTech for plagiarizing our technology and using it in your products on more than one occasion."

"I didn't know you were capable of taking risks, it seems that there are also things that change" she says completely carefree and even amused, for her this is a game, but for Jeongyeon it is not.

"I promise you I don't want to do it, but if necessary I will go all the way because it's a won case."

"You seem very confident, you know the best law firms would fight over the case and it wouldn't stay in court. It would be all over the media and it would end up becoming a public trial."

"I know, and that's why I want to avoid it. The evidence is more than obvious, without getting too technical, your products have always come out later and I have proof that you have spies in my company."

At this last statement, Jihyo lets out a wry laugh "You say that as if you don't have your own spies lurking around my company, in fact we are here because of one of them, aren't we?"

"I don't know, can you prove it?" challenges Jeongyeon. "Because I have recordings and audios that prove that discarded programs, software and designs have been stolen from me and then used by your company" as she says this, thebCEO can see her rival's face change even though she tries to hide it as best she can. "I have more than enough with the information, I don't need my... informants to steal and if they did I would like to think they would do it better than this girl, I don't know if you are familiar with the name Son Chaeyoung, short, dyed black her and plenty of tattoos."

Of course she knows who the girl she is talking about is, the same way she knows that Myoui Mina is the one who gave her the video game information, but there is no way to prove it since that information was shared with fifty other workers. Fortunately for Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon has better plans for her if Jihyo accepts her offer, her work as a designer is so good that she intends to come to an agreement with her before she ends up working for ZoneTech, but unfortunately for Park Jihyo, the tattooed girl is not so good when it comes to computer science, espionage and keeping secrets. Chaeyoung was recently caught on the servers floor trying – unsuccessfully – to steal a software program, and who caught her was none other than Minatozaki Sana, ZoneTech's receptionist, but a computer scientist and shadow informant for Signal Systems.

According to the Japanese woman, despite her boss Yoo's request not to go into details, she only needed to unbutton a couple of buttons on her shirt and a couple of innuendos for the short girl to end up on her bed showing her all her tattoos and confessing to her what a designer was doing with a laptop and a bunch of cables on the server floor in an attempt to impress her.

This same story, although omitting quite a few details, is what Jeongyeon tells Jihyo to show her that she is not playing a game and that she is totally being serious, but Park is stubborn and the conversation continues until dessert arrives. The older one assures her that any judge would eventually be on her side, she even invites her to check with her own lawyers before giving her an answer. She also assures her that she would not like to have to solve it in court because it would be a long and tedious process for both of them regardless of who wins. She reminds her of the fuss that would be caused and that the legal process itself would be nothing compared to having the media on their backs for months digging up dirt of the company, their family and even personal issues that may or may not be a lie would come into play. And in this sense, they both know that it would only be enough for their personal interests to be exposed for their public image and status to be seriously damaged.

Jihyo is confident that she could get some good lawyers and the possibility of a billion won lawsuit does not worry her; however, the damage it could cause to the company's image and her family's legacy and especially the work her father did, worries her and is what makes her consider Jeongyeon's words. If the theft of information and espionage were to come to public knowledge, she should prepare herself for the worst.

"Think about it, Jihyo-ah," Jeongyeon says, dropping the formalities, once again rendering the other speechless, she just takes a sip of her wine instead. "I know I have no right to ask you to trust me, but we were once friends and I wouldn't want this senseless family war to continue for another sixty years."

"And your way of ending it is to sue me?" she says in disbelief.

"It's not like that, I've offered you a deal that you know would benefit both of us. You've always loved music as much as I love video games, we both win".

All of this is not enough to convince her when she does not trust the person in front of her, there is something that makes her distrustful, it seems all too simple to end four years of hatred between them. Why now? Why all of a sudden? Is this all about stupid video games or are they just a way to build bridges between companies? Is this all a strategy? Is this all a strategy? are some of the questions that go through her mind.

"How do I know I can trust you?".

"First of all, Nayeon-unnie would finish me off if I tried to hurt you, carrying out the lawsuit would mean ending a friendship of over 20 years. But if that's not enough to convince you, I can show you all the evidence I could present against you, so you can see that I'm serious about this. Obviously it would be stupid to give them to you since I would be helping you prepare a good defense, but if you come to my place I will show everything to you. Even the security videos and recordings of Son Chaeyoung. You just have to set a day for me."

"I want to see them now," she replies resolutely.

This time it is Jeongyeon who is caught by surprise, she did not expect to receive such an immediate response. It is rushed but true to her word, Jeongyeon pays for the luxurious dinner and they both leave the restaurant catching some curious glances and hearing some murmurs in the background.

"I guess you didn't come driving in those heels" says Jeongyeon as she looks up and down her perfectly sculpted legs "I can give you a ride and then I'll have someone drive you back to your house". 

She takes some time to actually give her an answer. Under normal circumstances, Jihyo wouldn't accept the favor as she prefers to do things her own way, but under normal circumstances she wouldn't be going to her former friend's house on a Friday night either, so she agrees and they both leave in the same car after Jihyo gives her driver and bodyguard the night off.

The drive to Jeongyeon's house is longer than expected but they barely exchange a few words and just stare at the road while listening to music. The music is soft, perfect for driving at night. The volume is loud enough so that they don't have to engage in conversation, but none of them are able to pay attention to it when all they are able to hear are their own thoughts. They have met again, they have talked after a long time, the deal, the lawsuit… but also the compliments, the teasing and the bickering. There are so many things to think about and so many feelings to process, they don't even know how they feel about what's going on. 

At last they arrive, Jeongyeon's house, unlike hers, is on the outskirts of the city, in one of the most expensive districts of the capital, although her own luxurious duplex apartment in the city center probably cost the same as this huge, modern house. It really suits her, Jihyo thinks as she gets inside, led by the taller one. She's never been much of a sociable person, but she doesn't like to be isolated either, and though she may boast a simple lifestyle, she wouldn’t give up the comforts that her family's money and status have brought her. After all, that is how they both grew up and it is all they know. It is in an area away from the hustle and bustle of the city but not far away you can see luxurious homes and the occasional mansion. The interior as well as the exterior has a modern and contemporary design with the newest and most advanced technology in every corner from the living room to the kitchen where they are now.

"Beer right?" she asks, earning a confused look from Jihyo, when they were friends she wasn't old enough to drink and lately they hadn't shared any context casual enough for her to know about her fondness for beer. Jeongyeon seems to read her mind and while opening the fridge she simply says "The cans that Nayeon-unnie keeps in her fridge" she clarifies, of course that was it, although the two pretend the other doesn't exist on a daily basis, when they are spending time with their friend sometimes it is inevitable that she briefly mentions the other or or remember her existence, especially when there is a space in Nayeon's fridge reserved exclusively for the beers and soju she usually drinks with Jihyo.

Despite cutting off any personal relationship between them, they have never stopped being present in each other's lives either for work or for their best friend. A fact that makes Jeongyeon's decision decisive, this situation must end no matter what, we can't go on fighting all our lives.

She offers her the beer and instructs her to follow her to her office, once there she asks her to turn around to open the strongbox where she has all the evidence she would use in case the lawsuit goes through. When she is able to look again she finds before her a series of folders stacked one on top of the other rising about 20 centimeters above the table, several hard drives and also CDs. Jihyo assumes that they are actually the same contents in different formats, knowing the cautious nature of the woman next to her, it is an assumption but also a wish. In front of her is what could bring her career, her company, her family and her legacy to an end. It is at this exact moment and without yet diving into the documents that she becomes fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

She could try to defend herself against every attack and will do so if necessary, but she is not so arrogant as to think she would come out unscathed. She knows full well that the damage it would cause would be fatal even if she could strike back with every blow, and that would mean the end for ZoneTech and for Signal Systems as well.

"Go ahead, take a seat" Jeongyeon invites her knowing that she is in full control of the situation right now.

"Can I see everything?" she says looking directly at Jeongyeon and from the expression on her face, Jeongyeon doesn't know if she is genuinely asking her permission or if she is testing her to see if this is not some trick.

"If you're going to go through all the documents, I guess we'd better get comfortable. Let's go to the living room."

So that is what they do. After reaching an agreement for Jihyo to leave their cell phones away from her, they both get comfortable in the living room, each one with a beer in one hand and several folders in the other. Although the tension is not the same as it was at the beginning of the evening, neither one of them trusts the other, the tension is in the air. Jeongyeon, in addition to making Jihyo leave her cell phones in another room, doesn't take her eyes off her and the latter can't help but look over the documents to see what the other is doing.

From time to time Jihyo, not being well versed in the subject, asks Jeongyeon some questions and she has no problem in resolving her doubts. Soon they open the second beer and between the questions and the occasional accusation of plagiarizing each other's products and marketing strategies on both sides, they also start to mention some anecdotes from the past and on occasion they share things about their current life without going into details.

It's getting later and later, but the activity, conversation and beers keep them going for the time being. Jeongyeon is actually taken by surprise by Jihyo's determination, she is really willing to read every single document, she is already on the fourth folder and still has three more to go plus videos, recordings and images. The older one could leave the other one going through everything alone while she does something other than look at her while attentively reading documents with a frown on her face, making the same expression that appears on her face when she tastes food she likes, just like she did sometime during dinner and a few hours ago with the first sip of beer.

She could give her space, but at the end of the day, it's not as awkward as she'd hoped but she also knows she has to be cautious because any misstep could ruin everything. And, although she'd never admit it, she'd rather be talking and catching up by pretending for a moment that their friendship never broke up, rather than explaining stuff about technology on a Friday night after two glasses of wine and a few cans of beer.

"Are you really planning to read the whole thing? Aren't you tired?" she asks with honest concern.

"If you want me to leave, just say so," she says, finishing the can of beer in one gulp. "But I need to know what I'd have to deal with. I don't think you'd be thinking about sleeping either if you were in my situation."

"That's not what I mean, I mean if you're not tired of all this – aren't you tired of trying to outdo me at everything?"

At this unexpected question Jihyo just bursts out laughing "Oh my god, I didn't have you down as someone this self-centered. Do you really think this whole situation is about me trying to prove I'm better than you?"

"Well I think it's pretty obvious, in fact, if memory serves me correctly, the first thing you told us after saying your name to us is that you would be as good as us in everything. Soon after that I remember you had the highest grades in high school and beat our records in soccer, archery and athletics" as Jeongyeon recalls, on the other side of the couch, Jihyo looks at her in disbelief frowning and holding the bridge of her nose while listening to her. "I know that was like a game, it was our thing and you outdid me in everything, but we are adults now, we can't be playing games or fooling around. I think it's time to accept that this isn't getting anywhere, no one is winning here."

"Are you drunk already or are you still just as dense?" is what comes out of Jihyo's mouth almost unconsciously and she instantly regrets it and takes a breath before starting over. "Sorry that came out harsher than I intended. What I mean is that you haven't really changed, have you? You've always understood numbers, computers, video games and all that like no one else, but when it comes to people..."

"What do you mean?"

"This has never been about me trying to be better than you or beating you, well now it is but it's not about you, it's about doing my job and keeping my company at the top" she states and adds “and certainly the fact that it's you makes it all the more entertaining”.

Jeongyeon ust rolls her eyes at that last remark.

"You should know better after what happened" she says without going any deeper into the subject because it's not necessary for the other to understand what she's referring to. "It's really frustrating that you don't realize the things you have right in front of your eyes, I've never known if you're really unaware or if you're faking it" she sighs. "Knowing that I would be in the same high school as the heiress of the rival company and my family's enemies, needless to say I wanted to be better than you, but you didn't treat me as such so before I knew it we became friends and we were getting closer each day.  I only saw you as my rival the first week, it didn't take you long to become my role model".

"Role model?" is surprised Jeongyeon as she approaches Jihyo, feeling curious to know the younger girl's side of the story and to know what she means when she says she doesn't realize things.

"Think about it, your future and mine were going to be quite similar. Heiress to one of the biggest companies in the country, the first woman to be in charge and you were older than me. You had the best grades, records in most sports, captain of the soccer team and participated in dozens of clubs. I looked up to you and wanted to follow in your footsteps because I knew they were the right ones, I didn't want to beat you, I aspired to be as good as you".

Jihyo's heart is racing as her story progresses because even though nothing new is going to come to light. There are things that are still unresolved, conversations that were never had and wounds that remain unhealed that she doesn't want to think about. Her heart doesn't race much faster than Jeongyeon who knows as much as she does what she's about to hear.

"But we both know it was more than just admiration, I loved you and just wanted to be good enough for you. I-"

Right when Jihyo is in the middle of her confession, a wave of feelings hits Jeongyeon throwing her to the lips of the woman in front of her looking at her with those big and expressive brown eyes. It takes a few seconds for Jihyo to realize what is happening but when she does she doesn't move away, instead she lets herself go and closes her eyes ignoring all the alarms going off in her mind. It's a timid kiss, their lips don't even move until Jeongyeon takes the lead. At first her kisses, like her movements, are delicate and tentative giving Jihyo room to stop her at any moment, but this doesn't happen.  They both know that the sensible thing to do would be to stop, but they don't know how to do it, they can't do it. It seems that tonight the two of them are letting each other break through all the walls and for a moment they forget about the world and their problems. It feels too right to be a mistake.

Their lips feel so familiar it makes their hearts ache. Their mouths taste like beer, memories and regrets. The taste of the past on their lips is so strong that it makes them pause.  For a few seconds they exchange glances, catch their breaths and look for any sign that makes them stop or a gesture that invites them to continue. Jihyo is the first to speak after coming to her senses.

"What the fuck Jeongyeon?" she wonders out loud.

All that confidence she had when she threw herself at the younger one's lips vanishes right after hearing her words. 

"I'm sorry!" she exclaims with hesitant and nervous gestures. "I thought... I shouldn't have-"

This time it is Jihyo who interrupts her, but not with a kiss but with a statement that surprises her even more. 

"I thought you hated me," she admits. 

"What? I have never hated you, Jihyo" she replies somewhat more relaxed and looking into her eyes with honesty. 

"I have...sometimes I still do" she confesses leaving Jeongyeon stunned. 

"In that case it's better to stop here and forget about what happened. I'll take you home" she says, trying to brush it off and getting up from the couch, obviously trying to show indifference to Jihyo's words but she can see a slight pain in her eyes.

When she is about to get her car keys she feels a hand around her wrist and then turns around and sees Jihyo looking up at her with an amused smile "You didn't let me finish, I know we shouldn't do this, the last time we kissed things didn't end well" she says more as a reminder to herself than to Jeongyeon "that's what makes me want to hate you, no matter what you do you're always going to drive me crazy. I hate that you still have this effect on me." 

Hearing her words Jeongyeon's whole body heats up and she can feel her cheeks burning as she hears the low tone of Jihyo's voice, she doesn't know what to reply and the other one isn't sure if she wants to hear what she has to say. Before she can give her an answer she pulls her arm pushing her towards the couch right next to her. 

Are you sure?" asks Jeonyeon "We can stop if you want, at any time and we can forget about everything that has happened since you walked in the door."

"Unnie..." she replies lowering her tone and leaving Jeongyeon speechless, she no longer remembered how the word sounded coming from Jihyo's mouth. "Let's forget everything that happened before we walked through that door, just don't hurt me this time" she pleads with a sigh, letting herself look vulnerable like she never did before. 

In front of her is no longer the successful and intimidating CEO who occasionally makes her job impossible. Gone is his cold, distant and inaccessible image. It is simply Jihyo, who asks her to guard her heart, to tear down her walls to let her pass and remind her that she is the woman who never fails to make her heart race, who takes her breath away, who makes her head spin and gives her butterflies in her stomach.  

She knows perfectly well why all she is asking her not to hurt her, she doesn't need to explain it to Jeongyeon to understand what she means. But before she can give her an answer as reassurance, other than nodding her head, it is Jihyo who makes the first move.

This time it is not so sudden, the movements are smoother, they take their time to place themselves in a more comfortable position, still keeping a safe distance between them. She doesn't know what time it is or how far she is willing to go, but she doesn't want this to come to an end, she wants to savor every moment without rushing. She touches Jeongyeon as if she wants to check that she is really there, that she is not a memory and that she is not going to vanish from one moment to the next as she has done so many times before. She doesn't know what time it is or how far she is willing to go, but she doesn't want it to end. She touches Jeongyeon slowly as if she is memorizing every fold of her clothes with her hands, as if she is afraid that it is really a dream that could vanish at any moment. The taller one lets herself be touched without putting up any resistance, she lets Jihyo take the lead, she knows she needs control right now and is willing to give it to her – for now – .

The younger one gently caresses her cheek, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and moves her hand down to her collarbones. Her fingers slowly snake around his neck and when she squeezes lightly at last Jeongyeon reacts by letting out a soft whimper. As she maintains her grip, his eyes travel from his own hand to the lips of the woman whose neck she grips as delicately as she does precisely and then to her eyes, where he sees something she hadn't seen before. Immediately the grip on her neck tightens a little more and Jihyo moves until she ends up on her thighs, straddling her. 

"If you hurt me it's over" this time it doesn't sound like a plea at all but more like a threat and Jeongyeon has a feeling it won't be the first one she'll hear tonight. 

"Yes ma'am" Jeongyeon whispers, unable to help but smile, far from being uncomfortable in the position she is in.

As soon as these words leave her mouth, Jihyo releases her neck to grab her shirt and crush their lips together in a hungry kiss. This time it's deeper and more passionate, but full of emotions like the first one of the night. Their lips explore each other again with kisses that are increasingly impatient, heated and wet creating sounds that fill the silent room.

Shortly their tongues start to get involved exploring every inch of their mouths moving in perfect synchrony. As they devour each other it is not their tongues fighting for dominance, but them fighting for control until Jihyo caresses the roof of her mouth with the tip of tongue leaving Jeongyeon at her mercy making her forget all about her little power game as the first moan escapes from her lips. Hearing the sound echoing against her mouth, Jihyo's hands clinging to his shirt pulling her closer and feels the heat coming off her skin as she wraps her arms around her neck. 

They kiss for what feels like hours pausing only to catch their breath or let out soft moans against each other's mouths. But their hands have barely explored each other's skin and not a single button or zipper has been undone yet. When eager kisses are not enough Jeongyeon's lips move from her mouth to her jaw and down to Jihyo's neck as she caresses the naked caramel skin of her exposed thighs.

When Jeongyeon starts tracing kisses all over her neck, Jihyo can no longer ignore the growing wetness between her legs especially when the kisses are accompanied by soft bites and licks that go all the way down to her chest, driving her crazy. 

"Take off my dress" she commands with a whisper against her ear before nibbling it, sending a shiver down Jeongyeon's spine. 

Then Jeongyeon without taking her mouth off her neck undoes the buttons of her black blazer style dress which fortunately stays closed with only two of them. This is the only moment when they stop kissing to help Jihyo undo her dress and throw it on the other side of the couch. This time they lock their eyes instead of their mouths, as they do so, they can't help but smile seeing each other's red and swollen lips. In Jeongyeon's case the image of Jihyo on top of her makes her mouth dry. The path her gaze follows begins at the hungry eyes and is followed by her glossy, wet lips, her neck painted with red marks that will soon begin to darken to purple and her body solely covered by a set of lacy black that leaves her breathless. It is the first time they have seen each other like this and Jeongyeon needs a few seconds to process this view.

She has Jihyo sitting on her thighs dressed only in her underwear which, despite being black, doesn't quite hide the wet spot between Jihyo's legs. Knowing that she is the reason for that wet spot makes Jeongyeon feel her own and squeeze her thighs in seeking some relief, this action doesn't go unnoticed by the woman on top of her who doesn't take long to tease her about it. 

"Do you like what you see? Tell me what you want" .

Jeongyeon just nods and stares without missing a single detail of her defined muscles, of how her chest rises in sync with her breathing and how her abs tighten as she continues stroking her thighs. It's impossible to have Jihyo in front of you like this and not want everything with her. 

"I-I want you" she stutters against his mouth.

It's not the response Jihyo expected to receive, but it satisfies her enough to return to kissing Jeongyeon impatiently, her kisses are accompanied by the subtle grind of her hips against her thighs. His hands run through her hair and grab it to guide his mouth to her chest but before working on her chest Jeongyeon is quick to unclasp her bra finally releasing her mouth-watering breasts to capture them with her mouth eagerly. The moan that escapes her as she feels the warmth of his tongue brushing against her nipple hardened by both the cold and the growing pleasure invites Jeongyeon to continue her ministrations and give attention to the other breast with one of her hands brushing her finger softly over the nub just to end up trapping it between two fingers, pinching it with a little pressure.

Her other hand, which just seconds ago was caressing her thighs, moves to her lower back keeping Jihyo in place but also testing new limits by sliding her hand inside her underwear. A touch that gives Jihyo goosebumps in anticipation for what is to come.   

Bodies exploring each other, blood rushing through their veins and breaths racing. The sound of wet kisses, labored breaths and muffled moans from each other's mouths is all they hear, but all their senses are getting the attention they need to push them further into each other.

Jeongyeon has her mouth busy playing, teasing, licking, sucking and nibbling on Jihyo's breasts as her hands grab and caress her by sinking their fingers into each other's bare skin. Most of the time her eyes are closed, unable to keep them open as the sounds coming from her mouth cause her mind to cloud and her core to throb. It's an overwhelming sensation, just like the desire that drives Jihyo to move her hips seeking more pleasure as she rubs her center against Jeongyeon's body, bringing herself to the brink. She notices the beads of sweat running down her chest and being caught by Jeongyeon's tongue, taking her to new places making her feel things she's never felt before, she's doing wonders with her mouth but right now she needs her somewhere else as she notices the building sensation in her stomach. She doesn't want it to end yet and like this, she needs more, she needs her.

Using the grip she has on the older girl's hair she pulls her away delighted by the image of Jeongyeon's wet mouth attached by a string of saliva to her nipple "Fuck..." she murmurs as she shifts her posture getting off her lap. At the loss of contact Jeongyeon whines and looks at her with pleading eyes making Jihyo grin "I would never have guessed you were this needy" she says as she moves her hand to Jeongyeon's face and grabs her by the jaw to devour her mouth before whispering "Get on your knees''. The words that come out of her mouth are halfway between command and plea as she sits back down on the couch, leaving a space between her slightly spread legs for Jeongyeon to position herself.

She doesn't need to repeat it a second time as it barely takes her time to position herself on the floor on her knees and between his legs. Due to the difference in height between them their faces are almost at the same height, but that doesn't matter when it is more than evident that Jihyo is in charge, even though she is the one in a more vulnerable position as she is the one who is almost naked and with her legs spread wide open exposing herself completely. Jeongyeon looks at her wanting to learn by heart every detail of her body, but behind her gaze there is more than just lust, there is admiration and adoration. She just watches without saying or doing anything, waiting for Jihyo's next command as she feels her whole body burning and a tingling sensation in her stomach as a result of the urge to please Jihyo in this way.

Not once does her hand loosen its hold on his jaw, only loosening it as Jeongyeon positions herself and once she is on her knees under her attentive and hungry gaze she uses her thumb to ghost over her lips, a motion that Jeongyeon immediately responds to by trapping the finger between her lips sucking it and stroking it with her tongue giving her a taste of what is to come. The warm, wet sensation of her mouth trapping his finger catches her breath and the ache between her thighs grows at the image and the contact of his fingers with the walls of her mouth. 

"I need you" she breathes as she slides her finger out of her mouth to take them into her own tasting Jeongyeon's mouth.

In her eyes, as in her words, what she senses is desire, hunger and lust. She wants this as much as she does and is willing to give it to her. Without looking away she caresses her legs from her ankles to the edge of her lacy panties, taking her time and switching between soft kisses and the occasional playful nibble. When he brings his mouth to her inner thigh to deposit a kiss he inhales Jihyo's scent, makes her light-headed and sends a shiver down to her own throbbing center.

She's dying to taste it, but she is not done with the teasing until she slides a finger along her clothed core, drawing a louder moan from her throat than before. It's embarrassing how sensitive and pent up she is to make sounds like that with a single touch. From that moment on she knows it won't last long as her whole body jerks from the light touch that has allowed her to feel her wetness despite the piece of cloth that still separates her from her target. 

That's when she finally decides to completely undress Jihyo and she, feeling the cold air against her uncomfortable and growing dampness, lets out a breathy whimper. Jeongyeon shoves a hand between her legs to spread them more in order to gain better access and to take a few seconds to revel in the image in front of her. Just inches from her eyes, nose and mouth is Jihyo's glistening sex that leaves her stunned. Intoxicated by what she sees, the smell of Jihyo's pleasure and the sensation of her own pleasure she finally reacts and looks her back up into Jihyo's eyes.  

"Can I?" she says, asking for permission.

"Please" she tries to say in a neutral tone that fails to hide the desperation to receive the attention she so strongly craves.

That's all it takes for Jeongyeon to bury her head between Jihyo's tanned legs.

She starts where she left off, with kisses and nibbles on her inner thighs slowly until her whimpers sound too needy to continue ignoring them and to prolong her torture. They seem to have come to an agreement because at that very moment she notices her hands grabbing her hair again to guide her to where she needs her the most. 

The first contact is a tentative lick with his flat tongue from bottom to top that stops before reaching her clit, that's enough for a moan to escape from her half-opened mouth. He repeats the action a couple more times at a slow pace, sliding his tongue between her folds and her slit and even teasing her hole but never reaching her bundle of nerves testing her limits once again, enjoying her every reaction and tasting her wetness. His hands do the same, sliding up and down caressing and grabbing her thighs, her hips, her torso, her chest and her ass without stopping anywhere, leaving caresses with his fingertips and sometimes gentle scratches.

Despite the pleasurable but torturous ministrations, Jihyo is loving every second, every lick and every rub, her moans getting louder and louder as the pleasure washes over her and the embarrassment of sounding desperate fades away. The sounds coming out of Jihyo and the wet sounds of which she herself is to blame motivate her to go one step further, sucking on her clit. As she does so she looks up so as not to miss a single detail of Jihyo's reaction. His act catches her by surprise, but her body is quicker to react than she is and it takes seconds for Jeongyeon to notice how the grip on her hair is tighter and how Jihyo's thighs now press the sides of her head covering her ears, even then she doesn't stop hearing Jihyo's moans. 

"Oh fuck right there, stop teasing" she sighs between moans guiding Jeongyeon's head between her legs. 

She continues licking, sucking and nibbling gently making her juices drip down her spit onto the couch and onto Jeonyeon's chin who notices how her own arousal becomes uncomfortable every time she makes a move however small and feels the seams of her pants rubbing against her hardening clit making her moan against her center.

For a first time together there is no awkwardness and Jeongyeon manages to hit all the right places swirling her tongue around her clit, lapping on her juices and dipping her tongue inside her only to remove it seconds later making her pussy clench around nothing. When she doesn't like something Jihyo lets you know right away and guides you with her words or by pulling your hair, she is also not shy when letting you know she is doing the right move in the perfect place by being much more vocal and also doesn't hesitate to praise her when she deserves it.

"Yes baby! just like that!" she moans loudly as Jeongyeon draws shapes onto her clit while she easily slides two fingers inside her. 

Jihyo feels herself getting closer and closer to her high and grinds her hips against her mouth as she pulls her as close as physically possible. Jeongyeon's fingers move faster and deeper reaching new places as she curls her fingers. This has Jihyo squirming under his touch making her feel light-headed and too close to the edge even if she is still fully dressed and untouched.

Making Jihyo feel so good, hearing her praises in between her loud moans as she begs for more, feeling her warm and wet insides, seeing how she is unable to maintain eye contact because she can't help but close her eyes and arch her body has her so dizzy and overwhelmed with her own sensations. When she hears her call her "baby" she can't help but slide her free hand between her legs and apply a little pressure teasing herself and focusing on her own heat instead of her aching knees. 

The mere hint of her fingers stroking over the fabric makes her jerk and gasps, sending vibrations to Jihyo's throbbing cunt. Totally intoxicated by her choking breaths and the scent of the woman trapping her between her legs, she doesn't even realize how his eyes are piercing her until she hears "Don't you dare." That makes her gulp pull her hand away immediately, but at no point do her fingers stop darting in and out of Jihyo who looks at her with a mischievous smile. 

"Sorry" she apologizes before going down on her again.

"Now be good and make me cum please" she says a little breathless and bites her lip when she feels his tongue again. "I will make you feel so good and you will cum when I give you permission baby." 

She swears that every time she hears that pet name come out of Jihyo's mouth she is about to cum, just like she is about to do thanks to her good work. Since Jeongyeon is back to accompanying the fingering with her tongue all over her thighs, folds and clit, Jihyo is soon back to being close to her release. 

