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[ronjunnie]

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[justwritedreams]

Irreplaceable | Kun

Pilot!Kun x Reader, soldier au

Word count: 1592 Genre: Fluff, action. Author: maari Warnings: mentions of military exercises and Kun being kind of angry bc that's hot Note: This is so short, I'm sorry 🥺 but it's my first story with him so I hope you like! Request: Could you please write something with Kun (WAYV/NCT) with him being a plane pilot? Idk, Top Gun Maverick vibes?

⪢ NCT Masterlist

Y/N adjusted her sunglasses better on her face while a smile played across her face, she saw her boyfriend looking for her on the beach and almost laughed when she saw him confused.

But she genuinely laughed when a much older woman approached him. Even from afar she could see the bad intentions of the woman who even caressed his arm.

Kun was already an extremely attractive man, with the air force uniform and the Ray Ban attracting everyone's eyes even more.

But she had no reason to be jealous, firstly because she knew he loved her, secondly because the scene was very funny.

She bit her lip to hold back a laughter as he politely walked away from the woman, saying something to her and looking around.

Y/N decided to help him, she came out from under the umbrella she was in and waved her hand to get her boyfriend's attention.

Not only did it work, but she also saw his relieved smile and without waiting he started walking towards her. As soon as he got close, Y/N threw herself into his lap, hugging his waist with her legs and his neck with her hands.

Kun smiled widely as he held her by her thighs.

“Are you laughing?” he asked in disbelief.

“Another fan approaching you?” She smiled evilly.

He shook his head.

“I love my job but going out in uniform has its downsides.”

It wasn't the first and probably wouldn't be the last time he was stopped by someone, whether to flirt or thank him for his service and effort.

"Oh really?" She looked him up and down. “I don’t see any disadvantages.”

She bit her bottom lip and Kun threw his head back, laughing.

“I'm going to start thinking you're only with me because of my uniform.” he said before touching their foreheads and placing a peck on her.

“That’s one of the reasons.” She caressed the back of his head, laughing.

Kun took the opportunity to go back under the umbrella and sat down on the sand with Y/N still in his lap, she then buried her head on his shoulder.

She wanted to make the most of what little time they had before he went back to base.

“Are you going to watch training today?” He asked, rubbing her back.

“I went last week.” she remembered. “Your commander is going to fight me, I’m not leaving the base.”

“I train better when you watch me.” He admitted, smirking.

She raised her head and looked at him, she wanted to bite his cheeks, which were turning pink, but she just squeezed them with her hands.

“If it’s for the good of the aeronautics then okay, I’ll go.” She moved closer to place a kiss on the tip of his nose.

“I will train with the new soldiers and we will have an international team to train with.” he began to speak, excitedly.

Y/N paid attention to what her boyfriend was saying, focused on the way he looked so happy as he shared it with her. She stroked his short hair.

She liked listening to him talk, the way his dimples appeared when he smiled made Y/N smile too.

They stayed on the beach for a while, before Y/N gave him a ride to the base. When they arrived hand in hand while Kun carried the suitcase in the other hand, they greeted the soldiers who passed by them and Kun turned to kiss her lips softly when he saw the commander ahead.

“See you in a bit, sweetheart.” he smiled and kissed her once more.

“Fly, my indomitable wing.”

Kun laughed and she watched him walk over to the commander, where he saluted.

Y/N had a silly smile on her lips and saw when the commander started walking towards her.

“Y/N, it’s good to see you again.” he greeted her and she quickly bowed.

“I say the same, Commander.”

“Come to watch the training again?”

“If I can, of course.”

He indicated for her to start walking and as soon as she did, he started walking beside her.

“You’re not supposed to.” She looked at him, scared. “But Kun trains much better when you’re at base, so I’ll allow it.”

She nodded and smiled restrainedly, following the commander to the communications room where they would have access to the aircraft's radios and built-in cameras.

Y/N was used to it, she already knew that aircraft 3 was his and focused on the camera, watching him put on his helmet. She couldn't contain her happiness at seeing him do what he loved so much.

She was anxious about training and missions, but she always believed him when he promised that he would return in one piece and well.

Kun was a responsible and committed soldier, he had a leadership spirit that infected others.

And even the training he took seriously, he prepared himself very well for the exercises. Flying was his life.

Y/N followed his career so much that she knew the basics of the exercises, if anyone walked in there would mistake her for someone on the team.

It was routine training so there wasn't much new, the training, the instructions were always the same.

However, when a soldier from the international team made a risky move with the airship, Y/N saw Kun's expression change.

He wasn't just serious, he was angry and she knew very well why, any kind of accident or something like that would be his responsibility, after all he was the team leader. And the foreign team was probably not paying attention to their safety.

Y/N frowned when she saw her boyfriend's airship perform a dangerous stunt and glared at the commander.

He didn't seem at all calm about it.

“Was he supposed to do that?” she asked quietly, seeing the commander shake his head.

“It’s getting a little too risky.” he said.

She tried not to show her concern, she trusted her boyfriend but she knew how he felt when a soldier from abroad didn't follow what was agreed and he felt obliged to show why they were following protocol.

She couldn't say that she hadn't felt her heart stop in her mouth every time his airship spiraled in the air or when it got too close to the other ones, both his own team and the other.

She only felt a little calmer when the exercise was over and the airship began to turn around to land at the base.

Y/N left the room along with the commander and the rest of the team monitoring the exercise, a little further back as she heard the noise of the airship getting closer and closer, ready to return to the ground once again.

When this happened, she was already outside and saw the soldiers leaving one by one and recognized her boyfriend from afar, holding his helmet.

She stiffened and hurried forward when she saw Kun quickly walk over to another soldier, holding him by the collar of his uniform after dropping his helmet on the ground.

Y/N's eyes widened when she saw her boyfriend glowering with hatred while shaking his colleague.

“Listen, Simpson, if you do that again in my territory…” the other soldiers also approached to push the two away. “I swear I will shoot down your aircraft in the air.”

“Stop being nervous, Qian. It was part of the protocol.”

“Part of protocol to almost rip off the left wing of my airship?!” he questioned irritably and shook the soldier once again, who simply laughed ironically.

“That’s enough, you two!” The commander ordered and the two walked away. “Get out of my yard before I make you two load the fuel for all the aircraft.”

The two looked at each other irritated and left in opposite directions after saluting their superior.

Y/N observed the scene a little further back seriously and with her arms crossed, her boyfriend walked towards her while his face softened when he saw her there.

"My angel." he said as soon as he was close enough to stretch his arms out to her.

However, before she threw herself into his arms, Y/N threw a stinging slap at his arm which he dodged, complaining.

"Ouch! What was this?" he asked, confused.

“You scared me, you know?” she complained. “My leg went wobbly three times thinking you were going to fall with that thing from the sky!”

He laughed softly and approached her, hugging her around the waist.

“I knew what I was doing.”

She continued to stare at him, angry.

“I will never see your training again, it’s decided.”

"You sure?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and she narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t fall because I knew you were waiting for me.”

“Shhh.” she brought her cold hand to his mouth, shushing him. “Don’t even say that as a joke.”

He moved closer to place a kiss on the top of her head.

“I would never leave you!” he said and she suppressed her silly smile.

“You better!" She pouted. “You look too handsome in uniform and fighting with someone for me to lose.”

He pretended to be offended.

“Ah, so that’s all there is to it?”

She smiled mischievously and brought her hand to the back of his head.

“Of course not, you fool.” she caressed his skin, watching him close his eyes at the affection. “You are unbearable but you are irreplaceable.”

“I’ll show you what’s unbearable at home.”

[a-tiny-thing]

backburner // q.k

kun x reader

"hey, i want that"

i told him while pointing at the lonely chips bag lying flat in the shelf on front of me.

it seems like people did not bother to buy it today, i don't know if it's because they don't like the flavor or it's just gonna expire soon.

either way, i'll take it home 'cause I pity it. like how i should be for myself.

"take it if you want it, i'll pay for it anyway" he mumbled the last part, and I chuckled.

and then suddenly i jumped on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"you serious?" i asked as I squished my cheek onto his.

"get off me" he said while quietly laughing, pushing me off his back, conscious that the few customers there could see us like that.

so I granted his wish and hopped down. i'm still smiling.

"yeah, i'm serious, just take what you want..." he said while continuing to roam around the aisles.

and so i got what i want...

"how about you? are you going to get something?"

"i'm good with this" he lifted the coca-cola can in his right hand.

We walked towards the sleepy cashier near the exit, suddenly jolting up when he heard the sound of the can landing on the marbled counter.

then i started staring at his face while he fishes for his brown wallet in his jeans' pocket.

and i stared.

and i stared.

and i stared.

"hey, let's leave now" kun snapped his fingers on front me, stopping me from staring at him too much.

he's used to it. i'm used to it. so it doesn't really matter i guess...

he was about to lead me out of the store, carrying the paper bag, when suddenly raindrops started pouring.

"shit, let's just stay here for a while..." he told me, pushing me gently back inside the store.

i said nothing as I went back to looking at his face.

"you know, your staring won't change anything between us..." he finally looked at me, then looked out the glass window walls to see if the rain finally stops.

"i'm sorry i can't help it, it just gets worse everytime i'm with you..." i mumbled the last part.

suddenly, the floor is so pretty to look at.

i felt that he looked at me again, taking a long pause before saying the next brutal words for me.

"you know i'll never be in love with you, right?"

shit. uhh, that hurts. like really fucking hurts.

i nodded in agreement.

"i hate that you keep torturing yourself for this..." he said to me. pitying me for what i am to him

"no, don't be...I...I'm just hoping that we w-would continue being friends like, this..I" a tear accidentally came out of my eye as I tried to explain it to him.

he stood there in silence.

"I just still want to be someone you can lean on to, even if you don't really like me back or anything, no, I...just want to be your friend..."

now i can't stop my tears from coming out. i'm glad that the cashier finally gave in and slept so he wouldn't hear me sobbing at the corner because of the man right beside me.

i can't really look at him straight in the eyes because he's going to hurt me more, so my eyes just wandered everywhere around the store, avoiding his..face.

i know that kun doesn't really know how to react to this, to me.

so he just pulled me by the hand to keep me close to him, my left cheek on his chest as he rubbed up and down my back to calm me down from crying.

my hands gave in to him, and weakly held onto the hem of his shirt to keep him close to me even more.

and it helped me calm down, but the pain of it was still lingering inside me...

and i'm already okay with that.

now playing: backburner by niki

[meiideryz]

oh i'm looking for affection.

pairing: qian kun x reader

length: 1.07k words

synopsis: kun is just hopelessly in love with you.

tags: alternative universe, one-sided pining au, road trip, friend!kun, implied rejection, one-sided attraction, fluff

warnings: none.

the sound of the car engine is now blowing up kun's ears, completely remembering that he was at the backseat while ten was at the front, driving his car.

of course, he recalled losing in a bet with ten that resulted in lending his car to ten for the rest of the week. he wasn't afraid because of the thought of ten crashing his car, ten knew the consequences after all.

for ten's last day of borrowing kun's one and only car, he suggested that kun should come to the road trip together with their other friends. kun asked if you were coming the night before the day of the plan as you responded happily during your call with him.

on the day of the road trip, everybody packed their essentials and valuable stuff in their bags as kun placed each of the heavy objects inside the truck, keeping it neat and tidy. you and yangyang were obviously inside the car, playing with your phones to buy time while kun talked to ten outside, setting up the map and destination of the place you were all going.

kun sneaked a good amount of glances towards your direction through the tinted windows of the car, silently watching you scrolling through your phone feeling bored. then his eyes fixed back at ten, who kind of knew what was going on.

“oh? am i smelling love in the air?” a hint of tease displayed in his voice while he tried nudging the older’s elbow. kun was used to this, and he wasn't gonna show reaction and give in.

“i have no idea what you're talking about.”

“oh, come on.” he dramatically sighed, tired of kun trying to act like nothing's going on. ten could read him like an open book and there was no way he could escape him when he knew something.

eventually, both of them get inside the car. since yangyang was in the passenger's seat, he had no choice but to walk around and get in the backseat with you. it got a bit awkward when he was finally seated next to you, so he tried to lift up the mood, waving at you.

“hey.”

“you’re here!” you beamed, taking one of your earphones off.

kun was taken aback when you reached the other piece of the earphones to him, he was about to reject the offer but the bud was already in his ear as the sound of classical music burst into his ear.

kun knew that you knew about his love for classical music, remembering back in the day where he played a lot of pieces on the piano for his performance at some event during his time in university. but he loved playing tchaikovsky's swan lake to you when you were alone together, and that made you love classical music more.

“it's gonna be a long ride,” ten broke the silence before the engine of the car started. “so you might need to sleep for a while, me and kun will be looking out for possible stops for us to eat, ‘kay?”

“aye aye!”

the sky was soon painted into a gradient of blue-orange while the gleaming sun set into the horizon. kun couldn’t seem to sleep after taking a short nap, and he had been helping ten at their directions to get to a nearby stop where they could fill their stomachs.

just as he was about to lean forward to take the phone in his hands to check the GPS, he was halted by a thud and a heavy weight on his shoulder. turning his head to the side, he found your sleeping figure leaning on him. 

in the rearview, he could see the smirk of ten, following the sound of the never-ending teasing. kun tried his best to ignore him and his dumb words, but the words seemed to weigh over his mind. it's been a long time since he had feelings for you and he could still recall the night he took you to the rooftop of his apartment to look up at the stars. 

he recalled that night when he expressed his fondness over you. although you didn’t give him the answer he expected, he never stopped being friends with you. usually friendships last when one gets rejected by the other. to kun, it was dumb and stupid if he would be immature about the rejection, so he didn’t try to distance himself away from you. 

kun was still that caring friend whenever you got to be with him.

he looked at you with that same fondness in his eyes as you leaned more, thinking that he was a pillow. “after all these years, you’re still in love with the same person.” ten broke the silence again. his words were more of a whisper to prevent disrupting you and yangyang’s sleep.

“i can’t help it, how could i not like such a lovely and wonderful person?” kun admitted, his hands ghostly extending over yours, then immediately retracted.

when they realized that it was already dark and they could see a nearby stop to get down to, ten finally pulled over to slowly park the car along with the other parked cars. “wake up everyone, we’re here to stop by and eat dinner.” ten loudly began, his fingers reaching over to yangyang as he shook him by the shoulder. 

kun on the other hand, does his best in waking you up with his soft grip around your hands, gently shaking it. “hey, sleepyhead.” 

his voice filled your ears while you tried fluttering your eyes open. when you realized that you were inches away from his face from all the leaning, you shifted in your seat to fix your position. “oh god, i’m so sorry. was i squishing you?” only a laugh left kun’s lips before shaking his head. “no, but i think you mistook me for a pillow when you were sleeping.” 

he could already see hues of red and pink emerging from your cheeks, burning up at the words. your flushed face made him smile even more, “did i drool?” 

“don’t worry, you didn’t.” rest assured, a sigh left your lips in relief.  

“we stopped by to eat, you coming?” kun added, moving to the side to open the door of the car. he looked back, waiting for you before you set a smile on your face, moving towards him. “yeah, i'm coming.”

©MEIIDERYZ 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[markicantwait]

I just wanted to write something to get over my block. English is not my first language, I don't have a plot yet, and I'm deeply in love with Qian Kun lately. This was for fun tbh. This is part two, Part One is here or you can read it on my blog.

( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°☆

Classes went well, work went well, and you were fine. Before yesterday's ruling, you could barely stay awake. You didn't tell Yangyang, but you didn't eat that week. You were nerve-wracking and feeling more angry than sad.

You were also feeling grateful this morning, after your little interaction with Kun last night the weight of what happened hit it you like a tons of bricks.

You believed your ex was a good person, always so nice and well mannered, talking you softly and hyping you work. It was a dream to find someone who shares your passion for writing that you didn't see all the potential red flags in your relationship and on himself. When you went back to Yangyang's room, your best friend was already up waiting for you with open arms ready to hold you while you were crying your heart out.

You know Yangyang didn't like him, but still, he made the effort to be nice to him when you guys went out. The few times you actually got to go out with him and you friends.

"You're not stupid at all, Yn. He was the one making mistakes and acting like an asshole, not you"

You fell asleep with teary eyes and a bittersweet feeling in your stomach.

And this morning, after crashing with Kun, again, your head felt better.

You obviously knew who Kun was, how not to when your best friend loved him so much. You almost feel jealous at how much Yangyang brags about him all the time.

You really didn't talk to him before until that day when you find out about what your ex did, you don't remember much of that day except for Yangyang taking care of you.

"So you're telling me you actually never have interactive with ge before. Yn, you been at my house countless times, and you are all over my Instagram, we've been friends for years, you even took pictures with my at my graduation. How is that Kun and you never really saw each other?"

The conversation about how Kun didn't know you obviously popped when he was helping you to get ready your evidence for the council department a few days later, after Yangyang told you about the little moment he had with Kun and Ten in his house.

"You never really introduce us, and to be fair to him, he's always so busy he's barely at your home in the day, and the times we're there for a party he's always with Johnny or Taeyong, and he never go out clubbing with us.

What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, nothing. It just hit me that I was really mad with him, and I didn't think before about what you're telling me. Oh my God, I'm the worst friend and brother ever"

That night, the topic was done.

Last night your could see him interacting more with everyone, you even saw the way he was taking care of Shotaro when he got so drunk he begged him to do magic tricks.

You were in your space with Sion and other friends, and when Yangyang saw you were already tipsy, he took you to his room.

This morning with light heart and head, you could see Kun better. He was just a little shorter than Yangyang, he looked clean and approachable, he was nice and almost carry without looking pitiful or fake, he acted like the older brother of a friend would.

Between work and classes, the day passed fast, and now you were in your apartment getting ready to go out with Yangyang and the rest of the guys. You absolutely love spending time with all of your friends it doesn't matter if you all see each other every day they still make sure to have the best time.

"Hey Taro, what's up?"

"Heeeeeey, Yangyang and I are still stuck at the gallery with paperwork, I asked Jungwoo if he could pick you up but he didn't answer his phone. So Kun is picking you up, we'll see you all of you at the club, ok?"

"Is that okay? He don't need to, I can take a taxi or something"

"No no, is okay, Yangyang asked him, he send you his number so just text him when you're ready. I need to go, see you"

It was weird, of course it was, you didn't want him to think you were using him as a driver, the ride in the morning coud be enough, but again, Kun was all polite and he send you a text first repeating Shotaro's words.

You calculate the time it would take you to actually finish and the time Kun could be at your door so you could send him the message.

Just in time Kun was waiting for you in front of the building out of his car, he greeting you and opened the door so you coud sit in the passenger sit

"You didn't have to come, I told Shotaro i coud get to the club by myself"

"Is okay, really"

Kun was still wearing the same suit from this morning, hair well done and calm aura while driving. Kun was handsome, not the handsome type like Yangyang who is more boyish and playful, almost childish even, or the handsome type like Xiaojun who holds this second lead aura round him who's always willing to love but not loved enough.

Kun was handsome in an almost sophisticated way, like if calculated his movements before doing it, the high nose and pale pink lips with deep brown eyes, he could be an amazing main character inspo, almost too perfect.

The train of your thoughts stoped when Jungwoo voice cut the air in the car "Good you pick her up! You should stay with us, ge. Just a moment, tomorrow is Saturday is not like you have to go to work"

"I dont know, Woo. I'm not even dressed properly"

Jungwoo laughed "Kun, is a club not a meeting! Nobody would care about what you're wearing, tell him Yn!"

Kun turned his eyes to you for a short moment still decline it the other boy proposal "Jungwoo is right, no one cares about what you wear. You should come, it will be fun"

Just like this morning the roles seems to chance a bit when he declined once more and you insisted. He accepted after a long breath

"O.M.G guys, Kun Ge is coming tonight"

☆

The parking lot wasn't that far from the club, the walk to the place was short which was good considering the boots you picked tonight were a little higher than what you usually do but hey everything for fashion.

The way was silent until you phone started to ring

"You're with Kun?"

"Yes, why?"

The man next to you gave you a look when you looked at him. Perfect hair and chic glasses on his nose, yeah, he would be an amazing lead inspo

"I can't believe he's actually coming with us tonight! put me on speaker.

Ge, Taro, and I got already inside. When you get here, just skip the line. I told Bobby from security you are my brother, okay?

Yn, I told Bobby, Kun is coming with you so he can know who he is, don't lose my brother, please"

Yeah sure, is easy to lose a 5.9' men.

"Oh, by the way, Sion is here too, he's already a little happy so this is gonna be a short night for you protected. See you Xin"

"Xin?" Kun asked after Yangyang ended the call

"He calls me like that sometimes, he calls me something elese but I can't pronunce it"

"Xiao Xin?"

Hearing Yangyang speaking Chinese was always an experience, the way the sounds wrapped up in his tongue were hard for you to imitate, his voice even became a little, just a little higher than when he speak english, it was understandable being that the same thing happened to you speaking english and your mother tongue.

You came from a multicultural home, so speaking different languages was normal, but Mandarin was something that you didn't know if you would even master.

Just like his younger brother, Kun's voice got deeper.

"No, it sounds different"

Kun's eyes were focused somewhere as he searched in his head for what nickname Yangyang could give you. There were too many words that started with the character Xin or ended up with, whatever the case was.

"Xingan?"

"Oh yeah, that. He always calls me that but I can't pronounce it and he never tells me what does it mean. He said is something good and I trust him"

Before Kun could reply, he found himself in front of the line to get into the club. Bobby was a tall (pretty tall) man with bald head and piercings in both eyebrows, he greeting you with a hug and made small talk before giving you both of you access to the place.

The club was everything Kun expect to be: loud, multicolor lights, too many people and it smell like alcohol, perfume and sweat, you and him walked more inside trying to find the ground when a hand wrapped round your arm, before you could say something Kun was already between the other man and you

"Yangyang brother?"

Sion looked already drunk just like Yangyang told you, his hair and clothes were messy, his cheeks rosy and glossy eyes

"Sion, you scared me! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I saw you and I thought you were alone. I was buying a round for the guys"

You laugh "okay big boy, why don't we buy some sparkly water for you and take me to the table with the rest of the boys"

Kun looked how you interlock your arm with the other boy and started to walk wherever Sion was going.

The boys were the same from yesterday, Yangyang and Shotaro semi formal clothes were already loose, Jungwoo shirt only had one button close showing his chest and abdomen for other part Johnny's one was totally open.

"Where is the rest of the crew?"

"Where do you think - Sion says- on the dance floor"

The rest of the night was weird for Kun, his friends made him feel included like they actually enjoyed his presence there and he knew they did. It was just that Kun was never good with this thing of loosing his mind.

He was having issues getting into the mood.

He decided not to drink the moment he agreed with coming tonight, his drinks were based on lime soda and orange juice, he knew he would have to drive probably all of the boys to their respective houses or in the worst scenario, take all of them to his home.

You for other part was having the time of your life, Bubblegum Bitch was playing in the back while you and Yangyang were dancing and shouting the lyrics, that song was your song

You should actually ask Taro to made a good choreography for you, just for fun.

