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missmarveledsblog · 14 hours ago
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Never doubt the Matchmaker ( jake seresin x reader )
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Summary : nat phoenix trace was well known by her friends and coworkers as being a excellent matchmaker although jake seresin thinks it all bullshit till he finally let her set him up and jake learns never to doubt the matchmaker ...
warnings : goofy , fluffy , miscommunication sort of rom com feel to it , picture doesn't describe the reader just cover art i started making for fics
Natasha trace  was a woman of many talents , she was strong , determined , and calculated . all good qualities that made her one of best female pilots but she also had another talent one that didn't even remotely have to do with the navy and it was her match making skills . when she disclosed the information it got laughs  , didn't bother her she laughed along with them .  then one by one it would start off joking then hinting to outright asking. first it was fanboy then bob then javy then rooster. only one she didn't get asked by was payback giving the man was already married and jake who still thought it was all  crock .  she didn’t really concern herself with what bagman had to say the results spoke for themself .  fan boy was living with the barista she set him up with , bob was married to the animal shelter volunteer , javy was still going strong with the yoga instructor while  rooster only began seeing the nurse it was still good and boy was he already gone . the results spoke for themselves as always but jake still a skeptic , still ready to shoot it all down of course . 
“ he’s just afraid of finding the one is all “ rooster laughed .
“ i mean i don’t doubt your skill but hangman finding the one is a bit far fetched “ bob shook his head amused in the constantly denial of the match making but in fairness they all were  til she did her thing. 
“ don’t worry bagman i wouldn’t subject any woman to deal with you “  phoenix rolled her eyes . 
“ because its not working i mean rooster would fall in love with a rock” he countered as the brunette exclaimed out a “ hey “ 
 “ why does it bother you so much , you feeling left out , a little lonely “ she taunted . 
“ never lonely phoenix i can get a girl to keep me warm at night any time” he winked  taking his shot potting the ball . 
“ why don’t you let her set you up then “ bob suggested . 
“ he’s right you think it’s fake then prove it “ javy added . 
“ ain’t you suppose to be on my side here?” 
“ come on man what have you got to lose”  rooster smirked . 
“ you know what i’ll bit just to show you i’m right” he crossed his arms looking to the female pilot.
“Fine  i’ll set you up bagman “ nat shook her head . 
It had been weeks since the whole agreement in the hard deck and jake constantly being the one to let her know the fact . then like an angel to answer all there prayers she found the one , the one that would have jake seresin eating his words .  then one day during lunch jake was looking at text of details for a date saturday . he promised to give the woman a chance   , knowing full well it would end like all his dates do  and that part wasn’t so bad .  He’d gotten the womans number striking up a conversation , she could least do that only thing was when he asked for selfie she would reply later , later never came then it was “ i forgot next” which didn’t fill him with much fate but still keeping his word he continues to chat . saturday he was on the beach  a regular tradition now playing dog fight football as the guys asked about his  date. 
“ i mean we text but no selfies so not promising “ he called as nat shook her head. 
“ she hot bagman not that it matters “ she rolled her eyes . 
“ all chicks say there friends are hot , i’m just being honest” he smirked . 
“ not al about looks “ rooster pointed out . 
“ says the guy with the hot nurse girlfriend , you telling me if she wasn’t attractive to you in the smallest bit you would be with her ?” he asked . 
“ yeah because of the person , she is” . 
“ again not that it matters but y/n is a hotty and well able to handle you “ nat scoffed . 
“ yeah we’ll see about that phoenix”. 
When he got home  still texting his date asking her what she was going to wear so he would be able find her .  all he got back was long red dress probably something a grandma would wear  he didn’t know why but that was what he thought . then he got ready   thinking the worse as time got closer , like it was set up in a different way , a ploy for phoenix to get back at him and set him up with some lady that had twenty cars the generic mad woman crossing his mind .  he could slip out early that was for sure  although javy was telling him it would be ok also agreed to call with fake emergency. He was glad he agreed to meet somewhere else because if this was a trick least there would be no witnesses that was for sure . checking over least he looked good   as he looked down at his dress pants that fit snugly on his legs of the light blue almost whitish blue shirt that made his chest and arms look great . he was ready to prove natasha trace wrong and make a  lady happy to get the jake seresin experience . he was sure it was going to be a disaster , some sort of catfish situation even though he had yet to she her face expectations were not high. He stood outside  the bar it was classy  place so who he thought he would meet would stand out a mile off already building an image of some desperate woman .   parking and taking one look at his phone both message one to tell him she was at the bar and another from javy to have good time but he was also on standby if needed . heading in there was one woman at the bar in a red dress , long that stopped at her shins , her long legs crossed with a pair of black open toed heels   , spagetti string straps as she looked around she was gorgeous. Maybe if his  date failed he could ? . 
She couldn’t believe she let natasha trace do her whole match maker thing knowing how it was going to fail , from texting the guy it was ok nothing special didn’t seem like he was into it either so least she wouldn’t be the only one who was going to go into it with less expectations , plus she could only imagine what she was going to meet not that she didn’t find  nat’s flyboy friends attractive because they were but they lacked a little something  .  she herself worked as a mechanic not as glorious or as dangerous as  the navy but she and nat bonded over being in a male dominated area even still she was confused as the receptionist . now here she was sitting waiting for some stranger  when she could be in her shop finishing the shit ton of cars that needed to be fixed but maybe a few drinks would be ok  , help take the busy week off her shoulders . one so busy she kept forgetting to send a selfie and then she thought it would be more fun to keep the mystery going . she text him to let him know he was at the bar barely flickering her gaze  when he text to say  he was outside well here it was. 
“ showtime “ she winked to the bartender downing the drink waiting for whatever disaster  that was coming her way . 
“Erm y/n “ the  southern drawl clear his throat she turned to raise her hand. 
“ over here” she smiled ok , so he wasn’t tragic looking maybe it was shallow but hey he was gorgeous blonde so she wasn’t complaining . 
“ well darling nice to meet you “ he beamed , he’d give nat this one she was the hotty at the bar . 
“ jake?  Nice to meet you too “ she held her hand out almost swallowed in his own , lifting it to his lips and kissing her hand .
“ what are you drinking ?” he nudged . 
“ just beer , southern boy huh” her own accent coming out more as she talked . 
“ austin born and raised , you ?” he took the seat  noting the slight disappointed glance of bartender since he came over. 
“ dallas , would you like to go sit down and get some food because i for one am hungry ?”  
“ lead the way beautiful whatever you want it on me “  he beamed holding his hand out and letting her take him anywhere and it would be anywhere damn she was like a siren luring him to sea .  following the sway of her hips like they were personal hypnotizing him and maybe they were , pulling the seat out putting the full gentlemen charm because shit she had him hooked with her body already . 
“ so jake from austin what made you ask nat for her skills “ she asked looking up  ever the gentlemen pulling her chair out and pushing it in for her as she looked up through her lashes at the blonde . 
“ honest answer?” to which she nodded .  “ honestly i wanted to see if she was good as other say kinda a skeptic but maybe not so much “ he winked as her  head tipped back and wondrous sound of her laugh came out. 
“ oh my god same i only agreed because she set my cousin up with ostrich , duck some bird dude “ she laughed . 
“ rooster?” 
“ YES !  i haven’t met him yet but my cousin  ironic dove is singing his praise then when she told me she got a perfect match not gonna lie since your being honest and all but i said no for while stuff at works been well hectic “ she shook her head. 
“ what is you do , you never said in your texts plus you owe me a selfie or two “ he teased . 
“ a mechanic actually while other girls where playing with barbies i was playing with tools and hotwheels i’m only girl of a bunch of boys so i guess when i wanted to be one of them safe to say my mom was little let down to say the least “ she chuckled . 
“ i’m only boy of bunch of girls i’m second born though “ 
“I’m the baby  , i’m actually working in a shop owned by my two older brothers and top at my job not as exciting as being a aviator for the navy though” she winked . 
“ nah i’m impressed least i know if my truck ever  has trouble i know who will take care of it for me” he smirked leaning forward honestly he hated how much he was going to be hearing nat gloat because he was already hooked  this woman was perfect although she was a decade younger but fuck she was making him feel like a teenager.
The date was good he laughed a lot she was funny , she seemed interested in knowing him and   kept the conversation light nothing was felt pushed or awkward . it was perfect date  he hated he would have to tell phoenix  as much he didn’t want that night to end ,  they even made out in the back of his truck  so why was it two days after the date and everything was radio silent . only thing that he was told was she got home safe and would contact him again .  he never had that much fun on a date especially one that didn’t end in sex , he wanted to be respectful , he also didn’t wanna text and come off desperate so he was wondering what hell went wrong .  maybe he could ask nat and swallow his pride at the fact she was good but clearly not good if he was ghosted . 
She wondered what went wrong did she come on too  strong , did he not like her .  the date was perfect and yet she never  got text back after she told him she got home safe .  it was all good even making out in the back of his truck til he stopped it now she was slightly annoyed he ghosted her .  burying herself in the overflowing work she could of been doing instead  when the familiar sound of an engine . to see natasha trace coming her way all smile probably ready to hear about how it all went . 
“ i’m mad at you “ y/n huffed tying her hair up before diving back into the hood of the corvette that needed dire attention.  
“ what did he do ?” she groaned now holding the coffee she brought like a peace offering instead of an early celebration . 
“ ghosted me  , i thought we had a great time  , even made out in his stupid truck and boom nothing even when i offered him to follow me “ she grumbled looking up . 
“ wait what javy said jake had great time i was here to rub it in both of you “ . 
“ well i’ll do that rubbing in your matchmaking skill ain’t all that .. but i love you and you didn’t know this was gonna happen so i guess i ain’t actually mad at you… my vagina might be “ she laughed finally taking the coffee. 
“ i’m gonna find out what going on cause something is  not adding up “ nat brows furrowed as she head off ignoring the protest that came from y/n mouth . 
She couldn’t make sense of it , according to javy he was smitten  like really smitten so what the hell was going on .  she knew y/n was younger than jake by ten years was that it but then she was thinking jake would date younger than himself maybe not that gap but again it didn’t seem to bother him . it wasn’t even to do with the match making anymore ..ok maybe it was could that be it , he was ghosting y/n in his own need to be right.  Now she was pissed  as she drove a little faster ,  parking her car and storming down the halls. She didn’t even look at the guys when she got to jake staring up , eyes narrowed  and hands on hips . 
“ what is your problem how come your ghosting y/n ,  she said she had a great time with you and what  is it your need to be right because that fucked if you don’t like her least be a man and tell her “ she gritted . 
“ what are you talking about  , she ghosted me nat  she should grow up and tell you the truth “ he scoffed . 
“ she looked upset although she wouldn’t show it …  she thinks you don’t like her she offered  her place ?” nat said even more confused .
“ believe it or not i was being a gentlemen because i actually did like the her.. The date “ he corrected pulling his phone out to show the fact he ended up texting her couple times . 
“ oh you stupid man , it concerning your still flying that not her the name is similar but you’ve been texting another woman no wonder she didn’t answer … idiots “ she scoffed as jake looked at his phone he didn’t even realize that name was still in his phone  he just saw the first three letters and was currently cursing the device in his hand .  it all connecting in his mind only for rooster to say it all out loud. 
“ shit you actually ghosted her after all” .
“ where she work  cause she not gonna believe me if i text her now ?” he asked chasing after nat  who honestly was done with life at the moment. 
“ if i  tell you , you gotta wear a shirt that says i was right for three nights of my choosing in hard deck ?” nat mused even though she was gonna help him either way but didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun too . 
“ you know what i’ll let you have six , come on “ he pleaded  ready to dart out knowing he’s morning was free . 
“  don't make me regret this “ nat smirked texting the address . “ make sure you check the right message “ she called as he ran off flipping her off . 
 he didnt know what it was but he was hooked on this girl like some sort of spell was cast on him  . he usually didn't bother texting after the fuck boy tendency  was strong he knew it himself but shit he was so disappointed and turned out to be his fault his fuckboy ways or some sort of self sabotage  .  already losing something so good before it even started he wanted to delete all the contacts in his phone maybe change his number start a new leaf. He was just hoping he wasn’t too late as he got into his truck nat sent another message telling him  the  coffee and baked good  peace offering to bring  as well as his size  maybe he would wear the shirt  an extra night for that. It was a race for what he didn’t know but he wanted to find out.   
She was tired but finally she gotten on top of the overflow of repairs  ones even her brothers were impressed she managed to pull of maybe the frustration of being ghosted was working in her favor , she was ready to grab her coat and head out . 
“ hey kiddo truck coming in can you sort this while i sort something in the office” her brother mikey called . 
“ you gotta be shitting me i’m heading out deal with it yourself” she scoffed. 
“ do it and i’ll give you rest of week off and next week  paid and overtime?” he said holding phone to his ear . 
“ fine after this i’m out for a week and half   “ she rolled her eyes throwing her things down tying her hair up . 
“ yeah she going  i think a date would be a good payment huh trace” he chuckled heading into the office. 
She was huffing and puffing but hey time of and extra money she could be happy with , what she wasn’t happy with was a tall blonde aviator standing by the truck . 
“ we’re closed” 
“ says your open “ he nodded to the neon sign. 
“ busy should of called a head.. Or do you have a phone?” she scoffed hand on her hip  , burning hole in his head with the fiery gaze she had on him . 
“ can we talk please ? i got your favorites here” he held up the container. 
“ you could of talked to me before , my brother is in there i will not hesitate to get the bat from his car “ 
“  hear him out … heres your stuff and thanks for screwing up so i can get a date with nat “ mikey called placing her stuff at the door before heading in and locking the door . 
“ traitor “ she mumbled taking her bag and  only see her car keys missing . “ son of a bitch “ she grumbled .  But it wasn’t going to get her down  no come hell or nothing she would walk her ass home . so she did turning out away completely not even sparing the blonde a second look or care if he was following her or not. 
“ come on please let me explain “ jake called. 
“ explain nothing if nat sent you here tell her it’s all good “ she waved over her shoulder not only was  she pissed she was no embarrassed thinking he owned her explanation .  which he did but one of his own violation and not one her friend force him to make .   she heard his booths hitting the asphalt , she could hear the panting  behind her shaking her head she kept walking . 
“ come on please” 
“ you ghost me , i practical ask you to sleep with me i thought you were doing the whole gentlemen thing  but turned out you just didn’t like me which is fine i mean not everyone gonna like me but shit when are guys gonna be honest and be like look i ain’t feeling it   or some shit “ she snapped not caring about the group of guys walking by .  
“ dude you blind “ one commented as she just groaned walking past them all . 
“ hey hey  i did want to ok and i was trying to be a gentlemen , i wanted to take you in backseat of the pickup if i could “ he yelled only instead of the group of guys passing it was a group of elderly women . 
“ pig “ one scoffed as they hurried passed. 
“ i thought you ghosted me ok …i maybe even worse asshole to admit that i was texting the wrong number because the names were similar which i’m going to have to text that person the same thing cause i’m pretty sure she married now” he winced as she finally stopped walking . 
“ you want me believe and if i did it worse that it was a mistake dude it ok we didn’t click i mean i thought we did … oh shit “ she said as he held his phone up showing her the messages her name but the contact was similar . “ is it safe for you to be flying “ she asked .
 “ yes i  made a dumb mistake but my eyesight is fine “ he snorted shaking his head nat previous statement . 
“ so you didn’t ghost me ?” she blinked up slightly  still trying to piece the new information slightly relieved since lets be real being ghosted is never fun . 
“ i didn’t ghost you be a fool to  ,  if  your in a forgiving mood since i cleared it up would you maybe wanna go on another date ?” he stood not the usually confident or cocky way he was used to he was almost shy when asking a definite new feeling that he would ( would not ) out loud . 
“ i guess since you got me a week and half off work i could least do that “ biting her lip , wanting to kick herself at the urge to twirl her hair in her finger like some smitten school girl . 
“Well then lets get going “ he winked wrapping his arm around her only for the same group of guys from before walking by looking barely 16 . 
“ dude kiss her “ one  not so hushed whisper yell  . 
“  man i was gonna ask her out” another whined. 
“ y’all watching this whole time ?” she snorted while jake was looking like the cat that got the cream having her at his side . 
“ tiktok was done … if things don’t work out with old man  heres my number” the guy winked as jake took the piece of paper instead . 
“She wont need it son “ was all jake could say leading her back towards the shop , back where his truck was least if her brother was doing him the solid he could have a small drive thru  date . he was new to it all actually wanting to see the one person actively and exclusive ( not that he told her , he wasn’t bradshaw ) but he was willing to show it in future .  He also learned never to doubt nat and her matching making skills again well how could he went he was going to be wearing the visual proof .
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ideologyofone · 10 days ago
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Someone please come play with the arcane music writers they’re getting desperate
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lovelyhan · 1 year ago
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— meet cute of the century ⟢
the last thing you expected when you volunteered at your city’s local animal shelter is to meet the hottest cat person in the world. now if only he’d just adopt one of them so you’d stop ogling him every time he drops by.
★ FEATURING; wonwoo x reader
★ WORD COUNT; 25.4k words
★ TAGS; meet cute, strangers to lovers, pining, discourse abt being an idol as a career, mild angst, smut
★ NOTES; it's finally done!! and it turned out to be the longest oneshot i've written ever T T i reaaally didn't mean it to become this long but i got overly self-indulgent so here we are :3c also psa that this story features a handful of other characters from the series, so if you find them familiar that's totally on purpose HEH
this is part of the doting on you! series.
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★ SMUT TAGS; unprotected sex, service top wonwoo, praise kink, voice kink, first time together, fingering, creampie, ofc they're grossly in love
★ TAGLIST; @cheolhub - @pretty-trustme - @just-here-to-read-01 - @idkmelkro - @dejavernon - @venusrae - @jeonghancvunt - @jyiiscool - @jiniesclub - @junhui-recs - @bldelaine - @fruitzcup - @hoeforhao - @candidupped - @emmmui - @billboard-singer - @caratochan - @novalpha - @dahliatopia - @0717luv - @shiveringgaze - @toruro - @mixling-blog - @coffeestay - @jkbabiey
★ SERIES TAGLIST; @ti--red - @jeonwonhi - @gyusbabydoll - @xiaoting999 - @marksluvr0 - @ohmyhuenings - @downbadreading
P.S. i reserve the right to refuse to add you to my taglist if you don't have any age indicators in your profile :^)
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There are a handful of things that a college student can do with their free time. Studying, hanging out with friends, and maybe even picking up a hobby of sorts. You, on the other hand, use up all the hours you’re not spending on your undergrad thesis or sleeping the day away at an animal shelter just a few minutes away from your apartment. 
Your friends constantly wonder how you’re still able to maintain a remarkable GPA with a part-time job that’s starting to look full-time, but you just laugh their questions off for the most part—saying that other people have got it worse than you, but can still perform leagues better academically. 
You also tell them that most of your motivation comes from all the unadopted animals from the shelter. You started as a volunteer just to kill time on weekends when you’re free, but even if you knew better than to get attached to all those adorable faces, you eventually found yourself on the employee roster anyways. 
Now you’re rushing to finish your degree so you can get a neat sugar mommy job that’ll let you afford to adopt everyone that’s been stuck in the shelter for nearly a year or more.
Okay, maybe not everyone because you’re no fool with a savior complex. But just enough to give a few furry friends a new home, right?
“Don’t look now,” your coworker, Mina whispers conspiratorially while you’re in the middle of snacking in the break room, “but that cutie you’ve been crushing on just walked inside. He’s checking out the cats out in the playroom as usual.”
Right. Apart from your altruistic dream of adopting as many animals as your financial capabilities can allow, there’s another reason you’re always looking forward to your shifts at the shelter. A reason that you’re a bit too embarrassed to let your friends know about.
You nearly choke on a potato chip when Mina informs you of the news and she immediately breaks into a fit of laughter. Glaring at her, you compose yourself with a long gulp of water before saying, “I do not have a crush on him.”
“Sure,” she plays along. “If you consider making googly eyes at the guy every time he drops by as ‘not having a crush on him’, then I’ll concur.” 
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t, sweetheart. Now get out there and sweet talk him into taking one of the kittens home! Pretty sure he wants one if he’s been showing up as much as he did for the last two months.” 
While you would’ve argued that the so-called cutie you’ve been crushing on could just like seeing the cats play around in his free time, you don’t really have much energy to play mental gymnastics with Mina. You’ve had a long day of revisions and other nonsense materials you have to submit for your majors, so you’ll let this one slide.
Your workplace is as bleak as every other shelter you’ve seen a few times in your life. Gray walls, concrete floors, and steel cages stacked on top of each other. It looks more like a prison than anything, really, but it’s the staff and those kind-hearted souls who rehome animals that have long been abandoned that give the entire place some life.
While Mister Cutie That You’ve Been Quote-Unquote Crushing On doesn’t exactly fall into either of those categories, you like to think he still leaves the building just a touch more colorful once he walks out of the front door. 
Speaking of color, he’s wearing a loose, dark green shirt that falls just below his elbows. Cutie—as you’ve deigned to call him not because you think he’s cute but because you’re yet to get his name—has one palm flattened across the viewing glass of the playroom. He’s wearing his usual black face mask today, but from the way his eyes glint behind his glasses, you’re just going to assume he’s having a good time just by watching the cats frolic inside.
“You’re here pretty late,” you state nonchalantly before standing a few feet away from him. 
“Is that so strange?” he murmurs with a chuckle, surprisingly not startled with your sudden entrance before glancing your way. “I always show up here at this hour, don’t I?”
God. No matter how many times you hear his voice, you just can’t get over how deep it is. But before any of your thoughts could show on your face, you get talking.
“True. You’ve sparked a debate among the volunteers about your line of work, actually.” Not exactly. You’re not sure if any of the volunteers have even seen this guy, since they mostly work day shifts. “Anyway, are you just here to check ‘em out or am I finally going to hand you the adoption papers?”
His eyes crinkle a bit before he shifts his gaze towards the playroom again. Most of the older cats have already been put back in their respective cages. All that’s left inside are the kittens with way too much energy to spare. The director, A.K.A., your boss, believes that it’s best to tire them out first before settling them into individual enclosures for the night. Keeps the place nice and quiet for the evening shift fellows like yourself.
“Not yet, sadly,” Cutie says with a sigh before pointing at a small black kitten huddled up in a corner. “That one’s new, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve seen him around before.” 
“Her,” you correct. “Her name’s Hani. She’s a stray that someone from the university I’m attending brought in last week. It was pretty ugly, actually. Poor thing got into an accident and was bleeding everywhere. Good thing our usual vet was paying a visit when they came here.”
“Oh? That’s a relief then. No wonder she’s got a little limp every time she walks around,” he observes with a saddened tone. “But I digress. You mentioned you were attending university?”
…Okay, why’d the topic of interest suddenly shift to you? 
But since it’s a harmless enough question, you reply with, “Yeah. The one that’s just a few blocks away. It’s kinda why the person who found Hani brought her here instead of a vet clinic. The nearest one’s like half an hour away.”
“Good call, good call.” He nods with a look of understanding. “I hope someone comes and adopts her. She deserves all the love she can get. Well, everyone here does of course.” 
You flash him a conniving smile, raising your brows a few times. “You could give that to her.”
Cutie shakes his head with another low-pitched laugh. “As much as I’d love to, my…living conditions won’t be suitable for her at all. Or any of the other animals for the matter.”
“Hm?” You stare at him curiously. “Your landlord doesn’t allow pets or something?”
“Mmm… Not exactly.”
The conversation pretty much ends there. Cutie excuses himself—saying that someone is waiting for him at home. You don’t know why your heart deflates a little at the very real possibility that he has a significant other. Then again, if you’re this whipped when you haven’t even seen his face, you could only imagine how easy it would be for him to settle down with someone who has.
Either way, it’s none of your business. And correction: you’re not whipped. Just…hyper aware of his presence every time he stops by.
Despite the fact that you’re dead-set on filing this strange fascination you have for the guy, however…
“Wait!”
Cutie turns around to face you with an inquisitive look. “Yes?”
You swallow thickly, deciding to just bite the bullet before your nerves get the best of you. “What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Cu—I mean, Glasses Guy in my head whenever you pay us a visit.”
He blinks for a few seconds, obviously nonplussed by your forwardness but you don’t think your pride can take it anymore if you had to refer to him as—
“You can call me Woo,” he says warmly and you can almost see the smile that stretches behind that black face mask.
Shit. Did your heart just stutter?
“Mister Woo—”
“Just Woo is fine.”
“Okay, Woo,” you start, kind of liking the way that something that’s obviously a nickname rolls off the tongue, “just let me know if you ever want to take Hani home. We’re open twenty four-seven, as you already know.”
He nods. “Sure thing. Is it okay if I can get your number for that?”
Now you have to fight the urge to scowl at him after he’s been so nice to you all night—and every other night he’s dropped by. 
This guy isn’t flirting with you. He said it himself—someone’s waiting for him at home. Plus, he’s expressed consistent interest in adopting a kitten for himself a handful of times before. Maybe he just connected with Hani on a level that’s above the others. Enough to ask for your number since the possibility of him bringing one of these angels home is becoming more and more real. 
Yeah, that’s definitely the reason!
So you give it to him—hastily scrawled behind an old flier gathering dust in one of the drawers on the front desk. It’s way too big to write just yours and the shelter’s contact details on, but the other calling cards are nowhere in sight. You’ll have to ask Mina if she’s seen them once—
“Thanks. I’ll keep in touch,” Woo tells you while folding the sheet of paper into a sleek black Louis Vuitton wallet.
Wait a minute.
Before you can even seriously ponder about what job he’s got to be able to afford that, Woo is already out of the door—heading into the evening streets without once looking back. 
“Gosh, I swear that guy’s an idol in disguise or something.”
That’s the first thing that Mina tells you when you find her doing a few rounds among the sleeping dogs in the far back. You haven’t even spoken a single word about your most recent exchange. 
“What makes you think that?” 
“He just exudes idol vibes, y’know? Shows up here when the place is deserted. Always acts subtle and inconspicuous. Oh and not to mention how hot he looks even with a face mask on! He could be that one idol your little sister is crazy about.” 
You roll your eyes at her odd ways of deduction. “Mina, I’ve seen enough of Haewon’s Mingyu merch to last a lifetime and Woo definitely does not look like him.”
“Oh?” Your coworker perks up with a mischievous smile. “You finally got his name, huh?”
God. This is going to be a long shift.
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The next time you see Woo is, surprisingly, not at an ungodly hour in the shelter. 
Well, it’s still at an ungodly hour, but the change in venue is a little baffling. You were up all night studying (read: cramming) for a major exam that you’ll take at eight in the morning the next day. When you were finally at your wit’s end, you decidedly hauled yourself away from your laptop and fluttered off to the only twenty four-hour coffee shop in the neighborhood. 
You don’t usually frequent this place because you’ve tasted their shitty americanos firsthand, but you’re not in the mood to grind some beans yourself and you’re much too stubborn to drink anything instant—convinced the powdered concoction would only make you sleepier.
So here you are, in line for an espresso because you’ve decided to give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe not everything on the menu tastes less than it’s worth. With how many other students are pulling all-nighters here, that should be testament enough that they tolerate the place’s drinks enough to linger. 
But, to your horror, when you’re right in front of the graveyard shift barista, he informs you that wireless payments have been temporarily disabled and that they’re only accepting cash up front. You make a show of patting down the pockets of your hoodie to check for your wallet even if you know damn well that you left it back at your apartment on purpose. Just when you’re about to resign yourself to buying shitty instant coffee at a Seven Eleven instead, the person behind you in line clears his throat. 
“Uh, I can pay for her drink.” 
You don’t think you’ve ever whipped your head around to check for a person’s identity faster than you did at that moment. It’s not that you’re particularly obsessed with the low timber of his voice or anything, but you’d recognize the way the shelter’s late night regular speaks in a goddamn heartbeat.
“Woo?” you scowl as he maneuvers himself to the front of the line, bringing out that same Louis Vuitton wallet you were ogling the last time you saw him. 
He pulls out a few banknotes and places them on top of the counter with what you think is a smile behind his mask. “Couple that with four iced americanos please.”
You purposely hold your tongue about your personal vendetta against that particular drink as the barista nods, punching in Woo’s order and asking for a name. Just when you thought he’d say the same one he’d given when you’d asked, however—
“Soonyoung. Oh, and I’ll get those drinks to go, please.” 
Your gaze is on him the entire time as the two of you shuffle to the end of the counter to wait for your drinks. Woo is doing a pretty okay job at playing it cool despite the fact that he lied about the names on his orders. Or maybe he lied when he told you his name was Woo. 
Either way, does it matter? It’s not strange for people to make up fake names for baristas to write on their coffees—Mina does it all the time. But something about the idea that the man standing in front of you doesn’t look like a Soonyoung bothers you more than it should. It makes you wonder what his actual name is and if it’s weird to ask when he already gave you one to address him with—
“Didn’t think I’d see you here,” he suddenly says and you nearly have a heart attack.
“Uh,” you start somewhat dumbly, before finally getting a hold of your brain. “I live around the area. Thought I could use a drink if I didn’t want to sleep through my lecture notes.”
He lets out a low chuckle and at that moment, you let yourself observe him a little more closely. His hair is hidden behind a black beanie which he expertly paired with an equally black parka that’s zipped up all the way. He’s wearing a different pair of glasses today—one with thick, black frames—and you’re starting to get an idea of what his favorite color might be.
“Is that why I haven’t seen you at the shelter these days?” he wonders. “Every time I dropped by last week, you weren’t on shift.”
Oh. Shit, he’s been visiting still? And he was looking for you?
“Yup, I needed to take a few days off because if I wanna graduate, I’ve got to keep myself from failing any of my majors,” you explain as briefly as you can—not wanting to go into detail about GPA requirements and your thesis. “How about you? Why’re you out and about at this hour, Soonyoung?”
It’s kind of adorable, how the tips of his ears flush pink at your words. “Soonyoung’s one of my friends. I actually went out tonight because I lost a bet and had to buy four of us coffee.”
You’re not sure how and why you feel a wave of relief wash over you, so instead, you brush the feeling aside before leaning against the counter. “Lost a bet about what, pray tell?”
Woo is quiet for a while, as if contemplating if he should unveil his losses to someone who’s virtually still a stranger before letting out a defeated sigh.
“Mario Kart.”
The snort you let out draws a few curious stares from other customers sitting near the counter and you force out an apology that’s underscored with a hiccup of laughter. Woo doesn’t seem at all offended by your reaction though. In fact, he seems even amused by it.
Not ten seconds later, the barista calls out his—rather, Soonyoung’s name and he hands you your drink while he carries a takeout package in his other hand. You try not to think too much about the way his fingers brush against yours when he gives it to you, thanking him despite the obvious redness settling across your cheeks.
“I actually meant to text you last week but I didn’t know if you were comfortable with it,” Woo admits as he opens the door to the coffee shop for you—thanking him as you step out of the air conditioned space and into the humid evening air. “I wanted to ask about the adoption requirements at the shelter.”
Part of you is a little skeptical about his explanation because… If he’s been dropping by your workplace as often as he claimed last week, then he could’ve just asked the other staff about the details. Why wait until he meets you again to bring it up? 
But of course, you’re way too polite to ask that to his face.
“I don’t mind you texting me about that or…anything, really,” you say, turning up the flap on the lid of your espresso before taking a small sip. Bearable. “It’s not like I’m too busy to respond to you. Well, I kinda am, but I can spare a few minutes.”
Woo nods with a soft laugh. “Okay. I’ll just get into detail via text later. I gotta bring these coffees back or they’ll chew me out for the rest of the night for being late. Oh, but do you need someone to walk home with you?”
The idea of having your not-work crush escorting you home flusters you more than it should and when you take another sip of your drink, it nearly goes down the wrong hole. Woo pats your back in comforting fashion when you sputter from your coffee, tears stinging your eyes as you attempt to breathe like a normal person. Fuck, you must look so fucking weird right now.
“I-I, um, sorry about that.” You cough into your fist, laughing uneasily as you grip your drink a little too tightly. “No, it’s fine. I only live a few blocks away.”
Now that you mention it, does that mean Woo is the same? If he’s out here in this specific neighborhood at this specific hour, that would only mean he lives in the area, or is at least staying for the meantime, right? But before you could get swept up by your own curiosity, you immediately sweep any and all ideas under the rug.
“Oh, that’s—that’s good to know.”
He sounds disappointed. Why does he sound disappointed?
“So I guess this is goodbye? ” you start. 
Woo nods briskly. “Yup. I’ll keep in touch.”
You chuckle. “That’s what you said last time.”
