#or like? drugs?? he could be a drug dealer ig since he can make safely consumable things

[benetnvsch]

WAIT WAIT- playing through the current Mayoi event for the first time and ?? Kunikida makes perfectly edible food from his notebook which the others enjoy ,, which ,, idk I just figured organic things were off the table which once again makes me wonder,,

Can Kunikida create life (what would happen if he wrote something like idk, worm,,, baby squirrel,, or something do we know)

[rorybergstrom]

𝑫𝑰𝑫 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬𝑩𝑶𝑫𝒀 𝑶𝑹𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑨 𝑩𝑰𝑺𝑬𝑿𝑼𝑨𝑳 𝑹𝑶𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑲𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝒀𝑵𝑻𝑯 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫  ???

            hello, it’s nora again…. hitting u with another child. a south london-born softboi who deserves tenderness. has a burner phone and doesn’t use social media. does techno dj sets. plays the synth loudly through the night if u live in gorham his room always sounds like a space ship just landed. deals weed around campus on his rollerskates. hates that he can’t get new light up wheels because ana coto made rollerskating cool again. as is tradition, here’s the pinterest board. this intro is recycled?? so if theres mistakes, sue me??? and be sure to like and subscribe for more unboxing content x

application.

『 FIONN WHITEHEAD ❙ DEMI-MALE』 ⟿ looks like RORY BERGSTRÖM is here for HIS JUNIOR year as a MUSIC TECHNOLOGY student. HE is 23 years old & known to be ECCENTRIC, FANATICAL, NITPICKY & DOGMATIC. They’re living in GORHAM, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ ooc name. age. tz. pronouns. 

aesthetics.

bed hair from a permanent state of slumber, calloused fingertips from strumming bass into the early hours and djing into the blacklit night, self-help books thumbed once and thrown beneath your bed, battered copies of choose your own adventure books, spliffs passed half-arsed across rooftops while light pollution obscures low-hanging stars, marxist literature in stacks against your bedroom walls, a burner phone twice-shattered and a stash of replacement sim cards.

tw ocd, anxiety, drugs

half-swedish, half-british. the swedish is on his mother’s side. he’s bilingual but thinks in english. only really speaks swedish around his mother. only child, and kinda put a lot of pressure on himself to be the perfect kid when he was young, but his parents are honestly, quite decent? and just want him to have a nice life, they don’t care if he isn’t successful or rich or anything, they’re honestly rather solid. (wow imagine having nice parents, a first for all my characters, im literally this meme)

grew up in peckham, a suburb of london. growing up, his mum was a model / actress / waitress who later retrained as a speech therapist and his dad worked in her majesty’s service at buckingham palace. his dad wasn’t allowed to tell his family what his job entailed but rory suspects it’s probably very boring and just involves a lot of…. logistics n security.

was bullied a lot at school. [cole sprouse voice] he didn’t fit in and he didn’t want to fit in. unironically wore a trenchcoat to school every day of his life. spent most of his lunchtimes in the library because it was his safe space. as a result he knows…. loads of useless information because 30% of his school years were spent reading anthologies on space and the vikings etc. would be good on a game show. obsessively recorded every episode of university challenge as a child.

middle-class and lowkey quite wealthy but rarely talks about money, one of those well-off people who still wears really old shitty shoes and only spends money if they absolutely have to

virgin who can’t drive

into star wars, not into the big bang theory. feminist. can’t watch horror movies

favourite film is where the wild things are. also loves the florida project. thinks kids are the sweetest thing and can’t wait to be a dad to some. right now is dad to one cat, whose name changes on a daily basis (identity is constantly shifting, duuuuude), but they were originally named ‘wheezer’

rory has been musical for as long as they can remember. first picked up guitar because he thought it would make this girl esther who he was in love with like him, but he just ended up falling in love with music instead.

formulated several different bands as a kid but ultimately had to give it up cos he was quite controlling and got fixated on making a certain sound so it wasn’t really fun for the others. got into electronic music because it was something he could do basically on his own and keep tweaking until he got it perfect

always drumming their fingers or strumming invisible guitar strings. tends to avoid parties bc he has quite has specific tastes when it comes to music and doesn’t like listening to r&b for eight hours while people throw up into plastic cups.

a techno connoisseur. has been making electronic music since he was about twelve.

