#missing junmyeon hours

[paintingwhiteceilings]

can you make exo members as your childhood best friend? and with fem reader please! love your writing <3

❃EXO members as your childhood best friend❃

A/N: Hiii thank you so much for this ask! I am so sorry that it has taken me months to finally respond to it :’)  I spent the last few months birthing a 35.000-word, 65-page thesis so I didn’t have any time/energy left to do any creative writing. Regardless, thank you for this cute ask! It was fun reminiscing over my memories with my childhood friend that I have known since I was four months old. Thank you for being so patient with me the very long wait, hopefully, this makes up for it!

Xiumin/Minseok:

✾ Xiumin and you became friends during recess in primary school. He noticed your classmates constantly picked you last whenever you played a game together during recess. Thus, whenever he was chosen to be a team captain, he made sure to pick you first, resulting in you two becoming close friends.

✾ Your mom adores him; heck, she prefers him over you. Xiumin has always been the perfect son; he got perfect grades, is polite, is handsome, cleans up after himself, etc. Whenever you call her, she asks whether you can pass the phone to him so she can ask her favourite child how he is doing.

✾ He is a very consistent friend. Regardless of how busy his schedule is, he makes sure to drop by your place regularly. If he can't visit you in person, he will have a four-hour phone call with you instead, where you two talk about everything and anything happening in your lives.

✾ At some point during your friendship, he had a massive crush on you. He never told you -and you might not have noticed it- but it was incredibly obvious to everyone around you as they watched him follow you with puppy dog eyes. Your mother still holds out hope that you will end up together.

Suho/Junmyeon:

✾ You guys became friends all the way back in pre-school when Suho noticed you were having trouble learning how to tie your shoelaces. Five-year-old Suho wasted no time and offered to help you out, patiently teaching you how to do it. You have stuck together ever since, remaining close throughout your teenage years.

✾ Suho dragged you through secondary school; if it hadn't been for him functioning as your tutor throughout your educational career, you would not have had the grades you ended up graduating with. Nowadays, he mostly gives you advice on work and will look over contract details with you when needed.

✾ He was 1000% your wealthy, rich best friend growing up. His childhood birthday parties were incredibly lavish; he would take all his friends to theme parks when he was younger, his parents paying for every expense. Even nowadays, he never misses a chance to spoil you rotten, taking you on already-paid-for trips whenever he is able to.

✾ You guys have stayed at each other's places so often that you call each other's parents mom and dad. It is not unusual for one of you to have dinner with the other's parents without the other present.  

✾ Compared to the other members, he is less consistent with meetups, not minding it too much when a lot of time passes between phone calls. You can go months without talking to each other before sending the other a random TikTok or stopping by each other's place unannounced.

Baekhyun:

✾ The two of you have a crazy story of how you met. You met Baekyhun shortly after moving into the same street. At the time, you were convinced mermaids were real, so you decided it was perfectly reasonable to dive into the river running next to your house to introduce yourself to them without actually being able to swim. Luckily for you, Baekyhun happened to be playing nearby and jumped in after you without a second thought, rescuing you from drowning. He still holds it over you whenever he needs a favour.  

✾ You have so many weird stories of when you were growing up together. You two would constantly get into trouble, most of it initiated by Baekyhun. It got to the point where your teachers decided to put you in different classes to prevent you two from pulling pranks during class.

✾ Your place is his place, and vice versa. On one occasion, you accidentally switched apartments; Baekyhun had gone over to yours whilst you had visited him. You still complain that he should cover your grocery bills as he tends to eat most of the food in your fridge whenever he is over.

✾ Baekyhun is such a loyal friend; he will always have your back and drop everything to come running when you tell him you need him. Baekyhun has friends he has known for over 20 years; he is a friend for life.

Chen/Jongdae:

✾ Your dad and his dad were best friends, introducing you to one another when you were two years old in the hopes you would become best friends, too. At first, you two were painfully shy, hiding behind your fathers to stare at the other strange kid, but after leaving you two alone for an hour, you two became quick friends.

✾ He acts very much like a brother. Chen can be super annoying, teasing you whenever he gets a chance, but he will drop everything and anything when you call him. He will not let anyone else -not even his members- tease you; it is only okay if he does it.

✾ You two give each other the best advice. You guys regularly call each other to talk about whatever problems and hardships you are going through. 

✾ Chen wasted no time in asking you to be one of the bridesmaids at his wedding. God knows how much you contributed to the two getting together and how much time you spent helping Chen plan the proposal. 

✾ Chen and his wife immediately called you to ask whether you wanted to be the godmother the moment they discovered she was pregnant. He cannot wait for you to have a child of your own so they can become best friends, too.

Chanyeol:

✾ You two met in primary school when you were six, and your teacher decided to have you sit together. Chanyeol got super competitive when he discovered you had gotten a higher grade than him on a spelling test, resulting in a friendly rivalry. To this day, you two get along perfectly well, but the moment that grades or board games are involved, a war will break out.

✾ He 1000% bullied you into playing video games with him. Chanyeol even bought you a gaming laptop, trying to convince you to join him. Regardless of his schedule or location, you have a regular game night where you play random multiplayer games, affectionately yelling at each other.

✾ You developed a tiny crush on Chanyeol when you first saw him after he got his growth spurt. It did not last very long, however; you remembered he was the same Chayeol who once ate a crayon on a dare and puked the contents of his stomach all over your shoes.

✾ Chanyeol is the worst wingman. He is very protective over you, and, according to his opinion, nobody is good enough to date you. Whenever you go out drinking, he will lurk behind you, attempting to intimidate whoever dares to come up to you. This man might be secretly in love with you and absolutely in denial about his feelings.

✾ Chanyeol once wrote a song about your friendship, but he has not yet made up his mind on whether he wants to release it. Part of him feels he should save it for a solo album.

D.O./Kyungsoo:

✾ You met Kyungsoo as he is the son of your mother's best friend. His mother had asked yours to introduce you two as Kyungsoo was a painfully shy child, and she wanted him to have more friends his age. Initially, he was quiet around you, hiding behind his mother whenever she brought him over. However, he slowly came out of his shell the more you played together.  

✾ You two didn’t attend the same schools but remained good friends nonetheless. Whenever school would end, you would rush to meet up underneath a big old tree in the park near your house. You would sit there for hours, talking about your day or doing your homework together, until it got dark.

✾ Kyungsoo never told you, but you were the main reason why he pursued a career in acting and singing. You never failed to hype him up, giving him the confidence to put himself out there. He fondly remembers the countless karaoke nights where you would be his biggest fan, praising his skills when the song would end.

✾ He definitely developed a crush on you somewhere during your teenage years. Kyungsoo never felt the need to act on it, finding your friendship too precious to risk anything. His friends were very aware of it, though, teasing him whenever he would rush out the moment school ended to meet up with you.

Kai/Jongin:

✾ You two met on a playground when you were three years old. Someone had pushed you off the wigwam, and Kai, seeing you cry, stood up for you as much as a three-year-old can stand up for someone else. He refused to leave your side after, playing with you until it was time to go home. You two have been close friends ever since.

✾ He insisted on you taking dance classes with him, thinking it was fun to have something to do together. It became your regular weekly meetup point, enabling you to stay connected even when you went to different schools. You would show up an hour before class would start, just so you could talk without being scolded by the teacher, and would take your sweet time walking home, squeezing out as much time as you could.  

✾ You recognize that Kai is incredibly handsome whenever you see him perform, but all you are able to see when he thrusts his hips is the same kid who once fell into a pond when he was collecting a bunch of rocks because he thought they were pretty and cried over a feather because he felt bad for the bird that lost it. Having so many embarrassing childhood memories of him is why you are still sane and not drooling over him.

✾ Kai bombards you with messages throughout the day; you once had over fifty notifications from him as he sent you every video and photo of a dog or cat he stumbled upon.

Sehun:

✾ You and Sehun met during daycare and initially did not get along whatsoever. You two got into a fight when Sehun stole the stuffed animal you were playing with, resulting in the caretaker putting the both of you in time-out. Weirdly enough, you bonded over your time in toddler jail, becoming inseparable after you were set free.

✾ Sehun and you constantly bicker with one another, having no problem calling the other one out or, as you like to put it, keeping the other person humble. To those who know you well, they liken your dynamic to that of an old married couple. However, people who do not know your friendship tend to assume you hate each other.

✾ Sehun gets insanely jealous when you hang out with his members or other friends of his. You are his friend, and as much as he likes his friends getting along, the bratty part of him hates when you do not have time for him. He will become incredibly whiny when too much time has passed between meetups and when he feels like you are ditching him for your friends.

✾ Sehun is your favourite gossip buddy. He will randomly call you to tell you whatever drama he witnessed or caught wind of. If calling is not an option, he will instead send you a thirty-minute voice note explaining the situation in full detail. Your chat is basically a podcast where you update one another about people you do not know and drama that does not concern you.