Whoa. Were you propositioning him or something? Sometimes, it baffles you how one minute, you’re choking on a cup of coffee—several shades embarrassed—and the next, you’re practically daring him to text you like he said he would.
“And I’ll make good on that as soon as time permits.” Woo shakes his head with a laugh. “It was nice seeing you again, though. Good luck with your exams.”
You can’t help the way your cheeks heat up yet again at the thought of him having remembered that you mentioned your exams. “Thanks. I think I need all the luck I can get.”
When Woo turns to look at you through those thick-rimmed glasses, you almost wish you could see the smile that’s undoubtedly spreading behind that pesky mask of his. 
“I’ll be happy to give it to you every time then.”
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Today was probably the shittiest day of the week.
Not only did you spectacularly flunk the exam you took this morning whilst running on less than two hours of sleep, but your thesis adviser emailed you about several concerns regarding the latest version of your manuscript. Needless to say, you spent a good chunk of your day holed up in the university library, consulting new reference materials to back up your data since the ones you used were much too outdated for your adviser’s liking. 
It should’ve been something you’d consider a walk in the park, given the many revisions that have preceded this one, but it just so happens that you’ve got three more exams to worry about for the remainder of the week. Meaning, you had to squeeze in a few minutes of studying in between editing your newest draft and telling yourself that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if you got held back for one semester before graduating. 
You’ve been so caught up with your piling academic responsibilities that you’ve barely looked at your phone. You only deigned to dig it out of the deepest pit of your backpack when you got a little hungry and wondered if they still let food delivery guys past the school gates. To your surprise, you’re greeted with a few text messages that you immediately feel horrible for not replying to the moment they were delivered. 
Unknown Number [10:45]: So about those adoption requirements…
Unknown Number [11:33]: Oh. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. It’s Woo.
Ignoring the fact that you’re obviously famished, you hastily type in a response after marking down Woo’s number with a black cat emoji right next to his name. It takes a moment because you’re so shaky, you end up suffering from a few typos here and there.
Me [13:10]: hey! sorry i was a bit busy and i just saw these…
Me [13:10]: what do you wanna know? i’m on a self-imposed lunch break rn
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:15]: No worries, I figured you got a long day ahead. Hope lunch is good at least.
Me [13:16]: actually, i haven’t ordered anything yet ‘cause time got away from me but Anyways
Me [13:16]: you wanted details abt the adoption process?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:18]: What? You haven't eaten yet?
Me [13:18]: yeah, but it’s no big deal. i could just have some food delivered.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:19]: Well, I’m out right now. I could just buy some food for you and drop it off. 
Your eyes practically bulge out of their sockets when you read each word of Woo’s text message. Is he being serious right now? The guy just paid for your coffee last night—a coffee that you forgot to pay back because of how surprising the circumstances were. Now he’s offering to buy you lunch?
Me [13:20]: you really don’t have to, i swear!! i’ve still got a few discount vouchers in baenim
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:22]: I insist. I’ve got my bike with me anyway.
Me [13:22]: bike? like, a bicycle?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:23]: Mmm. Close. Anyway, what food do you want? 
Now what the hell does that mean?
Part of you feels like you should be freaked out with how…kind he’s being to you. The world is full of weirdos who play the nice guy just to do something despicable to you in the end. Yet another part of you—a less reasonable one, admittedly—insists that Woo is nothing like that, despite the fact that you barely know the guy. 
Then again, you’re tired, stressed out, and barely slept a wink last night. If the hot guy you’ve been quote-unquote crushing on is offering to buy you food, where’s the harm in accepting?
Me [13:25]: fine. i could use some yangnyeom chicken and tteokbokki. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:26]: Nice. I know a good place. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [13:27]: I’ll head out in a few, so just text me the address.
Right after sending your university’s pin location to Woo, you start to consider the chance of him being some sort of serial stalker. Could he be biding his time, trying to let your guard down and easing personal information out of you so he could do something nefarious when he gets you alone? Fuck. Maybe it’s a good idea you didn’t let him walk you home yesterday…
But despite the very real possibility of Woo being someone with bad intentions regardless of how nice he is, you see no problem in meeting him at the school gates when he arrives with your food. In fact, you don’t even feel apprehensive of him in spite of all the ideas you conjured in your head over the past hour.  
Me [14:15]: where are you?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [14:16]: Parked by the curb in front of a bookstore. You can’t miss me.
 Me [14:16]: i don’t even know what you Look like today, genius
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [14:17]: I told you, I’ve got my bike with me. I don’t see anyone else looking the same way within a twenty meter radius. 
You have to fight the urge to roll your eyes. For someone you deemed as ‘nice’, he can get pretty mouthy if he wants to. 
You head to the general direction of the bookstore that Woo was talking about as you try to ignore your growling stomach. Given that the lunch rush is more or less over, the usual crowd of pedestrians has considerably thinned out and it makes it easier for you to scan the vicinity for any bike-wielding impromptu delivery guys. 
However, the only person that does stand out to you is some dude wearing a black leather jacket, chilling next to an expensive looking motorcycle as he taps away on his phone with a matching pair of leather gloves and everything. His face is obscured by a black helmet and you would’ve let your gaze go past him had it not been for a sudden realization that hits you right there.
Bike? Like, a bicycle?
Mmm. Close.
“Woo!” 
Of course the leather jacket-clad, expensive motorcycle-wielding man looks up at the sound of his name being called from across the street. The visor of his helmet is drawn all the way up and you could see that he isn’t wearing his glasses for good reason. He seems to perk up at the sight of you before grabbing something from the trunk of his motorcycle and jogging to meet you where you stood.
You’ve seen him sporting a spectrum of comfortable outfits during his late night visits, but this is the first time you’ve witnessed Woo looking as dapper as he is now.
“Late lunch delivery?” 
You don’t even try to hide the way you roll your eyes as you accept the paper bag he hands to you. “Thanks. How much do I owe you now? You already got me coffee and now lunch.”
He shakes his head and you find it a little ridiculous, considering he’s still wearing that huge helmet of his. “It’s on me. It’s the least I could do to repay you for being so accommodating.”
“Woo, I haven’t done shit for you ‘cause you’re yet to properly talk to me about the adoption process. What on earth are you talking about?” 
“But you will do shit for me when we do talk about it. I’m just repaying the favor in advance,” he rebuts cheekily before pulling back the sleeve of his jacket to check for the time. “Though as much as I want to do that now, I need to catch a flight in a few hours.”
That makes your expression morph into disbelief. “You need to catch a what?”
“A flight. Gotta head to Japan for a few days,” Woo tells you nonchalantly, as if heading to Japan for a few days is something people do on a regular basis. “Can you make sure no one else takes Hani home before I can settle everything on my end?”
You tell yourself that you’ve got time to mull over what this guy does for a living some other time. Clearing your throat, you manage an awkward smile. “Um, yeah, sure thing. You’re really attached to her, aren’t you?” 
“You can say that again,” he laughs softly. “She kinda reminds me of myself from a long time ago… But anyway, I’ve gotta go. Tell me what you think about the chicken when you’re done with it?”
You nod. “I’ll be as brutally honest with my review as possible.”
“Just the way I like it,” Woo replies, eyes crinkling with amusement.
When you head back to the library, the person you were sharing a table with looked after your stuff for you while you were gone. You thank her profusely before settling back into your seat, grabbing the takeout packages from the paper bag that Woo personally delivered to you. 
Before you can start wolfing down the delectable-smelling chicken he brought, however, you notice a cute sticky note plastered on the lid—a doodle of a cat with glasses and a speech bubble that says you can do it~ scribbled on the corner.
Don’t overwork yourself. It’s been ages since my last exam, but I know how hard it can be. Make sure to eat properly so you can absorb all the info you need.
When your head bangs against one of the many wooden tables in the library, the person seated at the far end stares at you with a concerned look. You can’t muster the energy to assure her that everything’s alright, though because…
That quote-unquote crush of yours? 
It’s starting to become a little too real.
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You’re in the middle of throwing out old files from the back room archive when Mina peeks her head into the doorway and says, “You’ve got a visitor again.”
One glance at the old wall clock hung above the steel cabinets tells you that it’s midnight, but you know for one that this mystery visitor isn’t Woo this time around. 
You’ve been keeping in touch with him through Kakao, since you can’t exactly afford to send international text messages to Japan and your new friend(?) has been keeping you posted about his shenanigans for the past week. He hasn’t replied to your last message from over three hours ago and you’re not so delusional to think he got on a plane back to Korea and is suddenly here to surprise you.
When you see who it is, though, your heart warms just a little.
“Why haven’t you been texting me back?” Haewon, your sister who’s two years younger, gets up from the seats lined up across the walls of the lobby. “I missed you!” 
You shake your head before pulling her into a hug. “I missed you, she says. But you’re really just looking for someone to show you around the city again, aren’t you?”
“Hey, missing you and needing a chaperone aren’t mutually exclusive,” she huffs and you notice that she’s in full fangirl gear again—a lightstick hanging off a strap slung across her shoulder, a windbreaker with her favorite boyband’s logo sewn on the front pocket, and of course, a photocard of Mingyu dangling from her little handbag.
Despite the fact that she’s also in college, Haewon chose to stay in your hometown in Jeju to pursue her studies there instead. The first few months since you left were the hardest—so unused to not having your little sister go on and on and on about how much she loves SEVENTEEN. But you’ve also come to appreciate the peace and quiet that living alone in Seoul affords you. 
Besides, with how much money she’s raised for being one of the more well-known event organizers in her fandom, Haewon can pretty much come visit you in Seoul whenever she feels like it. 
“I’m guessing your thirteen boyfriends have a thing going on?” you ask before glancing over at the playroom to make sure there aren’t any kittens left inside. 
Haewon nods enthusiastically. “Yup, they’re having a mini fanmeet outside their company building in a few days—”
“In a few days?” you parrot before gesturing for her to follow you in the break room so you can get changed. “What’re you doing out here all dressed up then?”
Your little sister rolls her eyes. “Unnie, I’m not some weirdo who wears their merch on a regular night for no reason. I came from this little cupsleeve event for Wonwoo’s birthday. Things ran a little late because we had to help clean up at the café.” 
While you’re not well-versed in fandom jargon, you have learned a few terms from Haewon here and there. Plus, she already took you to a cupsleeve event for another member’s birthday once. You’re not really sure who it was because the only one you do consistently remember is Mingyu—your sister’s ultimate bias, apparently. 
“What made you stop by then?” you wonder as you exchanged your work uniform for a loose shirt. “You didn’t tell me you were coming in advance. I could’ve fetched you from the airport.”
“I did tell you in advance.” She pouts. “But you said you were busy working on your manuscript when I did, so it must’ve slipped your mind.”
Oh. Okay, now you feel bad. “Sorry. I’ll make it up to you this weekend with dinner?” 
Haewon whines. “Unnie, their fanmeet is on Saturday and I leave on Sunday.”
“So? How long is that going to be anyway?”
“Uh, all day?”
You sigh. “Fine. How about you crash in my place tonight and we can rewatch Hometown Cha Cha Cha while stuffing our faces with ramen?”
“Deal.”
After timing out for the evening, you say goodbye to Mina, who’s just waiting up for your other coworkers who’ll cover the next shift. Haewon talks your ear off about what happened in the event she attended as you both walked back to your apartment and, while only some of the things she’s saying makes sense to you, it’s nice to be in your little sister’s company again. 
“Oh, by the way, here.”
You stare at her curiously as she rummages through her bag, handing you a photocard enclosed in a dainty-looking toploader. 
“What’s this for?” you ask. 
“You told me back then that Wonwoo was your type,” Haewon explains with a grin. “So I did my best in one of the parlor games and won that extremely in-demand photocard just for you.”
You scan the piece of idol merchandise in your hands for a few minutes more—staring at Wonwoo’s face as if waiting for him to speak. You never really understood the appeal of collecting photocards. As long as it makes Haewon happy, you won’t bat an eyelash.
But now she’s giving you one to keep for yourself and the more you stare at the idol printed on the sturdy paper, the more you think that you’ve seen him somewhere.
Then again, Haewon has been talking about these boys since they debuted years ago. The familiarity must’ve stemmed from those numerous fancams and music show performances that she forced you to sit down and watch with her. 
“You better take care of him, okay?” Haewon pouts. “If I see him suddenly being sold for a high price, I’m never going to let you live it down.”
“I barely know how the market for this works, so you don’t have to worry about that,” you chuckle before carefully sliding the toploader inside your own bag. “So what ramen are we eating? Shin Ramyun or something else?”
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Me [21:17]: btw, when are you coming back again? 
Me [21:20]: someone was asking about hani earlier and i feel like you’ve gotta come back here to assert your dominance.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:35]: Shit, sorry. I forgot about the time.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:35]: My friends and I had a birthday celebration at the izakaya near our hotel. It’s been a while since we got to unwind like this.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:36]: Anyway, who’s the funny guy who thought he could have my cat?
Me [02:38]: wow. YOUR cat? 🤨🤨🤨
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:40]: You’re still awake?
Me [02:40]: yeah, my little sister is in seoul and we’re binging our favorite drama
Me [02:41]: how about you? why are You still awake?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:45]: Taking care of drunk friends. Remember Soonyoung?
Me [02:45]: what about him?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:47]: Pleading for forgiveness in the toilet while he retches his guts out.
Me [02:47]: huh. some birthday party. who’s the celebrant anyway?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:47]: Me.
“Whoa. You okay?” Haewon asks when you suddenly lurch forward on the couch, choking on the ramen you were in the middle of slurping. 
You thank your sister when she offers you a glass of water and you gulp it down to soothe the burning sensation in your throat. “It’s fine. I just received a surprising text is all.”
“From a boyfriend?” she teases.
You scowl. “No. From a friend. Just a friend.”
“Boo. But you’ll tell me once you land yourself your very own Hong Dusik, right?”
The look on your face only worsens at the reference she’s made to the drama that’s still playing on screen. “I’d actually rather die than have someone like Dusik as a boyfriend. If the whole enemies to lovers thing works with Hyejin, it really won't with me.”
“True, you’ve always been a mellow lover,” Haewon agrees and you roll your eyes. “That’s why Wonwoo would be perfect for you~”
“I think me landing a Hong Dusik-esque boyfriend is more likely than me getting together with a world famous idol but okay.”
You’re momentarily distracted from your conversation when your phone vibrates in your lap again, and— Fuck. 
You forgot to reply to Woo.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:55]: Fell asleep on me already?
Me [02:56]: no, no. sorry. my sister was just talking to me. 
Me [02:56]: anyway, it’s your BIRTHDAY?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:57]: Hahaha, yes. It’s been a while since I could sit down and actually celebrate it with my friends. 
Me [02:58]: is that why you went all the way to japan? for a little birthday getaway?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:58]: Hm… something like that 
Me [03:00]: i’ll give you hani’s adoption papers as a gift
Me [03:01]: that or you let ME treat YOU to something nice for a change
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [03:05]: Well, I’ll be back in Korea this Saturday, but won’t be free until late at night.
Me [03:05]: back to regular programming, huh?
Me [03:06]: we can celebrate later if you’re busy, you know. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [03:07]: It’s okay. I wanted to spend time with you anyways.
“You sure that’s just a friend you’re talking to?” Haewon asks with an unimpressed stare as you choke on your instant noodles for the second time. “The only way I’d react like that to a text is if my friend told me one of our professors is fucking his TA despite being married. If that’s the case, you gotta let me in on the juicy details.”
You make a face at her. “Isn’t that way too specific?”
“Isn’t that way too specific?” Haewon mocks. “Whatever you’ve got going on with this friend of yours, promise I’ll be the first to know once you make it official?”
“Haewon!”
For the sake of your own sanity, you only reply to Woo’s message once you’re tucked in bed and Haewon is comfortably dozing on the couch in the living room. She’s a heavy sleeper that passes out quickly after a long day, so you don’t feel particularly worried about your little sister barging into your room when you type out a response.
Me [03:43]: gotcha. just meet me at the shelter after your thing. 
Me [03:45]: happy birthday, woo.
You don’t wait for him to type out a reply anymore—eyes drooping into slumber as you let the screen of your phone fade into sleep mode. 
Unbeknownst to you, a man who just finished putting his intoxicated friends to bed an ocean away stares at your chat history with a fond smile, heart racing just a few beats faster at the prospect of what awaits him at home.
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You’re just about done cleaning up the big dog kennels when Woo drops by on a bright Saturday morning. 
The sound of his deep ‘hello’ nearly made you drop all the cleaning utensils you were about to put away. When you turn around to confirm that the shelter’s nighttime regular has indeed switched things up and decided to visit during daylight hours, you’re too busy scowling at him to mind the fact that you’re all gross and sweaty from all the hard labor. 
Sure, you texted him about taking up a day shift today, but you definitely didn’t expect him to visit when he just got back to Korea a few hours ago. 
Surprisingly, Woo isn’t donned in all black this time around. He’s wearing a gray pullover with some muddled text you can’t quite read with the hood pulled all the way up, concealing the white cap resting on top of his head. Of course, his signature face mask is still in between you and his no doubt handsome countenance, but you’ll take what you can get.
“What’re you doing here?” you ask, a bit breathless before you notice that takeout bag he’s setting down on one of the empty tables. “I thought you’re not gonna be free until tonight.”
“Thought you could use another lunch fix,” he says nonchalantly. “Well that and I wanted to personally give you some cool trinkets from Japan.”
The sentiment makes your heart stir a little, but you end up voicing out a dry laugh before stuffing the shelter’s cleaning paraphernalia inside the broom closet. “Keep doing all these nice things and I’ll start thinking you’re in love with me.”
Woo laughs but does absolutely nothing to deny the allegations.
“Here.” Your brows arch a little when he fishes something from the pocket of his hoodie, handing it to you. “I wasn’t sure which one you’d like so I just got all of them.”
You’re a bit reluctant to receive his gift in your current state—dirty hands, dirty clothes, dirty everything—but Woo doesn’t seem to mind when he drops a small plastic package full of…
“Kitties!” You coo out loud at the assortment of colorful enamel pins inside before gawking at him. “Seriously, Woo, you’re way too nice to me. I’m starting to feel indebted.”
He shakes his head with an adorable laugh. “It’s nothing. I swear. They just reminded me of you when my friends and I passed this one booth at a festival.”
Shit. They reminded him of you?
“So are you finally going to sit down and talk to me about adopting Hani or are you gonna keep skirting around again, mister?” You place a hand on your hip, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction as you tuck his gift safely in the back pocket of your jeans.
“Surprise, I actually came here to do just that. I still have an hour free before I have to go to work,” Woo admits and him mentioning work taps in on your innate curiosity about what he does for a living. “But your coworker said something about rounding up the dogs and putting them back in the kennel?”
Oh. Shit. 
As if on cue, Mina—along with a few on shift volunteers—emerge down the hall, all of their hands gripping several leashes as an army of dogs fills the hallway with excited and agitated barking alike. 
“Are we good to go?” Mina yells over the noise.
Trying not to look too disappointed that your time with Woo has been cut short, you give Mina a thumbs up before striding off to meet them halfway. You take it upon yourself to take a few of the dogs off one of the volunteers’ hands and he looks at you with withering relief when you do. 
“Yep. Everything’s as fresh as a daisy now,” you inform them. “Hope these guys didn’t make too big of a mess up in the front though. That would mean Kino’s turn for cleaning duty came a little early.”
“Hey!” The volunteer in question complains. “I’ve got a date later, noona. Don’t go saying weird stuff like that.”
You’re just about to tease him a little more but you suddenly feel the force of a couple of former strays tugging you forward disappear. That’s when you notice that Woo made his way to your side, guiding the dogs silently as he helps lead the first of them to the kennel.
“Oh, you don’t have to,” you insist but your friend(?) merely shakes his head. 
“It’s no big deal,” Woo reassures.
It doesn’t help that this particular hallway is a little cramped. You’re practically standing arm to arm as you all make it to the end. You can practically smell the expensive cologne wafting from his clothes amidst the scent of dog fur that’s starting to permeate the air. When Woo lets out another soft laugh when one of the dogs he has on a leash licks his hand, you know it’s over for you.
It takes about half an hour to settle all fifteen big dogs into their respective cages and by the time it’s over, you’re convinced that you need a shower now more than ever. As Mina and the rest of the volunteers head back to the reception room, you decide to take a break and help yourself to the takeout that Woo personally delivered yet again.
“Thanks for your help. Cleaning day is really one of the toughest days of the month. Especially when we have to clean up the big dog kennels,” you sigh before plopping into an empty seat in the break room. 
“Don’t mention it,” he says and you find yourself imagining a smile behind his mask yet again. “I actually have a dog at home, too, so I would now. But she’s definitely more tame than these guys.”
That makes you pause. “Is that why you’re beating around the bush so much about adopting Hani? You think she won’t get along with your dog?”
He hums a little before stuffing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “That’s one of the reasons, yes.”
“Well, you won’t know unless you try,” you huff as you unseal the takeout package—the delectable scent of yangnyeom chicken pervading your senses. “Anyway, you’re going to sign the papers this time, right? Right?”
You have a feeling that you’ve finally got him cornered, but before Woo can even formulate a response, a ringtone that definitely isn’t yours starts going off inside the break room. 
Your friend(????) answers it with a wistful sigh. 
It’s so quiet that you can vaguely make out the voice at the other end of the line saying, “Hyung. Everyone’s looking for you. Where are you?”
You try not to stare at Woo as he takes the call out of pure decency—distracting yourself with your food. But you can’t help but listen in when their conversation is the only thing you can hear at the moment. 
“Yeah, I’ll be there soon. Tell everyone I’m sorry for the hold up, Mingyu.” 
The moment that name leaves Woo’s mouth, you freeze mid-chew. Did he say Mingyu? Like…the idol that Haewon is downright obsessed with? No… It was probably just someone with the same name. It is pretty common, after all.
When he ends the call, you flash him a tight-lipped smile that manages to conceal your momentary surprise. “Rain check?”
“Rain check,” Woo sighs in agreement. 
You nod. “It’s okay. The more you keep delaying Hani’s adoption, the more presents I get from you.”
“And you’re absolutely right about that,” he humors you before reaching out to ruffle your hair. You haven’t even recovered from that little gesture he just did when he asks, “Hope our plans for later are still up though?”
Woo must’ve caught the look on your face with the way he retracts the hand that was just on top of your head to snicker into his palm. “Don’t tell me you forgot. We were supposed to celebrate my birthday, remember?”
Curse you and your habit of making plans at ass o’clock in the morning. You always forget them!
“Uh, it kinda slipped my mind?” you admit sheepishly as you pick at your food. “I ended up going for a day shift ‘cause I have to see my sister off at the airport tomorrow.” 
He nods in earnest and it kind of makes you feel bad about your short term memory. “It’s alright. I’ll just drop by some other time to get the paperwork over with. I’ve disturbed you enough as it is.”
“No, it’s fine!”
Your sudden outburst makes Woo look up at you with a confused stare. “Hm?”
“I-I can still meet up with you later,” you stammer and you have to force yourself not to bury your face in your hands out of sheer embarrassment. Pull yourself together, damn. “If you’re not too tired from your plans for the day, of course.”
He mentioned something about having to go to work, and while you can’t imagine what sort of work has to be urgently done on a Saturday, you’ll still respect his time. 
Woo blinks for a few seconds, as if still digesting what you just said before his eyes disappear behind his glasses with a soft chuckle. Your brows cinch together, not getting what’s so funny. 
“Noted. I’ll come pick you up here later, still? If you’re not comfortable with sharing your address with me yet.” 
He’s so thoughtful, you might actually give him all your personal details at this point. But at the end of the day you’re actually a person with a head full of common sense, so you answer him with, “Sure thing. Thanks for going out of your way to come hang out despite how busy you are.”
“No, thank you for always putting up with me,” Woo insists with a shake of his head. “I swear I’m not hassling you with this whole adoption thing on purpose. There’s just…a lot of things to consider on my end. I hope you understand.”
You wave away his concerns with a laugh. “Just keep getting me more of this chicken and we’ll call it quits.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
When Woo sees himself out of the break room, you fumble for the plastic package in the back of your jeans—taking one of the adorable black cat enamels before pinning it in the front pocket of your uniform. You can’t help the smile that creeps up your face when you see your reflection on the small mirror sitting on the table. 
How could you be this down bad for someone whose entire face you’ve never even seen before? 
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Haewon 🪷 [17:20]: Are you suuure you don’t wanna come to the fan meet?
Haewon 🪷 [17:21]: I’ve still got a few extra passes :3c you’d get to see wonwoo in the flesh!
Me  [17:30]: why do you want to set me up with wonwoo so badly 
Haewon 🪷 [17:31]: Bc we’re sisters? And it’d be cool if we stanned MinWon together?
Me  [17:32]: …not even gonna ask you to elaborate on that
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Haewon 🪷 [18:00]: Unnie ㅠㅠ
Me [18:00]: why? what’s wrong, hae?
Haewon 🪷[ 18:05]: Mingyu looks sooooo much better than I remember
Haewon 🪷[18:06]: The girlfriend allegations must be true
Haewon 🪷 [18:06]: Only a man in love can smile like that!
Me [18:07]: or: a man who relies on fanservice to get paid?
Haewon 🪷[ 18:08]: RUDE!!!!
Haewon 🪷 [18:08]: Here’s a pic of Wonwoo to shut you up
Haewon 🪷 [18:09]: [Sent an attachment]
Me [18:10]: idk if i should find the fact that you think some kpop guy affects me in any capacity amusing or concerning
Haewon 🪷 [18:11]: !!!! Take that back wtf?? Wonwoo isn’t just ‘some kpop guy’?????
Me [18:10]: sure he isn’t.
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Haewon 🪷 [19:45]: Good news!!
Me [19:45]: you’re finally going to get off my back about the whole wonwoo thing?
Haewon 🪷 [19:46]: No ^_^ My Monday final got canceled so I can stay in Seoul for a day more!
Haewon 🪷 [19:46]: Aka you don’t have to wake up early to drag your ass to the airport w me
Me [19:47]: oh. that’s cool. what’re your plans for tomorrow then?
Haewon 🪷 [19:48]: Gonna attend the pre-recording for a music show :3
Me [19:50]: …Haewon i swear to god if you ask me to do what you’re about to ask me to do
Haewon 🪷 [19:50]: Come with me pretty pleaaaase?
Haewon 🪷 [19:51]: I’m using my adorable dongsaeng powers to get you to agree
Me [19:55]: there’s no talking my way out of this, is there?
Haewon 🪷 [19:55]: Nope <3
Me [19:56]: fine. just text me the details. i need to go out soon. 
Haewon 🪷 [19:56]: HEHE have fun !!
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You weren’t lying when you texted Haewon that you had to go out soon. You agreed that you’d meet up with Woo for his post-birthday celebration at 9 P.M. Hell, you even called a local bakery to have a personalized cake made for pick-up before you head over to the rendezvous point. Everything was already set right from the start.
But then you ended up falling asleep while scrolling through Twitter and now the clock reads 10:45 P.M., and you’re rushing to pull on a ratty sweater instead of the cute outfit you planned for the night as you rush out of your apartment.
Me [10:47]: FUCK IM SORRY
Me [10:47]: i was SUPPOSED to take a five minute nap but i didn’t realize how tired i was
Me [10:48]: are you still up to hang out? i totally get it if not though.
You immediately stuff your phone in the pocket of your jeans—not even bothering to glance at Woo’s reply when it vibrates with a text notification. Your conscience is much too guild-ridden to read any sort of reassurance he’d undoubtedly give to you despite how long you’ve made him wait. 
Two hours, jeez. You’d be furious if someone was that late on you.
When you arrive at the shelter after doing a couple of quick detours, you’re panting like you just won first place in a marathon. Needless to say, it’s a pitiful sight to behold when Woo is leaning across his motorcycle—looking much too attractive in that stupid leather jacket of his. 
“Is this what the kids call fashionably late these days?” he chuckles.
If you weren’t so apologetic, you would’ve rolled your eyes so instead, you give him a crumpled paper bag with a smile that borders on overcompensating.
“Happy birthday?”
Woo looks like he was just about to say something until a quiet mewl interrupts him midway. You gaze at him with a puzzled look until he stifles a soft laugh, pulling the lapel of his jacket open to reveal—
“Hani?” You scowl.
The black kitten is tucked away snugly in the inner pocket of Woo’s jacket—nearly blending in with the leather. It’s almost as if two pairs of big yellow eyes are staring at you from a void. 
“Finally got the papers over with when you fell asleep on me,” Woo chuckles before scratching behind her ears. “So I guess it wasn’t so bad that you made me wait for two hours.” 
“Hey, I said I was sorry!”
“Yes, and I heard you,” he insists before peering inside the paper bag you gave him. “What’s this?”
“No peeking until we get to your good old thinking spot,” you scold, smacking his hand away. 
A hand that you just noticed is also clad in a leather glove. 
He shakes his head playfully before putting his arms up in surrender. “For someone who’s two hours late, you’re pretty demanding.”
“Woo!”
During his last few days in Japan, Woo told you about his favorite thinking spot that’s specifically located beneath Hannam Bridge. There’s an old watchtower that was built before the bridge even existed. I go there when I want to clear my head. 
When he said he wanted to bring you there for his belated birthday bash, the ghastly possibility of him turning out to be a serial killer luring you to your doom crossed your mind for half a second before you ended up agreeing anyway.
Now here you are, drowning in the musk of his cologne as you press your cheek against the fabric of his jacket. He’s definitely going past the speed limit with how sharply the wind sings in your ears, but instead of complaining about it, you tighten your arms around his torso—letting the warmth of his body seep into yours. 
“It’s not so scary if you don’t think about it too much,” you hear him shout from the front. “Look to your right! This is why I’ve always liked doing late night rides!”
Easy for him to say. He’s brave enough to harbor a kitten inside his jacket and a person who’s never ridden a motorcycle before at a hundred kilometers per hour! But despite how terrified you are of falling off his bike, you do as he says anyways.
When you tilt your gaze in the direction of the Han River, you’re immediately greeted by the dazzling lights that glimmer across the water. You haven’t been to the districts on the other side of the river, but you think you’re content with getting to see them from afar.
With the roar of an engine ringing in your ears. With the summer evening breeze whipping past your face.
With your arms around someone who’s slowly but surely leaving his mark in your life. 
“Are you sure this is legal?”
Your companion glances behind him as he makes his way to the aforementioned watch tower—a knapsack full of god-knows-what slung around his shoulder while he carries the paper bag with your “gift” in his free hand. “I’ve never seen a single ‘No Trespassing' sign since I’ve started going here ages ago, so probably.”
“Probably?” you parrot and Hani, who you’ve deigned to carry in your arms after that grueling motorcycle ride, meows as if she’s just as incredulous as you are. “So it’s still possible for us to get arrested?”
“Yeah, but what’s life without a little risk?” 
Unbelievable.
Yet, despite the common sense you were oh-so proud of this morning, you still follow him up the winding steps of the watchtower, which is hardly even a watchtower given that it’s a few meters beneath the widest bridge in the city. Woo wasn’t lying about his strange description of it after all.
“Well, here we are,” he announces when the two of you reach the platform on the very top. The edges are lined with metal rails that are beginning to rust with age, but seem sturdy enough to grant you some sense of security—no matter how sparse. “I’ll just set this up. You can go enjoy the view if you want.”
Woo doesn’t even let you get a word in before he unzips his bag and brings out a checkered picnic blanket. He gently lays it across the dusty concrete, smoothing out the fabric before fishing some more stuff inside his gym-bag-turned-picnic-basket. You keep yourself from making any snide comments about his choice of venue because despite the unorthodox location, you actually get why he’d find it peaceful here.
It’s far enough from the freeway that the sound of vehicles rushing through the night can barely reach your ears. If you listen closely enough, you can even hear the water flowing below much more clearly. You close your eyes to get a better feel of the place—imagining a six-foot something guy leaning across the rusty railings as he watches the city lights sparkle across the Han River.
“There we go.” 
You startle when you feel Woo’s warm, leather-clad hand on your shoulder—prompting you to turn around and see his handiwork. In the middle of the picnic blanket is something that looks suspiciously like a portable emergency light. How he got his hands on something like that, you’re not entirely sure, so you decide to focus on the other details instead. 
Like the two unopened bottles of soju right next to a take-out package of your favorite yangnyeom chicken. 
“Didn’t we agree that I was treating you to something this time around?” you grumble as you absentmindedly stroke Hani’s fur. 
“We did, but then you overslept and—”
“Okay, fine! Point taken!”
Woo snickers as he hands you the paper bag you brought for the trip. It looks even worse than it was when you ran all the way to the shelter and you can only hope the package inside isn’t completely ruined. 