after his parents divorce, when he was fourteen, rory & his mother moved to run-down suburban neighbourhood, pittsfield, massachussets.

big into photography. he mostly uses a canon 35mm camera, but occasionally uses disposable ones when he wants that more rustic feel.

moving to the states, their photography became more focused on suburban neighborhoods and are often quite dark and cinematic (think gregory crewsden). here are some shots of pittsfield i really like which rory has on his wall [1] [2] [3]

falls in love 12 times a day. never had a girlfriend or boyfriend. gets sweaty when someone cute looks at him. flirting?? what?? would prefer to idealise them from a distance

gender??? hm. doesn’t really know where he fits yet, sometimes he feels like a guy and sometimes they dont feel like anything at all. isn’t really bothered, cos they think it’s a social construct anyway. uses he/they pronouns interchangeably, but feels like ‘he’ is more fitting. won’t necessarily pull anyone up on it cos he knows having an identity that’s constantly…. in flux.. can be annoying for others … and doesn’t want to be a burden even tho it isn’t at all?? rory internalises guilt

everything is socially constructed. mirrors let you move through time. the whole thing’s a metaphor. he thinks he’s got free will but really he’s trapped in a maze. in a system. all he can do is consume. people think it’s a happy game. it’s not a happy game — it’s a fucking nightmare world, and the worst thing is, it’s real and we live in it

has ocd. tries to let it affect his life as little as possible, but obviously it’s incredibly hard to control a compulsive disorder. was teased for it at school when other kids started to notice. he was obsessed with the number five, would wash his hands five times, count stairs i groups of five, he could only use the corridors in one direction and always had to keep his hands busy. it manifests itself in hyper-fixations (trains when he was a child – specifically steam engines – then later he became obsessed with space and the patterns of constellations, and now he’s obsessed with synthesizers) and repetitive behaviours like counting stairs. doesn’t really affect his social life at all, he can jst get a bit locked-on n hyper-focused sometimes.

has insomnia. barely ever sleeps. finds it hard to switch off from work / writing / gaming / whatever’s preoccupying him in that moment. he’s always awake at 5am and quite often sleeps in through classes but still gets really good grades because he’s very good at his course. rarely attends classes. prefers to work independently. doesn’t really trust his tutors are intelligent enough to be teaching him, and is particularly suspicious of the lockwood tutors. a music snob tbh

secretly a small-scale drug dealer, only does weed n some party pills. rollerskates around campus dealing cos they dnt have a car

likes: techno, the webpage cats on synthesizers in space, allen ginsberg, vintage gramophones,  floating points, lcd soundsystem, marijuana, soft dogs that let you pet them, late-night strolls talking about the universe, independent films, cigarettes, herbal tea, gallows humour, long showers, brown eyes, tchaikovsky, dr. seuss, constellations, photography, late night jazz, vintage game boys and girls who could rip his still-beating heart out of his chest and use it as an ashtray. dislikes:  weddings, funerals, formality, button-up shirts that people actually button-up, bananas, hot coffee, social media, people who watch and play sports, rap music – especially of the misogynistic variety, indie wankers in wire-framed glasses that play ed sheeran songs at open mic nights.

plot ! with ! me ! i’d say all the usual “exes fwb hookups spiel” but rory… is very tender and tame… i feel like a deer in the headlights of love……. so give me

study buddies,

people who are also into techno and are music snobs about it,

people who love all kinds of music,

people who are in bands that maybe rory’s recorded and produced stuff for,

people he actually jams with (he plays bass and synth),

unrequited crushes!!

someone they met at a knitting club in freshman year and have remained friends with despite no longer going to it

people rory knows from open mic nights and gigs

library girlfriends / boyfriends that he stares at longingly while paging through leatherbound volumes

gamers !!! social recluses !!! hermits !!

people he deals weed to on his rollerskates (why r all my characters obsessed with rollerskates)

skaters. rory is really shit at skateboarding. like really shit. help the smol

hm now that rory has !Evolved! ig we can do hook up plots if u want but he’s not tht good at divorcing sex from emotion?? like he  hooked up w teddy once n felt hopelessly inlove so..... if u want soft plots b prepared for crippling sadness.......

stay groovy XD XD

[notribs]

hello hello ! it is may again and i... am still 20, using she/her, and in the eastern standard timezone. i can’t say that’s changed in the amount of time between intros. anyway, i do want to say that i like this gif because i feel like it.............. is an accurate representation of ribs at........... almost all times.

