#long black styled up hair wooyoung save me

[she-wu]

230625 우영

[wooyunhwa]

𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔭𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔰 | 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔱𝔴𝔬

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Genre: smut (with plot!)

Pairing: mafia au!seonghwa x fem!reader

Word Count: 7.5k

Warnings: kidnapping, non-sexual violence, bondage, spanking, choking, sensory deprivation (blindfolding), mentions of alcohol use, 

Synopsis: Kidnapped and helpless, Seonghwa is the only one that can save you. Will his secrets finally come to light?

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and comments are always appreciated <3 I hope you guys like it! Stay tuned for part three!! Sorry, had to end on another cliffhanger, but I promise, you won’t be disappointed with what part 3 has in store. My tags aren’t working at all so if you could reblog this that would really help me and this story be seen I’d really appreciate it! So much work has gone into this. Thank you~ 

The trunk of the van was cold and unforgiving against your limbs as you sat helplessly against the wall, the curve and bumps of the road jostling you slightly. It was hard to keep your balance with your wrists bound together behind you. In front of you, your ankles were also bound tightly with rope. Your captors had blindfolded you, and no matter how much you writhed and tossed your head around, you couldn’t figure out a way to slip it off. Not that it would have mattered - your eyesight was the least helpful thing you could have had right now. Your screams and cries for help only echoed uselessly in the metal cage of the van, and at a certain point your voice gave out and you gave up entirely, hanging your head in defeat.

You felt the van swerve around a sharp corner, nearly toppling you over on your side. The car rumbled beneath you as if going over loose gravel. Finally you halted to a stop, lurching you forward slightly. The doors of the van unlatched with a distinct click and swung open. The voices of the men were clear now. 

“Help me grab ‘er,” one said, and you felt the van’s weight shift as he climbed in the back with you. You screamed as he grabbed you and yanked you from the open trunk. You were met with the brisk outside air and the cold, wet feeling of rain gently falling around you. 

The man guided you by your shoulders through the gravel, and you shuffled your feet to keep from tripping. You were inside a building now, and he shoved you down onto a creaky wooden chair. He took a second to re-tie you to the chair before slipping the blindfold off, your eyes taking only a few seconds to adjust to the dim light in the room. It looked like you were in some kind of shed, maybe even a barn, but you couldn’t tell. There were two men in front of you, one significantly taller than the other, their height being really their only distinguishing features. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart. We won’t hurt you as long as your little boyfriend brings us what we want,” the taller man said. The pet name made you cringe. 

“Fuck you. And he’s not my boyfriend,” you sneered through gritted teeth. “What do you want from him anyway?”

“Not your business sweetie,” the shorter man said.

“I don’t know how much of a piece of shit you have to be to kidnap an innocent girl, but don’t think Seonghwa is gonna let you get away with this,” you spat at them. You don’t know what overcame you to be so openly combative with the men who were holding you hostage, but the spite dripped so easily off your tongue. 

“Feisty little thing, aren’t you? Don’t make us gag you,” the tall man said. He stepped close to you, tipping your chin up to look at him. You cringed in disgust, trying not to meet his eyes. “We don’t want to hurt a pretty girl like you,” he said, running a finger across your jaw. You fought back the urge to bite down hard on his finger. You might have been angry, but you didn’t have a death wish. 

“We’re not worried about Seonghwa. He might be the boss’ son but he has... well… a reputation. That pretty boy would never have the guts to do anything,” the shorter man said from across the room, laughing lightly. “I don’t know if you knew this, but your boyfriend has a reputation for being kind of a pussy.”

“Still not my boyfriend,” you grumbled through your teeth. Despite what they were implying, you weren’t worried about his ability to fight—you could still vividly recall the smooth and almost effortless way he took out your boyfriend, the way he stretched out his fingers casually afterwards like it was nothing to him. You remembered the way Seonghwa looked at him like trash on the floor afterwards. And most of all, you remembered how Seonghwa had told you he made arrangements to ‘take care of him’. Although you didn’t question it much at the time, a part of you wondered if he had ordered for him to be killed, especially knowing the connections he must have. You shook the thought out of your head. There were more important things to worry about, like being tied to a chair in some dingy shack. 

The taller man stepped away from you and leaned into his partner’s ear, whispering something you couldn’t make out. 

They left shortly after that, leaving you tied on the chair for what could have been anywhere from ten minutes to ten hours, you couldn’t tell. Your eyelids began to grow heavy as you waited with nothing but your thoughts and the pattering of rain on the ceiling.

A loud noise shook you from your trance. Someone had kicked through the door, and it rattled off its hinges easily as if it was held together with duct tape.

Seonghwa. 

In your sudden relief, you could only choke out one stupid sentence. “You probably could have just opened that, you know.”

He laughed at your unexpected greeting, but quickly growing serious again at the sight of you tied helplessly to the chair. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” 

“No, not yet… fuck, can you get me out of these things? They’re starting to cut off my circulation.” you gestured to the ropes viced around your limbs.

Your relief was short-lived. In an unskillful display of desperation, your kidnappers shoved their way through the kicked-in door frame. Was your vision giving out? You were sure you had been kidnapped by two men before, but there were four now. Fuck. You were confident in Seonghwa’s ability to fight against two men, but four? The newer additions were much burlier, too. 

Seonghwa turned on his heels to face the captors, but he seemed unshaken. He shot you a confident glance over his shoulder, and something gleamed in his eye. What was it? Was he seriously going to take on four men on his own? What kind of overconfident idiot-

Before you could conclude your thought, one man was on the floor already. There was a sickening crack and a thud as he hit the ground, but Seonghwa hadn’t moved. One of the men lunged forward. He grabbed Seonghwa by the lapel of his jacket, cocking his elbow for a hook, but Seonghwa intercepted him with a viper quick jab to the throat. He staggered back, saliva dribbling from his lips as he clutched his throat. 

As your line of vision cleared, you saw two additional men had entered the fray. At first you thought you were fucked, but then you heard a voice call out a friendly greeting. 

“Yo, Hwa! Heard you were getting your ass kicked.” 

The distinct sound of a fist hitting flesh echoed against the walls of the room, and another one of the kidnappers staggered back. 

“Who, me? Like hell,” Seonghwa called, smiling viciously as he dodged another blow from throat-punch guy, who looked furious. Seonghwa landed a well angled hit to his jaw, effectively uppercutting his lights out. He landed hard on the floor, dead weight as he was knocked cold, and Seonghwa turned on his heels to grab his next victim. 

A flash of red hair caught your eye as he ducked and weaved between two guys, while a blonde guy wound up a swing with a crowbar like an all star baseball champion. Red hair baited one opponent closer, ducking just in time for blondie to knock him out of the park. The sound of the crowbar hitting his teeth sent shivers down your spine, but you simultaneously wanted to leap up and cheer them on. You stayed glued to your seat, heart pumping with adrenaline. 

Molars scattered across the floor. Poor guy landed hard, wailing in agony as blood poured from his lips. Red haired guy threw a lethal cross, twisting his hip to power up his momentum as his fist impacted the other guy’s nose, most likely shattering it, sending him staggering back in a daze. He fell right into Seonghwa, who grabbed him by the jacket and sent him careening toward the wall, his forehead cracking against a support beam. He dropped like a rock, and the room fell quiet, save for one guy shrieking in pain. A swift boot to the jaw silenced him, and blondie turned, tossing the crowbar over his shoulder with a satisfied smirk. 

Seonghwa turned back to you, rubbing his bruised knuckles with a huff. His lips turned up into a smile, and he gave a nod with his head toward the new guys. 

“So, these are my cohorts. Wooyoung—” he paused, pointing at blondie, who tilted his head up in a friendly nod, “—and Jongho,” he pointed at the redhead, who gave you an adorable smile and a wave.

“So this is the girl, huh?” Wooyoung said, smiling at you as he looked you up and down. Out of the three of them, he looked the most like he belonged in the mafia. He wore a loosely fitted leopard print button up under a black leather jacket, his side-shaven bleach blonde hair neatly styled with gel. “She’s cute.”

Next to him, Jongho stood sternly. You wondered how this baby-faced guy could have taken out the burly one all on his own. He seemed younger than Seonghwa, but certainly stronger. “She definitely looks like your type, Seonghwa,” Jongho said, flashing a knowing smile at him. “We all know you like a girl in bondage.”

Seonghwa’s face immediately went flush. “Shut up, Jongho,” he said, shooting him a threatening glare. “Come on, help me untie her before more of their goons come looking for them,” Seonghwa said, moving around the chair to loosen the tight knots bound on your wrists. 

You turned your head over your shoulder and widened your eyes at him, arching your eyebrows as you watched him skillfully disentangle the knots. “You like a girl in what?”

“We can talk about this later,” he muttered through his teeth, his cheeks an incriminating beet-red.

“Careful, you’ll scare her off,” Wooyoung teased. 

“Honestly, if getting kidnapped didn’t scare her off, I don’t think anything will,” Jongho reassured Seonghwa with a pat to the shoulder. You felt oddly proud at that, for some reason. He was right, you were a tough cookie, you could handle a kidnapping or two. 

Seonghwa gave you a hand as you rose from the chair, steadying you with a delicate hand around your waist. Your joints creaked from being tied up for so long, but you could walk on your own. Still, he kept a protective arm around you as he escorted you back to the car. You stepped over one of the unconscious bodies on your way out, his tall frame blocking the doorway. You cringed at the puddle of crimson around his mouth, but celebrated your freedom nonetheless. His hand twitched as you lifted your leg over him, and you flinched, curling your fingers tighter into Seonghwa’s shirt. He laughed softly, pulling you close. 

You slid into the passenger seat of Seonghwa’s car, the plush leather of his Bentley Continental soothing the ache in your bones. It was hands down the single most expensive thing you’d ever touched, and you couldn’t help but to imagine what it would be like for him to pick you up in it for a date. You sighed as you relaxed into it, feeling tired from the adrenaline comedown. 

A blacked-out Mercedes S Class revved its engine as it peeled out of the lot, and Wooyoung winked at you from the driver’s side window. 

“That douche,” Seonghwa laughed as he turned his key in the ignition. The engine purred decadently, and Seonghwa slammed on the gas, tearing down the road right on Wooyoung’s heels. You gripped the edge of your seat as the inertia slammed you backwards, a thrilled laugh bubbling up from your chest. 

He shifted gears, launching into a high speed battle of pride with the other guys, flying down the rural highway with his tongue poking out in concentration, one side of his mouth quirked up into a smirk. He put the S Class in his rear view mirror, and you couldn’t help but to roll the window down, shoving your fist out with a triumphant holler. You grinned widely as the wind blew your hair in a wild tornado, your screams and laughter lost in the roar of the highway. You noticed Seonghwa peek over at you, a tiny smile tugging at his lips, but just for a second. 

Exhaustion hit the moment you stepped into his apartment, but your mind was still reeling from the day’s events. You didn’t plan on getting much sleep that night, and you were still a bit angry at Seonghwa for not disclosing the fact that he was in the fucking mafia, but you chose to shove those feelings aside. Mafia or not, you still felt much safer with than without him. 

“Seonghwa.” 

“Hm?”

“Don’t leave me tonight. Please?” you looked at him with the biggest, saddest eyes you could manage, hoping to hit a soft spot. You didn’t need much.

He sighed. “Of course I won’t. This is all my fault anyway. If something were to happen again I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

And so he stayed.

You talked for a while on the bed as you tried your best to calm yourself down. You were still in a rush of nerves from adrenaline and relaxation felt hopeless, sleep even more so. In fact, sleep wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities.  

As you made conversation, you recalled a question that had been nagging at you since he'd saved you earlier. You could have asked him anything you wanted. You could have asked what the men wanted, or how he found you, but instead…

"Hey… what was with that thing Jongho said back there? About ‘liking a girl in bondage’?”

Seonghwa immediately pulled his gaze away, breaking eye contact, heat rising in his cheeks like before. “He was just teasing me.”

“So it’s not true?”

“I never said it wasn’t,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. You admired the curve of his jaw, and suddenly you wanted nothing more than for him to take you right there. His eyes went dark as he paused to pull his gaze up and down at your body. “I always thought you’d look good tied up for me.”

You felt your breath hitch in your throat. You saw how he looked at you, hungrily, as if picturing you bound to the bed frame right then. But something seemed to be holding him back, like he was trying to resist the temptation to fall back into a bad habit. You wouldn’t let him. You held out your wrists playfully in front of you. "Well then tie me up." His eyes widened at your proposal. "C'mon. Look, I can't sleep like this. I need a distraction. Please."

He drew his tongue across his bottom lip pensively, before finally giving in with a click of his tongue against his teeth. "I really can't say no to you." 

You smiled at how easily he conceded to your pleas. He was surely thinking the same thing that had been on your mind for the past week—this was going to have to end, and some time had to be the last. He had made you promise to never contact him after this was over, and you were sure now more than ever after putting you through danger that he was going to hold up his end of that deal. This would be your last soiree with him, and you wanted—no, needed—it to count. 

He leaned in, hooking his hand on the collar of your shirt, eyes glazed over with lustful intensity. “You’re too dangerous for me, you know... I have no control when it comes to you.” A shiver traveled down your spine. That’s exactly what you wanted: you wanted him to lose his control for you, you wanted him weak for you. You wanted him to want you like you wanted him. “And that’s why I want to make this last time unforgettable.”

You broke the thick tension between you with a slow, sensual kiss, sliding your tongue against his. He nibbled at your lip as you pulled back slowly, lingering your lips precariously close to his, nearly touching. His fingers dug into your waist hungrily. “Do your worst.” 

“Are you sure you mean that?” he asked carefully. The air between you grew hot as the tension rose, your lips barely grazed against each other’s. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” Something about the amount of restraint he seemed to be exercising told you there was a part of him he was holding back, something more animalistic. 

“You have to tell me if I’m being too rough, okay?” he said, voice smooth like honey, tracing a finger along the curve of your jaw. “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

You nodded eagerly, willingly accepting his terms. If this was the last time you could experience him, you wanted everything he had, no matter what it was. Something about the soft way he talked about hurting you gave chills. He was entirely gentle and yet his words felt sinister. 

He stood up to receive something from the closet, what looked like a thin scarf. You expected him to cinch your hands together with it, but instead he sat himself behind you, pulling the silky material around your eyes and fastening it tightly with a knot at the back of your head. “Good girl,” he praised, his voice deep and smooth like honey.

He let his fingers wander down your neck and shoulders, pausing to stroke your collarbone. His touch was gentle but electrifying. You were entirely blind now, but you could feel the heat of his gaze from behind you. The blindness was exhilarating, as it left your other senses completely heightened. He continued to let his fingers trace your collarbone as his lips made contact with the sensitive skin at the back of your neck, placing slow and sensual kisses slowly down your neck and shoulders. He took his time, excruciatingly, as you squirmed in anticipation for his next move. You were truly submissive in the blindfold—he had complete control over his next move. The thrill of anticipation made your head spin.

Still behind you, he lifted the hem of your shirt up slowly, and you followed suit by pulling your arms up to help him strip you. He released the clasp of your bra, gently removing it. His hands wandered at your breasts, tracing over your nipples until they grew hard and sensitive. 