Masterlist

[jongbross]

Hello ❤️‍🔥 Who do you believe would focus on a relationship a lot and who would neglect their partner to focus on career more? (Unfortunetly, it is what it is :()

this is so crazy, i was actually thinking about this but like, about myself. i was thinking about what i'm willing to put on the top of my priorities list and stuff. 🤨 anywaysss...

minseok: he's balanced, i think. minseok seems to me like the type of person to pay more attention to work when it's needed, and then more attention to his partner when it's needed, so no one and nothing could be neglected. the person should be understandable when he has to spend more hours/days away than he would like to (cause honestly if they don't, then they might not be the right one for him).

junmyeon: he's very work oriented, but maybe it's just because he hasn't met the right one yet? i can't see junmyeon stopping, but i can see him slowing down to focus on his family. at some point, i do think his partner/family would be his top priority, but he could never, ever leave his career and his eris behind him.

yixing: absolutely work oriented, i'm sorry. even if he loves his partner to death and wants to have a family with them, i don't think yixing would put his work aside. he seeks wealth and he wants to be the greatest artist he can be, and that's his main goal, that's it. tbh i can only see one thing making yixing slow down/stop and it's his health, and i hate to say it because i love him so much and i worry so much about him and how he overworks himself :( but yeah, his career is his partner for life, sorry to break it to you.

baekhyun: this is a tough one, tbh. he breathes work too and that can be a problem to some people i guess. i think he is or at least tries to be as balanced as minseok, but also doesn't plan to stop like junmyeon. at some point, especially if his partner gets pregnant, he would be all about them and slow down a bit - but then he would miss the hectic life of being a singer, a dancer, a ceo, and would go straight back to business. probably would have both career and partner/family as priorities, side by side.

jongdae: family oriented, and i'm not saying this only because he's already a father. i see jongdae as someone who cares so, so deeply for people, and that just got stronger as he got his own family. he plans to be an idol for a very, very long time - but he might stop at some point, though.

chanyeol: work oriented, but willing to drop some of it if he meets the right person. would never stop totally though, i can't imagine him not doing something, even if it's just producing and composing.

kyungsoo: kinda trick, i guess. at the moment he's very career oriented, he has a goal and i don't think he will stop until he accomplishes it. however, i can see him dropping a few of his activities if it means he could spend some more time with the ones he loves, especially if we're talking about partners and kids. will always be in the business somehow though.

jongin: the most balanced one, believe it or not. he's very workaholic, but he's also the definition of a family guy. can balance both things really well, so he would never make his partner feel like they're being neglected somehow. work and family will always be jongin's top priorities, side by side, no matter what (but tends to lean in the family side if he truly needs to choose it).

sehun: family oriented, he loves his job but nothing is as important as the people he loves. sehun doesn't want to (at least not now), but he won't hesitate to disappear from the public eye for a bit if he needs to prioritize his family or his partner. he's just so so loyal, i love him :(

[aqupistau]

— ☕️ⸯⸯ : the way back home﹙bbh﹚

warning: mentions of alcohol (but it's just wholesome fluff)

genre & trope: fluff and established relationship

pairing: byun baekhyun x gn!reader

word count: 0.97k (edited)

synopsis. "if i were a sleepy sea otter and you were also a sleepy sea otter, would you hold my hand so that we won't float away from each other?"

Baekhyun wasn't the greatest soldier alive when it came to alcohol tolerance; he himself had great self-awareness of it. This resulted in him never drinking furthermore in your presence once he knew he was tipsy. At first, you didn't mind this at all, although, after receiving the first-ever emergency call from one of his friends, this changed your mind.

The call consisted of the first few seconds of a proper conversation with the said friend, and then a minute later to Baekhyun stealing the phone, who was then drunkenly flirting with you. Clearly losing the battle between alcohol and his sobriety.

Baekhyun's friend that called you, who seemingly was the only person sober, got his phone back and pleaded you to get him ASAP before he lost his marbles dealing with a bunch of lousy drinkers.

You obliged, mindlessly arriving at the destination a lot quicker than you thought, almost snickering at the thought of a crimson-cheeked boyfriend just smiling like a fool at you. Junmyeon, the caller, his face of weariness turned into a relieved one as he greeted you at the front door, booming noises of drunken men singing karaoke inside and the strong smell of assorted liquor exuding from him.

"Hi, Y/N! Here to pick up Baekhyun, right?" he questioned, which honestly sounded more like it had only one valid answer.

"Yes, though it looks like I'll be spoiling his fun if I pick him up while all of you are having so much fun." You politely replied just for formality.

Junmyeon chuckled and firmly added, dead in the eyes, begging, "I promise you that you aren't. Please come inside, Y/N. Please?"

"Y/N? Is that Y/N? Y/N!" A familiar bright, boyish voice slurred in excitement from the inside. You looked at Junmyeon for assurance, and he nodded, encouraging you to enter the living room. You gulped in nervousness, thinking of how to deal with the new kind of Baekhyun you'd never met before. It was like helplessly walking on a field of tall grass full of wild Pokemons.

Before leaving your shared home with Baekhyun, you've researched the effects of alcohol, and one struck you: repressed emotions and thoughts will be set free in a drunken state. You weren't sure if that was true since no reliable sources proved this fact, but you still wondered, almost in a way of contemplation. Doubtful if you can even deal with a wasted Baekhyun.

"It's me, Baek—Oh my god."

There he was. And you were right about one thing: his cheeks would go red when he was drunk but based from the research about repressed feelings when in a drunken state, you can tell that this Baekhyun will be a handful.

"Y/N~" The last syllable of your name dragged on as he attempted to wiggle up from his seat. "I missed you so much, Y/N." You quickly ran up to support him from standing, relieved that you caught him on time.

"But we were together like… four hours ago, baby." He nodded in reply.

"Exactly." Oh, well.

After bidding goodbye to the rest of his friends, who were thrilled to see you, you got help from Junmyeon to put Baekhyun on the passenger seat, bidding him farewell and good luck as you set off to go back home.

Surprisingly, the first couple of minutes of the drive were quiet, and your boyfriend was just sleeping peacefully, thankfully, not causing a ruckus silently. You didn't try to pry him from his peace and just continued driving, waiting for him to mumble anything you could tease him about once he woke up. You admired this very moment of comfortable silence, wondering of the antics that would happen by the next morning and planning to prepare ahead a good hangover soup to lighten the weight of your lover.

"Baby?" He's awoken.

"Yes?"

"Can I hold your hand? It's quite cold," he requested groggily.

"I can't, baby. I'm driving us back home."

"Oh...then, can I borrow your jacket?" Baekhyun tested again, opting for a different consolation.

"Yes, of course. It's on the backseat, Baek."

He struggles to look for it in the back seat, carefully but clumsily putting his arms inside the armholes of the jacket when he does.

A few minutes pass, and he complains again, "...I still wanna hold your hand, Y/N."

"Let's hold hands when we're under a stop light, okay?" You turned the car to the highway, and coincidentally, the red light from the traffic light stopped you. In reaction, Baekhyun reached out for your hand and interlocked his cold fingers with yours.

"Y/N?" he called out again.

"Yes?"

"Your hand is very warm. I love holding your hand."

You beamed with a snicker, looking down at your entwined hands. His hands that easily get cold and would always seek refuge for yours that were always cozy and warm. These hands that would always cup your cheeks and kiss you plushly in the wake of the morning. You noticed the difference of temperature of his and your hand, and you grasp slightly harder, attempting to warm his faster.

"I love holding your hand too, Baek."

The traffic lights turned green, and you gently removed your tightly held hand from him, leaving his hand to reach out to yours with dismay.

"Y/N?" Baekhyun asks for you again from just a few miles.

"Mhm?" You hummed softly, never troubled by his constant wants to hear your voice and attention even if he asks for the vainest demands.

"I need you to answer a question."

"Sure."

"If I was a sleepy sea otter," he yawned, the sign of the need to sleep displaying, "And you were also a sleepy sea otter…."

"Will you hold my hand so we'll not drift away from each other when we're sleeping?"

"Baek?" It was your turn to ask, "You do know that we always snuggle when we sleep, right?"

"...Oh. Then, can I hold you all night when we're finally home?" There were remotely a small number of cars driving, so you turned the car, almost near your home and took the opportunity, interlocking the hand that rested on his thigh with yours, holding it near your lips, and kissed lovingly the back of his hand.

"When it involves loving you, then it's always a yes."

