#oh hae young again

[duahauuoplanh]

The bottom line: I will love someone as they are with all I am oh hae young again // my liberation notes writer: Park Hae-young

[kdramadaily]

Another Miss Oh (2016) dir. song hyun wook

[ashblooddragons]

The Red Queen (Chapter 7/?)

112 ac

Alicents pov

I sit next to Myrielle in the royal box waiting for the tourney to start and for Rhaenyra to show. I have no idea how she gets away with all she does, if I did even half the things she’s done today I would be forced to be a Septa by my Father, only love and lust for the gods.

I sigh and look over at you and your friends smiling as you excitedly show them your new necklace, you had shown me it soon after so excited and only wanting to show me your new gift.

“Ali! Look! Look! Kepus gave this to me, don’t you think it’s pretty? Oh, I love it so much!” You say and I can’t help but notice you have seemingly had your hair fixed into a proper style. I’ve been needing to fix that, wonder who did. I think to myself. 

“Ah, let me see.” I say kneeling down so I can face you properly as I lift the garnet pendant watching as the rich red of the stone catches the light making it even more beautiful. “Lovely, a beautiful gift for a beautiful girl.” I say smiling when you beam with joy at the compliment.

“Mam– Ali do you have any jewelry that your family gave you that was a ancestirs?” You ask curiously as you play with the sapphire necklace around my neck. Your correction isn’t lost on me but I let you think I missed you almost calling me Mama.

It is moments like this one, where I know I am not alone in the feeling that I am your Mother. I may not have birthed you, nor carried you in my womb but you are my little girl.

“Ancestors,” I correct gently before I touch the necklace on my neck. “And yes, this used to be my Mother’s before she passed. I have many other necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings, that used to be hers.”

I know the moment you catch that my Mother is dead, I hae never told you nor have you most likely ever heard this fact so the tears that come to your eyes are not surprising. 

“Your Mama is dead? Is there any way to bring her back, so you can have her again?” You ask seemingly trying to find any way to take my pain away from her passing which seems to bring your young mind to necromancy. 

I can’t help but giggle at your young and innocent idea. “No, and besides she is in a better place, she is happy with the Stranger now, walking through fields of lilies and havig the sun kiss her skin at all times of day.”  I saw with a mournful smile. 

“Is the Stranger kind?” You ask wiping away your tears with the back of your dress sleeve. 

“Very kind.” I say before teaching you more about the seven and what each one is for and why they are important.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I hear the King start his speech before the tourney starts. “Be welcome! I know many of you have traveled long leagues to be at these games. But I promise, you will not be disappointed–”

The King pauses when Rhaenyra tries to sneak in and take her seat. I suppress a scoff when she sits down smirking thinking she got away with something again, and to be fair she probably did with how the King bends to her will.

“When I look at the fine knights in these lists, I see a group without equal in our histories. And this great day has been made more auspicious by the news that I am happy to share, the Queen Aemma has begun her labors!” 

With that announcement the crowd erupts into applause and cheers, small folk and noble alike rejoicing at the future heir to be born. I turn to look at you and see you nervously biting ad chewing on you lower lip it is already getting bloody and chapped. I at times worry if my nervous habit with m fingers has led you to do the same only with your lips. I reach over to hold your hand comforting you the only way I can. you may not say it or show it, nor understand it, but I can tell you worry for the Queen and your future sibling.

“May the luck of the Seven shine on all combatants!” The King says finally finishing his speech witha sigh and sitting on his mock throne. 

I turn to look at you after you tugged on the sleeve of my dress. “Yes, darling?” 

“Where’s Kepus? He said he was going to be in the games, but I haven’t seen him yet.” You are confused as you search for your dear uncle, or should I say Kepus. 

“He will be out soon, but first we have to watch Ser Cole and Ser Aldwin Sarwyck joust.” I say gently smiling when you nod, you don’t seem to like this information but you also seem to understand.

You’ve never cared much for tourneys, finding them too long and too boring. And I can’t blame you, as soon as it gets entertaining it is determined you must not see such violence at your young age. So when Ser Cole unmounts Ser Aldwin you don't clap nor cheer as loud as the rest, only clapping as you know you must.

“Princess Rhaenys Targaryen! I would humbly ask for the favor of ‘The Queen Who Never Was’.” Lord Boremund Baratheon declares holding his jousting stick up to the balcony.

You can hear the chatter of the courtiers gossiping. Do they ever stop? Probably not. I think to myself scowling when I see one of them point to you and your friends giggling over lemon cakes and tea.

“Good fortune to you, cousin.” Princess Rhaenys says obviously not happy with he cousins behavior but putting on a good face.

The less things for this court of vipers to gossip about you, the better. Or that is at least what my father loves to tell me when I even think of running through teh halls. 

“I would gladly take it if I thought I needed it.” He says pompously like any true Baratheon would. 

I hear a pained gasp beside me and turn to see Myrielle looking up at her brother and the lady Cerelle Celtigar seeming to be holding hands and talking. I had heard they are now bethrothed and getting ready to marry in three moons. Such a quick wedding has raised eyebrows as to why they are wedding so quickly, I have yet to hear one that makes sense. 

“Are you alright, Myrielle?” I ask worried as to what has he nearly in tears. 

“Yes, yes, sorry I must have gotten something in my eyes.” She says clearly lying but I pretend to believe her for her sake. That is until I hear Rhaenyra scoff.

“Is that what is’s called when you almost lay with your brother? You know it’s wrong right, to want to fuck your brother or family? That is at least what the rumors say.” She says crudely. 

I turn back and see tears rolling down Myrielles cheeks, whether that be because of shame or rage I can not tell. I can’t believe Rhaenyra’s hypocrisy, she has always found the conquers marriage as beautiful, and yet she sits there berating a girl over a rumor? It must be this that pushes me to speak up, to try and take Rhaenyra down a peg. 

“As if you Targaryens have any room to talk. Were the conquers not brother and sisters, or had I read the history books wrong?” I ask with a smirk knowing I’ve backed her into a corner.

I can see Rhaenyra is ready to lash back when the King clears his throat and when we turn to look at him, he’s glaring at Rhaneyra making her slump back into her chair with a scowl upon her face.

I turn back to Myrielle who is smiling thankfully. “I do not know if this is true, but as far as I’m concerned it is only a rumor about the new lady of court.” I say squeezing her hand reasuringly, before turning back to watch as the Rouge Prince comes riding into the jousting ring. 

I can’t help but smile when you perk up at the sight of him, for if he can bring that smile of pure joy to your little face can he truly be that bad? 

I was so distracted by your excited chatter that you had finally been allowed to make a favor for a knight that I missed the way Myrielle and my eldest brother, Lorent, were staring at each other. If I had I would have noticed the blush on Myrielles face and the look of lust in my brother’s eyes.

“Who do you think he’ll pick?” You ask as you watch Prince Daemon moving his horse up and down the line of knights to choose from. When I see my brother Gwayne I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach put push it down and smile down at you,

“I have no idea, though they musat be a extraordinary knight to be choices for the Prin–.” I say only to stop when I see he picked the one person I hoped and silently prayed he wouldn’t, Gwyane.

“Who’s the one with the tower helmet?” You ask curiously as you lean into me on the seate we are sitting on.

You do this often, looking for my touch and comfort, besides the Prince I am the person you seek out the most.

“My brother.” I say fighting the urge to bite and pick at my cuticles. It is not for my sake but for yours for I will not let you gain such a harming habit because of me, because of my anixites. So I will push them down for your sake. 

“He must be a very good knight for Kepus to pick him.” You say in wonder. 

Or the son of the Prince’s greatest enemy. I think coldly.

I hold my breath as I watch the joust, my brother seems to have almost knocked the Prince off his horse. But on the next joust, the Prince leans his jousting stick downward so it trips the horse making the horse and my brother flip through the air landing with a resounding crash that makes everyone gasp. But I do not get much time to recoup until the Prince is in front of the balcony smirking up at us, or should I say, my father.

“Nicely done uncle.” Rhaenyra says with a smirk batting her eyes ar him. I have to fight the urge to slap her as she seems to forger my brother was just carried out of the tourney ring. 

“Thank you, Rhaenyra, now I am fairly certain I can win these games but what isn’t a little extra luck from the most beautiful maiden here?” He says smiling when you walk up with your friends smiling and waving at him.

“It would be my honor Uncle.” Rhaenyra says breathlessly getting ready to grab her favor when the Prince stops her.

“Not you, I meant the Realms Darling over here.” He says pointing his jousting stick towards you.

The look of pure joy crossing your face mixed with Rhaenyra’s look of betrayal and embarrassment almost made my brothers injury worth it, almost.

You run over to grab your favor only to run back and almost tripping and falling from your excitement, it’s a good thing I caught you or else you may have fallen off the balcony. 

“I made it myself!” You say excitedly as you reach over just barely able to reach before letting your wreath slide down.

“It is a lovely favor, it is sure to make me win.” He says making you giggle as he rides off.

“He’ll win with my favor right?” You ask as you hold my hand as we walk back to our seat.

“If he does not then he must have terrible luck because you are the luckiest girl in the world.” I say tickling your sides making you giggle uncontrollably. 

As the match goes on we don’t notice how slowly but surely the crowd seems to becomes mournful. It is only after your uncle lost his bout and whispered something to Ser Cole that we finally hear the news.

“Ali, please say it’s not true.” You plead tears rolling down your little face. 

When I can’t find a response you burst into tears and sob into my chest as I hold you close praying I could take all your pain and put it onto myself. But there is no gods, or magic that would let me so I sit there holding you and carrying you to your chambers as you cry your little heart out as any little girl should after losing their mother.

This is the necklace I see that Alicent was wearing, the one made of Sapphires from her mom.

Special thanks to my bestie @sugutoad for making the header for this fic! I swear I be lost without you Girly!

Also Nymeria and Myrielle are my besties @sugutoad ocs so give her the love for these magical and beautiful characters!!

Taglist: @sugutoad @ilikefelines @mmogurl @classicsimpforaaronwarner @baybaybear1 @sachaa-ff

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

More delightful moments from Ep 3 of No Gain No Love

Wedding Lady dropping her clipboard because the groom (whom she has been hanging out with) is so hot

Ji-wook being like, "Oh, you're too old and out of it for cute names" to the ex-boyfriend

Hae-young buying two drinks for herself

Ji-wook is trying to be ugly on purpose!

Ex-boyfriend severely disturbed thinking that Hae-young did to him what he did to her (serves him right)

The high school students enjoying their makjang

This amazing jab from Hae-young (implying that her ex-boyfriend's wife will marry again)

The foster sisters with all those wedding money envelopes

This 5 minutes after the wedding

Awkward, Cluelessly Happy, Anxious and Over It

"Let's pretend to be cute" *appalled*

And as a bonus, this from the preview! They make me wait an entire day!

[whydoyouwantmyname]

Imagine being at the Royal Wedding

Your body was surrounded by dancers, all whom had come to celebrate the young queen, and the ever powerful king, as your body stepped in the way of your traditions, you could not help but notice the whispers as eyes preyed on you like daggers. For you were the widowed maiden, you were the eldest, yet Otto Hightower had promised your sister, the last of your mother’s heirs to the father of her best friend. It was a promise that most viewed as odd, but then again, most knew that it was not the affections of Viserys I Targaryen that you sought.

For as you turned you felt a hand touch the small of your back, the partner before you paled as he stepped aside, for you did not even need to look to see who was taking his place as a smile grew across your face for the first time all night, “Daemon, must you always ruin a perfect evening with your presence?”

“If I remember correctly, it is a presence you once fancied, Lady Hightower, as I do recall you always following me among the courtyard.”his words were smooth as your eyes finally met, a twinkle in them that only you seemed to be able to create as a rare smile graced his face.

“I do not recall.” You replied, as his eyes scanned you, “Green suits you.”

“Red and black would suit me better.” You hissed as he chuckled, before taking your hand to engage in the dance.

“īlon emagon danced bisa lilagon gō issa riñnykeā, emagon īlon daor?” (We have danced this dance before my lady, have we not?) He spoke as you looked at him, sometimes wishing he had not taught you the language

“Naenie jēdi, nyke pāsagon se mōrī jēda istan rȳ issa own arranged dīnilūks. Pity, syt ser arryn istan nykeā sȳz dancer.” (Many times, I believe the last time was at my own arranged marriage. Pity, for Ser Arryn was a fine dancer.) You taunted as he smiled, “Ziry morghūltan nykeā honorable morghon isse vīlībāzma issa riñnykeā.” (He died an honorable death in battle my lady)

“Nykeā morghon ao daor doubt tymptan part isse.” (A death you no doubt played part in). You smiled back before adding, “Ry naejot ērinagon issa ondos, yn alas ao issi married naejot se brāedāzma aspo.” (All to win my hand, but alas you are married to the bronze bitch.)

“Nykeā dīnagon nyke emagon daor doubt aōha kepa tymptan nykeā role isse.” (A move I have no doubt your father played a role in.) he replied as you smiled, knowing the truth of the statement, “Nyke pāsagon īlon also danced hae bisa se bantis hen aōha own dīnilūks.” (I believe we also danced as this the night of your own wedding.)

