#soulmate!skz

[sweetkpopmusings]

stray kids soulmate aus | b. chan <3

a/n: i was knocked out by a migraine for days and the main motivation for me to get better was so i could write this au :,-) i love sweet chan and this prompt in particular has been a favorite of mine my whole life !!! i hope you enjoy it <33 pics not mine~

content: fluff, soulmate au | wc: 1.8k | warnings: none really! some mentions of food | pairing: soulmate!chan x gn!reader | requests: open

♡ chan | minho | changbin | hyunjin | jisung | felix | seungmin | jeongin ♡

soulmates meet in dreams every night, but your paths won’t cross in waking life until the time is right.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

whenever chan had a rough day, he would crave sleep more desperately than on his worst insomniac nights. today was one of those days. he couldn’t say that it was a bad day, but they were nearing the end of the tour, so his emotions and physical exhaustion were running high. he rushed through his nighttime routine, aching to fall asleep and see your face. he knew that, even if it were brief, being with you would keep him from completely falling apart.

“it’s about time you showed up!” you teased, grinning at chan when he walked into the living room you two designed.

“i’m really sorry, y/n,” chan sighed, falling onto the sofa, “these last few shows have messed with my sleep schedule more than i expected. i feel so bad that i haven’t been around as much.”

your heart broke when you saw his frown, “chan, i’m not mad. please don’t feel bad. i just miss hanging out with you, and this is the only place i can do it. i’m grateful for any time we get together during your busy schedule!”

“y/n…” chan’s frown turned into an adorable pout, “that makes me feel even more guilty. you can’t be so nice and understanding!”

you laughed when he put his head in his hands. you wrapped him into a hug, appreciating the giggles that escaped his lips at the close contact. 

“i miss you more,” chan mumbled against your clothing.

you shook your head, which, surprisingly, chan noticed, “don’t disagree with me! it’s true!”

chan smiled widely when he saw you laughing. he paused to enjoy the sound of your laughter. then, once your laughs quieted, he held both of your hands in his.

“i promise that i’ll rest a ton once i’m back from tour, okay? i’ll be on break for a while, so i’ll make sure i am at your beck and call every time you sleep. i’ll do everything i can to make it up to you, to make up for the lost time. i swear.”

the combination of his grasp and sincere gaze was almost overwhelming. chan always made promises with his full heart, and you knew that to be especially true right now. 

“i believe you,” you smiled, which prompted chan’s shoulders to relax, “thank you, chan. you don’t have to make it up to me. but you do need to get some more rest. i don’t want to have to scold you to take care of yourself the first time we meet!”

“you’re going to anyway, no matter what i do,” chan teased, laughing hysterically at your glare.  

you moved the conversation into lighter topics, soaking up his presence. though the visit was once again fleeting, you two enjoyed your time together. it was always healing to be with chan. whether you spent your dreams seeing the world or relaxing in a familiar space, you woke up feeling rested, all thanks to spending the night with your other half.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

after chan returned from tour, both of you happily settled into your normal routine. he kept his promise of resting more, much to your delight. rather than having to rush conversations, you could enjoy each other’s company throughout the night, only parting when your alarm went off in the morning. it was easy, natural. of course, there were days when the sunlight hit your eyes and left you feeling empty because that action alone separated you from your person. most days though, you beamed with gratitude because chan was recovering from his strenuous tour and returning to the happy-go-lucky man you knew him to be. 

last night’s dream was particularly wonderful. you and chan strolled around your favorite neighborhood while he told you all his favorite stories from tour. your heart always soared when you listened to the way he talked about seeing stays and joked about the antics he and the boys got up to while traveling. truly, the best part of it all was seeing him happy. the sparkle in his eyes and the upbeat tone of his voice were like a rush of sugar, the sweetest thing in the world. you confessed this to chan when a comfortable silence fell over you, and the last thing you heard before waking up was the sound of him giggling, highlighted by chan’s blushing skin.

perhaps it was chan’s sweetness that had you craving a treat as soon as you opened your eyes. stretching and soaking in the peacefulness of the late morning, you decided to go to your favorite bakery. it was the weekend, after all, and you wanted to do everything you could to maintain the happy mood chan put you in. after getting ready, you made your way to the bakery. the familiar route allowed your mind to wander, unsurprisingly to thoughts of your sweet soulmate.

the first dream you shared with chan was when you were six years old. you swung back and forth on the swingset in a quiet playground, covered nicely by the shade of a large tree. from beside you, a voice you had never heard before asked can i swing here too? you looked over, curious and unalarmed. when you saw the boy with curly brown hair smile shyly at you, you felt the tiniest of butterflies flutter in your stomach. you nodded, introducing yourself when he sat down on the swing next to you, i’m y/n. what’s your name? he grew more confident after hearing your voice, grinning charmingly as he said, i’m chan. it’s nice to meet you, y/n. you two watched the clouds float by, calling out the shapes you saw. in your childhood innocence and bravery, you suddenly asked, are you my soulmate? even as an adult, you could never forget the way chan’s ears turned bright red. how heartwarming it was for him to blush at the word “soulmate!” you didn’t need to hear him say yes, because the pink on his cheeks and the hopefulness in his eyes told you everything you needed to know. you wondered, heart pounding in your chest, if he’d look at you like that the first time he saw you in the real world.

the sound of the bakery door’s bell ringing snapped you out of your reverie. you inhaled the decadent smells of the shop, fresh baked warmth fit for a saturday. your lovestruck thoughts of chan could wait. you had business to attend to. 

you greeted the employees, browsing the items on display. you took your time, selected your treats, and paid at the register. the place wasn’t too full, so you figured you could take a seat at a table near the window to appreciate the cozy ambience for a bit. you scanned for the closest empty table, nearly falling over when you locked eyes with someone.

well, not just someone. chan.

your mouth opened, but you couldn’t produce anything more than a few stammering syllables. chan’s eyes were wide with shock, quickly twinkling with happiness. soon, he started laughing. the sound bubbled out of him as though he were a child set free in a candy store, delighted beyond belief. you started laughing too. before people started to stare, chan waved you over to his table, pulling out a seat just for you.

“fancy seeing you here,” chan giggled through the cheesy line.

you rolled your eyes, smile never leaving your face, “don’t get me wrong. it is absolutely the best surprise in the world to see you here right now. but how does drinking a large coffee count as resting?”

chan lifted the coffee cup between you two, “oh this? i only got this because i couldn’t find a nap buddy anywhere. it looks like my luck might have changed though.”

he winked, making you blush and giggle like a teenager. not wanting to let him have all the fun, you grinned and replied, “i guess my first official duty as your soulmate is getting you to take a nap, isn’t it?”

now it was chan’s turn to blush. your body flooded with fondness, seeing the way his ears turned bright red at the word soulmate as it had when he first heard you say it. chan accepted your order when they called out your name, excitedly commenting on how good your taste was. the pep in his step was visible, though anyone who saw you would say that your pace matched his exactly. you two practically skipped the whole way back to your place, conversation flowing as though seeing each other was your plan all along. 

“can we take a second to talk about how crazy this is? that we finally met? after all these years, we’ve been only a handful of miles away from each other, and we met today?”

chan’s expression was full of glee and disbelief, and you agreed with his sentiment fully, “they really aren’t lying when they say you won’t meet until the time is right,” you paused, reminding yourself that this moment was real, “i do think it’s ridiculous we’ve practically been neighbors this whole time though. no wonder it always felt strange when you were on tour.”

chan pouted, “don’t remind me…that’ll make me feel even worse about leaving…” then, a smile replaced his pout, “at least now we know that every time i come back from traveling, i’ll be coming home to you!”

you returned his smile, only looking away to unlock your door. you slipped off your shoes and made room for chan to come inside. while you’ve dreamt of chan your whole life, nothing was more surreal than seeing him in your home. he looked so much like he belonged there, as though he had been inhabiting the space for as long as you. yet you stood there, staring, unable to believe that your dream had finally come true.

“what are you staring at, mon rêve?” chan asked, smiling sweetly.

“it’s just…” you walked across the room, meeting him halfway, “i can’t believe you’re here.”

chan hummed in agreement. without another word, he intertwined your hands, looking at you intently. you led him to your favorite nap spot, adjusting it so everything was just right. instinctively, your bodies molded together, finding comfort in the shared embrace. mere seconds after thank you left chan’s lips, you both slipped into sleep, breaths falling into your natural harmony.

you weren’t sure how much time had passed when you opened your eyes. it was strange, almost unnerving, to wake up from a dream that did not include chan. before the panic or sadness could settle in, you looked over to the man in your arms. you stared in awe at his lips curling up ever so slightly, his hair in disarray, and his chest rising to the beat of the precious heart you belonged to. every little detail of chan was at your fingertips, and it was more beautiful than any dream you had ever had.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

[chrisbangs]

찬이의 "방" 🐺 200 Episode Special

200! 

I looked back at the message I wrote for you almost 2 years ago now, to see what I said. And honestly, I have to agree with past me. It doesn’t feel like that much time has passed since the first day you showed up on VLive and spoke to us so kind and warmly. 200 episodes later, and well now on YouTube, and you are still doing just that. Week after week, being there for us to cheer us up with your laughter and your jokes and your advice and your terrible pick up lines. I still have nothing in my heart but gratitude towards you, Channie. Thank you for continuing to be the most amazing person ever. 

Let’s meet each other again next week, okay?

[hornyfor-redacted-onmain]

Studio Break

Pairing: 3racha x Reader

Description: Explicit one shot set in the future of Pieces of My Heart. Jisung decides the boys need a break, and what better way to get it than using their weak spot - You.

Warnings: Voyeurism, Manhandling, Foursome (F/M/M/M), Rough Sex, Unprocted Sex, PIV Sex, Fingering, Established Relationships, Polyamory, Slight Dom/Sub

Masterlist | Pieces of My Heart

When you decided to take a nap on the couch in the studio, you weren’t surprised to wake up with Jisung resting on top of you. It was almost expected that if you hung out in the studio long enough, someone would end up needing a quick break, and the couch was the perfect place to cuddle up with one of your soulmates. You were almost tempted to go back to sleep, wrapping your arms around the rapper and letting his warmth seep into your skin.

Chan and Changbin were there too, talking softly to each other about one of the tracks they were working on. You let their voices lure you into a peaceful calm. Jisung shifted above you, letting out a small sigh, and you let your hand drag up his back and slip into his hair, softly scratching his scalp. He let out a groan, shifting his body against yours until his cheek was pressed up against your shoulder, exhale warming your collarbones.

You moved your face so you could press a kiss to his forehead, and his eyes fluttered open.

“Hmm?”

“Hi baby,” You cooed.

Your hand drifted down from his hair and to his back, rubbing small circles in between his shoulder blades. Jisung let out a stretch, his own arms pulling you closer to him. His hips shifted, pressing up against your thigh and letting you feel his morning wood. You let out a laugh as he realized at the same time that you did.

“Shut up,” he mumbled, his mouth moving to press a kiss of his own to your skin. “You’re comfy.”

“Hey, I’m not judging you. I’m flattered.”

His hands moved from your waist to press against your stomach, hand slipping under your shirt. You let out a sigh as he moved his hands softly against your skin, the warmth from his hands chasing the chills the cold studio. Changbin glanced back at the two of you.

“Well don’t you two look comfy,” He said, giving you a wink.

“It’s distracting,�� Chan said, eyes still glued to his monitor. “It was cuter when you were asleep.”

“He’s just jealous,” Jisung whispered to you, his hand moving higher so he could brush his thumb against the underside of your breast. “Too busy working, never giving our girl the attention she needs.”

“Jisung.”

Chan’s voice was laced with a warning, one you had heard before. Because of your unique situation, being able to feel a sudden rush of emotions from you proved to be very distracting for him if left unchecked. Chan would never limit the others from being with you, but it was an unspoken rule that if he was doing something important, you were practically off limits. No fooling around when Chan was in a meeting, usually.

When working in the studio, Jisung followed the unspoken rules pretty well. Soft cuddles were fine, laid out on the couch with someone, or sometimes dozing on someone’s lap while they worked through a particular track. It also worked wonders on getting Chan to bed when it was late, refusing to go to bed until he did and letting the combined weight of his tiredness with your own mix together into an exhaustion even Chan couldn’t ignore.

And it helped that he had someone to wrap his arms around at night.

So normally Chan’s warning would send a clear message.

‘Not now, knock it off’.

And normally Jisung would listen. He loved to push his limits, but he respected Chan’s decisions and his work, knowing it was important. You weren’t sure what was different this time. Maybe it was because the three had been working late the past week, or the fact that the particular track they were currently working on was for a comeback that would potentially take months to come about, maybe even a year. They had time, and it wasn’t important.

Maybe Jisung had noticed what you had, the lingering frustration that Chan had been holding back. The tension in his shoulders, the stress of a bigger issue he was having a hard time communicating. Maybe he realized that the eldest member needed a break, but wasn’t willing to take one.

Either way, Jisung didn’t stop.

He lifted his head momentarily, meeting your eyes and giving you a questioning look. You bit your lip, eyes darting to Chan’s tense figure sitting across the room. Changbin had turned back around and wasn’t paying attention to either of you anymore. You turned your gaze back to Jisung and gave him a small nod.

He grinned.

His hand pulled back and he moved so that he was hovering over you, hands on either side of your face, and he pressed a quick kiss to your lips. “Maybe you and I should get out of here, leave these old men by themselves and go have some fun.”

Changbin spun around at that, giving you two a shocked look. “Excuse me?”

Jisung hid his smile. “Ahh, maybe not?”

“Don’t be so mean,” You played along. “Who knows, maybe they’d want to watch.”

“Yah, you two cut it out. We’re working,” Changbin complained, but the way he shifted in his seat betrayed just how much your words affected him.

“Hmm, you’re right. I guess we should give them a show then, huh?” Jisung said, pressing his hips against yours. You bit your lip to keep from moaning out.

Changbin was watching you two closely now, leaning back against his chair and pressing a finger to his lips in thought. His eyes glanced over to Chan next to him, and you followed his look. The Australian was tense, still staring at his screen as if he hadn’t heard anything that was said, but you knew that even if that was true, there was no way he wasn’t aware of what was going on. The heat that was building under your skin and the ache between your legs would have clued him in immediately.

But he didn’t say anything, didn’t even seem to be breathing as Jisung continued the slow roll of his hips against yours, muffling your moans with his heated kisses. His lips drifted down your neck, so you pressed your own hand against your mouth to prevent any noises from escaping. You were still in the JYP building, still in a public location where anybody could hear you, even though you were sure these rooms had a least some soundproofing to them.

You weren’t willing to risk it.

Changbin was staring at the two of you with hooded eyes, his arms gripping the arm rests of his chair with a tight grip. He swallowed harshly, eyes darting over to Chan as if he was unsure whether or not he should be stopping you two, even though it seemed like he didn’t want to. He must have seen something on his leader’s face because he suddenly straightened up, wide eyes meeting yours. Jisung, oblivious to what was going on, pulling back so he was kneeling on the couch, his hands pulling you up with him.

And in one swift movement, he was pulling your shirt over your head and throwing the fabric towards the desk, your shirt landing right in between both producers.

Everything was silent for a split second before the squeak of a chair rang out, Chan suddenly standing up so quickly that his chair toppled over behind him. He took of his earphones and placed them down on the desk softer than you would have expected given the way his shoulders hunched together.

He marched towards the door.

For a moment, you shared a panicked look with Jisung as Chan passed by the two of you, wondering if you had finally gone too far, pushing the leader past his breaking point.

But he stopped in front of the studio door, and instead of storming out like you were expecting, he took a deep breath. And then he locked the door.

“You want a show, Jisung. I’ll give you a show.”

You all watched with baited breaths as Chan walked towards the couch, his hand grabbing the back of Jisung’s neck with a tight grip, his other hand pushing against his chest. Jisung toppled back onto the couch from where he had been kneeling, and Chan tapped his nose.

“Don’t move.”

He turned to you then, standing next to you on the couch and meeting your wide eyed gaze with a heated look. You knew that Chan could be incredibly gentle, passionate, and patient in bed.

But the last time he had looked at you like that, you didn’t walk for a week.

His fingers curled around the front of your bra, pulling you up with a sharp tug and slipping the fabric up until your breasts were exposed. The moment you were on your feet, he moved behind you and with a quick movement, had unhooked your bra and thrown the fabric blindly in the same direction as your shirt. He gently massaged your shoulders, lips pressing to the shell of your ear.

“Take your pants off, sweetheart.”

And then he was moving back to the desk without checking to see if you would follow his instruction, your back suddenly exposed to the cold air. He picked his chair back up, spinning it around so it was facing the couch, and sitting down with his legs spread. You felt your body flush under the stares of the three men, but you did as you were told, slowly sliding your bottom off and leaving yourself exposed.

Chan’s voice was deep and laced with lust as he spoke. “Here’s what’s going to happen. Changbin is going to have some fun with our girl, and you’re going to watch. When he’s done, I’m going to have my turn, and you’re going to watch. And while both of us have our fun, you’re going to sit right there at the end of the couch, and you’re not going to say anything. You’re not going to touch yourself. And if you’re good, and you follow the rules, then maybe I’ll let you have a turn when we’re done.”

Jisung let out a whine, head hitting the back of the couch. “Fuck.”

“Do you understand?”

“Hyung-“

“Do you understand?” Chan’s voice didn’t leave any room for argument. Jisung nodded, his hands tightening to fists.

“Yes.”

“Changbin.”

At Chan’s words, you pressed your thighs together in need. All it took was one look from the eldest rapper and you were stumbling forward, letting him pull you down onto his lap once you were close enough. You kissed him softly, and he smiled against your lips when you reached for the band of his sweatpants, grabbing your wrist in his hands. You leaned back with a pout.

“Don’t tease me,” You whined.

“You’re not getting out of this, jagi. You called me old.”

“Jisung called you old! I told him not to be mean.”

“Ah, I guess that is true,” Changbin reached in between your bodies, swiping his fingers through your folds. “You’ve been a good girl, right?”

“Always,” You breathed out, hands flexing against his grip. You wanted nothing more than to touch him, but you knew that he wouldn’t let you until he was ready.

You shifted your hips so that his touch moved higher up your sex, brushing up against your clit. He clicked his tongue, and let your hands go so he could use his free hand to push your thighs wider apart. He then pressed two fingers against your opening, and with a soft whine, he pushed into your warmth.

“Fuck, Binnie.”

“Shhh, I got you.”

His fingers moved slowly back in forth, and with your now free hands you gripped Changbin’s shoulders to gain more momentum, fucking yourself on his fingers as he watched you with hooded eyes. He inserted another finger, and the pressure combined with the constant movement made you reach your high quickly.

Changbin slowed down his fingers. When you finally got your breathing under control, he stopped completely. He kept eye contact with you as he pulled out, smirking at the whine you let out before reaching up to lick his fingers.

“So needy,” He hummed.

He motioned for you to stand back up, giving him just enough space to pull his cock out before he was pulling you back into his lap, pressing a heated kiss to your lips and then your neck. You found yourself quickly riled up again, grinding down against his member. Changbin groaned, lifting you up so he could reach his hand in between you two, gribbing his length in between his hands. He lined you up against his tip, swiping it through your folds before he pressed into your entrance.

You slid down slowly, head falling back at the stretch. “Oh god.”

“Good girl, so good,” Changbin growled, pressing his lips to your chest. “So tight.”

“It feels so good,” You moaned.

He rolled his hips against yours, thrusting shallowly up into you. You heard Jisung let out a groan from behind you. As the two of you rocked together, the knot in your stomach began to grow, and you found your breathy moans getting higher in pitch as you reached your peak. Changbin let out a groan as your core fluttered around him. His hands pulled your hips down against his two more times before he was spilling into you.

“Fuck.”

You rolled your eyes to the side, where Chan was leaning forward, elbows on his knees as he watched the two of you. His pupils were blown wide, gaze focused on the place where you and Changbin were connected, lips pulled in between his teeth. You let out a moan as Changbin pulled out of you, and Chan shuddered at the sight.

 Changbin pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Your turn, Channie-Hyung.”

“You two are going to be the death of me,” You complained, standing up on shaky feet. Changbin slapped your ass as you turned around, and you shot him a look.

His cum was sliding down your thighs, and Jisung was fixated on the sight. Just like Chan, he had also been leaning forward, but his own hands were tightly pressed against the couch seat, his face flushed and eyes wide. He swallowed harshly when he met your eyes.

Chan stood up slowly, stalking towards you like a wolf walking towards their prey. Your eyes slid close when he gripped your jaw, pressing his lips hard against your own. You moaned as he suddenly pulled you up into his arms, the sudden show of strength making your core ache.

When he dropped you onto Jisung’s lap, both you and the young producer moaned. Determined to keep his hands to himself, Jisung shoved his hands under his thighs and tilted his body back away from you, but Chan just pushed until your back was pressed against his chest, giving Jisung a smirk.

“No touching Hannie,” He warned.

Chan kneeled down, pulling open your legs with his hands and motioning for you to grab the, holding yourself open for him. He pressed his tongue against your center, seemingly unbothered by Changbin’s cum that coated your pussy and inner thighs.

He moved his mouth against you slowly and sensually, bringing you close to another high, but never enough to get you there. When one of his fingers joined his tongue to circle your clit, you found yourself getting closer, but he pulled away just as you were on the edge.

You huffed out a laugh. “Oh my god, you suck.”

“Hmm, I want you cumming around my cock, sweetheart.” He pressed his tip against you, pushing in with one fell swoop. “Besides, we’re supposed to be giving Jisung a show.”

“Please-“ Jisung breathed from behind you, but he quickly buried his face into your neck to keep himself from saying anything else.

Chan let out a chuckle. “Thats two strikes baby. Better keep quiet, or you wont get a taste.”

From under you, you could feel Jisung pressing up against your lower back. When Chan pushed forward, the friction from your body created a drag against Jisung’s still closed member. You thought it was cruel, knowing Jisung was the most vocal member of the group when it came to sex, and not allowing him to make any noise while you were fucked against him.

Chan went hard and fast, thrusting into you and pushing back out with a grunt, one leg raising up to the couch and giving him enough leverage to jackhammer into you.

You couldn’t even catch your breath enough to make any noise, mouth open in silent scream as you were thrown into an orgasm so strong your body shuddered. Chan didn’t slow down, continuing to plow into your core with deliberate intensity.

“Come on baby girl, you can give me another,” He coaxed, voice wavering from the force of his thrusts.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” You reached behind you, arms wrapping around Jisung’s neck as you found yourself overwhelmed from the continius pressure. “I- I can’t. Chan, it’s too much.”

“One more,” He insisted, fingers dropping down to you clit.

You squealed, the sudden touch making your body quiver from pleasure, and you found yourself once again reaching an orgasm. Chan let out a groan, climaxing along with you. He gave a few more shallow thrusts as he came inside of you, nearly collapsing on top of both your and Jisung, who was uncharacteristically quiet.

It took you a moment to recover, unable to even open your eyes until Chan started to pull away, in which you snapped your eyes open to capture the look on his face. He looked downright smug as his own cum spilled out of you and onto the fabric of Jisung’s pants. You glanced back to the man behind you, only to find Jisung biting down on his own hand to muffle his moans.

You giggled, carding your fingers through his hair.

“Poor baby, trying so hard to follow the rules,” You cooed.

“Shouldn’t have been such a brat,” Chan said, slumping down onto the couch next to you.

“Hyung, please. Can I- I did what you asked. Please,” Jisung pleaded, voice breathy with need.

Chan raised an eyebrow. “That’s not for me to decide. You should ask her.”

And then all three men looked at you. You were too sore for another round, but you could feel Jisung still pressed against you and knew that it had to be painful. You weren’t cruel enough to leave him hanging like that.

You took pity on him, slipping off his lap and to the ground below.

As you pulled Jisung’s pants down (he excitedly raised up his hips to help you), you felt a warm blanket be placed over your shoulders, and you sent Changbin a grateful look. He offered both you and Chan a bottle of water, which you took gratefully.

“Thanks,” You whispered, handing your half empty bottle to Jisung.