© aqupistau. all rights reserved. ↬ masterlist

[eomayas]

Airport Dad™️ (who in exo is an airport dad)

minseok: he is an airport dad if he plans the trip, otherwise, you will have his boarding pass/passport. but he definitely wants to get to the airport on time regardless.

junmyeon: oh he is definitely an airport dad. he is so used to taking care of the members that it’s simply just second nature to him. he’s got your boarding pass/passport in his bag before you can even think to look for it.

baekhyun: tries to be an airport dad, but fails. he misplaces his boarding pass after going through security (it’s in his bag, of course) and then gives up and let’s you carry everything to make sure nothing gets lost. it’s more safe with you anyway!

jongdae: there is no way he isn’t an airport dad! he makes sure your bag is the proper weight before getting to the airport, has all of your itinerary printed out and in a folder, along with your boarding pass/passport. you simply just need to show up, which he takes care of as well.

chanyeol: he is the farthest thing from being an airport dad. you don’t even let him carry his own boarding pass/passport for fear of it being lost, thus you getting delayed. he’s a pro at airport security, so there’s no problems there, but you take care of everything else.

kyungsoo: also an airport dad. everything is properly planned out to the minute, and he arrives at the airport exactly 2 hours before boarding, and smoothly gets through security with both of your stuff in tow. he constantly checks the board with departures to make sure the plane is still on time!!

jongin: definitely not an airport dad! he gives you all of his documents before you guys even leave for the airport, because he cannot be trusted to keep track of them. he lets you take control of everything up until you land at your destination.

sehun: similar to baekhyun, he tries and fails, but only because he realizes it would be much easier to make you take care of everything. he’s less prompt, but never misses his plane!

[kjmcotton]

Have a soft spot for me | Osh

Oh Sehun x fem!reader

Plot:from your attitude no one would tell that you love Sehun,but things are meant to change soon

Warnings:none

This story is a request

Masterlist

Author’s notes:here’s a new request! I tried my best so I really hope everyone will like it and that the anon who asked for this story will enjoy their reading! Have a good day/night!♡

Tumblr works with reposts:if you enjoyed my story please repost and leave a feedback! Help me growing!♡

“Because you’re different to me,but in a good way”

With your check-out done you could finally take a breath of relief as you were back in Seoul.

Six beautiful weeks of studying abroad,in Sweden,had finally come to an end and you couldn’t wait to meet your friends.

You crossed the hallway of the airport,reaching the entrance,where Junmyeon was waiting to pick you up and drive you to the welcome party.

As soon as you saw him a jolt of happiness shook your whole body

“Junmyeon!!” you exclaimed out loud,running towards your friend to hug him. Your luggage fell on the ground as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and your legs around his waist.

Your friend,who was taken by surprised,held you by luck

“You want the both of us to fall” he giggled

“I missed you so much” you showered his face with kisses;he then put you down. Everyone’s eyes were on you two:probably people were thinking he was your boyfriend,but the truth was that you simply used to be warm with your closest friends

“So you are my taxi for today” you teased him,looking as he collected your luggage

“For today? Six weeks were enough to make you forget who used to drive you around Seoul,I see”

“Of course not…I could never forget Irene”

Junmyeon turned around and glared at you:his eyes became two thin lines in the disappointed face he was showing you. You laughed and hit his shoulder with a friendly fist

“Calm down I’m joking,no need to think about leaving me here the whole night”

“I hope so” he replied,sliding your luggage in the trunk of his black car

“So…where’s the welcome party?”

“It’s a surprise” he said,and with that he spent the drive avoiding any kind of question.

It took you around an hour to get to the party. Your friends held it in your favourite karaoke bar in Hongdae. Everyone was there:all your boy friends and girl friends.

“Joy! Yeri! My girls!” with a happy smile you ran toward your friends,hugging them and placing a kiss on their cheeks

“Seulgi and Irene couldn’t come tonight,but the present is from them as well” the younger brunette said,giving you a giant bouquet of flowers

“Thank you all so much,I’ll call them later. You’re amazing” you smiled,putting the flowers next to a bunch of other presents before greeting the friends who had come

“Baekhyunee! My favourite trouble maker” you squished him in your arms

“Jongin,my bear! Magic handshake?” with a laugh the boy stretched his arm out,doing the well know greeting you two had invented;then you hugged him just like you did with Junmyeon earlier

“Minseok! Jongdae!” you locked them in a double hug as they both ruffled your hair

“We thought you would’ve moved to Sweden after spending six weeks of telling us how amazing that country is” the older looked at you with sweet eyes

“I could never live there without you all” you smiled,moving to greet Chanyeol

“Hello giant” you pouted as he playfully lifted you up to greet you

“I’m not a giant,you’re just too short for me” he teased you. You jokingly hit his leg with a kick

“I was trying to be sweet!”

“Try again” he winked as he watched you walking to Yixing and Kyungsoo. You hugged and kissed them as well.

There was one last person you had to greet but as soon as you saw him you froze. Oh Sehun:the prettiest man alive,but also then one who made you the most nervous…it didn’t matter if you had been knowing him for years.

“Hi” you said unintentionally cold,greeting him by a safe distance. There was only one word to describe the scene:embarrassing. Everyone was silent,staring at the two of you or exchanging a few “I wish I were somewhere else” glances;only Baekhyun faked a cough and pushed you towards the tall guy

“Hi” Sehun replied,his voice was flat,uninterested…but what could you expect from him if you had always been so shy when he was around that all you could do was avoiding any kind of friendly interaction? Hate,that was the answer.

You gave him a fast hug and stepped back,grabbing the bag full of gifts from Sweden

“As you know,while studying abroad I’ve joined a pottery club. Now guess what’s in there”

“Biscuits” Baekhyun giggled

“Candies” Jongi talked,randomly rising his hand

“Alcohol” Chanyeol crossed his arms with a satisfied face,probably he was thinking he had just made the joke of the year

“What a perceptive trio,especially Chanyeol. In fact I’ve made personalised mugs for everyone!” your voice was excited

“Gotta expect a bunny on mine I guess” Junmyeon rested his shoulder against the wall

“Not a simple bunny…-you picked up his mug-a bunny swimming in a sea of carrots” you handed him the gift. The boy looked at the object and burst into a laughter

“This looks like a dog swimming in a sea of golden fishes with green tails,but I’ll appreciate the effort” he joked

“Fuck off Kim” you rolled your eyes as you started handing out mugs to everyone

“Is this an astronaut cat or…” Kyungsoo was confused

“Bingo! You see,my drawing skills ain’t that bad”

“They’re not bad,they’re awful” Joy teased you,exchanging a fist with Junmyeon

“Go make Junmyeon your new best friend then,he’s good at lingerie shopping on Saturday”

“What?” Junmyeon’s cheeks became as red as apples

“Nothing!” Joy yelled

“Do you have a specific day to do that?” Minseok asked amused

“She’s talking nonsense” Joy mumbled nervously shaking her hands in the air

You laughed,grabbing the last mug in your bag:it was Sehun’s. You froze again,looking at the present. It was pretty but extremely plain compared to the others:you knew you weren’t actually good at painting,that was why you had planned a different personalisation for his mug. You were too scared he wouldn’t have liked any of your dumb drawings,so you went for a simple pattern;however,just like your behaviour towards him,the energy of that present was pretty cold.

Sehun looked at the object and mumbled a fast “thanks” before abandoning it on a nearby table:it hurt you. Why weren’t you able to give the best of you when it came to that guy? Why you liked him so much that all you could do was ruining every chance to get closer to him?

You smiled,hiding the pain rising from your heart,and then suggested to officially start the night.

You ordered a few drinks and chose the songs to perform at karaoke.

The first one singing was Baekhyun,with his beautiful angel voice,who chose a Michael Jackson song, adding even a few nailed dance moves.

Everyone clapped and laughed,cheering the next in line:Jongdae. He was a classic guy,so he went for a more emotional performance with Hello by Adele. Joy randomly burst into tears during the chorus,but probably it was because of the alcohol which had begun to hit.

You clapped at Jongdae,ordered a bunch of Soju shots and went on with the night.

Around midnight,besides the few friends who had to drive,everyone was drunk.

“It’s too hot,I need some fresh air. I’ll be back” you said,leaving your drink on the table

“Shall I come with you?” Minseok asked,but you shook your head

“I’m fine don’t worry” you smiled,and walked outside.

As soon as you closed the entrance door of the karaoke bar you noticed Sehun standing a few steps away from you. He was resting against the wall while scrolling through his phone.

You gave him a glance,shivers crossing your spine,but even tho you wanted it you had no chance to leave as he saw you

“I didn’t notice you’ve left the party” you murmured,trying to broke the tension,but you made it worse

“I’m not surprised” Sehun shrugged his shoulders.

You didn’t know what to say:you felt sorry for him,you had never meant to be perceived as the petty bitch,but any time you tried to change things you only made it worse by accident. It had been like that since day one and you had lost hope by then.