“īlon istan fools naejot daor flee bona bantis, īlon could emagon issare rid hen bisa glaeson, se daorys would sagon se wiser.” (We were fools to not flee that night, we could have been rid of this life, and no one would be the wiser). He replied as your laughter filled his ears

“Kessa, kesrio syt se gēlenka ōghar would daor sagon nykeā sign bona ao issi targārien ānogar.” (Yes, because the silver hair would not be a sign that you are Targaryen blood.) you hand flipped his hair as he smiled, “Ziry istan nykeā mittys’s dream. Sir alas issa riñnykeā, nyke līs henujagon ao, hae nykeā mittys iksos approaching, daor doubt seeking aōha ondos.” (It was a fool’s dream. Now alas my lady, I must leave you, as a fool is approaching, no doubt seeking your hand.)

“Ossēnagon issa.” (Murder me) you groaned, before he took your hand and kissed it, butterflies fluttering within you as her whispered, “A pleasure as always Lady Hightower.”

“Oh do not speak as though we will not see each other before the break of dawn.” You whispered before turning away ever so slightly to meet the eyes of another suitor, as Daemon reluctantly stalked away, his hand lying on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at your command.

—————————

“Se naejot pendagon ao jeldan naejot vestragon geros ilas” (And to think you wanted to say farewell). You whispered before taking a long sip from your gauntlet, your back leaning against the balcony wall as your eyes met Daemon’s, his lips pulling into a smile as he looked back to the city beneath him.

“Nyke istan g�� se impression nykeā āeksio istan naejot laodigon ao qrīdrughagon tonight, nyke ūndegon sir nyke istan pirta.” (I was under the impression a lord was to steal you away tonight, I see now I was wrong) He replied, your body turning to look eyes taking in the same image as his eyes, just two inches to the right.

“Avy jorrāelan.” You whispered, your cup coming to your lips again but not meeting until you uttered softly, “Se mērī ao, daor āeksio jāhor gūrogon issa.” (I love you, and only you. No lord will take me.”

“Lo aōha kepa ryptan ao…” (if your father heard you) he started but you were quick to cut him off, “Fuck issa kepa, dakogon qrīdrughagon rūsīr issa.” (Fuck my father, run away with me.)

“Ao issi jomōzare riñnykeā Hightower.”(you are drunk Lady Hightower.) he whispered, as you looked at him, concern in his eyes, as you were never one to speak of fleeing…. If anything you were always the one telling him his place was at his brother’s side.

“No.” You replied, your voice soft as you leaned in, “I am just tired of this life, of denying ourselves what we truly desire, I say if it is I you want, then take me. We shall slip away into the city, and hide away.”

“Avy jorrāelan.” (I love you) he whispered, as you closed the already close gap between you, your lips moving in sync as he laced his fingers into your hair, his other pulling you closer before you slightly pulled away, “Dakogon qrīdrughagon rūsīr issa.” (Run away with me.)

“Hae ao jaelagon, issa dāria.” (As you wish, my queen)

And with that, Lady Hightower died, and a new woman of a new name was born within you. You were now Lady Targaryen, the first wife of Daemon Targaryen whom he truly loved

[manawari]

Just Friends

Once, Hae-in met a boy.

There was a track and field competition at the stadium. Countless of people flocked together to watch the match from different elementary schools. Hae-in had managed to get in the first place, much to her luck, but the victory came with a price — exhaustion. Her legs had gone sore when she threw herself at the bench, Hae-in looked around to see if there were people watching, so once she was certain, she raised her left leg to take off her shoe and then her sock.

It was a bruise, which she had gotten during her last training. But since Hae-in didn't want to back down from the competition, she went along with it amidst the sting it brought in her flesh.

She got through it anyway.

"You ran with that injury?"

A voice approached her. Hae-in looked up and saw a young boy, who was around her age. He had unruly pitch black hair and sun-kissed skin, he wore a varsity jacket over a shirt that had a school's logo and a pair of shorts that matched his jacket.

He must be a player. Hae-in thought. "Oh, well— I did."

"Are you still hurt?" He tilted his head to the side and stared at her injury.

She shook her head. "Not at all! Thank you."

"Wait, hold on a sec—" the boy reached to his pocket to bring something out. Then, he made his way toward her and got down on both of his knees to wrap a thin cloth around her ankle. His action caught Hae-in off-guard. When she opened her mouth to speak, the boy beat her to it. "I saw how you ran earlier. It was amazing. And now that I know you still competed in this state. . . Do your parents know?"

Hae-in shook her head.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Well, I hope this helps. But you should get yourself checked since the competition is over."

"Okay," Hae-in nodded. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jin-woo!" The boy's smile extended when he turned up to meet her eyes.

"I'm Hae-in. Please to meet—"

"Hae-in! Sweetie, where are you?"

"That's my mom!" Hae-in hurriedly put on her sock and shoved her foot back on her shoe to get up. She rushed forward, but only then to halt. "N— nice meeting you, Jin-woo!"

She didn't wait for him to respond.

Hae-in would be lying if she said that she wouldn't see him again after that. To her, Jin-woo was the kid whom she met at the stadium. She had no hopes that their paths would cross again. But damn, she wished she had believed her mother's words that there were some people she would meet twice in her life.

When she was done doing her laps, Hae-in found three runners huddled together over a phone. It was blaring pop music that was mixed with cacophonous cheering from people. Hae-in speculated it must be the newly debuted band called ARISE, which was said to be composed of five people from different backgrounds who had passed the auditions.

Though, she could care less. She had no time for such things when she was a busy athlete and she would rather watch something—

"—give it up for Sung Jin-woo!"

The name drop made a pause in her world. It sounded vaguely familiar. So, Hae-in strode toward the young athletes and stole a peek on the phone.

"Ms. Cha!" One of the girls said. "Did you come to check out ARISE's concert last week?"

"Who's that guy?" Hae-in cut off the chase.

"Oh, this?" She pointed at the idol, who was singing in front of the crowd. He wore a black leather jacket with chains dangling on the shoulders, a white top, and a pair of leather pants with knee-high boots. "This is Sung Jin-woo! The main dancer of ARISE."

"Isn't he so cute, Ms. Cha?" The second athlete gushed. "Everything about him is so. . . Enchanting!"

"He can steal your heart in one look!"

Indeed, fans were cheering on top of their lungs at Jin-woo. But Hae-in? All she saw was that moment at the stadium. It was truly the same person. Jin-woo, the boy who had wrapped up her bruise, and Jin-woo, the man that young boy had grown to be and was now ruling the stage by his magnificent voice and breathtaking movements.

The first thing Hae-in did once she got home was open her social media platform and searched up 'ARISE'. And from there, a plethora of posts flooded her screen, each showcasing the band and its members, as well as the manager whom the fans had also been fawning over.

She eventually got to the posts that featured primarily Jin-woo. From his photoshoots, the random photos snapped by his band members, videos of him, fans commenting about him, and various others. Hae-in even chuckled at some of the posts.

Does he still remember me? She wondered.

Part of her wanted to message him, but the other part of her did not. Hae-in was worried that he might not recognize her, or even not respond to her message.

So, she decided to abandon the idea.

The next few days were spent with scrolling through ARISE for updates and Jin-woo's posts. Hae-in would watch his short dance covers that had kept her entertained throughout her break. And that was until she landed upon a post from the band's official account that had featured a video of ARISE's latest interview.

"I have a question for Sung Jin-woo!" The interviewer said. "If you could meet someone again, dead or alive, who would it be?"

"I'd say that girl I met when I was young. Even when she had an injury all along, she still managed to win, which I admired her for her determination." Jin-woo replied. He let out a soft smile. "I'm not sure if she still remembers me, but if there comes a time that I meet her again, I will be happy."

Hae-in's heart raced.

Jin-woo was hoping to meet her. . .

When Hae-in entered her condo later that day, her hands were shaking. Now that she discovered that Jin-woo still remembered her throughout these years, she must make her move, mustn't she?

But what should she say? Hi? Hello? Say that she was the girl he had described in the interview?

Finally, Hae-in mustered up her courage and went to his DMS to type out a message;

[ Cha Hae-in (@ truly_haein): hey! I don't know if you are able to see this but— I'm actually the girl whom you met a few years ago. ]

She shut her phone off and went to the kitchen to prepare for some dinner. And just as she set her utensils down, her phone let out a single sound.

Hae-in came over and picked it up and. . . Needless to say, she almost dropped it.

Jin-woo had replied to her message!

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): Hae-in?! Oh my God!! ]

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): I can't believe this. Really! I've been wanting to message you lately, but I was afraid that I might look like a fool to you in case you don't remember me. ]

Hae-in chuckled. Same.

[ Cha Hae-in (@ truly_haein): I watched your performances through the band's account. You're very amazing! ]

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): haha thanks! ]

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): do you want to meet up? That is, if you're free, of course. It's fine if you're not available:) ]

That was fast. Hae-in thought. But then she remembered that Jin-woo had been waiting for this moment, her lips curled into a smile.

[ Cha Hae-in (@ truly_haein): sure! ^_^ ]

At that moment, a seed of a beautiful friendship was planted.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Jin-woo could hardly sleep at the excitement.

Hae-in actually messaged him. . . And then agreed to meet up with him after years of not seeing each other. Yes, Jin-woo had not forgotten about her even for such a short time, but it seemed that fate had another plan for the both of them, which was why she remained in the back of his mind.

If anything, he already knew about the life she had right now, based on the news he had been seeing — another athlete had made her mark in South Korea's Olympics and was competing in various competitions while representing her homeland. She reached her fame earlier before he did.

But here he was. . . A star of his own, radiating his newfound status everywhere he went. He sung, he danced, and did the two in the same time. Back then, Jin-woo was a shy young boy who had talents that brought him to the brightest and biggest path he had ever taken.

He was also in charge of his band's choreography. But before the rehearsal, Jin-woo must practice the song by himself until he came up with the right steps to teach his members. It was fun amidst the exhaustion, yet the results always paid off the moment the audience had witnessed it.

The music stopped the moment he clicked the remote. Jin-woo grabbed the collar of his shirt to wipe the sweat on his face. The rest of the members were panting after almost an hour of practicing in front of the broad mirror for their upcoming music video that was set to film next week.

"Please tell me the practice is over," Tae-gyu grumbled. "My arms are so sore!"

Jin-woo took his phone from his pocket to check the time. He grinned. "It is over. We're free to do whatever we want now."

"Finally!" Tae-gyu punched the air. "Anybody wanna order something? I'm starving."

"Your treat?" Byung-gyu eyed him curiously.

"Who said it's my treat?" Tae-gyu huffed. "Hey, Sung! After making us go suffer for one hour, how about you order us some food? Preferably Chinese, 'cuz I'm craving those."

"Sorry, I have plans," Jin-woo shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets as he began to leave the hall. "Enjoy your meals!"

"Wait, what?"

"Plans?"

"Since when did that idiot have plans for something else?"

"Leave him be. He's practically an adult!" Jong-in rolled his eyes at the three.

It had been eleven days since he had begun talking with Hae-in. And by his luck, Hae-in's schedule was cleared up and she was free from her tasks, so the moment she informed him, Jin-woo set up a time and place to where would they meet.

After finishing his shower, Jin-woo made his way to pick through his assortment of clothing. If he was going to head out and not have people swarming him, then he must wear something that disguised his whole self. Surely, Hae-in would do the same since she had gained a lot of public attention for being a skillful athlete.

Jin-woo had gone for a pair of black jeans, a plain white shirt, and a brown jean jacket. Even if it might be against his usual color style, wearing something that was not black would be a nice way not to drive any attention. He also chose a black hat and a black facemask for additional disguise. Once he was satisfied with the way he looked, Jin-woo headed out of his room and went downstairs where his friends were at the living room, facing the television that featured a western action movie.

Yoon-ho was the one who spotted him. "Take care of yourself out there, Sung! And, where are you going anyway?"

"To meet up with a friend."

Before anyone else could ask, Jin-woo strode to the door and left.

He was supposed to meet up with her at the coffee shop. It was a few blocks away from where he lived. So, when he entered the cafe, Jin-woo walked past the counter and went to one of the empty tables in the corner. There wasn't a lot of customers around, considering how the prices for the drinks and pastries were something not many could afford.

Jin-woo sat down and waited. He wasn't sure how far was this place from Hae-in's, though she already said yes when he was about to ask where she lived. His elation got the best of him.

A few moments later, his phone dinged.

[ Cha Hae-in (@ truly_haein): I'm here. ]

Jin-woo looked across the place and saw a woman clad in a pair of jeans, boots, and a blouse that had puffy sleeves. She had short blonde hair and wore a pink cap with a white facemask.

The corners of his lips tugged into a smile.

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): look to your right. ]

Hae-in got his message from her phone and turned her head to the right direction. Jin-woo raised his hand to get her attention, and it wasn't long until Hae-in met his gaze, he stood up and watched as the star athlete walked toward him.

It felt like a light was coming toward him. Not blinding, but the kind of light that made him see the beauty of every second. Hae-in was shorter than him by several inches, yet her presence felt different than when he was only looking at her through her photos or short clip of her interviews.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey."

Jin-woo smiled behind his facemask, hoping she would still see it just like how he noticed her eyes were glimmering.

They stood in front of each other in silence.

Then, Hae-in cleared her throat. "So, uh. . . " Her hands fidgeted on her sides. "Sorry. I'm not used to talking to people a lot, especially in person."