Out of nowhere, you felt a sudden tension around your wrists behind you. The familiar rough sensation of rope cinched your arms together. “You’re doing so good for me darling,” he whispered in your ear, delivering one final tightening of the knot, causing you to yelp out in surprise. “You look even prettier like this than I imagined.” 

You were sitting on the bed now on your knees in only your panties, blindfold cutting off your vision, wrists bound behind you. Seonghwa sat straddling you from behind, and you could feel he had stripped entirely. He caressed your body for a while, teasing you with a brutally faint touch. You moaned and squirmed eagerly as he wandered his hand closer to your already soaked panties, rubbing his fingers against the damp fabric. His fingers slipped inside you briefly, and you let out soft pleasured moans. The sensation was overwhelming after such excruciatingly drawn out teasing. 

Your moans were cut off by Seonghwa’s finger hooking over your teeth and pushing into your mouth. You sucked at it eagerly, and he shoved a few more inside, eliciting an involuntary gag. You heard Seonghwa sigh lustfully in your ear at the sound, taking pleasure in what he was doing to you. “That’s it baby,” he said, his deep voice resonating like music to your ears. His other hand continued to pulse in and out of you, and you were practically dripping now, unable to hold back your neediness. Your pleasured moans were muffled as you sucked and licked at his long fingers.

“Tell me what you want,” he ordered. He’d never been so forward or vocal before. You loved hearing his deep voice dripping like honey in your ear-- just the sound of it could have been enough to drive you all the way over the edge if he kept talking. 

“Mmf- I want- you- fuck me-” you mumbled through his fingers, and he shoved them in further, eliciting another soft gag. You couldn’t express what you wanted, not only because of his fingers muffling your sounds, but your head was spinning from his touch. “Please- fu- mm-”

“How cute, you can’t even get words out.” 

He pulled his fingers out of your mouth, drool pooling at the sides of your lips. Between your legs, his other hand pulled your soaked panties down your legs as he began to circle your clit with his thumb. You whimpered under his complete control. He used his fingers so masterfully, like everything else he did. His contented breaths in your ear sent shivers down your spine. 

He repositioned himself suddenly, sitting up tall behind you, and dragged you up straight against him. You felt both his hands move under your ass, hoisting you up over his waist and pushing you down on his dick without warning. You let out a choked cry as his dick stretched you out entirely. “Fuck, Y/N…” he growled, his voice getting darker every time he spoke. “You have no idea how much I want to ruin you.”

He rutted his hips up under you, thrusting himself even deeper inside where you sat on his dick. You let out another cry, and his hand came up to your neck. Your arms, still bound together behind you, squirmed and writhed at the urge to claw at the fingers viced around you. You loved the sensation as his grip tightened, sending you soaring in an unfamiliar headrush. He bucked his hips up and down as you tightened around his shaft

“Seonghwa, fuck- ah-” Your choked cries seemed to spur him on to grip tighter around your neck. Your high nearly spilled over into darkness as he loosened his grip suddenly. You let out a few sputtering coughs as you caught your breath. 

He thrusted a few more times up into you as you caught your breath. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s okay- ah- I like the pain,” you said breathlessly. 

“Mm…” he sighed roughly against the back of your neck, planting a few soft kisses. “You really shouldn’t have said that.” 

His hands came to your waist, hoisting you off his dick. It slid out with a lewd sound, and you felt him get up from behind you. You were sure you looked like a drooling, horny mess, still bound and blindfolded on the bed helplessly. 

You sat there for a while in silence, and the anticipation of his next move kept you on edge, unable to settle in. The silence was unnerving, almost excruciating. Was he gone? Was he watching? 

You snapped up when you finally heard footsteps again, pacing around the room and then coming towards you. He leaned into your ear, pulling his arms around your waist to untie the ropes around your wrists. 

“Do you trust me?” he asked carefully. You nodded. You did trust him, but at this point, you would have said anything to keep his hands on you. You didn’t care what he did, you just craved his touch.

“With your words.” 

“Yes, yes, I trust you Seonghwa. Please.”

He untied your blindfold and it slipped off your face, falling to the bed by your knees. It was dark, but your eyes took a moment to adjust to the faint glow of the moonlight washing through the window. His face overwhelmed you instantly—you didn’t realize how much you’d missed it while blinded. The cut of his jaw was the first thing you noticed, then his dark, lustful eyes sparkling in the faint light. His lips pulled up into a smirk as he watched your eyes trace his features. You’re sure the look on your face indicated the way you were marveling at him, as if you were admiring the world’s most beautiful piece of art. 

“We’re gonna play a game,” he purred, still leaning over the bed where you sat, fully freed from the ropes. His eye contact was piercing, almost terrifyingly.

“What’s the game?”

“I’m gonna fuck you, and every time you make a pretty little noise…” he delivered a light smack to the side of your ass. “I spank you.”

Your jaw dropped at his proposal. You liked it—you already admitted you liked a little pain to him earlier—but was this the same Seonghwa you practically dommed in his penthouse? 

“What if I can’t control it?”

“Well then your ass is going to hurt tomorrow, isn’t it?” 

You gulped, nodding. His aura oozed power now. He may have been in the mafia, but he’d never displayed so much power, so much control, until now.

He climbed on the bed, flipping you over easily and guiding your face to the pillows. He hoisted your hips up to be flush with his, running one finger along your folds to test your wetness, before aligning the tip of his cock at your opening. Already, you were struggling to hold back moans, your body trembling under his touch. 

He slid the tip in slowly, and you rocked forward in pleasure, biting your lip to keep in the noises. He positioned one hand at the small of your waist, the other on your ass, waiting. As he thrust himself all the way in you couldn’t control the cries that fell from your lips. 

“What did I tell you?” He said, delivering the first harsh smack to your ass. You gritted your teeth at the sudden impact, but the light sting also felt incredible as he rocked inside of you. Your breathing grew shallow as he toyed with you, switching up the pace in a way that had your head spinning. You could tell he wasn’t moving in a way to get himself off—he wanted to watch you squirm. 

He thrusted in another time, hard, and you whimpered involuntarily. Another smack. This went on for several minutes, Seonghwa continuing to deliver harsh smacks to your ass until it was stained with a permanent sting. You were shaking under his touch, and he let up, rubbing your back with comforting pressure. 

“Have you had enough, darling?” he cooed softly, almost condescendingly, but it sounded amazing coming off his tongue. You nodded. “Mm, okay, we can be done now.”

He stroked your hair as he thrust himself back in, picking up a considerable rhythm now. You moaned like your life depended on it now, finally able to let it out. He gripped a hand in your hair, pulling it together into a messy ponytail, tugging lightly as he slid his dick in and out. Your eyes rolled back into your head as he pounded into you. You could definitively say now that he fucked exactly how he looked—like a god. 

His other hand made its way underneath you, tracing your clit. It only took a few seconds of stimulation for your orgasm to hit, and it was more intense than you’d ever experienced before, or imagined you could experience again. It rocked through your body like a wave, overtaking you entirely. You let out a final cry as it reached its summit. Seonghwa let out a final grunt as he reached his tipping point, pulling out of you to spill over onto your back. 

You collapsed onto your stomach, completely spent, and you could swear you blacked out for a moment while he brought in a damp washcloth to clean you up with. 

The dominant side of him seemed to melt away instantly, as he stroked your back gently. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you too much?”

You nodded drowsily, all your pain seeming to dissolve under his touch.

You fell asleep on him that night, nestled in the warmth of his neck. You fit so perfectly in his arms like that, like it was meant to be. You imagined what it would feel like to cuddle up to him like this every night, but the thought was too good to be true. You knew this was the last chance you would have to touch him like this. 

It had been several months since you last saw Seonghwa, and you were just starting to move on from him. Well, part of that was true. The last time you’d been in contact with him was when he had dropped you at your apartment, ex-boyfriend nowhere in sight. You didn’t push him too much on how he managed to “take care” of him, assuming he’d paid him off or ran him out of town by threatening him. Either way, you had just been happy to be back home. Your days with Seonghwa felt like a distant fever dream, but it was several weeks until you could get the taste of him off your lips and his image out of your mind. 

You did your best to scrub him from your head, but it felt impossible. He haunted you in every way possible. 

On one day of particularly drunken weakness, you paid a visit to his bar. You justified it by saying you were just checking in on him, making sure he was okay, but really you just wanted to see his face. Was it risky? Extremely. Were you drunk? Also extremely. You sat in an indiscriminate seat at the end of the bar, hoping not to be seen. But another part of you wanted him to notice you, regardless of the consequences. That was the drunk part.

But he didn’t notice you. In fact, he wasn’t even concentrating on the happenings of the bar at all. You could see him atop his VIP throne, the one that overlooked every seat in the bar from the lofted second story. He had a girl by his side, his arm draped around her waist, clearly flirting. Scorching heat rose in your chest as you watched him seduce her, your heart stinging with a fiery jealousy you had never felt before. In the back of your mind, you always knew he was bound to be back to his socialite self, bringing girls up to his penthouse suite every night—the same penthouse suite you had shared that first fateful night… and the morning after. Even so, the jealousy burned in your throat, and so did the alcohol you were knocking back to drown your feelings. A large part of you wanted to disappear off the face of the earth right that second, shrink into the bar stool and never be seen again. The other part wanted him to notice you, even if just for a moment. You didn’t care if he was mad that you came, you just wanted to take him in up close again. You wanted him to acknowledge you. You watched in anguish as he let the girl by her waist in the direction of the elevators, not to be seen again. You left the bar that night sobbing, and didn’t stop until you passed out in bed. Since then, you swore you were never going to think about him again. He wasn’t worth it. You had to come to terms with the fact that you were just another one of his playthings—one he just happened to take pity on.

You swore you’d move on, and you did, mostly. The independence of not being tied down felt incredible, and you took advantage of your newfound sexual prowess to download a dating app and have some fun for yourself. But there was a small part of you -- one that you didn’t ever want to admit to—that could only picture Seonghwa every time you fucked another guy. 

11pm. 

You were laying in bed, swiping hopelessly through men on your phone, sifting through hundreds of desperate guys you couldn’t care less about. You couldn’t sleep, even after a few pathetic drinks alone in your kitchen, when you heard a knock. You had felt on edge about people coming to your door ever since the kidnapping, but today you were too tired to deal with the incessant knocking. It just kept coming. It was probably your neighbor coming to tell you you left your lights on again. 

You swung the door open, wondering who could possibly be knocking with such carelessness at this time in the night.

Park Seonghwa.

You were immediately flooded with the same intimidated feeling you had on the night you met him. He looked like a model, maybe even a god, standing in your doorway. He ran his hand through his freshly shaved undercut and you took in the sight, unable to tear your eyes away. He looked just as stunning as you remembered—even more so. But something wasn’t quite right. He was swaying slightly, and as he spoke your name, the words were slightly slurred.

“Y/N… I-”

“Are you drunk?” 

“No… yes… maybe,” he laughed lightly before stumbling inside without an invitation. You knew enough to move out of his way. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

You froze. You’d never seen him so incoherent. You immediately recognized the smell lingering a bit too long in his breath as the expensive champagne he had poured for you in his penthouse that night.

“Seonghwa, how much did you drink?” you asked, voice laced with concern. You led him through your apartment to the couch, where he plopped himself down with an alarming amount of force. 

“Enough to know what I really want.” He looked up at you with sparkling eyes. “You.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” you said seriously. 

His eyes glimmered with lust. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I want you to fuck me right here.”

This man was dangerous. And you didn’t mean in the mafia sense, although that was also true. You meant in the way he could completely ruin you if you let him. You had tried so hard to finally wipe him from your memory and move on, but you were stained with a constant desire to feel his touch again. You were finally moving on until now, when the desire surged back in, and it was like it had never left. 

“You’re drunk,” you said dismissively, doing your best to ignore the fact that you definitely wanted to fuck him, like right that second. “Let me get you a glass of water.”

His eyes looked heavy as he struggled to even hold the cup in his hands. His eyes were glued on you with the lust of a thousand horny teenage boys, but something about his hungry gaze felt comfortable to you, and you welcomed it. 

“You look like an angel,” he muttered softly. “You’re an angel sent from heaven to ruin me. I know you are.” You laughed as he seemed to get more incoherent. You glanced down at your oversized pajamas, wondering what he meant when he said you looked like an angel. “I missed you… I-I can’t get your body out of my head.”

You shook your head, trying to clear any desire you had out of your mind. He was way too drunk. “Shh, Seonghwa. Lay down.” 

You grabbed the water glass from his hand and handed him a blanket, guiding his shoulder gently down a laying down position on the couch. You settled in next to him, and he placed his head in your lap. Something about his current state felt incredibly vulnerable, and you’d never seen him like this. 

You petted his hair softly. He looked up at you with sad, sparkly, drunken eyes. “You’re pretty,” he said with a dorky smile. 

You chuckled. “You’re drunk.” 

He nodded, and his eyebrows furrowed suddenly. “I hate my father.”

You zipped your lips tightly, trying to give him room to continue. He still hadn’t spoken about his family since the first night at his house, and you wanted to take advantage of his drunken state. 

“He treats me like his puppet, but I’m nothing like him. I never asked for this. I just want to live a normal life for once.” You nodded, urging him to keep going. You didn’t want to ruin this moment of vulnerability. “You know those paintings… at my place, above the bar? Those are mine.”

“You bought them?”

“I painted them.”

You went silent. You couldn’t remember them in detail, but you remembered that they were beautiful, like they belonged in a museum. You kind of assumed they were stolen, to be honest.

“You painted those? All of them?”

“I’ve always wanted to be an artist.” He paused. “But I’m trapped being my father’s stupid fucking puppet. I’m supposed to take his position next year, but I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it. I’m so sick of the bar. He expects me to just sit there and keep his appearances for him. I’m sick of just drinking myself numb and fucking girls mindlessly.” 

Fucking girls mindlessly? Was he fucking you mindlessly?

“Girls like me?” He paused, trying to remember what he had just said. “You’re tired of fucking girls like me?”

“No…” he shook his head vigorously, realizing what he said. “You’re the only girl that has made me feel something... in a long time.”

Your cheeks went red hot. What was he admitting to you? His eyes were getting heavier, and so was his head, the heavy weight of his skull starting to crush your thighs. You stroked his hair a few more times and gently scooted out from under him, guiding his head down to the couch. 

“Get some sleep.”

You checked on Seonghwa immediately when you woke up. He was sitting upright on the couch where you left him last night, hunched over slightly, rubbing his temples. He raised his eyes as you walked in. “God, what happened last night? I feel like I got hit by a train.”

“What do you remember?”

“Drinking… and not much else.”

“Do you remember what you told me?”

He froze, the look in his eyes quickly transitioning from confusion to pure terror. “Oh god… what did I tell you?”

“Everything. About your family. Your paintings. You told me I was pretty.”

“Well, that last one I don’t regret,” he said, rubbing his temples harder. “Do you have like… some painkillers? Coffee maybe? God...”

“Wow, you really don’t get wasted much.”

He chuckled. God, you missed his laugh. “Takes a lot.”

You returned to him on the couch with a cup of coffee and some Ibuprofen. Something about giving him painkillers felt… wrong. As ridiculous as it sounded, by the way he carried himself, you would think he was almost invincible, like he didn’t even feel pain or something. You plopped yourself down next to him, and you talked for a while as he drowned his hangover with coffee. 

