#mochi the paper addict

[canine-teethed-sheets]

eepy boy

[greycaelum]

Kaleidoscope Series—Clouds and Mochi Chapters: { Salve }

—Gojo Satoru X Wife Reader

𑁍 Genre: fluff, small mishap in the kitchen

𑁍 WC/CW/TW: (1.6k)—/ finger cut from a knife, caution: hot oven, discussion on cursed techniques—/

𑁍 A/N: I'm very busy with life before college starts so, here's a little piece for everyone while I'm out sorting my stuffs

It's one of those weekends when you are ready to clean a chaotic kitchen after a good time baking some sweets with the family. A small recreational afternoon after a tiring week for everyone to unwind and just have fun as a family.

Saika seems to have inherited her father's addiction to sweet things and you are really worried for her health. After all, even if you forbid sweets in this house their Papa will always find a way to sneak some for the kids.

Kouki on the other hand would eat anything his Papa gives him. You're not sure if you should be thankful your son isn't a picky eater. It seems like his stomach would accept anything that classifies as food.

It's hard not to watch the three of them all huddled up on the counter wearing the same kitty apron. Their fluffy white manes are like those pretty cats you see in tv shows. Satoru is leaning on the counter with his hair down and sunglasses. The two munchkins are sitting on the counter wearing a chef's hat and reading the recipe.

They look so cute~ so perfec—

"2 cups of sugarrrr~"

Satoru sang and dumped 4 cups of sugar into the cookie batter.

Actually no, they're a disaster.

"Sa.To.Ru."

He looked up to you and grinned.

"Aweee c'mon Honey, it won't hurt just to be extra extra sure it's sweetttttt! Cookies are supposed to be sweet, right kids?!"

"Right!!!" The two stooges of their Papa chorused.

"Baking needs to be measured, okay? It's not gonna come out right if you don't measure it correc—"

Satoru put a finger on your lips and shushed you making the kids giggle while you glared at your husband who winked at you and gave your pursed lips a small kiss of bribery.

"I got this. You just sit there and relax, okay?"

You're left with not so many choices but to watch the kids adjust the recipe to whatever Satoru tells them.

This isn't gonna be good... Maybe you should make a batch of your own and just let them play on whatever devil spawn of a cookie they end up making.

Satoru preheated the oven while the kids cut the cookies in shape cutters custom-made just for today's fun. It includes Panda, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, Yuta, Maki, Toge, and even Todo miniature figures.

For some reason, Kouki likes hanging out with his Aoi-nii. Todo can actually be very chill with kids.

Satoru finally popped their cookie tray inside and clapped their hands while they waited.

"Why are you all crouched down there? There are seats here."

You sighed at the three cats (yes, their father is included) all crouched down side by side in front of the oven with their chins on their knees watching their cookies getting baked.

"Heyyyyy..." You pursed your lips and eventually joined the huddle, the four of you sat on the floor with the kids playing with you and Satoru to pass the time. Some thumb wrestling, tickle fights even rock, paper, scissors.

It's just like this, the simple moments of family time that you crave the most.

12 minutes passed and the 'ting' of the oven made the four of you excited (half of you dreading you'll run straight to the toilet in one bite).

Satoru carefully took out the hot tray while you were making something light for dinner. A light vegetable soup and some fried tofu and pork.

You chopped the carrots into diced and for a split second on your peripheral you saw Kouki trying to grab a cookie from the scorching tray distracting you altogether. Mother instincts leaping on action.

"Kou!" You hissed and just in time Satoru grab Kouki's hands away from the hot metal but you didn't escape the sharpness of the knife.

"Mama!"

"Hon!" Satoru put the knife away and held your finger with a cut bleeding profusely. "Can you get the first aid kit on the toilet Kikufuku?" Satoru turned to his son who immediately ran to the toilet.

"It's fine, I'm fine. The wound is not that deep." You sighed as Satoru seriously washed your wound but the blood does not stop. "Love, I'm not gonna die from a cut." You held back the urge to chuckle at Satoru's serious face as if you were hacked by a machete.

"Right, and I'm not going let you bleed like a waterfall either." Satoru snaps and drags you to sit on the tall counter chair while he tries to apply pressure to stop the blood.

Kouki came back with the kit and Saika immediately opened it.

"Mama, I'm gonna make it go away. Sho-chan taught me how to." Saika confidently brought out gauzes and betadine.

You chuckled at the little girl who wants to push her father away so she can treat you. For some reason, she really likes hanging around Shoko and often talks about being a nurse.

"Cat, clean your hands," Kouki remembered, pulling the stool so his sister could wash her hands and hop back to you.

"Princess, can you sit and behave for a minute? Papa is trying to help Mama first, okay?" Satoru frowned at the blood and was too busy to deal with the little one.

Unlike Shoko, he can use Reverse Curse Technique only to himself. He doesn't know how to heal others. Ironic.

"Papa, it's not like that." Saika huffed. She put her hands on her hips and stared at her father.

You notice your daughter's defiance and nudge Satoru. It's not like the wound is too big to worry everyone.

"Papa, Cat can do it... I saw it." Kouki interceded and for a second you thought his eyes glimmered like Satoru's.

Satoru stopped and looked at his daughter with a stubborn look on her face. He sighed.

"Cat... Well, how would our little princess do it?" Satoru crouched down and looked at her eye to eye.

"It's very easy." Your four-year-old daughter beamed and held your wounded finger. "Imagine two opposite waterfalls..." Saika murmured, concentrating on your finger.

A chill ran down Satoru's spine. Kouki didn't take his eyes off his sister and mother's interlocked hands.

"And the calm point they meet..."

A faint glow emanated on your finger and the deep cut that was bleeding was gone and there is no mark of a scar at all.

Saika's face brightened and turned to her Papa.

"See! I told you, Papa. I can do it. Sho-chan can do better though." Saika pursed her lips but smiled anyways turning to you.

"Did I do good, Mama? Is it good?" Your bubbly daughter jumped up and down and her brother ruffled her hair praising her a lot.

"Uhuh? What does my Cat want to be when she grows up?" Satoru chuckled as he carried his daughter in his arms.

You and Satoru looked at each other. A long silence before you both snap out of it and pat Saika's head, telling her she's so good.

"Where did you learn that Cat? Did Sho-chan teach you?" Satoru asked the smiling toddler.

"No, I just watch Sho-chan. She doesn't let me inside when a patient comes in so I just watch behind the door." Saika put a finger over her lips and shushed. "Don't tell Sho-chan, okay Papa?"

"I'm gonna be like Sho-chan! I'm gonna be a doctor." Saika clapped.

"See, I told you she can do it." Kouki grinned, looking at his sister being tickled by their Papa.

You ordered takeout instead and the kids happily ate their dessert and played in the backyard while you and Satoru sat beside each other, drinking some milk tea and shortcake.

Kouki has the color of your eyes, but there are several times that when you look into his orbs, the only thing he inherited from you is the color, the rest looks exactly just like Satoru. Vast and unfathomable. There are times you wonder how vast does your son actually see?

"Y'know, I struggled with reverse cursed technique until 16, I couldn't understand it very much." Satoru started while Saika tackled her brother down.

"Mnnn, even you struggled with it... Now that's something." You hummed and sighed. Your head found rest in Satoru's shoulders as he intertwined your hands and kissed the back of your palm.

There are only a few sorcerers that can perform that advance cursed technique, much severely few are those that can heal others, like Shoko. But even Shoko cannot fully explain how the technique works.

"How much does that take a toll on the brain? Unlike curse energy that comes from the stomach, reverse curse deals with the brain, no?"

"My wife is so smart, are you seducing me? Teheehehehe~" Satoru winked at you making you roll your eyes.

"Mnnn, it depends. The reverse cursed technique is more complex than it sounds. It boggles my mind how our 4-year-old daughter could even do that without being taught properly." Satoru chuckled seeing Kouki easily pinning down his sister and tagging her back and running again.

"You saw the wound she healed. It didn't even have any speck of scar Satoru. Even Shoko cannot heal wounds that cleanly. A scab or a scar is always present over the wound." You fear the situation that arises with this kind of technique. The ability to heal any kind of wound is one matter, but repairing it with no scar at all... You know it's another story. The underlying fear of her talent being exploited lingers at the back of your mind.

There are so many out there who would want to covet such precious ability themselves.

You watch Kouki playing with the bright clear marbles with blue streaks inside with Saika who is just as enamored by the swirling curse energy inside the crystal produced by her brother.

"We'll protect them." Satoru pulled you closer and kissed your temples.

It seems like your children will never fail to keep you and Satoru surprised at every chance they try.

—GreyCaelum

PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME

Check out the Masterlist for more

All rights and credits of the Jujutsu Kaisen character(s) mentioned images(s) and songs(s) used, belongs to their respective owner(s)

General/Kaleidoscope Series Taglist: @ice-icebaby @aeanya @gummy-dummy @tender-rosiey @lexiene @nevermoresworld

[lokiprompts]

#14🤩 I'm curious 🖤💜💚💙

Ohhhhh fuckkk like this is a rough one, because I follow so many incredible writers. SO MANY.

So, I am just going to list my favorites from a few of them and I am sorry if I missed anyone.

Annnd I am linking the work so YOU'RE WELCOME. Follow all these people.

@fictive-sl0th - Wicked Desires and I just realized it's finished soooo now I gotta catch up. The tension and emotions, and smut has me murdered. She has a way of descriptive language that is poetic 🤌

@joyful-enchantress - Evergreen - A christmas fluff bomb that has me crying from the fluffiness. She has a few more works, but I seriously can't wait for more from this writer.

@muddyorbsblr - A heart like yours - this SERIES. THIS SERIES. Seriously, the pining, the fluff. The tension. The ANGST. Idiots in love, perfection.

@mochie85 - I was stuck between creature comforts or language of flowers, but gotta say language of flowers, despite the fact I am a comfort fic addict. This is the fic that introduced me to Mochi and I am SO GLAD I found it. Beautifully written, and Loki's emotions and uncertainty had my heart breaking.

@michelleleewise - hands down The Proposal !! The smut is CHEFS KISS. But it is the perfect blend of exploration, emotion, angst, and...it's just amazing.

@lokischambermaid - A God Can Hold His Liquor I am not into omorashi but I LOVE this fic. The relationship between the reader and Loki in this is so pure. Loki is so soft, and true healing is happening. Incredibly well written.

@lokisprettygirl - Love is Selfless, It's Kind - I was introduced to this amazing writer through this series. A onshot that turned into a journey we didnt want to end. The fluff. The Smut. The angst. Literally everything that had me anxiously waiting future chapters.

@lokisgoodgirl - Okay so this writer can writer smut, like no others. Literally the best I have ever read, EVER. She is amazing in conveying THIRST but that is not what I am going to pick. On no. I am obsessed with her fluff drabbles section. Specifically The Teddy Bear, cuz Loki winning me a teddy bear is a constant day dream of mine and that teddy bear "just became necessary...oh yes".

@maple-seed - The slow burn to end all slow burns, Thrown This fic somehow makes reading about pottery addictive, and we got a hug like 20 chapters in and I imploded. The perfect slow burn.

@sarahscribbles - this sweet fluff bomb Paper Trail I loved reading their journey through their relationship, to the sweet ending. I read this one all the time! And Sarah is also a smut master, so yeah, if you're depraved have fun.

@wheredafandomat Safeword is how I found this amazing writer!! She has many different series, different au's, all with different takes and honestly, most of their series makes me want to scream in the best ways.

@cake-writes - Ostara really intense smut dubcon...and it is just amazing, the whirlwind of emotions and the twist ending. AND THERE'S A SEQUEL that is equally as amazing

[bedforddanes75]

buttery, paper and mochi 💖

HIIIII HELLO HELLO I HOPE UR ENJOYING UR DAY SO FAR!! ok ok so

buttery (favourite snack) - ooh i LOVE just. plain salted hula hoops THEYRE SOO NICE like im fully addicted 2 them i ate 6 packs in like three days once

paper (favourite children's book) - does the hunger games count as a children's book? if it does then that because i would Die for thg...or how to train your dragon for nostalgia 🙂‍↕

mochi (favourite studio ghibli film) - call me basic but spirited away...OR ARRIETTY omg that one's so fun

[lifemod17]

mochi, shampoo, roses!!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙🩵💜

ask game

mochi - favorite studio ghibli film? this is the part where i would write my second favorite since i already answered this but truthfully i've only seen 2 SG films and Spirited Away is the one i liked most 😅

shampoo - favorite scent? second favorite scent: book pages/paper smell UUGGGHHH fuck me UP that is so addicting to meeeee

roses - what flower do you find most beautiful? hibiscus!! they are oh so very pretty and we have an abundance of them where i live

[demonslayedher]

An update on how that sword post is going, kinda

I live a half-hour bus ride from the birthplace of Haganezuka-san's favorite treat, so why not go make a pilgrimage?