"Oh! No, it's fine!" Jin-woo said. "I share the same sentiments. We've only been meeting each other for the first time in years, after all."

"I guess you're right," she chuckled.

And so, the two of them sat in front of each other. Jin-woo had the widest smile in his face as he chattered with Hae-in, who was more talkative than she was in her interviews. When he was watching her in his phone, Hae-in would often give short answers, yet enough to satisfy the interviewer and only gave little details of her personal life; she always put on a nice smile, which was one of the things the audience had adored to see, and it made Jin-woo wonder if she was as still shy when he first met her that day.

Turned out, Hae-in only had to be completely comfortable with someone before opening up.

Jin-woo couldn't help but be surprised at the information Hae-in was sharing him. She revealed to him about her struggles with trying to maintain the "perfect" image for the crowds and that she had to suffer from dealing with questions which were out of the line. Jin-woo felt the same. Keeping up with his image was easy, since the media didn't care about the ARISE members being themselves, but the personal questions? No.

Interviewers would ask him about his relationship status, his family, and other things that were past Jin-woo's boundaries. He swore to protect his privacy and could only hope for the media to respect his wishes.

Interviews had always been a torture.

"So how did you become a star?" Hae-in asked.

"It's simple— my family dragged me to the audition," Jin-woo spoke in a slightly low voice. "It's not an exaggeration. They literally dragged me when I was dressed in pajamas."

Hae-in let out a giggle. "Your family is so supportive."

"Yeah, and when they learned that I had to move in with my bandmates, they were supportive instead of being emotional! I thought all of us were like that until Tae-gyu told me his mother cried and threw a farewell party for him." Jin-woo sighed. "I was so jealous in that moment."

"Cute." Hae-in chuckled.

"What's the best competition you have participated in?"

Their time in that café felt like a lifetime.

Jin-woo had lost touch of the time until his phone started ringing. He answered it without looking at the name and realized it was Jin-chul, who demanded where he was and said he was late to the meeting about next month's agendas. Jin-woo hung up after saying a single 'okay' and didn't wait for his manager to complete his sentence.

He turned to Hae-in and said. "Welp, I guess I had to go. I forgot that I still have something to do."

"That's okay! It's been great talking to you, Jin-woo." Hae-in smiled.

"I'll message you later once I'm done," Jin-woo promised her.

Beside his band members, Jin-woo didn't have other friends who were famous, practically because he found them ambitious and quite overbearing. But Hae-in? She was nice. Jin-woo liked talking to her a lot — he even began to secretly message her under the table when someone else was speaking.

And he was never caught.

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He was a star in the music industry. And she was a star in the track and field.

Jin-woo chose to keep his friendship with Hae-in a secret. He didn't know why he did, but he just felt like it. His friends started to become suspicious at the amount of time he was found typing on his phone, though they chose not to say a word about it, considering how Jin-woo responded to their questions sometimes.

"Hey, Sung? Are you sure you told the interviewer that you are not dating someone? You keep checking your phone than usual."

"Hm? What is it? You want to get back to practice?"

Tae-gyu gagged. "It's only past two minutes!"

"Well, I can still dance without taking breaks," smirked Jin-woo.

"Urgh. Whatever."

Jin-woo chuckled. He glanced down again to see the digital poster Hae-in had sent him. It was her upcoming competition against the athletes from France, Romania, Japan, and Thailand.

[ Cha Hae-in (@ truly_haein): amazing, isn't it? At least I wouldn't have to book a flight this time since the competition will be in Seoul. ]

Jin-woo smiled.

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): then that gives me a reason to see it :D ]

[ Cha Hae-in (@ truly_haein): WHAT?! DON'T YOU HAVE A BUSY SCHEDULE OR SOMETHING??? ]

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): have you ever heard of "if there's a will, there's a way"? Trust me on this. ]

Jin-woo did show up on the competition. He wore a long-haired black wig, a white cap, and a black facemask to watch within the crowd. Hae-in still didn't believe him when he said that he was going to watch her competition, so Jin-woo took it as a challenge to surprise her.

He was supposed to practice with his band, but he snuck out in the middle of their break.

Knowing that his phone would be bombarded with messages, Jin-woo put it on silent to watch the match peacefully. This had been his second time to witness Cha Hae-in run with his own eyes. Back then, he was amazed by her speed that it made him go look and congratulate her for being in the first place.

And he was going to do it again.

When Hae-in won the competition, the crowd went wild. Jin-woo cheered along with them. He took out his phone to take pictures of her receiving her medals and a bouquet of flowers. Hae-in was panting, yet managed to let out a broad smile. Jin-woo snapped a photo out of it too. And once the crowd slowly piled out of the stadium, Jin-woo stayed in his seat until most of the audience had gotten out and approached the nearest worker.

"Excuse me? Do you mind if you tell me where the backroom is?"

The janitor, not knowing who he was, replied in a blunt tone. "The security doesn't accept strangers to personally see Ms. Cha, sir."

"I'm actually a friend of hers."

"You cannot fool me, sir. You are not the first person to say that, so please, go to the exit."

"But I'm not someone pretending to be her friend—"

"Go away before I call the security!"

Jin-woo sighed and took off his mask. "It's me."

The janitor's eyes quickly widened. "Sung Jin—"

"Shh!" Jin-woo cut him off. "Do me a favor? Please? I need to see Hae-in."

"But can I take a picture with you first, though?"

"No."

The janitor frowned. "Alright. If you insist. . . " He began to walk away with his broom.

"W— wait!" Jin-woo called after him.

The janitor turned to the idol with a grin.

Jin-woo walked across the hallway, searching for a particular blonde. The janitor also told him that Hae-in was busy with packing her things, so Jin-woo still had time to see her. He found her in a pair of sweatpants this time instead of the shorts she had worn during the competition, Hae-in had her back turned to him while she was placing her towels inside of her gym bag.

His lips twitched into a grin. Jin-woo tugged his cap lower and started to make his way toward her in soundless steps. Hae-in was still unaware of the nearing presence behind her. Jin-woo crouched low and once he reached the right proximity, he raised his head toward her ear and held his breath.

"Hey~"

Hae-in instantly shrieked.

Jin-woo burst out a loud laugh when he saw her frightened face while she had her arms across her chest, holding onto her shoulders. Once she recovered and realized who it was, a cold glare was formed in Hae-in's eyes.

"Jin-woo!"

"Surprise?" Jin-woo grinned.

Hae-in slapped him on the arm. "Who wouldn't be surprised at what you just did?!"

"Which one? The fact that I scared the heck out of you or the part where I showed up to your competition?"

"You—" Hae-in's ire subsided and lowered her head. Then, she snorted. She looked up to him with a smile. "You really lived up to your words, huh?"

"Now that's one thing you should always remember!" Jin-woo's grin broadened that showed a portion of his teeth. "So. . . No hugs? No 'oh my God! I'm so glad you came'?"

"Idiot." Hae-in rolled her eyes. She laughed and went up to wrap her arms around Jin-woo's shoulders.

They supported each other in every way.

When Jin-woo was busy and couldn't squeeze his time with Hae-in in his schedule, he'd try to make it up to her by checking up on her to see how she was doing. Hae-in did the same. She'd send him a message in the middle of the day and if she was too shy to comment on his posts, she would just slide into his DMs.

There were even occasions where Hae-in would attend the band's concert in her disguise and take a photo of herself when Jin-woo was on stage. She'd send it to him once the concert was over. And of course, Jin-woo would be surprised that he even dropped his phone after seeing the photo.

Eventually, he got used to it.

Jin-woo wasn't expecting that Hae-in would be in the concert, but if she sent him a photo, he would grin broadly. Same with Hae-in. He'd show up in her competitions and snap a selfie of himself to send it to her afterward.

They'd still see each other depending on their availability. Though, part of Jin-woo wished he wouldn't have to wear a disguise when meeting Hae-in. . . But given their reputations, nobody must know.

Only his parents knew about the friendship he had with the famous track and field athlete.

"So! You and I will do this part—" Byung-gyu drew a circle around the verse with his pen. "And then Tae-gyu will sing solo on the next part up until Yoon-ho's rap."

"Got it!" Jin-woo nodded. "Say, how about we practice our parts together?"

"Oka—"

The door was bursted open.

"Jin-woo! What's the meaning of this?!"

Byung-gyu and Jin-woo turned over their shoulders to face a panting Tae-gyu. Jin-woo raised an eyebrow. "But I didn't leak anything?"

"Not that! Check Twitter right now!"

Jin-woo took out his phone and so did Byung-gyu. He clicked on the app and found the "trending" option where—

"Oh my god!" Byung-gyu gasped.

He turned to his friend. "What—"

"You're dating Cha Hae-in?!"

"What?!" Jin-woo's jaw dropped. "Who did—"

Byung-gyu almost shoved his phone to his face that Jin-woo had to lean away a little to check the post.

His eyes became wide as spheres.

The post came from one of the popular entertainment agencies in South Korea that featured updates from various celebrities. Mainly, it posted rumors of two people dating. . . And it seemed Jin-woo had become one of those topics.

Him and none other than Hae-in.

[ Sung Jin-woo of #ARISE and Star Athlete Cha Hae-in are found in the park together! ] — the post stated.

It was indeed him and Hae-in. They had just finished jogging around the park and secluded themselves under the shady tree to peel their masks off a little to let themselves breathe. Unbeknownst to them, a couple was taking a picture of themselves, only then to notice two very familiar people behind

Hence, why the photo of him and Hae-in looked like it had been zoomed in and cropped.

This is bad. He thought. Very bad!

Jin-woo turned to his phone and his breath caught up at the center of his throats. There were comments. Dozens of them. All of them were astounded to see him together with Hae-in. And there were some who were skeptical if it was really them and that they were together.

[ user1: Jin-woo?? And Hae-in?? They are in a secret relationship all along?? ]

[ user2: Jin-woo has been lying in the interviews! Now this explains why he looks disinterested in questions about his dating life. HE'S JUST TRYING TO PROTECT HIS PRIVACY! ]

[ user3: congrats to the couple!!! ]

[ user4: I did not expect this. But since I'm a fan of both Hae-in and Jin-woo, I shall support these lovebirds! ]

[ user5: they look so adorable together!! ]

Jin-woo scrolled deeper until he had enough of the comments, especially the ones who were congratulating him for his relationship with Hae-in — which was not true. He and Hae-in never even dated.

"Is the post true?!" Tae-gyu snapped him out of his thoughts. "Look, I understand that you have every right to keep things for yourself, but it's your love life we are talking about! Like, how did you even—"

"We're not dating!" Jin-woo exclaimed. "Hae-in and I are not in a romantic relationship. We're just close friends."

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Byung-gyu raised an eyebrow.

"It's not that entirely big. And besides, I know how you guys will react if I bring her here." Jin-woo scoffed. "How did we become friends? It's simple. I've already met Hae-in as a kid, but never heard of her again until I made my debut in the industry."

"Since then, you hang out with her behind our backs?"

"Yeah."

Tae-gyu let out a glare. "So that's why you keep sneaking out like you're meeting up with your forbidden lover!"

"She's not!" Jin-woo argued. "But as much as I want to stay and argue, I must fix this mess up before it gets worse!"

Especially for Hae-in.

Sooner or later, she would be see those rumors and start getting nervous. But first, Jin-woo needed to prioritize the media, knowing how rapid it could get, and the more people would believe that it was true if he must not act early.

Without leaving his chair, Jin-woo made a new post in his account:

[ Sung Jin-woo (@ sjwofficial): in regards to the rumors, Hae-in and I are not romantically involved with each other. She's someone whom I've met when I was young and met for the second time this year. She's amazing, yes, but I support her and she supports me like how friends should. To anyone who hasn't known what's going on, please do not listen to the rumors. Thank you! ]

He pressed the button and his post showed up in his feed within a second. Byung-gyu and Tae-gyu saw it and snickered together.

"Supporting each other, huh? How many times have Ms. Cha came to see our concerts?" Tae-gyu grinned.

"Seven times. She sends me a photo every time she's in the crowd."

"Woah. . . I'm guessing you do the same?"

"Yeah."

Byung-gyu and Tae-gyu shared a glance at each other as if Jin-woo had gone mad. Jin-woo shook his head and got up from his chair to leave the two alone before something else might happen to him.

He called Hae-in when he got inside of his room. As anticipated, Hae-in had already known about the rumors and other athletes had begun to ask her about her relationship with the ARISE member. Jin-woo's heart pinched in worry and could imagine how tough it was going to be for her.

Instead, Hae-in just laughed.

"You don't have to worry about me, Jin-woo! Yeah, I was bombarded with questions, but I managed to clear everything to them." Hae-in said. "And besides, those are just rumors. Let people believe what they want to believe."

Jin-woo sighed. "I just don't want to let you get into this mess. You got an upcoming prelims next week."

"Yeah, but I'm not stressing about that," shrugged Hae-in. "Are you still coming?"

"Me? Of course! I'm not gonna let those rumors hold me back."

"See? That's what I want to hear from Sung Jin-woo!"

He snorted. "Why? Does it sound very unlike me?"

"Well, you're supposed not to care because that's how you are in interviews."

"That's different. I know you're trying to keep a low profile and not let your private life be invaded, so that's why."