"B-baby I'm so... close. Don't stop!" she cries out what is meant to be a warning, but she can't help it when she shatters as she reaches her orgasm.

All it takes for Jeongyeon to bring her to climax is suck on her swollen nub at the same time she curves her fingers deep inside her hitting her sweet spot. Her whole body arches completely tense just before she starts to jerk as she tugs Jeongyeon's hair with one hand and puts her other hand to her mouth in a futile attempt to silence the obscene scream she just let out, she doesn't say the name of the woman responsible for her screams but "baby". 

That doesn't stop Jeongyeon who continues her movements slowing down when she notices his legs squeezing her head and that's when she moves her mouth away just a few centimeters, she can still feel his breath against her middle as she allows her some time to come down from her high and doesn't take long to fill her thighs with kisses as she cleans her up a gesture that melts Jihyo's heart who sees for the first time this loving and sweet side of her unnie. 

At that moment she realizes where her hand is and finally lets go of Jeongyeon's hair who starts to feel a slight discomfort from all the tugging "I'm sorry" she whispers before pulling the collar of her shirt to kiss her again tasting herself first in her mouth and then on her cum covered fingers looking at Jeongyeon with hungry and lustful eyes that make her press her thighs against each other.

"Stop" Jihyo reminds her "You’ve been very good to me, let me make you feel good now. Where’s your room, unnie?" she asks her in a way that makes Jeongyeon feel some embarrassment for being treated this way by someone younger than her, making her blush because she is enjoying it more than she deems appropriate.

The second round is on the bed and barely lasts a few minutes. After Jihyo practically rips off Jeongyeon's clothes and gets on top of her making herself comfortable between her legs, Jihyo takes control and starts rubbing their slick centers while their mouths devour each other in an animalistic way. She is still sensitive from her first orgasm and Jeongyeon is already on the verge of cumming just by eating her out, so they cum in no time. In any other situation or with someone else it would have been almost embarrassing, but between them the situation far from feeling awkward feels right, safe and they even joke about it but not for long.

They go fast and they go slow, sometimes gentle and sometimes rougher trying different things, discovering each other's bodies, learning what the other likes as if they were trying to make up for all that lost time and those first times they didn't have together in one night. It doesn't take them long to recover from the earth shattering orgasm they've shared either, so the second round turns into a third and a fourth until they lose count of the kisses, caresses and orgasms they've given each other. As the night progresses they become more vocal and when they go for the last round they whisper sweet nothings to each other between kisses that are no longer about pleasure but about feeling each other. When their bodies are exhausted and their eyelids begin to close involuntarily the first rays of sun are rising through the trees and mountains. 

"Don't go" she blurts out without thinking and in an attempt to regain her composure adds "Get some sleep, you're too tired to go home, it's dangerous, you could cause an accident". 

"You say that like I'm going to drive" she giggles. "Just say you want me to stay" she pushes. 

"Why would I want that?" she says it trying to sound annoyed by the accusation, but she's too tired for it.

Jihyo shakes her head and smiles getting too close to her and her lips causing Jeongyeon to close her eyes in anticipation but instead of noticing a kiss she notices Jihyo's breath against her lips saying "You're such a tsundere... it's very charming honey."

Jeongyeon almost chokes when she hears the pet name, it's not the first one of the night, but it's the first one she doesn't say to her between moans. Maybe because she knows there is some truth in her words she doesn't talk back and just says "Just stay, we'll talk about this tomorrow" she says in a soothing voice as her eyes struggle to stay open at least until she hears Jihyo's answer, but she lies on her side turning her back to her as she doesn't feel ready to look her in the eyes in case he rejects her offer. 

"I'm staying, I missed you" he whispers as he hugs her from behind, spooning her.  Once again it is Jihyo who proves that she is the brave one between the two by daring to name what she feels and say it out loud exposing herself once again and being vulnerable in front of Jeongyeon even though she has promised herself a thousand times during this time that she would never do like this again, that she would protect her heart like she hadn't done in the past.

When she wakes up she notices a warm body on her body and she doesn't need to open her eyes to know who it is, Jihyo is still there and this time she is the one in his arms. Nor does she need to remember what has happened as the mixture of smells from the room and the sheets hits her invading her nostrils. She would swear she can feel Jihyo's taste on her tongue, his fingers ghosting over the skin of her back and even his fingers running through her hair sending a shiver up her back as she recreates moments from the night before in her head. The memories cut her breath away, but her mind soon travels elsewhere and the memories of the night are replaced by a compelling need to shower and change the sheets. Some habits never die, not even when Jihyo is naked in her bed. 

On any other occasion Jeongyeon would already be throwing the sheets in the washing machine, preparing breakfast and cleaning up the mess in the living room where the paperwork is piled up among some beer cans. However,the uncertainty and the thought that this was a slip-up or an unforgettable accident that would never happen again keeps her pinned to the bed more firmly than the grip of Jihyo's arms or the leg that is currently wrapped around her waist.

The woman above her keeping her warm and all her senses alert doesn't take much longer than her to wake up, but those minutes are enough for Jeongyeon to overthink about every possible scenario and about all the paths this can take from now on making the warmth she felt in her chest when she smelled Jihyo's hair before she opened her eyes turn into an unpleasant pressure in her chest caused by the growing anxiety she tries to manage as best she can. 

"Morning, Jeong" she hears Jihyo say in a husky voice.

Looking at her she can't help but smile at the sight of the traces of makeup, this is another thing she wouldn't have allowed under normal circumstances, but the truth is that she usually didn't end up collapsing on her bed as the first rays of sunshine come out. Seeing Jihyo with her eyes slightly closed, makeup messed up, lips still swollen and some marks spread across her neck and chest makes her light-headed. 

"Good morning, Ji."

That way of calling her draws an immediate smile on Jihyo's face, she's used to being called that, Nayeon calls her that often, but on Jeongyeon's lips it just sounds different, she doesn't remember the last time she called her that way. To think that just a few hours ago he was referring to her as Jihyo-sunbaenim makes her head spin.

Jihyo dares once again to try her luck and gives her a peck on the lips, getting an unexpected response. 

"We should take a shower."

The two have different plans, but the two have their way and before getting into the shower they share a heated make out session that ends with Jeongyeon panting against her mouth as she reaches orgasm riding Jihyo's thigh.  

After sharing a shower in which they exchange kisses again and which becomes the perfect opportunity for Jeongyeon to return the favor, they both end up wrapped in the comfortable clothes of the owner of the house who prepares coffee and a delicious and abundant breakfast for both of them, while Jihyo watches her feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

Their relationship had never gone this far, neither when they were secretly in love with each other nor after Jihyo's first confession years ago. Certainly the furthest they got in their relationship beyond friendship was with that same confession with a bouquet of flowers that ended in a kiss. This is all new to both of them, but it feels dangerously familiar as if they have done it all their lives, something that frightens both of them. Neither can rationally explain that something that shouldn't have happened in the first place feels so natural to both of them as if the years, the distance and the enmity that has lasted almost five years never happened. And this time not even Jihyo is able to say out loud how normal this situation feels, fearing that it's all in her head and going too far risking being wrong and ending it all in one fell swoop, just like it happened the other time.

They talk, the conversation is not as deep as it should be given the circumstances, but it doesn't stay superficial either and they touch almost all the important points. They talk about Jeongyeon's offer or threat – depending on who you ask – and come to the conclusion that they shouldn't be mixing personal matters with work, so it still stands and Jihyo will have some time to think about it and consult with her own legal team if she considers so. On what happened last night they both agree that they got carried away without giving much thought to the possible consequences. Jihyo described it as a "moment of weakness" while Jeongyeon called it an "impulsive and irresponsible act," but neither dared to pretend it was a mistake. 

After a heated conversation that was interrupted several times by some insults, cursing, accusations and kisses they came to the conclusion that it had been a good time that both had enjoyed, but if repeated they should have a conversation beforehand that they don't know if they are ready for. And of course, Nayeon can't know anything about this, at least while they figure out what will happen between them from now on. They talk about everything and nothing, their friendship, their estrangement and the open war between them, which seems to have finally reached a point of truce. But always leaving out the taboo subject that always comes up but they don't dare to talk about, they just tiptoe around it. 

Before the situation becomes too domestic, Jihyo decides she should leave. "Can your driver take me or should I call mine to come?" she asks.

"I don't plan to go out and he lives nearby, if you want to go now it's better if he takes you home" she offers ignoring the slight but obvious awkwardness that has settled between them.

Jihyo nods and in a few minutes she is ready to go, Jeongyeon is even kind enough to give her something more comfortable than her clothes from last night and offers her a pair of sneakers that are too small for her, so she doesn't have to wear heels.

"Thank you."

"They're just sneakers, I don't even wear them" she shrugs without noticing Jihyo's sudden and unusual shyness.

"It’s not about the sneakers…” she stutters. “Just- thank you for everything."

"Don't thank me at all, I-I really enjoyed it Jihyo-ah" smiles Jeongyeon with a slight blush painting her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

"Me too unnie" she says, staying awfully close as her gaze drifts down to her lips, but she does nothing.

They both giggle nervously not really knowing how to act around each other after everything that has happened in the last few hours. Now it's awkward, they have no regrets but that's not how things were supposed to have ended, they had arranged to meet to talk business. And they had done that but they also got drunk on each other's lips, sank between each other's legs, spent the night with their limbs intertwined and now they were struggling to quiet the butterflies in their stomachs. 

It doesn't take Jihyo much longer to get into the car to leave, Jeongyeon opens her door for her and before closing it she says "Think about what I showed you last night, take as much time as you need." She then closes her door, last night she had taught her many things and she knows exactly what she means but her mind can't help but go to other places, feeling her skin bristle and her stomach tighten as she remembers the image of jeongyeon emerging from between her legs and looking at her with those puppy eyes and swollen red lips covered in a layer of both saliva and her own juices. The memory is so vivid it's as if she's standing in front of her right now and she bites down on her finger to make sure she doesn't let out a moan right then and there as her thighs rub together involuntarily seeking to feel something.

When she gets home she doesn't receive any message or call, the next day neither and when the weekend is coming to an end neither. She knows that Jeongyeon sometimes needs to take some distance and be left alone with her thoughts to process things. If she herself was anxious and a bit scared about what would happen from now on it is natural to think that the other would be the same, maybe a bit more so given her reserved personality. 

Days go by and she still receives nothing making her anxiety increase. 

Of course she could write or call her at any time, at this point it is more than obvious that Jihyo is not afraid to take the lead and make the first move. But this time is different, she needs Jeongyeon to take the initiative for the first time for more than just preparing a lawsuit that threatens the future of her company, her life as she knows it and her family's legacy. 

It's a matter of pride, she knows. She refuses to pursue someone who wouldn't do the same for her but also out of fear of being rejected once again and getting her heart broken. She thought that after all she has been through and with her age she is more than ready to face rejection, but the truth is that if Jeongyeon rejects her again when there are no more external reasons to do so, it is likely that this time the pain will be much worse. 

By the time a week has passed Jihyo's uncertainty has turned into disappointment, she even comes to think that being directly rejected after receiving her first kiss was less cruel than whatever Jeongyeon is doing now. But in fact, it could be much worse.

After spending the weekend turning down invitations to meet friends because lying in bed staring at her phone with the screen off while listening to the most heartbreaking ballads is what she needs right now, Jihyo gets the news on Monday morning.

"Jihyo-nim, Hirai Momo is coming, it seems to be some kind of emergency"  her secretary Lily announces over the phone. When this happens nothing good happens, problems with products that are about to be released, system failures that were not foreseen and hundreds of other problems that Jihyo doesn't understand but which she knows mean that something is not working as it should. 

Hirai Momo, one of the software developers at the head of the department enters nervously and hurriedly with her fringe hairs sticking to her forehead from sweat, her shirt sleeves rolled up and her tie unbuttoned. She is out of breath and her glasses are covered in a layer of mist indicating the urgency of the situation as Momo seems to have come running into the office. All the signs alert Jihyo and prepare her for the worst, she is ready to hear that their new line of cell phones that are about to be shipped to every store in the country will have to be recalled due to some glitch, like that time they discovered that their new long lasting batteries exploded. She was prepared to listen to anything except for what Momo says as soon as she catches her breath without even leaning in. 

"We've been hacked." 

The initial shock leaves Jihyo frozen in place within moments but it doesn't take her long to react as she puts the pieces together, of course it's Horai Momo who's breaking the news to her that they've suffered an attack. It only takes her a few seconds to get up with fire in her eyes and stand in front of Momo making the employee swallow hard. 

"It has been stopped, but we don't know yet who has done it or what information they have stolen or altered" she says before Jihyo unleashes her anger at her, but this is not enough. 

"You better fix this as soon as possible or I will fire you and make sure you have to go back to Japan because you are not going to be hired anywhere in this country, not even to clean toilets" Jihyo threatens pointing her finger and staring straight into the face of the woman in front of her who is not able to look her back in the eyes because if she does she knows she will end up crying.

"Yes, Jihyo-nim. I'll fix it" she says bowing a bunch of times while stuttering a few apologies before walking away. 

I should have figured it out, now she feels completely stupid for falling for it. It's kind of evil and sick even for their fucked up relationship, Jihyo thinks. 

Without thinking twice she grabs her bag and leaves the office asking Lily to cancel all meetings until further notice, seeing the obvious anger of her boss she doesn't even dare to open her mouth and just nods vigorously. She has seen Jihyo angry a million times, but never like this, so she imagines that the news Hirai gave her must be very serious. 

As she is about to leave the building she catches a glimpse of Minatozaki Sana at her reception desk and unable to control her anger she heads to her desk. Sana's usual smiling expression disappears as soon as she sees her boss's gaze and she freezes in place, from the look on her face only one thing can have happened, she knows it. 

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your friend Hirai. If I find out that you are involved in this you can start packing your bags to go back to Japan because I will personally make your life a living hell" she threatens her with a stern tone, but low enough to only reach the receptionist's ears. As quickly as he arrived, she disappears from her side and exits the building where a car is waiting for her.

From the very first minute Sana got into all this she knew it was risky and she is not worried about the consequences because she knows that just as Jeongyeon promised them, she has nothing to worry about. Still there is something bothering Sana because she doesn't really know what the CEO is referring to, so she decides to immediately look for Mina and Momo to get answers. 

Meanwhile, Jihyo, who feels that she has more than enough information, gives her driver the address of Signal Systems' main building at the other end of the Central Business District. There he is greeted by a wide-eyed receptionist, Chou Tzuyu, who can't hide her puzzled face when the CEO of the rival company she works for as an informant is in front of her. However, her job at Signal Systems is to receive those who have an appointment with Yoo Jeongyeon and let her or her secretary know that they have arrived. Obviously, the name Park Jihyo is not among today's meeting list and has never been before, so the astonishment among the workers and visitors who have recognized her is generalized. Tzuyu can only fear the worst and her suspicions are not misguided when she leans on the counter asking for Jeongyeon's floor number, the way to the elevators and orders her not to warn that she is here. The receptionist who is smart enough and appreciates her life does as she tells her and also gives her a guest access card without asking any questions. 

That's how Park Jihyo gets to the top floor of the Signal Systems building where the office of its CEO, Yoo Jeongyeon, is located, nothing more than that. But for Jihyo, right now she is nothing more than her rival, one who uses disgusting tactics even for her usual game which includes espionage among other things of questionable ethics. Between the elevator and their destination is the desk of Dahyun, Joengyeon's trusted secretary and Jihyo's informant. 

"Good morning, Dahyun" she greets her with a smile that sends a shiver through Dahyun's body, who seeing the fire in Jihyo's eyes doesn't know if she should fear for her job or her life. "I come to see your dear boss, I guess she's in her office."

The secretary nods and when she opens her mouth to continue, Jihyo makes a gesture with her hand telling her to shut up and then walks with firm steps towards the office. She storms in, but what she sees leaves her as shocked as those in the room. 

"Jihyo?!" Jeongyeon's voice sounds surprised and confused. 

"JIHYO?!"  the woman with her back facing the door exclaims even more surprised and confused. 

"Nayeon?" she is so astonished that for a moment she forgets why she has come here. 

They look at each other, shocked by the situation they are in, they stare at each other without saying anything for a few seconds until Jeongyeon decides to take control of the situation as she feels her heart hammering in her chest. It's been a week since she saw Jihyo and since then she hadn't contacted her, so the last thing she expected was for her to suddenly walk into her office just on the same day and at the same time that Nayeon does. 

"What are you doing here?" she asks, trying to control the trembling in her voice. 

"Stop pretending, I'm not falling for your game. You know what I'm doing here" she says harshly, very different since the last time he talked to her.

"Well... I guess" she says, looking at Nayeon with concern. The older woman looks at one and then the other like she's watching a tennis match. "But I mean, you could have texted or called me," she says, turning her gaze to Nyeon again to see if Jihyo gets the message. 

"Yeah right, the only way with you the only way things can be done is face to face or did you want to have more proof to add to your fucking folders?" says Jihyo starting to lose her composure as she feels like she is being treated like a complete idiot once again. 

"I think this is a conversation you two should have between the two of you" Nayeon says stepping in for the first time. "And I know maybe this is my fault because I was the one who asked not to know about your stupid corporate war, but I think I deserve an explanation. I thought you two didn't talk and all of a sudden you show up unannounced talking about proofs and folders."

"You're right unnie" she says, directing her gaze towards Nayeon and then Jeongyeon, looking at the latter in a way so cold and full of rage that it makes her stomach turn. "Why don't you explain it to her? Tell her. Tell how you invited me to dinner to make me a deal and how it was actually a threat. I give in to what you ask or you ruin my life, my family and the work we've done for decades." 

Her gestures are exaggerated and she doesn't take her eyes off Jeongyeon who looks at her dumbfounded not knowing what Jihyo is getting at, at first she thought she was being theatrical, she can be very passionate sometimes. It's not until she sees her eyes that she realizes she's totally serious, there's no sparkle in those big beautiful eyes anymore. Then she sees it, she has the same look as that one time, but this time she doesn't understand why.

Neither of the older girls knows quite what to answer, but they don't need to because Jihyo continues "Come on! tell her what happened later" she insists. She sounds really hurt, almost desperate, worrying both of them who have never seen Jihyo this distraught.  

"Jihyo, calm down" Jeongyeon says in a soft tone as she approaches her. "I don't know what happened, but I do know that you don't want to tell Nayeon like this. Calm down and we'll talk."

"Don't even fucking think about telling me to calm down Jeongyeon. In fact I would really like my friend to know the kind of person she has next to her. Someone capable of doing what you have done to me" at this point she starts to raise her voice.

"I'm going to need one of you to explain to me what's going on, but I understand this is something you two need to work out between yourselves" she says still in her seat as she gestures for Jihyo to come closer and when she does she grabs her hand and caresses it trying to calm her down.  "Breath" she whispers to the younger girl who is breathing fast, then looks at Jeongyeon threateningly and says "If you did something to her, this time I'm going to pick a side Yoo Jeongyeon" Nayeon warns Jeongyeon pointing her finger at her. "I'm going to leave, please don't do anything stupid, I'm serious."

Nayeon over the years has learned to stay out of her friends' fight because after trying to intervene numerous times over the years she knows that all they need is to have a conversation that they have never been willing to have. She has heard both sides of the story and knows the motives that have driven each to do what they have done and, while she has not always agreed, she understands why each has done things the way they have and would be unable to judge them for it. She also knows about spies, informants, infiltrators... or whatever they call it.  She is the first to know that they do not always act according to the image of impeccable businesswomen they portray to the world. At the end of the day they are her friends despite the feud that exists – or existed – but if Jeongyeon has harmed Jihyo in some way that has gone beyond their professional rivalry, she wants to know about it even if she has to wait for them to sort things out on their own first.

They both watch Nayeon leave the office and look at each other. Jihyo has her clenched fists and tight jaw, she is still breathing heavily and can see her veins bulging in her neck and arms. From the obvious tension all over her body she can tell that she is indeed holding back and trying not to lose control. Jeongyeon is at a safe distance and is doing her best to try to maintain eye contact and to keep her trembling hands busy and out of Jihyo's sight, adjusting her clothes and hides them from time to time in the sleeves of her blazer, a gesture she had managed to shed but which is inevitable to return at times like this.  Her calmness had left with Nayeon. She still doesn't know what's going on and is afraid of making a mistake with Jihyo that will take her back to square one or much worse. She's willing to do everything in her power to avoid it, but it's definitely a possibility considering she's never seen Jihyo like this. 

"Ji I swear- ".

"Don't even think of calling me that" she raises her tone. "Stop lying, cut the act, Nayeon is not here."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" the other tries again. "I know you're completely confident that I know but maybe it's good to talk things out for once."

"Oh this will be a good conversation because I would really like to know why you are a backstabbing bitch who is capable of betraying me again."

Maybe it's not in the best of circumstances, but Jihyo finally says it. The time has finally come to talk about the subject that both of them have been purposely ignoring. They never talked about it when it happened and neither did they talk about it at the restaurant, in Jeongyeon's living room, in her bed or the next day while having breakfast. They talked about many other things and talked about the past but this was a badly healed wound that no one dared to touch. 

"Finally you say it, I knew you haven't let it go, are you still angry about it?"

"I'm not, but even if I were you would have no right to judge me. Tell me what kind of friend would take advantage of the moment I was going through for her own benefit."

"That's not what happened, there's a reason."

"Jeongyeon..." he spits out her name while getting as close as the table between the two of them allows her. "This isn't about having different opinions, it's about facts and the facts speak for themselves. My father died, you stood by me through the entire funeral, you hugged me and promised to be there for whatever I needed" she says as angry tears build up in her eyes. "Overnight you cut off all contact with me and a month later ZoneTech released an announcement informing that Yoo Jeongyeon was taking over as CEO of the company." 

Our brains have a tendency to forget the bad times so that we can move on, but for Jihyo it was impossible to forget everything that happened during one of the darkest chapters of her life. She was only 22 years old, studying abroad about to graduate from a prestigious foreign university. One day while studying in the library for the first exams of the term she got a call from her mother crying inconsolably telling her that her father had suffered a heart attack. She still remembers the cry of pain her mother let out when she asked if he was okay, if he was in the hospital. Her father had died on the spot and there was nothing they could do. She left everything immediately and thanks to a family friend she was able to go on a private flight back to Korea a few hours after the call. 

During those days she did not shed a tear, but she knew that if at any time tears came to her eyes Nayeon and even Jeongyeon would be there to offer her a shoulder to cry on. It had been a while since the relationship between her and Jeongyeon had changed and they were becoming more and more distant, but she was the first to let her know that she was there for whatever he needed and she proved it by not leaving his side during the funeral and even during the opening of the will in which only the closest family members were allowed to be there.

No one expects to have to read the will of someone as young as Jihyo's father, not even Jihyo herself. When he named Jihyo as the sole heir and manager of the company and the family estate, he believed that when the time came for them to open her will, she would already have a successful career within the company and maybe even a family to take care of. However, that was not the case, so his daughter was forced to leave her new life as a student abroad with all her new friends and aspirations to return home and take the reins of a technology empire and one of the largest fortunes in the country while maintaining her excellent academic record as a model student in a new university.

Needless to say, it was difficult and she even paid for it with her health at times as she did not eat properly, she was overworked and under-rested. Despite having people who could do a lot of things for her, she needed to keep her mind busy because on top of her father's death there was the uproar with the press and media when some of the details of the will came to light. A few days later her friend and unconditional support during this hard process, Jeongyeon had started to avoid her and Nayeon from one day to another without giving any explanation.

The reason was discovered soon after through Signal Systems' statement, after that it was Jihyo who decided not to talk to Jeongyeon ever again unless there were cameras, potential partners or important clients in front of them. 

Jeongyeon sighs because despite having good reasons that back up her decisions, she didn't act wisely and now she knows it, but that still doesn't explain why Jihyo has suddenly stormed into her office accusing her of betraying her. Before sharing her side of the story and asking for explanations she steps out from behind her desk to continue the conversation on the couch she has for more informal meetings. When she puts her hand on Jihyo's arm inviting her to make herself comfortable, she moves her arm away and mumbles, "Don't touch me". She is hurt, maybe even more hurt than angry. 

Being aware of the younger girl's hostility, Jeongyeon believes it is a must to calm the situation down if she wants Jihyo to listen to her instead of looking for the perfect opportunity to elevate the conflict to another level, fearing that everything will end up exploding hurting the two of them and by extension Nayeon.

She takes the first step by offering her a tissue with her still shaking hands to wipe away her tears and offers her a smile. Jihyo immediately notices the shaking hands and all the alarms go off in her head, she had forgotten that sometimes in stressful situations Jeongyeon suffers anxiety attacks if she wasn't starting to have one already. Even if she feels absolute disgust towards her right now, she would hate herself if she triggered an anxiety or panic attack.

"I'm fine," Jeongyeon assures her, noticing the panic in her eyes, "but we both need to calm down and since it's too early for a beer I'll ask my secretary to make us some tea," she concludes.

Reluctantly Jihyo agrees and in a few minutes they are seated drinking tea in silence, thinking about how they got to this point. They have always had problems with communication, and although it has been between yelling, this is the first time they have been so honest with each other. Not keeping up appearances, not ignoring each other's problems, and not bottling up their feelings. They haven't done it in the most healthy or civilized way, but it's a start. 

After several sips Jeongyeon's hands stop shaking, but Jihyo shifts on her seat impatiently. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you what I did to make you like this" the older one breaks the ice "as you pointed out I can be quite dense" she says shyly. "If this is all about the deal I offered and the lawsuit, I-"

"Stop! Do you really think I'm worried about a lawsuit right now when you just fucking hacked me?" she asks, losing her temper again, but she doesn't mind, it hurts so much that she couldn't care less if Jeongyeon sees her like this or if everyone in this building could hear her. "You sleep with me, and once again you suddenly disappear. Today when I got to work they hacked ZoneTech and when I got here there's Nayeon. You had it all planned" she accuses her directly as tears start to fall from her eyes. "I just asked you not to hurt me and you ruined me" she says trying to hold back the tears. 

It takes Jeongyeon a moment to process and react to all the information Jihyo has given her between screams and tears. She doesn't understand anything that has happened, but it breaks her heart to see Jihyo. Not even during her father's funeral did she cry or when he first broke her heart and now she has her in front of her telling her that she has ruined his life. It hurts her that Jihyo might actually think she would do something like that, but seeing her sobbing with her mascara smeared and her eyes bloodshot from anger and crying makes her chest hurt.

Despite her fear of how she might react, she wraps her arms around her and finally speaks “Ji, trust me one more time and believe me when I tell you that I had nothing to do with this and I know deep down you know that I wouldn't be able to do something like this. I would never hurt you" she whispers softly in her ear trying to soothe her, but Jihyo's crying only increases soaking her shirt on the part of her chest where her head is resting. 

The sobs get louder and she begins to hear Jihyo cursing at her and telling her that she hates her, but she can't blame her. It's been some unfortunate coincidences and no wonder Jihyo has thought the worst. 

"Stop treating me like an idiot, you already did it once" she manages to say between sobs. 

Jeongyeon sighs as she continues to hug her and caress her back "I think it's time to explain everything that happened" she says as she pulls away from Jihyo to look at her face and grabs her hands so as not to lose contact with her skin. She looks away, unable to look at her because of the pain, anger and embarrassment she feels.

"I told you the other day and I will tell you as many times as necessary until you believe it. I don't hate you and I have never hated you, nor have I ever wanted to hurt you. I love you, I always have and I'm so afraid of what you make me feel that all this time I thought that by pushing you away I was protecting both myself and you as well" she sighs. "Our lives are so complicated and I thought that someday these feelings would go away" she looks at her anxiously looking for a reaction in Jihyo, who still won't look at her, but at least the crying is more controlled. "I thought what I felt for you was a high school crush that could ruin everything for me, but it's not like that and running away from you and everything you make me feel almost ruined my happiness." 

Until now Jeongyeon had never been clear with her feelings, but that's not all. "I thought that by running away from me I was doing you a favor and that if you hated me everything would be easier. That's why I never gave you the reasons or explanations you deserve and now I know it was a huge mistake, but after everything that has happened I wouldn't forgive myself for pushing you away from me again, because I know that this time it would be the final one. If you are willing to listen to me, I will tell you everything, but I promise you that I have nothing to do with this hacker attack you have suffered."

Jihyo is not sure, experience, all the times she ended up calling Nayeon crying, all the times she ended up in bed with strangers and the times she got drunk looking for some relief tell her to be smarter, that this time she should be the one to end it all instead of staying to suffer another disappointment. However, the more irrational part of her, the part that still thinks there is a possibility of a future together, begs her to stay and listen to her.