‹ TREVANTE RHODES, HE/HIM, CIS MAN, BISEXUAL. › DAVID “RIBS” SHAFFER is the TWENTY-EIGHT year old from EMERYVILLE, CA. when a friend asked them what they thought of the manor they said, ❝ IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEWHERE JAMIE LEE WOULD BE LURED INTO. ❞ they claim ANY HORROR MOVIE WITH JAMIE LEE CURTIS IN IT is their favorite scary movie, and if they were to die in a horror film they would EXPLAIN TO THE KILLER THAT THERE WAS NO WAY HE MET THE CRITERIA FOR THE ‘FINAL GIRL’… JUST TO BE KILLED IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS SPEECH. their fears include HALLUCINATING, PARALYZATION and FIREWORKS, and they don’t know we know, but… HE MADE MONEY AS A DEALER WHILE HE WAS STILL WAITING FOR THE BAND TO TAKE OFF. hope they enjoy their stay. ‹ MUSE B from STRESSED OUT. ›

QUICK FACTS:

full name: david “ribs” isaiah shaffer

date of birth: december 1, 1992

*does not perfectly reflect the below Big Three zodiac chart because that’s so much math

zodiac big three: sagittarius sun, capricorn moon, pisces rising

gender & pronouns: cis man & he/him

sexual orientation: bisexual

occupation: drummer + backup songwriter + history of drug dealing

the song i listen to on repeat while i write the intro: “make or break” - bugzy malone

BACKGROUND INFO:

triggers: violence, mentions of drug dealing, very very very brief mention of self-harm (not the product of a mental illness which is why i forgot to include this until i looked at it again this morning - the product of wanting to keep a lie), very very brief mention of guns and fire in the ‘fears’ section

born to a very loving family bc i need a sunnier background hasfkljwas 

david was never EVER academically inclined. he’ll tell you it’s because he just wasn’t interested and was too involved in music and boxing, both of which will be gone over soon, but that wasn’t entirely true. he was also very busy working odd jobs days and nights as a kid and days and nights at successful businesses when he was 16+ (see: papa john’s)

his parents did own a music shop! they were clearly doing their part! but, in the digital era and the era of guitar center, they were only getting so much traction. they were also much too calm about it, at least outwardly, so david felt as though he needed to help.

but it is true that he spent a lot of time practicing music and boxing! as just mentioned, his parents owned a music store and were both very musically inclined. they taught him how to be, at the very least, INTERMEDIATE at as many instruments as possible. he can now confidently say that, if the band ever needed it, he could play the guitar, piano, bass, or saxophone. 

that being said, his instrument of choice was the drums. he began using jazz drummers, as well as various hip-hop beats, as his inspiration. his original inspirations were buddy rich, gene krupa, chico hamilton, art blakey, and the beats of grime and 90s rap.

it shows.

when he ventured into other genres, however, he began taking inspiration from nick mason, john bonham, neil peart, keith moon, ginger baker, karen carpenter, and ringo starr 

(i have a music theory + history lesson for you if you think ringo is a bad drummer ok - he was a “songwriter’s drummer,” which is much more important to being a drummer in a band than being technically skilled or being able to show off with complex patterns and, thus, overshadowing the song. that’s why the beatles continued asking ringo to play the drums on their songs, even after they broke up. john lennon never said “he’s not even the best drummer in the beatles” - a radio dj made that joke and people started taking it literally. love that.)

(also the same goes for nick mason but his drumming is rly only brought up when he’s brought up since pink floyd isn’t as talked about as the beatles)

ALSO!!! i have decided to be passionate about karen carpenter because girl won a 1975 poll that pit her against john bonham for best drummer and he got so mad and said she couldn’t last ten minutes with led zeppelin. the following is just alleged, but oh my god i hope it’s true: then she proceeded to compliment his drumming, say that she thinks it’s all very subjective, then got behind her set and played “babe i’m gonna leave you” while singing and not missing a single note. we have decided to stan forever.

he also took up boxing. as a kid, he was just practicing and taking any excess frustration out. when he turned 14, however, he found an opportunity in an underground circuit. he started fighting against other people, for real, and would be paid if he won the fight.