Follow me below for dumplings!

I know I seem lazy with Kimetsu Kitchen lately. I am cooking stuff, even though I hate cooking, okay? There's an ingredient I'm practicing with before doing it for another Kimetsu recipe but so far my results suck.

That said, I did choose to go buy Ohagi instead of making it, and I was almost so lazy that had I found loquats at the grocery store, I would have brought one home and taken a picture and said "it's Nakime, get it? It's a biwa."

To my credit, I have made mitarashi dango. It was pretty easy, too. The problem is that you can make so much mochi with a single small bag of mochi flour. It was years ago, I was trying it out with one of my siblings and we had so much mochi that we ran out of anko and quickly had to resort to looking up a mitarashi dango recipe to do something with all that other mochi. And it was good! It had a nice mix of saltiness and sweetness. But we had plates and plates and plates of the stuff, even in a household bigger than a certain ninja clan we couldn't find enough people to eat that stuff and finish it off. No thanks. I'm not repeating that. Here, here's an English recipe, you do it. I'm just here to be a dorky nerd.

I am a perfectly presentable human being. Not to worry, that's not the mask I actually went out in. This one was frustratingly made with the pattern upside down but it's got a spot more Haganezuka style, so I made it work.

The UNESCO World Heritage site referred to is Shimogamo Shrine (which you might know from another anime, Eccentric Family/Uchouten Kazoku, as the home of the titular tanuki family), one of the two major Kyoto shrines associated with the Aoi Festival. If you think I used the KnY cast for mnemonics in studying this festival for a Nerd Test, you are correct. One of the rituals of this festival is when the Sai-Ou, the shrine maiden whom this whole procession is centered around, cleanses her hands at this pond on the shrine grounds. This ritual handwashing is called "Mitarashi". Literally, (honorific)-hand-washing: 御手洗. Since Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子) is typically written with the 'Mitarashi' in phonetic hiragana, I was stunned when I first read about the ritual (before knowing the origin of the sweet), for I thought the sweet was named like this because you have to wash your hands after eating something so sticky.

Unsurprisingly, the religious ritual is performed at a place called Mitarashi Pond, and there is a place for offerings next to it. The two paper lanterns on either side were contributed by the nearby tea house, Kamo Mitarashi Chaya.

The tea house is just across the street from the shrine grounds. Like many sites popular with religious pilgrims throughout history and all around the world, there are restaurants and gift shops lining the way to the sacred grounds to cater to all the visits, and in Japan's case, this is how many sweets become famous and carry an eternal tie with those religious sites even if the connections are tenuous. Some sweets you can only get by visiting the generations-old shops in person, other sweets are spread throughout the country and anyone can make them. This is what happened in the case of Mitarashi Dango, this tea house had a hit with their addictive sweet and salty sauce and now you can find it ready made in grocery stores across Japan.

Even Aoi, who is talented and can do anything, even cooking (she has my respect) says to Inosuke that she'll "go out and buy some" later because it's just that easy. Plus, my girl Aoi knows better than to make a giant batch of that stuff if she doesn't have to.

It's a very typical little tea house selling a typical array of traditional sweets. When I walked in the first thing they did was pitch their shaved ice to me. A fun fact: in their garden, they have a little temple dedicated to Kishimojin, literally, "demon baby mother god," who is a deity who had 500 children whom she loved and cared for but would steal unrelated children to eat them. A Buddhist monk hid her baby one day and she saw the evil of her ways, repented, studied Buddhism and become virtuous. Yeah, Muzan would probably sneer if he heard a story like that.

Anyway! That pond back on the shrine has another famous practice: washing away paper dolls which have soaked up the impurities and bad influences of the world on behalf of human beings. The simple paper dolls have a vaguely human shape, like Shikigami. I bring this up because while most people picture dango coming in sticks of three big dumplings (though the one Aoi gave Haganezuka had four), it's made here at Kamo Mitarashi Chaya with five small dumplings, to more vaguely represent a human form.

NOM.

I really like my mitarashi dango small instead of huge, it makes for a more generous sauce-to-mochi ratio, and while it can be troublesomely sticky and dripping to eat (I broke my toothpick trying to get them off the skewer and be neat), it is indeed as addictive as anything with a base of sugar or soy sauce might usually be. The small mochi is chewy and soft with a nice crispy texture on the charred bits.

This was a perfect amount to say "mm, that's tasty, I want more, more!! Okay, that's enough."

This tea house offers them for both eat-in and take-out, and having eaten them both ways, I strongly suggest eating them in person. With time to sit, the mochi gets firmer, and the silky sauce begins to harden so that all the dango gets stuck together, and it get even harder to have any delicacy as you eat them. If it wasn't bad enough trying to get my family to eat them all, the time I had these as take-home they were a gift to my office, and I had to force people to hurry and eat them before they were hopelessly stuck not only to each other, but to every surface in the office.

Now, having said all that about rice flour dumplings covered in a sugary soy sauce coating, what does this mean for Haganezuka-san? What connections are there to dive into?

I theorize nothing.

I think he just plain likes Mitarashi Dango.

[buffetlicious]

I went back for more of the addictive KFC’s Golden Durian Mochi (S$7.80 for 10 pieces) since this item is only available for a limited time. I assumed that they will pack it in a cardboard box as I bought 10 pieces but I was wrong. :( All the mochi balls went into a paper bag which is not good for presentation purpose. Seem like this KFC branch do it differently, unlike the other branches that pack them in boxes. Even though mum said that this isn’t as good as her chilled durian puffs, she still munched on a few pieces. Once you started popping it into the mouth, you won’t be able to stop at just one ball!

[ktheist]

heartbreaker of mine

muses. jungkook x reader

synopsis. ah, here we are again. the overtold, cliche as hell story about two best friends who might or might not be in love with each other. except you can’t - wouldn’t dare to dream about being with jungkook.

alternatively, wherein you fell for the one who could break your heart.

words. 7.5k

universe. university / slice of life

warnings. mentions of physical insecurities; appearance, commitment issues

x

you should have known that in the absence of two of your best friends, nothing ever goes right when you decide to hang out. it isn’t the fact that you’ve known each other since diapers and basically know anything and everything about the other, that at some point you feel like your friendship is stale and need new additions - that’s where park jimin and kim taehyung comes in; a year older but several younger at heart, you couldn’t have imagined going through uni life with someone but them - but it’s the fact that realization hits you at the end of your final year that makes you drift apart. 

the fact of the matter is, you prefer the solitude of your room, the library of that one spot in the cafe that you’ve claimed as yours. and jeon jungkook prefers the blare of music, strobe lights and bodies grinding against him.

by your final year, as you receive a job offer at the company you interned in on your second year, taehyung is already working part time at the company he interned in, jimin thinking about that modeling offer he just got scouted for and jeon jungkook is getting daddies of the girls he’s having a thing with to get him to work at their office just so their daughter can see their favorite boy more - yours and jungkook’s friendship has dwindled down to mere silences as you wait for the other two to knock on the door and fill the place up with their endless bickering about whether dumplings are better than mochi.

 “shouldn’t you like, give me advice?” are the words jungkook said to you while you type away on your laptop, trying to do some light reading for tomorrow’s class before your mac gets confiscated for ‘pooping the party’ as taehyung likes to call it.

and you know what he’s talking about without even having preambles of the topic make its way into the conversation.

yet you still take off your glasses and set it down in your lap and ask, “what could jeon jungkook possibly have not known and needed advice on?”

he scrunches his nose, not appreciating your sarcasm but humors it anyway, “you know,” he shrugs, as though shrunk into the sofa from either shyness or embarrassment - you don’t know, “on like, how to start being serious about life - and settling down.”

the silence that stretches is a stale one, filled with your blank stare and jungkook’s peering eyes - even at the age of 22, the stars still glimmer like they’ve been freshly plucked from the skies.

“you want me to help pick, out of the many job offers you got from your girlfriends’ rich parents, for you to do?” is your conclusion - though if you were 2 years younger and had a little bit more faith for the boy you basically called your twin, it would have been a good natured jest. but you’re older and jungkook isn’t exactly portraying characteristics of an upstanding citizen either.

“no,” his hair brushes against his brows as he shakes his head almost too eagerly - as though he saw that coming but still got upset and wanted to prove you wrong, “like how to start taking things seriously like settling down with someone and no, not with out of my many girlfriends - can we not call them that? it makes me sound like an ass.”

it takes you less than five seconds to digest his words, eyes drifting to the white screen of your mac for the sole reason you can’t bear to hold his intense gaze while you conjure up a response, “well for one, you are but there’s honestly nothing i can tell you that you don’t know already and there’s nothing i can possibly say to make you want to change - it has to come from you. or like, a professional that could help and if you think you need one, i’ll be with you all step-“

the brief scoff is what puts a rest to your racing thoughts while the smile on his lips put your heart at ease, “i’m not addicted to sex.”

“oh, okay.” is all you say, not seeing where the conversation is going as you watch the boy scratch the back of his ear, lips pulled into a pout - one way you know he’s trying to strum words into existence. and when he does, confused is an understatement to describe what your face is portraying.

“okay,  i’m saying if and if you’re looking for a husband, no, scratch that, would you even introduce someone like me to your parents?” but that’s the thing, you’re not confused because you don’t know where this is going but you’re confused because you don’t pretend to be oblivious.

but you’re also not a master at the art of heart-to-hearts and the gargantuan elephant that it brings. so you settle with a, “uh, i don’t know, you already know my parents, don’t know how i can reverse that and reintroduce you-“

“that’s not the point,” he blinks, the sight almost endearing as he freezes in his spot for a split second in contemplation of how to approach the matter and explain it to you who seem like you’re way off, “the point is-“

“i get it.”  you nod, arms crossing over your chest as jungkook’s wide eyes peers into you like a mixture of relief anticipation.

“you do?”

“you’re worried if your future partner will be insecure about the bodies you’ve seen before them,” there’s a knock on the door just as you’ve finished speaking.

as you get up to get up to answer it, knowing already who’s there from the obnoxious chatters - more like argument - you’re not sure if your brain is playing tricks on you or if jungkook’s shoulder line really falls as well as his face.

but the, “uh, yeah, i guess,” is what makes you push the image of dimmed stars and downturned pink lips to the back of your mind as you unlock the door, welcoming the two halfway-into-a-deep-quarreling men and their two bags of take-away roasted chicken, chips, mashed potatoes and whatever else they thought necessary to fill the game night with.

“thanks, shortcake,” taehyung smiles at you after you take a plastic bags off his and jimin’s hands and proceed to place it on the coffee table.

“tae, you’re literally taller than everyone,” throwing him a side glance, you shrug as you begin taking out the packed chicken wings and placing it in front of jungkook while taehyung helps with unpacking the add-ons from another bag, “calling me short isn’t exactly an insult.”

“i’m just saying we should demolish mint chocolate chips all at once,” jimin plops down on the couch adjacent to jungkook, “and no, we can’t let these savages go eating them - we need to educate-“

somewhere in the middle of jimin’s colonial-esque speech, you turn to the boy who’s never said a word since the two came in. not that those too needed an additional converse partner with how taehyung is advocating for leaving mint chocolate chip eaters alone and jimin staying with his stance that these people haven’t had a taste of all flavors in the world yet.

the way he seems to look at something past your shoulders tells you enough - he’s still deep in his thoughts about settling down, or changing or whatever. you don’t know why exactly he wants to change his heartbreaker ways but- “there’s nothing wrong with two adults having a - or multiple - consensual sexual relationship prior to finding their significant other. and if they have a problem with that then that’s something they need to work on, not you so no, i don’t think you should change anything unless you want to.”

x

it’s some days later that taehyung brings up the remnant of the conversation he overheard before the four of you began arguing about what movie to watch and ended up putting the fate of humanity in rock paper scissors. and so you tell him, without ever thinking of the one thing that spurred his ridiculous thought and the hesitance of pouring it onto you.

“don’t look at me, i’m not snitching.” jimin’s round, disbelieved eyes stares back at taehyung as though surprised the latter would ever think he’d do such a thing.

“okay but someone’s gotta tell her.” taehyung lowly mumbles, upper body turned to jimin, gracing you with his beautiful side profile - whoever gets to date him will forever be the lucky one.

“guys, i’m literally right here.” the sound of your voice warrants a turn of heads and a wide-eyed stare as though they’re seeing your ghost rather than your physical form that entered and picked a spot together with them.

it takes a moment for the elephant to settle somewhere in the corner and crush you with its invisible weight before taehyung turns to you, hand behind his mouth as he fake coughs into it. then, another moment for you to register taehyung’s words as you watch his mouth move and his gaze trained on you like a father teaching his daughter a life-lesson before he lets her out into the world. once his mouth stops moving and a second passes for you to take in the information, only two words leave your lips.

