#paper lunch box supplier

[kalpanahandmadepaper]

https://kalpanapapers.com/collections/handmade-paper-box

[papertakeawayfoodbox]

Reasons behind the Growing Demand of Disposable Lunch Boxes

There is a growing demand for disposable lunch boxes wholesale especially among office workers, school kids or in the food business. These paper meal boxes are durable and light in weight to keep the food fresh for a long time without contaminating the items inside.

[torreshalstead]

On a crowded street in 1944 - Chapter 11

Summary - The four walls of Upton’s General Store were all Hailey knew although she longed to see what else life had to offer. When a handsome soldier walks through the door, she thinks he might just be the answer to the life she wants to have. But it was 1944 and the country was at war. Would fate smile on her or would her heart be another casualty of the war?

Chapters - 11/15

Notes - we are back to our regularly scheduled Saturday chapters, thank you for the support on this story ❤️ AO3 Link

December 1944

It had been two months since she had last received a letter from Jay, and the feeling that it was just a delay with the postal service had been replaced with a far less pleasant thought.

Hailey could only think of one reason why Jay wouldn’t be writing to her.

But she also thought she would feel it in her heart if something terrible had happened to him, and although the pain of missing him still persisted, it wasn’t joined by something more horrid.

It didn’t stop Hailey from scouring the list of the missing and dead that graced the back pages of the paper every day. She diligently went through each one, checking for a Halstead. She knew him as Jay but was aware it might be a nickname. He could be a James or a John Junior or any name beginning with a J for all she knew. But still, no Halstead’s appeared in her search so she let herself continue to hope.

Maybe his letter had just gotten lost. Because he would write if he could. And she knew he would, because she knew him. She loved him. And he loved her.

Oscar still turned up once a week to take her to the tea shop where he still ordered her a tea. He had never asked if she would have preferred anything else and she didn’t correct him. For Hailey it was just another example of how poorly they were suited to each other. Jay would have asked her.

Still, their time together was pleasant with only mild discussions of the wedding. It was too far off to plan anything so any time he brought it up, she managed to dismiss it without him raising too much of a fuss.

Unfortunately the same could not be said for her father who had taken out a half page advert in the newspaper announcing the upcoming union between the Upton’s and the Farrell’s. He had written the notice himself which would explain why it read as more of a business transaction than an excited father writing about his daughter’s wedding. But Hailey supposed that’s exactly what it was. It was a business transaction. His excitement was only for himself.

Hailey still hadn’t got any more specific details regarding who had promised who what but she knew her father well enough to see behind his smile. From the small amount of information she had gleaned from his loud voice and their apartment's thin walls, she believed it was that Upton General Store was looking to become the sole supplier of Farrell products - very popular leather working tools. It was a good deal and if Hailey’s own happiness hadn’t been thrown in as a bargaining chip, she might have been proud of her father for arranging such a deal.

But as it happened, every time he smiled, it made her stomach turn just a little.

Christmas was just around the corner but with the empty hope that Jay might have been home by Christmas a distant memory, Hailey wasn’t looking forward to the occasion. As with most things, they would decorate the store much more lavishly than their own apartment - all part of the act, and then come Christmas morning she would spend hours slaving away with her mother to prepare the lunch, minus the meat centrepiece this year, and her father would gulp it down without so much as a thank you or an offer to clean the dishes after.

The one relief was that the store would be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, giving her just a little reprieve and she might even get a chance to venture out without having Oscar on her arm. Just a little taste of the freedom she would be giving up soon.

Still, she hoped that Christmas would bring her one thing - a letter from her love.

——————————————————————————

January 1945

Her Christmas wish didn’t come true.

It had been three months since her last letter from Jay and she was now worried.

Everyday she diligently checked the lists in the papers and still no Halstead was listed, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t missing in action or, heaven forbid, had been taken prisoner. She knew nothing and somehow the not knowing made everything worse.

She pasted on a fake smile every day, served the customers in the store, completed her chores and listened to her mother get excited about her wedding. And then she would cry herself to sleep, the edges of Jay’s previous letters becoming worn and tattered from her continuous reading. Not that she needed to read them anymore, she knew every one off by heart. But she could imagine him holding the letters and touching them was as close as she could get to touching him.

She had debated trying to get in contact with someone in Jay’s family in case they had received news, but the only family she knew was his brother who was also at the front. There was no one else from what Jay had told her. So even if the worst did happen, she would have to wait for his name to be printed alongside the names of all the other poor souls who had laid down their lives for the good of their country. She didn’t know if there was a delay between when the news was received or when it got printed.

She knew nothing apart from that Jay hadn’t written and her heart was aching.

——————————————————————————

February 1945

February brought Valentine’s Day and still no news of Jay. Oscar bought her flowers, roses, not her favourite but he hadn’t asked and she hadn’t told him. Still, they brightened up her bedroom but not her mood.

Her mother had noticed her change in demeanour, her usually bubbly personality had been replaced by something far more meloncoly. She didn’t bring it up but Hailey noticed the small things she did for her to try and brighten her mood. She would slide extra portions onto her plate when she cooked her favourite food, she managed to get some sample fragrances that she suggested Hailey could wear on her next date, she offered to curl her hair for her. She appreciated them but still, her heart was pining and the longer it went between his letters, the more she believed the worst had happened.

He had been killed.

He had been taken prisoner.

He wasn’t coming back to her.

What she also knew but refused to fully consider was what Jay not coming back to her would mean for her. She would be bound to marry Oscar. A man she didn’t love.

——————————————————————————

March 1945

Hailey’s hope was dwindling away. She was holding tightly onto a thought that was looking less and less possible, her fingers blistered and bleeding from holding the thread so tightly. There was still no news. She started hoping when she checked the list of young men’s names in the newspaper that she would see his, then at least she could get closure.

She knew she’d never love again, that her heart belonged to him even if he was no longer walking this earth, but the not knowing was worse. Her mind spiralled through all of the possibilities, each one worse than the previous and never giving her a moment's rest.

Oscar had started to notice her shift in mood, how could he not, but she appreciated him not commenting on it. On their dates he would let her sit in silence, not attempting to fill the air with inane comments that she didn’t care about. If he ever guessed what was truly going on behind her sky blue eyes, he never said anything.

The ring on her finger still felt foreign but it was still a way out, she wouldn’t be beholden to her father after she was wed. Well, not completely anyway.

She tried as much as she could to focus on the positives but they were few and far between. She still cried herself to sleep most nights, having to splash cold water on her face and her red eyes before going down to the store in the morning to prevent any questions being asked. She couldn’t cope if she was made to voice aloud what was working through her mind.

——————————————————————————

April 1945

Nothing.

There was nothing.

The words that she had from Jay were all she was ever going to have.

They said the war would be ending soon, that the boys would be home before the end of the summer.

If that news had come months ago it would have made Hailey happier than she ever would have thought. But not now.

The end of the war was the deadline for her chance. When the end of the war came, she would be held to her word, to the promise she had given Oscar when she had accepted his ring and tested his patience.

She would be his wife.

And Jay would be nothing more than a memory, a part of her that would always remain but could never continue to be.

She thought about throwing out his letters, where reading them had originally brought her joy, they now only brought her pain. They were full of promises that would never be kept, of dreams that could never come true, of a life that Hailey was destined to never live.

But she couldn’t bear to part from them, they were the only piece of Jay that she had left. And if the worst had happened to both him and his brother, she may be the only person to keep their memory alive. The only person who would visit the graves that may or may not hold their bodies, to mourn at the monuments that would be erected with their names carved into it, the only person who knew the good person that he had been.

——————————————————————————

May 1945

Her nightmares had started to get worse, Jay would be walking towards her, a smile plastered on his face as he climbed down off the boat, the Stars and Stripes flying high above him. Just as he was getting to her, his arms wide to pull her into him, a blush of red would start to spread across his chest, staining his pristine uniform scarlet. His face would whiten, becoming sunken and ghost like, his handsomeness long gone and replaced with something else. Before she could get to him, to help stem the bleeding, he would drop down in front of her into a lifeless heap in the ground.

She would then wake up, her breathing heavy and her skin damp from sweat.

She started trying to keep herself awake at night so the haunting images of Jay wouldn’t fill her mind. But no matter how she tried, when she would succumb to sleep, the beautiful vivid images of their life together she had previously imagined were replaced with something far more hideous.

——————————————————————————-

June 1945

The sun had started to come out but Hailey’s smile had yet to make a reappearance.

What did she have to smile about?

The countdown to the end of the war was on, the excitement in the air was palpable. But the countdown to her was far less enjoyable.