She looks down at her hands between Jeongyeon and when he manages to calm her breathing she looks up at her not quite sure of what to do or what to say even though she has already made up her mind. 

"You look awful" Jeongyeon tells her in a pointless attempt to tease that almost bring Jihyo to tears again "Fuck- sorry I was trying to joke, Ji" she says nervously repeating the affectionate nickname once more. With one of her hands she tries to fix the mess of her makeup and with all the gentleness in the world she reaches over and kisses the tears still left on her cheeks. "There's a restroom over there, take your time" and Jihyo just nods, too defeated to refuse.

Just as he told her, she takes her time and manages her best to clean her face, fix her hair and clothes trying to pull herself together. After Jeongyeon has seen her like this, she feels pathetic. Until her breathing returns to normal she doesn't come out of the restroom, though her red and puffy eyes give her away. 

"About the hacking let me take care of it, we'll find the culprits and I'll do my best to fix it and prove to you that it wasn't me."

"I believe you" Jihyo finally speaks and the relief is so great that Jeongyeon can't help but let out the breath she has been holding. "This morning when Hirai Momo came to my office I assumed it was your doing, the attack has been stopped, but when I left they didn't know what its origin was or what exactly they did."

"I will talk to Momo, it will be solved today" she assures her while holding her hand. 

Before continuing with their unfinished conversation, Jeongyeon calls Hirai Momo and makes her look for Myoui Mina and also Minatozaki Sana who, to Jihyo's surprise, is also some computer expert. After listening to too many technical words, Jihyo was finally able to participate in the conversation and they ended up making a deal: if they managed to find out who was responsible in 24 hours, they can keep working in the company and they will not have to go back to Japan as she had warned Momo and Sana hours before. Jeongyeon, in her efforts to show Jihyo that things would be different from now on if she trusted her, encouraged them with the promise of inviting them to dinner at the best restaurant in the country.

Once she hangs up the phone she directs her gaze towards Jihyo "What do you say? Let's get out of here, grab some food and I'll take you wherever you tell me so I can explain everything to you. I'll even burn paper by paper all the evidence of the lawsuit if I have to because I don't plan to lose you and take the risk of Nayeon killing me."

This time Jihyo smiles and nods, taking her hand "Come on, but if you give me reason to be suspicious I'm telling Nayeon" she jokingly warns her.

So that's what they did, Jeongyeon told Dahyun to cancel everything on her schedule for the rest of the day and hoping to get lucky, she also told her to let her know if they have to cancel their meetings the next day. Of course Kim Dahyun did that and rearranged his schedule but not before opening the group chat with Chayeoung and Tzuyu to tell them everything she had overheard, especially the mention of Minatozaki Sana, Chaeyoung's situationship.

They end up at Jeongyeon's house as well, although the purpose is quite different this time. Jeongyeon explains to her the reason behind each time she broke his heart. She explains how her father did everything he could to keep her away from Jihyo, even forcing her to study abroad. She tells her that that kiss she gave her after receiving her bouquet of flowers and her confession on her graduation day was sincere, but knowing that she would be away for so many years at a university thousands of miles away she didn't want to take away her opportunity to have a first high school love and maybe to find someone who was really good for her, someone who wasn't afraid to love her. She reveals to her each of the events that led her to accept the CEO position after finding out that her father would do everything in his power to end ZoneTech by taking advantage of the instability he thought Mr. Park’s death would bring. She did that in an attempt to protect her but it didn't last long since she was forced to respond to the constant attacks that Jihyo initiated once she settled into the position. And of course she makes it clear to her that this last week of silence had been an attempt to give her space when the truth is that she was dying to talk to her, to listen to her, to see her and to feel her in her arms again.

When the conversation ends, it's already dark and Jihyo goes back to sleep in Jeongyeon's bed, but tonight they just share kisses, secrets, apologies and the promise of a future together. Before sleep overcomes them Jeongyeon whispers in her ear "Don't go to work tomorrow, let me take you on a date to make up for my mistakes and to start making up for time we wasted".

[loveyjeongie]

Little!Momo Hcs

hi!! I haven’t posted much of anything in quite a minute so I thought i’d share some thoughts about little momo from this au I have (still working it out) :)

Momo is one of the members who regresses fairly often, she’s only usually big when she’s able to suppress it for times when she’s working but even then she happens to slip sometimes during schedules and has to be brought back to the dorm

She slips between ages but its only ever between 1-5 and she’s more frequently 2-4

Momo is autistic and also nonverbal when regressed

The girls have learned that when she regresses she doesn’t really understand korean very well, so if mina or sana aren’t around it gets difficult to communicate with momo albeit they try their hardest with the little bits of japanese they do know

This causes a lot of miscommunication tho because momo will get frustrated and upset that no one can understand her and vice versa :(

Mina takes care of her the most and is her primary caregiver among the girls, but everyone helps out a lot

Since momo doesn’t communicate verbally, mina got her a bear themed notepad (she loves bears) to write words or draw pictures to help them understand what she wants

They always make sure its nearby with one of those crayola orange markers bc its the only color she’ll write in (they bulk bought 100)

They also have communication cards that chaeyoung drew and had sana write with momo in both japanese and korean so it helps the other members as well

She’s a clingy baby :( she likes to play but other times she will cry a lot until someone picks her up and holds her, and will get really fussy when she’s put down again so she’s always kept very close to someone else

Jeongyeon got her a special weighted blanket that is only about 2 lbs and when she’s feeling very overwhelmed they wrap it around her and it calms her down a lot

Momo doesn’t like sitting on the couch or chairs bc she gets scared of being high off the ground without someone holding her, so they have a special area decked out on the living room floor with soft cushions and pillows, and the girls will sit with her there instead

Bedtime for momo is rough as she deals with a lot of nightmares, and after going through a handful of really terrible long sleepless nights they decided she’s not allowed to sleep on her own anymore

Mina sleeps with her most nights and momo is a lot more fussy when mina is busy or overseas for work but she doesn’t mind sleeping with any of the other girls as long as they make sure to stick to her routine as closely as possible

If she is going to bed with one of the other girls they have to facetime mina until she falls asleep otherwise she wont sleep

When she still has a really hard time during the night, they’ll wrap her up in her blanket and bring her out to her area in the living room and sleep with her there

She’s not extremely picky with food but she’s very specific about what she eats for breakfast in the morning because she wont eat anything else besides dry cereal and a bottle of slightly watered down orange juice

Her favorite member to have take care of her besides mina is jihyo :]

Jihyo even started taking extra japanese language classes to help her communicate with momo better

One of her favorite things is when jihyo holds her while singing songs from a playlist they made for her

Also when sana and nayeon play or stim with her, it makes her feel less nervous about doing it alone

She really likes animals. Even if sometimes the girl’s pets become overstimulating she loves seeing them and playing with them its really cute

Since momo is constantly on the floor they need to clean the dorm twice a day bc she’ll get sick if they don’t… the cleaning stuff scares her tho so they have to give her headphones and take her into an empty (already cleaned) room :(

this is kinda long, but if you want me to make a part 2 (I have lots I could talk about) or have any questions about any of it/want me to talk abt anything specific feel free to send me asks :] i’d love to talk about her

[tcubunny]

🎀INTRODUCTION🎀

this is a blog dedicated to what i like to call the “twice cinematic universe” for the funnies. here’s the rundown: in this twice AU, the reader is the tenth member of twice. at some point in your careers, you decided to all engage in a sort of ten-way relationship. you’re not all dating, (unless you want it to mean that, i don’t really mind), you’re simply all involved with each other sexually. there’s a sort of “caste” system, to put it in simple terms. three members are the doms (nayeon, jihyo, jeongyeon) and they basically make all the rules and such; everyone has to do what they say. then there’s momo, sana, mina, and dahyun; they are what you could call the switches. they all have power over the younger members—or “subs”, but they still have to listen to nayeon, jeongyeon, and jihyo. finally, there’s chaeyoung, tzuyu, and the reader who is the maknae. all three of you have essentially no power whatsoever, you have to obey everything everyone else tells you. with all of that out of the way, below are the in-universe rules that the members follow.

🎀RULES:

everyone has to answer to jihyo, jeongyeon, and nayeon. they hold all the power [it’s really jihyo, but that’s a dynamic i’ll play with in the actual fics ;)]

the switches are allowed to do whatever they want with each other at any time, but they have to tell a dom before they do anything with a sub. it’s not asking for permission, they simply have to inform them.

the subs aren’t allowed to do anything with each other—or touch themselves—unless they ask for permission and there’s a switch or dom present.

if anyone does anything they’re not allowed to do, they get punished

jihyo, jeongyeon, and nayeon administer punishments, but sometimes they ask for switchs’ help

🎀MEMBER PROFILES:

nayeon- she is definitely the most insane dom. she is the most sadistic and loves to make the others cry. she also loves degrading them and humiliating them, but she makes sure not to hurt any TOO badly.

jeongyeon- she's the sweetest out of all the doms. everyone knows they can go to her when they want to do something and she's the most likely to say yes. she loves pampering everyone and praising them. she doesn't like giving out punishments, but if she has to, she's very stern (but still makes sure not be the meanest).

momo- she is a switch and is always in trouble. she blatantly loves making the doms angry. she's always talking back and being really mean just to get on their nerves. her and sana are are always in cahoots together to cause issues. she's also the biggest tease when it comes to sex; an all around troublemaker.

sana- she's a switch and the absolute whiniest member. she's always complaining and pouting about how "nobody will play with her." she loves getting in trouble with momo, but acting like the victim when she gets caught. she also loves trying to corrupt the subs.

jihyo- jihyo is the scariest dom. she can be the best person ever when she's happy with someone's behavior and goes out of her way to meet everyone needs and take care of them, but she's an absolute nightmare when someone makes her angry. the other doms and switches use jihyo as a threat for the subs.

mina- mina is the switch that tries her best to please everyone. she rarely gets in trouble, and when she does, is it due to her desire to help everyone. she's the first one to volunteer when someone says they want to do anything. everyone knows that if they need a little help in the middle of the night, mina will help.

dahyun- although she presents very “normal,” she's actually the kinkiest switch. she is the one most open to experimenting and loves making subs try things out with her. when the doms want help administering a punishment, they are most likely to pick dahyun.

chaeyoung- she is the rebel of the subs. she thinks she can get away with things, but truly, she can't. she is always being punished and trying to get the other subs to disobey the rules with her. she's always trying to get others to let her be the dom, but she has no luck.

tzuyu- she's the most well behaved sub, and the most well behaved member in general. she has never gotten in trouble. she never outright asks for anything, but everyone can tell when she needs something, so they make sure to help her.

[pttwice]

a little bit more about little autistic!jihyo in my au:

physically she is a baby. she's 5 years old! mina and jeongyeon adopted her when she was three. her biological parents couldn't afford to take care of her financially even though they loved her

the first day at mina and jeong's house, hyo was extremely scared. she refused to sleep in any rooms other than the kitchen on a cot and sleeping bag because every other room smelled too strongly of mina's perfume (which she loves the smell of now) or was too loud.

hyo slept in the kitchen for about a week and if she got too overwhelmed, she'd climb into one of the cabinets where it's dark and safe.

originally, hyo was nonverbal. the only word she'd ever say was "food" and she'd say it even if she wasn't hungry because she didn't know how to tell her mamas if she was upset or tired.

hyo's biological parents couldn't afford to test her but they knew she was neurodivergent in some way. once hyo was comfortable enough with mina and jeong, they got her tested and diagnosed.

hyo's diagnosis didn't worry her mamas and it really helped them understand their new baby girl better.

over the next two years of having hyo, she grew extremely attached to them. she's physically the age and size of a five year old, but mentally she hovers around 2-3.

some days hyo will be extremely talkative, but most of the time she'll communicate with her mamas by drawing or pointing to things.

whenever they go out to eat, her mamas bring a tablet so it's a little easier and faster to communicate to get hyo the food she wants.

i have a lot more set up for this au but i just wanted to share some things to fill in any gaps :) if you're curious about little autistic!jihyo, don't be afraid to let me know! i love talking about her 💚

also for more of a clarifier, i write about this au where she's physically a child and separately little autistic!jihyo in general where she's an adult but she regresses.

[sleephyuns]

Sometimes Jeongyeon felt bad for imagining Nayeon in such compromising situations. Getting rained on, spilling juice on herself, tripping over her own feet. It felt bad to think about her just for a chuckle, even if all those events were likely to happen in real life. But right now…

“I’m just saying Jeong, you suck dick like you’re on a mission.”

She wished she could manifest every unfortunate event occurring all at once. For eternity.

Instead what happened, was that Jeongyeon ended up stumbling, choking on her tea and nearly spilling all her papers from her bad. A karmic act of the universe that she was the one tripping over her own feet.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she managed to sputter out out.

“Don’t get defensive, I’m saying that’s hard to beat!” Nayeon’s voice was way too chipper over the phone, “It’s just something I notice whenever it’s the three of us. And it’s really not a bad thing if it has her finishing in less than five minutes, don’t you think?”

Unbelievable, this woman.

Jeongyeon shook her head, thankful no one was there so she didn’t look crazed to some stranger around the corner. “Ok, how did we even get to this? We were talking about Sana.”

“Well, I asked you how the sex went-,” Right, she had asked that for some reason, “-as a joke of course-“

“Nayeon.”

“I know, I know. I’m not asking anymore!” she had the gall to laugh, “But honestly? It doesn’t sound like it went too bad. I think you’re just stuck in your head about it.”

Stuck in her head? That was the understatement of the century. She’d been stuck in it since Friday night at the bar, and now it was Sunday. Was there really no hope for a little reprieve?

Jeongyeon couldn’t help how deep she sighed into the phone. “I’m around the corner from the apartment,” her steps had slowed down without her even meaning to, “we can finish this conversation later.”

While Jeongyeon was busy trudging through the invisible muck between the apartment and herself, Nayeon was thinking up a preemptive way out. “Why don’t you come over? Momo’s cleaning some things at the studio and I could basically crunch these numbers with my eyes closed.”

Tempting. And while Nayeon wouldn’t know just how much she appreciated that offer, she couldn’t accept it. No matter how much her body begged her to.

“Tomorrow,” she forcibly compromised with her brain, “Or whenever you’re free next. Sana might still be over… but either way I wanted to get some stuff done around the house.”

“Sure, sure. Tomorrow it is! I’ll still be working from home.”

They quickly said their goodbyes, although inner Jeongyeon continued to scream all the way through it. After the socially draining Saturday she’d had, she just wanted to relax alone for a bit.

Lucky for her, her coworker needed to exchange some paperwork for the new dogs coming in Monday. And Jeongyeon, being the gracious saint she was and definitely not trying to make up an excuse to leave the apartment, had offered to take the train over to pick them up. Maybe her car would’ve been faster, but no one had to know that.

Now, after a serene round-trip ride (featuring a detour for some morning tea), she was back. Home sweet home.

And time to face the stresses of the weekend.

It was all that she could think about as she scampered into the building, replaying the same events over and over and over. It was torturous and too hard to focus. She even had to punch in the building’s code more than once!

She definitely didn’t want to relive the experience so soon, but so be it.

With all her complaining… how had their one day actually gone?

It was… fine.

In all honesty, Jeongyeon had been zoning out for most of it. It was easier to turn her senses off at the time and just go through the motions. She didn’t really talk unless she was spoken to and reacted when necessary. They did watch movies (as Jeongyeon hoped), and when Jihyo suggested they play games, she let the other two battle it out between themselves.

They ordered food (pizza, as per Sana’s suggestion) and it was normal. Shared a bottle of wine after. Normal. They watched more tv and it was normal. If there was a conversation going, she really wasn’t a part of it. Because what was she doing?

Trying her best to act normal.

At night, Sana elected to sleep in the living room on their floor mattress without so much as a fuss. She was alone in her journey to the shower, which gave Jihyo a chance to ask Jeongyeon… something. But she wasn’t really listening. She remembered grunting out answers just to get her girlfriend off her case until Sana returned to set up.

Then Jeongyeon took her turn in the bathroom next, set all her alarms, and lurked back to the bedroom with heavy eyes.

She was out like a light before Jihyo even got back.

All in all, an interesting experience! Like watching a tv show, except she was forced to live it. It wasn’t that she even meant to do it but… anyway.

There really was no sex involved, despite Nayeon’s questioning. And as out of it as Jeongyeon was, she did notice that the two of them didn’t kiss once the whole time. Not even once.

Or, not where she could see it, at least.

“God…,” Jeongyeon sighed as she made her way onto the floor. What would be next? Well, worst case scenario would be Sana, home alone with no Jihyo. Certainly a possibility, but one that had her hesitant to punch the code into the door.

But she just had to. What else could she do? Avoiding things got her nowhere. In fact, they had her worse off. So all she had to do was pray that both Sana and Jihyo were cuddled up on the couch watching some random drama, and that she would be left to her own (cleaning) devices.

That’s what she hoped, but that hope brought no comfort. It was hard to ignore the way her finger trembled when she raised it. 0… 1… 9… 5… 9… 2…

And then-

“I’m home…”

…

Silence. Not a single sound (aside from the humming of their old fridge).

“Anyone home…?”

Still nothing.

In some angsty romance movie, she would have probably walked in on Jihyo and Sana making out. Or maybe she’d hear the unmistakable squeal of their bedsprings from down the hall.

That’d be enough to make her stomach drop.

But no, she wasn’t met with any of that. Nobody was in and… nope, she hadn’t gotten a text. Maybe they’d gone out for something quick? That could explain it.

Well.

Either way, she deserved it. At least she felt that way. She definitely hadn’t been responsive the past few days, so if Jihyo wanted to go somewhere without her knowing, that was fine.

No matter how much it ate her up inside.

In the meantime, she’d get to that cleaning like she was supposed to. She threw her bag aside (careful not to mess up the papers stored in it) and made her way to the bedroom. No need to be wearing outdoor clothes when she was going to get sweaty from cleaning. And once she got that done, she made her way to the bathroom.

The bathroom was always the most satisfying room to tackle, in Jeongyeon’s opinion. Sure, it may be prone to being the dirtiest, but it didn’t require much thinking to maintain. It didn’t need to have perfect balance like the living room. Didn’t require all the decorations and neatness and personality of a shared bedroom either. It was simple in its organization, and cleaning it was just as simple.

Perfect to get her into the groove of things.

“Not a problem at all,” she muttered under her breath, even though there was no one to hide her voice from. She stood in the bathroom’s doorway, looking straight ahead and taking things in.

She cleaned pretty often, so there was no need to worry about anything being too grimy. And to some, the bathroom might already seem in perfect shape.

But not to Jeongyeon.

She could always stand to reorganize the medicine cabinet. Sometimes Jihyo was in a rush and shoved their medications onto the same shelf. If Jeongyeon was equally in a rush, that would lead to disaster. And it never hurt to give the shower area a cleaning. For both of them, periods of stress led to the shower drain looking like a scene from The Grudge. So that would definitely need some tidying. And in front of the shower curtain were two pairs of bathroom slippers, hers and Jihyo’s, scattered like someone didn’t give a second thought as to where to put them. Or didn’t know where to put them. But what sense was it to have them all the way over there instead of at the doorway?

And now… now there were two extra towels hung up on the rack that she needed to sort out. A matching set, a purple towel and scrubbing cloth, overlapped Jeongyeon’s towel ever so slightly, with Jihyo’s being scrunched into the corner to make room for it.

Surely there was a better way to organize that.

Jeongyeon grumbled as she made her way to the rack, barefoot and annoyed that her shoes were across the room. One determined step after another. But then-

….

There are times when your body feels something before your brain even fully registers it. The painful touch of a hot stove, the tickle of a bug landing on your skin.

This was surely one of those times, as Jeongyeon let her foot settle on the offendingly sticky object on the ground.

Without even thinking about it, she took one earbud out. What difference would that even make? It’s not like hearing better would change anything about the ungodly sight beneath her foot. It was…

A condom. A used one at that.

….

Jihyo she… she must’ve used it with Sana. Nayeon would only come over for stuff like that if she knew it would be the three of them. And Jeongyeon certainly would have remembered doing anything like that today.

Which only left Sana.

She took a deep inhale in. Counted down from 5, 4, 3, 2,… 1. And exhaled.

Ok. It was fine.

At least, at the very least, they were kind enough to do it in a place that was easy to clean. Yeah, that was something.

She could get on Jihyo about it later, and maybe question how she could be so unusually careless. If she really wanted to… Did she even want to?

Well, for now it was no big deal. Not a big deal at all.…

Right.

She tried not to think too hard about the sudden (but very obvious) realization that they had sex when she was gone, and chose to focus on cleaning instead. It was just… she really wasn’t expecting to be confronted with this so soon.

In a way, she might have jinxed herself earlier.

Whatever.

She would just throw the offending object out, then maybe formulate proper thoughts after she had completed her tasks. Thankfully, she had the gift of choice. If she wanted to confront Jihyo about it, she could.

Or, she could simply save all three of them embarrassment and ignore it.

Why wouldn’t she pick the latter?

With a sigh, she put her other headphone back in, resuming the playlist labeled ‘Cleaning’ before dealing with the issue.

Touching it didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would. Grabbing a tissue would’ve been more appropriate but the stupid thing was turned inside out and she’d stepped on it, so… nothing she hadn’t touched before.

All she had to do was wash her hands right after wiping up what was left, and that would be that (for the time being). Her feet shuffled across the floor, slowing to a halt when she stood over the trashcan and…

There was already one in the trash, slightly hidden behind a wad of tissue, neatly tied up, filled up a sizable amount. A lot more than the one pinched between her fingers (had it not been flipped inside out and spilled onto the floor).

Two of them. That meant…

Her eyes darted between her hand and the trash. Back and forth until she was sure of it. Jeongyeon didn’t want to sound gross, but she knew who the condom in the trash actually belonged to. She just knew.

Jihyo was never one to leave a mess behind. Living with Jeongyeon for years now made it so. So the possibility of the first one being Sana’s shot up to 100%.

“Oh god,” Jeongyeon shuddered, dropping the rubber into the trash quick.

Her feet scraped against the tile with a quickness and soon she was at the sink, running her hands under scalding hot water. She was lucky the calluses on her hands made her less sensitive to it. Or maybe her mind was in too many places at once.

Either way, it was a long time before she finally snapped out of her trance, and by then her hands were fully washed. They dripped onto her knees where they rested, and onto the floor. Not a problem when her plan was to mop later, but… when would she even get to that? The shock had her seated on the lid of the toilet, trying to gather her bearings.

Was it ridiculous? Maybe.

But Jeongyeon had found herself doing a lot of ridiculous things lately.

Like wondering about a sex life that wasn’t hers.

Was that wrong to do? Jeongyeon really wasn’t sure how these things worked. But now this… incident made it impossible not to think about.

What was it like? Was Jihyo a lot different with Sana than with her? She always kissed Jeongyeon like they’d been doing it for decades. Did she do the same for Sana?

The mole just below her left shoulder blade, something she took great appreciation of when Jihyo was turned away from her in the shower, would Sana notice it too?

When she had Jihyo underneath her… no that was presumptuous. If she had Jihyo underneath her, would she take note of every shift of her muscles, map out every inch of her skin and press her lips to all the places Jeongyeon had?

Of course she would. Jihyo never gave any less than what she felt. So what other answer could there be?

“Cleaning. I should be… cleaning” Jeongyeon blinked herself out of her thoughts. One thing at a time.

Clean now and deal with impending doom later.

[puphyo]

i finally got around to revising this part all the way!! i hope everyone enjoys :)))

the next few days pass with mina visiting tzuyu more and more, learning more about tzuyu every day. 

tzuyu opened up about what she likes, it turns out that tzuyu loves dogs, they’re her favorite animal, her favorite color is blue, she’s happy to have found nayeon and jeongyeon to help her for a while and mina can’t help the frown that appears on her lips when tzuyu says that, knowing nayeon and jeongyeon have been looking for potential caregivers for tzuyu. 

mina has noticed the signs of regression beginning to take hold on tzuyu, she slipped longer, and they were more frequent, but it was mostly while mina was around, as jeong would tell mina that they had trouble getting tzuyu to relax for bedtime, even after giving her a bottle, rubbing her back and belly, changing her into comfy clothes that are more fit for a regressor, she fought against sleep and regression like it could hurt her, but instead was hurting herself in doing that. 

mina’s heart broke at anything that jeong told her, that made mina assume that she was fighting harder and harder to stay not regressed, but she was losing, mina knew that. jeongyeon hadn’t been called into work todays but mina still wanted to see tzuyu, so here she was, just after hyo’s usually breakfast time, sitting in her car waiting at a red light, just a few blocks away from her friends’ house. 

when she arrived, she knocked at the door, learning that tzuyu hates the doorbell from the last time they talked, it scared her, and almost always sent her into a scared state where jeongyeon had to do her best to soothe a regression resistant little while answering the door, mina wanted to not seem scary to tzu. 

when the door opened, nayeon greeted her, hearing jeongyeon playing with hyo and tzuyu behind her. “you’re here an awful lot lately.” nayeon’s comment held no malice, simply stating a fact, as she let the younger woman in and watched her eyes search for tzuyu. once mina found tzuyu, nayeon watched relief surge though mina’s body. 

“you guys don't want me around anymore?” mina teased, smiling at nayeon. 

“mina, i’ve gotta tell you something,” nayeon’s large hand gently grabbed mina’s arm, pulling her away from tzuyu’s line of sight. “we’re going to start having some people come and see if they have a connection to tzuyu. jeongyeon and i don’t have enough space and-“

“i’ll take her.” mina looked nayeon in the eyes, not a single bit of hesitation to be seen. "i'll care for her while we try to find her a home.”

“mina, she’s going to the first little you've cared for,” nayeon’s eyes were wide, like she hadn’t expected mina to want her. “not that tzuyu doesn’t deserve to be with you, i just, worry that it might be too much for you."

“i'm sure.” mina was unwavering in her decision, especially after buying a few essentials for littles and cleaning up her office space to make room for tzuyu. “i have the space and the time for her.” 

nayeon nods, looking back to tzuyu. she’s entertained by whatever jeongyeon is doing, and it looks like tzuyu is having a good time, giggling and smiling. mina just stands back and watches, enjoying the look of tzuyu being happy and carefree, a sight she wishes she could see more. “how are you going to tell her?” 

“i’m going to wait for her to pull herself from her regression. i want it to be a mutual agreement, even if i know i need to be firm about this.” mina follows nayeon to the kitchen, where nayeon grabs three coffee cups out of the cupboard and creamer out of the fridge, putting a small amount in two of the three cups and then pouring coffee from the pot into them. 

mina takes the cup offered to her, watches nayeon walk into the living room, then tilt jeong’s head up towards her own and press a kiss to her lips and hand her her coffee. nayeon sits in the recliner that faces jihyo’s toy box, where jeongyeon, tzuyu and jihyo sit in a half-circle shape; jeongyeon guides the littles through building a set of legos, just as interested in it as the girls are. 

mina feels a tug at her to go play with the girls, wanting to build the legos too but also just feeling a need to scoop tzuyu up and tell the girl that mina will take care of her. eventually, she settles on sitting down next to jeongyeon, reading from the instruction manual with her. 

jihyo finally seemed to notice mina, and she cheered, even if it was quiet, conscious of the easily spooked little to her side. hyo launched herself at mina, holding her tight. even if it did surprise mina for a moment, she just smiled and patted hyo’s back. 

as soon as mina and hyo split their hug, tzuyu looked at mina with what mina assumed to be a little bit of jealousy, so she moved closer to tzuyu, who despite looking jealous and like she wanted mina, made no move when mina was closer until she adjusted fully for tzuyu to be sitting in front of her, chest pressed to the little’s back, and rubbing her tum.

mina so badly wanted to tell tzuyu then that tzuyu will be going home with her, that she wants to take care of her. but she holds off, the little dropping the small plastic toys in her hands to turn her head towards mina, tucking her head just under mina’s chin.

it takes quite a while for mina to see tzuyu rip herself from being small, but mina knew she was going to. mina had moved tzuyu and herself to the couch, where tzuyu had pressed herself as close to mina as possible, her eyelids drooping, heavy and sleepy. 

but that’s when tzuyu ripped herself from regression, flinching when she realized that mina had wrapped her up in a blanket and hurriedly scurried to the other side of the couch. “tzuyu?” mina asked, turning to look at her, carefully watching her. 

“don’t- i’m. i’m not-“ tzuyu stammers, tears building up in her eyes, mina thinking she doesn’t want to accept what needs to happen. 