"You worry too much." Jin-woo could feel her rolling her eyes. "As long as we know to ourselves that we're just friends and nothing more, that's it."

"Yeah," a subtle smile formed across his lips.

Just friends.

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They were friends.

Friends who supported each other on and off cameras. Hae-in and Jin-woo even became confident enough to comment on each other's posts. Even though the media hadn't seen photos of Hae-in being in ARISE's concerts and Jin-woo being in her competitions, the fans pretty much knew it due to the way Jin-woo and Hae-in complimented each other in social media.

They were friends.

Friends who never listened to the amount of rumors about them in a romantic relationship. Jin-woo had grown used to it, but it didn't stop him from posting a statement. The rest of the ARISE members just laughed at it when they saw the notification.

"You know, since you hardly post anything, your page is going to be filled with you debunking rumors." Yoon-ho said to him.

"So what? Dealing with rumors is like fighting bacteria." Jin-woo rolled his eyes.

"Shush!" Jong-in chastised him. "There are cameras around."

"Oh, please. . . I doubt they're gonna post it on the internet that I'm trashing people." Jin-woo muttered. The photographer gestured his hand to command the idol to move to the right. Jin-woo stepped down from the stool to lean his elbow against it, facing the camera as it let out another flash. "I'll keep doing it until they finally had enough of assuming Hae-in and I are not in a relationship. Byung-gyu's friends with Hee-jin, but there isn't a single rumor of them dating."

"That's because the media has nothing to use between her and I for creating fake news," replied Byung-gyu behind him. "Have you seen us act sweet toward each other?"

"Yeah. Last week, I guess?"

"That's because she wanted something from me."

"See the difference, Sung?" Tae-gyu piped up. "How about this— have you tried insulting Hae-in at least once?"

Jin-woo abruptly turned to the oldest member of the band, flashing him with a daggering glare that looked like he could kill. "No! Why would I even do that to her? We're not like Hee-jin and Byung-gyu, or even Yoon-ho and Jong-in."

"Huh?"

"What?"

He ignored them. "There are plenty of ways to prove that we're just friends. Not just throwing insults."

"Face the camera, please!" The photographer shouted.

Jin-woo faced the camera once again and another photo was snapped. Then, he caught Jin-ho appearing in his peripheral vision. The younger man held out his phone, which showed the ongoing call from Park Kyung-hye, so Jin-woo raised his hand to the photographers and then drew it across his neck to insinuate something. They nodded and paused the session, allowing everyone else to take a break. Some makeup artists rushed up to check if the members still looked presentable, but Jin-woo went past them to make his way to Jin-ho.

"Yes, mom?" He asked.

"Are you busy today, son?"

"Not really. I'm just doing a couple of photoshoots this whole afternoon."

"I see. . . " Kyung-hye said. "I was wondering if you'd be up for some dinner with us."

            He chuckled. "You know that I'd drop everything just to have dinner with you, dad, and Jin-ah. Of course, I will be there!"

            "Can you invite Hae-in too? I haven't seen her for the past few weeks. Jin-ah misses her too, so I think this should be a great time to have her around again and know how she's been doing."

            "Alright. I'll ask her if she's free tonight." Jin-woo smiled.

            "Love you, Jin-woo!"

            "Love you too, mom."

            It was always heartwarming on how fond his family was to Hae-in. Jin-woo remembered their reactions when he told them that he had met the young athlete runner again after many years. They were happy for him. Hae-in was even surprised when Kyung-hye had instantly welcomed her the moment he brought her to his house. Since then, his family adored her as if she was their own.

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Alone the rehearsal hall, Jin-woo was dancing to the music. There was no deadline or a particular event, he just wanted to dance to release some sweat. The others were off to do their own thing, so Jin-woo decided to do his. Being the lead dancer of the band, he had the liability to use the hall anytime he wished, whether it was doing his hobby or practicing, Jin-woo was the owner of the keys.

His jacket was discarded next to the small portable speaker which was blaring the music, leaving Jin-woo in his grey sleeveless top and a pair of black sweatpants. The white shoes he wore were light and made of cotton, so he wouldn't have to be bothered by hearing those squeaking noises each time his feet rubbed against the clean floor.

Jin-woo felt like he was in his own world. It was different when he was doing exercises — he had to be concentrated, but when he was dancing, his body moved naturally. Jin-woo could close his eyes and pay less attention to the beat, but he would still be on sync with the music.

Sometimes, he'd post short videos of his dances, whether it was solo of one of his band's songs or a dance cover. But other times, Jin-woo liked to keep the dances to himself just like how he frequently danced in his bedroom, which also explained his well-built physique.

The song was a personal favorite of his. It also included a choreography, allowing Jin-woo to feel in touch with the lyrics and beat more. It was not emotional, rather it had a specific rhythm that made him invigorated and didn't exert his muscles to exhaustion.

It was him and the music alone.

When the song ended, the corner of Jin-woo's mouth twitched into a grin as he turned around to make his way to his possessions. He still had some energy. So, he picked his phone up and began to scroll through his array of songs saved in his playlist. A certain song captured his attention, so he was about to press his thumb on it when he heard some clapping that echoed across the room.

"That was spectacular."

He raised his head and to his surprise, it was Hae-in. His jaw loosened upon the sight of her walking toward him with her lips curled into a smile. She wore a simple white blouse and a pair of blue leggings above her brown sandals. A cap also sat above her head.

"H— Hae-in?" Jin-woo stammered. "How. . . Have you been watching this whole time?"

"I only caught up in the middle of the song," she shrugged. "Why? Are you embarrassed?"

Jin-woo flushed a little. "No. . . Why should I?"

Hae-in had seen him dance before. Therefore, he mustn't be flustered when she caught him in the middle of the hall.

He cleared his throat. "So, uh. . . What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to visit you. I asked the guys and they told me that you're in the rehearsal hall, and since I don't know where that is, I asked Jin-ho for help." Hae-in explained.

"I see," he nodded.

"But since you're busy— I'll just sit here and watch." She concluded.

"Won't that make you feel bored?" Jin-woo huffed. "And besides, I have a better idea."

Hae-in arched an eyebrow. "And that is. . . ?"

"Dance with me."

" . . . " The athlete stared at him. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me, Ms. Cha," Jin-woo grinned at her. "Instead of sitting there and acting like a stranger, why don't you join me?"

"I don't dance, Jin-woo."

"You wouldn't know until you try!" Jin-woo snickered. "Trust me, I'll make sure you won't feel embarrassed after this. I know a song that is great for beginners."

Hae-in swallowed before she reluctantly nodded. "Oh— okay."

Jin-woo lightly grabbed her wrist to bring her to the center and walked back to place his phone next to his speaker to press the play button, putting it on loop as well, and rushed back to Hae-in. The song began in a soft electric guitar stringing and the sound of a piano. He faced Hae-in fully and instructed;

"The first steps are similar to waltzing, so all you have to do is place your hand on my shoulder and put your foot back once I move mine forward. And don't worry, I'll guide you through it."

Hae-in nodded.

Now.

Her hand found his shoulder. His found her waist.

She was about to put her right hand as well when Jin-woo gently stopped her and told her that only one hand was required. Hae-in nodded again. Then, he and gently pushed forward. As told, Hae-in moved her foot backward and their feet slid across the floor to close the distance. Jin-woo did the same to his right foot and Hae-in followed.

They did the same steps with each feet until Jin-woo stopped, though it took a few seconds before he removed his hand. Hae-in waited for him to speak next.

"Now," Jin-woo took her hand. "The next step is I'm gonna spin you. If you'd like, I can do it slowly."

"Uh, I think I will be fine," said Hae-in. "Just do what you have to do."

Jin-woo nodded and heard her gasp when he twirled her around and tugged her back. Hae-in's hand found his bicep as though to balance herself. An airy chuckle escaped his mouth when he saw her wide-eyed reaction.

"Why so surprised, Ms. Cha? I thought you'll be fine?"

"I'm just caught off guard!" Hae-in exclaimed.

"Cute," Jin-woo grinned.

Hae-in was flexible, so it was easy for her to do some of the steps, but if she struggled a little, Jin-woo was there to guide her. The hall had never been so lively with their laughter in between the music. Their eyes almost never left each other as they repeated the steps when the song returned to the beginning.

There was no doubt that Jin-woo was astonished at Hae-in.

As she got used to it, Hae-in now wore a smile on her face. Jin-woo couldn't help but smile back. Moments ago, he was in his own world, but when Hae-in joined him, he felt as if he was sharing his world with his best friend.

When they got to the chorus, the two found themselves walking in circle with their hands on each other's shoulders. Jin-woo craned his neck down a little and Hae-in had to look up to meet his gaze due to their differences in height. It was as if there was magnetic field between them. It was just him and her.

Jin-woo had probably lost track on the amount of times their skins had touched. He had never made a lot of physical contact when dancing with someone. Hae-in, who would instantly flush when she got touched, had not complained. She was comfortable. Jin-woo wondered if he was the only one she had acted this way or there was someone else.

He spun her again when the song slowly reached its end note. Jin-woo gradually tugged her until her back was pressed against his side. With their hands still linked, he gently brought brought it down until his arm was wrapped around her waist as the last piano keys sang into silence.

He heard Hae-in chuckle. "Well, that was fun."

"Exhausted?"

"Quite. But it feels different when I'm doing my la—"

"Oh my God!"

Jin-woo and Hae-in almost jumped. She quickly retracted herself from him while he turned around and saw none other than Tae-gyu, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"What are you doing here?!" Jin-woo hissed. On the other hand, Hae-in was in deep red.

"I was just gonna ask if I can burrow your— you know what? Nevermind! Just keep whatever you two are doing." Tae-gyu turned around to face the exit.

Heat crept up to Jin-woo's neck. "I— it's not what you think!"

"Of course, it's not. What do you think I am thinking?"

"I. . . I don't know."

Tae-gyu let out a snicker and shot him a smirk over his shoulder. "Angry that you two's romantic dance got interrupted?"

"Scratch the romance part for the love of God!" Jin-woo groaned. "I was just teaching her."

"Yeah, keep saying that, Sung. Aren't you supposed to get ready? If you don't wanna go, then I will happily replace you."

"Get out!"

Once Tae-gyu left, Jin-woo sighed. He looked over and saw Hae-in wipe her sweating neck with her handkerchief — though, the mortification was still visible in her visage. Jin-woo couldn't blame her. Tae-gyu, of all people, had to ruin the moment and opened that annoying mouth of his.

Right! Jin-woo remembered that he had one thing to do since Hae-in was there. "Uh, Hae-in?"

"Hm?"

"My mom called earlier and told me to come home," said Jin-woo. "She also said that I should invite you to join us."

Hae-in's eyes finally lit up. "Sure! What time?"

"7 PM. But I'll pick you up instead."

"Okay," she smiled. "I'll wait for you."

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"Unnie! You're finally here!"

"Careful, Jin-ah! Let our guest breathe."

"It's fine, Mr. Sung!"

"Thank you for coming, dear. It feels like it's been so long since you've set foot in this household."

"I'm happy to be here again, ma'am."

"You're so gonna love this night's dinner!"

*chuckle* "Your mom's food always taste the best, Jin-ah."

Jin-woo smiled as he watched the loving sight of his family welcoming Hae-in. Jin-ah looked as if she didn't want to let go from Hae-in. He hung his coat over the hook, leaving him in his black turtleneck, then cleared his throat. "What about me? You haven't seen me for a long time too!"

"It's only been six weeks, brother," Jin-ah rolled her eyes.

He gaped. "Hey! That's long enough!"

"Here we go again," Kyung-hye sighed. "How about you two set up the table instead of arguing already?"

"Yes, mom." The siblings said in unison.

Before he was famous, Jin-woo and his family only lived in an apartment. But now that he was earning thousands of money, Jin-woo bought a new house for them to move in. It was not entirely big or fancy, rather it was enough to feel the simplicity of life. Kyung-hye was the one who set everything up, from the decorations to the photos, and Ill-hwang maintained the house's tidiness if he had no work.

Jin-woo had pretty much invested 70% his money into his family, only wanting nothing but the best for his parents and little sister, who was close to finishing high school. And at this, Jin-ah could choose any university she wished and Jin-woo would happily enroll her.

He didn't stop his father from continuing his job as a fireman. Jin-woo knew how Ill-hwang liked helping people's lives — which he admired his old man for that. As long as he still had capability, Ill-hwang would continue his job and earn to support his family without relying on his son most of the time.

The meal was a traditional seafood stew. It was perfect for the beginning of the cold season. Hae-in, who sat next to Jin-woo, laughed along with Jin-ah. Kyung-hye and Ill-hwang watched the two warmly as they exchanged short remarks to each other. Jin-woo just happily indulged in his meal, content with being surrounded by the people who meant to him the most.

"It's amazing that you managed to accept Jin-woo's invitation for having dinner with us, dear. For some reason, I thought that you won't be coming because of being busy." Kyung-hye said.

"I will always choose to spend time with you guys if there is an opportunity," Hae-in smiled.

The old woman chuckled softly. "That's almost the exact same thing Jin-woo had told me when I first called. How are you and your family?"

"We're doing good. Other times, they get very busy, so we don't have a lot of time to talk to each other a lot."