She wished she could be excited, wished the prospect of the white dress and a promise of forever love brought her an ounce of joy. But it was starting to feel more like a prison sentence that she herself had signed her name to. Her positive attitude and hope had vanished and been replaced by a morbid person she wished she had never met.

She wasn’t proud of who she was becoming but there was only one way to fix a broken heart, and hers would never be whole again.

——————————————————————————

July 1945

The war was over.

The banners and flags were flying high, the pictures splashed all over the newspapers. People were rejoicing in the street, knowing that their men and boys would be home soon, at least those who had survived the atrocities.

The street parties were planned. The parades for the returning soldiers, both to honour the fallen and celebrate those who had returned.

But for Hailey. It meant that her timeline had run out. She was to marry Oscar.

The war had ended, but Jay wasn’t coming home.

She would never be Mrs Halstead. She would never be his wife. She’d never have his children and share his life. The dream was just that. A dream.

She was to marry Oscar and now there was no delaying it.

When everyone else was celebrating and cheering together in the street, Hailey cried herself to sleep, the sobs ripping through her body in anguish as she clutched her copy of Agatha Christie to her chest, remembering the promise a young boy had given her.

A promise she knew he would have kept if he could.

[lunchboxinc]

Tips To Keep in Mind while Choosing  Lunch boxes in NZ

Parents, especially those who prepare school meals for their children, seem to understand that frustration that appears with spills and leaks. Wet T-shirt, orange juice all over the backpack, soggy sandwiches - just the thought can make any morning stressful when everyone has to be out. The solution? Buy some proper and quality leak proof lunch boxes available in Lunchbox Inc

With such a broad range of leakproof lunch boxes, Lunchbox Inc is New Zealand’s premier supplier and has many options available. Their lunch boxes are bento style meaning that they have a number of sections within to prevent foods from mixing up with others and the lids are leak proof to avoid foods drooling over in case the box is turned upside down. The plastic and stainless steel containers are also colorful, bright and funky that are liked by kids. Lunchboxinc’s lunch boxes are sturdy and reusable, meaning you will not spend money on cheap plastic bags or boxes that break by developing cracks as you use them.

There are a number of advantages that leakproof lunch boxes NZ have over normal lunch boxes that are not leakproof. Since foods and liquids do not move around, you can send some perishable foods such as yogurt, cut fruits, and the likes without fretting that they will spoil before reaching the intended recipient. Leak Proof boxes also allow for portioning – fill the little sections with something healthy, and children will know what a portion looks like. This gives more control on nutrition compared to those dull brown paper bags.

Lunchbox Inc is a New Zealand company and therefore customers can get the products with fast delivery all over the country and right to their doorstep. Shop from their collection of bento boxes, lunch bags, snack containers and other products. It is time to get new lunch packing supplies when the next academic year begins, so you should consider getting the ones highlighted above. No more worrying about stains on clothes and hair – let’s bid farewell to leaks for good and start each morning fresh! Your kids will love carrying the new lunchboxes to school, and you’ll appreciate the time and fewer dishes you have to wash.

[keencreatornut]

Categories In Stationery In India

Stationery isn’t just about pens and paper anymore. It encompasses a vast array of products, each serving a unique purpose and catering to diverse needs. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a creative enthusiast, understanding the various categories in stationery can help you navigate the world of paper goods more efficiently. Let’s delve into the different categories in stationery and discover the endless possibilities they offer. Office stationery supplier in Noida

Get ready for stationery online shopping.

Writing Instruments:

Writing instruments form the backbone of stationery, offering a wide range of tools designed for different writing styles and preferences. All these stationery items online like classic ballpoint pens and sophisticated fountain pens to mechanical pencils, gel pens, markers, and highlighters, this category provides versatility and precision in various writing and drawing tasks. Office Products supplier in Gurgaon

Paper Products:

Paper products come in various forms and sizes, catering to different purposes. Notebooks, notepads, diaries, and planners provide space for jotting down thoughts, ideas, and schedules. Specialty papers such as graph paper and tracing paper serve specific tasks and creative projects, while sketchbooks offer a blank canvas for artistic expression. Office stationery supplier in Delhi Ncr

Desk Accessories:

Desk accessories enhance organization and productivity in workspaces. Pen stands, file organizers, desk calendars, and sticky notes help keep desks clutter-free and add a touch of style to work environments. Paperweights and desk organizers further streamline workflow and create an efficient workspace. Office Products supplier in Ghaziabad

Art Supplies:

Art supplies inspire creativity and imagination, offering a wide range of tools for artists and hobbyists. Paints, brushes, sketchbooks, and canvases provide the foundation for artistic expression, while colure pencils, pastels, and markers add depth and vibrancy to creations. With a diverse selection of art supplies, artists can bring their visions to life. Office stationery supplier in Noida

Office products supplier in ghaziabad

School Supplies:

School supplies are essential for students of all ages, providing tools and resources for learning and academic success. Backpacks, lunch boxes, geometry sets, and calculators accompany students to school, while pencil cases, erasers, and rulers aid in everyday tasks. Vibrant and fun designs make school supplies both functional and enjoyable for students.

Corporate Stationery:

Corporate stationery plays a crucial role in branding and communication for businesses. Business cards, letterheads, envelopes, and corporate gifting items reflect a company’s identity and professionalism. Customized notebooks and presentation folders further reinforce brand image and enhance corporate visibility.

DIY and Crafting Materials:

DIY and crafting materials provide enthusiasts with the tools to personalize and create unique projects. Washi tapes, stickers, decorative papers, and embellishments add flair to scrapbooking, card making, and journaling endeavors. With a wide selection of materials, crafters can unleash their creativity and express themselves artistically.

Filing and Storage Solutions:

Filing and storage solutions help keep documents and stationery organized and accessible. Folders, binders, document holders, and storage boxes streamline filing systems and declutter workspaces. Magazine racks and desk organizers further optimize space and promote efficient organization.

True Wholesale is best stationery products wholesaler in noida for retailers to buy stationary across 100+ brands & 350+ categories. So if you are looking to buy stationery online, check True Wholesale. 

[pabrikcetakdusmojokerto]

Supplier desain kotak nasi catering, Telp/WA : 0813-3353-7681 PROMO PERUSAHAAN

"cetak undangan terdekat dari sini

digital printing terdekat dari sini

percetakan dekat sini

percetakan terdekat buka hari minggu"

"🖨️ Layanan Percetakan Berkualitas & Terpercaya! 🖨️

Apakah Anda membutuhkan solusi percetakan terpercaya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan bisnis atau pribadi Anda? Kami siap memberikan solusi cetak berkualitas tinggi dengan harga yang kompetitif!

🌟 Kenapa Memilih Layanan Kami? 🌟

✅ Pengalaman: Dengan lebih dari 10 tahun pengalaman dalam industri percetakan, kami menghadirkan keahlian yang tak diragukan lagi.

✅ Kreativitas: Tim desain kami siap membantu Anda merancang cetakan yang menarik perhatian dan sesuai dengan identitas merek Anda.

✅ Teknologi Terkini: Kami menggunakan peralatan percetakan mutakhir untuk memastikan hasil cetakan yang tajam, akurat, dan mengesankan.

✅ Pilihan Material: Berbagai pilihan kertas dan bahan lainnya tersedia, cocok untuk berbagai keperluan, mulai dari brosur, kartu nama, hingga poster besar.

✅ Pengiriman Cepat: Kami menghargai waktu Anda, sehingga pesanan Anda akan segera diproses dan dikirim dengan cepat.

HUBUNGI SEGERA :

0813-3353-7681

KLIK :

wa.me/6281333537681

wa.me/6281333537681

ALAMAT :

Jl. Nginden Semolo No.100C, RT.004/RW.02,

Nginden Jangkungan, Kec. Sukolilo,

Surabaya, Jawa Timur 60118."

"percetakan box makanan

percetakan box makanan Kota Surabaya

cetak dus kemasan terdekat

custom box makanan

paper lunch box

percetakan terdekat

harga cetak kardus kemasan

percetakan packaging jakarta"

#percetakanboxmakanan #percetakanboxmakananKotaSurabaya #cetakduskemasanterdekat #customboxmakanan #paperlunchbox #percetakanterdekat #hargacetakkarduskemasan #percetakanpackagingjakarta

[stevishabitat]

Receptionist is a catchall job title meaning:

I want you to be my office manager, personal assistant, janitor, marketing manager, social media manager, some light maintenance and repair - especially of the obnoxious printer/copier that none of us know how to use, and hauling around heavy boxes of paper and supplies.

Plus do all the data entry, filing, ordering of supplies, all email, text, and phone communication with customers, suppliers, the landlord, and employees.