“honey, it’s okay.” mina doesn’t make any move towards her, sits still, watching tzuyu. 

tzuyu's breathing picked up pace, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to contain her sobs. her hands were shaking as she clutched onto the blanket, feeling vulnerable and scared. mina wanted nothing more than to hold her close and comfort her, but she knew she had to approach this situation carefully.

"tzuyu, listen to me," mina said softly, her voice gentle yet firm. "i know this is hard, but you don't have to go through it alone. i want to help you, and i promise to take care of you."

tzuyu's eyes flickered up to meet mina's gaze, searching for any sign of insincerity. but all she saw was genuine concern and care in mina's eyes, and her heart swelled with gratitude.

mina moved closer to tzuyu, fighting her instincts to take the girls’s face into her hands, instead just watching gently. 

“if you'll let me, i would be happy to help you.” mina no longer can fight off her instincts to keep her hands in her own lap, and her thumbs press against the girl’s cheeks, gently rubbing in a pattern that begins to relax her. “tzuyu?”

her eyes were wide, filled with fear but never flinching away from mina, and seemed to search deep in mina’s soul, like tzuyu was looking for something. she hums, mina can hardly hear it, but she knew it came from tzuyu. “will you let me take care of you?” 

“you…are you-do you-you want to?” it came out watery, strained, like she was fighting to get that out. mina nodded, feeling her own eyes water. 

“if you’ll let, i will take care of you, tzuyu.” mina meets her eyes, hoping tzuyu can see that she’s genuine. tzuyu nods, and mina feels relief flood through her body. “we’ll go to your apartment tonight and get your things, okay? i’ll come with you.”

tzuyu nods, unwrapping herself from the blanket she’d been wrapped in, slowly crawling over to the same side of the couch mina is on. mina feels a tug from her instincts, telling her to hold tzuyu, but mina fights it back, sitting still like she would to convince a cat to come closer. 

it takes a moment, tzuyu might have made it nearly to mina, but she seems to be debating on if she wants to even think about sitting on mina’s lap, and mina can only think about what could help her determine if mina is a good candidate to sit on their lap. tzuyu does eventually, tossing and turning until she’s cradled in mina’s arms, head pressed against mina’s chest, she can assume that tzuyu is listening to her breath and heartbeat, and it makes her heart sing. 

“you’re not small right now, yeah?” mina asked, “and you’re not doing this because you feel you can’t say no.” 

“no no, mina,” tzuyu’s voice is fairly quiet still, mina can hardly hear it over her rushing thoughts in her own head. “i. i feel a connection with you-“ tzuyu’s eyes squeeze tight, a red tint taking over her cheeks, “-i uh. i want to be with you.” her voice is so quiet that it makes mina’s heart break, so she presses a gentle kiss to tzuyu’s forehead. 

“okay,” mina sighs. “thank you for being honest with me. when we go to my apartment, i’ll show you the room i prepared, and we need to get to the store to get you a few things for my office.” 

tzuyu’s eyes open, a look of surprise takes over her face, then sadness coats her eyes. 

"you don't- you don't have to do-to do this." a tear falls from one of tzu's eyes, mina's hand moves before she can stop it, wiping the tear away. 

"i want to, sweetheart." 

[cutiejihyo]

Baby Hyo having a terrible nightmare to the point she wakes up screaming and crying and then having a panic attack as it seemed too real to her.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon woke up because of their Little's scream and immediately ran to the nursery where they saw Jihyo struggling to breathe.

"mommy, mama make it stop" Jihyo's clutching her head in her hands because she's having flashbacks

nightmares

— 3mix au — cw//panic attack, crying, mention of abuse words - 1021

jihyo's horrible night terrors were a common reoccurrence in the yoo-im household. these terrors were often very vivid, leading jihyo to believe they were real.

it usually takes a bit of time to get her to calm down completely after she wakes up out of fear, which meant jeongyeon or nayeon would have to lose sleep to comfort the poor little. as long as their little girl was safe and happy, they didn't mind losing a few hours of sleep.

nayeon and jeongyeon were able to put jihyo down for bed with no fuss, even getting her to sleep in her crib, which was usually a hard task for the two older women.

once she was asleep, they were able to get ready for bed themselves. everyone was sleeping soundly, the night was going well.

until it wasn't.

at around 2am, only a few hours after she was put to bed, jihyo woke up in a pool of sweat, hyperventilating like crazy, and not knowing where she was.

her first reaction was to cry out of pure fear, she couldn't tell if the nightmare was over or not. once she was a bit more grounded, jihyo began to scream as loud as she could, wanting to be back with her mama and mommy once again.

luckily, her screams were able to alert both nayeon and jeongyeon, who both sprung out of bed and practically sprinted to jihyo's nursery.

they immediately noticed that jihyo was showing signs of an incoming panic attack, with rapid breathing and her body trembling. jeongyeon picked her up, quickly trying to calm her down a bit.

she rocked her back and forth and shushed her gently, letting her know that she is okay and that it was all just a bad dream.

even with jeongyeon's attempts to calm her, nothing was working. jihyo's sobs continued to ring throughout the house, still not registering that the event was all in her head.

she was horrified that nayeon and jeongyeon had left her to die in an abusive household, not realizing that they were in fact right with her at the moment.

"i think she's having flashbacks, keep trying to relax her and i'll make the room more familiar for her." nayeon calmly said, not wanting to scare the little even more by sounding panicked.

nayeon went to turn on the lights in the nursery before grabbing jihyo's comfort objects which included her owl plush, her baby blankie, and her weighted puppy plush that had jeongyeon's perfume on it so it would smell like her.

by now, jeongyeon had moved to the rocking chair next to jihyo's changing table. this way, she was able to hold jihyo closer and put her into a more comfortable position. jeongyeon cradled jihyo, who was still having flashbacks, except her breathing was somewhat more stable.

nayeon showed jihyo the items she grabbed, holding them out for her to be able to feel them and see them. immediately, the little reached out for her blankie, gripping onto it tightly and holding it close to her face.

after a few minutes of continuous sobs, she began to come back to reality and realize that she was safe with her mama and mommy.

jeongyeon hummed softly, looking down at jihyo to make sure she wasn't hyperventilating to the point of passing out.

normally, calming jihyo down from the initial panic attack wasn't a hard task, but getting her to sleep again was the real problem. she was scared another night terror would happen, even though it was very unlikely.

jihyo looked up at jeongyeon with big eyes, tears still occasionally rolling down her face. jeongyeon smiled softly at the little in her lap, "everything will be okay, my love," she whispered, "mommy and i are always going to protect you; we won't let anything hurt you, my sweet baby girl."

nayeon sat down on the floor beside the rocking chair, placing the owl plush and the weighted puppy plush in jihyo's lap. "look, honey," she said gently, pointing to the toys, "your owl and puppy are here to protect you as well. they'll always be by your side, just like we are."

the little sniffled, her small fingers grasping the toys tightly. She clung to them as if they were her lifeline, finding comfort in their presence.

her breathing gradually slowed down, becoming more steady as she began to calm down further. the room felt warmer and familiar, filled with the love and care from her mama and mommy.

jeongyeon continued to rock jihyo gently in her arms, her soothing hum creating a peaceful aura in the room. "you're so brave, jihyo," she whispered, moving jihyo's bangs back before pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"even when you have scary dreams, you will always make it through and come back stronger than before. we're so so proud of you, sweetpea"

nayeon reached out to stroke jihyo's cheek, her touch comforted the little. "you're not alone, sweetheart, you'll never be alone" she murmured, her voice filled with love. "we'll always be here for you, no matter what. we'll make sure bad people will never get to you again."

jihyo gazed up at the two women, with glimmers of trust and security in her eyes, she knew deep down inside of her that they're always going to be there to protect her. with their love surrounding her, jihyo's fear began to fade away, replaced by a senses of love, trust, and peace.

as the night went on, jeongyeon and nayeon were able to get jihyo to drift back to sleep, only in their giant king sized bed of course. she ended up sleeping on jeongyeon's chest, feeling comforted by the movement of her mama's stomach going up and down due to her breathing.

her own breathing became steady, her grip on the toys relaxing slowly. nayeon and jeongyeon stayed by her side, watching over her with tender care, ready to comfort her again if another night terror dared to disturb her rest, thus showing they would seriously do anything for their sweet little girl.

[knightyoomyoui]

[COMMISSION] LIVING WITH VAMPIRES: UNDER THE VEIL OF NIGHT  | TWICE x Male Reader | CHAPTER 1: "A Nightmarish First Encounter"

Welcome to another brand new TWICE fic series of mine! This story will serve both as an adaptation and a soft reboot of the TWICE horror-comedy book titled “Living With Vampires” written by SaiDaChae29 published in 2020 which was sadly left discontinued until this day. For this one, it scrapped some of the parts from the original while others were kept and applied changes which will lead to its direct continuation. Special mention also to @nchris00 who ordered a commission and entrusted me to recreate this interesting story as his request. Hope this one won’t disappoint! Thank you so much again! -> Read the PROLOGUE here <- “LIVING WITH VAMPIRES: UNDER THE VEIL OF NIGHT” By knightyoomyoui Commissioned by: @nchris00 Part: CHAPTER 1 : "A Nightmarish First Encounter" Word Count: 5,879

2 YEARS AGO

I knocked at the house where there was an old man living in there that I used to help throwing the garbage every night. As he opened the door, he greeted me with a curious gaze as soon as he saw me standing in front of his doorway.

“Jeonghoon? What is it?”

“Uhh hey pops uhm… I was just wondering if you have some extra food left there?” It took some courage to ask that from him, since this is my first time begging from somebody straight into their home for some food to eat. Also, I just did this now from him because he only just know me as a hobo who helps people throw trash in their neighboorhood.

“I already ate the leftovers that I collected few days ago so… if you won’t mind, can I-”

“You came at the right time, Jeonghoon. Ofcourse I will.” He nodded understandably after cutting off my words. I didn’t find it disrespectful at all now that he responded the same thing I was expecting for him to say to me.

He left me in his doorway to grab something from his kitchen. I heard some metal clanging and probably procelains, maybe grabbing something from the plates. I was curious but I remained in his doorway, without any intention to come inside and do something that would break his trust.

Because I will never do that. I may have know how it feels to lose something… but just because it happened worse to me that doesn’t mean I have to make others feel what I felt.

It’s painful, enough to have your life get destroyed in an instant.

Which is what I’ve been going through these days. Imagine I was having these things for me too until that person I thought would be the nicest one among everyone took it all away from me and didn’t spare nothing.

I didn’t noticed I was too occupied at my thoughts when pops here even had to pat my chest twice to steal my attention. “Hey, are you okay young guy? You must be spacing out.”

“Oh u-uhm… I-I’m really sorry pops, I didn’t heard what you said.”

“No don’t worry, I just called your name repeatedly and you can’t hear me, so I checked up on you and I found you hear staring at nothing.” The old man waves it off for me. I looked at his hands and he was carrying a tupperware of the food he cooked for dinner.

“I cooked too much that I wasn’t able to finish it all, that’s why I said that you came here at the right time because I feel a bit dismayed at leaving this extra for tomorrow.” Pops said to me. He handed it to me and I accepted it.

“Do you want to eat here?”

“I would be honored, pops but I think i’m fine out there. I would like to grab some fresh air afterwards.” 

He nodded and he took my answer well. “Okay, eat well Jeonghoon.”

“Thanks a lot again, pops. Good night.”

“You too, kid.”

I bowed again to double the respect I have for his kindness and he smiled softly for me because I helped him close the door. I looked at the beef steak he has for me and probably this is the first day since I lost a home that I smiled with pure genuine.

I looked for some spare bench here along the road and thankfully I found one where I can sit and enjoy this meal I have tonight. I opened the container and smelled the food, oh it was surely mouth-watering and fragrant. 

I prayed as my gratitude to have this kind of food despite of my poor situation. Without wasting much time, I grabbed the spoon he gave for me and I ate my dinner in less than three minutes, an effect of the hunger I was tried to hold onto since earlier.

After I finished my dinner, I went to my scraps to place this in a plastic so that I can return this to pops tomorrow. Then I went back at the spot where I decided to sleep along with my carton as my sleeping mat to make myself more comfortable.

I laid on the couch and stared at the stars above, deeply wondering what the future still awaits for me even after my life had its rock bottom state. Will I still be able to save myself and get back up to slowly reclaim what I never lost in the first place or… if I will be lucky…

Is there someone else out there who will be willing to lend me a hand and assist me with it?

I don’t know exactly, but not gonna lie I don’t lose hope yet. Well, I just think that’s what I should do while I’m still breathing and living you know? I don’t want to waste this opportunity yet, that’s why i have to find a way to look for something that will add more purpose of why i’m living right now. 

I still believe that just because we lost something in our life doesn’t mean we remain worthless forever. 

Anyways, enough of these deep thoughts. I just want to relax myself and call this a day. I just hope there’s a karma awaiting for that person who made me like this. There’s no instances that someone can just ran away freely after doing something reckless to others who did nothing wrong to them.

I closed my eyes and breathe deeply before I let my body soak into slumber.

However, few hours later I suppose, well since I don’t have a watch or a clock -I do have my phone with me but it’s still lowbat since I didn’t get to have my charger with me when I got abandoned-, my ears caught something irritating that woke my senses back up even if it doesn’t want to yet since it’s still midnight.

It was gibberish loud and since it’s slightly audible, I can tell that those noises were coming just nearby from me. I slowly opened my eyes and I blinked rapidly as I try to hear the noises again that caused my peaceful sleep to be rudely interrupted.

I groaned as my reaction before I stood back up. The sound became much clearer now, and I grabbed some of the words they’re talking about. Not being overly interested in gossips, but I do caught that they’re talking about ‘paying something because it’s already due’ thingie.

I looked around to find out what it is, and what I saw didn’t gave me a surprise, it just explained why the sound was so close to me.

There are three kids being cornered by a tandem of intimidating guys cornering them from left to right as they ask them about something.

They’re too busy at what they’re talking about so I tried to hid myself from the nearby lamppost to eavesdrop their conversation more.

“That’s a part of our deal, and we told you that each of us would respect our rules and roles here. We let you borrow our money… and you have to pay us back on the due date.” The guy on the right said, and he’s talking directly at that tallest kid who looks like he’s protecting those two little kiddos he has with him from them.

“I’m telling you sir please, I’m going to pay for it I know about that! It’s just that what I’ve been saving as of now isn’t enough yet to reach that amount.” He replied while trembling in fear.

“And do you think it’s a good thing that even if you don’t want your deadline to pass, you have no choice but to let it? Do we look like we are nice enough to give a second chance?” The left guy said, stepping forward to scare the three kids more.

I understood their situation now. So this kid took a loan agreement with them and these guys are the sharks who are trying to collect the money they gave to the kid as per the agreement says. I get it that they’re just following the rules but… does it really have to come this way?

“Look kid, you better do something right now to pay what you requested for us or else… we are the ones who will look for an alternative.”

“And hey man, I think I know what we should took rather.” He grinned evilly at his partner on the right before his sight landed on the kids.

He tried to reach the arm of that little guy but the tallest one sways his hand away to avoid having contact with the kid. “Get your hands off from them!”

Wait… oh no, are they thinking about the kids being the substitute payment for this guy’s balance?

“Then pay us right now or else you won’t be going to see these rats ever again!”

“No please, I’m begging you leave them out of this!” He shook his head and tried to rid them away while pleading for mercy.

“Shut up!” The left dude pulled his wavering hand at them and shoo-ed him away from the kids. My eyes largened and felt nervous for this guy and what these dudes would do to the poor kids who are crying now in fear.

“THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!!!”

“WELL THEY ARE NOW, BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT THEM INTO THIS MESS YOU SHOULD’VE AVOIDED IF ONLY YOU COULD’VE PAID US!” The right dude locked his grip on this kid’s slim arm. It tried to force himself out of the hold until this kid tried to bit his knuckle, making the dude scream in pain.

“AAAAISSSHHH, YOU LITTLE DEVIL!” He shook his hand before looking at the kid dangerously and unexpectedly slapped its face.

“No… NO!!!” The guy tried to approach the dude but he only received a huge blow onto his midsection, shutting him off. 

I couldn’t take this sight anymore, so I have to do something for these younglings. I know I’m not that much of a skilled person when it comes to self-defense or challenging somebody in a combat but… I can’t just let these kids to end up somewhere with fate unknown in the hands of these bastards.

Stupidly, I quickly went out of my hiding and tensely approached the dudes who are double-teaming the tall guy before they try to bring the kids with them. I noticed also that the black van that is parking on the side of the road belongs to them.

“HEY! Didn’t you heard what he said!” My puny self yelled at them with bent toughness. “He said they have nothing to do with your problem, so leave them alone!” I said while I eyed the kids who are looking at me right now with their pitiful watery eyes.

“And who the fuck are you?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just a random guy on the streets that you two bitchasses ruined his sleep with your annoying rumblings.” I said with much confidence with them. This is the hilarious thing about me, I’m so brave at trashtalking bullies but when they come at me, I’m like a flower who easily covers itself for protection.

In short, I don’t know how to fight back with fists. Great.

“Well, is that so? We don’t give a shit about your beauty sleep, so turn around now, mind your business and you can get yourself back to your little sleep because we’re almost done here. How about that?” The left dude said as he tugged the hair of the tall guy’s hair, making him yelp at the sting it must have caused on his scalp.

I hissed irritably at the stubbornness of this loser. I sighed deeply then went back to arguing with them when I noticed that the dudes were about to carry the kids with them through the van. The tall guy looked at me, crying and pleaded.

“Please… mister… they can’t get away…”

“TYLER!!!” An old man suddenly shouted this guy’s name. I saw that he just came out of the door from this huge looking place. Then I figured out it’s name plastered on top of the entrance.

“ORPHANAGE”

Wait a minute? Orpha- so these kids are orphans? Now I know why this Tyler guy is so protective with these kids and highly concerned for them. Plus, their home is actually just right in front of them! That means they were about to head home when these bad dudes blocked them off from doing so.

“HEY, W-WHERE ARE THEY TAKING THEM!” The old guy saw the dudes carrying the kids who are crying and trying to wiggle off in their arms to escape.

I looked at them and breathe drelpy before I let my urges control me.

I ran immediately and just before they’re about to open the sliding door of their van, I pushed them both off into the ground, while apologetically involving the kids on the ground. I just thought that it’s the better way to stop them by getting distracted at the kids bodies colliding with them as they fall.

“GO, RUN!” I commanded the kids who were a bit confused at what I just did. I looked at both of them and they got my signal. They stumbled to stand but luckily they are able to ran back from Tyler and the old man. 

“You son of a bitch, look what you just did!” The dude who is laying down beneath me suddenly kicked me on the leg, effectively making me kneel on the ground at how painful it is to endure while standing.

As I was busy seething off the pain, the other dude took the advantage by blowing me in the back of the head with his hammered fists. I faceplanted on the ground and then I felt my entire body filled with shots coming from their attacks.

They kicked me with pure despise. It stopped for a while until I felt by body getting rolled and face up, the dude straddled me and gave me repeated punches to the face before my sight went blurred and complete black.

My eyes suddenly sprung up, and what greeted me was a view of a girl who seemed like she flinched a little when my eyes opened. Her head is upside down, so I figured that she’s looking at me from the edge of… wait, am I laying down on a couch?

“Jihyo-unnie! There’s a man sleeping on our couch!!!” The girl suddenly shouted for her Jihyo-unnie. I guess that was her sister or something but hold up, where was I?!

I made the hardest and most painful sat-up I ever did in my entire life, as I feel like my abdomen are tightening while I’m doing it. My head also feels a little dizzy so I groaned and hold it for support before I turned around.

And where the hell was I? Why am I in a very cozy looking room filled with women sitting around in front of me.

What I first noticed was the girl who is staring at me upside down, she is indeed on the edge of the couch on my side looking suspicious at me with her knitted brows.

Then on the other hand was the rest of the girls with her. The first one is wearing a purple T-shirt with a girl character on its chest, she’s watching the TV in the floor along with the pale-looking girl who I can almost compare her similarity to Snow White because of how bright her skin was.

The other ones on the couch were this girl with long legs, wolfcut haired, and in black t-shirt building a Lego figure on a table and the one beside her is a very gorgeous looking one with uhm… enticing thighs, sitting like a ball and very focused on her phone.

I seriously don’t know who are these girls and why did I end up here, but for now I’ll just leave what will happen to me based on their actions… but ofcouse that doesn’t mean I won’t do something about it.

“W-who are you?” I asked the long-hair girl with tattoos. “And how did I end up here?”

“I was about to ask the same thing about you, Mr. Nobody.” She crossed her eyes and popped the bubble gum she was chewing. “We just woke up and I just went down when we found you here laying so comfortably here in our dorm like it’s yours.”

Dorm?

Where in the blue hell am I actually am right now, seriously?

“What did you say? A dorm?” I asked her again.

“Yeah! Are you deaf or something?”

“I seriously don’t know this place. I don’t even have any idea why I’m here!” I felt embarassed when my raising voice accidentally caught the other girl’s attention, and now they’re looking at me with curiousity.

“Oh, he’s awake!” The girl in purple said. She doesn’t seemed to be frightened that a stranger is on a room with her friends, she rather sounds glee about it.

“Look wait, let me explain-”

“Tell that to her instead.” Chaeyoung flicked her head back when she sensed that a footstep is growing near from us. “Jihyo- unnie!!!”

“Yes yes I’m coming Chae, jeez.” This Jihyo said to her, sounding like she’s so done at this girl’s whiny voice. Oh, didn’t I just heard this tattoo girl’s name to be Chae?

While i was awaiting at this Jihyo’s arrival, Chae decided to scare me off with her gesturing me with her index finger that tells me I’m screwed… which was kinda effective and not at the same time because I don’t even know what this Jihyo can do and… her giving death warning isn’t suitable for a short girl like her with cute features.

I gulped but I hid my nervousness by glancing at her cluelessly at her. Then, a figure stood beside Chae, a short-girl one with large round eyes, almost had me questioning if she’s actually Korean or she’s half.

She was about to ask Chae but her eyes landed at me and just like how Chae greeted me when I woke up, she shared the same judgmental look.

“Who are you and what are you doing here in our place?”

“You asked exactly the same thing as this girl right here.” I pointed at Chae. “And I can’t give the answer as for you too, because I don’t even know how did I end up here.” I shrugged.

“Are you sure about that?” She raised her eyebrow to me, unsure if I was speaking the truth.

“She’s probably speaking lies, Jihyo-unnie! Who knows, maybe this idiot is an intruder!”

“Intruder?! I don’t even know how to lockpick or climb walls!” I said to this brat over here as I felt offended.

“Well guessing from that look of yours and how mysterious your identity are, you should be considered as one.” She traced my appearance from head and toe, as if she’s wondering why such a being like me is existing in this world.

“Look, I’m not as dumb as you think I am. I am very aware that such a hobo like me wouldn’t have even a slightest chance to enter or hell, own a dorm such luxurious as this!”

“Both of you, silence your mouths!” Jihyo stops me and Chae from having a war of words. “Chaeyoung is right, you better give us something you know or else we don’t have a choice but to call security and forcefully get you out of here.”

“Wait wait, I don’t know how but I’ll just tell you instead what I know!” I paused her after this irritating Chaeyoung even handed Jihyo her phone. She’s so obvious of making me look like I’m not very welcome here in their territory.

“But first uhm… where is your bathroom?” I said as my expression softened after sheepishly admitting that the nature is calling for my reproductive organs to release something in effect of my hydration.

“And what are you gonna do in there?” Jihyo questions me.

“She’s probably gonna try to run away, Jihyo unnie! Quick girls, block the-”

“I JUST WANT TO HAVE A BATHROOM BREAK, PLEASE.” I said as I hold my kidney spot tight, constricting my legs as I hold on my pee.

“Oh.” Jihyo reacted. “Cmon, Chae as if he’s gonna be out here by his own. Our lock is equipped with passcode remember?” She said as she patted Chaeyoung’s shoulder who seems sulking that she was proven wrong. “Anyways, the bathroom is on the right, you can see the hallway down here.”

“T-thanks”, I immediately stood up and bowed at them thankfully before I went for the location of it.

As I already reached the kitchen which is where the hallway that Jihyo mentioned was near at, I noticed that there’s another girl coming from upstairs coming rushing down and went for the fridge. She even ignored me as she just passed by at me.

I just gave her the same treatment and walked through the bathroom door but just as I was about to grab the knob and opened it, I heard what she said from behind that grabbed my attention.

“Ahhh… oh a fresh blood in the morning after a hangover is incomparably great!” 

I turned my body around slowly to look at Nayeon after what she just said, just want to confirm it if she’s joking or something.

But what I found out after was instead something much more serious to be like that.

I saw Nayeon holding a transparent pitchel filled with red substance on it while gulping its content with a glass on her other hand. She was kneeling in front of the open fridge.

It was like in the movies where a protagonist gets a camera shot where his or her figure gets zoomed in while the background shrinks as soon as that character finds something mind-blowing, that’s what it looked like to mr when I felt chills in my body.

“Nayeon, hurry up! I want that blood already!”

How in the fuck can they just pronouce that they are consuming blood so casually?! It’s nit even normal at all?!

Or else…

As Nayeon followed the voice where it came from, she caught my figure standing in the middle of the hallway, watching her in horror at the strange act she’s doing. I wished she didn’t even stopped, because she terrified me further when she leans away the glass from her, revealing her blood stained mouth.

“What the fuck… are you?” 

She stood up and left the kitchen as she starts walking towards me. I hurriedly turned the doorknob but it was locked. My heart beats even faster as I got confused and even more desperate to get myself away from this bloodlust woman.

It only stopped when my vision went back to pitch black as I couldn’t control my movement anymore.

I have no idea how long I snapped out, but in an instant i just recovered my consciousness back in this comfy couch again. This time, they aren’t around to be seen in what it seems to be their living room. However, I heard clanging noises from the back, I peeked to see what it is and there they actually are, all seated on their dining table with plates and foods all around their table.

The wolfcut girl was distributing the spoons for her roommates while the short-haired woman was assisting her on scooping up the foods for them. I was just silently watching them when someone caught.

“You’re back.” A girl that I haven’t seen yet spoke me as she faced her sitting posture onto me.

I just stared at us and she probably figured out that I haven’t met or know her yet. She chuckled and smiled as she realized it. “Join us.”

Her soft voice and elegant moves piqued my interest on her. She looks so gentle and very nice to get along with. Out of all the girls who I saw, my attention was pinned sharply at her. She just lets out an unexplainable aura that carries me to her.

I nodded and I stood up, which again caught their focus. Chaeyoung’s bright face turned back into an intense and angsty mood when she noticed me back alive again. Jihyo just looked at me seriously but my eyes averted more at this girl named Nayeon who was somehow avoiding her face at me.

I felt my heartbeat quicken again which caused my head to ache and feel a bit dizzy. I almost stumble but thankfully, the wolfcut girl caught my back. “You okay?”

“My head is a bit spiraling, but I’m good.”

“Yeah it’s better to eat first. I’ll give you a medicine after.”

She was about to direct me to their table but then I refused. “S-sorry, but can I go now? I don’t even have to be here, I’m sorry again for the incovenience that I caused-”

“Don’t disrespect unnie like that, now follow her and sit with us!” I didn’t expected that those inviting words, even though they were sounded a bit rude… came from Chaeyoung herself. I looked at her with shame and I just nodded in defeat. I don’t even want to try making this girl’s blood boil more if I already feeling weak.

Oh, great. Speaking about the blood.

As I slowly make my seat, my eyes are still staring at Nayeon who seems uncomfortable now with my look. I try to stop it but at the same time I’m just completely puzzled and disgusted at what I caught from her earlier.

“You can join us for breakfast, because what we learned about you gave me a bit of an assurance that there’s nothing wrong with you.” Jihyo said as she grabbed her spoon and fork before she nodded at the person in front of her from the distance to proceed as she starts eating her food.

It turns out to be the elegant girl sitting with the wolfcut girl and the one with tattoos beside her. “May we know your name first?” she asked me.

“J-Jeonghoon. Min Jeonghoon.”

“Do you remember how did you end up here in our dorm?”

I stopped for a while as I attempt to recall the last scenarios I’ve gone through, which was from last night… but it was like some sort of a missing puzzle pieces, because I couldn’t remember it entirely.

“A bit. All I know is just I beat up some guys because I caught them trying to abduct the siblings of this kid that they intimidate. I’m pretty sure I got knocked out, but… I really don’t know how am I now here, in this type if place with you all.” I explained.

“Someone brought you here with us. That person found you unconscious outside with a badly beaten body.” Jihyo starts to enlighten out the things I temporarily forgot.