"I see," nodded Kyung-hye. "Do you have any upcoming competitions?"

"I do! However, it's in America. I'll be leaving in two days."

"America? That's too far!" Jin-ah piped up and then eyed her brother. "I guess oppa won't be able to see it since he might have a lot of projects to work on."

"That's fine by me. I'll just treat Hae-in for a meal or something." Jin-woo shrugged.

Jin-ah snickered. "And then someone snaps a photo of you two and rumors rise again!"

"Who cares about rumors?"

"Says you — I've seen your latest statement!"

"You know what I have to do," Jin-woo rolled his eyes. "Plus, if I don't say anything about it, the media won't shut up."

"But did it work? No. I even heard some of my classmates talk about you two. It was so hard for me not to join them." Jin-ah snorted. "Come on, brother! You're in the right age to date anyway."

"I will have to agree with your sister, son," Ill-hwang chimed in. "Sure, the decision is up to you, but try not to hesitate when you found someone. After all, your mom and I have raised you well and know you will treat someone genuinely."

Kyung-hye nodded. "And don't forget to choose wisely, Jin-woo. Fall for someone who loves you not because of your reputation, but for who you really are. I know a lot of celebrities who end up single despite having such good hearts."

"I'll keep that in mind, mom." Jin-woo agreed. He returned to his meal and looked at the corner of his eye, finding Hae-in, who had fallen into silence as she proceeded to eat.

When the dinner had come to an end, Jin-woo and Hae-in lingered for a little more to spend time with Ill-hwang, Kyung-hye, and Jin-ah in the living room. They conversed and laughed. Then, Jin-ah took out her phone and gathered everyone for a selfie. She moved the camera in front while the adults stood behind her, and unbeknownst to him, Jin-woo's hand held Hae-in's shoulder as they smiled for the picture.

Finally, the pair bid their farewell. Jin-woo grabbed their coats from the hooks and handed the blue one to Hae-in. The Sung family waved their hands as they watched the two depart from their home and walk toward the black car.

Hae-in sat on the passenger's seat while Jin-woo inserted the keys into the ignition. He pulled from the driveway and drove down the path that led to the road. Streetlights grazed over the windows as vehicles ran past, the city was lively with the bright lights beneath the dark sky, Jin-woo rested his elbow on the armrest to prop the side of his jaw against it, staring ahead of the open road. His pupils moved to the corner of his eyes again and spotted Hae-in, whom he noticed had uttered nary a single word since they had left.

Jin-woo cleared his throat. "How are you feeling?"

"Hm?" Hae-in met his gaze and realized. "Oh! Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Really? Your silence tells otherwise," said Jin-woo. "Is there something bothering you? Or did me or my family said something wrong?"

"No! None of you said something wrong." Hae-in shook her head. "It's just that. . . I keep thinking about what your mother said in the middle of dinner."

"Oh?"

"Remember when she said that you should fall for someone who will love you regardless of your reputation? Yeah. . . But I don't know why those words stayed in my mind longer." Hae-in explained. "I haven't thought of dating yet, but you know that I'll be flying to America soon, right?"

He nodded.

"I won't just be there for the competition. There's. . . There's someone who wants to meet me. My parents said he's around my age, so I'll be able to get along with him easily."

Something seemed to pinch a small portion of his heart. Jin-woo evaded it and responded. "Are your parents setting you up?"

"I guess? Based on their words, they kinda do." Hae-in sighed and leaned against the headrest. "Do you think I'm fit enough to be someone's girlfriend?"

"Of course. You're down-to-earth, sweet, and supportive. Why do you think otherwise?" Jin-woo told her. "That is, if you're not ready for a relationship yet."

"I'm not sure. Besides, I don't him personally, so I have no idea what kind of person is he going to be."

Part of Jin-woo felt lucky that his parents had never set him up with someone. He also felt bad for Hae-in. He had only known little details of her relationship with her parents, but learning that they had actually set up their daughter with someone she didn't know. . . It made him quite worried.

Sure, that was out of his business. If Hae-in ended up wanting to date the guy, he'd be happy for her.

The corner of his mouth slowly tugged upward. He stared as Hae-in faced the window for a few moments until an idea sparked in his head. So, Jin-woo stirred the wheel to maneuver the car to the intersection, causing Hae-in to move away from the window when she noticed they were going on a different way.

"Wait— where are we going?" She asked.

"You'll see," Jin-woo grinned. "Sit back and take a nap too. I'll let you know once we've arrived."

There was a place only he knew.

Jin-woo hardly went there, unless he needed to cool off alone. And with the nighttime shrouding the whole country, he thought he had perfect timing. Hae-in had remained awake throughout the journey, curious to see where he was taking her, and Jin-woo had a tinge of excitement in his stomach.

He was confident that she would love the place.

After several minutes of driving in an empty road, Jin-woo finally arrived in his desired destination. The place was quiet and nothing captivating, but there was an old steel fence at the edge of the land that blocked anyone from accidentally setting foot on the sea, and on the other side, it was the distant view of the glimmering lights of Seoul. And far above them. . . It was the clear dark sky tainted with vague mists of clouds and dotted stars scattered across the ether; the moon clung high and bright.

The car halted in the center of the area and Jin-woo got out of the door. He strode around his vehicle to open the other door for Hae-in, who was wrapping her white scarf around her neck; her eyes turned wide at the sight of his hand extended out for her to take. She eventually accepted it and allowed him to lead her out of the car, shutting the door behind her with his free hand.

Jin-woo brought her to the front of his car, leaning his weight against the hood. The wind was as soft as the whispers of the sea across them. It was a perfect place to be without having to hide himself from being recognized.

"It may not be as amazing as you think, but the view is everything you need," he said.

"It is amazing. To be frank, I only see this place in shows." Hae-in chuckled. "Now I understand why directors often choose this place to shoot."

Jin-woo hummed. "I just thought I'd bring you here to ease your mind — at least you won't have to think about the guy your parents had set you up with."

"Have you ever dated before, Jin-woo?" She asked him.

"Me? Pfft—" Jin-woo huffed. "That's the last thing I would do. Sure, I've met a lot of nice girls, but none of them felt right for me."

"ARISE members really have high standards, huh?"

He chuckled. "Not really. As far as I know, all of us have simple standards that are hard to find. I mean, Byung-gyu has been expressing what kind of girl he likes through the songs he wrote, Yoon-ho and Jong-in's are quite hard to tell, and Tae-gyu is. . . Well, I don't wanna think about that."

"What about you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Jin-woo let out a grin.

"Why not?"

"Eh. You might probably do something. Or worse, you'll realize that you got everything I look for a—"

"Shut up!" Hae-in shoved him from finishing the sentence, laughing.

"If that guy doesn't make you laugh this hard, then he's not the right one for you!" Jin-woo laughed back.

Her laugh was like a symphony.

Even under the night sky, Hae-in was as vibrant as the sun. Jin-woo could still see her smile amidst the low brightness around them. The warmth in his heart had spread throughout his body, no longer feeling the cold in the air.

"Whatever, Jin-woo! What if he does it better than you?"

"I doubt it," Jin-woo scoffed and crossed his arms. "If he manages to make you laugh, it means he succeeded in making you comfortable with him. But remember this, Hae-in — the moment you feel something strange in a bad way, don't hesitate to distance yourself."

Hae-in rolled her eyes. "Of course. Why should I still stay with someone who makes me feel uneasy?"

"That's the Cha Hae-in I know," Jin-woo smiled. "As long as you're not ready, the guy must wait, especially if he genuinely wants to be with you. If anything, he should be lucky that he's about to meet someone as nice as you."

Little did he know, something was pinching the back of his heart. Jin-woo chose to evade it and focused on the moment he shared with his best friend. Was he afraid that once Hae-in returned from the states, her heart already belonged to someone else? No, she was not like that. Jin-woo had nothing to fear.

Hae-in was her own person. It was up to her whom she wished to give her heart to.

Jin-woo had spent years deeply hoping to meet the unnamed girl he met at the stadium. All he had wished was nothing but the best. And when he saw her on TV, it stole his breath away. It was the moment he learned her name. Hae-in came into his life and brought such happiness he never felt in the people around him.

Now. . . He hoped that she would bring the same impact on the person she was yet to meet in America.

"You know, meeting you has been the highlight of my year," said Hae-in. She looked ahead, a soft smile curving on her lips. "I'm glad that our paths had crossed once again. I don't think nobody else can compare to that. No amount of words can simply express how thankful I am for you and this bond we have."

"Likewise, Hae-in," Jin-woo smiled tenderly. "That is why I keep wishing but the very best in your life."

"I'd still be able to share those moments with you, right?"

"I'm right beside you in every step of the way."

No matter what, he'd be there for her.

He'd be happy for her.

In the middle of the silence, Jin-woo felt Hae-in rest her head on his shoulder. His heart almost skipped a beat. Shaking his head, he turned to the stars, reflecting upon his eyes like the sea. Two heads of young people slowly became one. His gaze landed on their hands, a mere inch away from each other, then his pinky finger twitched, yet he held himself back from interlocking their hands together.

He believed he was not the right person to hold intertwine their hands together and not let go.

She already had someone waiting for her.

A shooting star sprinted above them.

This time, Jin-woo wished his best friend would be treated right by that person.

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to Miracle Creator's Chapter 138

New TCF chapter title - 20. A Miracle Happened in the Demon Cult

TLDR; Cale x HD moment. Angry HD. Blood Cult spies captured. Upcoming CH and CJS spar.

Soos? LSH = ❌ CJS = ✅

Cale x HD Moment My inner fangirl screamed again today. Last chapter, we had handholding (leeeeewd 🤩) and staring at each other's eyes closely. Today, we have ear whispers!!! 😳🤭

The scene went like this:

Cale and HD: *talks about what to do with Blood Cult spies* Cale: By the way... *looks serious* HD: *senses Cale's serious air and becomes serious too* Cale: *whispers* Can we get some snacks? I have a child who wants to eat. HD: ... Cale: (Why is he looking at me like that?) Raon: Yey! I'm excited! Go bring out all the expensive sweets!

Okay, it's just my BL filter acting up... 😅 But this scene was funny. The atmosphere was so serious, and then Cale suddenly asks HD for sweets. 😂Even Cale was embarrassed of his request, so he ended up whispering to HD... 🤣🤣🤣

One more Cale and HD moment: They talk to each other casually now. HD no longer uses "Young Master" when he calls Cale. He simply said "Kim Hae-il." And Cale replied to him with short words.

Angry Heavenly Demon This is to be expected. HD was so angry that his dark red aura, that was similar to Cale's Dominating Aura, was in full blast. He was so cool when he dominated the Demon Cult and gave all those orders. I want to go into detail but this is a reaction post, so sorry~ 🤐 All I can tell you is that he also gave the command to annihilate the Blood Cult like what the Namgung Clan did.

Our Cale was both impressed and fearful upon seeing the might of the Demon Cult because of HD. He even thought Blood Cult made a fatal mistake in making the Demon Cult their enemy.

And Cale experienced again how people felt when he uses his Dominating Aura because of HD's aura. He had goosebumps in his arms that he had to use his own DA AP to counteract HD's aura.

Blood Cult Spies Captured The spies were subdued quite quickly, and our Cale was scared again of the Demon Cult's power. They're still alive and would be interrogated. The way before they were subdued was also a cool scene.

We get some flashback of HD's miserable childhood and why he hated noise and actual rats. And then there was the transition to the "rats" (the spies) that entered the Demon Cult.

Oh yeah, who were the spies? -Pavilion Master Kee from the Coin Tree Pavilion -Captain Maeng, leader of one of the Demon Cult's 8 brigades

Upcoming CH and CJS Spar And we have our Soos scene at the end of the chapter. Which means it ended at a cliff... 😑B-B-BUT! This means that the next chapter on Monday is full of Soos!!! 🥰

Ending Remarks Today was full of cool scenes highlighting the power of HD and the Demon Cult. Yeah, HD is the author's favorite murim arc character. Anyway, look forward to next week's Soos interaction! See ya!

[jannahime]

Metanoia

Synopsis: Shin Na-young a 28 year old marine biologist after finding out her fiancé cheated on her with her cousin Kwak Hee-mi, her heart broke into billions of pieces and she swore that if she had other relationships that she would not fall in love and she would break them before they would break her. She lost all faith in love, and she decides to drown her sadness and anger at a bar where she gets drunk and gets entangled with an important person in the business industry. She has a one night stand with the man and it’s then she realizes that she had a one night stand with her boss who owns the research that she works at. Her boss is automatically fallen in love with her, but she hasn’t so it’s up to him to convince her to give a second chance. 

This is a story I’m writing as a project. I hope you like.

True love, a timeless and universal concept that everyone can relate to. But, love at times can be awful and painful.

I myself was in love once. I thought it was true love. I thought we were simply meant to be.....but I guess I was the only one living in a fool's paradise.

Because after I found both my cousin Kwak Hee-mi and my son to be husband Hyun Seung-hwan together in our house in our bedroom....I was heartbroken.

I called off the engagement and continued to pursue my career in marine science to try and forget about him....but no one ever forgets their first love.

Love is nothing but a joke, a feeling that will only break your heart in the long run. And now....my heart is as cold as ice.

Mercilessly turning men down or breaking up with them first before they ever get a chance to either hurt me or just grow tired of me.