Because "receptionist" usually means "woman" I also expect you to do all the girly stuff like get plants for the office, plan & coordinate any events, keep track of birthdays and make sure cards get signed, and babysit the boss's kids when the daycare is closed or school is on break. And take the office dog out for potty breaks.

I'll probably have you run errands while not on the clock and expect you to purchase some supplies on your own dime (see above re: office flowers and birthday cards). You have to be here before anyone else and after everyone leaves, but you're only getting paid for 8hrs because you're on salary!

And about lunch breaks, you can have one when we aren't to busy, but you have to take it in the closet that we call a break room and you have to be able to answer calls or greet customers because we don't have anyone else to do that while you're eating or peeing.

But I'm going to pay you like all you do is wait for the phone to ring.

Receptionist jobs are always available because it is a high turnover position due to the burnout.

Also, when small companies try to cut costs a lot of times they get rid of their receptionist, because anyone can answer phones, right? But before long they realize all the other "invisible" tasks that the receptionist had been doing and they realize that they need someone to do it.

But do they advertise for an office manager or several titles to cover all that work? No. Those folks expect to be paid more. They advertise for another receptionist and don't include any of that in the job description. But if they don't expect it right away, they will before long.

I’m job searching now and from what I can gather almost all available jobs that pay sort of decently are like medical receptionist?

[kalpanahandmadepaper]

https://kalpanapapers.com/collections/handmade-paper-box

[papertakeawayfoodbox]

Buy Meal Box and Disposable Lunch Box in Bulk or Wholesale

Looking to pack your lunch in a paper meal boxes? Gujarat Shopee is an online store to buy disposable lunch box in wholesale or bulk quantity. It offers a wide range of Kraft paper meal box, paper lunch box with compartments and window to store food items fresh and hygiene for a long time.

[plasticlids]

Disposable Paper lunch box 

Use in clean condition, one-time use, avoid stacking use The disposable paper lunch box is made of food-grade cup paper/kraft paper/bamboo pulp paper/degradable PLA coated paper. The necessary choice for fruits, vegetables, bread, desserts, Chinese food, hamburgers, Italian food, Japanese food and other foods. It is a fashionable and environmentally friendly place for high-standard supermarkets, franchise chains, business banquets, hotel dining, family gatherings, and birthday parties. Choose, the carton made of PLA material is the most cost-effective degradable packaging product. Disposable paper lunch boxes should be protected from moisture, high temperature, inversion, pollution, breakage, and odor during use. Not suitable for microwave heating, when fried food is out of the pot due to high temperature. The temperature of the oil stain on the surface is as high as 160℃, so it should not be put into the box directly to avoid scalding the surface coating.

[bestfull]

Tips for Preserving Various Foods-Vegetables and Fruits

Tips for Preserving Various Foods-Vegetables and Fruits

Vegetables and fruits

Every time I stock up on vegetables, the most difficult thing to keep is green leafy vegetables. Too much water will rot, too little water will cause them to shrivel, and it is easy to freeze and rot when they hit the refrigerator wall.

The solution is to simply sort and remove the rotten parts first, do not wash! Wash before eating, or wash and dry thoroughly before putting in the refrigerator.

Then wrap it with absorbent paper (such as kitchen paper, or kraft paper) to maintain air humidity, and place it on the drawer layer of the refrigerator as much as possible, taking care not to be pressed by other things.

In this way, green leafy vegetables that can only be stored for two days can be stored for up to a week.

To store vegetables such as broccoli, Chinese cabbage, and cabbage, you can poke a few holes in the center of the bottom, which can slow down the growth of vegetables (yes, the vegetables will continue to grow and consume nutrients when they are bought), so that you can store up to two weeks.

With limited conditions, how can we ensure that we eat vegetables every day? Boiled and frozen Dafa is good!

Boiled in boiling water for half a minute, the vegetables are still half-cooked, but the enzymes have been sterilized and deactivated. After boiling, sieve/squeeze out the water, pack them in a vacuum crisper and freeze them for a long time, especially suitable for vegetables and fruits such as broccoli and zucchini.

If you are worried about carrots, radishes, potatoes, pumpkins, corn, eggplants, beans, and other root vegetables' dehydration and deterioration, you can store them frozen after steaming.

Condiments such as coriander, shallots, coriander, and green onions can be wrapped in kitchen paper-like vegetables for preservation. Those with less water, such as shallots, minced garlic, and spicy millet, can be directly chopped and frozen.

Onions, lettuce, garlic sprouts, bean sprouts, and soybeans can also be directly cultured in water. Even if the growth rate is not so fast, it can also be used as a means of preservation.

Basil rosemary, a bad herb, can now be hydroponically grown this season, and it will grow roots without changing the water.

Mushrooms can be put in a vacuum crisper if conditions permit, and they can be blanched, squeezed dry, and frozen.

Bestfull's product categories include Lunch Box containers, mini boxes, round boxes, and other vacuum preservation boxes of various shapes. The product materials are divided into plastic materials and glass materials. Whether you prefer lightweight plastic material or glass material with a better sealing effect, we are a professional vacuum food storage container supplier. In this field, we are at the world's leading level, so you can use and eat with confidence.

[pabrikcetakdusmojokerto]

Supplier desain kotak nasi catering, Telp/WA : 0813-3353-7681 PROMO PERUSAHAAN

"cetak undangan terdekat dari sini

digital printing terdekat dari sini

percetakan dekat sini

percetakan terdekat buka hari minggu"

"🖨️ Layanan Percetakan Berkualitas & Terpercaya! 🖨️

Apakah Anda membutuhkan solusi percetakan terpercaya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan bisnis atau pribadi Anda? Kami siap memberikan solusi cetak berkualitas tinggi dengan harga yang kompetitif!

🌟 Kenapa Memilih Layanan Kami? 🌟

✅ Pengalaman: Dengan lebih dari 10 tahun pengalaman dalam industri percetakan, kami menghadirkan keahlian yang tak diragukan lagi.

✅ Kreativitas: Tim desain kami siap membantu Anda merancang cetakan yang menarik perhatian dan sesuai dengan identitas merek Anda.

✅ Teknologi Terkini: Kami menggunakan peralatan percetakan mutakhir untuk memastikan hasil cetakan yang tajam, akurat, dan mengesankan.

✅ Pilihan Material: Berbagai pilihan kertas dan bahan lainnya tersedia, cocok untuk berbagai keperluan, mulai dari brosur, kartu nama, hingga poster besar.

✅ Pengiriman Cepat: Kami menghargai waktu Anda, sehingga pesanan Anda akan segera diproses dan dikirim dengan cepat.

HUBUNGI SEGERA :

0813-3353-7681

KLIK :

wa.me/6281333537681

wa.me/6281333537681

ALAMAT :

Jl. Nginden Semolo No.100C, RT.004/RW.02,

Nginden Jangkungan, Kec. Sukolilo,

Surabaya, Jawa Timur 60118."

"percetakan box makanan

percetakan box makanan Kota Surabaya

cetak dus kemasan terdekat

custom box makanan

paper lunch box

percetakan terdekat

harga cetak kardus kemasan

percetakan packaging jakarta"

#percetakanboxmakanan #percetakanboxmakananKotaSurabaya #cetakduskemasanterdekat #customboxmakanan #paperlunchbox #percetakanterdekat #hargacetakkarduskemasan #percetakanpackagingjakarta

[mctherofdragons]

In the Afterglow | 2 | F.W.

moodboard by @minty-malfoy​.

Summary: The reader is married to George Weasley, and for all intents and purposes, he is the perfect husband. But, despite her best efforts to resist, Fred presents temptation she never knew she’d fall for.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem! Reader; George Weasley x Fem!Reader

Alternate Universe: No Voldemort AU

Rating: Mature, Future Chapters will Feature Explicit Content

Trigger Warnings: Angst, cussing, mild sexual content, mentions of extramarital affairs, cheating, nudity

Author’s Note: Let me know if you’d like to be on the tag list! 

Taglist: @oh-for-merlins-sake @sunflowernarry @vivianweasley @haf-the-trash-panda @obsssedwithjustaboutanything @msmarklee1213 @n3ssm0nique @satellitespidey  @michaylahpfan27  @girl22334 @starlightweasley @minty-malfoy @theweasleytwinsgirl

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

November 10.

Fall had fully arrived in London, decorating the ground with crunchy orange and red leaves. You pulled a sweater out of your closet and pulled it on. Molly had knit it for you last Christmas. It was maroon with little flecks of grey throughout. Something about it being homemade made you love it more. Being wed into the Weasleys offered you a family you hadn’t had before. One that gave gifts and hugged on holidays; one that shared laughter and drinks far into the night on Christmas Eve; one that cared for you deeply and unconditionally. Your heart jumped a bit when you felt two arms around your waist suddenly.

