#jinwoo team one

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 169 }

selfish.

jinwoo sung x fem.reader

alternate title: the five instances where jinwoo’s jealousy got the best of him.

{ so if i get jealous, i can’t help it | i want every bit of you, i guess i’m selfish… }

( 1 ) your introduction

jinwoo sung had been dating you ever since he first started out as a hunter.

being fresh out of high school with zero talent or ambitions, jinwoo figured becoming a hunter was the most natural route for him-

even if his skills and abilities were well below average, he had to try. after all, there were people that depended on him, and he refused to let down his sickly mother and little sister so easily.

he recalls the many failures and each low-level raids that he attends, with his supposed team leaving him behind on more than one occasion.

"fuck man, having sung on this raid is such a burden."

"i feel bad for all the healers; they have to work twice as hard when sung's around!"

hearing such words coming from his fellow hunters made jinwoo want to curl up in a ball and die. jinwoo truly hated being such a burden, but he just couldn't help it! even he was made aware of the sheer mediocrity of his skills, he knew that he could not give up...

even if it took him a great effort to hold back the tears that threatened to stream down his face each time he put his life on the line...

after a particularly grueling raid (for him), he barely manages to escape the gates with his teammates, the pain felt coursing through him being all-encompassing when he was first introduced to the gentle touch of your healing abilities.

he remembers that day with a perfect clarity, meeting your kind eyes as the warmth of your healing aura surrounds him. words of protests were about to fall from his parted lips, but the moment he truly sees your kind smile coupled along with the way your eyes were shining with unbidden mirth-

you had completely stolen his heart.

jinwoo had barely noticed the way his aches, pain, and deeply cut wounds were beginning to heal. it was clear that your high rank had been well deserved since he had never experienced such a potent healing power before. within what felt like mere seconds, he was entirely healed.

"are you alright, hunter sung?" even your voice was filled with an unconditional kindness he had never once heard before. in a way, jinwoo was grateful that the rest of the team left, leaving him alone with you as he didn't need to fear being mocked or judged by anyone else whilst in your presence.

jinwoo looks away from you, trying to hide his blush when he calls out your name in a bit of a stutter, "what's a powerful healer like you doing on such a low-level raid?"

he watches the way you look away from him, a wide grin slowly painting your features as you ran a hand across your hair.

"well... let's just say i wanted to know more about the weakest hunter in the world and decided to join you on one of your raids. it's a bit rare to meet someone that is a true, level-e hunter."

jinwoo could feel the blush of embarrassment dye his cheeks a deep shade of red, and he had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from crying right then and there.

you were mocking him, and he hated it!

he struggles to get back on his feet, but it was your gentle grasp felt on his wrist that ultimately stops him. "wait... i'm sorry, that came out as rude... ruder than what i meant."

you sigh and meet his gaze once more, framing at his face with your hand as you caressed at his cheek, "i meant that i wished to help you, to ease you of any pain that you may have sustained during these raids. i'm sorry for upsetting you, forgive me?"

unable to truly walk away from you, jinwoo remains seated beside you, fighting back tears when he felt you gently brush back his hair. he meets your gaze, feeling his heart began to pound not only due to just a crush and admiration-

but envy as well.

you appeared to be close to his age, barely 18, yet still, you managed to obtain a high rank with the healing powers that were awakened from within you the moment the gates appeared across the world.

and despite how jinwoo knew that he would forever berate himself for standing by your side-

his heart just couldn't take the thought of you belonging to someone else...

( 2 ) during a raid

jinwoo counted all the trials and tribulations he faced during the double dungeons as both a blessing and a curse. and truly, he was glad that you were busy with a high level gate that day and was not assigned as his healer.

when he manages to survive such a grueling experience, being reborn in the process, he made sure to keep you in the dark. you, despite being his girlfriend for close to 6 years now, hadn't the slightest clue about how he had literally died that day-

only to be resurrected as the system's latest player.

throughout the following months, he spent the vast majority of his free time doing odd end dungeons only he had access to all while leveling up each time.

each experience he gained not only helped with him leveling up, but also hardened his resolve to perform dark acts that his usual self would never even consider-

things like...

murdering others for the sake of his own survival,

ingesting copious amounts of various poisons in order to cheat death and develop an immunity to them,

and pushing his body to the limits in hopes of being a man that was more suited to stand by your side.

throughout the months he became a sole player for the system, you were the one who had seen his metamorphosis firsthand, watching him with an almost curious expression that paints your features.

of course, you were happy for him, not minding nor questioning the fact that your boyfriend seemed to be growing stronger with each raid you attended with him. now that jinwoo had become much stronger than before, he was able to join you on various, high level raids that required your abilities as an s-rank healer.

and truly, he was just so happy to be able to remain by your side.

however, there was one major problem that kept bothering him, and that was how strangely... popular you were with hunters of the opposite sex.

perhaps the most obnoxious of the bunch was kim chul of the white tiger guild. each time he would see you on a mutual raid, he would try to flirt with you in an almost shameless manner.

"c'mon, that pipsqueak surely can't satisfy you like i can. why don'tcha leave him and come with me, babygirl?"

jinwoo had simply came back with some coffee in hand when he sees your form being hidden by kim chul's. his fists tighten in response, seeing the way your expression shifts into discomfort and disgust, trying to move away from him, only to be trapped even further against his gaudy heavy armor and the wall.

allowing his anger to push him forward, jinwoo dashes closer to you (his movements as smooth and silent as a shadow's) when he takes a hold of your wrist and manages to successfully pry you away from kim chul.

the tanker's eyes go wide momentarily before narrowing with rage.

"you damn e-rank! you think you're better than me because you're dating her? your scrawny brain cannot even comprehend how she's only with you out of pity!"

admittedly, kim's words struck a nerve within jinwoo, making his entire body stiffen had it not been for you keeping a tight only on his shoulder, preventing him from leaving your side and doing something he was sure to regret-

but he supposes kim chul got what he deserved when he died by igris' hands.

( 3 ) while on a date

wishing to treat you to something nice for your latest anniversary, jinwoo had went all out today.

from taking you to your favorite stores and allowing you to indulge in a café you frequented at for lunch, it truly was the perfect day for you.

and jinwoo made sure that nothing could ruin your anniversary.

from ignoring his so-called fans that tried to stop him for pictures and autographs to putting his phone on airplane mode so that the association wouldn't bother either you or him on this special day... jinwoo was completely serious about giving you his undivided attention on this special day.

yet that all seemed to crash down on him when he takes you out to dinner at a pretty well-known restaurant. jinwoo had made reservations several months in advance, and thanks to his newly attained status as the world's strongest hunter, the restaurant kept his reservation this entire time, never once cancelling it or changing it to a later date.

filled with anticipation for what he believed would be the perfect end for the night, he basks in the way your eyes drink in the gorgeous cityscape of seoul, admiring the lights that seemed to shine like diamonds from beneath the moonlight.

he had a gift hidden for you within the confines of his dress pants; a diamond necklace that he was sure would look perfect against your flawless skin. with every intention to give you such a gift once you were able to enjoy your dessert, jinwoo kept practicing what he was going to say inside of his head.

however, the damn waiter kept distracting him. throughout the entire night, he kept his attention solely on you. not even realizing how the waiter kept flirting with you, you were truly left in the dark.

upon giving you and jinwoo the menu, you had a difficult time determining what to order and asks the waiter for his advice. jinwoo could feel his grip tighten around his wine glass, nearly breaking it within his grasps as the waiter dared to place a hand on your shoulder, leaning in closer to whisper in your ear.

"well, my lovely flower, how about i recommend the following three course meal for you to enjoy..."

your eyes go wide upon feeling his proximity, and you did your best to move away from the waiter as he kept whispering his recommendations to you.

"a-alright, that sounds good to me. i'll take that..." you barely heard what the waiter said, being completely focused on jinwoo's glowing, purple eyes and scowling face.

"perfect." the waiter manages to whisper in your ear (not even looking at jinwoo) before standing back to his full height. clearing his throat, he finally meets jinwoo's gaze, giving him a look of disdain while asking flatly.

"and for you, sir?"

"i'll have whatever she's having." jinwoo tells the waiter swiftly, tone retaining some semblance of tranquility when in all actuality, he was planning that damn waiter's demise.

the waiter nods and takes away both of the menus; and with his back turned was when jinwoo stands from his seat.

"wait, love, where are you going?" ah, you seem to know him all too well, your voice filled with concern when jinwoo stands back to his full height. flashing you a strained smile, he adjusts the collar of his dress shirt, "relax, my love, i just need to head to the men's room real quick."

not waiting for your reply, jinwoo allows his dress shoes to tap loudly against the expensive, marble flooring of the restaurant, eyes never once looking away from the obnoxious waiter.

stalking the waiter, jinwoo reaches out to grab his shoulder with a large hand, pulling him aside, his eyes burning with an unnatural purple glow. the poor man never even stood a chance, practically trembling now as his knees threatened to give way to his weight when he was suddenly subjected to jinwoo's violent gaze.

"if you want to keep your job." jinwoo's whispers harshly against the waiter's ear, "i highly suggest you switch tables with a female coworker."

acting like a guilt-ridden dog with his tail between his legs, the waiter lets out several, apologetic stammers before running back into the kitchen, never once daring to look back at him.

a few minutes later, when jinwoo returned, he was quite pleased to see a young woman serving them their meal. and when you flashed him a look of suspicion, jinwoo merely shrugs innocently while taking sips of his red wine.

( 4 ) when kim chul -iron- reborn as a student first sees you

the war had been won-

but it still wasn't enough for jinwoo.

wishing to save the entirety of the world while placing the burden of the war solely on his shoulders-

jinwoo uses the cup of reincarnation.

he basks in enjoying a few years of his youth before locking himself within the dimensional rift, taking on each and every monarch along with his shadow army. he spends a total of 27 years within those depths, not stopping until all of his enemies were slain.

only when all of the monarchs were annihilated did jinwoo return back home...

grateful that he had been missing for a mere 2 years in the real world, jinwoo was happy that his family were still loving and ecstatic to see him again (even if it meant he would be grounded until further notice).

but truly, jinwoo didn't mind such a minuscule punishment, since this meant he could spend the rest of his life doing what meant the most to him-

with the promises he made to the rulers fulfilled, now, he was able to focus on what he found to be the most vital part of his life-

now, he could find you again,

as if he were further being rewarded for his hard work, you suddenly came to his high school as a new transfer student during his second year of school (while sharing his same class as well!). when he sees the empty seat near the back row, he quickly demands that his peer switch seats with him (using his skills as the shadow monarch to push convince the poor boy away) so that he could spend some time getting to know you once more the moment you take your newly assigned seat.

despite being a normal human in this newly revised timeline, jinwoo could tell that you felt... conflicted when it came to him. you did your best to keep your distance because of how introverted you were, but jinwoo refused to give up on you. his constant presence and persistence in your life manages to win your heart once more.

with you in his arms again, it came as no surprise that jinwoo would wish to show you off, more often than not allowing you to attend his track meetings as he basked in your awed gazes each time he ran (also serving as a reminder to his teammates that you were already taken).

when he told you to accompany him to his first competition, you agreed to watch him without a hint of hesitation. you were truly excited to see all of his practice be put to the test and looked forward to further supporting him.

upon arrival at the place where the competition would take place, jinwoo was struck with an almost nostalgic feeling, seeing iron kim chul standing before him. his eyes go wide as he could hear his soldier's excited whispers of iron's name.

kim chul was doing his stretches, appearing almost bored when he catches sight of you standing next to jinwoo. but kim pays jinwoo no mind to the young monarch, letting out a low whistle as he admires your form settled beside him.

"woowoo, i'll be right back. i need to head to the restrooms real quick."

your words break jinwoo out of his reveries, "oh, i'll go with you..."

before jinwoo could adjust his duffel bag to hold your hand and follow you, you hold out a hand to him, stopping him from coming any closer to you. "i'll be fine, jin. besides, the restroom's are literally right there, and your coach wants to talk to you and your team. i think you should stick around to listen."

a pout paints his features, earning a giggle from you as you lovingly ruffled at his hair.

"be right back!"

"fine..." with an almost lovesick expression, jinwoo watches you walk away from him...

yet all feelings of warmth ceases to exist when the bulky body of kim chul trails close from behind you.

jinwoo's fists were clenched now, with his coach's words going into one ear and out the other. allowing his duffel bag to fall against the ground, he follows kim chul, catching up to him with his abilities as the shadow monarch.

within a blink of an eye, jinwoo stands directly in front of kim, making the brawny young man openly gape at him. "what the... you were all the way over there... how did you-"

he gasps, feeling the effects of jinwoo's telekinetic abilities course through him when he was suddenly slammed against the wall.

"listen closely and listen well; you tried to pick a fight with me because you wanted my girl, and found out that i'm the son of your father's friend's friend's friend. you then chose to forget the negative emotions of jealousy you felt towards me... and now, you'll live more kindly from now on."

with a snap of his fingers, he allows kim chul to slump back to the ground, as if in a sleepy haze as he let out a groan in response. in what seemed like perfect timing, you appear beside him, already placing your hand within his as you looked down at the passed out kim chul.

"huh? what happened, jinwoo?"

"it's nothing." jinwoo takes you away from kim, who was now rousing from his momentary slumber with a look of confusion painted against his features. jinwoo lies tells you that he was simply helping the young man feel better after experiencing a bit of heat stroke by giving him some water and putting him in the shade of the bleachers.

"aw, you're so sweet, woowoo!" hiding back a smirk, jinwoo allows your pretty lips to press several kisses against his features as he made his way back to his teammates and couch, ready to compete.

( 5 ) when you gave birth to his child

"mr. sung jinwoo, you may come and see your wife and son now."

jinwoo had spent the latter part of the night constantly pacing the waiting room. your water had broke in the middle of the night, making jinwoo avoid taking his car in his panic as he carried you, using his shadow exchange ability to warp you to the nearest hospital.

his panicked cries echo throughout the facility, and he could only watch with helpless eyes as you were whisked away into a wheelchair, your cries of pain were all that he could hear as his heart began to sink, filled with anxiety at what was to come.

he lost track of time how long you had been in labor, but it had to have been an arduous process since it was now getting closer to the early hours of the afternoon. with stiff movements, he follows the nurse, hoping and praying that you would be okay.

the moment the nurse takes him to your hospital room, and he could see your fatigued form bathed in the sunlight as you held his son in your gentle embrace, jinwoo nearly fell to the floor just then.

tears of joy kept streaming down his face when he sees your tired expression cooing down at the tiny baby in your arms. your eyes were filled with so much love for your son that it was enough to make jinwoo's heart clench almost painfully in response.

your name comes from his lips in broken syllables, and you smile back at him, scooting over just the tiniest bit so that jinwoo could crawl into the hospital bed with you.

overwhelmed with such emotions of love for you and his son, jinwoo was unable to form coherent words, simply hiding his face against the curve of your neck with his arms loosely wrapped around your frame.

"hehe, what's this? has the almighty shadow monarch been rendered to tears at the sight of his baby boy?"

"s-shut up, so what if he is rendered into the biggest crybaby?" jinwoo couldn't stop a laugh from escaping him despite his tears. he sniffles and leans over to brush back your damp hair, pressing a lingering kiss against your skin before taking this chance to admire his son.

his heart melted upon seeing the mere sight of him. his son was pretty much a mini version of jinwoo, and he could tell that he sported his same head of thick, black hair. and despite how his eyes were closed, all scrunched up while looking ugly and cute at the same time, jinwoo somehow knew that he would have his grey eyes, too.

you take this chance to tease your husband a bit, "i know how jealous you get but... i'm afraid i love this precious baby boy a little bit more than how much i love you. after all, i went through such pains to help bring him safely into this world."

jinwoo simply shakes his head in response, taking a hold of your chin so that he could press a kiss against your parted lips. and while he was kissing you, he couldn't help but bask in the wonderful feeling of his family growing-

now, jinwoo can finally admit (with confidence, too!) that only his son and future children were allowed to freely obtain your love and devotion without eliciting such raw emotions of envy from him.

a.n. - i had been wanting to write a story based on j.t.'s song { selfish } for jinwoo, since the song is soooo jinwoo coded! 🥹 currently unedited, but i hope that you readers enjoy it all the same!

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[shomatoriashi]

08/24/24; 05:45pm

sung jinwoo x wallflower!fem.reader

[ the academy arc - 10 stages of love ]

{ i never met you, but i wanted to invite you to the party | and you walked in with those [...] eyes, never stolen by nobody… }

1 - first sight

the girls were being too loud again, you think to yourself, trying to focus on finishing your assignments for the day as you flipped through your notes and textbooks.

"god, he's really so dreamy!"

"i can't believe he's in our grade, but is already like, 6 feet tall!"

annoyance was felt coursing through your veins, and you swore that you felt a gentle ache beginning for form against your temple. it was currently lunchtime, and instead of enjoying lunch (or doing homework, like yours truly), these girls in your class decided to gawk at the track team from the windows. the more the girls in your class gushed over some guy, the more you quickly felt your patience running thin.

not wishing to cause a scene (or be even more hated), you slam your textbook shut, making sure the impact was heard echoing throughout the classroom as the girls let out a gasp in response. their hungry gaze looks away from the window, purposely turning their heads to glare at you.

"what's her problem?"