so: school from 8a-3p, drum practice from 3:30p-7:30p (i know), family from 8p-10p, boxing from 11p-2a.

his parents knew he boxed, but didn’t know it was as dangerous as it was. they assumed there were more safeguards in place..... but boy was bringing in a LOT of money for there to be a lot of safeguards in place. because of this, david NEVER let them see his matches.

when he was 16, he’d broken his ribs during one of the fights and refused to see a doctor over it. what did he say happened when his parents could TELL something was wrong? he said that he’d been mugged and beaten up. to support this theory, before he ‘showed’ it to them, he dug into himself with a knife to make it look like the muggers had a switchblade.

from there on out, he made everyone call him “ribs”

did his parents ever wonder where his excess income was coming from? DEFINITELY. he told them that, yes, his MINIATURE matches did bring in some money, but the rest of the money came from tips!! because people are clearly that generous!!

he also never showed them the full amount. he’d only give what was necessary, not out of selfishness, rather to keep his secret and save them from worrying about him. he put it in a savings account.

it should also be addressed that, during this time, he became friends with who would become the guitarist in his future band, joakim. he witnessed joakim fight a homophobic teenager and desperately wanted to join in... but his ribs were broken ahflskd

he continued boxing, even after being introduced to joakim’s college friend, gabe - the future singer of their band. that being said, they began jamming with each other and played in a few local circuits.

his parents were very encouraging of this and told him that he should go for this as a career opportunity. 

can you tell they were idealists?

he wanted to... but it was very impractical. by now, however, he was out of school (and he never went to college). his parents let him continue living with them since they were under the belief they were short on cash and it’d be difficult for him to find an affordable apartment under the papa john’s salary.

he decided to take his parents up on this... but, while he was waiting for his band to find success, their music store was closed down. as they both began looking desperately for new jobs, he realized that papa john’s and the fighting payment wasn’t quite enough anymore... so he started selling drugs.

he doesn’t keep his fighting a secret anymore, but he does keep his drug dealing a secret. he fears that it’ll perpetuate stereotypes.

during one of his band’s gigs, he and the others met their future bassist - the missing piece - rory. she was marginally younger than they were, but she was an extremely talented bassist and songwriter, so the lineup was finally complete and devil’s wine was formed.

when they began skyrocketing, he quit drug dealing. he also stopped the dangerous boxing, although he continues to... box safely. he began sending money back home after they really started succeeding. his mother got a teacher licensure in music and his father got the opportunity to own..... a guitar center.

if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

VERY IMPORTANT: uses a pearl custom kit, istanbul cymbals, aquarian heads, and vic firth sticks.

that was very important.

PERSONALITY INFO:

literally obsessed with jamie lee curtis. watching her movies has also made him very genre-savvy. 

would genuinely die for her.

is the epitome of bob belcher’s “oh my god.” in his band. they get off topic during practice/recording just ONCE?? queue “oh my god.” and the gif above.

isn’t necessarily ashamed of his past dealings (literally) - like, joakim knows - but is genuinely afraid of perpetuating the stereotype of the dirty black boy. he’s open about the rest of his life, but he’s convinced that if people learn he used to sell drugs, he would be setting people back. having a black drummer in a rock band that’s on the radio? he needs to keep up appearances!!

never wears shirts during concerts. has to show off his ribs and also drumming, with a bunch of lights directly on him, is an extreme exercise and guaranteed sweat machine. dresses like bugzy malone otherwise.

ahflskjd again,,, like adrian,,, look @ his chart ig alhkfjd

FEARS:

hallucinating: he hates not only the idea of losing his mind, but also the idea of having a skewed view of reality after he really... saw reality, you know? his uncle had schizophrenia and, while he rarely saw him, the thought of going through what his uncle had/has to go through terrifies him.

paralyzation: this was a constant worry of his during his boxing matches - he was terrified someone would wind up taking out a firearm and would shoot him into a state of paralysis. not to mention, all limbs are required for both drumming and boxing.... so.

fireworks: less deep than the others. the house next door to his was set on fire due to a firework display being too close. while no one died and most of the house was salvaged, the idea of losing anything he has is terrifying to him. also the sounds they make remind him of guns so?