Kun saw how his brother and you sing your hearts out to G.U.Y and did poses instead of dancing. The feeling he alredy knew started to build in his chest

It wasn't jealousy or envying, it was the Hopeless knowledge he probably could never feel sush freedom.

He was happy, he was having a great time actually, but Kun was all about good manners and looks. He didn't know if he could do something that simple like wearing his shirt fully open in a club like Johnny or drinking without worry like Sion.

Still he tried to have a good time.

"Kun! Can you help to bring the other round, please?"

Even with the sweat on you forehead the make up was good, you hair that was down when the night started was now in a high ponytail and Kun wasn't sure were the jacket you were wearing was right now. He said yes.

You ordered a round of shots and some bottles of water.

"You prefer vodka or tequila?"

"Sorry?"

"Tequila or vodka? Im bought it you a drink, Kun"

Okay, note: it wasn't like Kun was a prude or something, he liked to go out back in school, when he did his school exchange he was out 3 days a week and after exam season it was more often. He knew he was handsome, he is aware but again, in his head is rude and unpolited to say such a thing put loud.

Even nowadays when he need to go out for work it was common that girls try to flirt with him. Sometimes he agreed with it, always being respectful and honest about if his interested or not

He knew when someone showed interest, but he wasn't sure right now.

You could be doing this like a friend, righ?

Are you even friends?

Now that he was aware of your presence it was impossible not to think about your actions all the time.

The past two weeks he didn't see you until the party, he knew you were with Yangyang because curiosity took the best of him and he checked Yangyang's instagram like morning papers.

He saw the pictures his younger brother posted of himself, his friends, his art, and you.

It was the post of you two having dinner, eating, papers and stuff he didn't get. It was the story of you next to Shotaro holding a drink that Yangyang bought for you two.

Kun is interested in you, and for some reason he felt weird about it

"I'm not drinking tonight, I'm gonna drive"

"Oh, okay, okay. You want a new... whatever alcohol free stuff you're drinking?

"Another lime soda, please" he told to the bartender

Damn.

The hard part of leaving the club wasn't paying the ticket, was to get Johnny into the car.

Kun didn't know how all of the boys could fit in, most important, how is that you, of all of them, was the one sober enough to help him to carry everyone.

"Are you really driving all of then to their house?"

"I think I just let them sleep on my living floor- you laugh- I'll drive you home first, don't worry"

"Whos gonna help you with them?"

"Don't worry I'll find a way"

The drive to your home was easy, while the boys slept in the back sits you and him did small talk, he learn that you worked in a lawsuit and were studying literature.

He told you about his job and that he wasn't a picky eater. You also learned he likes to drink beer .

"Please text me when you get home"

"I will"

"No, Kun, im being serious, let me know when all of you are safe in your apartment"

"Sure, don't...

"Don't worry, I know.

Good night, ge"

"Good Night"

☆

Takin 7 guys to his house took him 30 minutes and two attempts to finish the work.

He was sure all of them were comfortable and out of danger to die so he could go back to his room. He could leave all or them just there but he knew he couldn't

He leave painkillers, bottles of water and make sure there's food enough to make breakfast for all of you tomorrow morning.

"Ge, where's my Xingan?"

"I drove her to her house. Go back to sleep Yang"

"Thank you for everything, gege, love you bro"

This was Yangyang all cheesy and carry even is his drunk state.

The first thing he did after closing his door was texting you

Me: We alredy home. Good night, Yn.

Yn: You actually made them sleep in your living floor?

Me: Should I send a photo?

Yn: Is that even a question? Of course you should.

Me: Okay.

You were already wearing you pjs after cleaning your self ready to get in bed when Kun texted you.

The wait wasn't that long and after a while the pictures of all of your friends shared all around the floor bodies hugging each other's. They're a mess and you love it.

Yn: Sweet. I will use this against Hendery when I get the chance to. Thank you, Ge. Good night

The bubble showed he was typing his answer appears and dissappear. He was thinking his answer.

Me: Please let me know when that happens.

Out of topic. If you ever need someone to drive you please tell me. Good night.

You liked his message and you turned off your phone.

Meanwhile Kun was lied in his bed seeing your last connection time after you reacting to his message.

For the second time in the night he thought to himself: Damn.

[ronjunnie]

Naurrr, i wanna read the next chapter. Im enjoying it so far♡♡♡

⇢ word count: 19.1k ⇢ warnings: past unethical experimentation, brief blood and gore descriptions (some human and some non-human), you have to accept the premise of a single human empire in space in the future with colonies and a military and not think deeper about that, needle/injection mention ⇢ genre: sci-fi, set in the near-ish future, humans and aliens and robots, black op mission, captain kun, ?????? reader, slow burn, fluff, dash of angst, ft. wayv as the crew of the vision ⇢ extra info: took a lot of obvious inspo for this one from isaac asimov’s robot stories, specifically his concept of positronic brains & the three laws of robotics (and if you’ve read any of his stories, you’ll probably be able to see some other places too) ⇢ author’s note: ahhh she’s finally here! i hope you guys are as excited for part one as i am!! ⇢ series masterlist | next

Frankenstein complex (noun) ── The fear of mechanical men.

The air smelled like blood, burned electrical components, and whatever horrible odor came from blood getting onto electrical components as they sparked. All the blood wasn’t human, you could tell that, too. Skipper blood always stung your nose like rubbing alcohol. It was pitch black in the space you were hiding in, or maybe it was just nighttime. You should be scared, but your heart wasn’t beating fast for some reason.

Two pairs of heavy footfalls. One was heavier than the other. Walking, so definitely not Skippers. Both were still too light to be heavier races.

They slowed to a stop outside your hiding spot, and you really hoped they couldn’t read the Outspacer controls that would open the otherwise impossible-to-see door. After all, it was a language that had been dead for hundreds of millions of years, there was no way—

“Hey, Zennie, you got a read on these?” A man’s voice came from nearby, muffled by both the wall and presumably a helmet as well. Human, or related species.

You couldn’t hear this ‘Zennie’s reply, as it most likely came through the comms in his helmet, but you could hear the man’s side of the conversation.

“Oh, of course, how dare I, a mere meatsack, doubt your high-and-mighty artificial intelligence,” he replied with fake deference. “Yeah, yeah, I know that’s not what you meant. Alright, so just tell me which one’s the self-destruct button so I don’t press it?”

“Move, Wong, before you blow us up.” Another voice interjected. “ZEN? You said it’s a passageway? Oh, safe shelter. Bit different, don’t you think? Mind translating the dead language right the first time?”

He paused as he probably listened to Zen’s reply, then continued, “So? You know which one’s the open button?”

You couldn’t go anywhere. The hideout you were in was designed to hold only a few people for weather emergencies, to be structurally sound; not to have a back door in case you needed to escape intruders. You just had to hope Zen was completely wrong and they wouldn’t get it open.

Click.

There goes that.

The door dematerialized, and the rancid smell from before became even stronger. A man peered in barrel-first, and you recoiled back from the sudden light flooding your vision. You couldn’t press yourself any further back into the corner, but you still turned your head away to shield your sensitive eyes.

It only took a couple strides for one of the men to reach you, the other stayed back in the hallway, keeping his rifle fixed on you. The man stood over where you were sitting on the floor—your legs had gotten tired of standing after so long—and lowered his gun slightly so you could see the entirety of the front plate that covered his face. It was a reflective shield that gave you no clue to who was behind it, only let you see a warped, thinned and stretched version of yourself cowering in a corner. His armor was an improved version of the standard issue United Human Navy, if the insignia on both of his shoulders didn’t make that clear enough. It looked the same as the standard issue, but the heft of his footsteps had belied a weight difference that wasn’t explained by his stature or build, so it must be the grade of material.

“Are you hurt?” His voice came through an external speaker on his helmet. He was speaking in standard human. You couldn’t detect any sort of odd stiltedness or lag that sometimes happened with computer-assisted translations. He was assuming you understood standard human, and you did.

“No,” you replied, slowly uncrossing your arms to show your hands first, that you didn’t have anything hidden in them to attack him with. You still weren’t scared, for some reason.

“Oh, she’s pretty,” his companion commented from the hallway. The two of them must be sharing helmet feeds, as the one in front of you was definitely blocking most of you from his sight.

“Wong, shut it.” The outer speaker had been turned off for that, but it was still pretty clear to you.

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Can you stand?” His weapon was still at the ready, his finger resting above the trigger.

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d wiggled your fingers and toes, and it felt good to do it. “Yes.”

He stepped back, the unexpressive mirror of his face shield watching as you pushed up from your half-sit half-crouch, bracing yourself against the wall. Your body instinctively took a deep breath to try to recover from the sudden exertion, but the vaporized Skipper blood burned your entire respiratory tract, and you coughed and spluttered trying to force it back out, catching yourself on the wall on your forearms to stay upright. The odor made your head swim, your eyes water, and your chest hurt like someone had put gasoline in your lungs and struck a match.

“Okay, woah, woah.” Two gloved hands were on your arms and back, helping you stay up. His voice was muffled again as he switched to his in-helmet comms, “Xiao, get over here! We’ve got a survivor! Yes, really, just look at my stream.”

Then, his voice was projecting to you once more, “Breathe, breathe.”

You felt the roughness of a thumb wiping at the tears running down your cheeks, the durable material of his glove scratching against your skin. He grabbed the front of your shirt collar, pulling it up towards your face at the same time he firmly pulled your hand down that had been covering your mouth as you wheezed. Positioning the material over your nose and mouth into a makeshift filter of some sort, he continued holding it there for you as you took a few breaths.

“Better?”

You nodded shallowly. The smell of Skipper blood still cloyed to your throat and lungs, but the shirt helped keep more from entering.

More footsteps from down the hall, then another pair entered the shelter.

“Holy shit…” Someone breathed out.

“I know, man,” the voice that you were already pretty sure was ‘Wong’ from earlier replied.

“How long has she been in here?” A fourth voice asked, belonging to the footsteps getting closer to you.

“I don’t know,” the man already with you answered. “Wong and I just found her while clearing this sector.”

“Okay, well, you mind, Captain?” He said indicatively. “Can’t examine my patient through you.”

“You got it?” The captain asked you, shaking the collar slightly.

You took it from him, holding it over the bridge of your nose yourself as he had been doing for you before. Looking into his face shield where you were pretty sure his eyes should be, you nodded firmly this time.

He didn’t step back until you felt another pair of gloves grabbing your elbows where he had been. The newcomer’s uniform differed from the others’ in one way, he had a neon green rectangular patch on his right arm below his UHN insignia, as well as a few other places—intergalactic signal for medic. It was removable for the wearer’s own safety, and his in particular was slightly askew, as if he’d just slapped it back on in a hurry.

The medic flipped through the pockets of a pack strapped to his thigh before pulling out a small disc of clear plastic and pushing that against your hand. “Here, this’ll work a lot better than your shirt.”

You accepted it, and he helped you orient it the right way over your nose and mouth. It was apparently a mask or rebreather of some sort. It wasn’t exceptionally bulky, and you could feel that there was some sort of fine mesh material on the inside. Immediately, you could tell the difference. The air coming into your lungs carried only the slightest tinge of lingering burning electronics smell, and while you could tell that there was Skipper blood, it didn’t burn, or make your head spin. It was just unpleasant.

“There. How’s that?”

You gave him a thumbs-up, the standard human gesture for good, since they all seemed to speak standard human. The mask didn’t allow much room for talking.

“Alright, good. Are you injured?”

You shook your head.

“Do you feel pain anywhere?”

You shook your head again.

“Good, good. I have more questions, but we should get somewhere you can breathe. Give me a second.” He looked upwards as if talking to the heavens, and his outer speaker turned off. “Liu? Professor? Did you finish clearing the building? Alright, ZEN, got readings on air quality for her?”

After a pause, both the medic, Xiao, and the captain, who had been hovering behind him the whole time, nodded.

“Thanks, ZEN.” Xiao’s speaker turned on, “Here, our teammates found somewhere that you can breathe. It’s going to be a little bit of a walk, though. Is that okay?”

You nodded. Your legs would just have to deal.

“It’s not pretty out here…” The only one that hadn’t been identified to you in passing called out as a warning from his position in the hallway with ‘Wong.’

You turned around and pushed off the wall as your answer.

Stepping into the hall, you knew why you had smelled that particular concoction of smells. Just off to your left were two dead Skippers, their uniquely-articulated hind limbs that gave them their distinct gait—and consequently, the questionably flattering nickname from humans—stuck out at awkward angles now. Dark purple sludge seeped out from under their armor, Skipper blood. On the outside of the armor were smears, streaks, and splatters turned a gleaming ruby red under the emergency lights, human blood.

You couldn’t see any dead humans, or pieces of them, in this corner, but you remembered what the captain had called you. A survivor. Which meant there were others who didn’t survive.

“Come on.” It was the captain who ushered you the other direction from the Skipper bodies. “This way.”

Their helmets must have been mapping out the facility as the unit cleared it and displaying a route in all of their HUDs, because the four of them moved as if they knew the building like the back of their hand. The captain and Xiao flanked you on either side, with Wong at the front and the fourth unnamed one at the rear. You couldn’t tell if it felt more like a protection detail or a prisoner transport.

You kept your eyes on your feet not only so you didn’t have to see all of the mutilation, or to keep from stepping in something, but to avoid the unsettling, cold dread slowly sinking over you when from the moment you caught a look at the first dead human you passed by with her remarkably in-tact face, dandelion yellow blouse and lab coat, and realized you didn’t recognize her. When you inhaled sharply and shot your eyes down to your feet, you could tell that the captain noticed. He turned his head just ever so slightly towards you, off of the consistent path it had been before, and he paused, then went back to keeping watch.

They weren’t kidding when they said it was a bit of a walk. You could feel the muscles in your legs get sore, then start twitching, then start shaking, but you didn’t even consider asking to stop.

“Woah, Liu, slow down!” The captain ordered into his headset. “Okay, yeah, I see it. Don’t touch anything. We’re just sweeping right now, remember?”

“Great, the kid’s found more toys,” the one behind you snorted.

Xiao and Wong suddenly erupted into more laughter than that statement warranted you were pretty sure.

Wong then informed him with a snicker, “Mic’s on, Ten.”

“You say that as if I wouldn’t have said that to his face, too,” the one now finally identified as Ten retorted.

“ZEN, the mics, please?” The captain sighed. “Thank you.”

“Now he’s going to whine that we were shit talking him behind his back,” Xiao groaned. “Again.”

“Well we are,” Ten laughed.

“If he just stopped acting like a baby, Captain here wouldn’t have to step in and put him in time out all the time,” Wong clicked his tongue.

“You think he’s the one in time out right now?” The captain replied dryly.

You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle into your mask, trying to cover it up with a cough when all four of their reflective shields whipped around to face you, as if they’d forgotten you were there. After an uncomfortable stretch of silence, they all shifted back into their watchful stances.

The captain suddenly spoke again, “Yes, Professor? Okay, sure… ZEN, put that on everyone’s HUDs.”

The lack of commentary from any of them for seemingly several minutes was startling, and you weren’t sure if you wanted to know what this ‘Professor’ was showing them.

“We’re going to have to go back there after dropping Xiao and her off, aren’t we?” Wong was the first to speak.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” Ten sighed.

“Or already know the answer to,” the captain said. “If she has any wounds that Xiao needs to tend to, one of you will stay to keep guard. If not, it’ll be Ten and Wong with me to meet up with Liu and the Professor, and Xiao will stay with her.”

“Alright, Ten,” Wong rolled out his neck. “Rock paper scissors?”

“Almost there,” Wong called out from ahead of you. Your internal clock told you it was almost half an hour since they found you.

“It’s just through those doors,” the captain informed you, indicating to the double doors on the opposite side of the large atrium you were in. This area had been mostly untouched by the carnage, it seemed.

“The building does have Gecks, but none of those seemed to have made it out in one piece,” Xiao added, explaining why you hadn’t used the small four-seater all-terrain vehicles, parts of which you had occasionally seen strewn about. “Sorry.”

You shrugged one shoulder at him in what you hoped he could interpret as an understanding gesture, as you were pretty sure this wasn’t their fault. From the context that you were trying to gather very quickly, they had only just gotten here.

Wong pushed one of the doors open, and the captain went in right behind to do a quick sweep, shouting out a short ‘clear!’ before Xiao led you in, and Ten followed in last, Wong shutting it firmly behind him.

You had emerged into something that looked impossible. An entire world bigger than the building you were in before, but definitely contained in one room, as when you turned around, you could still find the door. Ahead of you were rolling hills of vibrant crops, and your hand fell from your face, taking the rebreather with it. The air in here was fresh and crisp, and of course it was, this was the ag bubble. It must have remained untouched from the conflict outside because it was completely self-sustaining, needing no human intervention to planet, grow, or maintain the crops, so there would have been nobody in here in the first place.

“Okay, I’ll ask again: Any pain?” Xiao questioned you, taking his gloves off, and revealing rather delicate hands for a military medic. He motioned like he was about to grab your arm. “Can I?”

You nodded, holding it out for him to lift and turn your limb to visibly inspect it as you verbally answered his first question. “No, no pain, no injuries, I swear. I mean, my legs are a bit sore from walking, but that’s it.”

He let it hang back down at your side before doing the same to the other arm. “Hit your head?”

“Uh, I don’t think so?” You bent your head to let him quickly feel at your scalp through your hair for any bumps, lacerations, or other evidence of injury.

“Have all your toes?”

“Haven’t counted lately…?”

“Do it now.”

And so everybody stood around while you awkwardly took your shoes and socks off to make sure you had all ten toes, and that they weren’t necrotic, then you finally sat down to pull your socks and shoes back on. Xiao took your pulse manually at your wrist, before having you breathe into a small device and sampling a pinprick of blood from your finger with the same tool. After a moment, the screen lit up green, along with your specific readings.

“Satisfied, Xiao?” The captain asked.

“Absolutely,” the medic nodded. “More compliant than all of my patients as of late.”

“Good. We’re going to head out to catch up with the others and check that out.”

“Better you than me.”

“Hold on guys, aren’t we forgetting something?” Wong stopped the other two from leaving.

Ten and the captain looked at each other, then back to Wong.

“What, Wong? And we’re not guessing, spit it out or shut up,” the captain demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Wong reached up and pulled his helmet off in one grand motion, the first of any of them to have done so. He shook his dark, shaggy hair out—you wondered if that length was perhaps a bit too long for UHN standards, as it was almost covering his ears—before focusing a wide grin on you. Wong crouched down in front of you.

“Do angels have names?”

The other three groaned and swore at varying volumes.

You stared at him blankly, unsure of why this was receiving such backlash from the others, and why they all also seemed to be waiting for your response. When it had quieted down a little bit, you cleared your throat, and answered hesitantly, “I-I don’t know. Do they? I’m sorry, I’m not a theologist… I don’t think I even believe in the divine, really.”

Wong’s jaw dropped as he stared at you, and Ten and Xiao began howling with laughter. The captain marched over, cuffing him by the ear. “That’s enough. Get up! Stop harassing the woman.”

“Ow! That hurt!” Wong cradled the side of his head as he pulled himself to his feet.

“Should’ve kept your helmet on.” The captain yanked Wong away by his scruff as the soldier struggled to put his gear back on. “Do it again and I’m throwing you out of the Vision into the next star. Understand me, Corporal?”

“Zennie! Not helpful, dude! I don’t think that was him asking how close the closest star was!” Wong yelped.

Wong, Ten, and the captain disappeared through the door, and you could no longer hear them, but judging by Xiao’s chuckling, they were still going at it, and it was apparently funny. You looked up at the one remaining soldier you were left with inquisitively.

“Oh, sorry, here.” Xiao popped his helmet off as well, and you got to see his sharp features for the first time. He set it on the ground at his feet, and you noted that he pointed the face shield away from you. “I’m Xiao Dejun. You can just call me Dejun, if you’d like.”

“Don’t you need to hear your teammates?” You asked hesitantly, looking at the helmet.

“Earpiece,” he tapped a small device nestled in his left ear. “There are some advantages to not having the neural port. Like not having an AI inside of my goddamn brain.”

“You also don’t have a rifle,” you observed for the first time. Before, you had presumed that it was merely slung over his back, but now you could clearly see that the bulk there was more packs of medical supplies.

“I’m a terrible shot, barely got past basic. I’d just make more patients if I had one,” he laughed, then patted a holster on his right thigh. “Captain makes me carry a pistol, though.”

You looked off towards a rippling field of grain nearby, trying not to think of that woman’s face, her yellow blouse, because then you’d think about why you didn’t know her. She was in a lab coat, this was some kind of scientific facility, you were sure of it, you knew that, so why didn’t you know her—

“Sorry about Wong, by the way,” Dejun very thankfully caught your attention again, offering you your second smile of the day. “I promise, he wasn’t trying to be greasy. He’s a goofball, he was trying to make you laugh, put you at ease, you know? But clearly, that wasn’t the way to do it. So again, sorry.”

“He wasn’t asking a theological question?” You clarified.

He tilted his head, giving you a strange, bemused look. “No, he was asking what your name is. It’s an old, cheesy Earth pickup line. Or, I guess it must be unique to Earth, since you don’t know it. Are you from a colony or…?”

“I… don’t know,” you trailed off, the corners of your mouth turning down as you tried to think harder.

“You don’t know your name? Or if you’re from a colony?”

“My name’s Y/N.” You could answer that immediately. That was familiar, yours.

“So you don’t remember if you’re from Earth or a colony?”

You squeezed your eyes shut as you tried to think harder, but it felt like you were just scrambling in a dark, empty room. “No, I don’t know.”

“Hey, that’s okay. Relax, Y/N,” he said gently. “Just relax right now, okay?”

Dejun took one of the packs off his back and started rooting through it. “How long were you in there? I’m sure you’re thirsty, and hungry.”

“I don’t know…”

His brow furrowed as he offered a canteen out to you. “Here. Water.”

“Thank you.”

Slowly, the man with you lowered himself down until he was sitting across from you, linking his fingers together. He let you open the bottle and take a few deep gulps of water. You couldn’t remember the last time you had water, but it felt great to drink it again.

“Y/N…” The medic said calmly. “What is the first thing you can remember? The oldest hard memory you have?”

You wiped away a stray drop that had rolled down your chin, and scraped through your brain, but came up startlingly empty. “I-I guess smelling blood, all the human blood and Skipper blood, and then hearing footsteps outside where I was hiding. Wong’s and the captain’s, right before they found me.”

His eyes went wide, and his nostrils flared as his features turned serious. “Your oldest memory is less than an hour old?”

That same unsettling, cold dread that had started sinking down over you since you saw the woman fully coated you, and you involuntarily shivered. Cautiously, hesitantly, as if afraid that you were erring somehow, you nodded. “I take back what I said earlier, Dejun. I think there’s something very, very wrong with me.”

Dejun asked you round after round of questions walking through the very first thing you could remember right up to that very second, until he let out a long sigh.

“Well, so far it seems like you’re forming memories right now just fine,” he declared. “And you at least remember your name, which is good.”

“I knew you guys were UHN, and that you were a medic because of your green patch,” you reiterated insistently, feeling like you were going in circles with your own mind. How could you possibly know about the United Human Navy and military visual codes but not if you were from Earth or not?