You made him breakfast, buttered toast and fried eggs, and suddenly you felt like a housewife. It was nice - you wished you could do this more often. He smiled at you around his toast, with his messy, tousled hair and tired eyes, and he almost looked human for once. As close as he ever could, at least. 

He wrapped his arms around your waist, thanking you for breakfast as he pressed his lips against yours. You melted against him, embracing him like your body was designed for it. You wanted to hold him close and never let go, and the idea of him never coming back was one you shoved deep into the back of your mind as you deepened the kiss. 

He pressed you against the counter, kissing you like your lips held the answers to all of his problems, and you kissed back like you knew how to solve them. His hands were warm as they slipped beneath the hem of your shirt, and you ran your fingers through his hair, soft and freshly cut. 

You dipped your fingers into the waistband of his pants, and his hands immediately tightened their grip on your waist, pulling you flush against him. Your hands sank further down, teasing your fingers over his cock through the fabric, and he groaned low in his throat. 

He pulled back suddenly, a concerned look growing on his face. “What time is it?”

You glanced at the clock. “11am. Why?”

“Shit. Fuck. I have to go.”

Damn it. It was just getting good.

“Will you come back?” you asked, a little too desperately. You flashed the puppy dog eyes you already knew he couldn’t resist. You didn’t realize just how much you had missed him until he was right in front of you, his hands all over your body. 

He sighed. “I mean, there’s no point in hiding anything from you anymore. I guess I laid everything out on the table when I burst in here drunk last night.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes. I’ll come back as soon as I can, I promise. I just have some… matters I need to attend to with my father.”

“Is that why you were drinking?”

“It’s not important,” he said dismissively, and suddenly you felt him building a wall again. You gave him one more soft kiss before he left. 

“Don’t let him get to you, okay? I’m always here if you want to talk about it.”

He gathered himself up quickly, glancing over his shoulder one last time before heading out. “Thanks.”

Over the next month, you dated in secret. Nothing was ever explicitly stated about the nature of your relationship, but he visited you almost every night, and you did everything together from dinners to movie nights on your couch to fucking on the kitchen counter. Well, mostly the last one. You weren’t sure if you could call him your boyfriend, but he would have been by anyone else's standards. 

Every day that passed you learned a little more about him. The thing you liked the best? He was secretly kind of a dork. Contrary to the serious and powerful image he put on to the outside world, his true nature was much softer and sweeter than you could have ever anticipated. You fell for him in the simplest tasks: the way he hummed while he washed the dishes, the way he cried a little when he laughed too hard, the stars that shined in his eyes when he discovered something new. You wondered if he had ever experienced such simple things before, things you took for granted - watching sitcoms at 2am, the pain of eating a little too much ice cream, the unadulterated joy of laughing over a bowl of cereal after a long night of sex. You’d watch his eyes sparkle at every new experience, and there was a part of you who really, really wanted to meet his father so you could punch him for ever depriving Seonghwa of a normal life. 

Even so, there were moments when he struggled to open up. There was something still so dark about him, mysterious, hidden. Even after experiencing his wide-eyed, almost childlike sense of wonder, you detected something still slightly sinister kindling within him -- something you would expect out of a mafia boss’ son. He kept a tight seal on the resentment inside, but you knew it was festering just under the surface. You had tried to get him to talk about it, but he evaded your questions each time. You wondered when he would finally boil over. 

A knock sounded at your door. Seonghwa, for your date. 

You opened the door with a sweet, expectant smile. “Seonghwa! Just in time, I was making-” The expression on his face caused you to pause. He looked frighteningly serious, more than he usually did, and that was saying something. You furrowed your brows. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to go right now. I can explain in the car. Get a bag together, only what you absolutely need.”

“Seonghwa what the f-”

His voice went completely dark, commanding as he spoke. “You’re in danger. We have to go. Now.” 

[besamehyuka]

ATEEZ:Their Reaction To Forced Marriage

Hongjoong:

Hongjoong walked in from a late night of missions, his eyes were sore from all the staring into the flashes of light from the gun shots. All he wanted to do was rest and relax by himself, that was until his boss called him, giving him the news that would end all his plans.

"Excuse me?" Hongjoong asked, wanting clarification of what his boss had said.

"I said, you will marry my daughter, this doesn't happen to just anyone." His boss said, a slight irritation in his voice. Hongjoon hung up the phone and walked to the nearest door, where you would be arriving.

He hated that he had to do this, because he was so focused on his missions and etc. He could really care less if he found love or not, love was childish to him.

As he opened the front door, y/n made her way into his view. Her hair flying due to the wind. All in all, she was a gorgeous sight, and his eyes widened. He had thought his boss's daughter would be ugly, but she wasn't in the slightest.

*Few months later*

Y/n had gotten annoyed by her husband, he wasn't giving her any attention. He came in from his missions every now and then, but nothing else. She felt unwanted, and ran to her room to pack her belongings.

She needed to get out of this relationship. If the two felt nothing in common, then why stay in it? Sure, it was forced but that didn't mean she couldn't divorce him.

As she started packing her thing, Hongjoong walked in, his eyes wide. "What are you doing? Where are you going?" He asked, concern in his voice as he tried to regain his strength.

"I want a divorce." Y/N stated, her eyes never leaving his. Hongjoong threw her suitcase on the floor.

"No, you're not leaving. Tell me why." He stated tears threatening to fill his eyes.

"You never pay me any attention! Have you realized that we haven't even kissed, or held hands, or hugged!" Y/N was fuming with rage, she had wished for more in marriage than what he was giving her, and she couldn't take it.

Hongjoong grabbed her arm in his hand and kissed her hard, his free hand held her in place as he pulled away. "I thought you weren't the touchy type. I'm not so i just assumed. And my job is dangerous, i have to make sure no one finds out who you are, if they do, they will no hesitate to hurt you."

Seonghwa:

You and Seonghwa had been in the forced marriage for a few months now, but he seemed very uneasy about the whole situation. He wanted nothing to do with you, what you thought, as you stared out of the window and watched as Seonghwa got out of his car, in all black.

He stared up at you for a minute and then walked to the front door. Your eyes sunk, he really didn't seem to care about you.

As you started to walk towards the kitchen to cook dinner, an overwhelming pain took you to the ground. You winced in pain you hit the hard floor. In no time Seonghwa was by your side, his eyes wide as he carried you in his arms bridal style.

"What's wrong?" Seonghwa asked, his eyes filled with concern as he laid you on the bed and crawled in beside you.

"Why would you care?' You ask as he looks at you, shock all in his face.

"I care because i love you, you are my wife.I stay away because i feel you hate me." He replies. "It was my decision to get married to you." He answers truthfully. Your eyes start to water and he pulls you in and kisses you tenderly.

"Don't say those harsh words again." He states stroking your cheek.

Yunho:

Yunho doesn't want to be forced into marriage, but he doesn't hold it against you. You gives you small cuddles everyday, so you would feel wanted. You and him weren't really angry at each other, you two were just angry with your mafia parents.

However, you knew Yunho was in the mafia, and it scared you. You wanted nothing to do with that life, mainly because people would target you when all other plans failed.

You sat on the couch, your head hung low as Yunho came in. Your eye slowly filled with tears as he walked to see what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked, since he read you too well. His eyes never left yours as you told him the truth about the forced marriage.

"I am scared, Yunho. If someone gets mad at you they will hunt me down, and if we ever want kids, your enemies will attack them, or threaten them."

Yunho wiped away your tears and kissed your cheeks as he nodded. "I will leave if you want me to, I will do anything for you." He replies, his eyes fixed on yours as you nod.

"Then let's go on a nice vacation." He states, carrying you in his arms smiling.

Yeosang:

He looked around the room and at you, his soon to be wife. He wasn't ready for marriage, but he couldn't say no. For the fact that your dad was the boss in charge of his life or death. He took in the sight of you. Your beautiful face, your gentle eyes, and your plump lips. He wasn't prepared.

At first, he only thought you were a burden. He couldn't stand to be in the same room as you. You were too loud, while he was soft spoken and silent.

However as weeks surged by, your laugh made him smile. He sometimes found his eyes on you as you slept beside him, not expecting him to wrap his arms around you.

You instantly awoke, the feeling of arms around your waist was foreign, as it never happened before and you turned to face a smiling Yeosang. "What do you think you are doing?" You asked, a slight attitude in your voice as he nuzzled into your neck.

"I'm cuddling my wife." He responded bluntly, you felt your cheeks heat up. "Well, enjoy it." You smirked.

San:

You were angry with your father for setting you up with one of his mafia's sons. It just didn't seem fair. You wanted a real relationship that you didn't have to fear for your life from.

Now, you were sitting at a very long table, your eyes staring at the handsome man in-front of you. His eyes never left yours as you took a sip of wine from the glass, his face hidden with a mask . You didn't even know this man, how could you possibly, fall in love with someone, who looked evil.

As the man took off his mask and hat, your eyes rested on the face of your dearest friend, San.

Your eyes widened as you realized, your closest friend was going to be your husband.

'S-san?" You stuttered, and he smirked.

"Yes cupcake?"

"Are we now married?"

San chuckled and got up, his eyes locked on yours as he finally reached you he pulled you in to him. His chin rested on your head as he smiled. "Yes, my love."

Mingi:

Mingi stared at his boss for a split second as his eyes met a beautiful woman. Her eyes were flying around the room staring at every male in the room.

"This is a great honor." His boss stated, his eyes on the men lined up. "My daughter to be your wife, is the greatest thing anyone can have." The man said, his dark hair falling in his eyes as he stared at Mingi.

"You Mingi." He stated, calling Mingi to come front and center. He did in an instant, and was tapped on the shoulder.

"Mingi will marry my daughter and save this group!"

*A few weeks later*

Y/N sat on the couch, her eyes focused on the book she was reading as her husband walked in, his shirt stained with blood.

"Mingi!" She yelped, running over to him and helping him strip of his shirt to reveal a deep cut on his stomach.

"Get away!" He yelled, causing Y/N to walk away, her eyes flooding with tears...

"Right, because the only affection you want to give me is when you want a child to save the mafia, right?" Y/N yelled back, this time tears spilled down her eyes and onto her shirt.

Mingi stood tall as he saw his love cry, he hated that he was so cruel. "No, honey. It just hurts." He stated, wincing as he sat on the couch with his eyes closed. "I do love you, but right now, i need a nurse."

Y/N wiped her eyes and nodded. He had every right to yell at her, she wasn't a nurse and the wound did look like it hurt, but he said...

"You said, you love me?"

Mingi smirked. "With everything in me, if someone hurt you, they will be dead."

Wooyoung:

Wooyoung stared at you, his eyes took in every inch of you. Sure, this was a forced marriage, but the feelings he felt weren't forced. However, he couldn't get you to feel the same way. You were just explosive every time he tried to express himself to you.

However, this time, he sat still. He didn't move, didn't say anything. He just observed you. He knew what you wanted before. You wanted a tall man with green eyes and blonde hair, but what you got in return was him.

No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get you to answer him.

"I get it! I'm not your ideal type, but you have me now. Deal with it! Accept my love!" He yelled, causing you to jolt at his sudden irritation.

You stared at Wooyoung, was he genuinely angry that you didn't show him love back?

"Why do you care so much about me? This was an arranged marriage. Didn't you have another girl in mind too?" You yelled back, you faced away.

Suddenly, you felt his hands on your shoulders. "You were my ideal girl. I picked you." He stated, looking into your eyes.

You felt his love and all his energy he tried to show you before. And you realized how childish you were being. So, what. He didn't have green eyes or blonde hair, but he was still caring for you.

You loved him too, but you were playing hard to get. However, this made his love grow and you could tell he was sincere. "I love you." Wooyoung stated, and you caught his lips with yours. "I love you too."

Jongho:

Jongho had this aura around him, he was too dark and dangerous for your liking. He could break you in half if he wanted to, since he was that strong, and you feared him.

Every time he would speak to you, you would jolt.

He noticed it way too often and he hated that. He hated that you feared his very being. He married you because he wanted to, he fell in love with you the moment he laid eyes on you an he didn't want you to be afraid of him.

One reason why your father had agreed to let him marry you was because he knew Jongho could keep you safe. There would be no disagreement to that.

You didn't know, but for months and months Jongho had begged your father to let him marry you.

"Why are you afraid?" He asked, placing his drink on the table. "Is it because I look intimidating, or is it that I have a very violent reputation?" He asked, he sincerely wanted to know.

You swallowed a little bit of your food and answered honestly. "You could break me, I've heard so many things about you."

He chuckled. "But you haven't heard that I would never dare hurt you? I was on my hands and knees begging your father to let me marry you. I would never hurt you."

You stared at him, and suddenly a smile made it's way onto your lips. He noticed the sudden change in your attitude. "How about I take you to the beach tomorrow?" He asked and you nodded back.

[neoatiny]

Ateez!pirate au (Horizon)

Chapter 2: ??? (2)

Plot summary: Obedience has been the very core of who she is. Cursed with not being able to identify faces and haunted by dreams of a monstrous woman, she spends her days serving under the feet of others with no hope of freedom. Later proving herself on a slave ship, she's recruited into the ranks of the Horizon and meets the infamous Pirate King, Kim Hongjoong. The pirate life is uncertain, but at least she's free.

Warnings: mentions of death, mentions of violence

Word count: 1854

Synopsis: Welcome on board.

Masterlist / Next chapter / Previous chapter

She had collapsed the moment she stepped on board.

In her dreams, various colors of green swirl around her vision. A green liquid drips down from above her, creating a small puddle. It unnaturally grows bigger in size and a menacing hand rises from the water. She steps back in fear.

To her horror, it was not the violet woman who has been haunting her dreams. From the green water emerges a man. He steps forward in a forced motion and he opens his mouth to speak. “Eun..” He gasps loudly,  his body freezes in an unnatural position and she forces herself awake.

Her eyes quickly flutter open and she finds herself in an unfamiliar room. A man moves around carrying various medicinal herbs towards a wooden desk.

“Where the hell is the mortar and pestle?” He angrily mutters. “I told Seonghwa not to take it anymore, but no, of course not. He doesn’t understand the health concerns in using a mortar and pestle for toxic plants and using it to crush nuts.”

She shifts around on the bed to sit and her head throbs with a dull pain. She can still feel the hands of the man from the Serpent around her throat. She follows with tired eyes the black-haired man digging through the medicine cabinet.

“Aha!” The man pulls out a smooth marble bowl. He stops for a moment to acknowledge her.

“You’re awake!” Closing the cabinet, he heads towards a desk, pushing stacked books and papers aside. “Now I get that you’re probably not used to this,” He starts, busily crushing the herbs, his back turned against her. “But you’re in good hands. I know my medicine, so you’re not going to die while you’re here.”

She is not the very least assured.

She had encountered the Serpent’s healer once after scrapping her knees and elbows when she was forced to beg on the floor for forgiveness after spilling water on the boatswain’s shoes. The healer was a very thin man and flinched when spoken to. He didn’t even seem to know what he was doing, having rubbed the wrong herbs against her wounds, leaving them itchy for a week.