A few months ago:

I had fish to fry once again. I already knew my current boyfriend Song Myung-bak was cheating on me with Hee-mi.

I was always one step ahead whenever I found out he was slipping up a few weeks ago. Today I was out with my ¹Seonbaes in the ocean near the port of Gunsan. Jae-seung and I were swimming around looking for the leatherback sea turtle.

"²YAH! YAH! JAE-SEUNG AH! NA-YOUNG AH!" Yelled Cho Chang-woo with worry as he was concerned for their well being.

"³Hyung! It's okay! Don't panic! They're wearing oxygen tanks, remember?" Spoke Do Won-Sul calmly trying to calm Chang-woo down.

"I know! But it just terrifies me that they've been underwater for so long looking for that damn sea turtle!" Replied Chang-woo with worry.

"Oh come on Hyung! Look at where we are! We're at the ocean! Relaxing with our Hubae who owns a boat! And might I add that it's a yatch! And she's letting us have it for a whole month's vacation! Isn't it exciting?" Replied So Kyung-ho with excitement as he reeled in a fish.

"Yeah Hyung! Come on in! The water is fine!" Spoke Hwan Hae-il and Yeo Jong-soo in a relaxed state as they floated in the water with their doughnut floats.

Chang woo looked at them all with an annoyed look. "We already work in the ocean you idiots! Y'all treat our job like an everyday vacation you lazy brats! Plus I'm not a big fan of the ocean which is why I worry for Jae-seung and Na-young!" Replied Chang-woo firmly.

"Yah! Jae-seung ah! Na-young ah! It's time for dinner!" Yelled Kim Kwang-min at the top of his lungs catching Jae-seung's attention.

Jae-seung hears Kwang-min calling them and he turns to Na-young signaling her that it's time to go in which she nods her head slightly whilst giving him a thumbs up. Jae-seung and Na-young explode out of the water flipping their hair back looking like a beautiful merman and mermaid.

"Come on Na-young ⁴ssi! Kwang-min Hyung made ⁵Gopchang-gui and ⁶Kimchi!" Spoke Jae-seung with a charming smile as he ran his hand through his Carmel brown hair.

Na-young only gives him a small smile. "Sorry Jae-seung....but I can't join you guys for dinner today. There's....something I have to take care of." Replied Na-young placidly as she put on some mini shorts and then she dried her long, flowy, wavy jet black hair with a towel.

Jae-seung and the other's look at her with furrowed brows. They all know exactly why she's leaving. They already knew that her boyfriend was cheating on her and they didn't want her to think about it, which is the reason why they asked her to stay with them. But she refused.

"Na-young ssi.......are you leaving because of him? He's-"

"Jae-seung ah....I know you and everyone else know about Myung-bak cheating on me with Hee-mi. But you must understand that I'm going there to end things with him and I won't have mercy on him. So don't worry about it too much, okay? After all, I do know self defense thanks to Young-jae oppa." She says with a small smile on her face.

"Na-young ssi? Young-jae Hyung is on the phone for you!" Spoke Hae-il casually as he pointed at the boat's phone.

"Seonbae....tell him I'll call him later.....I'll see you guys another time. Have fun on the yacht! Take all the time you need, there's no hurry." She says with a small smile as she gets on her motorcycle and she drives away.

"Na-young!-"

"Enough Jae-seung. She has to finish this on her own. We can't meddle in this affair even if we want to tear Myung-bak apart." Replied Chang-woo firmly with a sigh as he and the others went to go eat.

Jae-seung could only watch Na-young drive away. He clenched his fists tightly as he turned to join the others for dinner.

I knew what I was expecting when I got home. But somehow watching it all unfold right in front of me hurt so much but all I felt was rage towards these two scumbags.

I slammed the door to our bedroom open in which they both jolted in surprise. Myung-bak was under the sheets of the bed towering over Hee-mi who continued to act all innocent.

"Na-young! Baby! I-Thought you were-" but before Myung-bak could finish his sentence I violently slapped him across the face once making sure that it hurt like a bitch and left a big red mark on his face.

"CUT THE BULLSHIT SONG MYUNG-BAK! PACK ALL OF YOUR STUFF! I WANT YOU OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!" I bellowed with fury as I looked at him with rage.

Myung-bak grabbed at his face as he stared daggers at me for slapping him. "WHY YOU CONNIVING WENCH! HOW DARE YOU-"

"I TOLD YOU THERE WOULD BE DIRE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU EVER CHEATED ME! YOU VIOLATED THE CONTRACT AND FOR THAT YOU MUST PAY SEVERELY!" I continued to bellow with rage. Hee-mi only smiled in amusement as she was enjoying seeing us fight.

Myung-bak still looked at me with rage. And he acted as if he didn't remember our dating contract. "WHAT FUCKING CONTRACT!? I DON'T REMEMBER EVER SIGNING ONE!" feigned Myung-bak acting as if he didn't remember about the contract.

"You really want to play this game? Fine! Here's a copy of the contract that you signed. Look at line 5 of the contract you simpleton." I replied firmly as she threw him the contract.

Myung-bak grabbed the the papers and he reads line 5 out loud. "Line 5. If a so -called boyfriend becomes unfaithful to party one (Shin Na-young) or what they (party one) think is unfaithful, party two (Song Myung-bak) must collect his things and leave. But before party two (Song Myung-bak) can leave he must also return everything thing they took from party one (Shin Na-young) with or without permission, this includes treasured valuables, expensive items, money, etc. party two (Song Myung-bak) will also stop getting assistance from party one (Shin Na-young) and their family on party two's (Song Myung-bak's) company and will be shut down immediately due to party two's (Song Myung-bak's) Malevolent ambitions etc. Therefore, party two (Song Myung-bak) is no longer associated with party one (Shin Na-young) nor party one's (Shin Na-young’s) family. WHAT!? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!-"

"I JUST FUCKING DID! FOR FIVE PAINSTAKING YEARS YOU'VE TREATED ME LIKE SHIT! YOU HAVE A LOT OF DEBT THAT YOU OWE ME...SINCE YOU HAVE A LOT OF FREE TIME YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PAY ME BACK BY THE END OF THIS MONTH. IF YOU FAIL TO DO SO, YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM MY LAWYER AND YOU KNOW HOW MERCILESS YOUNG-HO OPPA IS AS A LAWYER ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU MESS WITH ME HIS LITTLE SISTER." I bellowed with fury as I stared at Myung-bak with a cold glare.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! IF IT WASN'T FOR ME! YOU WOULDN'T BE WHERE YOU ARE TODAY! YOU NEVER NOT ONCE PAID ATTE-"

"WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS SICK FROM ANEMIA? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS STRUGGLING MENTALLY FROM MY DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY WITH ALL THE STRESS I HAD WITH MY OLD JOB? WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I WAS DISCRIMINATED AND TREATED UNJUSTLY AT MY OLD JOB!? I WAS THE ONLY ONE TRYING IN THIS ONE-SIDED RELATIONSHIP! I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERED OUR ANNIVERSARIES! I TRIED TO SPICE UP OUR LIFE BUT YOU WERE TOO BUSY PLAYING FIND THE CANNOLI WITH THIS BITCH! WHEN YOU HAD SOMETHING ALWAYS TROUBLING YOU I WAS THERE! YOU MADE ME MISERABLE AND LIKE AN IDIOT I STILL LOVED YOU..... AND NOW LOOK AT WHAT I'M DOING RETURNING YOUR KARMA. DOESN'T FEEL GOOD BEING TREATED THE WAY YOU TREATED ME NOW DOES IT? THAT MUST SUCK FOR YOU. YOU HAVE 12 HOURS TO GET ALL YOUR THINGS AND GO BEFORE A DEMOLISHING COMPANY COMES AND DESTROYS THE HOUSE." I growled with fury as I continued to give him a cold indifferent glare.

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Growled Myung-bak as he then reached for my neck when suddenly he was thrown back to the wall crashing into it.

I turned around and saw my eldest brother Young-Jae breathing heavily with rage. Young-Jae oppa is an MMA fighter and he punched Myung-bak in the gut so hard that it knocked him out.

"O-OPPA!" I yelled with shock as I saw my eldest brother seething with rage.

"NO ONE LAYS A FUCKING FINGER ON MY BABY SISTER! ESPECIALLY A PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A MAN LIKE YOU! GRAAAAH!" Growled Young-jae as he charged towards Myung-bak grabbing him by his collar and punching him violently in the face.

As Young-jae was about to punch Myung-bak once more. I stepped in and grabbed onto Young-jae's arm trying my best to stop him from delivering the blow.

"OPPA! STOP! HE'S NOT WORTH IT! LET'S GO HOME! PLEASE!" I yelled desperately trying to calm him down.

Young-jae looked back at me as I gave him a pleading look and he sighed heavily in defeat. He drops Myung-bak on his bottom and then he turns to look at Hee-mi who continues to look on with a mocking smile throughout the whole ordeal. This enrages my elder brother even more but I step in with my back turned to him as I give Hee-mi an icy indifferent glare.

"Awe! What is it cousin Na-young? Are you angry because I keep ruining your relationships? It's not my fault they think you're nothing but an ugly potato and a worthless nobody. It's not my fault that I'm so beautiful and most wanted of all." Smirks Hee-mi smugly as she twirls a few strands of hair with her fingers.

"YAH!" Bellowed Young-jae with a wrathful expression.

I held up my hand to stop my older brother from trying to tear Hee-mi apart as I looked back at him with a death stare. Young-jae only sighed and nodded his head. I turned my attention back to Hee-mi.

"Kwak Hee-mi...you only ever brought me pain and I'm sick of it. To say I tolerate you is a vast overstatement. For 8 years you kept tormenting me and I still don't why but I won't let a cheap expired coupon like you try to bring me down again. The only reason I let you get this far is for more of the reason to expose you." I reply firmly as I now grab Hee-mi's hair and I pull her hair down in which Hee-mi begins to panic seeing how freakishly strong I am.

"This is my one and final warning that I'm giving you....back off before you really wreck yourself! And I'll tell you this right now, you keep this up and you're really going to see what I'm made of and I won't have mercy! You're the reason why the gene pool needs a lifeguard." I replied indifferently as I threw Hee-mi back violently to the wall. She looked terrified.

I then turned on my heel and walked away from the house. Young-jae glowered at Hee-mi as he began to smirk smugly. "Mind her words Kwak Hee-mi....She's not the old Na-young you used to know. If she wanted to.....she could have kicked your ass now but unlike you she's a classy woman." Young-jae laughs at Hee-mi in mockery.

Young-jae then turned his attention to Myung-bak. "And you asshole! You better do as my sister says! Return everything that belongs to her and I mean all of it! You got less than 12 hours or I will personally be the one to annihilate you! UNDERSTAND!" Growled Young-jae as he threatened Myung-bak.

Myung-bak only nodded his head frantically as he hurried to get everything ready. Young-jae only laughed and walked away. Hee-mi only glared daggers at him. "Damn you and Na-young! I'll get y'all back! You'll see!" Thought Hee-mi to herself as she slammed her fists on the bed.

___________________________________________

¹(senior colleagues or mentor figures.)

²(a form of saying Hey in Korean.)

³(Means older brother either by blood related or an older male in the group.)

⁴(commonly used honorific amongst people of equal speech level.)

⁵(Gopchang-gui grilled beef small intestines.)

⁶(kimchi Slightly spicy Korean sauerkraut made from fermented vegetables Napa Cabbage, Daikon Radish, and carrots.)

[asianwhumpgalore]

Revenant (악귀) | Kdrama | Whump List

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Supernatural

Synopsis: When the door to another world opens, demons exist there. Ku San Young is possessed by one of those demons. Yeom Hae Sang can see the demon which has possessed Ku San Young. They try to figure out the truth behind the mysterious deaths related to the five sacred objects.

Length: 12 eps

Whump meter: ▲△△△△ 

✨ Rather boring for a horror mystery/thriller. Whump was also little, inconsistent, and underwhelming ✨

⚠️Trigger Content: S**cide and mentions of s**cide in pretty much every episode, dark themes, some disturbing imagery, mild horror. ⚠️⚠️Some SPOILERS will be found, proceed with caution⚠️⚠️

Whumpee: Yeom Hae Sang portrayed by Oh Jung Se

Ep 1 | [08:52] Trying to stop someone from taking their life, nearly hit by a car x2, hit by a car, falls on the ground, sees someone about to take their life, screaming out for them to stop, fails to stop them, in shock.

Ep 2 | [08:15] Hit in the back of the head with a shovel, unconscious | Wakes up on the ground, locked in a room with someone else, wrists bound behind his back, struggling to free himself, grunts, frees his hands from the rope, comforting other person while trying to escape, holding door closed for the other to escape, struggling, grunting | Holding ice pack on his wrist | In a room with fire, coughing, distressed, groaning, coughing more, screams | (in past) crying over his father's death, carried away, unconscious due to sickness | (sill in past) lying in a hospital, told his mother took her life | (still in past) calling out for his mother, watching his mother take her life, heavy breathing, calling out for his mother.

Ep 3-6 | None.

Ep 7 | Emotional, crying, screaming out for loved one, sobbing, falls to his knees.