“And you should be thanking right now at her.” She glanced back at the elegant girl who just smiled at me and nodded back. My eyes widened when I understood that she was the one who saved me. 

“I’m sorry if you haven’t met me a while ago when you woke up, I just went for some exercise in our gym.” She bowed her head. “My name’s Mina, and I’m the one who brought you here.”

“W-wait, but how…” 

“Since you couldn’t remember when you went through last night, I was a friend with the old guy who owns the orphanage and a guardian of those three kids you saved out there.” She started to narrate what previously happened. 

“He called me along with the police because well… lets say he knows me as someone he can entrust a lot about.” Mina shrugged. “I volunteered to get you healed here while the old guy reported the incident to the police so… that’s the reason how you end up here in our place.” 

I felt relieved and contented that I have an idea now of what I just did, that I was also responsible actually of bringing myself into here, sharing a room with these 9 girls that even though I never met them in my entire life, they seem to be good people and I can somehow try to connect and make myself trustworthy to them… in return of what Mina did to me.

“We learned from Tyler, the kid you saved that they were caught by the loan sharks and you went there to stop them from kidnapping his fellow orphans in exchange of his unpaid balance.” Jihyo said. “And your kind deed was enough to make me convince that maybe you’re not actually what we hope you won’t be. That’s why we talked about even thought Chaeyoung here was… still hesitant-”

“We still don’t know him, unnie! I won’t still trust him around us.” Chaeyoung rolled her eyes as she spatted a toxic gaze at her before returning to her food.

“Exactly what I was saying, but she was still right. We may be appreciating what you did for the kids Jeonghoon but… you got to prove us more. We still don’t know much with you yet.”

“But you’re now welcome to interact with us.” The wolfcut haired girl spoke to me with a nice smile. I felt grateful that they gave me a chance somehow even thought I ended up looking weird for them.

“Thank you so much, I will do my best, I promise.” I said to them, bowing respectfully. 

I started to eat along with them. While I was savoring how delicious the food was, my eyes caught this girl that I last seen drinking blood. I still can’t get it out of my head. As I get drown fron my curiosity, all of us flinched and got a mini heart attack when she suddenly stood up and slammed her fist on the table, towering at me with her deadly stare.

“CAN YOU STOP LOOKING WITH ME, I COULDN’T EAT PEACEFULLY WITH YOUR STARES! IF YOU WANT TO ASK ME ALREADY ABOUT THE BLOOD I DRANK EARLIER, THEN FREAKING DO IT ALREADY!”

All of us went silent while I found the other girl with bangs slapped her head frustratingly. We locked into a staring contest until Jihyo slids between.

“Nayeon! Calm down!”

“What did you just said, Nayeon unnie?!” Wolfcut asked her older friend which revealed to be her name as Nayeon. Her voice has sn evident disbelief in it. 

Nayeon realized what she just accidentally released in her mouth, so she quickly covered it with her palm as she nervously looked around at us especially to Jihyo.

“I-I’m sorry… I-”

“You heard her right.” I said as I still confronted Nayeon. “I caught Nayeon drinking blood from the fridge, even complimenting that it was the best thing to aid hangover.”

All of them gasped and this girl beside me who was using her phone earlier clicked her tongue thrice. Wait, did I mentioned already that she looks like the tallest of them all? Well, excluding me because her head is leveled just right on my shoulder.

“Do you girls know about this? Why is she drinking blood? What are you girls hiding from me?”

They all went suspiciously silent for a moment, my fear and nervousness is increasing my heartbeat’s rate at this point, being beware of their secret that hides their true identity.

“W-wait, Jeonghoon can you give us a minute to t-talk?”

“No more time needed, just tell me right away!” I stood up, feeling alarmed at them. They all posed a taken aback expression at my frightful demeanor.

“Are you girls belong in some crazy ass cult or what? Because you girls didn’t disposed the fact that she drank blood means one thing only that you girls know about this and this just seems normal to yall. Thinking that you girls ain’t normal makes me wanna leave this room already!”

“Jeonghoon, please wait!”

They all stood up at the same time, which even looked like more creepy to me. I stepped backwards, being defensive for myself. “NO! DON’T YOU DARE TAKE ANY MORE STEP COME NEAR ME!”

I looked at the door at the near end of the hallway, which helped me to plan what I have to do after. I gotta get out of this place as they all soon to come after me. I better hurry out and ran as fast as I can.

Just as I had a plan formulated in my mind, the elegant girl took our attention when she suddenly yelled that I couldn’t even consider if she actually yelled because of how light like a feather her voice was.

“W-we are v-vampires, that’s why!”

They all gasped unbelievably at their friend who just exposed and retreated at their guilt.

“MINA! WHY DID YOU SAY IT?!” The bangs girls got infuriated at her.

“I-I just couldn’t take it anymore. I can’t lie!”

“Shit… you all are…” I looked at them and soon the sight of them looking like these precious set of women goes shifting into this unimaginable monsters that I never wanted to come across with.

“Oh god… so that’s probably why you all took me, to feed me to become more healthy… so that later tonight you all can eat me and have my blood huh! You girls like the dark and a fresh blood, like what that girl said!” I hauntingly said while pointing at Nayeon who lowered her head, probably felt pain at my accusation.

“Guess what, you all can’t have it. Because I’M GETTING OUT OF HERE!”

“GIRLS, GET HIM!

I moved as fast as I can, sprinting to the door and tried to open it. I looked back to see all the girls except Jihyo, the wolfcut one, Nayeon, and the thighs girl not joining the rest who is chasing after me.

I realized that there’s a keypad underneath the knob. I remembered that Chaeyoung told me that I have no chance of getting out of here because their door is secured with a pass code.

OH SHIT! 

“HELPPP!!! HELP ME!!!”

I pounded the door as loud as I can before I felt the bangs girls tackled my lower part and pulled my legs, sliding me to the ground with my front colliding on the floor.

Meanwhile, Jihyo and the wolfcut girl was talking about something when I saw the tall girl suddenly speak with them.

“Just tell him the truth, unnie. We can’t do anything about it already. It’s too late.”

“Nowhere to run, Jeonghoon!” Chaeyoung said to me before she maniacally smugs and laughs. I saw a glimpse of her fangs growing wiith her pupils shrinking and eyes glowing into color red.

“GET OFF ME!!! NO, PLEASE!!! SOMEBODY SAVE M-RAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

The three of them just watched the rest pulled my body away from the door as I clawed in the front while screaming in dread and terror, with my fate unknown being at the possession of these girls who turned out to be vampires in disguise.

[judjira]

sleepless

AN: so i may have gone a little overboard with this one, but i think thats ayt considering this is the first dahyun pov of apartment au that we get, and she's basically the main character so, enjoy !!

pairing: dahyun/everyone, mentions of najeongtzu, michaeng, samo apartment au wc: 11820

A sigh. Weary as it is, with exhaustion seeping through, it’s nothing new, unfortunately. Just the product of another late night.

The flash of the red alarm clock by her desk is enough to take her attention away from her current task.

2:47 am.

Again, nothing new. She often finds herself awake at these kinds of hours, toiling over some research paper or some case study that needs to be finished soon.

Tonight, it’s a project proposal regarding a gallery exhibit that’s aimed to target the masses through pieces on sociopolitical awareness.

Tomorrow, it’s a paper on color semantics and their effect on people when used for educational means.

And the day after that, it’s a case study that explores the exposure of a certain community near their area to visual and performance art.

Then after that…well, Dahyun doesn’t keep track of things that far ahead.

With another glance at her laptop, the blinking text cursor stares at her, almost tauntingly, as she rechecks the required word count for this paper.

2000 words. And she’s got around 1500 already done.

That merits some kind of reward, right?

With her skin itching and her teeth chewing on nothing, she puts her laptop on sleep.

Thankfully, there’s no one in her bed tonight to be disturbed. They probably all got the hint when Dahyun came home earlier in the night, alone and silent.

Her door creaks open, and the hallways of the apartment, her apartment, are only lit by the moonlight that twinkles through the windows.

Most of her tenants are nightly creatures, but in an effort to provide their landlord with the peace she needs at this hour, they refrain from making any noise. It’s something she’s grateful for, but it doesn’t really help, not when most nights she’s awake, and little can put her to sleep.

Her psych says it’s the insomnia.

Dahyun thinks it’s just the way the world works nowadays. That, and sleeping pills put a sour taste in her mouth. Literally and figuratively.

Slipping on a pair of shoes and sliding on a coat over her university hoodie and sweatpants, she steps out into the night, not really sure of where she’s headed, but hoping that the walk will be enough to take the energy out of her.

This is what happens most nights for Kim Dahyun, the Lady of the Sanctuary, as she struggles to get a good night’s rest.

And like most nights that this happens, a tenant slips out of their room, if only to wander after their wayward landlord.

Fallen (But not Alone)

Near the apartment, a few blocks away, there’s another apartment complex. It’s abandoned, with ruined rooms and decaying paint, but it’s still structurally sound.

Enough for children to wander into and play out their childhood fantasies in an urban wasteland. Enough for teens to claim a few empty rooms on their own, tagging the walls with graffiti and living it up with their friends. Enough for young adults to stay and take a breather when they need a break from it all.

Which is what Dahyun’s doing.

She’s midway up the stairs to the rooftop when she hears the ever subtle flapping of wings.

Given that there are three beings in the apartment with the capability of supernatural flight, Dahyun’s learned to tell them apart.

This one comes gently, like the falling of feathers onto skin, caring and nurturing. The sound her wings make are barely a sound, if only to let Dahyun know that she is near.

Dahyun says nothing when she hears a second pair of footsteps follow her, up until she opens the door to the roof.

Out here, in the city, the night sky is but a pale image of what it is meant to be, with the light pollution blotting out the stars in the sky, and the clouds of smog that dot the horizon.

Her hand slides into her pocket, pulling out a box of cigarettes and a lighter.

It is only then that the voice speaks.

“Think I could bum one off you?”

Dahyun doesn’t try to stifle the chuckle that leaves her throat.

“Fallen angels don’t have a predisposition to cancer?”

Jeongyeon sidles up to her, stepping next to where Dahyun’s postured herself, in front of the barrier that overlooks the edge of the building.

As always, the fallen angel has elected to dress simply. Almost like a college student, she’s wearing a simple hoodie folded up to the elbows, comfy pajama pants, and soft sandals. Her short hair rests comfortably on her neck as she smiles at Dahyun.

“Nah. Part of the whole ancient divinity kind of deal.”

Her fingers swipe a cigarette from the open box, as Dahyun flicks on the lighter. The small flame comes up to the stick in Dahyun’s mouth, as she puffs out a cloud of smoke.

With a smooth inhale, the end of Jeongyeon’s cigarette ignites on its own.

“Kind of takes the thrill out of it, doesn’t it?”

Jeongyeon shrugs.

“A little bit. But when you get to my age, there’s little thrill in anything.”

Dahyun’s eyes regard the stars, twinkling despite their distance. Jeongyeon merely follows the movement.

She was the first one Dahyun met, when she originally claimed the apartment. Jeongyeon had been there since the beginning, after all. Many of the ancient wards and glyphs that protected the building we crafted by her own hands.

It’s only been two years since then, since the deed to the apartment had been put in Dahyun’s name, since she moved to the city and found herself in charge of a supernatural sanctuary. It feels longer, like time stretched through syrup, waning and waxing slowly, almost painfully.

But thankfully, Jeongyeon’s been there through it all.

She’ll likely be there after it all too, when the apartment is passed onto another soul.

That’s years from now for Dahyun. But for Jeongyeon, it’s probably the blink of an eye.

“They called me the Angel of the Stars, y’know. Back when I was up there.”

Dahyun turns to her, flicking cigarette ash off the building.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that’s still what they call me. But back then, it meant a lot more.”

She rarely speaks of a time when her wings were as pure as the brightest day, before she had touched upon the earth, and before she had been bound to it. Dahyun listens.

“When I came into existence, I knew about them. Those countless constellations that dot the sky like holes in paper. They’re magnificent. Countless. Immeasurable. And yet, so far out of reach.”

She extends a hand to the sky, and for a moment, the clouds, the smog, the light, everything that hides the stars away from the world, vanishes.

And for a moment, Dahyun can see them all.

Glittering, sparkling, twinkling.

Light shines from even the farthest of them.

Thousands and upon thousands of stars.

All unique, no two alike.

It’s beautiful.

But it is only for a moment, and the darkness in the sky seeps back in as Jeongyeon chuckles.

“Funny that Father decided to put so much effort into such a vast universe, but decided to center his sights on this planet, no?”

Dahyun agrees.

Why this planet? Why this silly little rock in space, with the prevalent creature being a misshapen, angry, chaotic creature that laid waste to everything in sight? What was so special about humans that God decided to favor them so?

“I questioned it too, once. ‘Why them, Father?’ I asked. ‘What makes them so special?’ And as always, His answer was as cryptic as it is.”

Dahyun turns to Jeongyeon, only to see her already staring at her, a creature so small and insignificant, she could burn in Jeongyeon’s light if she willed it.

But instead, her eyes twinkled, like those faraway stars.

“See for yourself, He said. So I did. Willingly watched as my wings turned black for descending to Earth, and I watched. The Grigori, they called us. Watchers of Mankind.”

Jeongyeon’s hand dances along Dahyun’s wrist, before grasping softly.

“And He was right. There’s no one, nothing out there like you.”

She pulls it up, pressing her lips softly to the back of Dahyun’s palm. In an instant, her weary shoulders feel freer, and her body lifts with a natural energy to it, as if the restraints that shackled her down have been disposed of.

“No one out there like you, Dahyun.” Jeongyeon repeats.

Dahyun says nothing. Because she can say nothing. No words can amount to the wonder, affection, and confusion that Dahyun feels, knowing that such an ancient, divine, and powerful being has fallen at her knees and professed their most ardent of affection towards her.

Jeongyeon is the Angel of Stars, the Burning Light, Kokabiel. A being that willingly fell from heaven, if only to protect and nurture humanity from what darkness lies in the corners of the earth. Her kindness knows no bounds. Her care extends to all. Her love is unadulterated and pure. There is no other being like her in existence.

While she is just Kim Dahyun. A struggling college senior, trying to make it day by day. One amongst many. A dot in a sea of faceless names and nameless faces. What makes her so special? There is nothing unique about Kim Dahyun.

Yet, the way Jeongyeon looks at her, as if every secret known to man is inside her eyes, tells her otherwise.

And if Jeongyeon can see it somehow, maybe that just means Dahyun hasn’t looked hard enough.

Jeongyeon leans forward, and her lips press against Dahyun’s cheek ever so slowly. Her other hand caresses against Dahyun’s face, with so much care and affection.

When she moves away, Dahyun’s breath is stolen away, her lips curving into a helpless smile.

“Let’s go back home.”

Jeongyeon bows, disposing of her cigarette. Their hands don’t separate, all the way down the stairs of the building, to the apartment door.

When they arrive at the apartment, Jeongyeon pulls the sheets away, sinking into Dahyun’s bed, next to her.

They tuck each other in, fond smiles on each other’s faces.

“Good night, Dahyun. I love you.”

Dahyun’s smile twinkles, like a star.

“I love you too, Jeong.”

Wandering (But not Lost)

The park near the apartment is always open. The gates are never locked, and the guard post at the entrance is almost always void of any personnel.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not well taken care of. As far as Dahyun knows, there’s a caretaker here, who cares for the trees, the shrubs, the pathways, the grass, all to make sure that at least a corner of their community is inviting and pleasant.

It’s a small park, but in the morning and the afternoons, there are always people to find here. Active folk that jog around the paths. Elderly that stroll pleasantly amongst the flowers. Young lovers that hide away amongst the bushes.

Dahyun’s seen it all.

Tonight, it is quiet, which Dahyun is thankful for.

She begins her walk, and breathes in the nature around her.

Not too soon after, she hears the padding of paws against grass, and the soft panting of a wolf.

It is distinct to her, how every treading of paws is quiet, how every pant is subtle, how every movement is stealthed.

As if she does not want to be perceived.

Regardless, Dahyun’s hand outstretches next to her, and it’s only a few moments before fur tickles her palm.

“Hi, Momoring.”

There’s a small yip of acknowledgment from the black wolf.

In this form, Momo’s back reaches Dahyun’s chest, and if she cranes her neck upwards, she can lick Dahyun’s face with ease. With a sleek, yet long and muscular body, Dahyun could easily ride Momo’s back. Not that Momo would want her to.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Momo snorts, nudging her snout into Dahyun’s stomach.

“Hah…yeah, a little hypocritical of me.”

Her head tilts, looking up into Dahyun’s eyes.

“It’s the usual. I don’t…”

Dahyun pauses, and sighs.

“…I don’t wanna take the sleeping pills.”

There’s a quiet moment of understanding, where Momo acquiesces and continues to tread alongside her.

Momo has never rejected her. Not once. Through Dahyun’s worst moments since she’s started taking care of the apartment, Momo’s always just been at her side. Quiet, unmoving, but a comfort to behold.

She’s been like that since before Dahyun’s moved in.

“Momoring?”

Momo tilts her head to look back up at Dahyun.

“Can I hold your hand?”

If it were anyone else, Momo would whine quietly, tuck her tail between her legs, refuse by padding away.

But Dahyun rarely asks anything of her.

Momo pauses, only briefly, before her body begins to shift.

The transformation looks and sounds painful. Bones crack to reform, skin stretches and rips to reshape, organs shift and shrink to resize. It’s a gruesome process, one that shouldn’t be witnessed, but it happens in less than five seconds.

In five seconds, Momo stands before Dahyun, her human form still taller than Dahyun’s by a good few inches, messy and ruffled black hair down to her shoulders with bangs that almost cover her eyes. She’s always dressed the same when she shifts, a simple grey tanktop and black shorts. Scars litter her body, rippling whenever she flexes her muscles.

With gleaming silver eyes, Momo takes Dahyun’s hand.

“Is…is this okay?”

Her voice is never hoarse of lack of use, but it is always soft, barely heard over the din of the modern world.

But Dahyun makes the extra effort to hear it.

“Yeah. This is okay.”

A small smile comes to Momo’s face as her fingers swipe across Dahyun’s palm, as if trying to memorize the lines and calluses.

Together, they walk.

Momo keeps many of her lupine tendencies in human form, Dahyun’s realized. Her ears twitch at the slightest of sounds. Her nose perks up at any whisper of a scent. Her eyes track and follow any movement that comes across her attention.

With nothing else to focus on, and nothing else she’d rather focus on, Dahyun looks at Momo, the second longest staying resident of the Sanctuary.

“What was it like?”

Momo’s ear twitches in response, and her eyes turn to Dahyun’s, waiting for elaboration.

“Back then. Before…before everything.”

Momo has always been quiet. Never one to share, never one to open. Of the past two years, Dahyun has only ever learned of one thing from Momo’s past.

Before everything, before the Sanctuary, Momo had no name. She was simple referred to as Lupa, the she-wolf.

“It’s hard…to talk about.”

Momo strains. Her voice, already quiet, drops a decibel lower, barely able to be heard.

“I don’t want to force you.” Dahyun whispers back, as if trying to emulate her tenant. “You can tell me only if you want to.”

Momo’s eyes dart across the park, as if she’s seeing ghosts, shadows, trembles of a time long past, a time that has never been mentioned.

Dahyun is curious. But she would never let that get in the way of Momo’s pain.

“…before, I had a pack.”

She struggles to remember. Not because her memory has failed her, but because she has actively tried to forget.

“Two of them…I had two…pups. Then, they had pups. Many.”

They’ve long since stopped walking. They stand now on the tallest hill in the park, overlooking the rest of its green splendor basked in moonlight.

“Then…”

Flickers of a flame spark in Momo’s eyes, as if seeing something she shouldn’t be seeing. Not again.

“I lost them. All of them.”

With those simple words, uttered so quietly even the wind seemed to yell louder, Dahyun understands.

“I…left. And I—I searched. For something. Anything.”

In Dahyun’s eyes, Momo is still searching. Her eyes dart across the horizon constantly, and her body is always at unease, ready to move at the slightest hint of anything unsavory.

“Then you found Jeongyeon.”

Dahyun finishes, and it takes a moment of stunning silence before Momo nods.

There is more to it. But Dahyun has pushed enough tonight.

“Thank you, Momo.”

Momo doesn’t respond, but Dahyun isn’t expecting her to. She’s already gotten so much from her already, it wouldn’t be right to ask for more. Not when it caused her so much pain.

There are many things that Dahyun doesn’t know about Momo.

But the one thing that she does know is that Momo is her tenant.

And that means she needs to be protected.

Dahyun squeezes her hand.

“Home?”

Momo only nods.

They walk back, treading quietly through the park, back the way they came. Above them, the silvery moon hangs precariously in the sky, motes of light only barely managing to reach them amidst the clouds of the city.

When they get to the gate, Momo stops.

Dahyun turns back to look at her.

Behind Momo, the moon glows almost impossibly, casting a highlight to Momo’s form, making her presence much more ethereal, yet still as silent and as calm as the werewolf usually is.

“I am…okay now.”

The smile that barely protrudes on Momo’s face is telling, and Dahyun can’t help but smile back.

Momo’s hand travels from her side, haltingly, up to Dahyun’s face. Her fingers, scarred and callused, tread so gently across her skin, and Dahyun leans into the touch.

“…mi vita.”

She pulls forward, and Dahyun closes her eyes.

Lips press against her forehead, soft and radiant, like moonlight spilling out against a surface.

When Momo pulls away, it is with the utmost care and reverence, one that Dahyun is honored to receive and return in kind.

“Let’s get some sleep.”

That night, when Dahyun curls into her bed, arms scoop around her middle as a warm, human, body presses against her, the soft rumblings of a she-wolf lulling her to slumber.

Scarred (but not Wounded)

There is a canal that travels near the apartment. The water isn’t dirty by any means, but it would be inadvisable to drink it. By the sides of it are raised narrow walkways, allowing one to peer down into the canal that leads further down the borough.

It’s a shortcut that Dahyun passes through on the regular, on the way to school. It leads directly to a street that has an entrance to the subway system, so Dahyun usually ends up passing through either on the way to school or going back home.

She’s even almost fallen into the canal a few times, too sleepy to even walk properly.

That’s not the case now, as she gently treads on the walkway, no railings to guide her step, only the back walls of the building that close in on this little canal.

Sleep evades her, and for good reason. She’s been struggling with it, as of late. Mustering the energy to get up and work has been quite the feat, if only because of the extra work she’s had to put in because of college.

Now, no matter how much sleep she gets, she always wakes up tired and ready to go back to dreamland.

“My Lady?”

Effortless in her stealth, and perhaps one of two people in the apartment that is able to sneak up on Dahyun, the voice that comes from behind is regal in its chime, noble in its tone.

“Hiya, Satang.”

When she turns around, Sana curtsies, lifting the ends of her dress to announce her arrival. Her dress, more of a nightgown really, is laced with frills, crimson red highlights against a black fabric. Her hair is brushed immaculately, only serving to shine the gorgeous features of this creature of the night.

“It is beyond the hour of rest, my Lady. You should be in bed.”

Sana’s voice, ever so prim and proper, still manages to show the utmost of concern for Dahyun’s wellbeing.

“I know. I just can’t sleep. And the sleeping pills don’t help. I mean, I do fall asleep, but…”

Dahyun closes her eyes, and all she can recall are the flashes of lightning and thunder.

“…I get really bad dreams when I do.”

In an instant a hand is on hers. Grasping tenderly with a feather-like touch. Dahyun barely would have noticed it if she wasn’t so attuned to the care Sana placed into every touch of their skin.

“Then, my Lady, would it be too much to to ask you if I may accompany you on your stroll?”

Dahyun clenches on Sana’s hand, feeling the slight jump in Sana’s skin when she does.

“You don’t need to ask, Satang. It’s never too much from you.”

Sana hesitates, for just the slightest of moments. Then she inclines her head.

“Then I shall trouble you for tonight with my company.”

Dahyun has to chuckle at the stiff formality that always accompanies Sana’s speech.

It’s no surprise, considering it was how people spoke during Sana’s time. And as someone who used to be a noble of that time, a Countess, Sana’s probably never let go of the habit. Not that Dahyun would want her to. It’s one of her endearing traits.

“May I ask, my Lady?”

With Sana’s hand so daintily grasping hers, Dahyun turns to the vampire as they stroll down the canal’s walkways, with Sana on the side by the edge.

“What’s up?”

“What…troubles you in these dreams?”

Dahyun winces at the recollection. They are no ordinary dreams. They’re dreams that don’t make sense, don’t fit in with her current perception of the world.

“It’s different, a lot of the time. But…I always end up dying, somehow.”

It is then that Sana freezes, and with her skin already cool to the touch, it only chills Dahyun more when Sana looks, almost hauntingly at her.

“Your dreams…deal in death, my Lady?”

When Dahyun nods, Sana exhales a shaky sigh, and her grip on Dahyun’s hand loosens just the slightest bit.

“Different kinds. Sometimes, it’s a…a stab wound, or something. Sometimes, I’m burning. Sometimes, I’m poisoned. Other times, I’m…”

Dahyun kicks a pebble into the canal.

“…drowning.”

Sana stops in her tracks.

“Drowning?”

Dahyun doesn’t realize her breaths are just as shaky as Sana’s until she sighs.

“Yeah.”

When she looks up, Sana is staring, silently, into the canal.

“Are you okay?”

Sana immediately shakes her head.

“No, my Lady, I believe it is I that should be asking you that question.”

The one thing that Dahyun doesn’t like to do when it comes to her tenants is to assign stereotypes. But when it comes to Sana , one thing is for certain.

Just like the myths of the old vampires, Sana is absolutely terrified of treading into running water.

“It is…not a fate I would wish upon anyone.”

Dahyun comes to the conclusion immediately.

“You mean you…”

The silence that follows is deafening.

Sana exhales once more, eyes and fingers trembling at the gentle current that runs through the canal.

Dahyun had barely heard of Sana’s past life, before the apartment, but what she did know is that before everything, Sana had died. The life had left her body as cold as it was now.

As for how many times she died, that was another story entirely.

“It was terrifying, my Lady. The water would not stop running, and the current of the river was too strong for my body to resist. I could only be taken by the flow.”

Sana lets go of Dahyun’s hands, and she takes a slow, hesitant step towards the edge of the path, towards the canal.

“They had…they had tied weights to my ankles and wrists. Light enough to not sink me down to the bottom, but…heavy enough that I could not resurface. Iron shackles that…that tore at my skin. Blessed, I believe.”

Sana hugs her arms close to her chest, and despite all of her strength, her power, her impossible constitution, Dahyun can see nothing but a lost, scared young woman.

“I…I do not know how many times I…I passed in that river. Only that every time I awoke, the water would fill my lungs once more, and my end would come even quicker than before.”

Dahyun immediately rushes by Sana’s side, grasping her hand. The pain that suffuses Sana’s being almost courses through the connection of their skin.

“Sana, I…that’s awful.”

Perhaps, if Sana were younger, there would be tears at the recollection of such a brutal memory. But now, hardened by age and time, she can only smile wearily.

“What has happened to me has happened already. There is no turning back time and going back to such a dreadful memory. I can only be glad that I am where I am now.”

Sana turns to her, and in her eyes, Dahyun can see a fraction of that noblewoman who once stood before, before the horrifying fate she was forced to endure.

They called her Countess Carmilla, the first Vampire. But for such an honorable name, the things she had gone through because of it were close to inhumane.

And yet, despite it all, Sana smiles.

“I can only hope that by being by your side, your pain is relieved, my Lady. That you do not even dare to dream of the pain that I have gone through.”

Dahyun has to marvel at how a vampire, who by all rights is stronger, smarter, and more powerful than any other human, bows to her, her adoration for her Lady far exceeding that of anything she’s ever experienced.

“I can only hope my presence is enough for your weariness to subside.”

Dahyun brings her hands up to Sana’s cheeks, caressing them with a vivid disbelief that despite everything that has been done to her, Sana would still willingly choose to live amongst humans, if only to be with the one that she loved.

“It’s enough, Sana. More than enough.”

Sana faintly smiles, hand reaching up to hold Dahyun’s by her cheek.

“I am glad. It is all I can offer.”

“And it’s all I’m going to ask of you.”

Sana leans in, closing her eyes and pressing her lips against Dahyun’s.

Despite the chill of her skin, Dahyun has never felt so warm being in another’s presence like this. And when she pulls away, Dahyun almost chases after that warmth, the warmth that only Sana can provide.

“Shall we retire to our abode?”

Dahyun sighs, before nodding.

