#still working on adding new groups/idols to the list

[frenchkisstheabyss]

I feel like a lot of the thicc baddies in the KPop fic community don’t know I’m here so, hello thicc baddies, I am here 💜

[solarwonux]

Business Proposal || knj (7/?)

pairing: namjoon x f!reader || ex friends to lovers!au friends to lovers!au

Genre: fluff, angst, smut, slow burn, fwb!au, non idol!au, unrequited love

Warnings: slow burn, angst,

Rating: mature, 18+

w.c: 5.8k

Synopsis: Namjoon is living on borrowed time, and it’s time to cash in. His father is months from taking his last breathe and his life long dream is to watch his oldest son say “I do.”

a/n: hello hello hellooooo, this one is more of a filler one to get everything started. Still, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. lmk your thoughts and if you want to be added to the tag list!

m.list || series m.list || wattpad

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10 years ago

The first time you ever met Kim Namjoon, the leaves were just beginning to change in color. The fall season was approaching. The greens of the summer were slowly fading into vibrant autumn hues. Replacing the obnoxious sticky heat, for humid and cooler winds. The leaves still hadn’t fallen, the foliage was at its peak and you were desperately trying to stay afloat. 

Somehow, you had gotten roped into a math class. Well, you weren’t necessarily roped into it. You were forced into it. It was part of the prerequisite requirements and because you had barely passed all of your Algebra exams in high school, you couldn’t plead the advisory board to accept those credits. They would’ve just laughed in your face and sent you away with a list of professors who specialized in the devil made subject. 

Now, you had hoped that college algebra was a bit easier, after three weeks of a summer intensive course you were proven wrong. You weren’t necessarily failing, but you weren’t passing either. Though, in a panic-induced state full of hope you had done the math - ironic, and came to the conclusion that if you didn’t pass the final exam, you wouldn’t be able to move onto part two of the class. 

If you had done things differently, you would’ve taken the classes at the start of your degree, just as your academic advisor had suggested. You didn’t and now you are two semesters away from a beautiful bachelors degree in arts. Achieving an impressive double major in Writing and Rhetoric and Journalism with a minor in International Communications, along with a tasteful three point nine GPA. 

You were almost there. You could savor it as you looked into master degree programs. The looming debt of your student loans was the least of your worries. At least for now. If you didn’t pass the stupid final exam, in one of the easiest math classes you could ever take in college. You would be growing a larger hole in your loan repayment agreement with the prestigious HYBE U. 

At this point you were desperate. Almost to the point in which you considered cheating. A blaspehmous thought that you only ever had in high school during science labs. Those gizmos computer stimulations were a quizlet file away, and the sweet taste of victory was even closer. 

Yet, quizlet wouldn’t work out in this scenario and finally you caved, putting away your pride for a little bit to admit that you needed help. 

A math tutor was the best option for you. Lots of college kids were desperate for another quick buck along with their less than promising part time jobs, while they struggled with juggling school in the process. You only hoped that the ad you posted on the HYBE U facebook group would workout, even if it had been a week ago and still hadn’t gotten any engagement. 

Maybe it was time to accept the truth, what’s one more extra semester. Sure, it interferes with your descriptive five year plan, but you could somehow modify it. Right?

Wrong? So very wrong. 

You needed a tutor quick. Probably in the next hour or so, because you refused to step foot in another math class again. Your life revolved around your rhetorical readings, feminist discoverings in Ancient Greece. You loved research, writing papers on things you found interesting, and developing a new perspective to already made discoveries. It was a rush. Not necessarily the writing part - it was tedious and sometimes you wondered why you even decided to pursue writing in the first place; but the sense of achievement and the ego boost you got when you typed the final sentence and the final period was euphoric. To then scroll through twenty plus pages of times new roman double spaced text that came from your brain, was a thrill. And one you would never achieve when it came to math. 

Ugh!

“You good there?” You knew that voice. It was all too familiar. You had spent countless hours sitting in a lecture hall with him telling you jokes and writing you notes retelling you the rumors he heard about your math professor.

So, maybe, your total inability to see patterns when it came to numbers wasn’t completely your fault. But the fault of the raven haired, toothy smile of the muscle bunny that you had befriended in both your science lab and college algebra courses.

You lift your head up to see Jungkook with his head cocked to the side. His right eye was a bit swollen due to the sty he had developed from scratching his eye too much with his dirty germy hands. So, he had to opt to wear his glasses, his right eye lens was a bit thicker than the left, making his eyes look a bit disproportionate. If you weren’t aware of how successful he was at getting around with both women and men you would’ve thought otherwise, due to his geeky look and fascination with RPG games. 

You groan, messing your hair with your silver ring cladded fingers. “No offense but math is the worst subject in this entire world. Why do we need it? I’m not going to use it to calculate the circumference of the can of beans I’m going to buy at the grocery store. Nor will I use the pythagorean theorem to measure the circumference of my pizza.” You rant, glancing at the time and closing your laptop. 

Your self study session was unsuccessful because all you did was refresh the facebook page hoping someone would take your twenty dollars an hour offer. 

Yes, you were incredibly desperate, even considering upping the price to appeal to more money hungry college students. 

“The fact that you’re using geometry terminology regarding a simple college algebra class tells me everything I need to know.” He grins, partially leaning his body to the side, resting his weight on the umbrella handle he was carrying. 

Fuck, you forgot it was going to rain today. 

Your day couldn’t get any worse. 

“Anyway, I’m guessing the tutor search isn’t working?”

“Bingo,” you snap your fingers at him before proceeding to gather the rest of your stuff. 

This was the part you dreaded the most. The agonizing walk to your math lecture. Honestly, if it weren’t for Jungkook consistently meeting up with you in the cafe that connected to the hallway in the math building to walk to class together. You would’ve probably never turned up after the first class. Hence why you’re not in a sinking boat. Just a partially sinking boat. 

Jungkook sighs, scratching the back of his head, watching you scoot out of the booth. He wishes he could offer you more help other than moral support and a few ‘You can do it,’  air punches. But between his computer science classes, and increasing doubt regarding his degree plaguing his mind, he’s found himself with zero free time.  

That’s when he remembers something. A small passing comment made on his way to bathroom last night as he was getting ready for bed. Maybe he does have a way to help you. His face lights up, alerting you. 

“What, why do you look like you’ve just seen a cheesecake on sale?” You adjust the strap of your leather bag, against your shoulder and make your way to his side, eyeing his umbrella. 

Would it be weird to ask him to walk you home after class? 

Shaking your head at the thought, a problem for later, you decide.

You shift your gaze to meet his. He’s biting the inside of his cheek and you’ve never been so desperate at knowing what goes on in that questionable head of his. He also never takes this long to say something. Once a thought pops into that head of his head, it's out in seconds because he’s afraid he might lose it. 

You can thank his ADHD for that one. 

“I think I might know someone who’s free on Tuesday and Thursday evenings that can probably help you out.” He squints, nodding his head, and you feel your mood turn right side up. 

You knew befriending Jungkook would end up benefiting you one day. Though, you do feel a little bit irritated, couldn’t he have told you this wonderful news, um, I don’t know a week ago as you two sat in this exact same booth, while he watched you make the stupid facebook post. 

You shove him a little, his umbrella buckling under his weight and he stumbles a bit, shock written all over his face. “What was that for?” He complains, taking a hold of his right arm in mock hurt. 

“You’ve seen me suffer and you’re now just telling me that you magically happen to know someone who can tutor me this entire time.” You huff, shoving past him, glancing at your phone screen for the time. Class was in five minutes, unfortunately.

“That’s not necessarily true.” He speaks from behind you, and you throw him a glare making him buckle under the pressure. The dramatics. He’s only been your friend for almost four weeks, but he’s already gotten used to you and he knows he’s hit a vein, and that you’re so stubborn any explanation wouldn’t work. It is always worth a try. 

“Okay maybe that’s true, but they’re pretty busy and I just assumed he would have a full schedule and no time to tutor you.” He explains, keeping up with your steps. The two of you arrive in front of the lecture hall with a minute to spare, you take it upon yourself to open the door, revealing the room full of stressed induced faces, quietly whispering to each other. 

You shake your head at Jungkook’s explanation, making your way to your usual seats. In the middle but on the outside for a quick escape if ever needed. “How do you even know this person? I thought you only had two friends.” You place your bag gently onto your desk and sit down. 

“Actually, including you, I have three friends.” 

“My friends don’t count either.” 

Jungkook rolls your eyes and slumps down next to you, spreading his legs wide, taking up all his leg room and part of yours. God, he was such a guy. 

“Do you want my help or not?” He says in feigned annoyance. 

You unzip your bag, fishing out your pencil and notebook, while he takes out his laptop. You could never understand how he was able to take math notes on a computer, but he was the self proclaimed computer genius. Well, his straight A’s in all of those freakishly hard classes were also proof, so, there must be a method to his madness. 

You sigh, setting your bag down in the empty seat next to you. “Fine, yes, please, my perfect Jungkook. I’m desperate, put me out of my misery.” You plead, hands clenched in front of you as the hushing of the students dies down, and the greeting of your Spanish accent written professor echoes throughout the class. It’s your cue to shut up and hopefully pay attention. 

“First, don’t ever say things like that.” Jungkook begins, leaning in closer to whisper, “it’s weird.” He says in disgust–the audacity. “Second, do you have plans after class?” He finishes leaning away and opening up a new blank document on his laptop. 

You shake your head at his question and click down on your mechanical pencil. You were determined to at least understand one thing in today’s lesson. Jungkook doesn’t answer, your professors voice booming throughout as he begins the lesson of the day, and you’re distracted in seconds by the light tap on your shoulder. 

You look over at your friend, his laptop screen turned in your direction so you can read the tiny invitation written in cosmic sans font. He’s a child. 

Come with me to Serendipity after class and thank me later :p

You look up at him rolling your eyes at the ending emoji. A child indeed. But you nod in agreement, you don’t know what or who is at Serendipity. Except for a solution. At least that is what you hope for because there’s a reason why you haven’t  stepped foot in there since childhood, despite Jungkook raving about it time and time again. The overpriced vanilla lattes is the main reason why. 

Yet, desperate times come along with desperate measures. And if you need to drop a couple more on your favorite caffeinated drink in order to pass math. Then so be it. 

Serendipity stood in between two worlds. It separated the lively college town from the perfect four person familial neighborhood. On weekday afternoons it was mostly frequented by college students who needed a change in scenery or remote workers with their bangs still in rollers and their eyes puffy from sleep. On Friday nights it was home to young adults grabbing dessert after a fulfilling dinner or a late caffeinated drink for a long night out. Tired office workers, likely forced to attend a company dinner, usually took up the long tables in the back wall of the first floor. 

Sunday’s were a favorite at Serendipity, young families would come from different parts of town to enjoy a late brunch. And morning runners would waltz in for a late caffeine kick before the strenuous work out around the lake that offered the cafe it’s  most famous view. 

Dionysus Lake.

Just as its name implies. The lake was a place for celebration, festivities, and madness. It’s where everything would happen for the first time. Your first fall, your first scrape. The graduation ground from a four wheeled bike to a two one. The first time you saw your crush outside of school. The first time you held hands with someone and the downfall of your first friendship with your childhood best friend—Sabrina. I was the breeding ground of impulsive decisions like getting drunk on the steps that led to the bank. With beer and soju you had gotten because you paid a broke college student scrambling in between odd jobs to buy them for you. The breeding ground of many triple dog dares and the place in which you decided what your future would be like. 

It was a right of passage from childhood to teenagehood and finally adulthood. 

It’s where couples that beat the test of time go to enjoy their last moments of humanity. Both the cafe and the lake are full of nostalgia, and so famous that it now became a must see spot from people all over the city. With inflation and the influx of people both the cafe and the lake were places you and your family had started to frequent less, until eventually it was out of your minds completely and the longing for just a fleeting moment to visit before the chaos was gone.

That is until today. 

Everything had changed so much. The rustic decor was now replaced with a mixture of antiques and plants hanging from every possible surface. The windows were now floor to ceiling and they opened up to a very cooling outside patio, where you could enjoy the view of the famous lake. They had even expanded to a second floor, and added a rooftop with fiery lights and wooden tables. It basically looked nothing like what you had grown up with and more like a pinterest board of garden core had thrown up on it. 

It also had more menu options, and gone was your favorite blueberry and mint tea you and your mom would enjoy whenever your anxiety spiked to levels in which you could not control. Everything had been replaced with something more expensive and trendy. A complaint that had been surrounding the cafe for years by everyone who grew up inside the walls. Though you hadn’t really believed it until now because you were finally working up the courage to see it for yourself. And the one thing you can only really think about—apart from the overpriced vanilla latte you had just paid for—was how could a place so familiar feel so unfamiliar at the same time. 

“Hobi always gives me a discount when I come.” Jungkook throws into the wind while he plays with the white buzzer in his hand. 

Unlike you, Jungkook and his family—from what you have gathered—were regulars. As soon as he arrived every worker greeted him with a warm smile and a simple hand wave. Some had added a mention of seeing his mom earlier. And if you hadn’t been convinced, the barista with the high nose bridge, sporting the floral shirt, a bright yellow beanie and khaki pants had already inputted his order before Jungkook could mutter the words “iced americano with a splash of vanilla syrup please.” 

“I’m sorry who?” You move your head closer, eyeing the way his hands wrapped around the buzzer. Desperately hoping for it to ring because although it was almost three and you probably shouldn’t really be drinking any form of caffeine at this time. Your body desperately needs something to keep you alert. Especially now that you were meeting your classmate's brother for the first time. 

A brother who could possibly save you from failing your college algebra class. He had told you a little about him. Apparently, he wasn’t really his brother, but his mother remarried his father when Jungkook was young, so to make matters easier for everyone involved. He would just introduce him as his older brother. He called him Joon and he was currently working on his masters in philosophy. A real pretentious nerd if someone were to ask you. They lived together in an apartment just outside of the college town, and according to Jungkook, who you have noticed likes to input his opinion where it really doesn’t matter. He was still a virgin, because he lived and breathed philosophy like one of those weird philosophers from ancient times. The only thing he needed was a laurel crown and a toga. 