You sighed and scratched the back of your neck

“I didn’t mean it in that way” you murmured,looking at him

“Okay” he replied,shifting his attention on the phone again.

The silence fell,only the sweet sound of the night breeze could be heard. You knew it was the right moment to talk to him,tell him that,at least,you didn’t hate him like he thought

“Sehun-“ you called him

“Mh?” he murmured,eyes still stuck on the phone

“I-you were about to speak when you felt a retch coming up from your stomach-I need the bathroom” you spat out and ran away.

Sehun looked at you confused for a second,but as soon as he understood you were sick he followed you.

You held onto the sink of the bathroom and threw up. You weren’t feeling dizzy,but probably your stomach wasn’t used anymore to the amount of Soju you had drank that night. After all,you had spent six weeks in a place in which no one knew what Soju was,you should’ve predicted it.

“Are you okay?” Sehun pushed your hair back while massaging your back,you couldn’t see his eyes but a ring of concern had replaced the usual shine of his pupils.

Once you felt a little better you washed your face and sat,resting your back against the sink.

Sehun sat next you,waiting for you to feel better. Once again the embarrassing silence fell,and you hated yourself.

“Shall I call someone else? Maybe Junmyeon or Jongdae?”

“No I’m fine” you shook your head

“Thank you” you said in hope to make it less uncomfortable

“Nevermind” he replied.

Again,silence.

You sighed,sure it was time to talk

“I don’t hate you,you know?” you said,rising your head to look into Sehun’s eyes. The boy furrowed his eyebrows,then he shifted his eyes away without saying anything

“I’m being honest” you kept on talking,scanning the boy’s features. By the small changes his expression went through, you knew he was feeling so many emotions all at once.

“I don’t care if you hate me or not. I never asked you anyway” he spat out,coldly. At those words your heart shattered into a million pieces. So that was it:he didn’t care about you while you were so worried of hurting him;or…was he saying that just because he was already hurt? Maybe even more than what you expected. You felt so confused.

“You may not care,but I do”

“You should’ve showed it earlier” he scoffed

“I’m not good at it” you sighed

“Not good?-Sehun rose his voice-am I blind to you? So you think I don’t see how you treat other people? I wasn’t there but I am sure you hugged and kissed Junmyeon as soon as you saw him at the airport,you always do it with everyone…or,at least,everyone but me. However,I don’t care. I don’t need your approval to live happily” he was about to get up and leave,but you grabbed his wrist and dragged him back on the floor.

“You matter to me!” you exclaimed

A “tsk” escaped Sehun’s lips,followed by a sour laughter

“Stop fooling me” he shrugged your hand off and tried to leave again,but you didn’t give up.

You jumped on your feet and pushed the brunette against the sink;one of his hands held your arm while the other the sink itself. Your eyes chained together while your faces were a few inches away.

“I would never fool you Sehun. You can tell me you don’t care,but I know that’s not true,you always care about everything and everyone. That’s the thing I like the most about you because,as I said earlier,I do like you”

“Then why you barely talk to me? Why your behaviour is always ice cold?”

“Because…-you paused-because you’re different to me,but in a good way”

“You’re talking nonsense”

“I’m not! It’s so hard,there’s so much to say”

“Then say it”

“I can’t Sehun”

The boy rolled his eyes: “Why?”

“Because…” you stayed silent,words didn’t come out

“Because what Y/n? Can you be clear for once? I’m tired of always trying to understand what’s going on your mind. It makes me mad…as mad as seeing you being sweet with everyone but me!”

The last phrase unintentionally escaped Sehun’s lips,you could tell by his expression:he had been trying to not show how much jealous and hurt he was,but he wasn’t good at lying.

You looked at him for a second,then you finally opened up:

“Because I think I’m in love with you!” you spat out,regretting it as soon as you realised what you had just said.

Sehun blinked confused while his grip tightened around your arm. You couldn’t stop looking at him,you were waiting for a reaction,but,at the same time,you wanted to disappear.

“Forget about it! My mistake!” you exclaimed,trying to run away,but this time it was the brunette who held you back:it didn’t matter how much you tried to free yourself from his grip,his fingers wouldn’t let go.

“Y/n!” he called you,you turned around.

You thought you had officially lost any chance to build an actual friendship with him when,suddenly,he brought you closer and kissed you. Your heart skipped a beat and your body was suddenly crossed by shivers:what was happening? You didn’t realise it immediately,it took you a while to process.

“If you were in love with me why you avoided me that much?” Sehun spoke in a warm,gentle whisper. His face was no more contracted in a disappointed expression,otherwise he was now relieved.

“Having you around made my nervous,and I’m not good at handling emotions” you mumbled,as red as a strawberry. Sehun smiled and ruffled your hair:

“You don’t need to worry about it anymore”

And with that,things changed faster than what you expected:the boy’s presence started to feel like home while his hoodies became your new favourite thing,that thing you couldn’t get tired of. His smile became your ray of sun and his hugs your most effective medicine. Sehun was constantly by your side,both in the good and the bad,while you were there for him anytime he needed.

To summon everything up:you were finally happy,so happy that,soon,none of you tried to hide your relationship,nor to explain it;so,at a certain point,all your friends noticed but never said anything. They would simply cheer for you in silence,watching you two holding hands in front of them,exchanging kisses;they would watch how you two sat together,linking arms,or how Sehun paid for your drinks and carried your bags…and they would be grateful for that because,finally,there was no more heavy silence,just lots of love and affection.

[kpopimagi]

A Flower Under The Rain [Part 11-2]

Characters: Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Kang Gyuri (OC) Genre: Angst, Romance Au: Hanahaki!Au  Type: Series  Word count: 6,074

It all began with a cough and then, a subtle sting in her chest. Kang Gyuri cried, knowing that in a matter of months, she would be another figure in the death toll of the most dangerous and cruelest outbreak in human history.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8-1 | Part 8-2 | Part 9 | Part 10-1 | Part 10-2 | Part 11-1

Warning! This is Part 2. If you haven't read Part 1, go back to catch up.

---> Read Part 1 Here <---

Junmyeon sent him to his room to clean himself and rest. Being alone with his thoughts was the last thing Kyungsoo wanted, but the instant he saw his reflection in the mirror, he knew why the doctor was so adamant. But not only the tiredness visible in his stance made him shiver, but the most haunting one was his blood-splattered clothes. He looked miserable and terrifying. Ignoring the exhaustion, the writer washed himself as instructed and went back to the office. 

A new white coat stood in the middle of the office, and Kyungsoo could recognize the guy anywhere. The moment the newcomer turned around, the dimpled smile that flashed across his face infected him somehow. The writer felt glad and relieved to finally see him, and he even found himself smiling for the first time in days. He almost ran to him and hugged him, unaware of how much he needed that simple hug.

“I didn’t know you missed me that much.” Yixing chuckled, hugging him back just as much.

“I’m just glad that you’re here now.” 

“Junmyeon put me up to speed,” Yixing said, guiding the writer to another small office that functioned as a meeting room. “You should’ve called us sooner, Kyungsoo.”

“I know.”

“Hopefully, we can get some answers,” Junmyeon said, coming into the meeting room with a stack of papers he dropped into Yixing’s hands. “Results are starting to come in.”

“I’ll get to it.” The new doctor said.

Giving Kyungsoo a quick smile, he walked away, leaving the writer with Junmyeon as he set up a camera and a microphone for the interview, and Jongdae prepared everything to take blood samples. The writer braced himself and sat down, ready to do exactly what he had avoided for years and answer every question, no matter how hard, how uncomfortable, or how much he swore to never talk about it. He now had the chance to help Gyuri, and if that meant opening up about the time he suffered the most, he, for all the things he felt for her, would. 

Two hours later, after several vials of blood and answering an unending list of questions, which Kyungsoo tried with all of his might to answer truthfully, he and Junmyeon came out of the office and found Minseok waiting. He didn’t say anything. He simply handed him a water bottle and a cookie, which made him chuckle. The writer found the cookie amusing, but as his friend walked next to him, Kyungsoo realized just how much that little gesture meant to him. They came back to the main office and found Yixing at his desk, buried in piles of documents.

“I've never seen an invasion this slow.” He said, letting out a sigh.

“Why is that?” Kyungsoo asked him, “Why is it taking so long?”

“Because it might not be one-sided love after all.”

The writer shuddered, someone behind him gasped in surprise, and someone else in the room asked if it was even possible, but other than that, everyone stared at the doctor in disbelief. The silence that followed after the initial shock was staggering, and no one dared to say anything.

“I have a theory,” Yixing said, his face shifting in a serious expression, “but I’ll be sure once I get the results.”

“You're saying Baekhyun is in love with her too?” Jongdae was the one who finally asked, “Not only that, but is he keeping it to himself as well?”