The man in front of her, however, was the complete opposite of the Serpent’s healer. Though he gives off a friendly aura, she notices the long scars around his muscled arms. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was a fighting pirate. She suddenly remembers the silver-haired captain.

What are they going to do to me?

The healer turns around, dramatically waving a small bottle with a green substance inside. He shakes the bottle towards her. “Here.” He offers. “Yeosang brought you here and told me you hit your head hard on the Serpent’s deck and almost got chocked to death, so this will help soothe the pain.”

She stares at the mixture, outstretching her hand hesitantly to accept it. “You’re not going to die.” He jokes. Their hands touch for a brief moment, sparking something in her, before she quickly drinks it, realizing now how thirsty she was.

She coughs at the bitter taste, trying her best to keep it all down. He passes her a glass of water, which this time she accepts gratefully.

Taking back the empty glass, he continues to be friendly. “You’ve been asleep for about three days now, which is normal in my experience, don’t worry. You made a scene collapsing on the deck and you had to get carried here bridal style.”

Her ears burn in embarrassment.

“You should be grateful that you didn’t have any serious injuries. Wouldn’t want you getting an amputation on your first day.” He laughs. She doesn’t respond and he lets awkwardly clears his throat, wiping his hands with the towel slung over his shoulder. “I’m the healer here on the Horizon, but I think you’ve guessed that already. My name’s San, what’s yours?”

An uncomfortable silence fills the room before there’s a knock on the door.

“Captain!” She freezes in fear as San greets him quickly. “I was just making conversation with the girl here. She has a few bruises, but other than that there’s nothing that could lead to her death.”

The captain pats him on the back. “Thank you, San.” The healer leans against the door, crossing his arms as his captain turns to face her, pulling the desk’s chair forward and sitting down.

“I would appreciate it if you would look at me when I talk to you.” She raises her head to finally look at him in the eye, but all she’s met with is his blurry facade. Her eyes wander throughout his face, the only thing visible is his silver hair.

A strange color for anyone, she thinks to herself.

The captain perches his arm on the back of the chair, resting his head on his hand. “So you really can’t see faces. I thought the pathetic excuse for a pirate probably had too much to drink before we came aboard, but it seems he wasn’t lying.”

Even with the curse, she can feel his intimidating gaze on her. “How did you get it?”

“Captain, I don’t think she understands you.” San mentions. “Slaves on pirate ships usually spend most of their days there, usually their entire life, without any proper education. For all we know she doesn’t even know to speak-”

A sound resonates from her. An intake of air as she opens her mouth to speak in what feels like forever. “I can talk.” Her voice comes out hoarse.

San whistles impressed. “Sorry. Please continue.”

The captain moves back slightly, taking in the state of the girl in front of him. Her clothes were worn out and dirty. Multiple holes were visible on the bottom of her shirt and there was a large tear, visibly showing a faint bruise. “So you do understand us. You haven’t been a slave for long, then.”

She nods, swallowing nervously.

“Where did you learn how to shoot?” He moves closer towards her, the chair creaking. “You remind me of my head gunner.” He adds as an afterthought.

“I can’t remember.”

He scoffs. “Are you trying to fool me? You lose everything you practice when you lose your memory, but you obviously haven’t. I’m not a fool.”

“It’s not like that, I swear.” She weakly defends. “I remember how I grew up, but after that, I can’t remember the rest.” Her voice continues to crack as she speaks.

“Retaining habits isn’t uncommon in memory loss.” The healer helpfully adds. “Handwriting is the most common, but I’ve never read anything before about shooting.”

The captain hums thoughtfully. “That’s stupid.” San only laughs at his captain’s childish comment.

The captain repeats his question. “How did you get the curse?” Curse?  She’s spent nights alone in the hole trying to remember the encounter.

She remembers the rain falling harshly that night. She had stumbled inside a cave, drenched from head to toe. “I’m here to make a wish.” She had announced. From the darkness of the cave, a pair of glowing green eyes followed her around. Everything else was a haze and she only remembers waking up by the shore, dazed and confused.

“I made a deal with a witch.” She decided to say.

The captain says nothing more, but she does not fail to notice the way he balled his hands into fists at the mention of the word ‘witch’. “You saved my life back on the Serpent. So in return, you’ll get to join my crew.”

“Why?” She asks without thinking. The captain stays silent for a moment before responding, taken aback from her quick response. “It’ll be better for you to stay on our ship Horizon than on a slave ship.”

She touches her wrists instinctively, still feeling the shackles the Serpent crew took off after they assigned her to scrub the deck. Anger swells in her heart at the memories. She’s not going back. “What would I do?”

“You’ll be working on the deck mostly. I informed everyone about your curse so there won’t be any future misunderstanding. I’m going to assign you as the apprentice of my head gunner. He’s a quick shot, so you’ll be able to learn well from him.”

The healer makes a surprised sound, slightly annoying his captain. “Captain, really? Wooyoung isn’t going to like this. You how he’s like.”

He dismisses the healer’s worries with a wave, not even turning his head to look at him. “He’ll get over it.”

“The captain called you Hex.” She sucks in a breath sharply at the name. “Was the name given to you by them or is it just a really sad coincidence?”

“It’s Eunsung.”

He hums acceptingly, beginning to stand up. “San, make sure to get her new clothes, some of the crew here are about her size, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Then bring her to the kitchen and eat.”

San nods. “Sure thing, captain.”

She looks down at her fingernails, dirty from sleepless nights of scrubbing and scratching the dirty walls of her poor excuse of home. The sounds of struggling slaves, their cries for salvation-

“What happened to the slaves?” She suddenly recalls, sounding almost too desperate. “The slaves I was with, what happened to them?” Her voice grows the tiniest bit louder in worry.

He answers simply. “They’re back at the ship. We let them go.”

“Some of them were injured. The boy I was with, he needed medical attention.”

The captain sighs, shaking his head. “I don’t know about any boy, but after the sad display the captain showed, the rest of the crew are probably going to demote him.” He makes a slicing motion to his neck, leaving her silent.

“Then it’ll take a day for them to pick a new captain, so they will probably not have moved the ship that far. The Honor Guard makes their daily rounds there, so they’ll capture them and save the slaves.”

She’s still unsatisfied with his answer. “How can you be so sure?”

“I’m the Pirate King. I know.”

San moves to make way for his captain. Before he leaves out the door, he turns back one last time to face the new addition to the crew. “For a slave, you don’t back down. You’re part of the crew now; act like it. Call me captain.”

With that, he turns the doorknob and leaves. San claps his hands together, getting Eunsung’s attention.

“Welcome to the crew.” He says happily. “You can’t see it right now, but I’m smiling.”

A sinking feeling lays at the pit of her stomach. Even with the detailed reassurance from the captain, Eunsung can’t help but feel like she’s abandoned the slaves.

It wouldn’t be the first time. “I hope you die!” he yells.

Her heart aches at the memory of her brothers. Even with the missing pieces of her memories, she still longs for them. Eunsung feels that leaving the slaves won’t be her last mistake.

[pru-sama]

The Stars Between Us [ATEEZ NEIGHBORS AU; Chapter 2]

Pairing: Ateez x Reader [You'll see in the future :)]

Words count: 3.687

Warnings: no one

A/n: SECOND CHAPTER i wrote this in one day but for somethings i couldn't post it until now. I hope you like this one!

New day came and this one you could wake up after a long rest night, with a bit sleepy smile in your lips. Carefully you opened your eyes a bit, welcomed with the morning sunlight coming through the window. You stretched without pulling the blankets off your body and let out a sigh. Finally, you could rest well that night, and with the memories of what happened last night happiness filled every inch in your body. For a moment you though it may be a dream, that wasn’t that bad as a dream, but it was impossible, it was so real to be fake.

You were thinking about that still in your bed, you didn’t want to get out because it was so comfortable to do that. But the bell rang out of nowhere, something that confused you, you weren’t expecting any package to arrive, everything was already in the house waiting to be in place. But it sounded again so you gave up and got out of the bed.

You yawned while walking to the door, brushing your eyes that stilled sleeping with your hand. You opened a bit the door with a soft “yes?” from your mouth.

“Oh, shi- did we wake you up?”

You raised your head to the soft voice owner, seeing San in front of your door, Wooyoung next to him. They were already dressed, making you think about what time it was, you didn’t even look your mobile phone, that was in your nightstand beside your bed, when you woke up. But when you full opened the door, you could see that they were worried about disturbing your sweet dreams.

You frowned a little and once again brushed your eyes trying to put that sleepy feeling out of you, looking again to them with a sweet smile.

“Now, don’t worry, I just was still in bed to rest a bit more, but I wasn’t sleeping anymore” You explained to them, who relaxed a bit and smiled back to you. The dark-haired man took a step near to you, you were confused by what was he doing. He cared gently the skin under your left eye, making you get a soft blush.

“An Eyelash, sure we didn’t disturb your dream?”

His actions was what disturbed you. In one moment, you were wake up like you just run a marathon, full of energy. You hated that Wooyoung power. Handsome, gentle, maybe a little piece of shit with his friends sometimes. It was a love-hate relationship for you.

“Yeah… sure, don’t worry… but why are you here? Did you need anything.” You stilled wondering what they need from you. And at your confused words their smiles brightened at the same time San offered you a plate with pancakes. A plate with pancakes?

Your confusion should be showing in your face because they started laughing a bit, in a soft friendly way, you didn’t even notice the food in San’s hands when he was just right in front of you.

“Cute” Wooyoung murmured under his breath, a bit funny with you. And before you could say anything San became to explain.

“Seonghwa hyung did a lot for breakfast since we want to enjoy our free day, and because you just moved, we wanted to welcome you in a right way”

“More less” Wooyoung added.

With the word “surprised” all over your face you took the plate in your hands, blinking a bit before smile again to them.

“Thank you so much! This is better than what I expected. Say thanks to Seonghwa too, I’m sure it’s going to be delicious” you exclaimed happily. It was the best welcome you could ever have.

“It’s nothing, have a nice day”

“Same to you guys” with that you closed the door again to enjoy that surprise breakfast.

The boys were alone again and came back to their own flat, with the older – for only few months- looking at the other with a funny smile.

“Wooyoung, your saliva is going to fall”

At that word the younger man smiled and punched friendly San, denying it with a head gesture. He acted normal, but they knew each other like siblings and San could see he was hiding the blush in his checks.

“No, my “UWUs” are going to fal-, no, they are already on the floor. Did you see her!? She’s so cute, beautiful and kind!” Wooyoung exclaimed making his friend laugh one more time. “tell me I’m wrong.”

“You aren’t, it’s just, you know, funny”.

Wooyoung was once again going to punch him, but the white-haired man escaped running from him to the kitchen, were everyone was. They just started eating the breakfast when they arrived. They were sitting at the table.

“Hyung, she wanted to thank you for the pancakes” San said before Wooyoung could say anything, going right to sit at the table with the rest of the members, followed by the younger, who was a little upset. But it was for only a few minutes. He was like a little kid.

“I still think we woke up her…” the man added to his hyung’s words. He just was a little bit worried about that, when they were at home, they were noisy, it’s what have be eight people living together. He hoped you weren’t upset at them for that, even if you were a beautiful person.

“Ah, true! She looked like we have woken up her, and Wooyoung fall in love with her cuteness” At those words the vocalist could feel the death glare he gave to him. If looks could kill.

“Oh…our Wooyounggie is in love again” Mingi tasted him, making him get flustered.

“Nothing new” Yeosang added while laughing. Best friends they said.

For Wooyoung’s luck the oldest were there too, and even if they were laughing at that, Seonghwa was there to save his dongsaeng. It wasn’t strange why they called him “mom” sometimes.

“Okey, leave him be happy. And we should make sure that we don’t bother her… “

“But you are glad she took the pancakes.” Yunho said with a teasing smile, receiving a judging look from the blonde boy.

“That will be when she tasted”

With that the conversation change the subject to what would they do in their free day. Since it was only one it wasn’t enough to go to see their families in a proper way, so they would stay at the apartment or near to it. Maybe going out to a café or to take a walk and get fresh air. Whatever they would do they wanted to have a relax day.

“Valkerie, Valkerie, valkerie…” again you were singing, this time in a soft voice with the music in low volume to don’t bother Ateez. You took that day to put in order the rest of the house and make it look like someone lived there. The house was a little too big for only one person, it would be better for two or maybe three, but not enough for eight. You didn’t saw their house, but you supposed that flat was bigger than yours. Or at least, you trusted it was.

With a bit of effort, you finished everything, sighing and posing your hands in your hip, looking at your house. You smiled, it looked welcomed and warm, and it had your own style. You were proud of yourself to do that and let out a breath of relief. With that you ended… or maybe not.

It hits you and you turned around to see your balcony. It looked so sad when you compared it with the rest of the house now decorated. You looked at it with a frown, your hand in your mouth and biting your thumbnail, thinking what you could do to save that. You frown a bit harder still thinking before the idea came to your head.

“Plants!” you exclaimed excited about it. You could make your own little garden there… well, not a garden, but a few plants or flowers would make it more beautiful. It wasn’t the greatest idea of all history, but it was a good one.

So, with that in your mind you went to the room to prepare yourself. A black short and a white t-shirt that you tied in the front to make it fill better your body. Long socks that ended in the middle of your thigs and right to the bathroom. Hair tied in a ponytail and a bit of makeup that consisted in mascara and lipstick. Enough to exalt your eyes and lips.

You went to the entrance, put in your converse and with that you were ready to go out. You were so excited with that idea, and you hoped it looks good when you finish it. At that moment that was all you could think of, and you were “running” to the nearest florist shop to your building.

You were mesmerized with the bright colors that filled the place, most of them a great number of shapes of green. It was so beautiful and for a moment the idea of work as a florist crossed your mind. But the truth was you didn’t know anything about flowers and plants except that they need sun and water. You weren’t going to be a good one.

But lucky you the man that worked there was so nice and help you to choose the perfect plants for your balcony, even if your description wasn’t the greatest. For him apparently it was enough. And you could see he loved his job, that’s why the shop was that pretty and well cared. He helped you a lot and you couldn’t be more grateful to him when you finally had your beautiful flowers. He also taught you how to take care of them in the right way. And it wasn’t expensive, so with a bright smile in your lips that showed your teeth you pay the kind man.

You walked home carefully looking at the flowers, it was so different to the ones you knew from your country, you were enchanted with their beauty. Your balcony was going to look beautiful and full of color, very bright. It was going to be perfect.

It was a bit difficult for you to arrive your door because your hands were holding the plants, but you made it thanks to the caretaker, who opened and held the door of the hallway for you when he saw you like that. With the arms a bit tired you left them on the floor so you could take your keys and open the door. You were so hyped to arrive to the balcony and start to decorate it, and you start to touch your pockets. But your keys weren’t there. You laughed a bit awkwardly with that and touched again your pockets, but your keys weren’t with you. But… did you take them when que you went out?

“…Oh fuck!” you sweared with your hands in your head, that day was going too well to be you, it was so beautiful to be true. How could you be that stupid to forget the keys inside your home and don’t notice after hours out?

“Stupid” you called yourself “how could I forget that?” you cried.

You could call the locksmith, but you were upset, it was your third day there and you already fucked it. That never happened in your previous home, but it must happen when you are in a lot different country where you were alone. Yeah, it was the best beginning.