“Hi honey,” George said, turning to kiss your lips. You kissed back, placing your hand on the back of his neck. A giggle escaped your lips as you moved your hands down to the cool touch of his trouser buttons. The autumn weather had made you more affectionate, seeking warmth in your husband’s arms.

“I have about an hour until I really have to leave. Dinner’s on in the slow cooker, so...I don’t have anything to occupy me for a while…”

But, as was typical lately, George didn’t fulfill your requests.

“I have to go get to the shop,” he pouted. You sighed with an honest attempt to hide your annoyance. When you and George had first married, intimacy was far more...exciting. He would steal you away into the back storage room of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, hoping Fred didn’t come wandering back. You lived in back-arching, toe-curling ecstasy for your first year of marriage. But now, when you actually got around to having sex, it had lost its thrill. George didn’t show or tell you much lately how much he loved you. It hurt, but you were too afraid to let him know that.

You didn’t really have anything to say that wouldn’t have been slightly cruel, so you huffed off to the bathroom to finish your makeup. George followed, leaning against the door frame. “I’m sorry,” he sounded genuine. “But I mean, I have to go to work, honey.”

“I know,” you said, leaning forward to apply mascara to your eyes. He came over and gave you a kiss behind your ear, which only made you grow more frustrated with his lack of fulfilling what you wanted.

“Yup,” you said, moving away from him. The sound of your heels clicking on the tile as you head into the kitchen somehow annoyed George beyond belief.

“You really are being a bit of a bitch about this,” he huffed. His words stung. George was never one for name-calling, and just the sound of the cuss word rolling off his tongue cut you to the quick.

George had grown used to you, you reasoned. He no longer needed to ‘woo’ you because the shiny diamond on your finger had ensured you were his for good.

“Don’t start,” you warned. You busied yourself with filling your travel mug with coffee. The sound of George’s sighing made you look up. He was fastening the buttons of his jacket. For some reason, you felt like crying but pushed your tears back.

“Can we chat about this later?”

You nodded, handing him a paper bag with his lunch in it. He gave you a quick peck on the forehead and left.

You sighed, pulling your phone out of your pocket. Mindlessly, you scrolled to your recent texts and found Fred’s name. You took a type breath as you typed, feeling your heart murmur as you typed.

Thinking of you, Freddie.

But you quickly erased the text, forbidding yourself to continue the thoughts you had started to entertain.

——————-

Later that evening, you stood in the back room of the shop, placing some things onto a storage shelf. It was typical that when you were done with work, you’d head over to Weasley Wizard Wheezes and give the boys a hand. Fred was sitting at a nearby computer, sending an email to one of the suppliers they frequently worked with. He had noticed you and George hadn’t said a single word to one another all night.

“Hey, y/n?”

You heard Fred begin to speak, so you turned to your head, walking over the computer.

“You seem down, is everything alright?”

This was the way of things between you and Fred. He knew you like the lyrics of his favorite song. If the tune was even a little bit off, he could sense it. There were times throughout your time of knowing him that he had used this to comfort you before you could even admit to your own hurt. Often, it so happened, this would be when you and George would get into a fight.

You felt the tears you had pushed down earlier begin to make their way up to the surface again.

“Oh, yeah, Fred, I’m okay.”

You felt Fred place his warm hand on top of yours. His palms and fingers were calloused from years of beating bludgers. The feeling of his touch felt different than ever before. You could sense somewhere deep in your bones that your feelings for Fred were changing as quickly and surely as the autumn leaves. He stroked his thumb over yours, looking up at you, his affectionate chocolate-colored eyes shining behind his long lashes.

“You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

“I’m fine, Fred,” you moved away quickly, going back to stacking boxes of Whiz Bangs.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *

November 29th.

“Happy birthday, Bill!”

Arthur placed a large cake down in the center of the dining table. Molly had allowed Albus to write in icing ‘Happy Birthday Uncle Billy’, which reminded Harry affectionately of his 11th birthday cake from Hagrid. You were sat between Fred and George, smiling happily as you watched him blow out the candles.

Fleur smiled affectionately as she gave Bill a shy kiss on the cheek. You felt yourself wondering if their marriage had also become listless. For a fleeting moment, you wondered if maybe you should talk about how you’d been feeling with Fleur and Hermione, but, you felt a sense of shame. A sense of failure had started to enter your mind - maybe you just weren’t attractive to George anymore. A sense of sadness filled your heart again, so you pushed it away, reaching to George’s hand. He barely held it back. You could feel your knee touching Fred’s, which forced you to take continuous sips of the pumpkin juice in front of you.

Once everyone had finished eating, you chose to clean up so that everyone could continue talking. The truth was, you felt an aching sadness in your chest and needed some time alone. You turned on this sink in the kitchen, smiling at the coziness of Molly’s little kitchen. You allowed the sink to fill with whatever, humming to yourself as you scrubbed. You found your head bopping back and forth as you hummed the Triwizard Tournament theme.

You looked up when Fred appeared next to you, reaching into the water to help you.

“I got it,” you said quietly. Something about his mere presence made you want to scream.

“Let me help you.”

You weren’t sure if he was talking about the dishes, but something about his tone and the huskiness behind his words made you think he definitely was not.

Your hands met beneath the water, Fred’s fingers dancing against yours. You moved to give his hand a squeeze, looking knowingly into his eyes.

“Y/n, I…”

Suddenly, you heard Ginny’s voice behind you. “You two need help?” She asked sweetly, grabbing a hand towel to do the drying. You yanked your hands out of the sudsy water with a splash.

“Absolutely, thanks, Gin,” you replied, letting yourself glance over at Fred who was clearly struggling to calm his breathing.

_________________________

The shower at the Burrow was notoriously hard to operate. But nonetheless, you were finally able to find the right temperature. You stood beneath the hot water, letting it run over you. You sighed contently. The heat had allowed some of the stress to melt away. You worked the shampoo into your hair, closing your eyes as you rinsed away a day’s worth of troubles. After you felt clean, you slid the curtain open, flipping over to wrap your hair in a towel. The room had become foggy from the heat, which you noted as you headed over to the mirror to wash your face.

Just then, the door opened. You jumped, nearly screaming at the sight of Fred in the doorway. He shut the door behind him. There was no way he hadn’t seen pretty much everything you had to offer. You couldn’t find a word to utter as he looked your bare body up and down.

Your breath felt strangled as he walked forward, moving so you were flush against the wall. In your chest, your heartbeat had gone wild. You had never felt like this in your life - not even the first time you finally made love to George.

Fred reached over and handed you the towel off a nearby shelf.

“Make sure you lock the door next time, pet,” he said, watching as you shakily wrapped it around you.

“Get out of here, Fred,” you feigned outrage, even though you didn’t mind him being there one bit.

He laughed, using his thumb to wipe smeared mascara from beneath your eye. It had run while you showered.

“You’re beautiful.”

“Fred-”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay-”

But Fred had turned to leave, looking at you over his shoulder.

“Don’t tell George?”

“Pinky promise.”

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

December 24.

You all sat around the fire, warmed from the inside out by stories of the Weasley boys as children, and spiked eggnog. You sat between George’s legs, his arms wrapped lovingly around you. He placed his chin on your shoulder, and you turned to kiss his lips. He tasted like Christmas cookies and nutmeg.

“I’m tired, honey. Are you?”

You shook your head. “No, but go on up. I think I’ll stay up a while longer. Do you think I’ll see Father Christmas?”

George laughed, bopping you on the nose. “Perhaps, but he knows you’ve been a naughty girl.”

Molly gasped, “George Weasley! In front of your own mother!”

The whole room erupted in laughter, watching as your face turned bright red. “Goodnight, George,” you chuckled, giving him one last goodnight hug.

The room slowly continued to clear out. You sat on the floor, sipping more eggnog and flipping through a photo album. You smiled at a sweet picture of Fred and George in matching Christmas sweaters, toothy grins adorning their face as they held up their Christmas presents. On the next page was another picture of the twins in matching onesies, just a few days after they were born. They were always together. They shared everything. You felt a pang of guilt wash over you again. You hadn’t been able to forget about the incident on Bill’s birthday, and what’s more, it had thrilled you.

Eventually, it was just you and Fred in the sitting room. The house had fallen quiet as you listening to the crackling of the fireplace. Fred came to sit next to you, silently watching the fire along with you.

You turned and looked over at him. He still captivated you with his boyish charm. No matter how many times you had looked at him, you never failed to feel some sort of joy deep inside of you. Again, you felt ashamed, because your husband has failed to make you feel this way for a few months now. 