"honestly, if you keep acting like you have a stick up your ass, no one is going to like you."

you ignore their biting words, gathering your bags and notebooks together to head out of the classroom. feeling your strands of hair fall across your face, you blow against it, removing the annoying strands from your eyes.

being known as someone that's quiet and keeps to herself, if you had a superpower, then that superpower was to remain invisible to everyone. you were achingly...average. it seemed like you blended in with your surroundings unless you truly tried to draw attention to yourself. your grades weren't incredibly high, but you never failed any classes and just did enough to get by.

with you already finished with your lunch, you decided to spend the rest of your free time doing some homework so that you could relax when you came home. as you walked through the hallways, uproarious laughter catches your attention. with curiosity felt coursing through you, you step closer to the window, ignoring your reflection while pressing the palm of your hand against the cold glass.

several feet below you, you saw the track team finish their mock race, with some of the members laughing at the utterly exhausted boy that lay in the grass. amidst the teasing words, a single member remains silent, his smile gentle and kind as he got down to the boy's height and helps him up.

you take in the kind boy's features, lightly admiring his side profile and the way his ebony locks of hair fell so perfectly across his face. despite how he was the only one that wasn't laughing, you couldn't miss the amusement shining within his grey eyes and the way his full lips seemed to tilt slightly upwards in response to the whole situation.

as if drawn in by his features, you press yourself even closer to the glass, making the boy's expression shift when he suddenly meets your gaze. the eye contact lasted for a mere few seconds when you let out a soft squeak before landing on all fours against the linoleum floors. your heart was pounding, and you felt as though your mind was getting dizzy at the thought of such a perfect tall boy had noticed you enough to look at you.

feeling grateful that the halls were empty (for now), you crawl away from the window, making sure that your visage couldn't be seen by him-

yet oddly enough, you had a feeling that he had still noticed you.

2 - introduction

there was no way you could possibly go home when such pandemonium was occurring outside your school right now.

according to at least half of the female students, the track team was holding a competition with the rival school this afternoon, and everyone was eager to watch the ever so famous sung jinwoo in action.

after that embarrassing moment where jinwoo manages to meet your gaze, your stomach began to twist and fill with uncomfortable butterflies at the thought of his stormy, grey eyes meeting with yours again...

ah, but you digress.

here you are, someone who takes no interest in extracurricular activities, being forced to stay a few hours longer in school so as to avoid the crowd and being noticed by either your peers, or total strangers from a rival school. had your parents not been at work, you would have called either one of them to pick you up from school to free you from such an event.

knowing that you would need to wait it out for a few hours, you decide to go to the one place that brought you comfort: the library. with everyone outside, eagerly watching the track meet, you were gratefully alone, able to bask in this quiet sanctuary as you were surrounded by millions of stories printed on pages upon pages of books.

with your headphones settled comfortably within your ears, you listen to your favorite music on your phone, exploring each aisle of books with a casual hum while choosing a few books to read and pass time with.

holding the precious books within your hands, you go into the corner of the library, spreading out your chosen novels before picking one that had the most captivating cover. a tiny smile graces your features when you open the tome and began to read, immersing yourself within the story and your music.

you lose track of time with each turn of the page, your eyes completely focused on the printed words while imagining each scene within your mind. as you reached the climax of the story, a hand felt on your shoulder makes you gasp, your eyes going wide as you look back to see the track star himself staring back at you.

his hair was damp from the sweat, and you saw that he was dressed in his track uniform, donning your school's colors with his jacket. he meets your gaze in an unwavering manner, the sight of it all making your heart seem to lurch in response.

the same, tiny smile graces his features, and he takes a step back before introducing himself (as if you didn't know who he was already-)

"hey, sorry for startling you... my name's jinwoo, and it didn't feel right to leave you here when the school's about to close."

3 - interaction

his sudden appearance was enough to make your heart jump within the confines of your throat. feeling your cheeks heat up in embarrassment, you take off your headphones and really look at the time, eyes going wide when you realized that it was close to 8pm.

"shit, i didn't realize it had already gotten so late!" you take the books with you, carefully placing them within your bag as you slung it over your shoulder. you had every intention of making a mad dash home, yet it was jinwoo's large hand felt against your wrist that stops you from going forward.

"wait, it's too late for you to walk home by yourself. let me come with you."

your mind was spinning, and your eyes kept looking down at the spot where jinwoo held your wrist. "u-uhm, well, you probably live in the opposite direction, so it's okay! i can w-walk home by myself."

jinwoo scoff, now purposely sliding his grip toward the palm of your hand as he held it all while saying your name. "don't be ridiculous, you're a girl, and it's dangerous for girls to walk out so freely when it’s so late out."

the dizzy feelings refuses to cease, leaving you a stuttering mess when jinwoo casually leads you out of the school and into the fresh air. you shiver at how cold it had gotten, looking up at the night sky as you saw the stars twinkling back at you. he stops walking and takes in how goosebumps seem to appear across your arms from beneath the sleeve of your blouse, clicking his tongue while slowly shrugging off his jacket.

"here, put this on."

you blink up at him, giving him a questioning glance, yet still, he simply holds out his jacket for you to take. you murmur a quiet thank you, taking it from him as you zipped it up, feeling his lingering warmth surrounding you.

the next 20 minutes for you were spent in a bit of a haze, with jinwoo walking you back to your place with zero complaints. as you arrive at your front door, you were ready to take off jinwoo's jacket and return it back to him, but he holds out a hand to stop you.

"keep it, you can give it back to me some other time."

the heat was felt traveling down your neck, with you only managing to give jinwoo a nod as he walks away from you with a gait that was filled with confidence. you simply stood there, not moving until jinwoo was no longer seen.

only when you unlocked the door to your house did you realize something vital:

you had never told jinwoo your name before-

yet somehow, he still knew it.

4 - attraction

ever since that night he had walked you home, jinwoo seemed determined to become your friend, remaining ever so close to you when you least expected it.

despite being in different classes, jinwoo never seemed to care. he always made time to see you, and you could never say no to spending your lunchtimes with him. in fact, he worked wonders when it came to mitigating your loneliness.

currently, it was late in the afternoon. jinwoo didn't have any track practice today, and was able to spend some time in the library with you. as you both worked on your respective assignments, you and jinwoo end up sharing your headphones together, listening to your music as you snuck glances at jinwoo.

there was something strangely... intimate about listening to music together. for starters, since jinwoo was using the other half of your headphones, it automatically puts him in a position that was closer to you. because of his proximity, you caught the undertones of his minty cologne and an even closer look at his side profile-

a side profile that was, admittedly, utterly gorgeous.

hence why you kept sneaking glances at him.

after you finished answering a question, you decide to look back at him-

only to see jinwoo casually meeting your gaze as well.

not expecting it, you let out a tiny squeak in surprise, feeling the heat rushing to your cheeks as you coughed, trying to pretend that you were not looking at your best friend and taking note of how attractive he was.

his rich chuckle fills at the air, yet he makes it worse when he casually says, "what? see something that you like?"

jinwoo's teasing question makes the heat seem to deepen against your skin, as you struggled to come up with a plausible excuse.

5 - date

"i'm not going to play games with you." jinwoo suddenly says, walking up to you in a bit of an arrogant and haughty manner as he traps you against the row of lockers.

"w-what? what are you talking about, jinwoo?" you held your notebooks close to your chest, making jinwoo chuckle before shaking his head.

"i'm trying to tell you that i like you, and i won't let you say no or reject me, since i know you feel the same way about me."

blood was felt rushing to your ears, blocking out the resounding gasps coming from the girls in your class.

"you can't be serious!"

jinwoo scoffs, ignoring the girls as he was truly focused on you alone. taking a hold of your hand, he leaves the classroom and takes you to a more secluded area. your mind was unable to comprehend what was going on, repeating jinwoo's confession over and over again, seeming to play the memory in an endless loop.

was he playing a prank on you? had he been set up by one of the popular upperclassmen? were you just some bet-

the sensation of the fresh air hitting at your senses finally breaks you out of your fervent reveries, with you looking up at jinwoo as he pins you against one of the walls. you were dimly aware of how you were both on the rooftop of the school, with jinwoo's eyes seeming to flash a glowing purple briefly before morphing back to his usual grey eyes.

"i really like you... and i wish to be with you." jinwoo confesses to you once more, taking a hold of your hand before placing a kiss at the back of it, "so please, say that you'll give us a chance."

at the end of it all, you could only manage to give him a nod-

yet you swore that his smile would forever be burned into your memories.

6 - holding hands

jinwoo had taken you to a nearby amusement park for your first date-

and never once did he let go of your hand.

when he asks you what rides you would like to go on, you tell him with a shy grin, "every single one of them, if at all possible."

never one to deny you, jinwoo actually spends a little extra money on your respective tickets, giving you both a free pass to the front of the line for all the rides. you had spent some time in amusement parks before with your family, but always had to spend a good chunk of your time waiting in line.

now, however, you could skip the long waits altogether and was able to bask in all the rides. it didn't matter if you and jinwoo rode the carousel or a fast paced rollercoaster-

jinwoo still held on to your hand each time, making sure to sit beside you at every chance possible.

with the sun beginning to set, jinwoo takes you out to lunch, letting you enjoy all of your favorite foods. as you bit into a corndog, jinwoo simply smiles at you while taking sips of his soda.

even when your hands were preoccupied with food and couldn't be held by jinwoo, he still made it his life's mission to remain close to you, choosing instead to use his legs to reach out and gently caress at your calves and ankle, the intimacy of it all making you shiver. you tried to play it cool, only to have jinwoo laugh at your poor attempts of keeping your composure.

7 - first kiss

the sun had long set, and you had spent nearly the entire day at the amusement park. still holding hands with jinwoo, he asks what ride you would like to finish the day with, and you could feel the embarrassment creeping up your neck.

"w-well... i've always wanted to ride the f-ferris wheel and enjoy the night sky with s-someone special. y-you know?"

a knowing smile graces jinwoo's handsome features when he interlocks his fingertips with yours, pulling you along before leading you to the ginormous ferris wheel. cutting toward the front of the line, jinwoo flashes his special ticket, allowing you both to get on first.

with you safely tucked against jinwoo's side, the door closes, and you feel the way the cart moves, making its steady ascent while giving you the perfect view of the amusement park. all the lights seemed to sparkle like gemstones from this height, and it was difficult to hide the pure amount of joy you felt.

your giggles echo throughout the cart, with jinwoo softly saying your name. you focus on jinwoo once more, grinning widely at him when you feel him suddenly lean forward to capture your lips in a sweet kiss.

the kiss was a chaste one, with only the sensation of his slightly chapped lips meeting with yours-

but it was still oh so perfect, with you closing your eyes as you pressed yourself even closer to him in hopes of deepening the kiss. with jinwoo's lips perfectly slotted against yours, you forgot all about the gorgeous scenery, completely and utterly focused on the boy who was slowly stealing your heart...

8 - relationship

you didn't think it was possible to feel such a powerful connection with another human being-

yet against all odds, fate had given you just that. ever since your first interaction with jinwoo, the seemingly perfect boy remains vigilant when it came to staying by your side.

your relationship had some bumps here and there, mainly coming from those who became envious of what you had with jinwoo, yet without fail, he would shield you from those hateful gazes and take you within his embrace, always promising to protect you even when things got tough.

somehow, jinwoo broke through all of your walls and made a secure spot within the depths of your heart, one that could only be filled by him as you found yourself constantly daydreaming about the future with him.

sung jinwoo had given you hope and a new reason to find beauty in life again-

and you wouldn't have it any other way.

9 - love

despite being with him for nearly a year, never once were you brave enough to come clean about your feelings for him.

what you felt for him wasn't as simple as just being love for him-

it felt so much stronger than that.

jinwoo fit you in every way possible-

he was like your other half-

your missing puzzle piece.

you had read about romance and the concepts of soulmates before, but never once had you believed in it until now.

you knew that love felt like an almost meaningless word with how much it was carelessly thrown around-

yet at the same time, it was the only word that you could use to properly convey your feelings for him.

as you were settled in bed with him, with his arms wrapped around you, keeping you cozy and warm despite the storm that was brewing outside, you found that you couldn't focus on the movie that was playing on his laptop. your emotions were running haywire, and the memories you shared with him were making you realize how important jinwoo was to you-

that there was no way you could live without him now.

with these thoughts swirling within your head, you clenched your eyes shut and decided to finally tell him. "jinwoo, i love you."

the change was immediate, with your heart seeming to plummet within the depths of your stomach at how strangely silent jinwoo became. tears were felt welling up within your eyes when he pauses the movie all while softly calling out your name.

your sniffles echo throughout his room, and you were ready to apologize to him when jinwoo faces you, his handsome features turned up in a smile that made your breathing hitch.

"those better be tears of joy, jagiya." he softly coos at you, using the pad of his thumb to gently trace at your bottom lip, "there's no need to cry because i love you, too... so fucking much."

jinwoo ends up swallowing your gasps with another searing kiss, refusing to move away from you for even a second as he presses himself even closer to you, becoming a tangle of limbs as he continues to kiss you passionately against his bed.

10 - commitment

your alarm was heard going off right at 5am, and despite how you still felt so exhausted, you knew you had to get out of bed.

your back aches with the sudden weight felt against your abdomen, and you quickly head to the bathroom to relieve yourself all while doing your usual morning routine. with your teeth brushed and your face freshly washed, you head into the kitchen to start making breakfast for your husband.

getting out all of the ingredients from the fridge, you settle them against the counter while switching on the light. you began with cooking the rice, then making some scrambled eggs while frying up some breakfast sausages. in the midst of your cooking, you felt a powerful presence coming from behind you.

you smile all while using your spatula to cook your eggs. jinwoo lets out a yawn before placing the palm of his hands against your swollen stomach, being evidence of the way you were carrying his and yours first child.

"how are my loves doing this morning?" you giggle upon feeling him press a kiss against the side of your neck. "no fair, your daughter and i wanted to surprise you before you headed to work for the day."

"oh? i'm so lucky, being so spoiled by my beloved wife and daughter."

you hum, shutting off the stove so that you could give jinwoo your full, undivided attention. he smiles down at you, looking as handsome as ever even in his adulthood. his hair had gotten slightly longer, appearing a bit wavy with his locks seeming to perfectly frame at his face.

unable to stop yourself, you lean up at the same time jinwoo leans down, your lips meeting with his in yet another kiss that takes your very breath away. not even caring about making breakfast anymore, you continue to bask in his sweet kisses, feeling his smile against your lips when he suddenly picks you up and holds you within his embrace.

you would never tire of your husband spoiling you with his affections, feeling like you were on top of the world the moment you caught sight of your matching wedding bands glimmering beneath the light.

end notes: i've always wanted to write a 10 stages of love story for jinwoo, and i'm so happy i was able to accomplish it today! i've been in such a writing block for the hubby, and i'm incredibly proud at how this turned out 🥹 it's currently unedited, but i'll make any necessary changes once this is posted!

all stories are written by rei; please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works!!

[circeyoru]

Loyalty of The Shadow _ Part 2

[Sung Jinwoo x Friend!Reader]

Part 1 — Part 2 (here)

You gave Jinwoo the eyes when you heard the words out of his mouth. No way. You jumped off the couch and threw the manhwa in your hands into the air, while the Shadow knight scrambled to catch it, you stomped your way over to the two Hunters. “Sung. Jin. Woo! No way are you going to name your one and only guild as—!! Why are you all soaked?!”

Your anger disappeared the moment your eyes caught sight of Jinwoo’s appearance, before he could even answer your question, you had rushed into a room (that he is not even familiar with) and came back with a fluffy towel. Your hand signaled at your shadow and another knight emerged to raise you up to Jinwoo’s eye level. You dapped the towel over his head and started drying him off. 

“You’ll catch a cold at this rate.” You pouted while you continued to dry his hair, feeling the towel slowly absorb the water from Jinwoo.

There was his muffled chuckle and you heard him comment half lightedly, “You know I don’t get sick.”

Your eye twitched and your gentleness turned to playfulness as your speech quickened and you started viciously rubbing the towel against his head and then face. “Well, guess you can handle this too.”

For a few seconds, Jinwoo let you do all that with a smile that was hidden by the towel. Then, his hands raised to your sides and hovered there, “Are you going to stop?”

“Nope!”

“You asked for it.”

“Huh?” Your confusion was a brief nenosecond before your erupted into laughter. “Hahahahha!!! St—!! Hahah!!! Stop!! Hahahha! Can’t breathe! Hahhaahhahhaaa! Stop it!!”

“You reaped what you sow.” You heard Jinwoo’s chuckle. 

Jinho watched with a blink expression, soon stating as monotonous as reflect of his mood. “Can you two get a room.”

Jinwoo finally stopped and you were also finally allowed to catch your breath. You leaning against Jinwoo’s chest unconsciously and Jinwoo’s hands on your shoulders to stablize you from falling over. While you were busy catching your breath, you completely missed the way Jinwoo softly smiled at you like a precious being in his heart. 

Knock. Knock.

“Who is it?” Jinho looked over to the door and went to answer it.

“This is Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s Guild office, right?”

Your ears perked up at the voice and dashed over, opening the door wider with a beaming smile, immediately greeting her without giving Jinho a chance. “Hunter Cha!”

The S-Rank Hunter blinked in surprise and looked at you bewildered, “You’re here too?”

You hummed, grabbing Hae-In’s hand to pull her into the office. “Yup! It’s been a while since we last saw each other, huh? Did you try that new cafe I recommended?”

“Yes, it was a pleasant experience,” Hae-In smiled back, “I even brought my raid team once, they loved it too. It was a good recommendation for sure.”

“Glad you can have some relaxation from all that Hunter business.” You jabbed a thumb in Jinwoo’s supposed direction and rolled your eyes, “That Jinwoo is a workaholic, or raidaholic if you know what I mean, never misses a chance to just go into a dungeon and raid…”

A rough hand was placed on your shoulder and pulled you back, then your sight was half covered by Jinwoo’s back. You looked up at him, he had his eyes on Hae-In with indifference and a hint of annoyance? Well, you didn’t think of anything else since his tone was the same as always, “Hunter Cha, what are you doing here?”