His words not yours. 

Basically he didn’t really do a very good job at painting a good image of his older brother. And you were already having some negative opinions regarding him because you have dealt with a handful of pretentious boys in many of your classes that you really didn’t feel like adding another one to the mix. But again, you’ll push your preconceived notions aside. This was for your four point zero GPA and your five year plan. One more insult to your psyche and intelligence wouldn’t hurt.

Right? 

“The one that rang us up. He gave you one too, vanilla lattes are usually seven and you only paid six.” He points out before jumping at the sound of the buzzer going off. “I’ll get it.” He smiles standing up faster than you can protest, and walking off to the pick up counter. 

It’s strange that the two of you became friends or clicked so well. And you like to think that it was mainly because you shared a few classes more than anything else. He was a little energizer bunny, a right arm sprinkled with a few tattoos and a scar right above his eyebrow where a piercing had been. You were not far from the opposite, but you did have a social battery that would often run out before the end of the day. You valued the quiet and apart from the many earrings decorating your ears and the hot pink peekaboo dye job you had your mom do. You were deathly scared of needles and didn’t look nearly as rebellious as Jungkook did, even with his stupid nerdy glasses. 

“Hobi gave us cookies, on the house.” Jungkook says as he sets down the tray in front of you. “I think he might want your number.” He adds with a nonchalant tone before taking up his previous seat and getting a head start at setting the table.  

You tilt your head in confusion as he pushes a plate with a matcha cookie your way. “You’re talking nonsense. I heard you ask for a chocolate chip cookie before you paid.” You roll your eyes, grabbing your tall glass of coffee. 

Jungkook rolls his eyes, pushing the brown tray to the side. “I ordered a cookie but I didn’t order two.” He points to your cookie. “Plus he couldn’t take his eyes off you while you ordered.” He finishes and takes a long sip of his drink. He finishes with a refreshed ah and smacks his lips together in satisfaction. 

The drama. 

That’s probably another thing the two of you did have in common. You’re both dramatic in your own ways. Something the two of you discovered about each other two weeks into knowing one another. It was a long story that involved a stubbed toe and a papercut. One that wasn’t worth reminiscing about now because it added nothing to both of your lives. 

“I doubt that Kook, he’s just doing his job and he knows you.” You raise a finger at him and you take a long awaited sip of your coffee. 

Jungkook crosses his arms in front of you. “Okay then why did he ask me if you were single.” He adds in a matter of fact way. Cocking an eyebrow to prove his point. 

You narrow your eyes at him and kick him under the table. He recoils in pain, whispering explicits to not draw any more attention to the two of you. “You’re lying and I know you’re lying because I saw you order another cookie when you went to pick up our drinks.” You say leaning in closer so he can hear your whispering. 

Here’s the thing. Jungkook has been trying to set you up with every guy he deems is cute. You on the other hand are not interested, mostly because you’re still young with your whole life ahead of you. And right now the only thing that matters is your degree. 

What’s the rush?

He pouts, uncomfortably cradling his shin. “Fine, he didn’t give you a cookie on the house, but he did say you were cute. And he’s a nice guy. My brother is friends with him and he’s really funny.” 

You sigh, breaking a piece from your cookie. “I'm happy to hear that but you know that’s not a priority of mine now.” 

Jungkook rests his elbows onto the table and leans forward. “Have you ever heard of a work- life balance?” Because all you do is work and you should be out and partying. Your twenties are supposed to be full of fun.” 

“I do have fun, Jungkook.” You point out, putting the piece of cookie into your mouth before crossing your arms in annoyance. If you had a coin for every time someone in your life tried having this exact same conversation with you, then you’d probably be able to afford more of these over priced lattes. 

Jungkook sits back with his arms crossed, tonguing the inside of his cheek in suspicion. Sure, he’s only known you for a short amount of time, but every time he sees you around campus or meets up with you. You have your head buried in either a book or your fingers are flying across your laptop keyboard. He’s positive you don’t know how to have fun. 

“Fine name one instance in which you are not doing school work.” He challenges 

“My friends and I have board game nights every Wednesday and Sunday night.” 

Jungkook sits up a bit straighter, a look of shook written all over his face. “Wait, you actually have friends.” He says before lifting a hand to cover his mouth in disbelief. 

Before he can stop you, you kick his shin one more time and this time harder than the first time. This is exactly why you are surprised you’ve chosen to be friends with him. Sometimes he could get under your skin by just existing. 

“You know I have friends, Jungkook. You’ve hung out with them.” 

He doesn’t answer, instead he nods his head while he once again cradles his shin in pain. Maybe he crossed the line this time. He met Taehyung and Jimin more than once. And from what he was able to gather in the few times he’s hung out with the three of you. Is that Jimin might have a huge crush on you and Taehyung’s jokes aren’t nearly as funny as you make them out to be. Still, he thinks they’re cool. 

“Sorry I’m late, I missed my bus.” An unfamiliar voice speaks up and it makes the man in front of you sit up so straight you’re positive he’s going to break his back.

You raise a brow in confusion before turning your head to look towards the person who has the energizer bunny fix his posture and shut his mouth. 

The first thing you see is the flowy khaki pants, then his simple t-shirt topped with a blue and white checkered flannel. And finally your eyes land on his face, and the black framed glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. His hair hides under a navy beanie and your mouth almost falls open in disbelief. 

Holy fuck, wait a second. This is the man Jungkook was describing. The nerd of a brother who could possibly still be a virgin and has his nose stuck in philosophy textbooks? Out goes your preconceived notions of the man in front of you and now you’re downright confused because this man was hot and reeked of chillaxed energy. He probably owns a few plants, and bike rides on the weekend and visits a few buddhist temples for the experience. 

Nobody says anything as the man—which you perceive is now Joon—slides into the spot next to Jungkook’s. He hasn’t really looked in your direction, except for the short glance he sent your way when he first appeared. 

Jungkook scoffs in annoyance as he scoots over making it a huge show like it’s inconvenient for him to move over. “This is Joon.” 

“Namjoon.” The older one corrects before he extends his hand for you to shake. You hesitate for a second before shaking it and telling him your name. 

He nods, retrieving his hand and sets it down on his lap. There’s a brief silence as he looks in between you and Jungkook probably trying to make sense of the situation himself because if you were being honest you’re still stunned yourself. Though you know Jungkook and his brother aren’t blood related you can’t help but feel like good genes simply run in the family somehow.

Namjoon shrugs once he’s silently done making his assumptions and sets his arms on the table, clasping his hands together. In an instant his face is replaced from a pleasing and welcoming one to one that screams he’s honestly here for business and not to fuck around. 

“Are you the one that Jungkook tells me needs help?” He questions, earning a jab from the younger one. He doesn’t react and instead keeps going. “Have to ask because he’s been trying to set me up on blind dates thanks to our mom, so if this is what this is then I’m sorry but I’m not interested.” He nods before leaning back. Joon, or Namjoon doesn’t let you respond before he stands up and walks towards the order counter. There you see him greet the same barista who you now know is Hobi thanks to Jungkook. 

You don’t linger on his figure before you turn to face Jungkook. Who looks mortified beyond belief and you can’t help but laugh because things are simply just making sense. All of Jungkook’s backhanded praises involving his brother made so much more sense. He did mention he was an asshole but you just assumed that was a simple sibling thing. No, he was most definitely right. And he fit more into the description you had once assumed before even meeting him, minus the typical nerd look you had conjured up with the brief descriptions Jungkook had provided. He was hot, and could probably crack your heart open into two, but he was exactly like those pretentious classmates you’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of encountering all throughout your degree. But for some reason you aren’t as bothered by it, because in a way it was hilarious. 

Jungkook whines, “He can’t even try to be nice for a little bit.” 

You throw your head back laughing even harder, while Jungkook continues to grumble underneath his breath in annoyance. You laugh until your stomach begins to hurt and until someone clears their throat making your giggles die down slowly. 

“Why is Hobi giving out free cookies?” He points out before setting his tray down and taking up the seat next to his brother again. To which Jungkook silently gestures to the cookies and you as if to prove his earlier point. Namjoon rolls his eyes at his brother's actions before turning to face you. 

“He also told me to give you his number but I told him that I didn’t know you and that if he wanted your number he should just ask you himself.” He shrugs, taking a sip of his dark liquid and making the same satisfied noise Jungkook had made earlier. 

Ah, maybe dramatics also run in the family. 

You stir the liquid of your latte with your straw. “Um thanks I guess.” You take a sip of your drink as he nods. 

The atmosphere is so awkward that you want the entire cafe to fall through a hole in the ground. The three of you are silent before Jungkook’s phone lights up and starts buzzing. He quickly grabs it and silences it before standing up. “Sorry, I have to go. I forgot I had this thing to do.” He says inconspicuously before grabbing his book bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

You scramble eyes going wide as he adjusts the straps and straightens his black long sleeve. “Wait where are you going? I thought we had plans after this.” 

Jungkook bites his lip, silencing his buzzing phone again when it goes off a second time. “Sorry Bun, I have to really go, it's important. I’ll see you at home Joon.” He salutes before basically running out of the cafe. 

“Typical.” Namjoon catches your attention and rolls his eyes. “I knew he had something planned when he asked me to meet him here last minute. I’m really sorry about him but I’m really not interested in dating right now.” He says before grabbing hold of his bag and going to stand up. 

Your body is filled with panic as you watch him. You do have a few choice words for the person that just ditched you with his brother. But this could be your last resort and you weren’t going to let him walk away. “Wait.” You extend your arm in his direction. He stops slipping on his bag and raises a brow at you in curiosity. 

“I actually do need help. I’m close to failing my college algebra course…well I will fail it if I don’t pass the final exam.” You begin to explain, finally grabbing his full attention as he stuffs his hands into the pocket of his pants. “Jungkook mentioned you could probably help out.” You bring down your hand, circling both of them around your watered down latte. “That’s why I’m here. I promise this isn’t a blind date or anything.” 

Namjoon nods, looking at the entrance before sitting down again, sighing, his shoulders relaxing instantly. And you’re once again met with the same nonchalant demeanor he had approached you and Jungkook. Once again things started to make sense, why he had made the switch so quickly. It was something he was probably so used to by now, but now as he adjusts himself in the seat in front of you. You can see that maybe he could not really be that bad. 

“In that case I can stay.” He grins, pushing his iced coffee to the side. “I should warn you I’m not the best when it comes to math but college algebra is easy so I can help you out.”

You let out a big sigh of relief and nod your head. “Thank you so much you don’t understand how much you’re already helping me out by agreeing.” 

Namjoon chuckles lightly before reaching into his side bag and taking out a plain black notebook with a pen. “In that case we should figure out our schedules.” He opens the notebook to a blank page and uncaps the pen. “Does Tuesday and Thursday at seven work for you?” He tilts his head in question. 

You nod rapidly. “That’s perfect for me.” 

He hums and writes down your name with the agreed days and times next to it. He closes it quickly and puts it in his bag. “Great, I'll see you next Tuesday.” 

That’s it? It was that easy? Then why the heck did it take such a long time for someone to respond to your Facebook post. Especially when you had increased the payment. 

Payment. Oh you had forgotten about it, and from

What it seems like so did Namjoon because he was already getting ready to go again. 

“Wait.” 

He stops, eyeing you in confusion but you decide to continue. “How much do you charge?” 

Namjoon opens his mouth and closes it quickly. He puts a pensive hand on his chin before snapping his fingers in front of him. “I think you’re the one Jungkook mentioned about studying writing.” 

“Writing and Rhetoric.” You correct before he can continue going. He nods in acknowledgment.

“Yeah, that’s what he said. I’m sure he mentioned what I was studying and if I’m being honest I hate revising my own writing. So, instead of paying me in money you can just revise my work in exchange for tutoring lessons.” He offers with a shrug. 

You would be a fool to not take up this magnificent offer, so quickly you agree, extending your hand for him to shake. He takes it and for a second you swear you feel your heart drop down to your belly from just his touch. But you brush it off quickly when he retrieves his hand. It’s probably just the caffeine anyway. 

“Great, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.” He smiles, and this time it is wide enough in which you can see his cute little dimples. “See you on Tuesday.” 

Before you can respond with the same statement he’s already rushing out of the cafe. Leaving you alone in the booth, with three unfinished iced coffees and cookies. 

You can’t really make out anything, just that this was probably the longest day of your life. And that unbeknownst to you, you can slightly feel the light crack in the corner of your heart. One that you will later on learn was the moment Namjoon had started to infiltrate it.

hope you liked it!

[enchantedgrunge]

💖 Snapshot (Idol!Hyunlix x Reader) 💖

Chapter One - The Beginning - MDNI

Paring: Idol!Lee Felix x Reader x Idol!Hyunjin (Some Hyunlix action)

Word Count: 1.6k (I hope this isn’t too long!) 🫣

Warnings: I don’t think there are many maybe cursing? And some feelings of being too much for people?? Please let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Hello! This is my first ever written out fan fiction and I hope that it does well and is received well. Also, I am really bad a synopsis or intros so I will not be including one of those for this! If I do end up writing one, I will include it at that point and time! Enjoy! :) Oh, I want to note that Y/N speaks Korean fluently so everything she says to the kids is in Korean! If something is said in English, I will show that by having it bolded and italicized. Also, I refer to the group of them as “the kids” quite often! Let me know in a comment or an ask if you want to be a part of the taglist! Current no smut is present in this but there will be in the future MDNI ONLY. If I cannot find your age on your account, I will most likely block you! Thanks for understanding!

*Y/N POV*

You had been working as a photographer in Seoul, SK for about 2 years. You mostly did freelance photography and some bigger gigs, enough to make a name for yourself. You started to work with a few fashion brands in the past few months but nothing ever stuck or felt right. You were job hunting when you noticed JYPE was looking for a new traveling photographer / videographer for one of their KPOP groups. The name was not disclosed due to privacy reasons and wanting only serious applicants.