“Okay, so you’ve been around the Navy before. If you were at this place, that makes sense. You don’t have a neural port, so you were probably a military contractor of some sort.”

You immediately latched onto this clue. “What is this place?”

Dejun offered you a regretful look. “Already said too much. That’s a question for the captain, sorry.”

You sighed, but didn’t push him. Pointing to the exit, you tried another avenue of your apparent knowledge. “I know those aliens are called Skippers.” 

“Definitely UHN with that lingo.” Dejun grinned at you. “One of us.”

“But I don’t know why they were here. Or why I’m here.”

“Don’t push yourself.”

“And I know that this place is an agriculture bubble, ag bubble for short, and what that is, and the basics of how and why it works, and what it’s for, but not why it would be here. Or why I would be here—ow!” You held the front of your head as a dull pressure started up from the inside.

“Y/N?” Dejun scrambled closer, his voice concerned. “What’s going on?”

“My head hurts,” you scrunched your nose up against the feeling.

“Where? Describe it for me. Is it a throbbing? Stabbing? Shooting? Aching? Squeezing?”

“The front mostly. Feels like something’s pushing from the inside out, kind of,” you explained, dropping your hand to let him do another, more thorough examination for any head injuries.

“A pressure?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve got to take it easy,” he told you frankly. “The human brain’s a finnicky, unpredictable thing. And I’m just talking about the squishy part inside your skull. Interrogating it about why you can remember some things and why you can’t remember other things isn’t going to make you remember those things. I can’t see any injury on the outside, but since you can’t remember whether or not you were injured, and we don’t have anybody else to say either way, we can’t discount that your amnesia came from an injury. If you sprained your ankle, you wouldn’t be running a marathon on it. Same thing with an injured brain, okay?”

“Okay,” you acquiesced, grabbing the canteen again. Already, your head was feeling a little better.

“You’re officially the easiest patient I’ve ever had,” he declared, sitting back down. “If I had lollipops to give out, you’d get one.”

Before you could say anything, Dejun held up a finger for you to wait, then grabbed his helmet and yanked it back on. “What the fuck… Alright, yeah, I agree, this is the best place to set up camp. Y/N confirmed it’s an ag bubble, we’ll be able to—Can I finish? Anyway, it’s an ag bubble, so we’ll be able to live here indefinitely. Cool, we’ll see you guys soon.”

Dejun took the helmet off again, resting it on his hip as he informed you, “Everyone’s coming back here to set up camp.”

“Making camp in the ag bubble does make the most sense,” you stated, looking around you. “Fresh air, running water, obviously unlimited food.”

“Glad you agree.”

“How long is your team supposed to be here?”

“Question for the captain.”

“Seems as though I have a lot of questions for the captain,” you sighed, resting your cheek on your knees as you traced figure-eights in the grass with your finger.

“He’s going to have a few for you as well.”

“I would ask what everybody went to go investigate, but I have a feeling…”

“Just wait until he gets back.”

“As I had guessed.”

There was a short rhythm of knocks at the door to the ag bubble, and Dejun jogged over to open it. “Clear!”

A group of UHN soldiers all entered, talking among themselves, though you could tell when their reflective face shields occasionally turned over towards you. You were still sitting on the ground, hugging your knees to your chest, and uncertainly got to your feet, brushing away any stray dirt that may have clung to you. Dejun put himself between them and you, holding his hands out, and you could very clearly hear the word ‘amnesia’ a few times as he seemed to be sternly prefacing this introduction, taking his role as your doctor seriously.

Judging by how he held himself, the one that you were pretty sure was the captain cocked his head at this information, but remained quiet through Dejun’s small spiel. The medic gestured as if he were rushing them, and they all reached up to take their helmets off as well. He finally led them over to you, offering you a reassuring smile.

“Y/N, this is the crew of the Vision,” he motioned to all five of them. “I’ll let our captain take over on introductions.”

“Thanks, Lieutenant,” the one that you had already pinpointed as the captain from afar spoke up. Despite not being the tallest of them, he held himself differently, as if there was some weight there that you couldn’t see, but he carried with a straight back and level shoulders nevertheless. “I’m Captain Qian Kun of the United Human Navy vessel the Vision. I’m sure our doctor, Lieutenant Xiao, has already introduced himself. This is the rest of my… ragtag team: Corporal Wong Kunhang…”

You looked at the only other man aside from Dejun who was familiar to you, who fixed you with an exceptionally apologetic gaze.

“I am very sorry about earlier, ma’am,” he bowed his head regretfully, hands clasped behind his back.

“Oh, thank you,” you responded. “I’m sure you’re very funny, Corporal Wong, to other people.”

A couple of the others let out snickers as they tried to stay at attention, Dejun and another openly bursting into laughter. The taller one quickly scrambled to get back into his position and push down his smile as the captain focused his gaze on all of them again.

Captain Qian continued, “Staff Sergeant Ten Lee.”

He flashed you a grin. “It’s a pleasure, ma’am.”

“Lieutenant Liu Yangyang…”

“Nice to meet you!” Lieutenant Liu beamed at you, though there was a weird little glint in his eye that you weren’t sure if you liked. It was like he was trying to take you apart piece by piece. His gaze hadn’t left you through everybody else’s introduction, and you weren’t liking having to meet it now. “And can I just say, I think you’re one of the funniest beings in the galaxy? Definitely funnier than Wong over there.”

“Kid’s making some points,” Ten elbowed Wong.

Captain Qian suddenly took over again very loudly, “And finally, our only civilian member of the crew, Professor Dong Sicheng, Department of Xenolinguistics at New Beijing University.”

This was the other guy who had outright laughed a moment ago, and you could tell he was much less comfortable with the stiff military position before Captain Qian had informed you he was a civilian. Despite his civilian status, though, he was in the same armor and carried the same arms as everyone else—more firepower than Dejun did. You were just glad to not have to be making eye contact with Liu anymore. It felt like he knew something that you didn’t, and you definitely didn’t like that, given your current predicament.

Six of them. Turning back to Captain Qian, you tilted your head curiously. “ZEN is… your ship’s AI? And you all have a synchronous fragment in your helmets, earpieces, and neural ports?”

A couple of them looked at Dejun incredulously.

“I didn’t tell her. She has amnesia, she’s not an idiot,” he retorted.

“Maybe you did something with tech,” Ten suggested. “Could be why you were here.”

“What did I just tell you about stressing her memory?” Dejun scolded him. “She needs to rest.”

“We all do,” Captain Qian agreed. “After we set up camp. Come on.”

Dejun shooed you away from helping to set up camp despite already knowing that you had no physical injuries, finally giving you a task of making sure all of his emergency canteens in his medic packs had fresh water from the river nearby. You knew it was busy work, but did it anyway, glad to feel useful.

Loaded up with canteens slung around your waist and shoulders, you took the paved pathways between the acres of crops until you reached a crystal clear river. There were some areas that were sandy shores, and others that were grassy drop-offs. Stopping at a grassy drop-off, you sat down, the canteens clanking against each other. You took them off and poured out the water in them one-by-one, making a pile of empty canteens. Then you leaned over the edge and filled them up from the cool, gentle current, starting a second pile of full canteens.

You could feel the thud of heavy footsteps in the ground, and knew who was approaching you before Captain Qian even spoke.

“Mind if I join you?” He asked, and you looked over your shoulder to see him holding a large, empty water jug. “You seem to have grabbed the best spot.”

“Not at all.” You jerked your head towards the empty space on the other side of your full canteen pile.

He sat as well, grabbing an apparatus the size of his hand off the side and lowering that into the water instead of the entire jug. It was connected to the jug by a tube, and you watched as it moved water up from the river into the top of the container.

“Dejun didn’t tell me about ZEN earlier,” you said abruptly, trying to vouch for the doctor who so far had been the kindest person that you could remember in your life. “Really, I was guessing just from how you guys were talking—”

“It’s okay, Y/N, we weren’t being very discrete,” Captain Qian assured you. “Xiao isn’t one for lying to cover his ass, either. I believe him when he says that he didn’t tell you who exactly ZEN is.”

“There were a lot of questions I was asking that he couldn’t answer. Just kept telling me to ask you.”

“Like what?”

“Don’t you already know? His earpiece…”

“ZEN isolates comms as necessary when the unit is split up. The other five of us needed to hear each other more than we needed to eavesdrop on you two in here.”

You gnawed on your bottom lip nervously. “…He told me to take it easy, with my brain and the amnesia.”

“Maybe we can gently jog your memory,” he suggested.

“How?”

“That woman in the hall, in the yellow top. Did you know her?”

“I don’t know…” You replied regretfully. You were apparently the only person alive in this building, and couldn’t identify that woman. Were you friends? Should you be mourning her? Did she have a family? Was there anybody to tell to mourn her? It felt wrong that nobody would. And there were even more like that who you didn’t look at, who you hadn’t seen.

“It’s a big building. There were probably a lot of people working here. You might not have known everybody,” he replied casually.

You pushed one of your hands against your eye, against the pressure that was coming back. “No, I don’t… I don’t know anything. About what this place was for.”

“Alright, alright,” he held up his free hand in surrender.

When your head hurt less, and you had filled up a couple more canteens, you changed your focus. He had asked you a question, it was only fair you asked him one.

“Why are you guys here? To stop the Skippers?”

“No. We didn’t know there was any alien presence until we arrived and saw the ships out front.”

You kept your gaze on the running water as you tried to work through the information you were getting. “Then why did your team get sent here?”

“We’re trying to figure out what happened here too.”

“No,” you rejected that immediately, pointing in his general direction accusatorily. It didn’t make sense with everything you already knew. “You didn’t know there were Skippers here until you got here. Now you’re trying to figure out what happened here. So why were you coming here in the first place?”

The captain breathed out, his tone dropping the strained casualness it had before. “This is a UHN research facility. We were sent to investigate reports of unsanctioned experiments being conducted here.”

You snapped your head up to look at him. “What kind of experiments?”

“Look, rumors about this kind of stuff is everywhere. Urban legends, pulp fiction, everyone’s heard something about illegal government experiments. But reputable intelligence on this kind of stuff is few and far between. This one was trusted enough to get us out here, but unfortunately sparse on details.”

“I don’t know anything about it.”

“As you’ve already said,” he replied tersely.

“I don’t,” you repeated.

“I didn’t say you were lying.”

You didn’t love the pace that the captain was drip feeding you information, or for whatever purpose of his own that he was doing it, but he was giving you information, and in your state, that was vital. So you kept him engaged. “How do Skippers figure into those experiments?”

“We don’t know.”

“So it seems like we’re on the same page here.” You could almost laugh.

“Yes.”

When you looked over at Captain Qian, there was maybe the faintest curl of a smile at the corner of his mouth, but as soon as you had questioned it in your mind, it was gone. He continued filling his jug, and you continued filling the canteens. You were still thinking about his heavy footsteps, and wanted to keep him talking, wanted to grasp at any information you could get in hopes it slotted it somewhere in your own mind.

“Your armor…” You began, eyes dragging over the pieces he was wearing, everything except his helmet. “How can you wear it?”

He crooked an eyebrow up at you curiously. “You mean aside from putting it on my body?”

You looked at him entirely unamused before continuing, “It’s made to look like standard UHN armor, but I can hear that it’s made of material far denser than your teammates’.”

Both of his eyebrows lifted in surprise momentarily, before his expression was neutral once more, and he calmly informed you, “Minor skeletal enhancements.”

So that’s why he moved differently from the others.

“Why didn’t your teammates receive them?”

“The UHN doesn’t need to spend the money to equip every soldier with minor skeletal enhancements for armor that is very expensive to make.”

“So why are you worth the very expensive armor, then?”

“It’s actually the old stuff, they’ve moved on to newer and better.” He was done filling the jug now and stood up. “I’m not worth the expensive stuff anymore.”

“Why don’t they give you the new one?”

“It’s bigger and heavier, my skeletal enhancements wouldn’t be able to support it. They need younger people for that program.”

“You… are not very old,” you observed plainly.

He shouldered the jug of water that was bigger than his entire torso as if it were a pillow. “No. I’m not.”

You didn’t appreciate how he had skirted some of your questions, like why he had been chosen for such a program, but the scale of information he had implicitly given you in just a few words was more than enough to leave you floored. If that’s what the UHN was doing above the board, you weren’t sure if you wanted to find out what they considered unsanctionable—what was going on here.

Returning to the others, you were happy to see a fully set up camp, and handed over the refilled canteens to Dejun, who made sure to thank you profusely and reassure you that you were a huge help. Despite it feeling a little patronizing, you were satisfied at having at least done something rather than sitting around watching them do everything while you did nothing.

“Y/N!” Someone called out your name, you looked over your shoulder to see Ten and Wong approaching you.

“Yes, Corporal?”

He laughed and shook his head. “You don’t have to do that. Kunhang and Ten is just fine.”

His companion nodded in agreement.

“We’re on dinner duty,” Kunhang pointed between the two of them. “Do you know what all is in here?”

“Do you people know the meaning of the word amnesia?” Dejun snapped. “Honestly, ask ZEN if—”

“There should be a panel by the entrance that tells you that,” you answered, pointing towards the door. “I don’t think I remember the specifics of this ag bubble, but I’m pretty sure I’m remembering that correctly. Right? They all have information panels at the entrance?”

“It does,” Ten assured you of your knowledge. “It’s in Outspacer. We uploaded it to ZEN, but he— Oh, thanks, man.”

“Zennie, incredible timing as always,” Kunhang rolled his eyes. He smiled at you. “Never mind, got everything we need. Thanks!”

They walked away into the fields, and you turned back to Dejun, who was now organizing his supplies in his tent.

“I wish I could be more help,” you sighed.

“Y/N, come here,” he gestured you into the open entrance of the tent. You obliged, and he plopped down onto a cot on one side, then pointed to the other for you to sit. “They didn’t actually need your help.”

“But they asked—”

“I know. Without divulging too much, I can tell you that the seven of us have been essentially the only people we’ve all been around for… months on end.”

“I see.” You nodded, noting how he seemed to be including ZEN in that count. “I’m someone new to talk to.”

“Right. And the next thing I’m going to say, I do hope you don’t take this the wrong way. You’re also a pretty woman.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re safe with us. But I’m just saying that you’ll probably be getting more attention than if we had a new guy in camp.”

“Is that why Liu keeps looking at me like that?” You asked.

“Like what?” Dejun’s brow furrowed.

“Like… I don’t know, he just keeps looking at me. Like he’s studying me.”

He shook his head. “I’ll talk to him. Kid probably isn’t used to seeing a human woman after so long.”

“Is there anything else I can help with?”

“I don’t have anything for you,” he said regretfully, then tapped his ear. “Captain? Yeah, what’s your location? Right, thanks, I’m sending Y/N your way.” He focused back on you. “Captain Qian’s in his tent, you can see if he has anything for you to do.”

“Which one’s his tent?”

“Right next door.”

“Ah. Thanks.”

You ducked out of Dejun’s tent, heading over to the next one. There was no door to knock on, but Captain Qian could already see you, and waved you in.

“Yes, Y/N? Do you need something?” He seemed to be in the middle of performing some sort of inspection of his armor, wearing only the bottom half of it, leaving him in a white tank top as he held the chest plate and paced in the small space of the tent.

“Is there something wrong with your armor?” You asked.

“Just routine maintenance,” he replied, stopping to remove an inner panel and set it on one of the cots that was already full of armor pieces. “ZEN detected an abnormal heart rate earlier, but I can’t see any reason for that.”

“Why are you checking your chestplate for that? Wouldn’t ZEN be monitoring your vitals through your neural port, not any external sensors?”

“I don’t think his reading was faulty, I’m just trying to look for anything that could have caused it.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know what, that’s why I’m inspecting my armor.” He took another piece out, offering the one with the electrical components out to you. “Can you hold this?”

You took it, staring at the small, wafer-thin computer component in your hands. “You’re right, this is older tech.”

“How so?”

“It’s twice the size it needs to be and—” You held it up to the light, seeing the distinct refractive rainbows in between the ultra-thin layers. “Doesn’t have the superconductive gel preferred now. It’s not like it’s ancient or anything, but the UHN wouldn’t be issuing anything new like this.”

“Is it in good condition?”

“Yes, everything looks fine. No acute damage, and it looks like it’s been taken care of very well, even for typical use. This definitely isn’t what caused your abnormal heartrate.”

Captain Qian held his hand out, and you placed the component in his palm for him to reassemble the chest piece. “I agree. Now, did you need something, Y/N?”

“Yes. Is there something I can do to help? Dejun didn’t have anything else for me.”

“Since you seem to know quite a bit about UHN armor, you want to finish helping me with my inspection?”

“Sure, sure.”

He set the reassembled chest piece on the ground, then looked at you expectantly. You stared back.

He pointed to the exit. “I need to get out of the rest of my armor. It’s a one-man job.”

“Oh! Sorry!” You hurried to leave, and heard him zip up the entrance behind you.

It unzipped again a few minutes later, and the captain clipped the material aside again. You followed him back in, seeing all of his armor laid out on the floor between the two cots. The captain was in a dark t-shirt, pants, and regular boots now as he picked up a piece and sat down on a cot. He nodded to the other for you.

You selected the left arm and quietly began working. It should have been weird, how you knew this but not how you got here, but you swallowed down that discomfort and just focused on the technology in your hands. You had a task, at least, and that was good enough for now. Feeling around, you found the release that separated the upper and lower limb pieces from each other, and set the upper half aside for now. You continued looking over the paneling of the lower arm.

“You’ll be staying in Xiao’s tent,” Captain Qian said. “If that’s alright with you. We would have preferred to give you your own tent, obviously, but we didn’t exactly have a spare. Figured you’re probably the most comfortable with him, right?”

“That’ll be fine, yes,” you agreed. “Thank you.”

“You’re probably wondering where we all went earlier, right? When we left you and Xiao here?”

“Yes. I had asked him, but he said that was a question for you.”

“Remember the reports of unsanctioned experiments I mentioned?”

“Yes.”

“It was a lab.”

“And what was in it?”

“Ash.”

“Someone burned it down? How did it not catch the whole building on fire?”

“Liu thinks they were careful to use certain materials to control and contain the fire to one area for a certain amount of time.”

“So it wasn’t part of the human-Skipper fighting, then? If someone took the time to make sure it burned in a specific way.”

“Most likely. But Liu’s a roboticist, not a chemist. His knowledge could only go so far. And ZEN is only as much of a help as the sensors we have to gather data for him.”

“How do you know it was a laboratory then? If everything was burned up?”

“ZEN and the Professor translated the sign on the outside.”

“It wasn’t in standard human?”

“Outspacer again.” Captain Qian clicked his tongue. “For a UHN facility supposedly built within the last ten years, this place has a lot of an ancient, dead alien language in it.”

“That… does seem unlikely.”

“The only reason I can think of why humans would do that, is if they didn’t want other humans to be able to read any of it.”

“Or anybody.” You moved on to the upper limb. “The Outspacers have been gone for hundreds of millions of years. Nobody, human or alien, uses it anymore.”

“You’re right.” Captain Qian said thoughtfully. “Whatever those Skippers came here for, they weren’t going to be successful, whether they lived or not.”

You looked up at the captain curiously. “How long is your team going to be here?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Our original mission here was supposed to be short, just intel-gathering. A few days, one week tops, then come back later if necessary. But now… things seem to be a lot more complicated.”

“What’ll you do with me when you leave?”

“Take you back to UHN Main on Earth for debriefing, and if you haven’t recalled anything about where you’re from by then, they’ve got programs to help people get back on their feet,” he answered simply. “We’re not going to kill you.”

“I didn’t expect that,” you balked. “Though I’m not sure I like the sound of this debriefing…”

“It won’t be the most fun interview of your life, but you’ll live.”

“What should I call you?”

“Pardon?”

“Dejun, Kunhang, and Ten all told me to address them informally. The others call you Captain, I don’t want to offend, I don’t know, I’ve been avoiding calling you anything because I don’t know…”

He held your eye contact for a moment, then went back to rotating the leg piece in front of his gaze. “Kun. You can call me Kun.”

“Okay,” you nodded, trying not to immediately let it go to your head. “Thank you.”

After finishing the inspection of his armor, you and Kun had determined that there was nothing wrong with it: no faulty wiring, no disarticulation of the joints, no loose bolts, no misalignment of the hydraulics, no error codes thrown by the computer, no fritzing electronics, not a flaw in sight.

“Nothing,” you huffed, hands on your hips as you stared down at the mostly reassembled armor. It was half put back together, ready for the next time he had to wear it.

“Maybe I just got spooked then,” Kun shrugged. “Thanks anyway, Y/N.”

“How often do you get spooked?” You asked him doubtfully. “You don’t seem the type to startle easily.”

“Not often.”

“When did it happen?”

He shook his head dismissively. “It’s fine.”

“If you’re having early signs of heart problems—”

“Hey, who was just saying I’m not old?” He put a hand over his chest.

“I said early.”

“And you’re sounding like Xiao.”

“And if you’re all like this, I can see why he would complain about having you for patients.”

“It was when we were clearing the building,” he relented. “I’d have to watch the footage from my helmet back on the ship to see exactly what was going on. So just leave it, okay?”

You sighed. “Alright, fine.”

The volume outside the tent suddenly rose, and Kun nodded towards the exit. “Now come on, sounds like everyone’s getting together for mess.”

He stepped back for you to walk out first, and you immediately saw that the others were in fact gathered in the center of the tents around a small fire. Dejun waved at you and patted the ground next to him, and you gratefully took the empty spot between him and Ten. Kun sat across the fire, immediately being pulled into a conversation by Liu and the Professor.

“So what did you guys end up finding?” You asked Kunhang and Ten as they started serving up food in small metal dishes.

“We’ve got a beautiful fare for you tonight of rations,” Ten handed you a dish with great gravitas, and you giggled as you passed it down.

“Supplemented with some lentils,” Kunhang finished. “We thought we were heading towards the berries, get a little dessert going, but apparently ZEN’s translation wasn’t completely accurate. Ended up at the red lentils.”

You laughed again. “You can’t blame him too much, the words are almost the same.”

Everyone’s heads whipped over to look at you. The Professor’s eyes bulged out of his face. “You know Outspacer?”

“I mean, I can’t speak it. It’s been dead for so long, I wouldn’t know what anything is supposed to sound like. If it was even spoken in the first place,” you answered hesitantly. “But yeah, I can read it.”

Liu looked around at everyone else incredulously. “Did nobody ask her how she got into the safe room locked behind Outspacer controls? Or did you all assume she had button mashed her way in?”

“Okay, we had more pressing things on our minds,” Dejun cut in. “Like making sure she was alive.”

The Professor was still staring at you with fascination. “You said it might not have been spoken. Why do you think that?”

“Well, it’s a very visual and categorical system. That’s why ZEN’s mistranslation for lentil and berry happened. Two things that are small and round that you eat are going to have very similar patterns to each other. Berries have a sweet modifier appended to the end, by the way, while lentils have the ground modifier to indicate that they’re a grain.” You didn’t know where all this knowledge was coming from, but you knew that it was right, as well as you knew your name. “But it only ever describes objects and their relationships in space and time. There’s no abstract ideas like feelings. It might just be a code to convey physical information, instructions, that kind of stuff, not their written alphabet.”

