#lee taemin the chaotic hyung

[purpletigertaetae]

Rosie

Gif isn't mine!

Pairing: Stripper!Taemin x Reader

Word Count: 2308 words

Genre: Fluff, a hint (and I mean like a whisper) of smut. But honestly not really, no actual smut.

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: I mean, Taemin gives whiplash, but beyond that nothing.

Tagging: First, a major thanks to mama thot ( @taetaesbaebaepsae​) because I don’t know what a strip club looks like so she helped me out! You cuuuute!

Notes: You know, I’ve found that I really like dance scenes, but I absolutely SUCK at writing them. I dunno man, I’m a little crazy, because I wrote this at 1 am this morning in a weird fever dream.  Anyways... I hope you enjoy! 

Your friend’s bachelorette party had been so stereotypical, you could’ve planned it in your sleep. Brunch, mimosas, a boat ride around the harbor, cute pictures for hours at the Japanese Gardens in the sunset and onward. At one point, you had left the rest of the girls to tour the area and plucked a rose to place in your own hair, wishing for the hundredth time you were in her place, in love with a guy who loved you with a fervor. In your heart you wished for a romance, a sexy lover in bed, a gentleman on the streets. You had been on plenty of dates, and a couple hookups, but they never passed your tests. The witty banter never happened, the courting never happened, and in bed they left you unsatisfied and orgasm-less, having reached their peak way before you. You hoped for a day that you would be the queen, with a king.

RING Your phone rang with texts, jolting you out of your daydream. The girls had finished their pictures, and with the sun having set, they were ready to head back to the hotel to get ready for the next place.

One hour later, you were dressed in something much more skimpy, eyes in a smoky shadow, your lips painted red like blood, and feet shoved into sky high stilettos. The red rose found its place back into your hair, the pop of color matching your lips. The other bridesmaids ushered you and the bride into the rented limo and you sped off into the streets. Once the limo reached its destination, you stepped out of the limo and let out the biggest groan.

“A strip club? Really you guys?”

Loud giggles answered you and you were pulled into the seedy establishment. You had lived in this city for over six years but had never graced this place. As you stepped in though, your jaw dropped. However seedy it looked on the outside, it was a complete one-eighty inside. It was spotless. There were lounge chairs scattered in circles around poles and poker tables, a wall to wall bar set up on the side, facing a raised platform against the other wall. Facing the entry, on the back wall was a stage, with chairs facing it. The lighting was dim, sexy, with a reddish tint, and people milled about, some at the bar, some lounging in chairs. Just stepping inside boosted your confidence, and you followed the girls to the back, you added a swing to your step, hips swaying. Something about this place made you feel sexy, even though you weren’t even a dancer.

You all found your place at the front of the stage, while a waitress placed drinks in front of you. You all cheered and threw back shots, sipping on tequila, letting loose, waiting for the next dancer to start. Your eyes wandered as you waited, clocking the handsome bartender behind the bar, the two waitresses placing food and drinks in front of other patrons, and attractive men and women dancing on poles behind you.

“When is this show starting?” You muttered to the bride sitting next to you, reaching to take a sip of your drink.

“Any minute now y/n! Are you excited?”

“Sure, that’s one word for it.” You grinned, happy that your friend was having a good time.

Suddenly the lights around you dimmed and a spotlight lit up the center stage. As the dancer sauntered out, your eyes grew wide and your jaw dropped. He was ravishing in blond hair, icy blue eyes, a smirk painted on his lips, and a perfectly tailored suit. He walked on stage like he owned the place and you were left awestruck and speechless while the girls around you screamed in delight. He sauntered up to the edge of the stage, and locked his eyes on you, quirking an eyebrow, a stunning smile licking across his face. You just sat back, stunned until he broke eye contact and strutted back to his position, a furious blush blooming across your cheeks.