"It can't be,” Junmyeon wondered to himself. “There's no precedent for a case of that kind.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions yet.” Yixing said, chuckling nervously, “As I said, it’s still a working theory.”

“If they love each other like you're suggesting, why was she the one who contracted the disease?” Jongdae asked again, “Why isn't Baekhyun also sick?”

"How do you know he isn't?" Yixing asked back, his nervousness shifting into a smirk.

“I was suggesting the possibility, hyung.” The nurse whined, not entirely amused that the doctor would play along with his questions, “Why isn’t he showing symptoms? It's beyond me.”

“I have a question,” Minseok added out of nowhere, and everyone looked at him. “If you suspect her case isn’t entirely one-sided love, what about the suicides? Did anyone investigate the loved ones who killed themselves? Has anyone run any proper hanahaki tests on the suicide victims?”

Once again, the silence in the room was deafening while Yixing and Junmyeon looked at each other as if they had lost an unknown battle. Kyungsoo observed the different reactions and wondered why the doctors suddenly looked so gloomy.

“Why would we?” Jongdae added under his breath, sitting in front of his computer, and started typing almost furiously.

“I don’t get it.” Kyungsoo asked, confused, “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because South Korea had the highest rate of suicides even before the outbreak,” Junmyeon muttered. “Of course, no one tested anything when flower corpses started to pile up in the streets.”

“I’m checking the research archives to see if there’s a match.” The nurses piped in, going full into his research assistant mode.

“Yixing and I will go to the viral facilities to see if there are any recent cases...” 

A loud alarm buzzed in the office, making Kyungsoo and Minseok flinch. The doctors ran towards the door, and even Jongdae left whatever he was doing and almost jumped over his desk to follow them to the only place that would require all of them so urgently at the same time.

Gyuri.

That was Kyungsoo’s only thought. 

Gyuri.

Something was wrong with Gyuri.

Gyuri.

He followed the others, and soon after, he could hear her screams.

He could hear Gyuri screaming.

She was screaming in pain, and he found himself sprinting towards the room when someone stopped him. The female nurse in charge of bathing Gyuri was already dragging her mother out to let the doctors go in and do their job. He got the smallest of glimpses of her before the door closed in his face. The glimpse of her violently twisting in the bed that she dropped to the floor.

Then nothing.

Just an empty hallway and the sound of her pain. Next to him, her mother held onto him, sobbing uncontrollably. He could hear his friends inside the room throwing codes and orders around, calling medical terms that meant nothing to him, but above every other sound were her cries for help. And those screams went on for so long that it felt like an eternity, and he lost track of time.

“She’s fine for now.” Junmyeon informed Gyuri’s mother when he finally came out, but there was no hint of relief in his expression. “However, the stem keeps growing and piercing through her skin, so this won’t be the last time she’ll go into shock because of the pain.”

The doctor explained more things that flew right above the writer’s head, and he just stared at the door as the memory of her desperate screams kept piercing through his mind. Gyuri’s mother went into the room as soon as Yixing and Jongdae came out.

“We need the chemist.” Dr. Junmyeon said.

“Jongin? Why do you need Jongin?” Kyungsoo asked, the name snapping him out of the horrid memory while still replying in his head.

“Agreed, but I thought Kai had been off the grid for months now.” Yixing added, “We don’t have the time.”

“If the disease is advancing as slowly as you suspect,” Junmyeon said, getting significantly annoyed, “and if we don’t get a chemist like him asap, we might as well be torturing her.”

“Alright, I’ll find him,” Minseok said, his phone once again already against his ear. “Chanyeol, I need you to find someone and bring him in as soon as possible."

Kyungsoo watched his editor leave the hallway, giving his assistant more instructions on how to find Jongin, and that in itself was alarming. Then he watched the doctors get immersed in a conversation he did not understand. All he had left to do was stay rooted in his place, afraid that if he moved an inch, the sound of her screaming might return and burst everything around him into absolute chaos. 

He fought the horrible thoughts away, recalling all the times he had seen her somehow healthy. Those good days where her face seemed to shine, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkled full of life, and in those quick moments, he could swear he saw mischievousness in her expression. The writer held on to those memories until he heard his name. Someone asked him something, and he flinched at the sudden contact. Taken aback and shocked to find himself in the now-dark hallway, Kyungsoo looked around to find Gyuri’s father next to him. He had his heavy hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him as if he were afraid to even touch him.

“Hey kid, Are you alright?” The man asked.

The question snapped him out of his reverie, and even though he was still confused by the sudden darkness around him, he nodded. He apologized and informed Gyuri’s father that his wife hadn’t left the room since the episode. That alone brought everything back, like an avalanche. Even though there were no more screams coming out of the room, he would never forget the sound of them.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Her father asked again, “You look a little sick.”

Kyungsoo pushed the uneasy wave of anxiety down his chest and apologized again. He assured Gyuri’s father that he was fine, but the man seemed to be more perceptive than he first thought, and his furrowed eyes narrowed harder on him. 

Feeling unnecessarily exposed, Kyungsoo excused himself and walked away, checking the hour and realizing the sun had set already. He went into the office to see his friends, but the stiff silence he found there made him hesitate. Junmyeon, Yixing, and Jongdae were there, each of them working at their respective desks and so focused in their tasks that neither of them noticed the writer coming in. 

The tune of the main entrance’s lock played around, announcing someone was arriving, and that made Junmyeon finally look up. Still in silence, he simply stared at the writer as if considering him, and Kyungsoo felt the need to ask if there was something wrong. Two voices coming through stopped him: one the writer recognized belonged to Minseok, and the other he wasn’t so sure who it belonged to. Suddenly, the owners of said voices came in, and the stiff atmosphere in the office lit up almost immediately.

“We found Jongin,” Minseok announced, “and this kid was waiting outside.”

But the newcomer looked nothing like a kid. A young man, tall and handsome in a near impossible manner, stood in the middle of the office and greeted everyone. However, if Minseok insinuated he was young, the guy did not behave like the youngest person in the room. The attitude and confidence he exuded belonged to someone who knew the way people perceived him.

“Sehun?” Junmyeon asked, looking at the young man with confusion, “What are you doing here?”

“Dr. Zhang asked for some additional tests and told me to bring him the results myself.” The young man explained, pulling a folder out of his bag.

Yixing got off his seat and practically ripped the folder out of the guy’s hands. They all watched him read through the results as Junmyeon, seemingly confused, kept asking to be put up to speed with what was going on. The young man ignored the questions and took a seat next to Minseok before introducing himself to Kyungsoo as Oh Sehun, Junmyeon´s new resident and assistant, and then Yixing cursed under his breath in Mandarin, which alerted everyone in the room.

“What is it?” Junmyeon asked, getting impatient.

“I sent some samples of the crusts to test.” Dr. Zhang said to himself, going back to his desk, “And I’m afraid my theory is correct.”

He clicked and typed stuff on his computer and was about to start explaining himself when his attention fell on Kyungsoo, and he stopped. Whatever he was planning to say wasn’t something he could say in his presence. Then he looked over at Junmyeon, and he was also looking at the writer with a certain glint of determination in his eyes.

“In theory, we shouldn’t discuss the case with you,” Junmyeon said to the writer. “However, since you agreed to be part of the research, I think we can find some leeway to share our findings.”

“In that case, I’m afraid my suspicion was right.” Yixing started, turning the projector on. “There was one special case: The Crying Blossom Lovers.”

Walking to the center of the office, where a rolled screen was set, and pulling it down so the image could be clear, Yixing prepared himself to explain. Everyone in the room paid attention to the slide projected on the screen and read the description of the picture of a colorful and lush willow tree.

“Cherry blossoms on willow trees?” Nurse Jongdae read out loud, “That’s not a thing. Cherry trees and willow trees are two different species of trees altogether.”

“Hear me out.” Yixing agreed, taking a moment to gather all of his thoughts, but the sudden excitement could be seen taking over his entire posture. “Two years into the outbreak in Japan, a woman and a man fell secretly in love with each other, but due to their families' different backgrounds and social standings, they could never be together. Long story short, she was the first to die, and he died days later. What’s interesting is that their bodies didn't turn into the common flower corpses we all know.”

With all that said, Yixing changed to the next slide, which showed two pictures of seemingly similar trees. They all observed the pictures in silence and disbelief. Kyungsoo saw Junmyeon stand in his place, completely frozen in shock. Minseok next to him squirmed, and after a minute, Jongdae let out a tiny curse. The writer himself stiffened once he noticed the details in the pictures. At first, to the untrained eye, both trees looked like completely normal trees with sturdy trunks, with their braches hanging low due to the weight of countless and beautiful flowers. And then, there were faces. He saw, in each trunk, as if someone had carved the shapes of sad faces. One was more masculine with sharper features than the other, but both of them appeared equally miserable. They had their eyes closed, and the natural lines and texture of the bark in the trunk made it look like they were shedding silent tears, making them look even more tragic.