In one fell swoop, Sana’s arms scoop Dahyun up, the Lady of the Sanctuary letting out a small shriek of surprise as her hands hook around Sana’s neck.

“Sana! What’re you—”

“Hush, my Lady. Rest your body. I shall lay you to bed.”

Dahyun grumbles, but only for a little bit. It’s not too bad, being pampered by a vampire.

So, as she closes her eyes, she can distantly hear Sana humming a soft tune, one that sings of love and all of its hardships. And then, a soft whisper by the edge of her ear.

“My heart beats for you, my Lady.”

She goes to sleep dreamless.

Invisible (But not Forgotten)

The streets of the neighborhood Dahyun lives in are quite narrow. In the middle of the city, it’s in a nebulous area that’s urbanized enough to be quite populated and crowded, but not quite developed enough to be too heavily gentrified.

As a consequence of that, the buildings that surround the streets are only one to two storeys tall, a mix of apartment buildings and home businesses and restaurants that give the neighborhood a fairly simple feel, like an escape from the modern world while not treading too far from the conveniences of today.

It’s quiet as she walks along the roadside, air still faintly humid from this morning’s rainfall. There are still raindrops that coat the windows of cars parked on the curb, the faint smell of petrichor that lingers in the air, and the puddles that verge on every pothole in the road.

Dahyun stops in front of one such puddle on the sidewalk, a pricking feeling in her neck that raises a suspicion in her.

Her suspicion is confirmed when she catches a glimpse of a pure white dress, stained crimson, in the reflection of the puddle.

“Have you been following me this whole time, Minari?” Dahyun chuckles.

Mina only smiles, a beautiful one, as she walks closer to Dahyun in the reflection.

“You are not quite as sneaky as you believe you are, Lady Dahyun.”

When the apparition speaks, Dahyun can hear her voice, disembodied and echoey, from next to her ear. She turns, on pure habit, to greet her properly, only to see nothing there.

Still, she knows that Mina is with her. And that is enough for her.

“Walk with me?”

Dahyun glances back to the puddle, in time to see Mina bow her head.

“There is nothing I’d rather occupy my time with, Lady Dahyun.”

And with that, Dahyun continues walking forward.

It is an odd request, to ask a ghost to walk with you. Especially considering you wouldn’t be able to perceive their presence, beyond that of a cold chill down your spine and goosebumps rising on your skin.

But it is Mina, and Mina is always there, even if it doesn’t seem like it.

Dahyun catches glimpses of her as she walks down the street. In the mirrors of parked cars, the glass of building windows, the shine of metal streetlamps. It’s a great comfort to her, to know that she is not alone.

“Today seemed difficult, Lady Dahyun. You were working more than usual.”

It’s the truth. Today was definitely more tiring than most, and Dahyun would be lying if she said it didn’t weigh her down especially today.

“Tell me about it. Barely knew what I was doing today.”

Mina, in the reflection of a bicycle’s side mirror, tilts her head in confusion.

“How so?”

How? Can Dahyun really explain that in a way that someone else will understand? Still, it’s Mina, and she tries.

“It’s like…okay, imagine your mind has a lot of buttons and levers all over the walls.”

Mina nods, following along through the gleam of a bookstore window.

“Aaaand, each button or lever is a certain thing you need to do. Like, one button is you gotta take a proper shower, or another is you have to head to school to go to class, or…you gotta remember to pull on a lever to actually be able to physically socialize with someone.”

They come across a street crossing, and Dahyun unconsciously holds her hand out for Mina, even though there are no cars at this time of night, and Mina can’t even hold her hand properly.

When Dahyun feels a cold chill around her hand, only then does she cross the street.

“But sometimes, you don’t have the energy for all the buttons and switches and levers. Sometimes you can’t reach the buttons that have to do with work. Or, you forget to pull on the levers that are for eating meals. Or, you can’t find the switches that are for talking to the people you love.”

They reach the other end of the street, and Dahyun sighs, clenching her hand around nothing. The cold feeling intensifies, and she’s reminded she’s not alone.

“And then, there are those days you can’t. The buttons are stuck and won’t go down. The levers are too heavy to pull. The switches don’t do anything.”

She stops, in front of a car’s window, where Mina is standing next to her, hand enclasped around hers and eyes staring intently into her own.

“It’s…it’s like that.”

There’s a moment of silence, a moment where Dahyun is afraid she’s word-vomited too much and Mina doesn’t understand.

“Then…how was today, Lady Dahyun?”

A brief recollection of the day’s events has Dahyun scratching her head.

“Well, it was okay? The buttons and stuff…I could push them and switch them, but it took lots of energy to do. Enough that I was so absorbed in the fact of pushing the button down that I forgot to understand what it was I was pressing.”

It’s then that she realizes that what she’s saying makes absolutely no sense.

“Sorry, this is stupid. Probably makes no sense to you.”

Mina only smiles in the car window.

“It is not what it does for me that matters, Lady Dahyun. If explaining it in such a way that makes sense to you relieves some of the pressure that you experience, I would willingly listen.”

Dahyun’s side gets colder, as Mina steps closer to her, gently hooking her arm through hers.

“Even if I do not completely understand it.”

A chuckle leaves Dahyun’s lips, gratitude rising through her smile.

When she first moved into the apartment, the thought of living with a ghost, unseen unless caught in reflections, she was initially conscious of her surroundings, maybe a tad bit frightened.

But now, she can’t imagine the apartment without her.

“And if ever it should bother you that you may be burdening me with your words, there is nothing to be worried about, Lady Dahyun. I love hearing your voice.”

Mina is quiet. Not because she chooses to be, but because there is much she does not understand, and thus, not much to say.

Of all the tenants of the apartment, Mina is the only one that has no memory of her past.

Mina is Mina. That is all Dahyun, and the other tenants, are sure of.

“It…means a lot to me, Mina. Thank you.”

In the reflection, Mina’s gentle hand reaches out to tuck Dahyun’s hair back. It looks as if the air is moving her hair on its own, but Dahyun can only giggle.

Mina smiles, and presses her lips behind Dahyun’s ear.

It’s cold to the senses, but warm to the heart.

“I shall always listen to you, Lady Dahyun.”

With those words that are barely a whisper, Dahyun sighs, and with her sigh, expels a great amount of weight on her shoulders.

“Let’s go home, then. My legs are tired.”

Dahyun walks the rest of the way home, a lone girl strolling across the streets, with naught but a cold wind blowing after her.

Heavenly (But not Distant)

“Here’s your change.”

Dahyun forces a smile to the clerk behind the counter, probably an overworked and underpaid college student like her, judging by the youthful looks that are marred by eyebags and a grimace.

The bells of the convenience store jingle as she leaves. Outside, the more awake part of her neighborhood bustles, as quietly as it can. The main road crosses through here, and as such, the surrounding street’s littered with a number of 24/7 establishments that never cease to be awake.

Neon lights and brightly lit signs coat the surroundings, even though a car only comes passing through every few minutes. People that cross through here at this time, if they even do, are brisk and focused on their own business.

Despite everything, it’s still quiet, relatively.

She sits down on the curb, thankfully dry and clean, relatively.

As she’s opening a bag of chips, she hears the flapping of wings.

These wings are loud, uncaring of any passersby, and magnificent in their tone, like the thundering of an eagle’s feathers.

“Kim Dahyun.”

The accompanied voice is equally as magnificent.

Dahyun sighs, with exasperation, anticipating the lecture she’s about to receive.

“Hi, Tzu.”

“You are meant to be slumbering at this time.”

Dahyun turns, and there she is, Tzuyu, in all her glory.

A tight and high ponytail secures her long brown hair, her hardened features only enhancing her stoic beauty. As always, she’s dressed like an office worker, with a neat white button down, paired with a black tie, blazer, and pencil skirt. It doesn’t help that the already tall angel is wearing office heels that add a few centimeters.

“I know, I know.”

“That is not a healthy source of substance.”

The attention is directed to the bag of chips in Dahyun’s lap, as well as the bottle of soda next to her.

“…no, no, it’s not.”

“I shall dispose of them immediately.”

“Hold on—”

Before Dahyun can say anything, a blinding light surrounds her snack and her drink, and with a snapping noise that pops her ears, they vanish.

“…great,” Dahyun grumbles. “There goes my money.”

Tzuyu can only blink at the perceived negativity in her tone.

“You are…upset?”

“…y’know what? Yeah, Tzuyu. I am upset.”

Dahyun sees no reason to hide it. Not that she has to. Unfortunately as an angel of the heavens, Tzuyu has no concept of human grievances.

“It is dangerous, Kim Dahyun. If you ingest enough of this type of sustenance, then—”

That only makes Dahyun snap.

“I know, Tzu! I know! I know it’s unhealthy, that’s why I bought it! So that I can sit down, ignore all my problems, and stew in my own misery! So, can you get off my fucking back for once!?”

Dahyun breathes, heavily, as she recollects her breath. She only realizes then that she’s raised her voice, quickly glancing at Tzuyu.

The angel’s eyes are wide, taken aback, mouth slightly open, and she’s taken a step back.

“…God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—fuck…”

Resisting the urge to scream, Dahyun simply curses to herself.

“…I…I apologize.”

Tzuyu looks like a kicked puppy, standing the way she does, head bowed down, and lip quivering. It only punches Dahyun in the gut with a load of guilt.

“No, I…ugh, it’s my fault. I’m sorry, Tzu, I didn’t mean to yell.”

How stupid of her to let loose at Tzuyu, of all people, the one tenant in her apartment that’s more akin to a child than anyone else.

“Can you sit down with me, sweetie?”

Extending an olive branch, Dahyun pats the curb next to her, voice low and soothing.

When she does, she realizes that the bag of chips and the soda have silently appeared back where they used to be. It only makes Dahyun feel guiltier.

Tzuyu hesitates for a moment, a moment that makes Dahyun falter, but eventually she carefully sits down next to Dahyun.

The angel’s staring straight at her, wide, confused eyes that pinch at Dahyun’s heart. Eventually, she can’t take it, and turns her attention back to the snack.

“I was…not aware this was something humans did.”

“…no, it’s…well, maybe other people do it. I know I do it a lot."

Tzuyu tilts her head questioningly.

“You are miserable often?”

The innocent tone of Tzuyu’s voice makes Dahyun stop herself in her tracks. Really, of all people to let know about her anxieties, it had to be the one that didn’t understand the plight of existence.

“I…”

In that moment, she decides not to lie to Tzuyu.

“…yeah, I am, Tzuyu. I’m a pretty miserable person.”

“Why?”

She huffs a sigh.

“Why am I miserable? Geez, that’s a hard question to answer.”

There’s a way that Tzuyu’s questions are posed, so gently innocent and curious, that opens Dahyun up, and makes her want to actually tell the angel about her woes.

“You are the subject of many people’s affections. Your work is produced aptly and satisfactorily. You are not subjected to any sort of poverty. How are you miserable?”

Although, she shouldn’t be surprised. As far as Dahyun remembers, this is Tzuyu’s first time back on earth after centuries of staying in Heaven. Perhaps her definition of what a guardian angel is is a little outdated.

“Well…sometimes, I just am, Tzu. Like, my brain doesn’t work the way I want it to, sometimes. I get really sad all of a sudden. Or, I get really angry. And then it’s hard for me to do things properly. I don’t like that.”

Dahyun sighs. Who knew she’d have to spend her night explaining depression to a cosmic being that could snap her out of existence?

“Yeah, I know I have all of these things. And don’t get me wrong, I love all of that. I love all of you. Which is why I get frustrated when I’m sad, because there’s no reason for me to be sad. I just am.”

Tzuyu stays silent for a moment. A long moment, where Dahyun fears she’s overloaded the angel’s brain.

“So…eating unhealthy food relieves this misery?”

That’s a funny way of putting it, though not entirely untrue.

“Kind of? It’s more of…indulging myself in something I like relieves my mind. Keeps me calmer and stuff.”

Tzuyu nods in understanding, somehow.

“I understand. Then is there anything I would be able to assist you in indulging that would keep you calm?”

Of course. Even though Dahyun is in the worst mood tonight, and she just shouted at her, Tzuyu still has her at the top of her priorities.

When Tzuyu first descended from Heaven itself to declare herself as Dahyun’s guardian angel, she could scarcely believe it. She still remembers how it happened, too.

The ceiling of her apartment had broken in a burst of divine light, and Tzuyu, in her true form, had revealed herself, speaking in tongues that she couldn’t understand.

After yelling and cursing, she had finally reverted to a mortal form, and spoke a language she understood.

Barachiel, she said her name was. The Archangel of Blessings, and the Chief of Guardian Angels herself. Come to protect little ol’ Dahyun, who hurt herself on a daily basis tripping on nothing.

Recalling the memory, Dahyun only smiles.

“…you can indulge me with your presence, Tzu.”

Tzuyu blinks, and it looks as if she’s unaware that that’s an option.

“But you said you needed to indulge in something you like."

“Yeah, and I like you, dummy. Come here.”

Thankfully, Tzuyu obediently scootches closer to Dahyun, like a meek lamb. Dahyun intertwines her fingers with the angel.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, sweetie.”

Getting mad at Tzuyu is like yelling at a puppy, Dahyun’s realized, and she’d never want to do it again.

“No. I must take accountability for my mistakes. I was unaware of your needs and did not take your emotions into account. Your anger is justified.”

Dahyun sighs, leaning her head onto Tzuyu’s shoulder.

“That’s okay. You didn’t know. You were only worried about me.”

“Yes, but still—”

“Tzu, we’re going to be here all night if we keep apologizing to each other. Let’s just enjoy the quiet, okay?”

“…”

Dahyun hums, taking a chip out of the bag and chewing on it slowly.

Having a guardian angel was definitely not on her list of things she thought she’d be doing, but it’s happened, and she’s blessed that of all the angels in Heaven, it was Tzuyu that came down to her.

Another hand closes on top of hers.

“I…care about you very much, Kim Dahyun.”

Tzuyu’s voice is soft, almost as if she’s afraid of Heaven itself hearing it. She strokes Dahyun’s fingers, so gentle and fond, and Dahyun’s heart bursts with emotion.

“I care about you too, Tzu.”

The rest of the night is spent in silence on the curb, city lights illuminating the streets that surround the pair.

The next morning, Dahyun wakes up to a numerous amount of bags in her room, all containing the same chips she ate the night before.

Guilty (But not Irredeemable)

In the neighborhood Dahyun lives in, there is a church.

It’s honestly more of a chapel, really. Small and quaint and quite old, as far as Dahyun knows, there’s no designated minister or clergy that serves in the chapel. In fact, it’s pretty much abandoned, were it not for the few people that pass by every Sunday to pay their respects.

Dahyun herself isn’t religious. Which is a little ironic, because about two years ago, she just confirmed the existence of Heaven, Hell, God, and just about every other religion that existed. A little odd how they managed to coexist, but she doesn’t think too much about it.

Still, the chapel serves as a quiet and calm place to gather her thoughts and calm herself down.

When she enters, the only sources of light are a dull flickering lightbulb by the ceiling, and more than a few candles that are lit against the stone walls of the chapel.

Dahyun takes a seat, admiring the simple carving of Mother Mary into one of the recessions in the wall. Behind the simple altar, a plain wooden cross hangs from the wall.

At least here, she can get some semblance of peace.

Until she hears the flapping of wings. Batlike and eerie, echoing in the small chapel.

“Gotta hand it to you, babe. You pick the weirdest places to hang out.”

Suddenly an arm is around her shoulder, like an obnoxious boyfriend at the movies.

Dahyun rolls her eyes, but still curls up into the arm of the devil.

“Got tired of waiting around the apartment, Nayeonnie?”

Nayeon, the devil herself (or one of them, at least), shrugs. She’s always had a rather odd sense of fashion, with a loose grey sleeveless shirt, and black sweatpants that look comfy and casual. Her blonde hair’s loosely tied into a low ponytail, but strands of her bangs still get in the way of her face, of which the lower half is covered by a face mask.

“Jeong told us to give it a few hours, but I got impatient.”

“Of course, you did.”

Dahyun chuckles. It comes as no surprise to her that the tenants are worried about her. Hell, no matter what she does, they’ll be worried. A warmth in her chest rises when she thinks about them, and she smiles.

“So, what’s up? Why’re you in this arguably tasteless place?”

“I should be asking you that. How are you in here without getting hurt?”

“Babe, look at the state of this place. You really think someone’s in here maintaining the wards?”

Dahyun takes a look around. The pews are dusty, the floor is cracked, and the walls are barely keeping out the nighttime chill.

“Fair point.”

Nayeon only hums, not commenting on the fact that Dahyun’s avoiding the question, much to Dahyun’s gratitude.

“If you were to go back to the start of your day today, would you do anything differently?”

The question makes Dahyun blink. And think. Her day today was rather…uneventful, if you could call it that.

“Uh…I dunno. I didn’t…make any big decisions or anything, so I guess I’d do it the same way.”

Nayeon rolls her eyes, leaning back onto the pew.

“Really. Not a single thing you’d do differently?”

There’s a certain lackadaisical energy that Nayeon carries herself with, one that somehow makes Dahyun relax and feel more at home with herself. It’s comforting having Nayeon around, if she’s not too busy bickering with the two angels that also inhabit the apartment.

“Well, there’s no point in thinking about what you’d do differently when the day is over. I mean, it’s already over. What’re you gonna do?”

Nayeon’s body rumbles with a laugh.

“That’s true.”

Then she quiets down, eerily so.

“…yeah, that’s true.”

A brief moment of silence before she talks again.

“Fuck, I’m really bad at this whole comforting thing.”

Dahyun eyes her questioningly.

“Ugh, Jeong just mentioned you had a hard day, and I thought…well, maybe I can, y’know, comfort you or something, make you feel better. I don’t do anything around the apartment, so I might as well do this, right?”

At that, amusement rises to Dahyun’s cheeks as Nayeon turns her head away, clearly embarrassed. When their eyes meet, Nayeon scowls.

“Don’t give me that.” She warns. But Dahyun is too amused.

“Big bad devil worried about lil ol’ me?”

Red fills Nayeon’s cheeks at the tease as her scowl deepens.

“Knock it off. You’re lucky I’m even here.”

Dahyun understands the words as Nayeon doesn’t say them. She’s always been one of the most concerned about Dahyun’s wellbeing, even if she had trouble showing it. And Dahyun didn’t want to shame her for her shows of vulnerability.

Biting her tongue to stop herself from teasing further, Dahyun simply leans in closer.

“Yeah, I’m very lucky. Thank you, Nayeonnie.”

If possible, Nayeon’s face gets warmer.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Despite the callous tone to her voice, Nayeon leans in as well, closing her arms further around Dahyun and leaning her head on hers.

“Y’know…” Nayeon starts. “I could…I could do that for you, if you needed it. Restart the day? Make it so that…I don’t know, your day is better?”

Eager to please would be one of Nayeon’s main traits, even if she didn’t show it often. And Dahyun’s not surprised by it. In fact, it only reinforces the belief that Nayeon belongs in the apartment.

Even after everything she’s done.

“But then, we wouldn’t be here. Together.”

Nayeon tenses.

“Sometimes, there’s no easy fix to things. If something wrong happens, we just gotta truck through it and take responsibility for it.”

Of all of the inhabitants of the apartment, Nayeon’s probably one of the only ones that desperately needs to stay there, for her own protection.

Hell doesn’t take too kindly to runaway devils, after all.

“Stop saying things that make you seem wiser than me.”

Despite Nayeon rolling her eyes, Dahyun only senses the slight quiver to Nayeon’s arms.

Devils were born out of malice, hatred, and anger. The deepest pits of humanity’s dark side. But remembering how Nayeon looked when she found the apartment, wounded, scarred, and scared for her life, evil is not the first thing that came into Dahyun’s mind. Even when Tzuyu had declared her true identity.

Mephistopheles. The King of the Crossroads herself. The reason why so many humans had fallen to Hell. A devil that dealt in bargains in exchange for people’s souls. And not just any devil. The one deemed the best at damning souls to hell.

And despite that, Dahyun had welcomed her with open arms.

“Well, would you deny that I am?”

“Babe, I can gift people with the power of foresight. I don’t think you’re wiser than me.”

Dahyun chuckles, only snuggling further into Nayeon’s body.

“Plus, you let a devil come into your own apartment and live there. How smart can you be for that?”

And for a moment, Dahyun hears a sliver of it, hidden behind a facade of humor. Just a tiny bit of self-loathing.

“Would you rather I didn’t?”

Nayeon says nothing for a bit.

Until she reaches out, placing her hands on both of Dahyun’s cheeks, warm as they are.

Her lips press against the tip of Dahyun’s nose, gentle as if she’ll hurt her if she applies too much pressure.

“…no, I’m…I’m glad you did.”

Dahyun beams when Nayeon pulls away, a fond smile on her face.

“There you go. I’m wiser.”

Nayeon can only roll her eyes, but doesn’t deny anything.

“And you’re wrong, by the way. I think you’re great at comforting.”

It’s only a heartbeat of a moment, but Nayeon’s face stretches into wonder, amazement, and gratitude. Showing for a second the Nayeon that Dahyun knows is lying hidden under all the sarcasm, temperament, and guilt.

“Well, of course I am. Did you expect anything less?”

Then it’s back to regular old infuriating Nayeon.

“Of course you are, Nayeon.”

Dahyun chuckles.

“Let’s go home.”

“If that’s what you want, babe.”

When they head to bed later that night, Dahyun might be imagining it, but Nayeon’s arms cling to her a little tighter than usual.

Cunning (But not Evil)

Of all the places to head to in the middle of the night, a library was the last place Dahyun thought she’d end up in.

The library in their neighborhood was underfunded, underappreciated, and underrated. While they did have a great amount of books that were rare and hard to find, it didn’t mean that people went out of their way to look for the library.

Still, that doesn’t stop Dahyun from opening the doors to the library, thankfully open 24/7.

The librarian barely greets her, half-awake at the counter, as she strides past to her corner of the library.

Her corner of the library is a nook at the very corner of the building, where two bookshelves barely meet, and she can easily slide her small body into the space in between the two shelves. Lowering herself down to the ground, she pulls a random book from the shelf.

It honestly doesn’t really matter what book she reads, because she’s not reading them for the contents. Something to focus her attention on, something that’s not related at all to work, is exactly what she needs right now.

“Pssst.”

There’s a murmur of a voice from next to her.

When she turns to look, there’s a pure white mouse on the bookshelf, peering over to look at the book.

“Whatcha reading?”

Dahyun sighs, before closing the book and looking at the title.

“The Biology of Genies.”

The mouse skitters.

“Genies! Bleh. A bunch of scammers, really. You’re not allowed to ask for more wishes? Lame.”

Dahyun side-eyes the mouse.

“And you’d know a lot about scamming, wouldn’t you, Chaeng?”

The mouse leaps off the shelf, and in a whirlwind of a silhouette forming, Chaeyoung appears in the space the mouse used to be in.

Dressed in a pair of shorts, a simple print tee, and an unzipped jacket, the shapeshifter’s hair is flattened by a baseball cap, blonde hair drifting down her shoulders as she grins.

“Of course! I perfected the art!”

Grinning down at Dahyun, the shapeshifter puffs out her chest. It’s endearing, and Dahyun reaches out to pull Chaeyoung down to the ground. She acquiesces, sitting in front of Dahyun and smiling eagerly.

“So! Mind telling me what you’re doing in this boring place?”

Dahyun tucks the book away, knowing she’s not going to need it to be distracted.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She sighs. “Getting away from it all, I guess.”

Chaeyoung nods in understanding.

“I feel you. Sometimes, you need to get away from it all, y’know? Life’s too short to spend on stressful things!”

Dahyun raises an eyebrow.

“Aren’t you immortal?”

“That’s besides the point! The sentiment is the same. We should do something fun!”

The gleam in Chaeyoung’s eye is enough for Dahyun to immediately decline.

“Chaeyoung, your idea of fun is setting something on fire to scare the locals.”

“But that is fun! No one gets hurt too, it’s magic fire!”

A mischievous woman, Chaeyoung always was the source of some weird happenings in the neighborhood.

“Oh, like the time you made it so that that dude’s face was on the back of his head, just because he didn’t open the door for you?”

“It was temporary!”

“He had an inverted head for six months, Chaeng.”

“Like I said, temporary!”

Dahyun’s just chalked it up to Chaeyoung being out of her environment. She might be one of the most well-adjusted to modern society in the apartment, but that doesn’t mean she necessarily has human sensibilities.

“And what about the time you tried to curse someone’s car to make human-like noises?”

“Dude, that was hilarious!”

“You gave the car sentience on accident!"

“Still hilarious!”

“It drove away from the neighborhood screaming!”

“Okay, that was kinda creepy, I’ll admit. But still funny!”

Then again, considering where Chaeyoung had come from and her true nature, Dahyun shouldn’t be surprised. A god of mischief is bound to get into trouble no matter where she goes.

“Seriously, you need to keep a lower profile. You’re attracting attention to yourself.”

“Oh, I can handle it.”

“Really? And if your family comes looking for you?”

“They can’t do anything! I’m in the Sanctuary!”

“Still, Chaeyoung, you need to be more careful.”

“Ugh, stop nagging on me. You sound like my brother.”

With that, Chaeyoung crosses her arms and turns away, disgruntled and grumbling.

Stubborn and mischievous. A bad combo, especially when it came to Chaeyoung.

When a shapeshifter had shown up on her doorstep, looking for safety, she thought nothing of it.

When it was revealed that that shapeshifter was actually Loki, of the Norse pantheon, that’s when Dahyun had to actually pay attention.

Escaped from her prison and desperately seeking sanctuary, Chaeyoung had run away from her family, after everything they’d done to her. At first, Dahyun thought everything would be fine, but when Chaeyoung had shown her more…difficult tendencies, Dahyun had to adjust.

“Chaeng, you know I’m just worried about you, right?”

Chaeyoung refuses to answer, still turned away.

“It’s just dangerous for you to be putting yourself out there too much. Your family’s still looking for you, and if they were to find the Sanctuary, I’m not sure what I’d be able to do to protect you.”

Finally turning to her, Chaeyoung scowls.

“I don’t need protecting, Dahyun. I’m a god, for crying out loud.”

“And yet, you came to me when you were looking for help.”

There’s nothing Chaeyoung can say to that, so she doesn’t.

“It’s up to you. But I’d hate to see you in danger.”

Dahyun sighs. Chaeyoung is a hard person to deal with, but she would never wish harm on her.

“…ugh, fine.”

Chaeyoung crosses her arms, pouting.

“I’ll keep a low profile. There, are you happy?”

“Yes. Thank you, Chaeyoung.”

Dahyun smiles at the compromise, and leans in to kiss Chaeyoung, at the corner of her lips.

“Good. Because I told Jeongyeon this would only take a few minutes before I brought you back home.”

Chaeyoung stands, and it’s only then that Dahyun realizes.

“Wait…did you bait me into that conversation?”

The trickster god shrugs.

“I knew you’d never want to do anything fun. I figured if you were too busy worrying about me, it would take your mind off of whatever you’re worried about.”

What an underhanded tactic. Yet, it worked, and Dahyun can’t help but be both irritated and thankful at the same time.

“I guess I should know better than to try and argue with a god of mischief.”

Living up to her name, Chaeyoung smiles mischievously, with no small amount of warmth.

“You love me, though.”

She says it so arrogantly, so truthfully, and with such smugness that Dahyun can’t help but roll her eyes, take Chaeyoung’s outstretched hand, and stand up.

“Yes, I do, unfortunately. Let’s head back.”

“Wait, unfortunately?! The hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means what you think it means, Chaeng. Now stop fussing and let’s go.”

Thankfully, when they get home, Chaeyoung’s too lazy to keep the argument up, and they wind up sleeping in the lounge, a blanket tucked over their resting bodies on the couch.

Cynical (But not Hopeless)

There was a time when Dahyun was just a child, eager to visit her grandmother in the city.

Her grandmother who was the landlord of an apartment, in the middle of a curious neighborhood of the city.

An apartment that seemed to be home to all sorts of people, weird people. They all had their own eccentricities back then, and Dahyun was too young to judge them as anything but odd.

Her grandmother would always tell her to treat them with respect. The groundskeeper of the apartment, a young woman who seemed to perpetually have a broom in hand and a kindly smile. The larger-than-life black dog that never seemed to like her, always growling when she got near. The odd woman who always wore red dresses, sang beautifully, and only seemed to come out when the sun was gone. And many others.

At the time, she thought nothing of it.

Now, though, knowing everything, it seems as though her grandmother had known that the apartment was going to go to her.

When her grandmother had passed, her wish was to be buried in the graveyard in the neighborhood, a small detachment of the park that always seemed to be cared for, despite having no caretaker.