“you trippin’,” with a half-manic smile and brows knitted together, you look almost like you’re made for the asylum- but understandably, your admittance is overdue.

as your heart palpitate inside the confines of your rib cages and the scene from that night replays at the back of your eyes like a broken record - jungkook’s hesitant glance, the windows to his soul shutting tight with hesitance and the teeth that traps his lower lips as though his body is forbidding him to say whatever his heart and mind wanted - as much as it pains you to admit it, the signs were all there.

you just didn’t want to admit it.

that’s what pining over a best friend you’ve known for over a decade does.

the denial that comes after realizing you don’t want anyone else to touch jungkook when im nayoung stood on her tippy toes and pecked jungkook’s lips before running off with a flustered expression - you were both in elementary and jungkook was more into sleepovers with the abundance of plushies you had than hanging with ‘other kids’.

then comes the ugly head of self-loathing and guilt as you fixed park jihyo a smile as jungkook introduced you two. one, as his girlfriend and the other, his best friend.

both, in love with him.

it’s ugly and disgusting, jealousy that is. but you’re uglier for smiling and laughing with jihyo over the things you would with a best friend who’s a girl - there were things you couldn’t share with jungkook as a girl. but you’d let your eyes linger a second too on them as they shared a peck when he’d meet you too in front of the school gate after his extra class was over - you lost count of the times you wished you were her.

you carried the pathetic little mask of a smile to uni. by then, jungkook had broken up with jihyo. there was a lot of tears and consoling and empty words of assurance.

“hey, if you guys are meant to be, you’ll meet again someway somehow.” you’d fixed her an encouraging smile as your heart bloomed with hope for when you’ll get jungkook’s attention all to yourself once you start uni.

getting into the same one had been pure luck.

it didn’t bring you far though. jungkook started gaining attention for his friendly nature and bunny smile that attracted both males and females. it wasn’t long until he’s bringing you to parties where he’d keep you by his side because he knew you didn’t know most of these people. tried to get you involved in the conversation but there was nothing interesting about the dude who drank himself silly and woke up in front of an old lady’s door butt naked or about that girl who woke up a five minutes before class in a city an hour away from where her dorm is.

well, at least, none of them seemed like jungkook’s type. he never had a girlfriend throughout his years in uni though he had plenty of other experiences that makes you wonder what in the world he hasn’t tried yet.

being in a relationship, is probably the only thing he hasn’t done.

jungkook liked kind people. ones that didn’t point at a random person and say an offhanded comment and collectively laugh about it. someone that laughs and smiles a lot because and didn’t have a single bad bone in their body.

liked.

because you don’t know what kind of person jungkook likes now. but you never thought him asking a hypothetical question from what seems like another person's perspective about his lifestyle would be, as taehyung calls it-

“i’m telling you,” he slams a hand on the table, a loud pap! resonating in the air but he doesn’t seem bothered by the pain - if there is any - as his eyes bore into you, “that was jungkook shooting his shot!”

“i don’t know,” you take a sip from the metal straw of your matte black tumbler for the sake of doing something, “it doesn’t feel real but i can kind of see it?”

“take it for what it is, love,” the pull of his eyebrows together couldn’t have been more frustrating, “jungkook has every reason to have the fattest crush on you - i mean look at you, you’re funny, adorable and nicer than all his friends combined.”

jungkook has multiple friend groups he hangs out with. funny how you started out as duos and merged into a quadruplet and ended up being that friend group that jeon jungkook doesn’t really look like he fits in but he’s probably hanging out with you guys from time to time because you’d known each other the longest. or so word has it.

“that’s basically everyone who’s not his friends.” with an eye roll, you wrap your mouth around the straw. this time, for the sake of hiding the smile that threatens to bloom on your face as it is in your heart.

x

and that’s how you find yourself in more than one ‘don’t you dare’ moments. jimin has begun randomly pointing out something about your hair accessory to your clothes to your fucking strawberry printed socks. 

to prove a point, he said.

“hey beautiful,” oh, and he’s resorted to calling you all the adjectives in the world - but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work in making jungkook’s face scrunch in displeasure for the briefest moment as he glances at jimin as though he’s an adjective away from beating the man into a bloody pulp, “nice shirt.”

despite knowing the comment is every bit staged - and probably doesn’t mean that your minnie and mickey mouse shirt is anywhere compliment-worthy, you still look down at the two mice, one kissing the other on the cheek.

the “uh, thanks,” couldn’t have been more dubious and skeptic.

and so begins jimin’s not-so-secret mission to bring jungkook’s attention to you.

“isn’t the stickers on ___’s mac cute, jungkook?” 

jungkook skims at the grizzly, panda and ice bears scattered across your mac before breaking into a smug smirk, “of course they are, i bought them for ___.”

you can almost hear jimin and taehyung high-fiving on the row behind you just as the professor walks in.

while jungkook seems to oblivious to it all, eyes trained to the display on the on the front, you allow yourself to indulge in the heat that seeps through your pores and warms your heart.

it’s not like jungkook stopped going to parties.

but finals season is almost upon you and he’s been hanging out with you more. sitting next to you in class while jimin and taehyung dozes off at the back. 

“they sleep in class just to spend hours on end studying at the library,” jungkook huffs, eyebrows knitting together adorably as he stresses over your two friends’ stamina for sitting in one place for six hours straight and only needing a bottle of water at their disposal, “i mean, why can’t they just focus in class so they don’t have to study a whole semester’s worth of syllabus in the last minute and drag us into it?”

the six hour mark ended and they’re out getting some snacks for you to secretly munch on until the library closes.

“i mean,” you begin, eyebrows jolting upwards at the more-than-obvious fact he’s supposed to already know, “you technically came here with your own free will, you’re free to leave whenever you want.”

another sigh hits the air as the boy slams his onto the book he has open in front of him, “yeah, but i need to study to pass and i needed you guys to push me,” he laments.

ever since then, there’d been far too many moments of where you’re stuck with jungkook to wait for the two non-time-abiding asses. at first, excuses like ‘sorry we’re late, we were getting mcdonald’s’ or some other poor fast food restaurants’ name that became the patsy, but they started dwindling to ‘oh hey, sorry, we didn’t notice the time’ and eventually a ‘hey, jimin’s got a meeting with a professor and he’s my ride so you guys go first’.

and before you know it, finals pass and you’re visiting your hometown while jungkook stuck around for a part-time job with taehyung whilst jimin drops off the face of the earth after having mentioned that he’s going on a family vacation at some private island with apparently the worst wifi connection ‘like ever.’

the two now-co-workers keep spamming the group chat with pictures of them in their uniforms, holding different drinks which they personally every time. when you’re staying over with your grandmother, it’s your turn to spam pictures of her great black cat who seem to only like sitting in her lap and glaring at you in every picture you take of the two watching tv together. almost as if he had a sixth sense when it comes to cameras.

“when are you coming back?” jungkook grumbles from the other end of line.

you’ve just got a shower and he’s just got home from a night shift. he’s probably haven’t even taken off his jacket yet when he proposed calling you like the sporadic times you both did throughout the break.

“i don’t know. i don’t feel like going back maybe even until the ceremony,” you confess, half-meaning it. the gardening, and saying hello’s to everyone you see while buying groceries because everyone knows everyone here, and the best-tasting cookies your grandma make, and waking up to her cat suffocating you in your sleep, isn’t so bad.

“i’m dying here,” he sighs, sounding more relaxed and probably lying on his bed now, “if i have to insist that i can’t ‘reheat’ coffee and can only make a new one and end up having to hide in the kitchen for five seconds to pretend like there’s a secret microwave only for coffees,” he says all in one breath before letting a suspenseful silence hang in the air and then finally revealing the next big thing he’ll do, “i’m seriously going to spit in their coffee while in the kitchen pretending to reheat it with an invisible microwave.”

the laughter that tumbles out of your mouth is probably ugly and you probably snorted a couple times but jungkook doesn’t seem to notice. or care as he keeps insisting ‘i’m really gonna do it’ whilst you end up laughing until your stomach hurts and tears begin to prick your eyes.

“is this the same regular that like, wants their coffee like super hot?” you finally manage to ask, traces of laughter still threatening to spill from your lips.

“yeah,” his sounds impressed, “how’d you know?”

“tae told me,” you make an incredulous face and shrug even though he can’t see, “you do realize you work at the same place, right?”

“yeah but i never see him talk about it in the group but i probably missed it-”

“oh no,” your hand goes up in a dismissive wave, “we talk on the phone and he told me about it.”

“you guys talk on the phone too?” there’s a strain in his voice, possibly out of surprise.

“yeah, like every day.” you say, tongue subconsciously lapping over your bottom lip.

“oh,” is all he says for the longest moment before chirping out the billion dollar question, “why aren’t we talking every day?”

“i don’t know,” your shoulder line rises, almost swallowing your neck as a war breaks out within yourself, “we did try at the beginning of break but you always had a party to go to so...”

“oh,” this ‘oh’ is a little bit dejected and perhaps hits a little different before he continues, “i don’t go to those anymore.”

this time, it’s your jaw that falls. your voice is small, almost as though cautiously teetering on tightrope as you ask, “...why not?”

“i just didn’t see the point of going anymore you know? once we graduate, i won’t even talk to these people anymore - but i wanna continue being friends with you guys.”

the ‘you guys’ meaning you, taehyung and jimin. the bros. the homies. it’s no secret that he probably sees you all as the same gender, not a guy nor a girl but just friends.

well. it’s not the first time jungkook’s friendzoned you.

“that’s great,” you can’t help but nod even though you know he can’t see you, “i wanna keep being friends with you too, jungkook.”

ever since then, you talk almost everyday. sometimes in three’s and when taehyung had a shift and jungkook got off his, it’d just be the two of you. and for the first time, in ages, it feels as though the ‘best’ in your friendship has somewhat reintroduced itself once more. jimin somewhat manages to get a connection somewhere along the way and the first thing he did was complain about the three digit number in a red bubble in the corner of the message app and then managing to get one picture of him in flowery trunks, and a baby monkey eating a banana perched on his shoulder with the beach in the background before disappearing for the rest of the month until two weeks before the graduation ceremony.

“so like, do you have anyone to pick you up?” jungkook asks from he other end of the line. he sounds more free since it’s the last day of his job.

“yeah,” you announce, attentiveness laced in your tone for your next words might be indicative enough, “my sister.”

“what.” he drags out the word in a disbelieving tone and it’s no secret why he’s doing that- “i haven’t seen you in ages! and you’re going to your sister’s? wait - this isn’t like a permanent thing right? we’ll get to hang out before the ceremony, right?”

it takes you a moment to register the series of questions he bombarded you with and before you know it, the silence has already turned your voice into a small and guilt-ridden, “um, yes and no?”

a groan.

“i haven’t seen seulgi in forever too and she kept nagging me to visit her during break but i never did so now she has like a whole week’s worth of itinerary planned out for us to do before the ceremony,” the excuse trickles out of your mouth hurriedly, “jungkook, i have to do this, or the next time we’ll meet it’s at my funeral and you’ll be talking to my dead carcass before they bury me.”

it takes a moment of anticipating silence before he grumbles out a “fine. but after that, you’re staying over at my place.”

“okay but i mean if we’re having stay over’s wouldn’t tae’s place be better since he has a whole ass apartment for himself?” you’re at that point where you’re discussing stay over arrangements before actually consulting the owner of the place.

“i guess,” his voice is a little lower and smaller but it revives at the mention of the new pizza place that just opened before you decided to invite the other two in the call to make plans to visit there.

when the day finally comes for you to don the royal blue robe and cap, you do so with barely enough grace and composure for someone who’s about to receive her blood sweat and tears on a stage all because you and your sister are - this must be karma for shading taehyung and jimin for being - a bunch of non-time-abiding asses.

the double doors are almost closed as you struggle with not tripping on your high heels whilst trying to keep your hair out of your face.

“where have you been?” you almost didn’t recognize the golden man who tapped you on your shoulder from behind.

“jimin! you made it!” is the first thing you say.

“rich coming from someone who barely got to her seat in time,” he gives you a once over and you’re not quite sure what he sees because your back which he’ll be looking most at is clad is oversized blue robe. but despite that, you reach out to give his hand a squeeze and he takes it with just as a tight, ‘we made it’ kind of squeeze before you turn to the chancellor that’s beginning his speech.

you’re not sure which row jungkook is at or if he even sees you and you read taehyung’s ‘i feel like a proud momma’ text because his major adds another year to his studies than you, jimin and jungkook.

the ceremony goes on without a hitch and you’d like to believe your picture is as perfect as your make up which your sister claims to be ‘out of this world!’ - only because it’s her that did it.

“so you guys talk everyday?” jimin pulls you into him, a smile gracing his beautifully tanned skin as he steals a glance at something behind your shoulders - possibly jungkook whom you saw was being swarmed by his friends to take pictures with.

“yeah, i guess,” you casually say with a shrug.

“it’s true, i was there,” taehyung comes up next to you, replacing jimin’s arms with his in a side hug.