It didn’t take a lot to bring the rapper to the edge. You slipped him into your mouth, letting him gently thrust into you as you used your hands to caress the parts of him that didn’t fit. His gently thrusts started to get sloppy after only a minute, and you pressed one of your hands to his stomach to keep him from thrusting up too far. You pulled him out just enough until his tip was still in your mouth, and you sucked. Jisung came with a loud moan, hands tangling in your hair.

You swallowed down the bitter taste of his seed and laid your cheek against his thigh, looking up at him with a goofy smile.

“You up for another nap?”

[starseungs]

from the past, beyond the present, and into tomorrow. ksm. ( teaser )

kim seungmin x fem!reader — following the last wishes of her beloved grandmother, y/n finds herself moving back to her family's hometown. deep into the countryside and miles away from the bustling noise of the city, the change was supposed to be a new experience. that was, if only the mayor's son didn't bring along years of unknown familiarity with him.

GENRE/S — drama, slight angst, slight fluff, just sentimental, soulmates au, multiple lifetimes, high school au, a slowburn • teaser: 2.1k words (10k+ overall fic)

WARNING/S — y/n gets referred to with she/her pronouns, setting is heavily influenced by japanese environments (but still made vague enough for other preferences), main characters are aged eighteen, possibly more to be added upon release.

NOW PLAYING — tracing that dream by yoasobi

( ✒️ ) this is the product of seungmin covering one of my favorite songs ... now im gonna make him a shoujo anime love interest !!! and yes the teaser is long asf. i, too, am concerned about the total word count of this fic. (road to 20k wc i guess)

( 📌 ) STATUS: UNRELEASED • TAGLIST IS OPEN !

2024 ⓒ starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

You had dreamt of a specific scene once when you were thirteen.

At least, you were the one who considered it a dream. It was something you had tried to bury in the depths of your mind—locked away in a tiny chest placed in the furthest corner and behind closed doors. If it were someone else, you knew that they would’ve already exhausted all means to figure out what the dream meant.

After all, it certainly wasn’t every day that you got to dream of something that felt so vividly real to the point you could’ve sworn it was a memory.

But it wasn’t. It could never be.

Why?

Because in no reality could an authentic memory be of a time that shouldn’t even exist yet.

“I won’t ask you to congratulate me,” the vessel you were seeing the world through spoke. In the scenario being played out, you could feel yourself smile warmly. You could only guess why the positive action was contrasted by such a somber tone of speaking. “Never once have your eyes lied in front of mine.”

The sound of joyous laughter that surrounded the area almost felt too jarring to compare to the mood present between what was supposed to be you and another male. He sat completely still, unmoving amidst the dim evening despite your earlier comment. Flickers of embers from the sizable-looking campfire reflected in his eyes, telling of the fact that the absence of a response was not because of a lack of focus but rather his inner thoughts getting swallowed up by the burning flames.

His looks would range him older than eleven. Yet, you didn’t seem phased by it—not even in the slightest. Perhaps this was something you should have expected. The voice that came out of you was notably not one of an eleven-year-old either. So you gave up on the matter.

Instead, you waited for an answer to what you had previously uttered. Even if it was just a simple hum that came out of his mouth.

He let the fire crackle a bit more.

“Does it make me a bad man to say that I envy you?”

The breath that you didn’t even know you were holding escaped your lips the second he spoke. “I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean,” was your reply.

The silence came back for a second. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem as heavy as the one you two had just broken. You watched his movements, almost mesmerized, as he took his eyes off the fire. The concentration only faltered when his sight came up to meet yours. “You’re off to go do greater things over in the big city,” he starts. “And yet, here I am, getting left behind in this quiet town. A place not a single soul even yearns for—where everyone starts off but never stays.”

It was odd. The way you felt your heart race at his words.

To be completely honest, you didn’t think much of what he had just said. You didn’t even know exactly what it meant—both for you and for him. Yet, the sudden spike of adrenaline in your veins told a different story. It was making you feel breathless while also making you tear up.

“You could always come with me.”

He shook his head. Did he just reject your offer? “It’s no use. My life’s responsibilities will still lie here. What would I even gain from leaving this place?”

Another beat. You could care less if it was of silence or your heart. In what seemed like a blink, the environment felt too overwhelming for you to function in. It was almost like you were sinking. Down deep to who knows where.

Though muddled, you tried your best to bring yourself back to the forefront by listening to the variety of other sounds outside the small bubble you two had created. Children running around screaming with laughter, adult men howling with amusement at whatever conversation they were in, and a female voice yelling to prepare the fireworks.

How fun. A celebration right next to a brewing storm. All under the same night sky.

“But,” you forced the words out. “You also have your own dreams.” His eyes softened at the mention. The way your heart shattered echoed a little too strongly throughout your body.

“That’s why I’m letting you go like this.” The young male smiled, making sure to let you know it was only directed at you. “So that at least one of us gets to achieve them.”

Your lips quivered. “Why do you speak as if I’m never going to come back for you?”

Silence again. You were beginning to develop an intense dislike for them.

“That’s just the way the world works,” was the response that came to soothe your growing anxiety. “It doesn’t revolve around a certain person. And it certainly doesn’t revolve around me. Go and live the life you want without any regrets. When the time comes that you’ve done everything you’ve wished for in life, come and find me again.”

A shake of a head.

“I could always just stay.”

A weak chuckle.

“Then, neither of us will be able to grow.”

A clench of a hand.

“What if I take too long?”

A minute passes by. You’ve come to really hate these momentary pauses.

He stands up. “There will be no such thing,” the young male assures you, moving closer only to stop at arm's length. You fought the urge to reach out and hold him. “Even if it takes multiple lifetimes, I’ll always be here. Waiting for you.”

“What if you forget about me?”

The world fell into one last hush. Your well-held tears finally started falling one-by-one, just like the first drops of rain. He sighs at your state, taking another step forward.

“I really don’t think I ever will.” He cups your face gently to look at him. “That’s why to you, who my heart will always choose in every lifetime—”

A loud bang. You watched as the fireworks bloomed into the sky through his glistening eyes.

“—Please live well until you come back to me.”

Hushed whispers filled the room.

You should’ve expected this. No matter the place, all high schoolers were bound to be the same, either one way or another. If you really had to make sense of it, your best guess would be that it was simply human for them to act this way. Universal traits are what makes a species. Perhaps you would’ve found it much more uncomfortable if the students in front of you didn’t find your situation interesting. After all, the genuine interest seeping out of those youthful eyes did make the atmosphere a lot lighter. At the end of the day, you could never actually fault them.

Still, enduring the poor attempts of adolescents trying to keep their curiosity hidden for more than a tick of a clock was harder than you thought. A part of you so badly wanted to believe that it was because this whole ordeal was tiring—bothersome, even. Unluckily for you, your brain knew a little bit too much for its own good.

Next to the classroom’s front door, one of your female classmates drops a pen accidentally. You watched it roll down two seats away, only to stop underneath the chair of a guy who was animatedly discussing something with another that was to his right. The latter enthusiastically reciprocated the conversation; his seemingly dominant hand spinning a blue-colored pen while doing so. You balled your hands, only to release them not even a beat later. They felt slightly damp.

You were nervous.

“Settle down now, class!” The homeroom teacher, Mrs. Cheon, ordered. Like well disciplined soldiers, the students quickly ceased all sound. Their undivided attention made you swallow heavily. “Starting today, we have a new addition to our class. Let’s all listen to her introduction.”

Your eyes almost popped out of their sockets at her order—only barely holding back from painting shock all over your face. This was not the plan you were made aware of. You wanted to protest. Throw a tantrum like a little child at the way she had just thrown you into a den filled with lions with no choice but to fend for yourself. Back in the faculty room, she had clearly stated that she was the one who was going to introduce you to the class. What was the point of asking you all the standard information about yourself if she wasn’t even going to use it?

Mrs. Cheon merely stood there, anticipating for you to start. Her neatly managed fingers were laced together behind her back, presenting the dark purple dress she was wearing in all of its glory. You kind of wished it was brighter; just so you could complain about her blinding you without seeming rude. Now you realized that you shouldn’t have trusted her words in their literal sense. It was foolish of you to believe that all you had to do for your formal introduction was to stand there until you were settled.

You took a discrete, heavy breath.

“Hello to you all. My name is Y/N,” you start off as cool as you could manage. “Eighteen. I just moved here from the city, so I am still in the process of getting familiar with the environment. Please take care of me.”

If you could give yourself a pat on the back at that moment, you would’ve. Unfortunately, you had yet to get a grasp on how things worked around here, so it was probably better not to do anything that would make you stand out more than you already did just by being new. And who even transfers schools two months into their last year of high school? Plus, with their stares so intently directed at you like they were studying a fascinating specimen, you couldn’t lift a single finger anyway. So you settled for pursing your lips instead.

A male student with puffed cheeks from the second row raised a brow at you. You bit your cheek lightly. Great.

“It seems like that’s all for Y/N’s introduction,” Mrs. Cheon says, clearing her throat. You internally glowered at the way she awkwardly moved on. You could only wonder how painful your introduction now seemed. “You’ll be seated next to Seungmin. Raise your hand, please.” She ordered.

To which not one soul followed.

If you had not enforced every single ounce of control you had, you were sure your jaw would’ve dropped to the ground. This was already proving to be one of the worst moments of your life, and yet life seemed way too eager to make it even more unforgettable. Your eyes snapped to the figure sitting on the slot in the back row, right next to the windows.

Granted, you already knew who this ‘Seungmin’ was. It was quite obvious, really. The only other desk free to use in this entire room was the one next to the guy you were currently burning a hole through with your gaze. He was staring out the window without a worry in the world, seemingly lost in his thoughts. His posture screamed relaxation, and anything more than that meant infusing into the wooden chair he was leaning back on.

While normally you would have found this guy relatable, right now you could just wish that he finally acknowledged Mrs. Cheon’s call so that you could now erase your presence for the rest of the day.

Luckily for you, it seemed like your homeroom teacher was also getting impatient.

“Kim Seungmin!”

The male with the same name as the one just yelled out leisurely broke off his staring contest with that one cloud in the sky to give you two at the front a glance. It was then that you finally got a good look at him.

His black hair was cut short, brushed down into bangs, but not enough to cover a notable undercut. Despite his clean appearance doubled by the meticulously ironed uniform that hung on his figure, his face was grim in a way that showed great dislike for the situation. You wanted to scoff at the frown decorating his lips, sending everyone the clear message that he had just been bothered. Fighting off the urge to twitch an eye at the slight scrunch of his nose was proving to be the most difficult challenge of the day.

“Oh?” He reacted monotonously before raising his hand as requested. That obviously meant he did hear Mrs. Cheon. “Yeah, here.”

You grit your teeth, already feeling an overwhelming sense of annoyance radiating out of you. From what it looked like, he felt it too—shifting his gaze from Mrs. Cheon to meet yours. Yet, your eyebrows furrowed as the feeling dissipated the moment your eyes locked.

Huh.

How come he seems awfully familiar?

FIC TAGLIST ━ STATUS: OPEN — ASK OR COMMENT 🫶

@fairyki @hysgf @euncsace @comet-falls @starlostseungmin @ameliesaysshoo @hyunverse @wnbnny @xocandyy @minluvly @moon0fthenight @estellaluna @hanjsquokka @starlostastronaut @soobnny

[skzstannie]

"My Soulmate"

SKZ -> Hyunjin x fem!reader

genre: slight angst, crack, vampire/soulmate AU wc: ~2,200 cw: none

summary: being kidnapped and brought to your vampire soulmate is something you never knew you needed... until now.

A/N: Hello again! Life's been crazy, and I've actually had this written since forever ago, so I decided to go ahead and edit and post it! Hope you enjoy :)

Alsoooo, I survived the Ticketmaster war and was able to snag some SKZ tickets to the Chicago show!!!

Happy Scrolling! | Masterlist

"Please be careful. That area is so sketchy, especially at night. Infested with those dastardly vampires, I'll tell ya."

"Mom, I'm fine. The bus station is only a mile down the road, and I'm almost there," you speak into the phone.

Your mom gives a disappointed sigh from the other end. "Sweetie, I've heard so many stories of girls going missing on that street. I really wish you would've listened to me and taken a different way home."

"I've always taken this way home from work; why are you so worried about it now?" The more you speak with your mom, the more paranoid you become. All the shadows out of the corner of your eye appear as humans, lurking behind buildings and in alleyways.

"Because a girl was killed just last week walking around down there, not to mention she was by herself. Just like you!" she screeches over the line. You have to pull the phone away from your head to protect your poor eardrums. "It was a gang that took them! What was their name again? Stray dogs? Stray... Stay? I can't remember."

"It's Stray Kids, mom. I'm sure they're not even around these parts anymore now that the cops are looking for them."

Too focused on your surroundings rather than the ground beneath you, you trip and fall over a large lip in the sidewalk. Your body hits the ground, and you immediately clutch your knee. Your legs are littered with scrapes and scratches, but your knee in particular has blood dripping down it. Pieces of dirt cover your skin, unpleasantly sticking to your wound and the oozing blood.

You startle from the sudden cold breeze you feel over your shoulder. You turn abruptly, hissing when your leg rubs against the ground. Another gust of wind brushes past your front, and you're quick to twist around again. Your heartrate picks up at the eeriness of the situation, your hands turning clammy.

Suddenly, a being materializes in front of you. A scream catches in your throat when another appears next to him. Both are dressed in normal clothing, albeit entirely black in appearance, the only color emitting from the two beings in front of you coming from their pale skin. It's almost sparkling under the glow from the streetlights.

They stand and stare for a moment, and the silence is palpable. As you make eye contact with them, you take notice of their eye color- a deep, fiery red. You feel as though you’re in a hypnotic state as you continue to stare into their eyes. Your surroundings become blurred the longer you look, and you begin to feel dizzy as the world around you begins to spin.

You can faintly hear your mom screaming at you through your phone, calling out for you with panic in her voice, but you can't seem to look away from the boys in front of you.

The dizzier you feel, the calmer you become. It's a weird sensation, feeling all your anxiety and fear just slipping from you. The last thing you see is the muscular man in front of you approaching before you close your eyes from the exhaustion. It came out of nowhere, but it's all-consuming as all thoughts leave your head, and you're left their laying limp and vulnerable.

~ ~ ~

Your eyes feel heavy as you open them, and the bright lights are blinding as they invade your vision. Reaching up to rub your eyes, you quickly realize that your arms are tied behind your back. Becoming aware of your surroundings, you feel the cool plastic chair beneath you. Looking down, you see the zip ties around each of your ankles, anchoring you to the chair.

You appear to be tied up in a cell of some sort. Black, solid bars seal you off from the outside of the room. The cell is small, only about 8 ft by 8 ft if you had to guess. The floor is nothing special, just some concrete. While you can't see much from where your seated in the corner, the room around you seems empty and cold. A desk sits in the middle with a few stacks of paper on top.

Your eyes tear up at your predicament as the memories of the men dressed in all black come back to you. Question upon question spring into your head; where'd they come from? Where'd they bring you? What do they want from you?

Your worries seem to multiply by the second, and you are filled with dread as you consider the possibilities.

You know you must look amess as sweat starts to pool on your forehead, not only from the temperature of the room but also the imminent danger present upon you. Tears stream freely down your cheeks as you desperately pull at the zip ties holding you hostage.

A door creaks open while in the middle of your struggle, and you freeze. Voices fill the open space, and your mouth runs dry at the thought of meeting your captor.

"I told you, we won't be getting our next shipment of blood for another couple weeks. You're just gonna have to hold off-" the voice cuts off as the man walks around the corner. He makes eye contact with you. He shares the same eye color as the men that took you, but you know from the facial features that this isn't the same one.

The man heaves a sigh, his eyes never leaving yours. "I've gotta call you back," he says before hanging up the phone. Without uttering another word, the man walks back out of the room, leaving you alone with your thoughts once again.

It feels as if hours have gone by the next time you hear the door open. This time, cries of pain fill the silent void. You become alert at that, straightening up in your seat. Curiosity fills your gaze as you’re welcomed with the man from earlier, this time accompanied by two more.

The two men are being dragged by their ears, which appears uncomfortable if the sounds of pain are anything to go by.

The man from earlier releases them once they are standing right outside your cell.

"Explain yourselves," he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Both men start talking over each other immediately, making it impossible to understand either one. "One at a time you pabos!" he interrupts them, creating an uncomfortable silence.

The buff one, which you now recall as one of the accomplices to your kidnapping, gestures roughly to the other man. Taking this as his cue to explain, he begins, "We swear she's the right one this time!" His words are rushed as he gestures towards you.

"You're kidding," the man in charge says, bringing his fingers to grasp at the bridge of his nose. "We've already been over this. You two can't keep kidnapping women from off the streets just because you believe them to be Hyunjin's soulmate."

Your heart races as your brought into the discussion. Soulmate?

You've heard of soulmates, but only ever in fiction, like books and movies. From what you've read, vampires are the only beings who can initiate the soulmate bond. Thereafter, the human can feel the bond, as well.

Suddenly, the pieces fall perfectly into place as you consider all the factors. Materializing out of nowhere, the red eyes, the hypnosis. These guys are vampires. How you didn't put it together sooner, you're not sure.

The bravery you're hit with is astounding, and you can't hold yourself back from interrupting the conversation. "Who are you guys and what do you want from me?" The man's rambling stops as all three look to you.

"Hi..." the man rambling starts, "I'm Jisung, and this is Lee Know and Changbin. We've brought you here because we believe you're our friend's soulmate."

"Please just let me go. I promise not to tell anyone about this!" you plead. You don't know what being the soulmate of a vampire entails, but you surely don't want to find out.

"Oh, we can never let you go," the man in charge, Lee Know, answers. "You've seen us, experienced our presence. You either have to stay with us, or... well, we kill you. You can thank these idiots for that," he gestures to Jisung and Changbin. Jisung brings his hand up to the back of his neck, rubbing it awkwardly.

You let out a sob at the ultimatum. You don't want to stay here forever. You want to go home, shower, and complain to your mom about work. You want to call your best friend and talk to her about the cute guy that you saw. The thought of never being able to do those things again envelopes you with sorrow, and more prominently, fear.

"Please don't cry," Jisung says, his hands coming up around the bars of the cell. "We would never want Hyunjin's soulmate to be sad."

"Jisung, we don't even know if this is his soulmate," Changbin says, his gaze piercing the side of your face.

"I'll prove it to you," he says before running out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

"I swear, I will kill both of you if this isn't the right girl. You said that the time before this was the last, and I'm getting tired of hiding dead bodies," Lee Know tells Changbin.

The hair on the back of your neck stands up, and you suddenly really hope you are this guy's soulmate. While this doesn't sound like the greatest of situations, at least if you live you'll get a chance to escape.

Changbin and Lee Know talk amongst themselves, and your anxiety starts to build once more.

~ ~ ~

It feels as if hours have gone by the time there's movement outside your cell again. Changbin and Lee Know, having gotten tired of standing, had taken a seat on the couch towards the back of the room, busying themselves on their phones.

You're still stuck in the same position. You've been wriggling your hands around, but you've realized there's no use in trying to escape. The two men would surely notice if the zip ties came undone, and even if they didn't, you're still stuck in this cell. You don't know what lies outside this room, but you're scared to find out.

You finally hear the door swing open, and you recognize Jisung's voice, this time accompanied by another stranger. The two come into view, and your breath hitches in your throat when your eyes meet the man Jisung brought with him.

He is easily the most beautiful man you've ever seen. His eyes meet yours, and you're immediately captivated, unable to look away. It's a strange feeling, but you suddenly feel all the worry and fear being washed from you, leaving you with a feeling of peace and serenity. It's almost like you've known this man for years, the way he brought you immediate comfort in this unfamiliar place.

"My soulmate," he whispers, and at this point you can only assume this is the 'Hyunjin' they were talking about.

In the blink of an eye, he materializes in front of you, now inside the cell. He quickly brings his hands towards you, and you feel no fear. The dread that once filled your body is no more as you allow him to carefully undo the zip ties from around your wrists and ankles.

Tears still slip down your cheeks, but the emotional pain you once felt is no more. You're overcome with unfamiliar emotions, and the tears don't stop.

You feel as if you recognize Hyunjin from your dreams. Always the hero, saving you from whatever dangers are out there for waiting for you.

Once the zip ties are off, you immediately rise to your feet and reach out to hold him. He embraces you even tighter, his arms wrapping firmly around your exhausted figure.

"This is such a strange feeling, but I feel at peace now," you whisper to him, your head resting on his shoulder.

"It's because we're together. The soulmate bond, I initiated it, and you've accepted it," he whispers back. "We can be together now."

"Have I seen you before?" you ask, taking a step back to admire his beautiful features.

"Maybe in your dreams. I've visited you there before. I've known what you looked like for a long time. That's how these guys found you," he says, gesturing behind him to Jisung and Changbin.

"Yea, and it only took us two tries! Do you know how vague of a description I had to go off of?" Jisung complains.

"Because I didn't expect you to go out and try to find her!" Hyunjin exclaims, exasperated.

"Well, I figured since your birthday was coming up, I could do something nice for you. And it only costed us one casualty!"

"Which I'm still dealing with, by the way," Lee Know says.

"Yea, yea. I just had a gut feeling about it this time."

[five-star-stay]

Lmao han's sheepish yet fond face as he indulges lee know and changes his answer to saying they were fated to be<33

[causeilikelix]

Rose Garden - Part Two

↳Pairing: Prince!Lee Know x Maid!afab reader

↳Words: 12,500~ (oops)

↳Warnings: SMUT obviously so as always minors DNI, unprotected sex (don't do this! but its not like these two had any other choice), p in v sex, oral (m and f receiving), fingering (f receiving), creampie, overall very vanilla stuff. Mentions of nausea but no one does on-screen. (For someone with emetophobia, I write about nausea a lot). Pregnancy scare?, ANGST

If there's anything else I missed, let me know!

TAGLIST: @ohmy-moonlightx , @junebug032 , @giyusatorou , @skzfelixlove , @kittkat44 , @nap-of-a-starr, @ventitto , @blankdyean , @lethallyprotected , @poisonivy21 , @nobody3210 , @chuuswifereal , @hisokasimp1, @lookitsjess

(Strikethrough means unable to tag, if I forgot someone or would like to be added then please let me know!)

↳Notes: I finished this first week of May then got taken out by a mystery illness for basically the whole month (respiratory infection I think). Anyway, today is my 27th birthday so I am giving all of you a gift!

PART ONE

↳Ready on my AO3: Here

“CAN’T YOU BE more gentle?” You groaned as your ribcage tightened.  With every tug of the laces on that infernal corset, your ribs condensed and your breasts swelled.  You could have sworn that a seamstress could thread you through a needle at this rate.  You often wore a corset of your own to work, but it was more for general support than to actually suck you into the point of suffocation.  The whale bone threaded through the offensive garment assured you that once you were in, nothing would move.

“That’s how this works, Y/N.  You should know, you entrap me in my corset every morning.”  Joy muttered through gritted teeth.  Her fingers worked on the laces to make sure they were perfectly snug and not going anywhere.  “It’s not so bad once you get used to it.”

“I can hardly breathe.”  You gasped out.

“Maybe so but you will be the picture of perfection.  This dress is going to look amazing on you.”  Joy promised. 

Your eyes darted to the dress laid out on the bed.  For the day, the queen had assigned guest quarters to every visiting lady with the invitation to spend the night if it fit in the travel plans.  Joy, of course, had jumped at the opportunity for a night away from home.  Especially if that night was to be spent dancing away at the palace.  That meant the pair of you had a private bedroom that could be used to change your identity.  The grand four-poster bed was large enough to sleep four comfortably.  You had a feeling that she would insist on sharing the bed with you.  Poor thing never did like sleeping alone.  You didn’t mind. 

“What is wrong with you?”  You panted.  Your lungs worked overtime to get used to being in such a compact space.  “How can you people wear this all the time?”

“They train us young.”  Joy muttered.  “Aha!  Done!  Let’s get you into this gown, shall we?”