You decide to let Hani down inside the gym bag that Woo left unzipped. Surprisingly, the newly adopted kitten makes a home out of it quickly—curling up into a ball as her tail swishes every now and again. Cute.
“Don’t judge, okay?” You breathe out nervously as you take the plastic container out of the bag. “I had a legit cake custom-made and everything but…yeah. Overslept.”
When Woo doesn’t respond a second too long, your gaze nervously rivets to his face to parse for a reaction. Was he disappointed? Should you have gotten a different design?
The moment you see the dazzled look in his eyes, however, you realize that isn’t the case.
He receives the little cupcake with open arms when you give it to him. It’s chocolate topped with bad fondant icing art, but you didn’t really have a choice. When you spotted it in the convenience store earlier, you grabbed the one that looked most like a kitten and dipped. It’s nice to know that he might actually like it after all.
“Oh and uh, sorry, but I couldn’t bring any candles for you to blow,” you add sheepishly. “You can just make a wish and pretend.” 
Woo’s gaze drifts to you for a moment before his eyes crinkle with laughter. “I don’t really have to do that though. My wish has already come true.”
Huh?
To your chagrin, he doesn’t elaborate. Instead, Woo invites you to sit on the picnic blanket—carefully removing his boots so he wouldn’t track dirt all over the food and you follow suit. 
You fill the silence with your goings-on for the rest of the day and how exactly you ended up dozing off and he’s kind enough to listen to every word. However, when you ask if he wants to do a toast, he shakes his head.
“I need to drive you back, remember?” 
You shoot him a dirty look. “So you took me all the way out here just so I can have two bottles of soju all to myself while you sit there and listen to me talk about my day?”
“...Yes?”
Men are so fucking infuriating sometimes, you can hardly believe it.
“Nope.” You firmly shake your head—plucking the bottle opener he set down on the blanket to pop the caps off. “You’re drinking with me. Just quit driving past the speed limit so we won’t die in a freak accident.” 
You immediately notice the stiffness in his shoulders as you shove the bottle of soju in his hands and part of you feels kind of bad for being pushy. For a moment, you allow yourself to scrutinize him for a bit longer. What could possibly be deterring him from drinking after going out of his way to do all this? 
That’s when you realize he still has his mask on.
Does he…have issues about people seeing his face?
That would definitely explain why he hasn’t once taken it off in all the times you’ve met him so far. With that in mind, you promptly decide to tell him that okay, he doesn’t have to if he really doesn’t want to, but then Woo is already reaching up to peel the blasted face mask off. 
Your chest seizes with panic, hands flying in front of you to keep him from doing something against his will. But the effort is futile because it only takes a second for him to remove and… 
Fuck.
Cue the choir of angels because goddamn does this man look like heaven.
Woo shifts somewhat uncomfortably under your stare, as if he’s waiting for you to blow up all over his face or something. But you’re much too mesmerized by too many things to form any sort of response right away. 
The sharp cut of his jaw. The gentle curve of his Cupid’s bow. The tinge of red spreading across his cheeks.
“I can’t believe you’ve been gatekeeping yourself from me all this time,” you whisper with a strained laugh—purposely peeling your gaze away for the sake of your own sanity. “I knew you were hot, but…God. I hate you.”
“You…don’t recognize me?” 
The question brings you out of your feelings for a moment, making you glance at him with a questioning stare. “Am I supposed to?”
Woo gapes at the question like he didn’t expect that to be your response before shaking his head vigorously. 
“N-No. Anyway, you said I was hot but you hate me?”
You narrow your eyes at him before taking your first swig of soju. “Don’t start getting all cocky with me, mister! I’ve got eyes and I can’t help that you’re objectively attractive. Just stating facts here.”
When Woo smiles for the first time without the figurative cockblock that is his signature black face mask and honestly? If you died right now, you’d die happily. 
The night presses on in a haze of soju, spicy chicken, and the occasional visit from Hani who uses either of your laps as her personal bed for about five minutes before switching to the other person. 
This is the longest you’ve been with Woo and you’re starting to realize that he isn’t much of a talker, which you completely understand. You can’t imagine someone who’s hell-bent on keeping what he looks like a secret for so long being a chatterbox.
“Oh, but you mentioned something to me at the shelter one time,” you pipe up before scooping a forkful of chicken into your mouth. 
“Yeah? What is it?” Woo asks softly as he pets Hani’s back. 
Feeling just a little bit tipsy from the alcohol, you try not to stare too hard at his handsome face or the way his lip curls at the edges with a tiny smile when Hani purrs from his touch.
“You said Hani reminded you of yourself from before,” you whisper as your gaze drifts to his leather-gloved hands. “Is it okay to ask what you meant by that?”
The sound of the river flowing beneath the watchtower fills your ears as you bask in the silence. It’s a pretty personal question. You’d totally get it if he decides not to answer, but you’re much too curious to keep yourself from asking. 
“Well, I wasn’t a stray or anything, but there was a time in my life that I felt so…aimless. I lost someone near and dear to me, and I didn’t know how to deal with it for a very long time.”
Hearing the earnest ring of Woo’s voice, you force yourself to snap out of your subtle inebriation—scooting a little bit closer to him on the blanket to make sure you catch every word. 
“I didn’t get into a life-threatening accident like this one did either, but…” He trails off for a moment, stroking the scar that you know runs along Hani’s sternum but has long healed with his fingers. 
“I managed to get back on track when the people around me showed me their support. They didn’t leave even if all I wanted was to be left alone. If it weren’t for them, it might’ve taken me even longer to move past what happened. Worse, I might not have moved past it at all.
“When I saw Hani that day, she looked scared of all the other cats. Like she wasn’t ready to let anyone get close to her just yet.” Woo breathes deeply before taking a small sip from his bottle. “I guess I was the same way, too. Healing isn’t linear. Sometimes, when I think I’m all better, one day, I just spiral back to where I started in the next one. That’s…kind of where you fit into the picture, actually.”
The brief pause in his story makes you blink at him, surprised. “Me?”
He nods. “You used to feed the strays in your neighborhood, right? You even had a schedule and everything.”
“That was months ago,” you mutter. “You mean you already knew me back then? Because of that?”
“I…actually live in that area, too.” He clears his throat, that familiar blush settling across his cheeks once again. “I often saw you feeding the strays because that’s usually the time I got back from the cemetery. One day, things got a bit too much and I kind of…broke down in the park instead of just doing that at home.”
He says it like he’s embarrassed and now that he mentioned it, you vaguely remember consoling a stranger during your days before volunteering at the shelter. You don’t recall much of it though—just the memory of awkwardly patting his back before sending him off feeling just a bit better because you saw him smile a little.
Other than that, you’re drawing blanks.
“How exactly did I help you, though? If you don’t mind me asking.” 
“I wouldn’t say you helped me or anything, but…” Woo pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose while slyly avoiding your eyes. “I distinctly remember you saying something like—”
Hey, it’s just a bad day. Or a bad week. Or a bad month. I don’t know. But it’s not a bad life. It’ll get better soon. I promise.
Fuck. Maybe you do remember.
“It didn’t really mean much to me at the time. Honestly, it kind of pissed me off at first,” Woo admits with a guilty chuckle before taking another sip. “But you were right. Sometimes, things got worse. Other times, it got better. But one day, I realized that I got to a point where it doesn’t hurt as much anymore.
“I’m not usually this open about my problems, but I learned overtime that talking about them makes them less taxing to deal with. Almost like I’m just talking about the weather, you know?” He smiles softly and you swear your heart melts at the sight of it. “And…I also don’t want to be closed off from others anymore. Back then, I mostly just kept everything to myself—bottling it all up until it was just unbearable.” 
“Now you’re here spilling your guts out to some random college senior,” you snicker before taking another swig of your soju. You pout when you realize the bottle’s all empty before placing it back on the picnic blanket. “That’s some character development.”
“It really is.”
The silence sets once more and your eyes wander off to the city so close yet so far away. The lights from the skyscrapers glimmer like stars across the calm waters of the Han River and you like to think it compensates for the fact that the sky is blocked out by the bridge stretched far and wide above you. 
This isn’t how you imagined your first stargazing date would be like, but it’s a good start.
Although, the moment the idea crosses your mind, you’re quick to jolt at your own thoughts. 
This isn’t a date. You’re just celebrating his birthday together. Alone. On a picnic blanket. With one of the loveliest sceneries you’ve laid your eyes on. In a place where he claims that he never once showed to anyone else. 
“Hey, is this—”
Your breath hitches in your throat when you turn to look at Woo—only to find his face mere inches from yours. 
“What?” he whispers and despite the fact that you’re wearing a sweater, you feel goosebumps rise across the skin of your shoulders. 
“Uh.” Fuck. “Is this a date?”
His mouth curves into a smile that you can’t quite get a read on. “It can be what you want it to be.”
“Okay,” you breathe out, suddenly feeling hot all over as his eyes flicker to your lips. “Just so you know, I don’t kiss on the first date.”
When Woo laughs again, it’s a deep-seated noise that makes your insides tingle with an indescribable feeling. You don’t really want to give it a name.
“Okay,” he repeats before pressing his forehead against yours. “We can have our first date next time then.”
Of course the sly fucker dives in for a kiss anyway.
“H-Hey,” you whisper in between, trying not to get too distracted with how plump his lips are as you keep holding him still by his broad shoulders. “You’re going to end up crushing Hani if you d-don’t cut it out!”
Woo sighs against your lips before pulling away regretfully. For a moment, he stares at the sleepy kitten on his lap, gazing around cluelessly after being roused from slumber. His expression softens for a moment as he scoops her up with both hands, settling her down in the comfort of his gym bag. She lets out a satisfied mewl before curling into a ball once more.
“Better?” 
You’re not sure if he’s asking you or the cat, but…
“Better,” you whisper before fisting the lapels of his jacket and crushing your lips with his.
You don’t know where you’re pulling all this pent-up frustration from. During the very brief period that you’ve gotten closer to Woo, your general opinion about him never really deviated from he’s cute and he’s hot. Nothing more, nothing less.
Yet here you are, gasping into his mouth as he flattens his tongue against yours. A strong arm hooks around your waist, pressing your bodies infinitesimally closer and your skin is slowly hitting a fever pitch beneath your clothes. Something wild and all-consuming burns in your veins and you channel it into a moan that makes his grip on you grow tighter. 
You don’t know how exactly you wound up on top of his lap—knees planted on either side of his hips as he continues devouring you with no intention of leaving anything behind. You can feel the expensive material of his leather gloves when his fingers graze along the hem of your sweater. Your skin tingles like every nerve ending has been set alight and if you weren’t already rendered dizzy by his intoxicating cologne, you’re in for a ride with each second his touch hikes further up your torso.
Woo sighs against your lips before pulling away momentarily—eyes aflame before he removes his fogged up glasses with one hand, tossing them somewhat carelessly on the picnic blanket. 
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 
Why was that so hot?
You’re too stunned to even draw a breath as he stares you down without the constant partition of his glasses. Has his gaze always been this sharp? Have those eyes always been transfixed on you?
“This…This wasn’t part of the plan, if you’re wondering.” Woo croons out the words huskily. Like an afterthought he only considered out of concern for you. Cute. “I swear I didn’t have any ulterior motives when—”
You giggle, before pressing a kiss on his nose. Woo’s eyes widen just a fraction.
“What made you cave then?” 
The way his Adam’s apple bobs has no right to be that alluring, but it pulls you in anyway. “You looked really cute tonight.”
“Is that all?”
“Um, I thought it was sweet that you still got me a cupcake after you overslept?”
You groan, forehead bumping into the crook of his neck. Jesus Christ, he smells so fucking good. “How long are you going to hold that over my head for?”
You feel the vibrations of his laughter humming against your connected chests and your heart swells as Woo wraps his arms around your frame—pulling you into a firm embrace as the heat that engulfed the both of you slowly simmered into the cool evening air. You can feel him tracing idle shapes along your shoulder blades and the small of your back, and it does nothing to keep you from melting into his touch.
It’s so strange how easily you gave into him. You’ve formally known Woo for about three months and became legitimate friends(?) for less than three weeks. If you told Haewon about this whirlwind romance of yours, she’d hit you upside the head and tell you you’re being way too hasty for a man. 
But if it’s a man with a black kitten taking a nap in his gym bag while he kisses you senseless underneath one of Seoul’s busiest freeways, you suppose you can make an exception.
“We should go,” Woo murmurs softly. “You’ve still got to accompany your sister to the airport right?”
“Mmm. Nope. She’s staying a day longer,” you inform him with the same quiet tone, letting your fingers trail up to his hair so you can toy with the strands in your fingertips. “But I do have some more edits to get over with in my final manuscript, so…yeah. We should go.”
Despite wanting nothing but to stay there in Woo’s little safe haven, the two of you manage to miraculously peel yourselves away from each other. Your face is hot the entire time you helped clean up his little picnic setup. When he shuts off the portable emergency light, you squint as you parse your way through the darkness. 
You kind of end up tripping on air like a complete idiot, but before you can tumble off the rails and into the river, Woo catches you by the waist—not so different from how he held you ten minutes prior.
“Careful,” he mutters as he lets you go and you can’t help but silently mourn the loss of his touch again. “I don’t want to be accused of being a murderer.”
You snicker as he gently scoops Hani out of the gym bag and back into the spacious compartment in the lapel of his leather jacket. For a sleepy kitten, she’s surprisingly compliant. “I actually thought all this time you were some sort of serial killer trying to lure me to my doom.”
“You thought that but you came with me anyway?”
“Why not? You’re hot.”
That night, you let Woo drive you back home now that he’s more or less beaten the serial killer allegations. You tell him that he doesn’t have to walk you to your apartment, but he insists—saying that he can afford to leave Hani on his bike for a few minutes. 
Of course, it ends up with another heated makeout session against your front door. This time, those stupid leather-clad fingers hike high enough on your back to toy with the clasp of your bra while his other hand remains tangled in your hair to pull you impossibly closer.
“I have to go,” he rasps before swiping his tongue along his bottom lip—giving you a sudden itch to sink your teeth into it. “But you’re making it really hard to leave.” 
He’s making it really hard to tell him to go home, too, but as much as you want to kiss the night away, you still have some of your wits about you.
You chuckle as you reluctantly extract his wandering hands away from your body. Woo sighs in surrender with a nearly inaudible laugh.
“You already bent my I don’t kiss on the first date rule, genius,” you remind him breathlessly. “Don’t push your luck just yet until we’ve had that so-called first date next time.” 
He grins. “So there’s going to be a next time?”
Deciding to keep him on his toes, you bat your eyelashes coquettishly at him. “Only if you want to.”
Woo leans in to press his lips against the corner of your mouth—trying his best to suppress the grin on his face. 
“I’ll hold you to it then.”
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Despite having lived in Seoul for four years and having a hardcore fangirl for a sister, today’s the first time you’ll be attending the pre-recording session for a music show. 
Needless to say, you feel like an outsider amongst the fans armed with all sorts of idol merchandise and dressed in the prettiest outfits. Haewon managed to mooch a lightstick off one of her friends for you to use, but despite the fact that you know not a single soul would give two shits about you here, the alienating sensation remains. 
“Hey, don’t be too nervous,” your little sister chortles as the marshals usher the crowd into the studio. “All you gotta do is wave that lightstick to the beat. You’ll blend right in, I promise.”
You crack her a nervous smile. Oh, the things you do to make Haewon happy.
It’s a little bit of a blur from there. You squeeze past the throng of fans while simultaneously trying not to lose your sister in the crowd. Some of the staff are handing out photocards that you hear are exclusively given away at this specific broadcast and were worth hundreds of thousands of won. You’re not sure which member Haewon got for you, but knowing your little sister, she must’ve snagged one of Wonwoo’s.
When the two of you are settled in your seats, you take the time to admire the set. You never imagined idol music show stages being this massive in person. In fact, you never really spared an active thought about them. Most of the info you do know about these kinds of things are secondhand accounts from Haewon from all the times she’s been to several broadcasting studios across the city. 
“Did you bring the PC I got you last time?” she asks before taking out the broadcast ones out of their plastic package. 
You shake your head. “Sorry. That Wonwoo’s sitting in a different bag.”
“Well, at least you haven’t sold him,” your little sister laughs before handing you one of the cards in her hands. “I told the staff to give us Mingyu and Wonwoo, but they gave me Hoshi and Wonwoo. It’s okay though, ‘cause Hoshi’s my bias wrecker anyway.”
Ah. More fandom jargon that you’re just now hearing about.
Just as the staff is starting to do the final preparations on stage, you decide to check out the broadcast PC that Haewon just gave to you. When your eyes land on Wonwoo’s face, however, you suddenly feel your blood freeze in your veins. 
You…don’t recognize me?
One of the staff members announces that the boys will be out shortly to begin the pre-recording session but the words are all but muted in your ears. 
Because how the hell can you focus on anything else when the face of the man who drove you back home last night—the man who kissed you until you were lightheaded—is plastered on a photocard that could be exchanged for an entire fortune?
This can’t be right, you muse with a scowl—fishing your phone out of your bag as your trembling fingers make haste to open your messaging app. He can’t be the same guy. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [09:35]: Good morning, I hope you got enough rest!
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [09:36]: I have a schedule later this morning so I might be MIA 
Me [09:40]: it’s cool. i just woke up actually hahaha
Me [09:40]: i also don’t mind! i’m heading out with my sister in a while too
Me [09:41]: have fun at work(?)
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [09:45]: Haha I will :) Have fun with your sister!
With a deep breath, you lock your phone just as the lights start to dim and the crowd cheers their hearts out. Haewon urges you to turn on your lightstick and the part of the studio that’s filled to the brim with an audience is lit up with hundreds of dazzling lights.  
You would’ve appreciated the sight if only a certain someone didn’t play you for a fucking fool.
Just as promised, the boys that your little sister has been crazy about since their debut all fill the stage gradually. Some of them greet the fans with wide grins and silly little gestures. The others are a little more reserved with their greetings—all shy smiles and reserved movements.
Like Wonwoo, for example.
After several years of only knowing Mingyu thanks to Haewon, this is the first time you were able to pick out another one of them on stage with ease. Why wouldn’t you be able to recognize him? 
He had you pressed up against your front door only a few hours ago.
It all made sense now. The affinity for keeping a face mask on. The late night visits. The fact that he seems to make an exorbitant amount of money from a job he doesn’t want to disclose.
Woo is Wonwoo from SEVENTEEN. 
And he somehow forgot to let you know over the course of your time together. 
You try to keep down the frustration that burns in your throat, making you feel like the roof of your mouth is stuffed with cotton. It’s much easier to mask your feelings once the performers all get into position and the music starts. The loud beat blaring from the speakers coupled with the well-practiced fanchants from the audience easily overpower the sound of your hitched breathing. Even Haewon was too engrossed with the performance to notice your distress.
Still, there’s not much you can do about it now. Especially when Wonwoo’s the one who starts up the first verse of their newest song. 
He looks so…different from the gentle giant you’ve come to know over the past few weeks. There’s a dangerous look in his eyes that you know is all for show, but it makes your spine tingle at the sight of it nonetheless. The words to the song are raspily sung into the mic and if you weren’t convinced that he and Woo aren’t the same person, you most certainly are now.
After all, it’s his fucking voice that got you so down bad in the first place.
Once his part is done, Wonwoo quickly heads over to the next formation—a complete professional by heart. He belts out each dance move with such perfect precision and you wouldn’t expect any less from an idol who’s spent years honing his talents. But despite how awe-struck you are to see this side of him in person, it just wasn’t enough to completely erase the feeling that you’ve been betrayed.
It stings even more when the song ends and the studio is filled with deafening screams from the audience yet again. For once, Wonwoo’s stoic expression cracks with a handsome grin as he and the rest of his bandmates huddle together and exchange high fives. 
That person on stage is both the man you caught feelings for and a stranger at the same time. He easily smiles at the fans the same way he would smile at you, but the difference between Woo and Wonwoo is that only one of them is willing to show this part of his life to the rest of the world. 
Did he not trust you enough? Did he think you’d act like some crazy fan if he told you the truth?
You love Haewon. You love your little sister more than anything in the world, but you can’t pretend that things are okay when the man who kept you in the dark is standing right in front of you, clueless of the revelation that occurred to you just now.
“Where are you going?” Haewon calls out when you make your way out of the rows of seats—earning yourself a collection of glares from the other fans in the vicinity. “Unnie, hey!”
The last thing you want to do is ditch her for something you promised you’d see through until the end but you’re just so fucking done. You don’t want to see Wonwoo right now. Or hear him and his stupidly perfect voice through the studio’s sound system. 
Right now, you just…want to be alone.
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About two weeks after you stormed out of the first and last music show pre-recording you’ll ever attend in your life, things have more or less mellowed out. Sort of.
You’ve been taking fewer and fewer shifts at the shelter as graduation draws ever-so near. But aside from wanting to focus on getting your academic backlogs over with, you also wanted to stay away from the one place that Woo—or should you say Wonwoo—can easily find you and subsequently corner you to talk. Because you don’t want to talk to someone who’s basically been lying to your face the entire time you’ve been friends.
Well, you suppose if you really don’t want to hear even a peep out of him, you should’ve blocked his number altogether. But that’s not really the case.
Your phone buzzes while you’re in the middle of signing off adoption papers to a couple who wanted to adopt one of the shelter cats. You thought it was pretty adorable of them to make that decision since having a pet together is almost as good as having a kid together after all.
Thinking it was from your adviser, you snuck a glance towards the notifications in your homescreen. But when you see a familiar emoji plastered on the sender’s nickname, you’re quick to put it face down on the wooden desk.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [09:35]: Good morning. Are you at the shelter today? Can I speak to you?
How he has it in him to keep texting you as if you haven’t given him nothing but radio silence for the past two weeks, you’re not sure. Wonwoo must’ve sensed that something was amiss the moment you stopped replying to him altogether, but he never tried to pester you about what was wrong. Instead, he simply continued sending all those messages to check in on you despite the fact that it’s almost as if he’s talking to a wall.
Well, it’s not like you have time to entertain him now anyways. 
“Are you sure she doesn’t have a name yet?” One of your clients—the boyfriend—asks as he smooths down his newly adopted Maine Coon’s fur. 
The girlfriend rolls her eyes. “You heard the nice shelter lady, Vern. This one just wouldn’t respond to any name they tried to give her.”
You agree with a half-hearted laugh, trying your best to ignore the guilt that’s perpetually swelling in your heart the longer you ignore Wonwoo’s pleas. “Yup. Our director said she’s got a bit of an attitude, but I think she just has high standards.”
Vern the Boyfriend makes a funny face at that. “So you’re saying that she doesn’t like the names she’s been given so far?”
“Mhmm. We tried Cupcake, Winter, Princess, and Lily, but she liked none of those. Try naming her something fancy. ”
“Chairman Meow?”
“Vern.” 
“What? You gotta admit it’s funny, Sohee.”
Sohee the Girlfriend rolls her eyes. “Yes, but it’s an overused pun now! Think of something else.”
“Hmm. How about…Milana?”
“Is that because Seokmin wouldn’t shut up about his trip to Milan?”
“Ugh, yeah. Two months later and he still won’t stop talking about—”
“The gorgonzola he had for dinner the night before he flew back to Korea. I know. You won’t stop talking about it either.”
“Hey, Seokmin-hyung pays great attention to detail when it comes to food. You can’t help but want it, too.”
As you observe the friendly banter between the couple, you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. You don’t come across two people who complement each other as well as they do, and from the curious glint in their newly adopted cat’s eyes, you think she likes being in their company as well.
“Fine, let’s test it out first,” Sohee huffs before scratching behind the Maine Coon’s ears. “We’re going to call you Milana. Does that sound good to you?”
When the cat nuzzles her hand with a pleased meow, Sohee and Vern turn to glance at each other at the same time—two matching smiles plastered on their faces.
God. You can only wish to have what they do.
Once the rest of the documents have been finalized, you and Mina—who just got back from updating the vaccination records for all the animals in the shelter—see your most recent clients off. Vern the Boyfriend, Sohee the Girlfriend, and Milana the Child are off to the streets to start the next chapter of their lives or whatever.
When the door to the front entrance clicks shut, you let out the longest, deepest sigh known to mankind. Your coworker stifles a laugh.
“Looks like someone’s jealous,” Mina comments. 
You whine. “How could I not be jealous of that? They’re so in love, it’s sickening. They even got a kid together!” 
“You know, you could easily have that too if you just stopped avoiding—”
“Oh, look at the time!” You interrupt her a little too theatrically, stomping off to the direction of the break room. “Gotta go meet my thesis adviser. Kino and the other volunteers should show up in the next hour, though!”
You don’t catch the frustrated look on Mina’s face as you make a hasty retreat, but it doesn’t make you any less guilty about trying to skirt around the topic every chance you get. Mina’s always had your back during these past two weeks. Though you never told her why you’re avoiding your not-so-quote-unquote crush like the plague, she’d always come up with excuses and alibis to throw him off your trail. 
Which, coincidentally, happens again just as you’re changing out of your uniform.
“I don’t suppose you’re looking for a sibling for Hani?” you hear Mina sigh from outside.
The person she’s talking to laughs softly. “No. I think you know why I’m here again.”
God. That fucking voice.
“Well, again, she’s not here,” your coworker bluffs. “And uh, word of advice, I get that you’re hot shit and all, but if you keep trying to bother my friend who, for some reason, doesn’t want anything to do with you, I might have to call the authorities.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second.
That’s a little too different from the typical ‘oh I’m sure she’ll come around one of these days’ spiel that Mina always feeds to Wonwoo every time he visits. Sure, you’re not yet ready to face him yet after everything that’s happened, but it’s not like you want him thrown in jail—
“Uh, right. I get it,” he says awkwardly, clearing his throat in the process. “It’s just that she hasn’t spoken to me in days and I’m a little worried—”
“That’s clearly a sign for you to back off, buddy.” You can almost see Mina with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes. “I’ve been keeping myself from saying anything about it, but I’ve always found it strange how often you visit a goddamn animal shelter. And now that she’s clearly avoiding you, you’re still trying to corner her? Are you a stalker or something?”
Fuck. This isn’t how the conversation is supposed to go! 
Mina’s job is to just politely drive Wonwoo away so you can slip out of the building without having to talk to him. But your coworker must’ve misinterpreted your persistent reluctance to meet him as genuine fear and…while you’re glad you have a friend who looks out for you like that, she’s going about all of this the wrong way!
Wonwoo doesn’t speak for a long time and your heart squeezes at the notion that he’s been called all those harsh words when all he wanted to do was talk to you. You didn’t even give him any reasons as to why you suddenly decided to cut him off. But instead of marching out there to face him and clear the air yourself…
You stay hidden in the break room like a fucking coward.
“I understand why you’d assume that, but I don’t have any ill intentions—”
“That's exactly what a guy with ill intentions would say,” Mina scoffs. “Do both of us a favor and just leave, yeah? And stop trying to contact her when she obviously wants nothing to do with you anymore.”
The silence hangs thick from outside and despite being in the break room, you swear you can almost choke on it yourself. 
You’re not sure what expression Wonwoo is wearing. Actually, you don’t even know him well enough to know those kinds of things. The most you’ve seen of his face was during that quiet night you spent together two weeks ago and you’ve severed contact with him all because of something that he probably could have explained if only you gave him the chance to.
“Okay,” he whispers so softly, you almost don’t catch it. “Thanks for your time.”
Fortunately, Mina doesn’t try to add any more fuel to the fire. All you hear is the sound of retreating footsteps and the sound of the front door clicking shut. 
It’s only when your coworker pokes her head inside the break room that you realize you’ve been holding your breath.
“He’s gone now,” she murmurs with a comforting smile. “And if he doesn’t stop bothering you even after that, I’ll raise the complaint to the director himself. I’m sure he can pull some legal strings to keep that guy out of the area for good.”
You find it kind of ironic that a few minutes ago, Mina was teasing you about him and now things have escalated into restraining order territory. But you can’t really blame her for it.
Especially when you’ve done nothing to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Right. Thanks, Mina.” You manage a thin smile, fingers absentmindedly drifting to the black cat enamel you still pinned to your uniform’s chest pocket.
“I really appreciate it.”
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Haewon 🪷 [10:30]: Unnie hiii
Haewon 🪷 [10:33]: Can you call me as soon as you read this? Xoxo
You get to check Haewon’s message three hours late because finally, finally you’ve managed to defend your thesis after innumerable sleepless nights and neverending changes to your manuscript draft. Your panelists and advisers had nothing but praises to sing about your work—even going as far as to promise that your paper will definitely be published in the next volume of the academic journal you’d been secretly hoping it’ll get selected for. 
It’s still surreal that the only thing you’ve got left on your university to-do list is to attend the commencement rites scheduled in three weeks’ time. Four grueling years have really just gone by in a flash. 
After enjoying one of your last lunch breaks in the quad with some old classmates who’ve also conquered the figurative beast that is their undergrad thesis, you excuse yourself for a while to give your little sister a ring. Haewon picks up on the second ring. 
“About time you called,” she huffs. “I thought you were sleeping in the day again.”
You shake your head with a laugh despite the fact that she can’t see the gesture. “No more sleeping in the day for me ‘cause I’m graduating.”
Haewon gasps—loud enough to create static across the line. “Really? Oh my god. That’s good news then! Mom and dad were actually getting worried about you, you know? You’ve been throwing yourself into that stupid thesis of yours for a month now.” 
It takes a while for you to formulate a response, something akin to guilt creeping into your heart at the prospect of worrying your parents sick. But then again, what’s done is done. You can catch up on the several hours of sleep and countless brain cells you’ve lost trying to make your final manuscript actually make sense.
“It’s all good now,” you reassure. “All you guys have to do now is fly over to Seoul for my graduation and I can pack my bags and go back to the countryside as soon as I can.” 
You half-expect Haewon to laugh off your haste to travel back to your hometown and say something about how you’re better off in the city than this old dump. 
But you’re met with silence instead.
“Um,” she starts nervously after a few moments. “I know most of the stuff that’s been stressing you out is gone now, but… Are you sure you’re okay?”
The question makes you swallow thickly. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Unnie, I’m your sister,” Haewon says a-matter-of-factly and you can almost picture her scowling at you. “We both know you’ve been acting really weird ever since the pre-recording. I couldn’t pester you about it ‘cause I had to go back home the next day. And I didn’t want to bother you while you were finishing up your thesis.
“So now that all those obstacles are out of the way, do you mind telling me what’s wrong?”
The sound of the other students milling around the quad rings in your ears as you process Haewon’s words. When you take a deep breath, the exhale is accompanied by defeated laughter.
You’re an idiot to think you could ever escape your little sister’s scrutiny.
“I know you’re going to give me shit if I say it’s nothing you should worry about—”
“You’re right,” she interjects. “I will give you shit.”
“—but it really is nothing you should worry about,” you continue anyway, toying with the hem of your sweater with a wistful sigh. “Long story short, it’s…boy problems. Boy problems that I’ve ignored long enough that they just went away all on their own.”
At the other line, Haewon makes a strangled noise as if that’s not the answer she was expecting. “Come again?”
“Yeah, Hae. Your big sister actually has boy problems,” you chortle. “Weird, right?”
“Yes and you didn’t even bother telling me about it at all?!” She crows angrily. “You have to give me the gist or I’m hanging up and booking the next flight to Seoul.” 
For a moment, you hesitate and give yourself a moment to think about what you can and can’t tell Haewon over a phone call when she’s a whole plane ride away from you. 
She absolutely cannot know that the boy in question is Wonwoo. You’ll probably spend more time trying to convince her that what you’re saying is true than avoiding a pity party. So instead, you tell her:
“Well, this boy and I had…something good going for us, I think. I like him, you know—really, really like him. But then one day, I found out that he’s been keeping this important thing about himself from me.” A sigh. “Like, I know some stuff is none of my business, but it’s so easy for him to let others know about that…that thing, yet somehow he never bothered to tell me. I couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t trust me enough.”
Surprisingly, Haewon lets out a hum of understanding. “Yeah, that’s kind of a dick move on his part. Did you confront him about it?”
You find yourself tongue-tied for a moment—a bit embarrassed to admit to your little sister that you chose the coward’s way out of this. 
“Um, that’s the thing. I kind of ghosted him when I found out,” you tell her sheepishly. “I don’t think he knows the reason why I suddenly just dipped to this day. Haven’t spoken to him in…two months.” 
“Uh-huh. So all this time, you’ve been burying your guilt in schoolwork. Is that it?”
The straightforward tone catches you off guard for a second. “That’s not—”
“Unnie,” Haewon calls out firmly, making you close your mouth. “Again, I’m your sister. I know things about you that others don’t—things that you don’t either, probably. And trust me when I say this, but you are not the confrontational type. Don’t worry though because it’s perfectly fine to avoid the things you don’t want to deal with. Especially if you’re dealing with a person that’s more trouble than they’re worth.