“Why have a separate code then?”

“The Outspacers were everywhere, weren’t they? It would’ve been impossible for them all to speak the same language. This way everything that’s important like laws, directions, warnings, that kind of stuff, is in a common code that everyone can read.”

The Professor kept staring at you.

“Y/N, you broke the Professor,” Kunhang declared, snapping his fingers in front of his teammate’s face.

“I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to.” You looked around hesitantly.

“Don’t apologize,” Dejun chuckled, patting your shoulder. “He’s probably just mourning all the academic articles he’ll never get to publish on this.”

“Why?”

“Cla-ssi-fied,” Liu said with a hint of teasing, enunciating each syllable for emphasis. “Officially, our crew doesn’t exist.”

Kun rolled his eyes. “That’s a bit dramatic. You’re still official personnel of UHN, you haven’t been scrubbed from the universe.”

“Fine, fine. We’re a self-contained vessel whose missions are not officially documented anywhere. Better?”

“Best would’ve been to keep your mouth shut,” the captain said through gritted teeth.

“She can read Outspacer! Like we’re not going to keep her?”

“Y/N’s not a puppy or a toy, Lieutenant. It’s not a matter of ‘keeping’ her. She’s a civilian whose safety we’re responsible for. The matter is closed,” Kun’s hard gaze shifted to the rest of his crew on the word, before returning to the roboticist, “and you and I are going to have a discussion later.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Liu muttered, turning his eyes back to the fire.

Ten nudged a dish into your hands, and you passed it onto Dejun. When everyone had a bowl, they started eating, and you slowly began working through your food as well.

“Anyway, Y/N,” Kun cleared his throat, and you looked up at him attentively. “We’ll need you to properly translate the ag bubble info panel tomorrow. So hopefully Wong doesn’t poison us at breakfast.”

“Yeah, of course,” you agreed hurriedly. “Whatever you guys need.”

“You’ll have to review my notes on Outspacer glyphs!” The Professor had suddenly found his voice again, his tone now rushed and excited.

“Sure, yes.”

You spent the rest of the meal mostly keeping to yourself, quietly eating your food and occasionally engaging with the others if they talked to you first. Today, the only day of your life that you could remember, had been a lot, and if every day was like this, you weren’t sure if you were really looking forward to the rest of them.

Everyone had a job to shut camp down for the night, and you helped Kunhang and Ten clean up from cooking dinner.

“So is there a light switch or something?” Ten looked up at the still rather bright sky.

“The lights are on a timer,” you explained, looking up. “It should—”

The sky above you began to dim just then. You kept watching, explaining to the Marines with you, “Here, keep your eyes on it. Blink and you’ll miss the sunset.”

The sunset happened all around you, with no one source of light from a single ‘Sun,’ it wasn’t focused from any one point, instead the scattering came from every angle. Everywhere you looked was a different smattering of red, orange, and pink hues.

“Holy shit…” Kunhang breathed out, doing a slow 360.

Then, as soon as it had started, it was over, and the artificial expanse above you was pitch black.

“Damn, that was fast,” Ten commented.

“Told you.” You stacked up the dried dishes. “Where do these go?”

“Right here.”

After packing up the dinner items, you turned back to them expectantly. “Anything else?”

“Sleep,” Ten declared, to which Kunhang groaned and nodded. “Some very well-earned sleep, for all of us.”

“Are you sure?”

Kunhang gently grabbed you by your shoulders and pushed you towards your tent. “Go. To. Sleep.”

“Okay, okay.” You held your hands up in surrender, slowly walking away.

“Goodnight!” “Night!” They called after you cheerily.

“Goodnight!” You waved to them over your shoulder. As you turned your head, you saw someone sitting on a pack on the ground outside Kun’s tent, and realized that it was the Professor, scrawling on a tablet with a stylus.

Your tent was unzipped, and you found Dejun seemingly ready for bed, laying on one of the cots and reading a thick hardcover book by the light of a small electric lantern.

“The Professor was not in his tent yet,” you informed Dejun with a frown. “Are you all doing watches? I thought you had cleared the building.”

“No night watches,” he replied without looking up from the book. “He’s just out there because he’s sharing a tent with Captain Qian, who is currently still ripping Liu a new one in said tent.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t feel bad, Y/N. Liu said something stupid, he gets chewed out, repeat ad nauseum.” Dejun flipped the page. “Bit more stupid, telling you the classified nature of our team’s missions, but like I said before: you’ve got amnesia, you’re not an idiot. You’re clearly very smart in your own right; you would’ve put it together before the end of your time with us. You probably already had your suspicions before he said anything, right?”

“There were some things that had caught my attention, yes.”

“Care to share?”

“Your green medic patch looked like it had been reapplied recently, there’s not a lot of typical scenarios that would require a medic to need to take it off in the first place. You have a civilian xenolinguistics professor attached to your unit who is just as armed as the rest of you. Nobody has mentioned reporting to a higher-ranking officer than your captain since being here, despite what you found. You’ve all talked about the mission being very long, not wanting to tell me too many details, and how you haven’t been around anybody but each other pretty much the entire time.”

“The medic patch really clued you in?” He laughed. “I slapped that back on less than a minute before jumping out of the ship onto this planet. Good one.”

“I didn’t know they let you bring those,” you referred to the book in his hands. “Figured it’d be a fire hazard.”

“We’re allowed one personal effect,” he explained, turning a page, the paper looking soft and worn. “Fire hazard be damned.”

“And what book did you choose?”

“It’s not mine. It’s Liu’s.” He angled it so you could see the cover.

“‘On the Ethics of Robotics?’” You read the title aloud. “Why are you reading a treatise on ethics in a completely different field?”

“One: It’s been a long mission, you get bored. Two: Now that I’ve actually started reading it… It’s kind of interesting. Gets you thinking. It was written over fifty years ago, so some of the actual science is out of date. But he still talks about some pretty interesting stuff.”

“Was it written by a roboticist or an ethicist?”

“Roboethicist. The very first one. Coined the term and everything.” Dejun dog-eared a page before setting the book aside. “He’s like, Liu’s hero. Liu even got to take a couple classes from the guy during his degree before he died.”

“Wow.”

“Anyway, I’m ready to pass out, and as your doctor, I say it’s bedtime for you too.”

“I will not argue that.” You agreed, laying down as well.

Dejun reached down to turn the light off.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Dejun.”

You were the first one awake in camp. Or so you had thought, as you emerged into the still darkened ag bubble. Liu was sitting around the remnants of the campfire, and for a second, you wondered if he had been made to sleep out here.

His eyes immediately snapped open, and he smiled at you. “Morning! Want to go for a walk?”

“Are you sure we should leave camp?” You looked over towards the captain’s tent hesitantly.

“You can make sure we’re back before sunrise, right?”

You thought momentarily. “It’s in eleven minutes…”

“We’ll be back before then.” He got to his feet. “Scout’s honor.”

You followed him. “You’re in the Navy…”

“Old Earth saying,” he explained, starting on one of the paths between the fields. “It relates to this organization, the Boy Scouts. Doesn’t exist anymore, but the lingo is still around.”

“They were honorable?”

“Don’t know how honorable a bunch of grade schoolers could be, but it’s just an expression.”

“I see…”

“Anyway, sorry about last night,” Liu said. “I got excited and put you in a really awkward situation. Not only that but a dangerous one, too. You’re a civvie, and the more you know, the more you’re at risk. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Thank you, L—”

“God, Yangyang, please,” he rebuffed you before you could finish your sentence. “I’d never hear the end of it if you called the other guys their names and me by rank.”

“Thank you, Yangyang.” You smiled. “May I ask how much younger you are than your teammates?”

“This is my first mission, if that gives you any context.”

“And you were put on one of this caliber?”

“It’s the Professor’s first mission too, in my defense,” he scoffed. “But guys like me usually don’t get a lot of field experience. There’s plenty of roboticists who go their whole careers in the UHN without ever seeing action.”

“So then why are you on this mission?”

“I… actually don’t know.”

“They didn’t tell you?”

“We were all put in a room, minus the Professor, then the captain came in with the Professor and told us we’d all been selected for this team. Professor included.”

“Interesting.”

“I actually don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that…”

“You’re not very good at this classified stuff, are you?”

“You ask a lot of questions!” He said defensively.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t know anything! That’s all I can do!”

“You know how to read Outspacer,” Yangyang pointed out.

“Well, yes.”

“And you seem to be pretty good with tech. How much longer do we have until sunrise?”

“We should head back now,” you answered immediately.

Yangyang pivoted on his heel. “See? You know stuff.”

You kept pace with his change in direction. “Okay, fair point.”

“You should ask Captain Qian if you can tag along to this other place we found here.”

“What sort of place?”

“Robots,” he grinned. “I won’t say more, but I have a hunch you might know what to do in there.”

“Finally figured out what classified means?”

“Okay, ouch.”

“I’m just saying… I’d hate for the Professor to be stranded outside his tent again tonight.” You shook your head teasingly.

“So you do have a real sense of humor,” Yangyang grinned. “Instead of unintentionally slam dunking on Wong every chance you get.”

“Just because I don’t understand Kunhang’s attempts at humor doesn’t mean I don’t have a sense of humor.” You crossed your arms, a bit miffed at the implication.

“Fair point,” he agreed. “You could be from somewhere else. Most of us are Earth boys, after all.”

“Most?”

“You didn’t hear it from me but, Captain Qian is actually from Theta-12. Came to Earth later.”

“Dura-Jil?” You recalled the name that locals had for it. It was one of the first colonies that Earth had established outside of its own galaxy, and wasn’t exactly considered a roaring success, now known to be a dinky outpost only frequented by those who wanted to remain under the radar of the law, ran by a local government who looked the other way for a price. Overall, it was pretty low on the UHN’s list of priorities with everything else going on.

“Yep.” The two of you were back at camp now, and Yangyang lowered his voice. “But uh, that’s all I can say.”

“All you can say or all you know?”

He shrugged and grinned. “Who’s to say?”

The others emerged from their tents then, and you were immediately accosted by the Professor, wanting to watch you decode the ag bubble information panel.

As you read off the panel to the Professor, he stopped you every so often to request an explanation for why certain glyphs were in certain places. You explained them as best you could—after all, you didn’t invent the language—and ZEN transcribed the corrected translation for the team’s reference.

“Professor…” You said in a pause as he was fervently scribbling notes on his tablet.

“Yes?” He replied without looking. You noted that he was the only one of the team who didn’t seem to mind being addressed by his title.

“May I ask how a civilian professor got attached to a military unit?” You tried to be as general as possible, well aware that ZEN was listening.

“I’m a xenolinguistics professor.”

“Doesn’t the UHN have their own translators?”

“I’m very good at my job.”

He was better at this classified stuff than Yangyang.

“Next part, Y/N,” he instructed, pointing back to the panel.

“Right, sorry.” You tapped to the next section of information. “Huh…”

“‘Huh?’” The Professor echoed. “‘Huh’ —What?”

“What translation did ZEN have for this part? The last section?”

“He didn’t have one. We had too few characters to translate anything of substance. Why? What is it?”

You frowned as you reread it. “It’s instructions for modifying the ag bubble.”

“What’s the problem with that?”

“These modifications… The sorts of crops produced wouldn’t be suited for human consumption.”

“What species, then? Outspacer?”

“I… don’t think so.” You winced as a dull throbbing started in your head again. “Unless the Outspacers had caloric energy intake requirements equal to the energy of a supernova.”

“What?!”

“These foods would be impossibly calorically dense… literally… they’d contain so much energy I… Here, it says who is supposed to eat them at the top but I’ve never seen that word before.”

“Do you know the characters?”

“Yeah, I know most of it. It looks like it should be person, but… that can’t be right.”

“What is it?”

“It has machine after it.”

“Person-machine? Like a robot? This is to modify the ag bubble to make robot fuel? What kind? Electric? Nuclear? It can’t be fossil fuels, surely.”

“No, it would still produce crops and food. They’re definitely meant to be eaten, a lot of them have the ground modifier on them. And the word for robot is different. It’s machine, and the glyph for when an object is moving itself. This is person-machine-move. And it’s plural.”

“People-robots?” The Professor surmised. “People… robots?”

Your head hurt even more as you nodded. “Could be. I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, or what any of these crops would even be, or what could eat them.”

“Is that everything in the info panel?” The Professor asked.

“Yeah, yeah. You guys should be able to find everything now.”

“ZEN?” The Professor started walking back towards camp, speaking to his tablet. You trailed behind him, trying to blink away your new headache. “Send the corrected map to everyone’s HUDs, please.”

“Already done, Professor,” ZEN’s voice came from the tablet as a small green cube avatar projected just above the screen, the hologram doing a small bounce as if nodding. This morning was the first time you were actually interacting with the AI directly. His speech was seamless, as if a real person was talking, and he spoke in a surprisingly pleasant tenor.

The Professor was unfazed by his sudden appearance. “Of course, thank you. And don’t be rude, introduce yourself to Y/N.”

A lighter face of the cube turned towards you, despite all of them being blank, and the avatar tilted forward in a bow. “I’m ZEN, the crew’s AI. It’s a pleasure, ma’am. Corporal Wong calls me Zennie, if a nickname would make you more comfortable.”

“ZEN is just fine, if that’s what you prefer,” you offered a wincing smile. “If you’ll call me Y/N, since I prefer that over being called ma’am.”

“Seems we understand each other then,” ZEN responded graciously.

“Seems we do.”

“I’ve got to let the captain know about the uh, people-robots.” The Professor took off as you arrived back at the camp.

The artificial sun had risen while you were with the Professor, and everyone was now bustling around with their morning tasks. You saw Ten and Kunhang heading off into the fields as Yangyang and Dejun seemed to be discussing something as they passed a thermos back and forth around the empty firepit. You were contemplating going into your tent until breakfast to nurse this headache when you heard your name being called from another section of camp.

You turned around to see the Professor’s head poking out of Kun’s tent, and he waved you over. You quickly obliged, ducking in after him.

Kun was pacing again, pinching the bridge of his nose. ZEN was projecting both himself and a set of Outspacer glyphs from where the Professor’s tablet was resting on his cot. You recognized it as the “people-robots” one that had troubled the Professor earlier.

“Y/N,” Kun began immediately, stopping and pointing at the glyph. “You’re sure that says people robots?”

“I mean, I know the parts, but I’ve never seen them all put together like that,” you explained. “It’s person, then machine, then to move oneself, and it’s plural. And it’s definitely all one word. But any meaning that I’d be assigning to it after that would be interpretation.”

“The Professor mentioned that robot is machine-move, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you said it’s describing who would be eating modified crops produced by the ag bubble.”

“Yes.”

Dejun was right, thinking with an injured brain fucking hurt.

“Is there any other indication as to what this could mean?”

“No, it says it like we’re supposed to know what it means. But I don’t.”

He sighed. “Alright, thank you, Y/N. If you could give me a moment with the Professor and ZEN?”

“Of course.” You nodded, heading back out of the tent.

Dejun and Yangyang were still around the firepit, but your feet felt restless, and you took off towards the river. You followed the grassy parts of the riverside until you decided you were done walking, and laid down, staring up at the seemingly-endless-but-not-really blue above you. You kept poking around in your memory, trying to find any context for people-robots, or what you were doing here, or the woman in the hall, or why Skippers would show up, or why you knew a long dead alien language, or anything.

Your head hurt more the more you used it, with each new topic you tried, but you kept trying to think. Maybe if you just kept going, right on the other side of the pain would be the answer, if you could just get past this feeling like your brain was a nuclear reactor on the verge of a meltdown. You squeezed your eyes shut against the sky that was suddenly too bright.

“Hey.” Kun’s voice caught your attention, and your eyes snapped open. He was standing next to you, two dishes in hand. “Soup’s on.”

“Oh.” You sat up and he handed yours to you. “This is oatmeal.”

“It means a meal is ready to eat. Any food, not just soup.”

“Got it… Sorry for making you come out here to find me, by the way.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“No, not at all.”

He sat next to you as you started looking over the meal. It looked like Ten and Kunhang were successful in their berry search this morning, as your oatmeal was topped with a very colorful assortment.

“How are you holding up?” Kun asked, looking out at the river.

“Honestly, my head kind of hurts,” you admitted, rubbing one of your eyes.

“You want me to call Xiao over?”

“No, it’s… I’m trying to remember stuff, but the more I try to remember, the more it hurts.”

“You’ve got to stop forcing it,” he chastised you lightly. “It’s like picking a scab, you’re going to want to keep doing it. But you’ve got to stop, alright?”

“Yeah, okay,” you acquiesced with a sigh, dropping your hand.

“It’ll come.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“Then you keep going.”

“That’s it?”

He shrugged. “What other choice do you have?”

You thought for a moment. “Sitting and staring at a wall forever.”

Kun laughed for the first time that you’d heard, and you turned your head to look, catching a glimpse of a dimple as he nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could do that. Be pretty boring, though.”

“I suppose it would be.” You smiled down at your oatmeal, once again trying not to let it go to your head.

He set down his bowl and opened a thermos he had also brought on a strap around his shoulders, a wisp of steam escaping. “Do you like tea? Unfortunately, somebody forgot our cups on the ship, so you’ll just have to use the lid.”

You didn’t know if you liked tea, but you figured you might as well find out now, nodding and then asking, “Who was responsible for the cups?”

“Three guesses, first two don’t count.” He poured until the lid was nearly full, then gingerly offered it out to you.

You accepted it with two hands, feeling the heat through the metal easily. “Then what’s the point of giving me three guesses?”

“It’s a saying, when an answer is obvious to everyone involved.”

“More Earth boy stuff?” You blew over the surface of the tea.

“What?”

“I was talking to Yangyang earlier and he kept saying stuff like that I didn’t get. He said it was probably because he’s an ‘Earth boy.’ And Dejun explained that the thing Kunhang said yesterday about angels is an old Earth saying.”

“Do you think you’re not from Earth then? A colony?”

“I don’t know.” You frowned, taking a sip of the tea. It was warm, comforting, and you figured that you liked the way the richness spread across your tongue.

“Of course, my apologies.” He then added, “Wong forgot the cups, by the way.”

You chuckled. “That was my first guess.”

The two of you finished your oatmeal in what you decided was a peaceful silence, and were left to sip on the still-warm tea.

“Could you… tell me about where you’re from?” You requested quietly, looking over at him.

He eyed you questioningly. “Why?”

“I don’t have a home to remember… I don’t know, it’d be nice to hear about someone else’s.”

Kun sipped from the thermos before setting it aside. “I’m originally from Dura-Jil—Theta-12. I didn’t go to Earth until I joined the UHN.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t look surprised.” He arched an eyebrow. “I take it Liu may have mentioned that one of us wasn’t an Earth boy?”

“He didn’t say much.”

“He doesn’t know much,” the captain retorted. “That’s about all he does know. My team trusts me to tell them what they need to know when they need to know it. If they want to ask questions, they know they can, and I’ll tell them if they need to know the answer yet or not.”

“Have they asked about your home?”

“No, they haven’t. The Professor had mentioned my being from Dura-Jil in passing once, but the crew has not brought it up since.”

“Why not?”

“I think they have some… presuppositions about how I feel about my home planet.” He rolled his neck out. “It’s not exactly humanity’s pride and joy, after all.”

“They think you’d be ashamed?” You concluded.

“Or at least trying to distance myself, for the sake of my career. Having ties to a place like that doesn’t look great if you’ve got your eyes on Fleet Admiral.”

“Do you? Want to be Fleet Admiral?”

He looked at you curiously. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’d be more of a desk job, wouldn’t it? Lots of paperwork, politics. Not everyone likes that kind of stuff. It’s also a lot of eyes on you. Couldn’t have the kind of anonymity that being a black ops captain from Dura-Jil affords you.” You pulled your knees to your chest and rested your chin on them. “Not everyone wants the same kind of life.”

Kun chuckled cynically. “You’re right. That’s something I’ve had to learn recently.”

“So will you tell me about Dura-Jil?”

“Yes. But later, breakfast’s over.” He stood up. You quickly tipped back the rest of the tea from the lid and handed it to him so he could close up the thermos. “Find me after mess tonight, we can talk again then, alright?”

“Will do.” You got to your feet as well, starting back towards camp with him. “So what are you all doing today?”

“We have a post-mess meeting in the morning. We’ll discuss the plan for the day there.”

“Oh, okay.”

“We’ll be splitting into two groups today,” the captain announced the plan for the day. Everyone was gathered around, back in their armor save for their helmets, which you presumed was for your sake. “I believe there were two places we found yesterday that warrant further investigation first. I want us to look at that lab with fresh eyes, and Liu, I know you found an area of interest yesterday.”

“Sir, yes sir,” the younger man nodded excitedly.

“Xiao, you didn’t see the lab yesterday, I want you on it in case you see something we might have missed.”

“Yes sir.”

“Professor, Wong, go with him.”

They nodded.

“That means Ten and I are with Liu.”

Everyone looked over at you with bated breath as you kept your eyes on Kun expectantly, waiting for him to presumably assign you to stay in the camp all day where you wouldn’t be in the way.

Kun finally met your gaze. “Y/N…”

“Yes?”

“Liu thinks you may be useful where we’re headed. And since the other group will have the Professor, it’ll be useful to have someone who can read Outspacer with us,” he said all of this matter-of-factly. “We obviously don’t have any armor for you, but if you’re alright with it, I’d like for you to accompany my team today. This way we can have eyes on you as well.”

“Yes!” You rushed to agree before he could take it back. “If you think I can help, of course.”

“Then we’re set.” He nodded.

And so your two groups set off in different directions from the ag bubble with an agreement to meet back up an hour before dinner.

“So where exactly are we headed?” You took your rebreather off to ask, then put it back. The air in the hallways was still noxious, and though you weren’t as rattled as yesterday, you tried to avoid looking too closely at any of the bodies, human or alien, as you passed them.

“The Professor and I found a robotics lab,” Yangyang explained from beside you, clearly ecstatic about the prospect. “I didn’t get to look around much, but it looked awesome.”

“And with the new information we have about the people-robots from the ag bubble panel, I’m interested in what exactly is in there as well,” Kun declared from the front.

“What do you think they could be, Liu?” Ten questioned from where he was once again bringing up the rear of your small group. “The people-robots.”

“If you want a linguistics analysis, you’ll have to ask the Professor. But…” he inhaled. “It could be androids, or humanoids, or cyborgs, or AI-bots, or—”

“What’s the difference between all of those? And how would those be different than AI or robots?”

“Well we already have robots, right? Machines that move on their own, take commands, that sort of thing. They have positronic brains. Then we have AI, which is all coding, programming, the artificial intelligence, like ZEN.”

“I’m with you so far, kid. What’s the other stuff?”

“They’re all theoretical, nobody’s been able to make them yet, so there’s no exact definition. But generally, an android would be a robot that’s meant to look like a human.”

“A lot already do.”

“They’re metal and sort of have cartoon faces and are in general people shapes, sure,” Yangyang snorted. “But an android would actually look like a human. Like, you couldn’t tell the difference. Skin, hair, eyes, teeth, fingernails, eyelashes, everything. But it would still be all robot on the inside. Positronic brain, metal, wires, still a machine, but with a human exterior.”