“They turned into the cherry willow trees.” Yixing said in a whisper, admiring the pictures with a pinch of fascination, “They are the only ones of their kind. No one paid attention to the trees because they were thought to be simple wisteria trees widely known across Japan. Until one spring, they saw the sakura blossoms. To say that local botanists were shocked is an understatement.”

The silence and the shock remained in the room as the doctor changed the slide to a different picture. It was a closer look at one of the faces. The features were softer and more delicate; her lips were slightly parted, and Kyungsoo thought he could even see her eyebrows furrowed in pain.

“She was the willow tree.” Yixing explained, chaging to the next slide with a picture of the other face, “He was the cherry blossom.”

“What is it, then?” Junmyeon finally mumbled, admiring the picture, “Unconfessed love?”

“That’s my working theory.” Dr. Zhang replied.

“Why does nobody know about this?” Kyungsoo asked, his eyes growing darker and darker.

“Her family happens to be one of the most powerful in Japan, conglomerate giants.” Yixing said it with a sad shrug.

“I’m assuming he wasn’t that well off.” Someone added it with a grim tone.

“They spent a great deal of money to make everything disappear.” Yixing kept on explaining, “Even chopped both trees down and exhumed the bodies. No one knows where they are now.”

“How did you get your hands on all of this, then?” Jongdae asked.

"Oh, you don’t want to know.” The doctor replied with a playful wink and changed to the next slide. “Anyway, I managed to get some lab results from that case. That’s why I ordered some extra tests from Gyuri’s crusts, and this is how they look next to each other.”

“They’re the same.” Junmyeon wondered out loud.

Kyungsoo had been listening with all of his attention and stared at the new image on the screen but could not understand a single thing. All he saw were points and lines, codes, and words that once again meant nothing to him. 

“So you’re saying Gyuri will turn into a one-of-a-kind tree, and Baekhyun will follow sometime later?" The nurse asked in disbelief. 

“It's a long shot, but these lab results are too much of a coincidence,” Yixing said, leaning back on his desk, as if the idea were too heavy. “Or she might just be one of those one in a billion cases that don't follow the prognosis as we know.”

“Or she could be something entirely different,” Junmyeon said, and the determination in his voice gave Kyungsoo a chill.

The writer looked at the picture again and felt the queasiness in his stomach. Something heavy moved inside of him at the sight of that heartbroken, carved-like face in the tree. It was just a matter of time before that face would be the one he was so desperate to save. Gyuri would turn into a tree, and her misery would be so engraved in its core that it would come to the surface and be preserved there for years. And it was all because of her unconfessed love. He felt his heart sink. His entire body might as well have started crumbling when the thought came to him. He suddenly felt like the biggest idiot. The answer had been in front of him the whole time.

“Kyungsoo?” Junmyeon asked, and the writer was holding his head in his hands, struggling to keep himself straight. “Are you alright?

“I’m an idiot.” He said, recalling every single moment he had shared with Gyuri, "You said unconfessed love, right?”

The doctor agreed, and the tension increased in the room as everyone looked at the writer with expectation. In another situation, Kyungsoo would have struggled to speak his mind, but everything in him reeled in the wake of a new discovery.

“He never had the need,” Kyungsoo added, hardly looking at anyone in particular. “He doesn’t have to confess his affection for her because he has shown it ever since they met. The answer was right in front of me all this time.” He said, finally feeling himself crumble under the weight of that thought, “She kept telling me, over and over again, how much he cared for her.”

“Kyungsoo, we need to test him as soon as possible.” Junmyeon said with an urgency that brought him out of it.

“I know,” the writer said. “I’ll bring him in.”

He meant it. He would bring the guy to be tested, but nothing in him followed. He stayed in his seat, letting it all sink. A part of him was aware of the urgency of rushing out of the villa to get the guy, but he could not find the strength to move. He stayed there, refusing to believe that he might’ve had the answer all along.

“What an idiot..." Jongdae mumbled under his breath.

The small babble brought everyone’s attention to him. Kyungsoo was too distraught to even feel offended by it, but they all waited for the nurse to elaborate. However, Jongdae barely registered that everyone was expecting an explanation.

"Oh, don’t mind me.” He said, flustered to notice the silence in the room, “I just had a silly idea.”

Yixing leaned back on his desk again, and Junmyeon returned to his spot at the front of the room, observing the nurse with his utmost attention. Jongdae shrank behind his tiny desk.

“It’s really stupid.” He mumbled.

“If we will work with Dr. Zhang’s new idea, we might as well hear it.” Junmyeon conceded, crossing his arms over his chest in expectation. 

“Who knows,” Yixing added, getting more comfortable propping himself over the desk, “maybe it’s worth looking into it.”

Jongdae let out a sigh.

“It feels like it was so long ago,” he started, looking at no one in particular, “but do you remember those studies from the Royal Horticultural Society about plant behavior way before the outbreak?”

As if something seemed to click on the doctors brains, Junmyeon and Yixing looked at each other. Even the young assistant Oh, seated next to them, made a sound of recognition, and Kyungsoo just stared at them, lost.

“It was proven that a plant changes depending on its environment,” Jongdae explained exclusively to Kyungsoo when he realized the doctors got his point. “They tested it on two tomato plants; one grew better and faster when it was complimented...”

“The other died faster when it got bullied,” Junmyeon mumbled to himself.

“I was thinking that maybe,” Jongdae kept on, “the disease behaves the same way, but on a bigger scale...”

As if that turned on a switch on the doctors, Yixing and Junmyeon set on in motion, hurrying to their desk with that glint of determination in their faces that even Kyungsoo knew something big had shifted and changed.

“What are you doing?” The nurse sprung from his seat, panicking, “No, stop, it is a silly idea.”

“You’re a genius!” Yixing said, getting his stuff ready.

“No, I’m not.” Jongdae whined, sulking in the middle of the room as he watched his superiors get busy at their desks. “It can’t be, hyung!”

“Why not?” Kyungsoo was the one to ask.

“It makes sense,” Junmyeon said, running to the printer as it started spitting prints. “Maybe the disease isn’t as complex as we believe it is.”

“It explains why people die when they get rejected," Yixing added.

“Hyung, that’s a very simplistic way to see it." The nurse interjected, stomping his feet in a tiny fit, “It doesn’t answer how it is contracted.” 

“No, but it can buy us some time to keep them alive to find more answers.” Dr. Kim said, smiling at the nurse and making a sign for assistant Oh to join him, and both of them rushed out of the room.

“Brilliant, Jongdae,” Dr. Zhang pitched in, also leaving in a rush, “Absolutely brilliant!”

The office was silent once again, and letting out a whine, Nurse Kim turned to Kyungsoo and Minseok with a pout on his face.

“I swear I was just being dumb.” He said it as if apologizing. 

Once the nurse returned to his work and Minseok immersed himself on his tablet, dealing with the management of his business, Kyungsoo tried to remain still, although it was quite impossible when the heaviness in his chest kept growing and growing. He left the office, fighting off the anxiety, because now he had a mission. Junmyeon gave him a task, and it pushed him through despite the heaviness when the familiar voice of his friend and editor made him pause.

“Are you alright?” Minseok asked with a level of precaution in his voice.

It was a tone he hadn't heard from the editor since the old days of his curse. Kim Minseok was genuinely worried and unsure of the heaviness piling on his chest; Kyungsoo had no answer for him. He wasn’t sure if he was making it up, if it was really there, or if it was only his own anxiety taking a toll on him.

“Be blunt and honest, like you've always been.” The editor asked, “Are you in danger?”

“I don't know.”

Minseok nodded, most likely to hide the shudder or to stop himself from showing any distress in his body, but Kyungsoo saw it. He noticed the fright in his eyes, only because he had seen it before. 

“Be careful,” Minseok finally said. “You might've survived the first time, but I don't think you can dodge the same bullet twice.”

Aware of those words and yet still in a complete daze that steered his body, Kyungsoo drove all the way back to Gyuri’s house in Seoul. It was a long shot, but he had no clue where else to start. He could’ve asked Minseok to get the address. He didn’t know how, but he knew the editor had contacts and strings spread all over the city, and finding an address was an easy task. But he wanted something to do. He wanted something to pour all of his energy into other than just stand helplessly in that room with her. Almost mindlessly, he drove to the house, and just as he expected, the red car was parked there.