“But…you said that you really, really like him. Present tense.” She pauses briefly, as if letting you digest what she’s saying a little better. “If the circumstances were even slightly different, I would’ve cheered you on for ghosting someone who hasn’t been one hundred percent honest with you because, duh? Deserved. But from the way you’ve been coping with what happened, I can’t help but think that avoiding him like this isn’t what you wanted to do at all.” 
Haewon’s words flow from the speaker and lance straight through your heart, and you start to wonder when she started sounding so reliable. You’re used to looking out for her even with the distance separating you. But ironically, it’s in your last year of college that your sister effortlessly dissected the dilemma that’s been plaguing you for weeks.
“Look, I think you’ll feel much better about all this if you just talk to him,” she continues when you don’t utter a word in response. “Not that I’m siding with some semi-lying jerk, but maybe he had his reasons for hiding…whatever he was hiding from you? If he gives you a bullshit excuse, then at least the ghosting will finally be justified, right?”
Her frankness makes you snort. “I guess.”
“Good. Now hang up and call him now.”
“...What?” 
“You heard me.”
“Haewon, I can’t just call him out of nowhere after ignoring him for so long.”
“Pfft. Of course you can! If he doesn’t answer, then that still justifies the ghosting because he obviously doesn’t want you enough. Men like that don’t deserve you, unnie.”
“...Fine. Point taken.”
You end the call after Haewon makes you swear to keep her posted about the situation and your love life in general from now on. Sighing, you reluctantly scroll through your messaging app—finding a conversation that’s long been buried by more recent texts from other people after he sent his final messages to you.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:35]: It’s been three weeks since you last replied. Hope you’re doing okay. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:36]: Mina told me that you wanted nothing to do with me anymore but I really don’t understand why because…aren’t we good? Didn’t we have something back there? Or was I just reading you wrong the whole time?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [02:55]: Either way, she was right about one thing at least. I’ve probably made you uncomfortable with my texts. Kind of pathetic now that I think about it. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [03:01]: I’m sorry for constantly bothering you like this. It’s just that…I want to know what went wrong.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [03:05]: It’s getting harder for me to sleep at night knowing I fucked up something that could’ve been the start of something nice. I was already planning our first date, you know?
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [03:10]: Fuck. Now it just sounds like I’m gaslighting haha.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [03:17]: Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. I don’t even know anymore.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [04:25]: What I do know is that I miss you. So much.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [10:05]: Uh. Sorry about all of that. I had a few drinks and…you know how it goes.
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [10:12]: I’ll stop texting you for real now. 
Woo 🐈‍⬛ [10:15]: I hope your studies go well. Thank you for being part of my life, no matter how short our time together was.
Fuck. 
This is going to be much more difficult than you thought.
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You don’t really blame yourself when it takes you a few days to decide whether or not you should call Wonwoo. The choice has been weighing on you like a cloud above your head and you had to decline several invites to go out from your friends because you simply cannot sit still, knowing that you have to do something about…whatever’s going on with the two of you.
Part of you insists on just leaving it as it is. Wonwoo is an idol that’s almost a decade into his career and you’re much too certain that he’s met enough people in his life to deem the loss of your company specifically a big deal. He has his members, his fans, and anything else a person could ever want.
So what if some college senior he doesn’t even know that well just ghosted him out of nowhere?
But even with that logic, you still end up holding your breath before pressing the call button one Tuesday afternoon. 
There are a total of five attempts made and all five lead you straight to voicemail—each instance making your heart grow heavier and heavier once the prerecorded message comes to an end. You secretly fear that he must’ve blocked your number altogether. Why wouldn’t he after you’ve wasted his time as much as you did?
Others would’ve considered this as a sign to just give up. The universe is basically telling you that the brief time you shared together would yield nothing more. Wonwoo has his own career to worry about and as do you, now that you’re finally going to be ejected from university and into the life of an unemployed fresh grad. You’re better off not chasing after the things you’ve purposely run away from in the first place.
So why on earth are you looking up the exact address of his company building, making the long commute for the slim chance of running into him against all odds?
The security around the area might look lax but you can spot the assortment of security guards stationed both inside and outside of the company building pretty easily. Given the nature of the business they’re running, it would make sense that they’d put up all possible countermeasures against people who might try to inconvenience their artists in any way.
Not wanting to be branded as a crazed fan, you decide to keep your distance—purposely lingering outside the shopping center just across the street as you brainstorm how exactly you’re going to meet up with Wonwoo. 
But as the minutes ticked past, your sense of reason is starting to overpower your desire to clear things up with him. For one, you don’t even know what his schedule looks like. How can you be so sure that he’ll even be there today? Worse, would Wonwoo even want to speak with you after everything? Despite having kept the fact that he’s an idol a secret to you all this time, he has all the right to refuse speaking with you when you never even gave him a chance to explain himself.
The noise of the busy district fades in the background as your eyes fall to Wonwoo’s final text message. You haven’t even thought of texting him since you considered reaching out. But with the fact that your earlier phone calls didn’t go through, you don’t think you can bear seeing your apologetic messages get denied in the very real chance that he’s blacklisted your number altogether.
God. You feel so pathetic.
“Hey, it’s you!”
You immediately blanche at the feeling of someone placing a hand on your shoulder—turning around to see who it is only to be met with the sight of two familiar faces.
“Oh,” you voice out somewhat dumbly. “Miss…Sohee? And Vern?”
The couple who adopted a cat from the shelter flashes you pretty smiles, the two of them carrying grocery bags in each arm. Sohee perks up when you recognize them. “Yup! I didn’t expect to see the nice shelter lady around these parts. What brings you here?”
“Just…stuff.” The laugh you spare them is a little too forced, but if they notice, they don’t comment on it. “How about you guys? How has Milana been?”
“Feels right at home in either of our apartments,” Vern chuckles. “You were right about her having high standards. We always end up doing our grocery shopping here instead of the supermarket near my place ‘cause Lana refuses to eat any of the cheap cat food being sold there.”
Sohee sighs in agreement. “Mhmm. You wouldn’t even think she was a rescue with how high maintenance she is, but we’re idiots that dote on her all the time. It’s just a good thing we work right across the street from here.”
Feeling endeared with how much they spoil their new child aside, the latter part of Sohee’s statement catches your attention for a moment. “Sorry? You work right across the street?”
The moment the words leave your lips, the charming smiles on their faces falter before the couple before you share a look. A brief moment of telepathic communication must’ve occurred between the both of them, as if wordlessly discussing whether they should respond, but in the end Sohee relents.
“Yeah. Vern and I work at HYBE,” she chuckles. “I’m actually surprised you don’t recognize him, since he’s—”
“A very loyal employee that the nice shelter lady can’t possibly recognize,” Vern interjects with a cough into his fist and the immediate reaction makes it easier to put two and two together.
He’s an idol. One hundred percent an idol.
Deciding to play along, you offer up a nod in understanding. “I see. Guess you guys are heading back for the day?”
“Yep. We had one of the other members—uh, I mean, one of our friends look after Milana while we had our grocery run,” Vern explains not-so-smoothly.
“As much as we’d like to stay and chat for a while longer, our baby kind of needs us,” Sohee tells you with an apologetic look. “I hope things at the shelter are running smoothly! We’ve seen how dedicated you guys are to taking care of those poor animals.”
You nod. “Of course. I’ll see you guys around?”
“Anytime!”
You and the beautiful couple exchange quaint bows in farewell before the two of them start walking away. But with each footstep that they take further and further away from you, the itch to run after them and ask what you’ve been dying to when they said they both worked at HYBE grows all the more unbearable.
Cut it out, you mentally hiss at yourself. You can’t bother other people about your issues with Wonwoo. That’s just a whole new low. 
You should’ve just gone the opposite direction when the conversation ended. You should’ve just directed yourself to the nearest bus stop back to your apartment—buried all of this in the past where it belongs.
But it’s as if your body has a mind of its own. The next thing you know, you’re sprinting towards Sohee and Vern before they could cross the next intersection—surprising the couple with your sudden re-entry.
“Did you need something?” Sohee asks, accommodating and confused all at once.
Now or never.
“Yes, actually,” you dole out breathlessly, pursing your lips before adding:
“Do you guys know where Wonwoo is?”
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Out of all the ways you thought this day could turn out, you never would’ve imagined being in the backseat of one of HYBE’s music producers—breezing through the city’s freeway as she interrogates you about just how exactly you know Jeon Wonwoo.
“So you’re the reason he’s being so off lately,” Sohee chuckles before switching lanes. “Wonwoo’s always been the quiet type, but sometimes you can just tell when there’s a lot on his mind. Isn’t that right, Vernon?”
Vernon, who you come to realize is part of the same group as Wonwoo, glances at you from the rearview mirror with a shake of his head. “I can vouch. Wonwoo-hyung’s been working on sharing stuff with us, but of course there’s still some things he’d like to keep to himself.”
I also don’t want to be closed off from others anymore. Back then, I mostly just kept everything to myself—bottling it all up until it was just unbearable.
Great. Now you feel twice as horrible.
“Honestly, I was kind of scared that you guys would think I’m a sasaeng,” you admit with a dry laugh before settling further into the car’s plush upholstery. 
“While we have no reason not to think that with all the weirdos popping up these days,” Sohee starts before her lips curve into a smile, “it just so happens that Soonyoung also can’t keep his mouth shut about Wonwoo’s little crush.”
That makes your face heat up a little. “Soonyoung like…Wonwoo’s friend?”
“You might know him better as Hoshi,” Vernon explains. 
Hoshi, Hoshi, Hoshi…
You snap your fingers once you figure it out. “Yeah. He’s my sister’s bias wrecker.”
“Now we learn that your sister is a fan, too? Huh. Small world.”
“Anyway,” Sohee interjects. “The reason why we believed your explanation was because Soonyoung described Wonwoo’s crush as an animal lover. He’s not so much of a blabbermouth that he gave us more details aside from that, but Vernon here told me about how Wonwoo always comes late to their unit meetings because he keeps making all these detours first.”
Vernon stifles a laugh. “I actually found out about the shelter because Coups-hyung insisted that we follow him around to figure out where he’s been going. It didn’t occur to me at the time that his animal lover crush and the nice shelter lady could be the same person.”
At this point, you can honestly get used to being called a nice shelter lady. But that aside, you can’t help but flush even further at all the things being revealed to you right now. 
It’s…a lot to unpack. 
First, Wonwoo has a crush on you? A complete nobody? Then again, from how often he’s been seeking you out before things went to shit, you could infer that he’s at least a little bit interested from how he kept going out of his way to see you. He’s even late to meetings because of his little visits. This so-called crush was quite obvious, you just don’t like how flustered hearing it out loud makes you feel.
“But then Wonwoo-hyung just started showing up on time to our meetings during our comeback promotions,” Vernon continues. “We were glad we didn’t have to keep waiting for him to start, but…we also noticed that he’s been kind of down lately. The first time it happened, I assumed it was just an off day for him, though now that we met you like this, that’s definitely not the case.”
Wonwoo’s been feeling down? Because of you?
If the roles were reversed, you can say that you’d feel the same if he just stopped talking to you when you thought you were already growing closer. It doesn’t help that the last time you were together, you shared far too many kisses that mere friends should indulge each other with. 
You sigh, leaning your head against the headrest.
You’re such an idiot. A selfish, inconsiderate—
“Well, here we are.”
When the car pulls over, you don’t even realize that Sohee already left the freeway and drove into one of the roads overlooking the Han River. You can barely keep yourself from choking on your own breath when you spot a very familiar motorcycle parked in front of the vehicle. It doesn’t help that Sohee pulled over a certain spot underneath the elevated highway that you’re very much certain you’ve already been to once before.
“Hyung doesn’t know that we know about this place. He never brings anyone else here,” Vernon informs you with a small smile. “From the look on your face, we can assume that he’s already brought you here though, right?”
You can’t even deny it at this point. “Yeah…”
Sohee moves to unlock the doors before glancing behind the driver’s seat with an encouraging look. “Well, how about you clear things upso we can start going on double dates and stuff.”
“Sohee,” her boyfriend groans.
“What? I think it’d be a great idea.” She pouts. “We can even rope Nari and Mingyu into tagging along. Then it’ll be a triple date.”
“What she means to say is,” Vernon cuts in before Sohee can get another word out. “No pressure. You go sort out the stuff you need to with Wonwoo-hyung. I’m sure the two of you can make the best decision for each other once you get to talk properly.”
The best decision, huh…
Your new friends watch you with wordless encouragement as you open the door to your left, letting out a long-winded breath so you wouldn’t be too psyched out by the circumstances. You thank them both with a subtle nod as you gather enough courage to see the person you’ve been longing to meet again for a while now.
Now or never, you repeat to yourself before finally stepping out of the car.
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Wonwoo’s thinking spot looks much different in the day than it does at night.
You had a pretty hard time navigating the short terrain from the road to the old, weathered steps of the watchtower because of the lack of proper illumination. If it weren’t for Wonwoo guiding you the entire time, you would’ve face planted into the pebbled pathway on the first few steps. 
The sun is already setting when you make it to your destination—red orange rays splintering through the high rise buildings on the other side of the river bank. It’s not difficult to spot Wonwoo’s tall figure leaning across the rusty railing of the watchtower, a gentle smile gracing his handsome face as he plays with the growing kitten in his arms. 
He doesn’t notice you at the foot of the concrete steps right away, too engrossed with playing with Hani to take in the rest of his surroundings. But the longer you watch them from afar, the more your chest twists with guilt.
All this time, you never really thought about how Wonwoo must’ve been faring since you ghosted him. You merely assumed that he’d still be living his best life despite what happened between the two of you. The thought that he’ll still be better off without you in his life spurred you on to solely focus on the things you’ve got going on your end. You didn’t consider just how your actions would affect him. Not even once. 
But now, despite having such an adorable cat to keep him company, it isn’t hard to tell that he’s not in the most stellar of moods.
It’s not like you’ve seen Wonwoo smile a lot when you still knew him as Woo—no thanks to his silly little face masks. But you always liked how his eyes crinkled behind his glasses whenever you said something he finds funny or amusing. The easygoing body language he always seemed to have around you.
There’s none of that now.
“Wonwoo.”
He visibly stiffens at the sound of someone calling his name. Cautiously, Wonwoo tucks Hani closer to his chest—glancing around for anyone who could have infiltrated his safe haven.
When his eyes land on you, you can almost hear his breath hitch from where you’re standing.
Seeing no indication that he doesn’t want you here, you swallow the lump in your throat before climbing up the stairs. Each step you take is familiar yet foreign at the same time and you can hear your heart pounding in your ears the closer you get to him. The startled expression on Wonwoo’s face doesn’t falter even when you’re mere feet in front of him on top of the watchtower—like he’s having a hard time grasping your existence.
Hani, however, doesn’t seem all that fazed. The black kitten mewls in delight at the sight of you, squirming around in Wonwoo’s arms, which seems to snap her owner out of his stupor.
His throat bobs. “You know my name.”
You laugh softly. “It isn’t hard to figure it out when you’re as famous as you are.”
Silence permeates the air by the riverside as Wonwoo processes the words you just told him. He sucks in a breath through his teeth, hands absentmindedly running across Hani’s fur.
“So that’s why,” he chuckles with a shake of his head. “I should’ve known…”
You mirror the gesture somewhat vigorously, your throat closing up from all the things you want to say. He doesn’t deserve to be left hanging all because of that stupid reason alone. He doesn’t deserve those hurtful words from Mina.
Most of all, he doesn’t deserve to feel this shitty all because you were too much of a coward to communicate with him.
“I’m sorry.” 
He startles at your apology—obviously not expecting that to be the first thing you say to him after two months of radio silence. “W-Why are you sorry? I should be—”
“It was unfair of me to just ghost you like that when you haven’t explained yourself,” you murmur, tucking your hands behind your back as you stare down at your shoes in shame. “I’m sure you had your reasons for not telling me right away, but… I selfishly thought you didn’t trust me enough to let me know.”
“No,” he quickly clarifies. “It’s not like that at all. I trust you—so much.”
“I know,” you sigh. “It took me a while, but I realized that along the way. The last time we were here, you entrusted me with the story of how you coped with losing someone. You entrusted me with your thoughts, your feelings, your secrets. And I took all that for granted because you didn’t tell me you were an idol.”
Wonwoo falls silent for only a moment as if considering what words to say next. Hani seems to sense his distress, cuddling up to his chest in an attempt to soothe him. He notices what she’s doing right away and Wonwoo scratches behind her ears with a breathless chuckle.
“If it’s any consolation, I didn’t plan on hiding it forever. I knew you would find out eventually—just not as soon as you did,” he murmurs. “It was also unfair of me to take advantage of the fact that you didn’t know me as Wonwoo. But…I wanted to keep my career out of the equation first because it’s nice being treated like a normal person. You never put me on a pedestal or looked at me like I was some sort of god.
“You treated me like I was human.”
This time, you’re the one who’s at a loss for words. 
Having Haewon as a sister, you have this preconceived notion about idols where they have the world in the palm of their hands. You thought for the longest time that all they had to do was go up the stage to sing and dance and look beautiful and the rest will follow. 
Hearing Wonwoo tell you this easily subverted all those assumptions. 
You’ve never been good at telling people the things they need to hear. That’s Haewon’s area of expertise, not yours. So instead of offering up any words of comfort, you quickly close the distance that’s been keeping you apart to throw your arms around his broad shoulders.
Wonwoo freezes up when you pull him into a hug and he loathes the fact that he can’t even reciprocate it given that he has his hands full. It’s kind of adorable how careful you’re being to make sure you don’t accidentally squish Hani between your bodies. 
Suddenly, all that heaviness that’s been lingering in his heart for weeks dissipates in a flash. Wonwoo relishes in the feeling of your warmth seeping into his, resting his forehead on your shoulder as he holds back his emotions.
“Can we start over again?” you murmur. “We still haven’t had our first date, right?”
When you feel the sound of his laughter rumbling in his chest, you can’t help the goosebumps that rise across your skin. “Wow. I didn’t expect you to forgive me that fast.”
Pulling away for a moment, you shoot him a dirty look. “Jeon Wonwoo, are you saying I’m easy?”
“Not at all.” Wonwoo grins and you can barely look at him without recoiling at how good he looks. 
His hair has grown much longer than you remember and seeing the smile that oh-so easily hooked you in deeper than you already were, you already know that you can’t ever hope to put up a fight. 
Not when he’s so love-of-your-life-shaped.
“Since we’re at the point of catching up, I’m actually graduating in three weeks.”
Wonwoo sharply turns to look at you with a scowl as he puts Hani in a little cat backpack he got for her. “Three weeks? Shit… I think we’re going to have a concert at that time.”
You wave away his concern with a smile. “I didn’t mean I was expecting you to show up at the venue, doofus. Can’t have any weird rumors about you going around by attending my graduation.”
“Rumors about what?” he challenges.
“You know.”
“I actually don’t.”
“We just made up ten minutes ago, Do you really want me to bail on you again?”
“Hey, I just thought that if you ever want to spark some dating rumors, we can make it happen any time.” 
“We’re not even dating!”
“Not yet.”
“What?”
“It’s just like you said—I still owe you that first date, don’t I?”
“...Have I told you that you’re insufferable?”
“I’m actually surprised you didn’t start calling me that when I kept visiting the shelter too often to be considered normal.”
“That reminds me, why were you visiting the shelter so much?”
When Wonwoo hands you Hani’s cat backpack, you take it as an invitation to hitch a ride on his motorcycle. After all, it would be uncomfortable to have it sitting between the two of you. However, he takes you completely by surprise by answering you with:
“I like you. That’s why.”
It takes you about five whole seconds to recover from what he just said but it’s five seconds too late because Wonwoo is already chuckling to himself as if he deserves to have the last laugh.
“You’re lucky that I like you too,” you mumble as you carefully hop on his ride—sitting comfortably behind him while making sure Hani is strapped securely behind you. “If I didn’t, Mina would’ve made our boss file a restraining order against you.”
Wonwoo hands you a spare helmet before putting on his own, laughing again as he clicks the lock in place. “Dating rumors and stalking rumors? Being with you sounds like such a big hassle now.”
“Are we going on that first date or not?!”
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Two months after graduating and four weeks into officially dating Jeon Wonwoo, you find out the real reason he was taking so damn long to make up his mind about adopting Hani.
The landlord doesn’t prohibit pets—he loves them, actually. 
His dog, Seol, is a little shy, but she gets along with Hani just fine.
But then his old roommate, Mingyu, dropped by to visit Wonwoo’s apartment one day, sneezing all over the place like it’s pollen season. Except the pollen in question is cat fur and it just so happens that he didn’t bring any of his allergy meds for the trip.
“As much as I want to cuddle on the couch catching up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe with you guys, I gotta go,” Mingyu explains while blowing his nose into a tissue. “I’ll die if I spend even a second longer here.”
Wonwoo throws a piece of popcorn at him. “Didn’t you say that you’re going on a date with Nari?”
“Oh. That, too.”
“If she finds out that you just remembered as an afterthought, she’s going to kill you,” you tease while shoving a handful of your movie snacks into your mouth. “At least, that’s what I’d do if Wonwoo did the same thing.”
“Oh, she will. That’s why neither of you are going to tattle on me,” the beefy idol huffs before tossing the soiled tissue in the trash bin. “Anyway, Wonwoo-hyung, you should totally keep in touch with this pet sitter that Seungcheol-hyung discovered recently. A bunch of other artists leave their pets with her whenever they have tight schedules.”
Your boyfriend merely looks at him with an unimpressed look. “Are you saying that just so I can leave Hani there when you come over to play video games with me?”
“Yes.”
Mingyu leaves shortly after receiving a phone call from his girlfriend, Nari, who sounded nothing short of furious when she asked where on earth he is and why he’s late for their date again. Wonwoo tells you that his best friend has a thing for pissing off Nari just so he has an excuse to do grand gestures for her without his girlfriend complaining about it. You tell him that he should start doing the same too.
“By the way, you’re flying back to Jeju for a while, right?” Wonwoo asks once the credits start rolling in the film playing on his TV—the loose grip he has around your waist tightening ever-so slightly.
You shift your weight on the couch to cuddle closer to him. “Yeah. I haven’t seen my parents and Haewon since I graduated. Plus, I don’t have to start working until next month, so I can afford a last-minute getaway.”
He nods. “I still think it’s funny you haven’t told your sister about me. Are you ashamed of me or something?”
“Quit saying weird stuff, Jeon Wonwoo,” you huff before hitting him in the chest. Damn those firm pecs. “I just want to see the look on her face when she finds out I’m dating the person she ships with Mingyu for fun.”
“And I still can’t believe my future sister-in-law is a Gyuldaengie.”
You try not to think about how he said Haewon is his future in-law. You really do.
Once the last of the end credits pans on-screen, the bonus scene at the end of every Marvel movie starts playing and you can’t help but snort when Eddy gets snapped back to his own universe before he can even pay off his tab to the bartender. Just when you’re about to ask Wonwoo if he wants to watch the next movie, you realize he’s had his eyes on you the entire time.
“What?” you laugh.
“Nothing,” he whispers. “I just thought you were really pretty.”
“Wonwoo, you tell me that every thirty minutes. Don’t you get tired of it?”
You yelp when he abruptly pulls you onto his lap, steadying you by the hips so you wouldn’t accidentally topple to the floor. He flashes you a lazy grin as he traces circles along the curve of your thighs and you can barely suppress a groan when you look down at him.
He might look like some otherworldly creature every time he kills it on stage, but you love this Wonwoo just the same—dressed down with his glasses sitting all crooked on the bridge of his nose, hair falling across his eyes. 
“Never,” he says simply. 
There’s something oddly sensual about the way he says it and at that moment, you catch on to the half-lidded look in his eyes. You gulp, gaze instinctively wandering around his apartment to look for Hani and Seol, who you spot dozing next to each other in the kitchen. 
Now that you’re sure none of the kids are watching, you let out a defeated sigh before lacing your arms around his neck and leaning down to kiss him.
Wonwoo is a guy you caved and kissed before the first date, so it’s pretty natural for the two of you to fall into this degree of intimacy every now and again. His effect on you is especially lethal whenever you spend several days apart because of the nature of his career. 
But even if you’re yet to cross that line with your boyfriend, the possibility of it finally coming into fruition becomes more and more real every time his hot tongue slides against yours. 
“Won…woo—” you gasp when you feel his cold fingers sneak up your shirt, hands firmly grabbing your waist to keep you in place. 
Your boyfriend chuckles and the low vibrations that come from his chest shoot straight to your core. “I know tonight was supposed to be movie night, but you’re making it really hard to keep my hands off of you.” 
“That’s what you say all the time,” you groan as he takes your bottom lip between his teeth and tugs. Fuck. “Always blaming me for your lack of self-control.”
“I can’t help it when you’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs against your lips before tugging you back down for another heated kiss.
You’ve fooled around with Wonwoo a handful of times and during said times, you’ve gotten an idea of how…into it he gets when pleasuring you. It’s almost as if he delights in seeing you come undone for him even if it’s just with his mouth and fingers. 
It’s during those moments that you can’t help but imagine how he would be once the two of you finally take things all the way. But for all your teasing about how he has questionable self-control, Wonwoo has done nothing but respect the boundaries you’ve clearly set when you started dating. 
“Fuck,” he rasps when he pulls away briefly, resting his head against the cushions of the sofa as he closes his eyes. “Baby, we’ve gotta stop or else I might just cave and fuck you.”
You simper. “You’re the one who started this.”
“Yeah, and that’s why I’m putting a stop to it before I end up doing something you don’t like!”
You shift around on his lap for a moment and Wonwoo is convinced that you’ll give him some reprieve and get off of him before he loses his mind. But then he realizes you’re grinding your hips against the hard-on he’s sporting in his sweats. 
Chuckling to yourself, you pull him by the front of his shirt—pressing a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth before leaning into his ear to whisper:
“What if I want you to fuck me, Woo?”
The deep growl that resonates in his throat sounds so fucking hot, you can feel a gush of slick surge between your thighs. He doesn’t say a word—merely opting to keep his hard stare on yours as he wraps your legs around his waist. You immediately get the gist and hold on tight to him as he carries you out of the living room and into his bedroom.
“I’m giving you a chance to back out again, sweetheart,” he sighs as he kicks the door shut behind him. “Think you can handle it when I get serious about fucking you until you can’t walk?”
The mental image he conjures in your head has you mewling in his arms, prompting you to pepper his neck with sloppy kisses as he gropes your ass like it’s always belonged to him. 
“Think you can actually make good on that though?” you challenge with a soft chuckle, grazing your teeth just below his collarbone. You won’t bite—knowing that his stylists will give him hell for it if he shows up to work with hickeys. “We both know you like to talk big sometimes.”
Wonwoo breathes out a condescending chuckle before gently easing you on top of the mattress. You didn’t think it was possible, but you swear you get even wetter when he takes off his glasses and licks his lips at the sight of you.
“Oh, baby, you’re in for a fucking ride.”
That’s how you find yourself with your back pressed against Wonwoo’s insanely sculpted chest—both your mouth and pussy stuffed with his thick fingers as he works you open enough to take his cock. He slides those thick digits in and out of your wet channel, making sure you get used to the stretch all while he muffles your noises at the same time. 
Normally, he likes hearing you get whiney and desperate for him, but there’s a charm to seeing you slobber all over his fingers as you clench up around the ones buried in your pussy. 
“Fuck, baby. So goddamn tight for me,” he whispers huskily in your ear and the sound of his rough voice layered with the lewd squelch of your cunt makes your insides tingle. “Been thinking about having this pretty pussy all to myself for a while now. You gonna let me have it now, baby? Let me wreck you on my cock?”
Wonwoo easily has the hottest voice you’ve ever heard in your entire life. While you often think about how you can fall asleep happily just listening to him talk about anything under the sun, it’s an entirely different story when he’s spouting all this filth into your ear as he prepares you for an overdue dicking down. 
“Yes, please—” You sob pathetically when he takes his fingers out of your mouth, curling your arm behind you so you can blindly grab his hair and mend your lips into a messy kiss. “Wonwoo, I need you so bad.”
“Desperate little thing,” your boyfriend chuckles before withdrawing his fingers from your needy hole. The loss has you writhing in his lap, one hand shooting out to keep him where you want him but Wonwoo coos into your ear as if to pacify you. “Shhh, baby, I need you to come first before I fuck you. You’ll be good for me and let me make you come, right?” 
Shit. Who are you to refuse when he propositions you like that?
“I need an answer, sweetheart.”
“I’ll be good,” you gasp almost immediately as your boyfriend starts parting your pussy lips with the hand that was muffling your cute noises. “I’ll be so good for you, please just—”
“Just what, baby?” Wonwoo teases and you nearly cry.
“M-Make me come on your fingers…”
He hums, slick fingers gliding along your slit. “Not if you don’t say—”
“Please,” you whimper before grinding your pussy against his hand. “Wonwoo, I wanna come. Wanna come so bad. Want you to stuff me full of your cock. Want you to—” 
It’s almost like he tapped in on every single nerve ending in your body when his dexterous fingers find your clit—rubbing the puffy bud in fast, tight circles as you start twitching in his arms. Wonwoo lets out another evil laugh as he forcibly pries your legs apart. The firmness of his grip leaves you no choice but to thrash around as he builds your orgasm from the ground up, trailing wet kisses along the column of your throat as he teases an orgasm out of you with the sound of his voice coupled with his sinful ministrations.
“So wet and ready for me. Have you thought about taking me inside this sweet little pussy? Do you think you can even fit me when you’re this tight?” he breathes into your ear and you don’t even have the dignity to bite down your moans anymore. “You’re so close, sweetheart. Let yourself go and I’ll give you what you want. I’ll blow your pretty back out over and over until you’re sick of me.”
Never, you want to tell him. I’ll never get sick of you, stupid Wonwoo.
Funnily enough, that silent jab at him is quickly followed by a mind-numbing release. It washes over you like a storm surging into a calm shore—overloading every cell in your body with pleasure until the only thing that comes out of your mouth is a broken rendition of your lover’s name. 
Wonwoo talks you through your high because he knows you’ve got a thing for his voice. Knows just how much tighter you get when he whispers filthy words with a sultry sweet tone. 
And when he growls, “Good fucking girl,” into your ear, you’re convinced he just made you come again while still riding the waves of your first orgasm. 
For all his vigor, Wonwoo is surprisingly patient with you as you recover from what he just put you through. He plants brief kisses all over your neck and face until your breathing finally evens out and you stop seeing stars in the seams of your vision. Your boyfriend offers up a gentle smile when you finally come to—leaning in to kiss your nose.
“You still want more?” he whispers, exercising enough restraint to be revered despite the fact that you can feel his hard, leaking cock pressed against the small of your back. 
A soft, somewhat weak laugh makes its way past your lips as you turn around to peck his lips. Wonwoo smiles against your mouth and you can’t help but do the same.
Then, you issue another challenge.
“Do your worst.”
You’re grateful now more than ever that Wonwoo is the easiest person to talk to in the entire world. You can practically count the things that he wouldn’t want to discuss with you on one hand alone. 
In other words, you’ve already had the necessary conversations about sex, should you ever have it with him in the future (A.K.A., right now). Wonwoo knows you’ve been on birth control ever since you moved to Seoul all those years ago. He knows that you get yourself tested at least once every month if you can and assures you that he does the same.
On the other hand, you’re well aware that your boyfriend has a thing for coming inside, and now that you’ve gone this far with him, you’ll gladly let Wonwoo make his fantasies a reality. 
He only agreed to it once you promised to tell him whenever you feel like he’s going too far or if he’s doing something you don’t like. You swear you would’ve married him on the spot, if it weren’t for that tiny voice in your head that suspiciously sounds like Haewon telling you off for losing it over a man who’s doing the bare minimum.
With those measures in place, you feel safe enough to let Wonwoo press your face down onto the mattress as his free hand grips your ass—fucking into your tight cunt as he tries (and fails) to keep himself from being too rough with you. 
He really, really wanted to be gentle, considering it’s your first time to lie together like this. But your unfiltered reactions do nothing but test both his patience and self-control in more ways than one. All his plans on making love to you in good old missionary have been tossed out of the window now that you’ve given him the green light to actually fuck you until you can’t walk.
“Wonwoo,” you moan, fists curling into the sheets as he cants his hips deeper and deeper—the head of his cock hitting spots your own fingers could never hope to reach. “S-So fucking good…”
“Yeah?” he breathes raspily before leaning down to press his chest against your back, wanting to engulf you in the heat of his body until it’s all you’ll ever know. “My pretty baby loves my cock that much? You want me to fuck you all the time now?”