Before you knew it, you were drowning in a sea of blue and pink fabric.  The skirts were never ending and created a full ball gown silhouette, though your bone underskirt held most of the fabric away from your legs.  The gown was made of rich peacock-blue silk and layers of delicate tulle that sparkled and shimmered under the light.  Silver lace appliques decorated the bodice and the top half of the skirt.  Some light tulle fabric hung just off your shoulders, creating a sweetheart off-the-shoulder neckline.  You had to admit that the colors were absolutely stunning.  It didn’t feel right that someone like you should wear a gown so beautiful. 

However, once the garment was secured in place with some lacing, you fell in love with it.  The gown hugged your waist and pushed your breasts up just enough.  The skirts swished when you moved and glittered in the light.  

“Y/N,” Joy breathed, “You look beautiful.  Come, let me do your hair and put on your jewelry.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one getting you ready?”  You asked as Joy guided you to sit down at the vanity. 

“There is time for that.  There’s no harm in being a little late if we need to.  The ball will undoubtedly go all night.”  Joy waved it off.  She pointed at a hairbrush on the table and you passed it over your shoulder to her.  “All of that playing dress up when we were kids was totally worth it.”

“Ow…” You muttered under your breath as Joy brushed out the tangles in your hair.

“I wonder who the Queen chose to be the princess.  Surely it’s not me or we would have received some sort of notification.”  Joy mused as she ran the brush through your hair.  “I wonder why they would have all of these lavish parties if they’re not going to choose one of the ladies who attends them.  Whoever the princess is surely is very lucky.  Prince Minho is quite handsome and I’m sure he will make beautiful babies and-”

“Miss Joy.  My apologies but I’m nervous enough as it is.  I’m terrified of being in the same room as the prince.”  You cut her off, wincing as you did so.  Your training clearly specified never to interrupt your lady but all this talk of Prince Minho marrying someone else was beginning to make your heart feel heavy in your chest.  

You hadn’t found the time to tell Joy about what happened.  You wanted to scream it out to the world that Prince Minho was your soulmate but there was no telling if anyone would even believe you.  When you first met him, he was trying to escape from his duty but after he fucked you he dove head-first into it.  You wondered if someone could die from having their soulmate marry someone else. 

In the end, it would all come down to if Prince Minho would confirm the fact that you were soulmates.  If he were to deny you then you would have to live your life without your other half.  The difference in status would make any kind of relationship difficult regardless of Prince Minho’s feelings.  

You weren’t sure if you had the strength to go through with this facade but you were already dressed.  You’d already made the decision.  You couldn’t back down now.  The dress was on and Joy was carefully putting your hair in a simple updo.  She took a few pins from the hair kit you brought for her.  Each pin had a diamond on the end.  The hairdo you had planned for Joy would use most of the pins, so as she worked on your hair you tried to think of what style you could do instead. 

“Y/N, are you okay?  Your head is up in the clouds.”  Joy’s voice softened. 

“Yes, miss.  I am merely thinking about what hairstyle to do for you.”  

“No, I don’t think you are.  You’ve been gone since Prince Minho’s appearance at tea.  Are you alright?”

“Miss… I don’t know.  I feel strange.  I think me coming with you was a terrible idea.”  

“What?  How could you say that!  I don’t know what I would do without you by my side!.”

“If I hadn’t come then I never would have-”  You paused to blink back your tears.  Joy paused her styling with a quiet gasp,  “I never would have met…”

“Who is it?”  Joy whispered knowingly. 

“I can’t tell you.  It would ruin...”

“Y/N, dear, please tell me.”  Joy moved to your side and bent over to be at your level, “I promise there is nothing you could say that would make me think less of you.”

“It’s not me it would ruin.  It’s him.  He and I can never be together.”

“Y/N, please.”  Joy reached up and gently brushed away a few of the tears that had escaped your eyes.  You couldn’t stop crying.  “Tell me and maybe I can help you.”

You looked her in the eye, hoping that maybe she could read your mind.  You and Joy had been friends for as long as you could remember.  You grew up in the same house.  Your mother was Joy’s mother’s maid.  You, in turn, became Joy’s.  Even as a maid, Joy always preferred to treat you as a friend.  

To no avail.  Joy remained clueless. 

“He’s…” you took a deep breath, “My soulmate is… Prince Minho.”

Joy’s jaw dropped.  She stumbled back a bit and sat down hard on the bed.  She stared at you with wide eyes.  If only, that made you cry harder.  At this rate she would never allow you to go to the ball.  Who in their right mind would let you attend a ball when your soulmate was the prince?  

“Do not lie to me, Y/N.”  Joy warned.

“Have you ever known me to lie to you?”

“I suppose not.  You’re sure it’s him?”

“After what we did in the garden, I would know him anywhere.”

“My god, you performed the soulmate act already?”  Joy gawked, her eyes swimming with questions.  “Tell me everything.”

“I don’t know…”

“I am asking as a friend, Y/N, but I will ask as your lady if I have to.”  

“Okay, well… I wandered off.  I didn’t mean to!  But I needed a break from the sun and-”

You told her the story from beginning to finish.  Meeting him in the garden and thinking he was the gardener, the accidental touch, the intensity of the soulmate act, and the way he’d turned cold afterwards.  You explained how you’d searched for him and how your stomach had churned when he was announced as the Prince.  

“It’s all hopeless!”  You wailed, dropping your tear-stained cheeks into your hands, “We can never be together.  After tonight I may never see him again!”  

“Perhaps not…  But what say you to see if we can get you two to meet one last time.  At least share some words, a kiss, something!”

“How would we do that?  He doesn’t know who I am.  He doesn’t know my name or anything.”

“You’re going to the ball tonight, of course he’ll find you!  If he doesn’t then I will speak to him.  I will tell him his angel is looking for him.  Come on, my dear, let’s get you looking perfect!”

~!~!~!~!~!~

YOU WERE CERTAIN that you were going to pass out at any moment.  The corset was bound too tightly and it was as if you were walking through hell’s inferno.  In reality you were only walking down a long corridor warmed with fireplaces, but it may as well have been the same thing.  

A finely dressed butler escorted you and Joy through the palace to the ballroom.  Joy held your hand as you walked, her grip like an iron vice.  She looked beautiful.  Once it was your turn to make her up, her hair was worthy of the princess’s tiara.  Her forest green ballgown was made of the finest silk that rippled like water when she walked.  She held her head high and turned to look at you with a bright smile. 

“You would fit right in here.”  Joy whispered lowly so the butler couldn’t hear your conversation.

“Maybe in the kitchens.”  You sighed.  “You look more like a princess than I do.”

“Nonsense.  I wasn’t born to be a princess, unlike you.”

“Lady Joy, I definitely was not born to be a princess.  Maybe the gods made a mistake.  They’ve been known to do that, right?”

“There is no way this is a mistake.  It’s clear that you belong here!  You’re the most beautiful noblewoman I’ve ever seen, cousin!”  Joy squeezed your hand pointedly. 

Muffled music played through the doors and you suddenly felt sick.  You pressed a hand to your stomach and stopped walking.  Joy stopped as well.  The butler continued on for a few steps before realizing that you weren’t following.

“I can’t do this.”

“Y/N!  Are you with child?”  Joy whispered and nodded to the hand on your stomach.

“What?  No!  It only happened this afternoon.  It takes longer to develop a child.  I’m just sick to my stomach.”

“It’s only nerves.  Once we get into the ballroom, everything will be okay.  We’ll dance a little bit and then we’ll enact the plan, alright?”  

“I can’t.  This was a terrible idea, let me go back to the room and-”

“No!  Y/N, no!  Just take a deep breath.  I’ll be right there by your side the entire time.”  Joy promised, “Let’s go.”

She pulled you along and the butler continued leading you through the palace.  The music got louder and louder until the butler paused at a large set of double doors.  Joy turned to smile at you one last time before looking forward.  

A pair of butlers opened the doors, revealing a lavish, golden ballroom.  Several crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling with candles casting flickering rainbows on the walls.  The dance floor was packed with ladies and gentlemen alike, dancing away in celebration.  A handful of musicians played a waltz.  

Your eyes were immediately drawn to a raised platform at the back of the room.  A triad of ornate golden thrones with purple velvet and diamonds were perched atop.  In the center throne, a woman in an enormous embroidered gown with a huge crown atop her head tapped her fingers to the time of the music; the Queen.  To her left sat the young princess, no older than fifteen but old enough to be at her brother’s party.  She stared out into the crowd with a polite smile.  Then, your gaze landed on the man you wanted to see. 

Prince Minho sat to his mother’s right.  He wore the same outfit as before, except he’d taken his crown off and hung it off one of the posters of his throne.  He lounged a bit in his chair, not really paying attention to anyone around him.  He sipped on a goblet of wine.  The prince, instead, stared at the ceiling. 

He looked just as beautiful as the moment you first saw him.  Something about the candlelight made his skin glow.  

You sucked in a breath when you laid eyes on him.  It took every ounce of self control in your body and Joy’s hand to keep you from running through the ballroom to be with him.  Something tugged on your heart like an invisible string, urging you forward. 

When you stepped through the door into the ballroom, Prince Minho cocked his head suddenly.  He turned his gaze away from the ceiling and scanned the throngs of dancing people.  He scoured the dancers before turning his attention to the walls.  Servants were stationed by the wall or in the corners where they couldn’t be easily seen unless you were looking for them.  Just out of sight, but there in case they were needed.  Prince Minho searched the face of each one until his gaze passed over the doors you’d just walked through.  

Then came the double take.  He looked on the other side of the room for a moment before turning his head back in your direction. 

When you made eye contact, you gasped and gripped Joy’s hand a little tighter.  Joy immediately snapped her head to look at the prince.  She followed his gaze and found you as the person in question.  He raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing.  He knew your true stature but he was in no position to tell anyone anyway.  

“Come, let’s find something to eat.  You need your energy.”  Joy whispered, pulling your attention away from the Prince.

“But… Prince Minho…”

“There will be time for that.  We have hours before the Prince will retire.  He’s seen you, so there is no doubt in my mind that he will seek you out.”  Joy assured you.  

She pulled you through the ballroom to a dining room.  There were several tables lined with food piled high on silver platters.  Dishes like pork, chicken, rolls, roasted vegetables, you name it.  Instantly, your mouth watered.  You could not remember the last time you broke fast and your dehydration this morning left you with a pounding headache.  

“I am pretty hungry…”  You mused.

“Let’s get you something to eat and then I’ll tell you everything about my plan.”

~!~!~!~!~!~

JOY’S SUGGESTION DIDN’T sit right with you at first, but she eventually convinced you to dance with the very first man who asked.  You’d barely caught the man’s name, Christopher something-or-other.  He was staggeringly handsome, though he could hold no candle to your Destined. 

Christopher spun you around the dancefloor for two whole dances.  He was careful to keep his touches over your clothes but you noticed that his eyes kept dipping down to your mouth and to the swell of your breasts out of the dress.  You wore long silver satin gloves up to your forearms, as was the fashion and the social assurance that no one could find their soulmate at these social events unless you tried really hard.  

At the end of the second dance, a whirlwind of a waltz (where you definitely stepped on his foot more than once), you were beginning to feel a little out of breath.  Joy was off dancing with another man, a complete heartthrob who had introduced himself as Peter.  Joy had promised that she would watch you all evening, but Peter had her absolutely captivated.

Christopher gazed down at you with big, brown puppy dog eyes.  He pursed his lips before opening his mouth to ask you to dance a third time.  However, a terse voice cut through the atmosphere.

“Sir Christopher, do you mind if I cut in?”  The voice sent a shiver down your spine.  You would recognize it, recognize him, anywhere. 

“Oh.  Um, of course, Sire.”  Christopher bowed before disappearing into the crowd. 

Prince Minho took his place in front of you.  You looked at him for a moment before dropping into a deep curtsy.  Your eyes turned to the floor.  Your heart pounded so loudly in your chest that you thought you might faint.  

In an instant, Prince Minho was touching you.  He put his hands on your shoulders to pull you out of the curtsy and one of his hands moved to your chin.  With his soft fingers, he guided your face until you were looking directly into his eyes.  The same grief from this afternoon clouded them and his eyebrows were pulled together.  

The music started and other couples around you began to dance.  Skirts swirled, girls giggled, shoes tapped on the wooden dance floor.  However, none of that mattered.  The outside world became a blur until the only thing you could see was the man in front of you.

He called you an angel before, but you were certain that the angel was actually Prince Minho.  He glowed under the candlelight and his crown looked like a halo.  Prince Minho grasped your waist and took your hand.  You gasped at the contact. 

“Take my arm.”  He commanded.  You quickly set your hand on his shoulder. 

Before you knew it, Prince Minho spun you into the crowd of dancers.  How he managed to lead without taking his eyes off yours, you may never know.  You had so many questions but you had absolutely no idea where to even begin.  All you knew for sure is that this would most likely be the last time you ever saw him.

“What’s your name?”  Prince Minho asked. 

“Y/N.”  

“Beautiful.  I knew your name would be beautiful.”  A smile played on his lips,  “How did you manage to come tonight?  I thought you were a ladies maid.”

“I am.  Lady Joy is more a friend than a lady.  We grew up together.  She asked me to come with her tonight.”  You explained, your voice weak. 

“Damn.  I’d hoped that perhaps you’d fooled me in the garden.  If you were a lady then my mother might have allowed us to marry.”  

“Couldn’t we still pretend?”

“My mother, the Queen, is very resourceful.  She would look into your family and find that you’re of common birth.  Unless, of course, you can provide undeniable proof of noble birth.”

“I’m afraid I don’t think that will be possible.”  Tears brimmed in your eyes at the thought. 

You couldn’t explain it but your heart swelled with affection for him.  You barely even know the man.  However, you could practically feel every cell in your body aching for him and needing to be with him.  His touch sent bolts of lighting through your veins.  His lips were eye level with you and all you wanted to do was claim them as yours.  Party-goers and the Queen be damned.  This man was your soulmate and you wanted everyone to know. 

“My love,”  Prince Minho smiled sadly and moved his hand from your waist in order to brush away a tear that had fallen.  He replaced his hand before you could fall out of step with the dance. “We will find a way.  Maybe it won’t be today but I must have you by my side.  I want to know everything about you.  Please, my angel, don’t think of this as an ending.  Merely a rocky and uncertain beginning.”

“How can you be optimistic about this?”  

“I am a prince.  We have a way of getting things done.”  Prince Minho smiled warmly.  The assurance that he was feeling the same way as you in this absurd situation made your heart ache a little less.  “Dance the night away with me, my love.”

How could you possibly refuse him?

You spent the next three dances in the circle of your prince’s arms.  Sir Christopher asked for your hand for one dance but Prince Minho stole you away the moment it was over.  You twirled around the ballroom, talking and laughing with one another.  He searched your mind, asking about your past, your family, your life.  He wanted to know your favorite meals, your favorite colors, artists, and flowers.  He, in turn, told you all about his favorites. 

More and more things began to line up between the two of you.  With every new thing in common, it became extremely apparent why he was your soulmate.  He was your perfect match in every way.  He was everything you ever could have wanted in a life partner.  He was charming, witty, a fantastic dancer, and he cared deeply about his country and his duties. 

Eventually, Prince Minho led you from the dance floor and onto the terrace outside.  The air was cool against your skin and you hadn’t realized you’d been sweating.  The party continued behind you, grand and gold.  There were three sets of tall glass doors that were propped open between the terrace and the ballroom.  There were fewer people outside, so it gave you and your Prince a quieter place to talk.  

And talk you did.  For hours it seemed, you spoke and shared things about your life.  There wasn’t much for you to share but you wanted to know every detail about him.  

“You must be dreading your marriage.”  You sighed.

“I am… but I know it must be done.  The last thing I want is to be with someone who isn’t my soulmate.  However, I understand that it is what I must do.  My father would have wanted me to do the same as him.”  Prince Minho explained.  “In the garden earlier, I was prepared to run away from it all.  I still wish I could escape.  However, now I know that I cannot escape my duty.”

“The same as your father?  What do you mean by that?”  You asked.  You bit down the stinging pain in your chest from all the talk of him marrying another.  Though, you had to admit that it made sense.

“My mother was not his soulmate, you see.  He never told me who it was but I’m not sure that they ever got to be together before he died.”

“Your parents managed to have children, though!  That is an accomplishment!  I heard that fertility rates between non-soulmates is very low.”

“I think it worked because my mother has never met her soulmate.  She truly loved my father and I believe that it was her love that made my sister and I come into existence.  Or maybe it was pure luck.”

“Do you believe in true love?  Love that isn’t born of soulmates?”

“Well, I suppose I’ve never thought about it.  I don’t think that I have ever loved anyone before.  I fancied a few of the ladies when I was younger, but I always knew that I would either find my soulmate one day or I would have to live without them.”  Prince Minho gazed out into the garden.  The paths were lined with torches that cast a golden glow on the ground.  Two or three lone couples strolled through the garden. 

“I apologize, My Prince.  We can discuss something else.”  

“Angel, it is alright.  There is no way you could upset me.”  Prince Minho assured you. 

He reached out and cupped your cheek with his hand.  He guided your head to make sure you were looking directly into his eyes.  “This situation is less than ideal but it is in no way your fault.  It’s crazy.  It feels as if I’ve known you all my life.”

“I know… I wish I didn’t have to leave.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go.”

Minho guided your face a little closer to his and pressed a fleeting kiss onto your cheek.  His soft lips lingered on your skin for a few long seconds.  His musky scent filled your nose and overwhelmed your senses.  You closed your eyes and breathed him in.  Something deep in your core wished that he would have kissed your lips instead. 

However, all good things come to an end. 

“HEAR YE, HEAR YE.”  A voice boomed from inside the ballroom, “ALL SUBJECTS APPEAR BEFORE THE QUEEN FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.” 

Prince Minho pulled away from you and looked towards the ballroom.  The music had stopped and all of the guests were venturing towards the center of the room to listen to the announcement.  He turned to look back at you.

“It’s time, my love.”  Prince Minho offered you his hand.

Your lower lip quivered and you blinked back the tears brimming in your eyes.  You stared at his hand.  You forced yourself to swallow a sob.  Gently, you took his hand.  He led you back into the ballroom.  The stifling heat made it nearly impossible to breathe.  Your chest ached.  Your heart pounded in your ears.  

Once you got deep enough into the room, Prince Minho pulled you to a careful stop.  He looked deeply into your eyes for a few long seconds.  You stared back, desperately trying to memorize the way his eyes glowed like honey in the candle light.  They sparkled a little and with a start you wondered if he was about to cry.

“I’m going to miss you.”  He whispered. 

“And I you.”  

He gently pulled you closer.  You thought for a moment that he was going to kiss you.  The air between you thinned as his face inched closer.  He cupped your cheek in his hand and pressed your foreheads together. 

“Your lady is Lady Joy, correct?”

“Lady Joy Park.”  You affirmed. 

“I will send for you this evening, my love.  Fear not, this will not be the last time we see each other.”

With that, he vanished into the crowd.  His hand dropped from your face and he let go of your hand.  The other guests of the party bustled around you.  The air in the ballroom ran hot, but you shivered.  You searched the faces around you desperately, hoping that perhaps he would emerge from the crowd and come back to you.  

Prince Minho did emerge from the crowd, but only when he stepped back up onto the platform and reclaimed his throne.  His stoic face was set and he stared blankly into the crowd.  Your eyes welled up with tears and you blinked to try to keep them at bay.  

How were you supposed to go on without your soulmate?  All you wanted to do was run up to the throne and tell the entire room that he was yours and that no one else could have him.  

Almost as if she read your thoughts, Lady Joy appeared at your side.  She took your hand and gave you a reassuring squeeze.  

“How did it go?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

The Queen cleared her throat so loudly the chandeliers quivered.  She rose to her feet and instantly all chatter in the room ceased.  Someone coughed.  

“It is with regret that I inform you that our dear prince has not found his soulmate.”  The Queen began, “Despite all of our efforts to find his destined partner we were unsuccessful.  However, we still have call for celebration this evening.  I am happy to announce Prince Minho’s betrothal to Princess Anna from the Roman Kingdom!  The nuptials will be held next week and invitations to the event and the following balls will be sent henceforth!  They will honeymoon on the island Sicily, where our dear princess was born before they return home to us.  Please, let us congratulate the lucky couple!”

Everyone in the room applauded politely.  Prince Minho rose to his feet and bowed before sitting back down. 

You were absolutely positive that you were going to be sick.  

“Lady Joy?”

“Yes, Y/N?”

“Get me out of here.”

Joy wasted no time. 

She tugged on your hand, urging you to follow her.  She weaved through the crowd of people.  On your way, the man you remembered as Lord Peter stopped Lady Joy.  They whispered to each other for a few seconds, including something about a promise to see each other again soon.  With that, Joy set off again.  Lady Joy beelined towards the doors and urged the guards to open them.  They gave her a puzzled look, but followed her silent command.  

Your lady pulled you into the hallway and you couldn’t help but glance back one more time.  To your relief, or perhaps horror, Prince Minho noticed the opening of the door and his gaze found you immediately.  You locked eyes one last time before Lady Joy led you down the hall, out of sight. 

The heavy doors slid shut behind you, the heavy thud making you wince.  

How were you supposed to leave Prince Minho behind you?

~!~!~!~!~!~

“IS SHE QUITE well?” The butler’s concerned voice carried through the large bedroom.  You heard him even over your crying.  You sobbed into the pillow that was damp with your tears and yet you couldn’t stop.  Your body shook with crying and you could not seem to stop it.  Lady Joy stood at the door, accepting a pile of dry pillows that she’d requested after you’d dampened all of the others with your tears. 

“She is well, do not worry.”  Lay Joy assured him.

“Should I send for a doctor?”

“Heartbreak is something a doctor cannot fix, I’m afraid.  I will call for you if we require anything else.”  

With that, Lady Joy shut the door and made her way back to the bed.  She tossed the pillows at the foot of the bed before climbing under the luxurious duvet with you.  She wrestled with the neverending fabric of the blankets and her nightgown before she settled in and returned her attention to you.  

Both of you had changed out of your ballgowns as soon as you’d returned to your quarters.  You managed to hold back your tears just long enough to get out of your corset.  Then the waterfall began and hadn’t stopped.  Joy did her best.  Supplying you with things to dry your eyes and drink to keep your body from drying up but there was only so much she could do.

You told her everything.  You told her about the dancing, about your conversations, and about how Prince Minho promised that he would call for you.  What made it worse is that it was hours ago.  You’d already gone through at least half a candle, if not more.  The music from the ball could be heard faintly through the window.

“Perhaps he’s still there.  It would be rude of the host to leave prematurely.”  Joy reminded you.

“I can’t help it!  I don’t know what to do!”

“Oh, my dear Y/N, I wish I could help you.”  Joy gently stroked your hair.

“Will the pain fade?”

“Perhaps with time.  It’s getting late, Y/N… you look exhausted.  Let’s try to sleep okay?  In the morning we can escape from this wretched place.”

Your eyes ached from crying.  Your cheeks were sticky with tears.  Joy grabbed one of the dry pillows from the end of the bed and replaced the one you were using.  She slipped out of bed once more to blow out all of the candles in the room. 

Once the room was dark, Joy slipped back into bed with you.  You buried your face into the pillow and sniffled.  Your eyelids grew heavy and you begged sleep, or perhaps death, to overtake you.  You squeezed your eyes shut and forced yourself to think of other things. 

Tomorrow you would have to spend hours doing laundry.  You would be washing all of the undergarments and skirts, ironing dresses, polishing jewels.  The task would probably take the entire day.  The banality of your day to day work would be sure to wipe away your feelings of dread. 

It must have only been moments after you drifted into a restless sleep when someone pounded on the door.  Your eyes shot open and you found Joy had also been startled awake.  You stared at each other for a few seconds before the pounding on the door came again.  Joy abruptly sat up.  She wrestled with the blankets for a few long seconds before she successfully freed herself and hurried to the door. 

You sat up when the door creaked open.

“Is there a young lady here by the name of Y/N?”  A male voice spoke from beyond the door.