“man, i really wish i witness it all,” jimin grumbles, “but the connection on that island was shitty.”

“i’m sure you connected in different ways,” the taller man adds, a strain in his voice which the shorter doesn’t seem to notice as he try to wave off the belatedly relayed fact that his family is a different kind of family.

like the kind that invites sex workers and other business colleagues alike to enjoy themselves for as long as they wanted, as long as the park family was there.

“okay but how long is he going to take?” jimin quizzes, eyebrows soaring whilst you and taehyung follow his gaze to the growing size of people a few feet away who clearly look like they’re here for a photoshoot than a simple graduation ceremony, “my parents kinda skipped work to see me go on stage and get a piece of paper they paid a lot for so i kinda want to get the family pic done before i go to my second family...”

time doesn’t seem to stop like they do in the movies. it happens all too fast, in fact - jimin’s voice fading into the background, the countdown of the person taking the picture of the group of graduates jungkook’s in starting from three, two, one! and a girl with the prettiest curls that seem to bounce as she turns around and stick her tongue into jungkook’s mouth.

it must have been your uncanny silence that draws the attention of the two boys and a ‘oh shit...’ from one of them - you’re not sure who even though taehyung and jimin has two distinctly sounding voice.

all you’re sure of is the involuntary movements of your feet as they carry you away from the scene. your eyes are dry but that’s probably only because your brain hasn’t registered what exactly happened though deep down, you’re perfectly aware of the fact that those daily calls, the spams of good mornings and randomly sending each other selfies were nothing more than exchanges between two people who were onlu ever connected through a childhood bond that got translated into best friendship just because there was no other name for knowing someone for so long even though you probably stopped being friends first year of college.

“___! wait!” someone calls for you and you wish it so badly to be jungkook but you know better than to expect for the impossible. a modern day fairy tale.

“hey, don’t cry. jungkook’s a fucking dick,” the tall stature that finally caught up to you and trapped you in his arms, whispers. gentle, understanding and pitiful.

it’s not just the comforting warmth, it’s also the hand that’s rubbing your back that you know is probably jimin’s that makes you break out into your first sob. whilst the day isn’t exactly free of tears, those who did shed them did it out of gratitude and a sort of ‘i did it’ kind of relief but not you.

today, your cheeks are marred by the excruciating pain of a heartbreak. you might as well tear your chest open, take out the beating organ and hand it over to jungkook so he could crush them with his own two hands.

maybe it’d hurt less.

somewhere amidst your fit, you choke on your laughter as you catch the two bickering.

“that’s not how you comfort a crying lady, taehyung, what the fuck?” jimin doesn’t hold back with his colorful words.

“what? what did i do?” the taller man sounds all the more confused but still pass you on to the shorter one like a gift basket when a hand pulls you into another pair of arms.

a hand patting your head as jimin murmurs, “there, there, you’re going to be okay, sweetie,” he hugs you just a tad bit tighter as though to say i promise, “you’re young, you’re beautiful and you just graduated with honors. in five years you won’t even remember your little crush for jungcockhead.”

you would have laughed if not for the shadow in your periphery stopping dead in its trek just a few feet away from you and close enough to hear every word jimin uttered in his attempt to placate your rising desire to flee the scene.

“what?” even a simple syllable is enough to tell you who the voice belongs to. perhaps it’s because you’ve heard it in real life and on the phone countless times and countless more during the span where he worked sporadic shifts and you were gardening and getting scratched by your grandmother’s cat that you tried relentlessly to befriend.

“nothing, jungkook.” you wish it was you who said it but it’s jimin who’s hugging you tighter like a mother comforting their heartbroken child, “why don’t you go back to your girlfriend and stick your face where it’s actually wanted?”

almost as though physically slapped in the face.

with a brick.

jungkook’s shoulder line jolts as he flinches, brows knitting together as you can almost see the rewind of the moment your heart gets split in two. she has the prettiest, softest tanned complexion, luscious curls and body that fits the definition of a glowed-up.

he takes one step forward but stops when you shrink into jimin’s arms, almost as though seeking protection. but it takes everything in you not to run to him and make up an excuse about feeling hot and stuffy and that being the reason you left, when the crestfallen expression mars his otherwise ever-smiling features. 

“that wasn’t what you thought it was-” you could almost swear he chokes at the end of his words but the pause is too short to tell, “i left her as soon as i saw you running off.”

“oh my god, cut the bullshit! this isn’t the first time and this won’t be the last. don’t talk to ___, don’t even look at her, douchebag,” the rumble of jimin’s voice vibrates against you as he pokes taehyung in the rib, making the boy cry out in pain.

the assaulted man has half a mind to ask for further instructions when he turns to you and jimin but decides against it, squaring up his shoulders and placing a warning hand, “just leave, man. ___ clearly doesn’t wanna talk to you right now.”

“ever.” jimin half-shouts.

those deep brown eyes search for yours as though holding on the last strand of what you call best friendship - hoping, wishing that it isn’t true. but as soon as they find your puffy eyes, you throw your gaze to the ground, finding the crack in the asphalt in a better state than your heart.

you can only imagine jungkook’s face falling at your refusal to affirm the strength of years’ worth of friendship. because the fact of the matter is, you’re not so sure if you want to keep pretending to be oblivious as he wraps his arms around another person and kiss them like he means it.

x

“___,” the bed dips as you feel the weight of the blanket get yanked off you. seulgi’s sweet peaches perfume filling your senses, “get up, it’s been days since you had an actual meal.”

“i’m not hungry,” you grumble against the pillow just as your stomach starts making the most monstrous sound ever existed in history of mankind.

“yeah right,” she scoffs but her hand on your arm is warm and soothing, “come on, please eat something - i’m saying ‘please’ here and you know i never say ‘please’. people say ‘please’ to me.” 

you can’t help but laugh at that. seulgi’s never truly begged anyone for anything in her entire life. she would have asked once and left you be until you were done moping around over jungkook getting with jihyo. it was after you did get over your first heartbreak, did she get you ice cream and you’d spent the night in her room with fairy lights and forts, watching the notebook.

“don’t let a boy hurt you like that again, ___, promise me.” she held up a pinky, and yours felt like a ton of weight just dropped over you.

in the end, you hooked your pink with hers and made a promise of sisterhood.

but she hadn’t been there when you needed your off days in college when rumors started spreading about jungkook and a different girl every week.

the wounds to your ever bleeding heart don’t heal. but you got used to picking yourself up and you got better at that with that one class you failed, that one presentation you blew, the humiliating mistake you made in front of your supervisor and every time after that. seulgi had her own ways to deal with problems and you had yours - or maybe patching yourself up after a fuck up was more of your forte.

who knows?

“what’s for dinner?”

“really?” at your inquiry, the face you thought would light up like a christmas tree - doesn’t. if anything, she bites her bottom lip just like you just caught her red-handed for doing something you probably won’t like.

“what?” you ask plainly, at this point, you won’t even be surprised if she said the sky is falling.

it’s not.

but her next words are far more foreboding than the end of the world, “look, jungkook came over like he always did everyday since that day and today i wanted him to stop coming for good so i told him if you at least have the energy to get some food, i’d let him see you,” her eyes glimmer with a sort of remorse that you can’t even hold her against.

“then can’t you tell him i still don’t wanna eat?” is what you say, completely unperturbed or rather not registering the fact that your best friend whom you’ve been in love with for as long as you can remember is in your sister’s living room because he probably heard about your hunger strike. 

but the only problem is, he’s not in the living room-

“he’s right outside the room. i told him he can stand there and see for himself how bad he fucked you over so he’ll feel bad enough to leave you alone.” she says in a hurried whisper, eyes glancing to the half-agape door every second.

a spark lights up inside you, like smolders blown by wind and flares into flames, “seriously? you couldn’t talk to me first about it?”

her eyebrows furrow as her mouth opens and closes for a moment before she confesses, “...i didn’t think you’d say yes to lunch.”

“whatever just-” you tear your gaze away from your sister’s involuntary puppy eyes just so you wouldn’t end up clawing them out yourself, “...just go, seulgi.”

for the longest yet briefest moment, the only thing you can hear in the room is your steady breathing. the flame still burns but it doesn’t flare into a raging fireball. and you know full well it probably isn’t easy for jungkook to pass to through the door after having heard how you reacted when you found out he’s just outside.

when he does, he doesn’t even hide the way his doe eyes shine with something you can’t pinpoint as he takes you in. all of you. with your mused, oily hair and three day’s worth of hoodie and puffed eyes.

“hey,” he murmurs ever so softly, the bed dipping where seulgi sat.

you echo the same greeting back but with a hoarser voice compared to his velvet one.

“so, what do you want for dinner?” he begins, cautious eyes finding yours.

“i don’t want it anymore,” is all you say as you shrug casually.

“oh.” he sounds fragile. nothing at all like the self-assured jeon jungkook you’ve come to know.

silence fills the room like a big, blue elephant. seconds stretch on into minutes and you find yourself leaning against the headboard, drawing invisible patterns over the sheets while jungkook-

you don’t know what he’s doing. he could be fiddling with his fingers like how 10-year-old him would whenever you met at your favorite spot after a fight. but you’re both no where near 10 and if there’s any traces of the boy you once called your best friend, it’s probably only his appearance that’s never really changed.

either way, you don’t dare to even steal a glance his way.

“i like you too.”

the words hit the air like a drop of water that vaporized faster than what science dictates it too. you almost thought you were hearing things if not for the way he looks at you. as though waiting for something. anything.

“i...” you trail off before shaking your head, almost as though coming to your senses, “i can’t do this.”

jungkook laughs awkwardly, hand scratching the back of his head, “yeah, i understand - i’m sorry i- i just wanted to make sure you’re fine and then i got carried away- i should leave.”

but before he takes a step towards the door, you call for him, “jungkook, wait.”

“i’m leaving for japan in two days,” you finally let the cat out of the bag.

“what?” comes out a second later - you don’t dare to look up from your hands to see what kind of emotion he’s making.

but he at least deserves an explanation, “for the longest time, i feel fucked up because i get so jealous of the girls that dated you...” taking a deep breath, you continue, “but i know it’s because i think i’m not enough-”

“you are - you’re more than enough,” the interjection is what makes you look up involuntarily, if not to confirm it yourself - the knitted eyebrows and heartbroken gaze proves it and then the sinking realization settles in, “but you don’t believe me.”

you shake your head, a bitter smile on your lips, “i’m not enough for me and that’s something i have to work with.”

“by running away?” his voice rises to the ceiling, confusion and frustration pooling in his eyes.

“by finding myself,” you correct, “you know like how people go to a different country and come back a different person except i’m hoping to find that person.”

“in japan,” he sounds like he’s a word away from hooking you up with a specialist - not that you haven’t thought of one but-

you laugh and he looks at you like he’s stuck in the middle of a never ending maze, “my mom’s planning to visit my aunt in japan and since i’m officially unemployed i guess, i’m tagging along.”

“oh,” his shoulder line sags as he sighs in relief, “so like a vacation.”

it tenses back up when you say, “i might look for a job there.”

“you’re permanently moving to japan?” jungkook’s body seems to be here but his conscience seems to have flown out - probably to japan.

you want to laugh but it doesn’t seem like a proper setting for it. especially when you’re confessing to your crush that you like him but also subtly admitting that he’s partly the reason you’re leaving the life you know for a new one. and you might not even do it willingly.

“i might find a job with a branch company in korea - work there for a year and then transfer here,” you shrug, “i don’t know.”

“i-is this because-” he starts but you shake your head.

“yes and no?” you say, “none of this is your fault but i’m projecting my frustrations onto you and this isn’t healthy... i need- i need to go away for awhile and figure myself out.”

and that’s how jeon jungkook finally comes to the realization that nothing’s been the same. you haven’t been the best friend you prided yourself to be for a long time and that best friend completely disappeared in second year of college after he started spending nights at parties and only lunches with you. until eventually, you’re stuck in a habit - a cycle that you can’t break from until something dramatic or life changing happens.

and so it goes, he sees you off at the airport with taehyung and jimin. unsure of whether they were still friends after they’d deliberately stopped him from running after you on your graduation day, they were the first to approach him. they understood that it’d only be worse if he chased after you but they didn’t hate him - dislike him at times when - as they called it - he was so damn clueless, yes but they didn’t hate him. and that was a relief.

nothing major changed. he moved in with taehyung and jimin and even got a job at the same company as jimin. you went off radar but still kept in contact every once in awhile - it was like that time jimin went to that private island except you had all the reception you needed, just not the time to text as much as you used to.

job hunting was tough and he understood the competition. when you got a job, you were plagued with a newbie’s role, having to do overtimes to finish up work that was piling before they gave you that position.

then one year turned to two and two years turned to three. jungkook became a manager while jimin took up the position as a secretary in their rival company - it’s funny because everyone at the office would shit-talk him and they would make fun of those people as they drink into the night.

jungkook lost contact with most of his party friends - they were great with hooking him up with a potential client but besides that, he was basically living the workaholic life with his two apartment mates as his only source of social interaction outside of work.

from meetings to gatherings to meetings and then private dinners with clients. the cycle goes on until that one evening where arrives at an invites-only event.