As the music rang out, he spun around, taking off his suit jacket and tilting his head up giving you a view of his jaw, neck and collarbone. His hands came up around his neck, almost like a caress and he ran them down to his crotch, stopping as he took off his belt, while you watched entranced. His eyes found yours again and you were hooked, your panties getting wetter with his every move. He moved with the music, grinding the air, each snap of his hips sending a jolt down to your core. Your eyes were wide, unblinking, but he still smirked as if he knew exactly what he was doing to you. He danced back up to the front of the stage as the music lulled, looking for a partner while dancers behind him pulled up a chair. He started at the other end of your line, stopping at each girl, looking, playing, teasing. Eagerness arose in each girl as he moved down the line, hoping he would choose them until he landed on the bride. She looked at him knowingly and waved her left hand to show off her ring. He winked at her and finally turned to you, extending his hand.

“How about you, Rosie? Would you like a dance?” His voice was deep and breathy, the nickname sending a tingle down your spine.

You gaped at him and his hand for what seemed like an eternity, and then made a decision. You grabbed it shooting him a small smile, downing your drink, while the brightest, widest smile lit up his face. While you climbed up onto the stage, the music changed into a Latin beat, and you smirked wider. This was going to be a surprise, for him. He placed you center stage and began dancing around you hips writhing to the beat, until the music picked up. He spun quickly, but you stopped him in his tracks, finally snapping out of the spell he put you in. You ran your hands down his chest, looking up into his eyes. He watched in disbelief as your hands found their way into his hair, onto his shoulders as your legs moved in time with his. Those years of competitive salsa and tango had finally paid off. He caught your waist as you dipped and you began hearing cheers as your friends came out of their shock. You pranced around him, slut dropping, and swaying, showing off your assets as he watched, an excited and seductive smile growing on his face. His eyes sparkled with mischief as you threw yourself at him, in time to the music, twisting away when he tried to catch you. You lost yourself in him and the music, shoving him back into the chair he had put out for you, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off, grazing your lips across his jaw while placing your leg around his shoulder. He bucked his hips up to you, and you spun and placed your ass up against his clothed but hard member, freezing as the music stopped and his dance finished. You stood up to thunderous applause, the entire club had been watching you, a blush blooming deep on your cheeks.

“Give it up for Rosie!” He finally spoke again, and you noted a waver in his deep voice. Did he seem shocked? Blushing hard, you dipped in a slight curtsy as everyone applauded again. However when you went to leave the stage, he caught your wrist and pulled you back into his chest, catching you off guard and stealing your breath as he whispered into your ear.

“You’ve left me with quite a dilemma, Rosie. You gonna help me fix it?” He pushed his hips into your ass, his hard-on evident through his pants.

Your eyes widened in shock, your shyness back with a vengeance, and you forced yourself to breathe, letting out a breathy laugh.

Gathering the last bit of your courage, you turned around and stood on your tiptoes to reach his ear.

“Maybe next time big boy.”

You nipped at his ear and rushed down the stage, leaving him with a surprised look on his face, but a smile slowly licking at his face. Had you looked back, you would’ve seen him rake his fingers through his tousled hair, a wide smile on his face, admiration in his eyes. However, you rushed away looking to get fresh air, your heart racing in your chest. The bridesmaids stared at your receding back, while the bride trailed after you, hoping to catch you as you ran out the door.

You burst out into the night air, breathing heavily, pacing back and forth until finally resting your back against the brick wall.

“Y/N? Y/N, are you okay?” The bride quickly came out after you. “You were fire up there, babe. That was incredible. I mean honestly, it got really steamy real quick. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“I didn’t know I had it in myself to be honest.”

You stared back at her, a little crazed and began giggling. Within seconds, you two were laughing out loud, hard and out of breath. You both finally calmed down and she spoke again. “Are you okay? What possessed you to do that?”

“I don’t know. He was so attractive and enticing and I… I just snapped.” You paused and looked back at her, “it was exhilarating.”

She went to open her mouth to speak but the door to the club slammed wide open and the rest of the bridesmaids came trailing out.

“Y/N that was bill- no wait brilliant,” one girl slurred.

You looked at the group concerned, “why did you all come out?”

“We’re DRUNK!” Two girls screamed.

You and the bride exchanged looks and then you spoke, “we should get them home.”