“Hey gramma.”

Which is where Dahyun’s found herself now.

The graveyard’s quiet, as graveyards usually are.

Dahyun comes here often, when there’s too much on her mind, and nothing to distract her.

She puts her hands together, and bows. She’s already exhausted everything she could say to her grandmother, and she was never really one to spend too much time talking about her day.

So, she merely pays her respects, whispers a faint ‘I love you’ and stands quietly.

Then she hears the footsteps behind her. Footsteps that are normally silent, but made obvious enough for her to notice.

“Ji?”

The footsteps come to a halt next to her, and with her body almost materializing out of the shadow, Jihyo stands solemnly.

“It is dangerous this time of night, my love.”

With a red tipped spear in hand, old and worn out but tight fitting leathers, and black hair braided down, Jihyo looks intimidating in the night.

But to Dahyun, Jihyo, with her soft features, round and shining eyes, lips curved into a frown, looks beautiful.

“Hi.”

At Dahyun’s voice, Jihyo sheathes her spear on her back, stepping closer.

“A burial ground is no safe place to be. A necromancer may give rise to the dead that rest here.”

Dahyun shakes her head.

“No, Jeongyeon keeps the wards up around this cemetery. It’s safe.”

Jihyo looks around, with more than a little suspicion, but bows her head in acquiescence.

“As thou wishest.”

Jihyo is from a different time, as they all are, and the question comes to Dahyun a little reluctantly.

“Ji, can I ask you something?"

Jihyo perks up.

“Anything, my love.”

“Well, this is a little sensitive…so I’d understand if you didn’t want to answer, but…”

There’s a moment of hesitation, but Dahyun ends up asking anyway.

“You knew me…like, in a previous life. Right?”

She can’t quite see Jihyo clearly in the darkness of the night, but what little moonlight does illuminate the graveyard shows how Jihyo’s body tenses momentarily.

“…that is correct. I knew thee in all thy lives.”

The concept of reincarnation is still something difficult to grasp for Dahyun, but she accepts anyway.

“What was…I…like?”

Jihyo inhales shakily, and Dahyun doesn’t hesitate to grab her hand.

“No need to answer if it’s difficult. I was just…curious, y’know?”

Jihyo’s eyes drift to the ground, and Dahyun thinks for a moment that she won’t answer.

“…thou wert always a hero.”

A hero?

“In thy first life…the life I first met, thy name was Cu Chulainn.”

The Hero of the Ulster Cycle. Dahyun doesn’t know much about Irish mythology, but the name does ring a bell.

“Thou wert…strong, compassionate, and loving. Thou wouldst fight for all that thou caredst for with everything thou hadst.”

That doesn’t sound like her at all. Now, Dahyun is just a little mouse that runs away from all her problems.

“And then…thou passed from this world fighting.”

Jihyo takes a moment, before looking up at her, eyes shining with unshed tears.

“And thou wouldst continue to do so, for every life that I had met.”

There is such sadness in her voice that it makes Dahyun ache.

“…I’m sorry.”

Jihyo shakes her head.

“No. Thou fought for what thou believedst in. I could never take that from thee.”

Her hand squeezes Jihyo’s.

“Mine only wish…is that I had known thee sooner.”

The amount of dedication that Jihyo has to her is amazing, when in reality Dahyun has done nothing to deserve it. Her previous lives may have been heroes, but the Dahyun of now is no hero.

“Dunno if I can live up to Cu Chulainn of all people. I can barely get through a school day.”

Jihyo suddenly grabs her other hand, startling her.

“No, my love. In this life, thou art the strongest, most compassionate, and most loving that I have ever known thee.”

Her eyes stare into Dahyun’s with such fiery truth that Dahyun has a hard time looking into them. Her chest warms, but her voice cracks.

“But Ji…I’m just…I’m just me.”

It’s then that Jihyo smiles, a rare gift that Dahyun receives.

“Perhaps that is what makes thee strong.”

Then Jihyo leans in, and Dahyun closes her eyes, feeling the spark of electricity that courses through her entire body as their lips meet, spreading warmth from her fingertips down to her toes.

Jihyo pulls away.

“Thy strength always comes from others, my love.”

Then, she kneels, head bowing down in respect and love.

“And if thou ever havest need of mine, thou only needst say the word. Now, and forever.”

Dahyun is stunned, and how could she not be? An immortal witch, basically proposing to her, offering up her strength for hers.

Scáthach may have been a legendary figure in mythology, but to Dahyun, she was just another woman that had her heart.

“God, you have no shame at all. Come on, get up.”

Jihyo stands, albeit reluctantly, looking up at Dahyun with expectation.

“Thanks, Ji. That makes me feel a bit better.”

“I am glad.”

Dahyun takes the hand of an immortal warrior, and smiles at her.

“Let’s head home.”

Tired (But not Resigned)

In all those other nights, Dahyun is accompanied by one of her tenants. Through stories, jokes, and love, she is comforted and kept warm.

This night, however, she is alone.

She passes by the abandoned apartment complex first. The rooftop is nice and peaceful, and the sky is clear, clear enough for her to catch a glimpse of a meteor shower in the far distance. The cigarette in her mouth calms her down, and the smoke is gentle and soothing.

The park is quiet, too. No one strolls along its paths except for her, and she catches a glimpse of a stray dog dozing off under a bush. She smiles, and continues her walk.

The canal’s stream is continuous, and pleasant white noise to her ears. Kicking pebbles into its stream, she squeals in delight when a particularly rapid current splashes her. It’s cool and awakening to the senses.

Strolling by the sidewalk, the streets are filled with a liminal feeling that secures her to the ground, as she runs through the roads with a certain carefree feeling rushing through her veins.

As she gets peckish, chips at the local convenience store are enough for her to sit down by the curb, and watch the neon lights buzz. Cars pass by with their gleaming headlights, and Dahyun takes a few pictures.

When she needs to rest, she does so at the chapel. She takes her time at each image of a saintly figure, lighting candles and wiping away grime and dirt with respect.

The library, open as always, is welcome to her, and she spends her time leafing through page after page of obscure, supernatural information that opens her mind to new possibilities.

At the graveyard, Dahyun lies down next to her grandmother’s grave. She talks, unlike before, to her grandmother, of her tiring day and her stressful work. It takes a while, but at the end of it all she’s more than a little relieved.

Then, when the sun is about to rise, Dahyun heads home.

A fulfilling night, one that’s successfully taken her mind off of everything.

But, a little empty.

Like something’s missing.

She sighs as she fits the key into the apartment door. When she twists it open, she’s greeted by a tall, imposing figure.

“Kim Dahyun.” It rumbles.

Dahyun smiles fondly. “Hi, Tzu.”

“Jeez, Tzu, you’re gonna scare the poor girl.”

Jeongyeon comes closing in, apron tied around her usual ensemble, eyebrows furrowed as she pulls Tzuyu away.

“She was gone for an extended amount of time.”

“Yes, yes, we were all worried.”

Jeongyeon smiles at Dahyun, from where she’s ushering Tzuyu off to the side.

“I made you some soup if you’re hungry. Healthy soup, by the way, not like those chips you ate.”

Dahyun has the dignity to be embarrassed, scratching the back of her head.

“Hey, let her live a little. Nothing wrong with pigging out every now and then.”

Nayeon, relaxing on one of the couches in the entry room of the apartment, winks at her.

“If you had your way, Nayeon, she’d always be eating unhealthily.”

“I mean, I could always just gift her with eternal youth, so it wouldn’t matter anyway.”

“Nay!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t.”

Dahyun feels the smile in her heart before it grows on her face.

She spends some time eating Jeongyeon’s soup, trying to fend off Tzuyu’s overbearing questions, and rolling her eyes at Nayeon’s sardonic humor.

As she’s stepping up the stairs, a ghostly white visage appears in one of the mirrors she’s strategically placed throughout the apartment.

“Lady Dahyun.”

There is an exasperated look on her face, and it’s one Dahyun is used to.

“Did Chaeyoung do something again?”

The ghost nods wearily.

A few moments later, Dahyun has a guinea pig in her hands, moving away from one of the apartment rooms.

“Hey! This is assault! Get your hands off my soft, pudgy, body!”

Mina sighs from wherever she is.

“You can always change back whenever you deem fit, Lady Chaeyoung.”

“Well, I like this form! And I like it when Dahyun carries me!”

“Then why are you complaining?”

After putting a reluctant Chaeyoung in Mina’s room, Dahyun strides through the hall, until the murmur of a soft song catches her attention.

Peering into one of the rooms, she smiles.

A large wolf’s head is perched upon a pale lady’s lap, the vampire humming softly as she gently drags her fingers through the wolf’s fur. The wolf rumbles in pleasure.

Sana looks up, pausing momentarily in her song. She smiles at Dahyun.

“Good evening, my lady.”

Momo opens one lazy eye, before exhaling through her nostrils in acknowledgment.

“I hope you had a lovely stroll.” Sana greets.

Dahyun smiles in return.

“I did, thank you, Satang.”

Momo lets out a whine of disappointment.

“Alright, alright.”

Sana chuckles, then continues to stroke through her fur, continuing her song.

When Dahyun gets up to her room, the shadows tremble slightly as a figure materializes in the corner of her bedroom.

“Was thine evening walk pleasant, my love?”

“…it was okay. A little empty.”

“Empty?”

“Something was missing.”

“Whatever could that be?”

Dahyun looks around her room, spotting the closed laptop and the papers strewn about her desk. From around the apartment, voices filter through faintly.

“Tzu, it’s just soup, it can’t hurt you!”

“It was of a heat that is dangerous to a mortal body.”

“Didn’t know you made your soup with hellfire, Jeong.”

“Mina, I swear, you’re such a buzzkill!”

“…if you get trapped in another divine seal, I’m not helping you.”

“Wait, I was kidding!”

“Lady Momo, I apologize, but would you be able to adjust your head? I cannot feel my legs.”

“Woof!”

Then, she smiles.

“Nah, it’s nothing. Let’s go to bed, Ji.”

Dahyun closes her eyes with Jihyo’s arms around her, and as consciousness fades, she idly wonders why she’s no longer tired.

[butchyeons]

up in space

check it out on ao3!

najeonghyo poly domestic au (ft. ryeji). this fic focuses on jihyo, who’s a traveling nurse, coping with a patient she was really fond of’s passing. also she’s trans and futch bc i said so. jeongyeon and nayeon her emotional support butch and femme respectively. they are very in love!!

trigger warning for discussions of cancer and death. i also use the d slur once but not in a bad way?? if any of that bothers you feel free to skip this one! this fic is a heavy read, so pls be warned!

other tags: hurt/comfort, angst, implied sexual content/jokes, grieving, fluff, domestic stuff idk, discussions of being trans/taking estrogen shots

tysm for all the support on my fics so far! it rlly means a lot. hope you all enjoy- and let me know what you think! this au is rlly special to me and i’ll probably write more in the future bc i love them.

———

Losing a patient was never easy. But this time, it was so much different.

Jihyo did her best to focus on the road- on the long expansion of highway ahead of her. Each time she thought about it, more tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, just like how they had been for the past three days of her shift.

Jihyo wanted to blame it on the estrogen, like she always did. But after being on it for five years, there was only so much blame she could place on her shots. In the back of her mind she could hear Jeongyeon chuckling at her, could see Nayeon giving her that look of sympathy.

“Yah, Jihyo. After a while it becomes less of the hormones and more part of being a woman.” Jeongyeon had said over dinner one night, after Jihyo had spent her whole afternoon crying her eyes out about work. Again.

Jihyo thought that she really understood it now.

Yeji was a sweet girl. She had been in and out of the hospital for years, fighting leukemia. She was diagnosed at a young age, grew up with it. Jihyo met her when she was freshly 13. On the day of her 13th birthday, actually. Jihyo watched as her family- her mom, dad, older sister, and her best friend- brought her a cake and sang her happy birthday. She had one of the brightest smiles Jihyo had ever seen.

Jihyo traveled from hospital to hospital- it was her job to go where she was needed, to specialize in a little bit of everything when it came to pediatrics. But in all her time as a nurse, the hundreds of thousands of patients she saw, she had never found herself as attached to one as she did Hwang Yeji.

She always reminded Jihyo so much of herself. Of that scared little girl that had always lived deep inside her, even before her transition. How that scared little girl never gave up, no matter how bad it got.

When she noticed how that best friend of hers- Ryujin, that was the girl’s name- would stare at her like she put the sun in the sky, she knew. And when she noticed how tightly Yeji would hold Ryujin’s hand as she got the needle in her port changed, how Yeji practically clung to Ryujin during her nausea episodes, she knew.

It reminded her a lot of something she lived through.

The sight of Nayeon in her own hospital bed, her leg shattered, half sobbing as she got the news that she would never be able to walk without pain again- how she wouldn’t be able to return to teaching, effectively getting her passion stolen away in a single afternoon. Jeongyeon held her hand, her expression stern, her eyes never once leaving her wife’s face as the doctor explained the next steps- the surgeries, the physical therapy. Jihyo stood there too, on the other side of Nayeon’s bed, exhausted from having to speed halfway across the country at Jeongyeon’s call. She felt like her heart had broken into a million pieces, scattered in every direction by a wind so strong that she’d never be able to find them all again.

Jihyo had only been with them for a year, then. But when she looked at them, she saw an entire universe. She already knew both of them better than she knew herself. She already knew her specialties, the place she held in both of their lives- fitting in exactly where she needed to, when she needed to. She also already knew then that she would spend the rest of her days with them, if she could.

So when Yeji mentioned her girlfriend to Jihyo one day while she was fixing her IV, Jihyo smiled. She listened, like she always did. She told her she was happy for her, talked about her partners, too. How they were the same. How they had each other, no matter what. Yeji smiled back.

“I hope I can have that one day, too, Ms. Park.”

It was just shy of Yeji’s 16th birthday when Jihyo came back to find her bed empty. It had been a month and a half since Jihyo had been assigned to that hospital. The last time Jihyo spoke with her, they talked about school- how Ryujin had taken their soccer team to the national championships after one last tie-breaker goal in overtime. Yeji was sad she couldn’t be there. She wanted nothing more than to be with Ryujin, was what she told Jihyo.

When she was talking, she was falling asleep. She had been doing that more lately. Jihyo did her best to keep her awake as she changed the needle in her port, told her how good she was doing. Jihyo couldn’t help but notice that she looked so pale, how her vibrant smile had dimmed just slightly. She told Yeji to tell her parents that she said hi, to tell Ryujin congratulations and good luck. She said she couldn’t wait to see her again.

Jihyo gripped the steering wheel impossibly tighter. Her eyes stung, angry thorns of tears working their way up to the surface. She tried to focus on the road- the darkness making everything a bit harder to see. She needed to get glasses. She needed to get home. She needed to get to them.

———

It was nearly 2 am by the time Jihyo pulled into the driveway. The lights were still on in the house- clearly, they were still up. Jihyo mentally scolded them for staying awake for her. But the moment she walked up the steps, only for Jeongyeon to open the door before she could even get her keys out, she forgot all about it.

Jeongyeon didn’t say anything, just held her arms out. Jihyo stepped into them, dropping her backpack on the porch somewhere beside her. Her head found its usual spot- the junction between Jeongyeon’s neck and her shoulder, her nose pressed against the older woman’s pulse point. Jeongyeon just held her, like she always did.

Jeongyeon was all muscle- solid, heavy. She worked outside and it showed. She was rough around the edges, her fingertips worn like the sandpaper she used daily. Jihyo never felt safer than she did in Jeongyeon’s arms.

“Nayeon told me everything- baby, I’m so sorry.” Jeongyeon whispered, her lips brushing against the top of Jihyo’s head.

Jihyo couldn’t miss the way her voice cracked. That’s when she couldn’t hold her tears back anymore.

Jihyo didn’t say anything- she couldn’t, didn’t need to. She just cried. She cried the big, ugly tears she held back for the past three days. She pressed herself into Jeongyeon’s shoulder, her face contorted in pain as she let it all out. Jeongyeon just held her, swaying them both as they stood on the porch, underneath the singular dim light that Jihyo had been meaning to change.

Jihyo had been through so much. Her transition was rough- what she expected to be a casual step into womanhood felt more like a downward freefall with no parachute. She lost everything- her home, her family, her entire support system. But it all seemed so trivial compared to this. At the end of the day, she was breathing. No matter how far she fell, she had someone who could catch her. Two amazing people, actually. And they caught her every single time she fell- over and over again.

The other nurses told her Ryujin was there when she passed. They said they had to practically rip her body out of Ryujin’s arms. They had never seen someone so young but so full of love. Yeji had someone who caught her, too. Even if there was nothing left to catch.

Jihyo asked whatever God was listening to make sure that those two girls met again in the next life, and in every life afterwards. It was the least they deserved. The thought of those two never meeting again in this one made her sob even harder.

“I know, baby.” Jeongyeon whispered, her hand holding the back of Jihyo’s head to her chest, her other arm still wrapped securely around her waist. “I know.”

———

When Jihyo finally calmed down, Jeongyeon helped her inside. She left her in the living room, taking her backpack up to their room. Jihyo could only really stand there, swaying slightly as she stared at the ground- unstable without Jeongyeon to hold her up.

Nayeon, who had been sleeping on the couch snoring peacefully with her jaw half slack, finally stirred. Her eyes slowly opened, a smile forming on her lips as soon as she registered the figure in front of her to be Jihyo. She tried to sit up.

“Jih- ah!” She yelped as she shifted, her leg caught at an awkward angle from how she’d been laying.

At the sound, Jihyo came back down to earth. She quickly rushed to her side, helping her adjust. One of her arms supported Nayeon’s lower back, the other going under the backs of her knees. She helped lift Nayeon up to that she was sitting up straight, her legs out in front of her. She counted to three out loud, waiting for Nayeon to give her a nod, before shifting her again so that her back rested against the back of the couch, her feet on the floor in front of her.

“You really shouldn’t sleep like that, Nay…” Jihyo muttered, no real bite to her words, as she kissed Nayeon’s forehead.

“I know, I just wanted to see you.” Nayeon replied as Jihyo sat down beside her.

“I’ve told you not to stay up late for me.”

“Don’t care.”

“Nayeon-“

Jihyo was cut off as Nayeon pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips met softly, Nayeon’s hand cupping her cheek, helping angle Jihyo’s mouth better to meet hers.

If Jeongyeon was rock, Nayeon was fire. Jihyo always melted right into her. No amount of walls Jihyo had built up could ever resist the pure heat that radiated off of Nayeon. At first it was scary- she had never met someone who made her feel so vulnerable, open. But now the heat was welcomed- needed. It kept Jihyo alive. She wouldn’t want it any other way.

“There’s dinner in the fridge if you’re hungry.” Nayeon whispered as she pulled away, her hand still caressing Jihyo’s cheek. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. I ate on the way home earlier.” Jihyo whispered, her eyes closed. “I’ll have some for lunch tomorrow.”

The couch shifted behind Jihyo. She felt a familiar arm wrapping around her waist, steadying her.

“You better.” Jeongyeon whispered, her nose finding Jihyo’s neck. “She made it just for you- the pickiest eater I’ve ever met.”

Jihyo chuckled.

“You both signed up for my picky eating the night you picked me up at the bar.”

Jeongyeon huffed, pulling Jihyo’s back against her front. She pressed a kiss to Jihyo’s neck.

“And you’ve been a pain in the ass ever since. I love you so much.”

“I love you more.” Nayeon added, leaning in to kiss Jihyo again. “So much more.”

If Jeongyeon was the moon and Nayeon was the sun, Jihyo was the constellation that lay between the two of them. She needed them as much as they needed her.

“No fighting.”Jihyo whispered between kisses. “I’m too tired to deal with it.”

Nayeon chuckled as she pulled away, her thumb stroking Jihyo’s cheek.

“You started it.”

“Did not.” Jihyo said, smirking.

Before Nayeon could go back in for another kiss, Jeongyeon groaned. She pulled her face away from Jihyo’s neck, both of her arms still wrapped around the younger woman’s waist.

“Can we go to bed?” She asked.

Jihyo tilted her head back, resting fully against Jeongyeon’s front.

“You don’t even have work tomorrow.”

“I wanted to get some work done around the house.” Jeongyeon grunted.

Jihyo hummed.

“Can it wait a day?”

Jeongyeon huffed through her nose, pressing a kiss to the side of Jihyo’s head.

“Do you need a day?”

Whenever Jihyo had an exceptionally bad shift, she always needed a period of decompression. And usually that decompression consisted of laying around with her girls, watching mindless dramas or reality tv, and lots of kisses. And sex, too. But mainly the first three.

“I need a day.” Jihyo replied.

“You can take as much time as you need, Ji.” Nayeon said as she scooted herself closer. “I know how much you cared about her.”

Jihyo sighed, but smiled sadly. Her thoughts were racing still. It felt like an open wound directly on the center of her heart- everything kept bothering it. There was so much she wished she could’ve said or done. She didn’t even get to say goodbye.

“I love you both.” Was all Jihyo could say before the tears came back again.

———

None of them spoke anymore that night. They didn’t really need to. Jeongyeon helped Nayeon get up from the couch, her arm secured around her wife’s waist as she led her back to their bedroom. Jihyo followed behind them, sneaking off into to master bathroom after giving them both one last kiss.

She needed a shower- needed to wash the hospital smell out of her hair, to get the days of built up sweat off of her skin. She did her best to not think about it anymore- tried to focus on the things she could be doing instead, on what she had right in front of her. Her therapist told her she tended to dwell on the “what ifs”, which always blinded her from the “right nows”. And right then, she was home, safe. Surrounded by love.

She was so damn lucky to have them- to be loved by them. They saved her life, and she saved theirs. That’s how they worked. That’s how they would always work.

After she finished blowdrying her hair, too exhausted to do her sacred skincare routine, she slinked out of the bathroom. Nayeon was already asleep again- snoring loudly. Next to her, Jeongyeon was still looking at her phone. As soon as Jihyo got into her pajamas, she leaned over and turned the bedside lamp off. Jihyo crawled in between the two of them, doing her best to not jostle Nayeon, who just shifted slightly, her arm instinctively throwing itself over Jihyo’s waist in her sleep.

Jeongyeon adjusted herself so that Jihyo was resting her head on her chest, like always. Jeongyeon was warm- she got so warm when the three of them slept together that eventually she just opted to sleep in boxers and nothing else- but Jihyo needed it. Her body shivered a bit, still adjusting to the temperature shift from the bathroom. Somehow, Nayeon wiggled even closer to her, her arm getting even tighter as she was still snoring.

No matter what happened, Jeongyeon and Nayeon always kept Jihyo tied down, grounded. No matter how high up she floated, they always managed to pull her back in. They had a gravitational pull all of their own- the sun, moon, and stars all in one bed together.

“Love you.” Jihyo muttered, her eyes finally closing easily for the first time in days.

“Love you too. Always will.” Jeongyeon answered.

It didn’t take long at all for both of them to fall asleep.

———

The next time Jihyo worked at that hospital, the head nurse, Dahyun, stopped her.

“Hey, Jihyo. Someone came by and left this letter for you a few days ago.” She said, handing an envelope to her.

Jihyo raised her eyebrows, examining it. It was a yellow envelope, her name written on the front. It was held closed with a sticker of the smiling cat emoji. She thanked Dahyun as she folded it in half and placed it in one of the pockets of her scrubs, heading off to help another patient.

When she got to her lunch break, she finally got to check it. She sat in her car, her lunchbox out on the seat beside her. Inside, Nayeon had made sure to pack all of her favorites to last her for the few days she was gone, along with her usual handwritten note wishing her good luck (which was Jihyo’s favorite part of lunchtime). She picked out one of the sandwiches and a bag of chips before closing the bag back up.

She reached inside her pocket and pulled the envelope out. Jihyo carefully opened it, doing her best to not rip the cat sticker, taking out the letter that was inside. It was written on notebook paper in blue ink- the page covered in other tiny, scribbled drawings of cats. The handwriting was a bit messy, but still somehow neat- extremely unique. When she noticed the name at the top, Jihyo smiled.

Ms. Park,

This is Shin Ryujin. I’m not sure if you’ll remember me, but you took care of my girlfriend, Hwang Yeji, up until she passed. I wanted to write you this letter as a way of saying thank you. You helped her through some really hard times, without even knowing. Her parents weren’t really happy about us being together. Of course, they wouldn’t leave her, but they scolded me and her a lot. It sucked to have that on top of everything else.

But what didn’t suck was when you were there. You were a really good shoulder for her to lean on. She was always so happy telling me about you and your partners (wives? I hope you guys get married or something). You helped her accept a lot of herself. That helped me accept a lot of myself, too.

She wanted to be a nurse, just like you. She wanted to open her own hospital, eventually. All she ever thought about was helping others, no matter how sick she got. She even still tried to give blood when we did blood drives at school for her. She was the sweetest girl I had ever met. I think I’ll love her until the day I die. I hope you feel that way about your girls, too.

Even though there was nothing that could be done to prevent what happened, you really saved her life. You saved mine, too. Please, keep doing what you do. You really were a lifeline for two clueless lesbians, haha. Hopefully you’ll help more in the future. In fact, I know you will.

Thank you for everything. I can only hope to meet you again in the future. I’ll never forget you. I hope you never forget us.

- Shin Ryujin

P.S. We won the championship! Thank you for the well wishes. Yeji passed a few days after. I told her I’d win for her- and I did.

I think I’ll keep doing everything for her.

Attached to the letter was a picture of them. It was a selfie- Ryujin holding the phone up while Yeji smiled that same brilliant smile that Jihyo always knew. She was bundled up in a jacket, sweater, and a beanie, while Ryujin only had on a sweatshirt. They were at the beach- the ocean waves crashing onto the shore behind them. The bottom of the photo had a date written- February. Yeji had passed in late April.

It was a lot for Jihyo to read, to take in. She felt a pit form in her stomach- a black hole that would open up and swallow her. She set the letter and photo down, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She looked out at the side of the hospital building- trying to count the bricks on the side of the wall, trying to give herself something to keep her grounded.

It really wasn’t enough. She needed something stronger, needed her gravitational pull- she needed her universe.

Jihyo immediately pulled her phone out and called Jeongyeon. Really, her number was off limits except for emergencies. But she figured she would let this one slide. She quickly found Jeongyeon’s contact and pressed the call button.

The line rang a few times before someone picked up. Jihyo was met with the clear sounds of a jackhammer whirring in the background, along with men yelling at one another. And then there was Jeongyeon’s laugh.

“Mind your business- Seriously, Changbin. Get back to work- I’m your boss. I can do what I want. Shut up.” Jeongyeon yelled- clearly, one of her guys was up her ass about her taking a phone call.

After a few more moments of bickering over the sounds of heavy machinery, Jihyo listened as a door slammed- all the noises cutting out in an instant. She smiled when Jeongyeon huffed.

“This better be good, Park Jihyo.” She said, annoyed. But that act faded immediately, like it always did. “Are you okay?”

“Yah, Jeongyeon. I’m pregnant. It’s yours.” Jihyo said, grinning as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“I’m finally gonna be a dad?” Jeongyeon asked in that stupid, playful voice of hers, feigning excitement.

“Seems like it. Was daddy just not good enough for you?”

“Oh that’s never enough, baby. Need to actually get you-“

“Oh my god, Jeongyeon- shut up.” Jihyo said, cutting off the older woman, nearly choking on her food. “You’re so- god you can’t even- you’re disgusting!”

Jihyo sputtered over her words as she coughed. Jeongyeon just laughed. Typical.

“God- are you busy?” Jihyo asked once she was able to breathe.

“I’m at work, Hyo. Yes.”

“Well do you have a second?”

“For you.” Jeongyeon sighed. Jihyo could hear her smile through the phone. “What’s wrong? You never call at this time. Did something happen?”

“Well, no. But yes.” Jihyo answered, setting her food down to tap at her phone. “Wait. Let me add Nayeon- I need you both here for this.”

Jeongyeon hummed. Jihyo started the three-way call, the line ringing a few times before Nayeon picked up.

“Hi baby!” She said cheerfully. “Oh wait, you’re both here- did something happen? You never call at work.”

Despite their obvious differences, Jihyo thought it was almost comical how similar Jeongyeon and Nayeon were. Jihyo sighed, smiling down at the call screen.

“I got a letter today. I wanted you both to hear it.”

So, Jihyo read it out to them. By the end of the second read, she was fighting back her tears again. When she told them about the picture, it was nearly impossible to speak without her voice cracking.

It was the estrogen- had to be that. She just took her shot yesterday. That’s what she told herself. That’s why everything felt so heavy, why her voice fluttered between octaves, a bird angrily trying to claw its way out of a cage. The typical symptoms of second puberty- of womanhood.