“jungkook, come here,” the director gestures him over and because there’s a server blocking his view, he only notices the girl standing in front of his superior, when he’s finally by his side.

“...a hardworker - every project he’s ever handled hits the internet like a boom!” the director was saying.

“ah jungkook,” the man taps him on his shoulder but he can barely feel it when his eyes are trained on you, stunning in that deep toned dress and new hairstyle, “meet ___, you guys will be working on the twin tower project together.”

x

“so you’re back for good?” he asks when you’re finally alone, lingering at the balcony and away from your superior’s eyes.

“not quite - i still have to fly to japan every week,” you shrug casually.

“oh,” he nods.

“you look great by the way,” he adds a moment later, scuffing his foot against the floor.

you can’t help but giggle at how boyish he is, even at the age of 25, he still acts like a child, “thanks - you don’t look half bad yourself.”

he echoes a “thanks” as well before throwing his gaze over the magnificient view of the cityscape. artificial lights from the buildings appear like stagnant fireflies. it’s sad that they’re the reason you can’t see stars anymore.

but fate is too cruel.

because hoseok, your partner is calling you over - a couple of middle aged people standing next to him, smiling that mechanical smile that isn’t any different from your business smile.

“i gotta go,” you sigh but shoot him one last melancholy smile, “i’ll see you this monday?”

“yeah, see you this monday.” jungkook smiles a smile that says he’s not so sure where you stand. colleagues. ex-best friends. acquaintances?

with a wave goodbye, he watches as you strut to the couple, transforming into a woman so sure of every gesture, even a smile and a throw of your head back as you laugh. everything you do, every movement you make is mesmerizing. 

and he knows he’s not the only one who thinks so as he watches your partner gaze at you with eyes that doesn’t seem to see anyone else but you. laughs at something you say as if he’s completely enchanted.

jungkook turns around, hand propped on the railing as he takes a sip of the wine he’s been holding. without realizing it, a smile slips onto his face, he makes a mental note to check your company’s dating policy.

most forbid office romances anyway.

x

note. i’ve had this in the draft for forever! and thought i was never gonna finish this but i somehow got a burst of inspiration yesterday and here we are! hope yall enjoyed!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

(Jade enters the room with a wrapped up painting and a polite smile) “Hello, Miss Raven, Happy Birthday! Miss Mochi asked me to deliver this gift to you instead of herself since she procrastinated on her assignments again.” (Upon closer inspection, there is a small tag with a faint fruity fragrance that wrote “HBD! I hope you like my gift, Raven. I worked a long time on it to thank you for all your hard work. Please open it as soon as you get it ⭐“

Raven kicked the terribly shady body pillow under a table, praying that Jade either 1) didn’t see it, or 2) was feeling yasashii kind enough to not make a comment on it. She had an inkling that the latter was the case, as there was a familiar, sadistic sparkle in his golden eye as he handed over a rather large, flat gift. The tag attached to it gave off a fruit fragrance, calling attention to its message.

“I don’t know why Mochi-san chose you to deliver the gift in her stead,” the bird grumbled. “I thought everyone knew better than to trust Octavinelle with tasks.”

“I am simply one hell of an eel butler, Miss Raven. My services are impeccable–near addictive, one might say. Well worth the cost of an arm and a leg, I assure you.”

“Stop stroking your own ego.”

Jade didn’t flinch, didn’t falter in his smile. “Might I suggest that you open your present now?”

“Okay, but not because you told me to.”

Raven ripped through the wrapping paper–and the first thing she saw was a blaze of black, ending in curls. My hair, she realized. A portrait of herself, maybe?

But as she tore off more wrapping paper, the details didn’t seem to fit. Her outfit wasn’t black, it was much more pale–and her head was swathed in a veil of some sort.

She stood at some sort of altar, built from stone, that overlooked a large body of water and a seaside town. Rays of the dying sun shone upon the bird, who smiled shyly. Her left hand was raised, meeting the lips of…

Raven saw a flash of teal, and her heart went still.

“… Oya? Whatever is the matter, Miss Raven?” Jade leaned over her left shoulder, his black stripe of hair swinging like a pendulum. “Do you require assistance with unwrapping your gift?”

“N-No, back off! I can handle it myself…!! I-In fact, you don’t need to be here watching me unwrap it, so just g-go away!!” Raven sputtered, smacking his arm with her palm.

“I wonder, is there, perhaps, something that you don’t wish for me to witness?” The eel’s lips curled into a catty smile. “What sort of scandalous image lies beyond the remaining scraps of this wrapping paper, meant for your eyes, and your eyes alone? Fufufu…”

“D-Don’t make it sound worse than it actually is!!”

“Then reveal the painting in its entirety,” he challenged.

“F-FINE!!”

Raven summoned all her courage and cast off the last of the wrapping, revealing Jade Leech himself, planting a kiss on the back of the hand of his bird bride. A wedding, the one she had always daydreamed about. Just as she had feared. Heat exploded across Raven’s cheeks, and she shrank into herself, burying her hands into her face.

“There. Now that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

Jade’s cruel laughter echoed in her ears.

[gentlenekomata]

[ TASTE ]

These things are addicting! But after a handful, even his sweet tooth is in desperate need of a break. He'd managed to flirt his way into a free bag of marshmallows as his coin pouch still remains missing.

"Oho, Lady Sakura! What a pleasure to see you again!" Laslow bows from the waist, a grin spreading across his features. "Have you tried these marshmallows? They're amazing! The texture reminds me of your beloved mochi."

He holds out the bag. "Take as many as you want!"

Midsommar 2022

Rummaging her tiny hand inside his paper bag, she eventually found out it was all empty – she finished them all!

With a regretful face, she was staring at her empty bag in a desolate way, until a familiar voice called out her name and with her surprise, a new bag full of delicacy appeared in front of her eyes, which actually began to shine lightly as she was already foretasting the fragrant aroma.

“You’re so kind Laslow” she didn’t even listen to the compliment he tried to say, since she was way too interested about that bag of candies. “You sure you want me to eat all of them?” she already sunk her tiny hand inside the bag, searching and tasting the several shapes of the candies, curiosity almost killing her as she couldn’t wait for any longer.

[callmegkiddo]

What art work?

(this is a korosensei x Wolf! Teacher! reader)

(3rd p.o.v)

‘Shoot, I’m late! Oh no, oh no!’ you screamed to yourself as you sprinted across the forest surrounding the old campus. As you gunned pass the beehive, snakes, boulders, through the bridge and past the river. You almost broke down the door to the entrance of the campus, before running down the halls, almost smacking into Korosensei, and to the ladies bathroom. Slamming the door shut, you let out a sigh of relief. Happy to have made it on time. 

~RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGN~

The bell rang indicating the start of Homeroom, and class to get to their seats, and wait for attendance hail to begin. As you like to call it. Seeing as there would be a literal hail of anti-sensei BB’s sprayed everywhere.

(Y/n’s p.o.v)

I sigh as I lowered my head to get the adrenalin to subside. Once I was calm, I stood upright and fixed my bag. Walking over to the mirrors, I pulled out my brush, handkerchief, baby wipes, and my tinted lip balm. Laying everything out I got to work on fixing my appearance.

(Time skip)

My ears twitched a bit as I brushed out the fuffed or messy fur-hair. Doing the same to my tail. I was finally finished fixing and grooming. Letting out a hum of satisfaction, I placed everything back and walked out of the bathroom. Bag in hand I walked past the few vacant rooms used for storage on anything non-P.E. Walking past the 3-E classroom, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the discussion.

First period:

Subjects:

Math

And Home etiquette

As I listened, I couldn’t help but grin at the equations on the mathematics questions. “Now everyone, can someone tell me the expanded solution of (-52) + 36 - (255) + -360?” Asked Korosensei. ‘PEMDAS in integers? These kids are lucky’ I thought as I opened the door, walking in. Everyone grinned at my arrival already knowing what was happening, for I always made daily appearances to help the kids out on questions in the subjects randomly. Korosensei sweat dropped as his permanent smile faltered a bit before widening. “The expanded form of the first equation is:

Negative 50 as tens, and 2 as it’s ones. Minus positive 30 as tens, and 6 as ones. The answer however is:

-50 + 30 = -20, 2 + 6 = 8 the reason it is subtracted instead of them being added is because of it’s different sign. Now we just take the sign of the biggest digit which is -52 and sum that u to the answer. Which is -12.  The reason it is -12 is that if you try adding negatives t positives the equation sign in the middle will become its opposite. And the opposite of addiction is subtraction.”

I spoke whilst writing on the blackboard with a white chalk stick, smirking as I looked towards the class, then towards Korosensei who blushed. The poor octopus sweat dropped even more as he fidgets a bit. ‘Cute’ I thought before turning to the blackboard again and resuming my answer. “Now the expanded form of 255 - (-360) is:

Positive 200 as its hundreds, 50 as it’s tens, and 5 as its ones. Then negative 300 as hundreds, and 60 as tens. The solution would look like:

200 + (-300) = -100, 50 - (-60) = 110 and then there’s the only ones which is the 5. Simply add them together with the same quirks as before and you will get 15. The reason it is 15 is that the biggest digit is 110 which is a positive number. So now all you have to do is the last thing in the question.

(-12) - 15 = -27. Okay, now the reason it isn’t positive is that we can’t subtract a number smaller than it’s subtrahend. You kids get me?” I spoke with a sigh then turned to the class.

The Kids all smiled as they took down notes, even Terasaka grinned. Everyone looked up at the same time and beamed at me “Hai. Arigato L/n-sensei!” they all thanked me as I chuckled. Korosensei was having a fit as he complained about how come they understood my teaching a lot better even though he did the same thing. A gentle smile graced my lips as I turned swiftly, a little too fast for Korosensei to react on time as I pulled out an anti-sensei knife from my sleeve. Korosensei reacted with panic as he used his Mach 20 speed to dodge my attack. Although I wasn’t able to cut a few tentacles I was able to create a deep gash. Putting the rubber knife back I turned to the class and smiled “Welp that’s it for me. I’m off, have fun min’na!” I said waving to them. Everyone bed me goodbye as Korosensei stood there with bewilderment on his face before snapping back to his normal dorky and cheerful self. “Sayonara N/n-san!” The octopus bid as his smile widened again, the color of his body turned a light warm pink as a light visible blush dusted on his squishy cheeks. He regenerated as he waved one of his hand-tentacles in my direction. Letting out a light chuckle I waved to him as well before opening the door and stepping out. Closing the door, I let out a happy sigh. I checked the clock on the wall of the campus just outside the classroom “9:30 am huh?” I pondered as I walked off to the teacher’s lounge. Opening the door I smiled and greeted my other colleagues “Ohayōgozaimasu Karasuma-sensei, Irina-sensei” I spoke with a slight head bow. Karasuma looked up from his laptop’s screen “Ohayō L/n-desu” He greeted before looking down at his work again and continuing with typing on the keyboard. Irina, however, perked up and looked at me in my direction, grinning she puts down her table, got up, and ran over to me. Engulfing me in a big hug. “Ohayōgozaimasu L/n-san! Oh, it’s so good to see you again. I sure do hope your feeling well” She said letting go, her grin widening. I let out a halfhearted laugh. “Same to ‘Vic-san!” she smiled before going back to her desk. I went to my desk, which was in front of Korosensei’s desk but to the left of Karasuma’s desk. Sitting down, I plopped my backpack on my lap. Opening the big zipper I pulled out my laptop. Placing it gently on the desk. I pulled out my attachable mouse and a mouse pad. Plugging in and laying the pad flat on my desk. I went ahead and prepared things that I wasn’t able to finish, whilst turning on my laptop. While waiting for my laptop to finish loading I pulled out my checklist and checked my to-do list.

“To-do list:

Grab some mochi for everyone (check)

Grade and check papers (not done)

Give Korosensei the artwork-”

I paused my murmuring as I sweat dropped at the sudden silence ‘I was mumbling again- oh no-’. The taps of fingers on a laptop were gone, nor was Irina’s complaining and nails tapping on the screen of her tablet audible. Just silence. “What artwork Y/n-san?” Karasuma’s voice interrupted the eerie silence. I gulped “Uhm something I made over the 2 days of the week I was gone. “N-nande Karasuma-san?” I sweat dropped as silence was made again. ‘Kuso ̄ ‘ I cursed to myself.

What will I do or even say?

Show the artwork?

Stutter aimlessly?