You called the limo, and took them all home, finally finishing up the most interesting night you had experienced in a long while.

-A couple weeks later-

After that bachelorette party, you had basically retreated back into your shell. It was back to regular routine, work, home and sleep. You had seen the bride a couple of times, but had shut down any conversation she brought up about the night of the bachelorette party. She didn’t need to know that you had gotten off multiple times to that hot dancer, his smirk seared in your brain. She didn’t need to know you had tried to find him again but to no avail. She didn’t need to know that you had maybe fallen for him, without even knowing his name. You would be fine and this man, this dancer was just a fleeting thing that would disappear over time.

You sighed loudly as you pushed your cart around the grocery store aisle, catching yourself in thought of the dancer. You shook your head, trying to pull yourself out of your daydream and...

Crash! Your cart collided with the person across from you, making you drop the pasta box in your hand.

“Sorry! Sorry! I’m so sorry!” You exclaimed, while picking it up. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going!”

There was silence on the other end until you heard a familiar voice that sent a tingle down your spine.

“Rosie?”

Your head snapped up, and you locked eyes with the man from your recent dreams. His hair was still blond but his eyes were a deep chocolate brown. In his hoodie and jeans, he seemed boyish, almost innocent, his eyes wide behind round glasses.

“Rosie! It is you!” The man exclaimed, a blinding smile spreading across his face.

You blinked a couple times as he spoke, snapping yourself back to reality.

“Hey, yes it’s me. But my name isn’t Rosie. It’s, uh, Y/N.”

“Y/N. I’d been looking for you. The way you danced that night... I... I was hooked. I am hooked.”

“Oh. Thanks. I don’t know what got into me, I usually don’t do that.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been dancing forever and that was a first. You surprised me... In a good way... in the best way actually.” He blushed hard, gaze on the floor, speaking coyly. He looked at you through his lashes, bashful and shy, a stark difference from the man up on the stage.

You looked at him curiously, a small smile on your face. “Yeah I, uh, learned salsa and tango for a while, but that was new for me too. I don’t usually do that, well actually I never do that,” you rambled, until you remembered you didn’t even know his name. “Uh, we danced together, but I never caught your name?”

“Oh it’s Taemin. Lee Taemin.”

“Well Taemin, it was a pleasure dancing with you.” A blush rose through your cheeks as you smiled shyly at him. For a moment you both just looked at each other and smiled, trying to communicate through unspoken words, until you broke the silence. “It was nice to meet you Taemin.” You pulled your cart away and attempted to turn around.

“Wait! Rosie! No, wait Y/N!”

You turned back around to him and he began to speak.

“Look Rosie... I mean y/n... I, uh,” he cleared his throat almost nervously. “I would love to dance with you again, you know, without an audience,” his eyes widened as he registered what he said, “No wait that’s not what I mean!” He ran his hands through his hair nervously, and cleared his throat again. “I mean, I’d like to get to know you better if that’s okay?”

He watched you, eyes wide, hope laced with nervousness in them.

You chuckled quietly and then spoke softly, “I’d like that.”

“So how about coffee?”

“Coffee sounds great.”

A/N: Look I know it’s been ages since I posted something original on my blog, my irl life has been kicking my ass. But I hope you enjoyed! 

[neocatharsis]

Ten Lee Talks Art, Dance, and His New Represent Clothing Collection

"So what is the right answer for me? What do I have to do to really be the person I want to be? But then I realized that there's no right or wrong.”

A few days ago, musician and dancer Ten Lee — known for his work in K-pop groups such as NCT and SuperM, and the Chinese group WayV — shared a video of himself freediving in a deep pool. As Billie Eilish croons the opening to “idontwannabeyouanymore,” he launches into a somersault before swan diving easily onto his back, legs fluttering, arms outstretched, a mermaid embracing the open water.

The reason for the dive is a bit of a secret, he tells Teen Vogue, but not one necessarily related to forthcoming music with the groups he’s in. Rather, it’s one way he’s following his own artistic instincts. If he looks like he’s dancing underwater, that’s because he is, bringing to life a picture of a dance move that previously existed only in his head. “I have all these thoughts in my brain right now,” he says, “but I had to make it real.”