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

ok,,, so unlike adrian,,, he lived in california,,, a state many other characters lived in. while some cities in california can be like,,,, seven hours away,,, IT’S STILL AN IMPROVEMENT, so i’ll list a few past connection ideas too!

fans

people who hate his music

people who’ve seen one of his matches

old friends

someone who was constantly in his parents’ music store

exes

fwb

ons

???? im bad at connections!!!!!! but im down for brainstorming and/or working off of urs!!!!!!

[wannawrite]

The Royals - KD [ pt.2 ]

who?: Wanna One’s Kang Daniel 

genre: 🌺🌸

type: bullet point 

TW:  violence, guns - GUN! CONTROL!, profanity

blog navigator.

part two \ two 

one 

mafia! AU 

you’ve always known he could break bones, but you never thought Kang Daniel was capable of breaking your heart 

concludes daniel’s story! sorry this literally took a decade to upload, hope y’all ain’t starved 

- Admin L 

disclaimer: pictures used do not belong to me and credit goes to their original owners everything purely fictional DO NOT READ IF TRIGGERING 

time went on as usual 

eventually, you announced to your friends and family that you and Daniel were no longer a thing 

it was tragic sad

at least your friends never left your side through the thick and thin 

JooE even offered to throw away the painting she had painted but you insisted she keep it 

you avoided him as much as you could at school 

not much because he was literally EVERYWHERE 

last time, you appreciated the fact you too had so many clashing classes and lunch slots...

now they just were more opportunities for the dagger lodged in your chest to sink deeper 

• thankfully, Daniel didn’t shoot a sad puppy dog look or a cheery smile because you would hAVE CRACKED INTO PIECES AND GOTTEN BACK WITH HIM YEAH 

whipped 

whipped enough for you to still congratulate him on graduation day and made that a final goodbye to your ex-boyfriend 

okay maybe you were just a courteous person 

you wondered how his mafia was doing 

how was Jeon Somi? what was Ong Seongwoo up to? 

after a short two days of staying at Somi’s apartment - she got you out of the wrecked Kang mansion - you grew attached to her and considered her your friend 

however, you only managed to get her KakaoTalk and due to her busy schedule, she almost never replied to your messages 

in a sense, you missed out on the exciting mafia lifestyle 

but better safe than sorry right? especially when dealing with the law 

some people just weren’t cut out to be part of organised crime associations 

sometimes...whenever you let your mind wander, it would take you to an alternate universe where you had stayed with Daniel 

here Daniel had accepted your help and stuck with you 

a world where you too held the mark of a royal - a tattooed crown 

you would be one of them 

and it would be you and Daniel. Both of you missions together, going up against NCT, fighting side by side 

mundane school life thrown into the wind, caution tossed far away 

you could be travelling all over the globe with the love of your life, tracking down NCT members and claiming heists

that could’ve been your new life

but it wasn’t 

and Daniel wasn’t involved in your current...that bit kind of sucked the most if you were completely honest 

...you wanted him, and all of his dark secrets 

haha but you had neither 

strangely, life seemed well enough for you to forget the majority of the details, only remembering the important parts 

life goes on

people move on 

so why the hell was there a bitter aftertaste on the tip of your tongue when you saw a post on IG with Daniel in it 

he seemed to be posing with close friends, pulling candid faces 

who tf are they and why do I still follow them 

@kinghwan 

uhhh Kim Jaehwan from that one Christmas part from 3 years ago? 

it was more of your cousin’s party, which is why you only knew your family there

you think you only followed him because he followed you? 

how does he know Daniel? 

why is Daniel so important to him that he must appear in one of the three pictures on his feed 

+ Jaehwan has a lot of followers 14k...they’ll all be seeing Daniel 

WHAT THE HELL 

...those kinds of things happened occasionally 

look that dumb prick went drinking again and he spent money on a bitter Hite can 

stupid...I bet he couldn’t even walk into his house that night 

wait, why do I still care? 

graduation was the last incident you had seen him face to face 

surprisingly, he disappeared right after school had ended, as if he vanished from the face of the earth 

perhaps it was another Kang Daniel effect 

at least he was gone 

that part helped your brain to more or less erase a small chunk of your memories of him 

you just hoped he wasn’t gone for good 

anyway 

you drew out your own map, paved your own path, created an individual route in life 

did whatever the hell you wanted to do 

whatever deemed morally and lawfully correct that is 

be good children okay 

whenever you could, you worked as a flight attendant on one of the country’s top airlines to fund your college tuition 

the stack law school fees weren’t going to pay themselves 

not to be nsfw but here I am organising baguettes on a jet powered by dinosaur bones, flying through clouds  