Ep 8 | Cuts the palm of his hand x2, heavy breathing, cuts palm again, bleeding a lot | [27:55] Found unconscious on the ground bleeding a lot, concern for him, unresponsive | Conscious but unresponsive, hand bandaged (off-screen), red eyes, caught in a disturbing mental vision | Still unresponsive, taken to safety by ally (in vision) scared, panting | Still unresponsive, pulled out of car and falls to the ground, helped to walk, falls to the ground again, pulled to safety by injured hand, finally responsive, shallow breathing, teary-eyed.

Ep 9 | Emotional, crying.

Ep 10-11 | None.

Ep 12 | Angry, emotional | Arm slashed by attacker, stumbles back and crashes into ladder, falls to the ground, clutching arm, bleeding, groaning | [51:29] Slashed in the forehead, yells, clutching wound, falls back, pinned to the ground, stabbed in the abdomen, wincing, clutching wound, lying largely unresponsive on the ground, wound stepped on, screaming in pain, writhing on the ground, panting, lying unresponsive on the ground, passes out.

[90sloverwithinsomnia]

Fan Fic Master List:

Repost Old Kpop Fanfics:

Discussion about Some Old K-pop Fanfics - (06/08/2024)

These are some of many archived fanfics featuring 1st and 2nd Gen K-pop acts that I've come across recently. It's all in good fun, and maybe a bit cringeworthy!

The words in red are my thoughts on the fanfic, and I'll be ranking them out of 10 just for fun.

SM Town Out To Lunch (15/15) - (hgiel) Anrui, Kyorei, and Jacqui:

Separate from the saga, but a prelude none the less. DBSG has just made their debut, but their pretty boy singer is eating everyone in SM Town! Not even Junta's love can stop cannibalism.

I would recommend that 18+ read this fanfic. Some parts i enjoyed then others.(4/10)

Part 1 - (06/08/2024)

Part 2 - (06/08/2024)

Part 3 - (13/08/2024)

Part 4 - (13/08/2024)

Part 5 - (20/08/2024)

Part 6 - (21/08/2024)

Part 7 - (21/08/2024)

Part 8 - (21/08/2024)

Part 9 - (22/08/2024)

Part 10 - (22/08/2024)

Part 11 - (22/08/2024)

Part 12 - (22/08/2024)

Part 13 - (22/08/2024)

Part 14 - (22/08/2024)

Part 15 Final - (22/08/2024)

Vol 1 - Battle of the Boy Bands (23/23)

K-Pop and DBSG just put out albums and have are on a reality show, hosted by Se7en, to promote it. It isn't fun though, because Junta is their baby sitters, and the romantic drama is as thick and annoying as 90210.

This work is suitable for teen and up audiences.

Chapter 1 - (31/08/2024)

Chapter 2 - (31/08/2024)

Chapter 3 - (31/08/2024)

Chapter 4 - (31/08/2024)

Chapter 5 - (31/08/2024)

Chapter 6 - (07/09/2024)

Chapter 7 - (10/09/2024)

Chapter 8 - (15/09/2024)

Chapter 9 - Coming Soon!

Vol 2 - Sarang Hae Nippon

The TV show is over, now its time to vacation in Japan! Who knew it was impossible to avoid join street gangs in the Godzilla's home country? TaeBin seems to steer clear of them, but he's busy, seeing as he's in a "family way".

Coming Soon!

Vol 3 - Battle of the Boy Bands Season 2

Its time for the second season, luckily, Se7en isn't the host, TaeBin is. The drama isn't any less this time, the only thing that's changed is the increased trips to the hospital.

Coming Soon!

Full Moon Entertainment (26/26) - hgiel

Moon Hee Jun has just left SM Town and is going to create his OWN boy band, one better then H.O.T ever was. Unfortunately, all he has is the already formed band K-Pop and the North Korean they hit with their car.

Inspired by Vol - Battle of the Boy Bands Season 2 that also by hgiel.

Coming Soon!

Ouija Bored (1) - hgiel

The guys celebrate Halloween by playing with occult tools.

This work is suitable for teen and up audiences. I don't know about his one, it was fun to read but wish it was a bit longer.(6/10)

Chapter 1 - Coming Soon!

Oh, You're In The Army Now (3/3) - hgiel

EVERY gasso seems to be in the army now, and the rest have gone to the dogs, or streets. North Korea takes this opening to attack, and Moon Hee Jun, UBin, Chang Ryul, Yoo Min, and Desuk have to save The Republic of Korea by themselves.

Coming Soon!

12 Steps of Christmas (12/12) - hgiel

The 12 hours of an H.O.T Christmas.

This work is suitable for all audiences. These will be scheduled to be posted on the 25th of December.

Chapter 1 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 2 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 3 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 4 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 5 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 6 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 7 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 8 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 9 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 10 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 11 - (25/12/2024)

Chapter 12 - (25/12/2024)

Last Goodbye (1) - hgiel

Woo Hyun is about to enter the army, so he and Young One meet one last time before he goes.

Coming Soon!

Armageddon The Hell Out Of Here (1) - hgiel

H.O.T face the end of the world...

This work is suitable for teens and up audiences. Again, I'm not shore about this one, but it was okay it reminds me of 'War on the world's'.(4/10)

Chapter 1 - (05/09/2024)

A secret that is kept to us (5/?) - 90s_love:

Angel White and Crystal Light are two mysterious vigilantes who is after to destroy the illegal terrorist organization, Dark Archive. With their friend spirits, they protect the world. Meanwhile, their alter-egos are famous Kpop idols who have a rivalry within their groups. Can they keep their secret identities a secret from them?

This work is suitable for all audiences. I'm not really shore about his one, probably because its not finished, but it was okay.(5/10)

Chapter 1 - (22/08/2024)

Chapter 2 - (23/08/2024)

Chapter 3 - (23/08/2024)

Chapter 4 - (23/08/2024)

Chapter 5 - (23/08/2024)

Switch Rivals (21/21) - 90s_love:

Modern version of the 90's kpop idol scene. H.O.T and Sechskies are forever rivals. But what will happen when one member from each team switch bodies?

This work is suitable for all audiences. By chapter 5, i was hooked, i really enjoyed this one. I might even read it again because of how good it was.(9/10)

Chapter 1 - (26/08/2024)

Chapter 2 - (26/08/2024)

Chapter 3 - (26/08/2024)

Chapter 4 - (26/08/2024)

Chapter 5 - (26/08/2024)

Chapter 6 - (28/08/2024)

Chapter 7 - (28/08/2024)

Chapter 8 - (28/08/2024)

Chapter 9 - (28/08/2024)

Chapter 10 - (28/08/2024)

Chapter 11 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 12 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 13 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 14 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 15 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 16 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 17 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 18 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 19 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 20 - (29/08/2024)

Chapter 21 Finale - (29/08/2024)

Project Kwangya - Alternatives Talles (10/?) - Cally_Kop:

Several tales using SM Idols as characters. Since the company decided to bring all the Idols together in the shared universe idea, where all the MV's, lyrics and all the promotional material of the company's Idols would tell a story, like Marvel and its shared universe.

Here, small stories will be posted using this same idea, that each Idol has a role and story to tell, being able to interfere in the stories of other characters. From Kangta to Aespa, to EXO, SHINee, Red Velvet, Girls Generation, NCT, all SM idols appeared.

Coming Soon!

Warrior's Descendants (6/6) - AuspiciousAutumn:

H.O.T are so close to becoming an active group again, but not everyone is keen with them doing it on their own terms.

I would recommend that 18+ read this fanfic.

Chapter 1 - (22/09/2024)

Chapter 2 - (22/09/2024)

Chapter 3 - (22/09/2024)

Chapter 4 - (22/09/2024)

Chapter 5 - (22/09/2024)

Chapter 6 Final - (22/09/2024)

12 days of Super Junior, a Christmas fic (12/12) - plincess_cho:

As Super Junior contemplate what they want for Christmas, they realize that above all, they want to be together.

This work is suitable for all audiences.

Coming Soon!

Red Velvet and the haunted dorms [Ft. Super Junior] (1) -plincess_cho:

Red Velvet move into Super Junior's old dorms. But are their dorms really haunted like everyone says?

This work is suitable for all audiences.

Chapter 1 - (15/09/2024)

2014 → 2000 (2/?) - Inodot:

Mir was and still is a big g.o.d fan. One day, after saving a child from getting hit by a car, he somehow ended up in 2000 when g.o.d were still active. He tries not to mess with time but couldn't help but to think that he can prevent their hiatus from happening.

This work is suitable for all audiences.

Chapter 1 - (21/09/2024)

Chapter 2 - (21/09/2024)

Translated Fanfics:

As these Fanfics are translated from there original language to English there might be some translation mistakes.

Masters of the Game (8/8) - maresca:

Human life is a Game. It includes both random dice rolls and multi-move strategic combinations. When human life reaches a stalemate, the Game Masters enter the Game. The Game Masters declare the beginning of the Game.

This work is suitable for teens and up audiences.

Coming Soon!

Zhou Gong also cannot interpret dreams (1) - memeflosalvo:

Chinese - Mandarin to English.

I would recommend that 18+ read this fanfic.

Coming Soon!

[dramashii]

A Haunting Tale; CW: Revenant

There are 3 things that usually makes me want to watch a drama: 1. The actors. I have a list of actors and actresses whose dramas I will watch regardless of the genre they're in. 2. The writer. If I liked a writer's previous work, I'll probably check out their next one. 3. The plot. If the synopsis catches my attention, I'll probably check out the drama.

It's not often for me to see a drama which has those 3 things together. But the kdrama, Revenant does. It's starring actors I admire and is written by Kim Eun Hee, the writer behind Signal and Kingdom. When I came to know about this, I knew I needed to see it. I have watched the 1st 12 eps and this is interesting.

Revenant is a 12-episode thriller, horror kdrama starring Kim Tae Ri, Oh Jung Se and Hong Kyung. It is about an evil spirit possessing Kim Tae Ri's character, Ku San Young. This leads to mysterious deaths surrounding her. The trio will try to make sense as to why these deaths occur.

There's a trigger warning before each episode begins because the death scenes are pretty graphic.

I don't normally watch shows of the horror genre because tbh I easily get frightened, but I actually didn't get scared that much with this. To my surprise, I watched this show without pausing that much which I often do when I watch anything of the horror genre. But then again, I made sure to watch the eps when the sun was already out (I'll probably never watch this at night lol) There were moments that have an eerie and creepy feeling to them. There were jump scares and scenes that made my heartbeat go a little fast. The first scene of the first episode was already pretty intense (to me) and I think definitely set the tone of the drama. To me, the second episode was creepier than the first.

The show is pretty fast-paced which makes total sense as this will be only 12 episodes. A lot has happened already. The first 2 eps have revealed most of the motivations of the main characters. There's even a little snippet of how the demon have come into existence. Curious to know more about the story of the demon tbh.

The actors and actresses are good in their respective characters. I also enjoy how the plot has cultural relevance to it. Oh Jung Se's character, Yeom Hae Sang is a folklore professor and so, there are mentions of folklores.

Overall, this drama is okay. I'm really curious about how the story is going to go. I just hope this doesn't drag and stay as interesting as it is. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope this gets even creepier.

[duahauuoplanh]

oh hae young again // my liberation notes writer: Park Hae-young

[herbs-and-poultices]

Once in a while I get the terrible urge to share that my taste in music is even weirder than my taste in fiction. (What's a random American gal with no English/Scottish/Irish heritage doing listening mostly to songs like these? Blame my parents for raising me on murder ballads and ceilidh tunes.) So here is:

A Vaguely Whumptober-Themed Anthology of Folk Songs from the British Isles / Transatlantic Tradition: Part 1

1) "But now this room is spinning while I'm just trying to fill in all the gaps" / Swooning: Plains of Waterloo

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

How to make sure your girl still loves you, according to folklore: tell her you're dead and see if she faints

2) "I'll call out your name, but you won't call back" / Delirium: Battle of Waterloo

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

Jeannie, oh Jeannie, I am surely done Stricken doon in battle at the mooth o' Boney's guns Jeannie, oh Jeannie, aye sae dear tae me Let me hold you in my mind afore I dee

3) "Like crying out in empty rooms, with no one there except the moon": Anderson's Coast

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A tale of tragedy upon tragedy during the Transportations

We stole a vessel and all her gear And where are you, my Annie? And from Van Dieman's we north did steer 'Till Bass Strait's wild waves wrecked us here Oh Annie dear, don't wait for meI fear I shall not return to theeThere's not to do but endure my fate, And watch the moon, the lonely moon, light the breakers on wild Bass Strait

4) "I see the danger, it's written there": Sir Patrick Spens

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A shipwreck song

The king he wrote a broad letter and he sealed it with his hand And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens, walking out on the strand: "To Norway, to Norway, to Norway o'er the foam With all my lords and finery, to bring my new bride home" The first line that Sir Patrick read, he gave a weary sigh The next line that Sir Patrick read, the salt tear blinds his eye Oh who is it, oh who is it, who told the king of me To set us out this time of year to sail across the sea...