Though he floats seamlessly into different combinations of performers onstage, whether as part of the sensual WayV or the chaotic NCT or the maximalist SuperM, Ten has a fluidity and spirit all his own — especially in dance, where he thrives. Born Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul in Bangkok, Thailand, he joined SM Entertainment in 2013, debuting as part of NCT U in 2016. A turning point came in 2017, when he released his first solo single “Dream in a Dream,” a lovely, imaginative ballad that melds traditional East Asian instrumentals with woozy ambient pop, and has mesmerizing choreography to match. It was the first time he talked to the choreographers he worked with and shared his ideas of what he wanted to try. “I realized why all the hyungs sometimes like doing their own stuff,” he says. “It's because you’re putting your ideas in your own work.”

Now, he’s on the cusp of another turning point: earlier this month, he launched a clothing collection with Represent that features all of his original designs. Longtime Ten fans will know he’s into visual art, sharing regal sketches of his cats Leon and Louis and emotive, detailed doodles on his Instagram. (Fun fact: he toyed with the idea of designing cat clothes, but was concerned about how cats would clean themselves.) The new collection shows off his skill, of course, but it’s also a representation of his creative ethos, and who he wants to be as a person.

Titled “What is ??? THE ANSWERS,” the designs are explosive and bright, with symbols and metaphors galore. He draws various eyes, entranced by the way they show happiness, embarrassment, fear, the things people try to hide. In one design, he uses a cross, which has a double meaning: it’s the Chinese character for the number “10” and also a plus sign, representing the growth and potential he sees in himself.

Ten had long wanted to create a clothing brand, and when Represent approached him, he saw an opportunity to try something of his own. As a kid in Bangkok, he’d taken art lessons at the behest of his mom, who believed that studying art would help boost his IQ and improve his education as a whole. He didn’t really like it at the time, until he took the Cambridge IGCSE exam and tested highly in, you guessed it, art. “I was like, ‘Okay, I like art,’” Ten laughs. “Then I started drawing and trying to develop my own style.” Now, he turns to drawing when he’s feeling “negative energy,” like “when you're down or when you feel sad or when you feel like you're not good enough for something.” Drawing is a source of solace, and it also helps him focus and find clarity on more existential matters.

On Instagram, he wrote of the collection, “What inspires me to create these art pieces is to remind myself that there are no actual answers in what we do. I feel like we are creating all the rules and pressure ourselves with the word ‘standards.’ Who defines the standards of what is acceptable or not + what is right or not + what is enough or not??? The boundaries we draw might limit us from creating something we never knew were capable of.”

When he expands upon that Instagram artist statement, it’s with an interesting visual. “People try to make lines on you,” he says. It calls to mind something like Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, a representation of perfect proportions and clean, graphed segments. An idealized image that hardly ever exists.

“I was thinking about my own stuff, the things I have to do to get what I want, like my goals. And, what people said to me, maybe about [my] appearance or about the skills that I had, or my personality, and they told me to change this, do this. I realized that they're just making their own lines on me. So what is the right answer for me? What do I have to do to really be the person I want to be? But then I realized that there's no right or wrong.”

He connects his drawing to his dancing in one word: freedom. Both allow him to lose himself in the moment of creating something real and personal. But in art, it doesn’t matter so much about finding the right answer, or unifying perfectly with other people the way a highly choreographed dance requires.

“Art is more of an individual pleasure,” he says. “If Mark [Lee, his bandmate] is next to me, and I say like, ‘Hey Mark, do you think that clothing is nice?’ He might say no, but for me it was, ‘Wow, that clothing looks so beautiful.’”

Ten might be homed in on individual artistic expression at the moment, but that doesn't mean that's his sole focus. He also yearns for the day SuperM can reunite after members Baekhyun and Taemin return from their military service. “I will fight for that," he says. "We had so much fun touring and then working with all the hyungs. I hope there's a new project for SuperM to work on once everyone is back."

© Teen Vogue

[homiehopper4life]

My bias and wreckers 1/?