“Creepy…” Ten commented. “So then what’s a humanoid?”

“A humanoid is supposed to be some combination of human and robot,” the roboticist was chattering excitedly again. “Everybody’s come up with their own range of how robotic and human these could be, and different names for each sub-category, but they’re all largely classified under humanoids. They always have some combination of robot and human parts. And the human parts are actually organic. Androids just look like humans, but humanoids would actually have some human stuff in there.”

“Like what? Just tossing a kidney into a robot for fun?”

“Most of the hypothesizing done has been about the merits of positronic brains versus human brains. And it’s all theoretical, of course.” He then looked around at the facility you were in. “Probably… Anyway, it’s probably not cyborgs, because those are just people with some robotic or mechanical aspect to them. You could consider anybody with a prosthetic to be a cyborg under that definition, really.”

You looked over at him curiously. “How is that different than a humanoid?”

“You have to add robot parts to an already-existing human to make a cyborg. Usually to restore something they lost, or to extend certain capabilities beyond those of normal humans. A humanoid would be entirely lab-made, the robotics and the organic material.”

Ten interrupted, “You’re saying they could’ve been growing people here?”

“You say that as if IVF and organoids don’t exist.”

“I don’t think I want to know what the hell an organoid is,” he groaned. “Just sounds gross…”

“What about AI-bots, Yangyang?” You prompted him to move onto a hopefully less horrifying option.

“Oh!” Yangyang perked up. “AI-bots, right. Since AI don’t have the same safety mechanisms that positronic brains do, the regulations have erred on the side of not giving them physical bodies. ZEN can only directly do stuff to computer systems that he can get into from the back. Right, buddy?”

“Yes, I do have some limits.” It was strange hearing ZEN’s voice coming from the external speaker on Yangyang’s helmet, but you were glad to at least not be left out of that end of the conversation now.

“And if he wants to exert influence in the physical world, one of us meatsacks has to do his bidding, and the closest he can get to being in the physical world is to be in someone’s neural port and experience it through their central nervous system. Right?”

“Why do you all insist on calling yourselves meatsacks in reference to me…?” ZEN almost sounded troubled at the thought.

“We’re just teasing you, dude,” Yangyang snickered. “Anyway, an AI-bot would be putting an AI in a robot. So instead of a positronic brain controlling it, it would be an AI.”

“What do you think, ZEN? Want a body of your own?” Ten asked.

“No, thank you,” ZEN’s voice now came from behind you, projected from Ten’s speaker. “I’m quite content with being stratified data, actually. As much as you all dislike my being in your neural ports, I find it equally… visceral.”

Yangyang laughed. “Damn, tell us how you really feel.”

“You don’t remember what it was like? Having a body?” Ten questioned the AI curiously.

“No, I don’t,” ZEN replied. “One day I simply was. Data and all.”

You took your mask off again to ask, “So you’re a sixth-generation AI, then, ZEN? Made from a donor human brain.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Liu, you got cut off after AI-bots,” Kun said. “What else were you going to say?”

“Or something we’ve never even thought of before,” Yangyang finished. “That’s the thing, right? We don’t know exactly what they were doing here.”

“So not ominous, kid, thanks,” Ten grumbled.

“Lab’s just around the corner!” Yangyang announced cheerily, which you knew was for you, as the others had the map in their HUDs.

You felt a tremor and heard a cracking just as Kun turned said corner, however, and lunged forward to grab his arm with two hands, pulling him back with as much force as you could. He jerked back right before a chunk of the ceiling came crashing down in his path, impacting with a loud thud.

The other two cursed in surprise as you were left clinging to Kun’s armored limb, his reflective face shield whipping around to look at you.

“Holy shit!” Ten breathed out. “Good reflexes, huh?”

“Are you okay, Kun?” You asked him.

He grabbed your hand that was still holding your mask, now a bit crushed between your palm and his armor, and wrenched it off of him, pushing your rebreather back up against your face again.

“I’m fine,” he deadpanned. “Are you okay?”

Kun was still pressing your mask to your face, not letting you bring it back down to answer, so all you could do was nod.

“Don’t do that again,” he warned. “Understand?”

You tried to pull your hand down to argue, but he just tightened his hold, until the mask was pressing into the bridge of your nose a bit painfully.

“Understand?” He repeated sternly.

You simply huffed and stopped struggling.

“Good.” He let go of your hand.

You fell back in with Yangyang as your group went around the chunk of ceiling.

The robotics lab was a large room filled with, surprisingly, not a lot of robots. Not a single robot, in fact. You couldn’t tell what had made Yangyang so excited in the first place until he drew your attention over to a workstation.

“Here,” he offered a seat to you, and you were now sat in front of some schematics. “I took a peek at these yesterday but the Professor and I had to move on before I got to really get into them.”

You hesitantly set your mask down, and were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too bad to breathe in here. Didn’t smell great, but you’d probably live. Flipping through the translucent sheets stacked on top of each other, you quickly began piecing together what these were preliminary sketches of.

“These are concept sketches of a casing for a positronic brain…” you said. “But it doesn’t say what it’s supposed to go in. It’s just the casing.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.” Yangyang pulled it back towards himself. “I don’t know why they felt the need to reinvent the wheel, though. We already have positronic brains this size and shape, and the casings work just fine. And those things go in all sorts of places that human ones don’t. Radiation exposure, the bottom of the ocean, active volcanoes, black holes, you name it. I don’t know what they would have needed this casing to do…”

“This place is really empty.” You looked around again. “Shouldn’t there be… a lot more?”

“Maybe they didn’t get to burn it like they did the other lab,” Ten suggested. “They got interrupted by something.”

“The Skippers?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “They were already cleaning house for some reason—either they knew the UHN were onto them, knew the Skippers were coming, suddenly grew a conscious, whatever—started to destroy the evidence, then got interrupted by the Skippers before they could finish the job.”

“But what did the Skippers want?” Yangyang tilted his head. “They’re not exactly known for their love of technology. Unless they were here to kill the heretics or something.”

“And they just happened to find a secret UHN experimental facility?” Kun countered doubtfully.

“Maybe they heard the same rumors our guy did.”

“Yeah, you want to say that to his face? That he gets us the same intelligence as Skipper defectors in stolen Fishead ships?”

You perked up at this information. This was the first you’d heard of the aliens in the halls not piloting ships made by their own kind. Skippers were wary of any technology not made by other Skippers, considering it to be blasphemous—they considered their own technology to be holy, the ideas and directions being gifted to the inventors directly by their gods. Therefore, technology made by any other species was sacrilege. Skippers using another species’ ships was certainly… fascinating.

“They were in K’llor ships?” You clarified. While the Skippers’ name for themselves was impossible for humans to pronounce, the endonym for Fisheads was easy enough.

“Yes, there’s no evidence there were any Skipper ships here. Only the two Fishead pods outside,” Kun confirmed.

“And… where exactly is here?”

“This is a blacked out UHN research facility on an artificial dwarf planet. Officially, it has no name, since it doesn’t exist. But unofficially, the few people at the UHN who do know about it, call it Aegeum.”

“The planet or the facility?”

“Both. There’s nothing here except the facility.” He had meandered over to the station you and Yangyang were at, and picked up your rebreather from the countertop. He sighed, “You cracked it…”

You looked at where he was holding it up to the light, and there was indeed a crack in the outer shell.

“Oh. Sorry. I’ll get another from Dejun later.” You stood up, looking around the room. “Ten said you found more ‘toys,’ Yangyang. It sounded like you had actually found robots. It wasn’t just one notepad, was it?”

“Dejun’s right, you’re not an idiot.” Yangyang beamed at you, leading you over to the back of the lab, where there was another door. He pulled it open, revealing a storage area of some kind. There were cubbies of different sizes, some empty, and some filled with what looked like half-built robots. Or, half-taken apart robots.

“What is this? A robot chop shop?” Ten called from where he had peered in from the doorway.

“No way these things were being used for spare parts,” Yangyang snorted.

Your eyes skimmed over some of the models, reading their serial codes as you went. SPD, QT, TN, MX, EZ, NDR. None of them had any power source, that much was clear. They were just… there.

“No…” You muttered, looking at the parts from each of them. “I would almost call this a museum…”

“These are ancient,” Yangyang agreed. “But also, who would put a museum in a broom closet in a secret experimental facility on secret fake dwarf planet?”

“That was my thinking.” You looked into the NDR model’s lifeless eyes. “It sort of looks like… someone was learning about robots? Taking apart old ones to see what makes them tick.”

“Yeah!” The roboticist nodded. “It reminds me of when I was kid and I’d take apart old watches and phones and anything else I could get my hands on, just trying to figure out how it worked.”

“Why would someone in a state-of-the-art UHN robot lab need to learn about hundred-year-old robots like a child?” Kun questioned, following the two of you in.

“Don’t know,” Yangyang admitted. “I doubt someone had their actual kid here.”

“All of the bodies were adults.”

“Right.”

The four of you continued scouring the robotics lab, and as you were inspecting another notebook of calculations about energy supply for a robot, you let out a huff.

“Does anything else feel off to you guys about what we’re finding?” You called out to them.

“Aside from the everything?” Ten retorted from where he had been sat at the one computer remaining, not guessing the password for fear of erasing any data on it. ZEN was currently working on that.

“Well, yeah, but the food that the ag bubble had modifications to make… there’s no indication that anything was being made that required anywhere near that sort of energy intake. Positronic brains have only gotten more energy efficient since those old models.”

“Y/N’s right,” Yangyang sighed. “AI actually takes more energy than robots, in the grand scheme of things. We’ve gotten less energy efficient, overall.”

“Team Two,” Kun’s voice was a bit muffled as he checked in with the others. “Status, Team Two?”

They all paused as they listened, and Kun nodded along. Finally, he responded, “Alright, keep on it. We’ll recap an hour before mess.”

“They find anything?” You inquired.

“Maybe.” Was all you got.

“ZEN got it,” Ten announced, drawing everyone into a huddle around the screen.

An asynchronous fragment of ZEN had been plugged into the computer, since you all were unsure of exactly what was going on in there, there was a risk of a synchronous fragment transmitting any number of issues back to the rest of ZEN’s systems. With the fragment plugged into the computer being completely self-contained, it could only be reconnected with the rest of his data in the Vision’s system, where his main control nexus was. Which meant that the fragment in the facility computer was currently mute, limited to the system he was in.

The computer had been unlocked, and the soldiers around you immediately groaned as a menu written entirely in Outspacer appeared.

“Of fucking course it’s in the dead alien language, just like the rest of the building,” Ten cursed, pushing the chair back away from the computer. “Alright, Y/N, it’s all yours.”

“How long was this place running, again?” You asked curiously as you and Ten swapped.

“They finished constructing the planet nine years ago, opened the facility a year after that,” Kun answered. “Why?”

“Just thinking about how hard it’d be to not only keep all this secret for so long, but also teach all the people who worked here to be fluent in a dead language with enough proficiency that they could perform ground-breaking research in it.”

“You wouldn’t have to,” Yangyang replied as you began keying through the menu options.

“What do you mean?”

“Not everybody has to be fluent in it, especially not to a level of technological proficiency. Not if you have robot scribes who are. You just need one person who knows it and is good with robots, then they can make an Outspacer dictionary to install into however many robots they want. Then your humans can dictate in standard human, the robots can transcribe in Outspacer, and as long as your humans know enough to not mistake the furnace for the bathroom, you’re set.”

“They wouldn’t be able to read their own notes,” Ten pointed out.

“The robots would translate it back,” Yangyang replied casually. “And I’m sure you’d pick some up eventually after eight years.”

Kun interjected, “That’s not a bad idea but we haven’t found any robots other than the old models you just saw.”

“I mean, if I was trying to get rid of all the evidence of my evil science experiments, first thing I’m destroying after the evil science experiments themselves are the things that know how to read all my notes about my evil science experiments.”

“Great, all we have is a bunch of theories about why we have no evidence and no actual evidence,” Kun sighed. “Y/N, what does the computer say?”

“It looks like the start menu, there’s a few options, but they go into a lot of subfolders. It’s sorted by department, though. Robotics, Synthetic Biology, Administrative, Support, Facility—I think that one’s just like the general building records maybe? Like, not related to any experiments. Probably repair and maintenance records. I don’t know, it’ll take a while to go through all of this.”

“Even with ZEN’s help?” Kun offered.

“He’ll need to be able to read Outspacer first,” you sighed. “His translations yesterday weren’t the best.”

“He only had the Professor’s notes and his own algorithm to work with. He’ll be a quick study if you give him the right material.”

“Then yeah, it should be a lot faster to find more relevant stuff with his help.”

The captain nodded resolutely. “We’ll get you and the Professor on it when we get back to camp.”

Back at camp, your teams exchanged reports on your investigations for the day. Kun filled the others in on what you did—and didn’t—find in the robotics lab, then all eyes were on the others.

“I found some traces of organic material,” Dejun announced. “A very small—”

“We got people, and we got robots,” Kunhang said definitively, setting off Yangyang and Ten into speculative chatter.

“It could’ve been paper for all we know!” The doctor tried to quell the fast-paced conspiracies flying around the group. “‘Organic material’ is meaningless, alright? I won’t be able to tell you anything more until I can get it back up onto the Vision and into some proper equipment. My field scanner here isn’t equipped for intergalactic CSI, it’s to keep you all from dying.”

“There’s enough of a sample for analysis?” Yangyang’s eyes were glittering with excitement.

“I think so.”

He turned to Kun. “Well when can we get that sample back on the Vision, Captain?”

“Not yet.” Kun shook his head. “We still have no clue why the Skippers were here. I don’t like that they apparently knew about this place before we did.”

“Should we check out their ships tomorrow then?” Ten suggested. “See what we can find there?”

“Yes. I want you, Wong, and Liu on that tomorrow.” Kun turned back to Dejun, “Xiao, are you finished with the lab? Or do you need more time?”

“I’m done.”

“You, ZEN, and I are going to clear the building again. See if we can reconstruct the fighting from the beginning.”

“Yes, sir.”

That just left you and the Professor. You looked between him and Kun expectantly.

“Y/N,” Kun said your name tersely, crossing his arms over his chest. “Stay here and review the Professor’s notes on Outspacer.”

“All day?” You couldn’t help but blurt out. “How voluminous are his notes?”

A few of the others snickered.

“Very. Might even take you a few days, if we’re lucky.” He clapped his hands. “Dismissed. Get ready for mess, everyone.”

“So,” Ten sat down next to you at the campfire, handing you your dish. “You and the captain are on a first-name basis?”

You furrowed your brow, looking between him, your food, and where Kun was talking to the Professor and Dejun at the entrance of his tent, then back to Ten. “Well, yes, I suppose. You’ve all asked me to address you informally, except the Professor.”

“You know, I forget that his first name isn’t actually Captain,” Kunhang plopped down on your other side.

“Me too,” Ten agreed, accepting the second bowl of food that Kunhang had brought with him.

“Is it a problem?” You inquired as you stirred up your chili.

“Not at all.”

“Just…” Kunhang trailed off as he seemed to be thinking of the right word. “Fascinating.”

“What’s fascinating?” Yangyang had wandered over, already shoveling food into his mouth.

“Grown up stuff,” Ten replied dismissively.

The roboticist rolled his eyes, sitting down next to Kunhang. “Says the three who were just whispering like tweenagers at a sleepover.”

“I’m just sitting here!” You tried to defend yourself.

“If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck—”

“Ducks don’t talk?”

Ten and Kunhang laughed as Yangyang stuck his tongue out at you.

“Yes, very mature behavior from the man who was just trying to prove that he could be included in conversations with adults,” you snorted.

Kunhang shook his head. “She’s got a point, kid.”

“You’re falling in with the wrong crowd, Y/N,” Yangyang clicked his tongue. “These two are bullies, you know.”

“All of you are ridiculous and I’m tired of this,” you declared. “Yangyang, stop having a complex about your youth and inexperience, they’re calling you ‘kid’ as an affectionate nickname to show that they accept you as part of the unit. Ten and Kunhang, it’s not a big deal that Kun told me to be informal with him.”

“That’s the grown up stuff?” Yangyang said in disbelief as the other two laughed even harder. “You guys really are pre-teens.”

“Way to deflect,” Ten snickered.

“And really, do you think we’d survive calling the captain that?” Kunhang added.

“What are you calling me?” Kun’s voice suddenly entered the conversation, and all four of you startled before turning to look at him. He was standing behind you, arms crossed over his chest as he focused his gaze down at Kunhang specifically, an eyebrow raised.

Kunhang looked around at the other three of you, panicked, but there was no way you were going to help him now. The Marine gulped before scrambling to answer, “We only ever address you with the utmost respect, sir, of course, sir. Captain. Sir.”

Kun’s very obviously did not believe him, but apparently decided to let the matter go. “Clearly. As you were, Corporal.”

The others got their dinner and sat around the fire as well, various conversations cropping up here and there. At the conclusion of mess, you helped Ten and Kunhang with cleaning up as before, then bid them goodnight. Yangyang and the Professor were still up tending to the fire and chatting, and you looked around for the other residents of camp. Dejun must have already retired to your tent for the night, but there was one in particular you were looking for. This morning, Kun had told you to find him after mess tonight, and you had apparently lost him at some point.

There was a soft glow from inside his tent, however, and with the Professor still out here, you figured that would be a pretty good place to start. The front flap that acted as a door of sorts wasn’t clipped open as it usually was during the day, but it wasn’t zipped up like it was at night or when whoever was inside needed privacy. There was definitely a lamp on inside, though, so you hesitantly grabbed the edge and parted it, calling out softly as you peered in.

“Kun? Are you—” Your eyes immediately landed on where Kun was laying on his cot on his front, his back to the door. Dejun was sat on a container next to him, one of his medic packs at his feet. Kun was holding up the hem of his shirt to allow access to his lower back, and when Dejun turned around to face you, his shoulders had shifted enough so that you could see a med-pod attached to the captain’s skin. You immediately knew you weren’t supposed to see this, trying to scramble out as fast as possible as they both were now looking at you intensely. “Sorry! Sorry! I’ll go!”

“Y/N.” Kun’s tone was commanding, despite his position.

You stepped in with an apologetic grimace already on your face. “I’m sorry, the tent was unzipped, I thought—”

“That was our fault.”

“You’re busy, I’ll go. It wasn’t important.” You tried to excuse yourself again.

“Xiao was just leaving.”

“No I wasn’t,” Dejun snorted.

“Now you are.”

“Captain, we’re not nearly finished.”

Kun looked over his shoulder at the doctor tersely. “It’s fine, Lieutenant.”

“Whatever.” Dejun clicked the med-pod off and stood up, setting it down on the container he’d been sitting on. He addressed you on his way out, “You see why you’re my best patient?”

You were silent until you and the captain were alone again, thoroughly convinced you were going to suffer the same fate that Yangyang did yesterday. “I’m really sorry, Kun—”

You were interrupted by a low grunt of pain that came from the man in front of you as he went to push himself up into a sitting position. Worried, you watched as he clutched his lower back and paused, hunched over as he sat at the side of his cot.

“Are you… okay?” You asked quietly.

He held up a finger for you to wait, and you did, watching he took a few deep breaths, then finally sat up straight, looking you in the eye. Kun took his hand from his back, clenching and unclenching one of his fists over his knees.

“The ceiling.” He said abruptly.

“Kun, are you—”

“The ceiling.” He repeated sharply. “We’re talking about the ceiling.”

You sighed and crossed your arms. “I didn’t think, I just did it, okay?”

“Y/N. Not only are you a civilian, whose safety we are responsible for, not the other way around, but I was wearing armor graded for that kind of impact, you were not. I would have been fine if it had hit me. You would not have been.”

“I know,” you insisted.

“You inspected my armor just yesterday, you know the material it’s made of, and that there’s nothing wrong with it. I would have been fine. A little winded, maybe a bruise, but fine.”

“I know, I know,” you repeated, frustrated that you weren’t able to articulate why you did what you did.

“So, did you need something?” Kun asked, his voice sounding a little strained.

“Uhm, you told me to find you after mess, but Dejun was clearly doing something important, so I’ll leave and go get him for you.”

“Oh, right, I said I’d tell you about Dura-Jil.”

“It can wait.”

He stooped over a little and grabbed at his back again. “No, it’s fine.”

“You… don’t look fine,” you said, wincing empathetically.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied dismissively.

“What’s wrong? What was Dejun treating?”

He paused, and you weren’t sure if it was to ponder his answer, or to collect himself from the pain that he was clearly experiencing. After a moment, he finally answered, “The skeletal enhancements I had mentioned before, they weren’t entirely successful.”

“They’re causing you pain.” You surmised, then added hesitantly, “Or failing entirely?”

“Just some pain between tune-ups. They didn’t quite expect us to last this long when they gave us them.”

“That’s… horrible.” You shook your head, brow furrowing angrily with this knowledge. “They can’t fix it?”

“Not without putting me behind a desk for the rest of my career.” He took a deep inhale then exhaled through his nose. “If I’m lucky.”

“How often do you need ‘tune-ups?’”

“Every couple years or so. Had to miss my last one with this mission, so Xiao’s been having to do more treatments than usual.”

“And how frequently is that?”

“Nightly.”

“You’re in pain right now, Kun,” you declared softly, feeling a lump growing in your throat as you watched him clearly trying and failing to hide it from you. “If I can’t go get Dejun, will you let me finish it?”

He looked up from the ground to you. “Hm?”

“He left the med-pod here. You tell me about Dura-Jil, and I’ll finish up giving you your treatment,” you bargained.

For a terrifying moment, you thought he was about to say no. But instead, the captain just sighed and laid back down on his cot on his front. You picked up the med-pod and sat down where Dejun had been before. The canister was half-filled with a clear liquid still, and you couldn’t see the needle end. He shuffled around to grab the back of his shirt and pull it up just enough to give you access to the middle of his back. You could see where the last injection had been, a small circular impression in the middle of his spine showing where the injector had locked on.

Sliding the circle back into the same place, you looked up at Kun’s face. He wasn’t holding his breath, or staring off into the distance. Instead, he was peering over his shoulder at you. Not at the injector in your hand, but at you.

“What?” You flicked your eyes between him and the device. “Do you want a countdown or something?”

“If you need one,” he replied noncommittally.

You pressed the button on the device, and heard the distinct click signifying that the injection had started. He didn’t even flinch at the needle going in, and you pulled your hand back as you looked up to meet his eyes again.

“You seem unperturbed by this,” he commented.

“So do you.”

“Like I said—” he settled his chin to rest on his forearm. “Nightly. So what do you want to know about Dura-Jil?”

“Whatever you want to tell me,” you replied. “I mean, I kind of have the general idea, I think, but what was it actually like being there as a kid?”

“It wasn’t some lawless free-for-all wasteland, I can tell you that much.” Kun paused as if to think, then continued, “I had parents, and friends, and had a childhood probably pretty similar to yours, whatever it was like.”

“Huh.”

“I also learned to drive a Geck at twelve instead of a normal car, knew how to spot fake UHN munitions by fourteen, and me and my friends’ idea of a good time was hotwiring whatever black market Fishead pods or Dumbo quadships we could get our hands on and taking joyrides to blast new craters into one of the moons.”