“Y/N… is there another name?”  Joy asked. 

“Angel.  Prince Minho sends for her.”

You perked up immediately.  You threw the blankets off and clamored out of bed.  Joy put a hand up and you froze in place.  

“Yes, sir, she is here.  Please allow me a moment and I will fetch her.”  Joy spoke calmly.  You bounced on the balls of your feet. 

“Yes, my Lady.”  

Joy shut the door and turned to you, eyes sparkling with excitement. 

“Y/N, take off your nightgown.”  Joy stared at you expectantly for a few seconds.  “Make haste!”

~!~!~!~!~!~ 

YOU CHEWED ON your lower lip as you stared at the large pair of ornate double doors.  The butler who had been sent to get you waited patiently nearby, waiting for your command to open them.  You couldn’t explain why the nerves and fear that overwhelmed your heart as the butler led you through the dark hallways of the palace.  

Perhaps it was the silence.  The butler didn’t say a word to you unless to remind you to follow him.  Or it was the dark hallways, lit only with a few lone candles.  

Or perhaps it was the nightgown that swirled about your ankles.  Joy insisted on giving you hers.  Your nightgown was a plain white smock but Joy’s was made of the finest pink satin and was decorated with lace and satin flowers.  It came paired with a matching silk robe that tied around your waist.  The sleeves and the skirt billowed as you walked.  It didn’t feel right to you to be wearing such a garment but Joy insisted.  If you were meeting the prince, you had to be dressed accordingly. 

You couldn’t argue with your lady so you agreed to switch nightgowns with her.  Once she had yours on, she promised to get you a nicer nightdress for your birthday.

“Anytime, Miss.”  The butler pursed his lips.  “The prince does not like to be kept waiting.”

“Open the door, please.”  You barely recognized your own voice. 

The butler pulled the door open and gestured for you to enter first.  You took a deep breath before striding through and into a bedroom about twenty times as ornate as the quarters provided to Lady Joy.  The lofted ceiling should have made the room cold, but a large fireplace was lit ablaze and crackled away.   

The door slid shut behind you.  When you glanced back, the butler hadn’t followed you. 

You slowly walked deeper into the room.  You passed through a lush drawing room, surely meant for entertaining.  A study where a large oak desk dominated the space.  A door was cracked leading into a bathroom where the bathtub alone was the same size as your room back home.  Until finally you reached the bedroom.  A large four poster bed stood tall against one wall and a chaise and a few plush couches surrounded another active fireplace.  Against the wall opposite from you stood a pair of floor to ceiling glass doors that were open and led out onto a balcony.

And there he stood.  Prince Minho had his back to you and he leaned against the balcony railing.  He stared off into the night.  If he heard you enter, he did not say.  For a few moments, you stood in the middle of his bedroom and waited.  You weren’t sure if you should say something or not.  Besides, it was not in your nature to speak before spoken to.  You wondered what he was thinking about.  

“Come, my love.”  Prince Minho glanced over his shoulder and gestured for you to join him.  Your feet carried you past the threshold and onto the balcony.  You didn’t have a chance to see the view before you were crushed in the warmest hug you’d ever received. 

Once you were close enough, Prince Minho pulled you into a tight embrace.  He buried his face in your neck and breathed in deeply.  His warmth enveloped you and his body hid you from the cool night air.  You didn’t hesitate long before your arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him into you.  The soft breeze around you ensured that his rich scent invaded your nostrils and you ached to have the smell imprinted on your very soul.  You wanted to remember how he held you.  He held you as if it was truly the last time.  

“We will find a solution, I promise.”  Prince Minho murmured into your neck.

“I wish I could stay.”  

“I could command it.”  

“I can’t leave my lady.”

“I can’t bear to be wed to another.”  Prince Minho pulled away just enough to look at your face.  “This entire kingdom should be yours.”

“As long as you are my soulmate, the entire kingdom is mine.”  You assured him with a small smile.  Even though your entire body ached with sadness and you wanted to cry, you couldn’t.  You didn’t want to cry in his presence. 

“Look at it.”  Prince Minho moved behind you and wrapped his arms around your middle.  He moved until you stood at the railing.  “No matter the circumstance, as a prince you are my princess.  When I am king you will be my only queen.”

Your breath caught in your throat at the sight and his words.  From here, you could see the entire gardens as well as the golden glow coming from the ballroom.  The city sprawled out around the palace, warm and alive.  The lights below glittered and you could almost make out the subjects walking the streets.  For them, their days were just beginning.  The city extended as far as the eye could see until it met the black ocean.  From there, only inky blackness.

“Look.”  You pointed towards the city,  “You see the clocktower?”  

“I do.”

“When I have time to myself I like to go to a park nearby for a walk.  I get a day off a month and I usually spend it there.”  You explained, then pointed somewhere else.  “I take my lady to a seamstress near the tavern over there.”

“Where do you live?”  Prince Minho’s breath fanned against your ear.

“Over there.”  You pointed off to the side, “Just out of sight.  Beyond that spire.”  

“My angel… tell me something lovely.”

“Like what?”

“It matters not.  Tell me something lovely that makes you feel happy.”

“Hmm…”  You mused for a few seconds, “The feeling of grass under my feet on a warm summer day.  The ocean breeze through my hair.  The tiny noises of a puppy.  Crawling into bed after a long day.  The smell of freshly baked bread.  The rich scent of roses.”

“Roses… I may never look at them the same way again.”  Prince Minho chuckled. 

“I don’t think I will, either.”  You giggled.  “What about you?  What are some lovely things?”

“Well…”  Prince Minho’s lips pressed onto your neck and he hummed.  His hair tickled your skin and you couldn’t help the giggle that came from your throat.  “Your laugh is the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.  The smell of old parchment.  Having a warm bath after a hunt.  Biting into a perfectly crisp apple.  Kissing the skin of your beloved.  Pink silk nightgowns.”

Between each offering, your prince pressed a warm kiss on your skin, trailing from your neck to your shoulder.  His fingers gently moved the fabric of your nightgown aside so he could press kisses on all of the skin he could.  You sighed and tilted your head to the side to give him more access.  Your eyes slid shut. 

“Prince Minho,” you sighed when his fingertips traced your collarbones.  

“To you, I am no prince.  I am merely Minho.”  he whispered.  His fingers trailed down your chest to the silk ribbon holding your robe shut, playing with the fabric and running it through the pads of his fingers.  “Will you let me love you?  Let me shower you with my love and bring your body so much pleasure.”

“Pleasure like in the garden?”

“Just like that, but tenfold.”  

Your body trembled with nerves, but you nodded all the same.  Minho pressed soft kisses on your skin and you sighed at the feeling.  He slowly pulled the ribbon free and your robe fell open for him.  He smoothed his hands over your stomach and hips and you sighed at the contact.  You leaned your head back to rest on his shoulder and he accepted your weight willingly.  He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly. 

“You can say no,”  Prince Minho whispered, “It’s okay.  I can love you in more ways.”

“I want to but… I’m nervous.”  You admitted.  You ached to have him again, if the aching between your legs was anything to go by, but now that the soulmate urge had passed the thought of having something so… big inside of you again made your heart flutter.

“My love, I would never hurt you.  We can take this as slow as you wish.”

You stayed in that position for a few minutes.  Your head on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around you and holding you as close to his body as possible, both of you staring out at the kingdom below.  Your mind wandered, giving you visions of royal life.  Perhaps working in the palace so you could at least be closer to him.  Getting to sleep in his room each night, slipping out in the morning.  You could never be queen.  Joy taught you to read but you never quite understood the classic literature that everyone of noble birth had to read to be educated.  

You imagined attending parties, dressing up, and dancing the night away in beautiful golden ballrooms.  You imagined eating food prepared by the palace cooks each and every morning.  If what the cooks prepared tasted as good as what you had for dinner, you thought you could get used to this life.  Honestly, you didn’t even want to be queen.  Or even a princess.  You just wanted to love him.  Freely.  Openly.  

“All I want is to know you.”  You whispered and Minho hummed to encourage you to keep speaking, “I want to know you inside and out.  I want to grow a partnership,  I want to know what you hate and I want to know what you love.  I want to know how you take your breakfast, how you take your tea, your favorite walking paths, where do you hide when you need to get away from it all?  I don’t want to leave in the morning.”

“Then don’t,”  Prince Minho tried again but he knew your answer, “Stay with me in the palace.  We could figure something out and I will make sure that you stay by my side.”

For a few long seconds, you stayed silent as you contemplated his words.  As the seconds ticked on, Prince Minho heard his answer. 

“I’m sorry, my lord.”  

“Then let us focus on this night.  Let us spend our time focusing on each other.”  Prince Minho turned you around in the circle of his arms so he could gaze upon your face.  His eyes glistened with tears and you wished you could take his pain away.  “Please… call me Minho.”

“Prince-”

“No,” he cut you off, pressing his lips to your forehead for a few seconds, “Just… Minho.”

“Minho…”  You breathed, “Bring me pleasure.  I will bring you pleasure tenfold.  Please.”

“Angel, you never have to ask.”  

His lips crashed onto yours with no more ceremony.  Your heart swelled at the contact and you kissed him back eagerly.  His lips tasted so sweet.  Your favorite sweet could never compare to his taste.  Your arms wrapped around his neck and he pressed you into the balcony railing.  He twisted his head a little and kissed you deeper.  You accepted everything he had to give you.  

Minho put his hands on your shoulders and pushed the robe off.  The fabric pooled around your waist and he started on working the robe off your arms but you pulled away a little. 

“Wait.  Not here.”  You whispered.  Minho pulled away from you.

“No one can see us up here, Angel.” 

“Still… I… I don’t want to lose the robe.  It belongs to my lady.”   You admitted.

“When you are mine, I will give you hundreds of nightgowns made of the finest silk in all the land.”  Minho pressed warm kisses on your jawbone and neck as he spoke, trailing his lips along your skin and leaving trails of fire in his wake. 

“I’m already yours.”

“Don’t you forget it.”

With that, Minho swept you up into his arms and carried you bridal style back into his room.  You yelped when you initially lost your footing but giggled as he carried you.  You held onto him and nuzzled your nose into his neck.  Minho paused in the middle of his room and looked towards the fireplace then towards his bed on the other end of the room.  After a few moments of deliberation, he made his way over to the bed and gently laid you down on the plush mattress.  He was over you in an instant, pressing his knees on either side of your hips. 

“Angel, I want to see you this time.  I want to see all of you.”  

Minho’s hands ran over the fabric of your nightgown.  His eyes trailed over your curves.  His hands moved to gently cup your breasts.  He squeezed them and pushed them together to watch them swell under the fabric.  His thumbs ran over your pebbled nipples and you gasped at the surprisingly pleasant feeling that came from it.  Minho smiled softly and repeated the action again and again, rubbing his thumbs in circles around your nipples.  Your back arched into him and your eyes slid shut so you could enjoy the stimulation.

He moved one of his knees to press at the seam between yours.  Your legs easily fell open to accommodate him.  Minho leaned down to capture your lips in a searing kiss.  He resumed his task of helping the robe off your body.  You assisted him by pulling your arms out of the sleeves and tugging the offending fabric away so it could pool on the ground.  Minho gripped your thighs and worked on pushing the silky fabric up your legs so he could touch your bare skin.  

Your hands busied themselves with pulling his blouse up and over his head.  He broke the kiss briefly to rip his shirt off and toss it on the floor before kissing you again.  He didn’t give you the chance to admire his figure, but your hands traced his strong shoulders and strong chest and abdominal muscles.  

That telltale arousal began to pool between your legs.  The same heat you felt in the garden licked up your spine and made the junction between your legs ache.  Your hips unconsciously rolled upwards, only to catch on Minho’s pants.  The sudden friction made a moan slip from your lips.  Minho pulled away with a gasp.  

“Please make that sound again.  I will worship the ground you walk on.”  Minho moaned out.  He pressed his thigh closer to the apex between your legs until it pressed firmly against your heat.  You gasped at the contact but winced when you remembered that Joy’s silk gown still covered you.  You grasped the skirt and pulled it up over your hips and Minho moaned again.  “Nothing underneath, angel?  Were you hoping I would fuck you?”

Mindlessly, you nodded, choosing not to remind him that it was, in fact, him who ripped your undergarments to the point where they could not be used.  Instead, you pressed your core against his thigh and moaned at the pleasure that sparked through you.  Minho flexed his thigh and urged you to grind against him.  Your hips moved slowly as you got used to the rhythm and the new pleasure.  You whimpered as the pleasure grew but you weren’t sure if you would be able to climax like you did in the garden. 

“More,” you whimpered thoughtlessly.  

“My angel wants more?”  Minho cooed.  He stared down at you with such awe, as if perhaps there was an actual angel below him.  “What do you want?  I shall give it to you.” 

“I…”  you trailed off, your mind going blank, “I don’t know.  I want you to touch me.”

With that, Minho pulled his knee away and pushed your nightgown up to expose your core to him.  Instinctively, you parted your legs a little more.  Minho’s gaze flickered down to your center and pulled his lower lip between his teeth.  Your folds glistened in the low glow from the fireplace across the room.  Minho moved a hand and gently swiped one of his fingers through your folds and brought it to his mouth.  His eyes rolled back in his head at the taste of you.

“Angel, can I taste you properly?”  Minho’s gravely voice sent a wave of arousal through you.

“You just did…”

“I want to put my tongue on you.”  Minho slowly lowered down the bed until his face hovered just above your core, “If it’s too much tell me to stop.”

With that, Minho flattened his tongue against you and your back instantly arched off the bed.  You let out a choked gasp as the dizzying sensation swept through you.  His warm, wet tongue licked through your folds, mapping every ridge and dip and curve.  He swirled his tongue around your opening to gather your wetness in his mouth before he moved up to suck on your clit.  A keening moan left your throat as he sucked and nipped at the little bud.  You couldn’t stop the small moans and gasps you let out as Minho’s tongue played with you.

 “You taste so good, angel.”  Minho moaned.

He licked down to your entrance and slowly wiggled his tongue past the barrier.  He moaned against your core and pushed his tongue deeper into you.  You moaned at the feeling and tilted your hips up to chase his face, as if he had any intention to move.  He lapped at your walls greedily, like a man who’s never tasted water before.  Minho’s eyes slid shut as he savored your warmth in his mouth.  His nose nudged your clit with every few pushes of his tongue and it was enough to build the most amazing feeling in your stomach. 

You recognized that feeling now, it was the same one from the garden.  As if on instinct, you reached for his head to keep him against you before you paused, realizing that this was the prince you were about to touch without permission.  He’d told you a hundred times that you could, but the doubt still hovered.  

As if reading your thoughts, Minho reached up and grabbed your wrist.  He led your hand to the back of his head before hooking his arm under your leg to hold you against him.  Your fingers slid through his silky locks easily.  You gasped out at a particularly harsh suck and you gripped his hair tightly.  Minho let out a moan into your pussy and the vibrations, in turn, made you moan.  

Minho refocused his efforts, moving up to wrap his lips and tongue around your little clit.  His other hand slid between you until his fingertips prodded at your swollen hole.  You gasped at the contact, but tilted your hips up to chase the feeling.  You could feel him smile against you.  The coil within you tightened and you gasped. 

“Aw, sweet girl, are you going to cum?”  Minho cooed.

“Yes!  Yes, please, I need more.”  you moaned out.

“You want my fingers?”  Minho drew a small circle around your hole with a fingertip.

“Fuc- yes!”  You choked out a moan when he pushed one finger into the knuckle. 

“Mm, you’re so tight.”  Minho murmured those last words right against your clit before sucking it into his mouth.  

You were certain you had died and gone to heaven.  The added stimulation of his finger and the incessant swirls of his tongue sent you hurtling towards a release in record time.  Like the wave inside of you, your moans also rose like a crescendo.  Growing in pitch and frequency, you couldn’t hold them back.  You gripped onto Minho’s hair like a lifeline as the pleasure peaked. 

“Cumming- sir!  Sir, I’m cumming, please!”  You all but shrieked as you came into his mouth.  

Your legs shook, even as Minho slowed his ministrations to ride you through it.  Even though he’d just given it to you, he pulled his finger out and moved his face a little lower so he could lap gently at your pulsing hole.  You quivered and moaned as wave after wave of pleasure washed over you until it slowly turned to pain.  After one soft lap, you winced and let go of Minho’s hair. 

He took this as a sign and pulled away from you.  He sat back on his knees and tilted his head back.  He closed his eyes and rested his hands on your legs, just to keep some form of physical contact with you.  You watched as he ran his tongue along his lips as if to gather every single drop of your sweet essence. 

“You’re so beautiful when you cum.”  Minho commented, opening his eyes once more to look into yours.  

“I want to make you cum, too,”  you declared, sitting up and placing your hands on his hips.  

His noticeable and very neglected erection strained in his pants.  You kept your eyes on his as you moved your palm to gently cup him.  Minho’s eyes fluttered shut at the contact for a moment before he opened them once more to look at you.  He cupped your cheeks in his hands as you palmed him through his pants.

“And you will do so once I am inside of you.”  Minho’s low voice slid easily down your spine and you shivered. 

“But Minho… Can I taste you, too?” 

“How can I say no to that when you’re looking at me so sweetly?”

Minho’s nimble fingers immediately got to work on the laces on his pants.  He flopped down on the bed next to you and worked his pants off his hips until they were a forgotten pile on the floor.  His shirt was thrown on the floor next, leaving him completely bare.  His fingers played with the hem of your nightdress and his eyes twinkled.  

Slowly, you lowered yourself to get a closer look at his cock.  Long, thick, and heavy.  The dark pink head oozed precum and you licked your lips in anticipation.  You could hardly believe that this is the thing that had just been inside of you this morning.  Only a few hours ago, this thing had made you cum so hard and it was about to do it again.  

Unable to wait any longer, you leaned forward to press a wet kiss to the leaking head.  Minho moaned on contact, throwing his head back into the plush pillows as you suckled it into your mouth.  You ran your tongue over the velvety skin, sighing as he leaked more precum.  Salty and musky but overall not unpleasant.  Minho’s deft fingers swept through your hair and pulled it back so it wouldn’t get in the way.  You lifted your gaze to meet his and he just about blew his load right there. 

You looked so sweet, gently sucking on the head of his cock while looking at him innocently through your eyelashes.  Your petal pink nightgown hung down just enough for him to get a clear look at your tits that swelled with each breath.  The sight alone made him moan louder.  

“Am I doing it right?”  You pulled away slightly to blink at him. 

“Fuck, yes.”  He responded, laughing softly, “Keep going.”

Not one to refuse an order from your future king, you lowered your head and put him back in your mouth.  Minho moaned softly, the sweet noise encouraging you to take a little more of him.  Minho panted as he watched you take more and more of him until your nose lightly grazed his stomach.  His tip prodded the back of your throat and you choked a little.  Minho rolled his hips up into your mouth and you let out a little gasp. 

“Run your tongue along it.”  Minho guided you.

You wasted no time and swirled your tongue along the underside of his cock.  You bobbed your head up and down his length, swirling your tongue as you went.  Occasionally you rose all the way up and sucked on the head like you would a cube of ice on a hot day.  This action would make him whimper and writhe under you.  Every time he made a noise of pleasure, your core clenched and dripped even more for him.  You couldn’t wait to take him again. 

Minho used the grip he had on your hair to guide you up and down his length.  He kept his eyes on your lips as you accepted him into your warm, wet mouth time and time again.  The knot in his stomach kept tensing, threatening to spill his release down your throat but he wasn’t done receiving all the the pleasure your body could give him.  Maybe one day he would paint your face and lips in his cum, but today was not that day, 

All too soon, he pulled you off of him roughly.  He tugged you up to be face to face so that he could kiss you.  His plush lips caressed yours hungrily, coaxing your tongue into his mouth to suck on.  If he minded the salty taste of his precum on your lips, he didn’t say anything.  Just like you didn’t say anything about the taste of yourself on his tongue.  

“If I don’t fuck you right this instant, I may die.”  Minho murmured against your lips.

“How do you want me, my love?”  

“Naked.”

Minho clawed at your nightdress and pulled it over your head.  The flimsy fabric joined the pile on the floor.  The air hit your exposed chest and your nipples perked immediately.  His hands came to gently cup your breasts and he kneaded them slowly.  His thumbs gently traced matching circles around your nipples and pleasure sparked through you with every touch.  You arched your back, pushing your chest into his hands more.  Minho grinned mischievously before he leaned up and closed his lips around one of your hardened buds.

“Oh!”  You gasped as his tongue circled your nipple.  His teeth caught on the sensitive peak and you moaned and threw your head back.  “Minho!”

“Yes, angel, tell me who’s making you feel good.”  Minho whispered as he moved his mouth to your other breast and latched on.  He sucked and swirled his tongue on your nipple like he would die tomorrow and the only thing that could save him was you and the essence you could promise him.  “Just imagine these beautiful works of art filled with milk for our baby, hm?” 

“Yes,”  The thought of bearing his child sent another wave of arousal through you.  Though you knew it would never happen, you decided to let him play into the fantasy.

“My angel, you would look so beautiful.  Giving our baby life, giving me life.”  Minho sucked harshly on your nipple and switched one last time to the other side.  “I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from tasting you every day.”  

“Minho!”  You moaned when he lightly bit down on your swollen nub. 

“Good girl.”  Minho pulled away with a quiet pop and blew onto your damp skin.  The cold stream of air on your wet breast made you shiver.  “Lay down.  I want to see your face when I enter you.”

You scrambled onto your back, your hands hastily brushing your hair out of your face as Minho crawled over you.  As natural as opening your eyes in the morning, you opened your legs for him.  He smiled as he settled between your thighs.  His cock brushed your inner thigh and you both shuddered at the contact.  He buried his head into your neck and sighed.  He breathed you in, kissing your skin deeply.  

“Minho, please.”  You urged, your hands finding purchase on his slim waist and pulling him closer to you.  Your core ached, wet and empty.  

“I’m going to make love to you now.  If you need me to stop, tell me and I will.”  Minho rolled his hips into yours.  His cock slid through the wet lips of your pussy and caught on the hood of your clit.  

“I never want you to stop.”  

Minho moaned into your neck and kissed his way up to your lips.  He kissed you deeply, dipping your tongue into your mouth to drink in your moans.  One of his hands dipped between your bodies to grasp his cock.  He ran the tip through your soaked pussy, pushing it against your clit to illicit moans and gasps from you.  Each pass made your hole even more soaked and empty.  

“Angel, you feel so good.”

“Put it in.”  You whined. 

Minho pulled back from you just enough so that he could watch your face when he pushed into you.  The head breached your hole and you let out a keening moan.  Your hooded eyes watched his face contort into pleasure as he slowly inched inside of you.  His length caressed your walls as he sunk in, inch by glorious inch.  His eyes never left yours, even when he hit a dead end.  

He bottomed out, his thighs pressed firmly into yours.  You could have sworn the tip of his cock was hitting the back of your throat.  

“You look so beautiful when you’re full of my cock.”  Minho moaned.  His skin was tinted a rose color and the vein in his neck looked close to popping.  “You’re so tight, Angel, I could cum right now.”  

“So full,” you choked out, hardly able to form words around the stretch of him in your cunt.  

“Wanna fill you up even more, Angel.”  Minho buried his face in the crook of your neck again.  He rocked into you slowly, hardly even moving at all.  If he moved too much too fast he was worried that he would cum far too quickly.  Your tight heat choked his cock and coated him in your sweet wetness.  His slight movements in and out of you made your pussy squelch around him.  

“Move,”  You begged.

“I’m going to make you cum so hard.”  Minho promised. 

With that, he pulled his hips back until just his head remained sheathed by your walls.  Then he pushed forwards with all the force he could muster and your combined moans were like music.  Your cunt clamped onto his cock as he fucked you with earnest.  He rolled his hips into yours slowly but with so much force behind them that you were sure you’d be sore tomorrow. 

Tonight, you couldn’t care less. 

You rolled your hips up to meet every thrust.  Minho’s precise thrusts rubbed against all of the perfect spots inside of you.  His girth stretched you wide and you wondered how it was possible that there would be enough room inside of you for his cum.  