Fred scooted forward, looking into your eyes as if he were searching for something. You gazed back, hoping that he would find what he was looking for. He was wearing his old, tattered sweater that Molly had made him so many years ago, a big F on the front. It was sweet and nostalgic. It reminded you a Christmas nights at Hogwarts, sharing chocolates and playing pranks in the hallowed hallways. 

“So, what’s been going on? Seriously, y/n, it’s been driving me mad.”

“Well, honestly, things aren’t fantastic with George right now, Fred, s’all there is to say.”

“How do you mean?”

You blushed. “It’s embarrassing,” you admitted, pulling the sleeves of your sweater down around your hands and pulling your knees to your chest.

Fred reached over to tuck a hair behind your ear. “You can tell me, you know that.”

“I just don’t think he finds me beautiful anymore, Fred. He doesn’t touch me like he used to. He...just...I don’t know. I feel like such a normal part of his life. The fireworks have gone. It makes me feel small and ….unbeautiful. I miss feeling wanted. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because...we haven’t started a family yet. Maybe he’s disappointed in that? I don’t know.”

The words came pouring out of your mouth. All at once, you regretted them, staring down at the carpet. You felt bad for talking badly about George, especially to his closest brother. You felt tears prickle at the corner of your eyes. Sniffling, you used the hem of your sleeves to wipe your eyes. 

“You are so far from unbeautiful, y/n. You’re perfect. George is the luckiest man on this Earth. I...I swear it.”

What Fred didn’t tell you was that the day George had gone through with the proposal, he had locked himself in his bathroom and cried. Full, heavy, fat-teared crying over the fact that his chance with you had been lost forever. Seeing you in white walking down the aisle toward him had taken his breath away, too, until he remembered he was standing next to George as his best man. You were the one that got away, and the hardest part was is that you hadn’t gone anywhere.

He cupped your face in his hands, moving to use his sweater to catch your stray tears. “Do you know how much I hate seeing you sad?”

All at once, your lips were crashing into his. You fell back onto the carpet, his hands coming to rest on either side of your head, propped up by his arms. “Freddie,” you gasped, but before you could say too much, he continued to kiss you.

Your tongues battled for dominance. Fred flicked his tongue across your lip. You felt his hands sliding up under your sweater, grabbing your hips. His hands were colder than you expected, making you jump. Your chest rose and fell, breathing deeply as he pulled away.

“He’s a bloody idiot,” Fred gasped, pressed his forehead to yours. The only sound to be heard in the Burrow sitting room was the shaky breath of you both...and the overwhelming sense that a beautiful secret - like a tapestry -  had just started to be woven together.

[To Be Continued.]

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

addiction, m | myg, ksj | 1

pairing(s): yoongi x reader, seokjin x reader, ??? x reader

summary: Kim Seokjin reveals his true colors. Min Yoongi freeloads off his roommate (just a little). Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook make an appearance.

warnings: non-idol!AU; in which everyone makes bad choices; slow burn; rated M (18+) for language, mentions of drug use, violence, mentions of depression, abusive relationship

See prologue for notes. I am not condoning any of this behavior, in case that wasn’t abundantly clear.

--

“I’m telling you; the public is changing. They want accessibility.”

“They want to get high, Seokjin.”

He grinned. He was alone this time, standing next to the window in his expensive suit. He honestly didn’t need to be in a suit, but he wore it because he knew he looked good in it.

“They still don’t want to get caught.”

She snorted, an inelegant sound that made Seokjin frown. She couldn’t say more so she just looked away from him. He moved away from the window and stepped towards her, taking note of the bucket hat and loose jeans. Brown belt, big loose black sweater.

“You could have at least dressed up for me.”

He saw her lips twist into a pout and she looked up at him with those black holes, viewing him from under the hat.

“Does it matter?” she replied sharply.

He smiled at her.

“Is the problem money? Do you need me to gift you some pretty dresses?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I don’t need money and you know that.”

He leaned down just a bit and felt her stiffen at his closeness. “Then why are you here?” His eyes flickered up to hers but she wasn’t watching. She was purposefully looking away from him.

“Just give me the fucking pills then,” she mumbled.

“That’s a good girl.”

And he pulled his gun away from her stomach before turning around and giving her the package in a reusable grocery bag.

-

She sat slumped in the train seat, bucket hat over her eyes. It was like she wasn’t even there – people passed by her without giving a second glance. That was the point. She always kept her dark hair and her clothes plain, a forgettable existence to anyone who could be watching.

She didn’t believe Seokjin was an evil person. Not really. Maybe in a different parallel timeline, he was a cheerful person who brought happiness and joy to everyone he met. But not this Kim Seokjin. No, this Kim Seokjin was her drug supplier and it wasn’t a cheerful profession, if one could even call it that.

She doubted Seokjin would actually shoot her. After all, if he wanted to fuck like he claimed, it would be hard with a bloody hole in her stomach.

It wasn’t a theory she was willing to test in the moment though.

She had argued with him because she didn’t want to deal different substances. Quite frankly, she didn’t think she could do this anymore. As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to see a notification on her lock screen. She bit her lip.

She had thought about changing her lock screen many times but each time she saw his smile, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

You’re so pathetic, she thought to herself.

She put in her password and looked at her texts. It was simply labelled, Guide. That’s what Seokjin was named on her phone.

Miss you, Moon.

She shoved her phone back into her pocket and tried not to think about it.

-

Yoongi let out a groan and pressed his forehead onto the front door. He barely made rent this month. It was due in three days and he barely had enough in his account to pay rent and have one meal. One meal. He didn’t know how he was going to survive at this rate. The plastic bag with his one convenience store meal banged against the door and he jumped.

Sighing at his own plight, he punched in the code and entered the apartment. He staggered back, immediately hit by the delicious smell of…

Beef.

Grilled beef.

He blinked, looking around the apartment.

There was his roommate, standing next to the stove. Loose grey sweatshirt and matching sweatpants with a cream apron cinching in her waist. Hips swinging to the beat that was playing in her Bluetooth headphones as she turned over the strips of beef, oil popping and sizzling. The smoke was drifting out of the open window but the smell pervaded throughout.

Words couldn’t describe how jealous he was right now.

He looked down and closed the door, staring at his pathetic little boxed lunch through the plastic. Frustration and annoyance threatened to overwhelm him. He wanted to hurl it at the wall. Why couldn’t he have her life? Not a care in the world, dancing away as she cooked that delicious-smelling beef while he was stuck in his shitshow of a–

“Oh, Yoongi.”

His head snapped up at his name. She was staring at him with the headphones around her neck. Black holes staring at him. He felt suddenly exposed, as if she could read his thoughts.

She gestured with her tongs. “You want some beef?”

He raised a hand, chuckling slightly as he shook his head. “No… No, it’s fine. It’s your food.”

And then his stomach growled so loudly that he himself looked down to stare at it. It was even louder than the sizzling beef. He had never been so betrayed by his bodily functions in his life. And his dick had chosen in some weird girls in his time.

She laughed, the first time he had ever heard her laugh. It made her eyes crinkle up and her shoulders shake, a laugh that made those dead eyes disappear for just a second. She tilted her head just a bit and grinned, shaking her head.

“I’ll prepare another bowl for you.”

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, disturbing his beanie. “I’ll do the dishes then.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

He placed his boxed lunch in the fridge – a bit further in the back – and sat awkwardly at one of the stools at the counter. She placed a bowl of rice in front of him and handed him a plate of four thick slices of beef. He could feel himself drooling at the sight. She leaned forward just a bit and he realized she must have noticed. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand hastily.

“Hmm.” She was smiling at him.

Shit.

She placed a fifth piece of meat on his rice and shook her head, still chuckling. There was a plate of kimchi on the table too. He looked at it and she noticed that too.

“Go ahead. Store bought.”

He took a bite of the beef first. He swore his eyes rolled back into his head. Seasoned, cooked with some pink in the middle. It was like a flavor explosion in his mouth. Maybe it wasn’t actually that good, but he hadn’t had freshly cooked meat in so long that he had forgotten what it tasted like.

He chewed gratefully, slowly opening his eyes. He was going to say something but she was staring at her phone, looking troubled. She was picking meat off the pan, chewing hurriedly.

“It’s… really good.”

She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. “Hm? Oh. It’s just marinated beef. There’s some left in the fridge if you want it for dinner.”

Please, oh God, yes. “No, no, I couldn’t eat your food,” he said awkwardly, not really believing in his own words.

She shrugged. “You should cook it. I probably won’t be home until late.” She looked back at her phone; eyes fixated on the screen. She seemed to be concentrating on something. Then she abruptly put her phone down. “You do know how to cook, right?”

He nodded quickly. “Uh, yeah. My brother is a chef. He taught me the basics.”