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if that in itself was a good thing or not. It shouldn’t have been that easy. He wished it would’ve been an arduous quest to find the guy. That way, it would’ve been easier to blame him for everything, but finding him there, waiting for her, just made it all harder. The guy got out of his car as soon as he parked right behind him, and Kyungsoo observed him for a moment. He desperately wanted to find something wrong with him, but Gyuri had always been right about him. He did care for her. At least he cared enough to approach his car with almost threatening intent. Baekhyun hesitated when the writer got out of his car and instinctively looked over the other door, expecting to see Gyuri get out as well, but when it was evident that he was alone, his expression changed.

“Where is she?” Baekhyun walked to the writer as menacingly as he could.

Kyungsoo remained silent, watching the guy get closer and closer, demanding to know where Gyuri was. It wouldn’t matter if he tried to explain. Baekhyun was far beyond any civilized conversation. He recognized the same frustration in his eyes that he felt in his chest. He knew the desperation to do something, so he let the guy vent until he threw an arm at him. He was fast enough to dodge it, grab Baekhyun by the arm, and pull him forward to make him stumble and have an opening to go behind him. It was easy to get the guy in a chokehold. Especially when his legs gave up on him and Kyungsoo had him against his chest and his arms tightening around his neck. Baekhyun tapped the arm directly constricting under his chin several times, and Kyungsoo let him go. Baekhyun dropped to the ground, gasping for air and stumbling, and got back to his feet.

“Yah! What’s wrong with you?" He said, coughing, “You almost killed me!”

Ignoring the overly dramatic reaction, and in an effort to avoid the noisy neighbors that started peeking through their windows, the writer walked to him. Baekhyun backed away, cursing at him if he tried to pull that trick again, but shut up the moment he was close enough to grab him once more. Baekhyun let out a yelp when Kyungsoo put his hand on him and then grabbed the back of his neck.

“Yah, yah, yah!” Baekhyun yelled as Kyungsoo dragged him around the car. “Let me go!”

“Get in the car.” Was everything the writer said and practically dropped him by the door. “Now.”

Without saying more, Kyungsoo got in on his side of the car and was mildly grateful that the guy didn’t oppose more resistance and got himself in the car, albeit cursing very passionately under his breath.

“So I was right after all,” Baekhyun said, rubbing his neck when the writer drove out of the neighborhood. “You’re an abusive asshole.” 

Kyungsoo ignored him.

“Where is Gyuri?” The guy kept talking. “Is she alright? Did you hurt her? Come on, stop being such an ass and answer me.”

Kyungsoo kept ignoring him. He tuned him out of his mind and kept driving with a purpose, and one purpose only.

“Woah!” Baekhyun said, loudly and dramatically, "And I thought she was quiet, but you, you take the cake on infuriating quiet people.”

“Is that why she likes you?” He asked. “Nah, she wouldn’t fall for a boring accountant. And even less for a shy one at that.”

“Now stop being all brooding and cool and tell me where she is. Did you kidnap her?” Baekhyun asked again but looked at him, his eyes widening in alarm. “Wait, are you kidnapping me?”

The writer ignored him, and taking the hint that he wasn’t the chatting type, Baekhyun started humming a song—the catchiest hit pop song he could remember. As he expected, Kyungsoo looked at him in disbelief, but as soon as he did, Baekhyun sang louder, enunciating every word of the silly lyrics to perfection as if out of spite, and Kyungsoo let him.

There was no point in arguing with the guy, no matter how annoying he was. He had to admit he had a great singing voice, and it was no wonder Gyuri found so much comfort in it. Even he found himself feeling soothed by his voice, especially when he seemingly changed genre and emotion. Baekhyun wasn’t singing to irritate him anymore; he was singing to himself. Kyungsoo looked to the passenger seat and found the guy looking out of his window, staring at the scenery with a frown on his expression as he let the melodies coming out of him flow through his chest with ease. 

Some time later, as Kyungsoo drove nonstop, the sudden silence distracted him, and when he looked to his side, he found Baekhyun fast asleep. The seatbelt kept his head from hitting the window, and the tiredness was more than evident as he noticed the dark shadows under his eyes. As much as he wanted, Kyungsoo couldn’t find the guy remotely threatening.

He reached to turn the volume down so the music wouldn’t disturb the guy’s sleep but caught himself before doing it. He chided himself for caring for a split second and turned his attention back to the road ahead of him and the imminent chaos that would erupt.

A couple of hours later, he pulled into the gravel road that led to the villa, making Baekhyun jolt himself awake. The guy blinked several times, taking in his bearings, but the moment he looked at the writer, everything seemed to click in his mind.

“Where are we?” He asked, fidgeting in his seat, “You really kidnapped me, didn’t you?”

“We’re almost there.”

“How reassuring.” Baekhyun mumbled.

Leaving the subject to rest, he watched the forest slowly pass by his window, and the writer drove in a heavy silence that was practically unbearable.

“What is this place?” Baekhyun asked, recognizing Gyuri’s car in the parking lot. “There’s no way you’re an accountant. Either that or you work for very bad people.”

Kyungsoo wanted to laugh. He found Baekhyun’s quibs amusing, and for a split second, he felt the chuckle raising up his chest, but he would never give him the satisfaction. He couldn't let himself feel even a sliver of sympathy for the guy. As he stood in that moment, for the sake of his own heart, he couldn't afford to soften to him. It was hard enough as it was to let this guy, who was slowly killing Gyuri, win him over so easily.

“Has anyone ever told you you look like a penguin?” Baekhyun added, with a curious pout.

Luckily for the writer, they had arrived, and he had no need to stay in the car any longer and entertain the endless tirade of quick jokes and nonsensical questions. He got out of the car and made a beeline to the main entrance, suddenly feeling that same pressure weighing on his chest.

“Yah, penguin poop!” Baekhyun yelled.

Kyungsoo froze, not realizing that the guy was right behind him, asking questions. He hadn’t heard him. His entire attention was solely focused on what was behind the walls of that place, and Baekhyun must’ve sensed the gravity of the situation. The easy-going air around him was gone, and Kyungsoo couldn’t ignore him anymore.

“Gyuri is here.” He said.

It was a harmless statement. Just as it was, it could mean a number of things, but both guys felt the graveness of what it really meant. The shock that flashed across Baekhyun’s face was enough for the writer to know that he knew more than what he led on. He hesitated, his mouth opening and closing, wanting to say something, but Kyungsoo knew the feeling too well. If he asked, if he let those words out, it would only make it real.

“Don’t make her wait.” He said, sparing him from the burden of asking.

The writer started walking again, going into the villa, and when he looked over his shoulder, he found Baekhyun following close by, looking at nowhere in particular. His entire presence felt shifted off and frightened. If he had any annoying quibs left in him, the atmosphere of the place certainly squashed all of them.

They crossed the foyer as Baekhyun followed the writer in an awkward silence, but Kyungsoo couldn’t blame him. Something was wrong. Something must’ve gone wrong at the time he was out because the air not only felt heavier but the shadows were darker. The silence was quieter than ever, and for a second, he feared the worst. Something went terribly wrong while he was gone.

“Why are you doing all this?” Baekhyun asked as if he could sense the change in him, “I thought you hated me.”

Kyungsoo stopped dead in his tracks. The genuine worry in his voice, the eerie air around them, and the gut feeling in him made it impossible for him to continue. Suddenly, the pressure on his chest felt heavier with every breath, and the question loomed over him with a weight he never imagined could be that real. The worst part, the longer he thought about it, was that he had no immediate answer to it.

“That way,” he said, pushing the words out, pointing to the end of the hallway that led to Gyuri’s room. “She’s waiting.”

Whatever attention Baekhyun had on him, the guy forgot about it all and sprinted off, running to her. Kyungsoo was left alone in the darkened hallway, and the ground beneath him started to shift. The walls moved, slowly closing down on him, but all he could hear was that damned question.

Why are you doing all this?

His heart thumped loudly in his chest, and everything around him darkened even more.

Why was he doing all this?

He asked himself, and he knew the answer to that. He had a million reasons why at the tip of his tongue. He felt the thump getting so violent he could even hear it, and way in the back of his mind, a known voice was letting out a curse. Someone was running, his soft footsteps getting closer as everything around him kept closing in on him.

“Because I know what it's like.” He said under his breath, “To suffer alone and without any hope.”

“I know you do,” Minseok said next to him, pulling him up. “Hang in there.”

The editor’s voice brought him back to his senses, and he found himself on the floor, cowering against the wall as he clutched a hand over his chest, afraid that the roots might suddenly sprout out of him. He gasped for air, trying with all of his power to let the words out, but he couldn’t find a way. The words just kept on piling up in his mind, so loud and so heavy with meaning that all of them, as a whole, made his head spin.

Because I like her more than I dislike you. 

Because I know that she needs you more than she needs me.

Because I care enough to stop her from making the same mistakes I did.

Because I can’t let her be gone, filled with regrets.

“I won’t let her.” Kyungsoo gasped out loud, while everything around him started to go dark. “I can’t let her do that.”