“Oi what the hell?” You said as you filled out the application sending over your resume as well as your portfolio. Little did you know, you were already under consideration for the position due to Bang Chan having found your work on Instagram and brought your photos to JYP saying he liked the style and thinks it would fit well for them and their next comeback.

A few days later you received an email from JYPE offering you the position you applied for and inviting you to an in-person interview. You stare at the screen in shock for a few moments unsure if this is really happening. You laugh to yourself and quickly type out a reply and scheduling your interview for the next day at 10am.

The next day comes and to say you were nervous was an understatement. You got dressed in a white sweater with a plaid pair of pants that fit your curves. You added a bag and a pair of sneakers since you do have to walk to the JYPE building.

(Y/N is a bit curvier than this in my head but feel free to picture them differently)

You arrive at the building and are greeted by a receptionist. “Hello, can I help you?” she asked with a soft smile. Her soft features were a welcoming sight. You gave a warm smile back as well, “Hi, yes my name is y/n and I am here for an interview.” The receptionist typed something into her computer and nodded. “Yes ma’am, I will let them know you are here, they will be out momentarily.” You needed and sat down in the lobby looking at your phone occasionally trying to control your breathing and doing a few calming techniques you have learned. A man comes down the hall he has a stern expression but just seems more serious rather than mean. “Hello, Mrs. Y/L/N?” You stand up and smile at the stranger, “Yes hello” you bow politely and then shake the man’s hand. “My name is Yeo-sun, but you can call me Yeo.” He leads you down a long hallway to an interview room.

“So, I am going to get right to the point Y/N, we want you to be a photographer and videographer for the KPOP group Stray Kids, have you heard of them?” Your mouth falls open momentarily before you nod. “Yes, I have they’re one of my favorites.” He nods and smiles, “Good that means you will be up to date on a lot of their information, but we still have some prepared. Basically, just a list of likes and dislikes when it comes to photos as well as video aspects.” You nod and continue to discuss the position, and everything involved, including the fact that you would be living in the same space as the kids. However, you would have your own dorm and bathroom, but you would just share common spaces like a living room and kitchen. This was to make it easier for you to film behind the scenes content as well as help with live streams and any other aspects the guys needed help in. This was also a bit of a PA job which you noticed. You could not turn down this opportunity and it honestly seemed like a fun time; you just hoped the kids were as nice in person as they seemed online.

“Are you ready to start today?” Yeo asked and you nodded. “I left my camera at home but if you have equipment for me to use, I’d be more than happy to start today.” You said as you fiddled with the strap of your bag and Yeo smiled at you kindly. “We have plenty of equipment but once you move here you will be welcome to use your own equipment.” Yeo said before standing from the conference table “follow me.”

Yeo led you out from the room and went down to the dance studio explaining to you this is where the guys should be at this time. You braced yourself giving yourself a small pep talk before you both walk into the studio. The lights are dimmed some, but Yeo turns them up making the 8 men in front of you stop what they are doing.

“Oi Yeo-Hyun why the sudden assault” the aussie leader you know as Bang Chan laughed. “Ah, good to see you too Chan, this is Y/N the new photographer and videographer.” Chan walked up to greet you. “Oh! Glad to see everyone took my advice! Hi Y/N, big fan of your work, I recommended you to the staffing agents” Chan said with a bright smile that was contagious, you found yourself smiling brightly as well. “Oh, you’ve seen my work? That is so kind of you. I am also a fan of your work.” You said with a smile causing the others to laugh and Chan’s ears to go a bit red.

“Hi I’m Han!” The man bounded over and shook your hand smiling brightly. You loved his smile; it was something you admired about him from afar. Each of the guys came up to greet you, you expected a lot of hugs and laughs which you got. However, the one person you expected to be the touchiest barely shook your hand. Lee Felix. “Hello, I’m Felix, you can call me Felix or Yongbok like some of the other members do.” He said simply and did a little bow as he shook your hand. “Hi, I’m Y/N as stated” you giggled softly at his formality, but he shied away and stood back by his members. “I hope you all come to trust me, since I will be with you and living in the same area as you.” You laughed and so did the others as they all sat down to take a breather from dancing. You looked over and grabbed some bottles from the fridge before handing them out to the guys. “Ah! Y/N you didn’t have to do that!” Chan laughed but took the bottle chugging it as they all did. You smiled brightly and just laughed fidgeting with the camera Yeo had given you before he left.

You sat down on the couch as the kids began to practice again. They were practicing for the new comeback, one you had only heard about via twitter. You were smiling and bobbing along to the music that you had not heard before. You hummed quietly and began to move around the practice space taking some behind the scenes photos that the boys could post on bubble or that could be posted as teasers for a practice room video.

*Felix POV*

He couldn’t keep his eyes off you, he was trying but it was hard. He watched as you moved around the studio taking photos and laughing when the other members interacted with you. It was like you had been with them since the beginning laughing and joking around with one another. You were beautiful. God, he was worried about showing affection to you like the other members. He normally didn’t think much about his preference to skinship, but that was before yesterday. He had overheard some other staff speaking about his over affection and how it made them uncomfortable. That was the last thing he ever wanted to do to someone. He knows what it’s liked to be uncomfortable when someone is touching or hugging on you, and it broke his heart that he made someone feel that way. So, he decided would just stay back and watch and be nice but not overly friendly.

*Y/N POV*

You felt accepted and safe with the kids despite being there for maybe 3-4 hours. The kids really made you laugh and feel like you were friends for years, however, something you didn’t expect was the distance Felix was keeping from you. You had always thought he was the most affectionate person, having talked about skinship and being one to show it more than others. He was always seen cuddling, hugging and touching the members and honestly it hurt a bit that he wasn’t that way with you. Did he not like you? Did you make a bad first impression? You tried to be respectful and kind, hopefully it was just new person jitters. Your thoughts began to spiral as you were thinking of all the mistakes you could have made.

“Hey Y/N are you a stay?” You hear Jeongin’s laugh, and it broke you out of your downward spiral of thoughts. You smiled up at him, since you were now sitting on the floor after getting some cool shots of the kids dancing. “Oh yeah I am, I’ve been following you guys since your debut.” You laugh feeling your face heat up a bit as they all look at you a bit shocked. “I uhm, really enjoy all of the work you guys put into keeping stays happy.” Your ears began to heat as Jeongin’s laugh broke your thoughts again. His smile so big his eyes were almost closed. “Oh, that's good!” he said as he sat down on the couch chuckling to himself.

Minho sat up from his position laying on the floor “Who is your bias then?” he asked with a smirk as your cheeks flared again so much you felt the flush going up your neck. “Ah I don’t think I should really talk about that.” You said getting nervous as you played with the setting on the camera again trying to stop blushing. “Ah come on Y/N pleaseeeeeeee tell us?” Han whined throwing you a bit of puppy eyes. You laughed and shook your head looking around and realizing this was going to be a fun job.

･ﾟPrevious [✦] Next [✧] Master List ･ﾟ

🩵🤍💖 Tag-list 💖🤍🩵

@telesvng

@soulphoenix1618

@amara-mars

@pullingateachotherlikemagnets​

[softkiseu]

to all mi moots / nabis, co carats ! 💎✨

let's play a mb reblog game. what's this game about? i ll give a certain idol group and the number of members will also be the amount of the participants who can join.

for more info ▼

muse : seventeen

topic : 𝟏𝟕 ❜ 𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𖧷𝐢𝐧𝐠

— boyfriend material. scenario that possible fits of the member pics. it will be amazing and your advantage if you'll have way different vibe from the other entries.

sequence : by age. oldest to youngest.

# of participants : 12, I'll be the 13th.

how to play : i 'll start the game with the first member depends on the sequence. then the person who pick or assigned to the second member will reblog my post with that mb they made. the other players will follow until we completed all the 13 members without breaking the chain.

the tags :

#17 dear darling

#navi's chain game

#seventeen

#the topic of your mb

exp : #summer vacay with s.coups

make sure to put this four tags first, second, third and fourth before adding moodboard aesthetics.

who can join : my moots or even nabis (followers) who can possible make their entry within 24 hrs. so make sure you'll remember that you willingly join this game and check everyday if its your turn. no worries, as a host of the game, I'll tag or alert you if it's your time.

time limit : 24hrs since the mb ahead of you been posted. this strickly a rule so we don't hold the chain for so long. if a user failed to drop their work, they will automatically be out of the game and be replaced by any moot who didn't able to have a chance to join, a new 24 hrs will be up again.

advice : so make sure you can able to make a mb within the time or a tip, start your mb even tho it's still not your turn yet.

drop in the comment section who member you want to choose. first comment first served.

muse user

scoups hrjyoon (softkiseu)

jeonghan diorpop (koosuvi)

joshua k-yujin

jun yeritos

hoshi interstellarz

wonwoo

woozi

dk wiotas

mingyu y-ves

the8 h-ao

seungkwan

vernon starmio

dino chwelotte

(i ll update this list when the comment start to pour in)

the game will start once all the members are taken and i dropped scoups mbs ( make sure to check my account @hrjyoon , the starting mb will be posted there and again i ll tag all the participants in the comment sec ) the possible period of the game, 13 days depends if everyone manage to follow the rule.

it's a game so there's a

WINNER!

winner by votes : yes we will put all the mbs in voting. except mine.

winner by navi : i ll choose a winner.

REWARD

two (2) winners

a customization mb ( muse by your choice )

set of icon and gif ( muse by your choice )

a shout out!

100 reblog ( your choice of ur own post )

a follow if i still didn't have a chance to follow yet.

the winner will be announce after the chain is finish and the vote from our dearest friends ended.

lastly, hope my lovely moots and nabis can participate. if not, there will be more future chain game. ps. please don't flop 🙏🏻✨ i just want to have fun with my precious community.

[tryingtodotheright-thing]

Hello Sunset - 7

AN: This chapter was hard to write for some reason. I'm still trying to get back in to the groove of writing so please bear with me things don't flow. Let me know which parts you enjoyed. Also, when I started planning this, I'd already weaved in that S.Coups enlisted as a public service officer so I won't go back and change things.

PAIRING: Seungcheol x fem!reader GENRE: exes to lovers, idol verse, angst WORD COUNT: 4,340 WARNINGS: reader has anxiety and depression, swearing, mentions of alcohol Text in blue is spoken/written in Korean.

Previous / Next

6 February 2024

Y/N reflected on the past week as she got ready for her date. The Sunday morning after their dinner, Joshua had added Y/N to a group chat with the other 95 liners and spammed the chat immediately with the pictures they had taken, mostly the goofy ones he had taken of Y/N before Jeonghan and S.Coups had joined. Y/N in response had sent through memes of Joshua. Jeonghan had then joined in, sending in unflattering pictures of Joshua that Y/N immediately saved for future use. She wasn’t that mature to not seek revenge.The ragging had teetered off eventually. They’d checked in on how everyone was handling their hangovers. Jeonghan had asked her what she was doing and she’d sent them a picture of her half-packed suitcase. Joshua, staying in character as the annoying brother, had nagged her to get it done and not procrastinate. She had sent him an eye rolling emoji in response. At one point, S.Coups had sent a message asking after her itinerary. She had confirmed the dates she’d be at each city and told the trio to send her a list of anything they wanted her to bring back. She’d gone back to packing as she chatted with Eun Ji, who had come over that morning with coffee and breakfast. 

Her phone pinged to let her know there was a new notification. Swiping the screen, she saw that she’d gotten a text from S.Coups that read ‘I’ll be there in 10 minutes’. She was still trying to come to terms with what was happening. Barring that short moment in the car, he hadn’t really given her a sign to say he was into her and she hadn’t wanted to read into something that wasn’t there. After all, they didn’t really know each other. But then, she got the text from him on Thursday evening. He’d sent it to her directly instead of the group chat.

S.Coups  Thursday 1 February Did you make it safely to Sapporo? 19:38

Y/N hadn’t expected him to remember, let alone check in on her.

Hey! Yes, I just got to the hotel actually. 19:45

Keep warm. It’s cold right now. 19:46

I will! Thank you for checking in 🙂 19:46

She’d thought that would be the natural end of their conversation but it wasn’t. 

Keep your Tuesday evening free.  I’ll show you around Sapporo.  20:16 If you want to. 20:17

Y/N didn’t reply immediately that night. She had needed to run this whole situation past Joshua first before she did anything. He was her friend first and he needed to feel comfortable with whatever was going on. She’d sent Joshua a screenshot of the message and then put the whole thing out of her mind. She had work the next day and that had been her priority. Fast forward to now, Joshua had given her the green light, saying he’d seen it coming and she’d been texting him all her nervous misgivings last night as she fretted over the ‘date’. Did he even see it as a date? She didn’t know. She knew nothing except the ever present flutters that right now made her want to throw up her lunch. 

Y/N wrapped the warming scarf around herself, gave herself a glance over before leaving her hotel room to wait in the hotel lobby. She’d suggested meeting him at the venue but he’d disagreed, saying it’s better to go together. They were heading to Odari Park to take in this year’s Snow Festival the city was famous for. The festival had been recommended to her by Makoto-san, the general manager for the Japan office, when she’d met him last Friday. It was pure coincidence and luck that her visit crossed over with the festival. Y/N was heading to Okinawa tomorrow with some colleagues to assess the operations there so she didn’t think she’d have time to go. As if he’d read her thoughts, S.Coups had asked if she’d like to go to the snow festival. Her anticipation for the evening was sky high though she tried to remind herself to consider it just a normal outing between friends. 

S.Coups was cloaked in mystery and his winter accessories, the mask, scarf and beanie hiding most of his features. He was dressed mostly in black, similar to the last time Y/N saw him. He was the picture of calm, hands casually resting in the pockets of the baggy padded jacket he wore and humming an unheard melody. He looked up at the sound of Y/N’s boots. A smile quickly covered his face though Y/N could only tell by the squinting of his eyes since the rest of his face was covered. Soon, Y/N stood in front of him, only a step away from fully invading his personal space. He looked so warm and comfortable that Y/N wanted to wrap her arms around his waist tightly. She instead gave him a quick bow with her head in greeting. He responded in kind before suggesting they head out. 