“Oh.” She looked a bit embarrassed at her own question. “Good. I won’t come to a burned down apartment then.”

It was then they realized they knew very little about each other. She looked awkward and shoved her phone in her pocket before she continued eating. He stared back down at his rice and continued chewing. Fuck. It tasted really good.

“I noticed you’ve been eating a lot of convenience store food.”

He winced. “Yeah…”

She poked the end of her chopsticks at him. “You should make more food at home. All that packaging is bad for the environment,” she said sternly.

“Ah… yeah.”

She finished the last bit of her rice and set the pan and bowl in the sink, running water over them with a bit of soap.

“I have to go.”

He nodded awkwardly. She left the kitchen to go to her room. He let out an exasperated sigh after she closed the door. He wasn’t really sure why he couldn’t talk to her that well. It wasn’t like he was weird around girls. Maybe it was that unapproachable feeling surrounding her.

Or maybe it was because he knew he had to pay her soon.

She came back out dressed in the same sweatpants and an open black hoodie. His eyes widened when he noticed she was wearing a white crop top underneath. She slung a small duffel bag against her shoulder. It was actually a very attractive look on her.

She turned and he saw she was fresh faced, with minimal makeup. She walked over to him, staring straight at him. No, not him.

She plucked the grey beanie off his head.

“I’m gonna borrow this.”

-

“Jimin, I am not upping your order.”

Those perfectly plump lips curved into a pout. “Moonie, pleaaaase? Pretty please?”

She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “No. I brought your current order with me and I didn’t bring extra. I told you before–”

“I know, I know… A dead customer isn’t a paying customer.”

Well, actually my saying is a dead addict isn’t a paying addict. They were standing at the edge of the dance studio. It was already closed, so the windows were dark and no one was around. The particular corner they stood at couldn’t be seen by the windows. She tapped her sneaker against the hardwood. Park Jimin, dance choreographer and current customer, rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and handed her a cheap blue plastic water bottle. She was wearing her black gloves but had no problem screwing the lid open. She looked inside, satisfied to see the correct amount. She was good at that. She tucked it away in her duffel bag and handed him the small brown paper bag in response, pills tucked in a believable prescription bottle.

“Thanks, Moon. I really needed this.”

Her brows furrowed as he opened the bottle hastily and took one right there in front of her. His orange hair stuck to his forehead, probably due to sweat, but it made him look desperate.

“Jimin, if you need them that bad, you should go see a doctor.”

He winced as he chugged down a gulp of water. “I know. I know… It’s just… award season is coming soon. I need to stay busy.”

She wanted to punch him. You fucking idiot, you’re going to kill yourself.

“Hey, um… I was wondering if you still take on customers? I know a guy…”

She rolled her eyes. “Jimin, please keep your trap shut for your safety and mine. Do you want to get arrested?”

“Are you the one doing the arresting?”

A new, deep voice penetrated the room. A cocky smile and an all-black shadow drifted into the room. The black sweatshirt was so huge it might as well have been a blanket. Dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, slightly long and damp.

She shoved her hands in her black hoodie and glared at Jimin. “You best believe the Guide will hear about this.”

Fear flashed in Jimin’s eyes. “No, wait. Wait, Jungkook–”

“Is this her? Your dealer?” His eyes raked down her frame, briefly fixating on her white crop top. She only wore it because she knew Jimin wasn’t going to mess with her – Seokjin made sure of that – but she hadn’t counted on someone else appearing. “She’s a cute little thing, isn’t she?”

Jimin smacked his chest, trying to push him back. “Stop. You can’t flirt with her,” he warned.

A muscle in her leg tensed. She thought about running but it was better to diffuse the situation.

“Why not?” The one named Jungkook grinned. “Hey, can you hook me up with some of the fun stuff? Not like what Jimin-ssi has here… You know. The fun shit.”

You little– “If you want the fun shit, you have to pay fun shit prices.”

He smiled at her. She did not like it. Not one bit.

“Yeah?”

He took a step towards her. And another. He was trying to back her against the wall, but she stood her ground. Every muscle in her body was tensed. She knew enough to avoid getting her ass kicked by the regular guy. Maybe a little more. He looked down at her, lips curled into a sly smirk. He had a jawline that could cut by itself. He was wearing a gentle cologne and, to be honest, he was attractive, which would be a shame if she had to break that nose.

“Maybe we can strike a deal?”

“Jungkook, I swear, if you even so much as put a finger on her,” Jimin said sternly. She could hear the warning in the shorter male’s voice. It was pretty frightening considering Jimin was one of her more cheerful customers.

Jungkook grinned and backed off. “I’m just kidding.”

She looked away from him and glowered at Jimin. He shook his head.

“Please don’t tell him,” he pleaded.

She looked back at Jungkook, who seemed quite smug about it all. Without warning, she swiftly kicked the back of his knees, making him stumble and cry out.

“Moon, please–”

Another swift chop straight to the sternum and Jungkook was on his knees, gasping for air. She held her fist centimeters from Jungkook’s face, making him freeze. Jimin hovered around, concerned, but it seemed like he was more concerned about her then Jungkook. And within those seconds of exchange, she realized two things.

One, Jungkook was fit. Really fit. And two, if she didn’t have surprise, then she probably would have bitten off more than she could chew. And that would mean…

She clutched her duffel bag and sent Jungkook her most scorching glare.

“Don’t get yourself involved in shit way over your head, kid.”

And, of course, instead of being apologetic or even angry, Jungkook smiled, licking his lips.

“Okay, noona.”

Later, when she was sitting in her room, she really wished she had just punched him.

-

“Are you coming to my party?” The phone quality didn’t hide the honey in Seokjin’s voice.

“No.”

She could almost hear his pout. “You never come anymore. We used to have such fun. You, me, and–”

She cut him off. “Did you talk to Jimin?”

His tone instantly darkened. “I did. He was very apologetic.”

She made a noise of disapproval.

“I didn’t break anything this time.”

“This time,” she echoed. “What about the brat?”

Seokjin brightened. “We had a little discussion. He’ll be a new customer soon.”

She wanted to strangle him. “Seokjin, I told you–”

“You only serve a few customers and you complain about one? One rowdy little thing?”

“This rowdy little thing is going to be trouble,” she warned.

“Don’t worry, my darling,” Seokjin cooed. “I made it very clear you’re mine.”

“I’m n–” And of course he hung up before she could say anything else. She glared at her phone and growled. She didn’t throw it, but she wanted to.

“Bastard,” she muttered to herself.

-

2.

--

masterpost

[whitesparrows97]

Crossroads – Part 1

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Office AU

Summary: Almost accepting his monotonous life, Jeon Jungkook spotted you one day in the office building across the street. It seemed as if you were the light at the end of the tunnel he had been waiting for years for and he was the mayfly trying to break out of his everyday life.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4.3K

Next

When one day is like another and you never experience anything new, life quickly loses its charm. 

At least that was how Jeon Jungkook felt. 

He worked day in, day out as an employee in a law office. He started every morning punctually at nine o’clock in the morning, had a half hour lunch break at 12 o’clock and usually finished work at six o’clock. He always spent the breaks on the roof of the building, from which you had an incredible view of the entire city of Seoul.

That was probably the only good thing about the job, Jungkook often thought with bitterness. 

Or rather had thought. But a month ago everything had changed.

– Flashback –

He was sitting at his desk, which seemed to overflow with paperwork. With a quiet sigh he grabbed the next folder which had a yellow Post-it note with the inscription Urgent! on it.

He was surprised that not all folders had this message, as much stress as his boss always caused him. Not a day went by without his boss having a choleric seizure, and Jungkook was usually the one who got these outbreaks. Probably because his desk was closest to his boss’s office.

The only person who was worse off than him was his secretary Han Sun-Hee. Jungkook heard several times a day how he blamed her for things she wasn’t responsible for. 

One day Jungkook would get up from his desk, go into his boss’s office and throw all the things at his head that had been accumulating for years. But at the moment, Jungkook needed this job, no matter how reluctant he was to admit it.

It was at this very moment that he was once again lost in one of his daydreams where he had a better job and a not so miserable life when Sun-Hee dropped another folder on his desk. 

“How urgent?” the dark-haired man asked without looking up from the other folder.

“As usual,” she replied, and when Jungkook looked up he could still see the sad smile on her face before she disappeared back into her office.

‘As usual’ meant urgent and urgent meant that Jungkook couldn’t leave on time.

He glanced at the clock and his shoulders dropped. It was already 5 p.m., with the large pile he still had in front of him, he would never finish in time. But why did he get upset about it at all? It wasn’t as if someone was waiting for him at home. Someone who would ask why he worked longer with a pointed finger and a slight grin, before joyfully embracing him.