Minho wasn’t faring with that thought any better.  Your tight cunt gripped him like a vice.  Every time he entered you, you clenched so tightly that he was worried that every thrust might be his last.  The last time he fucked you, things had gone by quickly and he hadn’t had the time to really feel you.  This time, he was careful with his thrusts so he could feel every inch of your slick walls around his aching cock.  Your walls clenched and clamped onto him.

“Angel, you feel so good,”  Minho moaned, leaning down to suck a mark into your neck, “I don’t think I’ll last.”

“Me either.”

You were surprised with how quickly the pleasure mounted within you.  Your core ached like before, but this wasn’t a quick fuck like in the rose garden.  Minho was making sure that you could feel every single inch of him and that he could feel every ridge and bump of your walls. 

When he fucked you behind the rose bushes it was quick and rushed.  He’d pounded into you like he was going to die if he didn’t.  The orgasm he’d coaxed you through was powerful and quick. 

This, however, was the exact opposite of that.  Each movement was slow and calculated.  Each deliberate roll of his hips made you shudder with pleasure.  It was like he was trying to get his entire cock into you with every thrust while also taking the time to feel every inch.  

“Faster,”  you choked out.

“Want to feel you, angel.”  Minho grunted, “Want to feel you cum on my cock.  Can you do that?” 

“I-it’s too much-”  you choked after a particularly brutal thrust.

“Come on, love, I know you can do it.”

Minho’s hands trailed down your body, to your legs, to hook under the back of your knees.  He hiked your legs up until you had your ankles hooked behind his back.  This gave him a new angle to thrust into you.  His pubic bone grazed deliciously against your clit with every pass.  You were certain that you would lose consciousness at any moment.

“I can’t.”  You sighed out.

“It’s okay, angel.  Just relax and let me take care of you.”  Minho urged.

Only moments later, the string in your tummy pulled taut.  You moaned softly into his neck as he delivered each of his perfect thrusts.  Your back arched off the bed and you pushed your hips up to meet his.  This created the most beautiful and intense pressure in your cunt.  

“You’re squeezing me so tight!  Are you about to come?”  Minho moaned into your ear and you nodded.  “Good girl, let me feel it.”

It was like your body waited for his command.  Your orgasm crashed over you and you couldn’t stop yourself from throwing your head back and letting out the loudest moan of the night.  Minho continued fucking you through it, chanting words of praise into your ear.  Your cunt squeezed the dear life out of him and he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last.  You tightened your legs around him in order to keep him inside you. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” He promised, “I’m going to come inside of you, mark you as mine so you keep a piece of me with you wherever you go.”

“Yes,” You moaned out, still shaking through your powerful orgasm.  

It was all the confirmation he needed to bury himself as deep inside you as he could to release.  The warm sensation of cum filling you up spread through your belly.  Your pussy spasmed around his length, milking him for every single drop.  He thrusted into you shallowly a few times until he was completely empty.  

Finally, your legs dropped from around his waist and he took that as a sign to carefully pull out of your spent hole.  Minho sat up on his knees to watch as his softening cock left your tight hole.  His cock was coated with your slick and shone in the low light from the fireplace.  

He collapsed on the bed next to you and wasted no time in pulling you into him.  Minho held you tightly, neither of you minding the tacky stick of your sweat-slicked skin.  You clung to him as well, burying your face into his neck.  Together, you came down from your highs, breathing hard and holding one another tight. 

“Please stay.”  Minho whispered into your hair, “I won’t command it, but will you please stay with me until dawn?”

“Yes, Minho.  I promise, I’ll stay.”

~!~!~!~!~!~

THE CALL OF the rooster roused you from your sleep well before you were ready.  Your eyes peeled open and the sun had barely even kissed the horizon.  You sighed and pushed the blankets away and sat up.  You glanced up at the pink silk nightgown that hung from your door.  Lady Joy refused to let you give it back, but you couldn’t bear to wear it again.

Gone were the fine silks and wools of the Prince’s palace bedroom.  Here to stay were your maids quarters with its scratchy sheets and windows that you could never quite get clean.  You gently lifted your hand to touch your lips.  Those very lips had touched the Prince’s months ago.  

Slipping out of bed that morning had nearly gutted you, but you redressed in your lady’s silk gown and returned to her quarters.  All before the prince even awoke.  

Eons ago.  The ball and the roses and the gowns were eons ago.  So why did you still feel his touch on your skin?  Why could you still hear the orchestra playing the waltz that your prince whisked you away to?  

You were thankful that his wedding bells hadn’t rung on your day off for the month.  Lady Joy attended the ceremony but left you at home with a long list of chores to complete.  Most of them were mindless busywork but she knew to keep you distracted.  

Since the ceremony, life simply returned to normal.  Your daily tasks resumed and you cared for your lady to the best of your ability.  Which, as of late, was not much.  Lady Joy did her best to be accommodating, which you were more than thankful for. You just wanted to get back to work.  You had a feeling that the grace she was giving you was beginning to frustrate her mother.  

You forced yourself out of bed and you quickly dressed.  You swallowed down the wave of nausea that climbed up your throat and made your way to Lady Joy’s chambers.  The curtains were drawn and the embers of a fire crackled in the fireplace.  Lady Joy was curled up in the center of the bed, fast asleep.  Her light snores provided some white noise as you rekindled the fire and prepared her vanity for her morning routine.  

Eventually, you flung open the curtains and the warm light from the sun streamed into the room.  You sighed as it hit your skin, basking in the warmth for a few moments.  Joy groaned behind you and shoved her head under her pillow. 

“Rise and shine, my Lady.  You have many duties to attend to today.”  You chided her. 

“Like what?”  Joy groaned, muffled by the pillow.

“There is a tea party this afternoon.  Duchess Loh is hosting and is expecting your attendance.  Then Lady Mina is requesting your presence at dinner this evening.”  You explained, moving from the drapes to the closet.  You threw open the doors and perused the gowns available for the day.  You were admittedly a little behind in your laundry.

“I think we should cancel.”  Joy groaned, “I’m feeling quite ill today.”

“Ill?  Are you alright?”  You retreated from the closet to sit on the edge of her bed.

“My stomach is turning.  I’ve been feeling ill for several days.”  Joy gently rubbed her stomach.  “It usually passes in the evening but perhaps dinner disagreed with me?”

“For the last several days?  That sounds quite serious.  Perhaps I should call for the doctor?”  You cleared your throat, wondering if you should tell her that you’d been feeling the exact same way. 

“Perhaps it is simply the pain of my courses.  I’m supposed to bleed soon, right?”  Joy finally pulled her face from the pillow and sat up. 

“Have you not begun yet?”

“No…”  Joy trailed off.  “Oh, lord have mercy.  The ball was three months ago now, right?”

“I suppose so.  Oh no…”  You trailed off, “My Lady, what happened when I left for the Prince’s chambers?”

“I… made a promise not to say a word.”  Joy chewed on her lower lip, “Sir Peter came to find me.  We had such a stimulating conversation and he wanted to continue it.  It was an accident, but we touched and…”

“Lady Joy!”  You gasped, covering your mouth with your hands, “Why has he not come to call?”

“He’s from Rome, like our princess.  He left the next morning.”  Joy wailed, a dam breaking within her and her tears flowed down her cheeks.  “Dear Y/N, I am so sorry I didn’t tell you!  I thought you wouldn’t want to hear it after everything with the prince and-”

“You need not apologize to me, my Lady.”  You took her in your arms and patted her hair while she cried for a few minutes,  “I know it must be so difficult to be without him.”

“It feels like my heart has been torn from my chest!” 

“My Lady, please let me fetch the doctor.  If you are with child then we must know.  While he’s here, I think he should see me, too.”  You winced as you spoke.

Lady Joy pulled away from you instantly, her eyes as wide as saucers.  Her eyes dipped from your face down to your stomach.  You chewed on your lip, wondering if it was seriously possible that both of you were with child at the same time.  You hadn’t experienced the nausea that most women report but you noted that your courses were late last month, and certain smells that once pleased you were now nauseating.  

“Would that mean that…”  Joy trailed off. 

“I believe so, miss.”

“Fetch the doctor.”  Joy scrambled out of bed and threw the drapes closed.  “And… fetch mother.  I fear we will need to retire to the countryside for the rest of the season.”

Your hand drifted to your stomach, now churning with fear.  You met Joy’s eyes and for a moment.  Anxiety swirled between you as the consequences of your actions hovered over your shoulders.  

For a moment, both you and Joy remained still.  

Then, you did what you do best.  You rose to your feet and walked head-first into your duties and your future.  Without your prince.

[staybabblingbaby]

Soulmate Garden AU Ch.3 (Daffodil) a2d2

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Growing up, you knew Soulmates weren't all that they cracked up to be. So when, on your 18th birthday, your skin is painted with a garden of flower buds, you resolve to hide it from everyone. Who had ever heard of someone with 8 soulmates, anyway?

Or; Reader has 8 soulmates and no issue avoiding all of them. It's up to SKZ to show her that while every soulbond might not be made of fairy tales, theirs certainly could be.

Word Count: 3,060

Notes: Happy very late birthday to my dearest moot @thatgirlangelb! Thank you for always letting me babble away in your DMs <3 You give me so much motivation to write whenever we talk, I swear over half of BFP wouldn't be written without you. You're a magical and special human being and I hope life treats you so incredibly well <<<333

This chapter is on the shorter side, but it's longer than I was expecting it to be? That seems to be the trend for SG lmao. This one actually came out pretty smoothly and there weren't as many small edits as usual. Ofc I say that and then I'll come back in 4-8 business days and absolutely abhor it lmao. I tried to make it pretty obvious who Reader encountered in this chapter before the little reveal, but y'all'll have to lmk how I did. I tried to do it with actions instead of descriptions bc I'm rlly bad at describing body shapes.

Dividers by @saradika

Warnings: She/Her Reader, allusions to past domestic violence?

Leave me comments or questions or anything! Love hearing from folks <3

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Taylor spends all of the next morning bugging you about your soulmates.

It’s mostly friendly teasing, you know. A fanboy excited that you’re connected to his idols and a friend who wants you to feel more at ease in a difficult time.

It’s still annoying as hell.

Over breakfast, “Listen, I know men ain’t shit, but these ones have benefits! For me. Maybe give them a chance?”

While you brushed your teeth, “I’m all for independence! Feminism and all that. But they’ve got crazy money.”

Through the door while you were getting dressed, “They’re dancers! I’ve never met a dancer who didn’t know how to use their hips.”

Even as you were walking out the door for work, “They produce their own music, they might even write songs for you!”

You finally turn around to face him, the lucky bastard still in his pajamas since he was smart enough to get the day after the concert off from work. You place your hands on your hips and cock your head to stare him down.

Immediately he starts to stumble and sweat, your quirked eyebrow a hint to your waning patience.

“I-I just- I mean- I was just sayin’-”

You roll your eyes at him and quickly slug him in the shoulder. Ignoring his yelp of pain, you relieve him of his stuttering misery.

“Listen, I know you’re excited because I’m your Idol’s soulmate and whatnot, but I don’t even know them.” You chide him. “Besides, only Bangchan is for sure my soulmate right now. For all we know the other seven are completely unrelated.”

Taylor just gives you a flat look for that. Neither of you believed in coincidences very much, and you knew as well as he did who your remaining soulmates were.

“But you could know them,” Taylor counters, “Soulmates are a lifetime kinda thing.”

“Exactly why I don’t want to meet them right now!” You nod as if to agree with your own point, “We said we’d let fate do it’s thing and we’re gonna let it.”

Taylor opens his mouth to start bargaining with you again, so you cut him off before he could annoy you too much.

You and Taylor didn’t fight much. You’d quickly learned each other’s limits way back when you'd first moved in. Unfortunately for him, you'd woken up with a migraine this morning because of everything that had happened the night before.

He was lucky he still had a head.

“And anyway, what would I even do? Track down their hotel? Chase down their plane? Email JYPE? I’m sure they have fans claiming to be their soulmates all the time. Bangchan didn’t even seem to notice the bond forming, they’d probably file a restraining order.”

Taylor finally deflates at your argument. He’d know even better than you what kind of environment surrounded celebrities and their soulmates.

“I’m just saying,” He whines, “that you don’t have to run from them when you meet them.”

You feel your ears burn with embarrassment at the reminder of how you’d panicked last night.

After you’d dropped the Bangchan bomb on him and closed your door to get to bed, Taylor had thrown it right the way back open to interrogate you. You’d spent another hour explaining the whole harrowing tale before he’d finally let you go to bed.

It was a good thing your hours were as flexible as they were, you’d have been waking up seconds after you’d gone to sleep otherwise.

“I wasn’t gonna run!” You mutter petulantly. Taylor just raises a brow at you. You’re getting tired of how communicative his face is.

“I wasn’t!”

“If you run,” he smirks at you, eyes glinting meanly, “You owe me twenty bucks. If you don’t, I’ll owe you.”

You pout and protest, but end up shaking the devil’s hand anyways. Letting fate do it’s thing included not fleeing when you were confronted by it’s design.

You leave the house a grumpy mess, Taylor seeing you off with a blinding smile.

The rest of your day goes about as swimmingly as the start of it.

You’re already grumpy, irritated, and hurting. Your soul mark prickles at your side every now and again, as if annoyed at you for ignoring it.

You hope Bangchan isn’t experiencing the same thing, the poor guy deals with enough.

Work goes as smoothly as you always expect it to, which is not at all. There’s always some emergency to deal with, another fire to put out. Always started by someone higher than you on the corporate ladder so you can’t even yell at them.

The relief you feel when your lunch break rolls around could power a city.

You leave the building with haste, avoiding all of your coworkers as you went. It’d be a tragedy to be flagged down with more work at this exact moment.

You make your way out to mix with the crowds of L.A, letting the flow of people carry you to your destination a few blocks away: A quaint little coffee shop at the mouth of an alley.

It's quite possibly your favorite spot in the whole city. Decked out with a jungle of plants, walls crowded with framed art from a variety of local artists. The lighting was always warm and natural, large windows at the front making the tiny space feel so much larger than it was. You could even buy the pieces on display if you wanted, prices carefully stuck onto the frames.

Your point being, the vibes were immaculate.

You also swear they put something extra in their coffee. No other place carries you through your day in the same way.

When you enter your little midday safe-space, greeted by the charming bell above the door, you’re faced with a busier interior than you’re used to.

Usually at this time of day you can march right up to the counter to chat with the barista while they make whatever caffeinated atrocity your brain cooks up that day. Today, though, it seems like half the city’s population has decided to give your little spot a go.

You’d normally be happy for them. More business; more money and all that. But today the low din of chatter filling the air just scrapes across your brain like a rusted spoon. Your headache from this morning had only gotten worse throughout the day, and you wished you could just call it quits and go home.

Unfortunately for you, you have bills to pay and only so long of a lunch break. The walk here ate up enough of it for you to suck it up and join the line.

When you join the que you’re basically halfway out the door, practically plastered to the back of the man in front of you. He doesn't seem to pay you any mind, yapping away on his phone in quiet Korean.

You study the back of your new line neighbor with bored interest. Your eyes trace the slopes of his shoulders, drifting down to his waist, before moving back up to gaze at the back of his beanie’d head. You notice the straps of a mask around his ears and wonder how the person on the phone can hear him with his voice so muffled and low.

Apparently the person on the phone can’t hear him very well, because soon he’s raising his voice a bit more. It has you wondering if his tone is just naturally that soft, or if he’s just conscious of the space he’s in.

Soon enough you’re two people closer to the counter, halfway into the coffee shop now, and your line buddy has entered into a full blown argument with whoever he has on the phone.

He’s speaking way too quickly for your barely conversational Korean to keep up with- not that you’re trying very hard to- but you can guess from the keywords “Jagiya”, “Soulmate”, and “coffee” that it’s the usual lover’s quarrel.

From the sounds of it, it was a very “We’ve already talked about this” sort of conversation as well. Poor guy. You hope his soulmate and lover get cool with each other soon.

The conversation goes on as the two of you inch closer to the counter. You’re fully invested in the drama at this point, absorbing what little bits you can to rehash with Taylor later. Your own mini soap-opera.

After a bit more back and forth with what you assume is his partner, he begins resorting to some very creative threats to express his displeasure.

You wonder if this guy might be a bit too comfortable speaking a foreign language around English speakers, because if he didn’t sound so damn fond while he was doing it you might’ve needed to tip the police off to a potential murder. Via tissue, if your line neighbor had anything to say about it.

That sends you down a path of your own creative murder options, wondering what sort of other common items your murderous que friend might use. Stabbing their partner through with a straw, maybe? Perhaps a fork, if the straw proved too flimsy.

You can’t see his face from where you’re stood, but you’d bet it’s the face of someone who stabs. Just one of those “don’t mess with me, I can and will put whatever I’m holding through your nearest body part” type of looks. You can feel it in your bones.

You're shaken from your revery as the line moves forward and the potential murderer snaps at his phone for his partner (presumably) to put a "Lixu-yah" on the line. This sparks another argument, and though you can only hear one side of it, it seems that the desired "Lix" is unavailable. Bummer for stabby-guy.

You might be entertaining yourself too much with a stranger's conversation. You can’t feel too guilty about it though, this is the best mood you’ve been in all day. You’d entirely forgotten about your headache there for a minute. Laughter really does heal all ills, you suppose.

It's a bit of a relief when it becomes Stabby's turn and he hangs up with a grumbled declaration of love. If they were fine enough to say their 'love you's then they’d probably make it through whatever soulmate-related rough patch they were going through. You silently wish them luck.

When your stabby friend (who doesn’t know he’s your friend, but you’re endeared now) steps up to the counter it becomes very clear why he’d asked for a particular person to be handed the phone. You assume this “Lix” must have been an English-speaking friend of his, his own halting English giving him trouble with placing what seems to be a behemoth of an order.

He manages the first part of his order alright, a whopping five drinks already, when he finally reaches the limit of his English vocabulary and begins trying to describe what you think might be a shaken caramel macchiato with some extra bits.

He and the barista go back and forth for several moments, a mix of pantomiming, alternative words, and guesses from the poor flustered barista. You watch him grow more and more frustrated, though he remains very soft spoken and polite about it.

Finally, after another moment of watching them struggle, you can't take it anymore.

You gently tap the stranger on the shoulder, earning a startled little jump. He turns to you with weary eyes and you confirm that there’s a mask covering the lower half of his face. With his beanie pulled low over his eyes, you wouldn't have been able to even tell the color if you hadn't been just that bit shorter than him.

As it is, you get lost in deep pools of brown for a moment before you manage to collect yourself.

"Hi," You chirp in Korean, "Do you need help?"

The man seems to war with himself for a moment, clearly stuck between stranger danger and relief at hearing his native language. After a long moment he accepts your offer.

"Yes, please." He gestures back to the counter where the barista is also clearly relieved by your intervention. "I have a large group and they enjoy making my life difficult."

"No problem," You assure him, "where were you at in your order?"

He takes a moment to check a note app on his phone and begins to slowly relay the final 3 drinks in his 8-drink order. It takes some time, even with you translating, but the energy is a lot less frantic.

He's finally able to pay and you catch him give the name 'Lee' for the order. You wonder if it's his first or last name.

He thanks you for your help as he moves off to the side, and you just give him a small smile and a nod in return. You quickly order your own drink, waving off the barista when she also thanks you. This place was haven enough for you to owe them six times over, anyway.

You and Stabby Lee end up waiting next to each other by the pick-up counter. You feel a bit awkward, having entertained yourself with his private conversation, and end up idly rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet with nerves.

He must have realized you’d heard his entire conversation, right? You hoped not. As fun as it had been, you really hadn't meant to invade his privacy.

Besides, the only serious thing you’d heard was the soulmate thing! You defend yourself in your own thoughts, pursing your lips and nodding your head to your invisible argument. The rest of the argument had seemed to be about a vacation plan. The threats didn’t start until someone said “Zipline”.

You thought that was kinda valid. Heights weren't for everyone.

His name is called before yours, but just for one of the simpler drinks from his massive order. He takes a simple iced americano over to the table with the creams and sugars and begins to doctor it to his liking. Your name is called shortly after and you take your red-eye over to do the same.

The two of you quietly shake and stir your drinks for a moment before he speaks.

"Thank you again for your help," he says, "I really do appreciate it."

You're kind of enchanted by the softness of his voice, now that's directed at you. You’re becoming convinced that this really is just his usual tone. He's speaking normally, but you honestly feel like he's murmuring directly into your ear. He could be a hypnotist or something. An ASMR person, at least.

You wave away his gratirude as you pour unholy amounts of creamer into your drink. "No worries!" You dismiss, "I should be thanking you for the chance to practice my Korean."

"Your Korean is very good." He compliments quickly. You laugh a bit and shake you head.

"I doubt it's that good, I'm really put of practice. It's been a while."

"No, your pronunciation is great." He flashes you a bit of an eye smile to show his sincerity and you find yourself even more charmed by a perfect stranger.

You chuckle bashfully as he finishes up his drink, turning to lean against the table so you can continue to talk. You can't help the way your eyes are drawn to the way he moves, enchanted by the simple action.

"I'll make sure to brag about it everywhere." You assure him, earning yourself another eye smile and a soft chuckle.

Good heavens, you think you might be halfway in love.

"Please do."

Scratch that, you might be all the way in love.

You do your best to contain your smile and push down the blush on your cheeks. You don't think it works, if his amused gaze is anything to go by. It’s not your fault this random guy has rizz for days!

"Well, I gotta scoot." You finish turning your drink a pale tan and shoot him your best 'excusing myself from an ended conversation' smile. You're kind of sad you probably won't run into him again after this.

"I wish you good luck getting that monster order to wherever you're going." You say, shooting the pick up counter with it's growing mountain of beverages an amused look.

He huffs another little laugh and you swear your heart skips a beat. "Thanks, you take care." he offers you a tip of his cup and you tip yours right back.

You do your best to scootch past him in the tight space between the tables and the little counter, but don't quite manage not to bump him on your way. Your elbow meets his forearm and you apologize as you wiggle through.

You're already two steps out the door when the pain of flowers blooming across your right side registers in your brain.

Your face scrunches up and you let out a hiss of pain, the hand not holding your coffee automatically going down to press down where it hurts. Your eyes naturally follow it, and when you finally process what just happened your head snaps back up to the glass door. It's still swinging shut.

You meet eyes with your second soulmate behind the glass, his gaze just as wide and startled as yours.

For a moment, you’re lost again in the depths of his stare.

For a moment, you can almost smell something sweet and floral.

For a moment, you feel peace wash over you.

And then sunlight bounces off the swinging glass, breaking eye contact between the two of you. Spell broken, your soulmate moves, takes just a single step toward the door, and memories of shattered glass and echoing yells ricochet across your brain with all the power of a rocket engine.

You turn tail and book it.

By the time Minho exits the coffee shop, drink abandoned on the counter, you're already lost in the mid-day crowd. A glimpse of your bright blue sweater is the last thing he sees of you before you're gone.

He reaches behind himself to gingerly rub the sore parts of his back and pulls his phone from his pocket.

When you get home that evening, you slam a twenty down on the counter in front of Taylor and storm off to your room without a word.

Perma Tag list: @mbioooo0000

[linlinaert]

The last soulmate : chapter 1

Yandere! ot8! Skz x soft! fem! reader

It was a friday night and the boys were going back home from practice, as they were in the van, Jisung spoke up sad

"Are we ever going to be able to find them , it has been years since we've begun searching, and still there's no clue about them" He sighs and looks up to his soulmates trying to find some comfort and reassurance. He felt minho's hand wrapping around his shoulder.

"Of course we will sungie, don't you ever doubt that, I'm sure we'll find them in this world tour" Chan said smiling, trying to lift the boys' spirit up as Changbin brought seungmin and hyunjin, who were sitting on each side of him, into his embrace, chan and Minho doing the same to Jisung, felix and jeongin, trying to find comfort in each other.