They stayed close yet far enough as they walked to the car, so that it wouldn’t take much for them to separate and pretend they were strangers. Y/N noticed the deliberate act and it reminded her yet again how different their worlds were. Yes, she was getting traction and much quicker than anyone had anticipated, but she never had to consider any of this. She maintained her privacy and her presence in the media was little. Maybe that would change in the future, but for now, no one cared too much about Y/N the person and what she was getting up to in her personal life.

It would have been quicker to take public transport but with Seungcheol (as he’d asked to be called) being who he was, it was prudent they avoided being out in public together if possible. The driver and the guard remained respectful of their privacy and listened to the radio on low volume as the pair in the passenger seats spoke. She broke the silence first, asking about his vacation and how he’d ended up in Sapporo. He explained that it was a reward for working hard during rehab and a much needed break before he picked up the pace once the holidays were over. The conversation flowed easily once the metaphorical ice broke. He told Y/N about this spontaneous trip with some friends to Sapporo for the holidays, how he’d wanted to enjoy the downtime before rehab intensified and he began to prepare to return to the public eye from his hiatus. He asked about the progress of her trip, being attentive and listening patiently as she lost herself in recounting stories from the past week. He asked questions that showed he was interested and it made Y/N feel shy. She was used to being listened to and respected in the office, but it was different getting it from Seungcheol. Y/N knew it spoke volumes how she sometimes allowed herself to be treated in her personal life, specifically her parents. She didn’t feel the need to hide away and turn the attention away from herself as was her norm. It was all because she felt his genuine interest. Y/N was really starting to admire Seuncheol the man as much as she admired S.Coups the artist. 

Odari Park was busy and they huddled close as they admired each sculpture. There were so many ice sculptures and it was fascinating that people could so precisely recreate anything from a castle to your favourite anime character in ice. Seunghceol enjoyed being able to move around so freely in a crowd. He enjoyed it even more with Y/N. She looked at everything with awe and was excitable in her as she took in each piece of art. He found it so endearing and couldn’t help but to smile at her cute mannerisms. She would get caught up in her excitement and forget to maintain the calm persona she’d planned to present that evening. Y/N found herself forgetting that she was just getting to know Seungcheol as it was too comfortable to spend her time walking around with him sharing their thoughts on what they observed. Whenever she would get too excited and get close to him to say something, he would smile at her softly and when she would get shy upon realising, he would tap her hands, like he did back in December, to get her attention and reassure her it’s okay by carrying on whatever conversation they were having. 

Though they took breaks, it was difficult to find a place where they can properly rest. Y/N became worried about the cold and Seungcheol walking around for too long that it starts to hurt him. Anticipating that he would say he was fine, Y/N instead asked Seungcheol if he was hungry as she was ready to eat. With that, they found themselves in an Udon restaurant not that long after. The pair sipped on a tea to warm up their bodies as they waited for their food to arrive. They compared pictures they took of the sculptures and of each other. They both debated on who had the best ones, sending each other pictures the other didn’t have. Seungcheol had also taken pictures on a camera, and he said he would upload those on Weverse but the ones he took on his phone was just for the two of them.

As they finished looking through their memories of the evening, Seungcheol lamented that they forgot to take a picture together. The guard, who’d kept them company from a distance for the evening, offered to take one. Seungcheol immediately moved to sit beside Y/N for a photo. He took his mask off and with no inhibitions, flashed a gummy smile at her before turning to the camera. Y/N immediately melted, not that she was upset or irritated, but with that one smile, he could get her to do anything. Once the picture was taken, he didn’t return to his seat. He remained beside her and this new arrangement meant that he’d lean in close and turn his head whenever Seungcheol had something to say to her or vice versa. Each time, Y/N thought her heart skipped a beat. Choi Seungcheol was not good for her health. 

He reluctantly returned to his original position when their food was served. The next hour flew by without either of them being aware. She made him laugh and he made her blush. They talked about Joshua. And the band. He told her about their antics but also the love they held for each other. In response, she shared her admiration of his role in the group, how he guarded and guided the members. Then, it was his turn to blush. He tried to brush off the compliments but she would repeat them till he accepted them. He thanked her and would smile sheepishly and look away from her sincere eyes. Seungcheol also returned the compliments, saying he’s been listening religiously to not just her album but all the short covers she’s been posting on YouTube again. There was a lot the two shared in common in terms of their careers as musicians but also in the concerns they had for their future. Y/N felt lighter as she talked about her worries and she hoped she’d equally helped taken some weight off his shoulders. 

It was still a week day and Y/N was travelling to Okinawa the next morning so they had no choice but to wind up their evening once they’d ravished their meal. Seungcheol asked about about her plans as he walked her back to the hotel lifts from the parked car. She confirmed that she'd be back in Seoul on Sunday. Y/N hesitated once they came to a stop in front of the metal box that would carry her to her room. Neither pressed the button, knowing it would bring a bittersweet goodbye. The cough behind Seungcheol from his guard was a gentle reminder to get a move on when they remained loitering. 

“Thank you for this evening and for the meal. You really should have let me pay.”

He scoffed at that.

“It was a really lovely evening. I’m happy I can call you a …” She hesitates on the word. “... a friend.”

He responds saying Y/N is easy to speak to and he’s sure she’d be a great friend. Like a balloon, she felt the air in her drop as her shoulders drooped.

“Maybe I didn’t make things clear and that’s really my fault.” She wanted the ground below her to swallow her up.

“I think you’re a great person and obviously a really good friend to Shua.” Y/N wished she could magically vanish.

“I’d really like to get to know you more … not as a friend but with the purpose of dating.” Pin drop silence. Y/N was sure she’d misheard. 

Seuncheol looked slightly nervous as he continued. 

“I’d like to take you out again when you’re back in Seoul.” Not getting a response, he rushed to say, “Think about it. I don’t need an answer now.” 

The flutters were back. She couldn’t meet his eyes but Y/N bashfully nodded in agreement. 

“Well. Uhm. I’ll get going. Good night and safe travels tomorrow.” Another meek nod. 

“Y/N-yah?” The honourifics had been dropped. He waits for her to look at him. His eyes were so hopeful but his twisting hands showed the apprehension. “Will you text me when you land on the 11th?”

She nods more obviously this time and that repeats the confirmation verbally. There was a spring in his step as he walked back to the car. Y/N dropped on her bed and squealed into her pillows as soon as she arrived in her room. Forget packing, she needed to unpack her evening with her friends first. It called for a group call between Eun Ji, Rachel and Y/N. The deconstruction of the evening went on for a couple of hours, part way through which, Y/N got up from the bed to multi-task, packing her suitcase and getting ready for bed. At the end of the call, Rachel had asked if she knew what her response was. The smile that blossomed onto Y/N’s face was enough of an answer.

Y/N and Seungcheol text over the next few days, sending each other updates mainly through pictures of the places they were spending their day at and of their meals. When Sunday evening arrived, as if he’d been tracking her movements, Seungcheol calls to make sure she made it back safely just as she walked through the doors of her flat. The pair end up talking on the phone till late, bringing each other up to speed on what the pictures didn’t say. Hearing the sleep in Y/N’s voice, Seungcheol knew the call had to end soon so he nervously asked her, just before they wished each other sweet dreams, if she had an answer for him. Y/N says that she’s planning the next date. 

From then, the frequency of their interactions per day increases. Alongside the pictures, they now text regularly through the day, each notification was a source of dopamine and they lulled each other to sleep most days. Depending on the time of the day, the messages moved between a spectrum of cute and flirtatious to teasing and flirtatious.  Seungcheol was more direct in his messages and Y/N was more honest and verbal about her feelings. They’re both busy, Y/N particularly so they struggle to agree a time for their next outing. It only made the flames burn brighter as they longed to meet in person again soon so they can pick up where they left things.

It was the day before Valentine’s Day or CARAT Day as it was for Y/N and Seungcheol. Y/N had a bad day at work and Seungcheol senses this through the delayed response and lack of pictures, particularly of her meals. Y/N was moping, wrapped in her blankets in bed, tossing and turning and huffing in frustration. She’d dealt with difficult stakeholders before; it was part and parcel of her job in the corporate world. However, it was her first time dealing with it so overtly and directly, where the person didn’t even bother to hide why they were being so rude and resistant to Y/N’s attempts to mediate. For a minute, she’d forgotten that in South Korea, the culture meant that her social status was different. It wasn’t to say that she didn’t experience racism or harassment growing up in London. She definitely did. The difference was that it was subtle. The racism was instutionalised and exhibited through unconscious biases and remarks that were then excused as ignorant due to not knowing better. This was different and it really hurt. Y/N was agitated and wanted to shout, scream, break a plate (maybe on that person’s head) but instead continued to mope. The sound of her phone broke her out of her thoughts.  

Seeing that it was Seungcheol calling, she answered, knowing she owed him that after sending him short responses all day. 

“XXXX by the Han River in 30 minutes okay? Go go go!” That’s all he said before he ended the call. 

An hour later, Y/N found herself almost jogging on the spot to keep warm as she waited for her bungeoppang to be made whilst Seungcheol joked with the stall vendor. He’d claimed this is the best bungeoppang in Seoul and that Y/N had to taste it or she was missing out in life. He’d been joking around since they’d met up and to Y/N it was obvious that all of this was a generous attempt to cheer her up. The piping hot snack was collected and the pair continued their walk along the riverside. They weren’t alone. There were still many people out and about despite the late hour and it seemed Han River was a popular dating spot. As a big group passed the pair, Seunghceol grasped her hand to move her closer to him. He went to let go of her hand but then intertwined their fingers into a stronger grip. His strong hold was thrilling and it gave Y/N a comfort she didn’t know she needed. It was as if something was different and the day had turned in itself to be a happy one. 

“Here, it’s cooled down a bit.” Seungcheol handed over the fish-shaped snack. She thanked him and took it, their fingers brushing off each others. She let out a happy hum as she took a bite. 

“It’s so good, Seungcheol!”

“Let me know whenever you’re craving it, I’ll buy you some.”

Y/N grinned at him and nodded. She swung their hands as they caught up on their day. He listened to her complaints with sympathy and was angry on her behalf. She was grateful that he listened and that he didn’t offer advice immediately but asked what she needed. Y/N knew that she was falling for him and deeply too. Seungcheol was very quickly becoming her favourite person. He was shaking her world and taking it to a new direction she’d never planned for. She was no longer resistant to it and instead welcomed it with her arms wide open. If this is who she gained, then she’ll cross her fingers and hope that he’ll always come to her. Everything else can be dealt with. As Seungcheol embraced Y/N to comfort her, Y/N made up her mind. She tightened her arms around his middle and buried her face in his shoulder, breathing in the scent that hypnotised her. 

“Cheol?” She spoke into his neck. He shivered as her breath brushed his skin. 

He murmured to say he’s listening.

“Can I kiss you?”

His arms relaxed for a second before he gripped her hips again.

“On one condition.” Y/N slightly pulled back to look at his face in confusion.

“Only if today’s officially our first day as a couple. I don’t kiss just anyone, you know?”

She huffed at his teasing and tried to push him away. He chuckled at her sulking and pulled her closer again till they were tightly aligned. He dipped his head down and paused a hair’s breadth from their lips touching. It was as if he was looking for some sort of answer. He caressed her face with his eyes before giving a nod, satisfied what he found. His eyelashes brushed against her cheek as he closed the final distance. Their lips brushed softly. Once then twice. His hands moved for one to hold her neck and the other her right cheek. He leaned in even closer, tilting his face to the left slightly as each kiss lasted slightly longer than the one before. His kisses were sweet, almost chaste and left her wishing for more. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and grip him closer but his beanie and her gloved hands stopped her. 

They were still outside in public and it must have dawned on Seungcheol as he pulled away after a few minutes. He looked down at her, his smile was radiant and Y/N wished she could look at it everyday. They stayed wrapped up around each other as they waited for their breathing to regulate. Y/N reluctantly unlocked the arms around him as he did the same. They stepped away from each other till they were a respectful distance. He laughed at her bashful smile and she pouted as she looped her arm through his so they can walk back to the main road. Y/N took a taxi back to her flat whilst Seungcheol was picked up his guard. Y/N thought 13 February 2024 was the best day of her twenties.

They talked everyday and made sure to see each other at least twice a week. Sometimes they would go for a late night walk like they did on their first date. Other time, he would spoil her and take her out. Most of the time, their dates were mellow, which suited both of their needs. Seungcheol became a regular visitor to Y/N’s flat. She would cook their dinner and he would clean up. Then, they would end up cuddling on the sofa, watching the TV or playing games. The weeks flew by with both of them occupied by their work and personal lives. 

Y/N was packing again to fly back to London for a few days. This time, he was there in person instead of texting her to ask about her preparations. Everytime Y/N would put something in her suitcase, Seungcheol would take it out. He whined about her leaving him and that he won’t even get to speak to her properly because of the time difference and distance. Each time he complained, she would drop reassure his with a pat or a kiss and promise that the time would flyby. It was just a couple of days, she would say. It did flyby and Y/N was back in Seoul on the 6 March, after making a pit stop in Paris for the Stella McCartney show at Paris Fashion Week. Seungcheol was waiting inside her flat when she arrived and hugged her tightly as soon as she crossed the threshold. 

He had organised a dinner with the 95 liners to celebrate her wins at the BRIT Awards. He promised that the devil twins would tire her out and it would help her get back on the correct timezone quickly. She immediately made a note to tell Joshua and Jeonghan what Seungcheol had called the duo so they would bully him and not her that night. A quiet gathering ended up boisterous and she wasn’t even surprised considering whom she was meeting up with. They all drank to their hearts’ content and some more than that. Some of the boys who were back in the dorms heard and crashed the gathering and it gave Y/N a chance to get to know them better. Cheol had dropped her off back at her flat and gone back to his shared place with his brother. He had a busy morning so she wasn’t expecting to hear from him till the evening. She’d planned to sleep in the next morning but her dream was interrupted by a call she received from one Director Shim Jae Hyun. He introduced himself as the main manager for SEVENTEEN. 