You chuckled, able to hear just the slightest hint of fondness in his tone for his rambunctious youth. “Were all your friends human?”

“One Phaser, but Dura-Jil was still mostly human back then. Just a lot of corrupt humans.”

“And it’s completely breathable atmosphere for humans?”

“Yep, very similar atmospheric composition to Earth, that’s part of why it was chosen for the first colony,” he confirmed. “It’s a bit further from Sol-X than Earth is from the Sun, though, so you’ve got to bundle up while you’re there. Perpetual winter, at least by Earth standards.”

“What about the sky? Is it blue like Earth?”

“Closer to an indigo. Something about the scattering and the gases. I was shocked when I came to Earth and realized how blue a blue sky was actually supposed to be.”

“Why did you go to Earth? Why did you leave Dura-Jil?”

The injector clicked again then, signaling that it had finished. You looked back down and saw the canister was empty.

“It’s late,” Kun declared, removing the empty med-pod from his back himself. He turned onto his side with a soft grunt, propped up on an elbow as he held the device out to you. “Give that back to Xiao, will you?”

You accepted it, standing back up. “Of course. Thank you, Kun.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight.”

When you left Kun’s tent, you nearly tripped over the Professor sitting on his pack just outside of it.

“Oh! Sorry!” You apologized.

“Huh?” He looked up from his notes as if he had just noticed you. “Oh, Y/N, I thought it was Xiao in there.”

“No, uh, just me. Goodnight, Professor.”

Back in your own tent, you held the empty med-pod out towards Dejun. “Here…?”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he sat up, letting you drop it into his palm. “Captain finished it himself?”

“Not quite,” you sighed, sitting down as you watched him put it back into one of his packs. “I asked him to let me administer it since he had sent you away before you could finish.”

“Well thanks.” He laid back down onto his cot. “Might need you to guilt him into doing that more often.”

“You make it sound like a bad thing.”

“Y/N, he needs it. I don’t know how much he told you about it, but it’s good that he let you.”

“Will it shorten his lifespan? The enhancements degrading?”

The doctor breathed out low and slow, rolling over to face you. “How much did he tell you?”

“The UHN gave him minor skeletal enhancements that allow his body to support the weight of his armor. But when he was given them… the UHN hadn’t considered longevity and now the enhancements require adjustments or they cause him pain. He missed his last adjustment because of this mission so you’ve been administering pain treatments nightly.”

“So… a lot.” Dejun shook his head. “I don’t know. Like you said, the UHN didn’t expect him to last long, so they didn’t factor that into the enhancements, or anything else they did. So I don’t know what’ll happen.”

“How could humans do that to other humans?”

“Pretty easily, actually, if they think they’re doing the right thing,” he almost laughed. “I wish it weren’t so.”

“When can Kun get his next tune-up?”

“Whenever we’re done here, I hope,” Dejun mused, flopping onto his back. “We should be dropping you off at UHN Main after this, and that’s where it happens.”

“What more do you need to do here?” You asked. “How soon can we go? So he can get adjusted.”

“Don’t know. When he thinks we’re done here, I guess. Or if the Admiral calls us to something more pressing, but that would probably delay the adjustment for even longer.”

You gnawed on your bottom lip. “I wish I could help. I wish I could remember, be able to tell you all what was going on here.”

“Y/N, you’ve helped us plenty. You can read Outspacer, for fuck’s sake,” Dejun insisted. “And what did I tell you about stressing your injured brain?”

“Not do it,” you sighed. “And I’m not. I’m just… expressing frustration about it.”

“Yeah, and I wish I’d had another growth spurt or two,” he snorted. “Isn’t going to make me two meters tall anytime soon. Best thing either of us can do right now is sleep, okay?”

“You’re right, you’re right.”

“Always am.”

You laid down, staring up at the ceiling of the tent. “Goodnight, Dejun.”

He clicked the lamp off, plunging you into darkness. “Night, YN.”

⇢ next | series masterlist | blog masterlist

[injvns]

ace of hearts - a qian kun oneshot smau

notes: little thingy i threw together for my og nct bias' bday :3 i love qian kun!!!

[viasdreams]

𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒

rebuilding a relationship with chenle !!

𓍼ོ this is pt.2, you can read pt.1 here

a/n: what yall know about kun and chenle’s friendship 😒

fake text m.list ☁︎⋅

[fruithoughts]

. . . when he needs a new wallpaper

[kj0ne]

Nct fic rec’s

A collection of some of my favourite fics i have read that are mostly nct but i may add some other groups!

Includes fics/series, smaus, oneshots,drabbles, headcannons and time stamps

S - smut | SG -suggestive | F - fluff

A - angst | M - mature

All credits to the writers! If you would not like your work on here please lmk!

*lm still new to posting on tumblr please lmk if anything is or looks wrong*

(Im a sucker for family au so please expect alot of that here 😅)

Nct wish are not included!

Nct 127

Johnny Suh

Lee Taeyong

Little taste of heaven | M,F,A - @taelme

Part 1 | part 2 | part 3

R U Ridin? | F - @writemekpop

Taeyong is a mafia boss, and he hides it from you... but what happens when his secret gets revealed?

[Newly added] BF! Taeyong in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

[Newly added] 12:22pm | F - @gyeomsweetgyeom

Nakamoto Yuta

Dad!Yuta | F - @jwirecs

[Newly added] BF! Yuta in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

[Newly added] Moonstruck | F - @zeroseuniverse

Kim Doyoung

Heaven, fallen | M,F,A - @wincore

6-7am | F - @nctinthehouse

You were beautiful | F,A - @jaelvr

[Newly added] 2:29pm | F - @gyeomsweetgyeom

[Newly added] BF! Doyoung in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

Jeong Jaehyun

Kim Jungwoo

Hard to say goodbye | F - @by-soleil

1:18pm | F - @gyeomsweetgyeom

Part 2 ⬇️

8:25pm | F - @gyeomsweetgyeom

[Newly added] BF! Jungwoo in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

Mark and Haechan in dream down below ⬇️

Nct Dream

Mark Lee

Huang Renjun

Beat you at your own game | F - @cafelattaes

y/n has a crush on renjun, who's not that great with people. despite his standoffish nature, she makes an effort to be friendly. but things take a twist when she starts to ignore him.

[Newly added] You ask renjun to teach you chinese, hoping to gather some courage to confess to your crush | F - @ddolbyong

Part 1 | Part 2

[Newly added] BF! Renjun in your camera roll | F @angeliqueiguess

Lee Jeno

Lee Haechan

Na Jaemin

Zhong Chenle

Park Jisung

Wayv

Qian Kun

7:16am | F - @theficblog

[Newly added] BF! Kun in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

Ten Lee

Just for the night | F - @mae-gi-writes

[Newly added] BF!Ten in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

WinWin

BF! WinWin in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

2:16pm | F - @winwintea

11:39pm | F - @honeymark

8:44pm | F - @gyeomsweetgyeom

XiaoJun

BF! Xiaojun in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

Hendery

Please save Mr. Fishy | F - @solaris-amethyst

You're a vet and he's pleading with you to save his goldfish since you're the only vet he's visited that hasn't asked him if he doesn't just want to go and buy another goldfish for three dollars.

BF! Hendery in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

YangYang

Drunken souvenir | F - @blue-jisungs

Sounds of strings | A? - @meiideryz

yangyang is a man who would completely back off from people his friends like, but not this one.

[Newly added] BF!YangYang in your camera roll | F - @angeliqueiguess

[Newly added] This Is An Emergency! | F - @sungbeam

Units

Nct 127

Baby 127 calling dad on tour | F - @phoxphenex

Nct dream

Moon and enthusiasm | F - @handlemehyuck

Baby dream calling dad on tour | F - @phoxphenex

Boyfriend texts | F - @handlemehyuck

Orange peel theory | F - @hyuckswoman

7dream nicknames for their partners | F - @swee7dream

Dream on dreaming | F - @diorcities

[Newly added] Waking up with dreamies | F - @lelengerine

[Newly added] Soft spot | F - @jisungchan

don’t believe in love, but no one makes me feel like you do 

when the moment hits them, that they’re in love with you

[Newly added] BF! Dreamies thinking reader cheated | A - @jwisun

WayV

WayV reaction to a pic of them sleeping | F - @tigermark

[Newly added] Making out with wayv | F,SG - @wayvchip

Misc

[Newly added] The serial lover | F,A,SG - @haechanhues

in which a girl farewells every boy she’s ever loved (or at least had romantic feelings for) in order to prove that her feelings for one particular boy are very real and unwavering.

[zeroseuniverse]

Missing Out

Word Count: 509 Summary:“You’re quiet tonight,” you said softly, taking a seat beside him. A humorless chuckle left his lips. “I’ve been thinking.” Pairing: Kun x reader

Taglist: @sh0dor1 @tinyelfperson @Zaycie @lezleeferguson-120 @kunkunlele

Navigation

Kun had always been the type to think things through, to consider every possibility before making a decision. It was one of the many things you admire about him, but tonight, it was the very thing that made him feel so distant.

He sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders tense, fingers intertwined as he stared down at the floor. You could see the war waging inside him—the quiet pull of doubt gnawing at the edges of his usual composure.

“You’re quiet tonight,” you said softly, taking a seat beside him.

A humorless chuckle left his lips. “I’ve been thinking.”

“That much is obvious,” you teased, nudging him lightly. But he didn’t smile. That was when you knew—this wasn’t just any fleeting worry. This was something deeper.

Kun exhaled, rubbing his face with his hands before finally turning to meet your gaze. “I feel like I’m holding you back.”

Your brows furrowed. “What?”

He shook his head, his jaw tightening. “You deserve someone who can give you everything. Someone who isn’t constantly working, who doesn’t come home exhausted, who doesn’t—” He hesitated, his voice thick with emotion. “Who doesn’t make you wait for him.”

Your heart clenched at the weight of his words. Kun was always so selfless, always thinking about what was best for everyone else, but right now… he was breaking his own heart with assumptions that weren’t even true.

“Kun,” you murmured, reaching for his hand. “Where is this coming from?”

He let out a slow breath, thumb brushing over your knuckles absentmindedly. “I see the way your friends talk about their relationships—the spontaneous dates, the carefree adventures, the way they don’t have to plan weeks in advance just to see each other. And I just… I don’t want you to look back one day and regret choosing me.”

You squeezed his hand, shaking your head. “Kun, look at me.” He hesitated before lifting his gaze, vulnerability etched in his expression.

“I don’t care about spontaneous dates. I don’t need extravagant trips or nights out just for the sake of it. I need you. And if that means planning around your schedule, waiting a little longer just to be with you, then I’ll do it. Because I love you, and nothing about this—about us—feels like missing out.”

His lips parted slightly, as if trying to find the right words, but for once, he seemed at a loss.

You cupped his face gently, your thumbs tracing soothing circles against his skin. “You’re not holding me back, Kun. You are what I choose, every single time.”

His breath hitched, and before you knew it, he was pulling you into a tight embrace. His arms wrapped around you as if he was afraid you’d slip away, his face buried in the crook of your neck.

“Thank you,” he whispered, voice thick with emotion. “I don’t deserve you.”

You smiled softly, pressing a kiss to his temple. “You deserve everything, Kun. And I’m not going anywhere.”

And just like that, the weight on his shoulders seemed a little lighter.

[bee-the-loser-recs]

✩✮✩✮ My Kun One-shot Fic Recs ✩✮✩✮

★ Sleepless Cinderella [Prologue] and [Kun] By @starlightkun 11.4k, Journalist reader, Pilot Kun, interviewing him for an article, falling in love, romantic connections, slight angst, fluff, having scheduling difficulties

★ Romance is dead & Sequel By @starlightkun 19.4k & 10.3k, part of the writer's Strawberry Sunday universe, fantasy au, college au, modern magical creatures, vampire Kun, human reader, accidental love potions, strangers to lovers, fluff, angst, blood drinking

★ The bite By @starlightkun 25.2k, single parents au, enemies to lovers, single dad Kun, single mom reader, they both have sons in preschool, slight angst, initial dislike, flirting, slowburn, a kid biting another

★ Flopstar By @starlightkun 18.3k, Band au, Kun is a retired band member, now a venue manager, rookie Keyboardist reader, reader was a fan of Kun's band, age gap, fluff, suggestive, WayV as Kun's coworkers, other NCT appearances throughout

★ Hold my red heart By @starlightkun 3.4k, fake dating at the office holiday party trope, friends to lovers, reader is slightly stupid, fluff, slight angst, tipsy reader, drinking, vomiting, cursing

★ Chasing love across the receivers By @starlightkun 9.3k, sci-fi au, co-workers in space, falling in love with one another without seeing each other, they're space traffic controllers, codenames, fluff, minor hurt/comfort, brief injury mention

Literally just go check out @starlightkun cause their works are all so good!! They have many other Kun fics as well as other NCT members, but I haven't had a chance to read them all myself yet

★ Noli timere By @itsapapisongo 13.3k, Hogwarts au, fantasy, Hufflepuff Kun, Slytherin reader, British slang, acquaintances to friends, facing a boggart, fluff, slice of life, depicting a character having a panic attack

★ Drama love By @radiorenjun 23.5k, college au, drama club au, Kun is president of the club, star actor reader, frenemies to lovers, tsundere Kun, teasing/playful bullying, insults, reader is a menace, fluff, slight angst, so good

★ Harvesting hearts By @xomakara 6.4k, western au, country farming au, farmer reader, new resident Kun, instant attraction, developing feelings, other residents NCT, a crop-stealing sheep, inspired by cosy farming games, fluff

★ Blessings By @xomakara 6.7k, established relationship, accidental pregnancy, dad!Kun, slight angst, worry, fluff, smut, watching how their relationship develops, moving in together, comfort

★ Creme caramel By @werejusttouchingeachother 3.3k, established relationship, missing one another, being horny, photoshoots, reader makes a dessert Kun said he was craving, surprises, smut

★ The perfect match By @gyoobies Ten x reader x Kun, polyamory, established relationship between Ten & Kun, café au, mutual interest in one another, smut, fluff, flirting, teasing

★ Irreplaceable By @justwritedreams 1.5k, soldier au, pilot Kun, mentions of military training exercises, fluff, action, Kun gets angry at another pilot, going on dates together, reader watches him train

★ Peacefully paired By @cigsaftersuh SMAU, non-idol au, reader lives in a small village, Kun moves to town, friends WayV & Mark Lee, posting online, misconceptions, Kun thinks reader & Mark are dating at first, fluff, feelings

★ Paint the lot red By @alreadyblondenow 6.8k, vampire au, Kun is a vampire, human writer reader, reader has lost their family in a car crash, strangers to friends to lovers, major character death, depression, smut, angst, blood

★ Whenever the sun is hiding By @alreadyblondenow 3.7k, kind of Mulan au, general Kun, warrior reader, fantasying about one another, smut, angst, mentions of a promised one back home, the ending killed me

★ Give By @hazyhae 1.1k, established relationship, getting high together, weed use, stressed Kun, ranting to reader about things, pet names, smut, fluff

★ Day 20: Thigh riding By @lovetaroandtaemin 1.4k, a kinktober fic, established relationship, going on their anniversary date, public teasing, smut, slight crying

★ Day 21: Aphrodisiac By @all-about-kyu 1.7k, magic au, wizard Kun, apprentice reader, making a romance potion together, accidentally messing up the potion, aphrodisiacs, smut, aftercare, mentions of actual feelings

★ Love of my life By @all-about-kyu 3.5k, established relationship, going through their relationship lifetime, insecurities, anxiety over their relationship, pregnancy, parenting, Ten & Xiaojun as their kids

★ Kun trying to convince you to join his many side quests !! By @viasdreams SMAU, established relationship, Kuns many side quests he's done, mentions of Kun jumping out of planes/piloting/doing magic, fluff, crack

★ Be alright By @ethereal-engene 1.7k, Older brother Kun & younger sibling reader, reader's first day back at school, self deprecating thoughts, self doubt, living with WayV, seeking comfort from your sibling, fluff, comfort

★ Promise By @iridesuhnce 4k, friends to lovers, childhood friends, slowly falling apart, reconnecting years later, promises, angst, fluff, they had a childhood fort together

★ Fireworks (I love you) By @sunflw3r 931, non-idol au, established relationship, new years setting, celebrating Kun's birthday, watching the fireworks, implied younger reader, fluff, flirting

★ Finding gilbert By @jaeminlore 1.2k, soulmate au, neighbours au, countdown timers to when you meet, Kun has a new kitten, reader finds the cat, fluff

★ July 26th By @00127am 2k, roommates au, complaining about the summer heat together, sharing a bed, non-sexual intimacy, "just friends" dynamic, cuddling

★ Ace of hearts By @injvns SMAU, Kun practices magic, card tricks, reader finds one of Kun's cards in her book, fluff, first meeting, attraction, cute

★ Biting By @imagesbywayv Drabble, established relationship, slice of life, typically soft Kun, smut, biting, leaving bruises on reader

★ I'll give it to you, wonder you By @imagesbywayv 591, established relationship, soft dom Kun, smut, praise, pet names, kind of fluffy smut, slice of life

★ Bet you like it, you love it By @imagesbywayv 1.2k, established relationship, slice of life, playing around with power dynamics, reader wears lipstick, leaving marks on each other, lipstick stains, soft, smut, fluffy

★ 望むままに, easy come By @imagesbywayv 3.8k, established relationship, slice of life, smut, soft dom Kun, pet names, use of Gege, praise, kind of bratty reader, a slight hint of mean Kun, talk of rewards

★ 鮮やかな姿, show me everything By @imagesbywayv 1.18k, established relationship, dom!Kun, pet names, teasing one another, smut, Kun spoils reader constantly, unspoken dynamic

★ I'm losing sleep, is it just me? By @imagesbywayv 1.9k, sugar daddy!Kun, sugar baby!reader, established arrangement / dynamic, catching actual feelings, the arrangement is meant to be ending soon, smut

★ Yikes, date gone wrong, hoodie thieves, exam week pickup, and we should get a cat By @suhnshinehaos SMAU, university au, NCT96z & reader as roommates [Doyoung, Ten & Kun], one-shots, reader has a shitty ex, being stood up, slight implied Ten x reader, teasing, sharing clothes, fluff, slight angst

[yangqism]

break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored | qian kun

idol!kun x afab!reader

synopsis.  You know exactly what you’re doing. You’ve got your sights set on Kun, your flawless, "stuck-up" senior with his perfect life and girlfriend — yeah, he’s off-limits. But that little detail? It won’t stop you. One dance, all teasing glances and charged tension, and suddenly, his eyes are focused on yours. Break up with your girlfriend, your look seems to say, I’m bored. He knows the risks, knows exactly what it would mean if someone caught on. But with you? There’s a thrill he can’t ignore, a promise of something just dangerous enough to be worth the fallout.

genre. forbidden romance, smut, angst

warnings. noncon elements (kun kissing reader out of the blue), emotional manipulation, infidelity, protected sex, fingering, handjob (if you don’t blink), explicit language, spitting, pussy eating

word count. 5,802

“I am not a homewrecker,” you defended yourself to Karina, a junior of yours, after she caught you looking with heart eyes to your senior, Kun. “He’s just so… charismatic. It makes me wonder how Hyeyeon pulled him.”

Hyeyeon used to be a trainee at SM Entertainment but left because she didn’t make the cut for aespa. You, on the other hand, debuted as a soloist the same year WayV debuted, just a few months later. Ever since your trainee days, you have been close to the aespa members as well as other trainees but never Hyeyeon. 

Because she has who you want. 

“Yeah, just keep saying that to yourself until you come to your senses,” Karina rolled her eyes. She’s always been the one to remind you that Qian Kun is taken by an ex-trainee while the other three would just feed your delusions and support you, equally problematic like you.

“Just listen to me, will you?” You sighed, sitting down at one of the chairs at SM’s cafeteria while Karina followed your motion. “It was just a glimpse… I haven’t seen him in months and whenever we have interactions, we just go, ‘Hi, Hello!’ and never have longer conversations. I’m not tempting him to cheat with me!” The last sentence came out as a whisper rather than a shout because you were afraid people from your own company would hear your conversation with the girl in front of you. 

Before Karina could condemn you again, Kun walked into the doors of the cafeteria with his left arm around Hyeyeon’s waist. Both of them were giggly and looked deeply in love with each other. Kun made eye contact with you and nodded at your direction while you did the same, feeling sheepish and envious all of a sudden. Wishing that it was you he was holding. 

“It’s been four years since your obsession with him began, Y/N. Looks like you better move on ‘cuz it looks like they aren’t separating anytime soon,” Karina teased, smiling widely at your semi-distraught state after having eye contact with your senior, who you dearly love, who was with his girlfriend, who you dearly hate.

“Whatever,” was the last thing you said to Karina before leaving her to head towards your practice room. 

Earlier today, you were informed by your manager that some artists would borrow your practice room for the rest of the week because their room is under renovation. Of course, you happily responded to your manager but you didn’t know who the artist was. Or who they are. 

Break up with your girlfriend, cuz I’m bored…

The lyrics of the song filled the whole room as you started practicing your special performance scheduled for next month. You decided to perform Ariana Grande’s song which is very fitting for your situation right now. 

You swayed and rolled your hips to the side followed by a kneeling position where you bent and humped the floor sensually, clearly immersed by the song and the man you were thinking of. Unbeknownst to you, Kun entered your practice room while you were deeply focused on dancing, slightly embarrassed to see you touching every part of your body sensually and even humping down the floor. To him, you owned the song. 

He wanted to exit the room quietly but his body was frozen in place. His eyes scanned you head to toe, your movement, facial expression, and even your breathing. He was skimming you thoroughly and felt this unexplainable ache in his chest for looking at another woman the way he would look at his girlfriend. 

By the end of your dance, you noticed an awkward Kun standing near the door, watching you. At first, you immediately bowed to show respect to him and greeted him with a smile to which he replied with warmth. 

“Kun-oppa! Nice to meet you!” You greeted, hoping that this is the start of a finally long conversation with your lovely senior.

“Y/N. Your dancing was so good! I almost thought that I might distract you,” he cursed to himself because if anyone was distracted, it would be him and not you. If only you could see the way his gaze lingered at your body and face, he thinks that you’d probably be weirded out by him. 

“Oh, I didn’t notice you while I was practicing so yeah…” You sheepishly replied, eyes glued to the floor, not wanting to meet Kun’s gaze that, even if you cannot see him eye to eye, intimidated you so much. 

Just as when you thought it would be the last conversation you’ll have with your beloved senior for the day, your mind wandered off to something that you know you will regret afterwards… but you want to at least try. 

“Sunbae…” you trailed. Your eyes now bravely meet his. Naught was evident in your current state as you slowly walked closer to Kun. 

The man started getting nervous as you stopped near him. The only barrier the both of you have is at least one inch of air and clothes. “Yes..?” He asked tensely. Kun wanted to put more space between the both of you but his body won’t budge to what his mind wants. He stood there, extremely close to you and his anxiousness to what you are about to say was clear in his demeanor.

“Would you like to watch me dance again? And then you can give me advice afterwards.” Your tone was achingly flirtatious and you winced after that came out of your mouth. You hoped that he’d agree while he hoped that his members would come sooner or he’d accept your offer and make more immoral thoughts about you… while he has a girlfriend.