“Uh huh.” You nod before letting out a high pitched keen when he amps up the speed of his thrusts—slamming his hips harder against your ass.
Wonwoo thinks he could really get used to the sight of your pretty pussy sucking him in like this. You’re so greedy—clamping down on him as tightly as you do as you moan his name like it’s the only word in your vocabulary. But how could you not when each vein that runs along the underside of his perfect cock drags so deliciously across your velvet walls? When his balls—hot and heavy and full of enough cum to fill you to the brim—keep clapping against your pussy with each powerful thrust?
It’s the first time that you got to get a taste of what your boyfriend is capable of in bed and you can only imagine every instance that will follow once all’s said and done.
When he feels your walls start to spasm around his length every now and again, Wonwoo presses a sloppy kiss across the cut of your jaw—a hand sliding between your thighs so he can find that little bundle of nerves that made you fall apart only several minutes ago. Your reaction is immediate—crying and squirming below him even when you’re helpless against his massive frame pressing you down into the bed. 
“I’m so close, baby,” he groans into your ear, holding out for as long as he can just so he can feel the sensation of you coming around his cock. “You’re almost there, too, aren’t you? My good girl—taking my dick like it’s always been yours. Can you come with me? You can do that for me, right, sweetheart?”
The fondness in his voice strings you even further apart and you’re nothing but a mess of pleasure and delirium as Wonwoo continues his assault on your poor, abused clit. He knows just the right amount of pressure to use and manages to time his thrusts with each delicious pass on that oversensitive bud.  
It’s all over before you know it. 
You let out a long-winded moan that will definitely earn him a couple of noise complaints from the neighbors but Wonwoo doesn’t have it in him to fucking care at the moment. Not when your walls are clamping down so tightly around his cock—making each stroke all the more tantalizing as your pussy milks him for everything he’s got to give you. 
You mindlessly babble a string of I love yous against the sheets, a trail of drool dripping onto the mattress as Wonwoo fucks into you with heightened ferocity. He catches every single word you say and he tilts your head to the side so he can kiss you. Your boyfriend forces your tongue into a dance with his own until his hips stutter and stop—white hot emission surging into your cunt in thick spurts that he hopes would stay inside you for days if he can help himself.
You’re a mess—face painted with a fucked out expression as your pussy leaks with a mixture of yours and Wonwoo’s cum. The mere sight of it is almost enough to make him hard again, but he tells himself that he can take you up on marathon sex next time.
For now, he just wants to clean you up and tuck you back into bed.
“Woo?”
He turns to face you with a questioning look. Your boyfriend just finished with your mandatory aftercare session and is in the middle of making the bed comfortable enough for some post-sex cuddles. “Hmm?”
“You’re still free next week right?” you ask, drawing silly shapes on his chest with your finger once he finally lays down next to you.
“Yeah. I don’t have any major schedules until…” He pauses before conjuring up an imaginary calendar in his mind. “Next month. Why?”
Despite all the debauchery you’ve subjected each other to in a single night, your face still flushes as you consider what you’re about to ask him. Wonwoo smiles at that. Cute.
“How do you feel about flying to Jeju with me so I can introduce you to my family?” you ask shyly, gulping with a nervous laugh. “I totally get it if your management won’t allow it though. It’s hard to keep the media off your back when you’re so famous and—”
He doesn’t do this often, but Wonwoo shuts you up with a firm kiss.
“What are you talking about?” he murmurs, caressing your face tenderly. “Of course I want to meet them.”
When your eyes light up at his confirmation, Wonwoo swears that he couldn’t be more in love.
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Me [11:23]: hae, i’ve got good news~
Haewon 🪷 [11:24]: You’re bringing Mingyu with you to Jeju so we can get married?
Me [11:26]: very funny
Me [11:26]: not to spoil your delusions or anything but i’m bringing my boyfriend
Haewon 🪷 [11:30]: Omg… 
Haewon 🪷 [11:30]: Rudeness aside, is it the same guy from before? 
Me [11:31]: yep
 Haewon 🪷 [11:32]: AAAAAAAAA
 Haewon 🪷 [11:32]: I can’t wait to meet him!
 Haewon 🪷 [11:34]: He better be treating you right or I’ll drop kick him off Jusangjeollidae
Me [11:40]: you’ve already met him though~
Haewon 🪷 [11:41]: ?
Haewon 🪷 [11:45]: Unnie, what do you mean…
Haewon 🪷 [12:32]: Hey!!!!
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⟢ end notes: if you've made it til the end, congrats! this is the last of the doting on you! series (for now~) and i really hope you enjoyed reading through it as much as i enjoyed writing it!! special thanks to all the friends that read through this for me T T i wouldn't have done it without any of you ueueue and to everyone that has been patiently waiting for me to put up the last installment for the series, thank you for waiting <3 i hope you guys continue to support me with my future work as well!
this is part of the doting on you! series.
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slut4hee · 3 months ago
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Never Have I Ever, Fell In Love With A Psycho | S.JY Teaser
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{Paring: Ghostface Jake x Blk Cheerleader Fem! Reader
Release date: Tba
{Synopsis: You are the Star Cheerleader of Woodsboro University, Highly favored by your professors and well loved by your peers. You’re known for being a kind hearted soul, who volunteers to help host the charity events at your school and playing your role as the notorious team captain of the cheer squad. So what could you have possibly done to become Ghostface’s target?
{Genre: smut, serial killer themes, angst, Jake is batshit crazy, college au, 18+ so (mdni).
{Warnings: explicit scenes, rough sex, oral (m&r receiving), unprotected sex, breeding kink, cum eating, knife play, dirty talk, fingering, pet names, mentions of murder, possessive behavior, obsession (Jake), stalking, character death (not reader or Jake), Jealousy, one sided love at first (Jake), profanities, kidnapping.
🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮��🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮
Your heart pounds out of your chest rapidly as tears and your now ruined eyeliner runs down your face. You sprint through the hallways of the school running for dear life, hoping and praying that whatever fucked up nightmare this was you will wake up from it soon. You can hear their eerie dark voice and evil menacing laugh behind you causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up.
Your vision is blurred from the tears that won’t stop falling from your eyelids, fear consumes you whole as you hear the footsteps getting closer and closer to you. Your breathing is ragged, your heart feels like it’s gonna explode any minute from the adrenaline that’s rushing through your veins.
They’re hot on your tail, you can hear them everywhere around you, from behind you, and in your head completely taking over your brain cells. Finally barging into a empty classroom you lock the door shut.
You spot a storage closet making your way into it, you place your hand over your mouth trying to ground yourself from making any noise while trying to control your breathing. You hear what sounds like the sound of metal dragging against the wall piercing through your eardrums.
The waterworks continues as you try to calm yourself down, fighting the urge to scream out loud because you’re so damn terrified. Your heart sinks to your stomach when you hear the door to the classroom slam open.
You hear footsteps walking slowly across the perfectly polished vinyl floors. A knife can be heard being slowly dragged against the desk causing a horrible sound to echo throughout the classroom causing your breath to hitch.
Your eyes go wide when you realize you given yourself away and you pray to god you wake up from this shitty nightmare as soon as possible. The footsteps grow closer to the storage closet as you peak out the little opening of the closet door.
A figure can be seen wearing a black hooded robe, a white skull like mask, and black gloves. You’re full on going into a state of panic when you recognize the masked person from the news and pictures and posters that’s been posted all around campus.
You heard the masked killer goes by Ghostface and he’s known for being a very heartless brutal serial killer. he’s killed 20 people so far and your heart sinks knowing you will mark the 21st person he murders if he was to kill you.
Just as you are processing the information in your head the door to the closet door swings open and you’re met with none other then Ghostface himself. Your heart feels like it’s not beating anymore as time seems to stop.
You don’t move a muscle, completely frozen and paralyzed from the fear and anxiety that’s coursing through your veins. The masked person slightly tilts their head to the side almost like they’re studying your every move.
Finally building up enough strength to speak you decide to do what anyone would do in this situation, beg for their life to spared.
“P-Please don’t kill me, I haven’t done anything wrong to you please I don’t want to die I’ll do anything you want just please don’t murder me” you plead from the bottom of your heart, hoping Ghostface will let you go. The masked figure doesn’t say a word but just stares at you. His breathing coming in steady and calm causing a gut wrenching chill to run down your spine.
suddenly the masked figure starts to chuckle lowly almost mockingly as they bring the cold metal knife to your chin gently lifting your face being careful to not cut through your pretty brown skin and finally they speak.
“Oh Y/n baby, how could you think so little of me? You think I would hurt the most precious thing I hold dearly to me? Do you think I would harm you my darling love, I’m so disappointed in you my love I thought you would’ve known better” the masked figure leans closer to your face, you can feel his hot breath on your neck as he whispers in your ear.
“You mean the world to me my sweet baby, I could never harm you I will kill myself before I lay a finger on you my dear” they hum reassuringly, tucking one of your braids behind your ear.
“W-Who are you! I-I don’t even know who you are how could you possibly be in love with me” you managed to blurt out despite of being scared for your life. Your eyes widened when the masked figure slowly removes their mask, revealing none other than Jake Sim, the top student in your physics class, the guy who never really speaks to anyone, the guy who sits in the back distant from everyone, the guy who nobody would have thought would be committing these horrible murders.
“What’s wrong baby girl? Surprised to see me” Jake smirks at you with an evil unhinged smile, the fear consumes you still, but the flutter in your stomach and the way your heart skips a beat has you questioning your sanity and now you find yourself asking yourself are you just as insane as him?
To be continued…
A/n: eeeee I’m so excited to write this story, I’m so down bad for Ghostface Jake so I know I’m gonna be creaming nonstop while writhing this 😭 but guys I hope you enjoy the teaser because i literally suck at writing them. Please feel free to reblog, share, comment, and like muah 💋.
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bellesdreamyprofile · 5 months ago
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benny & y/n : the library (part 2)
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“May I?”
After a bite into one of your chocolate muffins and a giddy smile waiting for his reaction, Benny knew that your story only just began. He had never liked relationships - the thought of being tied down to one person for a long period of time made him shiver. Benny valued his freedom and he would’ve never given that up. Especially for a woman.
But oh, how he loved your smile. The little dimples forming in both of your rosy cheeks and your bright eyes looking down, as you still had to get used to the attention he was giving you. He didn’t believe in love, but he believed in whatever he was feeling towards you.
He didn’t take you home that night - he feared that even asking you would be too forward. He was in no rush anyhow, since you had a lifetime in front of you.
“You get home safe, baby, alright?”, Benny’s hand brushed against the bare skin of your arm. His deep, blue eyes slowly meeting yours and you fought the urge to pout. How was it possible that you felt so comfortable around a man you only met two hours ago?
You nodded as his hand slowly made its way towards your cheek, rough digits brushing your soft skin as if it was made out of porcelain. Your eyes fluttered shut at the sensation and you found yourself leaning into his touch. Benny smiled softly at the sight before him - a pretty girl enjoyed his company. He almost asked Johnny to pinch him, proving that all of this was not in his imagination.
“We’ll see each other again?”, you asked, tone laced with hope. He smiled again and nodded without hesitation.
“Definitely, baby.”, he placed a kiss on your other cheek and as he pulled away, you stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like hours. You were almost hypnotized by the aura he exuded - his rough hands were touching your skin yet his gentle words were touching your heart.
“Y/N!”, you abruptly pulled apart at the sound of your name being called. But Benny’s hand moved to the small of your back, finding comfort in the action. 
Kathy was at the door with Felicia by her side, you couldn’t catch Martha though. She was probably with a man she stood a chance with. Kathy waved at you and nodded towards the exit, while Felicia moved her gaze away - the sight of the man of her dreams with a girl he had just met was too much for her.
Benny gently pushed the now empty container against your torso. “I’d say the muffins were a hit.”, you smiled at the compliment and looked down.
“Is my girl shy again?”, he asked in a teasing tone, a gentle finger moving your chin up to meet his eyes.
“They’re looking at us.”, you murmured, making Benny look at the girls waiting for you at the exit.
“Let them look, baby.”, Benny placed another kiss on your cheek and gave your hip a soft squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow, honey.”
You glanced at him for the last time tonight and gave him a soft wave, offering a gentle bye. Your heartbeat was getting ridiculously high for a little kiss on the cheek. But maybe it wasn’t the few kisses, maybe it was the way his eyes told stories like no one else’s or the way his hair was desperately begging to be brushed by delicate fingers. Or maybe it was just him.
“Took you long enough.”, Felicia muttered under her breath as you had finally reached them. You couldn’t find the strength to say anything to her or to Kathy, as your eyes were now replaying the tape of your and Benny’s first encounter.
“Ah girl. I hope that guy is worth it.”, Kathy shook her head at the sight of little hearts in your eyes. She knew very well that once she introduced you two that there was no going back. She secretly wondered if she played matchmaker or if she just signed your death warrant.
Since nobody was available for today’s shift at the library, you volunteered to stay in for the entire day. You didn’t really mind since it was your safe space — you were able to read books and drink your coffee without anybody bothering your peace. But it did a number on you that’s for sure - helping little kids picking the perfect book, placing books in alphabetical order and pulling them out of heavy carton boxes. Your feet were begging for mercy, but you couldn’t give in.
“Yeah, Kathy, I-I can’t really. It’s just me at the library today. Lilly called in sick this morning.”, you told Kathy as you were twirling the telephone cord around your finger.
“That kid is always sick. She doing it on purpose let me tell ya.”, Kathy responded and you could almost see her rolling her eyes. She was calling to pick you up and go to the bar, since it had almost been a week since you’ve been there.
“Nah, I don’t think so.”, you smiled, convinced that there was still some good in people. You looked ahead and noticed an approaching customer. “I, uh, I have to go now—“
“Benny asked about you.”, you stopped yourself from hanging up, your breath hitching in your throat at her words.
“Yeah?”
“Mhm.”, there was a slight sass hiding in her tone, but you didn’t have time right now.
“I have to go. I’ll talk to ya later. Love ya Kat.”
“Love ya too.”
You sighed and brushed your hair into a loose ponytail as you bent down to pick up the one of the last boxes that was delivered this morning. Some of your coworkers kept leaving things off until others from the next shift arrived - now it fell on you. Fortunately, it was closing time, so you could work in your own tempo.
Soft Elvis blues played in the background as you put books on top of shelves. A ding came from the front door, making you huff as a book slipped from your grasp.
“We’re closed!”, you called and picked up the book.
“Even for me?”
You looked up and noticed the all too familiar man standing by the door, two coffees in his hands alongside a small, paper box. You stood up and put your hands on your hips, smiling happily at the sight of him.
“Technically even for you, yes.”, you said, holding back a chuckle. “But I’ll let this slide this once.”, you teased and approached him.
His heart soared at the sight of you and quickly checked out the place, almost waiting for another coworker to approach the two of you. But no one did.
“Hi, baby.”, Benny smiled at you and noticed the bags under your eyes. “Tell me you ain’t here on your own.”, his eyes did another scan of the place, but in vain.
Your lips parted at his words. “I, uh, yes I am. Why?”
He shook his head and started muttering profanities under his breath. “So Kathy wasn’t messing with me when she told me you were alone the whole day.”
Your brows furrowed at his words. “So Kat was the one that told you where I work.”
“Not relevant. Where can I put these?”, Benny nodded to the goodies in his hands. You smiled at the thoughtful gesture and showed him to your desk.
“Right here.”, you patted the wood and sat on it, waiting for him to do the same. Instead he handed you the coffee cup and set the white box on the desk. “Thank you.”, you thanked him and gratefully started sipping the coffee.
“What’s in the box?”, you curiously looked at Benny and almost swore his cheeks assumed a pinkish color.
He cleared his throat and started opening the box. “I asked Kathy for the recipe of the muffins you brought last week… I don’t know… You don’t have to eat them—“
Now that the box was open, you could take a good look at what it was hiding. Scarcely frosted muffins with pink and white sprinkles on top. Benny was sure giving your heart a hard time surviving. You carefully picked one up and looked at it, an automatic smile formed on your lips.
“You made these?”, your words were a mere whisper above the soft Elvis song playing in the background. Benny nodded, almost in a shy way. You smiled at him and took a bite, the sugary and chocolatey flavor exploding in your mouth. You hadn’t even noticed you closed your eyes, and once you opened them, you noticed Benny’s hopeful gaze on yours.
“And?”, he raised his eyebrows in concern. If someone had told him he’d be baking muffins for a girl he met a week ago, he would’ve shot them in the leg. And here he was now, desperately awaiting for your review.
You looked at him with full cheeks and swallowed the sweet. “They’re better than mine.”, you said honestly with a giggle, going on for another bite.
Benny sighed in relief and let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. “Goddamn. They were hard to make. Took me two tries.”, your heart almost exploded in your chest at his words.
“You’re crazy.”, you said and felt your nose dip in the frosting. “Oops.”, you laughed a little and as you were about to clean it away, Benny’s hand grasped yours.
You looked at him with big eyes, getting hypnotized by his. “You told me we would’ve seen each other sooner.”, he said lowly and you felt the guilt trapping you at the sad tone dripping from his words.
“E-Everyone called in sick this week.”, you justified in a small tone, looking down. “I wanted to see you… Like we promised.”, your eyes slowly moved to bore in his. His hands brushed the fabric covering your arm, until they reached your hair, releasing it from the cheap elastic band.
Benny brushed your hair on your shoulders — all of this giving you an opportunity to distract yourself from your racing heart. Again, you took your time looking at him, wondering who up there took their sweet time to sculpt him so perfectly.
“So you wanted to see me again? You didn’t just say it?”, he mumbled, making you look at him. You breathed out and found the courage to grasp one of his hands, the action causing his eyes to move on you.
“I like spending time with you, Benny. I really do.”, you admitted. “I like you.”, a now Elvis love song started playing, leaving you breathless in front of the man you couldn’t stop thinking about.
Benny squeezed your hand and brought your joined hands to his lips. “I like you too, baby.”, he placed a kiss on your hand. His face moved closer to yours, making your heart beat even faster than it had previously. Your eyes fluttered shut, expecting his soft lips on yours.
His lips kissed the tip of your nose, the frosting now gone. You opened your eyes and blushed furiously at your own thoughts. Benny smiled down at you, as if knowing your exact thoughts in the moment.
“I thought you were gonna kiss me!”, you almost whined on top of that old desk. Another smile made its way on his pretty face.
“You want me to kiss you, honey?”
“I do.”, your voice now a whisper as you had finally vocalized your thoughts out loud. His rough finger caressed your cheek, bringing you flashbacks of the night at the bar.
Before you could overthink anything else, you finally felt his plush lips on yours. Your hands immediately tangled up in his short, soft curls - almost like they belonged there. Both of his hands cupping your cheeks in the most loving way, making you wish for this moment to last forever.
Benny pulled away, leaving you starstruck. “Goddamn, baby.”, you let out a laugh at his words. And he went in to kiss you again. And again. And again.
A/N: i´m so single
MASTERLIST PART 3
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minniesmutt · 5 months ago
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𝔇𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢: 𝔰𝔦𝔵
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♱ ━━━  PAIRING: FELIX X READER ♱ ━━━  CW: MARKING, BOOB/NIPPLE PLAY, UNPROTECTED SEX, NON-BED SURFACE, FINGERING, CLIT PLAY, QUICKIE (?), BLOOD, BITING, DIRTY TALK, CREAMPIE, ORAL (F. REC), SLIGHT OVERSTIM, CUM EATING, HAIR PULLING, IMPLIED MORE ROUNDS ♱ ━━━  WC: 2K
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     Felix was a sweet man. Could absolutely do no wrong. He could basically get anything he wanted too. Probably why Chan had him do more meetings than anything— especially when they really wanted something. 
     Y/n learned the ball of sunshine had two sides to him. Push the right buttons and that sun becomes dangerous.
     A few dukes were visiting the town and had requested a meeting with Chan but considering the greater vampire was busy, it fell to Felix. Unfortunately, it happened to be in the middle of a planned date between the vampire and the princess.
     “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Felix asked as he placed another kiss on her cheek as they were on their way back to the manor.
     “Not at all Felix. I’ve sat through plenty of diplomatic meetings before.”
     Y/n offered to sit in with him but did not really say anything unless he needed a second opinion. They both wanted to be with each other for the day. 
     Chan had given them the run down before they went into Felix’s study and waited for the dukes to arrive. Felix caught up on a bit of work he had pretty much pushed off for the day since he had planned a whole day with Y/n. Y/n sat near the window behind Felix’s desk and was reading one of the books he kept on the shelves for his personal library. She got so lost in the book that she didn’t quite see or hear the dukes come into the office.
     “And who might this lovely lady be?” One of them said and that pulled Y/n from her trance with the book.
     “Lady Y/n. Apologies, we had a day planned together but Chan asked me to hold the meeting.” Felix explained
     “Don’t mind me, I won’t disrupt,” Y/n offered a smile
     “Shall we?” Felix offered the chairs in front of his desk so they could start the meeting. 
     Y/n turned her attention back to her book, tuning out what they were talking about. She picked up a few things here and there but wasn’t quite interested. It all seemed to be going well when she heard Felix.
     “Absolutely not,” Felix said in such a stern voice that Y/n drew her attention away from her book
     “Sir, she’s just a human. She would benefit from being with her own —“
     “The manor is staffed with humans and she makes frequent trips into town. Y/n is anything but a prisoner here.”
     “So you deny you took her from her castle while her father lies dying?”
     “I volunteered to come here,” Y/n chimed in as she got up to stand by Felix, “As for my father’s health, it’s about time it caught up to him.”
      “So you’ll let the King die without his family?”
     “That’s enough,” Felix declared before it got too far. The deep voice alone was enough to scare the three Dukes. “I’ll talk with Chan when he returns. You’re free to leave.”
     “Sir—”
     One glance from him and the three Dukes made their way out. Felix sighed and leaned back in his chair.
     “Lix,” Y/n called to him as she leaned against his desk, “What happened?”
     “First it was about some trading and helping with some land wars which is normal. Then they mentioned wanting to take you back and I—”
     “Lixie,” Y/n interrupted and leaned over, grabbing his face, “I’m not leaving, against my will or not. I don't want to leave the manor.”
     “Princess,” Felix’s eyes softened as he took in the words
     “I know this is temporary, and once the debt is paid off I’ll return—”
     Felix pushed his lips onto hers, pinning her against the desk. Y/n gasped but returned the kiss. His hands held onto her waist as he pressed himself closer to her. 
     “Stay. Please. I’ll talk to Chan myself, we can figure out how to take care of your Kingdom,” Felix’s words came out between kisses as he started untying the back of her dress, lips moved down her neck 
     “I want to, Felix. I really but there's so many duties I have.”
     “We’ll help. All of us. Y/n, none of us want you to leave when that time comes.”
     “Will Chan even let me if that's what I choose?”
     “We’ll talk to him.”
     Y/n pulled him back up to her lips. Felix happily returned the kiss as he pulled her corset loose. Y/n pulled away to take in a deep breath which gave the vampire the perfect access to her neck. 
     Felix definitely worked on leaving his mark on her neck. The ones from the three before starting to fade under Hwan’s cover-up job. Y/n grabbed onto his blond locks as he pulled her top down as he moved further. 
     Y/n laid back a bit more and Felix took the chance to move whatever was behind her quickly and lay her flat on his desk as he attached his lips to one of her nipples, a small hand kneading the other one. 
     “Felix,” Y/n moaned as his tongue toyed with her. 
     “Never want you to leave, Princess,” Felix mumbled against her skin before he pulled on the erect bud with his teeth and let it go. “Need you for eternity.”
     Y/n’s whole body heated up at that. Never had anyone desired her like the way the vampires did. And not just for sex. In the short few weeks the courting had started, she’d been on day-long dates, sometimes multiple dates in a day or with multiple vampires. Each doting on her in their own way. She loved every second she was with them whether she was cuddled up by the fireside or out of town. She loved being around them; loved them. 
     She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize Felix had pulled away from her and discarded the top half of his suit and was pulling her dress off. Y/n smiled as he slipped the dress and undergarments off her body and placed it on the chair behind them then turned back to her and brought her to the edge on the desk.
     “Was hoping this would happen later in the day,” He said as he ghosted his lips against hers
     “Anytime is fine with me. You all know that.” 
     “We’ve turned you into our own little nymphomaniac.”
     The two shared a quick laugh before their lips attached again and Felix pulled her legs over his hips. Y/n trailed her hands down his chest and toned stomach and caught the waistband of his pants. 
     “Why am I the only one fully nude?” Y/n asked against his lips
     “Wanted to prepare you before anything,” Felix replied as one of his hands made contact with her cunt. Two fingers spread her wetness around before circling her clit. 
     “Mhm,” Y/n tilted her head back against the desk as his fingers worked her clit. 
     Felix tucked his free arm under her back as his lips reattached to her breasts. Y/n reached one hand up and tangled into his hair. 
     Felix traded his two fingers on her clit to dip inside her as his thumb pressed on her clit. The two fingers scissored her open as he took a nipple into his mouth again. Sucking on the bud with vigor. 
     “Fuck,” Y/n whined
     “Need you,” Felix mumbled against her as he moved back up her chest to her neck, then her jaw
      “Take me,” Y/n pulled him down onto her lips. Her other hand moved down to push his pants down. 
     Felix pulled his fingers out of her and pushed his pants down, grinding his cock against her before finally slipping in. 
     Y/n grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled away from the kiss. Felix rested his forehead against hers and he started moving. 
     “Faster Lix. I don’t mind the roughness.” Y/n said
     “Anything for you.”
     Felix delivered a harsh thrust into her that had her clinging onto him like a koala. Felix smiled at her and kept his quick and hard pace. The reaction he got out of her was the best thing he had ever gotten in his long life. 
     One of his free hand pressed against the wood of his desk as the other moved back under her back and supported the two of them as he fucked into her. 
     Y/n tore her hands from his shoulders and ran them down his chest as his lips moved down onto her neck again. Teeth ghosting the skin. Y/n wrapped an arm around the back of his head as he kissed the spot before sinking his teeth in. 
     Y/n arched towards him more. Just like any other time one of them had bitten her, the pleasure shot straight through her while his fingers worked her clit again. 
     “Lix,” Y/n moaned as she tightened her hold on his hair. 
     Felix hummed as the warm blood flooded into his mouth. Y/n rocked her hips against him as the pleasure overcame her; releasing on his cock. Felix pulled his fangs out of her and licked the spot as she rode her high out while he was still thrusting into her.
     “So good for me. Letting us use you how we desire.” Felix kissed the front of her neck as his fingers never stopped moving.
     “Felix,” Y/n gasped
     “Doing so good darling.”
     Felix’s breath got quicker as she felt him twitch inside her. Only a few moments later he stuttered and his warm cum filled her. He pumped in slowly before fully stopping all his movements, burying himself deep in her as both came down from their highs.
     “Lixie,” Y/n said,
     “I’m here darling.” Felix kissed her cheek.
     “Bedroom?” She suggested,
     “Tired?” He questioned
     “No, but the desk is quite uncomfortable to lay on.”
     “Worse than the forest floor?” Felix chuckled
     “There’s no blanket on your desk,” Y/n joined in.
     Felix pulled out and got them dressed half-hapzardly. Making them look put together till they got to his bedroom— considering it was closer to his office. Just to toss all the clothing off again as he pushed her down onto the bed. 
     Felix kissed down her body, spreading her legs as he got to her lower stomach. He pressed a kiss onto her sensitive clit. Then his tongue licked between her folds. Any bit of his and her cum that had mixed and seeped out of her was picked up by his tongue. Y/n felt a chill go up her spine making her shake a bit. Felix took it as a sign to dive in.
     His tongue dove into her, thrusting in and out of her whole, collecting their cum mixture on his tongue as he did. His nose brushed against her clit all while he held her legs open. Making it impossible to close her legs to relieve any pressure that was building up again.
     Y/n grabbed at the blonde head between her legs. The small action had him moaning into her cunt which only sent her closer to the edge. Which he noticed and pulled his tongue out. One hand came down to rub her clit at the same pace he was thrusting his tongue inside her.
     “Like when I eat my cum out of you, princess?” The sun had a dark side apparently.
     “Yes,” Y/n whined as Felix just smiled at her before diving back in. His fingers didn't stop moving on the little bud as he ate her out, dragging her closer and closer to the edge of it all again before the knot that built inside her stomach finally snapped. 
     Felix took a quick gold of her hips before she could even think about rutting against his face. He could feel her shake under his grip as he cleaned up her release as it came out of her. Pushing his face further into her cunt as she rode out the high. 
     He gave one final Iick to her cunt before pulling away and moving back up her body. “Taste delicious,” Felix smiled.
      “We should do this the rest of the day,” Y/n said as his lips pressed into her again
      “Of course darling.”
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♱ ━━━ PREV SERIES M.LIST NEXT
♱ ━━━━━━ M.LIST    TIP JAR
♱ ━━━ please support writers by reblogging and/or leaving feedback
© 2024 MINNIESMUTT. DO NOT COPY, REPUBLISH OR TRANSLATE MY WORK ANYWHERE
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svt-kiki · 3 months ago
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( 🧺 ) 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ⌅ .
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EP 109 : MT SVT REALITY 2024
2024. pairing. kiki ( fem!oc ) × svt
cw. eng is not my first language, rough writing, no proofread, mentions of alcohol ( i mean it’s ttt so )
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kiki was attacked hugged by mingyu as soon as she entered the lesson room after jeonghan
“what? ...oh, yes,” she said to herself with a chuckle, remembering mingyu was elected as the gose class president in previous episodes ( and carats didn’t miss that he seized the chance to hold her )
then she greeted with the staffs politely as always, wearing a black clop cardigan and a matching color camisole, dark gray pants in a relaxing silhouette, both were soft materials, matching the mt concepts for the day
also wearing glasses ( important )
she just tittered while hoshi, cheol and jeonghan kept adding mingyu’s tasks as the class president
“you guys living to give him a headache for real, arent you.”
she sat on the place nearby the door, then the next thing carats realized was wonwoo silently sitting next to her ( seized the chance guy #2 )
after most of them gathered, she popped up with a question, “isn’t it been a while? doing ttt?”
kiki: i love this content so much :)
wonwoo silently pulled her sleeve and got her closely so that she could join the same car with him
jun: but seriously, do you guys think it is okay? leave the grocery shopping task to us!?
kiki: *stepped ahead, tried to volunteer that she can do instead*
jeonghan, held her from behind and covered her mouth: DON’T
seungkwan: hey! someone is trying to smother the applicant! ㅋㅋ
dino: no, no, hadn’t we strongly agree not to let noona do those things in ttt before?
that’s true, in almost every ttt episodes, she is always willing to do shopping, cook, wash dishes, and clean places aftermath
so boys decided “no more tasks” rules for her, bcs she always doing these tasks not only in the content but on a daily basis
jeonghan: ah i should let her sit in the passenger seat, joshua ain’t do a thing
kiki: well it’s too late for that *comfortable in the backseat*
she just couldn’t stop laughing at how jeonghan introduced the product for ads
kiki: why are u so bad at this
jeonghan: shut up i’m no actor okay
kiki: wait this actually tastes good???
joshua: ahdfsjak
not wonwoo slowly lying down to her lap
they went to the PA for a casual meal
jeonghan: can i have a drink?
kiki: go ahead i’ll drive
[ pretend like the rule never existed ]
jeonghan: *attacked her cutely*
kiki: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
kiki: i want to eat a popsicle so bad, should i text mingyu?
joshua: if u want i’ll text him instead
kiki: really? like aren't your text piling up?
then every person in the car died
joshua: did u just backstabbed me like that!?
kiki: i'm sorry i didn't intended to ㅋㅋ
she was surprised at how big today’s accommodations were
kiki: staff-nim must struggling to find the places for us every time
[ yes we are ]
jeonghan asked her to play the pool together so she said yes
he laughed about how sometimes he got pissed at how she’s good at everything from the beginning
kiki responded with a serious face, “no, the reason it looks like i’m good at those things is any other pfu boys basically suck at every ball game,” and both burst into laughter
after a while, jun shouted to her from outside, “kiki~! i’ll sing your fav jp song, u wanna join?” so she immediately got outside
[ never miss the opportunity to duet ]
singing i love you by ozaki yutaka with jun, kiki said to him, “we should do the cover of this yk, like officially,” and carats started manifesting in a sec
mingyu: thank god she’s finally here
while naturally helping to prepare the BBQ, kiki looked around and said, “everyone just singing karaoke… i guess we are already at the age now where we need to save our energy for the night…” then died inside
[ blew herself up ]
she’s an honorary member of the low-energy club in the group so
after everyone got at the table and cheered, joshua finally asked her help for his kimchi fried rice which took one eternity
kiki: okay lemme add this- and this- and this spice- yeah now it’s good
[ finally served ]
after playing the games ( she kept losing and got a lil tipsy already ), they cleaned the place for once and shifted to the next game
minghao claimed from the distance that since kiki’s good at playing basketball she should be given a handicap
so she gave a shot from across the pool while everyone watched in silence expecting the miracle but she failed the first attempt
[ miracle is a miracle because it won’t happen easily ]
kiki: what did u expected i'm half drunk
in the ep.3 part, she chilling and half asleep while her roommates mingyu and dokyeom are both hyperactive from early morning
kiki isn’t the type of not good in the morning usually, but this is the day she didn’t need to wake up before 10 am for a long while so she just kept sleeping peacefully, it might be the first time in ttt that she hadn’t get up early than most of them
kiki: wow you actually look like your dad
jeonghan: all of the sudden-?
while seungkwan trying to get on the unicorn float, she was still sleepy but automatily turned on the camera and started recording ( lately posted on weverse ofc )
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an. this is really rough sorry ( almost sucks at this point?¿ ) but it is like a test drive for me before i lost my motivation to write it so here we go. tag list is open, reblog / comments / ask box messages are always appreciated <3
(    📁    )   :   NAVI   :  MASTER LIST     
(    tag list    )   :   @smh-anon @jennwonwoo
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heavyhitterheaux · 9 months ago
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Got Me Thinking
Part 5: From Paris With Love (Slight NSFW)
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Synopsis: After spending time with Jack, the two of you end up in an argument, which leads to you not wanting to speak to him. He then surprises you with a trip to Paris, but is the love that you have for one another enough to survive the whirlwind of events that come after?