“I understand you’re currently dating S.Coups. I would like to meet with you to go through some details. Please meet me at HYBE offices at 2pm today.”

Current - 31 August 2025

It had been over a week since the Dispatch article had caused a media frenzy and Sian had released the statement on her behalf. Y/N had just finished filming for Good Morning America and wrapped up all of the last minute NYC promotions that had been scheduled as damage control over the last few days. She had a flight back to London that evening and would be back in the studio the next day as she still had tracks to finalise for her album. Sian had asked her to announce the release date during her interviews so she was committed to meeting the tight deadline. Before all of that though, she had a Zoom meeting to attend with Director Shim Jae Hyun, a few other executives from PLEDIS and HYBE as well as Sian, Emma and W Music's Chief Legal Officer, Martin Williams. Y/N connected to the call and was shocked to see who else was part of the call. She hadn’t expected him to join but she was surprised to see Joshua on the call. 

“Y/N, you’ve been avoiding me.”

Guess she was in trouble.

[noonaishere]

noonaishere Masterlist!

So now that I have more than one fic on this blog, I suppose I have to make a master-masterlist, for all the masterlists I have now. For all these masterful lists.

Here are the fics:

OLDER FICS

(These are all on AO3. Some have smut some don’t. Reader discretion is advised.)

Work of Art [Jeong Jaehyun]

By: noonaishere (main blog: symphonyofmars)

Fic type: social media au / traditional

Pairing: Jaehyun x fem!reader

Genre: slow burn, friends to lovers, college au (replacement for Dear.M? I don’t know about you but I’m still salty it was cancelled)

Warnings: allusions to emotional and financial abuse, backhanded compliments, negging, sexual assault, drinking, suicide mention

Status: completed!

SYNOPSIS:

Y/n is an art student who - through much hard work and many scholarships - has gotten accepted to the Neo Cultural Technological Institute, a foremost University in Seoul, Korea. There, she makes friends, keeps up with project deadlines, and meets one Jeong Jaehyun. She knows she’s there to work but… the dimpled dancer just might sway her heart.

[WORK OF ART MASTERLIST]

Online/Offline [Choi San]

By: noonaishere (main blog: symphonyofmars)

Fic type: social media au / traditional

Pairing: San x fem!reader

Genre: cafe setting, streamer, strangers to lovers, mutual pining, male lead secrets

Warnings: stalking, verbal abuse, online harassment, attempted kidnapping, “honey trap”

Status: Currently updating

Updates: Mondays and Tuesdays at 12pm EST

Synchronously posted with Music of the Heart

SYNOPSIS:

Y/n has been a faceless streamer since she was 17 or 18 and - even though she’s friends with an idol from a popular group - no one knows who she is. Things start to go wrong when someone posts a picture in front of her old job and she makes the move from her hometown to Seoul. What will happen when she makes a whole bunch of new friends at the nearby cafe?

Also, how does y/n’s existence connect to t/n, someone she’s never met?

[ONLINE/OFFLINE MASTERLIST]

Music of the Heart [Jeong Yunho]

By: noonaishere (main blog: symphonyofmars)

Fic type: social media au / traditional

Pairing: Yunho x fem!reader

Genre: music industry setting, musician/producer, enemies to lovers, mutual pining, running from the past

Warnings: overbearing parents, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, drinking, suicide mention

Status: Currently updating

Updates: Thursdays and Fridays at 12pm EST

Synchronously posted with Online/Offline

SYNOPSIS:

T/n has always loved music, though her experience of it wasn’t always the greatest. Forced by her parents to learn the violin - almost purely to climb the socio-economic ladder - she’s since forged her own path. She auditions at Wonderland Entertainment and becomes one of their studio musicians, but how will she deal with seeing her ex-best friend who also happens to be contracted under the company?

Also, how does t/n’s existence connect to y/n, someone she’s never met?

[MUSIC OF THE HEART MASTERLIST]

All my fics are filled with fandom in-jokes and if-you-know-you-know’s, so I hope you have fun finding all of them 😁

If you want to be added to a fic’s taglist, just comment or send an ask!

(also, if the tag list doesn’t work for you or something, just let me know)

[kpopsexstories]

Quick Fix Requests + Up-coming Stories + Story Finder Update

So this unintentionally became a bit of a gay week, but on Monday I've got a sensual story about Jimin and his wife – we're back to normal with (at least) one straight and (max) one gay story per week 😄

Speaking of straight smut, I'm getting ready to do Season 4 of my Quick Fix series – eight new short scenes about any idol x female reader. And I'd like some more requests to help me out.

I'd like to do as many requests as possible this season, but the majority of the ones I receive these days are either gay requests (I really want those too, don't get me wrong!) or deserve a longer story. More straight ones that would fit a single short sex scene with little to no fluff would help me right now 🙂 So keep the requests coming 😉

Speaking of what stories I'm working on, there are two good ways for you to find out:

The Up-coming Stories page on Story Finder (my external website with all stories from this blog) continuously gets new additions, especially in the "Planned Stories" section. If I've taken the time to make a thumbnail and add the story to that page, it means the story is fully written and ready to be published when the time is right.

The Status of Requests page lists all requests I *might* still do (already published requests and those I know I'll never do are excluded from the page). If you've sent a request and wonder why you haven't seen a story yet, check out that page to see the status – and send more, because you never know what's gonna stick 😉

And speaking of Story Finder, I've got some new features on there that you might like:

A Statistics page for requests where you can see a number of things: how many requests I've received and what percentage have already become published stories, how many requests are gay vs. straight, and what groups are most requested.

On the Idols & Groups page I've added a new tab that shows the most requested idols. Jeno, Ten and Winwin are currently the most popular, but all idols that have received at least one request appear on this page. If your bias isn't on there, send a request for him 🙂

The individual pages for each idol have also received a make-over. When you click on an idol's thumbnail you will now see: 1) the stories I've published about them, 2) other idol's stories in which they are featured, and 3) a list of requests I've received for them.

The Most Popular page has been updated to reflect which stories are currently most liked (on Tumblr). On this page you can now also see which stories gained the most likes since the last time I updated the numbers on Story Finder (which I do roughly once a month). Hint: The most recent gay stories are topping this list!

Related to the above, on some pages you now see "🆕 New Story" in the thumbnail of some stories. This tag is automatically added to stories which have only had their 'likes' added once, so in practice all stories that are less than a month old.

Most of the above is related to requests, so that I (and you, since I share all this publicly!) can get more insights about requests, what idols are most requested, and which requested idols I've yet to write about (and maybe should prioritize next? 😏).

Too much? Too nerdy? Maybe, I don't care, I'm having too much fun with this! 😅

And finally, I said this past week was a gay week. Did you miss any of the stories?

TXT hooked up with a (male) stranger in a locker room. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Jaemin's first part (of two) of the NCT Dream Dating Ban series is out! He's the last member you haven't slept with yet and there's a reason why 🧐 Part 2 will be out on Thursday (November 14, 2024).

[nogenderbee]

hey hey!! May i possibly request pjsk girls with a reader who loves drawing/art? Have a lovely day!! <3

Hello, my darling anon! I absolutely love your idea but there's overally 15 girls so I had to make 2 parts out of it. I'll post 2nd part the next day this will be posted! But anyway I know it's short but I hope you enjoy either way <3

PJSK girls with reader who loves art part.1

Tag List: @qwnelisa - come get your charming idol~

⊱ Ichika didn't noticed your love for art at first, it's later on when she walked into your room for the first time and saw a bunch of drawings on your desk and she's absolutely impressed by your skills

⊱ definitely will ask if you can draw Miku or if you have any drawing of her, and if you do then she'll also ask if she can keep those drawings

"Your art is so pretty! Do you have any drawings of Miku? And if so, can I see them?"

⊱ if you just like art and don't really like to draw, she'll gladly show you some of her favorite fan arts and also will gladly see some of your favorite arts

"I recently found this new fan art of Miku and other VIRTUAL SINGERS, and I thought that this may interest you a little!"

⊱ Saki noticed doodles in your notebook you borrowed her since she wanted to catch up on some lessons, and she couldn't blame you for doodling in class but... they seemed really professional!

⊱ when she notices yes u draw a lot, she'll compliment and find something she adores in EVERY SINGLE art of yours

"I love the way you accented those clouds in this one! They seem so fluffy, I just want to hug them!"

⊱ if you're only interested in art and not in drawing yourself tho, she'll ask everyone she knows for good art exhibition, and will gladly go there with you

"Hey YN! Guess what?! I found a really cool art exhibition that will have place in this week! Do you want to go there?"

⊱ Honami found some of your drawings when she was helping you clean your place, it didn't had to be REALLY messy, she just wanted to help you with house work after stressful day

⊱ after seeing how good you can draw, she's really impressed by your skills and that you're so patient for activity like this

"You really drew this?! Wow... you must be really patient then! Whenever I try to draw it always turns out badly..."

⊱ if you don't draw and just like art, she will take you on a bunch of art exhibitions, she often gets informed about new events thanks to her job, so you can be sure she'll suggest something good

"I heard that there will be an art exhibition and it'll be held by the same person who held that great exhibition we couldn't come to last year!"

⊱ Shiho noticed how saw some of your drawings on calm dates of yours when you spend time in comfortable silence and she didn't mind, you liked it so she supported you

⊱ if you share your drawing with her and ask her for honest opinion then don't expect her to hold back, sure you might be her lover but she'll still give you friendly criticism

"It's not bad... but I feel like this part ruins the whole drawing... I can't tell what's wrong tho since I don't know much about art... maybe try adding some more colors?"

⊱ if you only like art and don't actually draw, she'll gladly listen to you about it all and definitely will explore a little more about artist you're interested in the most

"I checked that artist you liked and I really like this one painting of theirs. What's your opinion on it?"

⊱ Minori once asked if you know anything about art because her groups next stream was supposed to have art theme and luckily for her, you did!

⊱ if you showed her your drawings, she's absolutely amazed by your skills and will compliment every single one of your drawings

"I didn't knew you could draw like that! They're so pretty! Can you show me your sketches as well?"

⊱ if you're only interested in ary and don't actually draw, she still would like to know your favorite artist so she can share them with her group

"These are drawings of your favorite artist? They're so pretty! I'm sure everyone on stream will love it as well!"

⊱ Haruka was telling you about book she read recently and really liked, and you couldn't help but remember drawing you had about the same or very similar topic to her book

⊱ if you show her some of your drawings, she definitely would be amazed by you and will ask if you have any recommendations on logo she wanted to give her group merch on social media

"Your skills are really impressing! Do you have any idea how to make my groups logo look better?"

⊱ if you don't actually like to draw and just like art, she'll show you some drawings she found for your opinion, after all she'd like to know your likes and dislikes in art so she can find some exhibitions you'd like to visit

"I recently found this drawing and really wanted to know your opinion about it."

⊱ Airi saw some of your drawings when she was hanging out at your place and was looking for some of her lipstick she left at your place

⊱ she honestly was pretty amazed by how well you can draw and will ask you if you can help her design some of the decorations she thought for her groups next performance

"Hey, listen there. I thought about making some hearts since it'll be a love song but I don't want some basic hearts!"

⊱ if you're only interested in art and not on drawing yourself then she still thinks you can help her with decorations just by expressing your opinion (she'd also like to introduce you with Ena)

"Hey, I recently drew a little sketch for our next performance and thought that maybe some friendly criticism would be nice!"

⊱ Shizuku always wanted to know about your interests so she probably discovered your passion for art very quickly

⊱ naturally first thing she did was ask if you had any drawings and if you did, she'd absolutely love to see them. And once you do show her, she won't stop complementing how good artist you are

"These are so pretty! I can see all the passion you put into this! And all the colors are making me so happy just be looking at them! And this part is..."

⊱ if you're not interested in drawing but are interested in art then be ready that she'll find you MANY art exhibitions, which is why some of them aren't really good but it's the thought that count, right?

"I found so many art exhibitions and they're all close! We can even have our date there!"

❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉

[kangsxsienna]

hello! happy to be here as kang siyoung / sienna, angelic’s main rapper & dancer and a soloist in her own right. i was here before at famed as san, kami, xi and etc! i’m also bringing san and will be posting his intro as well! below the cut you’ll find links, some facts and a few idea bunnies! 