You rest your back in the wooden door and let your body fall until you were sitting on the floor. All the hype you had moments ago left your body, you didn’t want to do anything. You just wanted your fairy godmother to appear from anywhere, open the door with magic you wouldn’t ask where was coming from, go right to bed and wait to that day to end.

“Hey, you ok?”

You raised your head to the voice to see Yunho standing by your side. You didn’t hear him going out from the door next to yours, but because of his cloths you were sure he wasn’t going out to take a walk; he was wearing black t-shit with the Hogwarts emblem in white, a blue and black pajama pants and dark blue slippers.

For him was a bit different, the only moment he saw you, you were a bit messy in your pajamas. Then there you were dressed, your hair done and you were wearing a bit of makeup. For the eight boy you were beautiful in your messy way, but looking like that you could kill them. And it wasn’t an exaggeration.

“I heard you here out and you didn’t sounded ok, I was wondering what happened” with that words you could only think in how nice he was. Like, really, he was so fucking nice. But that wasn’t the moment for that, and your mood was almost on the floor.

“It’s just… I went out to buy these plants and I forgot the keys inside…” you explained sadly to the tall boy before hide your face in your hands. For that you couldn’t see his sad expression.

He looked back at his house and smiled, patting your head so you raised your head once again to look at him.

“Don’t worry, I have this”

“Do you have a key of my apartment?” you asked confused.

“No” he answered with a grin in his lips before disappearing in his own house.

You blinked confused before sigh again. You were wondering what he was doing or what he though of. But before you could find any answers to your questions, the door behind you opened and you were near to fall on the floor, and before that could happen you felt big hands catching you by your arms from the back.

“Wow, be careful!”

You looked up and were greeted with Yunho’s face. He helped you to stand on your feet and you turn around thanking him, but so confused and surprised to do it in a proper way.

“How… how did you enter my house?”

“Oh, I just jump the railing that separates our balconies” he explained proud of himself like it was nothing, but your eyes opened like they were going out of your face.

“What? That’s dangerous!”

At your words he laughed a little, with a hand rubbing his neck.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that dangerous”

“But you could have fallen on the ground!”

He looked at you, seen how worried you were for a thing he stilled though it was nothing. To he’s eyes you were so pure.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’m ok, you can enter your house… everything is right!” he exclaimed while passing to your side and taking carefully the plants you bought before you could complain.

“Where you were going to put them? In the balcony?” you could see the curiosity in Yunho’s eyes, full of energy like you always saw him.

You hesitated a bit, now that the big problem of enter your flat were solved you remembered why you went out of there in first place. That energy you had minutes ago didn’t come back to your body.

“Yeah… I ended organizing the house before and I though it was a good idea that could be cool, but now I’m not… inspired? I will do it tomorrow maybe”

This time you could see Yunho’s sad expression and how it only took two seconds to rise his mood again. he takes positive thoughts from nowhere.

“And if I help you?”

“W-what, but you don’t have to…”

“Come on! It’ll be fun if we do it together” he interrupted you with a bright smile and entered your home like it was his, right to your balcony, leaving you amused at the door frame in the entrance. When he saw you weren’t following him, he looked at you and did a gesture with the head pointing to de balcony.

“Come on! If we start now, we will end sooner!”

“Ok! I’m going, I’m going” you closed the door with a Smile. You had the feeling that it was impossible to change his mind and, to be honest, thanks to him your mood lifted a bit.

You went next to him in the balcony and helped to put everything out from the bag so you could start to decorate the place with the plants.

“But you sure you want? Am I not bothering you with this?” you asked carefully, you didn’t want to cause him problems.

“No way, you are a nice person, how would you bother me?” you blush at his words, but he didn’t notice and continue talking. “I was alone, the rest of the guys are out for different things. And helping you with these beautiful flowers sounds like a really good plan”

“Do you know anything about plants?”

“Nothing but it’s going to be fun” he looked up at you when he heard your laugh. His smile got bigger with that. Seeing you sad made him be sad too, since they met you the day before all of them end with the same conclusion; that you were a nice person they will be happy to be friends with. And seeing that he made you laugh and smile again made him happy.

With that in his mind he continued talking with you. That’s how he discovers your name, where you were from, and even get surprised when you swear unconscious in your native language.

For you Yunho’s presence helped you to be excited like how you were hours ago. Talking with him was like talking to a friend, with all that you forgot that he was a singer you admired. It was so comfortable to talk, and funny so your conversation where full of jokes and laughs. It was a time you were enjoying like a little girl.

Both of you worked hard, side to side, and you were going to finish. Time passed fast without both of you noticing, even when you were outside and could see perfectly how the sun was going down. It was the sunset in front of your eyes, but you were so immersed in your own stuff.

“So last year of the degree, that means we’ll see you here for a long time, that sounds great!”

“Yeah… and really it’s great?”

“Well, yeah, you’re so funny and… I hope we could be friends.”

You look at him at the eyes, seeing his happiness and honestly in them. Also, his smile that fond and confidence in it. Also, his position while resting his elbow in the railing looking at you. With the warm breeze and the sunset colors, you take a moment to appreciate how handsome he was. He always was, but it that moment with all that he was breathless.

His thoughts weren’t so far from yours, that time with you was perfect, he loved to help you. And with that same scene you were thinking about, but this time being you the protagonist in his mind, he couldn’t stop appreciating you. You were yo pretty, kind, funny and in that moment with a pair of fine locks in front of your face that escaped from your ponytail, the sunset colors over your figure… oh god, you were breathless.

It took a few more second before your smile brightened, and he repeated all that thoughts in his mind.

“I’ll love that” you answered.

He grinned and raised his hand with his pinky.

“Friends?”

“Friends” you answered rising your hand and completed that pinky promise.

That made you so happy, so much that your smile would stay for days. You had your first official friend in Korea. Maybe that day wasn’t as bad as you though before.

“hey what are you doing there?”

Both of you turned your head to see Hongjoong entering the other balcony, looking at you a bit confused. You were about to answer but Yunho did it for you.

“I was helping my friend decorating her balcony with these beautiful plants?”

“Friend?”

“Yeah, we are friends now” he put his arm around your shoulder to hug you from the side, thing that made you laugh and put a smile in Hongjoongs lips.

“Do you know her name?”

“Yes!”

“Wooyoung is going to be so jealous when he knows”

“True! Here I go to tell him!” with that he jumped again the railing to run into their house looking for Wooyoung. You could feel your heart skipping a heartbeat when you see him doing that.

“Don’t jump the railing!” you screamed afraid, making both, Yunho and Honjoong, laugh.

You sighed; your new friend was going to give you a heart attack right there.

“I’m happy you are friends now”

You looked at the leader of the group, he stilled looking at you with a beautiful smile.

“and I hope we can be too”

You smiled back to him with those words. If it was possible to be happier than before you were. At that moment everything was possible to you.

“As I said to Yunho, I’ll love that”

And the red-haired man’s smile gets bigger too with your answers. He gest a moment to look at you, it was only two seconds that felt like an eternity to you. But you liked that eternity. He wanted to talk but then both of you were able to hear Wooyoung crying in the distance to Yunho and the laughs of the rest of the boys.

“Better if I enter again before it gets worse”

“at least it’s funny” you said, and he agreed with a head gesture. It was funny, maybe Wooyoung would be jealous an angry with the rest of the group, but it would be only for maximum fifteen minutes.

“Well, if you need anything just call us, ok?”

You felt something in your chest with that, something that you didn’t recognized yet but you were sure it was good. And you wanted to feel that forever.

“of course. I will”.

A/n: sooooo... Did you like it? I hope! I love this chapter so much! Please, comment, like or reblog if you do!

[Masterlist]

[wordswithateez]

yeehaw!ateez - Chapter 1

OMG ITS FINALLY STARTING YEAHHHHHHH

i hope yall enjoy this as much as i do! thank you for all of your nice comments!!! :D let’s get this show on the road!!!

CHAPTER ONE - The Arrival

You’d been waiting forever.

As the stablehand personally assigned to the legendary equestrian team ATEEZ, you were expected to be punctual and efficient, which meant being the first person they see when arriving at your father’s stable complex.

Any minute now, you thought, for the ninth time.

Where you stood, you could see sunlight cast rays down over the rafters of the stable, turning dust particles to glitter. The nickering of awakening horses filled the stable’s ambiance, and a hen clucked idly out in the yard. It was peaceful, and the morning sun on your cheeks was making you regret leaving your bed.

Thankfully, the crackling of gravel under tires shook you from your morning daze. Two large trucks, both hauling impressive steel trailers, came toiling up the stable’s driveway.

Finally, ATEEZ was here.

You waved to signal the drivers where to park, walking over as the engines rumbled to a stop. There was a faint sound of hooves on metal, and a stray whinny or two pierced the air. It must have been a long ride for them. You wanted to see them, but there were more pressing matters. The first driver was already climbing out of his pickup, and you raised your hand to shake his.

“Hello, I’m y/n l/n. I’ll be your main stablehand during your stay here at Royals’ Elite Equestrian Center,” you introduced yourself with a smile. Admittedly, you’d spent more than a couple minutes rehearsing that line.

The man who’d driven smiled back at you, his eyes crinkling under his coffee-brown fringe. You tried not to mentally question the mullet.

“Oh, thank you,” he replied. “My name is Kim Hongjoong, but you can call me Hongjoong. We’re ready to unload if you are.” He gestured to the heavy steel trailers.

Kim Hongjoong? THE Kim Hongjoong? You felt a little bit of your soul leave your body.

“Of course. Nice to meet you, Hongjoong.” You smiled, pointing back at the barn. “The stalls are ready as well. Eight horses, right?”

“Yep,” he affirmed.

“And a box stall for the Clydesdale?”

“Yep. You guys really followed all of our requests, huh?”

“Of course!” you said, a little too enthusiastically. “Royals’ Elite prides itself on its hospitality.”

“We’re glad to be working with you,” Hongjoong said genuinely. He tapped on the window of the pickup, signaling that the rest of the riders could exit. Soon, the trucks were empty of passengers. The trailers’ steel doors were lowered, and the unloading process began.

“Seonghwa, take Dauntless first,” you heard Hongjoong say.

Park Seonghwa, triple gold dressage champion, the fangirl inside you sang. You tried to hide your starstruck-ness as a taller man with styled blond hair entered the first trailer. You heard the shuffling of footsteps and the click of a lead getting clipped to a halter. Not moments later, a large black stallion came stepping into the sunlight, head raised high. His coat shone like jet, and you couldn’t help but let a small ‘wow’ leave your mouth.

“Pretty, isn’t he?” a new voice piped up right next to you. You bit back a cry of surprise and turned to look at the speaker. “Hwanggeum’s prettier, in my opinion.”

If you hadn’t recognized his face by now, you definitely recognized the name of Jung Wooyoung’s prized Lusitano. He smiled brightly at you. “I’m Jung Wooyoung. You’re y/n?”

“That’s me,” you replied quickly, after getting over your inherent shock.

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a grin, before entering the trailer. Moments later, out stepped Hwanggeum, led by Wooyoung. The stallion’s name was no mistake–the buckskin really did gleam like gold, and from the high-stepping strides, he knew how stunning he was. Wooyoung gave you one last smile before walking after Dauntless and Seonghwa into the stable.

Next, a tall boy with black hair went inside, and you heard heavy hoofsteps echo from inside. From the sound, you knew this had to be Jeong Yunho’s retired Clydesdale. She was the largest by far, you noticed, when she walked down the trailer’s ramp at Yunho’s side. Yunho gave you a friendly greeting, but didn’t say much more than a ‘hello.’

“The box stall is at the end of the barn,” you offered helpfully as they passed. He waved at you, grateful.

“Thank you!”

Only after they had passed, did you notice that Yunho wasn’t carrying any sort of lead.

The last horse to exit the first trailer was unmistakable: Song Mingi’s Knabstrupper showjumper, Domino. Domino’s spotted coat only accentuated his strong legs and neck, which was arched in a stretch as he followed Mingi. You watched in awe as Domino kicked up his heels as he felt the gravel under his hooves, to which Mingi chuckled and walked Domino in a few small circles before entering the barn.

It was now time to unload the second trailer. The final four horses remained, and were getting impatient.

“We’d better go get them,” Hongjoong said at your side. “They won’t wait for long. I need to speak to the stable manager, would you please bring Gale to the stable for me?”

“Absolutely,” you said, completely calmly, definitely not losing your mind on the inside.

“He’s the last one,” Hongjoong said. “Thank you!” With that, he turned and walked towards the community building.

Steeling your nerves, you followed the four other ATEEZ riders around to the back of the second trailer. One of them, with red and brown hair–Choi San, your annoying fangirl mind chanted–reached up and lowered the ramp, going inside. San’s beautiful Haflinger gelding stepped out moments later, letting out a joyful whinny at seeing the sunlight. You tried and failed to hide your smile, which San returned with a sweet grin of his own.

“You like her?” he asked, to which you dumbfoundedly replied,

“Uh, yes!”

He laughed. “Me too!”

Suddenly, the shrill nicker of an Arabian rang out through the air as a shorter brown-haired rider walked in, a staple trait of Kang Yeosang’s award-winning mare. Sunny herself came trotting out of the trailer, leading Yeosang more than he was leading her. You laughed a little to yourself as he trotted her in a quick circle, similar to what Mingi had to do. She didn’t calm much, and you barely had time to tell Yeosang where to go by the time Sunny trotted into the stable, tail raised high.

Now it’s just you and Jongho left.

“Watch out,” he said to you as he walked inside the trailer. “Fuego doesn’t travel well.”

You nodded, worried about what the iconic brindle mustang might do.

“Ah, damn it!”

Not seconds later, Jongho’s voice griped from the trailer, before Fuego suddenly came galloping out, a lead rope dangling freely from her halter. She let out a bellowing neigh as she went cantering into the front yards, her head held high and ears pinned back. “Quick! Catch her before she makes even more of a mess!” he demanded, hurriedly jumping out of the trailer’s side door.

Your foggy, starstruck mind cleared instantly at his words, jumping into the situation at hand.

“Okay!”

The disgruntled mare was making a beeline for the road from whence they came, prompting you into a full sprint to catch up. She wasn’t travelling all that quickly, but she definitely wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and would wind up in the main road within minutes.

“Fuego!” you shouted, an attempt at catching the mare’s attention. Her ear flicked back, indicating that she had heard you, but veered to the left, away from you. At least she’s not headed for the road anymore, you thought. You ran to the front gates and quickly shut them as Fuego left you in the dust, hopefully keeping her inside the compound.

Jongho, who was adjacent to Fuego, raised his fingers to his mouth and blew a sharp, high-pitched whistle. Fuego stopped in her tracks, skidding through the dirt like she’d learned to do in the arena. Her head swiveled to stare Jongho in the eyes, who was jogging in her direction.

He was barely a few meters away before she suddenly whirled on her heels and took off back the way she came, letting out a shrill whinny.

“Great, now she thinks this is a game!” Jongho groaned, breaking back into a sprint.

You laughed, although quickly shut up when you noticed Fuego barreling in your direction.

Suddenly, you had an idea.

“Fuego! Here, girl!”