Pairing: Jack Harlow x Reader
Series Masterlist 💕
Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere
The conversation with Neelam that you had earlier was distracting you from focusing on you actually being able to spend time with Jack since the two of you would have to go weeks at a time without seeing one another.
Those facetime calls didn't cut it all the time.
Waiting until the crowd died down after the show, Jack volunteered to walk you out to your car but made sure to wear a hoodie in order to cover his curly hair in the hopes that no one would notice him. Jack knew that you could read him like a book, but reading you was a completely different ballgame and at times could be difficult for him. He could tell that something was on your mind and quickly got to the point to ask you about it.
“What's on your mind Buttercup?” He asked while starting to play with the ends of your hair.
“Hmm just thinking how much I'm going to miss you after I leave and how bad I want to kiss you, but we’re out in the open and there's too many eyes.”
All Jack did was look at you because he knew you were lying through your teeth.
“Hmm, that's definitely a lie. That might be partially true, but there's something else more to it. I'll let it slide for now, but don't think I'm going to forget.”
When you were silent, he quickly spoke again.
“I want you to stay with me tonight. My hotel isn't far from here. That way I feel that I can give you my undivided attention without us being interrupted.”
“Uhh? Isn't your wife here with you?” You asked, looking at him dumbfounded.
“That's why I booked two rooms. Yours is on a completely different floor so the two of you won't cross paths. And you weren't concerned when you had my dick in your mouth in my dressing room earlier knowing that she was here.”
“Isn't she going to notice you aren't next to her during the night? And you obviously didn't have a problem either since your face was between my thighs.” You shot back and all he did was smirk at you.
“Nope. And even if she does, I'll make up an excuse. So what do you say? And my favorite place to be is in-between your thighs.”
All you could do was roll your eyes and laugh.
“I didn't even bring any of my clothes and this is not going to be comfortable to sleep in.”
“Babe, what we're going to be doing doesn't involve clothes so that should be the least of your worries.”
“JACKMAN!”
“What!? What'd I say?!”
“Meaning in the morning, I'm not leaving in the same outfit I came in.”
“I have everything that you need already in your hotel room and all you have to do is bring yourself. Your husband can do without having you at home for one night.”
“He’s not even at home.”
“See? Even better. I just want to love up on my girl and give her the attention that she deserves. I have the key with me and was going to let you leave first so we don’t run the risk of anyone seeing you.”
“Looks like I’ll see you soon then.” You replied while smirking as he slipped you the hotel key.
“I shouldn’t be too much longer, and I’m going to wait until she falls asleep. And usually when she’s out, she’s out because she needs all her strength the next morning to stress me the fuck out.” Jack muttered, but you couldn’t help but to laugh.
“I’m serious, I don’t know if a switch finally went off in my brain but overall she’s not a nice person and not a good person. She is literally the definition of what you would call a mean girl.”
“You just finally realized that you deserved better and that definitely isn’t with her.”
“But enough about that. I just can’t wait to have you whimpering my name underneath me.”
Once you had gotten to the hotel and parked your car in the parking lot that was on the side of the building, you made your way to the room that Jack set aside for you and when you opened the door, the first thing you did was kick off your shoes.
He hadn’t just gotten you a simple hotel room, but an entire suite and your jaw was on the floor looking around it in awe.
You immediately grabbed your phone and sent him a text letting him know that you were there.
You- Now, Jackson…. An entire suite for just one night? You didn’t need to do all this.
Jack Jack- Yes I did because I want you to be comfortable. My baby girl deserves the best and who's to say that we’re only going to be there for one night?
All you did was laugh to yourself once you finished reading his text and went to explore the other parts of the suite.
Before you knew it, you had dozed off on the couch with the television on simply for background noise waiting for Jack and was woken up by him placing kisses all over your face before reaching the final destination of your lips.
“Hmm? What time is it?” You asked him while looking around for your phone.
“It’s around two, I’m sorry I didn’t think it would take this long.”
“No need to apologize, I got to go to sleep for a little bit so I don’t mind.”
“Mmm hmm, because you’re going to need it. If you aren’t too tired for me, I’m going to need for you to lose these clothes.” He said while helping you stand up and reaching underneath your skirt as he met your lips with yours.
“That can be arranged, but only if you take them off me.” You whispered against his lips when you broke the kiss and all he did was nod.
Jack was now holding onto your hips and eased his way in as he entered you from behind and you were leaning down against the pillow and biting down on your lip hard as you tried your best in order to keep quiet.
You had lost count of how many different positions that he had you in and just knew that he didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon and it wouldn’t surprise you if it started to get light outside either.
As you were whimpering and quietly moaning his name as he pounded into you, all he did was smirk before leaning down to place kisses all along your spine and whisper in your ear.
“My baby is taking me so well, are you going to cum for me?”
You couldn’t form an answer with words and simply nodded.
“Damn, this dick so good it got you speechless?” Jack spoke again and laughed and you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes.
Feeling him pull out, you were left confused until you felt his tongue run against your folds as he started eating you out from the back.
“Oh fuck, babe.”
“Stay still, why are you moving away from me?” He asked before going back to his task of making you come undone in front of him.
A few minutes later, you felt him stop once more and he quickly heard your protests before he slid underneath you so that you were now sitting on his face and he wrapped his arms around your thighs in order to keep you in place.
“Be patient because I have all night.” Was the last thing you heard him say before you felt him start to suck on your clit which led to you moaning his name.
You were now laying your head on Jack’s chest as he was drawing shapes on your back and the two of you were in a comfortable silence. You felt yourself dozing off to sleep when you suddenly heard his voice.
“Buttercup?”
“Yes, babe?” You sleepily answered with your eyes still closed.
“I have a question.”
“Go ahead and ask me then.”
“Why don’t you just file for divorce now? You told me that the baby has been born so what is even left for you in that marriage?”
“I just want to make sure that I do it the right way by making sure everything is in place before I do.”
“Babe, money is not an issue because you know I’m going to get you anything that you need or anything that you want. I just don’t like seeing you upset about him all the time. You know that you deserve better so I don’t have to tell you that, but…”
“Money definitely isn’t an issue. I just don’t want anything to happen that would make him want to retaliate against me.”
“Retaliate against you for what? He has a side chick and a baby, so why would he even do that?”
“That’s just how he is, and that’s why he’s such a good businessman. Sadly to say, he’s cut throat and doesn’t show any mercy and I know for a fact it’s to the point where he won’t hesitate to make me miserable. I was never on the receiving end of that, but I feel like once I file for divorce I will be.”
“Baby, all the more reason to get the fuck away from him so we can be together like we want to be. Why do I feel like you’re hesitating? Isn’t this what we talked about and isn’t this what we want? For you to finally move back to Louisville and live with me?”
“I’m not hesitating.”
“Yes you are and you keep giving me excuses. You’re a damn CRNA for fucks sake but moving back you will definitely have a pay cut but right now, you can afford the lawyer and all the fees, but I will pay for you to divorce that asshole, so what excuse are you going to give me now?”
Your eyes were now open as you sat up and looked at him.
“Why are you rushing me?”
“Buttercup, I’m not by any means rushing you. I just don’t want to see you upset all the time about what he’s doing to you.”
“Why are we only talking about me in this situation? You’re asking me what the hold up is on my end, but what is the hold up on yours? You have an entire wife that you need to divorce too, do you not?”
“I do and it’s going to happen, but unlike you I’m not making excuses and hesitating. I’m ready to file for divorce and get away from her, but I’m also waiting on you so hopefully they can be finalized at the same time. I made her sign a prenup, well, Neelam made her sign one so she isn’t getting a damn thing from me. How could you still love someone like that who has fucked you over a countless number of times? He literally got another woman pregnant.”
“And I don’t know that? How many times are you going to remind me? I already feel stupid about still loving someone like that and this conversation isn’t making it any better.”
“I want to be all in with you, but we can’t do that unless some changes are made. I want for you to experience this life with me. This is literally what we talked about when we were seventeen. There is NOTHING left for you and him. If we would have stayed together, I know for a damn fact that we would have been married by now.”
“But would we? You would have probably had to hide me once Gen Now signed you to push that single narrative.”
“What the? Where is that coming from? The first thing that I would have wanted to do was fucking protect you because this life I live isn’t easy and the last thing I would want is you getting hurt by it. Y/N, why can’t you see how much I STILL love you?”
“I… need to leave.”
“What?! It’s six in the morning and you’ve hardly gotten any sleep. I don’t want you driving anywhere and we’re not done talking about this. Why are you running from me? What are you scared of? You know that I’m going to love and protect you and treat you how you deserve to be treated. If anything, I’m the one who should be mad at you because it honestly feels like you’re making it seem like I’m a second choice to Xavier when I for damn sure treat you better than he does.”
“That is NOT fucking fair and you KNOW it. What was I supposed to do? Wait for you? It's not like I intended on him doing that to me!”
“YES!”
“So now I’m being guilt tripped into falling in love with someone else? You had every single opportunity to reach out to me if you really wanted us to be together, but you didn’t. So, why the fuck did you get married in the first place?”
“How was I supposed to know that I would get a second chance? Or at least I’m trying to get a second chance with you, but you are making it so got damn difficult.”
“Then let me help make this easier for you since I’m so difficult. I’m leaving and don’t even bother fucking calling me again.”
“Baby, baby wait. Hold on, just please. Let’s back up for a second.” He pleaded with you as you got up and made your way into the bathroom, but he beat you to it and ended up blocking the doorway. You simply crossed your arms over your chest and looked at him.
“Jackman Thomas, get the fuck out of my way.”
“I’m not losing you for a second time!”
“Too late, because you already did.”
Once you had left the suite, Jack then took the long walk back to his room with Kelsey and was praying that she wasn’t awake quite yet. But once he opened the door, he silently cursed to himself because she was wide awake and looking at him.
“Where were you?” She asked without bothering to say good morning to him.
“I went for a walk, I wasn’t gone long.”
“Hmm, I need to ask you something.”
“Can it wait?”
“No, it can't wait. Who is Y/N to you?”
Now, he wasn’t quite sure what the two of you were anymore.
“I told you that we knew each other in high school, so what’s the big deal?” He asked before sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Well, I don’t like her and I don’t want you around her anymore.”
Jack whipped his head around to stare at her in disbelief.
“And who the hell are you to think that you can tell me who I can have around me? And how do you not like her when you don’t know her?”
“I’m your wife and she makes me uncomfortable and you should respect that.”
“She literally didn’t even do anything.”
“Were the two of you just friends in high school or more?”
“Why are you so pressed about this?”
“Answer my damn question.”
“I’m not answering shit until you lose that attitude. It’s like you just wake up and decide how the hell can I get on Jack’s nerves today?”
“You get on my last nerve, do you know how lucky you are to have me as your wife? Other men would jump at the opportunity to have me if I was single.”
“Then go ahead and be single, no one’s fucking stopping you. And I’m lucky? Explain that because I’m not quite understanding.”
“I just want to know what she is to you.”
“She’s my friend and she’s my ex-girlfriend. Are you happy now?”
“WAIT, your ex-girlfriend?!”
“Did I stutter? Now, I’m going to sleep if you don’t mind because I’m still tired.”
“We aren’t done with this!”
“Yes we are because I answered your question and since any man would be lucky to have you, go out and find them and stop bothering me.”
“Well she needs to get the message that you’re my husband and not hers.”
“Hmm, am I?”
“What the hell is wrong with you this morning? You act like I went out and cheated on you.”
“Kelsey, let’s not go there because you did and I took your ass back despite you doing that. But you best believe that if I had known on our wedding day what you had done, we would not be married right now. Truth be told, I should have left your ass at the altar if I knew.”
“I… I apologized about that and I regret it. Why are you still holding it against me?”
“Seriously? You literally cheated on me hours before we said our vows so you can save it.”
It had been over a month since you last talked to Jack and you had simply been going through the motions. You were upset how the two of you ended things, but still felt as if he was rushing you. You had been back to Louisville a few times since you were slowly moving things out of your house that you wanted to take with you and of course, Xavier hadn't noticed anything. Which you weren’t the least bit surprised by.
Urban had been calling you
Clay had been calling you
Neelam had been calling you
And you told each of them the same thing, for right now, you and him were done.
Jack called you nonstop for the first two weeks and then his calls just stopped altogether right along with the texts as well. Thinking about the situation, both of you could have handled the conversation differently and it didn’t have to end with you leaving. But as of right now, you were in a weird headspace. In order to not think too deeply about your feelings about the entire situation, you drowned yourself into working and uploading content to your TikTok that was centered around nursing and working as a CRNA.
Your best friend Taina who you also worked with could tell that something was bothering you and without a second thought you said yes to her asking you out for brunch one day that the two of you had off. You met in nursing school and also went on to get your CRNA certification together and she had been your rock through the entire mess that had been going down with Xavier. However, she didn’t know too much about you and Jack reuniting and after seeing your instagram post a while back, she made note to ask you about it but never did. So she figured now was her opportunity.
The two of you were sitting across from one another and you were sipping on your orange juice as she was eyeing you.
“Y/N….”
“Yes?”
“What has been going on because you haven’t been yourself lately. I get everything with Xavier, and I offered to cut his balls off and feed them to him, but you declined. However, I feel that it’s something else.”
“Hmm, been sleeping with my ex-boyfriend since March.” You casually told her as you were scanning the menu and trying to decide what you were going to eat.
“Hold on, back up. Which ex-boyfriend?” Tania asked because there had been a few of them when the two of you were in college.
“The one I was with when I was in Louisville.” You answered and suddenly her eyes went wide with a realization.
“Hmm, would his name happen to be Jack?”
“Not so loud!” You exclaimed as you shushed her, but all she did was smirk.
“Okay… so? How’s that going? When can I meet him?”
“Well we got into an argument and we haven’t talked to each other in about a month.”
“What? Why?”
“Long story short, both of us are supposed to get divorced and then be together, but it turned into an argument because he said he felt like I was hesitating even though he also has an entire wife.”
“But, let’s be real. What are you waiting for exactly?” Tania asked and all you did was look at her because it seemed like now you didn’t have an answer.
“Y/N, from what you’ve told me over the years about him, he is head over heels in love with you and he wants to be with you so kick Xavier’s ass to the curb and be with someone who you know is going to love you and treat you how you’re supposed to be treated.”
“You’re right, I just don’t know. I’ve gotten comfortable in this life as stupid as that may sound. I know I deserve better, but I cannot open my heart again because I’m scared. What if we break up and we truly end up hating each other? He truly does mean the world to me and I would never in a million years want to hurt him.”
“You say that, but however, the way you two left off with each other made me think that you did hurt him and hurt his feelings. Not saying that he didn’t do the same thing to you, but just talk it out with him. I’m sure he wants to hear from you. He is not Xavier and never will be.”
“I don’t know, he stopped calling me after the first two weeks when I didn’t answer and hasn’t called since.”
“Then you call him and see if he wants to talk. Y/N, the people around you want so much better for you and I’m sad that Xavier has you so brainwashed that you can’t see it.”
“There’s something else….” You started to say as you looked down and started to play with your bracelet.
“What is it?”
“I miss my period and think I might be pregnant.”
“I…. Y/N! When we leave here, the first thing you are going to do is call that man! And I want an update after you do.”
It had been a total of two hours that you had been staring at your phone contemplating on if you were going to pick it up and call Jack.
But once again you were scared. Scared that he was going to reject you and not want to have anything to do with you anymore. But, you knew that you had to try.
You decided to facetime him and it rang for a while before he finally answered.
When you saw him, your breath hitched in your throat and your heart was now beating a mile a minute as you were the first to speak.
“Hi.” Was all you said and you couldn’t quite read his expression.
“Did you need something?” He asked and skipped over the greeting entirely.
“I… just want to talk. I didn’t like how it ended the last time we saw each other.”
“I consistently tried to call you and talk to you for fourteen days, so why do you want to talk now?”
“Because I was mad at you. You were right… about some things and I just wasn’t quite ready to hear it.”
It was quiet for a few seconds as Jack was simply looking at you and you saw Clay walk behind him.
“Look, meet me on the tarmac at LAX around 7 tomorrow morning.” Jack finally spoke up and you looked at him with wide eyes.
“Wait, what?”
“A car will come and pick you up. Pack a few casual outfits, but other than that I got it handled. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Um, okay.”
Without another word the two of you hung up and you simply sat there unsure about what just happened. He seemed annoyed with you which you could understand, but obviously he still wants this just as bad as you do because he answered the phone. You sat there for a few more minutes before you hopped up to run into your walk-in closet to drag out your suitcase.
The next morning, you were now pulling up to the private jet in the car that Jack had sent for you and the butterflies you had been feeling the entire ride on the way here, had now been doubled. He obviously wanted to see you, because why else would he tell you to meet him here? The driver opened the door for you and helped you out of the car as your suitcase was loaded onto the plane. The first one to pop up and greet you was Neelam who quickly went in for a hug.
“I’m so happy you came. He definitely needs a little pick me up. He’s already on the plane so come on.” She said as she squeezed your hand and started to lead you to the steps of the jet, but you stopped walking and she turned back to look at you confused.
“Y/N? Are you okay?”
Your eyes simply started to water before giving her an answer, but she saw them and quickly reassured you.
“He’s missed you just as much as you’ve missed him. Don’t worry about what may have happened before, just move forward.
You nodded your head towards her as she went up the steps first as you followed behind her. Once the two of you were on the jet, she went straight to Urban and hit him across the back of his head because he had apparently been eating her fries which you laughed at.
Your eyes were searching for him and saw that he was simply in the back by himself gazing out the window and you started to make your way towards him. Once you reached him, he seemed to be deep in thought and didn’t notice you standing next to him until you ran your hand through his curls. Startled, he looked up at you before standing up and placing you in a giant bear hug.
“I’m sorry.” He quietly said as his head rested on top of yours.
“I am too.” You whispered as you held onto him tighter.
Once the two of you broke apart, he leaned down to place several kisses on your lips which you gladly accepted and that instantly put a smile on your face.
All you heard was whistling and turned around to see Clay and Urban smirking at both of you as Neelam was trying to eat the rest of her fries before Urban got to them.
“It’s about time the lovebirds reunited.”
Everyone got settled and it was soon time for takeoff. You and Jack were cuddled up with each other in the back with him stealing kisses every few minutes and everyone else was scattered throughout the plane.
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” You finally asked when the plane had been in the air for a few hours at this point.
“Give me another kiss and I might tell you.”
All you did was shake your head at him before smirking and pulling his face towards yours to grant his wish.
“Okay, so now tell me.”
“You’re coming to Fashion Week with me.”
“Okay?”
“In Paris.” He added on and knew that your facial expression was about to be priceless.
Your eyes then went as big as saucers as you looked at him and all he did was laugh.
“And I got Givenchy to make you a dress that was specially made just for you. We’re getting there a day early just in case adjustments need to be made.”
“Babe…”
“I mean it when I said that I would do anything for you. I just want you to know that.”
You nodded your head at him to acknowledge what he said and he held you tighter as you laid your head on his chest.
“I have to tell you something.” You said as you glanced up at him and he nodded.
“I…. may or may not be pregnant. I missed my period, but I haven’t gotten a chance to take a test yet.” You whispered and all he did was lean down to place a kiss on your forehead.
“Whatever comes our way, we’re going to get through it together.”
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Liked by jackharlow, urbanwyatt, neelamthadhani, cozane, givenchy, claybornharlow, quiiso, and 415,271 others
anesthesiabae: Paris is always a good idea. Thank you givenchy 💖
jackharlow: 😍😍😍 neelamthadhani: DAMN, if you weren't married and if I was into girls 👀👀 claybornharlow: OH, my good sis ATE! jackharlow: that dress was made for you, LITERALLY tainathecrna: you look so beautiful! my gorgeous girl! urbanwyatt: neelamthadhani I think you might have to fight a couple people to get next to her first neelamthadhani: urbanwyatt all I have to do is distract you with weed, clay with chic-fil-a and jack with a cigar. I'll make it happen.
It was now day three of you being in Paris with Jack and the two of you were on the balcony of your hotel room sitting in a comfortable silence when you finally broke it.
“Are we ever going to talk about that conversation and what was said?” You asked him as you looked at him and he took a deep sigh before nodding.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel as if I was rushing you, that is literally the last thing I want. But, I also need to be honest about my feelings, if neither of us were married, we literally would have gone to Vegas in March and eloped.” Jack honestly said and you couldn’t help but to laugh. 
“At the end of the day, I just want you to be happy. Aren’t you happy when you’re with me?” He asked you as you started to play with his Private Garden ring. 
“Y/N, look at me.” Jack told you as he placed his finger underneath your chin to guide it upwards.
“Jack I….”
“No, you don't have anywhere to be right now, especially anywhere that he is. You are right where you need to be and that’s here with me. Why do you keep running back to him when we both know he's not any good for you? It should have always been the two of us.”
“It's not that simple.”
“But it is that simple, baby and we’ve been through this. I know you’re scared, but it’s going to be okay. I’m not him and will never be. Look me in my eyes and tell me right now that you don't have feelings for me and I promise to never bother you again after this trip is over.”
All you did was stay silent as you were trying to regulate your breathing with him being so incredibly close to you. Your heart was beating a mile a minute as he moved a curl out of your face. Your thoughts were running rampant remembering all those times when your body was under Jack’s and for the first time in many years, you felt that someone actually loved and cared for you.
But you've always felt that way when you were around him.
Jack chuckled to himself when you couldn’t answer him and simply placed a soft kiss on your lips which you eagerly returned. You had your back towards the street and was hoping that no one had seen the two of you. 
“It sure is telling when I fly you out all over the world to experience this life with me when he can't even remember your fucking favorite color or your Starbucks order. Not to mention how you told me last night that you hadn't been fucked that good in years and you only feel that way towards me. Leave him so I can give you the life you deserved. The life that we talked about when we were in high school. Baby, let me take care of you the way I promised you that I would.”
You sat there as you listened to him and knew that he was good at keeping promises and keeping his word. So, what did you have to lose?
This is what you wanted and what you deserved.
“You've gotten so comfortable in being mistreated by him and that ends right now. So, are you going to give me an answer? Because you know you won't want for anything.”
“When I file for divorce, he's going to want half.”
“Let him have it. I have more than enough to take care of you.”
“So, we're really doing this?” You whispered as you placed your arms around him to hug him tighter.
“We’re doing this.” He answered while leaning down to place a kiss on your forehead.
“Hmm, the only question now is how your gold digging wife is going to take it.”
“She’ll get over it. She already knows that we dated because she was asking me about you and she kept nagging and of course she got an upset look on her face afterwards. But enough about that. When we both get back home, we’re filing for divorce.”
“And I can’t wait to be with you all the time.” You said as you looked up at him.
He leaned down to kiss you, but you stopped him, figuring that paparazzi were still out and about since it was Fashion Week.
“Babe, let’s go in the suite and off the balcony. We can’t risk anyone seeing us.”
“It’s fine, baby. No one is out here and it’s three in the morning. Just kiss me.”
You woke up in Jack’s arms because you heard your phone repeatedly going off in your ear and quickly heard his protests.
“Baby, turn it off.” You heard him say as he squeezed you tighter.
“I am, give me a minute!” You responded by laughing, but once you saw the numerous notifications your heart dropped.
Jack Harlow seen in Paris at Fashion Week making out with a mysterious woman who is NOT his wife Kelsey!
Your heart rate suddenly increased and you felt like it was getting harder to breathe. Jack noticed that you hadn’t laid back down yet and simply sat up to ask you what was wrong. 
“Baby?”
All you did was shove your phone towards him and he quietly uttered ‘fuck’ under his breath.
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the-witty-pen-name · 8 months ago
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Love is Blind Part 2
Eddie Munson x PlusSize!F!Reader
Word Count: 1.8k
Warnings: 18+ ONLY, smut in later parts, reader has low self-esteem and struggles with self love/acceptance, anxiety/trauma related to bullying, tooth rot worthy fluff, Eddie being a major flirt, cursing, mentions of substance use
Summary: In a last ditch effort to evade the normal disappointments of dating, a group of misfits desperate to have someone see who they are on the inside volunteer for the most recent brain chemistry study at Hawkins Lab. 
Read Part One!
A/N: Thank you so much for reading, please let me know if you enjoyed! If ! forgot anything to include as a warning please let me know. Also, if you would like to be added to the taglist for this fic, just let me know!
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Day Three:
Eddie is sitting on the couch upside down, his legs hanging over the backrest and his head dangling over the seat. He stares up at the makeshift ceiling above as he pretends to play the drums on his stomach. The overhead light is starting to make his eyes slightly water but he’s too comfortable to move.
You’ve told him your name and he’s been almost obnoxious with how much he’s using it in your conversation. He’s using any excuse to work it into the front or back of a lot of his sentences. It doesn’t bother you like you thought it would, and you actually love hearing him call you by your name. It helps create a sense of intimacy where you both obviously can’t have it. It makes you feel more real to him, makes you feel closer to him, reminding him that if he sticks this out he could actually see you, maybe even touch you…
“Do you worry about what’s going to happen when this thing ends?” you ask.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he replies, moving so he is sitting upright. You sound concerned, your voice sounding smaller. “I don’t want to talk through a wall anymore, I want to talk like actually in person- not like some lab rats.”
“Do you think about what I look like?” you ask cautiously, and Eddie shakes his head as he stands up to walk directly up against the wall. 
“Of course, I’d love to see you,” Eddie explains, “I haven’t actually thought so much about what you look like, I just want to see you. You know? We’ve talked for what- uh, 7 or 8 hours at this point? Which honestly- insanely small amount of time to get to know someone. But like think about it- average date is what? 2 hours, sometimes less. We’ve been on like 4 “normal length” dates in 3 days. And usually you know you like someone by then at least. And I know I like you, and I love talking to you- without seeing me you have made me feel seen. God, that was so fucking cheesy.” 
You feel the corners of your ears well with tears- a little overwhelmed from the affirmations and attention you are not used to receiving. You realize that you never once doubted you’d not like how Eddie looks, nor do you even care either. You don’t understand why your brain won’t let you accept the same could be true for the way Eddie thinks about you. 
“I feel the same way about you,” you respond, and Eddie pumps his fist in victory. “I’ve had so much I’ve needed to work through. I mean, still working through. I have a lot of trouble accepting the fact that someone could actually like me as I am right now. I’ve always had the thoughts of well, I need to change myself and once I’m more like this, then I’ll be attractive or whatever. But, when I’m here, talking with you, I’m not worried about it anymore. But I’m still worried about what it's going to look like when this whole ordeal is over and you actually see me, and I can’t hide behind the wall anymore. But here, when we’re talking, I feel like I can be completely myself with you and I’m scared of losing that. Cause I also really like you.” 
“I can promise you there is nothing about you that would make me not interested,” he reaffirms. “I mean, I already know that you’re pretty- inside and out so it isn’t going to change anything. Except… I’m hoping you’d let me kiss you if you aren’t completely repulsed by me that is. Ugh, I’m sorry. I sound like a pathetic 14 year old boy. But, you know what I mean. Fuck, this is torturous.”
Eddie beams when he hears your little laugh from the other side of the wall again. He wants to know if there’s anyway he can get out of the experiment early. He needs to touch you, pull you into him. He wants to hug you, and have you here sitting next to him- flush up against his side. He’s craving the small pieces of physical intimacy that would just satisfy this restlessness he’s feeling throughout his whole body. It’s like he’s experiencing withdrawals but for something he’s never even been allowed to taste. He wants to shower you with affection the second you let him. 
“So, what are you hoping for at the end of this?” You ask, snapping yourself out of your daze. In the little notebook they provided to everyone, you’ve caught yourself writing Eddie in different styles with little hearts. You snap the book closed, like you're worried he’s gonna see it or something. You roll your eyes at yourself, leaning back on the couch and putting one of the pillows up to your face, embarrassed. You’re so past the point of no return. 
He takes a deep breath, contemplating his answer. Wanting to be honest, but not so honest that he scares you away by moving too fast. Case closed: he just wants to get your number and ask you on real dates. There’s also wildly inappropriate things swirling around in his head, as he reminds himself of what he did last night. But, he’s not ready to admit that fantasy to you just yet. 
“It depends on how you’ll feel most comfortable,” he settled on. “But I’d love to take you on an actual date. Like a real one, not this weird shit anymore. We can sit and talk face to face, so I can stare at you and you can yell at me to cut it out. I want to make you feel special and attractive because you are and you deserve to be entirely spoiled and pampered. However that looks for you, I’m down. I just want to be near you. I’ll go at your pace.”
You were never the type to make the first move, ever. Which is also why you’re here in the first place. You have never had the courage to vocalize any sort of desire to a man like you have with Eddie. It’s been really thrilling, the way he’s been able to help you open up. You feel like you can share your thoughts on what you want physically and he won’t judge you or shame you. You decide to be blunt. 
“If it’s actually true, that you’re physically attracted to me when you see me for the first time,” you say, unable to control the way your whole body gets covered in goosebumps at the thought. “I don’t want you to hold back. Just whatever feels right to you in that moment, do it. Kiss me, touch me, I’m down for everything.”
“Everything?” 
“I want everything.” 
“Shit, sweetheart, you can’t just say that,” Eddie responds, sounding almost pained. He chuckles, “you’re a tease, you know that?” 
“I’m just being honest,” you respond, and Eddie can hear how you’re being coy. He loves it, he’s happy to hear you coming out of your shell. He’s excited to finally hear about this side of you. You’re slowly but surely peeling back your layers for him. 
“I want you to be more honest,” he flirts. “But Christ, it’s going to be a long week.” 
There were four more days to go before the big reveal. If any of the participants felt they had a connection to another- or fell in love, they’d submit their picks to the technicians and then the technicians would set-up the next phase of the experiment. Unfortunately, if this does happen, the first time you actually get to see Eddie, it’ll still be under surveillance, most likely monitoring heart rate and whatever else they’re looking for. It will feel clinical, which is so not ideal, but once it’s over- you and Eddie could walk out together and do whatever, go wherever. If he still is interested.
“So, um, what type of girls do you usually go for?” you ask, a slight twinge of insecurity working its way back to the front of your mind. 
“Um,” Eddie replies, letting out an exhale, “Alive.” He smiles when he hears a laugh from the other side of the wall. 
“No seriously,” you urge. “I’m curious.”
“I mean- I really don’t have a type,” he states honestly. “I’d like it if she's nice to me, but that’s not even a deal breaker,” he jokes. 
“You like girls being a little mean to you?” You flirt, raising an eyebrow playfully.
“I don’t think I’d hate it,” he grins. “Um, but seriously? I guess I want someone who likes some of the same stuff as me- or at least will put up with me talking about it. I want someone who I feel comfortable around and I’m not afraid to be myself.”
“What about like- appearance wise?” you ask tentatively.
“This feels like a question we shouldn’t be asking,” he taunts. You feel your face get hot. “I feel like if I tell you the truth you won’t believe me,” he answers. 
“Why’s that?” you ask, confused. 