Hae-In’s fingers rubbed each other, you caught her nervousness, an unusual sight for sure. “Um… Your Guild…” She looked up at Jinwoo in the eyes as she requested. “I’d like to join it.”

“De—”

“Let’s all sit down first and talk!” You interrupted, stepping out from behind Jinwoo. You once more took her hand in yours and led the way. “Right this way please.” You turned to Jinho, “Can you prepare some snacks and drinks, please, Vice-master?”

“Yeah! Sure!” Jinho was quick on the uptake and left the scene.

Jinwoo sighed and eyed his shadow where multiple pairs of eyes stared down, some moving as though shaking their heads. Then he made his way over to where you had seated Hae-In and sat on the couch opposite to hers. Why is it so hard to get a moment between us…?

As much as you hated serious business and Jinwoo knows that, he stilled pulled you down on the couch to sit next to him for his chat with Hae-In. To cure your boredom, your assigned Shadows had helped you retrieve your stuck of manhwa you were read before Jinwoo’s return. And because Jinwoo wanted to be clingy and hold a part of you, you satisfied his wish by plopping your head on his lap while your legs hang off of the arm of the couch burying your face in the pages of your manhwa.

“Then why… would you want to join my ‘Solo Play’ Guild?” Jinwoo asked seriously.

“Y— Your Guild’s name is ‘Solo Play’?!” See? Even Hae-In was shocked like she saw an S-Rank ghost or something.

“Yes, what’s the problem with the name?”

“Everything’s the problem.” You lowered your manhwa to glare at Jinwoo.

He looked down at you. “Me and the Vice-master agreed to it.”

“Hyung-nim, did you just say that we agreed? It was never decided in the first place! What about the names I suggested?!” Jinho shouted from across the room.

“??” Jinwoo looked over in the direction of Jinho, genuinely confused while you and Hae-In followed the conversation with blank stares and faces. “You didn’t say anything so I thought that you agreed.”

As the conversation shifted back to between Jinwoo and Hae-In, you observed the situation silently and faking your attention on your manhwa. Hae-In’s expression and her speech. Your eyes slowly blinked and you continued to read your manhwa once you figured it out. Hunter Cha Hae-In has fallen in love with Jinwoo.

It was obvious why people would fall for someone like Jinwoo. From zero to hero, from E-Rank to S-Rank, from weakest to strongest. Jinwoo’s change was like night and day. You saw many of these transformations in your stories and the like, but it was just that, stories. In a world like this, Jinwoo’s change was odd and miraculous. A fairy tale change.

But you’ve seen and heard of all the hardships he faced. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t done with the snap of his fingers. Sure the results now was what everyone focused on. Though, where were they when he was at his lowest? Fighting for his life and for the betterment, no, survival of his family. None stick to him. None flock to him with pure intent. 

Not to say those that flock to him now have pure intent too.

Still though, it wasn’t your place to be so judgmental when you were neither an influential figure nor a Hunter. You were just Jinwoo’s long standing friend.

“I only need one more member for my Guild, I don’t plan to make it big.” Jinwoo spoke firmly, a finger pointed down at you, “And that spot is reserved for this friend of mine. So I must decline your request to join.”

“You need Hunters to be your member in your Guild, not citizens.” Hae-In flinched.

“I had asked the Chairman and it was alright.” Jinwoo looked down at you and gently moved your book by the binder down to reveal your face staring up at him. “I just need your consent to finalize.”

You raised a brow at him, “I personally think Hunter Cha would be a better match as a member though.” You moved the book away from his hold and continued your point, “Just think, the country’s smallest Guild with 2 S-Rank Hunters. Quite the name, no?”

Jinwoo sighed, “Actually, there’s an entrance test for our Guild.”

“H- Huh?! That wasn’t in the recruiting notice…”

“I guess that the Vice-guild master must’ve made a mistake, since it’s a new rule for outsiders.” Jinwoo glanced over to Hae-In.

“What kind of test is it?” Hae-In stared back at Jinwoo, unmoving.

She’s stubborn. Jinwoo eyed at you who was back to reading without a care in the world. And so are you… “You have to win against one of my summons.”

Long story short, you somehow was got roped into joining the fight, not as a fighter but as a spectator or a judge if you will. Since you have a nack for observing people and pinpointing weakness to be improved, Jinwoo would more often than not bring you along for his private dungeon raids and training. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy it.

Because Jinwoo was always flexing his power and strength, not to mention his Shadows were fun to hang around.

Now that you’re here, you wondered if setting Beru as Hae-In’s opponent was a good thing. You bet she still has some trauma from the Jeju Raid. You thought Jinwoo would be lenient and ask for Igris to fight Hae-In. Speaking of…

You looked at the knight standing by you with his cloak wrapped around you to protect you from the aftermath of Beru’s strikes and Hae-In’s defences. To your right was Jinwoo, though his eyes were on the fight, one of his hand was raised to shield your front. Like he was ready to jump in and stop whenever needed.

If Hae-In were to be accepted into the Guild, she’d have a lot of time to spend with Jinwoo and your moments with Jinwoo would be forfeited, since he’d spend a lot more time in the dungeon and raiding. It was sad to think about, even though Jinwoo would lend his Shadows to keep you company, it wasn’t the same as spending time with Jinwoo. 

You do recalled the few moments where you joked about asking to be Jinwoo’s significant other. Though, it was fine in fantasy, but the responsibility of staying was scary. As perfect as it was in stories, you can’t imagine yourself being good enough for Jinwoo as a partner, as a friend—yes, but as a partner? Maybe not.

So why did your heart felt like it’s being squeezed to your death when Jinwoo stepped between Beru and Hae-In, protecting her like a knight in shining armour?

You turned to Igris and had him lean down so you could whisper. “I need some time alone, so I’ll leave first.”

Igris’ behaviour made it look like he didn’t want you to leave and wanted to tell his lord and master. You stopped him and had the Shadows placed on you return to Jinwoo. 

“Please do me this favour.”

Reluctantly, Igris nodded in forced understanding. 

So you left without a word as silently as you could after giving Igris a headpat.

It was the biggest mistake of your life.

Note: Shhh. Part 2's out. Never gonna make it continue. But here it is... Anyways~ There's also Part 3 being drafted. Prepare for angst!!! Let me know what you think of this one~

Circe Y.

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist:

@lunavixia @o-qi-shisme @skylar896 @marydragneell @bri602

[starzgaze]

Just a though rmb that time u made hae-in and Jinwoo fight for y/n? I just rmbered it randomly and I propose:

Hs Jinwoo and Hae-in both regressing and they're pining for Y/N who used to be a mage/healer/support for them.

Ur local hottest boy in school + The it girl and Track Running champion of another school fighting for y/n's hand

this has been living rent free in my head to the point ive unconsciously drawn it LMAO so art down below if u scrolllll

okay but this concept with an extremely mundane [name]?? hello especially someone who's just trying to get past school with average grades and average effort then maybe with a few volunteering here and there where it's coincidentally being the assistant for the coah in the track and field team.

[name] being known for helping a few people and having an affinity when it comes to patching up people and helping them so volunteer work is just light work for them so they didn't mind as much when the things they do during their time in the track and field team is tossing water to the runners and sometimes fixing them up if they trip or break an ankle. being part of the red cross club last year really helps in these situations.

then [name] meets jinwoo who's the new member in the team and someone who just suddenly transferred to the school, saying it was about his father getting a promotion and they needed to move places.

[name] believes this because everyone has their own situations but it was in fact jinwoo finally finding out what school [name] was in after a few years of trying to search for them then he transferred school, not caring if it's the middle of the school year. of course [name] doesn't know this.

then those two gets closer and jinwoo tries to charm [name] with silly jokes and impressive stamina and speed whenever he's on the field, leaving [name] awe struck. it was obvious to everybody else that the new extremely handsome hotshot of the track and field team had a little thing for the stupidly mundane volunteer who only took the job because they needed something for their community service hours.

just as about this man was gonna ask [name] out the coach of the track and field team announces that now on during after class practices another student from a different school will be attending their training program and blow and behold it's fucking cha hae-in much to jinwoo's dismasy.

hae-in isn't much experienced with this whole regression thing so she's less prepared compared to jinwoo but her persistence and determination just to see her sweet little [name] again what helped her pulled through and landed her here.

hae-in took the program through some connections and begging to her coach to let her train under a different school, claiming it will help her grow and the coach believed her because how can you deny your favourite athlete that's stupidily amazing in the sport? anyway hae-in successfully got into [name]'s school without moving in even if it's not the whole day, seeing [name] was more than enough for her.

that is until she saw her number one rival at the corner, hae-in compares him to a cockroach with how he can't leave her sigh and his sense of fashion that's constantly dark themed. she's low-key pissed that he's here, like just leave her alone and her cutie [name] that's not for him.

[name] spends more time with the two, now hae-in is in the picture. they would help hae-in whenever she would get a sprain and give her tips on what to do to alleviate the pain and get better asap before the regionals or take her out to hang out because it was easier being the same gender. jinwoo is fuminggg at this because it took him like months to do that and for hae-in it took like a measly few weeks?? that's so unfair

suddenly the two get into little competitions with eachother trying to impress [name] and of course they noticed but they don't believe that the two most sought after players in the school or even the region would have a thing for them, they're just good friends.

that drives them insane but it's okay one of them will make you realize it's more than that!! it's just a matter of time and effort you'll be in their arms.

btw imagine after school going out with the two and you guys eat at some street vendor spot then they argue who could pay. they get so distracted with arguing you just pay for yourself as you watch with the street vendor the two fighting.

[sungjinwoouff]

hard to impress, i. | sung jinwoo

where you fail to catch his attention countless of times.

pure fluff, harsh words, may be a tiny bit ooc.

note - not sure if this has been done yet, but i sincerely apologize if it has.

you were an a-rank archer, often working with other high rank hunters in raiding various gates. getting a chance to work with the most famous hunters of south korea wasn’t a rare event, although you haven’t gotten your rise in popularity yourself. you didn’t mind though, because you enjoyed the more private and personal life without having to worry about what the public thinks of you.

you’ve once had the chance to raid a dungeon with the usual team of b to a-rank hunters — only this time, you were being supervised by the famous 10th s-rank hunter of south korea, sung jinwoo. being the hardworking archer that you are, you promised yourself that you would at least impress him with your skills.

it was a normal raid, fighting hobgoblins and taking whatever loot you could find, leaving the rest to the mining team. during the battle with the dungeon’s boss, you managed to land multiple arrows on the cold-blooded hobgoblin’s head, no doubt dealing the most damage to said boss. you had hoped that was enough to gain praise from sung jinwoo himself, but to your dismay, he had said nothing. granted, he was fighting a mob of the boss’ minions himself, so he might have not noticed your great achievement. still, it disappointed you just a little, making you realize that maybe jinwoo was hard to impress.

that maybe, you needed to do that more than once for him to notice you. but how? you thought you’d never meet him again after that raid had ended.

you were yet again proven wrong when you were called in the following week for another raid. as always you didn't think much about it, until you caught sight of a familiar face talking to one of the hunters joining your raid. your heart started beating quicker than usual, your determination growing as you realized that you had another chance at impressing someone so intimidating and prestigious.

the group entered the dungeon and it went as smooth as it could have, with you contributing to the most damage given to the boss. you felt proud of yourself, gaining praises from your comrades, but nothing from jinwoo.

upon leaving the dungeon, one of the higher-ups from the surveillance team was standing there waiting for them, or at least that's what you thought.

his eyes immediately landed on jinwoo as he exited the gate last out of all of you. the man walked over to jinwoo and talked quietly to him about something, with jinwoo muttering a few words in response. you watched their conversation from afar for a while before turning around and heading home, tired from the raid.

weeks turned into months and you've done countless raids, which was not surprising, since you are a high ranking hunter. the odd thing was that sung jinwoo happened to supervise every single raid you've been called to.

in the beginning, you thought that maybe it was just a couple of coincidences in a row. though after a while, you realized that there must be so many more raids going on all throughout seoul, so there really was little to no chance for you to meet him so many times. what's worse, he seems to never take notice of you, no matter what you do. not even when you narrowly dodged an attack from the boss, not when you continued giving your all despite being injured, not even when you were able to defeat enemies quicker than your peers. nothing seemed to gain his attention, let alone his praise.

you're beginning to think that he's just an arrogant asshole.

—

"hello?" you answer into your phone that's been ringing only for a few seconds, as you already read who had been calling — a higher-up from your guild.

you purse your lips and hold back a sigh, hearing the words you already guessed you would hear. you were called to yet another raid. it's a good thing you had just finished your lunch, because then you'd be filled with energy for the whole raid which will no doubt last a couple of hours.

you had a strong feeling jinwoo would be there again, but this time, you aren’t determined to impress him like before. you have chosen to give up last night when you were eating dinner while watching a movie. you feel it was useless, as anything you did failed to gain the s-rank hunters attention.

who were you kidding, you are just a mere a-rank hunter, of course sung jinwoo wouldn’t bat an eye at you.

letting out a sigh, you grab the coat hanging behind the front door to your apartment and put it on before leaving. the gate you're heading to requires you to take the underground subway through a few stops, but you don't mind. it's a peaceful ride as always, with most people already at their offices, working. the peace gave you time to ready yourself, mentally preparing for the worst-case scenario, thinking through backup plans like you usually do.

you finally reach your station, immediately hurrying out of the car, tapping your card on the gate, and rushing up the escalator. upon reaching the surface, you could already see the crowd of hunters waiting to enter the gate, including sung jinwoo himself.

you approach the group, smiling as they greet you cheerily like they always do. though this time, unlike before, you feel eyes on you. you scan the area around you while continuing your conversation with the other hunters, but you don't see anything or anyone odd.

"come on, we're ready to go in now." one of the hunters nearest to the gate called out, cutting your conversation short.

you take a deep breath and nod, following the others, being the second to last one to enter. sung jinwoo was right behind you, watching quietly as always, but you paid him no mind despite feeling your heartbeat rise in pace.

the dungeon is a snowy forest, meaning you had to fight some ice bears, something you were familiar with.

that feeling of familiarity quickly disappeared though, as the atmosphere suddenly changed drastically, sending shivers all throughout your body — and it wasn't because of the cold.

"something's off," you call out, earning sounds of agreement from the other hunters.

you open your mouth to continue your words but you're stopped abruptly by a harsh wind blowing against you, making you nearly lose your balance. you quickly recollect yourself, realizing that the gush of wind was caused by jinwoo, who suddenly appeared right in front of you in a protective stance, seeming to hold something right in front of his face.

"ice elves," he muttered. "it's a red gate."

you couldn't even register the fact that that was the first time you've ever heard jinwoo speak up close, fear and panic coursing through your veins. never in your life have you stepped foot in a red gate, playing it safe. you've never seen what an ice elf even is, yet by the way it had shot that arrow without you noticing as an archer yourself, you know for a fact that it must be at least a s-rank monster and could kill you in one shot if it wasn't for jinwoo protecting you.

wait... protected you?

another rush of arrows attacked the group, but you didn't have time to see anything before the arrows shot toward you were suddenly cut in half. this time you see jinwoo with a dagger in hand, and you immediately knew that he is the one who cut them before they reached you.

"is... is everyone okay?" you call out, peeking from behind jinwoo's tall frame to see some of the hunters crouching, while the others stand with fear, seeming to have just barely dodged the arrows.

"they're okay," jinwoo answers you on their behalf, turning his head slightly to look at you. "are you?"

your eyes widen as the stare back at his, you feel the heat rushing to your face but you brush it off. "i-i am. thank you."

you could swear you see the ghost of a smile appear upon his features just before he returns his attention to the trees in front of him.

"i'd suggest you close your eyes." he says, right before his entire body emits a dark purple glow. you gasp, watching as multiple shadows arise from the ground and form the shape of knights and hobgoblins, of everything you have ever fought before.

you ignore his suggestion and watch in shock as the shadows you saw finally move, moving so quickly they practically teleported into the trees, to which you assume is to defeat the ice elves that were hiding. screeches of those intelligent yet sly creatures were heard soon after, alerting everyone yet again.

jinwoo turns, facing you. he sees the way you stare into the trees as the shadows eliminate the beasts, not a single trace of fear seen on your face. he felt something as he admired you, something approaching him quickly from behind, but as he moves to slash at whatever it was, an arrow hit it before he could.

a thud was heard as the ice elf's body hit the ground, an arrow in its head. jinwoo returns his gaze to you, who is holding your bow with a small smile on your face.

"hunter sung," you breath out, "i just saved you."

jinwoo let a small laugh out, a grin pulling at his lips. your moment is disrupted when suddenly a hunter screamed, and as you both turned to look at him, you realize some ice elves had escaped jinwoo's shadows and started attacking your group.

"we'll continue this later." jinwoo says, glancing at you before charging at a group of ice elves himself.

you watch him go before finally regaining your composure and focus, counting on your newly found bravery to fight higher rank monsters, proving your worth as an a-rank hunter.

—

by the time you and the other hunters step out of the red gate, the moon is well above your heads, but a small crowd had formed. you realize that they are hunters from the association, probably sent to monitor the gate while you were all inside and to standby as back up if they were needed.

your squad leader had let you all leave as he reported to the hunter's association representative, and you were all too ready to head home and call it a day — but a certain tall ebony-haired hunter had placed his hand on your shoulder.

"excuse me," he says as you turn around to face him. "if you don't mind, i'd like to talk to you some more."

your heartbeat quickens as you listen to him.

"are you perhaps free tomorrow afternoon? i'll treat you to lunch, if you'd like." he continues, a warm smile decorating his usually-cold features.

your eyes widen the slightest bit, not believing that the person you've been trying to impress this whole time is practically asking you out on a date.