You reached into your vest pocket and pulled out an apple you had saved to eat as a snack, waving the fruit through the air like a flag. It shone like a ruby in the morning light, and as if on cue, Fuego immediately became nothing more than a young thief eyeing jewelry on the street. Her big, brown eyes locked on target, and she slowed to a brisk trot, her hooves sending up clouds of dust. Moments later, you were face-to-face with Fuego herself.

She pressed her nose into your chest as you hid the apple behind your back, momentarily distracting her as you took a fierce hold on the mare’s (now dusty) lead rope.

“Good girl,” you soothed, letting her have the treat as soon as you got a grip. She munched happily, as if she’d been rewarded.

“Ugh, she’s going to think running away will get her treats now,” Jongho complained as he jogged over, slowing down to take Fuego’s lead from you. You were surprised to see that he wasn’t out of breath at all, and there was no malice in his voice. He gave you a grateful smile. “Thanks anyway. You’re, uh, y/n, right?”

“That’s me,” you said. “You’re Choi Jongho?”

“Sure am. Gale’s still in the trailer, by the way. I’ll take Fuego to her stall for you,” he said with a smile, giving the mare a pat or two. She snorted softly, closely watching your exchange with Jongho.

“Oh, okay,” you said. “I’ll get Gale.”

“Cool.” His grin was friendly, knowing. “You’ll like him.”

You laughed, unsure of what else to say. He smiled once more and turned to lead Fuego back to the stable, who clearly still had a little energy left. You let out a big sigh, relieved, and walked to retrieve Hongjoong’s horse from the trailer.

heyyyy here’s the first chapter. it seems a little boring now that i read it but i’m not changing that now lol. lemme know what yall think in the comments 💓💖💞💝💞

[youseissi]

Chapter 8 - Aurora

Chapter 1 ✧ Chapter 2 ✧ Chapter 3 ✧ Chapter 4 ✧ Chapter 5 ✧ Chapter 6 ✧ Chapter 7 ✧ Chapter 8 ✧ TBC ✧ AO3 ✧ Masterlist

Hongjoong had finally done it. He had The Cardinal finally losing a fight. The villain looked flustered under his mask, sweat dampening and sticking to his fringe as he tried to push the hero off of him.

“Ready to turn yourself in?” the hero asked, enjoying having the upper hand for once.

He now straddled The Cardinal onto the hard concrete ground, trying to hold his arms immobile above his head with one hand as he had the other to trying to pull Yunho’s specially made handcuffs from his zipped pocket.

If Stardust had been there this would’ve been a sure victory, but Hongjoong hadn’t seen him for a while now, having lost the other hero somewhere along the maze of stairs and hallways leading to the rooftop and it barely registered until now that he needed the extra hand.

The couple of heroes didn’t have a good start working together. Yunho was hoping adding Stardust to the team would make things easier, his power being wide and far ranged. Instead the villains picked up and adapted quickly to the shift in their team and the two heroes were slow to get used to each other’s style. Yeosang was not great at communicating and Hongjoong was impulsive, both of them weren’t great at following each other’s lead.

The villain, that continued to trash around in his hold, breathed out a harsh sigh as his energy died down. “I wouldn’t consider yourself victorious so easily if I were you.” He said between strained breaths.

“Your taunts don’t have nearly the same effect when you’re out of air under me like that, you know.” The hero taunted back, a mocking expression on his face as his hand fiddle with the tiny zipper of his jacket pocket.

As he said so the breach the other was waiting for appeared. Maybe he was struggling a bit too much to pull the pocket open or The Cardinal’s appearance tricked him by seeming worse off than he really was. Or it could even be his own attitude that caused it, but his enemy was ruthless and didn’t forgive his slip.

The villain managed to pull one of his arms free, the second one soon following and not wasting time he pulled down the hero’s mask with one hand as he quickly grabbed onto the back of his neck, curling his fingers on the end of his hair and pushing his face down close to his, catching him completely off guard when their lips connected.

Hongjoong was too surprised at his enemy’s advance to have a reaction. He felt a tinge of pain as harsh teeth bit his bottom lip, earning a gasp that the other swallowed to give way to his tongue. His rival forcefully explored the hero’s mouth, taking advantage of his lack of response to deepen the kiss, making the most of it before he inevitably was pushed away.

“No one likes a bad winner, you know.” The villain mocked as he proceeded to give Hongjoong a harsh pull to the side and freeing his leg enough to knee the other on the stomach followed by kicking him away. He was sent rolling with the kick’s impact, the sharp pain on his middle making him choke on dry air until he eventually hit the metal railing stopping him from going any further.

A loud ringing in his ears and the blurry double vision as he tried to raise himself combined with the burning feeling spreading at the back of his neck told him he probably hit his head. He raised his hand to the area, his movements feeling heavy and his thoughts getting hazy.

The Cardinal now was recovered, standing and walking in his direction, but as he brought his hands back from his nape and looked from the villain to the red tainting his palm, black splotches invaded his vision and finally he felt himself go limp, darkness overtaking him.

☀ ⇀ ✩

“Don’t touch him!” The newer hero yelled from behind him.

The villain wasn’t expecting it, seeing the glistening wall of gold rise in front of him to block his path before he heard the new voice.

He didn’t mean to kick Hongjoong so harshly. Or maybe he did. And he wouldn’t have bothered to worry about him if he just took the hit with fire in his eyes like always, because he knew Hongjoong wasn’t that fragile to have the need to hold back. But this time the other just slumped down not awake anymore and maybe just maybe he was afraid he overdid it a little bit.

He had crouched down to access the damage, but before his outstretched hand reached his enemy he was rudely interrupted by Stardust, almost getting his fingers caught into his infectious power.

The rushed yet soft footsteps sounded in the silent night as he looked back to see the shorter hero running towards them. For a second he froze, he wanted to see Hongjoong wake up, give any life sign and make sure he hadn’t done something he would regret. He needed to know he was okay. For that reason he didn’t want to move.  

He couldn’t linger though, if Stardust had gotten there then Mingi was already gone considering they decided to be extra cautious regarding their new opponent. The invisible man did a good job stopping him, quickly noticing his opponent’s hesitance, but if it gotten too dangerous they agreed beforehand to just flee.

He resigned himself to walking back towards the door the younger hero came in, not caring to stop when the other raised his hands in a defensive position already knowing it was an empty threat and just left in a sour mood more bothered by his unsightly actions than losing the battle.

✩ ⇀ ❖

“Aaaah!” The older hero yelled out, hurting Yeosang’s ears.

“Could you please cry more silently, you’re giving me a headache.” He snapped. He had stayed quiet the whole car ride till now, but since Hongjoong woke up his patience was starting to seep away from him.

As Stardust he felt way less constrained to let his thoughts out than his usual shy and awkward real self, which was great if not for his new found lack of patience absolutely disgruntled at every post fight ride home he shared with his new partner.

He sat at the back with the hunter and Yunho, trying to focus at the scenery out the window rather than the object of his resentment while the taller mended his injury. In the front his private driver had the divisor pulled up, giving them more privacy.

“I’m hurt, you know. Don’t you have any compassion?” His partner whined in disbelief.

“Oh me? I’m the one with no compassion? What about you that just left me for dead?” His words were razor sharp and laced with venom, yet he ended it with an exasperated childish huff that somehow eased the blow.

He was more hurt that mad, how could he trust a guy like this.

His hand went instinctively to the tiny bandaid on the side of his cheek, put there not long ago by their psych. Yunho seemed to do a good job of support being there with them only to carry his friend home in case he hadn’t woken up, but coming ready with a pack of bandages and a bottle of antiseptic.

At first Yeosang didn’t understand why he didn’t wait to do that at home, but Yunho seemed very concerned in cleaning up soon to not get the fancy car seats dirtied with blood. He as the owner of it couldn’t care less, but even after riding it so many times the psych still hadn’t let go of that.

He was reliable, unlike other people , Yeosang thought to himself.

“I told you to stick close me, it’s not my fault you keep getting caught.” The hunter replied with just as much edge as he did.

That was ridiculous. It was the older’s fault entirely. Yeosang couldn’t see that guy, he needed the hero to help him or else of course he would get caught. He was following him and it wasn’t enough.

He got tripped, fell face first, got grabbed by the ankle and fighting against an invisible giant like that was not fun. It was humiliating and frightening. He was sure half of that guy’s clothes must be golden by now and what if he had actually touched skin and just not noticed?

“You should be glad I keep saving you.” The hero continued to add salt to the injury.

“Well, look who had to save who this time.” The younger replied unaffected.

They had been out fighting together a few times now, but by now their enemies had already figured out that he, unlike the hunter, had no clue where to look for the invisible guy.

With Mist the fight had some merit to it, Yeosang got to let go of control and use his power freely. The way things went against The Cardinal just felt like he was a distraction to gain more time than a real opponent and it was getting old.

“That guy looked worried when I got there.” Yeosang continued, remembering the scene.

“Huh?” The other seemed caught off guard by that.

“The Cardinal. Looked worried. Did hitting your head got you deaf as well?” Yeosang clarified snarky.

“You real-” The older hero started but quickly got cut off.

“Stop, stop, stop. Both of you calm down. I’m working on something to make you see the invisible guy, it’ll be ready soon it just needs a bit more testing.” Yunho tried appeasing them rationally, seeming disappointed. “Fighting amongst ourselves won’t help.”

❖ ⇀ ☾ ༄ ☽

This whole villains and heroes rivalry that build up around their mission had become a messy masquerade bowl and for once Mingi was glad to be in the position he was on the all knowledgeable team.

Finding out Wooyoung’s identity was easy and they were aware of it for a long time already since Seonghwa’s commands were always a good tracker for other powers, when his orders didn’t affect a rowdy drunk Wooyoung to get in the damn car after so many tries one night they connected the dots.

The thief’s endeavours didn’t affect them, in fact it was a good distraction so they left it alone and considered an issue that they would get to eventually when they had finished their true goal, same with the mysterious Stardust that they knew not much about yet. Now that that the heroes had joined forces however they had no choice but to also look for help.

It unsettle both the villains, lots of powerful people gathering together like that was dangerous for all of them. It gathered attention from the wrong people and the thin veil of protection that their public image provided could only go them so far. They didn’t have time to worry about that right then though.

Seonghwa sat on the armchair close to the door, carefully planning from the angle the light would hit his frame to how he should pose to assert himself in his dramatic reveal whenever the thief wandered through his own apartment door.

He liked to do this, Mingi noted after getting caught on the other side of the same situation a number of times, like a parent catching his kid sneaking home too late. His hyung cared deeply for all his friends with all the pure and good intentions in his heart, but the slight superiority he gained from being such a reliable figured certainly was something he could get drunk from.

He guessed his power steamed from that. Or that steamed from his power. Powers seemed to go hand in hand with their user’s personality, but no one could tell what shaped what precisely.

Mingi had no preparations to make as he was going to be invisible for most of this talk, he only had to focus on not being too obvious. Seonghwa was merely an acquaintance to Wooyoung. The older was often too busy to go out with them and the younger didn’t attend their college. Mingi on the contrary was a constant in his life, only losing to San and he was very easy to recognize with his tall frame and unmistakable deep voice.

And Wooyoung was no fool. He certainly got off on being underestimated, being actually one of the smartest people Mingi knew. However he also had the shortest attention span he’s ever seen and quickly got bored. He got things quickly if you gave him enough clues, but he just never paid attention long enough to get them.

And that was what they were betting on to not get immediately recognized. So Mingi was gonna stay quiet, only muttering words that were surely more interesting in content than sound in hope that presenting himself as a stranger would throw him off just enough to not get them found out.

Wooyoung suddenly came in through his apartment window, interrupting Mingi’s musings and worries, used to coming from rooftops rather than through the ground entrance. The mask on the thief’s face felt suffocating and he just wanted to get into the shower, wipe off all the wild make up he used as extra cover off of his face and sweat off his body. He was in such a rush that it took him too long to notice he wasn’t alone.

The hallway light flicked on, bleeding yellow into the room lightly lighting the man sitting on his armchair and startling the thief halfway to death.

“Good evening, Mist” Seonghwa said slowly and calmly, with his “villain” voice as Mingi called it. “My apologies I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m just here for a quick talk. I believe I haven’t introduced myself yet, but that must not be necessary, am I right?”

“If you’re asking if I know you, yeah.” The younger answered defensively stepping back closer to the window he came from.

“Good, then I can go directly to the point. Stardust has made an alliance with my dear Hunter and it’s giving me a headache to deal with him. I came to propose an alliance of our own.” The Cardinal said going straight to the point.

“Yeah no thanks, I have an absolute no policy on working for free.” The thief didn’t even seem to consider it before responding.

“If they are fighting together against me I’m sure they will come after you too.” Seonghwa tried reasoning.

“Stardust barely reaches half of my level and your plaything will never come close to touching me so no, I don’t think I need any help.” Cocky words slipped out of the thief, that just seemed eager to throw them out.

“Your hero must have become bored with your performance for him to come pick a fight with me. Take some responsibility.” The Cardinal's tone now hardened, not really having any of the younger's attitude. “And rather than how hard they can hit you, I’m sure I could help you actually hit them. I don’t see you winning very often.”

Wooyoung hadn’t lost not even once since his goal was always escaping and he hadn’t be captured, however the villain’s word rang somewhat true to his ears. He hadn’t lost, but had he ever truly won? He did have that thought often while looking at the marks constantly being left on him, that seemed to each time grow in size as if slowly trying to swallow him whole.

“And how do I know you’re not controlling me?” He asked cautiously.

“You don’t” Seonghwa answered without skipping a beat. A lie, he hardly could control Wooyoung, at least not with the same efficiency he did everyone else, but he didn’t need to know that. “But I was hoping I could earn your trust by revealing a secret or two. Knowledge is power after all and I seek an even alliance.”

“Yeaaah, still a hard pass. I don’t trust you and I’m not interested in any knowledge or whatever.” Wooyoung answered. He wanted to win a fight against that annoying rival of his, but The Cardinal presence unsettled him way too much. “Now get the hell out of my house.”

“I apologize for barging in without a warning, but I think you are reading the situation wrong my dear. This is not something you have a say in, don’t forget there’s nothing stopping me from controlling you after all.” Seonghwa bluffed calmly and patronizing as if having to explain an undeniable truth to a child.

“Then why don’t you do just that?” Wooyoung countered not wanting to submit, but cursing and holding his breath at his own loudmouth. He tried to sound unbothered, but the villain’s words got him on edge and had him shivering with fear under his jacket.

“Is that what you want me to do?” The Cardinal asked eyes wide, voice cold and his head tilting just enough to make the thief’s heart freeze. Then after a second of tension the villain relaxed against the armchair. “I merely wish for an ally rather than a puppet. Controlling your every move seems like wasted energy when I could just ask nicely, don’t you agree?”

Mist had to give it to him. He always had seen the older villain as tacky and silly over the internet, but in person he understood how his acting was effective. Being a villain had become quite the spectacle and Mist himself exaggerated his moves and bravato for the observing crowd. He just wished to uphold his reputation, but the other clearly calculated his move to install fear on the audience and it worked.

“Okay, I’m hearing you.” The thief spoke, finally submitting to the idea being forced at him.

“Good boy.” Seonghwa answered with a smirk and Wooyoung just wanted to punch it out of his face.

“Come out.” The villain continued calling out and confusing the thief.