Profile / About / Career / Plots / Open Claims  ( i’ll be working on adding variety and extra things but right now it’s focused on music / choreo related things. not listed but also applies if you wanted a role in mv or directed one.  if people want to back-date working with her or if you’re thinking of bringing a new muse and want to add things to their career.) 

facts:

kang siyoung or sienna. sienna is her english name and she since used it as her stage name 

adopted at two years old by parents who’s relationship quickly went south. both still support her but their focus is moreso on their new families respectively. 

got into everlast and debuted in angelic as the groups youngest member, main rapper and dancer 

got into a bit of trouble in high-school because she went out of her way to take the boyfriend of a girl she thought was a bitch and bully. #noregrets 

started to work on the group’s sound in 2015. she since then she’s worked on every comeback in someway including, song-writing / producing, choreography, styling. she’s also done this for other groups canon groups in the rp as well as it being one of her main focuses of income for smaller npc groups in the universe 

random but she’s not good at variety, during promotions one or two shows that are in a group setting though, she does have a love for crime scene 

performances at underground clubs / small festivals and mainly college festivals, her biggest festival performance was this year at waterbomb 

her youtube channel has her personal videos, music videos, dance videos and etc. one stop shop 

is a perfectionist work-a-holic 

trying to work on not being so cold and deadpanned 

is a good artist and likes to go on live and sketch sometimes 

comes off a tad cold and honestly, she likes it that way but is less formal once you get to know her, unformal if they’re friends 

does NOT have a chip on her shoulder when it comes to family and how she feels about hers.

no chip

nope not a one

loves anything horror. listens to the true crime podcast, scream posters, watches the wailing like it’s a romantic comedy 

as a unique relationship with her fans as she’s always had boundaries. has a strict relationship with them in what she shares and how. 

was the sexy-cutie in her group and it fit her well. that being said, her solo popularity didn’t carry over to solo work. often dismissed for her looks but the bigger issue was that the concept didn’t work with her. she has seen a rise since curving out a concept for herself with culture creative. that being said, her reputation is fairly high. known by staff and idols as a hard-working. (still goes around to pass out her album) though people might not know her, they don’t hear bad about her. and then her fandom is pretty good all things considered, she has slightly above average sales for a soloist but a lot of her engagement comes from social media, her connections and etc. 

ideas: (copied from my plot page bc #lazy) 

family relation! she would be the oldest sibling on all sides, unless she step-siblings were older but any half-siblings would most likely be younger! including her birth siblings that she knows about but don’t know about her 

i have to check to see if she has any over-lapping credits, but any connections from them working on something together as creators or an artist or group she did work for!

a little gc of song-writer / producers and they send each other little audio snippets and be amazing together 

one or two ex’s, bc home girl did focus on her career more than her relationships, she also blew threw some people, thinking they were on the same page (they weren’t) 

the one that did break her heart (or will?)

that nice core group of 3-4 friends 

the one bff that you can’t replace

possible enemy? 

someone who catches her resting bitch face and now there is a problem 

featuring on her youtube channel? 

planning to release music together 

some friends or peeps from high school? 

related to the above fact, if your muse was a mean girl or mean girl ish in high school or the boyfriend that she stole and then dropped shortly after 

dancing related friends

stylist related friends 

art friends 

like this and i’ll come to you or if you see something that checks out, lemme know! 

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

"Hey chunker, we appreciate you're working on Minori's bio, but what about the rest of us? You can't have one idol without the rest of the group, right? Besides, you're making icons for all four of us right now--"

"Airi, don't you think it's a little bit rude to call this gentlemen 'chunker'?"

"Not only that, but he's doing hard work already as the mun. Would it be fair for him to let him do this on his own pace?"

"I mean...You all got a point, but still..."

Airihead, your friend's got a point. I'm still considering whether I want to add the rest of you to the blog, cause you know-- a slot in the blog means a new muse in the blog and have you guys see how big that list is?

"Didn't stop you from working on a bio for Minori, so that's a load of hot air. speaking of, you have a whole lot more work ahead of you in the blog than just adding more muses, no?"

Okay fine I'll add you guys in about a year or so.

"--Wait hold on-- NO, w-we can negotiate on this!!"

[callmeagardengnome]

𐙚 ink my heart 𐙚 - chapter 2

w.c. - 2.8k words

pairings - idol! lee dong-hyuck x tattoo artist! fem! reader x idol! mark lee

genre - romance, strangers to friends to ?

synopsis: being a tired university student with no interest in life was something you were satisfied with until you unexpectedly become friends with an idol.. but what if it becomes more?

not proofread!

previous / next

masterlist

You rolled over to the other side of your bed, plucking your phone from its charger. The brightness of your phone blinding you before displaying a ‘5am’ on the screen.

It’s been about 4 days since you first met the three guys. For the record, you truly enjoyed your time with the them. However, the idea of disrupting your everyday routine seemed.. scary? Work, school, tattoos - these things have been the bane of your existence and yet you’ve always found comfort in them. It was almost like a safe space. Adding friends to that list seemed.. off.

You never liked change. Change frightened you - which is why you to stuck to the same routine, same food, same clothes. This could be the reason why you haven’t reached out to Haechan yet.

You weren’t good at keeping friendships, so what made you think you could start now? What if you’re not as fun or cool as they think? What if, once they get to know you more, they realise that there isn’t much beneath the surface?

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitating as anxiety filled your stomach. Sighing, you started to text Haechan.

@‘____’ hey dong-hyuck! i was just wondering if the three of you are free next thursday? i dont have classes or clients that day :)

You nearly threw your phone across the room as you hit ‘send’ on that message. Did you sound too eager? Too casual? What if he doesn’t respond?

You pulled yourself away from your bed and started to get ready for a tiring day. You dragged your feet to the bathroom, squinting as the harsh white light hits your face.

You looked in the mirror where the dark circles under your eyes act as evidence of another sleepless night. Your body went on autopilot as you moved to brush your teeth and pack your bag.

You performed your daily morning ritual of staring into your empty fridge before realising you could barely afford to buy actual food. Annoyed, you grabbed the lonely apple in your fridge right as you left the door.

As you sat in your morning lecture, you tried to distract yourself with note-taking, but your thoughts kept drifting back to the unread message. You tapped your pen against your notebook repeatedly as you looked around the classroom. Everyone else seemed so focused in their work, and yet you couldn’t even concentrate on the board in front of you.

You unwillingly joined a group discussion, hoping that a conversation would help anchor your thoughts. You nodded just enough to appear engaged but your mind was still elsewhere. Just as your classmates were debating a point, you felt a slight buzz in your pocket.

Your classmates voices faded into the background as a surge of excitement shot through you. You thought about whether you should check your phone now, but you reminded yourself of the money spent on the class. You were not allowing a single notification to disrupt your class.

By the time the lecture ended, you finally absorbed the material being taught. You (luckily) caught up with the pace of the class and you slowly forgot about the buzz of your phone. You packed your bag and continued on with your next class.

Your daily commute of two hours to the tattoo studio was a grueling routine you were used to. You were about to pull out your sketchbook and work on new tattoo designs, until you remembered that you had a message to check.

@‘____’ hey dong-hyuck! i was just wondering if the three of you are free next thursday? i dont have classes or clients that day :) read 3 hours ago

@dong-hyuckkkk NOOO we have something pretty important that day… Are you free any other days?

Well, crap. It’s very rare that you have a day off - one that’s free from both work and school. Since you’re the only tattoo artist there, it made requesting the day off more of a hassle than it needed to be. While you could try to postpone a client’s session, you didn’t want to go through the long process of rescheduling again.

You continued to text each other, trying to coordinate your schedules. But it seemed like the universe was against you. Every time you were free, he was swamped with work, and whenever he had a break, you’re buried under assignments and tattoo clients. You realised just how busy the both of you were.

@dong-hyuckkkk I’m actually so sad that we can’t meet :( You’re 100% sure you have no other time..?

@‘____’ yep.. :/ why are we both overworked???

@dong-hyuckkkk Right?? It’s pissing me off.. Either way just text me if you manage to free up your day

@‘____’ yeah of course! you too :) read 2 minutes ago

You reached the tattoo studio with a sense of disappointment lingering in your brain. Not only would you be unable to meet the guys for who knows how long, the entire commute was mentally exhausting. You pushed your feelings down the drain, before taking a deep breath and focusing on your job.

A few months passed by and the interaction you had with the three guys became a distant memory. From time to time, you would like his Instagram stories, but you started to accept the fact that it was just a one-time interaction. You felt more frustrated than ever, struggling to keep up with your pile of assignments.

When you finally had a break, you were dragged to a music festival by a group of your classmates. You had been working on a tough group project with all of them and they decided to go out for a celebration.

Despite the success of your project, you couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hesitant to invite you out. Their shifty eyes and fidgety hands made you unsure if their invitation came from genuine interest or pity. In the end, you reluctantly accepted their offer and followed them to go to the music festival.

You’ve never felt more out of your element than you did right now. It didn’t matter whether or not it was considered a ‘small’ festival, the sounds of people overwhelmed your ears.

You found a sleeveless red dress in your closet, one that showcased your tattoos perfectly. You put on makeup and the cowboy boots that were neatly tucked away at the back of your closet.

Your classmates told you to reach early so that you all could be at the barricade, but you left the house later than you wanted. You ended up near the back crowd, where you could barely see the stage.

“Hey! Uh- do you know who’s performing?” you asked a random girl that was nearby. She looked at you confused, “WayV.”

‘WayV…?' You’re weren’t up to date with the current musicians. You would only listen to the radio with no intention of delving into the artist.

However, being separated from your classmates was your main concern. They promised that they would be your ride home, but with your phone battery dying, you were worried you won’t be able to reach them.

Nearing the start of the performance, you heard a distinct and familiar voice that said, ‘Woah.. she has really cool tattoos.’

You started to look around, confused. You assumed that they were talking about you and your curiosity made you try to locate the source of the voice.

Your eyes landed on a two men - both wearing masks and caps. Huh, you started to remember the first time you met the three guys. A sense of familiarity washes over you as you look over at the pair.

As you got closer to the them, you could hear snippets of their conversation and the sound of their voices - which confirmed your suspicions.

“Wait.. is that ‘____’?” you heard Mark exclaim.

As soon as you were noticed, you were immediately pulled into a hug by Haechan. “No way! What are you doing here?” he asked before letting go of you quickly.

“I could ask you the same thing!” you replied as a smile spread across your face. “My classmates dragged me here.”

A chorus of ‘ahhhh’s was heard from the pair. “Yeah I kinda figured.. this doesn’t seem like your scene,” Mark muttered before adding on, “It’s good to see you by the way.”

“We’re here to support them,” Haechan said as he pointed towards the stage where WayV was performing.

You nodded as you asked, “Can I join you guys? I got separated from my classmates…”

They looked at each other briefly before Haechan said, “Sure, join us.”

As the performance continued, you couldn’t help but notice their odd behaviour. They kept readjusting themselves so that they wouldn’t draw any attention and they weren’t cheering as much as the people around them.

“You guys come to these things often?” you asked, trying to make conversation over the music.

“No.. we’re usually pretty busy” Mark said, keeping his voice low. “But we didn’t want to miss this performance.”

“Makes sense…?” you murmured. You were still puzzled by their behaviour.

They kept their masks on most of the time, only lowering it briefly to take a sip of water. It was a bit unusual but you shrugged it off, maybe they were just cautious.

During a quieter moment between the songs, Haechan leaned towards you. “Have you eaten yet?”

You met his eyes that were filled with concern. “No.. I was actually gonna ask if there were any food places nearby..”

Mark, who overheard your conversation, blurted out, “You didn’t eat yet??” You shook your head ‘no’ before he gestured you to follow him.

Mark led you to the area where the food trucks were. You looked at the different food options that they had. The delicious aromas made your mouth water, but the prices reminded you of why your fridge is still empty.

“Um.. I’m actually not that hungry anymore.. I can just stop by a 7/11 on my way back,” you said, hoping that he would bring you back to the performance.

“Are you sure? You have to eat something.” Mark frowned slightly. “Wait here.”

Before you could protest, he was already jogging towards the counter and ordering food. You felt a twinge of embarrassment as you watched him pay for the food.

“You didn’t have to do that..” you said softly as he handed you the food. He even got you a drink.

“Nah I wanted to,” Mark replied while shrugging. “Plus we haven’t seen you in a while, might as well get you food.”

You couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on your face. “I'm paying you back once I get my salary.”

He chuckled as the both of you walked back to the group, “Whatever you say.”

You were having a lot more fun than you thought you would have at the festival. You weren’t sure if it was because of the music, (the free food) or the company but it made you realise how enjoyable an outing could be.

You felt upset when the performance ended, not realising how dark the sky turned from when you first came.

As everyone talked about how good WayV was, you reached for your phone to text your classmates. “Crap..” you mumbled while trying to turn on your phone.

“Are you okay?” Mark asked as he watched you aggressively tapped the power button.

“I’m supposed to text my classmates.. they’re my ride home,” you answered frustratedly.

Haechan looked between you and Mark before mentioning, “I have a charger in the car if you want.”

“Really? That would be a life-saver, do you guys mind?” you asked hopefully.

“Not at all,” Mark said while bringing you over to the car.

The three of you huddled around the charger, waiting for your phone to revive.

“Dude- honestly your phone is kinda old,” Mark said with a baffled expression on his face.

“Stop trying to be nice Mark, it’s super old.” Haechan commented while looking at your phone. “I’m surprised it even works.. don’t you wanna get a new phone?”

“Believe me I do.. I can’t really afford it though,” you replied while brushing the hair off of your face.

A moment of (awkward) silence passed by in the car, before Mark mumbled, “Dude, I can’t get over how sick your tattoos look.”

“Right??” Haechan agreed excitedly. “I’ve been saying that since I saw her earlier.”

You felt a flush of warmth at their compliments, “Thanks guys..” You didn’t usually show your tattoos off. Whenever you did, people would stare judgmentally at you, and you didn’t have the energy to deal with that type of attention.

Haechan asked while shifting closer to you, “Did you design them yourself?”

“Mhm, I’ve always liked drawing so tattooing just seemed like the most obvious choice.” you answered as you moved your arm to showcase more of the tattoo.

“That’s so cool,” Haechan said as his eyes lit up. “You know.. some of our membe- friends, want to get tattoos.”

“Really?” you asked, suddenly feeling a surge of excitement. “You guys should come down again.”

Mark sighed. “We want to.. but our schedules are always packed..”

“Ah…” The fact that you were all very busy people re-entered your mind. Your incompatible schedules was what held the three of you back from hanging out in the first place. Feeling disappointed, you gave a slight smile, “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

As your phone finally powered up, you noticed a few missed messages from your classmates. You left the van, feeling the cold air hit your face. You dialed one of your classmates numbers and waited for them to pick up.

“Hey- where are you guys?” you asked while looking around.

“Huh? What do you mean..” They said confused. “We thought you didn’t show up so we left without you.”

You felt a pang of frustration, “Seriously?” You didn’t blame them but you couldn’t help yourself from feeling angry.

“Sorry, we didn’t see you.. Are you gonna be okay going home?”

“Yeah, I’ll manage. Thanks,” you said before ending the call.

You walked back to the car while letting out a deep breath, trying to shake your disappointment. As you collected your purse, you saw Haechan and Mark looking at you with concern.

“I’m taking the train again.” you announced, forcing a smile. “Thanks for helping me guys.”

“Wait what?” The both of them said in unison.

“Yeah.. my classmates thought I didn’t come so they left,” you said while sighing. “Not their fault but now I have to go home alone.”