The boys were with each other for years while trying to find their last soulmate, years passed and they're going on tour in hopes to find them, and now they're at the first destination of their tour, during the concert and fanmeeting they tried to shake hands with every fan possible, maybe their soulmate is a fan and is in among the crowd, but that failed, so they tried going out and looking for them as they were sure they would feel that pull when they see them just as they felt with each other, but that failed too, and that went on for three month straight, until their plane landed in "your city name", they felt something tugging at their hearts, urging them to run and find the last piece of their puzzle, they were sure that you're here and they're not gonna leave until they find you.

~~~~~~~

You were sitting in the living room of you and your best friend's shared apartment. His name is jack, you've known each other since you were in diapers, you've stuck in each other through thick and thin until you ended up buying your own apartment together, you literally promised each other that if you didn't find your own soulmates by the age of 27 you would marry each other, he didn't find his and neither did you. You were trying to find a good outfit for the stray kids concert your friend lucia technically forced you to go to, you were trying to get jack to help you but he refused.

"Cmon jackie please help me, you're my only hope in this cruel world" You whined pleadingly trying to faze the ever unwilling jack but he still looked at you with that blank expression on his face .

"As i said im not ganna doll u up for some boys to eat u up with their eyes" Jack said with a scary blank face, he had always been super protective over you as you both grown up he was always there whenever any boy tried to flirt with you or coax u into going in date with him he doesn't like u having any male attention on u as he says as long as you're not with your soulmate your his responsibility and he's gonna take care of it.

"Jackie baby they're not gonna even look my way--""you're way too beautiful to not look at every body's eyes are gonna be on you " You tried convincing him softly but you couldn't even finish as he starts rambling again about why you can't go.

"but what if my soulmate is there " You said barely as a whisper and he fell silent at that, he wanted you to find your soulmate and be happy but at the same time he didn't, he was afraid they would hurt you, but you deserve the happiness of finding your soulmate, he sigh .

"Ok kiddo come here we're gonna dress up this beauty" He said after taking a deep breath, he felt his heart warm up seeing your eyes shine and a small smile adorning your features.

He took your hands gently leading you both to your room, sitting u on the bed and then going to your closet picking up an outfit for you and then handing it to you urging you to change as the concert was just around the corner. You came out dressed and he was left speechless yet again, your hair over flowing through your back (yes its long and yes im feeding into my insecurity) , he knows you're gorgeous but he can't help but be shocked everytime.

You took your purse going up to jack hugging him while burying your head in his chest, mumbling a little thank you, you felt his hands wrap around you while cooing at you.

"Ok then let's go young lady or else we're gonna be late" He said breaking the hug and grinning at you, you looked up at him confused.

"What do you mean?? Are you coming?? " You asked confused, cause as you know so far he isn't coming .

"Of course dummy, how can i let you go alone" He said smiling softly at you, "so let's go" And with that he took your hand leading you to his car .

~~~~~~

You're currently at the concert hall with your friends waiting for the concert to begin from your seat , foundling with Jack's fingers trying to pass the time. Time went by and the concert started and even if you weren't a fan you surely were enjoying yourself, you took a mental note to check their songs later on.