“Ahhhh!” The thief shrieked loudly frightened at the sudden appearance of a new person towering over him that wasn’t there a second before, high pitch hurting their ears and stumbling back a few feet almost falling.

“This is my partner, he becomes invisible. You are currently the only one that knows about him. Besides the heroes of course.” The villain explained matter-of-factly, unfazed at the trick compared to the thief. “If we’ll work together I figured you should know about him.”

“Guess so.” He mumbled.

Mingi was a bit disheartened by the other’s silence and short answers from then on as Seonghwa continued about the terms of their pact, but the older’s attitude and pulling on a stunt on him was necessary so he kept quiet for the time being, accepting that this would work through intimidation for now. He hoped the other would grow used to Seonghwa with time.

“I can’t think of anything else you’d need to know. Any questions? I wish to gain your trust, so I will answer what I can truthfully, else I’ll abstain from commenting.” The villain finished finally.

Mist seemed deep in thought for a second before opening his mouth again. “Where did the name come from?”

“Huh?” Seonghwa wasn’t expecting that question, not understanding it at face value.

“You know “The Cardinal”, you named yourself, didn’t you?” The younger explained making air quotations.

“The cardinal is a high ranking priest, as I go after criminal I make them confess their sins and give them an according punishment.” The hero started professing, giving off the exact amount of arrogance Wooyoung expected of the prick.

“Also is the name of a bird.” He then added quickly in an uncharacteristic mumble.

“A bird?” That caught the thief by surprise again.

“A pun between my purpose and an old nickname.” He explained.

“It was either angry bird or mars as far as nicknames goes.” Mingi commented snickering already.

“Haha, lame. Mars could’ve worked better with that tacky red suit. I see the resemblance well though.” The thief answered between laughs.

Normally Seonghwa would be pissed at the mockery, but right then he had to try to hide smile at how the thief didn’t differ at all from the bratty kid his friends hang around with.

“And what’s the big guy’s name?” Mist asked.

The thief actually knew Mingi in real life and they were hoping the dim lights and rush of fights would work in their favor in addition to the mask. They didn’t however think about a way to call him since it was never necessary.

“It’s not necessary for you to know, he answers to me only. Anything you need to discuss you can come directly to me.” Seonghwa tried playing it off, while trying to think on what to do.

The persona The Cardinal put up as a villain made it easy to brush things off, he knew it made him come off as arrogant and self-righteous, but it was useful when it came to excuses. Types like Wooyoung never really fell for that part of it though.

“And that’s what you call a genuinely even alliance?” The thief asked in an accusatory mocking tone, clearly trying to push his buttons.

Seonghwa only rolled his eyes at the childish antics, he didn’t care enough to get riled up.

“Then give him a name.” The villain proposed surprising both sides.

“What?” The thief asked dumbfounded. Mingi looked back at him brow scrunched equally puzzled.

“No one can see him, so we never bothered with an alias. You’d be the only one using it, so I don’t care whatever you come up with.”

Wooyoung stood with his mouth opened without knowing how to react, but got to thinking eventually, leaning onto a furniture piece by the window. “How about…”

“Eclipse?” He tried it. “You know, cuz you disappear… Like an Eclipse?”

Mingi only gave him an incredulous face, still not yet caught up with the random prospect of being named by the thief.

“Way cooler than a bird name, right?” He continued to comment snickering already seemed comfortable enough to mock the older villain again. Seonghwa seemed to be pleased with the outcome so Mingi just sighed conforming to it. Eclipse was his name now, not that anyone would be saying it often he presumed.

☾ ༄ ☽ ⇀ ☀

Hongjoong woke up to knocks on his dorm room’s door.

It had been two… No, three maybe? A few days since The Cardinal knocked him out. His sense of time was warped by then. After getting home from the incident the hero fell face first into his pillow and slept for over eighteen hours as he heard from Yunho, which wasn’t indicated when a person got a blow to the head but, oh well, he was just so tired he couldn’t help it.

When he next woke up, it was only to feel much more pain than before and he didn’t even have the strength to move, much less shower or anything else. Yunho only had time to change his bandages quickly before the bunch of painkillers he took acted and lulled him back to sleep. His roommate sounded worried, but there was only a small cut as far as he could describe so Hongjoong just shooed him for the time being.

However while his body was forced to sleep his mind had a hard time after already having passed a whole day doing it. It felt as if he was in a limbo drifting in and out of conscience only to worry about what was wrong for this to be hurting so damn bad.

He wasn’t dumb enough to think he was above getting a concussion or something of the likes, he needed to get that checked out and he shouldn’t be sleeping so much, but what excuse was he gonna say caused that.

And how he’d get there in this state anyway, the last thing he wanted to do was reach out to Stardust much less to ask for a ride on his stupid fancy car.

His head throbbed in pain again. That’s it. He was gonna die. The end was near.

Knocks on the door sounded again. He groaned. Where’s Yunho when he needed that giant puppy. Getting up took way too much effort as lighthead as he was, reality feeling so far away and his body so heavy.

“What do you want?” The grumpy hero asked opening the door, eyes not even seeing properly yet through the jarring light coming in.

“Ah, sorry. I just… You didn’t answer my messages so I got a bit worried…” Park Seonghwa stood there awkwardly giving excuses for his visit in a soft voice, clearly not expecting to get instantly yelled at.

Hongjoong thought for a hazy second that indeed he was dead to have been visited by such an ethereal angelic entity. And then he realised his rudeness and actually wanted to be dead.

“No no no, everything is fiiine, I’m fine it’s... fine.” Hongjoong tried reassuring the other while holding himself up by the doorframe, but he just sounded so groggy and tired. His... boyfriend, by now they were definitely more than friends he guessed, was clearly not convinced by his words.

“May I come in?” Seonghwa asked unsure.

“Sure, just… gimme a second to clean up some stuff.” he answered stumbling back.

He left the door partially opened as he went to open the blinds on the pitch black room, still as lightheaded as when he first got up. He was on the way to the bathroom to try and at least brush his messy hair when suddenly the black dots on his visions were back. Luckily Seonghwa didn’t wait much to follow him inside, just in time to catch Hongjoong mid slip up in his arms.

“Hongjoong, you’re not okay, you should go to the hospital.” Seonghwa said firmly, but it fell on deaf ears as Hongjoong’s fuzzy vision could only focus at his face inches away from his.

He looked disappointed. Why did he look so disappointed? Ah, he had asked him a question and now he should answer it. Hongjoong’s hazy mind didn’t quite registered anything other than that he didn’t want this beautiful angel disappointed at him.

“I’m just a bit sleep-” He tried saying, his voice sounding far away from his own ears.

“Joong, your pillow is soaked in blood.” He pointed out with an accusing eyebrow raised, the shorter only now noticing how sticky his neck was, that he must had bleed through his bandages.

“What happened?” The older asked concerned, now with Hongjoong already on his feet  again yet his arms stayed there around his waist, making sure he was stable. For the hero the closeness only made him dizzier though.

“I just fell down the stairs.” Hongjoong answered quickly making up an excuse. Thankfully the other didn’t question it, moving on to carrying him to bed.

“You should’ve told me, you know I can help. Let me have a look at it.” The older asked placing him in bed, making him lay face down into the pillow for better vision.

“You did a good job sterilising it.” Seonghwa murmured as he analysed the cut.

“My roommate did it for me. Dumped half a bottle of antiseptic on it.” Hongjoong replied, pout evident in his voice at the memory.

“Must’ve stung. The cut is not big but it seems deep, you need stitches. If you don’t treat it you might seriously die of blood loss.”

“Really?” Hongjoong asked in a panic already trying to get up, terrified expression on his face.

“No.” He answered chuckling at the reaction and pushing him back down softly. “But you are suffering from blood loss definitely, you needed better bandaging than this if you were trying to escape getting stitches. But you shouldn’t if you don’t want an infection.”

“Can’t you treat it for me? I don’t really wanna go to the doctor.” Hongjoong whined like a little kid, hearing a sigh in response.

“I’m a student, I don’t have a license, so I shouldn’t do something like that even if I know how to. Also this will already leave a scar, I would probably worsen it even more trying to sew it up.”

“A scar?” Hongjoong screeched really opposed to the idea. “I don’t want an ugly scar…” He mumbled after a defeated sound.

“Nothing bout you will ever be ugly, Hongjoong.” Seonghwa said softly rubbing comforting circles onto his back.

Okay, a scar could be… aesthetic. Hongjoong could work with that, he tried reasoning with himself. He needed to shut up and stop embarrassing himself in front of his crush. It wasn’t like he would be seeing the back of his own neck often either way. Maybe it was time to grow a mullet again like he did in high school.

And. If he had to have a mark imprinted on him. Having it be made by Seonghwa seemed much more appealing than by The Cardinal. Like a tattoo, a nice memory of a lover rather than an enemy. He sunk more into his pillow, hiding as he blushed madly from the prospect.

What was he even thinking, his thoughts were all jumbled and he felt like his conscience was floating. He hated it.

“Please just make it go away.” The hero spoke, practically whispering.

“Okay” Seonghwa whispered back soothingly, hand feeling heavy and hot on his back.

The older conveniently had the material in his bag, almost as if already expecting this situation and it really didn’t take much to convince Seonghwa to use it, maybe because he went there with the intention to right his wrong doings from the start, but Hongjoong didn’t know that neither did he take much notice of it beyond being grateful.

The hero didn’t have spare energy to scrutinise the situation too deeply to start with. Specially since getting stitches hurt . Not only that but he had to lay face first on Seonghwa’s lap for the older to have proper access to it and it was so embarrassing to be struggling to hold still centimeters away from his crotch. He lowkey drooled all over his pants in his light headed bloodlost state as he tried to grit his teeth at the pain and he wanted to simply vanish from shame.

It was a bittersweet feeling in a way. He was thankful to Seonghwa for taking care of him, dressing his wound and the reassuring caresses on his back and gentle pets on the head. He was there for him, he could rely on him and he didn’t even once really question him.

But also it was humiliating. It was already bad enough that he was hurt, a clear sign he had failed, but also having to go through this in front of him. He felt disgusting and worn out. It seemed that more often than not he showed his weaker side to Seonghwa and that wasn’t how he wanted to be seen.

His touches and care made him feel loved and safe yet the gaze at the back of his neck made him feel vulnerable, ashamed and small.

Seonghwa’s visit didn’t last much. The older only stopped by between classes and tending to the hero took roughly an hour, time that he didn’t actually have to start with. Hongjoong was already falling asleep by the time he finished and devoid of any coherent thought. He really wanted to just be held to infinity and never be let go, but he also hadn’t showered in over three days and the thought of being held like this made him feel gross.

Unsuspecting of the other’s internal conflicting feelings Seonghwa just opted to leave him with a kiss to the forehead after tucking him in and leaving a note listing proper medicine and instructions written on it.

Yunho didn’t take too long to arrive, only missed the villain for a couple of minutes. He got scared senseless by the red tainted pillow on the floor and quickly ran to his roommate aid, desperately trying to shake him up frightened he might’ve actually died while he was in class.

It was a small cut and Yunho was no doctor, how would he know it was so serious, he told his best friend to go to the hospital, this whole hero thing was so dumb, he said they shouldn’t get involved… A thousand curses ran through his head, but Hongjoong just swatted him away lazily mumbling that ‘Seonghwa fixed it’ and as the older turned away in his sea of blankets the curative on his nape had been changed, way more professionally looking than Yunho could ever strive for with his clumsy bandages.

The psych vaguely remembered the guy Hongjoong was seeing was a med student, but he didn’t know much else. It might’ve been the first time he even heard his name. The older didn’t share much, although his lovestruck attitude was obvious whenever his dates popped up in conversation or in his thoughts.

Yunho wasn’t the nosy type, with gossip at least. If it wasn’t a problem, a puzzle to be solved, he didn’t bother prying knowing that Hongjoong would tell him when he was ready. But this maybe peaked his curiosity a little bit. The outset to his interest in actually meeting the, suddenly mysterious, man.

After all being a hero was dangerous, maybe having a doctor on their side would be useful. Although that’d entailed telling him about their identities and that only worked for Hongjoong, since he didn’t feel like exposing his powers. He scrapped the idea and figured he’d question his roommate when he woke up, for now he was left with a list of anti-infection meds and another bottle of antiseptic to go after.

And maybe a new pillow considering his was so rudely stolen and now was being all drooled over. From then on he had to start thinking twice before putting out his cool spiderman pillowcase and sheets set before a hero mission, he made the mental note sourly.

☀ ⇀ ☾ ✧ ☽

Yunho spending the holidays at Yeosang’s place had actually been pretty helpful beyond just embarrassing moments and growing their friendship. His room, as the psych later got to see, had all the mess you’d expect from a young man of that age in contrast to the empty space that the rest of the apartment was.

Still not much of a personality, more like a makeshift storage for all of the boy’s things, but less unsettling to the psych. “I don’t plan on staying here for too long.” was what he had to say once Yunho got the courage to ask.

And then he saw, right after he almost broke his ankle slipping on a misplaced skateboard, a pile of drones. The boy seemed to be quite interested in them as he had a number of different models.

Usually Yunho hated when the hero life jumped up and invaded his normal one, not wanting to see “work” everywhere he went, however the ideas he got looking at them… He couldn’t be happier.

One thing lead to another until there he was, sitting at a fire escape of their chemistry building conveniently placed in the middle of the city. The height was a little too much for his taste, he tied a chain between the bars and his belt as he sat down and swung his legs out making himself comfortable, but he wasn’t particularly scared of it beyond a natural instinctive worry.

He took his time bringing his things out, a tiny drone, his controller and a small box careful to keep them very far from the edge.

Once he was settled he turned on the tiny lab rat and tested flying it out like he’d trained with Yeosang through the last week. He was still sloppy at that but he had enough skill by now to do it alone, quickly getting the drone to go up and flying in front of him.

The whole platform shook as another person loudly landed besides him, giving his heart a fright and making him grip the metal bars for dear life.

“What are you doing there?” The familiar deep voiced villain asked as he towered over Yunho, not wasting time with greetings.

The psych put the drone to hover on standby and mused for a second how he should answer him, just staring at the other with a pout. The other seemed more accessible than his partner and that gave Yunho hope of talking things out with him, reach an understanding. For that he supposed honesty would be the best policy.  

It sounded silly, trying to build up trust with the enemy, but that was Yunho’s speciality. And besides them being enemies, whatever feelings the villain had for him were not threatening at all, in fact they felt, smelled and tasted amazingly sweet like nothing Yunho had seen before.

For the uniqueness of it he couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but the warmth and the fragrant smell of hazelnut and cinnamon made him sure that the other was a kind person, right then he didn’t fear him at all. In fact he would even go so far as to think he might be fond of Yunho.

Although that’s a stretch, he thought to himself unconvinced by the physical evidence his power provided him with.

“Can you turn invisible for a moment?” Yunho asked not quite sure how to explain his goal without showing an example. As he asked that he pulled the small box taking out a pair of glasses out of it.

“Even if I do, does it make any difference to you?” The man standing besides him asked in a light tone.

“Just do it” Yunho answered with a pout. He put the glasses on and grinned when he saw no traces of him, flying the the drone a bit closer to him to show what he came up with.