"um... yeah, sure," you lose your composure and confident tone for a bit, but you don't mind. "i'd love to."

jinwoo's smile widens.

"great, i'll see you tomorrow."

[wonyowonyo]

Match Point (K. Minju X M! Reader)

GRAHHHH MY ANGEL MINJUUU! Anyways. Hello there, wonyowonyo here back again with another update! This one's about 4.9k words! This was one of the most enjoyable stories I've written so far. Now then, I hope you enjoy as always!

The gym buzzed with the sound of sneakers squeaking against the polished floors and volleyballs thudding against the ground. As the ace spiker of the team, Y/N was at the center of it all, his powerful spikes and precise serves leaving everyone in awe. His athletic prowess made him a natural leader, and his teammates looked up to him, knowing he could turn the tide of any game. But amidst the intensity of practice, his eyes often wandered to the sidelines, where Minju, the team manager, was diligently taking notes and encouraging the players.

Minju had been Y/N's best friend since childhood. They grew up in the same neighbourhood, attended the same schools, and spent most of their free time together. They shared countless memories, from building sandcastles at the beach to pulling all-nighters for exams. Their bond was unbreakable, forged through years of shared experiences and mutual support.

Y/N cherished the moments they spent together, whether it was studying late into the night, enjoying ice cream at the park, or simply talking about their dreams and aspirations. Minju was the calm to his storm, always knowing how to ground him and make him laugh even in the most stressful times.

Their friendship was pure and sweet, filled with laughter and unspoken understanding. Y/N always felt a sense of comfort and happiness when Minju was around. She was the first person he wanted to share his victories with and the shoulder he leaned on during defeats. But he never realized how deep his feelings ran until the day his formidable rival entered their lives.

————————————————————

The joint training camp brought teams from different schools together, and Y/N's team was no exception. The camp was an opportunity to learn from others, improve their skills, and build camaraderie. Among the new faces, one stood out—Jinwoo, the star player of another school, and Y/N's biggest rival on the court. Jinwoo was known for his incredible agility and strategic mind, making him a formidable opponent.

From the moment they met, there was an unspoken animosity between them, a fierce competition that extended beyond volleyball. Their clashes on the court were legendary, each pushing the other to their limits. Off the court, they were civil but distant, the rivalry ever-present in their interactions.

One evening, after an intense practice match, Y/N found himself alone in the gym, practicing his spikes. The sound of the ball hitting the ground echoed through the empty space. He was so focused that he didn't notice Jinwoo entering the gym.

"Practicing late?" Jinwoo's voice broke the silence.

Y/N turned to see his rival leaning against the doorway, a knowing smirk on his face. "Just trying to stay sharp," Y/N replied, not wanting to show any signs of intimidation.

Jinwoo walked over, picking up a stray ball. "You know, you're not the only one aiming for the top. But there's more to life than just volleyball."

Y/N frowned, unsure of where this conversation was heading. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jinwoo tossed the ball in the air, catching it effortlessly. "I've seen the way you look at Minju. You're not just competing on the court, are you?"

Y/N's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't realized his feelings were so transparent. "Minju and I are just friends," he said, though even he didn't fully believe his own words.

Jinwoo's smirk widened. "If that's the case, then you won't mind if I pursue her, right?"

The thought of Jinwoo trying to win Minju's affection made Y/N's blood boil. He clenched his fists, his competitive nature flaring up. "Do whatever you want. But don't think for a second that I'll back down."

Jinwoo chuckled, clearly enjoying the tension. "May the best man win, then," he said before leaving the gym, the challenge hanging in the air.

Over the next few days, Jinwoo's interest in Minju became increasingly obvious. He frequently sought her out during breaks, engaging her in conversation and making her laugh. Y/N watched from a distance, his jealousy simmering beneath the surface. He couldn't understand why it bothered him so much. Minju was his best friend, and he should be happy for her if she found someone who made her smile. But the thought of losing her to Jinwoo was unbearable.

One afternoon, Y/N found Minju sitting alone by the edge of the court, her expression thoughtful. He approached her, sitting down beside her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

Minju looked up, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, just thinking."

"About Jinwoo?" Y/N couldn't help but ask.

Minju's smile faded slightly, and she looked down at her hands. "He's... different. He makes me laugh, and he's really charming. But..."

"But what?"

She sighed, meeting Y/N's eyes. "I don't know. Something feels off. Like he's trying too hard."

Y/N felt a flicker of hope. "You don't have to rush into anything, Minju. Just follow your heart."

Minju nodded, her smile returning. "Thanks, Y/N. You always know what to say."

As they sat there, a comfortable silence settling between them, Y/N realized that he needed to sort out his own feelings. He couldn't stand by and let Jinwoo take Minju away without a fight. But first, he needed to understand why he felt this way and what Minju truly meant to him.

————————————————————

The training camp ended, and life returned to normal. But the thoughts of Jinwoo's attempts to woo Minju lingered in Y/N's mind. He found himself replaying their interactions, each smile and laugh Minju shared with Jinwoo gnawing at his heart. The realization of his feelings hit him like a tidal wave—he was in love with Minju.

One evening, after practice, Y/N decided to take a walk to clear his mind. The sun was setting, casting a warm glow over the neighborhood. He found himself at the park where he and Minju often spent time together. Memories of their childhood flooded his mind: the time they built a makeshift fort out of blankets, the countless hours spent playing tag, and the late-night conversations about their dreams and fears.

As he sat on a bench, lost in thought, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up to see Minju walking towards him, a concerned look on her face.

"Y/N, are you okay? You seemed off during practice," she said, sitting down beside him.

Y/N took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. "Minju, there's something I need to tell you. Something I've been trying to figure out."

Minju turned to face him, her eyes filled with worry. "What is it?"

Y/N hesitated, the words caught in his throat. But he knew he couldn't keep his feelings hidden any longer. "I've realized something over the past few days. Watching you and Jinwoo together made me see it clearly. I... I love you, Minju. Not just as a friend, but as more than that."

Minju's eyes widened in surprise, and she seemed to be processing his words. "Y/N, I..."

Before she could finish, Y/N continued, his voice filled with emotion. "I can't stand the thought of losing you to someone else. You mean everything to me, Minju. You're the first person I think of in the morning and the last person I think of before I sleep. I love you, and I can't keep it to myself anymore."

Tears welled up in Minju's eyes as she listened to his heartfelt confession. She reached out, taking his hand in hers. "Y/N, I don't know what to say. This is so unexpected."

Y/N's heart sank, fearing her reaction. "I'm sorry if this complicates things. I just needed you to know how I feel."

Minju squeezed his hand, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I need some time to process this. But I promise we'll talk about it soon."

Y/N nodded, his heart heavy but relieved to have finally told her the truth. As they sat there, hand in hand, he knew that whatever happened next, they would face it together. Their bond was strong, and he hoped it would be enough to withstand the challenges ahead.

In the days that followed, Y/N and Minju continued to navigate their friendship, the weight of Y/N's confession hanging between them. They spent time together, their conversations sometimes dipping into deeper, more personal territories. Minju seemed more contemplative, often lost in thought, and Y/N gave her the space she needed to sort through her feelings.

One afternoon, as they were walking home from school, Minju finally broke the silence. "Y/N, I've been thinking a lot about what you said."

Y/N's heart raced as he turned to face her. "And?"

Minju took a deep breath, her eyes meeting his. "I care about you more than anything, Y/N. You've always been there for me, and I can't imagine my life without you. But I'm scared. Scared that if we take this step, things might change between us."

Y/N took her hands in his, his gaze steady. "I understand, Minju. And I don't want to rush you into anything. But I had to tell you how I feel because keeping it inside was tearing me apart."

Minju nodded, her eyes filled with tears. "I need some time to figure out my own feelings. But no matter what, I don't want to lose you, Y/N."

Y/N pulled her into a hug, his heart swelling with hope. "Take all the time you need, Minju. I'll be here, no matter what."

————————————————————

The spring tournament arrived, and Y/N's team was determined to make it to the nationals. The atmosphere in the gym was electric, with teams from various schools warming up and strategizing for the upcoming matches. Y/N's team gathered in a huddle, their coach giving them a final pep talk.

"Remember, we play as a team," the coach said, his voice firm. "Trust each other, support each other, and give it your all."

Y/N nodded along with his teammates, his focus laser-sharp. Minju stood nearby, her encouraging smile giving him an extra boost of confidence. He knew that this tournament was not just about winning; it was about proving himself, not only to his team but also to Minju.

Their first match was against a strong opponent, but Y/N's dominance on the court was unmatched. His spikes were powerful and precise, leaving the opposing team scrambling to keep up. The crowd erupted in cheers every time he scored, the energy in the gym fueling his determination.

During a timeout, Minju approached Y/N with a bottle of water. "You're doing amazing," she said, her eyes sparkling with pride.

Y/N took the bottle, his fingers brushing against hers briefly. "Thanks, Minju. I couldn't do it without you."

The rest of the tournament continued in a similar fashion, with Y/N's team breezing through their matches. By the end of the day, they had qualified for the semi-finals with ease. As they gathered their things and headed back to their hotel, Y/N felt a sense of accomplishment, but he knew the toughest challenges were yet to come.

————————————————————

The semi-finals were upon them,Minju had always been there to support Y/N, cheering him on from the sidelines, but this match felt different. The stakes were higher, and the tension in the air was almost unbearable.

Y/N's team faced off against a formidable opponent, and the match was intense from the start. Y/N's spikes were as powerful as ever, but the opposing team was equally skilled, blocking his shots and countering with their own.

As the game progressed, Y/N's team struggled. They were behind by several points, and Y/N seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Minju watched as he pushed himself to the limit, refusing to give up despite the odds.

The tension in the gym was palpable, with both teams giving it their all. Y/N's focus was unwavering, his eyes darting to Minju on the sidelines, her presence a constant source of strength. 

But midway through the match, a minor injury forced Y/N to leave the game temporarily. In a particularly intense moment, Y/N went for a diving save that left him sprawled on the court. He got up slowly, clearly in pain but determined to keep fighting. Minju's heart ached at the sight of him struggling, and she found herself wishing she could do something to ease his burden.

Minju was by his side in an instant, assisting him to the medical office. They shared an intimate moment, her concern for him evident in her eyes.

"You always push yourself so hard," Minju said softly, her hand resting on his.

Y/N looked at her, his heart swelling with emotion. "I do it for you, Minju. Because you're important to me."

Minju’s heart skipped, as she heard him uttered those words. Minju had always admired Y/N. His dedication to volleyball, his unwavering spirit, and his kind heart made him stand out among everyone she knew. But it wasn't until now that she slowly truly understood the depth of her feelings.

Fortunately, the injury was minor, and Y/N was cleared to return. As Y/N returned back to the court, he reassured his team that his injury wasn’t anything serious and that he can play again. Before the match continued, Y/N once again glanced towards the stands his eyes meeting Minju’s. The contact wasn’t for long, as Y/N immediately set his focus back unto the court, as the referee blew the whistle. 

On the other hand, Minju felt a jolt of emotion she couldn't quite describe. She saw the exhaustion in his eyes, but also an unwavering resolve. In that instant, she realized just how much he meant to her.

It wasn't just admiration or friendship. It was something deeper, something that had been growing inside her for a long time. She realized that she loved him—not just for his strength and determination, but for his kindness, his passion, and the way he always put others before himself.

As the match continued, Minju's mind raced with memories of Y/N. She remembered the countless times he had stayed late after practice, working on his skills and encouraging his teammates. She thought about how he always had a kind word for everyone, how he never hesitated to help others, even when he was tired or stressed.

She recalled the times they had spent together off the court—how he would listen to her worries and dreams with genuine interest, offering support and advice. Y/N had a way of making her feel valued and understood, and she realized that these were the qualities that had drawn her to him all along.

Meanwhile in the center of the court, Y/N’s determination never faltered. His back continued to serve as an inspiration and foundation for his team. The title of the team's ace came with immense responsibility, and Y/N was determined to live up to it. His resolve shone through his every movement, inspiring his teammates and striking fear into the hearts of his opponents.

From the moment he stepped back onto the court, the atmosphere shifted. Y/N's presence was electrifying, and it reignited the flame of hope within his team. His eyes, blazing with unwavering determination, conveyed a message of resilience and strength that transcended words.

"Let's do this!"

Y/N shouted, rallying his teammates.

"We're not giving up now!"

With a powerful serve, Y/N immediately pulverized the defense of their opponents, sending the ball hurtling across the court with incredible speed and precision. It was as if he had never been injured, he refused to let it hinder his performance as his movements continued to be fluid and unstoppable. The spectators watched in awe as Y/N led his team with unmatched energy and skill, his will palpable in every spike and serve.

The opposition tried to counter his attacks, but Y/N was relentless. He smashed through every wall they put up, his spikes like thunderclaps that reverberated through the entire court. The intensity of his play left no doubt—he was the ace, and he would not be denied.

As the game progressed, Y/N's leadership became even more apparent. His teammates fed off his energy, their confidence growing with each point scored. They moved in perfect synchronization, driven by Y/N's unwavering resolve. He set an example, showing them what it meant to fight until the very end.

During a crucial rally, the ball soared high, and Y/N leaped into the air with grace and power. His hand connected with the ball in a spike that seemed to defy gravity, the force behind it sending the ball crashing into the opponent's court. The crowd erupted in cheers, the sound echoing like a battle cry.

But it wasn't just Y/N's physical prowess that inspired his team. It was his spirit, his refusal to back down in the face of adversity. Every time he hit the ball, every time he encouraged his teammates, he was reminding them that they were capable of greatness. His determination was infectious, spreading through the team like wildfire. And with that, Y/n led his team to victory, clinching their spot through the finals.

————————————————————

After the match, which Y/N's team narrowly won, Minju found herself sitting with her best friend, Yena, at a nearby café. She needed to talk to someone about the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling.

"Yena, I... I don't know what's going on with me," Minju began, her voice filled with confusion.

Yena looked at her with concern. "What do you mean, Minju? What happened?"

Minju sighed, her eyes welling up with tears. "It's Y/N. Seeing him today, fighting so hard... it did something to me. I felt this... this overwhelming urge to help him, to be there for him. And when he looked at me during the timeout, it was like everything else disappeared."

Yena leaned in, listening intently. "Go on."

Minju took a deep breath. "I think about him all the time. Not just about volleyball, but about everything. His smile, his kindness, the way he makes everyone feel important. I don't know if it's just because we're friends or if it's something more."

Yena's eyes softened with understanding. "Minju, it sounds like you have deeper feelings for him than you realized."

Minju shook her head, frustrated. "But how can I be sure? What if I'm just confusing admiration with... with love?"

Yena reached out and took Minju's hand. "I've seen the way you look at him, Minju. The way your face lights up when he's around, and how you always want to be there for him. Those aren't just feelings of admiration. That's love."

Minju's eyes widened as Yena's words sank in. They both called it a day as they both head home, with Minju continuing to figure out her own feelings.

————————————————————

After her conversation with Yena, Minju felt a mix of clarity and confusion. She had spent countless nights thinking about Y/N, replaying their moments together and trying to understand her feelings. The fact that Y/N had already confessed his love to her added a new layer of complexity to her emotions. She knew he liked her, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to take the next step.

One evening, as the sun began to set, Minju found herself sitting by the school fountain, lost in thought. The gentle sound of water provided a soothing backdrop as she contemplated her next move. The shadows grew longer, mirroring the uncertainty that clouded her heart.

Minju's best friend Yena soon joined her, her presence comforting as always. Yena sat down beside Minju, not saying a word, knowing that Minju needed time to gather her thoughts.

Finally, Minju broke the silence, her voice tinged with hesitation. "Yena, what if I'm wrong about my feelings for Y/N? What if it's just a phase, and I'm mistaking admiration for something more?"

Yena looked at Minju with a gentle smile. "Minju, feelings can be complicated, and it's okay to have doubts. But from everything you've told me, it seems like your feelings for Y/N run deeper than just admiration. You've known him for so long, and your bond is special."

Minju sighed, her eyes reflecting her inner turmoil. "I know, but what if I'm just caught up in the moment? What if I'm projecting my admiration for his dedication and kindness into something more because I've been spending so much time with him?"

Yena took Minju's hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Minju, it's natural to question your feelings, especially when it comes to someone you care about so deeply. But think about how you feel when you're with Y/N. The way your heart races, the way you miss him when he's not around, and the way you want to be there for him. Those are signs of something more than just friendship."

Minju looked down at their joined hands, her thoughts swirling. "But what if I'm not ready to take that step? What if I hurt him by hesitating?"

Yena nodded, understanding Minju's fears. "I get it, Minju. Taking that leap is scary, and there's always a risk. But Y/N already knows how he feels about you. He's waiting for you to figure out your own heart. You need to be honest with yourself and with him."

Minju looked up at Yena, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "But what if I'm not enough for him? What if he deserves someone who can give him all the love and support he needs without any doubts?"

Yena shook her head gently. "Minju, Y/N loves you for who you are. He knows you're not perfect, and he doesn't expect you to be. What matters is that you care about him and that you're willing to work through your feelings together. Relationships aren't about being perfect; they're about growing and supporting each other."

Minju took a deep breath, Yena's words sinking in. "You're right, Yena. I need to be honest with myself and with Y/N. I need to figure out my feelings and not let fear hold me back."

Yena smiled, giving Minju's hand one last squeeze. "That's the spirit, Minju. Take your time, but don't be afraid to follow your heart. Y/N is worth it, and so are you."

————————————————————

The finals arrived, and Y/N found himself face-to-face with Jinwoo once again. They exchanged words before the match, the tension between them palpable.