Jungkook had always hoped to get to meet his true love at university, just like his parents had. But he had never had more than a few affairs here and there. To be honest, he wasn’t really interested in any of them either, to build more than just a short fling.

When he started working right after university, it had become difficult to get to know someone. During the week there was hardly any time and on weekends he was often happy to finally have some rest and time alone. 

At work there was also an unspoken ban on dating someone from the office. Not that this ban was necessary at all, since only two other men, Kim Namjoon and Kim Seokjin, worked in the office besides Jungkook. And no matter how much he liked Sun-Hee, a woman in her fifties was a little too old for him.

So a short time later Jungkook had given up looking for the one. He was satisfied with the romantic love films, which he admittedly enjoyed watching every Friday evening and which had already become a kind of ritual.

How could you get to know someone with whom you’d rather spend your Friday evenings comfortably on the sofa than at a loud party, with people you didn’t know and would never want to get to know? This person probably sat on the sofa at the same time as Jungkook and thought the same thing as he did. How would such two people ever meet?

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and concentrated on the folder in his hands, which he had let sink to the desk lost in thought.

“Just one more hour,” he murmured and tried to get his act together.

“With that pile,” Namjoon remarked, he was on his way to the kitchen and seemed to have heard Jungkook’s marbles, “good luck.”

“Thank you, Hyung,” he replied, sounding frustrated and Namjoon stopped in the doorway. 

“Give me one or two folders, then I’ll take them,” the older one offered and Jungkook looked up gratefully, but Namjoon had already disappeared in the kitchen and, judging by the sounds, made himself a coffee.

“Thank you, you’re really saving my day!” he shouted, hoping Namjoon would hear it.

“No problem, I know how Mr. Choi treats you sometimes. You keep most of me and Seokjin away, so I’m glad if I can help you,” Namjoon said with a smile as he went back to his seat with a coffee cup in his right hand.

It was actually a larger room and only the yellowed room dividers offered some privacy. Yet you could hear every noise and conversation of the others, which was one more reason why Jungkook longed every day for the half hour break on the quiet roof.

Jungkook once let his head roll and his neck cracked alarmingly. He decided to take a short break and turned on his office chair 90 degrees towards the windows, resting his head on his left hand. He did this quite often when he needed a short break from all the documents and cases and the lines on the slips of paper blurred back into an unreadable pulp.

His gaze wandered across the street, which lay several tens of meters below him and where he could only recognize the people as small, inconspicuous figures hurrying to their destination. He raised his eyes and that was the moment when everything changed for him.

Directly in the building opposite, only a few meters away, a new agency had moved in. He had already seen the moving boxes last week and yesterday there had been suppliers who had delivered and set up the desks.

At the desk in question, which pointed directly in his direction, stood a young woman who had just wired her computer. She kneeled down to crawl under the desk to connect the cables to the socket.

Apparently everything had worked because a smile spread out on her face as soon as she looked at the screen. Jungkook couldn’t help but smile as well. He had never seen anyone so happy about such a little thing and his heart accelerated.

It was as if the woman noticed she was being watched as she suddenly looked up and looked straight into Jungkook’s direction. He was so shocked that his elbow slipped off the desk and his upper body glided downward for a short moment because of the lack of grip. He had caught himself again and embarrassingly turned back toward his desk.

He felt the heat rise into his cheeks and hoped that this was not visible because of the distance. He dared to take a quick sideways look and immediately regretted it. The woman had apparently expected it and Jungkook could only see her laughing before he turned right back.

Great, she laughed at him. No wonder he didn’t have a girlfriend when he was a joke even to strangers.

– Flashback End –

The whole thing had happened a month ago and Jungkook had seen the woman since then five days a week, four weeks in a row. And if he was honest with himself, the two-day weekend he had always been looking forward to was now almost a torture. 

He still hated his work, and hardly anyone could change that. Unless Mr. Choi suddenly resigned and a new, less choleric boss took his place. But that would hardly happen in the next twenty years. Seokjin had once told him that during one of his seizures Mr. Choi had yelled that he would have to be carried dead out of the office to get his position. 

But Jungkook didn’t intend to stay forever in this job, let alone in this company, anyway. It wasn’t the work per se that he didn’t enjoy. He wanted to help other people and assert himself against injustice. But he had noticed early in his university days that the profession of lawyer was not always about which side was right. The decisions that were made and that he himself had to make were not always fair, but that was his job.

But what changed for him was his attitude. Mr. Choi could yell at him and give him a bunch of tasks, but he didn’t get upset anymore. He even liked to stay half an hour longer at work because he knew you would be there. He didn’t know what kind of work you were doing, but when he last left the office and turned off the light behind him, he always looked back at you.

And every time he saw you sitting behind your desk so that only a part of your head was visible. He was sorry you had to work overtime every day and didn’t seem to have much free time.

Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of that, Jungkook only needed to take a quick look to the side to make sure you were still there to shut Mr. Choi’s tantrum out. 

“This has to be done by Monday,” grumbled said boss, before he disappeared into his office and slammed the door behind him.

“Of course it has to be done by Monday,” Jungkook mumbled and shook his head. Recently there have been a lot of short-term assignments and jobs, so Jungkook got the impression that Mr. Choi deliberately informed him so late that Jungkook had to work longer. 

All this on a Friday. 

Fridays were sacred for Jungkook, because every week after work he went to the small supermarket at the train station to buy a few things for his movie night. At least the supermarket wouldn’t be so crowded because most normal people were at home with their families.

“Keep your head up high, Jungkook,” Seokjin tried to cheer him up and he could hear the voice behind the room divider.

“How do you know I’ll hang my head?” Jungkook replied. “Who doesn’t like a pile of work just before the weekend,” he added ironically.

He could hear Seokjin’s laughter and Namjoon’s soft giggling as Mr. Choi’s office door was loudly pulled open. 

“I’m going home,” he announced louder than necessary, so that even people on the other floors would be able to hear it. “And remember, Mr. Jeon–“

“The results are on your desk on Monday, Mr. Choi,” Jungkook interrupted him so as not to prolong the conversation unnecessarily.

His boss only nodded once and then left without another word.

“I hate him,” Namjoon admitted a few seconds later, and Jungkook couldn’t hold back his laughter. As unpleasant as Mr. Choi was, he was glad to be on one side with the others.

“Who doesn’t,” Seokjin added, and Jungkook could hear the grin in his voice as well.

“Maybe at some point his head will burst when he has another outburst of rage,” Jungkook said and the three burst out laughing.

“I swear I saw steam coming out of his ears the other day,” Seokjin said between two laughs.

“You shouldn’t speak so badly of him,” Sun-Hee interrupted the three men and the laughter immediately stopped.

“You should hate him most of all, Noona,” Namjoon asked confused.

Sun-Hee was on her way out, but turned around again. “He often shows his bad side, but he is not a bad person. He only has a problem and can’t see it.”

“I still don’t like him,” Jungkook said quietly, but Sun-Hee had heard it.

“You don’t have to, Jungkook. Mr. Choi is your boss and not your friend, but hating someone requires so much effort that you’d rather spend on something more beautiful, don’t you think so?” With a smile she looked at the three young men. “I wish you a pleasant weekend and don’t stay too long.”

With these words she also left.

“She’s right,” Namjoon concluded, standing up as well. Seokjin also began to arrange his things on his desk and packed them up. As it seemed Jungkook would have to spend the next hour alone in the office. Although he would at least be able to work in peace and get the work done as quickly as possible.

The two said goodbye to him a little later and Jungkook enjoyed a moment of peace after the door had fallen into the lock. 

Outside, the sky was already turning red and orange when Jungkook had finished his work and put the folder on his boss’s desk. The time came when it was getting dark earlier and summer was coming to an end.

When Jungkook hung his bag over his shoulder and wanted to leave, he took a look at you as usual and was surprised to look into a dark window. You had already finished work. 

Jungkook didn’t know why, but he felt a little betrayed by you, as stupid as that sounded. You didn’t owe him anything, you didn’t even know each other. Yet he had become so accustomed to seeing you still sitting behind the desk when he left the office that it felt strange that it wasn’t like that today.

Maybe you had a date, he thought when he was standing in the elevator on the way down. Probably guys were queuing up for you. Or maybe it wasn’t necessary at all, because someone was already waiting for you at home who had missed you all day.

Jungkook didn’t know why this thought caused a little sting in his heart, but he quickly stopped thinking about it and put on his umbrella. The last two days it had only rained and Jungkook was happy that he didn’t have to feel bad if he could stay home for the weekend and use the bad weather as an excuse. 