Jeongyeon and Nayeon were both silent. A few moments passed before there was a sniffle on Jeongyeon’s end.

“Hyo, oh my god.”

Jihyo couldn’t hold back then. She grit her teeth, leaning back into her seat, her body trembling as she gripped her phone- trying to hold back the sobs. She gasped for air without meaning to. She wished she was home, wished she was between her sun and moon.

“You saved her life, Jihyo.” Nayeon whispered.

In Jihyo’s mind, all she saw was the night they met. She had never even been to a gay bar before- but she was down on her luck, needed to have a good time. She still felt like she was pretending, felt like she was dressing up as the idea of a woman. She needed to be around people like her. She had been taking her shots for a month then- living in her car as she traveled from hospital to hospital, praying her patients and coworkers would just be decent. Decency was found few and far between back then.

She was just about to call it a night when a couple came up to her. They asked for her name, asked if she lived in town- said they’d remember seeing a pretty face like hers. When she explained she was just in for a few days before she took off on call again, they asked if she’d like to go home with them- to stay for the night, to have some fun. And how could Jihyo deny the most gorgeous butch and femme she had ever seen of anything, especially after they bought her a drink and showered her in compliments. And then the one night stay turned into a permanent residence, into stability. Decency turned into real, genuine love.

A whole ocean of people were in that bar that night, but somehow the tides pulled them towards each other. She wasn’t even trying to be seen- wanted to let the waves just take her where they felt. But every day she thanks whatever divine being blessed her with the lifeboat that was Yoo Jeongyeon and Im Nayeon, how they pulled her on board and allowed her a spot in their crew. She had her life saved. And more importantly, she got to keep doing the same for others because of it.

“E-Even if she didn’t make it, you saved her.” Nayeon said, clearly choked up on her own tears. “Both of them.”

Jihyo nodded. She had finally calmed down. She stared at the half eaten sandwich, sitting haphazardly in her lap.

“I saw so much of myself in her.” She muttered. “I saw so much of us in both of them. She deserved so much more than she got. Both of them did.”

There was a moment of silence again. The black hole in the pit of Jihyo’s stomach was gone.

“You’re really amazing, Jihyo.” Jeongyeon said, her voice distant. “I don’t even have the words.”

Jihyo let out a huff, smiling. She could feel the floorboard of her car underneath her feet, registered the texture of her shirt as she brushed some breadcrumbs away. Back down on earth.

“You two are biased.”

Both of them made noises of protest, which crackled over the speakers of her phone.

“So what if I am?” Nayeon asked. “You’re one of the most selfless people on this planet. I’m lucky to have you- Jeongyeon and I both are.”

“I will say it until my last breath and mean it every single time-” Jeongyeon cut in. “You are amazing, Park Jihyo. God. You are a life saver- literally.”

Jihyo leaned back in her seat, finally taking another bite of her sandwich. There was no point in arguing with them- that’s how it always was. But their words helped her feel real again. She felt like a human being by their sides.

“Fine. Whatever you say.”

“We wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true, and you know that.” Nayeon said softly.

Jihyo smiled, her face still wet from her tears. Her speakers vibrated when Jeongyeon chuckled, sniffling again.

“God- you call me at work and make me cry. The guys will never let me live this one down.”

Jihyo rolled her eyes, wiping up the last remnants of her emotions with the sleeve of her undershirt.

“So what? They’ll never understand what it’s like to be a woman. Not like we do, anyways.”

Nayeon hummed in agreement, her sweet, bunny-toothed smile clear as day over the phone. Jihyo wished she could see it. Jeongyeon laughed- that bubbly, staggered laugh that Jihyo absolutely adored.

“You’re damn right they won’t.” Jeongyeon said firmly.

———

From that day forward, Jihyo kept the letter and picture in her glovebox. She got over it the best she could- she had to. She knew better than to dwell on it for too long, to spend too much time thinking about the “what ifs”.

But when she was having an exceptionally rough shift, she looked at them. When she was mentally beating herself to a pulp, telling herself how she needed to be better, she thought about them. When she broke herself down to her barest, most raw essentials, examining every part of herself thoroughly before putting it all back together, she reminded herself that there was a point. She had to keep going. If not for herself, for other people. She had people to help, lives to save.

If Ryujin could keep going, she could, too. She had someone to fight for- and so did Jihyo. She had two people.

She was back home, snuggled inbetween Jeongyeon and Nayeon in their bed that was so clearly not made to fit all three of them. Her back was pressed as close as it ever could be to Jeongyeon’s front as Nayeon kissed her, their noses bumping into one another from the weird angle. It made Jihyo giggle, made Nayeon smile even harder. Jeongyeon pressed a kiss to the back of Jihyo’s head.

“Would you two love birds cut it out so I can sleep?” She mumbled, her voice muffled by Jihyo’s hair.

“You’re off tomorrow.” Nayeon said bluntly between more kisses.

Jeongyeon groaned. “I have to get the light on the porch fixed.”

Jihyo eyed Nayeon, who gave her one last kiss, before shifting so that she faced Jeongyeon. Nayeon’s arms replaced Jeongyeon’s easily, finding their usual spot at Jihyo’s waist.

“It’s not that hard to change a lightbulb, baby.” Jihyo whispered as she took Jeongyeon’s face in her hands, her thumbs circling the apples of her cheeks. “I think you’re just getting worn out.”

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, pursing her lips into that signature annoyed smile she always did.

“It’s because of you two.”

Jihyo smirked, Nayeon made an annoyed sound somewhere behind her. She pulled Jeongyeon in for a kiss- deep, but soft. Their lips moved the same way they always had, always would. When Jihyo felt Jeongyeon’s tongue swipe against her lower lip, she shifted again- sitting up to straddle the older woman’s hips, her hands finding her bare chest- never breaking their kiss. Of course, Jeongyeon was already shirtless, heat radiating off of her tanned skin from how closely the three of them were pressed together. Nayeon moved closer, clinging to her wife, her mouth finding its way to Jeongyeon’s collarbone. When Jeongyeon whimpered, Jihyo finally pulled away.

“You love it though, really.” She said, smirking. Her grip tightened, earning another small sound of need.

The sight of Jeongyeon underneath her, of Nayeon holding onto her as if she’d slip away would never fail to make Jihyo feel like she was in heaven. The way their bodies moved together, how natural it all felt- Jihyo was the luckiest person in the entire world. Her whole universe squeezed onto a king sized mattress; the sun, moon, and stars all contained in three tired, old dykes.

Jihyo rolled her eyes. Nayeon pressed a kiss to Jeongyeon’s cheek. Jeongyeon just smiled.

“I do.”

———

Jihyo stepped down from the ladder, wiping the sweat off her brow that had formed in the brief time it took for her to switch out the old lightbulb on the porch. It was the dead of summer now- the sun baring down its rays angrily, warming everything up to what felt like a boiling point.

Beside her, Nayeon sat in one of the chairs, in sunglasses with her favorite sundress on, three glasses of fresh lemonade on the table next to her. Her legs were propped up on the wicker footrest they bought after her accident. A random piece of white wood furniture among all the black metal. It didn’t match the set, but it worked. Jihyo always thought it was funny that she could relate to a footrest.

“She’s still got it in her, doesn’t she?” Nayeon asked, referring to their third half.

Jihyo turned, watching as Jeongyeon fought to turn their push mower on. She gave the chord a few more good pulls, trying her damnedest to get it started. That thing had been giving her hell for the past few weeks- it was on its last leg, needed to be replaced the moment they got it. But the three of them were stubborn, wanted to get their money’s worth out of the 20 year old hunk of metal that they bought used at a garage sale. All ₩40,000 worth.

“I’m more so concerned about why you feel the need to babysit.” Jihyo said, sitting down in the chair beside Nayeon’s.

She took a good look at Nayeon- at the way her bottom lip poked out, pouting as she judged her wife. She pushed her sunglasses up on her head, revealing those beautiful, round eyes. Her face scrunched from the sunlight, her nose crinkling. Jihyo thought she was the prettiest person to have ever existed.

“There’s a masc shortage, sweetheart.” Nayeon said, shifting to get her glass of lemonade off the table. She took a sip. “I can’t have anyone trying to steal her from us.”

Jihyo chuckled. She watched as Jeongyeon finally gave up, letting out an annoyed groan as she kicked the side of the lawnmower. As if by magic, the machine whirred to life. Jeongyeon let out her excited squawks, jumping around it in a circle with her arms up before turning to look up at them on the porch, a giant grin plastered on her face, adorned by those beautiful crescent moon eyes.

Jihyo waved, smiling back. Nayeon clapped beside her, cheering. Jeongyeon took a bow before adjusting herself and cheerfully flexing her biceps- putting on a show for her two favorite girls, as always. Nayeon whistled, and Jihyo rolled her eyes, laughing. She looked like an idiot. Jihyo loved her more than words would ever describe.

“I don’t think anyone besides us wants her that badly, Nay.” Jihyo huffed out, taking a sip of her drink.

“I’d sure hope so.” Nayeon said, looking over at her. “I’m selfish. No one deserves her more than we do. I don’t wanna share.”

Jihyo shared the same sentiment, but didn’t say it. She sat back on her seat, watching as Jeongyeon finally got to mowing the grass- sweat already ruining the muscle shirt that clung to her torso. She glanced over at Nayeon again, who was smiling so brightly, laughing as she watched Jeongyeon do her best to maneuver that piece of junk around the front yard, pulling her sunglasses back down over her eyes.

These were her people. They were her reason for existing, for continuing to exist. They made life seem so simple- so perfect. She had something to fight for that was real, tangible. She was so lucky to have this, to have them. To have them share themselves with her, to lay everything about themselves out on the table for her. Over and over, they shared everything. Jihyo never knew she could have this much love for more than one person- she never knew soulmates could be a trio until she met them.

“I’m gonna go get dinner started. Wanted to make kimchi stew for you.” Nayeon said. “Help me up?”

Jihyo set her drink down. Wordlessly she got up, going over to Nayeon’s side, taking her empty cup from her. She lifted Nayeon’s ankles up and off the footrest, gently setting her feet down on the ground. She moved to wrap her arm around Nayeon’s waist, counted to three, waited for Nayeon’s approval, before hoisting her up. They stood there for a moment, ignoring the heat, pressed as close together as they possibly could be.

“Thank you, baby.” Nayeon said softly, pulling Jihyo in for a kiss.

“It’s not a problem, Nay. You know that.” Jihyo said, smiling as Nayeon pulled away.

“I know.” Nayeon whispered, tapping Jihyo’s cheek a few times with her fingers. “But can’t a girl say thank you to her emotional support futch every once in a while?”

Jihyo snorted.

“I guess she can. Especially when you say it so sweetly.”

She helped Nayeon get inside along with their empty cups, her arm never leaving the older woman’s waist until they made it to the kitchen. Nayeon insisted she could handle it from there. And really, Jihyo knew she could, but the worry would never leave. She had come a long way since the accident- her body bounced back shockingly well. She just needed a little help getting started still, and Jihyo was more than happy to provide it.

After a few more kisses and some filthy comments about what they’d be doing later from Nayeon, Jihyo went back out to check on Jeongyeon. The lawnmower had finally given out, but thankfully Jeongyeon had just finished the yard. She was sitting on the steps, slamming the glass of lemonade that Nayeon had left behind for her.

“You good, Jeong?” Jihyo asked, her arms crossed as she stood behind her.

Jeongyeon finished the glass, grinning from ear to ear as she tilted her head back to look up at Jihyo.

“Never been better, Hyo.”

Jihyo rolled her eyes and helped pull her up. Jeongyeon stretched her arms out, her back cracking loudly. It made both of them laugh. Jeongyeon took the opportunity to pull Jihyo into one of her bear hugs.

“God- Jeongyeon- you’re so sweaty.” Jihyo protested. Her arms wrapped right around Jeongyeon’s waist, her head finding its spot on her shoulder. “Get off of me.”

“You love it though. Can’t get enough of it.” Jeongyeon teased, pressing a kiss to Jihyo’s temple.

“Shut up.” Jihyo hissed, finally pulling away. “Go take a shower.”

Jihyo went back into the house and Jeongyeon followed her. While Jihyo stopped to take her shoes off, Jeongyeon got right behind her, landing a smack on her ass and causing her to yelp.

“C’mon baby. You wouldn’t be complaining about it if I took you right here- you love it that much.” Jeongyeon said, smirking mischievously before running off, back to their bedroom.

“Shut up!” Jihyo yelled, regaining her balance. “Oh my god. You and Nayeon are so nasty! No decorum around here.”

“Wouldn’t be fun if we had any, and you know it.” Nayeon said, peeking her head out from the kitchen. She had her usual grin on her face.

Jihyo rolled her eyes. She walked back to the kitchen and rejoined her partner, helping Nayeon prep the ingredients for the stew. After a bit, Jeongyeon finally came back down- freshly showered, her short, wet hair messy from where she lazily towel dried it. As Jihyo was cutting up pieces of tofu, she watched Jeongyeon walk up behind Nayeon, her arms wrapping around her waist.

Jihyo smiled at the sight of the two of them. Nayeon smiled, leaning back against her wife, whispering something up to her that Jihyo couldn’t quite catch. Jeongyeon just chuckled, her nose pressing into Nayeon’s hair.

She couldn’t help but think about them again- about the life they could’ve had together. She couldn’t help but see a future for them every time she passed by that hospital room. The way Yeji would speak and Ryujin would just listen, smiling. How Ryujin would hold Yeji’s hand the entire time. They deserved something good more than anyone else. She was happy they had each other until the end.

She could only hope to have a love like that. Well, she didn’t really need to hope for it- she had it. It was already right in front of her, their force of gravity pulling her in over and over again.

[tiny-pretty-sana]

the sleeves of her sweater | jeongyeon x jihyo

pairing: jeongyeon x jihyo genre: fluff warning/tags: au, twice reunion, secret dating, stablished relationship w/c: 3.2k a/n: hii! this is my first fic, my first time posting anything i've written and also my first time writing in english. i apologize in advance for the mistakes you might find and i just hope you enjoy this as much as i did. feel free to leave any comments, feedback or suggestions 🤍

The other side of the bed was already cold when Jeongyeon was woken up by the sound of the shower, she doesn't like when Jihyo leaves her alone, but when her girlfriend wakes up to go for a run or go to the gym and sees how calm Jeongie looks, she just doesn't have the heart to wake her up. After staying in bed for a few minutes on her phone, she goes to the bathroom, but not before knocking on the door to let Jihyo know that she needs to use the bathroom, and after a few seconds she goes in.

Just as Jeongyeon has told Jihyo a thousand times to wake her up before getting out of bed, Jihyo has told her a thousand others that there's no need to knock on the bathroom door when she's taking a shower, especially when they’re at her home. "I know, but it's a habit" the older one says as she approaches the shower where her girlfriend's head peeks through the curtains "Good morning, Ji" she says before giving her a kiss on the lips, which is interrupted by Jihyo's smile as she softly pulls away "Morning, want to join?" she offers with a grin on her face. She thinks about it for a second before giving her an answer "I’d love to, but I promised Momo that I’d buy all the ingredients on the way to her place. She’s going to teach me how to make some traditional dishes from her city, so we have to leave soon" she says excitedly. That was definitely not the answer she was expecting, but the excited face of her partner is so adorable that she can't complain. She just laughs softly and goes back to what she was doing while Jeongyeon washes her face and makes her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. 

About 10 minutes later, they are both at the counter that separates the kitchen from the small living room, having breakfast, one of them in her pajamas and the other one in just her underwear and a large t-shirt that covers just enough of her thighs to keep Jeongyeon from regretting turning down the offer to shower together. "We should go in different cars, so I can stop by my place and grab some clothes. It's better if I get there at the same time as the others”. The one with the wet hair doesn't get an immediate response, but instead she feels how the other one grabs her hand and starts drawing circles with her thumb. "Ji, don't you think it's a bit absurd to do that when we're going back together? we're always driving them around, picking them up and your apartment is on the way. I think that would be weirder. We're trying so hard to be discreet and keep a safe distance between us that they're going to think we fought." Jeongyeon jokes and Jihyo nods. "You're right” she admits knowing it's true that sometimes she gets too carried away thinking about all the possibilities “Okay, take a shower and let's get those ingredients".

When she gets out of the shower, she sees her in the clothes she left a few days ago, now clean and smelling of the detergent she uses for her laundry. She stands there with a towel wrapped around her body, watching her girlfriend get ready and checking herself in the mirror, completely unaware of her presence. She isn’t wearing anything special, just some denim pants and a white top that gives a sneak peek of her abs that seconds later are covered by one of her own sweaters, the gray one with some embroidered letters on the chest. As she sees her girlfriend drowning in one of her oversized sweaters she can't help but leave out a soft chuckle. "I didn't know it was possible for you to look even more tiny" she teases her. As expected, she gives her a murderous look before speaking "I'm medium height, it's not my fault that you're too tall and that all of your sweaters are oversized" she says looking away back to the mirror to style her hair and put on some makeup. Jeongyeon starts getting ready as well, putting on the clothes she ironed and prepared the night before. Denim pants, a white t-shirt with a shirt over it buttoned only on the first button and a gray cap. It isn't until he looks in the mirror and then at Jihyo that she realizes, "Wait did you match on purpose?" she says in a tone that comes out as her usual taunts, but before hearing her girlfriend scoffing and pretending that she isn't a big softie, she says "I like it, we look so good together" earning an unusual blush from Jihyo. The shorter one, far from trying to hide it, throws herself into her arms and gives her a kiss that gets interrupted before escalating into something more by a call from Momo, who once again reminds her every single one of the ingredients they need as she doesn’t have a pretty detailed list with brands and everything on their private chat.

After stopping by the supermarket, a Japanese owned store and fighting in the market for the biggest octopus and the freshest fish with some old ladies, they are finally on their way to Nayeon and Momo’s place. This time Jeongyeon drives and Jihyo places her hand on her thigh, after two months together it's a gesture that she unconsciously does without any intention other than to feel her close, but that doesn't stop the taller one from blushing like the first day she did it. Unsurprisingly, Jihyo’s became even more touchy after they started dating, which turns Jeongyeon into a flustered mess every single time. If you ask any of them, neither will admit it. However, since they decided to keep their relationship behind their friends' backs until they were sure about it, Jihyo remains alert at all times in order to keep it a secret, that’s why from the moment they see the building, almost by instinct, she moves her hand away and grabs the bags placed between her legs.

Both are greeted by Nayeon still in her pajamas and her eyes barely open behind her glasses, but this doesn't stop her from noticing who has come with Jeongyeon unannounced, fortunately for the couple, she’s too tired to make any comments. "Next time you and Momo want to make a cooking date, do it at your apartment. The dogs haven't stopped barking since she opened the damn fridge" she complains. They both just roll their eyes and go straight to the kitchen, where an impatient Momo awaits them. It takes them just a few minutes to get down to work while Jihyo and Nayeon talk on the couch until the older one decides it's time to get dressed into something more appropriate.

Just a few hours later, the apartment is filled with the voices of her friends, the barking of all the dogs, the music of Mario Kart, the sounds of dishes clanging, water boiling and food frying.

While the food is about to be done, Jihyo and Sana set the table in the living room and start placing the dishes that are ready, and every time the shorter one goes to the kitchen, she can't help but stare for more seconds than necessary every time Jeongyeon hands her a dish on her hands and warns her about how hot it is, and she just nods as if she has listened to something. She would never admit it because she knows she would face a non ending teasing if her girlfriend knew how much she likes watching her while she is in the kitchen.  Seeing her with her sleeves rolled up and her hair slicked back as she concentrates on adding the exact amount of each ingredient, as if anyone besides Momo is going to notice that there's 5 grams more of salt.  Her movements are precise and confident as she cuts, stirs and flips whatever is in the pan. Of course, she would never tell her how incredibly attractive she looks while standing in front of the fire and some of her hairs from her now long bangs stick to her forehead from the hot steam, just like when... "I wonder if I'd look that hot cooking" Sana says, snapping her out of her thoughts. ”What?" Jihyo answers as she’s about to choke on her own saliva "I-I was actually curious about that pan… it seems to be pretty good" she says and Momo's replies rambling about how useful it is and how she should buy it now since she got a very good deal by buying a smaller one as well. Jeongyeon can't help but burst into laughter that stops as is answered by a snort and a side eye from Jihyo “What are you laughing at? Focus on mixing those eggs and flour or we won't have dessert until tomorrow" she says before storming out of the kitchen, making everyone laugh.

As usual, the food is delicious, for the first few minutes not a voice is heard except for some slurping, munching and some whines when the most impatient ones burn their tongues. Then the silence is followed by praisings and congratulations to the chefs until the different conversations and laughs start, some louder than others until a comment makes the table go silent. 

"Unnie, is that Jeongyeon's sweater?" Chaeyoung asks Jihyo, pointing at the piece of clothing, for the second time today they manage to leave Jihyo on the verge of choking, but it doesn't take long for her to pull herself together and play it cool. Jihyo thinks for a few seconds before answering, knowing that when it comes to clothes, she can't fool Chaeyoung, so she says a half-truth and tries to downplay the question "Oh yeah, she left it the other day in my car I think" she replies and spurs some sake in her glass.

"It's cute" Chaeyoung continues and Jihyo just wants to push a piece of sushi down her throat when she notices how all eyes are on them as if expecting something to happen, but  as soon as she feels Jeongyeon's hand gently squeezing her thigh she takes a breath and shrugs "Yes, it's comfy".

What neither she, Jeongyeon, nor the rest of her friends expected was what the second youngest one was going to say next "Yeah I guess, but I didn't mean the sweater. I think it's cute to wear your girlfriend's clothes, plus you look tiny in them" she says with an innocent smile on her face while Jihyo's smile drops and Jeongyeon’s face turns as red as the shirt Tzuyu is wearing. The silence that took over the room from the second Chae asked the question is interrupted by Nayeon's laughter and the hits she gives the poor Dahyun on the arm. At that moment the gazes that were previously on Jihyo and Jeongyeon turn to the oldest of the friends.

"Oh my god, did anyone else see how Jihyo's face went pale? What's wrong? Was it supposed to be a secret or something?" she says as she wipes a tear away, making the rest laugh with her except for the couple who just look at each other not sure about how to start explaining it or what to say, but Nayeon is the one who speaks again with a worried face as she realizes the situation. "Wait... was it really a secret? I thought that since we all knew about it you guys decided not to make a big deal out of it and we just went with it. You guys are incredible" she starts laughing while shaking her head.

At this point Jihyo is not surprised but embarrassed "What do you mean they all know?" she looks around and then directly at her girlfriend, who just shrugs, being as confused as she is.

"So... since when do you know?" Jihyo asks, giving up because at this point trying to keep the act it’s stupid. 

"Well, we're not really sure about the exact date" they all look at each other "it's obvious that at the camping trip you were already dating, but with everything that had happened, we didn't want to pressure you" explains Sana, who is followed by Momo "besides when Jihyo dropped the whole bottle of salt in the food, I was honestly more worried about being able to eat something and not starve to death in the middle of the forest" she adds earning some eye rolls. "And as you’re becoming more and more obvious, we didn't think it was necessary" Mina finishes explaining.

They both look at each other, trying to process the information as they do the math. They all went on that camping trip more than four months ago and even though there was something between the two of them that neither of them understood, they have been dating for just two months and a week ago to be exact. "Back then we weren't together" Jeongyeon says speaking for the first time while giving a side eye to Jihyo, who looks down and bites her lip as she shyly takes Jeongyeon's hand consciously for the first time in front of her friends since they started their relationship. "But why did you think we were together? I have literally been coming in 10 to 15 minutes after Jeongyeon every time we meet so that you wouldn’t see us arriving together, and many more things. I had it all well thought out". Of course for Jihyo it has become a matter of pride and she needs to know why her elaborate plan failed and why her friends spent over a month seeing her looking for all kinds of excuses every time she thought they were going to get caught.

"When Jeongyeon drove me to my exam, she had an R&B playlist and obviously it's not the music she usually plays in the car and I don't know if you noticed, but on the screen of your car if you put a playlist you can see in big white letters "JIHYO" and a bunch of hearts" starts Dahyun, referring to the playlist Jeongyeon made when Jihyo complained about the music in her car and connected her AUX. The first thing Jeongeyeon did when she got home after hanging out with her friend was make a playlist with the few songs she could read with the corner of her eye. Back then they weren’t a thing yet, but that didn't stop Jeongyeon from being up until 3 am searching for the R&B hits of the moment. Needless to say, the orange heart emojis were added later.

"That’s a good one, Dahyunie” Sana says turning to the girl “but also, you'd have to be blind not to notice that you can't take your eyes off each other, like earlier in the kitchen, Jihyo kept looking at Jeongyeon when she was making dessert as if she was the dessert" she says with a smirk as she bites her finger playfully.  Jihyo dies of embarrassment and the red of Jeongyeon's cheeks reappears. It seems like that doesn’t feel enough for the brunette because she keeps going "Well, and neither of you can keep your hands to yourself. I don’t think you’re aware of how many times you stare at each other's lips. It's cute... and hot" she says while giggling.

"Yeah, that one made me suspicious too. And not only that you’ve worn each other’s clothes more times, but also the smell of the clothes. Sometimes Jihyo's clothes smell like Jeongyeon's, when I stay at her house and you wash my clothes they smell the same''. This not only surprises the couple but all the others. If there’s a thing Chae doesn't play about besides fashion, that’s definitely smell and perfumes. "And not just clothes, the other day Jeongyeon was wearing Jihyo's perfume" she concludes.

They didn't know at what point this had turned into a game where from left to right they all had to give an exhibit that made so obvious the relationship between their two friends, but now all eyes turned to Mina, who was next to Chaeyoung, and without thinking too much, she gives her reason. "The Lego flower bouquet" she just says. She didn't need to elaborate because they both knew she was talking about the Lego flower set that has been decorating Jihyo's bookshelf for more than a week, a decoration that none of them would have imagined in Jihyo's plain and minimalist apartment, not even her. But if she was honest, now she couldn't imagine her living room without the colorful touch of the Lego set her girlfriend bought during a date after convincing her that it was exactly what she needed after she confessed she was having a stressful and complicated week at work. 

It’s now Tzuyu's turn, who being as concise as the girl next to her, just says "You feed each other all the time, but not the others, not even me" which is unusual, given the fact that as the maknae of the group, both she and Chae are always fed at some point by their unnies. But this time, far from being embarrassed, they both smile slightly as they realize the little habits they have been picking up from each other and the things that just come to them naturally when they are together.

"Yeah, I noticed that too! They don't let me try their food anymore, but if I'm honest I didn't believe it at first. I just thought it was one of those Nayeon moments until I went to Jihyo's and there was food in the fridge in the same containers that Jengyeon gives me when we make extra food. Also when I went to get something to eat while you showered, you had had almost ten packages of those corn snacks that she loves" as everyone who knew the girl might expected, Momo had connected the dots through some snacks, this made everyone laugh except from Nayeon who was offended by her friend's doubts.

"Wow, you share a home and have three dogs with your best friend just to find out that she doesn't believe you when you tell her the juiciest gossip… just wow" Nayeon says dramatically, and they all look at each other since Nayeon was the first to hint that the  was something going on between the girls and none of them believed her at first. "Well, I could say that I just knew there was something in the air when Jeongyeon came back because, I would obviously notice if there’s something going on between my two best friends since high school. But I have to add that after you both left Boo's birthday party you accidentally rang the doorbell when Jihyo pushed you against the wall while making out, so not only all of us know, but probably half of my neighbors know about you too as well." 

And at that moment, Jihyo couldn't be more thankful because the sleeves of her girlfriend's giant sweater were big enough to cover her face, which had changed color about three times since they started talking, while Jeongyeon didn't bother to hide the huge smile on her face.

[liminal-hunters]

Liminal Hunters — a Twice social media AU

Jeongyeon and her friends have spent several years hunting down and documenting all things unusual, unnerving and uninhabited. Their loyal, eagle-eyed followers study and discuss every photo the group posts, some even submitting their own spooky pictures for the girls to dissect and discover.

But with so much fearlessness and so much ambition, it's only a matter of time before one of the Liminal Hunters comes across something... bad.

(this is a horror AU! it will, indeed, feature scary themes, liminal photography and AI-generated horror imagery. it also might get NSFW 🤷🏼‍♀️ it's a complete work of fiction and intended for adult readers only! more than anything, it is a self-indulgent piece of gay horror silliness that i'm mostly writing for myself. if you also happen to enjoy it, even better!)

[READ NOW]