"Ready to lose, Y/N?" Jinwoo said with a smirk, leaning against the net.

Y/N narrowed his eyes, determination radiating from him. "Not a chance, Jinwoo. This is our time to shine."

Jinwoo chuckled, crossing his arms. "We'll see about that. But remember, this game isn't the only thing at stake. Minju deserves someone who can give her everything, not someone who's still figuring things out."

Y/N's jaw tightened, his competitive spirit flaring. "Minju deserves the best, and I'm going to prove that I'm the one for her. On and off the court."

Jinwoo raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical. "We'll see if you can back those words up."

The match began, and the intensity was palpable from the very first serve. Both teams gave it their all, every player pushing themselves to their limits. The gym was filled with the sound of sneakers squeaking, volleyballs thudding, and the shouts of players and coaches.

Y/N's team took the first set, their coordination and teamwork shining through. Y/N's spikes were unstoppable, his serves precise and powerful. But Jinwoo's team fought back fiercely in the second set, their determination evident as they clawed their way to victory.

The third set saw Y/N's team pulling ahead once more, with Y/N leading the charge. His eyes frequently darted to the sidelines, where Minju watched with bated breath. Her presence was a constant source of strength for him, pushing him to play harder and better.

The fourth set was a nail-biter, with both teams exchanging points in rapid succession. Jinwoo's skill on the court was undeniable, and he seemed to be everywhere at once, blocking spikes and setting up perfect plays for his teammates. The set ended with Jinwoo's team barely edging out a win, setting the stage for a dramatic final set.

————————————————————

Both teams were exhausted, but Y/N's determination burned brighter than ever. He saw Minju on the sidelines, her encouragement giving him the strength to push through. The final set began with both teams fighting fiercely for every point. The gym was filled with the sound of cheers and the tension of the match.

Jinwoo's team gained an early lead, but Y/N's team fought back, point by point. The score was tied, and the match point was in favor of Jinwoo's team. Y/N's heart pounded in his chest as he glanced at Minju, her eyes locked onto his.

In the final moments of the game, with his back against the edge, Y/N found himself in the spotlight. The pressure was immense, but he focused on Minju's face in the crowd, her eyes filled with unwavering support

With renewed determination, Y/N stepped up to serve. His first serve was a powerful ace, the ball slamming into the ground before the opposing team could react. The crowd erupted in cheers, and Y/N felt a surge of adrenaline.

The second serve was equally powerful, another ace that brought the score to their match point. Y/N's teammates rallied around him, their energy matching his. The final serve was crucial, and Y/N took a deep breath, focusing all his energy into it.

The serve was perfect, the ball flying over the net with incredible speed. Jinwoo's team scrambled to return it, but Y/N's teammates were ready, blocking the spike and setting up the perfect play. Y/N jumped high, his hand connecting with the ball in a powerful spike that landed squarely in the opponent's court.

The gym erupted in cheers, his teammates swarming him in celebration. Amidst the jubilation, Y/N's eyes sought out Minju, who was making her way through the crowd towards him. She reached him, her face glowing with pride and emotion.

"You did it, Y/N! I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

Y/N held her close, his heart pounding. "Minju, I couldn't have done it without you."

As the cheers and applause continued around them, Y/N knew that this was the moment. He gently pulled back, looking into Minju's eyes. "Minju, there's something I need to say."

Minju nodded, her eyes glistening with tears. "What is it, Y/N?"

Y/N took a deep breath, his voice steady and filled with emotion. "Minju, I love you. I know I told you before, but I need you to know that it's real. You're the most important person in my life, and I can't imagine my future without you."

Tears streamed down Minju's cheeks as she listened to his heartfelt words. She reached up, cupping his face in her hands. Minju looked into Y/N's eyes, her own filled with determination. "Y/N, I have something to tell you too. I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I've realized that my feelings for you are more than just friendship. I love you, Y/N. I always have, even if I didn't fully understand it until now."

Y/N's heart soared at her words, and he too, cupped her face in his hands, his eyes shining with happiness. "Gosh, I really love you, Minju. More than anything."

They leaned in, their lips meeting in a tender kiss, sealing their mutual love and the promise of a future together.

The world seemed to fade away as they stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, their hearts beating in perfect harmony.

As they pulled back, their foreheads resting against each other, Y/N knew that this was just the beginning of their journey together. With Minju by his side, he felt invincible, ready to face whatever challenges life threw their way.

And so, amidst the cheers and applause of their teammates and friends, Y/N and Minju took their first steps into a new chapter of their lives, their love shining brightly and their bond stronger than ever.

————————————————————

The nationals were just around the corner, and Y/N's team was more determined than ever. With Minju by his side, Y/N felt invincible. Their love gave him a newfound strength, and he was ready to face any challenge that came his way.

As they trained and prepared for the nationals, Y/N and Minju's relationship blossomed. They supported each other through the highs and lows, their bond growing stronger with each passing day.

One evening, as they walked hand-in-hand through the park, Minju turned to Y/N, her eyes filled with love and determination. "No matter what happens, we'll face it together, right?"

Y/N smiled, his heart filled with warmth. "Always, Minju. Together, we can achieve anything."

And with that, they continued their journey, ready to face whatever the future held, confident in their love and the unbreakable bond they shared.

[themissinghand]

hallo!! hope you're having a wonderful day and your works are just so good!!!

can i request for jinwoo with a photographer male reader that like works for events and stuff. plus, he always gets complimented by people, and even jinwoo, by how pretty he looks and asking if he ever gets photographed to which reader denied because he's actually camera shy

now, he's in an event at a park and jinwoo is there and sees reader taking photographs and jinwoo decides to be sneaky and tries to get a photo of reader but reader caughts him and just smiled at the camera before telling jinwoo to delete it.

jinwoo, in fact, did not.

im so sorry if this is too much or long JASJS

Solo Leveling: A Snapshot in Time

Summary: In which a picture is a thousand words, and Jinwoo wants to capture every moment with you.  

Or, just domestic fluff between two loving husbands, from the beginning to the end. 

Pairing: Husband! Sung Jinwoo x M! Photographer! Reader

Note: Thanks for your support! I’m glad that my stories are making you happy as I am writing them. One of my ways to de-stress honestly. Hope everyone is having a good day! 

Warnings: A bit of angst, because time waits for no one. 

★・・・・・・★

“Smile!” 

Click! 

“That’s it for today. Great work everyone.” 

Jinwoo watched his husband scramble everywhere with your team to take wedding photos with a big smile on his lips. 

No, Jinwoo is not jealous, after all, he has wedding photos of both of you. 

Instead, he was simply awe-struck by how pretty his husband looks, especially when he’s passionate about his job. 

“See you tomorrow at the office everyone!” You waved off your children (employees) and jogged towards Jinwoo who popped out from one of the shadows.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you would come so early to pick me up.” Jinwoo pulls you close and kisses your forehead, and you tippy-toe to return a kiss to his cheek.

“It’s okay, I got off work early. I love watching you work anyway.” 

The two of you caught up with each other about your days, and you especially liked to hear about Jinwoo’s work considering he was a detective. Jinwoo however, does his best to avoid all the…graphic details of his work. 

Even though Jinwoo knew you wouldn’t mind (you never did), he wanted only good things to happen to you. 

(Because you were always there for him - until he couldn’t protect you) 

“Jinwoo?” 

“Can we take a selfie?” Jinwoo pulls out his phone to change the topic, but his husband quickly turns the other way and covers his face. 

“Jinwoo! I don’t look good right now!” You shyly exclaim, but you couldn’t escape since Jinwoo held onto your shirt. 

“Don’t worry, you’re beautiful.” 

“Maybe next time Jinwoo.” Seeing your flustered expression, Jinwoo decided not to push further, instead he raised a pinky.

“Promise?” 

“Promise.” 

“Jinwoo…I love you.” 

The Monarchs had targeted you, leaving you in such a bloodied state. 

“No. No!” Hearing your faint heartbeat, Jinwoo quickly pulled out his Holy Water of Life.

But it was too late. 

“Why, why isn’t it working?!” But Jinwoo knew why - the Holy Water could not cure the dead.

“My Liege, His Highness has passed away.”

“Why…what happened.” Jinwoo crushed the empty bottle of Holy Water with his bare hands as he held you. 

“It was an ambush. Multiple Monarchs have targeted His Highness in an instant, and we could not protect His Highness.” 

All of his soldiers knelt down in shame.

“Please punish us My Liege. We fail you.”

Jinwoo held your body close as he shed tears, before his tear turn into fuel for his rage.

“Your punishment will be due later, we will hunt down the Monarchs.”

“Yes My Liege!” Jinwoo saw your peaceful expression, as if nothing had gone wrong. 

“If…we meet in our next life, I swear I will protect you.” 

Carrying your body into his shadow realm and resting you in a casket, all of his shadows knelt in respect. 

“Wait for me, (Y/N).” 

“Honey? Another nightmare?” Jinwoo felt a finger gently pressing on his forehead, and drawing on his arm. 

He slowly opens his eyes, his breathing shaking as he pulls you close. 

“Oh dear. Was it bad?” 

He nods, and hugs you tighter. You pat him on the back and whisper sweet words to him.

“I love you.” 

“Whatever you do, I’ll support you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you.” 

Do you know? Of course not. 

All of it was in the past, and Jinwoo hopes it stays that way. 

Even if the world is peaceful, he knows how cruel people can be, that’s why, he’s learned his lesson and stationed many of his shadows around you. 

Never again. 

Click! 

“Okay, a few more before our break!” It was a fashion shoot, and you even dressed up a bit more to match the elegant theme. 

Dressed in a fancy blue suit, Jinwoo believed you too could stand on stage. Even the director of the shoot itself invited you, but you didn’t dare considering you were camera shy. 

But Jinwoo knew it would be such a shame if no one captured this moment. 

“(Y/N).” Jinwoo called out, quickly whipping out his phone. 

“What-” You were surprised, and before you shield yourself from the camera, Jinwoo winked. 

“Promise.” 

He could see you muttering “fine”, before a gentle smile graced your lips. 

Click!

“You have to delete it okay?” You whispered, and Jinwoo nodded.

But if fact, he did not. 

After all, he knew it wasn’t just him who took photos of you, so of course that wouldn’t do. He immediately had shadows mess with those photographers and steal some of the good ones for himself. 

The photo became his phone screen. 

And Jinwoo makes sure that he captures every moment, because unlike him, you were not immune to time.

“Jinwoo…thank you for loving me. I don’t know why, but from the moment I met you to now, I always feel like I’ve known you for a long long time.” 

Jinwoo sits by your hospital bed, holding your wrinkled hand. 

“Maybe because we met in our last life.” You chuckle, before coughing. 

“Even when we’re old now, you still look so handsome.” Jinwoo chuckle lightly before pressing a kiss to your hand. 

We promised we'll be together forever.

“No, you’re more beautiful.” A bright, youthful smile rose to your lips, making Jinwoo reminisce to the past as young adults. 

But alas, time is so cruel.

“Jinwoo, I pray that we meet in our next life.” 

Jinwoo decided to respect you and let you go. 

“I love you.” With a final breath, your hand remains limp in his, and tears rolled down his cheeks. 

“I love you too.” 

Jinwoo’s phone lights up with dozens of missed calls and messages, but he doesn’t mind, instead, he removes them all to reveal a timeless treasure, a photo of you smiling at the camera.

“Wait for me, (Y/N).”

[akiira00]

Hellooo💚

May I ask request Jinwoo x reader with reverse jealousy. Jinwoo leaves for raid, comeback with news telling that he's get close to female hunter and assume they have a relationship. Reader drink while looking at the news, start with rumble, then when the alcohol hits, it's turn to tear and sob. Lay down to couch and cover their face with pillow. Jinwoo come home, seeing his lover on couch then find their trace of tear on cheeks. When he wake them up, they're still drunk so they pour their feeling in drunk behavior while sobbing and hiccups.

Ah sorry if this is so long, idk how to tell this in a short description😭

Love your writings💚💚

— Assumptions

Pairing: Sung Jin-Woo x g/n! reader

Genre: Angst, comfort, angst to fluff, slow burn

Synopsis: You suddenly hear assumptions of your not publically announced boyfriend dating another girl on the TV, with the remarks of your friends and all, you end up consumed by the worry.

A/n: Sure! I don’t mind long requests, they give me more inspiration to write! You asked for tears, I shall give you some. Hope you like how it turned out, and yeah, I chose Hae-In as the ‘assumed girlfriend’ because I didn’t find any other that could fit the role-

Length: 1.6k words

As you woke up, you realized your boyfriend had yet-again left early to clear raids, which you just shrugged off, going downstairs and grabbing something to eat as you sat down on the couch, noticing a weird piece of paper.

“Sarang, I’ll be home late today, have to go clear some raids. See you.”

You sighed to yourself, folding the paper and leaving it on the table’s top while grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.

“Yet again, the S-Rank hunter Sung Jin-Woo cleared a red raid in less than four hours…! But wait- Hunter Hae-In was there too?! Now that I think so, they look fairly close…”

You heard the news speculating as you froze at the sight. The news and social media were exploding with images of both Jin-Woo and Hae-In together, really, really close.

As you tried to keep yourself calm, you couldn’t get your eyes off your phone, you noticed a faint blush on Hae-In’s cheeks on the image. “What the…”

You turned to text him to seek out an answer, but the news showed both him and Hae-In walking into another raid in a row. There went the chance to talk to him.

Your mind was running like crazy, as you clutched your hand on your thigh. ‘Is he really cheating…?’ ‘Am I just… Not enough?’ You asked yourself messily as you started yet once again overthinking.

“Such a good way to start a day…” You muttered under your breath as you noticed it was 2 p.m. sharp. ‘What are they both doing in since four hours ago…?’

You were just a C-Rank healer, and Jin-Woo made it clear he wanted you to stay at home instead of working, as he could take that part easily.

‘Is it just because Hae-In is actually strong or useful…? Is that what I’m lacking…?’ You thought, standing up with a sigh as you reached out on your cabinet for a rather small bottle of alcohol.

‘It should help me clear my mind at least…’ You opened the bottle and fetched yourself a glass, pouring some of the drink on it.

As you brought the glass to your lips, you let down a few tears at first, letting yourself be consumed by the heat forming on your throat because of the drink.

‘Jin-Woo and Hae-In, huh…? They sound well together…’ You said, feeling the horribly disgusting piece of self-pity, drowning your own mind as you filled another glass up.

“They both make such a good team… They’ve cleared multiple raids without rest! They really seem like a couple… But are they? I really hope so!”

The words spoken on TV broke your heart more than anything. ‘Yeah… I think they do…’ You hummed, as you laid down on the couch, feeling the tears flooding your cheeks, making you lean onto a cushion to cry on, ocassionaly grabbing another drink.

Jin-Woo at the other hand had just left from the last one of the raids he had programmed, he had already left Hae-In at her house and he was tiredly walking down the street.

It was almost 10 p.m., as he slowly opened the door to your shared home. He was taken aback by the dark ambient, excluding the noise from the TV, which was left on.

“Huh…?” He muttered as he went closer, trying to find the remote to turn it off, but he then noticed it in your hands, with you hugging some cushions as you slept on the couch.

“Again..?” He sighed, walking up to switch the lights on, making you hiss a bit, but what he failed to notice until then were the tear streams that were marked on your cheeks. You just dropped the remote on the couch and turned around to hide your vision from the strong lights which made you even more dizzy than you already were.

“Sarang..? What’s up…?” He shook your shoulder trying to wake you up, which ended up happening, but as soon as you opened your eyes and saw him, you just scoffed, looking away.

“Welcome back… *hic*” You muttered annoyed as you turned away from him, leaving him a bit confused. “Tell me what’s going on…” He tried to convice you to talk, which made you sigh, turning to look at him with a pained look on your eyes.

“Don’t you have to be with Hae-In or something…? Just leave me be…” You muttered out annoyed between hics, as he slowly understood what was going on.

“What’s that supposed to mean…? Wait. Do you think that…” He just sat down beside you, lifting you up with his powers as he made you sit on his lap. “Huh- L-let me out… *hic*” You tried to resist, as you were clearly not in the mood to deal with him, and he noticed the red tint on your cheeks and how a bottle was laying down empty on the floor.

“Answer… What were you thinking, sarang…” You knew you didn’t have a way out of it, and just had to suck it up. “It’s nothing… Just tell me this… Am I too useless for you…? She’s clearly better than me so…”

He stared at you in utter shock. “What do you mean…? I swear if you’re thinking what the whole media is…” You had no option than to nod weakly. “For god’s sake… I don’t like Hae-In. And I’m your boyfriend, don’t be stupid…”

He meant everything, but he kind-of made it sound as if he was annoyed, which made you just shut your eyes and lay on his chest, simply bawling your eyes out as you cried, having a gentle and weak grip on his shoulders.

“Wait, wait- Don’t cry… Ugh…” He clearly didn’t know how to handle the situation, as he wasn’t the brightest when it came to comfort. “I love you and only you okay…?”

“But… W-why…? *hic* She’s just perfect… She has everything I don’t and as an extra, she’s actually useful… I’m just a bother to you…” You were consuming yourself with shame and self-pity, as he had no other option than to pat your back gently, letting you spill out your concerns.

“You’re fine… I don’t like her, and what if she’s an S-Rank? I told you not to do raids because I can take care of that… I just went with her because an agreement… I don’t care about power and you know that…” He said, trying to explain it to your now childish and intoxicated self.

“Hmph… I-I don’t believe you…” You muttered out between sobs and hics, turning to hug him as you tried to let youself get convinced by his words slowly.