Group: SHINee

My (ultimate) bias: Lee Taemin

I have loved Taemin since the moment I laid eyes on him in Lucifer. Lucifer was the first SHINee video I ever watched, and the moment I fell into the kpop hole. SHINee is my ultimate group but Taemin is my favorite of all.

Some things I adore about him include but aren’t limited to:

His dancing

His gorgeous face

His ridiculous sense of humor

His inherent meme-ness

His laughter and smile

And the list goes on and on. Obviously there are so many reasons that I love Taemin, but my gif use is limited. I love his vocals (and how hard he worked to improve his singing), how he treats his friends, how much he acts as a hyung (Taemresa) vs his evil maknae energy...just everything. I need to stop because I can go on and on about him, but literally he is just great and only gets better and more chaotic.

My bias wrecker: Kim Jonghyun

Although I love all of SHINee, I have always noticed Jonghyun after Taemin.

Like...do I need to even explain why?

His genius and vocals, his talent and kindness. He has always been my bias wrecker and he still is.

I just adore this man and I really miss him. But I own all of his albums and still have my days when I just binge listening to them all.

[dibidibifiction]

We’ll Do It Later

Pairing: Lee Jinki (Onew) x Reader

Category: soft romance; fluff

Word count: 780

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction made for personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons whom the characters are based on. She also does not claim ownership to any of the images that are being used.

masterlist

...

Every time I look at Lee Jinki, it’s always like a miracle that I never thought would happen. Wherever we are, it’s only him I notice. It’s only him I want to be with, in good times and in bad. People think I’m weird whenever I genuinely laugh at his jokes. “Old Man Jokes” as they call them. His smile alone has the strong ability to brighten up my day. It fascinates me just watching his face when he’s too focused on his reading or in whatever new hobbies he does every now and then. 

These days, he’s been doing some wood carving and he told me he was going to make kitchen tools. “I haven’t done it before but I’ll give it a go,” he would say before kissing me on the forehead as he carries the supplies to his desk. That might be the last interaction I would have with him for a few hours during the day. 

It’s one of the things I love about Jinki. He’s not afraid to try new things, which inspires me. Whether it may be fishing, knitting, or even break dancing. He’s happy whenever he succeeds but wouldn’t care much when he fails. As long as he’s enjoying it, he’d do it. 

When we first started dating two years ago, he took me rock climbing, which he had done before with his friends. Since it was new to me, I was kind of scared and hesitant. However, he would climb with me and stay with me until we head to the top. He’d hold my hand and say, “You’re doing great! It’s not scary, right?” He would always reassure me. When we got back down, he would hug me since he knew that I was still really scared and I didn't want anybody else to know.

Today, he’s back with wood carving and he has not talked to me in hours. However, he did ask me to take pictures of him for his Instagram. He couldn’t be cuter. 

I grab his phone from his desk. I stare at him for a couple of seconds to admire him before capturing a shot. After taking multiple ones from different angles, I put down his phone and can’t help myself but hug him from behind, then rubbing his shoulders.

“Be careful, I almost dropped the blade,” Jinki gasps, his eyes still concentrating on the woodwork in his hands.

“Sorry,” I giggle. Then I slide my palm up and down his chest and let out a sigh. “Can you take a break?”

He turns his head to me, finally giving me attention. “Why?” he asks even though I’m pretty sure he already knows the answer.

I smack a soft kiss on his lips, making his cheek turn pink.

He lets out an adorable laugh which makes me scream inside. He stares at me for a second, eyeing down from my eyes to my mouth. He then brushes hair away from my face, puts his hand behind my head and pulls me in to kiss me deeply.

I carefully draw onto his lap as we kiss. His tongue dances to find mine. 

He now grabs me bridal style, still not leaving my mouth. He stands up from his desk chair and carries me to the couch. He puts me down and starts towering over me. “I love you, Y/n,” he says as he smiles at me.

“I love you too, Lee Jinki,” I say back as my heart flutters for him as always.

As we’re about to resume kissing, my hand ready to unbutton his shirt, there’s a knock on the front door.