Because I love her.

I love her.

[youngshiney]

OKAY!!! Exo Fanmeet recap!!!

SO: first of all, it took for fucking ever to get my ticket since i could only pick them up in person which means i missed the merch sale ㅠㅅㅠ but its not so bad since i can buy later online. now ik for next time to get there 3 or more hours early to really make sure i have time for everything

the actual event was really great!! the guys opened with Hear Me Out which was fun to listen to. Minseok's new hair is so pretty and he was super fucking handsome. the cheers for Baek and Kyungsoo and Junma were nuts, everyone went crazy for them (including the ahjumma i was sitting next to), sadly Jongdae got less cheers but he had a good bit and i screamed as loud as i could obvi. the setlist was kinda ass tbh bc it was the same songs they always do and like SURE theyre fun and all but i want to hear other things!!! i will say tho that i liked the Don't Go performance bc Min was doing his solo dance to it while they were singing and i love that performance so much.

they played some games and were absolutely ass at it except Junmyeon and his jump rope skills with the accupuncture slippers on. Exo turned into golfers yet none of them could putt, its so funny. everyone was so cute tho!! they had fun and it was so nice to watch

the best part was the "Title Killing Voice" corner where they did basically all the titles (except Mama my beloved) they skipped from Killing Voice or the parts that people wanted to see like Kyungsoo's LMR high note. that was the best part and believe me when i say i SCREAMED for Obsession. also for this corner they were wearing panda costumes and it was so adorable. they all made jokes about being related to Fu Bao but also Min was like "I'm Xiu Bao" like babe no youre Baozi!!

anyway then they did outfit change again and had a ment where Myeon pointed out that Kai and Sehun were there and when i tell you i nearly died,,,, also i cried to Universe. they ended with XOXO and Just as Usual (?) for the encore stage which annoyed me a little bc i thought they were going to do Heaven which is one of my favorite songs but its fine. Junmyeon said when Sekai are back, we're getting a new album and a world tour so maybe theyll come to the city i live in now

i took a bunch of videos so i'm going to make a vlog about everything! if anyones interested i'll send the link!

[sophluorescentmusing]

NEW FRUIT

The bus rumbles along the road with lurching, inconsistent pace; occasionally, the wheels slog over debris in the roadway—and maybe that’s why the blinds remain drawn, covering the windows… so they can say its debris (indefinite)—and send all of them rocking in their seats. Kyungsoo keeps his boots planted firmly with one of his knees resting against the back of the bus’s leather seat and the other stretching into the vehicle’s aisle. The position helps him ground himself, helps him stomach the unceasing restlessness of this sort of journey.

Light spills inside through the front windshield, but it’s faint. The CSHS had sent them out while it was still dark. Maybe they expected that the blinds would go up more quickly, and so they tried for some small mercy. Or perhaps, the thinking was as such: send them out while the night covers it all like a blanket. Then, they cannot turn around immediately. Kyungsoo stews on it, and finally decides that this is the most likely situation.

“Stuck in your head?” Kim Minseok and he have this agreement. He can ask five questions per day cycle—but only three if one of those questions seems like a diagnostic lead-in. More often than not, Minseok ends up with just the three. You can take the man outside of academia but can’t take the academic out of the man? Something like that. “You’ve been staring at the back of the driver’s head for like… an hour now.”

“The blinds are down,” Kyungsoo drawls, glancing over. His eyes ache. When was the last time he blinked? Apparently not recently enough. “What else is there to look at?”

“Me?” Minseok puts his hand under his chin, does something Kyungsoo might admit is vaguely cute with his smile, and flutters his lashes. He’s one of the few members on the base who actually kept their head. Kyungsoo likes to think he did too—but his heart got all jaded while he was focusing on that. He only really has the attention span to keep up with one organ, it would seem. “Your most favorite hyung?” 

A tittering of laugher ripples through the seats closest to them.

Everyone is eavesdropping. Anything is better than thinking about the wreckage.

Kyungsoo shakes his head, hiding his own smile. He’s glad Minseok brings it out in him. Misses smiling more frequently, more unabashedly. But the infection took many things, and those are truthfully the least of all those stolen. “Jungsuk-hyung is my favorite,” he teases, ignoring the mock gasp Minseok gives him. “You’ll have to find someone else to flatter you.”

“There’s no one else I want to tease. You’re too fun,” Minseok quips back.

He’s always quick like that. 

Or, rather, since Kyungsoo’s known him. 

One of the other health workers—Kim Junmyeon, sitting in the front row of the bus—said that Minseok used to be quieter, back before everything. That he metamorphosed, and became someone brighter amidst all the darkness. And maybe that’s why Kyungsoo has a soft spot for him, that he managed to come out born again from all of this, and Kyungsoo wishes with all his might that he could do the same.

The bus lurches, unseating someone a few rows up. 

Kyungsoo flinches, grabs his rifle before it can slide off his lap (even though its unloaded, and the safety’s on).

Minseok reaches for the back of the seat in front of him, steadying himself before he can spill out into the aisle.

Someone throws out a good-natured insult, something to playfully rib at the driver. It sends another ripple of quiet laughter down the length of the bus, except this time neither Kyungsoo nor Minseok join in. They’re quicker to notice a change in mood, and the driver’s shoulders are decidedly more tense than before—their jaw clenched like they’re biting back pain. But, Minseok and he have some tact. They don’t acknowledge the driver, don’t tell the other boys to knock it off, don’t do anything really. It’s better to let the driver keep their horror to themselves, and let the bus load of soldiers and workers laugh because at the end of the day, they’re all going to see some shit. They can do without the tension settling in early.

Minseok turns back to him: “Have you checked our assignment?” He’s lowered his voice again, given them the most privacy they can have in the back of the bus. With the others beginning to talk once more, it’s easier to fall into the drone of it all. “There’s a strawberry farm in the neighborhood, you know. I wonder if we should start there and work our way out. It’s the most likely place to have survivors because of the greenhouses.”

Society collapsed.

With it, everything that had previously required maintaining also went out of service. The electrical grid went down, the water stations went unmanned, and so on and so forth. The country split into hubs, pockets of survivors and functional bases, all with security measures that could keep the infection out. Electricity resumed at some of these camps, as did running water and other services, but workers could not be sent into the communities yet to restore anything there.

In truth, they left everyone outside to die.

Kyungsoo clears his throat: “It’s also the most likely place to host any active-entomopathogen cases.”

“You can call them people, you know? They’re just sick.” Minseok frowns.

[suuho]

the thing about this is that stage dooring is pretty much inherent to theater culture and however critical you can look at it, especially when it includes celebrities, it is still part of the culture and it is dearly beloved by many, many theater-goers. there are precautions to be taken, of course, like putting up barriers so that people will not mob celebrities but can still interact with them, give them letters, take pictures, etc. i’m mostly pointing this out for two reasons, the first is that twitter exols are demanding people to simply stop waiting for junmyeon, and while i partly agree because most of these people are not, well. musical fans or frequent theater goers, and kexols have demonstrated their reckless and stupid behavior over and over again in the recent past – it is still a part of theater culture and i don’t want junmyeon to miss that. he should be allowed to experience this as much as any other musical/theater actor.

the other reason is that twitter exols need to realize that this is an integral part of the theater and musicals, and there is absolutely a way to do it safely and with the performers well-being in mind, and that it’s not something unreasonable either.

now, all that said, of course etiquette differs from country to country. of course not every theater industry is as huge on stage dooring as, for example, broadway. but especially with an idol like junmyeon, i don’t see why necessary precautions couldn’t be taken. people are literally mobbing him to take pictures or give him letters, after he’s performed for like two hours, and it’s fucked up. put some distance between artists and fans, for the love of god. i have absolutely no faith in kexols, they cannot behave normally; they do NOT know how to treat them like human beings and not just possessions, and it makes me sad because neither junmyeon nor exo deserve that. i thought this was gonna turn out better than the airport situations. but it’s just the same, all over again. meanwhile, junmyeon is being more gracious than he should ever be, to be honest.

seeing people practically mob junmyeon at the stagedoor like why can’t kexols go to hell for real

[myeoncoeur]

you're the color i'll never know.

[untouchabyeolman]

suho’s smile growing as he thinks back to the happiest and most memorable moment with exo and exo-ls

[tinyxing]

[aerisosweet]

when chanyeol’s trying to get suho’s attention but... 🎤🎶🔴🟡

[softly-savage-mint-yoongi]

Just me thinking about Exo and the 'what comes after the comeback' and different potential subunits and solos and it makes me realize that in just 8 short months Junmyeon will be out of the military and that just makes me 👉🏻👈🏻🥺 bigtime.

[x-iza]

I MISS EXO❤️

[demonlullaby]

hi exols how are we doing today because i am ✨in pain✨