As the concert went on, you started feeling tingly feels in your heart, you didn't know what was that, but you felt it more in the encore, every time one of the boys come close to your direction, and you're sure as hell that you got eye contact with all of them multiple times by the end of the concert.

~~~~~~

Chris' pov:

We were waiting for the concert to begin, i had a feeling that something's going to happen, and as we went on the stage I felt it, we all felt it, our last piece, our soulmate is here, I had to physically restrain myself from running to find them, and I can tell that my boys are in the same situation.

The concert begun and we forced Ourselves to get the performances right, we're trying to wait for the encore to be hopefully able to find them .

When we went to change our clothes for the encore we all shared a look, and we all understood each other, this is our last chance, we need to at least see their face, cause nobody knows if they would come to the fanmeeting after, and with that we went up to the stage, each going in different directions with the same target , finding our last piece.

.

.

As I came close to the edge the stage, I felt that sensation grow more and more than ever, and I knew they were there in the crowd, I tried to entract with fans as to not rise any unwanted suspicion, at the same time I was looking through the crowd, and then I saw her, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life was looking at me and I felt my heartbeat rise, I felt as if I could sink into those beautiful e/c orbs, I saw her face crunches in confusion, and I realized that she didn't know what we are, I forgot myself as I was looking at her and then felt someone glaring daggers at me, and then I looked for the source, only to find it's a Man in his twenties sitting beside her, when he noticed that he got my attention he wrapped his hand around her shoulders while still looking at me, and I felt a vein popping in my forehead, how dare he touch OUR soulmate, then I remembered that I am still in the concert, so I tried to calm down and look in other directions And then I went to see the others to tell them about the news.

I hope this is a good start ☺☺☺

Tag list :

@lyramundana

@channieandhisgoonsquad

@queenmea604

@dahliadaenerys

@kiaralynn3838

@anything4lix

@fuckthinking

@generalbearangel

@cypher-girlx

@krishastumblernow

@samhiddles

[marggn]

I think about this every day

[minsungincorrectquotes]

Jisung: Minho, you saved me! I owe you my life Minho: I've seen your life and I don't want it Minho: Owe me your heart instead

[sweetkpopmusings]

stray kids soulmate aus | k. seungmin <3

a/n: these days i am QUITE the seungmin simp & it shows :,-) i had a lot of fun writing a very classic kpop fic meet-cute with this one ! if you need me, i'll be watching seungmin compilations <333 pics not mine~

content: fluff, soulmate au | wc: 1.9k | warnings: none really! | pairing: soulmate!seungmin x gn!reader | requests: open

♡ chan | minho | changbin | hyunjin | jisung | felix | seungmin | jeongin ♡

on your 18th birthday, you receive a stack of sticky notes on which you can write to your soulmate. there is one note for every day leading up to when you meet.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

you settled into your desk chair, eager to see what anecdote seungmin has chosen for you today. it was always a thrill to get a peek into his daily life, and it was especially entertaining when he removed context from the situation to make you laugh. over the years, he developed a knack for telling stories just the way you liked them. 

we went shopping today, in that area that always smells like ice cream cone batter. i bought a cool phone case. you better compliment me on it when we meet. i know it’s only ten days away, but i encourage you to put a reminder on your calendar, so you don’t forget to appreciate my taste in accessories. 

-yours, seungmin 

you scoffed. he was always extra sassy when he was excited about something. you tapped your pen against your desk, devising the perfect reply to seungmin’s daily update.

i promise i’ll tell you the phone case is cool, if and only if it actually is. we must be on the same wavelength because i went shopping today too (it didn’t smell like ice cream cone batter where i was though). i picked out new clothes for the day we meet, so you better compliment me on it as soon as you see me. should we make a joint calendar event since you’re quite forgetful?

-yours, y/n

not even 30 seconds passed when you saw seungmin’s handwriting appear near the bottom of the sticky note. you smiled, feeling his playful energy infect you.

like a wise person said, i’ll tell you the outfit is cool, if and only if it actually is. i’d love to make a joint calendar event, but we can’t share contact information yet, remember? i’ll have to trust you won’t forget the phone case…i guess that’s more important than remembering a basic rule about soulmates, so i’ll have faith in you :-) 

-yours, seungmin

with another roll of your eyes, you wrote your last message to seungmin for the night.

you test my patience, kim seungmin. get some rest now. i know you’re working hard on your comeback, so i’ll be rooting for you! 

-yours, y/n

you smiled at the tiny heart seungmin drew in the bottom corner of the page before you peeled the sticky note off the stack. electricity ran through you every time you noticed how much it shrank. soon, very soon, you would be teased by seungmin in person. you hoped that you’d deliver the perfect eye roll in response to his snarky comments, as a way to show him you truly loved him.

staring at the note, seungmin laughed at his desk, right when felix walked by.

“what’d y/n say?”

“none of your business.”

despite the nature of the retort, seungmin’s tone was lighthearted. felix laughed and left seungmin alone to place the completed sticky note in his not-so-secret box, where he kept every word you’ve ever exchanged safe from the rest of the world.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

hi soulmate~ let’s see if our tastes match. tell me your ideal meet-cute.

-yours, seungmin

you felt a blush on your skin at seungmin’s cute tone. you imagined he was feeling particularly sweet as your meeting was only three days away. you took your time mentally ranking the best meet-cutes you’d witnessed in books, movies, tv, and real life.

hi seungmin~ there are a lot of good ones, but i have to stick with the classic: locking eyes across a crowded room. what’s yours?

-yours, y/n

you stared at the note, eager to see whether seungmin had a romantic side after all. you laughed in disbelief when you read his answer.

wow, no “hi soulmate~”? rude :-( my favorite trope is spilling coffee on someone. i’d enjoy that as long as i’m not the one getting spilled on. let’s hope your outfit isn’t too cool!

-yours, seungmin

you imagined seungmin was laughing at his own joke, which balanced out his vague threat to spill coffee on you.

you’re such a menace :-( i’m about to revoke “soulmate” from your nicknames, as a matter of principle. 

-yours, y/n

seungmin, despite himself, blushed at the thought of you having different nicknames picked out for him. his heart fluttered, feeling extra sweet because of you.

i’m YOUR menace. see you soon! i’ll be the handsome man holding two coffees <3

-yours, seungmin 

you sighed, knowing there was a real chance he’d carry two coffees around that whole day. if there was one thing about seungmin, he’d commit to the bit. 

i’ll run away from you, and i hope you spill one of the coffees on yourself while you chase me. at least we’ll be matching <3

-yours, y/n

from miles away, you and seungmin laughed at the same time. similarly, you both played out different meet-cute scenarios for the rest of the night. seungmin would never admit this to you, but he’d love to see the excited look on your face if your chosen meet-cute was what fate had in store.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

though you returned home later than usual, you were still surprised to see the sticky note halfway filled up by the time you sat at your desk. 

my schedules start before sunrise tomorrow, so i have to go to bed early, like a grandpa. chan says this is a good time to go to bed…what else would we expect though? anyways, i’m sorry i won’t get to write back tonight. tell me about your day! i’ll read it as soon as i wake up. i promise. :-)

sleep well, and i’ll see you tomorrow~

-yours, seungmin

your heart sank a little at the fact you wouldn’t be able to interact directly with seungmin the night before the long-awaited day. however, the butterflies in your stomach reminded you that there was plenty to be excited about.

hi soulmate~ i’m jealous you’re sleeping so early. i was out late because i had to get everything ready before attending the live show recording tomorrow (i still can’t believe i won that ticket lottery!). i’m worried i won’t be able to sleep well from the excitement. 

don’t forget about my outfit! just look for the best-dressed person and you’ll find me :-)

i’ll be sending you the strength to get through your schedules! i can’t wait to see you tomorrow~

-yours, y/n

you smiled to yourself, feeling in your heart that seungmin would start his day off happy, as you finally gave him the greeting he’d been waiting for.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ 

from the second he read your note, seungmin couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. everyone noticed the way he beamed, so it didn’t take long for them to put together that he’d be meeting you today. his members were painfully obvious about trying to catch a glimpse of you wherever they went. seungmin was in such a good mood that he didn’t even tease them that much. 

realizing that the live show recording was almost definitely where you’d meet, seungmin noticed that his palms were sweatier than normal. he shook them out, taking deep breaths to calm his heart rate. this may not have been the first stage for their new song, but it was the first stage you’d be at, so the stakes were high. 

despite the nerves from the night before, you were happily enjoying yourself at the show. of course, every performance was incredible, and the crowd was energetic. by the time there was only one act left, you felt your body start to grow tired. an adrenaline rush hit you full force, however, when you saw the name “stray kids” light up the stage.

jaw dropped, you were silent while the rest of the crowd screamed. your eyes raced to find seungmin. he was on the opposite end of the stage, giving you at least a chance at composing yourself before he saw your face. the music started, and you joined the crowd’s cheers. seungmin’s stage presence and vocals in person were breathtaking, and you felt a swell of pride knowing that your soulmate was so talented.

as though he could sense you were thinking of him, seungmin turned his head to the area where you stood. the second you locked eyes, seungmin grinned like an excited puppy. he waved to you, feeling giddy enough to make a heart with his hands. you matched his energy, smiling widely and bouncing from the magic of it all. there he was, just across the room, saying “hi” to you and only you.

per the instructions seungmin mouthed from the stage, you waited in your seat for a bit until a staff member brought you backstage. despite the recording being done, the halls were crowded with bustling employees and idols alike. all of the noise was drowned out by someone calling your name.

“hey y/n! i like your outfit!”

you turned around, seeing seungmin waving again. he beamed, and you rushed over to him. 

“you remembered!”

seungmin laughed at your excitement, “i did forget my coffee though. it looks like your meet-cute won in the end.”

his eyes twinkled as he looked at you. rather than feeling nervous, you two chattered endlessly. you giggled at the way seungmin blushed when you complimented his performance. in turn, seungmin giggled at the way you blushed when he called you pretty. being able to have a conversation that exceeded the character limit of a sticky note left both of you with the zoomies, much to the entertainment of seungmin’s eavesdropping members. 

“seungmin!” hyunjin yelled from a suspiciously nearby spot, “we have to leave soon!” hyunjin waved at you, “hi y/n!”

you waved back, and seungmin told you to ignore hyunjin, which made you laugh. as you exchanged contact information, you kept your promise and examined seungmin’s phone case.

“i like your phone case, seungmin! it matches your style perfectly,” you pointed at the object in his hand.

“thank you!” seungmin grinned for the umpteenth time that day, proudly holding the phone out for you to see, “this is the best part, if you ask me.”

you were surprised to see a sticky note in the back of his phone case. you leaned closer to examine it, and you felt a wave of fondness wash over you. in his hand, seungmin held one of your earliest sticky notes. on it, you had drawn a picture of what you thought seungmin looked like, purely based on how he wrote. you were way off, which you learned once you saw a picture of him online. it did accurately capture seungmin’s personality, though, so seungmin was quite proud of your artistry. 

“it’s a one-of-a-kind drawing, so i wanted to show it off.”

seungmin’s tone was teasing, but you could feel the compliment, “you’re so sweet, seungmin! maybe i should have a matching one?”

he nodded, “i better see the portrait i drew of you in your phone case next time i see you.”

you laughed, “understood! i feel chan staring at us, so you should get going. call me when you get home?”

“of course!” seungmin smiled, “promise me one more thing?”

“hmm,” you feigned deep thought, “it depends on what it is.”

“next time you come to watch us perform, sit by my side of the stage.”

“only if i can see lee know too.”

seungmin glared at you momentarily, breaking into a laugh because he was so endeared by the pout you gave in response. after you said your goodbyes, you watched seungmin bound down the hall to meet his members. before he went around the corner, he turned to wave to you again, mouthing goodbye, soulmate!

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

[hornyfor-redacted-onmain]

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

Pieces of My Heart - Chapter 1 Stray Kids OT8 x reader, Soulmate AU

Masterlist | Next Chapter

When you first arrived in the city, it was in the middle of the night. The sights had blurred around you, your dinner had felt tasteless, the forced smiles to the hotel staff and strangers you boarded the elevator with making your cheeks ache. You wanted nothing more than to just crash in your bed and go to sleep, which was exactly what you did.

In contrast, the second day felt like waking up in a movie.

You would have contributed your good mood to the concert, but it wasn’t until tomorrow. There was just something about the air around you as you got up and got ready, the way that the city sounds you’re your open window made you smile instead of feeling irritated like it had last night, or the way you’re your smile to the strangers in the elevator felt a lot less forced. Maybe it was the anticipation of being in a city you had never been in before, the new sights that you hadn’t been able to appreciate the night before.

There was an extra skip in your step as you made your way out into the streets.

Your first stop was to a café you had googled the day before that was only a 15-minute walk from your hotel. It had great reviews and offered your favorite treats, so you wanted to get something to eat before you decided to visit some of the city’s landmarks.

The café wasn’t particularly full when you arrived, only 3 people in the line in front of you, but somehow the small chatter and the colorful menu managed to distract you until there was only 1 person still in front of you.

It was only then that you realized the red string that disappeared through their chest. And your heart skipped a beat.

For as long as you could remember, the floor around you was littered with red strings. When you were younger, your mother explained to you what a soulmate was, explained the stories and myths behind it, tried to explain the science behind it, but the thing that grabbed your attention the most was how insistent she was that you never tell anyone how many strings you had.

8 strings.

“Not everyone has a red string”, you remembered her telling you. “Some people have words, the first words their soulmates will say to them. Some are lucky, they have names. Some people don’t know what their soul bond is until they meet their soulmates, some never get any at all.”

“But I got 8,” You had exclaimed proudly with a smile, the excitement of having 8 people to love all you could think about. You were too young to consider the ramifications of having so many soulmates. The constant harassment you would endure, the words people would whisper behind your back.

Most people got 1 soulmate. Some were lucky, and they got 2 or 3. Not all soulmates were romantic, some platonic or even familial, but since the vast majority ended in a romantic relationship, the idea of multiple soulmates was frowned upon.

You had learned from a very young age to ignore the strings that followed you around.

But this one was impossible to ignore.

The man in front of you shifted, enough that the string followed his movement. It was leading directly to him, not just passing through. You had deduced a long time ago that your soulmates lived very far away, since their strings rarely changed directions. You had never seen it this high, never seen it move so easily, and there was no doubt in your mind that your soulmate was directly in front of you.

Your brain froze.

“Thank You! Next?”

The barista’s voice snapped you out of your stupor, and you snapped your head to the side to follow the string (and your soulmate) as it moved to the seating area of the café. You forced yourself to look away, your heart still beating hard, and impulsively ordered the first thing on the menu. You gave them your name and stumbled to an open table near the café windows, on the other side of the store from where your soulmate now sat, scrolling through his phone.

‘Talk to him’ a voice in your head screamed at you.

‘What do I even say to him?’ the logical side argued. ‘What if he had the first words soulbond? You don’t want your first words to him to be something stupid’.

The other voice grumbled in agreement, and you struggled to think of something to say. Something flirty, maybe? Or something sweet, reassuring, so you knew they grew up with kind words on them. What if they didn’t even have a first words soulbond at all? They couldn’t have an indicator type bond, otherwise they would have noticed you by now.

And like a flip had been switched, you were suddenly very aware of the other 7 strings that sprouted from your chest, and the movement that came from them. Two of them were behind you, swaying slightly as if affected by a small breeze, and the other 5 were at eye level, disappearing into the distance through the café windows, out into the city.

Not just into the distance. Up above.

All of your soulmates were here close by, possibly even in the very same city as you. The thought made your already nervous heart nearly burst out of our chest. You nearly jumped out of your seat when the barista called out your name, and you rushed to the front to grab your drink only to realize that your soulmate was no longer in the last place you had seen him.

You turned in your spot, eyes darting around frantically, and you spotted his blue jacket just as the café doors closed behind him. Through the windows, you watched him make his way to the left.

Moving so fast that your hot drink splashed against your fingers, you stumbled out of the café behind him, eyes trying their hardest to keep sight of his retreating back as it blended into the crowds.

“W-wait!” You shouted. A few people around you stopped to look, but not your soulmate.

You were running now, panicked at the idea of losing sight of your soulmate, the person that destiny had created to match with you on every level, the person you had dreamed of meeting your entire life. You yelled out again, nothing coherent and certainly not witty or flirtatious or nice, but it was enough to get them to look back.

God, you really hoped they didn’t have those words on them forever.

The man, your soulmate, had his face hidden by a mask, his eyes covered by a hat and yet somehow you could sense the panic that was coming off him in waves by his body language along. It was enough that you suddenly lost your confidence, stumbling to a stop in front of him as you took a deep breath, staring into his wide eyes with your own.

He held his coffee in front of him as if he had been prepared for you to tackle him, his entire body tense.

“You-“

Your voice seemed to get stuck in your throat, and so you took a second to swallow. Your soulmate used that moment of silence to lower his raised arms, his shoulders seemingly relaxing but still holding tension.

“Ah, hello.” He said.

In Korean.

You blanked, your words immediately dying. You started to panic, thinking to yourself ‘shit, he speaks Korean. Does he speak English? How were you going to explain this situation to him now?’ when he continued.

“Oh, do you need … something?”

These words were in English, heavily accented and a little slow, as if he was unsure himself of what he was saying. But it was enough reassurance that even if he didn’t speak English well, he had to know enough to understand what you were about to say.

You really hoped he did.

“You’re my soulmate!”

Both of you stared at each other with equal degrees of shock. Him at your words, and you at your bluntness.

‘God, really hope he doesn’t have first words’.

At his silence, his lack of reaction, you began to have doubts. What if you had been wrong somehow? The string attached to your chest definitely connected to him, but maybe it was a one-sided connection. One sided soulmate bond was extremely rare, but you had 8 soulmates.

Maybe this was simply a mistake.

Your panic must have shown on your face because he suddenly moved, raising his hands in reassurance and babbling something quickly in Korean. You only understood ‘its okay’, watching as his own panic seemed to overcome him as he looked around. You weren’t sure what he was looking for, but as his eyes landed on your own drink, he was suddenly right in front of you, pushing your drink up towards your face.

“Drink,” was all he said, urging you to do exactly that.

At his sudden movement and weird manhandling, you began to pull away from him, confused. “What, wait what the hell man!”

But then he let you go, mimicking with his own drink what he wanted from you. “Drink, please.”

And then it hit you, that he wasn’t just being weird. He wanted you to drink your drink, because he wanted to see if you were actually his soulmate.

It wasn’t unexpected for some people to use a soulmate bond as an excuse to get close to strangers, to take advantage of others, and the fact that you didn’t think about that before suddenly springing this on to a complete stranger made you want to hit yourself in the face.

So, with a nod of understanding, you were quick to down your now cooling drink. It wasn’t bad, not your usual go to choose, but it had a strong after flavor. You grimaced at the sensation, running your tongue over your teeth to get rid of the taste.

And then you were being pulled into a hug.

It was like something inside of you clicked, like a piece of the puzzle being put together. All your worries were gone, all your thoughts empty, the only thing you could feel was peace. The rest of the world just disappeared.

Your weren’t sure how anyone could confuse someone for their soulmate, not with this feeling to confirm.

He pulled back, saying something once again in Korean, and then pulling you back in for another hug. “You are my soulmate! Ah, I’m so glad. I … wait a very long time.”

“I, I’m really glad too,” You whispered, trying hard not to cry at the sudden emotions that overwhelmed you.

You held him just as tightly, breathing in his scent and familiarizing yourself with the way your arms fit perfectly around his shoulders. When you finally pulled away, you were suddenly aware of the fact that the two of you were in the middle of the street, and while it wasn’t odd to see soulmates meeting in public and it was usually common curtesy to give them space, some people were glaring as they walked around the two of you.

Woops.

Your soulmate seemed to realize at the same time, and you weren’t surprised when he grabbed your hand to pull you off to the side. What you did find odd was the sudden panic at he pulled his cap down further, turning away from the crowd and pulling you close so that you were hidden behind him. You tried to look behind him to see what he was hiding from, but he pulled you back in.

“Ah, no. Please. Uh …. Not safe.”

“Huh?”

His eyes narrowed as his nose scrunched up, and he scratched his neck. “I … um. Fuck. I am a … celebrity.” He gave an exaggerated point to his face, waving his finger around the mask specifically, and you nodded in understanding.

Then your brain caught up.

Having a celebrity for a soulmate was definitely unexpected, but you supposed it wasn’t impossible. You had seen a couple of celebrities announce their soulmates were random people, sometimes even fans, but you had never once entertained the idea that you could be one of those people. However, with 8 soulmates, it was bound to happen.

And then your soulmate gave another quick glance around, and he turned back at you with a soft gaze.

His hand reached up to grab his mask, pulling it down just enough for you to see his lips move with his next words.

“My name is Yang Jeongin. It’s nice to meet you.”

You would have found the way he slightly bowed his head in greeting adorable if you weren’t too busy freaking out. He quickly pulled his mask back up and asked you what your name was, but you couldn’t get your mouth to close from where it had dropped. And while he tilted his head to the side in confusion at your silence, he quickly righted himself as he seemed to realize what had happened.

“Ah, are you Stay?”

You could tell he was smiling. Your mouth closed shut so quickly it made an audible snapping noise, and you stuttered out your name. When his smile only seemed to grow, you quickly hid your face behind your hands and let out a groan, not even complaining as Jeongin seemed to laugh.

What were the odds?

“So cute,” he cooed. “My soulmate is Stay. Good.”

You had been saving up for months to afford the plane ticket, the hotel, the concert. The concert you were supposed to go to tomorrow.

“It’s okay. Don’t hide, please. I’m happy!”

Jeongin’s hands covered yours, pulling them away from your face so he could see you clearly. His eyes were so soft, so full of emotions you couldn’t begin to comprehend, and you couldn’t stand to see him, so you buried your face into his shoulder instead. He didn’t complain, pulling you into a hug and letting out a hum in content.

“Finally,” He whispered. He said something else in Korean, but your little knowledge was not enough to translate what he said, and he didn’t repeat it in English, so you weren’t even sure he was talking to you.

What were the odds that you would meet your soulmate the day before their concert?

[ihatedtoadmit]

The Windows To My Soul

Summary

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

...

Back to the main masterlist

[maknaeswrld]

a life forgotten | l.mh, h.js

memories are both a treasure and a curse, and the bliss of them barely outweighs the pain that comes with bearing them

wc: 2.1k

genre: soulmate au; reincarnation au; fluff; angst; poly!minsung x reader

cw: marriage; cheating/allusions of cheating; mentions of pregnancy/parenthood; mentions of food/eating; I’m sure there’s other things, please let me know what you catch🫶 no happy ending for you; memories of past lives in italics

a/n: IN HONOR OF MINSUNG OUTTING THEMSELVES???????? respectfully I have no other explanation, enjoy!!!

Soulmates were an unpredictable thing. Everyone has them, but not everyone meets theirs.

Some actively avoid trying to find them, some do everything in their power to seek them out. You had always been in the boat of knowing it’ll happen when it happens, and if not in this life, then in the next. You had always been at peace with the knowledge that your soulmate was the one person you’re meant to find in every lifetime, so you didn’t see a point in searching for or avoiding them. 

Everyone grew up hearing the stories, that seeing your soulmate for the first time will feel like instant recognition, like deja vu, and slowly as you spend more time together and see each other more, your memories of your shared past lives slowly unravel. You could understand why some would be scared of that, of the knowledge of who you were in a completely different lifetime, but you liked to think it was natural, otherwise it wouldn’t happen. 

You always assumed you’d find your soulmate in a normal setting, meeting on the street or at one of your places of work, feeling the tingly feeling of familiarity and planning to meet up for a coffee, giving it the natural time to build to see if it was actually the soulmate bond or just mutual attraction. You found solace in inevitably becoming a statistic, in seeing your soulmate for the first time and them seeing you and everything happening the way everyone always told you it would. 

But as your best friend was telling you about her current favorite band, listing off members names and facts faster than you could think, swiping through pictures of them all, you felt your heart sink as your eyes met the digital ones of two frighteningly familiar faces, your mind buzzing with soft recognition.

You felt like you couldn’t breathe as you grabbed your friends phone to swipe back to the picture, your brain alighting with renewed interest at the second look of the boys on the screen.

Water surrounded you in every direction, the sounds of laughter coming from behind you. You felt relaxed and happy, your body swaying with the peaceful rocking of the boat.

You startled only slightly when arms wrapped around your waist, a chin propping on your shoulder and a kiss being pressed gently to your cheek. 

“Where is your beautiful mind right now, my love?” 

“Just lost at sea, I suppose.” You laughed, turning around in his arms, one of your hands coming up to cup his face, the other reaching behind him to the other man. “Just thinking about how happy I am.”

Jisung’s smile lit up his entire face, his eyes twinkling as he leaned in for a quick kiss. 

“Come back to the group, love. The boys are going to start their whining if you ignore them for too long.” Minho groaned, squeezing your hand lovingly.

“Just the boys?” You ask teasingly, raising a brow at your lovers, Jisung grinned sheepishly.

“You know how your boys can get.” He waved nonchalantly.

You excused yourself, apologizing for cutting the lunch date with your friends short, but you needed air. Stumbling down the street, you were thankful the place they picked was only a block from your apartment.

The cool spring breeze calms your nerves and clears your head enough so you could watch where you were walking. You stumbled through your door, kicking off your shoes as you made your way to your couch, sitting heavily, head in your hands as your leg bounced.

A path cleared between two groups of people, a beautiful altar covered in vines and wildflowers at the end of it. Everyone present was looking at you, but you couldn’t take your eyes off them.

Jisung had a lovesick smile on his face, Minho’s eyes were shiny with unshed tears. You felt weightless as you made your way to them, being the center of their attention making you feel like the most incredible person in the whole world.

Chan passed you off to them with a kiss to your cheek and a teasing threat towards your lovers, filling in for the father who disowned you for loving two men. They took one hand each, guiding you to stand in between them, all three of you giddy throughout the entire ceremony. 

The rings Hyunjin made for the three of you were intricately beautiful, you saw them for the first time only as they were placed on each finger. 

It was a fairly small and sweet affair, but you wouldn’t want to have had it any other way, everyone that mattered most to you and both of your husbands were present.

The night ran long as your love was celebrated, and ran even longer once you three finally got a moment for yourselves.

You felt numb, staring blankly at your floor while memories seemed to drown your mind. 

“Do you ever feel like there’s something missing?” You asked quietly into the darkness. The arms around you tightened as Minho sucked in a deep breath, you knew he was frowning.

“What do you mean, darling? We have everything we could possibly need or want right here in this home.”

You didn’t disagree. You were happily married to the love of your life, three beautiful children sleeping peacefully just down the hall. You were safe from the wars raging in distant lands, your husband was far from being called to join, but yet you felt as if there was a space that was yet to be filled.

Sighing, you propped your chin up on Minho’s chest, squinting to see his face through the darkness.

“I think you know what I mean. I cannot explain it, but you must feel it too.”

You knew you and Minho were soulmates, you had no doubt about that, the endless shared memories in different worlds proved it well enough, but it almost felt as though that bond didn’t fully seal, despite everything.

“I think you should be worrying more about getting proper sleep so our child you're growing stays healthy than to worry on about something neither of us can actually explain, my love.”

Your hands slid down to your stomach, rubbing it as if second nature. You tried to ignore the pang in your heart now, knowing that what was missing in that memory was your second soulmate.

You got up from your spot on the couch, realizing it was already dark, and stumbling your way to the kitchen to make yourself some dinner.

“You two are never allowed in this kitchen again. I’m serious. How do you burn water?” 

You and Jisung couldn’t stop giggling as you held each other, the both of you also confused as to how you’d managed that particular situation.

“Does that mean you’ll take care of us and cook for us every single day of the rest of our lives?” Jisung asked teasingly. 

“If I did, it would only be to save our house from burning down.” Minho grumbled.

“Awe! Min loves us, Sungie!” 

You and Jisung’s giggles started back up as you both took a side to sandwich your lover into a hug, heart fluttering when he didn’t reject it and instead wrapped his arms around you both to drag the two of you in tighter, nuzzling his face in the nook between you.

“Yes. I absolutely do.” Minho muttered into Jisungs shoulder.

You didn’t think soulmate bonds worked this fast. You were always under the impression that it took time for the memories to surface. You felt dizzy by the non-stop assault, heart swelling with love and breaking with loneliness at the same exact time.

The early morning light cast a gentle glow across the kitchen, the birds were chirping peacefully, and the welcome scent of fresh coffee was filling your house. But your morning was far from peaceful.

You had barely moved from your spot on the couch all night, refusing to lay in a bed that was half empty and unable to sleep while your husband was God knows where. 

Jisung had stormed out last night, leaving you sobbing and took nothing but his keys. You weren’t even certain he’d come back at all unless it was to get his things, and it was honestly your fault.

You had always despised cheaters, they were amongst the worst kind of people in your mind, but when you’d met Minho, he drew you in the exact same way Jisung had. You couldn’t fathom how it was possible, you and Jisung were soulmates, you had loved your husband more than anything in the world, but you somehow also shared all of that with Minho.

You never should have hid it, Jisung was a kind and understanding man, he would have been willing to at least hear you out before leaving you, but instead he found some of Minho’s belongings in your shared home. You tried to explain it to him, but he wasn’t in the mind to listen, just repeatedly asking for your secret lovers name and leaving the second you’d finally uttered it, ignoring your pleading for him to stay.

The wedding band on your left hand felt heavy as you twisted it subconsciously, as if trying to remind yourself that Jisung was still your soulmate and still legally bound to you, you hadn't lost him. At least not yet.

You leaned against the counter, trying desperately to keep yourself from breaking down again as you stared at the extra mug you had subconsciously poured for your husband.

“Can you poor another one of those, Y/n?” You whipped around at the sudden voice, fear and love filling you at the same time at the sight of both Jisung and Minho standing in the doorway, holding hands. “I think it’s gonna be a long morning.”

Grabbing your laptop, you settle into your bed, looking up your best friends favorite band and throwing yourself into compilations of your soulmates. The proof of them being soulmates was glaringly obvious, the subtle glances and touches, the soft looks, all the little things that scream they're in love, you truly couldn’t comprehend how people could look at it and assume it’s all perfectly platonic.

The more you watched, the more you fell into a pit of confusion. You didn’t miss the endless amounts of fans claiming to be any of the members soulmates, claiming they remember things, that if they could just be given a chance to meet up, the members would see. It was glaringly obvious that if you’d tried to reach out, you’d just be marked off as another fan seeking a way in to the bands inner circle. 

Memories continued to interfere with your research on your soulmates throughout the night, in between ‘Minsung’ edits and compilations of the whole band. You could see why your friend liked them so much. They were the type of band with a bond so tight it was obvious their loyalties lied with one another first and foremost. From what you knew of the K-pop industry, that wasn’t standard. 

The more you watched, the more you started to recognize all of them from your memories, not just your soulmates. Tears pricked your eyes at the thought, the fact that this group of souls seemed drawn to each other in every lifetime, and you were supposed to be one of them.

A quick search proved that they’ve talked about it before. Not much, mostly only in small subtle jokes, like one of them saying they all clicked so well from the beginning cause it just felt like they already knew each other. It was never actually said outright, but the evidence that they all knew they were a friendship that transcends lifetimes was obvious to anyone seeking it. 

You could feel your soul longing for its other parts, and you began to wonder if there were more of you out there. Soulmates of your other apparent friends who know exactly who their souls belong to, and know that in this lifetime they are essentially unattainable. Your heart aches at the thought that if that were the case, there are more people out there that are likely extremely important to you that you won’t get to meet in this lifetime.

That realization hits hard. The reality was you wouldn’t meet the loves of your life, you wouldn’t meet the friends you have endless memories with, and you’ll never remember the rest of those friends or get to learn their faces and the memories you hold with them in this lifetime. 

Because soulmates are an unpredictable thing. Everyone has them, but you wouldn’t get to meet yours.

a/n: I’m sorry?😅 I’m really not🤧

Part 2: a life remembered

[causeilikelix]

Rose Garden - Part One - Lee Know Smut

↳Pairing: Prince!Lee Know x Maid!afab reader

↳Words: 7,800

↳Warnings: SMUT 18+ only!!!!! Minors DNI!!!!!, Lee Know has a dirty mouth, unprotected sex (we all know the drill), inexperienced virgin!reader, Lee Know also might be a virgin but idk, pretty vanilla stuff, power dynamics, creampie, multiple orgasms, multiple (2) positions, semi-public sex, they almost get caught but aren't, angst, a mention of throwing up but no one does

↳Summery:  You are a maid for one of the ladies eligible for a chance to see if they are the prince's soulmate. You join your lady and attend the tea party but you grow bored and wander off. After a while, you stumble across a beautiful rose garden and an even more beautiful man- though he's not very nice.

TAGLIST: @ohmy-moonlightx , @junebug032 , @giyusatorou , @skzfelixlove , @kittkat44 , @nap-of-a-starr, @ventitto , @blankdyean , @lethallyprotected , @poisonivy21 , @nobody3210 , @chuuswifereal , @hisokasimp1

(Strikethrough means unable to tag)

↳Notes: Long story short, I work a lot and I'm tired but I'm trying to get these written!!!

↳Ready on my AO3: Here

Part One

“MOTHER!”  JOY COMPLAINED loudly, “Do I really have to go to this ridiculous ball?” 

“Yes, darling,” Joy’s mother, Mrs. Park, flitted around the room and checked each of the offerings of the maids, “Tonight is vital.  You must catch the eye of the Prince!”

“What if he's not my soulmate, though?”  Joy pouted, which you caught through her vanity mirror as you carefully curled her hair. 

“Darling, when you’re this high up in society you can’t be concerned about all of that soulmate dribble!  You are a lady!  You are out in society and your position matters!”  Mrs Park insisted.  She made her way over to the vanity and gestured for you to move aside. 