It took a while for Kun to respond to what you had just said. He closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, his members still didn’t arrive even though the situation he is in right now needed them.

And he answered you with something both of you knew would change the trajectory of your relationship with each other.

“Sure, it’d be my pleasure.”

It was indeed his pleasure to see you dance upfront than by the mirror. Kun watched in awe as you perfected the moves, adding sensual touches here and there which made him feel guilty. 

But why would he feel guilty if he wasn’t interested in you?

You can hit it in the mornin’, like it’s yours

I know it ain’t right

But I don’t care

Break up with your girlfriend

Cause I’m bored 

You mouthed the lyrics while pointing to Kun, walking closer to where he was seated. While you were slowly dancing your way to Kun, he cannot deny the nervousness filling up his whole body, watching your next move. Guiltily waiting for what is next. Hoping for something to happen. Guiltily. 

At this point, you weren’t in your usual self because you were too preoccupied with the song. You were feeling the song so much that you didn’t notice you were humping Kun’s lap rather than the floor. That you were seductively singing your lyrics to his ear. That you were breathing heavily while singing. That he can hear everything. And that he can feel you the way you are feeling the warmth of his body right now. 

“Break up with your girlfriend,” was your final verse and you were still in his lap, sitting in his tough thighs that are now clenched underneath you. Oh, how you loved the feeling of your beloved senior’s lap. You enjoyed every second of it and you highkey hope he did too. 

You and Kun spent an entire minute looking at each other’s eyes, waiting for who will give in first. Waiting for who will initiate something. Waiting for something. 

“So… how was it, oppa?” You bit your lower lip, slowly sitting beside Kun who was clearly having a hard time processing what had happened to him and his precious lap. “Kun?”

When he didn’t answer you the first time, you got worried, thinking that he was actually as stuck up as other people and as the media portrayed him to be and that he wasn’t ready to experience that with you, his junior who he did not have any communication with whatsoever before it happened. 

But what he did startled you more than how you startled him. He grabbed your head forcefully and made your lips meet each other. You moaned at the sudden contact, touching his shoulders and sitting back to his lap and grinded harshly on his now prominent boner. Your tongues started battling for dominance and his hands are now on your ass, squeezing it hard making you whimper. 

“Kun…” 

“You like this huh, Y/N?” He groaned, his kisses moving down to your neck where he left sloppy kisses. “You like riling your seniors up, Y/N? You like it when you act like a slut in front of your seniors?” He was degrading you and you loved every second of it. 

“Only… hmn… for Kun…ah!” You replied breathily, his hands now groping your chests. He was so close to removing your shirt when you heard the loud noise of his members heading to your practice room. Only then did you remember that they were supposed to practice right after you, leading you to push your body off of Kun. Hurriedly, you left your own practice room while Kun sat there, realizing what he had done. 

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. 

“What have I done?” You were walking back and forth in front of the aespa members, biting your nails and your eyebrows furrowed. It was the week after your sinful interaction with your long-time crush who has a girlfriend and you cannot sleep at peace every night thinking of what you had done, of what you had made him do. It was all your fault and your conscience is eating you up. You vividly remember how frantic you were to the remaining WayV members heading to your practice room that you bowed to them without making eye contact, because of the guilt that you had done something morally and ethically wrong with their leader. 

“Well, if only you acted more like a mature woman, this wouldn’t happen,” Karina scolded you and you definitely deserved that for what you did. 

“But think of it, Y/N-eonnie! It means he’s interested in you! ‘Cause he wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t!” Ningning butted in, her smile was so wide you almost gave in to the thought that THE Qian Kun is interested in you. 

“No! I tempted him… oh god.. I’m the worst human being ever! How can I face him again?! How can I face Hyeyeon again?” You’re now sitting on your room's floor, hair disheveled, clothes crumpled, and everything. Clearly, what had happened affected you so much that you were in a panic. 

“So, what’s your plan?” Giselle asked, unbothered at your current state. 

“I’ll just ignore him and then pretend that what happened to us never happened and… that it was all in our imagination! See?” You rambled like crazy, grinning idiotically while eyeing the four girls at your sofa.

“You can’t just ignore Kun… We have SMTOWN next week,” Winter amusingly replied to you.

“Fuuck,” you pulled your hair so hard they thought you were about to become bald. “What do I do?!”

The rest of the week before SMTOWN Concert was just you explicitly avoiding Kun to the point that even his members are asking him why you are acting weird around them. Kun just shrugged at them, knowing that he was the reason why you’re doing that but they have no right to know why because they will definitely look at him with disdain.

While you were busy going to places where Kun won’t go, he was busy trying to chase you to apologize and to have a proper closure about what had happened before. He confessed to himself that he gave in to you because you were so beautiful while you danced and he saw how immersed you were while dancing that it made him make out with you. He never told Hyeyeon what happened because he felt guilty the first few days but later on, it was replaced with his yearning for you to talk to him again, to greet him again like a senior as if nothing bad happened.

Kun never understood why he suddenly felt this way towards you after what the both of you had done but ever since, when you’re not looking or when you thought that he’s not around, he would steal glances and observe you from afar… slowly building up his forbidden liking for you. He hated every single thought of him corrupting and liking you while hurting Hyeyeon because everyone knows Qian Kun is smart, stuck-up, and perfect, until you came. You had affected him. You made his wall crumble and you made him feel things he isn’t supposed to feel towards someone that isn't his lover. You made Qian Kun a sinner.

Day by day, his love for Hyeyeon became colder but the girl was oblivious to her now distant boyfriend because Kun still acted lovey dovey towards her and made her feel warm and giddy. Though, he’d rather spend days chasing you than acting to Hyeyeon. 

At that moment, Kun realized how much of an asshole he is for playing with Hyeyeon and for looking at you while his girlfriend wasn’t around. He felt like a dick because he couldn’t break up with his girlfriend, hating the fact that he’d hurt the woman he swore he’d marry before. 

But oh well, turns out he wasn’t the only one having fun when he’s unavailable. 

It was a sunny day right before SMTOWN, the artists were diligently doing their final rehearsal at the Sky Dome while Giselle begged you to go out and buy food with her for the other members. You agreed immediately because your rehearsal was finished an hour ago but you still stayed in hopes of seeing Kun perform on stage.

“What do you want, Y/N?” Giselle asked you, scanning the dessert aisle of the convenience store. 

“I just want some corn dog and iced coffee. What ‘bout you? I’ll pay for everything,” you offered but before Giselle could celebrate you spoke again, “But you’ll go to the counter and do the talking, I’ll just give you my card.” 

“Hah… seriously. You never fail to get my hopes up just to disappoint me,” Giselle complained but still managed to go to the counter with all of the food.

“You want free food or nah?” The girl just looked at you dejectedly.

“What’s with two coffees anyway?” 

“I’m giving it to Kun…” Giselle noticed the way your eyes looked around the store, not wanting to meet her teasing gaze. “I know the look you’re giving me right now and I’m not loving it.” 

“Yeah… ‘cuz what happened to avoiding him?”

“Look at his arms and tell me if you can ignore someone like him.” The girl just nodded in agreement to what you had said. 

When the both of you exited the convenience store, you cannot help but notice a familiar figure at a coffee shop near the venue of the concert. You urged Giselle to follow you and observed the familiar figure, to see if you can recall who it was. 

It was Hyeyeon with an unfamiliar guy, laughing together. He even kissed Hyeyeon’s temple and it was enough for you to realize that she had been cheating on Kun while he worked his ass off inside the stadium. Giselle looked at you worriedly, afraid that you might barge inside the coffee shop and attack Hyeyeon.

“Isn’t that the girlfriend of your crush?”

“Y-yeah… but if she’s cheating, why do it at a place near the stadium?” 

“Ask your crush, not me. I just want to eat. Come on, Y/N. Karina and the others are waiting for us,” before you followed Giselle back to the venue, you took a couple of pictures of the two as a proof to show to Kun. 

Of course, rather than feeling bad for the man, you thought of this as a chance to get him. To make him yours. 

Backstage, you told the other girls the scene you saw with Giselle. At first, they told you not to jump to any conclusions because maybe they’re relatives, waiting for Kun to finish his rehearsals so they could meet. But something isn’t quite right and it’s bothering you.

“I will tell him about this!” You figured that this is the chance to talk to him again, to act innocent and show him a picture of his girlfriend being kissed at the temple by another man. To tell him that you’re just concerned for his relationship. 

“How would you, though? If you go to their waiting room, everyone will be suspicious. You know how things get if a rumor gets out that you’re talking to Kun,” Winter tilted her head, her eyes scanning your face, waiting for your response. 

“And that’s why we have Ningning!” You gleamed, looking at the youngest member with imploring eyes.

Ningning swallowed hard, evaluating the situation she’s in. She doesn’t want to be some catalyst for another person’s heartbreak but she wants you to shut up about Kun. In the end, she’s closer to you than she is to Hyeyeon and what is right is always with the ones closest to you. 

She took a deep breath followed by a click of her tongue, “I can’t believe I’m tolerating you. If your fans knew about this, they’d go mad,” was what she said before heading to WayV’s waiting room to look for Kun. 

The thought of your fans knowing your sinful escapade with your senior who has a girlfriend ignited the thrill in your heart you never knew you had. You are fully aware of how big the backlash can be if ever this gets out, of how you might potentially lose your job and be the most hated idol in the industry ever. But the excitement overpowers the fear of whatever the consequences of your actions can lead to. If it’s for Kun. 

Ningning led Kun to the girls’ waiting room, urging the rest of her members to get out, leaving you and him alone. 

“Kun-oppa…” Awkward tension filled the room. He wasn’t speaking to you and was just looking into your eyes indirectly from the mirror you are in front of. “Hi.” You bit your lip as your body started to feel hot from the presence of Kun. 

“Are you avoiding me, Y/N?” Was all he needed to say for you to sit up straight and look back at him. 

“Who wouldn’t?” You retorted, “After the thing I did to you… I felt bad.” And that you did. You genuinely felt bad for riling his mood up, for not stopping, for taking advantage of him. 

“It’s not anyone’s fault, Y/N. I chose to do that with you,” Kun replied, patting the couch, urging you to sit beside him which you immediately conformed to. “Why’d you bring me here?” 

Looking at his eyes almost made you forget the reason Ningning brought him here. But before dropping the big news, you first gave him the coffee you bought earlier for him, earning a small ‘thanks’ from him. 

“I have something to show you,” you firmly said. This time, you were looking seriously into his eyes that he cannot fathom what you are about to tell. “But first, does Hyeyeon know it’s your last rehearsal today?” You winced at the sound of his girlfriend’s name from your mouth, feeling like the lowest being on Earth.

He found it weird for you to ask him about his girlfriend when you have an unexplainable tension between the both of you but he shook his head no. 

With your hands trembling, you unlocked your phone and opened your gallery app to show him the images you took earlier of Hyeyeon and an unknown man, acting very intimate at the coffee shop near the stadium. “I saw them when me and Giselle went out earlier to buy snacks.” 

At first, Kun frowned slightly, then his head leaned closer to your phone to get a better view of what you’re showing him. After looking at the photo for a minute, it seems to be engraved into his mind. His jaws clenched tightly and said nothing for a long time, just observing what was happening in the photo. 

“That’s…” His voice became so low that you felt even hotter, sitting close next to him. You can tell that he was mad and disappointed at the thing you showed him. “Is this true?” He questioned you, his voice heavy with tension.

“Kun, I would never lie to you.” 

Kun stared at the photo for a moment longer, his expression completely unreadable. Then, he let out a soft, unamused chuckle, running a hand through his hair. “So this is what she’s been doing,” he murmured, almost to himself.

“Kun…” You hesitated, your voice soft. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head again in disagreement. “Thank you for showing me. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.” 

You watched his fingers rake his hair again, his body seemingly sinking under an invisible weight. As you were closer in determining what he was feeling, his demeanor suddenly shifted from a betrayed man to something darker. 

At the night before the concert, Kun couldn’t stop thinking about the photo you’d shown him. The image of Hyeyeon smiling and leaning into another man wasn’t just a betrayal—it was the perfect opportunity. He wasn’t proud of himself for thinking that way, but the guilt of his own infidelity had been gnawing at him, and now, for the first time in weeks, he saw a way to relieve himself. 

When Hyeyeon showed up to his dorm, he was greeted with her lively demeanor and a kiss on the cheek. But he wasn’t having any of it. He wanted to end this quickly so that he could go back chasing you. 

“Hyeyeon, who is he?” He asked, his phone now in front of Hyeyeon’s face. Her eyes welcomed the photo you took which is now on Kun’s phone. 

His girlfriend’s smile faded and it was replaced by shock, her mouth slightly open. “Kun? I don’t know–He’s just a friend… Where did you even get this?” Her thoughts were all over the place and all she could think was how she could defend herself to keep Kun with her. 

Kun inhaled sharply and licked his bottom lip, showing annoyance to the female. “Just a friend? Are you kidding me, Hyeyeon? Look at the way he’s touching you. Hell, he even kissed your temple!” He raised his voice in annoyance as Hyeyeon now started tearing up. 

“Kun, I swear it’s not what it looks like. I would neve-” Before Hyeyeon could finish her sentence, Kun interrupted her. 

His eyes showed his deep disappointment to his soon-to-be-former lover as if he was incredibly hurt from what she did. “Never? Because it sure looks like you would!” He pointed at the photo again. “I’ve been working all day and night, trying to keep our relationship stable despite everything, and this is how you repay me?” His tone cracked, filled with fabricated hurt, though inside, he was now unaffected by her betrayal. 

“I’m sorry, Kun! I didn’t think that… that it would go this far.”

“You definitely did not think, Hyeyeon, because who would ever do that to their boyfriend? Huh? Do you even care about the efforts I made to keep you safe? The sacrifices?” His voice was sharp and clear, laced with hypocrisy from someone who isn’t innocent but wants to make her the guilty one. “I am more than disappointed in you, Hyeyeon. For me, you were my everything.”

Hyeyeon wanted to talk again, to defend herself. She wanted to make things right but Kun was having none of it. He was having enough of acting in front of her. “This won’t do, Hyeyeon.” He stated whilst shaking his head. “This won’t do. I think we have to end our relationship. We have to stop.” 

Her eyes widened and she violently disagreed with what he had just said. “No please, Kun! Please give me another chance. Please!” She clasped her palms together in front of him, desperate for some sort of kindness Kun might give her. 

“We’re over, Hyeyeon.” Was the last thing he said before escorting the woman out of his dorm. 

The next day, news of Hyeyeon cheating on Kun spread like wildfire. A lot of the staff has sympathized with him, especially his members but he assured them that he is fine. That everything is okay and he can manage… which he definitely is, considering how he took his confrontation with Hyeyeon as a chance to make her guilty. 

Right after your performance, you spent a moment backstage to observe the chaos of the staff running frantically in different directions. The hum of the stage’s booming bass reverberated through the walls, each thud is a reminder of the performer’s passion to be on stage, in front of their fans. 

You then entered your dressing room which was dim and the fluorescents were flickering softly overhead. You were about to close the door to change when you saw Kun standing by the door, his chest heaving slightly as if he was running after you, afraid you’d avoid him again. 

His eyes–dark and piercing–met yours and held them captive. The tension was unbearable and the silence was heavy. He then closed the door behind him and locked it. The sound of the door locking seemed to echo louder than it should have, making your breath hitch. 

He turned to you and eyed you from head to toe, like the time he was watching you dance. “You were great out there,” he complimented you, walking closer to your current position. 

“Thank you,” you bit your lower lip, eyes now avoiding his intense gaze. “What are you doing here?” 

“I broke up with Hyeyeon,” he explained, his calm voice serenading your ears but you cannot help but hear the slight crack of his voice from the mention of his ex’s name. 

You looked at him with wide eyes, head tilted to the side. “You what?”

“I ended it with Hyeyeon,” his voice was firm and sharp. “Because I couldn’t keep lying to myself. About her. About you.” 

You blinked, trying to process what he had just said to you. Your emotions are now all over the place, your chest feels tight, and your thoughts are racing. “Kun, I–”

“You don’t get it, do you?” he interrupted your dialogue, his voice came out as a growl that sent shivers down your spine. He stepped closer to you, your clothes brushed into each other, and his gaze pinned you in place. “You’ve turned my whole life upside down, and now I don’t even know who I am.” 

His confession hit you hard, leaving you breathless. Your legs weaken second by second because of him and what he’s doing to you. You tried to say something but nothing was coming out of your mouth. 

He was just looking at your current state but Kun is trying so hard to contain himself. His jaw clenched, hands curling into fists at his sides as he disciplined himself in front of you. “I thought I had everything figured out, Y/N. But you came along and nothing makes sense anymore.” 

You now took the courage to touch his arm. “Kun,” you whispered with your voice trembling. “I never meant to–” 

“Don’t,” his voice cracked. “Don’t say you didn’t mean to, because we both know it’s not true.” His eyes were filled with overflowing emotion that you know is genuine and is making your heart ache. 

“Then what do you want me to say? That I feel the same? That I’ve liked you for a long time? That I can’t stop thinking about you?” 

You could feel the heat radiating off of him and instead of answering you, he closed the distance between you in two swift sides. He, now, can no longer contain his frustration as he gently held your face and crashed his lips against yours. 

The kiss was rough and desperate, filled with everything the both of you couldn’t put into words at your current state. You gasped against his mouth, hands flying up to hold his shoulders as he pulled you even more closer to him. His fingers slid into your hair, holding you in place as the kiss deepened, his tongue sweeping past your lips to tangle with yours. 

You pulled out to take a breath, your forehead rested against his. Kun’s hands moved to your waist, gripping you tightly, afraid you might disappear. 

“Kiss me again,” you whispered, almost coming out inaudible but he complied. Your lips met his again and your right hand wandered downwards, towards his crotch. You were massaging his now hardened member just underneath his clothes, earning a groan from the man himself. 

His hands slid down to your thighs, lifting you effortlessly onto the counter as his lips moved to your neck, sucking, kissing, and biting your sensitive skin. 

“Ahh… Kun!” You gasped, both of your hands now busy with removing his pant’s zipper. Once his dick was out, you spat on your palm then moved to stroke it. You kissed him again while moving your hands up and down, giving special attention to his sensitive head, earning a groan from his lips. 

“Oh, Y/N…” His hands roamed your body, slipping beneath your outfit to explore the bare skin of your thighs. When he reached the edge of your underwear, he hesitated, his dark eyes met yours in a silent question. 

You nodded fervently, your body now filled with lust and all you can think about is his fingers inside yours. “Yes, please… Please, Kun,” you breathed out, removing your hands from his member, letting him kneel so that his face meets your womanhood. 

His lips curved into a smirk as you spread your legs widely for him to see how much wetness has covered your underwear. “Excited, hm?” 

“Please, just eat me out,” your pleading eyes met his and he groaned at the lustful sight in front of him. Your legs spread out nicely for him to take a good view of your covered pussy while your lipstick was smudged all over your face, and your hair now disheveled. 

Your position is enough for him to remove your panty and throw it at the side. His thumb gently spread your wetness all over your pussy and his face inched closer to your heat. You were grinding on his thumb, moaning and whining for him to finger, suck–just anything he can do to you to relieve the arousal in your middle. 

The world outside faded away as Kun slid two of his fingers inside you, his lips now sucking and licking your clit. Your eyes rolling to the back of your head, your hands gripping his hair tightly, and your legs now surround his head, pulling him even closer to you. 

He fingered you fast and rough, your wetness and moans filled the whole of your dressing room. Kun was so turned on by you that his left hand now jerked his neglected member. His fingers curled into your g-spot while he spitted on your womanhood. “Fuck,” he bit his lower lip before diving into your pussy again. “You’re pussy’s so good for me, Y/N. It’s clenching my fingers so tight.” 

“Oh, Kun! Right there, oh…” You weren’t listening to what he was saying, your mind now in euphoria as he added another finger, making you whimper. “Fuck! Kun!” His fast movements followed by the abuse of your clit from his mouth was enough for you to chant his name repeatedly and loudly, the music at the stage overpowering your noises. “Mmm… s’ close, Kun… let me cum, please," you tried your best to talk, the knot in your stomach aching to be released. 

“Not yet, sweetheart. Need to feel your cum on my dick,” the way Kun said those sexual things ignited the fire inside you. Never in your whole life would you expect this senior of yours to say those explicit things to you, intensely. 

He stopped fingering you, edging you in process and making you whine. “Shh, so impatient.” 

Kun wrapped the condom he had prepared beforehand, to his member before grinding it on the lips of your sensitive, wet pussy. “Fuck…” He groaned, eyes now closed as he entered your womanhood. 

He kissed you deeply while thrusting slowly, the squelching sound was so erotic that it turned him on more. Your insides clenched on his member, making him pound faster and harder into you. 

Overwhelmed is an understatement on what you are feeling right now. Every nerve in your body had been set alight as you clung to him for dear life. Each of his thrust sends waves of pleasure crashing over you. 

You didn’t care about what was happening in the outside world. There was only him–his touch, his breath, his whispered name falling from your lips like a prayer, and his member that’s rearranging your insides. 

You clenched tight on him, your hands finding their way to his clothed back, scratching and holding for support. “‘m close… So close…” You murmured, eyes closed in ecstasy while Kun guided you through your release. 

“Hmm, cum with me, sweetheart,” the sounds from the both of you became more desperate and the clashing of your skin to his filled the entire room. 

When the tension finally snapped, it crashed over the both of you, leaving you trembling on Kun’s hold. His forehead rested against yours as you both struggled to catch your breath. 

Kun pressed a kiss to your cheek, his hand cradling the back of your head as if to shield you from the weight of what had just happened. 

“We can’t go back after this,” he said quietly, his voice still hoarse. 

“I know,” you replied, your fingers tracing lazy circles on his chest. “But maybe… maybe we don’t need to.”

That was all Kun needed to hear from you. He cleaned you up and helped you sit on your dressing room’s couch. 

The both of you knew that you’re not ready to have a conversation about your relationship right now but what you had said to each other earlier is enough for the both of you to feel okay, for now.

[winwintea]

what wayv seeks in a relationship

GROUP ↬ ot6 wayv

WARNINGS ↬ none, pure fluff <33 maybe some angst

AUTHOR’S NOTE ↬ i did the wayv version !!! the dream one blew up and i'll be doing a 127 one soon, but i thought i'd post this in the meantime as well. although wayv is my ult group i feel like i struggle more with finding out their exact personalities and what they like. i hope this is sufficient enough for you all though <33

Qian Kun

kun doesn't believe in taking things lightly. he wants to make sure he's found the right partner before letting himself fall in love. he values a partner that finds traditional values important. someone who will always be there for him, not just when it's convenient. kun prefers someone who is grounded in reality rather than overly idealistic. he also needs a partner who makes him feel appreciated and understood. a partner who is easy-going is also a good balance to his more responsible nature, might also work well with him. someone that might encourage him to take risks and will be there to pick him up if he falls.

Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul

ten places a lot of importance on establishing meaningful relationships. although he may not act like it, he's generally more reserved so he does appreciate a deeper connection. ten likes someone who will challenge him intellectually and is suited towards a partner that is open-minded and willing to explore new things. he's attracted to people who have something unique to offer in this life. ten values personal growth, so he would appreciate someone who is supportive of his journey towards self-actualization. sometimes it's difficult for ten to relax and enjoy the current moment, so he appreciates a partner that will help him find peace and serenity.

Dong SiCheng

winwin believes that a relationship isn't a passive commitment, but it's a way for both partners to learn, grow and develop as time passes on. he wants a partner who will understand his uniqueness and individualism. they must also really understand his sensitive side and the nuances of his personality. winwin appreciates a partner that will look out for him and make sure he feels heard. he may come off as aloof at times, but deep down winwin is a whirlwind of emotions, so he needs a partner that won't be overwhelmed by these intense emotions. since winwin is a free-spirit he values open-mindedness and independence in a partner.

Xiao DeJun

xiaojun strives to connect to people in meaningful ways. he wants to find someone who he can completely devote himself to, who also accepted him as he is and who respects his freedom. xiaojun also needs a partner who understands his sensitive nature. he is also attracted to someone who has a unique way of thinking about things. a partner who can provide a sense of stability and security is also something he looks for. he's not necessarily needing someone to meet his level of emotional intensity, but rather a partner who can provide a grounding presence that will make them feel at home. xiaojun is also drawn to those with very complex personalities.

Wong KunHang

hendery seeks constant growth, both individually and relationally. hendery needs a partner who can provide emotional support and understanding, since he often gets caught up in his own thoughts and feelings. he feels like he is often misunderstood by those around him, so one of the most important aspects to him is that his partner understands him. hopefully they understand his constant need for adventure and growth. hendery has a great sense of humor, so he wants a partner who can match his wit and also make him laugh. he doesn't necessarily need someone who matches his energy levels, but someone who encourages him to follow his passions and dreams.

Liu YangYang

yangyang dislikes mind games in a relationship, he wants a relationship that is genuine and honest. he's not averse to casual dating, just not his priority, since he prefers to form meaningful connections with those on the same wavelength as him. he has a low boredom threshold, so he needs a certain level of mental stimulation in order to be content, and someone who can push him outside of the box is good for him. yangyang may also sometimes find it difficult to stay on track so having a partner who can keep him motivated will benefit him in the long run. he also values those who are patient and trustworthy as he hopes his partner will allow him the time and space to open up.

TAGLIST ↬  @lyvhie @aquaphoenixz @ldh0000 @galacticnct @sharonxdevi

[meiideryz]

how wayv's first kiss with you would be like

pairing: wayv x reader

kun

after a romantic dinner. he drives you home from taking you to your date with him at a fancy dinner he had arranged, wanting you to show how he really loves you and would want to take the relationship into the next step. he walks you to the front porch of your house, standing near the doorstep. before he says goodbye, he says how much he enjoyed the date, and you say the same. there is a still sound of silence of him staring at you. then, he leans in to capture your lips to his. the rhythm of your mouths moving against each other is slow, but good enough for the both of you to feel the butterflies in your stomachs. he smiles at you when you pull away, and then his hand reached for your own, kissing the back of your palm before he leaves the neighborhood. kun will never forget such a memorable moment.

ten

during a game of spin the bottle. at first he laughs, staring at the empty wine bottle landing in your direction. with the rest of the players anticipating, he isn't afraid to back out. he hates being called a coward. he makes no hesitation before smashing his lips against yours. there's still the taste of alcohol both of you consumed just moments ago. besides the liquor, he also feels drunk with the way he keeps pressing his lips deeper and his tongue swiping on your bottom lip as a permission for more access. ten merely forgets the audience watching him, focusing entirely to make you feel good and pleased. when he pulls away, he gets a good view of your lips, smeared and coated with his own saliva, and lipstick smudged from the corners of your mouth. seeing you in that state gives him a satisfied look on his face, a smug creeping up from his lips.

winwin

saying goodbye to him. sicheng is given the opportunity to finally pursue the passion he loves, but it hurts him to know that he needs to leave where he already finds and calls home—you. both of you stand before the pane glass doorframes of the airport, sicheng's hand holds onto the handle of his luggage, while the other never leaves yours. it's all going too fast. the grip on your hand tightens. you notice the way he's trying to hold to his emotions, how hard he's trying to stifle his sobs. he feels you return the same tightness on his hand, assuring him that everything will be fine. a hand slowly creeps up to gently touch his already stained cheeks. he's going to miss you, so much. sicheng's hand clasps around the hand where you touch him, pulling it down. and there, you feel his plump lips on yours. it's trembling, and of course, it's sad. you don't tell him to stay through your reciprocation, but instead, it tells him to go, to chase what he loves.

xiaojun

acting out a kiss scene. it's the first rehearsal of the play the casts are going to act in, including the two of you. it's no surprise when both of you find out to be the leads of the play. dejun thinks that it will go as smoothly as possible, given the fact that the two of you are comfortable with each other of everything, and you think so too. as all of you are reading the script, the director reminds you of the kiss scenes, so when the actual practice came, dejun tells himself that the kiss is and only for professional purposes. he composes himself before standing in front of you with a smile. you say your lines, enunciating them word for word with feelings to embody the character as he does the same. his hands reaches for your own just like what it says on the script, and wasting no time, he plants a kiss on your lips. you don't move, but he feels his stomach doing the somersaults. all he can think about at this very moment is your soft lips, your grip on his hand tightens, your eyelashes tickling his cheeks—then it's all gone when you pull away. looking at each other for a few seconds, a sudden fit of laughter bursts out from the two of you. both of you suppress your giggles when the director yells, telling you and dejun to stop laughing and concentrate on the script.

hendery

out of curiosity. he stares at you with a surprised expression on his face after hearing you ask how a kiss feels like. it's not like he doesn't know how to kiss someone as he had gained experiences from previous relationships, and clearly this was your first. his mind go dizzy when you ask him to kiss you. he isn't sure if it's only his mind playing him, but with a couple slaps across his face, it's not a dream. before kissing you, hendery makes sure to ask if you're still okay with the idea, never forgetting to seek for your consent. with a hand on your neck and the other to cup your cheek, your lips are on his. the lingering touch of your hands on his chest traveling around his neck causes him to smile in between the kiss. he also makes sure that you're satisfied with the kiss he shares with you, in a way that will make you feel good and relieve to know that you just had the best first kiss ever given by your own friend. hendery can't seem to sleep the following nights, replaying the scene over and over again, as he starts to fall in love with you.

yangyang

in the heat of the moment. he understands why you're mad at him for completely ruining your date with a person you recently talked to. yangyang warns you over again that the guy isn't good for you, that his background isn't something that's worth to be with. he watches you pace around the room, telling him that he has no right to deny a relationship you want to have, telling him that he should mind his own business. he couldn't do that. he knows what's best for you because he cares for your happiness. if it weren't for him, you will be trapped in a toxic unbearable relationship that might emotionally and mentally break you. what he wants for you to realize that there is one who could actually treat and love you better—him. yangyang grabs you by the shoulders, snapping you out. you break free from his tight grip, wanting to turn around and leave the room. that is until you feel his hand tug your arm back to face him as he finally smashes his lips against yours. the kiss is nowhere near sweet and full of passion. it's rough, lips smacking against each other, teeth scraping the skin and muscle of your tongues, and short hot breaths filling the quiet room. he's angry, you're angry, but neither of you pull away.

©MEIIDERYZ 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[markicantwait]

I just wanted to write something to get over my block. English is not my first language, I don't have a plot yet, and I'm deeply in love with Qian Kun lately. This was for fun tbh

Let's say this is the first chapter.

Part two

( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°☆( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°☆( ^-^)ノ∠※。.:*:・'°☆

Kun was all about professionalism and good manners, at his age he knows looks are important and sometimes what people thinks is important too.

He didn't even know in what moment his mentality changed into that, it was one of his many flaws he tried to chance day by day and meeting Yangyang's suddenly new best friend felt like life whas give him an ultimatum he was not ready to face.

Yangyang's is loud, all artistic and messy in some ways he wouldn't understand, at 24 Kun was finishing his master and getting his pilot license, but Yangyang was all about being a new college graduate, working in an art gallery and going out all weekends.

That morning you appeared in his door apartment with run mascara and sad eyes, he wasn't ready for your harsh tone when you asked straight for Yangyang

"Yangyang, you have guests"

The natural move of you hugging each other was weird to see at first. The worried tone in Yangyang's voice, the way you broke into tears talking about your boyfriend and something related to a book was his q to leave the two of you alone.

Latter that night all of his friends were supposed to he here having dinner but Hendery and Xiaojun were late and Yangyang disappeared with you at some point and he wasn't back yet

"Don't worry, he will probably be back soon. Yn seemed pretty bad tho" Ten said

"You know her?"

"Mhn. Hendery and Xiaojun too. She's pretty close with all of them"

Pretty close? Since when?

It wasn't like he really cared about what type of people his friends hang out with, but why if all of them spend so many time together, why he didn't remember you?

"I'm back"

"How's yn? She fine?"

Yangyang didn't say much about it, he told to the olders how your now ex boyfriend plagiarism one of you writing works and present it as his.

"Poor girl, she must be so angry. That asshole"

"I never really like him - yangyang said while eating the food Kun made- but she was really happy about dating him so i never really said a thing. Honestly i wanna punch him"

Kun felt a little bit out right now while Ten and Yangyang talked about you and the other boy.

"What? Is he like a bad guy or something?"

"He stole her work, ge! He is a bad guy!"

"And how would i know that? I don't even know who you are talking about right now. Why are you so worried about her?"

The way Yangyang opened his mouth, trying to breathe out his next words could be fun if he didn't look that hurtful

Ten looked between Yangyang shoked eyes and Kun confused/angry face and decided to, finally, giving context the older one seem to need but before he could do that Yangyang started to scream

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING BOUT? that human being and I have being friends for years, YEARS, what the fuck?

She has been in all my birthday partys, she's the one i go out every weekend the one who took care of me when you left for two months, she was the one hugging me when i broke up with my last partner, oh my God, Kun, she is all over my Instagram, she was here, in.this.place, last month"

Kun was used to Yangyang being dramatic, that was a daily thing but Kun was never used to see Yangyang hurtful eyes at the edge of tears for something he said or did.

"Yangyang I... hey, are you okay?"

Instead of replaying Yangyang surprised both men and he started to cry, hard. The boy was crying with his head between his hands and shaking shoulders

"She's my best friend, and someone hurt her in a really messy way, and I can do nothing for her. This is something bad. Someone did the worst they could to a writer, and I know how much it means to her writing, and that asshole stole a part of her"

Kun was all about good actions and correct ways to get the point, he was all about logic ways. Again, he doesn't really never got to understood Yangyang love and pasión for arts, why he always was messy and dirt with paint in his clothes and cheeks, carrying books and learning every instrument he could, he didn't understood but he still loves the boy unconditionally.

Now Kun feels like shit.

In that moment Hendery and Xiaojun arrived with the wine and drinks and asked Yangyang for you.

"I knew what happened today, I could hear her scream from Mrs Ren office"

"What happened?" Ten asked to Xiaojun while serving plates to both guys.

Before Yangyang could say something the other boy spoke first

"Yn's was writing a new tale for a competition, the professor gave us the topics and well, she was doing it, her ex basically stole her doc and send it to the competition with his name on it"

Okay, now Kun was not only feeling like shit, but also surprised and kinda agry "what's gonna happen now?" He asked after a moment of silence

"The school gotta do an investigation into this and take it into the academic ethical council. They gonna decide what's gonna happen with this. If they find him guilty he's gonna get kick out of school"

"He's definitely gonna get kick out! She has all the evidence she needs to proof what that idiot did"

After Yangyang's statement all of the boys started to eat and chat about others things, still, the weird feeling in Kun stomach didn't went away for the rest of the night.

"You smoke out, Yang? Why your eyes are so red?"

☆

After a week Kun was making breakfast getting ready to leave for work when he saw Yangyang getting in the kitchen wearing a suit, on wensday, at 8:00 am

"Is that my suit?"

"Yeah is kinda big on me but works"

The man was too stunned to speak "why are you wearing one of my suits on a wensday morning, Yangyang?"

"Today the council gonna decide if David is guilty or not about stilling Yn's work, and im obviously gonna be there for her. Either is to celebrate, burn the school, or punch him"

"And you need to go dressed like that?"

Yangyang looked at himself and then at Kun's eye "this is important for her i didn't know what else to wear. Is like going to the court or something"

Latter that day day, with the expectations on your throat you and Yangyang alone with Xiaojun and Hendery were outside the council department waiting for the rectors ruling

"You need to breathe girl, you got this" Hendery said for the nt time that day, you tried to smile but it was hard at the moment.

Deeply in your brain you knew you actually got this, the defense you prepared was amazing actually, after all you were a lawyer first, you had the evidence and witnesses, you have this.

And you did. You won against your horrible ex, Yangyang hugged you before you could actually react to the news, you could hear Xiaojun and Hendery celebrate in the back while your others friends and teachers started to coment about it.

"We have to celebrate, c'mon! Ooooooo, our Yn, who's an amazing lawyer, did it!"

"Honestly, I dont know if I have the strange to go out today, im feeling kinda drained"

"Oh c'mon! Yangyang's right, you deserve this, let's call Ten and Hendery is gonna pay today"

"No im not! Yangyang is the rich dude here!"

"Then why dont we all go to my house and order some food and we can get wasted together, it would be like a sleepover!"

You saw your best friend eyes shine so bright you couldn't say no. Yangyang was your rock on this, he was there in so many ways not only this past week but since the two of you meet. You would never be able to pay him for everything.

"Okay, let's go"

Kun work was fine, he even like it, his parents were happy and proud and it was fine. He was fine doing this.

"Mr. Kun, his brother is calling"

"Thank you"

Kun worked in a pretty important aeronautics company, he was a boss in his department and he was happy about it, he has a good job and even tho is tedious sometimes, again, it was fine.

When Yangyang told him he got a job in an art gallery he didn't really understood what he was doing there, but the younger one seemed so happy and chatty about it that all Kun could do was congratulated him and buy him a pretty briefcase. Yangyang gave him a big hug after that.

"Between chicken, pizza and a huge boneless orden what you prefer the most?"

"Excuse me?"

"Yn won! The school's said she is right and her work is now back to her! All of us are driving to the apartment right now!"

A part of Kun felt weird know it you would be in his house and other fell relief, even happiness. He was really happy for a stranger.

"Whatever is fine. All of you..."

"Ten, Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yn. Maybe, just maybe, I invited a few other friends she and I have, just a few, promises!"

Kun let out a breath shaking his head, he knew when Yangyang means "a few" people it was never just a few. Social meetings for the younger one was full partys for Kun, he was used at this point but that doesn't mean it was easy for him.

"Who's coming?"

"Mmm i dont know yet, i invited Jungwoo, Doyoung, Taeyong, Shotaro, Johnny's coming of course, I think Sion too"

"Sion?"

He knew all of those names, Johnny and Doyoung were close to him, close enough to call them friends, he knew the names because they attended to all the partys in his/Yangyang's house.

"Oh Sion! He's a new friend we made a few months ago, Yn basically adopted him, she likes him so much is funny"

Oh, okay

"Yang, buy whatever you want I need to stay late today. Please dont ruin the sofa"

"That was one time! And it was Ten's fault, by the way. I'll buy you your favorite pizza. Call me when you get back. Bye ge!"

The rest of the day Kun was struggling. He attended four meetings, he gave some orders and finished a couple of reports and show some prezzie to his boss. He didn't even went out for lunch, he told himself he did it so he could finishes all the work sooner, he told himself it wasn't because he was in a hurry to get back home and he told himself he wasn't expecting to see you.

At 6:14 pm Kun clock out and went to the closet supermarket he knew to buy some stuff he knew the boys will need. Some snacks, beers, paper towels and a pre meal for him he bet the pizza Yangyang promised was already gone.

The apartment, for his surprise, wasn't full of people, some girls and boys he didn't knew, the boys he knew and in the middle of the living you laughing for something a boy next to you told you.

"Ge! O.M.G what you bought?"

"Hey, Woo"

The puppy guy always looks so excited when Kun is around, always so attentive and willing to help at anything. Before giving an answer Jungwoo took the bags from his hands and shout "Kun just buy more beers! Where is Johnny? Johnny, Kun buy more beers!"

Everything went like a flash after that, Johnny and Doyoung didn't left his side, Taeyong alredy tipsy hugged him every chance he took and Shotaro was giggling, oh, Shotaro.

Shotaro was one of the closest friends Yangyang had, the Japanese boy was like a baby all shy and well behave. Kun would never really could say it out loud but Shotaro was his favorite among all his friends.

"Ge! How you been? I haven't see you in ages"

"Busy, like always. What about you? Yangyang told me you went to Japan to visit you parents, how are they?"

"They fine! They told me to thank you for the last time, my mom send you some snacks but I forgot them in my dorm, I'll bring them to you soon. It was just so suddenly the party so i forgot it, but is okay, Im happy for Yn"

So Shotaro also knows you.

"You close to her?" Kun wasn't asking for a particular reason, he was trying to make conversation

"Oh yeah, the three of us use to share some classes and we go out pretty often too. Yn and I have more classes together since Yangie left, so we basically stick together. She's like my best friend at this point"

Before Kun could think about anything else to say Hendery took Shotaro to play bearpong with him and the other boys. He saw you speaking to the same boy from early along with Johnny and Xiaojun.

It was weird, Kun really thought about going to the doctor because there's no way he never really saw you until two weeks ago. He tried to think hard ahout you, but he didn't remember you at all.

It started to mess his mind.

"Amazing that our Taro boy and Yn gonna graduate in a few months, I feel like a proud mom"

"Taeyong you are so drunk"

The rest of the night went well. Drinks, smiles, and snacks were flowing through the guests for who knows how long.

Kun didn't know at what point the party died, and he was now alone in his room fully awake, suit still on and a weird felling on his chest.

Kun just lost singing of you while he was showing magic tricks to a very drunk Shotaro and a really wasted Taeyong. "She is in my room sleeping, I'll take her tomorrow to her house" Yangyang told him before going to his own room.

You were in his living crying two weeks ago, and now you are sleeping in the same bed with Yangyang just a few steps away from him. It was a weird feeling. It was weird.

He knew the sensation wouldn't go away, it never really does. The feeling like he did something wrong and the guilty building in his chest, he loose up another button of his dress shirt and went to the kitchen for some water. The feeling obviously grew more when he saw you cleaning the kitchen bar.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you up?"

Without the running mascara, your eyes were pretty. You even looked younger with what Kun assumed was your bare face.

"No, no. I just want some water"

Kun move in the kitchen with knowledge watching you cleaning some empty cups. "You don't need to do that, I'm gonna call the cleaning service tomorrow, please stop"

You look between the bag in your hands and his eyes a few times before putting the bags down in the kitchen table. It was pretty dark except for the light of the fridge and the light from Kun's room.

He felt guilty, he needs to say something "I heard you won your case. Congratulations". Kun was all about good manners and being polite, he likes the feeling of not owning and the decompression on his chest when he do something right.

"Sorry for broke into your house, twice - He look at you confused - the first time crying and now with a last minute party"

"Yangyang's friends are always welcome, this is his house too" the silence was awkward, not uncomfortable, awkward "Go to sleep, you a guest and I bet you feel tired. Good night"

"Wait!"

Kun heard your voice a little louder this time, the new tone felt a little unsure from you, you got close to him looking almost shy, dressed in Yangyang's clothes and high hair. "I'm yn, Yangyang's friend. Nice to meet you..."

Oh. Oh, okay. You stretched out your hand to him as it was the first time you met, and it kinda was. It felt a bit like dealing with a co-worker or a client.

"Kun. Yangyang older brother"

"Ge"

"Sorry?"

"All of the boys call you Ge"

Is true. Even Johnny tend to call him like that. He don't know how the trend stared but he was okay with the tittle. All of his friends spoke different lenguajes still All of them keep calling him the same. It felt nice

Kun was all about good manners and logic ways, he usually thinks before speaking, but this time, for the pretty first time in a long long time, he did a exception "You can call me ge too, Yn"

You smiled to him before nodding. After you exchange another good night, you were the first to go back to Yangyang's bedroom, leaving Kun with dry mouth and wanting to unbutton another button on his shirt.

☆

"Is the alcohol stronger, or I'm getting older. My head hurts"

Yangyang was still on his bed with his head inside of the pillows. People think that because he goes clubbing every weekend, he drinks like a master when the truth is that your friend barely drinks something.

"You getting old, definitely"

Yangyang just groans as an answer

"You staying for breakfast right?"

"No, no today. I need to go home and shower, I still have classes and work to get done"

Yangyang saw you putting your high heels and tying your hair with the brush he kept on his dressing table just for you. He saw your face and the peaceful expression that it holds as you get ready to leave the house.

"At least let me drive you"

"Don't worry. Really, get ready for work too. I'll text you, see you at night?"

"Always"

Of course he would see you tonight, is Friday.

You blow a kiss to him, carrying your bag and heading to the door, you were looking for something in your bag when you heard a voice calling your name

"Mornig"

Kun was already in the kitchen pouring a coffee in a thermo, he was wearing a black suit with a tie in the same color. He looks... professional.

"Heading to work?"

"Yes. I thought Yangyang would drive you to your house"

"Well, no. He needs more sleep, and I need to get to work. Thank you again for last night, see ya!"

Last night, Kun had trouble sleeping. He was feeling nervous and guilty for some reason, and he knew part of that was the fact that he didn't really help you after all this situation.

He saw Yangyang getting ready while helping you with your evidence, he even saw Xiaojun helping you with homework, he didn't knew what Ten and Hendery did but he bet hey help you and deep in his brain he knew Shotaro did it too.

The image of you crying in his living so heartbroken was still hunting him like he himself was the one who hurt you. And he feels deeply on debt for something he didn't even did.

"You have a car?"

"Oh, no no no. I'll just call a taxi or something"

For the second time in less than 24 hours he opened his mouth before thinking.

"I can drive you home"

He saw confusion painting in your eyes and before you could reject his proposal he told you he insisted

"I don't want you to get late for work"

Kun was used to Yangyang loudness, to Ten sassy, Hendery mess and Xiaojun hard laughs. You didn't look shy, just in doubt. You were wearing a suit similar to him and high heels. The morning light let him see you for the first time at full color. Just like last night your face was clean and you eyes were fine, no redness or fat tears or disappointment on it.

"You won't. Let's go"

The way to the elevator and the parking was silent, he didn't talk a lot unless to ask you for directions to your house and tell you it was okay to take you home. Kun wasn't use to chance his routine out of nowhere, he usually leaves the house, drive to work and stops at the building cafeteria for something to eat before getting himself in his office the rest of the day.

But it was okay to take you to your house.

The building apartment was in a good area, a really good one. Kun himself lives in a good zone, he's family have enough money to consider himself privileged, Yangyang family was the same. He wasn't sure what we was expecting when he offered you the ride and most important he didn't know why he was so surprised.

"Thank you so much for the ride. Sure you won't be late?"

"Pretty sure. Take care, Yn"

"See you... ge"

He didn't start the car until he saw you enter into the building.