5) "You better hope I don't get up this time" : El Fusilado

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

Stretching the music genre and the prompt a bit here, but this is a great cover by a band that does a lot of traditional folk, and I feel like surviving a firing squad is 1) folk-song worthy and 2) enough to make anyone think twice about messing with you

6) "Do or die, you'll never make me, because the world will never take my heart": Tam Lin

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

One of the better-known English ballads. The intrepid heroine goes someplace she shouldn't, meets an elfin knight, falls in love with him, learns that he his a changeling held captive by the fae, and braves the wrath of the Faerie Queen to save her love from becoming the faeries' Halloween sacrifice

7) "Can you hear me?": Springhill Mining Disaster

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X (cw: real event still within living memory)

Listen for the shouts of the dark-faced miners Listen through the rubble for the rescue teams Three hundred tons of coal and slag Hope imprisoned in a three-foot seam

8) "I have a soul, but I'm not a soldier" / All for nothing: Green Fields of France

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain The killing and dying, were all done in vain For, young Willie McBride, it's all happened again And again, and again, and again, and again

9) Mistaken Identity: Bonnie Banks of Fordie

Listen to my favorite recording here: X (cw: suicide mentioned)

An old ballad that gets darker the more you think about it

Gae tell tae me your brither's name My brither's name it's Babylon... Oh sister, what hae I done tae thee Hae I done this dreadful thing tae thee...

10) Stranded: The Golden Vanity

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A tale of a tragic hero and a cruel ship's captain

Quickly he swam back, to the cheering of the crew But the captain did not heed him, for his promise he did rue And he scorned his poor entreatings when loudly he did sue And he left him in the Lowland Sea

11) No One Will Find You: Twa Corbies

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

There's mony a ane for him maks mane But nane sall ken whaur he is gane O'er his white banes when they are bare The wind sall blaw forevermair

12) "I haven't slept in days, but who's counting?" / I'm up, I'm up: Off to Sea Once More

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

Whaling was not a fun time

Some times we're catching whales, me lads, some times we're catching none With a twenty-foot oar stuck in your paw, from four o'clock in the morn And as the shades of night roll on and you rest on your weary oar, It was then that I wished that I was dead and could go to sea no more

13) "I don't feel so good": Lord Randall

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X X

One of the better-known English ballads. A tale of deadly betrayal: A young man returning home at the end of the day thinks he just inordinately tired. A more careful accounting of the day's events reveals the terrible truth. Versions vary as to who did the deed, but the young lord's fate is always the same.

14) Just Hold On: Skye Boat Song

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

Some of you may recognize the tune. The traditional lyrics memorialize the aftermath of the Jacobite defeat at Culloden

Burned are their homes, exile and death scatter the loyal men Yet ere the sword cool in the sheath, Charlie will come again

15) Makeshift Bandages: Twa Brithers

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

Now you'll take off your white Holland shirt An' teer it frae gore* tae gore An' you will bind my deadly wounds That they might bleed no more So he's ta'en off his white Holland shirt An' he's torn it frae gore tae gore An' though he's bound his deadly wounds Ah, they bled ten times more *seam

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Categorizing Parent-related Trauma for male and female leads in Kdramas:

Orphans: Lee Hong-jo (Destined With You) Moon Gang-tae (It's Okay to Not be Okay) Moon Sang-tae (It's Okay to Not be Okay) Ha-ru (Extraordinary You) Naksu/Cho Yeong (Alchemy of Souls) Tak Dong-kyung (Doom at Your Service) Nam Ji-ah* (Tale of the Nine Tailed) Cheon Sa-Rang (King the Land) Jang Man-wol (Hotel del Luna) Yoon Yi-seo (100 Days My Price) Kang Young-hwa (Moon in the Day) Kim Do-ha (Moon in the Day) So Mun (The Uncanny Counter) Do Ha-na (The Uncanny Counter) Kang Tae-moo (Business Proposal) Kang Tae-ha (The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, present version) Lee Heon (The Forbidden Marriage) Do Do-hee (My Demon) Ji Eun-tak (Guardian: The Great and Lonely God) Na Bong-seon (Oh My Ghost) Kang Cheol (W: Two Worlds) Do Da-hae (The Atypical Family) Yeom Hae-sang (Revenant) Jeong Ji-an (A Shop for Killers) Shin Jae-rim (Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale) Kim Ji-uk**** (No Gain No Love)

Half Orphans with loving remaining parent: Eun Dan-oh (Extraordinary You) Koo Chan-sung (Hotel del Luna) Ye So-ran (The Forbidden Marriage) Nam Ha-neul (Doctor Slump) Yu Ji-hyck (Marry My Husband) Kang Hee-soo (Captivating the King) Choi Yi-jae (Death's Game) Im Sol (Lovely Runner) Ryu Sun-jae (Lovely Runner) Lee Chang (Kingdom) Lee Geum, Prince Yeoning (Haechi) Gu San-yeong (Revenant) Son Hae-yeong (No Gain No Love)

Half Orphan + Remaining Parent is THE WORST: Jang Uk (Alchemy of Souls) Kim Do-ha (My Lovely Liar) Lee Yul (100 Days My Price) Ahn Min-hyuk (Strong Woman Bong-Soon) Seo Mok-ha (Castaway Diva) Gong Tae-seong (Sh**ting Stars) Kang Tae-ha (The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, past version) Yi In (Captivating the King) Kang Ji-won (Marry My Husband) Kang Sun-woo (Oh My Ghost)

Parents (at least one) are THE WORST but Both Are Still Alive: Jang Shin-yu (Destined With You) Han Yi-joo (Perfect Marriage Revenge) Ko Mun-young** (It's Okay to Not be Okay) Mok Sol-hee (My Lovely Liar) Gu Won (King the Land) Crown Prince Lee Hwi/Dam-yi/Yeon-seon (The King's Affection) Do Bong-soon (Strong Woman Bong-Soon) Woo Young-woo (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)*** Jung Ji-woon (The King's Affection) Kang Bo-geol/Lee Ki-ho (Castaway Diva) Yeo Jeong-woo (Doctor Slump) Hong Hae-in (Queen of Tears) On Eun-yoo (Twinkling Watermelon) Oh Yeon-joo (W: Two Worlds) Yoon Ji-ho (Because This Is My First Life) Nam Se-hee (Because This Is My First Life) Bok Gwi-ju (The Atypical Family) Moon Cha-min (Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale)

Immortal Being that Still Somehow has Parent Issues: Myul Mang/Doom (Doom at your Service) Lee Yeon & Lee Rang (Tale of the Nine Tailed) Jeong Gu-won (My Demon)

Added trauma flavour: Parent was murdered in front of them (**Still counts if they survived the murder Parent tried to murder them Dying from seemingly incurable disease which makes their parents/guardian sad (If your parents are alive, you must pay for it by dying yourself) Adoptive parent/stepparent is THE WORST

Somehow has normal, alive parents: Lee Jun-ho (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Has no backstory at all. We only meet his older sister and hear nothing about his childhood.) Shin Ha-ri (Business Proposal, her family is refreshingly normal, right down to her brother being sent out to find her when she's drunk) Oh Han-byeol (Sh**ting Stars, Again, we know almost nothing about her family, only that she has twin sisters. But she doesn't appear to have childhood trauma.) Park Yeon-woo (The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, her mom being annoyed at her for something that is a crime doesn't count as bad parenting) Lee Young-joon/Sung-hyun (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, his trauma comes from a kidnapper, his parents faced a pretty impossible situation and did their best. They clearly love their kids) Baek Hyun-woo (Queen of Tears, nothing wrong with them out of the ordinary and they are in the drama a significant amount.) Ha Eun-gyeol (Twinkling Watermelon, very loving parents and the deafness and their reliance on him is not anyone's fault)

*Counting her as an orphan even though she gets her parents back after 20 years, she spent her childhood orphaned. ***This character is tricky because I understand why her mother wanted nothing to do with her, but her trying to manipulate the dad and also saying he didn't raise her properly made me so angry. ****This character is tricky because he was explicitly raised as an orphan by his grandma, his father didn't sign his birth certificate (Korean equivalent of this), and he's registered as the child of his grandmother, not his actual mom. His grandma is dead by the beginning of the series and he is living alone without family, so I think he counts as an orphan.

Uncatagorized due to lack of clarity on parents: Soundtrack #1, Hospital Playlist, Happiness

[mizldrizl]

More thoughts/information on Beyond Evil...

In Korean, it's quite common to use "우리 (literally "our") to show the intimacy between you and the person you're referring to. It can be considered as an equivalent of "my" in English in a way. Dong Sik's mother says "우리 동식이 (our Dong Sik-yi)" for her son; Nam Sang Bae has Dong Sik's number registered as the same on his phone; Jung Je's mother says "우리 아들 (our son)" for her son; Kang Jin Mook and Dong Sik each says "우리 민정이 (our Min Jung-yi)" for Min Jung. As you can see, it's not something used between family members only. (And yes, the "yi" rule applies here too!) Meaning, I can totally see Dong Sik calling Joo Won "우리 주원이 (our Joo Won-yi)" when they're in a romantic relationship. Joo Won might not like it because it can sound like Dong Sik is babying him, depending on how he delivers it. Like:

Dong Sik: Aigoo, is our Joo Won-yi mad at me now?

Joo Won: Don't baby me, Lee Dong Sik-ssi!

(Again, the Merlin-calling-Arthur-my-lord-or-sire-sarcastically vibe)

At this point, I wonder Han Ki Hwan has ever referred to Joo Won "우리 주원이 (our Joo Won-yi) in the show. Did he when he met Hwang Gwang Young and Cho Gil Gu? Was the line something like "Are you our Joo Won-yi's colleagues?"? Whether my memory is correct or not, that's the only moment I can think of when Han Ki Hwan would ever say it. Even if he did, it would be closer to meaning "my son." Honestly, I'm more familiar with his cold/angry "Han Joo Won"s.

In Korea, women don't change their surnames when they get married. In other words, there is no name change for women due to marriage and divorce. That's why it is quite difficult to translate "Ms" and "Mrs" to Korean. This also means you can't know a mother's surname from her child's surname. For example, the name of Yoo Jae Yi's mother is Han Jung Im; Han Joo Won's mother, Lee Soo Yeon; Kang Min Jung's mother, Yoon Mi Hye; Park Jung Je's mother, Do Hae Won. Therefore, you should avoid using, say, "Mrs. Lee" for Lee Dong Sik's mother or "Mrs. Oh" for the Oh siblings' mother.

Okay, that's all for now. Thank you for reading!

[bolllywoodhungama]

A Wonderful Day to Be a Dog Review: Cha Eun Woo and Park Gyu Young star in this comedy about the furries and furies of a cursed person.

Park Gyu Young, Cha Eun Woo, and Lee Hyun Woo feature in the fantasy romcom A Good Day To Be A Dog. A Good Day to be a Dog is a fantasy romcom based on author Lee Hye's webtoon of the same name. It stars Park Gyu Young, Cha Eun Woo, and Lee Hyun Woo. The drama premiered on October 11, 2023, and will run until the first week of January 2024. For overseas audiences, the drama is available on Viki and Viu.

Physical intimacy is an important component of dating, but what if it is the source of conflict in your relationship? Park Hae Na has been afflicted by it her entire life. So much so that she is being chastised by her friends and colleagues for never kissing her boyfriends. However, she is unable to explain why. What is she going to say? "Oh, I turn into a dog when I kiss because of an ancestral curse." People will think she's insane. Hae Na is in a bad way. She is now a homeroom teacher at a high school known as the BUKC, or Breaking Up Kissing Couples. She has a crush on fellow history teacher Mr Lee Bo Gyeon and kisses him one fateful night. Except it's Mr Jin Seon Woo, another teacher at the school who is cold and aloof to Hae Na. Hae Na's curse can be broken only if she kisses the same person again, but this time in her dog form. She tries to kiss Mr Jin in her dog form, but as luck would have it, Mr Jin is terrified of dogs. His apprehension derives from a bullying experience when he was younger. All of this is revealed in the two episodes that have already broadcast. We also witness where Hae Na's family curse began. There were flashbacks to the past, specifically to 1592, when the entire incident occurred. Mr Lee also mentions in one of his seminars that he wishes he could go back to that year and change history. In keeping with the show's lighthearted tone, we see Hae Na in awkward circumstances that are sure to make you laugh. Park Hae Na, Par Gyu Young's character, is like any other 20-something lady attempting to make her own way in life by dating and meeting new people. But that dreadful curse! She is bubbly and cheery, yet she is also determined. We watch Hae Na, like every female star in a romcom, getting herself into hilariously awkward situations all the time. Lee Hyun Woo's character Lee Bo Gyeom is the sort that you will like right away. The audience, like the students in the play, is bound to develop a crush on him soon (if they haven't already!) Jin Seo Woo, played by Cha Eun Woo, is a typical tsundere character. Why? Let's see what happens - 1. He is aloof. 2. He rarely expresses emotion. 3. Among all of his coworkers, he is only close to Bo Gyeom. 4. He never smiles. Hae Na even commented that Seo Woo's only smile was a small upturn of his lips. Such fantasy tales with a curse and a connection between the leads' ancestors are highly entertaining to see. It gives you much to ponder about, theorize about, and fawn over at the same time! The primary characters, supporting characters, and plot of the story are all introduced in the first two episodes. The new soundtrack and sound effects sprinkled throughout the drama contribute to the vitality of each moment. The one-hour length of each episode perfectly encapsulates the tale. A Good Day to Be a Dog is a fun approach to beat the mid-week blues.