‘WE HAVE 2 MINUTES BEFORE BOARDING STARTS. WHERE ARE THE BREAD TRAYS.’ 

keep :) calm :)) 

I’m sure everyone is familiar with how boarding a plane works 

you’re checking people’s boarding passes as they march into the aircraft 

some of the names start ringing bells into your head 

fire alarm bells 

Kim Jaehwan 

Kim Chungha 

Ong Seongwoo 

Kim Sohye 

WAIT 

 AS IN THE ONG SEONGWOO FROM FOUR YEARS AGO 

THE KIM JAEHWAN FROM THREE YEARS AGO 

they’re dressed like ordinary passengers, but black masks hide the bottom half of their face 

is Seongwoo wearing circle lenses? 

why the hell are they flying economy when they have 11 private jets? 

just what are The Royals up to now 

f o u r  years ago...it was about trying to salvage Daniel’s relationship with you, protecting you two from NCT 

what are they doing now? 

The Royals: Where are they now? not clickbait

a heist? an ambush attack? meeting with dealers? meeting with NCT? or had their enemy changed? 

dealers as in firearm and car dealers...not drugs 

don’t do drugs kids

and don’t buy illegal firearms or cars, you’ll end up in jail 

just don’t do illegal things 

a small fraction of your heart began to beat wildly once again 

this was the first time you had such a close encounter with people you thought had been left in your past 

a brief look of recognition crossed Seongwoo’s eyes when his gaze fell on you but he pressed his lips together and continued moving down the aisle 

great...just fantastic, the whole gang of them are sitting in the rows I’m in charge of in 

do! not! crack! now! 

Jaehwan couldn’t possibly remember me because he spent the whole party with my cousins and ended up drunk playing the piano 

Seongwoo would’ve shown some sort of response if he remembered 

so, I’m just another flight attendant 

good 

nothing’s gonna happen 

even with that phrase chanting in your head, your hands still shook and heat still scorched the back of your neck 

you simply could not stop yourself from observing them, your eyes rarely left the four faces 

so much so you almost dropped an entire tray of drinks on another passenger 

finally, after serving the passengers’ lunch, you got a chance to catch your breath

‘tired?’ your colleague asked you as she fanned her face, trying to stall the melting of her makeup 

‘definitely, work never stops,’ you replied with a chuckle 

you wondered why she was pulling a weird face and gesturing to ‘turn around’

when you did, you nearly smacked into a girl who bore a black mask 

• your co-worker stepped out of the pantry, closing the thick purple curtain behind her 

‘how can I he-‘ 

it all happened in one fluid motion 

the girl’s hand curled around your throat, your body slammed into the cabinet-lined walls, a gust of breath leaving your lungs 

‘who sent you to keep watching us?’ she snarled, ripping away her black mask 

‘I-I...’ well, what on earth were you going to say? she wouldn’t believe me anyway 

‘don’t test my patience. I won’t spare a second in stopping your air supply.’ There was a furious glint in her eyes, but you had seen this look before

it was the look Daniel gave you when he broke up with you 

it wasn’t out of pure aggression or force, she just wanted to protect her friends

he just wanted to protect you 

maybe himself too 

a bit too late to understand now....

oxygen was rapidly dwindling in your bloodstream and your head began to throb

the sound of metal scraping metal and the curtain being pulled open called you back to consciousness 

‘sohye! want the hell are you doing?’ 

Seongwoo? 

he yanked the girl - supposedly 

Sohye - off you, allowing you to heave deep breath 

Seongwoo restrained her from you, ignoring her attempts to break free. ‘Calm down! It’s them. They...they’re Daniel’s ex.’ 

she froze in her spot, like a deer caught in the headlights 

wow who knew being Daniel’s ex was such a big deal 

who knew it would get me killed? 