Wordlessly and obediently, you stepped aside to let Joy’s mother take over your task of doing Joy’s hair.  You backed away to stand with the other maids who were holding various jewelry options for this afternoon’s tea party.  

Joy looked absolutely stunning, which was truly no surprise.  As one of the higher ladies of the court, she had to be.  Whenever she went to these tea parties or balls, it was part of your job to make sure she looked her best.  You did her hair, helped her into whichever gown was chosen for the event, and applied the perfect amount of rouge to her cheeks.  As her dedicated ladies maid, you also had to cater to her every whim.  

Technically, you weren’t allowed to be friends with the lady you served but you and Joy had gotten rid of that ages ago.  As her mother rambled on about the importance of holding the family’s position in society, Joy locked eyes with you through the vanity mirror and rolled her eyes.  You had to stifle your giggle into your hand and pretend it was a sneeze in order for the other maids to ignore you. 

“Mother, the prince does absolutely nothing for me.  We would be an awful match!”  Joy whined. 

“Joy, I won’t keep telling you why you have to attend this event.  This is your last chance to catch the Queen’s eye.  If you don’t then they will choose a bride for him this evening at the ball.”

“But every eligible girl in society will also be peacocking around!  There’s no way I could ever stand out.”

“Joy!”  Mrs Park scolded with a light smack to her shoulder.  She moved away and gestured for you to continue your task.  “Ms. Y/N, please do your best work.  You are serving the potential future princess of our fine country!”

“Mother!”  Joy screeched, but Mrs Park made her way out of the room before Joy could whine much more.  “Y/N, you’d better make me look like a monster!”  

“Ma’am, I’ve heard that the Prince is a fine young man!”  You chimed in as you went back to putting small crystals into Joy’s dramatic updo.

“Oh, come on, please don’t call me that when mother isn’t around.  It makes me feel like an old maid.”  Joy pouted. 

“Of course.  Which jewelry set do you want to go with your dress?”  You waved over the other maids, who hurried over to present their offerings.  Joy perused them for a moment before pointing at a silver and blue set to complement the rich navy she had on.

“I don’t know why mother insists on jewel tones.”  Joy sighed, “She knows I prefer pastels.  All the other girls will be wearing pastels to tea!”

“Or maybe they won’t!  This is the last chance to impress the Queen before she makes the decision for him.”

“I hope she’s decided already.  I think I’d hate being married to a prince.  What if he’s dull?”  Joy sighed.

“Honestly, they probably chose his intended ages ago and they’re doing all this for the sake of some social events and entertainment,” You suggested innocently.  

Joy gasped in horror and turned to look at you.

“How dare you insult the royal family!”  She exclaimed.  Her eyebrows furrowed and your heart dropped into your stomach.  You hadn’t meant to-

Joy cracked a smile.  She giggled openly, which helped your muscles relax.  She was just joking.

“Don’t frighten me so!”

“I will never reprimand you for voicing your opinions, even about the royal family.  I believe we are well past that, don’t you?”  Joy turned back to the mirror and you got back to work on her hair. 

You were able to breathe a little better. 

Once Joy had her hair done and her jewels put on, she got up and started towards the door.  You bowed as she left and mentally ran through the list of duties you had to attend to once she left.  Tidy the closet, dust the shelves, make her bed, wash her pillow cases and-

“Oh,” Joy sighed, her hand on the doorknob, “I do wish you could come with me.  You make much better company than any of the other ladies.”

“I wish I could go too, Miss.”  The formality slipped out, but she allowed it. 

“Maybe you could go.”  Joy mused, “I could demand you accompany me in case I have a fainting spell or something.  I suddenly feel one coming on.”

She shot you a mischievous grin.  

“You just want to paint all afternoon."

For almost ten years she’d been faking fainting spells in order to either get out of an event or get you to go with her.  You were surprised that she hadn’t faked one today.  Despite the dramatic navy gown and the sparkly jewelry, Joy preferred to spend her days with you in the greenhouse painting away.  Each year for your birthday she gifted you a blank sketchbook and some pencils and often invited you to paint with her.  You weren’t nearly as good as her, but it allowed for you to have something to do together.  An even playing field.  No titles. 

“You caught me.  What can I say?  I prefer painting with my best and only friend in the ton over mingling and pretending to hope for the Queen’s approval.”  Joy mused for a few long moments.  Then, terrifyingly, her eyes lit up.  She opened the door and called out into the house.  “Mother! Y/N is joining us to the ball today!  I shall require her assistance changing into my other gown for the ball.”

“What?”  You gawked.

Joy closed the door and turned to you triumphantly.

“Crystal,”  Joy turned to one of the other maids, “Please prepare my pink and blue gown with the flowers and sapphires on the bodice for the palace with the fullest underskirt you can find.  Oh, and the pink set of jewelry that Papa gave me for Christmas!  Y/N, go prepare your best dress!  You’re going to the royal ball!”

~!~!~!~!~!~

Joy’s scheming got you right where she wanted you.  If you had the chance, you definitely would have stayed home but you were in no position to refuse her.  Joy’s mother wasn’t thrilled that you were there but at this point she knew that there were some battles you just don’t win.  

It wasn’t as if there was much for you to do at this party anyway.  Joy made you change into your event uniform, which was really just a cleaner black-and-white version of what you normally wore.  Today you wore a long black dress with a white lace apron layered over the skirt, with a white collar and cuffs.  

All well and good if the tea party wasn’t outdoors.

By all means, the temperature outside was quite pleasant unless you had to stand off to the side with the other ladies maids in direct sunlight.  All of you had delicate sheens of sweat along the backs of your necks as you waited to be summoned by your respective ladies.  Some of the maids you’d seen before and had decent friendships with.  The great part about being a maid is that almost all of them were into gossip, as if they were reading a dramatic-real life romance novel. 

“Ryujin, you’ll never believe it!”  Yuna exclaimed, “Mr Lee proposed to Lady Shim last week!  They had a few moments together in the garden and he got down on one knee and he had a ring prepared and everything!”

“How romantic!”  Ryujin squealed, “Did she accept?”

“Honestly, I’m in disbelief!  She didn’t refuse him but she said she needed time to think.  It’s possible that she’s hoping to be chosen by the Queen but she can’t be selected if she’s betrothed.”

“Have any of you actually seen Prince Minho?”  Ryujin sighed, “I mean, Mr Lee is a catch.  Why would she turn him down?”

“I saw the prince once!”  Lia, another maid into all the gossip, chimed in eagerly, “He is unbelievably handsome.”

“Oh, shove it.  You only saw the back of his head once.” Yuna rolled her eyes, “I saw him once a few weeks ago.  He is, without a doubt, one of the most handsome men I’ve ever set my eyes on!”

“What about you, Y/N, have you seen the prince?”  Ryujin turned the attention onto you.

“No, I’ve only heard about him from Lady Joy.  She has no interest in him.”

“Well, I think he actually plans on attending this event alongside the Queen, so hopefully we should get a glimpse of him soon!”

“Why aren’t they searching for his soulmate?  I heard that a soulmate match makes for more successful breeding.”  You asked.

“That was the purpose of these parties all month!  They’ve been bringing in all the ladies and the princesses of neighboring countries to each try their hand at being his soulmate but no one suitable has been found,” Ryujin explained, “If he doesn’t find his soulmate tonight then the Queen will choose one of the offers submitted by various other royal or noble families.”

“This is all so dull,” you sighed, “Who cares about soulmates and politics.  All we can do is watch!  At this rate I’ll die an old maid.”

“If you find your soulmate I’m sure your lady will let you marry!”  

“Only if he’s someone of my rank.”  You rolled your eyes, “It looks like Lady Joy is enjoying herself so I think I might go for a walk, care to join me?”

“Goodness, no.  I would get in trouble if I ever left my lady’s sight!”

“Well, tell her I had to find the servant’s quarters if she asks about me.” 

You didn’t know why Joy wanted you along so badly if she was only going to get caught up in the other ladies she was friends with.  You figured a turn around the gardens wouldn’t be such a bad thing, especially since no one was paying any attention to you.  Also, this might be the only chance you ever got to see the royal garden.  

Quietly, you slipped away from the other maids and turned to venture deeper in the gardens.  The party was relatively localized so there were acres of untouched flora to explore.  Maybe, if you were lucky, there would be a pond or a fountain to sit by and watch.  Something about water always fascinated you. 

The sun warmed your skin as you walked through the hedges and trees.  The cobblestone paths crunched delicately beneath your shoes.  Flowers and shrubs lined the path, allowing for a delicate floral scent to fill the air.  You sighed happily when a light breeze helped the aroma into your nose.  

By all means, this was the perfect day for a tea party.  The only thing missing was the tea.  The more you thought about it the more a cup of tea sounded wonderful, but you would have to wait for a cup until you got back to the house and put Joy to bed.

As you walked you occasionally passed by other maids or servants of the palace but they paid you no mind.  Your finer uniform gave the impression that you belonged within the palace walls, but you knew you did not.  Your family was intimately entwined with the Park family.  From birth you were predestined to be Joy’s lady's maid.  You feared that you would never do anything else. 

When you were a little girl you used to dream of entering the palace.  As a child, it was as a woman of nobility who got to wear all of the pretty dresses that Lady Joy got to wear and dance at all the balls.  However, as you got older you figured that the more realistic track would be for you to enter the kitchen and work as a servant.  There was little to no chance of changing rank and now that you were a proper soulmate-seeking adult, you had to accept your reality.  Nothing would ever change for you.

Then the gardens began to change. 

The standard hedges turned into lofty lattice structures.  The wood was painted white and the structures created square arches over the path.  Lattice fences lined the walkway as well.  Vines snaked up the structures and overhead, creating lovely shadows that helped to soothe the sweat pearling at the back of your neck.  The white gravel turned to cobblestones under your feet.

Soon, however, flowers began to appear on the vines.  As you ventured deeper into the garden, roses of every color began to decorate the lattice and the arches.  There were several stripes of color.  Several feet of white roses, then orange, then red, then purple.  The soft aroma of the roses wafted into your nose and you sighed happily.  The occasional iron bench lined the path and you had half a mind to sit down and take a rest for a while. 

“Goddamn it!”  A voice carried from a crevice in the hedges and you jumped.  The exclamation was soon followed by a loud thump and a groan of pain. 

On instinct, you gasped and went to find the source of the noise.  The second groan of pain helped you navigate the maze of lattice fences with roses on them.  The path curved into a generous arch before an opening into the center of the garden appeared.  You dipped through a circular hedge gate until you emerged into probably the most beautiful place you’d ever seen in your life. 

In the center of a generous opening was a stone gazebo with lattice fences lining it.  Those, of course, had large rose bushes wound throughout making the gazebo feel like a proper enclosed building.  A delicate trickling stone fountain of a woman pouring water into a basin sat in front.  A plethora of garden trimming tools like shears and a basket of weeds sat at the stone woman’s feet.  Along the back wall were more fences lined with roses so you supposed you shouldn’t have been surprised to see the man on the ground near them. 

The man wore a pair of brown trousers and a white flowy top that hung off his shoulders and showed off his milky collarbones.  He wore a pair of black boots that went up just below his knees.  You couldn’t see his full face but you knew only from his profile that he would be beautiful.  He groaned and wiped his hands on his pants before standing back up.  He sighed and fixed his cuffs before turning and seeing you at the entrance to the small garden.  Instantly, his face morphed into one of horror and he backed away from you slowly.

“Leave immediately!”  The man commanded in a sweet and melodic voice that was a strong contrast to his barked orders, “And tell no one what you saw!”

“I… I’m sorry!”  You dipped down into a low curtsey, even though you couldn’t tell who he was.  Judging from the dirt on his pants and the trimming shears on the ground by your feet, you had something of an idea. 

“Didn’t I tell you to go?”  He asked again after you hesitated to move. 

“I do apologize but… I appear to have lost my way and-”

“You lost your way?  Isn’t it required of the help to know their way around this oppressive castle?”  The man rolled his handsome cat-like eyes and he tossed a hand through his rich brown locks. 

“I… Well, I am just visiting.”  Your throat closed as you spoke.  He glared at you, making you feel small under his intense gaze. 

“Ah, you’re just visiting then?  For the party?  Well, that makes you forgiven for your presence here.  You shouldn’t be away from your post.”  The man scoffed, making you doubt that he was serious about his words. 

“Sir, I’m truly sorry.  I got lost.  If you could tell me the way out then I will-”

“I will tell you.”  The man sighed in defeat, “but only if you tell no one where you were or what you saw.”

“Sir, no one would believe me anyway.  If you wish to escape then it’s none of my business.”  

“You are just a ladies maid, I suppose.  Fine, if you go back through the arch and turn left then-”  the man paused.  

He finally looked up at you and straight into your eyes.  You were shocked by how strangely warm his eyes were, despite the neverending glare.  The sunlight was hitting them just right and making his eyes a swirling exhibit of chestnut and gold.  The crease between his eyebrows softened after a moment before his entire face relaxed and he sighed.  

“Sir?”

“Look, I’m…”  he winced before he forced out the next words, “I’m sorry.  I am under a lot of stress right now and I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

“What kind of stress?”  You blurted out your question before you could stop yourself.  You knew you had to get back to your duties but something about this man kept your feet glued to the ground. 

“Have you ever had a huge obligation?  Like, something that has been planned practically since your birth that you can’t get out of?”  He paused to gauge your reaction.  You shook your head.  “I suppose not.  Anyway, it’s like there’s all this theater to pretend like my life is up to me but I know that it’s not.  I will be the subject of command my entire life and I can’t take it anymore.  I need to get out of here before it’s too late.”

“And you’re trying to climb the rose bushes?”

“Not successfully, I might add.  Those bristles are sharp.  But it’s the only place in the garden that has any sort of structure that can get me out.”

“Do you need some assistance, sir?”  You took a bold step deeper into the garden and towards the beautiful man. 

“Assistance?”  he chuckled, “You mean you would help me try to get over this fence?”

“Well, if you truly don’t want the life that’s been planned for you, why go through with it?  I believe that everyone should have a chance to live the life they want.  Granted, that’s not completely realistic in this society…”  

“It’s not?”  The man blinked at you in surprise, as if he was genuinely learning of hierarchy for the first time.

“Well, no.  Everybody has their master.  There’s no room for dreaming.  So, I think that if you have the opportunity to escape and follow your dream then you should.  What is your dream, if not this?”  You gestured vaguely to the flowers.  

“I want to live a simple life.  I want to be in control of myself and who I love.  I don’t want anyone to decide for me who I’m supposed to be with.  I don’t want anyone looking over my shoulder all the time.”

“Then go!  I’m certainly not stopping you.  It looks like there’s a place to grip the fence up there, if you want me to give you a lift?”  You moved a little closer, tearing your eyes off of the beautiful stranger and up at the lattice fence.  

“You?  Want to give me a lift?  Are you sure you wouldn’t be crushed under my weight?”

“I am a ladies maid, sir, I would sooner be crushed under the laundry I must do after the ball this evening.”  

The man smiled at you.  The first warm gesture since you’d met.  For a moment, the smile almost seemed… endearing.  

You couldn’t deny that being under his gaze made you weak in the knees.  Whoever this escapist gardener was, he was handsome.  You enjoyed the sound of his voice as it wafted through the air.  It sounded sweeter than the scent of the bold blooms surrounding you.  Sunbeams that were cast through the flowers landed on his golden skin, making him practically glow.  Your time together was fleeting… and you wanted more of him.

“Come,”  he gestured with his hand for you to move closer.  You appreciated the contrast from only a few moments ago. 

You followed his command and floated closer to him.  Your feet practically moved on their own, as if you were being drawn to him like a magnet. 

“You’re so obedient when you want to be.”  He complimented.  He turned towards the wall and put his hands on his hips.  He scanned it until he found the patch of white wood that wasn’t covered in the thorny flowers or their leaves.  “I think that will work, like you said.  Why don’t you come stand right here and-”

He turned and suddenly put his hands on your shoulders.  You gasped at the contact but let him move you into position by the wall.  As he dropped his hands from your shoulders, the tips of his fingers grazed against the back of your hand.  The man stopped speaking at the skin-on-skin contact, but he also didn’t stop touching you.  His fingers lingered there for a few seconds before he pulled away entirely. 

“I’m sorry, do forgive me.  I know that was careless but-”  He began but he was cut short by a gasp.  

You both gasped at the same time when the tell-tale arousal ripped up your spine.  It was practically instantaneous how you went from completely normal to, in a matter of seconds, dripping and empty.  You watched as his trousers grew tighter as an erection swelled under the fabric.  Both of you stared at each other for a few horrible seconds.  Of all places to meet your soulmate, why here?  Why now?

Your gaze flickered from his eyes to his mouth and you almost audibly groaned.  His pretty pink lips were parted slightly and they looked shiny with spit.  All you wanted to do was taste him.  From the way his eyes flicked down to your lips, you could only assume he wanted the same.

“You?”  He breathed out. 

“I could go,” you offered, though you could barely recognize the sound of your own voice.  He stared at you for a few long seconds.

“Don’t you dare.”

Then his mouth was on yours.  No ceremony, no build-up, just pure urgency.  His hands circled your waist as he waited for you to respond to his kiss.  Your eyes were open for a second as you contemplated the new situation, but before you knew it your eyes closed and you kissed him back.  He wasted no time in twisting his head and deepening the kiss.  Your inexperience didn’t seem to bother him as he worked his mouth with yours.  

He kissed you as if his life was on the line, as if this was the last time you would ever see each other.  For a moment, you wondered if that was true.  

The thought left your mind the moment his tongue swiped at your lower lip, requesting entrance.  You wasted no time in parting your lips and pushing your tongue against his.  You wondered if he really did taste like honey or if that was the soulmate hormone talking.  Your hands curled into his hair and he moaned at the contact.  Gratefully, you swallowed every noise that came from him.  

“I need to have you now,” he mumbled against your lips, “Please, let me have you.”

“I’m yours for the taking.”  

He wasted no time at all.  

In an instant, he was pushing you into a corner of the rose garden that was just out of sight of the entrance.  There wasn’t a bench or anything to sit on and he didn’t have anything to cushion the ground, but it didn’t really matter to either of you.  The emptiness between your legs was probably going to kill you if you didn’t have him immediately, so you pulled him to the ground and straddled his lithe hips. 

He gasped in surprise when his back hit the ground, but he grinned at your enthusiasm.  The kiss broken, you worked together to get your skirts out of the way and he tugged at your undergarments.  He glared at them like they were offensive to him personally.  He shot you a quick smirk before the sound of tearing fabric met your ears.

“Hey!  I kind of need those.”  You protested.

“I want to see what’s mine.”  

He lifted his head off the ground to gaze at your dripping sex.  You wonder if he could tell how wet you were just by a little kissing.  He moved one of his hands towards your center, shooting you a quick glance as if to ask permission.  The moment you nodded, the tips of his fingers grazed your outer sex and you gasped at the touch.  The mere touch alone tasted sweet.  

His fingers explored further, slipping beneath your lips to prod at your drenched hole.  He sucked in a sharp breath when he pushed his index finger into the first knuckle. 

“Damn, angel, you’re so wet.  This is all for me, hm?”   He pulled his fingers away and you groaned at the lack of contact.  Your eyes widened when he slipped his pointer finger into his mouth and lapped at your essence.  His eyes rolled into the back of his head at your taste before he looked up at you with eyes clouded with lust.  “Angel, I wish we had time for you to sit on my face so I can drink you up but right now I think I’ll die if I’m not inside you soon.” 

Honestly, you shared the sentiment.  You reached for the laces on his britches and tugged at them.  He leaned back and watched you wrestle with his pants for a few minutes.  However, it didn’t take him long to get needy himself and soon his fingers were joining yours. 

Together, you freed the laces and pushed his pants down just enough for his cock to pop out and slap onto his lower belly.  You were thankful that his shirt had ridden up a little in your efforts.  His dick, while being the only real one you’d ever seen, looked perfect.  It was thick and long and the head was a gorgeous shape of pink that matched his kiss swollen lips.  Since turning twenty one and being told about some of what to do, you had an idea of what was about to happen.  

“Have you ever seen one before?”  He grasped his cock with one hand and stroked it a few times.  His other hand gripped your waist and maneuvered you into place above him. 

“No, I’ve only heard about them, sir.”  You gasped when something hot and wet glided through your lower lips.  

“They really don’t teach you girls anything, do they?”  He tsked and pressed the head against your dripping hole.  With how wet you were, it could have slipped right in with no resistance.  “I’m going to put it inside you now.  There might very well be some discomfort, but you’re so wet I think you’ll drown my cock, so I think you’ll be fine.”

“Please, put it in.”  You practically begged, lowering your hips and accepting him into you.

You let out an embarrassingly loud moan when the head breached your entrance and began pushing inside you.  Your swollen walls stretched to accommodate him readily.  Like he said, there was a little discomfort from the initial stretch but there was no pain.  He moved the hand that was on his dick to your waist and used both hands to help you descend onto him.  You squeezed your eyes shut and let it happen.

When your hips were flush with one another, your thighs were shaking with effort.  You dropped your hands to his chest and held on for stability.  You kept your weight off him as much as you could, aside from how your pussy was finally wrapped around his delicious cock.  

“Are you alright?”  His soft voice made your eyes snap open to look at him.  His eyebrows were furrowed in concern and his grip on you tightened.  “You need not hold yourself up.”

“I am quite heavy, sir.  I don't want to crush you.”

“Nonsense.”   He growled, pushing down on your hips hard enough for your legs to give out.  Your full weight descended onto his hips, shoving his cock deeper into you and causing you both to let out groans of satisfaction.  The pressure of him being fully sheathed inside you made you want to cry.  It was as if he’d split you open.

Instantly, he lifted a hand to press it over your mouth.  Effortlessly, he pushed his hips up, held you in the circle of his arms and rolled you so you were on your back.  He shifted his hips a little bit just to be sure he wouldn’t slip out of you while he changed your position.  Once he was over you, dick still lodged within your warm and wet walls, he leaned down to whisper against your ear. 

“We don’t want to get caught, do we?  Stay quiet while I ruin you, yeah?”  

He kept his hand across your mouth as he ground his hips into you.  You groaned against his skin as the friction sent sparks of pleasure up your spine.  All of the discomfort of being filled melted away until all you could feel was absolute pleasure.  His cock massaged your insides perfectly with every single thrust.  He was so deep you could practically feel him in the back of your throat.  

You gazed up at him through your eyelashes, watching his face as he fucked you.  Every time he pushed in, his face contorted into a beautiful picture of pleasure.  Droplets of sweat trickled down his face, giving his skin a glowing sheen.  He gazed right back down at you, locking your eyes together with every grind of his hips.  From this angle, his shirt dipped down and you could see the expanse of his collarbones and chest.  You wished you had a better angle without all these pesky clothes in the way so you could see his cock as it entered you.

You mumbled against his sweaty hand, tasting the addicting salt of him.  

“Can you stay quiet if I take my hand away, my angel?”  He moaned lowly as a particularly deep thrust made you clench around him.  You nodded rapidly and he slowly pulled his hand away.  “What is it?”

“Faster,”  you begged.  You slightly pulled your knees up and your skirts away to give him more room.  “Please, sir, want to feel you.”

“Do you think you can handle it, precious angel?”  He threw two quick, hard thrusts into your heat and you bit back a pitiful moan.  You nodded quickly at his question.

“Please, I want more.”  You parted your knees a little more and it was his turn to moan.  He buried his head in your neck so that he could not be heard outside of your bubble. 

“Since you asked so nicely,”  He groaned and he began to pick up the pace.  Each thrust made an audible noise as your skin collided.  The burn between your legs grew and you reveled in the feeling.  

“S-so good,”  you reached for him to tangle your fingers in his hair, desperate for something to hold onto, “Don’t stop, sir.”

“Never, Angel.  Never.  You feel so fucking good.  So wet and tight for me.   Just wanna be inside you all the time, never wanna pull out.  You’re mine, yeah?  All mine, just mine.”  

His hands were everywhere.  He grabbed at your neck, your chest, reached below your skirts to grab your thighs before circling up towards a distinct target.  You weren’t sure what he was doing until his fingertips were collecting your slick and circling up your slit.  You didn’t think it could get much better until he circled a spot that had you biting his shoulder to keep from moaning loudly.  He grinned and kept his efforts focused on that spot.  

The pleasure began to mount.  Something pulled taut in your stomach and your legs began to shake.  A string in your belly tensed.  Your pussy ached from his constant rough thrusting but it sent sparks of pleasure all the way down to your toes.  

“Sir, please… please it feels-”  You weren’t sure what you were begging for but your soulmate seemed to double his efforts.  He thrust harder and pressed a little more on the swollen bundle of nerves at your center.  

“It’s okay, angel.  Just lay back and feel.  Don’t think of anything else.  Cum for me,”  He peppered kisses on your sweaty neck and collarbones.  

You focused on the pleasure building within you.  The peak approached you quicker than you would have liked, but before you knew it something wondrous washed over you.  Your thighs clenched around him and a choked moan caught in your throat.  You grabbed onto his shoulders and dug your nails into his skin, desperate for something to hold onto as a powerful orgasm washed over you.  

Your soulmate kept pushing his thick cock into you, but he slowed down to help you ride out your orgasm without overwhelming you.  Something sticky slipped out of you and he was sure that you’d left a gorgeous white ring of cum at the base of his cock.  

His angel had given him a halo.

He moved his hand away from your clit and anchored his elbows by your head.  He landed several soft kisses on your cheeks and lips but you were too far gone to respond.  Your ears were ringing and all you could think about was the avalanche of pleasure between your legs.  Waves of your orgasm made your thighs quiver a little.  You stared at the leaves above you and the golden streaks of light that stole in from the gaps.  The world slowly formed around you.  When you met his eyes, he smiled warmly.

“There you are.”  He whispered.

“That was… amazing.”  You sighed, but it turned into a gasp as your soulmate rocked his hips into yours a few times. 

“Angel, I still need to cum, too.  We can stop if you want but I need to-”

“Yes!  Please, keep going.”  You begged suddenly.  Your walls ached from the exertion but you also craved the feeling of him inside you even more. 

“Yeah?”  He groaned lowly as he pushed into you again.  He moaned into your neck as his pace began to increase more and more.  “Good.  Fuck, angel, I can’t wait to cum inside you.  Please can I cum inside you?”

“Yes, please!”  You begged.  

You knew what could happen if he came in you and you didn’t really want that right now, but the desire and the need to feel his release inside of you overpowered every other thing in the world.  You probably wouldn’t have cared if the prince walked in on you at this point.  

Your soulmate’s thrusts began to pick up speed.  The overstimulation in your pussy stung but you gritted your teeth through it.  His moans got higher in pitch and he panted wetly against your neck.

“I’m getting close, angel.”  He grunted above you.

His thick cock speared into you over and over again.  His heavy balls slapped against your ass and you just knew that he would have a lot of cum to give you. 

Your assumption was proven right only moments later.  He groaned loudly, shoved himself as deep into you as he could go, and his milky release coated your insides.  The pressure and the warmth against your cervix made your skin tingle at the base of your spine and you figured you could probably cum again.  You reached down between your legs and gasped to find your center slick and messy.  You rubbed your fingertips around until you hit your clit.  

It only took a few short rubs before your cunt clamped onto him.  He moaned at the feeling.

He thrusted shallowly into you a few times to ride out his high and every push resulted in another generous spurt of cum inside you.  It was as if your orgasm triggered his to last longer.

Finally, he slumped against you.  He did his best to keep his full weight off you but at this angle it couldn’t be helped.  You didn’t mind.  Despite the warmth of the day and the fact that your skin was sweat slicked, you needed him close.  

Together, you laid on the ground in each other’s arms for a few seconds.  The afterglow began to set in.  You craved his body close.  It must have only been seconds because a loud voice boomed through the garden, startling you both back into the real world. 

“Where is he!  He is going to be late to his own party!  I don’t care what he wants!  He’ll be an embarrassment to the royal family if he doesn’t make an appearance!  Search the grounds, go!  Now!”  A stern voice barked.

“Oh, shit.”  Your soulmate muttered. 

In an instant, he slid out of you, stood up and worked on redoing the laces on his pants.  His nimble fingers got the job done in almost no time.  It left you to quickly gather yourself.  Your undergarments were ripped but you could tie the scraps a little to keep yourself somewhat decent.  You fixed your skirts and started to get up, but your soulmate spoke again.

“Let me.”  His soft voice sounded sweet, like the roses.

He offered you his hand and he helped you rise to your feet and brush off the leaves and petals from your skirt.  When you met his eyes, you were shocked by the grief swimming in them.

“Are you okay?”  You reached out to cup his cheek in your hand but he flinched away from your touch.

“I’m sorry, I must go.”  He turned on his heel and started out of the garden. 

“Wait… what?”  You gasped out and followed him a few steps. 

“I must go.  I’m sorry, I wish I could stay but… I’ve waited too long and duty calls.” 

“But… wait, shouldn’t we talk about this?”  You followed him to the archway that led into the garden.  He stopped abruptly, his back to you for a few seconds.  His breath heaved.  When he turned to face you, his eyebrows were hardset.

“No.  I’m sorry, this shouldn’t have happened.  You can’t be my soulmate.  They would never allow it.  Let’s try to forget this ever happened, okay?  It’s for the best.”  His hard voice sent a shock down your spine.

You stared at him in surprise.  He didn’t give you the time to retort before he was stalking away and disappearing into the green.  You hurried after him but quickly found that you had no idea where you were going.  The turns and the bushes all looked identical.  

Tears welled in your eyes.  The more you searched for him, the more lost you became.  You ran blindly through the garden, your dress swirling at your ankles.  The sun beat down on you and a bead of sweat dripped down your temple.  Was it sweat on your face, or tears?  Was it sweat dripping down your legs, or cum? 

You ran until you bumped into a palace maid.  Both of you cried out in surprise and fell back.  You were unable to stop yourself from crying.  The other maid scolded you for making her drop her washing, but she stopped after a moment when she noticed your hysterical state. 

“Are you alright?”  She asked tentatively. 

“I don’t know… I… my soulmate… the party!  I’m lost!  What if… my mistress… she needs me.”  You wailed, dropping your head into your hands. 

“Are you a ladies maid for one of the ladies at the party?” 

“Yes.  I only stepped away for a moment but I got lost!”

“It’s okay!  It’ll be okay, I promise.”  The maid soothingly rubbed your arm.  “Let’s get you back to the party, okay?  You’re not far.”

The maid led you through the garden.  You followed blindly, not really paying any attention to where you were going.  The garden didn’t hold as much beauty as it did a few minutes ago.  You kept your eyes peeled for the gardener.  Your soulmate.  

Like she said, it wasn’t long before soft music filled the air.  A harp, by the light, airy sound of it.  Then the murmur the guests followed.  Before anyone could come into sight, the maid turned around and stopped you. 

“You look a mess, my dear.  Let’s clean you up first.  You don’t want your lady to see you in this state, do we?”  The palace maid gently wiped away your tears and smoothed your hair.  She pulled a few leaves out of the tangled strands. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?”  You sniffled.  The maid smiled sadly. 

“My soulmate is above my standing, too, love.” 

“What?  No, it’s the gardener… he just ran off and-”

“There.”  The maid smoothed your hair one last time.  “Go on!  You don’t want to keep your lady waiting.”  

Before you could think to ask what she meant, the maid hurried back into the garden, leaving you alone with your thoughts.  

Only moments ago, you were with the person you were meant to be with but now you were alone.  Your body ached and your eyes burned from crying.  You needed a drink.�� 

Instead, you held your head high and ventured back into the garden where the party was in full swing.  So to speak.  A few women danced in a clearing next to the pavilion where the musicians played.  Mostly, people milled about, sipped on drinks, and snacked on hors d'Oeuvres.  The girls wore various lightly colored pastel dresses that glittered and shimmered in the sunlight.  If you were sweating in your dress, you were certain that the girls in attendance would be feeling faint.  Luckily, there were several open-air tents pitched around the garden where the girls who weren’t partaking in the festivities could rest. 

It came to no surprise to you that Joy had set up underneath one of the tents.  You made your way over to her and she waved at you the second she saw you weaving through the crowd.  You hurried to her side and you curtsied deeply in apology.

“Miss, I apologize for slipping away without saying anything first, I-”

“You what?”  Joy blinked at you in surprise.  “You know what, it’s okay.  It’s no matter.  I called you over because the prince is about to make his entrance!  I wanted you to get a good look at him.  There’s a tiny chance he’ll be my soulmate, afterall.”

“It might be nice to live at the palace.”  You cleared your throat, hoping that she wouldn’t catch on to the fact that tears still brimmed in your eyes. 

“It is quite pretty, isn’t it?  I’m not sure if I could stomach all of the royal duties.  Waving at crowds, kissing babies, the politics within the court.  How exhausting!  Maybe if he’s handsome then this wouldn’t be so bad.”  Joy sighed, “Y/N, how I wish you were a lady.  I would rather sit with you, gossip, and share this food with you.  Maybe I should have dressed you up in one of my gowns and pretended you were my cousin from out of town.”

“I’m afraid I’d be useless at one of these parties.” 

“Nonsense!  Didn’t I teach you to dance when we were teenagers?  You know all the steps.”  Something clicked in Joy’s head and she jumped.  “A-ha!  Y/N!  I had Crystal pack an extra gown and corset in case I spilled tea on this one.  After the party, let’s dress you in that!  You can attend the ball with me!  Not as a maid, but as a friend.”

“Miss!  I don’t think that would be proper.  I am only a maid and-”

“No one will recognize you!  Once you put on a gown, no one will be the wiser.  What do you say?” 

“I’m not sure if that’s wise-”

“ALL RISE.”  A voice boomed over the party. 

The music and the murmur of the crowd lulled and faded out.  A butler stood up a few stairs on a path towards the palace.  He stood tall and held a cone in his hand in order to amplify his voice.  Those who were seated scrambled to their feet, Joy included. 

“I am here to announce the entrance of the Royal Prince Lee Minho!  All bow!”  The butler screamed into the cone.  A few birds squawked and flew out of their nest that was in a tree along the back wall of the garden.

The musicians played a fanfare.  You joined in bowing with all of the guests and maids at the party.  The music swelled and you peeked up to see if you could catch a glimpse of the prince. 

His footsteps echoed on the stone path.  His pants were blindingly white but it was offset by a blood red officer's coat, adorned with a sash and multiple medals of honor.  A golden circlet crown sat atop his head.  His stoic face- wait.

That face. 

That gait. 

His cat-like eyes surveyed the crowd, taking in his subjects.  Prince Minho’s shoulders were set and broad.  There was no happiness in his face and, in fact, his eyes looked a little puffy as if he’d just woken up or if… he’d been crying.  

His face was one you knew well.  You’d know him anywhere.  It would be impossible to forget the man whose cum was currently dripping down your legs. 

Your stomach lurched and you could have sworn that you were going to throw up.  

“Lady Joy?”  You whispered. 

“Hm?”

“I’ll take you up on it.  I want to go to the ball.”  

You looked back up at the Prince to find him staring right back at you.  He showed no surprise on his face, only melancholy.  

Horror settled inside you when the realization washed over your senses.  Everything and nothing made sense all at once. 

Prince Minho was your soulmate.

Part Two ->