With a short sprint he got the train home and got off at his stop twenty minutes later. Already from a distance he realized that he had been right with his suspicion and that the supermarket was as good as empty. Especially in this weather, most people were probably happy when they were at home in the dry.

“Good evening,” welcomed the cashier Jungkook and Jungkook nodded to him friendly. Thanks to the numerous regular visits, he knew where to find his things and without long searching he stood at the checkout with a bottle of red wine, a cup of ice cream, a bag of chips and a frozen pizza.

“Looks healthy,” it suddenly came from his left and in his mind he had already laid down the sentences that no one should simply be degraded for his purchases when all sentences got stuck in his throat and he saw you standing next to him.

“Oh, hey,” you said when you recognized him and he saw your face lighten up when you smiled. He told himself that it was really because of him, that he could make you so happy. “You’re the guy who almost smashed his forehead on the desk.”

Immediately the smile fell from his face and the butterflies in his stomach fell lifelessly back to the floor of facts.

“Yep, that’s me, I guess,” he replied. Of course you laughed because of that and not because you were happy to see him.

“Are you living nearby?” you asked curiously as you put your groceries next to him on the cash register tape.

“Yes,” his short answer came back.

“Wow, are you always so talkative?” You smiled at him, but he didn’t even look up when he put his purchase in his bag.

“Then have a nice evening,” you shouted after him as he headed for the exit without another word. But he stopped at that comment, turned around and came back the few steps. For a moment he stood before you without a word and seemed to be looking for the right words. You looked at him waiting.

“What do you want? Keep laughing at me?”

That was not what you had expected. “W-What?”

“Do you want to know more about this weird guy so you have more to laugh about?”

You were perplexed and didn’t know what to say.

“That’ll be fourteen thousand Korean won,” the cashier interrupted you, looking at you bored and waiting for the money.

“Uh, o-of course. One moment, please,” you replied and looked for your wallet with trembling fingers in your bag. When you gave the money to the cashier, relieved, you sadly noticed that the other man had already left.

What the hell had that been?

–

He could kick himself. It was bad enough that he couldn’t have a proper conversation with women, but now he had outdone himself and even yelled at you.

Great, well done, Jungkook.

He hit his forehead with his flat hand and stayed like that in his little open kitchen for a moment before pulling himself together and putting the ice in the fridge and shoving the pizza into the oven.

With a ‘plop’ he opened the bottle of wine and dropped onto the sofa. He was afraid to see you again on Monday. Would you throw hateful looks at him or even worse, ignore him altogether?

It hadn’t been often, but every now and then you caught him looking at you and smiled at him. That would probably stop now, because he had messed it up.

It wasn’t even the case that you attacked him in any way. Jungkook had overreacted and he was aware of that a few minutes later in the quiet of his apartment. But how could he make up for that? Even though you almost sat opposite each other, you couldn’t communicate with each other.

Maybe he could wait for you somehow on Monday and wait for you in front of the building. Or was that weird? Would it look as if he was lurking for you? It would probably be better if you crossed paths by ‘coincidence’. He could wait and see when you’re done with your work and then go down at the same time. 

While Jungkook chewed his pizza lost in thought, he made up a plan.

Jungkook quickly realized with a brief glance into your office that Monday morning everything came differently and he could chuck his plan in the dustbin. You weren’t there.

The last few weeks he had seen you every day, so he hadn’t reckoned that you wouldn’t show up in the first place and thus robbed him of any chance to make up for his mistake. 

The next days you didn’t show up either. And with every day the stone in the pit of his stomach and the feeling of guilt only got worse. Jungkook was worried that something might have happened to you. When you met at the supermarket it had been quite late and who knows who you had met on the way home. He shouldn’t have let you go home alone in the first place.

His last chance was Friday and he was hoping to see you at the supermarket like he did last week. It was unclear to him why he cared so much about a person he didn’t know at all and had only exchanged a few words with each other. 

To Jungkook’s annoyance, he was able to finish his work on Friday on time and although he was still dawdling a bit and was already preparing some work from the next week, he was in the supermarket earlier than the week before. 

He didn’t go to the right shelves as usual, but browsed around the supermarket. Every person who looked just a little bit like you made his heart beat faster, only to be disappointed a few moments later to notice that it was someone else.

“You took longer than usual,” Taehyung remarked, sitting behind the cash register and looking questioningly at the younger one. Taehyung and Jungkook were almost friends or at least good acquaintances. Taehyung had recognized Jungkook after a few visits and every now and then they spent some time together watching movies or playing together online. He was probably the person Jungkook would most likely call a friend.

“Hey, Taehyung,” he greeted the other. “I had something on my mind today. “

“I can tell. Anything special?” He looked at Jungkook again before adding: “If you weren’t pulling such a sad face, I would ask if it was a woman.” 

Jungkook just laughed bitterly. If he knew. “Where is Michael?”

“Michael?” Taehyung asked and pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. A moment later it dawned on him and he shrugged his shoulders with a smile. “Ah, Mikey! Got fired. Some customers complained about his behavior.”

“I’m not surprised, could the guy look any different than bored and annoyed?” Jungkook asked while he was paying and stowing his groceries in his bag.

“I know someone else who does that,” suddenly a voice behind him said that was all too familiar to him. He turned around in surprise and you stood there. You looked tired, the rings under your eyes were hard to miss. Nevertheless you had a smile on your lips when you greeted Taehyung.

“Hey, Y/N, how are you?” Taehyung greeted you and Jungkook was surprised he knew your name. Y/N. Now he finally knew your name, even though he couldn’t prevent the slightly jealous sting that came when he saw that Taehyung and you seemed so close. 

“I have a lot to do at work, as always, but otherwise I’m doing great. How’s the store going?” It irritated you a bit that the unfriendly young man from last week was still standing next to you and stared at you. You didn’t know what you had done to him, but you couldn’t handle another outbreak against you.

“Everything’s great, even if we’re a little short on staff at the moment. So if you know someone who knows someone…” Taehyung didn’t go any further with his statement, but you nodded knowing.

“I ask around. I hope you have a nice weekend. See you soon, Taehyung”, you said goodbye before heading out.

You had almost arrived at the door when Taehyung nodded encouragingly at Jungkook. “Don’t you want to go after her?” 

Jungkook looked at him in surprise. Taehyung apparently knew him better than he had thought. With a short smile he said goodbye to him before he ran after you with a short sprint and caught up with you after a few seconds.

“Do you want to chuck insults at me again?” Your voice was cold, any trace of friendliness and wit, as he had experienced it the last two times, had disappeared.

“I wanted to apologize,” Jungkook pressed straight out. He tried not to let his nervousness show.

“Accepted.”

“Why did you lie to Taehyung?” Jungkook didn’t want to go too far with his question. He noticed that you were still a bit contrite, but the answer interested him too much. 

“I didn’t lie to anyone,” came the short answer from you before you turned the corner into the next alley.

“Yes, you just told him that the work was stressful. But you weren’t at work that week,” he told you, and you couldn’t stop the little smile.

“Are you spying on me?”

“What? N-no, I mean… I just n-noticed t-that…” Jungkook started stuttering and feverishly looking for an explanation. He noticed his cheeks getting red again and hoping you wouldn’t see it.

“Everything’s fine, I’m just pulling your leg,” you laughed and looked at him. Jungkook was glad you didn’t seem to be angry with him anymore. “What is your name by the way? You know my name now.”

“J-Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook.”

“So, Jeon Jungkook. If you are not spying on me, then why are you walking in exactly the same direction as me?”

He looked at you overwhelmed and once opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. A moment later he seemed to have regained his composure. “To be honest, I was a little worried after last week. We didn’t part on good terms and when I didn’t see you at work that week I thought something might have happened to you.”

He looked insecure at the floor and you saw his cheeks turning slightly red. They matched the sky, which was streaked with red threads, announcing the dawn of the end of the day.

“So you’re worried about me?” you replied a little surprised. “That’s more than most people do,” you added quietly after a short break. 

“What do you mean? I’m sure your family cares about you, too,” Jungkook remarked. You arrived in front of your apartment and climbed the few steps to the front door. 

“Thank you for bringing me home, Jeon Jungkook. See you on Monday,” you said before you walked through the door without waiting for an answer. When the door fell into the lock behind you, you took a deep breath. Exhausted, you went to the first floor where your apartment was and when you had also brought this barrier between you and the man, only then could you really relax again.

Jungkook asked you far too many questions and was too curious to be good for him. Some things should rather remain unasked and even more so unanswered. That would be better for everyone involved.

Hello! This story is so much fun to write and I’m so excited to share it with you! I really hope you like it just as much. Altogether the story will have three chapters, so it will be a shorter story. About every kind of feedback I am very happy. ♥️ I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!