‘I-I t-thought NCT sent them. We have no clue who to trust nowadays; NCT has spies everywhere!’ Sohye hissed in a hushed tone 

Seongwoo nodded understandingly, his eyes darting around to ensure the three of you weren’t being watched 

he turned to face you

‘I need you to come with us.’ 

your brows knitted together, puzzled, not quite making sense of what he was trying to tell you 

I’m not a Royal? I haven’t seen one in 4 years 

‘This plane is headed to Dubai right now. There, a jet is waiting to take us to London,’ Sohye explained 

clog wheels began churning rapidly in your head, trying to understand what they were saying 

‘We’re going to see Daniel.’ 

blood coursing through your veins froze, your eyes went round like hard candy, everything around you seemed to stand still 

Kang Daniel, it’s been more than four years since I’ve seen you 

I never imagined that our first meeting would be like this

‘how the hell do you expect me to get out of my job?’ you retorted to the four gang members. ‘I’m due the next flight back to Seoul.’ 

Chungha let out a chuckle. ‘We’ve got connections. I bet someone is already filling your spot.’ 

The Royals were powerful enough to let your strict boss let you off so easily 

ridiculous 

you took a glance at your small overnight luggage and back at the Royalty 

deep breaths 

think about it...it’s now or never 

‘okay, let’s go.’ 

Seongwoo grinned, he grabbed the handle of your luggage. ‘Woojin is waiting in the jet for us.’ 

...hmm...don’t think my chances of escape were high anyway 

Kang Daniel is one rich prick 

I love him 

NO 

you just like his private jet 

who wouldn’t fall in love with the jet that had polished wood floors, plush calf leather seats and a seemingly unlimited supply of food and beverages 

there were even private bedrooms for night flights 

luxurious 

Jaehwan heaved a deep sigh of relief when the plane wheels left the tarmac runway 

he looked like he was just pale of fainting 

‘NCT was watching us. I could feel their eyes on me. Those young kids Jisung and Chenle are unbelievably sneaky.’ 

• is anyone else shook by how drastically nct dream has changed bc me 

‘wait, NCT was around this whole time?’ you asked, chewing the inside of your lips nervously 

‘yeah, they’ve gotten wind of you and more information. Some weird idea of Taeyong’s decided that you were a threat and needed to be eliminated too,’ Chungha spoke up 

‘our mission was to take you to HQ in London, where there are fewer NCT associates. Somi sent us.’ 

‘Daniel doesn’t know......’ 

oh 

wonderful, I’m going to give him the surprise of a lifetime 

‘And I had no idea what you looked like until today, sorry I tried to kill you just now.’ Sohye apologised, smiling sheepishly 

you wondered if it was a common saying among The Royals

‘how’s Daniel?’ you blurted out, unable to keep your curiosity at bay. A warm blush suffused into your cheeks 

the four members snickered with knowing smirks on their faces 

‘He’ll be pleasantly surprised to see you in person. I’m sick of him staring at polaroids in his wallet all day.’ 

it was safe to say that made your blush redder than a tomato and butterflies erupt in your stomach 

uh those butterflies morphed into blood sucking leeches by the time you found yourself packed away into a limousine and on the way to The Royals London HQ 

why London? did they expand so wide internationally? 

you just had too many questions 

Daniel...Daniel...Daniel...Daniel was the keyword that chanted in your brain 

the HQ was a very low-key building, unlike the lavish apartment complex in Korea 

till smack in the middle of the busiest centre of the city

it seemed like a classic office building, just extremely well-guarded

you figured there weren’t many Royals wandering around London 

‘c’mon, this way,’ Jaehwan whispered, leading the whole gang - now inclusive of Woojin, the pilot - through an entrance, easily passing by security. ‘Daniel isn’t around-‘ 

‘well, well,’ a voice called out 

h i m 

i miss him

i miss that voice so much, but I never thought anxiety would arise when he called out to us 

‘h-hyung...’ 