“It feels like you're expecting me to say skinny, blonde and leggy or something, and if I say anything else you’re going to just think I’m lying,” he muses. Your eyes widen at how well he’s able to read you, and it’s mildly infuriating. 
“I think someone or maybe the world or whatever,” he continues, “has convinced you that you aren’t attractive and I really, truly think that isn’t the case at all. And baiting me to try to confirm that isn’t going to work because I can tell it’s a defense mechanism cause you’re afraid.” 
“Well darling,” he smirks, stepping as close as possible to the wall so you hear him clearly, “I’m not gonna let you get away with it. Because, talking to you is convincing me with each passing hour that I’m cooped up in this damn box that this experiment might actually work. I have not been able to think about anything else but getting back to talk to you when I’m not here. You’re desirable, I want you and you’re just gonna have to wrap your pretty little head around that.” 
Buzz
PART THREE
Taglist:
@woahnotmecryingoverafanfiction @ali-r3n @cherrycolas-things @hellfirebabe666 @trixyvixx @stardancerluv @i--wont-run-this-time
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writers-potion · 6 months ago
Note
So I am writing a love story and i don't want it to be cliche. I've done enemies to lovers but can you do different prompts for other love archtypes
Romance Prompts By Tropes
There are so many romance subgenres/tropes you can choose from! I’ll jot down a few that come to my mind, please adapt/change them for your story! 
Please refer to my arranged marriage prompts, relationship tropes, library romance prompts, and soulmates AU posts for more inspiration. 
Love Triangle Prompts 
A love triangle between a psychic, a greedy nobleman and the ghost of his dead brother. 
A demon and an angel find themselves trying to tempt the same person…with unexpected circumstances popping up between the three. 
Secret Identity Prompts
The MC finds out that their love interest is actually royalty/the secret police/an assassin hired to kill them(?)
The love interest is actually the doppelganger of the MC’s first love. If the doppelganger is to survive, they must kill MC’s first love (if doppelgangers meets, the love interest would die)
The love interest turns out to be the MC’s worst enemy...in the virtual space 
He’s a romance writer. She’s someone who learnt romance out of books - his romance novels. As they date, she keeps quoting HIS cheesy lines back at him, and he’s too ashamed to admit that he’s actually the author of the books she’s read. 
She’s a witch undercover who’ll never admit she fed him a love potion. He's a cupid in disguise who accidentally made a witch fall in love with him. 
Friends to Lovers Prompts
The MC goes through old photos and realizes that all the people they dated were some versions of their best friend. 
Getting fake married as kids and family members rewatching the video of the fake ceremony to tease…when sparks fly 
Opposites Attract Prompts
Two strangers meet as volunteers at the local animal shelter - one to see the cats and the other to play with the dogs. 
He's a starship captain from Earth. She's an alien with plans on attacking Earth. His mission is to convince her that humanity is worth saving . . .
In a fantasy world when the good and bad are constantly at war with one another, the villain’s secretary and the hero’s assistant realize that they’re just two very overworked employees.
Hope this helps :)
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💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 
💎For early access to my content,  become a Writing Wizard 
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youreyeson1y · 3 months ago
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01. and every time you breathe his air, just know i was already there
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ⓘ now playing: track 01. taste ▷▷ 0:24 ─●──────── 2:37
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pairing: student council president!yang jungwon x reader(f) cw: controlling relationship (context, (mostly) in the background), lots of swearing (y/n's love language is cursing basically lol), lmk if i missed anything !
synopsis: it has been months since you and jungwon broke up, so it shouldn't bother you if he's dating your bitchy nemesis, but you still can't help but get into catfights with her because you love to get a reaction out of little miss perfect. definitely not because you still have feelings for jungwon, right?
tags: high school au, exes to lovers(?), lowercase intended
author's note: not my best fic as a writer (since i literally wrote most of this in language class) but its become one of my favourites as i've come to love this fic so much because of all the feels and the character personalities, so i hope someway you'll find yourself here <3 ngl won's character is heavily inspired by en-drama because i'm obsessed. my first try at writing for my fav enha boy so i hope i did well !
word count: 2.8k
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“bitch, are you actually crazy,’ with bright orange soda dripping down your shirt, you let out a slow chuckle, “or are you just mad that you taste me when he’s kissing you?” 
“fucking whor—,”
“that’s enough for today, girls, leave some energy for the rest of the day,” mrs. kang, the only teacher in the cafeteria, finally stood up from her seat and walked towards the commotion. 
“you just earned an hour in detention, you lady.” you couldn’t help but smirk when the teacher shot miss. ‘perfect’ a disapproving glare. “stay back tomorrow and maybe help out the volunteers, make yourself useful for once.” 
“but, uh, mrs. kang, she provoked me! she should be the one getting detention!” it was funny how she thought crushing the soda-can in her hands would deem her as innocent. 
“ma’am,” you knew you were a trouble-maker, but the only reason teachers trusted you was because you were sincere— or at least good at pretending you were. “i was only here to have a conversation, but she was the one who assaulted me out of nowhere,” 
one of the reasons you maintained a friendly relationship with the teachers was for situations like this. 
“and you know what ma’am, i’m not even mad that she attacked me, but wastage of food? oh, to think a thirsty kid could’ve been drinking that soda, but for it to get wasted on me like that?”
“that’s enough, y/n; don’t think i don't know your antics.” mrs. kang looked at you through her glasses. “another sentence and you’ll be enjoying detention with your best friend here.”
you flashed her a guilty but thankful smile. "of course ma’am, i understand.”
“and what are you all looking at? the bell’s about to ring, get back to your classes!” the teacher cursed under her breath, the crowd around you disappearing in an instant. 
mrs. kang looked around the cafeteria, and her face instantly lit up when she saw bitch #2. “ah, yang jungwon! thank god at least someone responsible is here.” 
you didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking at him, but you sensed him stand taller and simultaneously become smaller at the acknowledgement. 
“son, please take this menace to the nurse’s room, i don’t trust her enough to send her alone— god knows what more she’ll end up causing.” you flash mrs. kang a guilty smile. “meanwhile, you, young lady, come with me to the staff room.”
as you saw miss perfect follow mrs. kang with her tail between her legs, you couldn’t help but crack a triumphant smile. 
“thank you, ma’am, i’ll remember your kindness for the rest of my life!” you leave the cafeteria, seeing mrs. kang roll her eyes and say something along the lines of ‘i don’t get paid enough for this.’ 
not waiting for what's-his-face, you make your way towards the nurse’s room to find a spare shirt. 
“y/n! wait up,” your pace quickens as naturally as possible when you hear his voice, but jungwon easily catches up to you. “are you okay?”
“what do you want, yang jungwon?” it takes all effort in you to not look at him.
“here, take this,” you turned towards him when he offered his coat to you, his fingers slightly gripping your pocket, keeping you in place. with a glare, you take a step back.  “you're drenched, y/n. you’ll catch a cold like this.” 
“i don't need your charity,” maybe you did feel a chill go through your body, but you'd rather be dead than take help from jungwon. “you don’t have to help me just because a teacher asked you to, mr. president, i’m fine.” 
“y/n,” his tone was pleading but assertive. “don’t be like this,, i’m here as your friend—” 
“don’t even,” you scoffed, an annoyed expression adorning your face. 
“i thought you were my friend, but the way you have been acting lately tells me anything but. i know things are awkward because we broke up, but is human decency too much to ask for? 
"i’m not asking you to take sides, but you could've— nevermind now. i guess years of friendship goes down the drain just because your pretty little girlfriend can’t stand me.”
there goes your shot at being cool and nonchalant.
you didn’t mean to say that all, but words came spilling out of your mouth once you made eye-contact with him. 
jungwon looked shocked, speechless at your unexpected outburst. he took a step back. “i… i’m sorry, y/n.” 
you felt betrayed at yourself when you felt a pang of disappointment when he walked away. 
maybe you had expected him to say something? finally clear out all the misunderstandings and go back to how things were before? 
nonetheless, you also knew you could never go back to being just friends with him, yet you were starting to miss his company, and your aching heart was making it clear that you weren’t even a step closer to getting over him. 
but it didn't even matter now.
you sighed, resuming your journey towards the nurse’s room, your heart growing heavier when you find a bunch of napkins in your pocket where jungwon had touched you.  
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“i mean it was kind of stupid to think mrs. kang would let you off the hook for causing a scene like that,” your best friend smirked, clearly enjoying this. 
“hey, whose side are you on?” you half-heartedly throw your eraser at her, slumping into your seat. “oh man, i was so excited to go back home and watch the new episode of the drama with you. guess that'll have to wait because apparently dusting books that people will never even read is way more important, i guess." 
"calm your dramatic ass down," your best friend chuckled, patting your head as you groaned and playfully banged your head on the table. "at least there will be no record of detention on your report." 
"i guess you're right... but i'll miss you," you blow kisses at her, making her laugh. 
"whatever weirdo, love you too," she stood up, giving you a smile. "i'll get going then. you better start your work soon if you don't wanna stay back for another hour." 
"see you soon!" after you wave at her, you stretch out in your chair, giving yourself a pep talk to survive the extra hour of work that was given to you by mrs. kang as "not a punishment, but something that will make you think twice before causing trouble again." 
although you weren't happy about this, you couldn't help but feel a sense of calm as you entered the library and walked through the many bookshelves, finally situating yourself amidst the very last shelves. 
life had gotten pretty hectic lately, so having some time in the library, when not a single soul was there, felt like pressing pause and breathing for a moment. you put on your mask, and some music as you half-heartedly start dusting the old books on the shelves. 
the quiet and solitude was something you longed for, but with nothing better to do, your mind couldn't help but go back to thinking about yang jungwon. 
maybe you were being irrational with him today, because of course, which guy would choose a friend over his girlfriend? you felt guilty, because you realised it was your selfish feelings that made you act that way. 
while you were accusing jungwon of not giving efforts to sustain your friendship, what had you been doing? 
weren't you the one picking the longer route to avoid running into him, or helping random people with their errands whenever he came into the room just to avoid a conversation? 
but you couldn’t bring yourself to face him; not because of the awkwardness, but because you couldn’t see him being with his girlfriend.
jealousy was another thing, but you couldn’t tolerate the way miss perfect treated him— it shouldn’t matter to you that she didn’t understand his niche habits, or that she didn’t let him finish his sentences, so you chose to stay quiet instead of making a scene, because you knew it was of no use anyway. 
“well, so much for not making a scene,” you groaned, glancing at the too-tight shirt you’d borrowed from the nurse’s office. 
finally pulled out of your thoughts by the alarm you’d set on your phone, you looked up at the giant clock at the library, and let out a quiet squeal when you noticed an hour was up. 
as you packed up your phone and belongings and walked towards the front of the library, you were stopped in your tracks as you heard a familiar voice in the otherwise silent room. as you slowly crept towards the front desk, the voice became clearer.
“yes sir, of course. no, i understand. i’ll make sure there’s no— yes sir, sure. right. thank you, sir, thank— oof.” yang jungwon slumped into the chair, his voice immediately losing its energy and him looking more tired than ever as he gently placed his phone on a cluttered table. 
as he closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his face, it gave you the perfect opportunity to walk by, unnoticed, and— 
“won— hey, jungwon,” a small, comforting smile crept up on your face, as you slowly made your way towards him. “what are you doing here so late.” 
your heart fluttered in an act of betrayal when you saw his face instantly light up when he noticed you. 
“y/n! hey, hi. have a seat,” jungwon smiled, quickly trying to push the various open notebooks and leaflets towards himself to make space for you. “i uh, i just had to stay back for some work for next week’s event. what about you, why’re you here so late? everything okay?”
“haha, yes, mrs. kang just made me do some extra work to make up for today,” you took a seat beside him, both of you facing each other. “but wait, don’t tell me you’re doing work here so late? can’t you do it at home?”
“well, yes and no? the teachers are counting on me to look after everything because, you know…” he looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his neck, forever uncomfortable about his position as the president of the student council.
“and since most of the things require me to double check with the faculty and the campus, it’s easier to do these things at school. plus, i’ll have to take the measurements for the posters and all too, so i was planning to get it over by today itself instead of weighing down someone else with the work,” 
“goddamn, i didn’t know you had so much work to do. I could never handle such responsibility,” you let out a slow whistle, but then turned to him with concerned eyes. “it must be hard managing everything. are you okay, though? you can distribute the work between the members, you know? you don’t have to shoulder everything.” you gently put your hand on him, making sure he listens. 
jungwon was the type of person who always took on more work than it was healthy for them to carry out, but he always made sure he completed each and every task with perfection. 
you knew the boy struggled with being a people pleaser and a perfectionist, so you made sure to remind him to relax and take a breath every once in a while whenever you got the chance. 
“giving the work to other people doesn’t make you a bad leader, won, it is literally their job to help you. so, chill out a bit okay? and make sure you take breaks in between and not—”
you were interrupted by the soft hum of jungwon’s ringtone, and as you looked down on it, it was almost as if a bucket of cold water was splashed on you as you saw his girlfriend’s name flash on the screen. 
in an instant, you let go of his hand, your hands reaching up  to play with your hair and hopefully hide the red creeping up on your face. “you… you should probably pick that up.” you hoped your smile did not look lopsided. 
to your surprise, you saw jungwon silence his phone, and place it inside his pocket. “you were saying?” he gave you a small smile, acting as if nothing had happened. 
“um, dude, wasn’t that your girlfriend?” you sounded confused. “you should’ve picked up, i’m okay with it.”
“uh, ex… girlfriend.” 
“what the fuck?” you shrieked in surprise, your face red, both of you looking around to see if anybody heard you. you lowered your voice once again. “bitch what? didn’t we just argue like hours ago? because of you? wait, oh my god, don’t tell me she broke up with you because of me? oh god, i’m so sorry jungwon, i swear, i never meant to—”
your ramble was cut short when jungwon gently placed his hand over your mouth, chuckling at your wide eyes and flushed cheeks. 
“y/n, calm down, i’d broken up with her weeks ago,” this dude literally had the audacity to smile after giving you a mini heart attack. “actually… it's a pretty long story.” he cringed. 
“well i would very much like to know why the fuck i’m wearing some random girl’s shirt if you guys broke up weeks ago?” you huffed; but when you saw his quiet expression, you blushed. “wait, i mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. it’s okay, i was just kidding.” 
“No, y/n, its okay.” jungwon had a weird expression on his face. “it’s just that… do you have any idea how much i’ve wanted to talk about this, or just talk like this, with you? i missed us.” 
“won,” you were sure your face was permanently red now. “i’m always here, you know that.” 
“thanks,” he said. “the truth is, i wasn’t really in a happy relationship with her. i don’t know, maybe i didn’t want to admit it to myself too, but at some point it just got too suffocating; it was like being with a tyrant.” 
though jungwon was trying to play it off with a casual demeanour, you could hear the pain still eminent in his voice. the reason he was so closed off, always so busied by his books or duties, it all made sense now. 
“i know it sounds weird, but being in a relationship with her felt like i was constantly being criticised and forced to be someone i’m not. i can’t always be this perfect, responsible, ideal boy friend, and i felt guilty for trying to put on this fake act of being perfect and i…” 
you genuinely ached for him, your heart reaching out to the boy who was finally opening his jar of bottled emotions. 
you wrapped jungwon in a gentle but warm hug, hoping it helps ease him, who was on the verge of breaking down.”
“shh, its okay, won. you’re out of that relationship now, and it takes alot of courage to do that; i’m proud of you, yang jungwon.”
“you know what the funniest part is, she wasn’t willing to break up with me so she acted as if we were still together and telling me that she’ll stop and change and what not, and me being dumb enough, probably did believe her. but it was this morning, when she threw the soda at you, it was almost as if she’d done it to me. 
“it was different when it was just me, but when she’s hurting people i care about?  i know where to draw the line then.” jungwon finally cracked a small smile. “and you know what? i finally understood that i made the right decision when you came here and told me that i don’t have to take on everything on my own. it made me realise that there are people who look out for me, so i’m not worried anymore.”
“of course, you dumb fuck,” you flicked his forehead, laughing to stop yourself from actually tearing up. you felt guilty knowing that he was going through so much on his own, but you also felt beyond ecstatic that he trusted you enough to share all that with you. “too bad you have such a stick up your ass that you didn’t realise that sooner. and its not just me, but all our friends are here for you too. So don’t you ever dare feel alone or suffer through all that by yourself.” 
“I know that now…” jungwon chuckled, his flushed face mirroring yours as he rested his head on the table, looking at you with the softest eyes. “thank you, y/n. You have no idea how grateful i am to you.” 
“shut up up with your cheesy lines, jungwon you slut, or i might just fall in love with you.” you rolled your eyes, playfully covering his face to hide your blush, because you both knew the truth anyway. 
‘i already have,” he smiled. 
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author's note: if you see my personal feelings etched into this fic, no you don't :D also did y'all notice the way i didn't even name the ex because like i was so afraid of it breaking the fourth wall like, what if its the name of your best friend or cousin or literally just your name 😭
please leave comments and reblogs because i could really use some motivation, thank you ! 🤍
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short n' sweet masterlist 💋
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ashercries23 · 1 year ago
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ao3 going down really felt like a wake up call. i’ve been playing with the idea of downloading my fav fics for a week or so, and now i’m like “oh shit i really should do that”. so once ao3 gets back online, you bet i’m gonna download my fav fics for safe keeping. if you don’t want to lose yours, you should do it too.
also, don’t keep refreshing ao3 right now. the site is already overloaded with the issue (i rebloged some posts explaining it), so refreshing it definitely isn’t helping.
edit: ao3 is back! be careful with the site as it’s just back up now. i downloaded my fav fics so i’ll be ok if it goes down again. happy reading!!
edit 2: i think it may be buffering again. if possible, stay off the site for a while. let it chill and fix itself. personally, i’m taking the time to reread the fics i downloaded so i don’t overload the site.
final edit: ao3 is back back now! shoutout to the amazing VOLUNTEERS who keep ao3 up and running. i think i speak for all of us when i say we are super thankful for you. y’all work your asses off to keep the site up and y’all deserve all the love in the world. ALSO! readers, still be patient with the site. they said it may still be slow so just let it do it’s thing.
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goldengalore · 2 years ago
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Sweet Creature
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A househusband!Harry fic.
Summary: Harry’s daughter wants him to sing with her at the school talent show. The only problem is… He has stage fright.
Word count: 5k
Warnings: slight angst (father-daughter disagreement)
A/N: Didn’t realize I would enjoy writing dadrry this much. I hope it’s as fun to read as it was to write :)
***
Y/N is not a morning person. At all. She would live like a night owl if she didn’t have to get up at the ass crack of dawn every day for work. On the bright side, she’s one of the few lucky people on this planet who actually loves her job. It has allowed her to build a comfortable life for her family, and early mornings are only a minor trade-off.
Besides, her mood always brightens up as soon as she heads downstairs and hears the lively chatter of her husband, Harry, and their eight-year-old daughter, Savannah, emanating from the kitchen. Unlike her, mornings are not a problem for Harry and Savannah. It’s like they both wake up with permanent smiles plastered to their beautiful faces.
“Good morning, my angels,” she greets them as she enters the kitchen.
“Morning, Mom,” replies Savannah from the dining table, her little voice muffled by a mouthful of cereal. Y/N kisses the top of her head.
“Morning, Mama. You’re right on time for breakfast,” says Harry, transferring scrambled eggs onto a plate for Y/N. “Oh, and I’ve put your lunch right by the door so you won’t forget it this time.”
She thanks him and gives him a kiss on the cheek. As she’s pouring herself a cup of coffee, Savannah asks, “Daddy, are you a musician?”
“A musician?” Harry responds distractedly as he carries the pan he used to cook the eggs over to the sink.
“Yeah! Yesterday at recess, Kayley told everyone that her dad is a musician.”
Who’s Kayley? Y/N mouths to Harry. Although she isn’t able to spend as much time with her daughter as Harry due to work, she makes every effort to be present in her life and keep track of all the little details, like the names of her friends. So, the mention of this unfamiliar name comes as a surprise to her.
New classmate, Harry mouths back.
Meanwhile, Savannah, oblivious to the silent exchange between her parents, continues with her story, “She said he makes music with his friends and they have a lot of fans on the internet, so I said ‘my dad is a musician too!’ Then Kayley asked if you have any fans on the internet, and I said no, you only play music for me and Mom, and then Kayley said ‘that’s not a musician.’ ”
“Well, I suppose she has a point,” says Harry, running cold water over the pan.
Y/N frowns. “What? You write your own music all the time. Just because you’re not posting it online doesn’t mean you’re not a musician.”
“Maybe an amateur musician?” he suggests with a shrug.
Turning to her daughter, Y/N states, “Savvy, your father is a musician.”
Savannah perks up in her seat like bread popping out of a toaster. “Okay! I’ll let Kayley know.”
“You do that, honey.” When Y/N looks back at Harry, a small smile has emerged on his face, one that he tries to conceal by staring down into the sink, but the dimple in his cheek gives him away.
He likes to pretend that he’s not serious about his music, that songwriting is just a fun little hobby he dabbles in once in a while without putting any real effort into it. But Y/N knows how deep his passion for music runs. His songs are his babies. She often tells him to make more time for songwriting, though he never listens. He devotes so much of his time to other people—taking care of housework so that Y/N can focus on her job, supporting Savannah’s education and extra-curricular activities, and volunteering in the community, even offering free guitar lessons to kids. Rarely does he make time for himself and his own hobbies.
Y/N now takes her breakfast over to the dining table and sits across from her daughter.
“The spring talent show is coming up,” announces Savannah.
Y/N’s face lights up. “Oh, fun! I love going to those.”
Savannah’s school hosts talent shows every spring and fall. Everything from singing and dancing to reading poems and doing magic tricks is permitted, as long as it’s been vetted by the show organizer, Ms. Lee. Savannah always sings; she has yet to miss a show.
“Which song are you performing this time?” asks Y/N.
“I’m not performing,” she mumbles, playing around with the last bit of cereal in her bowl.
“Aw, why not? I thought you loved performing.”
“Yeah... But Kayley told everyone she’s singing a song with her dad and Ms. Lee allowed it. Now the other kids are bringing their parents on stage too. I wanted Daddy to play guitar and sing with me, but he said no.”
Y/N gasps and turns to Harry. “What? Why?”
She can see him struggling to come up with an answer, eventually settling on, “I’ve never performed for a proper audience before.”
“Harry, it’s a school talent show. The audience is going to be kids.”
He scoffs. “Are you joking? The audience is always full of parents. Remember the last one we went to? Place was so packed with parents, they ran out of seats.”
She can’t argue with that. Savannah’s school is quite big for an elementary school. The auditorium can hold up to five hundred people, and it’s always at full capacity on the night of a talent show. Parents aren’t the only ones in attendance but also grandparents, aunts, and uncles, as well as teachers and other school staff. It’s a popular event.
“Okay, well, it doesn’t matter anyway,” says Y/N. “You have an amazing voice. So does Savvy. And the two of you together will blow everyone away.”
He doesn’t seem convinced. “I dunno…” Turning to Savannah, he suggests, “Maybe you and your mum can do something instead.”
“Mom can’t even sing!”
Harry shoots her a disapproving look. “Savvy, that’s rude.”
Y/N chuckles. “I mean, she’s not wrong.”
“Well, your mum likes to dance, so maybe you can do a dance routine together.”
“But I don’t wanna dance!” Savannah protests, growing frustrated with her father’s deflections. “I wanna sing with you.”
He lets out a sigh, leaning his hip against the sink and crossing his arms, as he glances back and forth between his wife and daughter.
“Will you at least think it over?” asks Y/N. “Savvy, when’s the talent show?”
“It’s at the end of the month, but Ms. Lee said we have to prepare something by next Wednesday to show her.”
“That’s not very far away,” mutters Harry.
“Well, the sooner you make up your mind, the more time you’ll have to prepare,” says Y/N.
He narrows his eyes at her. She just smiles and bats her eyelashes at him.
“All right, all right,” he says finally, throwing his hands up in defeat. “I will think about it.”
Savannah squeals with glee.
***
It’s been a year and a half since Harry started teaching kids to play guitar. The first child he ever taught was a shy little boy named Jordi who was one class below Savannah. Harry knew Jordi’s mother from parent council meetings, and she sometimes asked him to watch her son for a couple hours after school until she got off work.
Whenever Jordi was over, Savannah would take out the little guitar that her parents had gifted her for Christmas and play with it, often strumming the same two chords over and over because that was all she knew. Jordi would watch on with an awestruck face. He would never utter a word, but Harry could tell that he wanted to try playing it himself.
It took some convincing, some lecturing about “sharing is caring” to get Savannah to lend her guitar to Jordi, but once he got his hands on that thing, he was hooked. Harry enjoyed teaching Jordi. In many ways, the boy reminded him of himself when he was younger.
Word got around on the school playground that Jordi learned to play guitar from Savannah’s dad, and suddenly, Harry had parents asking him if he would teach their kids as well. Not wanting to overwhelm himself, he took on only a small number of kids. Nowadays, he teaches four kids and sees each of them for a couple hours a week.
He doesn’t charge anything for the lessons, even though some parents insist on paying him. He doesn’t need the money. Y/N’s job rakes in so much that any amount he might make from the lessons would be a tiny drop in the bucket of their family income. He also knows that some of the kids he teaches come from low-income backgrounds, and it wouldn’t feel right charging their parents for lessons when they can hardly afford a babysitter.
The child he’s working with today is one of Savannah’s school friends, Jasmine. They finish around 6 p.m. when Maria, Jasmine’s mother, drops by to pick her up. Harry follows Jasmine out the front door to greet her mother on the porch.
“How was the lesson?” asks Maria.
“It was good. I learned to play a song,” replies Jasmine, clasping her hands behind her back and beaming up at her mother proudly.
“Wow! Already?”
“Yeah, she’s a pro,” says Harry, telling Jasmine, “We should have your mum sit in on the next one so you can show her how good you are.”
The girl eagerly nods in agreement. “Okay!”
Maria smiles and places a loving hand on Jasmine’s head. Then she says to Harry, “Hey, I heard you and Savannah are singing at the talent show together.”
His eyebrows lift up. He has yet to tell Savannah his decision about the talent show, but it seems she’s already been going around telling people that he’s performing with her.
“Oh, um… Yeah, I—I guess I am.” He rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat. “How about you? Are you and Jasmine doing something together?”
“Hell no!” She gives a hearty laugh. “Can you imagine me getting up in front of all those people and putting on a performance?”
“Sure, why not? You seem like a talented lady.”
She snorts. “Even if that were true, I couldn’t do it. See, kids have an excuse. If they mess up, it’s like, ‘oh they’re kids, they’re adorable.’ But us adults? We don’t get excuses.” She shakes her head. “You’re brave.”
“Thanks,” he replies half-heartedly. He knows her words were meant to be a compliment, but all they do is make him even more terrified about the prospect of being on stage.
“Well, Jasmine and I should head home. See you next week, same time?”
“Yup. See you next week. Bye, Jasmine.” He smiles and waves at the little girl.
“Bye, Harry!” Jasmine waves back as her mom leads her down the driveway.
He heads back into the house and goes upstairs to Savannah’s room, which is down the hall from his and Y/N’s bedroom. As he approaches, he can hear Y/N helping Savannah with her math homework. Harry loathes math. Y/N doesn’t mind it. They have a mutual understanding that when it comes to math homework, Savannah is better off going to her mother first.
The door to her room is open. She sits cross-legged on her double bed with her math notebook open in front of her, a colourful feather-topped pencil gripped between her fingers. Y/N lies on her side across the bed, propped up on one elbow; she smiles at Harry as he enters. Savannah is engrossed in the question she’s working on, brow furrowed in concentration as she stares down at her notebook.
“Is the answer fourteen?” she asks her mother.
Y/N nods. “You got it.”
She scribbles her answer in the book.
“How’d the lesson go?” Y/N asks Harry.
“Went well,” he responds, standing next to the bed. “Had a chat with Jasmine’s mum just now. She was asking about the talent show. Apparently, a little birdie told her that Savvy and I performing together.”
Y/N acts surprised. “Oh! I wonder which little birdie told her that.”
Harry and Y/N both slowly turn to look at their daughter, who tilts her chin into her neck to avoid their gazes. Harry reaches out and starts tickling her sides, making her giggle hysterically.
“Was it you?” he asks.
“No!”
“Are you sure about that?”
Savannah topples over onto her side, squirming and snickering into the mattress as he continues tickling her until finally, she caves. “It was me! It was me!”
The tickling ceases. Some residual giggles escape her before she straightens up to look at her father with sugary sweet eyes that resemble her mother’s.
“I thought we agreed that I was going to think about it,” he says.
She huffs out a sigh. “It’s been two days, Dad. How much thinking can a person do?”
He and Y/N exchange amused looks.
“Well, you’re in luck,” he says, “because I had actually made up my mind and I was going to wait until dinner to tell you, but I suppose I’ll tell you now...” He pauses for dramatic effect, watching as Savannah holds her breath in anticipation. “I will sing with you at the talent show.”
“Woohoooo!” Savannah jumps to her feet on the bed and launches herself into her father’s arms. He catches her before she can plummet to the floor, stumbling backwards a little.
“Sav! Be careful,” Y/N scolds.
She wraps her arms and legs around him like a koala bear and kisses him on the cheek. “Best dad in the world!”
He chuckles and squeezes her tight before setting her back down on the bed. “Have you thought of what song you want to do?”
“Oh, oh, oh! Can we do the one we sang for Mom’s birthday?”
He thinks back to Y/N’s birthday a few months ago. He had just finished working on a new song that he named Sweet Creature. Knowing how much his wife relishes hearing him and Savannah sing together, he decided to surprise her with a father-daughter duet. Savannah has a remarkably sharp memory when it comes to music, so it didn’t take her long to learn the lyrics and melody.
“You mean Sweet Creature?” he asks.
“Yeah, that one!”
“Um… Are you sure you don’t want to do a Disney song or something?”
She shakes her head adamantly.
Singing in front of people is nerve-wracking enough on its own, but to sing an original song that no one has heard, except for Y/N and Savannah, will take those nerves to a whole other level.
“I think that’s a great idea, Savvy,” Y/N chimes in.
He gives her a slightly frustrated look.
She shrugs. “What? I think people deserve to hear your beautiful music. It’s actually a crime that you keep it hidden away from the world, you know?”
A little smile cracks through his frustration. “Okay, I suppose we can try that one and a few others and see what works.”
Despite how far out of his comfort zone this is, the excitement that appears on Savannah’s face, and even Y/N’s, every time they discuss the talent show makes his heart sing. It might be the only reason he hasn’t scrapped the idea altogether.
***
“But I don’t wanna do that song.”
Y/N stirs on the couch, pulled from her deep slumber by the sound of Savannah’s disgruntled voice coming from the den. It’s been an hour since she got home from work. Harry and Savannah have been rehearsing for the talent show all evening, so she decided to unwind by watching TV in the living room but fell asleep not even ten minutes into the show she was watching.
“Okay, then we’ll pick another one,” she hears Harry reply. “How about the one from that movie—”
“No! I wanna do your song,” insists Savannah.
“Well, we can’t always get what we want, Sav.” His dwindling patience is evident in his tone. He rarely speaks to their daughter so bluntly.
“But you promised!”
“I did not promise. I said we’d try out a few different songs and see what works.”
“You’re a liar!”
“Savvy, that’s not very ni—”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!”
“Savannah, come back here plea—”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!”
She comes storming out of the den and over to Y/N. Perching herself on the edge of the couch, she crosses her arms over her chest, face set in a deep frown.
“What happened, Sav?” Y/N probes gently.
“Daddy promised we would sing his song for the talent show and now he says we can’t!”
“Baby, I’m sure he has a good reason.”
“Can’t you just tell him we have to sing it? He always does what you tell him.”
She presses her lips together and shakes her head sympathetically. “I can’t make your father do something he doesn’t want to do.”
“Yes, you can! You can make him do anything! He never says no to you. Only to me.” A sad pout forms on her lips.
“No, honey, I…”
Savannah’s eyes fill with tears. She stands up and scurries off upstairs.
Y/N has never seen herself as a pushy person. Although leadership comes naturally to her, allowing her to climb the corporate ladder with greater ease than most, she has never been the kind of leader that forces others to do things they’re not comfortable with. People, both in her personal life and work life, have commended her ability to push others to reach their full potential without being overbearing. However, Savannah’s words make her wonder if she might have pushed Harry too hard. A pit of guilt forms in her stomach.
Harry emerges from the den with a weary look on his face.
“Where’d she go?” he asks Y/N.
“Upstairs.”
He plops down on the couch next to her with a heavy sigh. She brings a hand to the back of his head, running her fingers through his soft curls.