“We can give you a ride home again.” Haechan suggested.

You hesitated, you didn’t want to impose. Not only that, it would be the second time they had to help you get home.

“It’s okay, I can get bac-“

“Nope,” Mark intercepted. “You’re coming with us. We're planning on leaving soon anyway.”

“Are you sure..?” you asked, feeling a mix of relief and guilt.

“Absolutely,” Mark said with a reassuring smile.

As the car started moving, you settled next to Haechan. “Thanks again for the ride,” you said, glancing at the two of them. “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Haechan replied. “We’re happy to help.”

The car drove by the bright, city lights that created a blur of colours outside. While on the inside, the atmosphere was warm and relaxed. Mark leaned back in his seat as he drove, casually talking to Haechan about the festival and other things you didn’t catch. You allowed yourself to tune out the conversation, feeling more at ease with every passing moment.

Haechan noticed your silence and tapped you gently, “You okay? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

“Yeah… just tired,” you admitted. “Haven’t gone out in a while.”

Mark nodded in understanding. “Mhm, festivals can get overwhelming sometimes.”

The conversation continued and you felt yourself nearly falling asleep. Just as you were about to, the van reached your train station.

You reluctantly shuffled to the exit. You were enjoying their company much more than you thought and you never expected yourself to feel sad when the night came to an end. It reminded you of how you felt the first time you met.

As you left, you turned around to thank them again. “It was great hanging out with you guys.”

Haechan nodded in agreement, “Hope we can meet again soon.. maybe next time you can show us your tattoo designs.”

You smiled genuinely before waving them off. You heard Haechan shout a ‘STAY SAFE!’ as they drove away.

You changed out of your clothes and removed the makeup you put on earlier that day. Normally, you would feel ecstatic that you’re finally home, but this time you felt slightly disappointed.

You laid in your bed, taking in everything that happened. You don’t remember the last time you smiled this much.

Sighing, you grabbed your phone from your purse. As you were charging it, you noticed a notification that displayed:

‘@mork_lee requested to follow you’

author's note: hope you guys enjoy it! sorry that it took a while ;-; i cant promise a consistent upload schedule.. either way please make sure to like and repost! any and all feedback is appreciated <3

[zannatykhatun]

Two ads have more than 1 million likes. He is the hit maker in 2023

A single video has over 2 million likes, and amateur transformation is still a traffic password. A piece of news broke through the information cocoon, and we got to know two middle-aged and elderly top idols. From this, we became curious and interested, so we began to understand their lives. The style of the video and the group of fans behind it who are always excited.

In 2023, with the end of the epidemic and the tourism market recovering, travel bloggers have swept away the gloom and even reaped development dividends.

Among them

escape plan is a dark horse travel blogger who emerged at the end of 2022. In the video, he will take people trapped in the city to go on adventures, go camping with social friends, and explore the real-life “Nu Qing Xiangxi” cave…

The interesting natural adventures make the account full of fun to watch, so it has gained the love of more and more users. In early January this year, Ayuan reached the top of Xiaohongshu’s list of fans with an increase of 188,400 followers in a single week. At that time, his total number of fans was 1.07 million. After half a year, Ayuan’s number of fans has increased to 2.249 million, more than doubling.

At the same time, Ayuan’s commercialization capabilities are also extremely rare on the Xiaohongshu platform. According to incomplete statistics from Cass, in the first half of 2023, Ayuan’s business notes published on Xiaohongshu had at least 7 likes, each with more than 100,000 likes.

How does Ayuan create content and advertising? What can content creators learn? Cass will expand on this below.

1. Don’t be a special soldier, travel bloggers speak for “relaxation”

Official data shows that in May this year, HE Tuber the unemployment rate among young people aged 16 to 24 rose to 20.8%, hitting a new high for two consecutive months since statistics were collected in 2018. It is difficult for young people to find jobs, which has become a mainstream social topic this year.

In a depressing social environment, people begin to seek some external comfort, and travel is one of them.

In the first half of this year, a special form of travel called “special forces-style tourism” quietly emerged among young people, mainly college students. In order to maximize the use of time, they usually choose to set off on Friday night or early Saturday morning. After intensively checking in at the destination attractions, they rush back to class on Monday morning.

Contrary to the special forces tour, Ayuan’s videos focus on “relaxation.” Netizens call his work a healing system. It does things that many young people want to do but don’t have time to do. It not only heals themselves, but also allows the audience outside the screen to feel a free vitality.

For example, A Yuan once traveled to Mount Emei alone and completely ignored the opening hours of the scenic spot. He was teasing the monkeys on the mountain and watching the sunset. He felt very comfortable until he missed the time to go down the mountain in his silly fun and was trapped on the top of the mountain for a night. As can be seen on the home page of his Xiaohongshu, the most popular non-commercial notes are titled “What is it like when you suddenly find out that your friend is super rich?” 》《This kind of immersion, I would like to call it the strongest! 》《6400-meter slide! The Secret Land of Tibet, Qinghai-Tibet Lowland”.

A Yuan’s video content is usually about 1–2 minutes long. He is very good at using precise words to bring the audience into the scene he is in. The first-person perspective shooting increases the sense of intimacy and reality. Super copywriting skills and the ability to select simple materials while cutting out the complex are two key factors that make him stand out among travel bloggers.

For example, at the end of the travel Vlog in Medog, Tibet, Ayuan said: “There is only one way out and in here. I come down and call it the slide, and they go up and call it the ‘Heavenly Road’.” This sentence expresses a certain social reality in a concise way. When people think deeply, even if the words are not so straightforward, some people will “understand” it. One user commented, “The blogger was born in a good place, so he can go up the slide after calling it. But those children were born in a remote place, and they want to go to the big city as if they were on the road.”

“In addition to attracting fans on Douyin, Xiaohongshu and other platforms, Ayuan also gained 1.71 million fans at Station B, and was once on the monthly fan list. At Station B, Ayuan’s popular videos with higher views are often It is in line with social sentiments and shows deep humanistic care.

For example, in this video titled “Sorry, I have to watch this video twice before maybe what I want to say…” A Yuan compares the COVID-19 epidemic to a rain. The sudden rain makes people get wet, and some People had no time to hold an umbrella, and some people were angry and sad. These scenes fit the situation of ordinary people in the great era and resonated deeply with the audience.

In addition, “That day, I saw the most handsome 54-year-old” and “What is it like to have a friend with social phobia!” “The protagonists of videos such as “The Movie” are all from the bottom of society who are not noticed, which forms a clear difference with other creators in terms of topic selection and conception. Reminiscent of the popularity of “Second Uncle” last year, it can be seen that users at Bilibili are more receptive to this type of content. Therefore, Ayuan has also gained longer-term fan stickiness at Bilibili with this kind of warm content.

2. Content-based advertising so that users no longer resent commercial placement

Not only is the content produced brilliantly, garnering high likes and numerous interactions, but Ayuan’s commercialization capabilities deserve the attention and research of content practitioners. According to incomplete statistics from Cass, in the first half of 2023, Ayuan’s business notes published on Xiaohongshu had at least 7 likes, each with more than 100,000 likes.

Among them, the most liked video was posted on January 13, titled “These are the many friends I have met this year~” and received 1.58 million likes, 230,000 collections and 8,440 comments on Xiaohongshu. In this video, Ayuan recalled the kind and enthusiastic strangers he met during his journey in 2022, and at the end of the video, he sent a Proya gift box to his friend. The commercial placement was silky smooth. The entire video only lasts 78 seconds, but it seems to cover the scenery from all over the world. The connection between the copywriting and the picture is very smooth, which effectively improves the completion rate.

Xiaohongshu video screenshot The reason why users are not disgusted with this commercial video is that Ayuan presents the resonance between her “sincere” self and friendly strangers.

A Xiaohongshu user commented, “His copywriting coupled with his videos always make people feel a lot of warmth in the world. Maybe everyone has their own hardships that cannot be explained, but under this hardship, But I can’t hide my warm-heartedness and the warmth that makes people cry. Every time I watch the video, my nose feels sour.”

A Yuan’s business note with the second most likes was released on April 16. It was a collaboration between the pet brand “pidan” and A Yuan, titled “What is it like to have 500 cats and dogs!” 》. This video has so far received 1.39 million likes and is estimated to be read more than 10 million times.

In this video, Ayuan shared the daily life of Aunt Qian and the 500 stray cats and dogs she adopted. Due to the high cost of feeding, Aunt Qian was short of money, so Ayuan contacted “pidan” for her, and the brand was responsible for the call. One year’s worth of cat food for “preserved egg” cats.

It can be seen that this is a warm business note, which not only improves the user’s favorability of the brand, but also helped Ayuan gain nearly 80,000 followers.

In addition to beauty and pet brands, brands in food and beverage, home appliances, clothing and underwear industries are also willing to cooperate with Ayuan.

For example, Ayuan released a tea brand advertising video on May 27, which truly demonstrated the income and life changes that planting jasmine has brought to people in Hengzhou, Guangxi, and also portrayed every working person who owns body fragrance. in the minds of the audience. One user commented, “It’s the smell of their hard work, their own floral fragrance, and the jasmine blossoms are blooming with the fruits of their hard work. At that moment, all the hard work is worth it.”

According to Cass, there are two core reasons why Ayuan can gain love and make users willingly support his “Duoqiafan”:

First, do not regard commercial cooperation videos as the task of Party A, and do not regard pleasing the brand as the first priority, but as daily content updates, and look for entry points that everyone wants to see more from the user’s perspective;

Second, the content and persona are unified. Whether it is daily creation or business notes, Ayuan adheres to a style — “relaxation”, or “healing”, allowing viewers to gain a light and relaxing experience following the video. . This kind of experience is still very rare in the short video field.

3. Healing — the content vane in 2023

A Yuan’s popularity shows that the power of words and language is still powerful. When users read a certain sentence, their hearts are stirred, and they will sigh, “I found it, so it is like this.” For users, an important prerequisite for following a certain blogger is “same frequency”. Ayuan’s content can resonate with many young people in first- and second-tier cities. This is the essence of his ability to continue to attract fans and stably monetize.

After looking through a large number of popular travel videos, Cass discovered that not only Ayuan, but also the content trend of the travel track has quietly changed.

The early travel circuits mainly showed the scenery of different countries and regions, and providing guides and popular science were the secrets for bloggers to increase their followers. But starting in 2022, in terms of evaluation, users no longer seem to prioritize the practicality brought by the “strategy”. Emotions, thinking, and cultural connotations have become elements that the audience sees more. Cass also noticed that in the past two years, the travel bloggers who have really emerged from the circle have exerted their skills in the “emotional” dimension.

Takei as an example. The most unique feature of the travel content she publishes is that it not only shows users the beautiful scenery across the country, but also gives meaning to the scenery through her thoughtful copywriting, so that the video content has The power to move people’s hearts.

In addition, last year, Fang Qi’s output of opinions in variety shows found an increase in fans beyond “travel”, and her popularity and influence also soared. Now Fang Qi has attracted 23.38 million fans on Douyin, and on Xiaoyin. Hongshu has also accumulated 3.107 million fans, making it one of the top two platforms.

Travel bloggers who take the “literary” and “romantic” route like Fang Qi, and although they only have more than 2 million fans on Douyin, the number of likes on a single video often exceeds 100,000, and even reaches Millions of fans commented on it as “healing” and “innocent and easy to leave”.

Not only are they loved by users on the content side, but like A Yuan, bloggers who move people with emotion and carefully shoot good commercial videos are being recognized by more brands.

For example, Cass has recently followed a travel blogger She mainly publishes life recording videos of encounters with strangers and has accumulated 210,000 fans on station B.

On June 29, Chunyu released a video titled “What is it like to be a post-95 generation joining an elderly tourist group?”, which received 844,000 views, 74,000 likes, and 12,000 collections.

This video shares the heart-warming story of Chunyu and an elderly couple from the tour group from strangers to familiarity from a first-person perspective. An advertisement for Honor mobile phones was embedded in the middle of the video. However, due to the clever integration of scenes, it did not trigger any rebellious psychology in the audience, but was highly praised. A Bilibili user wrote in the comment area, “There is no forced sublimation. It simply expresses the life of aunt and grandpa who help each other. Such a positive and optimistic attitude towards life is really inspiring!”

Cass believes that travel accounts that can provide guides are still valuable, but this instrumental value attribute makes it easy for the audience to turn experts into tools. Travel bloggers who are firmly on the trend and occupy the minds of users for a long time need “people”. set up”.

[starlightfantasy]

Hey! I hope you're feeling better!

Wonho leaving has had me a bit down lately, too - that plus trying to get ready for the holidays, it's honestly crazy!

I'm really hoping this proves to be a nice break for him, he's done so much in the past few years! I'm sure Wonho will come back better than ever.

Libido is what got me to stan OOO, too! The acting & the storyline really got me - but also musically they're so talented? The song itself blew my mind the first time I heard it! Also the choreo!?!?!? OOO really is a one of a kind group IMO.

I've never heard of k-ville, I'll have to check it out! Keeping track of new releases can be hard, so I'll have to look into it.

Those are all great groups you listed!! I've been following the Omega X situation and it's honestly so sad - as much as I love their music I'd rather them get out and be safe than stay stuck in that awful company.

Also TAN is soooo good! Du du du is one of my favorite debuts this year - and Walking on the Moon is probably one of my favorite comebacks! I really hope they have a long career. Honestly all those groups you listed are great!

Ooooh MX in a supernatural concept.... I'd love to see them tackle that. Werewolves would be great! Did you see they're having a comeback in January!? I'm thrilled - no clue what it'll be like but honestly I'd love to see something darker from them.

Also these are some good questions!!

Favorite Monsta X era: I feel like my answer to this will change every other week because it's so hard to pick! Right now I'm gonna say Shootout. Shootout has some of my fave MX choreo, and I loooooooooove Wonho with black hair.

Fave photoshoot: I think their photoshoot for Fatal Love might be my favorite! The suit looks... Monsta X can really pull of a suit.