Daniel’s steely eyes bore into yours, his gaze had changed, his overall appearance had gone through a massive transformation 

though, you swear those liquid brown orbs softened when he recognised who you were 

‘you brought them here? who is responsible for this?’ Daniel growled out through clenched teeth 

before anyone could open their mouth to respond, you voiced out, ‘It was me.’ 

everyone’s eyes were on you, revealing their true shock 

‘I-I contacted Seongwoo after many years of searching...and then I begged him to intercept my Dubai flight to take me here because...because I knew you would be here,’ you fibbed, hoping it was believable at least for a second 

you answered all his unspoken questions. ‘I missed you, Daniel. Is that such a crime?’ 

a huff came from his devilish lips, he gestured for you to follow him as the others retreated

Daniel lead you into a study on the far side of the building, the pristine floor-length glass windows offered a fantastic view of the city below 

his expensive taste was evident from the fabulous art pieces that decorated the walls, the sparkling dark mahogany furniture and a knitted couch 

suddenly, you felt Daniel’s arms snake around your waist, his soft lips came onto yours, deepening the kiss with urgency 

‘I’ve been wanting to do that for forever,’ he muttered against your lips after pulling away to catch his breath 

he continued before you could say a word. ‘I was absolutely furious when I heard about Somi’s mission. All I wanted was to keep you safe, but here I was doing the exact opposite.’ 

huh? not a single NCT member could come to your mind just pondering about it? 

Daniel shot you an unamused yet worried look 

‘did you really think Lucas was a nice guy from church? he’s the biggest sinner I’ve ever encountered.’ The surety in Daniel’s voice was alarming 

‘...which is why you’re here now...and I kissed you...’ 

you want to yell at him, shred his expensive paintings and throw marble statues at him 

but you can’t 

‘you were a real bastard for leaving me four years ago,’ you spit, meaning every single word. ‘Don’t think I’m going to waltz right into your arms again.’ 

not that you want to hurt him, you just want him to realise what he’s done wrong 

okay yeah maybe you do want Daniel to regret leaving you in the dust 

‘I know. I’m sorry I was a such a coward, I was wrong.’ 

the very tips of his ears begin to go red as he takes a step away from you, backing straight into his desk 

only two picture frames sit on the tabletop, one of them of his elite unit and the other frame held a picture of him and you 

if NCT broke in, they would get every single bit of information without trying too hard 

I suppose that’s why there are guards patrolling EVERYWHERE 

Daniel’s shock towards your next words was clearly written all over him 

ah yes he knocked over his laptop 

‘it’s okay, I understand. I would’ve done the same if I was in that position. That doesn’t excuse the fact I’m still hurt and upset over that incident but we grow up and mature, I think we don’t have to be petty about it.’ 

internally, a conflict was stirring but being the mature person you are, you were willing to get Daniel back as a friend 

hopefully, you won’t be s w o o n i n g into his hold after 2 seconds 

Daniel perked up immediately, his eyes glazed over dreamily. ‘Serious?’ 

‘woah lover boy, I’m not going to be kissing your lips again!’ you hurl with a playful - almost flirty - chuckle. ‘I’m saying we can be friends.’ 

we all know what happens from here onwards 

‘reeeeaaallllyyyy?’ Daniel drawls out, flashing an enchanting smile. He sweeps you off your feet, planting you on the desk 

your heart begins to pound as he leans in, lips barely brushing your earlobes

‘you’re so certain about that, aren’t you?’ 

face is pink 

Daniel is too cheesy 

avoiding his alluring moves is hard work but you still try your best 

‘yes, of course, I am.’ 

he pouts sulkily like the young teenager you recall him to be 

‘fine then. want to grab dinner together?’ 

the offer is extremely tempting but you know you’ll fall in DEEP 

‘daniel...I really shouldn’t’ 

‘what? two friends can’t eat dinner together? that’s a tad bit unfair, don’t you think?’ Daniel points out, furrowing his brow. His eyes say he’s won it all 

how bad could this be? 

very 

how long am I going to live for? 

better, how long will Daniel stay with me? 

‘okay then,’ you agree, seemingly nonchalant while your heartbeat speeds up. ‘Pick a place and tell me the dress code. After, we have to talk about this whole NCT thing.’ 

he nods too excitedly, unable to contain his enthusiasm 

anticipation 

the WANT to go on a date with Daniel again arises after years of suppression 

a fresh start 

saving the story from the very end is the best beginning 

perhaps, Daniel was still the guy who held that special place in your heart 

even though he messed up a few years back, nothing could be worse than living unforgiven 

too merciful to leave him in misery 

I won’t live regretting my actions anymore 

I just hope that...Daniel was lying when he said he didn’t love me 

if not I’m calling Somi and we’re getting out of here lol 

I’ve  a l w a y s  loved them, I should never have pushed them away 

‘just wait and see, being in love gets you places.’