“Who’s that?” I ask. If this was a cartoon, my face would turn red with fury and smoke would come out my ears and nose.

Jinki pauses to think. “Oh, right. I forgot I invited the guys over for drinks.” He sighs along with his frown. 

“Right,” I say.

He sees through my disappointment. “We’ll do it later,” he assures me, smiling so wide that his eyes disappear. He kisses me one last time then helps me sit up.

“I brought soju and beer!” Kibum shouts as soon as Jinki opens the door while the others follow behind him waving hellos at me.

“Have you been well, Y/n?” Jonghyun greets me warmly, pulling me into a hug. 

“Woah, what this?” Minho says, checking out Jinki’s unfinished woodwork on his desk with Taemin.

“That looks phallic, Hyung. What are you doing?” Taemin says, making everyone laugh.

And just like that, our quiet little home booms with chaotic boys. As much as I love spending time alone with Jinki, I still love that he has such great friends that love me as well.

[dibidibifiction]

Criminal In My Mind: Chapter 17

Warnings: foul language; violence  Pairings: Choi Minho x Reader; Kim Jonghyun x Kim Kibum Word count: 1.4k

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction made for personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons whom the characters are based on. She also does not claim ownership to any of the images that are being used.

masterlist Chapter 16

Y/N

“I’ll just send you more ideas of how I’m thinking of arranging them, then you could just tell me which of those you think your grandma would like. Sounds good?”

“Okay. Thanks, Unnie!” a girl in a high school uniform with a cute bow on her head waves at me as she hurriedly walks out the door. 

The door chimes again when I see a muscular Lee Taemin appear from the gym in his sleeveless workout shirt that highlights his biceps. “Woah, since when did you become a man?”

“Very funny,” he laughs at my comment sarcastically. “I need to look good since I’m currently auditioning everywhere to become a dancer.”

“That’s great! Good for you. Fighting!” I cheer him on. 

“Fighting,” he says back, putting up his fist and smiling with his ever-so-cute smile. “Right, Noona, change of plans. I won’t be able to help you tonight with sorting out the deliveries. I’ll be out. Later!” He heads to the backdoor up to his apartment.

“Wait!” I stop him. “Where are you going?” I say with a sad voice.

“I don’t think you wanna know. Bye!”

“Hey, Lee Taemin, get the fuck back here!” I shout, yet I don’t mean to sound pissed.

He turns around, facing back at me. “Okay, fine, I’m going to the hospital to meet up with Minho Hyung to work on our photography thing.”

“Oh,” I simply say, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry, but you asked,” he shrugs, then turns his back on me and heads out.

Every time I hear his name, I want to cry. I’m trying to understand him, I really am, since he’s been having a tough time because of what happened to his mom. I just don’t know why he had to push me away like that all of a sudden. Maybe I was being too intrusive and suffocating. Does he not love me anymore? Or did he ever? What’s so wrong with me that he couldn’t take it anymore?

After closing the flower shop, I immediately run to the nearest stop, hop on a bus, and go to Kibum’s house. I have to do something to keep myself from crying again. That’s how my days have been since Minho and I stopped seeing each other. I have been crying so much for a week that my eyes are already swollen. It’s been only a day since I stopped. Well, kind of. I cried this morning in front of my vanity mirror. And on the bus on my way to work. 

This is my first heartbreak, I can’t help it. I hate myself for this. I even googled ‘how to stop crying’. How stupid is that?

. . . 

“Hey, Minho came by earlier today to get his car,” Kibum informs me out of nowhere and sits on the couch across from me.

“How did you guys do it?” I ask him, ignoring what he said, resting my chin on the armrest as I watch Jonghyun Oppa playing with their little boys. 

“How did we do what?” He puts down his phone and turns to me.

“How did you go through your, like, shit?”

“Well, I never gave up on him,” he replies, immediately understanding what I’m talking about. “Even when he pushed me away. Although not in a way that I was forcing him. I mean there was a lot of waiting around without expecting a thing, thinking that I’d regret it if I didn’t do anything, whether he’d take me back or not. When I least expected it, he just came by the dorm one night. Boy, we had great sex the night!”