“I’m telling you the truth… Just rest, okay…? I’ll talk to you in the morning…” He suggested, picking you up almost too easily and getting you to the bed, where you fell asleep quickly because of how tired you were from crying.

Next morning, you woke up with a heavy headache, leaving you dizzy as you couldn’t even recall the passed events. Your mind was a total blackout, as you just sloppily tried to stand up, but the sound of the door opening made you wait.

Jin-Woo moved the door open as he let himself into the room, laying a plate of food alongside a glass of water and a pill near you as he sat down by your side.

“H-huh? Jin-Woo…? What’s going on..?” You asked as you didn’t remember anything special for him to do such a thing, as it was a bit too unlikely for him to do so.

“Just eat… Is there something you want to talk about?” He asked, clearly hinting at something you couldn’t recall. “No…? Is everything alright..? What even happened…? I don’t remember anything…”

“Let’s say you kind-of told me a few things… And I’m here to prove you wrong because yesterday you wouldn’t just listen…” He said with a sigh, leaning down and giving a gentle peck to your lips.

“I love you and only you, okay? Don’t ever think otherwise… I just keep our relationship private because I don’t want the media going all crazy, and you’d be kind-of in danger if you’re seen as my girlfriend… I just want to keep you safe.” He said, with you hearing him clearly astonished, but you couldn’t help but smile with a tear running down your cheek.

“Oh god- Don’t cry again now…” You shook your head and quickly leapt over to hug him, as you smiled. “I’m crying… But not from sadness.” You said, blushing a bit as you just happily let yourself into his arms, with him just shocked and struggling to thinn of what to do.

“I love you, sarang.” You said to his ear as he blushed, but he turned around to prevent you seeing that. “I-I do too, okay..? Now eat up.” You laughed a bit and shook your head, deciding to stay in his arms for a bit longer.

“Just… A few more minutes like this wouldn’t hurt.” You said, burying your face on the crook of his neck. “Just don’t ever worry me like that… Why were you two even that close?!” You said refering to the pictures of him and Hae-In that appeared on the media.

“Oh- She’s really strong, but clumsy. She fell while we took down a boss and she sprained her ankle, had to carry her back.” You blushed as you now realized how you jumped to conclusions, simply staying quiet as you felt the shame falling on you by your previous behaviour.

“I-I’m sorry… Didn’t know that-” You blushed as he laughed a bit, just letting you hide in his arm. “Don’t worry about it, just eat.” He said as you nodded, reminding yourself now that you didn’t have anything to worry about.

[straykidsnerd255]

hey bestie!! 💖🥰 could you write some hcs or smth about jinwoo and a fem!reader who is just as weak as him in the beginning? like just two weaklings teaming up and helping each other? 🥹(i’m still new to solo leveling pls be nice to me lmao)

What’s up bestie!! I’ll be nice since you just started, I don’t want to spoil anything, so its short, sorry!! I could have gone into more detail but I didn't want to spoil anything<3

(Before System) Jinwoo x Female reader HC

Weeks before the dungeon raid was even a thought in his head, he had met you when he dropped his sister off at school. 

Jinah waved happily at you when she finally saw you and ran over to you. 

You were Jinah’s partner in one of the classes she took and you and her clicked really fast and became good friends. 

You had mentioned that you wanted to go on a raid but you were a very rank E healer, a weak healer at that. 

Jinah mentioned that her brother was E-Rank and offered to introduce you to him. 

When you agreed and finally met her brother, you and Jinwoo instantly became friends. 

The day of the dungeon raid, Jinwoo had asked if you wanted to tag along and you agreed instantly wanting to experience a raid in person instead of watching it from the tv.

When you entered the dungeon with the others you didn’t expect to get attacked right off the bat. You yelped and jumped hiding behind Jinwoo who started panicking as well.

You made a sudden move away from Jinwoo when you saw a goblin from the corner of your eye.

When every creature was dealt with and dead, you overheard a few people in the group talking about a tunnel that led deeper into the dungeon. 

Everyone agreed on going exploring for a bit before the dungeon closed up for good. 

Finding a set of beautiful doors in the dungeon was not on your agenda. Neither was going in and getting locked in a dungeon filled with giant statues either.

When you saw Jinwoo in the hospital after the whole mess that had occurred, you were in tears to say the least. 

You were happy to see him alive and not dead like you had thought he would have been.

You never want to enter a dungeon again after that mess you encountered. You refused to go to any other gate even if you were asked to go. You would shake your head and walk away.

[maeumverse]

FRAGMENT (stylized as FRAG;MENT) is a fictional, six-member Japanese-Korean boy group under WANDER STUDIO, a fictional Japan-based subsidiary of HYBE labels. The group made their debut on April 18, 2024 with their EP “I Passed You On A Warm Spring Day; We Shared Nothing But A Glance” and lead single INFINITE CYNICISM. Prior to their debut, they garnered attention for their producer, fictional former NEWS member HIGUCHI TSUBASA, and for their lineup that contained familiar faces from the jpop and kpop industries. Their debut was met with immediate success, peaking at number one on the Oricon singles chart.

The group was first introduced in mid 2023 through a series of cryptic Instagram posts collaging the past experiences of the members and encouraging fan speculation of the future group members. As the group’s name and concept were finalized and revealed to the public, they faced scrutiny for their similarities to other HYBE boy groups, especially ENHYPEN. Their use of semicolons in the group name and album title was thought to be a direct copy and paste of Enhypen’s hyphens. The darker tones of their singular music video so far and their supernatural concept based on kitsune and gumiho mythology were two more steps too far. One thing still-unnamed Fragment fans will do is fight Engenes. It’s the most excitement they’ve had since they were guessing who would be in the group from cryptic Instagram posts. The other thing they’ll do is argue that Tsubasa and the rest of their production team do, in fact, know how to use a semicolon.

MEMBERS

TAKEMOTO AKIRA (2000) — Leader, former member of project kpop group 1V1. Introduced first with:

A shooting star — His defunct personal Instagram user, @.akirakira, where kirakira is the Japanese onomatopoeia for sparkles. A still from Dance Dance Revolution — Arguably his favorite video game. One of his character traits from Last Act into 1V1.

The Dotonbori Glico billboard — A landmark of his hometown, Osaka.

NISHIKAWA RYUJI (2001) — Former member of coed jpop group MAKE MY WAY. Introduced third with:

A series of arrows pointing west — The first character of his surname, which helped define Make My Way’s group name as well.

A honeycomb — Part of the title of Make My Way’s disbandment song, Mitsu no Aji (Taste of Honey). 

A lot of dogs — His back-up career plan to be a veterinarian, which he mentioned many times while in Make My Way.

MOON JINWOO (2002) — Center, former member of 1V1. Introduced sixth with:

The constellation Pleiades — His past experience as a Pledis Entertainment trainee.

The number 10 — His final rank on Last Act, the survival show that formed 1V1.

A game over screen — The title of 1V1’s first and last album.

MORI KAKERU (2002) — Former member of MAKE MY WAY. Introduced second with:

The Shibuya Scramble Crossing — The filming location of his first music video with Make My Way.

Silver accents — His representative color while in Make My Way.

A stock photo of a person running — The first character of his given name, meaning to run.

YONEZAWA DAIKI (2003) — Former JOHNNY’S JR. member. Introduced fifth with:

A samurai and a ninja — His participation in Johnny’s Jr. groups 7 MEN SAMURAI and SHONEN NINJA.

ASL for the letter D — The hand motion he uses alongside his catchphrase, “Oneechan, don’t you think I’m cute?”

Fujippi — The mascot of Shizuoka Prefecture, where he was born.

HEO HYUN (2003) — Former YG Entertainment trainee, part of the fan-made SILVER BOYS group. Introduced fourth with:

The number nine in a treasure chest — His participation in survival shows MIXNINE and YG TREASURE BOX, where he was eliminated twice.

A turtle — He has three pet turtles. It was part of his personality on YGTB.

The lyrics to TVXQ’s Hug — The last song he performed on Mixnine before his elimination.

DISCOGRAPHY

I Passed You On A Warm Spring Day; We Shared Nothing But A Glance — EP, 2024

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 186 }

the admirer.

academy arc

jinwoo sung x fem.reader

the moment you entered the classroom and saw sung jinwoo propped on top of your desk, you knew that it was going to be yet another one of those days for you.

the star of the track team was simply laughing with his friends, settling his lithe body across your desk as if he owned the damn thing. he was filled with poise, able to balance the entire weight of his body on such a precarious desk that you had to fight back the urge to shove him off it (just to teach him a lesson or two.)

but you don’t push jinwoo off the desk that he currently used as his pedestal. instead, you let out a sigh, dragging your feet across the linoleum floors while brushing back your hair.

“sung, you’re in my spot again.” you tell him with a weak glare, hearing his friends laughing a bit with their lips pursed in response.

“is that so?” jinwoo’s tone was nonchalant- lazy, even, as he met your gaze with his cool, grey eyes. trying to fight back the pounding ache that was beginning to form against your temple, you sigh and remind him once more. “if you want to trade seats, then just say so and i’ll do it, sung.”

jinwoo lets out an amused chuckle before shoving himself off of your desk right when the bell rings. biting back a groan of annoyance, you take your seat and quickly got out your notebook and pencil, ready to take notes when your teacher walked in.

ever since you began your high school career and shared the same class as sung jinwoo, it seemed like he made it his life’s mission to annoy you.

from mornings like today where he sits on top of your desk to talk to his friends-

to blocking your way each time you were in the hallways-

or keeping his eyes on you each time you had volleyball practice and had to share the field with his track team.

without fail, jinwoo would always manage to get under your skin, and you hated it. along with his simple annoyances, something about him was just… odd in general. there were moments where you would look back at him only to see the shadows seeming to bend with his every movement.

you convinced yourself many times into thinking that it was just the trick of the light, yet the more times you caught sight of such strange wisps, the more you realized there was more to jinwoo than meets the eye-

yet sadly, in your case, he was such a nuisance that you didn’t bother to know much about him and simply ignored all of his oddities.

throughout the day, you swore you felt jinwoo’s gaze lingering on you, yet you ignored the sensation of his burning gaze and kept your focus on taking detailed notes. this went on for the whole day, with you not stopping until it was the end of your school day.

you close your notebook and see jinwoo walking past your desk with his friends, talking and laughing with them. he meets your gaze, and you raise your eyebrow at him with a deadpan expression, as if daring him to make your day by being obnoxious again.

but when he ends up smirking at you before giving you a wink, your eyes end up going wide in response. as if satisfied with your reaction, you hear jinwoo’s rich laughter fill at the air, leaving your face feeling quite heated at the sound.

you hastily pack up your belongings and head to your locker just then, needing to change for practice as you made a mad dash toward the hallways. finding your assigned locker, you open it and place your backpack inside, switching it out with your duffel bag when something on your shelf catches your attention.

it was a completely new and unopened chocolate bar, (one of your favorite brands to be exact), settled in top of your locker with a folded note. your lips were parted as you grabbed the chocolate bar and note, unfolding it as it read:

hey, i saw this last night at the convenience store and thought about you. i know you love this brand, so i hope you enjoy it.

sincerely,

yours

a strange warmth was felt filling at your chest, and you wondered who had given you such a cute and thoughtful gift. unable to hide your smile, you gingerly place the candy and note on top of your duffel bag, unaware of a pair of glowing, purple eyes watching you from your shadow.

{ … }

since that first note with your favorite chocolate appeared, several other notes had come along as well with a variety of treats and trinkets.

from your favorite snacks to cute little charms and keychains, you felt a deep happiness filling you upon receiving such gifts. whoever it was, they seemed to know you fairly well, able to fit your aesthetic as you adored them all.

but there was one tiny problem-

you still hadn’t the slightest clue who was sending you these notes and gifts. the handwriting was unrecognizable, making you unable to match it with any of your classmates and peers-

not only that, but you were still completely clueless as to how your admirer got into your locker to begin with.

as you were left pondering, you look down at your bag to see the various keychains and charms you received decorated against its straps. due to the joy you felt upon receiving these trinkets from your admirer, you didn’t think to thank them or try to write them a note back to see if you could get a clue as to who they were.

“lets change that now.” you muse to yourself, heading straight to your locker first thing in the morning as you opened it, seeing the shelf void of any new notes and gifts as you placed your own note (asking for the identity of your admirer) and tiny gift (a homemade keychain that was a tiny jar filled with colorful, origami stars) on your shelf. satisfied with your work, you let out a huff of satisfaction before heading into class.

bracing yourself for another confrontation with jinwoo, you enter the classroom and nearly let out a relieved sigh. your desk was jinwoo-free- in fact, jinwoo finally took a hint and was settled on his own desk, simply looking out the window while resting his cheek against the palm of his hand.

admittedly, his silence made you feel the tiniest bit worried about him. usually, he would try to annoy you or make a sarcastic remark about how messy your handwriting was-

yet he does none of those things, seeming to be deep in thought as he stares out the window. you shrug off the weird feelings and got ready for the day, deciding to fill your thoughts and daydreams by thinking about your admirer and their gifts for you.

{ … }

excitement was felt coursing through your veins as you tried to keep your focus during volleyball practice.

yet sadly, your heart just wasn’t in it.

after class ended and you grabbed your duffel bag from your locker, you saw that your note and homemade keychain was gone as it was replaced with a cute penguin keychain and a new note that simply read:

secret ;)

sincerely,

yours

your breathing was a little uneven when you placed the cute penguin keychain on the straps of your duffel bag, needing to fight back a victorious grin.

your admirer had actually taken your little return gift as well-

so if they were any normal person, they would place it on their school bag, and their identity will be revealed to you.

it was now just a waiting game, and your heart couldn’t seem to stop racing with anticipation.

currently, you and your teammates were doing a mock practice in preparation for an upcoming competition happening in a few weeks. as you saw the volleyball making its descent over the net, you ran towards it, attempting to make it bounce from the palm of your hands-

only to miscalculate your movements as the tip of your sneakers gets caught on the sand, twisting almost painfully as you cried out in response.

your coach was heard blowing her whistle as you were surrounded by your team.

“oh my god, are you okay? where does it hurt?”

what felt like a hundred voices surrounds you, all of your friends and peers voicing their concern for you as practice was cut short. with a first aid kit in hand, your coach notices how your right ankle was slightly swollen and proceeded to wrap it in bandages. it was sprained, and despite how you had experienced such an injury before, something about this pain felt sharper and more potent than usual.

“you’re going to have to take a break from practice and let that heal.” your coach tells you with a stern expression. “had i known that you would be injured, then i would have saved this mock tournament for another time.”

you apologize to your coach, admitting to her that you were distracted while promising to do better once you healed. her eyebrows were furrowed when she gruffly calls your name before telling you, “while you heal, get your head out of the clouds and focus. we need you to be in top shape, and i expect you to be at 110% once you’re all healed.”

“yes coach.”

you give her a bow, hearing your coach speak with your peers, “okay, who’s able to take her home?”

“i’ll take her home.”

your eyes go wide upon hearing the familiar, deep voice calling out to you as the girls parted ways for jinwoo, allowing him to reach you. giggles were heard echoing throughout the field as you tried to fight back your feelings of utter mortification, seeing jinwoo dressed in his track uniform coming closer to you.

“thats not necessary, sung, i-i can walk back on my own.”

he ends up ignoring your protests with a scoff, taking a hold of your hand as he quite literally forces your weight onto his shoulder. the giggles seemed to intensify, and when you tried to move away from him, jinwoo’s grip on you became even tighter and stronger (far stronger than you expected.)

after a few minutes spent struggling against him, jinwoo’s tranquil voice breaks through to you. “stop it and relax, i’m trying to help you.”

the hard edge heard in his voice was what makes you stop struggling against him, face becoming even more heated as you were given little choice but to lean on him. he keeps walking with you until arriving at a bench that surrounds the courtyard of your campus. he tells you to sit down so he can take a look at your sprained ankle.

with your lips pursed, you give jinwoo a nod, allowing him to take off your sneaker and sock, revealing the bandaged ankle to him.

“she didn’t say it, but coach was upset that i made a careless injury while so close to our first competition.”

jinwoo simply hums before touching at your sprained ankle, applying a light pressure on it as you let out a sharp gasp of pain in response.

“it hurts that bad?”

“y-yeah.” you admit to jinwoo with tears welling in your eyes.

jinwoo lets out a hum before taking a hold of your foot, making the pain intensify as you nearly yelled at him to stop-

yet all words of protest die against your throat when you saw the same, shadowy wisps surrounding your sprained ankle, the pain steadily receding before completely disappearing within mere seconds.

your eyes go wide when jinwoo gently unwraps the bandages from your once injured ankle, looking down at it with glowing, purple eyes as he gently moves your ankle back and forth. “does it still hurt?”

you swallow thickly before shaking your head. “no, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

jinwoo chuckles, standing back to his full height as he walked toward the closest trash bin and tosses your used bandages. while he was away, you move your ankle back and forth with a bewildered expression on your face.

the pain was all gone-

it was as if you had never sprained it to begin with.

“how did you do that?” you whisper to jinwoo, seeing him return to you as he takes a seat next to you on the bench.

“secret.” his casual reply makes your heart jump within the confines of your throat, reminding you of the note you had received earlier-

the same note that left you distracted during practice.

you were ready to say something, but seeing jinwoo suddenly angle his body towards you made you look down at his own duffle bag, finally noticing the jar filled with origami stars fastened over the strap.