“Savvy and I are having creative differences,” he states, earning an amused chuckle from Y/N. “She really wants to sing Sweet Creature. I feel like it’s too slow, maybe too mature for a school talent show. I wanted to try looking up some fun, upbeat songs, but she wasn’t having it.”
“It’s okay. Let her cool off for a bit. Then we’ll go and explain to her that you’re just not comfortable doing one of your songs.”
“It’s not that I’m not comfortable with it. I just don’t think it’s the right song choice.”
“H, you don’t have to lie to me.”
“I’m not—” He groans and runs his hands down his face. “God, why does my family think I’m a liar?”
She places a hand on his cheek, turning his face towards her. “I don’t think you’re a liar. I just think somewhere deep down, you know that the real reason you don’t want to do this song isn’t because it’s too slow or too mature but because the thought of sharing your music with people scares you.”
His green eyes blink back at her. He shakes his head. “You always read me like a book.”
She smiles. “Look, I’m the one who talked you into this. You had already told Savannah no and she accepted your answer. And then I came butting in, pushing you to reconsider. And now, she thinks I can just wave a magic wand and make her father do whatever I want, even if he’s not comfortable with it, which is not exactly the kind of example I want to be setting for my daughter.” She sighs. “I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard.”
“It’s all right,” he replies. “I need the push sometimes, honestly.”
She tilts his face more towards her and kisses him softly on the lips. When they part, she catches movement on the stairs from the corner of her eye. She turns to find Savannah sitting on the second last step, staring at the two of them from behind the vertical posts of the bannister.
“I’m hungry,” the girl declares.
Harry glances at the clock above the fireplace. “Oh, it’s late. I should get started on dinner.”
“Why don’t we all cook together?” suggests Y/N.
“Are you sure you’re not too tired?” he asks.
“No, I’m good.” She rises to her feet. “I think it’ll be fun. What do you think, Savvy?”
“Um… okay.”
“Awesome!” Placing her hands on her hips, Y/N turns to Harry and says, “Well, Dad, you’re in charge. You tell us what to do and we will get it done.”
He gazes up at her, eyes glinting with affection and amusement.
“Okay?” she asks.
He nods. “Okay.”
The three of them head to the kitchen where Harry begins delegating tasks. Y/N decides to put on some music. Although Savannah stays closed-off for the first little while, clearly embarrassed about her earlier outburst, she slowly starts to warm up, unable to resist the cheery atmosphere created by the music and her parents’ corny jokes. Soon enough, she’s singing into a wooden spoon and being twirled around the kitchen by her father, while Y/N stays by the stove to make sure their dinner doesn’t burn.
Later that night, Harry and Savannah have a serious talk to sort out their “creative differences.” She apologizes for calling him a liar and storming off; he ultimately decides they should stick with Sweet Creature as their song. Y/N also speaks with Savannah to stress that her father is not a puppet who will do whatever he’s told without question, that he deserves the same respect that Savannah shows to her mother.
***
On the day of the talent show, Y/N dashes straight home from work, buzzing with excitement to see her two angels on stage tonight. They’re already dressed and ready to go by the time she gets home, so she quickly changes out of her work clothes and touches up her makeup before driving them all to the school.
Harry and Savannah head to the music room, where Ms. Lee had instructed all of tonight’s performers to gather. Meanwhile, Y/N joins the other attendees in the auditorium. It’s still early and people are slowly trickling in. A refreshments table has been set up at the back, serving coffee, juice, and baked goods. Y/N helps herself to a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin before finding a seat a few rows away from the stage.
The show consists of a variety of acts. A mother-daughter dancing duo, a father-son comedy skit, a grandfather-granddaughter magic act, and so much more. Y/N finally sees Kayley for the first time when she appears on stage to sing a piano ballad with her father. At the end of their performance, she thinks, “Savvy and Harry are gonna blow them out of the water.” It’s not a competition by any means, but that doesn’t stop her competitive side from coming out anyway.
Halfway through the show, her phone vibrates in her pocket with a text from Harry.
H: Can you come to the restrooms by the kindergarten classrooms? I need you.
Y/N: On my way
She stands and makes her way out of the auditorium, trying to cause as little disruption as possible. She finds Harry pacing back and forth in the hallway outside the restrooms. His outfit consists of a ringer tee with little strawberries printed all over it paired with bright green trousers. He matches with Savannah, who wore a strawberry-print skirt for tonight. His hair was perfectly styled when they left the house but now looks a bit ruffled, probably from nervously running his hands through it too much.
“Hi, honey,” she says. “Everything okay?”
He stops pacing to look at her. “No, I’m literally shitting my pants.”
A couple of older women were exiting the restroom right as he said that. They shoot him a disgusted glare.
His eyes widen, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Sorry, I—I didn’t mean literally. I was just exaggera—”
Y/N grabs his hand and pulls him into one of the classrooms nearby so they can speak in private.
“Where’s Savannah?” she asks him.
“Backstage, waiting for our turn.” He runs a hand through his hair again. “She’s not nervous at all, Y/N. Our eight-year-old daughter isn’t nervous at all about getting up in front of all those people. Meanwhile, I, a grown man, am hiding out by the restrooms.” His words come out in a frantic half-whisper, topped with a slightly crazed look in his eyes. Just as he reaches up to mess with his hair again, Y/N takes his hands.
“H, it’s okay to be nervous,” she tells him softly. “Of course you’re nervous. You’ve never done this before. Getting on stage? Singing one of your own songs? That would terrify just about anyone. Not all of us can be natural-born stars like Savannah.”
“I don’t want my nerves to ruin this for her,” he admits. “That’s what I’m most afraid of. Making a fool of myself is one thing, but disappointing our daughter is another.”
Y/N smiles, overwhelmed with fondness for the man standing before her. “Harry, she’s already so happy that you’re even doing this with her. She’s going to love you regardless.”
He nods and takes a deep breath in, blowing it out through his mouth. Then he says, “She’s just like you, you know. She has your confidence.”
“Well, she has your talents.”
“Wonder where she got the stubbornness from,” he mutters with a teasing lilt to his voice.
“That would be you, obviously.”
His face contorts with disbelief. “Me?!”
“Indeed.” She walks out of the classroom with Harry following close behind.
He scoffs. “No way. It’s you and you know it.”
“Nope.”
“Yup.”
“Nope.”
“Yup.”
They “nope” and “yup” their way back to the auditorium. She reminds him once again that he’s an amazing father for agreeing to do this and gives him a kiss for good luck before they part ways.
Harry and Savannah’s performance happens towards the end of the show.
“Our next act of the night is a father-daughter duet,” Ms. Lee announces into the mic. “We have Savannah and Harry singing an original song called Sweet Creature.”
Everyone applauds as the duo makes their way on stage. Their mic stands are already set up a few feet apart, slightly angled towards each other. Harry walks over to the taller one, his acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder. Savannah takes her place in front of the shorter mic. They look adorable in their matching outfits, their eyes sparkling under the stage lights. Y/N’s cheeks already hurt from smiling.
The two share a quick glance before Harry begins strumming his guitar. Soon, Savannah’s mellifluous voice fills the auditorium. She mostly sings the verses by herself, with Harry jumping in on every other line, his voice blending seamlessly with hers. The chorus—Y/N’s favourite part of the whole song—is sung together.
Ironically, Harry’s eyes find Y/N in the audience right as he sings, “We’re both stubborn, I know.” She flashes him a knowing grin. 
The end of their performance is met with thunderous applause filling the auditorium. Harry claps too, directly at Savannah, who returns the sweet gesture. The two of them take a bow before exiting the stage.
After the last few acts, the talent show draws to a close. People rise from their seats to mingle and compliment the performers on their work. Harry and Savannah make their way through the crowd to Y/N, who pulls them both into a loving embrace.
“You guys were amazing,” she praises. “I’m so, so proud of you.”
“Savannah! Savannah!” They hear Savannah’s friends beckoning her nearby.
“I’ll be right back,” she tells her parents before running over to her friends.
Y/N looks at Harry. “Well? How did that feel?”
He takes a deep breath, squinting his eyes a bit. “Terrifying… But good.”
“The single moms are going to be all over you after that performance.”
He rolls his eyes. “Shut up.”
“It’s true. They’re actually on their way over here right now.” She glances over his shoulder.
“No, they’re not.”
“Yes, they are. In three… two… one…”
Right on cue, a group of three women appear from behind Harry, swarming around him like moths to a flame.
“Harry!” shouts one of them. “We didn’t know you could sing.” She places a hand on his arm.
“You and your daughter are the most adorable things I’ve ever seen,” says another.
“You’re so talented,” says the third.
“Thank you so much,” he replies sincerely.
“What song was that? I’ve never heard it before.”
“Oh, I wrote it.”
The women gasp and share shocked glances. “You wrote that?!”
Y/N tries not to laugh at their over-the-top reactions to everything he says. Instead, she decides to go talk to a few other parents while her husband basks in the glory of his newfound rockstar status.
A while later, she’s standing by the entrance to the auditorium, swiping through the pictures she took on her phone during the show, when she hears Harry whisper in her ear from behind, “Why’d you leave me alone with them?”
She turns to him, laughing at the annoyed expression on his face. “What do you mean? I was letting you have your moment. Kind of hard to soak in all that female attention with your wife standing right next to you, isn’t it?” She asks the question teasingly, curious to see how he’ll react. And as usual, his response reminds her of why she married him in the first place.
“I don’t want their attention,” he whines, squeezing her waist. “I want yours.”
“Aww.” She caresses his cheek and kisses him. “Well, maybe we should get out of here so you can have all my attention.”
His expression changes, the slightest hint of lust swimming in his green irises. “Okay, let’s find Savvy.”
“Oh, Jasmine’s mom let me know she’s taking them out for pizza. She’ll drop Savvy home after. So, yes, for the next couple hours, you have all of my attention,” she tells him, smirking.
The hint of lust turns into full-blown desire. Without another word, he starts pulling her towards the exit.
***
Thank you for reading! For more househusband!Harry and other fics, check out my MASTERLIST
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wolfjackle-creates · 1 year ago
Text
Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 7
We're a day late for WIP Wednesday, but I was wiped after the work shifts from hell the last two days. But today and tomorrow I'm off so I'm back on track! No work next Wednesday, either, so I should be good to go next week. Because I'm a day late, you get a long one today!
Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.
First, Previous
Word Count: 1.9k
-----
Still not entirely comfortable, Tim finally stepped into the lab. On the far wall, behind yellow and black doors was the portal he’d heard so much about.
Danny followed his gaze and put a hand on his arm. “Come on, Tim. The weapons vault is over here.”
Tim nodded once. “What do you have?”
“Everything.” Danny placed his hand over a scanner next to the door and it beeped and opened. “You like staffs, right? Try this out.”
Danny passed him a silver metal staff just a bit longer than his favored weapon. Tim took it and ran through two of his warm up exercises. The balance was excellent and he picked up the pace. If it wasn’t for the color scheme, he’d consider using one as his own backup.
“This is great. It’s effective against ghosts?”
“Yep. The Fenton Rod.” Danny reached out for it and Tim gave it back. “And if you do this—” he twisted and the staff separated into two “—you’ve got two weapons.”
He passed the two halves back to Tim who ran through a few more attacks and blocks with them. He had enough practice with Dick’s escrima sticks to hold his own. “This is perfect, thanks.”
“Now, the rest of you, would you prefer distance weapons or close up?”
Tim backed away from the vault to allow the others to explore their options. He spent the time practicing on connecting and separating the staff—he would not call it the Fenton Rod, even in his own head—and running through a few more complicated patterns with it to make sure he was familiar with it’s weight.
“You’re really good with that,” commented Sam who was watching him.
Tim shrugged fixed a self-conscious smile to his face. “It’s always good to know self defense when you live in Gotham. And Bruce is more particular about it than most.”
“Really? I thought he was a vapid idiot.”
“Oh, he is,” agreed Tim. “But he loves his kids and knows us being linked to him puts us in danger. So he goes to extremes to make sure we can hold our own when trouble arises.”
Before Sam could reply, Danny called out to them, “Hey, Tim! Do you want a long range weapon as well?”
“Sure. What do you have?”
So he joined as Danny showed them several blasters and lasers that they could use. Tim pulled out a small one that could be used single-handed.
“This is good for me.”
Cassie and Conner chose heavier weapons with more range and attack power, though Bart followed Tim’s lead.
“Okay, now that that’s done. Ready to practice ways to get a ghost out of a human?”
The emphatic agreement from every member of Tim’s team seemed to surprise Sam and Tucker but Danny just laughed.
“Sam, Tucker, which of you wants to volunteer?”
The two exchanged a look and Tucker sighed and stood up. “I’ll do it.”
“Thanks, Tuck. So, I’m gonna overshadow Tucker and go over the signs of overshadowing. They’re mostly pretty subtle if you don’t know the person. A ghost has no access to the memories or thoughts of the person they’re overshadowing, so behavior will be off. Then, if Tim is okay with it, I’ll overshadow him so he can explain how it feels to the rest of you. And I’d appreciate it if at least one of you metas will let me overshadow you so we can make sure the methods that work on baseline humans also work with you.”
Conner looked at Tim. “You trust him?”
Tim nodded. “Have since I was eleven.”
“I’ll do it, then.”
Danny grinned. “Great! Tucker, you first.” And with that, Danny transformed and flew right into Tucker’s body.
Tim watched closely as Tucker went rigid for a moment before resuming his casual slouch. “Tucker isn’t present at all right now,” said Tucker. Then his eyes flared green. “Any time a ghost uses their powers while overshadowing someone, the eyes’ll change. So look for that. Changes in behavior if you know the person are also a dead giveaway. Most ghosts haven’t been on earth in a long time, so another sign is being unused to Earth customs. Especially modern ones. But really, the eyes are your best bet. Get a ghost emotional and they can’t hold it back. Now, Sam, force me out!”
Sam grinned. “With pleasure.” She held up a thermos. “Best way is to use a thermos. It contains the ghost and prevents them from further attacks. To use, you simply remove the cap, point the opening at the ghost or overshadowed person in question, and press the button.” She did and a beam of blue light hit Tucker. Danny was pulled out and sucked into the thermos. Sam recapped the device and spun it in her hands.
Tucker held his head and groaned. “How long was he in me for?”
“Like thirty seconds, Tuck. Don’t be dramatic,” replied Sam.
“Does it hurt?” asked Cassie.
Tucker shook his head. “Minor headache immediately post overshadowing that fades in less than a minute. You don’t have any memory of the time you were overshadowed, so some disorientation if your location changed or a lot of time has passed is also normal. Maybe some vague impressions, like from a dream you can’t quite remember.”
“Ready for take two?” asked Sam.
Tucker rolled his eyes, but waved a hand around in agreement.
“So, to release a ghost from a thermos, you press the button that says ‘release.’ Super easy.” She did so, letting out another beam of light and when it cleared, Danny was floating before them.
“Does being in the thermos hurt?” asked Conner.
Danny shook his head and grinned. “Nah. Feels like you’re wrapped up in a heavy blanket. So sometimes it’s nice and sometimes it’s claustrophobic and I’m desperate to get out.”
Tim hummed. “How many ghosts can you fit in one thermos?”
Danny shrugged. “Not sure. Quite a few, but I’ve never pushed the limits. I think six or seven is the most we’ve done. Maybe more if it’s just ectopusses and blob ghosts I’m trying to clear out of my parents’ way.”
“Ectopusses?” asked Cassie.
At the same time, Bart asked, “Blob ghosts?”
Danny laughed. “I think there’s something to the hypothesis that octopusses have as much intelligence as a person. So many of them become ghosts. And they’re super curious. I think they like to explore places on land because it’s so different from the oceans they lived in. And blob ghosts are just what they sound like. Shapeless ghosts that are usually less than a foot large and don’t appear to have any cognitive power.”
Tim had a dozen questions he wanted to ask, but the news report going in the background was a constant reminder that they didn’t have time. “How else can you end an overshadowing?”
Danny nodded and flew back into Tucker.
Sam went over the different weapons they had that could be safely used on an overshadowed human. The small blasters were the easiest and caused no injury to the host. Tim’s staff was also effective, though it could leave bruises.
Finally, they’d each managed to get Danny out of Tucker three different ways each. He couldn’t even say a thermos was the weirdest thing he’d ever used as a weapon, though the fact that it had been designed as a weapon was certainly novel.
“So now it’s my turn.” Tim couldn’t help the way his stomach twisted at the thought of what was coming up. He trusted Danny, he really did. And he wanted to know what it felt like to be overshadowed. But he hated losing control of himself. Absolutely despised it. He took a deep breath and met Danny’s eyes. “Do it.”
Danny bit his lip. “You don’t have to, you know.”
“Do it, Danny.”
A brief moment of hesitation longer, then Danny was flying towards him. The next thing Tim was aware of was a sharp pain in his head that he could only describe as being located behind his brain. Conner was facing him with the thermos pointed at him. The pain was already fading as he blinked and took in the lab again.
Nothing had changed.
“What was it like?” asked Cassie.
The question put Tim right back into Bat Report Mode. “As Tucker said, I have no memory of anything since I saw Danny fly at me to overshadow me. When he left, I had a strange pain in my head that faded by the time I had checked our surroundings for any changes that may have occurred while I was unaware.” As he spoke, he did a quick body check to look for any unusual pains or feelings elsewhere in his body. “I appear to be in the exact same physical condition as I was before the experiment. How long was I overshadowed for?”
“Less than two minutes,” said Conner. “I promise no longer than that. Danny had you sing a weird song about exploding weasels and then I sucked him into this.” He shook the thermos.
Cassie laughed. “It was ‘Pop Goes the Weasel.’ We have to teach you about nursery rhymes.”
Bart raised his hand. “Uh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one, either.”
And finally, Tim was able to relax. “Next weekend we all have off, Cassie and I will teach you all the nursery rhymes. Dick probably knows a ton. I’d imagine growing up in a circus with performers from all sorts of countries exposed him to so many.”
Bart grinned. “It’ll be interesting to see how the list of ones I know compares to the ones you know!”
Conner smiled back. “I’d like that. I should ask Clark for any he knows, too.” As he spoke, he pressed the button to release Danny.
When the light cleared, Danny was floating upside down looking Tim over. “So what’d you think of your first experience being overshadowed?”
“Four out of ten. Would not like to repeat, but I’ve definitely been through worse.”
Danny laughed and, still upside down, turned until he was facing Conner. “Think you’re ready for you turn?”
Conner took a deep breath and handed the thermos to Bart. “As I’ll ever be.”
Danny nodded and flew into him, just as he had Tucker and Tim. And then there was no more Conner. No more Superboy. Just someone who looked like him, but held his head cocked the wrong way. Who slouched a bit too much. Who was so clearly not Conner.
Tim pulled his new staff out and reminded himself it was just Danny. This was friendly right now. And it was reassuring to know he’d be able to tell when any of his friends were overshadowed.
Danny started to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Conner’s voice.
Bart held up the thermos, ready to pull Danny in.
“Let me,” said Tim. “I want to do it.”
“You’ve got it,” replied Bart as he recapped the thermos.
Tim rushed forward and hit Conner on the side with his staff; Danny went flying out of him.
Conner shook his head and looked around. “That was weird. I remember it all, though.”
Danny was rubbing at his side where Tim hit. “Yeah. I’ve never overshadowed a meta before. At least no one I could tell was a meta. I could hear you, too. It was a struggle to keep control of your body.”
Tim sagged in relief. “Do you think that makes them less of a target?”
“Possibly?” The uncertainty in Danny’s voice made Tim uneasy. “From some ghosts, sure. But others like a challenge and may target him—them—specifically.”
Bart grinned. “Sounds like it’ll be an interesting game! So, now that we’ve got the basics down, we’re going out there to help, right?”
-----
Next
Okay, so part of the reason for the length is that I just didn't want to cut it anywhere. Though the fact that it happened when I'm a day late posting certainly helped me not feel like I should find a spot to break it up!
Now, I've decided to move away from the tag system because breaking it up over two posts is getting to be quite difficult. So I've set up a subscription post for this story. Subscribe to that post and you'll get a Tumblr notification when I post. Instructions on how to subscribe can be found there. Anyone who has requested a tag before this post will be tagged today and on the next update, but I won't add anyone new. It's just getting to be a bit too much! (And I'm afraid of getting hit with a shadowban.)
In other news, I've started transferring my works to AO3. Haven't gotten there with this one yet, but the Wrong Number AU (now titled Answer My Call) has been posted. As has the bad reveal fic. Both can be found in my masterpost if you're interested.
Last bit of housekeeping, two posts below this one, I have a poll asking if you'd be interested in me sharing anything I've written for Good Omens. Feel free to check that out. Most of my time will still be spent with DPxDC, but with the new season coming out, I may try to revisit some things I haven't touched in a year (longer?).
Tag List Part 1
@gremlin-bot @bonebrokebuddy @britcision @lady-time-lord- @welcometosasakiworld @akikkobara @phoenixdemonqueen @dolfay @skulld3mort-1fan @we-ezer @markus209 @sjrose1216 @onyxlightdragon @dragonsrequiem @jesus-camp-the-sequel @spidey29phangirl @kyrianclawraith @evilminji @introvert-even-on-the-internet @emergentpanda-blog @lexdamo @v-inari @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @longlivethefallen @undead-essence @xye-chan @liandrin @seraphinedemort @kisatamao @schalensitzbucket @caelestisdreamer @runfromthemedic @nutcase8691 @channajen @tonicmii @ambiguouslyominous @vythika96 @addie-lover-of-stories @ironicvixen @violetfox2 @pickleking8 @mysticalcomputerdetective @ark12 @mygood-bitch99 @squirrel-wolf @satisfactionbroughtmeback @sometimesthingsfallapart @automaticsoulharmony @d4ydr34min9 @revnantdpxdclover @midigeria @raginblastocyst @feral-bunny31, @lunaria618, @ghostreblogging, @ace-aro-as-shit
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echo-goes-mmm · 7 months ago
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Juno in "Pet Shelter"
My Writing Masterpost
Juno Collection Masterpost
Warnings: lightly BBU adjacent 
“And that’s about it,” finished Jack, leading the new volunteer back to the front desk. “Any questions?”
Daniel shrugged. “It seems simple enough. Feed the pets, give out meds, play time is two hours a day,” he rattled off.
Jack smiled. “Just about, yeah. Although some pets have dietary restrictions, so be careful with that. It’s all in their charts.”
“Right. Oh, do employees get to adopt from the shelter? Just curious.”
“Yup! There’s a waiting period of six months, though. In fact, I'll have officially adopted a kitty tomorrow. I’m really excited.” Jack beamed, proud.
“Kitty?”
“Oh,” waved off Jack, “it’s a term we use to describe personalities. ‘Kitties’ are shyer, quiet, more independent. ‘Pups’ are more energetic, playful, outgoing. You know the type.”
“Makes sense,” said Daniel. “I guess I’m more of a dog person, but, like, real dogs.”
“Fair,” nodded Jack. “Most people don’t want human pets, hence their rarity. I think there’s only one store in the county, and we’re the only shelter. Hey, since we have a couple hours, you want to meet my kitty?”
Jack pulled out a set of keys from the front desk drawer. “I’m thinking of calling him Juno. He’s really great, and I already love him.”
“Sure, why not?”
The two men turned back down the hall, passed the ‘employee only’ doors. 
“So how come Juno didn’t get adopted yet? I hear pets get adopted really quickly here.”
“Well… he’s got some medical stuff a lot of people don’t want to deal with.”
“Like what?”
Jack swung the keys around his finger.
“For one thing, he’s trans.”
Daniel shot him a look. 
“I know, I know,” Jack said, “but the reality is, that turns a lot of people off, in a manner of speaking. I don’t think it should matter, but it does. And although lots of pets like having sex, Juno has a severe aversion to anyone or anything near his vulva that isn’t himself and his menstrual cup.”
They reached another door at the end of the hall, and Jack flipped through the keys trying to find the right one.
“Usually that isn’t an issue; most people don’t care. Unfortunately, Juno also has an expensive diet. It’s either buy the pricey pet food, or cook for him. I don’t mind the cooking- I like cooking- but the combination of everything makes him pretty unlucky in the adoption department.”
Jack fit a key into the lock of a second door, which opened into a smaller hall with fewer stalls. 
An acidic smell hit them as soon as the door opened.
“Shit,” muttered Jack.
“That can’t be good,” agreed Daniel.
Jack jogged through the hall, and came to stop at a stall. A whine sounded from the poor pet inside.
“Hey, buddy,” cooed Jack, crouching down.
Daniel peered over his shoulder.
A pet was curled up in a far corner, stale vomit in a puddle on the opposite side. 
The pet had dark brown hair, and his eyes were screwed shut. He looked feverish, and he was trembling. His breathing was quick and shallow, and he had top surgery scars on his chest.
Daniel glanced at the sign on the wall.
Juno, it read. Owner: Pending.
“Did somebody give you the wrong food, honey?” Jack asked quietly as he unlocked the stall.
Juno whined again.
“Okay buddy, don’t worry.” Jack pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the stall, pet and vomit and all. “I’ll take good care of you, I promise.”
Jack approached the shivering pet. “Take a look in his food bowl, would you?” he called over his shoulder.
Daniel looked inside. “It’s halfway empty.”
“Fuck,” muttered Jack. The pet whimpered. “Not you, sweetheart. You’re doing so good; making sure you didn’t get messy. There’s a good boy. You didn’t eat it all cause you figured it out, yeah? Such a smart kitty.” Jack pet the boy’s hair, and Juno leaned into his hand.
“Can you sit up for me?”
Jack helped the pet lean against the wall, his face tacky with tear tracks. “I know your tummy hurts, sweetheart, but just stay right there, okay?”
Jack pulled away and turned to Daniel. “Dump out the food in the trash,” he ordered. “Get a new bowl from storage, and fill it with the gluten-free bag. Make sure it’s a new bowl, or he’ll get sick again.”
“What about the water? Won’t that be contaminated?”
“Go ahead and take that to the sink. I’ll take care of getting him some liquid,” Jack said. “I need to brush his teeth anyway.”
They left the stall. “Not going to lock it?”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Jack said with a grim face. “He can’t move much when he has a reaction.”
Jack pulled out his phone, dialing a number as he went to the med cabinet.
He opened the cabinet, looking for the stock paste he kept on hand and the shelter-supplied disposable toothbrushes as the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey boss, it’s Jack. One of the pets got fed an allergen again. Sent you some photos.”
“Dammit. Which one?”
Jack found the brushes. They were on the wrong shelf.
“Guess.”
His boss sighed. “And you’re sure it’s Ethan doing it?”
Jack switched his phone to the other shoulder as he filled a bottle with hot water.
“He hates me,” he complained, scooping a tablespoon of the stock paste into the bottle. “And he really wanted Juno. He was on food duty earlier. He’s trying to sabotage the adoption. You know, make him sick so he has to do a round of isolation.”
His boss sighed. “I’ll check the tapes.”
“Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
Jack shook the bottle until it was a dark brown and the paste had dissolved.
“Hey, Juno,” he said quietly, pulling open the door. “I’m back.”
Juno looked up at him with teary blue eyes. Poor thing.
“I got you a toothbrush, and that soup you like.” Jack set the bottle off the side, kneeling in front of him.
Juno opened his mouth, still weak and miserable, and Jack scrubbed the stomach acid off his teeth.
“You get to come home with me tomorrow,” he said, cupping the back of Juno’s head for support. “Won’t that be nice?”
Juno made an ‘mhm’ as soon as Jack was finished. 
Jack picked up the bottle. “Do you think you can hold it for me?”
Juno didn’t look very sure.
“Alright, that’s fine.” Jack unscrewed the cap, and held the soup to Juno’s mouth.
Juno took a couple of sips, and turned his head away. His stomach probably couldn’t handle much more.
“That’s okay. You're doing great.” He brushed Juno’s sweaty bangs away from his forehead. He wanted to give him a bath, get all that sweat off, but Juno probably wouldn’t appreciate that right now. “You wanna go to sleep?” 
The pet nodded, clearly exhausted. He must have been vomiting for hours.
Jack helped him lay down on his cot as Daniel came back.
“What's that?” he nodded towards the bottle.
“Stock,” Jack explained. “The salt and fluid is good for nausea and he needs the calories.”
Jack stroked Juno’s hair.
“He’ll be okay, right?”
“Yeah. He just needs to rest.”
___________________
Jack stirred the fried rice in the pan. It smelled great, and it was a new recipe. His aunt had recommended it, and she had Celiac disease just like Juno. 
Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to switch everything over to be gluten free. And it was worth it to keep his pet healthy.
Juno pressed himself against Jack’s back, his arms wrapping around Jack’s waist. He laid his head on Jack’s shoulder.
“Hey, bud. Ready to eat?”
“Mhm.”
Jack spooned two portions into bowls, and sat on the couch to eat.
Juno ate from his bowl with gusto, and Jack smiled as he watched. His kitty had put on a lot more weight, and the doctor was really pleased with his progress. 
Juno finished before he did, and got up onto the couch, shoving his head onto Jack’s lap.
Jack absent-mindedly carded a hand through his hair. It was so soft and wavy now that he had proper conditioner. 
He focused on the nape of Juno’s neck, just where he liked it, and Juno nuzzled into his thigh.
If Juno could purr like real cats, Jack knew he would.
He looked so much better: well-rested, well-fed, and with a handsome leather collar.
Adopting him was the best decision Jack had ever made.
taglist: @paintedpigeon1
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raevenlyreads · 6 months ago
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What happens when you ask for a reading?
People have been asking: What is it like to get a reading from you, Raev? A lot of you are just as new to being read for as I am to having a shop front, so I wanted to pull back the curtain a little bit and let yall know what the process of requesting a reading is like. Many thanks to my lovely volunteers for allowing me to share snippets of our conversations.
Preliminary Chats
When a querent reaches out for a reading, we start with a little Q&A, as I help guide my querents to the right spread for them. Doesn’t have to be in real time, though the process does tend to go quicker when we’re both available to chat at the same time. Often, these exchanges involve me helping the querent narrow down what it is they want to know, since they usually come to me with a general idea but not much in the way of specifics. For example:
Querent: My question would be "What is the best way for me to love them", what do you recommend? Me: I think it depends on what kind of love you're trying to give. I think this might be an interesting one for me to read the Revealing Prism for, as it will show 1) something about them 2) something about you 3) something you don't know and 4) a truth you can act on Querent: Mm, love in a general sense I guess? Like, what is the best way for me to show this person I hold them in high regard / care for them etc. not particularly romantic or familial just.. love? Hard to articulate And yeah, okay! Revealing Prism it is then Me: Sounds good! What deck would you like? Querent: The shadowscapes one? Me: shadowscapes was a good choice for this one, it's a very patient and gentle deck. Very loving and nurturing. It will really understand the vibe you're going for, I think. Querent: That's what I'm hoping for yeah <3
Into the Queue
Once we have the question narrowed down, and the spread and deck decided upon, the appropriate commission is purchased and the querent is added to my queue. Usually the turn around is within a few days, no more than a week. I like to try to do my reading as close to the prelim chats as possible, so that the connection is still fresh in my mind.
The Reading Itself
I will spend some time with the chosen deck, asking it the question on behalf of the querent (“[Name] is seeking actionable advice on how to show them they love them. “They” will be the external card, [Name] will be the internal card, help me show [Name] what is Hidden and reveal to us they can act on.”). While I ask, I shuffle. With some decks, this involves rifling the deck like common playing cards. With others (like the oversized Nameless One), I will spread the whole thing out on the table and just shuffle it all around flat. Circle spreads get arranged in a circle (go figure :P), and Above and Below gets shuffled then turned face up as I search for the signifier card. Oftentimes, I’ll know it's time to stop shuffling and begin reading when a card jumps out of my hand, or the deck splits itself neatly in two in my grip, or the cards start sticking to themselves. I lay out the reading, sit with them for a bit to absorb the interpretation, then start snapping pictures.
The Final Product
Once I’m done with the reading it's time for the write up. Each card is interpreted individually, and in the case of multi-card spreads, a synthesis of what they all say together is also written up. For single cards, I tend to drop the image and the interpretation right into our chat. For longer reads, I send a link to your own personalized doc with all the pictures and write ups. You can see samples of those in my kofi Gallery or on my tumblr under the tag #raevs sample reads.
Follow Up
This is my favorite part. I always love to hear what my querents think of their readings, how it impacts the way they think about things, how it opens up their perceptions, the clarity my readings bring. It especially delights me when they come back after some time later, telling me about the ways they saw the factors described in my readings coming to life before their eyes. I love hearing from my querents and would love to hear from you, too! Come talk tarot with me and let's see what the cards hold for you.
Ready to commission a reading of your very own? Check out my ko-fi page!
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