“Yeah, I was in the other room and I could never forget it,” I add, rolling my eyes. “So are you saying that I should just wait for him?”

“Your situation is different. You didn’t do anything wrong. If I were you, I’d still wait, but not too long. Maybe just give him more time to recover from what happened and see if he’ll come around.”

“I’m supposed to be there for him but he just doesn’t want me. Maybe he lied when he told me he loved me.”

“Honey, don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe he just wants to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

He shrugs, watching his fiancé get on top of him as they start making out in front of me.

I grab a throw pillow and smack it at Jonghyun’s ass and walk toward the twins. I kneel down when one of them runs into my arms.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” he says while the other twin is just on his tablet as usual.

“Oh, honey, he broke my heart,” I act, putting my hand on my chest.

“I’m gonna kill him!” he shouts, his face pouting into an angry face like a cute emoji.

I just laugh at him and kiss him on the cheek. “Hey, who wants a story?” I invite them. “Come on, time for bed.”

I hold the little one’s hand and lead him into their bedroom while the other one follows still with his gadget in his face.

“Hey! I told you to put that down when you’re walking!” I hear Kibum yell at his son from the living room like a naggy old mom.

. . . 

Days are passing by so slowly. I cry myself to sleep almost every night and I didn’t realize that another week has passed that I still haven’t heard from him. I decided that I’ll take my time off work because, well, Mr. Lee made me. Apparently, me being so down is so obvious that I start feeding up people around me. 

“You’re not fed up on me, are you?” I ask Jinki whilst he starts to close up the café.

“Of course not. I’m always here to listen,” he told me sweetly. “By the way, did you try calling Kibum and go to him instead?”

I glare at him. “They’re busy working and planning the wedding and all,” I answer anyway.

“I’m kidding,” he laughs as he carries on wiping tables. “Come on, talk to me.”

“Well, Minho…” I don’t even know where to start.

“Yeah?” He grabs a chair and sits next to me. “I actually visited him and his mom at the hospital the other day.”

And just like that, I’m weeping again.

Jinki and I end up talking for hours and I’ve never felt comforted in what feels like a long time. This is why I never let go of our friendship despite our chaotic relationship back in the day. He’s a good guy and I’m glad that we patched things up. As he tells me different stories about the girls he dated, I slowly lean my head down on my arms on the table to rest my eyes for a bit, still listening.

“...so I’m sure Minho will realize soon enough that he can’t get by without you and he’ll come back eventually,” he says. “I mean he doesn’t talk about your relationship a lot but I could see the way he was looking at you every time you’re here. You’re a great girl and if it really doesn’t work-” he suddenly stops talking as he sees me dozing off.

Although I’m really not.

“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”

No. I’m too tired to answer out loud.

Then there was silence. After a few seconds, I can feel his face getting closer to mine, his chin rests on the back of his palm I assume. “Why can’t you just be mine?” he says softly in front of my lips.

What the hell is he doing? Is he out of his mind? This is a fucking bad idea. I have to think fast. So I budge a little, slowly opening my eyes. 

When I do, he’s already standing up staring, seeming dumbfounded. 

“Sorry, I completely fell asleep there for a minute,” I lie. “Maybe I should go home and get some rest.”

“Y-yeah, you should,” he says, avoiding my eyes. 

Without saying anything else, I walk out the door and make my way to the dark streets.

As I’m walking alone, I can still feel my face burning because of what Jinki said. 

Why did he have to make things weird? I think to myself, grabbing a chunk of my hair and stomping my feet.

When I arrive at the bus stop, there is nobody else here besides a guy in a thick sweater with a black face mask over his mouth. I turn away to look the other way, waiting for a bus. When I do, I feel a hard smack at the back of my head and…

. . . 

The next thing I know is I’m awakened by a numbing punch in the face. 

And another one. 

And another one. 

And another one. 

I’m now laid on the ground, feeling all kinds of severe pain. I can barely open my eyes, I can barely move. I’m starting to hear high-pitched ringing like feedback of a sound system. 

Another punch follows, but this time on my head.

Chapter 18