“it was you this whole time?”

jinwoo rolls his eyes upon hearing your question, meeting your gaze as he brushed back your hair with his hand. “obviously, i’ve been vying for your attention this whole time- but thanks for finally noticing.”

you playfully glare at him while gently shoving at his shoulder. “is that the same reason why you always seemed to annoy me?”

his rich chuckle ends up making your heart skip a few beats as you relish in the sound as he leans closer to you. taking a hold of your hand, jinwoo presses a kiss against the back of it, “it was the only way i knew to get you to look at me.”

your eyes go wide when jinwoo continues to inch ever so closely to you, “normally, i’m able to take a hint and can mind my own business when it comes to people who don’t notice me… but something about you- it’s just really hard for me to get ignore. for some odd reason, i wanted you to look at me and notice me, that’s why… i guess that’s why i was determined to grab your attention.”

“sorry, for working backwards. i feel as though if i had just sweetened you up first with your favorite snacks and cute little trinkets and keychains, then it would have been so much easier for me to get your heart… but… your scowling and pouting face was so cute that i couldn’t help but annoy you a bit.”

“you’re such a dweeb, jinwoo.” you tell him with an exasperated sigh, all while trying to hide your grin.

he chuckles before inching his face closer to yours, lips hovering over you when you felt him whisper against them, “oh yeah? well why don’t you put this dweeb out of his misery and finally kiss him?”

and when you finally pressed your lips against jinwoo’s was the moment you had completely put him out of his misery ♡

a.n. - another story written due to stress; it’s currently unedited but once it’s posted i’ll make any necessary changes. i don’t want to keep this in my drafts for too long in case tumblr decides to delete it 😭🙏🏻

update 6/18/24 omg thank god i had this story saved because i was unable to post it from my drafts! i don’t know if any other writers / users have this problem, but please keep a backup of your story if you have any saved within your tumblr drafts! ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡ i thought i had to rewrite everything ajdhshdhshd

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[shomatoriashi]

08/10/24; 04:00pm

sung jinwoo x reader / sung jinwoo x cha hae-in

{ oneshot - angst to fluff }

- the academy arc -

{ we can’t be friends | but i’d like to just pretend | you cling to you papers and pens | wait until you like me again | wait for your love | love, i’ll wait for your love… }

perhaps you were destined to suffer with this unrequited love, you think to yourself while sneaking glances at jinwoo, watching as he turned the pages of his textbook while jotting down notes within the confines of his notebook.

currently, you were both studying for your upcoming college entrance exams. jinwoo had invited you over to his place, and you were settled within the quiet sanctuary of his room. surrounding you were pieces of jinwoo that made your heart turn even softer for him, and you swore you would never get used to how his scent seemed to permeate at the air. taking a break from your own studying, you decide to admire the various trophies he had won during his time spent on the track team.

of course, such winnings came as no surprise for you, since he had always been shockingly athletic. that fact has never changed-

however, his reasoning for joining track in the first place was what made your heart clench painfully within your chest. you recalled that day like it was just yesterday...

it was the first day of high school, and you recognized jinwoo from your elementary school years. gathering your courage, you decided to sidle up to his desk, earning a smile from him when you disclosed your identity to him. as you struck a conversation with him (reminiscing on old times), some rambunctious guys began heckling jinwoo while they surrounded both you and him. they made you incredibly nervous, and as one of them reached out to you, jinwoo immediately stopped them from grabbing you, standing from his seat as he spoke in a stern tone.

"leave her alone. if you want to get to me, then talk to me directly."

your eyes go wide when the boys seem to freeze up before moving stiffly away from you, their steps shaky and uneven, like they were puppets being controlled on a string. seconds later, they were all tumbling into the hallways, making your eyes go wide. a soft chuckle was heard coming from jinwoo, and once you looked back, you saw the secretive smile on jinwoo's face.

you may have had a crush on him at that very moment.

after that day, you cling to jinwoo like a lost puppy, having stars in your eyes at the mere sight of him. you comment on how much taller- on how much braver he had gotten since you had last seen him. while you gushed on him, he simply gives you a kind smile in response.

"thanks... i guess you could say i've worked out a little bit since i've grown."

"a little bit? jinwoo, you practically tower over everyone here! you must have plans to join an athletic club or something, right?"

jinwoo ends up considering your words with a hum before smiling back down at you. "i suppose i'd like to give track a try... after all... there's someone i'd like to meet."

his admission makes you stop dead in your tracks, your heart clenching just the tiniest bit when you see the warmth within his stormy gaze. he was clearly thinking about someone achingly special to him... and that made your throat close up as you struggled to get the words out.

"oh really? who is she?" you were surprised at how even your voice came out, unsure of why you were feeling this way over meeting an old friend again. jinwoo meets your gaze from your periphery and gives you a kind smile. "she's someone that's special to me... and i've waited a long time to meet her again."

that final confession was what ultimately stops you in your tracks, your heart aching at the fact that you would never get such a chance to be with jinwoo, especially when his heart had already been captured by another.

he notices the way you stop walking next to him and stops as well, eyes appearing wide when he asks if you were okay. you manage to let out a forced laugh, not wishing to admit the truth to him when you told him how you forgot you had a meeting with an advisor (a lie you had made up on the spot).

jinwoo ends up believing your lie and nods, walking closer to you so that he was now settled directly in front of you. amusement was seen in his gaze, and you could feel your breath become taken away by the sheer beauty and kindness of his smile. his large hand reaches out to you, and he ruffles it before stepping back, "okay, i'll see you tomorrow then. i'm going to head to the track field and talk to the coach about joining."

you nod and lift up your hand in a wave, watching jinwoo as he walked away from you with a heaviness felt in your chest.

since then, you tried to avoid him, or at least, tried to put some distance between you and him, yet jinwoo could never seem to take the hint. ever since that first day, he had already deemed you his best friend, further trapping your heart with the tendrils of love and affection you felt growing for him.

you spent the next three years remaining by his side, studying with him while supporting his efforts with each tournament he attended. yet instead of growing out of your crush for him, it grew to genuine feelings of love for him.

and this fact did little to hide the pain and envy you felt each time he answered her calls or eagerly replied to her texts, sometimes even going as far as meeting her during weekends to take her out on cute little dates-

looking back at him now, you felt your heart ache with the sheer amount of concentration was seen on his face. he was working so hard to be with her, to build a future with her-

a future that you were certain you could never be a part of.

in the midst of your reveries, jinwoo meets your gaze and gives you a smirk, "what are you looking at? is there something on my face?"

you shake your head and look back down at your textbook. since jinwoo admitted his feelings for this young woman named cha hae-in to you, you threw yourself into your studies and managed to make incredible grades. due to your own heartache, you decided to study abroad to get away from south korea, wishing to attend university in the united states, within the city of new york, to be exact.

you didn't think they would accept you, yet by some miracle, you were chosen to spend 4 years at a university there, hence why you were currently studying up on english grammar. however, there was a catch-

you had yet to tell jinwoo about your plans for college.

letting out a deep breath, you give your best friend a tiny smile before beginning to speak.

"jinwoo, i'm so sorry, but there's something i have to tell you."

he ends up frowning at your choice of words. "okay, what is it?"

with a heavy sigh, you shut your books and tell him, all while stuttering along the way, "uhm, w-well, you know h-how our school offers a s-study abroad program for u-universities we wish to a-attend?"

jinwoo's frown seems to deepen. "yes, i know about it."

"w-well, i signed up for the program a-and got accepted... i'll be moving to america soon."

hearing the news makes jinwoo drop his pen in response. "w-what? you're going to america?"

you could feel the anxiety coursing through your veins, "y-yes... i got accepted into a university in new york city and plan to leave near the beginning of january."

"NEW YORK CITY?!" jinwoo suddenly jumps out of his seat, his eyes widening so much that it seemed to bulge against his features, "t-that's so far away from here... why did you choose to go so far?"

to be as far away as i can be from you and the woman you love. but you don't tell him the truth, choosing to tell him a half-truth of sorts when you answer, "i've spent my whole life here, jinwoo. i think it's only natural for me to wish to expand my horizons and experience new things."

"y-yeah but... it's four years... what if you decide to never come back here?" jinwoo's voice becomes quiet all of a sudden, with his fists remaining clenched against his sides.

you let out a soft laugh, packing up your belongings one by one into your backpack. once everything was neatly in place, you stand back to your full height and meet with jinwoo's gaze. "it's okay... i'll be sure to keep in touch by texting you or calling you... but, i-i hope you'll forgive me if i forget or am too busy to call..."

an unreadable expression was seen in jinwoo's eyes, and for a brief moment, you could have sworn that his eyes flashed purple before going back to its original slate grey hue. not wishing to cry in front of him, you cling to your backpack and quickly excuse yourself, not even able to find the words to apologize to him for telling him such news of your departure so suddenly.

while you made your escape from his room, you were unaware of how jinwoo's intense gaze focused on your shadow, seeing loyal, glowing purple eyes looking back at him in understanding...

{ ... }

why was jinwoo such a mess now that you were no longer here?

after working so hard to pass the entrance exams for the last few months, he had plans of spending some time with you before you left for america... yet when he arrived at your place, you were nowhere to be found as your parents had told him that you had already departed for new york-

it had only been november at the time-

so you had lied to him as well?

and why did jinwoo's heart felt like it was on the verge of breaking?

your sudden departure coupled along with your obvious deception made jinwoo's heart clench with an unknown emotion. here you were, thousands upon thousands of miles away from him, leaving jinwoo feeling like he was drowning.

all of those shared laughters and inside jokes-

the times you spent remaining by his side during each and every one of his track meets-

and those late nights spent studying together, falling asleep together within the comfort of his bed-

had everything been all for naught?

with your absence drilling a hole within his heart, he found that not even hae-in's calls and texts could bring him out of this slump. jinwoo admits to how her beauty and awkward kindness had once ensnared his heart, making him think of nothing but meeting her again once he reset his timeline-

yet now, with you so clearly gone from his life, he found that he could not focus on anything but the memories he had of you-

memories of your smile and the way you would snort each time you tried to hold back your giggles while in class-

memories of how you would hide your face within his shoulder each time you watched a horror movie together, as if trusting him to shield you from all the monsters-

memories of how he could spend hours on end simply watching you sleep-

and it was only when you left him that he realized the truth of his feelings-

that you were the one he felt the most comfortable with... that by the end of the day, he would always need you and you alone...

with thoughts of you pushing him forward, he decides to finally come clean to hae-in one late afternoon on christmas eve. he wears his usual coat with a dark pair of jeans, expression forlorn as he felt conflicted with potentially breaking her heart. while walking across the streets of the city, he stops walking, already sensing her presence when he turns around to face her.

hae-in's hands were outstretched, bewilderment painting her beautiful expression. "there you are." jinwoo manages to smile at her, making hae-in take a step back as she brushes a hand across her golden strands of hair.

"it's like you have eyes in the back of your head, jinwoo." she hums and steps closer to him, "you took your college entrance exams last month, right? congrats. are you still going to the university you chose before? you got really good grades, so why are you set on going to that university?"

that was when things began to feel awkward on jinwoo's end. he coughs and was unable to meet hae-in's curious gaze. looking away from her, he shakes his head, "no, unfortunately, my plans have... changed since then."

hae-in seems taken aback by his confession, and jinwoo feels a wave of empathy coursing through his veins when he notices her expression, "i-it's not because of a woman, is it?"

jinwoo tears his gaze away from her, unable to give her a truthful answer without hurting her. yet, it seemed as though his silence was more than enough, making tears fill at her grey eyes as realization dawns within her tearful expression. "o-oh..."

with a shake of his head, he steps closer to her, "i'm sorry, for breaking our promise so suddenly. i thought... i thought i knew what i wanted... but... looking back on it now, she was the one who was by my side from the start."

hae-in's shoulders began to tremble in response, further filling jinwoo with guilt. "she was my best friend... and... she left me to pursue her dreams in america. now that she's not here, i feel... lost without her..."

"y-you wish to follow her?"

jinwoo closes his eyes before giving hae-in a nod. "i do."

a sob was heard escaping from hae-in, and jinwoo could feel the way she shoves him away from her, body trembling as she ran back home. his expression was filled with regret, watching hae-in running away from him. the soldier he had placed within her shadow lengthens in response to her movements, and jinwoo knew that she would be protected even if he wasn't around.

{ ... }

there was an odd sense of freedom felt coursing through your veins when you moved into your dorm, ready to start the semester. you were still surrounded by suitcases that held each and every one of the items you had deemed important to you.

as you took out each item from your suitcase, your eyes go wide when they saw a thick photo album you had no recollection of packing. taking it out, you watch as a note fluttered out of it, recognizing your mother's handwriting as it read:

i just wanted to pack you a little surprise; memories of your home, of family and friends who wish for nothing more than to support you. come back home and see us soon. love, mom

with tears filling your vision, you open up the album and flip through the first few pages, laughing at each picture before turning the page once more-

this time landing on a photo that had you and jinwoo smiling at the camera.

seeing his handsome face makes your heart well up with emotions you thought you had tossed aside. as your fingertips shakily trace at his handsome features, a sense of guilt filled you. you had purposely ghosted him, wanting nothing more than to leave south korea, just to put some distance between you and the man you had always loved-

a man who you believed with all your heart would forever remain an unrequited love.

unable to handle the pain of seeing jinwoo's face, you slam the album shut and let out a shaky breath. hot tears were felt streaming down your face, and your sadness was so potent- so palpable that it made the blood rush to your ears.

in fact, you were so distracted that you didn't hear the knocks at your door for several minutes. you gasp and look toward your front door, taking shaky steps toward it as you unlocked it.

"s-sorry, i was distracted, are you my roommate?" you spoke in english, earning a grunt from the person you assumed would be your roommate.

a deep hum was heard, "damn right i am." his face was covered by a huge box in his hand, and you saw the way his long legs kicked his suitcase inside, with your head tilted in response. you notice how he also spoke in english, yet there seemed to be a hint of an accent in it. a strange sense of familiarity fills you, and when you close the door was when your roommate puts down his box-

revealing himself to be sung jinwoo.

your breathing comes out in uneven breaths, with you taking a step back while meeting jinwoo's annoyed gaze. "jinwoo?!" you speak to him, reaching out to him with trembling hands. "t-there's no way... is it really you?"

jinwoo remains silent, simply taking casual steps closer to you, effectively trapping you against the wall. "who else would it be?" his reply was casual, and you flinch slightly upon feeling the way he brushes back your hair. with both hands settled against the wall, jinwoo prevents you from moving as he looks down at you, grey eyes shining with amusement.

your heart was felt pounding within your chest, making the heat travel all the way up to your cheeks when you shakily ask, "w-what are you doing here? aren't you supposed to be with hae-in?"

the jerk had the nerve to smirk at your question! he ends up humming in response, taking a hold of your hand to press a kiss against the back of it "are you jealous?"

you end up sputtering in response, "are you teasing me?"

he hums, "and what if i am?"

before you could answer, jinwoo ends up taking you directly within his embrace, chuckling as you struggled to get out of his powerful arms. "jinwoo!"

he simply hums once more before settling himself on the couch with you, hands already delving themselves into your hair as he leans in to give your cheek a kiss. such a sudden display of affection was enough to make your head spin as jinwoo tightens his hold on you. "when you left was the moment i realized you had taken a part of me with you... a part of me that i never wish to have returned."

his words manages to stun you, all coherent thoughts ceasing as pure and utter hope fills your gaze. he smiles down at you in a loving manner, choosing to frame at your face while continuing, "it hurt me, realizing how you chose to leave so suddenly without even telling me goodbye... but shockingly enough, it was thanks to your absence that i realized the reasoning for your departure was because of me all along."

"jinwoo..." tears fill at your vision, making jinwoo slowly lean down to press you against the couch in response. his gaze was intense, and he brushes back your hair before telling you, "you left because you loved me... yet i was too stupid and blind to realize it... until now..."

your breathing hitches when jinwoo leans down to capture your lips in a searing kiss. you eagerly respond to him, kissing him back with a fervor (pouring all of the yearning and heartache you felt for him building up within those 3 years). jinwoo groans against your parted lips, deepening the kiss momentarily before pulling away from you.

jinwoo's handsome features were all you could see when he smiles down at you, and you allow his large hands to delve themselves into your hair when he kisses your forehead once more, "i love you... i realize that i cannot live without you... so please... will you promise to remain by my side and never leave me again?"

his question makes you giggle, eyes filling with absolute adoration for him when you lean up to press a kiss against his lips all while reassuring him, "i promise..."

that was the moment the years spent yearning for him (along with your heartache) vanished completely as jinwoo captured your lips in another breathtaking kiss, swallowing the sounds of your laughter completely…

end notes: this is so self indulgent for me (⺣◡⺣)♡ but it was so worth writing. currently unedited, but i'll make any necessary changes once this is posted. once again, i don't trust tumblr to keep my drafts for long 😭 🙌🏻

all stories are written by rei; please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works!!

[circeyoru]

The Cure for Their Problems = Requested

The Request

[Sung Jinwoo x Sickly!Reader]

WARNING: This might be a bit sensitive for some readers, so I put in a trigger warning. It contains self-harm and death if you understand the implications. If you think you're sensitive to such triggers, I would advise you not to read this and move on to more pleasant stories. You're responsible for what you consume on the internet and anywhere else.

“Got your dagger? First aid? Phone? Knife? Extra clothing? Oh, what about a shield? Even a small one could help. I could ask around and see if anyone would lend you one.” Your insistent nagging was replied to with silent nods and a soft smile from your Hunter friend —long-time childhood friend, Sung Jinwoo— while he listened intently to your words. “Where is your equipment? You can’t go in empty-handed! This is not a school field trip!”

“I’ll be fine.” Jinwoo reassured, he gave you a tight hug and spoke next to your ear, hiding his guilty expression from you. “My raid team has all my gear. I’m meeting up with them right after we part.”