[canine-teethed-sheets]

i gave Cross to my cat Mochi to see his reaction and...

yeah, they get along :)

[greycaelum]

Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo Satoru X Reader

(Kaleidoscope Series || Clouds and Mochi Chapters ||)

[Satoru takes out his kids to a dusk date and a small peek at their family moment]

[Notes & Warning: Fluff Word count: 1.7k]

Vanilla and Cream

I.

"How long more?"

Satoru lifted his grumbling daughter with a sigh. Smoothing the frown on her forehead with his fingers and pinching the adorable small nose.

"30 minutes more Cat," Satoru replied making the Little Treasure cross her arms and huff in impatience.

If there's something his daughter inherited from you, is the cute annoyance and pout Satoru loves.

"At this rate, you should just go with Kiku-nii to the school," Satoru started the small talk to divert his daughter's attention from waiting.

"I can?" Dazzling bright blue eyes widened and blink up to him making it unable for Satoru to take back his words.

"Well, we can try." Satoru shrugs and lifts the bubble tea to Saika, prodding the rosy lips with the straw. He can just hope his daughter won't slip and tell you about the secret sweet treat when they get home.

You've been cutting down their sugar treats, wary of the kids' tooth to ache. Unlike Satoru who can eat as much sugar as he wants without getting diabetes, his kids aren't the same

Although... Sending his Little Treasure to a school huh? Satoru's face contorted just imagining the boys that will try to sneak up on his baby girl. He's not prepared. More like he will never be prepared, darn it! If only his Little Treasure could stay a baby forever, she's supposed to be his precious daddy girl. Just the thought of her having to marry and leave him one day Satoru can only feel his soul leaving his body in frustration.

"Cat, can you order a doughnut for Kiku-nii?" Satoru asked Saika who was sitting well-behaved on his tights.

"Okay!"

Satoru handed her a few bills and watch the little girl giddily skip to the counter which she could barely reach with her three years old height even if stand in tiptoes.

Satoru watches her with a proud smile adorning his lips. His kids are independent even at their young age, reliable enough to run small errands. At least that sets Satoru's mind at ease knowing they won't starve from being too shy to go buy a grub...

And I don't have to stand in line too.

They're currently waiting in a cafe nearby Kouki's school, waiting for the school hours to end to pick up their Kikufuku. Kouki's probably the only kid in the school who still get pick up by his parents but Satoru got nothing to do in the house anyway, might as well pick up his son and have a short date with his kids before going home.

Saika walk back with a paper bag at hand and extended the change to her Papa. Satoru pocketed the coins and gave her another sip from the bubble tea. Saika inherited his addiction to sweets that Satoru was worried about her teeth. After emptying the glass, he gave her a water bottle and told her to drink lots. They went out of the cafe to pick up Kouki.

In a short walk, they arrived at the school gates where kids are coming out, by the post is Kouki standing with a blank look on his face, waiting.

"Kiku-nii!" Saika squirmed in her Papa's arms and giddily ran to her brother who immediately erased the stoic expression and replace it with a bright smile at the rushing figure of her young sister.

"Don't run, you'll fall," Kouki reminded her sister and held her hand, and walk to where Satoru is standing.

The other passing kids look at Satoru with mouth wide open at his height.

"Pa," Kouki greeted and Satoru crouched down to get on his eye level asking how was school but the Kikufuku just shrugged.

"Look, look, I ordered for you," Saika tug her Kiku-nii's sleeves and showed the doughnut to him.

"Thank you Cat," Kouki ruffled his sister's hair and accepted the sweets, taking a meager bite and extending the sweet to his sister's lips urging her to also take a bite.

Satoru watches his kids sharing the doughnut with a smile. An inexplicable flame of comfort enveloped his heart watching his kids like this. Happy and unrestricted. He doesn't want any of these to ever end.

"Pa you want?" Kouki looks at him, waving the doughnut on his face with expecting eyes.

"You sure 'bout that Kikufuku?" Satoru raised his brow at his mochi and smirked. There's barely half of the round sweet vanilla bean doughnut.

Kouki hesitated, looking at his sister who look at him with innocent blue eyes.

"Just leave half for Cat," Kouki muttered and stuffed the doughnut into his Papa's mouth.

How did I raise this kind of generous son? Satoru thought and couldn't find an answer. Sometimes his firstborn acts to mature for his 7 years old age. Good thing he's not jaded like Megumi at six. Satoru remembered his first-ever student whom he met at an alley when the brat was in first grade.

"Well, who wants to get fried chicken?" Satoru wipes his lips and watches Kouki give the last bite to Saika.

"Me!" Saika raised her hand high.

"Where? Kouki looks at the sky and back to him. "KFC?"

Ouch... Satoru internally screeched. Too bad at times, his son's tongue is sharper than Megumi without even trying.

"Mama told me to pick up her order at..." Satoru told them the diner where you often buy buckets of chickens for Friday nights.

"Up we go!" Satoru opened his arms to carry his kids but got a vehement 'no' preferring to walk hand-in-hand with each other.

"Let's go, Mama's waiting," Kouki tug his sister's hand and started walking leaving Satoru frozen at the rejection.

This! This is what he's been suffering! They don't like to be carried when they used to scramble to my arms all day long! Satoru cleared his throat but felt his heart protest in an agony of being not his kids' favorite anymore.

II.

"We're home!"

The sound of the door and your kids' heavy footsteps made your head look up from the papers you're working on on the small coffee table by the living room's carpet.

"Welcome home, how was the little stroll?" You opened your arms and immediately Kouki and Saika dived into you, screaming and giggling as you tickled them and shower with kisses.

"I bought a doughnut and we shared!" Saika enthusiastically reported, settling down to hug your waist.

"Papa brought us to the arcade," Kouki grinned at you, showing the gachapon with a mushroom figurine inside.

"Don't squeeze Mommy, you'll hurt the baby," Satoru pouted and joined the huddle.

You rolled your eyes at his reasoning. Kouki frowned and Saika raised a brow at their father.

"There's no baby," Kouki huffed.

"Kiku-nii I'm the baby!" Saika protested hugging you tighter resuming the tickling session.

"Nasty gremlins, I'm your father, of course I know there's a baby," Satoru bite your arms and tug you away from Saika who looked at her father with indignation.

"No! Mama's ours!" Kouki grit his teeth and pulled you back,

"Ours!" Saika added and joined his brother to pull you to their side.

"Ohohoho, she's mine," Satoru kissed your lips and look down at his kids, sticking his tongue out.

"Oi, stop that. There's no baby, stop feeding them with fake news." You flicked Satoru's forehead, earning an 'ouch' as he rub the red spot.

"Why, you don't want another sister or brother?" Satoru asked the two who settled down.

"Kiku-nii's my brother," Saika grabbed Kouki's arms and rub her face into his shoulders like a cat marking her territory.

Kouki patted his sister's head and didn't say anything.

"That's enough, go wash I'll prepare dinner." Cutting through the stalemate, you ushered the kids to the bath and move out of Satoru's hold.

"C'mon, they're big enough to wash," Satoru shined, pulling you down the carpet and he snuggled up to you, his hard chest pressed against your back, wrapping his arms from behind your waist and sniffing your neck, nuzzling his nose to the back of your ear.

"You're teasing them too much, you know Kouki doesn't like a sibling anymore." Rubbing his arms you felt him sigh and hug your waist tighter.

"Can't help myself teasing them," Satoru mumbled. "Kouki and Saika, sky and moon," he added with a chuckled.

Your kids' names are quite peculiar with Satoru's choice. They're all related to the higher firmament. Sun, you thought, would fit if you're going to have another one.

"But, my Kikufuku's right," Satoru hummed. " Remembering what you went through with Saika's birth," his tone trailed down to the darker side. Leaning back to Satoru's chest you reveled at his scent and warmth. His tense muscles loosened and hug you tighter, pressing a kiss on your temples. "I don't want that to ever happen or put any of you in danger. I might lose my mind."

It wasn't a pleasant memory and you understand your boys' thoughts.

"It's okay, it's in the past," your hand reaches up to scratch the back of his head. Satoru groaned at the pleasant sensation. The silence and your presence with the occasional shrills of voices from the kids in the bathroom set his nerves down to a calmer pace.

III.

"Don't tell your Mama," Satoru sneakily stuff his kids' mouth with spoonfuls of ice cream unbeknownst to you currently doing the dishes. After dinner, he did his best to hide the tub of ice cream before you see him leave the fridge and rush to the living room where Kouki and Saika are giddily waiting for their exclusive dessert.

"Papa, more," Saika whispered opening her mouth and Satoru scoop another spoonful of the vanilla cream.

"Shhhh!" Kouki shushed, tugging his Papa's hand to also feed him.

"Don't grab ah," Satoru hissed when the cream almost spilled on his pants, shoving the spoon to Saika's lips while Kouki giggled at their shenanigans.

"What are you three doing?" Peeking over the hushed mumblings, you frown at the three tuffs of white-haired humanoid cats you have, huddling together at the sofa.

"Nothing!" Satoru yelped in high pitch.

"More?" Saika asked jumping up and down.

Frowning you walk to see what they're doing and caught your husband in act of feeding Kouki the last spoon of the ice cream. Satoru turn his head with a stiff neck and nervously chuckled at your raised brow. The two kittens flee before you could speak anything scrambling to their Papa's back, crawling underneath Satoru's clothes giggling and laughing.

"Well?" You asked.

Satoru laughed and held his back.

"Time to run!" He shouted and in a split second he was gone and all you could hear is the kids' laughter and Satoru's bragging on the second floor.

"Tricky bastard," you shook your head at how he always sneaked away with the two kids when you're about to lecture them. Damned teleportation. "At least, throw your own garbage in the trash!"

[Grey says: I'm not supposed to post today, but something great happened and wanna share that good vibes with you. Have a nice day ahead!]

—GreyCaelum

PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME

Check out the Masterlist for more

All rights and credits of the Jujutsu Kaisen character(s) mentioned images(s) and songs(s) used belongs to their respective owner(s)

General/Kaleidoscope Series Taglist: @ice-icebaby @aeanya @gummy-dummy

[leerongrong]

Your Baby?

Pairing: Nct Dream x Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: You and Mark have been best friends ever since childhood, staying by each others’ side even after he became a Worldwide Idol. When he finally introduces you to his members, who think you’re older than you actually are, what a mistake.

A/N: my first fic lmao i’m soo nervouss, also shout out to my girl @neoculturalshit​ for handling my shit while writing this

Shoe sole squeaking fills the air with the constant jagged breaths and stuffy humidity coming from the room, intensified with multiple voices mixing in with groans. Mark’s rambles are like mumbling in your ear, replaced with constant buzzing like bees and an unfamiliar feeling resting in your belly. Your bag is on your left shoulder, clutched between stiff fingers as you try to keep up with his fast footsteps.

His twelve a.m to twelve p.m schedule and your eight a.m to eleven p.m schedule proved hard enough keep up with. In between his dance practices, studio recording and your everyday micro engineering studies, there was only little time to catch the other without one having to run off in between hangouts. And even then, Mark always had the dreamies call on him about some unforeseen circumstances that’ll make him leave you all alone.

He’s been apologizing ever since the last time he left you, albeit in a super creepy rooftop at midnight, and wouldn’t stop until you brought on the idea of introducing the dreamies as an apology and here you are now, in SM entertainment heading straight to the practice room where you’ll meet them for the first time. And on the contrary, you feel more scared than excited.

“And there’s Chenle. He’s like realllyyy loud but like really funny and he has this dolphin laugh that’ll make you- Are you even listening right now?”

“Mark, i’m scared.” Saying it out loud makes you feel like a baby, some helpless child afraid of going to their first day of kindergarten, afraid they won’t have any friends or anyone to talk to. You’re embarrassed for feeling this way but right now you have Mark and he knows you. The best out of everyone in your whole life, “what if they don’t like me?”

“They’ll love you,” he chuckles, “If anything, you’ll be the one begging Chenle to shut up.”

Your entire walk there had remained quiet, an occasional quip here and there from Mark whenever he sees you still so stiff. He had done a good job at getting rid of your initial fear, the feeling reducing until all that’s left is jitters and a bit of shyness. Despite your previous fear of them, you still wanted to meet them and become friends, it doesn’t matter if one of them doesn’t like you, you’d at least add one more person to your mark’s-friends-that-became-yours-too list.

“You stay here, aight? I’m gonna gather them first.” He nods to your direction before opening the door and going inside. You hear him greet multiple people, the noise inside exploding with screams and laughter. The nerves come at full force and suddenly your feet feel like jelly and the constant reassurance from mark has lost its grip on you.

The weather outside has calmed down significantly. The storm has reduced itself to raindrops pelting down the window, the constant patter doing nothing to calm you down. Your heart is beating erratically inside your chest and you have to thank Mark for his timing because you feel you’d have burst if he hadn’t come out faster.

All eyes are on you the moment you step in.

Multiple lights shine down the wide room, creating an illusion that it’s bigger than it already is. Gray walls surrounding the space loom high and act as pillars to hold up the entire architecture. your eyes move to the corner where there are an abundant of water bottles looking as if they were thrown messily along with multiple bags, one you recognize as Mark’s.