“See?” Yunho said showing the screen on his controller to the empty space besides him. “The glasses too. I haven’t tested on anyone else, but it works on me so it does make a difference with it. I can’t see you right now and this camera can.”

“What’s the point of having glasses that neutralizes a power like yours?” The villain asked.

“There’s more to it than just that. It’s a long story. Besides it’ll make Stardust see you without affecting his own power so there’s plenty of good use.” Yunho answered cheekly, hoping that info wasn’t too valuable to give away, still set on being transparent.

“Can I try them? The glasses I meant.” His rival asked, explaining more clearly when Yunho tilted his head in question.

The older put them on looking at Yunho oddly for a minute too long, before taking a seat besides the psych and directing his sight to the people on the streets below them, dots full of color to him now.

“Wow” was all that he had to say.

“It doesn’t neutralise powers, it just gives you my vision. Of course on me it works on reverse.” Yunho explained. “Must be annoying to use it for too long though.”

“It’s beautiful.” He said astonished. Then he looked at Yunho one more time. “You’re beautiful.”

“Me?” Yunho asked not getting where that came from, feeling a bit awkward, but then it sank in. “Ah, do I have an aura too?”

“Hmh.” The other agreed.

“What color is it?” The psych asked eager to know more. He didn’t see it at the mirror somehow.

“Gold, but… Blue? It’s so hard to describe... It’s both at the same time.” The villain answered thoughts scrambled.

“I get what you mean.” Yunho answered knowingly, although he couldn’t quite imagine what the others had in blue.

“That’s how your power works?” He asked curious.

“Well, yes. There’s lots more aspects and side effects to it, but vision wise I’m sure it’s accurate.” The psych replied. “It should take a while to get used to it, but since you can be seen with it, it’s not just a novelty item. Took me so long to figure this one out.”

And it really did, Yunho tested a huge array of materials and only by coincidence he came across the fact that his power didn’t affect glass at all, allowing him to design something that could hold his power and not make it radiate any further.

It technically was a newfound weakness if not for his creativity, but that he wouldn’t share.

“What about me? Do I have an aura?” The younger asked looking down at his own hands.

“I’m not sure… I was curious since I can’t see it but you should have one. I just don’t  know what conditions it would appear in, your powers seems to affect it.” Yunho pondered at the question, as he had done many times the last few months. Asking the source didn’t help after all. If only he could do some tests...

“I’ll give you a treat since you’ve been a good boy.” The younger said interrupting his thoughts with a hand on his head, ruffling the other’s hair messily before settling his fingers and carding through it in a comforting manner.

Being honest and telling him all that was already paying off. Yunho snorted with a blush at the gesture and he could see the wrinkles around the other’s eyes indicating a smile. It soon went away though. “We’ve contacted Mist yesterday. The Cardinal wants him to deal with Stardust for us.”

Yunho’s blood went cold, that wasn't good. Now the villains were teaming up and it was three powers against one. Stardust had his work cut out for him. It was good to have that information though.

“Now you won’t be caught by surprise, that’s your reward.” The villain said, hand sliding down from being entangled in his hair to cupping his cheek, his thumb slowly brushing against his cheekbone a few times before Yunho spoke again.

“Thank you for telling me.” He answered, trying to put on a grateful smile even if the news didn’t quite make him any happy.

They stayed in silence for close to a minute just looking at the city lights under their feet, Yunho’s head heavy filled with thoughts of his friends and the man besides him with thoughts of Yunho himself both already trying to plan for their protection.

With the soured mood weighing down on them, his protective enemy figured the best he could do right now was take his mind away from the news for the time being.

“You know I got a nickname today.” He commented hoping to distract him.

“Oh really? What is it?” Yunho asked perking up.

“Eclipse. Mist thought I needed a cool villain name.” He huffed at the memory.

“Haha, is that so? I suppose it fits you. Now I have a name to call you by so I'm glad he thought that.” The psych replied approving the new codename.

Mingi couldn't help himself but smile at that. Yunho liked having a name to call him by! His name mattered to Yunho even if only just a little and that made his heart flutter with happiness even if realistically he knew it had no such deep meaning whatsoever.

“The Hunter got his name not too long ago as well, I wonder why he got called that.” The older commented suddenly.

“Well the Cardinal is named after a bird so I guess people just went off from that?” He responded unsure himself.

“Really? That's so lame.” Yunho answered with laughter that warmed the other’s heart. “Everyone else has such cool names now though, I'm jealous.”

“Yunho is a pretty neat name if you ask me.” Mingi tried but the compliment landed awkwardly in the air between them, only receiving an unconvinced scoff from the older.

“Thanks I guess.” The psych replied.

“How about Aurora? Like the lights you see.” Eclipse suggested after thinking for a bit.

“As my name? But I'm not a hero or anything.” Yunho answered getting caught off guard by the suggestion.

“The Hunter wouldn't be out there if it wasn't for you, you earned the title.” Eclipse answered with a hand on his shoulder. “Besides codenames aren't just for fun and pose. It could be dangerous if someone heard me saying your real name. Your friends shouldn't say it while disguised as well.”

“I guess you do have a point.” Yunho agreed.

“Also you're too easy to find. At least wear a mask if you're gonna be so obvious.” The other now had his arm over his shoulder and pulled him closer as he excitedly gave him tips to the amusement of the older.

“Am I really? Don't let my roommate hear you or I'll have to wear a uniform as well.” He answered laughing as Eclipse continued to tell him how to take more hero like precautions.

Soon a comfortable silence fell between them, the city lights beneath filtering their vision with a particular brand of nostalgia, comforting yet chilling at the same time. Yunho found it refreshing, the cold air letting him breath for the first time in a while. Heights helped him, not many people and feelings up there besides the two of them.

He once again moved the drone he had been neglecting, putting on the glasses to have an unbiased vision and dipping the gadget into a slow dive towards a park, not very busy at that hour, but still packing a few late runners.

“It really does work with anyone!” He exclaimed excitedly as he saw people’s aura even as he used the glasses. “Now the problem is just durability I gue…”

Looking back at Eclipse his voice drops, the drone lowering itself to the ground with a silent thud, thankfully not getting caught in a tree or a bush.

“Eclipse? Are you there?” He asked to the now void besides him, the villain having disappear.

“I'm here.” The voice startled him a little bit coming for way closer to his face than he expected. “Maybe if you take off the glasses…”

He had already assumed the other had walked away, vanished into the night like a mysterious brooding supervillain but he was still there in all his glory, pale skin adorned by the moonlight way too close and way too precious with starry eyes that he hit himself mentally for noticing.

“Why did you decide to become invisible again? Were you planning to scare me?” Yunho asked jokingly to hopefully hide the flush on his face.

“I didn't decide anything.” The other answered in a soft mumble, not quite upset just conformed earning a confused look from the psych. “Let's just say that it takes more effort to be visible than not. And even now I'm still getting the hang of it.”

“I see.” Yunho answered knowingly. That seemed to be the pattern with powers.

“My power… It doesn't just simply turn on and off as well.” He spoke slowly and hesitant. “Sometimes it can be a little... Overwhelming.”

Yunho felt the atmosphere now dense and hard to breath in, both of their thoughts drifting into a darker place again.

“I guess being invisible might take the cake on unlucky though.” He laughed slightly and humorless, just trying to make light of it in hopes of brightening up when an idea hit him.

“Ah, actually, maybe I have something for you that can help!” The psych exclaimed excitedly. “All that there is to your power is being invisible, right? Nothing else?”

“Why?” Eclipse asked suspicious.

“Hm... Medical reasons I guess? We don't see each other very often so I most probably won't be able to check on the long term effects of it.” Yunho answered scavenging through his backpack.

“What?” It was Mingi’s turned to be confused.

“Well, my power neutralizes other powers and I can make this... Amulets? Trinkets? High tech masterpieces? Whatever you choose to call them.” Yunho started the usual explanation for the third time now, proud of himself to have made his power and degree helpful some way.

“They wear off with use. As you can imagine the Hunter and Stardust use them a lot so I have plenty to spare just in case.”

Finally he pulled out a little clothed bag, turning it on his cupped hand. A couple of golden charms and multiple star shaped plastic fell out of it.

“Here I can give you a few, I usually just change the inside for them, but I'm sure you can figure it out by yourself. I’ll just gift them to you…” He paused for a second suddenly hopeful. If he was helpful maybe he could get another reward again? “Although, it would be nice if you could, you know, maybe stop being a villain? And the Cardinal too? Or maybe just give me a little more info to help me out?”

He knew he was asking for too much, but the feelings radiating off Eclipse had been so compliantly gentle towards him up until then that he almost felt it could be possible and so he continued to drag on with naive puppy eyes that albeit soft felt like daggers through Mingi’s heart.

“I know you're after something and it's not criminals or diamonds maybe we can reach a compromise…” He continued hoping to convince his enemy.

“Yunho." The villain interrupting,

"That not the name you gave me." Yunho frowned disappointed, realising he was getting carried away and that they weren’t actually friends.

At some point he stopped taking notice of the feelings in the air through their encounter for once comfortable enough with the calming way it affected him to focus on the moment instead of dissecting them as usual, but now he realised how spoiled they had got him over the course of barely an hour and that was dangerous.

It was strange to have something so far back of his mind mind that he doesn’t even notice unconsciously string along his expectations for this man that he’s not even fairly close to, making him feel like he was… special? That he would be taken care of in a way.

And now Eclipse looked heartbroken at his reaction which was way too intense and way to charged of an emotion for Yunho to deal with so he backed away.

He didn't expect to receive any answers to start with, he told himself, just trying it out to see what he could get. Those were gifts, just like he gave the other two boys, a gift didn't entail anything in return.

“I'm kidding, here take it. I can make more if you need it, you won't be invisible as long as you carry it with you.” He spoke again hastily wanting to move on.

The younger picked the little charms in his hand, one of the golden stars and a few of the clear plastic copies that he guessed went inside and stowed them away on his pocket not quite close enough to himself to have them into effect yet.

He sighed and Yunho could feel the warmth of gratitude washing over him in slow waves, bring him back from the spiraling of complicated feelings and making his hair stand on edge like a kiss on the neck.

“It's like a pressure has been lift off of me. Thanks, Aurora.” Eclipse said meaning it and carefully using the alias that the other seemed to have liked so much. It hurt him not being able to just give Yunho what he wanted, but he seemed to have liked to be called by the name Mingi had given him and that he was thrilled about.

With that Eclipse stood up, metal clanking under his feet as he made his way towards the edge of the platform.

“Call me if you need anything, just... Don't ask me for more than I can give you. Please.” He sounded pained, and Yunho kinda wished he was already using the charm because he somehow felt in with the other’s words that he probably would die for him if he asked him to, which was a weird unique feeling Yunho hadn't been faced with before and the psych wasn’t sure he liked feeling it directed at himself.

Then the man turned his back to him and in that split second Yunho finally realised the implications of what he had done.

“Wait!” He got so distracted with Eclipse, he didn't understand why he felt like he could trust him so much, was he that easy to seduce that he just became stupid? What he gave him could easily be used against Stardust or anyone with a power.

“Can you not tell the Cardinal... Or Mist... About the charm.” He asked, the damage already done.

“I won't. Goodbye my Aurora.” He said a subtle smile hidden beneath his mask gracing the corner of his eyes before he jumped into a much much lower step.

Yunho didn't quite know what to freak out about first, how cute the smile was, the fact that he said my Aurora, that he just gave their essential secret tech to the enemy without a second thought or that the man just jumped off a shaky platform of a ten story building.

He swallowed a silent scream as he lowered his face to his hands, rosy cheeks blushing all the way to the top of his ears as he tried to compose himself, brain short-circuiting for a good minute.

☾ ✧ ☽ ⇀ ❖

Yeosang was finally wearing the glasses, he got past Eclipse no problem this time only to receive a flying kick to the chest off a building by Mist and end up barely hanging on by a misplaced tv cable.

One would think he'd be used to his arch nemesis by now, to know all his tricks and be ready to fight accordingly but he soon came to realize as he observed the dull silver scatter in the air above his head that he always had Mist in the defensive, never the other way around.The thief was ruthless in the offensive and that brought him a whole assortment of new problems.

His thoughts were broken by Hongjoong's yells as he looked up to see him leaning over the edge.

“Take my hand!” He yelled stretching his arm in his direction.

“What?” Was all Stardust could answer dumbly staring at him as if he was crazy.

“Hurry grab my hand or you’ll fall!” The Hunter continued to yell while trying to grab Yeosang’s bare hand.

“Are you stupid? You’ll lose your hand!” He screamed back releasing one of his hands before his partner could reach it, now holding on by just one.

“I don’t care just do it!” The older pleaded desperate.

Yeosang didn’t do it, instead letting go of the cable and falling. Hongjoong was about to have a heart attack when the other suddenly wasn’t going down anymore. He watched dumbfounded as the other came up through little steps of gold creating little planks of metal  that came out of the wall as he brushed his hand on it that appearing under his feet.

The Hunter only stared dumbfounded as he got back up ready to continue the fight, yet no one was there with them anymore.

❖ ⇀ ✧

“I was fine, you wasted time.” They weren’t even in the car for a minute and the two heroes were whining loudly already arguing back and forth.

“Wasted time? I thought you were about to fall to your death!” Hongjoong barked back exasperated.

“You gotta trust me already. You were the ones that asked for my help, but you don’t even know what I can do. We’ll never win if you really don’t trust me and my power.” Yeosang told him off and it seemed to stick that time.

Hongjoong quieted down at that. The hero Hunter only had his mind in capturing his enemy and that might make him a tad blinded, but Hongjoong still cared for his now partner and he couldn’t just let him get hurt like that, not when he could help. Now he was starting to see his own faults in their partnership.

Both of them opted for looking out of the window as Yunho awkwardly shifted in the middle, regretting coming to pick them up this time. He did to check on his precious glasses not patient enough to wait till the next day for feedback.

“You guys do know that it’s okay if you touch, right?” He commented absentmindedly as he placed the glasses back into their case hoping the tricky to repair accessory wouldn’t wear off as fast inside the case.

“What?” Both of them asked, misplaced annoyance still in their voice.

“I mean, Stardust doesn’t have anything stopping his powers, but you do hyung. If The Cardinal can’t affect you then he wouldn’t either, you know.” He pointed out shifting his things.

The Hunter’s face of disbelief was almost comical and would be great entertainment for the youngest had he himself not been facepalming at that moment.

“Hmmmm. I’ll give this mission a C grade. You seem to be adjusting well to the glasses and we are doing better, but we still have a long way ahead of us.” Yunho muttered while writing some notes on a little notebook that Hongjoong recognised as his makeshift prototype catalogue. The older noticed every mission was getting logged in the last pages since he got knocked out for the first time.

“Are you grading us now?” The older snorted baffled that the notes his roommate made had actual performance grades on them.

“Yes, until you reach an SSS I won’t be satisfied and I really don’t enjoy playing this game, so hurry up with that, will you.” The psych pointed out while taking the eldest under his arm to ruffle his hair. Stardust sighted at his spot, back to looking out the window.

The two heroes weren’t working in synch yet, but Yunho could see the little progress through his notes as they started to adapt to each other and as frustratingly slow as that was it was still a step in the right direction.