You stared into Jinwoo’s eyes when the hug was released. Your eyes narrowed, sensing something amidst with his words. His raid team changes on a daily basis that you couldn’t quite keep up with the members and new names he mentions, not to mention they were people that regarded Jinwoo as a tool or bait. So you can’t imagine them lending equipment for Jinwoo while inside a dungeon. 

“Come on.” Jinwoo turned you around to another direction, “You got your check-ups, I promise I’ll be done by the time you’re done. No injuries as well.”

You pouted and turned your head as best you could to look at him, but him being a Hunter and you being an ordinary citizen, naturally meant you couldn’t win against him in a battle of strength. Hence why he’s nudging you to walk with ease. “It’s not the injury. I want you safe.”

Jinwoo paused and smiled back. “I know. I’ll do my best for you.” 

His tongue nearly slipped, he nearly told you the truth. He nodded and held your cheek with the softest smile, you reciprocated and leaned into his touch. That reminded you of the childhood days where both of you were innocent and ignorant of the troubles of an adult or the responsibilities that came with it. Just for that moment, you two were those kids. 

In the morning, either one of you would be the one to knock on the other’s front door and it’ll be opened by a parent on either side. A warm greeting was exchanged then the question of whether the target was free to hang out. Following that, the target comes into view and rushes out to the front door to give the other a tight hug. The parent at the door would giggle and laugh, then bid goodbye.

Even after you two had to go to school, the both of you would ensure that you two are in the same school, even if you had to split classes. However, because of your weak institute, you were quickly dropped out of school and homeschooled. It was a hard decision because you wanted to stay with Jinwoo and the same could be said of him, with each other, you two were at your happiest. Since this concerned your health and future, your parents had to make a rough decision. 

All the same, Jinwoo still greeted you daily before he headed off to school and when he was back. He’d bring along some snacks or art projects. Then he’d ask if he could come in and do homework together. Both parents would let it happen. That was how you survived homeschooling with the best scores even star students at school would be jealous of.

Your phone buzzed and the two of you were brought back to the present. You sighed but quickly smiled back so as not to worry Jinwoo. The two of you bid farewell and wish the other an enjoyable time and safety before going separate ways. 

Jinwoo watched your back until you were gone from his sight and range of perception. Only then does he turn around to enter the dungeon the System assigned. From young, you’ve been weak in terms of health but your spirit was like the brightest star even in the darkest night. That was what he thought of you since the first time you two met. 

The moment he was given the System to level up and be stronger, he knew it was the perfect tool for him to keep you safe and maybe get some medicine or potion from the store to improve your health. It worked, but only for a short term. Plus, you were someone that kept up with the latest medical knowledge even on the Hunter’s side where healer’s powers were known to you. So you have started to question where he got those potions and unique items you couldn’t find anywhere.

He recalled the time where he had to promise and swear to you over and over again because you feared he was in with some shady and bad people. You never seemed to question why he changed or gotten stronger, but he definitely knew you noticed. Yet when it came to him using his benefits for you, you were as keen as can be.

Now that he has a sure fire way of curing you completely so that you would be out enjoying yourself and not restricting or limiting your activities, he has to take it. Not to mention, it was an item that would wake his mother up from Eternal Slumber. Speaking of, he had fear you’d fall into that one day too. Since you were frail to begin with, there was a chance, even more so when you were always near him, someone with mana. Though, maybe he had to thank his low ranking and lack of mana. Else he might be visiting another person at the hospital.

Even after he placed a few Shadow to guard her, it wasn’t enough in his mind. Worst part was now that he got stronger, he had more mana and you were exhibiting symptoms of Eternal Slumber. There were times when his Shadows notified him that you suddenly fell asleep out of the blue. If he could, he’d drop everything and rush to your location to check on you. Otherwise, his Shadows would bring you to a safer location then he’d quickly finish his things and check on you. 

What he thought to be a one-time thing happened again and again, each more frequent than the last and longer. When you went to the doctors, you were warned to stay away from Hunters and what would happen to you. It was incurable, you were told. On top of your delicate health, you now had Eternal Slumber to worry about. 

You kept it secret from him, unknown that his Shadows already reported everything to him. He pretended not to know and avoided you so you’d distance yourself from him. As much as it pains him so. It only backfired when he found out you were planning a quick death to escape from it all. You mapped it out so innocently, thinking it was for the better. 

Death during sleep. 

“Wake up! Wake up! Don’t sleep!” Jinwoo vividly recalled bursting through your front door and into your bedroom at his soldiers’ alert. While his Shadows aired out the room, he cradled your unconscious form to his chest, a hand holding your head to his chest and the other around your waist from behind. “Please, I can’t… You… Don’t leave me…”

While he has much to live for, you didn’t. After your restriction to social life, your parents passed away and Jinwoo’s family took you in as their own, then you watched Jinwoo’s father disappear and his family break, after that, his mother fell into Eternal Slumber, and Jinwoo trying to make a life with his E-Rank Hunter status. You saw yourself as a burden to him when he faced prejudice against other Hunters and tried to care for his family and you on top.

Your soft mutters brought him out of his wailing, “Jinwoo… I’m sorry… Don… Don’t cry…”

He saw how you worry about him more than you worry about yourself. After that, he continued to let you stay by his side and forgo avoiding him. He’d see that distant look in your face when there were mentions of Hunters not returning from a raid or news of another victim of Eternal Slumber, but all he could do was change the subject. Even when he got the System’s help to grow strong.

The moment he got the news of a possible cure for anything, the <Holy Water of Life>, he was obsessed over obtaining it no matter what it took but also as fast as he could. This was the solution to his problem and yours. He just knows it. 

First thing Jinwoo did when he got the item, he woke up his mother. You were with his sister when he called the two of you to join him in the hospital. While you weren’t a child of the family, you still cried tears of waterfall that rivals his sister. You were grateful his mother woke up and the good Sung family wasn’t tormented. 

Jinwoo led you to a secluded place and sat you down on a bench. He took out the potion and presented it to you as he kneeled down. “This will cure you of everything, any ailment no matter how small or big or incurable. Please, I want you to take it.”

Your eyes watered and your lips pressed together in a thin line, your breathing turned shaky and your body trembled. “But… I’m… A nobody… Something so precious shouldn’t be used on me…”

Jinwoo’s hand held your fists, how he’s changed from that small boy you knew back then, never did you see him as anything less or more. “Hey, shh, don’t say that. You’re more precious to me than you could imagine. Don’t call yourself that, you didn’t call me that when I was a weak E-Rank.” Jinwoo smiled at you, “I want you healthy and free of restrictions. I want you to live your life how you wanted before everything bad happened. I want you to make your dreams a reality. I want to be by your side while it all happens, every step of the way.”

Tears ran down your eyes and Jinwoo wiped them away gently. “Jinwoo…”

He held up the potion, “Accept it?”

You gladly took the glass and cupped it with a warm smile, your eyes never leaving Jinwoo’s. “I accept your confession and you, Jinwoo.”

Note: Wrote too much, oops. This one turned a bit dark at the middle or end. Didn't exactly think this one through but went with the flow of things. That's just my style. Haha. Regardless, hope that those who read it is okay with this piece.

In the future for any request, you can mark down what quality of the story you prefer and I'll take it into consideration.

Circe Y.

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: (none at the moment, sadly)

[sserajeans]

listen closely... 18. yoon's win (half-written)

it took about an hour for the five friends to meet up at a small restaurant nearby. it was a korean bbq place as a result of a debate jungwon lost.

"the ventilation makes my clothes stink!"

well he wasn't entirely wrong...

"how has everything been?" jinwoo, the last to arrive, started conversation as he kept his outer coat in a nearby storage basket.

the other 4 had already ordered plates of meat beforehand, so the food conveniently arrived at the same time.

"you sound like a 40-something year old uncle." rei commented before reaching over for the plate of plain beef. "but we've been fine! preparing a few stuff."

"omg can i have yujin-noona's signature?"

"no jungwon."

"wait wait let's talk about our SHIM JAYOON'S WIN FROM TODAY!" y/n raised her glass of cider like it was beer. she then placed the bottle under yoon's face, resembling a mic of sorts. "how are we feeling about it ms. shim?"

"well, ms. choi i feel very grateful for my team and fans for all the support." yoon played along for a while before shoving y/n's hand away. "okay but for real it just feels amazing... i feel great. and it's nice to celebrate with you guys after a while."

"OH SHIT we're getting sentimental!" jungwon grabbed a tissue and dabbed his eyes, sniffing a little too much. he regretted that not one second later as a piece of kimchi perfectly hit his cheek.

the first batch of meat cooked a few minutes later, causing a period of silence as the five friends devoured the meal in front of them. that's the quitest they've ever been together.

while waiting for the plates for cake y/n bought, rei brought up y/n's dreaded conversational topic. soulmates.

it wasn't stupid to her. she got it, it made sense, it's just that ever since that encounter with the unusual voice (multiple other times after the first), the topic of soulmates was just confusion she didn't want to unpack or investigate.

she simply had other things on her plate. being an idol was enough.

"have you guys figured it out yet?"

y/n noticed jungwon poking around his leftover rice, shoulders down. she took note to ask him about it later.

"oh i have suspicions about it being this friend of mine from back at home, but i'm not quite sure yet." jinwoo was first to answer. y/n remembered him talking about this one girl he grew up with before moving to seoul for the idol life, so if it was her, she was really happy for her best friend.

rei and yoon talked about how they were both clueless for a good 5 minutes before the conversation focused on the two hybe idols.

"jungwon's lost, so am i." y/n's short answer left the other 3 dumbfounded. jungwon was relieved he got his ass saved though.

"what do you mean?"

"i heard a weird voice, barely sounded like a song. straight out of a horror movie really. kinda just shrugged off trying to find whoever it was after that." y/n explained as she distributed the plastic plates and forks for the small cake she bought on the way.

"what did you hear exactly?" yoon began chewing on her cake, eyes still glued on y/n.

"i got a voice note of it the first time i heard it. i'll send it when i get home."

the five best friends stayed by the restaurant for another hour or two (no one could ever keep track of time when they were together) before everyone went their separate ways, promising to meet again if their schedules allowed them to.

jungwon and y/n got in hybe's company car with both their managers. the girl whipped out her phone as she sat down, keeping her word of sending the voice note to the group chat.

previous, masterlist, next

taglist: @yumtooki @gojosrug @limbforalimb @wonniefied @lizseos @noiacha @ahnneyong @babycubchae @bwljules @luvkait @rinpopz @falling-intoo-deep @captivq @luvrsxt @oshyci @somsomishy @lcv3lies @jennasluma

[hanakihan]

me and mutual had a cracked idea

Kinda Tokyo Ghoul AU with SSS-rank Ghoul Jinwoo and one of the best (but not rank wise) Investigator Jinchul

Jinchul accidentally ends up trying to stale against S rank ghoul who pretty much toys with him while Jinchul really wishes his coworkers would fucking move faster because he’s pretty much injured and talking this one out will only win him some minutes at best

So then he’s pretty much unarmed, injured and tired and will die anyway so when he’s certain he’ll be stabbed he’s suddenly thrown away into a wall only to see another ghoul murdering a ghoul

Jinchul pretty much goes inadequate after blood loss and probably a concussion after that throw into wall so he just sits here bleeding and trying to stay conscious while leaning on his quinque

And then he hears someone asking him if he’s okay and he tiredly moves his head to see that new ghoul just kneeling at distance from him and definitely not reeking of malice or murder intent, so jinchul kinda laughs a little hysterically and decides to roll with it because honestly he’s gonna die anyway at least he’ll have some fun chatting with a ghoul who didn’t try to murder him on spot by simply being dressed as investigator

and then he blacks out mid chat only to wake up in a bed with doctors running around and Gunhee having both worried and puzzled expression on his face which is later explained by ‘a SSS-rank ghoul delivered your unconscious body to your team and pretty much disappeared’

Jinchul later keeps stumbling upon this mysterious and almost mythical SSS-rank ghoul and starts to think it’s either a weird form of hunting on later’ part or flirting (jinchul may laugh all he wants but jinwoo is definitely awkwardly flirting because he became interested in this weird investigator who didn’t start to act like most of them do and instead had a really nice peaceful chat with him)

[fallloverfic]

Solo Leveling Episode 11 Thoughts

This episode had me screaming in joy! Spoilery thoughts for the anime, novel, and manhwa below:

The job-change portal opening effects were so pretty. Did not expect it to be that neat! Also still love that it's purple (that's a manhwa thing). It's a nice little hint of what's to come >:3

Sung Jinwoo's fights were also really amazing! Just the movements all looked gorgeous. They were fun to watch! Him ripping apart the knight with his hands was amazing. Also really loved the animation on the archer.

And we finally get character art of Yoo Jinsung! Yoo Jinho's shitty older brother at last. He shows up a little in the novel, but doesn't appear at all in the manhwa (other than in reference), so it's neat to see him. Poor Jinho at this terrible meal with people who are awful to him. Jinho looks so sad seeing his brother, with how much is on the line and how awful their relationship is and how their father pushes them to do well. This is really a miserable time for him. I like the extra anime expansion here. It's fun to see more to these characters. I'm wondering if they're moving up a novel-only event (Jinho goes to a dinner party later, where Jinsung also shows up), or if they'll have both? It'll be interesting to see, anyway, particularly given if this is replacing that, it's removing one character who does show up in the manhwa, which is odd, given the anime's tendency to expand on characters.

It'll be cool if we meet Hunters outside Europe, North America, and central/east Asia. So Jinsung's useful for something, anyway.

Yoo Myunghan just watching his older son being a dick to his younger son and doing nothing about it. Great father, there. /end sarcasm

It's fun to see Jinwoo thinking about the pitfalls of his choices in stat placement and what this or that stat might do. Yeah, intelligence might be important <.< For someday <.<

I really love that we get to actually see the investigation for Jeju. They only talk about it afterward in the novel and the manhwa. Also always appreciate more Choi Jongin time XD And we get to see the team early (hey Son Kihoon)! And the women in all their still shitty manhwa outfits :D Like just... why with Gina and Lee Bora's outfits (mostly Gina, Bora is... whatever)? And is there a reason y'all can spend bank on Igris and aren't able to properly draw boobs in shirts (or give Gina actual pants)? (That was rhetorical, I know why.)

I do love the reminder that Jinwoo is still wearing a literal dog collar. We just can't see it cause it's invisible. Bless. Truly, bless. If only any of his husbands knew

Igris' introduction is just -chef's kiss-. The train of his helmet, the slow sweep. His armor is gorgeous. He looks amazing.

The fight is incredible. Words don't do it justice. The sound design, the sudden dash forward, the slow-mo, the destruction after attacks emphasizing just how strong Igris is and what kind of hits Jinwoo is taking/avoiding... It's visually gorgeous. Just the way Igris moves or even stands is beautiful.

The anime kind of switches between very clean and shiny and close-ups that are kind of gritty (not sure how to better explain it), and I like to think it's a nod to Dubu's art (this is volume 3, chapter 8 in the Ize Press release). Igris in the manhwa has that kind of gritty visual look to him.

I think it's just the difference of close-ups and farther away shots, because overall the anime just did this really lovely blend of the manhwa's style and its own thing that just looks truly incredible.

And we get another anime-only scene with Go Gunhee and Woo Jinchul, and some chat with Choi Jongin!

The colors in these outside shots are just really pretty. Choi Jongin looks lovely.

Jeju never ended for Choi Jongin, poor man T-T Love all this extra anime angst, bless.

Meanwhile, the fight with Igris and Jinwoo continues to be amazing. The sound design, the art, just ahhh. It's so good. Love the emphasis on Igris' legs and hips. He leggy boi.

Igris ripping out part of the floor to throw at Jinwoo is my everything. I just love when characters do that lol

For all my criticisms of Dubu's art (and I don't hate his art, he drew wonderfully, he just wasn't perfect), I prefer how Jinwoo sitting on the throne here looked in the manhwa. I think the anime makes it more understandable for why Jinwoo didn't break the armrests/his legs when falling onto the throne, because the chair is wider, and given who was supposed to sit in the chair, it makes sense it's bigger, but still.

(I flipped the anime shot horizontally for better comparison). (Though thinking about it, it's funny to imagine this again as a parallel universe with one Jinwoo leaning to his right, and the other one to the left... so Igris can sit between them aldkjlajda)

Igris just looks so good. I could take a bajillion shots of him standing.

I also love his belt. Just admiring all the little details on him in this art style. He looks amazing.

It's interesting we get these moments with Sung Jinah and Park Kyunghye (Jinwoo and Jinah's mother). Another anime addition, which isn't bad! It highlights just how much Jinwoo has on the line, and that people are waiting for him. Also still love how much Jinah loves her brother T-T She made him dinner!

The music for the attempted beheading is so nice. The soundtrack for this series is incredible, and it's used really well. I love how soft it is initially, and then how it explodes with Jinwoo fighting back (I could barely hear it first watch initially, and that was almost neater, effect-wise, but listening with the volume up, it's also just a lovely track).

There's something really compelling about Jinwoo shoving Igris across the floor, making the metal of Igris' armor heel scrape over the ground. Top/bottom discourse in action aldkjalj

The rest of the fight was also really amazing! The way the style changed during the kill shot is always really fun :3 It works wonderfully here. Igris defeated!

And now... the trial of stamina. While the time for his daily quest ticks down. XD And again, Jinwoo thinking about using something rather than just doing it lets someone knock the teleportation stone out of his hand. >.< Ah well.

This episode was amazing. Just phenomenal overall. Loved it. We finally have Igris, best boi XD So happy.

Looking forward to the resolution of this and the season next week!

More episode thoughts:

S01E05

S01E06

S01E07

S01E08

S01E09

S01E10

S01E11 (you are here)

S01E12