You’re broken out of your trance when mark leaves your side and crosses the room to the corner, effectively grabbing his bag and water bottle from where they lay. You see him exchanging a few words with the choreographer before he makes a beeline for the door just behind you.

“Where are you going?” You snatch his bicep in a tight grip, frowning when you see him slowly chuckle.

“I have a recording session with the hyungs,” he mumbles, “But i’ll be back in 3 hours?”

Mark flinches when your grip tightens, said boy visibly shrinking under your gaze. “mark lee, i swear-”

“They’re really nice! i promise!”

“I don’t care if they’re nice or whatever. You’re not leaving me-”

“Noona, watch us dance!” The voice breaks you and Aark from your whispering match. You turn your head, only to have Mark break away from your grip and run out of the room at full speed leaving you to stare at his retreating form with a face full of disbelieve. “Don’t worry about hyung, he’ll be back soon!”

The dreamies all surround you, each one introducing themselves in their own unique way. Your heart’s still beating erratically as you try to learn and differentiate their names and personalities, making a mental note in your brain; Jeno’s the shy one with an adorable eye smile, Donghyuck or Daechan is the tan one with a knack for jokes, Renjun’s a little shorter than the others with the sharp mouth, Jaemin’s the one with weird blue hair, Jisung’s the youngest but the tallest, and Chenle’s the one who called you noona.

The jitters and nerves melted away completely in the first hour, the boys doing a good job in including you with them. They told you funny stories about Mark, about when they first debuted, they even went into a detailed explanation about how they knew your name from Mark and how they’ve asked him multiple times to introduce you to them. They insisted you didn’t need to reintroduce yourself because they pretty much already know everything there is, courtesy of Mark. Well almost everything.

Jeno, Jaemin, and Hyuck had decided early on to call you by your first name, the three agreeing that you’re roughly around their age. While on the other hand, Renjun, Jisung, and Chenle had decided to call you noona. You don’t consider yourself to look mature for your age and you certainly didn’t think any of them would be calling you noona, when in reality you’re younger than Jisung.

‘Do i really look that old?’ The annoyance is simmering in you at the thought, little bits of it breaking to the surface when you pout and cross your arms while you watch the boys goof around after finishing their routine. The thought of them thinking you were older leaves an unpleasant feeling in your mouth.

“Time for revenge.”

The multiple shoe screeching in the room had lessened a significant amount, the boys having done their practice and are currently playing a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors to decide who’ll be buying food. You watch from across the room as Renjun walks to the corner to pick up his water. “Renjun-ah! Can i have some water too?”

You giggle to yourself when he crosses the room to give you some from his bottle, the boy completely oblivious to your sneaky intentions. “Thank you, Renjun-ah.”

“Noona!” Chenle’s shrill voice is something you’ve gotten used to both before and after officially meeting him. Mark’s always let you listen to snippets of their unreleased songs and you’ve been able to recognize their voices for years to help with giving your inputs and comments. “Can we go to the store?”

“Why’d you need to ask me?” You cut yourself off before opting to rearrange your choice of words. “I mean, you can go if you want? I’ll stay here to wait for Mark.”

“We didn’t want to leave you alone!” he smiles, “but it’s okay, Jeno hyung and Jaemin hyung are gonna go for us!”

You watch as Jaemin and Jeno gather up their shoes and put on masks, the two chatting around with the other members for a bit and your heart clenches when you see Jaemin squishing Donghyuck’s cheeks, the latter shooing Jaemin’s hands away before pushing them out the door. “Adorable.”

Donghyuck’s gaze is on yours the second the words drop from your mouth and he sticks his tongue at you when he sees you looking at him, a teasing gesture the two of you have adapted. You’ve been acquainted with Donghyuck for the last two months, the two of you starting out awkward before one day, he had stuck out his tongue at you and now you’re always sticking tongues out at the other for no apparent reason, something Doyoung doesn’t approve of.

“Donghyuck oppa, lemme pinch your cheeks.”

Your response is a perfectly trimmed eyebrow raise, “Oppa? We’re like the same age tho?”

“Chenle-yah, let noona pinch your cheeks!” You ignore Donghyuck’s statement in hopes of not blowing your cover, smiling brightly when Chenle comes over and plops himself right in front of you. His cheeks are like mochi in your hands, the skin all dewy, soft to the touch that you have to remind yourself to stop squishing before you become addicted. “Gosh, Chenle, you’re too cute. Like a baby!”

Jeno and Jaemin get back just in time, multiple managers and choreographers burst into the room just moments after them, stopping by to check on their progress. Long hours have ticked away while the sun sets, casting its golden rays and warm hue through the window and into the room. the air is filled with low chatters and you’re in a conversation with Jeno when the door opens again.

“Hey everyone-” 

You recognize the voice to be Johnny’s but his next words are muffled from multiple footsteps coming into the room at once, some faster and bolder while others are quiet and dainty. You’re listening as they increase from slow steps into full out sprints and you don’t react quick enough and you shriek when you feel someone heavy crash onto your back, making you face plant to the hard floor, them tumbling down with you

“Mark, really?” Doyoung nags before turning towards you, “Hello, little bugs.”

“Noona, look. Mark hyung’s back.” The minute those words fall from Jisung’s lips, the person on your back, who you realize to be Mark, looks at you with furrowed eyebrows. The air turning awkward for moments until two laughs explode from somewhere behind you and he joins in.

“Noona?” Johnny laughs, “Jisung, she’s younger than you by months!”

Both Chenle and Jisung launch onto their feet, crowding beside you and Mark. You try to push Mark off of you while looking at the two boys and how their mouths are moving so fast you don’t understand what they’re saying, while the expressions on their faces make you laugh along with Johnny and Doyoung.

“Yah! I’ve been your Oppa the whole time?!”

“Call me Oppa!”

“Jisung you’re a few months older than I am! And you’re a babie.”

“Well you’re a babie too!”

“This is disrespectful!”

The room bursts into chaos as each of them try to convince you to call them Oppa, Hyuck and Chenle protesting the most out of the six. The laughs and giggles echo throughout as Doyoung and Johnny shake their heads and watch from afar, smiling fondly at the way you’re slowly blending in with the dreamies. Mark’s hand is on yours for a while, the emotions in his eyes too misty for you to read until he grins. “Told you they’d love you.”

Your laugh is airy and full of emotion, “Yeah and its all thanks to you.”

[spagetthee]

📂! If you don’t mind!

Hmm let's go with something more Aizawa centered this time!

While Aizawa doesnt have a lot of free time after work or patrol he does try to relax. And yes he is aware that napping isnt the only way to do so.

But he's also a single man working two jobs- so 1) almost always busy 2) injured and therefore in the hospital or back at work or 3) grading the papers he couldnt grade in the hospital. So he usually has a lot on his plate.

Fortunately he does have some time to relax, usually when Yamada offers to do some of his grading or take a patrol shift for him. That's when he had the most time. And usually he'll sit down and rest on the couch with his two cats (Sushi and Mochi). Or he'll sit and catch up on his phone and look at the news. But that usually doesn't last too long.

That is until Yamada buys him a switch for his birthday and a wonderful little game called 'Animal Crossing New Horizons.' at first he was a little sceptical- mostly because he hardly ever played video games, so why Yamada bought it for him he wasn't sure. But he did have a little bit of time on his hands and well he was bored. So he plugged in his switch- which he only sort of knows how to use- and put the game in. It was a lot more cutesy than he was maybe used too, but there were plenty of cats so he'd put up with it. He played through the tutorial and started to work on his island and figure out what the hell he was supposed to be doing.

He was actually having fun- he was enjoying himself so much he didnt even realize how late it was until he checked it his watch. It was nearly 2 am and he needed to get to work by at least 7:30. So he put his game down and went to work.

It was a few days later when he picked it up again and actually played. He made some pretty good progress too!

And so just like that he became addicted to the wonderful world of animal crossing.

[staytheb]

Audition Day

Genre: college!au, slice of life, slight fluff, slight angst Word Count: 3,554 Summary: Serena, Jasmine, Katherine, and Melanie find themselves auditioning for the Sing In May a week after the White Day Festival and even happen to run into several NCT members as well.

Day Festival masterlist.

Warning: semi-proofread.

whoo! hi. i’m on a roll at the moment and i hope it won’t fade away so fast. my mental health has seemed to improve lately and work isn’t as stressful as it used to be. also i can work on my stories without being so drained and uninterested. anyways, since i’m in the mood here is another snippet for that NCT story series of sorts. have no idea what to actually call it, but they’re pretty much standalones lol. but yeah, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

A week later the quartet found themselves in the school's auditorium at eight in the morning. They were informed by Gina to arrive early for the auditions and if they did then they wouldn't have to go to any of their classes, but could still receive the attendance and work for missing them. So here they were all comfy in sweats and hoodies awaiting for further details along with all the others auditioning for the showcase. Anyways, for the past few days the quartet have been practicing a few songs just in case another participate was doing the same song and didn't want to clash. So they prepared backup songs although they wondered if they should've even bothered as they didn't voluntarily sign up in the first place.

"This is still so early, bro." Serena said in-between a yawn while slouching in her seat. "Why do we need to be here so early though?"

"Gina said the auditions will be all day as oppose it to being a three day auditioning due to last minute changes." Jasmine stated as she also let out a yawn and was slouching in her seat.

"What's up with the last minute changes this year?" Melanie asked to no one in particular.

"I know, right." Katherine agreed. "I just hope they have snacks."

"If not, then I'm leaving to get bubble tea." Serena remarked.

"You and your unhealthy obsession with bubble tea."

Jasmine eyed her friend as Serena shrugged.

"It's addicting."

"By the way, what's the name that Gina gave us for this?" Katherine asked remembering something.

"I think it's Lady Rose or something." Jasmine replied as Melanie went through her friend to double check.

"Ah, it's Roseate Bloom now. It was Lady Rose."

"What about our stage names?" Serena inquired interested in the topic all of a sudden. "Is it similar to what we used in the past?"

"Um," Melanie continued to scroll through her phone before answering, "Yeah something like that."

Melanie showed the trio their new stage names as the twins sighed while Serena chuckled.

"I guess Gina had as much fun as I did."

"True."

Soon the group of four looked about them as they noticed that the auditorium was quite filled up save a few seats here and there. They continued talking as they wondered how many acts were actually going to perform and if the ones in charge of the event was going to be picky or not.

"Hello everyone and thank you all for joining us this morning for auditions."

Haji, the overall person in charged of Sing In May, stood on stage to welcome the participants getting the attention of everyone present. She then motioned for several more people to join her.

"This year joining me in the selection for those to participate in Sing In May are Daeyoung, Lina, Jenny, Sulhee, Aaron, Dohyun, and Ray. So please be mindful of us and we'll be mindful of you."

The other seven introduced themselves before walking off the stage and down the area where several tables were set up like booths as Haji continued speaking.

"Anyways, I'm going to divide you guys into certain sections before you audition. When I call out your name and or the group you're with, please make your way to one of the seven booths quietly and without disturbances led by one of them."

Haji explained while holding several pieces of paper and motioning to the tables.

"Please pay attention as once you move over to your assigned area where Ray, Sulhee, and the others will hand you your name-tags and other information. When everyone is settled the auditions will start at nine."

"I still can't believe we have to wear these until auditions are over." Serena complained as she adjusted the straps of her large name-tag.

"It makes us seem like real trainees having one of those monthly evaluations." Katherine mused. "I kinda like it."

"Of course you would." Melanie remarked with a laugh as she got done adjusting her name-tag.

"Anyways, I'm just glad that we don't have to wear any costumes for this."

"I know." Jasmine agreed.

"But if we make it in for the showcase I'm sure Gina got something in mind for us to wear."

Serena sighed upon imaging that.

"So true. Anyways, I'm just mad that we're in the late afternoon. I would rather get it done and over with."

"Maybe Gina will do something later on about it." Katherine reasoned with a laugh. "I wondered how many they're gonna accept this year."

"Depending on how the acts goes today we could have at least like twenty." Jasmine answered.

"That's roughly like an hour." Melanie calculated. "Wasn't it like two hours or three hours last year?"

"I think so." Jasmine recalled. "But last year was a competition and not a showcase so there were quite a few rounds or something like that for last year's Sing In May."

"Oh yeah, I remember that now. Gina told me that the whole competition was a mess to deal with due to everyone not being on the same page. Both the staffs and the contestants" Katherine recalled remembering what happened last year. "Anyways, so they're doing a showcase and I think it's gonna be at least thirty to get in as many people as possible."

"What are they trying to get with the funds from this showcase for?" Serena asked once she was satisfied with her name-tag placement.

"It's going for the All-Star Sports competition." Jasmine answered. "Gina mentioned they wanna add an actual obstacle course which fell through last year."

"Oh really? That'll be cool." Melanie said with a nod.

"Anyways," Katherine directed the conversation elsewhere. "Just like what Serena said earlier, let's get some bubble tea."

"Aight then. Let's go."

Serena cheered happily at the prospect of a boba run.

"What flavor did you get again?" Katherine asked Serena upon seeing her drink.

"Rose."

She offered the drink towards her friend.

"Do you wanna try?"

"No thanks. I'm good. Wintermelon is all I need."

"Let me try that mochi waffle you got." Melanie asked her sister as Serena handed one of them over to her. "Is it any good?"

"I dunno. I saw a post about it online and wanted to try it." Serena answered with a chuckle. "It looked good and smells lovely."

The group of four were casually heading back to the university after buying their snacks and drinks. They were enjoying themselves and taking in the sunshine until they ran into an ex-friend of Serena's just outside the entrance of the university. He was with two other males.

"Oh ho. Look who we have here." The ex-friend exclaimed as he and his two buddies blocked the quartet's path.

"Must be fate bringing us together, Serena."

"You wished that was true, Sammy." Jasmine stated as she instinctively moved to put a barrier between the male and her friend.

"Why don't you buzz off?"

Sammy cast her an annoyed look.

"This doesn't concern you, Jasmine."

"It does when you keep on bothering her when she ended the friendship two years ago."

Sammy scoffed.

"That's what you think."

"It's not what we think. It's what we know." Katherine clarified as she, too, joined her twin in blocking the male from Serena.

"Besides, what are you even doing over here?"

"I can do whatever I want, Katherine." He answered with a snicker.

"Seriously, dude, why can't you just leave her and us alone." Melanie told him off. "There's no reason for us to associate with one another."

Sammy cast his eyes onto Melanie with a hard stare.

"Hey, if we happen to cross paths, then who am I to deny that."

"Right." She motioned to the school. "Just outside the university like that?"

"Well, it is what it is. So what are you gonna do about it, Melanie?"

The girls didn't like the way he had said Melanie's name. They also didn't like the way he stood with his friends behind him. The quartet became cautious and wary when they noticed that his friends almost surrounded them a second later.

"Look, Sammy. We're no longer friends so just leave me and them alone." Serena reasoned with the male as she stood before him now.

"You really think you're all that, don't you, Serena?"

Sammy scoffed as Serena remained firm.

"I do if I have to. Please just stop doing whatever it is you're doing."

Before Sammy could say or do anything else, two other voices intervened from behind him.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Ling Shuang?"

The whole group turned their attention to the newcomers and the quartet recognized the two as Kun and WinWin with WinWin calling Serena by another name.

"No, there's no problem and no you don't need to bother. I'm just having a chat with my girlfriend and her friends." Sammy answered trying to coolly play it off.

"I'm not your girlfriend." Serena clarified with a firm tone. "And we were not having a chat."

Somehow the two males made their way over to the group and eased themselves in-between Sammy and his friends and the quartet.

"I'm sure these ladies have ended their interaction with you fellas." Kun said in a calm tone while shooting Sammy a smile, but his eyes said otherwise.

Sammy looked between the two males and the females before glancing at his own friends.

"Psh, whatever. She's not even worth it." Sammy said while backing off.

He motioned for his friend to get out of there.

"Let's go."

Sammy and his buddies took off with Sammy not even glancing back. The quartet let out a breath of relieved as they hoped this was the final time they would see him.

"You good?" Melanie asked her sister with a worried look. "I think we should put a restraining order on him."

"I'm fine and I think so, too." Serena answered before turning to the two males. "Thank you and sorry that you guys had to get involved."

"No worries. Gotta help people when things like that occur." Kun brushed it off in good-nature.

Meanwhile, WinWin cast Serena a stern look.

"Ling Shuang."

"Sorry, WinWin. I thought he wouldn't appear after you told him off last time."

WinWin sighed, but nodded.

"It's fine. Just, be safe and don't go anywhere alone. Okay?"

"I will. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Are you sure that she and WinWin have nothing going on between them?" Jasmine muttered to the other two, but Serena overheard her.

"We don't." Serena clarified.

"By the way, Serena, why does he call you by another name?" Katherine inquired a moment later.

"I came up with a Chinese name for myself when I first met him and it stuck since." Serena explained as Melanie laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Kun happened to noticed their name-tags.

"Ah, are you guys participating in the Sing In May, too?"

"Auditioning." Jasmine corrected. "We don't know if we'll actually be in the showcase."

"Well, good luck. Our other friends are also participating, but with different teams. Why don't we head back together?"

While heading back to the auditorium, Serena had to keep her friends and sister in check as they kept pushing her to walk alongside either boys to tease her. Both males noticed, but didn't comment as Serena just shook her head to indicate that it was nothing while later glaring at the trio to stop their little antics. They didn't.

"There's actually a lot of good acts auditioning here to be honest." Katherine commented after watching a soloist belt out notes like no other.

"Do they really need us then?" Serena asked skeptically. "I mean, honestly there were some real good ones that could definitely bring in some interests."

"Even if we wanna leave, Gina would not let us live it down." Melanie reasoned with a yawn. "Has Gina responded back yet?"

"Not yet. We still have less than half an hour left." Jasmine informed her. "Besides, Gina was gonna message us when to be back there."

Upon returning to the auditorium, the quartet were informed by Gina that their time slot had actually been moved up earlier than previous as well as the list of songs the others auditioning were performing to. It made it easier for the quartet which song to audition with and to get it done and over with as well.

"This is so annoying." Serena commented as she slumped into her seat. "At least it'll be over soon."

The trio turned to look over at Jasmine who let out a suppressed squeal. They follow her line of sight and noticed that she had spotted Johnny in the distance. He was speaking with the rest of his Nu Chi Theta members. They wondered if all or some of them were going to participate in the Sing In May.

"Hey, you should've confessed when he met up with us earlier when we arrived with WinWin and Kun." Serena teased as she nudged Jasmine who nudged her back.

"No way I could do that on my own. I would need someone with me."

"Hmm, maybe Serena can help out by asking Taeyong on a date." Katherine mused as Serena frown with a shake of her head.

"Then how about Melanie asking Jaehyun out then?"

Katherine looked over at Melanie who shot her a knowing look.

"Or you can be a good sister and ask Taeil out and then the both of you could go on a double date instead of Serena and I."

"Anyways, let's go." Katherine responded instead dodging the topic. "Gina just messaged us to head backstage to prep."

"One, two," Jasmine started the greeting like always whenever they were a performing group before finishing as a team in a cheerful tone, "We are Roseate Bloom! Hello!"

The quartet quickly introduced themselves with the stage names that Gina had designated for them with the meaning of flowers in the order of Melanie, Katherine, Serena, and Jasmine.

"I'm Jin Dalrae"

"I'm Jang Mihwa."

"I'm Han Songyi."

"And I'm Min Deulle."

Roseate Bloom bowed as their were some applause. Jasmine spoke again.

"We'lll be performing We Are A Bit Different so please watch over us kindly."

"Thank you." Haji thanked them as she motioned for them to start. "Whenever you're ready to go."

The group went into formation as they waited for the music to start. Despite their earlier complaint they found themselves once again enjoying it. When the song came to an end did they remain in their ending poses and waited a few seconds before dropping it and awaited what Haji and the others had to say.

"Alright, thank you so much for your audition, Roseate Bloom." Haji thanked them with a smile while writing on the clipboard before her.

She then glanced at the others.

"Would you guys like to say anything?"

Lina nodded before looking over at Serena with a smile.

"Han Songyi." She announced as it was quiet for a moment.

Jasmine nudged Serena that it was her that Lina had called upon.

"Uh, yes?" Serena answered as she looked at her curiously.

"Where did you buy that strawberry cat hoodie?"

Serena relaxed upon hearing Lina's question and answered with a small smile.

"Ah, it was a gift from a friend back home. I don't know where he bought it though."

"Ah, if you find out, then will you let me know?"

"Of course."

The others laughed as Haji went back on topic.

"Anyone else have something to say?"

Daeyoung raised his hand as he looked at them all.

"Jang Mihwa, could I request you sing a little something right now?"

"Uh," Katherine stalled as she slightly panicked while glancing at the other three.

"Oh, that song you sang this morning when showering." Melanie suggested in a whisper as Katherine nodded feeling less nervous.

"Yeah. I can do that."

Daeyoung smiled as everyone else anticipated what Katherine would sing.

~Let me sing a song for love, I wanna sing a song for love, let it be a song for love, and you can hum along, and someday you'll find it, the way to sing your song for love, song for love, song for love, maybe someday you'll find it, the way to sing your song for love~

Katherine sang the chorus for Song For Love and sheepishly cast a smile afterwards.

"Thank you so much, Jang Mihwa." Daeyoung thanked her with a clap. "I'm good now."

Haji chuckled before looking at the rest of the judges.

"Anything else?"

Ray raised his hand this time while looking at the quartet.

"Min Deulle, I'm assuming you're like the leader of Roseate Bloom?"

"Uh, yes." Jasmine answered with a sheepish laugh. "De facto leader."

"Nice. You give off that vibe to me. How do you feel about having that role?”

Jasmine shrugged as she answered nonchalantly.

“I don’t mind, really. I’m just glad to know that I have a wonderful team to stand by me and help me lead.”

“Ooh, good answer.”

Ray chuckled before asking another question.

“Anyways, are the names listed on your name-tag your stage names, perhaps?"

"Mmhmm. For Sing In May purposes."

"I see. Is it related to your group name that's why?"

"Yes, it is."

"Very nice."

Ray looked at Haji with a satisfied smile.

"I'm good here as well."

Haji chuckled once again and asked once more if anyone else had anything for Roseate Bloom with Sulhee raising her hand and directing her attention onto Melanie.

"Yeah, Since Jin Dalrae hasn't spoke yet, could you sing a little something for us right now?"

Melanie's eyes went wide at being caught off guard just like Katherine until Katherine suggested a song for her to do, too, just like what Melanie had done for her.

"Sure." Melanie answered before singing a snippet of All To U.

~Imma give it all to you, and baby it’s so true, I’m gon be insane that when I’m lying next to you, I’ll give it all to you and baby it’s so true, I’m gon be insane that when I’m lying next to you~

"Ohh, lovely." Sulhee praised with glee. "Thank you so much, Min Dalrae."

Sulhee nodded at Haji who once again asked if the others wanted to commented before facing the quartet again after receiving head shakes.

"I think that's it for now, ladies. We'll notify if you're in the final line-up within a week. Have a good rest of your day, Roseate Bloom."

"Thank you."

The quartet thanked them as they bowed once more before walking off and handling all of the items back to one of the student council members as another group walked past to perform.

"Oh!"

"Serena! Melanie!"

"Watch our stage!"

"Yeah. Watch us!"

"And let us know how we did afterwards."

The male quintet spoke as they walked by the quartet as they addressed Melanie and Serena while waving politely at Katherine and Jasmine.

"Oh yeah, sure. Serena and I will totally be cheering for y'all!" Melanie informed them as she nudged Serena playfully.

"Cool! Thanks!"

The quintet ran off to prepare while Jasmine stared at them with a shocked face.

"You guys also know Chenle, Jisung, Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun, too?"

Jasmine playfully smacked.

"Girl, y'all had the connection this whole time and could've helped me out with Johnny."

"We're just mutual friends through Ten, Jasmine." Melanie clarified. "It's not like we actually hang out with them. Besides, just confess already."

"Yeah, for real. Confess." Serena chimed in with a sour face not directed at her friend. "If we did announce our friendship, then we would be stalked by their dumb fangirls. They're so obsessive, so possessive, and even beyond rational. It's kinda mind-bogging."

Jasmine nodded upon hearing those words.

"Oh, true. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. My bad for sounding like one."

"It's okay, sis, and you’re not that bad as them, but just go through the natural way and not be a stalker that would make them hate you even more." Katherine advised before looking over at the other pair of sisters with a cheeky expression.

"By the way, I think it was bound to happen one way or another."

"Why do you say that?" Melanie asked with a puzzled gaze.

"Well, the way I see it we're all gonna be crossing paths more since we all have a crush on a Nu Chi Theta member. Another thing to note is that you and Serena are actually on friendly terms with several of them already."

"This isn't a drama, Katherine."

Serena pointed out with a suspicious look.

"So don't go jinxing it or whatever."

"It's bound to happen, Serena, whether you like it or not."

"Shut up."

The other three laughed as their attention soon went to the quintet as they performed their rendition of No.1. Serena ran off once the song ended leaving the other three to make excuses on her behalf. Anyways, barely a week later the quartet received news from Gina personally that Roseate Bloom had been chosen to participate in the Sing In May without her actual doing as the judges really enjoyed their stage and personality. The twins were excited while the other sisters were just going with the flow. More Melanie Serena, as Serena wondered if life really wanted her to go through some drama-like life.