Hobbies: Reading & video games are probably my two big ones! I also like journaling, but I'm not super consistent with it lol

Favorite movie: Halloween! I really like horror films

Favorite Food: Lasagna

Favorite season: This one's hard! I want to say Winter, but there's something about Fall that I really love. Can't really pick between fresh snow and leaves changing

Tea or coffee: Coffee - I need coffee to survive lol I probably drink way too much of it but oh well!

What about you??

Plus an additional question: If you could plan a week long vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you go & why?

Also: if MX could collab with any artist, who would you want to see them collab with?

Also that meme omg thank you 🤣❤️

- MBB Secret Santa 🎅

Hey!!I am feeling better! But I will feel better once I hear from him, lol.

In all honesty real life has distracted me enough, with the holidays approaching and all. Do you celebrate? Or do you have any plans in general? It is a busy season anyways, lots of gatherings and parties and stuff…

From ooo i have also really liked all the solos that they have been releasing lately. My favourites are Begin and Be Free, but they all are very good! As you said, they do a lot of work, from producing, to the choreo, they are very unique and that’s what attracted me immediately.

I know we’re he for the monstas, but it makes me really happy to have more in common musically speaking. Music is very important for me and it has been years since I have felt like this. I do like rock from the 80s and indie and grunge from the 90’, even some more recent emo bands, but most of the new western music (or even music in my language, i despise reggaeton, and that’s all people seem to listen to nowadays) so when i discovered kpop I was blown away by everything, the concept, the songs, the voices, the clothes, the choreos and I am perfectly aware of the terrible things that the kpop industry hides behind the glamour ad I hate that there’s no way to support your idols without supporting these problems, but still I love the music and I’m happy with that.

I loooove dark and sexy concepts and that’s something the Monstas do very well. I mean the darkest I have seen was Voodoo doll by VIXX and that was just a cultural reset. I would love to see some more of that.

Favorite Monsta X era: I will say Love killa, cause that is the era that got ge to stan them HARD, and from the eras with Wonho, definitely Alligator! I love how he looks all the time, and that bubblegum pink hair drives me insane

Fave photoshoot: the third photobook from the FOLLOW albums, it’s just my jam, i love all the pictures, all of them.

Hobbies: Reading & handcrafts. Tho I haven’t touched a book in so long I mostly read fanfics, lol

Favorite movie: portrait of a lady on fire. I love that movie, it makes me feel so many things, also Bram stoker’s dracula. I do love horror movies too!!! Now with age i have become i bit squeamish, but I do love gothic and supernatural horror (I am more of a Freddy kinda gal.)

Favorite Food: possibly sushi

Favorite season: Fall, all the way. The crisp air, the leaves the wind…

Tea or coffee: tea! Coffee upsets ,y stomach and I don’t like bitter flavours…

Ooof, the week long vacation….i’d go to a place I’ve never been. Probably Iceland, there’s something about that country that calls to me and I would love to see the landscapes, and feel the (probably shit weather), also I love countries where they believe in elves and fairies (tho they'd never admit that)

I have never thought about MX collabs…. I mean I do not think they’d particularly fit with a western artist (tho so far my fav collab is the one they made with Sebastian Yatra) but also in Korea… they are so unique that I have trouble imagining something that would be epic.

How about you??

Also have I asked you if you got a bias? My memory is shit. 

In any case, if you had one of the monstas for yourself for a day. What would you do? Where would you take him? Adventure? Sightseeing? Cosy time at home?

And yes, definitely check k-ville entertainment, the new video is out and that’s how I found out that sub unit from shinwa has new music and that made my day

"Never mention bald Wonho. Your great-grandmother has been waiting for a photo for years"

"Has he uploaded it yet?" "Calm down, mama, they said that they'd do it soon"

AND IF THAT'S NOT ME.....

have a great day!!!!

[that-spider-witch]

On “Dead” Cultures and Closed Spiritual Practices: Why Colonialism Is Still A Problem.

Let me start this by saying that, as far as my knowledge of Paganism and Polytheism as a whole goes, I’m what the internet witch community calls a “Baby Witch”. I’m stating this out of the gate because I know there will be lots of people, including witches who have more experience on the craft than me, who might decide to ignore what I have to say based on that fact alone, stating that I’m not knowledgeable enough to give my opinion about this.

Here’s the kicker: I’m a ‘baby witch’, yes, but I’m also a twenty-six year old Venezuelan woman. I’m an adult. I’m Latina. I’m a Christian-raised Pagan,but I’m also a Latinoamerican woman over all other things including that. I grew up on this culture, these are my roots. It is because of this background than I’m writing this post today.

Looking through the “Paganism” and “Witchcraft” tags of this website, I’ve seen a few posts throwing indigenous deities and spirits’ names around on lists alongside deties of open cultures. Yes, you can know better by doing your own research and not going by what just a random Tumblr user wrote on one post (as I hope its the case with everyone on this website), but the fact that pagan beginners are still getting fed misinformation is still worrisome to me.

There’s nothing like reading a so-called expert putting Ixchen (Maya), Xolotl (Nahuatl) and Papa Legba (Vodou) on the same damn list as Norse, Hellenic and Kemetic deities and tagging it on the tags aimed at beginners who might not know better to truly ruin your morning. I’m not mentioning user names here: If you know then you know.

To quote @the-illuminated-witch on her very good post about Cultural Appropriation: 

“Cultural appropriation is a huge issue in modern witchcraft. When you have witches using white sage to “smudge” their altars, doing meditations to balance their chakras, and calling on Santa Muerte in spells, all without making any effort to understand the cultural roots of those practices, you have a serious problem.

When trying to understand cultural appropriation in witchcraft, it’s important to understand the difference between open and closed magic systems. An open system is one that is open to exchange with outsiders — both sharing ideas/practices and taking in new ones. In terms of religion, spirituality, and witchcraft, a completely open system has no restrictions on who can practice its teachings. A closed system is one that is isolated from outside influences — usually, there is some kind of restriction on who can practice within these systems.”

A counter-argument I’ve seen towards this when someone wants to appropiate indigenous deities and spirits is to use the “dead culture” argument: Extinct cultures are more eligible for use by modern people of all stirpes. It is a dead culture and dead religion. It would be one thing if some part of the culture or religion was still alive, being used by modern descendants, but the culture died out in its entirety and was replaced, right? They were all killed by colonization, they are ancient history now, right?

Example: “If white people are worshipping Egyptian deities now, then why can’t I worship [Insert Aborigen Deity Here]?”

To which I have two things to say:

Ancient Egypt’s culture was open and imperialistic, meaning they wanted their religion to be spread. This is why Kemetism is not Cultural Appropriation, despite what some misinformed people might tell you. Similar arguments can also be made for the Hellenic and the Norse branches of Paganism, both practiced by people who aren’t Greek/Norse.

Who are you to say which cultures are “dead” and which are not?

Religious practices such as Vodou and Santería certainly aren’t dead, not that it keeps some Tumblr users from adding Erzuli as a “goddess” on their Baby Witch post, something that actual Vodou practitioners have warned against.

Indigenous cultures such as the Maya and the Mapuche aren’t dead, despite what the goverment of their countries might tell you. The Mapuche in particular have a rich culture and not one, but two witchcraft branches (The Machi and the Kalku/Calcu). Both are closed pagan practices that the local Catholic Church has continuously failed to assimilate and erase, though sadly not for lack of trying:

“The missionaries who followed the Spanish conquistadors to America incorrectly interpreted the Mapuche beliefs regarding both wekufes and gualichos. They used the word wekufe as a synonym for ideas of the devil, demons, and other evil or diabolical forces. This has caused misunderstanding of the original symbolism and has changed the idea of wekufe right up to the present day, even amongst the Mapuche people.”

For context, the Wefuke are the Calcu’s equivalent of the Familiar, as well as reportedly having more in common with the Fae than with demons anyway.

This and other indigenous religions are Closed because it is wrong for foreigners to just come and take elements from marginalized groups whom are still fighting to survive and that they weren’t born into. To just approppiate those things would be like spitting in their faces, treating them and their culture like a commodity, a shiny thing, a unique thing to be used like paint to spruce up your life or be special.

I know some of you are allergic to the word “Privilege”, but on this situation there really ain’t a better word to explain it. You weren’t born here, you don’t know what it is like, you are only able to see the struggle from an outsider’s point of view.

If a belief or practice is part of a closed system, outsiders should not take part in it. And with how many practices there are out there which are open for people of all races, there is really no excuse for you to do it.

Why Colonization Is Not “Ancient History”

If you have kept reading all this so far, you are probably wondering “Ok, but what does Colonization has to do with any of this?”

The answer? Everything.

With the general context of culture appropriation out of the way, let me tell you about why the whole “dead culture” argument rubs me the wrong way: Here in Venezuela, we have a goddess called Santa Maria de la Onza, or Maria Lionza for short, whom’s idol statue I have been using to illustrate this little rant. If you happen to know any Spanish, you might recognize the name as a derivative of Santa Maria, aka the Virgin Mary, and you are mostly correct: Her true indigenous name is theorized to have been Yara.

And I say “theorized” because it is a subject of hot debate whether she was really ever called that or not: Her original name, the name by which she was adored and worshipped by our ancestors, might have been forever lost to history.

That’s the legacy of colonization for you: Our cultures were stolen from us, and what they couldn’t erase they instead tried to assimilate. Our ancestors were enslaved, their lands and homes stolen, their artwork and literary works destroyed: The Maya and the Aztec Empire were rich in written works of all kinds, ranging from poetry to history records to medicine, and the Spaniards burned 99% of it, on what is probably one of the most tragic examples of book burning in history and one that people rarely ever talk about. 

People couldn’t even worship their own gods or pass their knowledge of them to their children. That’s why Maria Lionza has such a Spanish Catholic-sounding name, and that’s why we can’t even be sure if Yara was her name or not: The Conquistadors couldn’t steal our goddess from us, so they stole her name instead. Catholics really have a thing with trying to assimilate indigenous goddesses with the Virgin Mary, as they tried to do the same with the Pachamama.

On witchy terms, I’d define Maria Lionza as both a deity and a land spirit: Most internet pages explaining her mention the Sorte mountain as her holy place, but it is more along the lines that she is the mountain. 

You’d think that, with Venezuela and other Latinoamerican countries no longer being colonies, we’d be able to worship our own deities including her, right?

As far as a lot of Catholics seem to think and act, apparently we are not.

The Catholics here like to go out of their way to shame us, to call us “cultists”, to ostracize us, with a general call to “refrain from those pagan beliefs” because they go against the Catholic principles. Yes, the goddess with the Catholic-sounding name, a name she happens to share with a Catholic deity, apparently goes “against Catholic principles”. You really can’t make this shit up. (Linked article is in Spanish)

This is just an act of colonization out of many, of not wanting to stop until the culture they want to destroy is gone. Don’t believe for a second that this is really their God’s will or anything like that, they are just trying to finish what years of enslavement and murder couldn’t. They might not be actively killing us anymore, but they still want us dead.

So no, colonization is not some thing that has long passed and now only exist on history textbooks: It is still happening to this day. It is by treating it as old history that they can keep doing it, and it is by pushing the narrative that our indigenous cultures are “dead cultures” that they try to erase our heritage.

Because we are not dead. We are still here, we are alive, we have survived and we’ll keep on surviving, and our gods and goddesses are not yours to take.

¡Chao! 🐈

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Prominence [WCh. 2.73]

Social Media AU ; Idol AU ; Added Unit AU CW/TW: Language Genre: Comedy, Romance Pairing: NCT x Idol!Reader, Seonghwa x Reader Y/N Pronouns: Female (She/Her) Word Count: 3.9K

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Notes: Hehe, honestly idk what to even say in these anymore do y'all even read these notes? Just curious lmfao Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

Feedback is greatly appreciated!! Thank you for reading!

11 March 2022

"I don't even know anymore," you shook your head. The PR team in front of you looked between you and the screen behind them depicting every single rumor about you.

"It's not like it's impossible to clear this all up, it'll be like the other rumors around other members, the made up ones will go away quickly," one of them says, "but, you can 100% confirm that none of them are real, right?" You skimmed through the list.

"Yup, none of them are real," you nodded.

"Even this one?" She pointed to the one about you allegedly stealing items from the stylists. "These items are technically company property, you know."

"I do, you can do a full scale search of my room for proof if you need to," you confirmed. "I have no idea where any of those things went and, honestly, I'm glad they're replaceable, I've been replacing the items myself but if the company wants to handle it then feel free to take it from my paycheck," you twiddled your thumbs on your lap in front of you.

"Well," the PR manager sighs and looks over to your two managers. "We're going to have to take a bit more control over what you do during and after schedules, it's just a precaution, I'm sure you know that, (Y/N)," she shakes her head. "(Y/N), I know SM has a 'Private Matters are Private' policy, but try not to be seen around anyone who's also involved with these rumors, alright?" Again, you scan the list.

"That's like... all of my friends," you cleared your throat uncomfortably and a tense silence sits in the room. This meeting was bound to happen, what with all the rumors that had been flying around you since you debuted, but you didn't imagine that it would end like this. The other members had advised you that the likely outcome would be that the PR team tells you not to post on socials for a while, but they're essentially grounding you.

"Well, it's not all of them, and it's not like you can't hang out behind closed doors, you just need to be more careful and please let us know if you're going out," the PR manager finishes.

"Of course," you nodded your head curtly.

"You can go now," the PR manager motions towards the door. With a quick bow, you exit the room. Then, once the door closed behind you, Mark and Yangyang were on their feet.

"Well? How'd it go?" Mark asks with wide eyes. You take a deep breath.

"Oh my god, they finally fired you," Yangyang gasps.

"What?! No!" You gasped too. "Oh my god, this company would go down without me," you clutched your heart. "No, I'm just grounded." The two boys are silent.

"Ooh," Yangyang teases. "What? They're going to take your phone?"

"I'm not allowed to hang out with anyone who's involved with rumors with me," you explained. Again, they're silent.

"Bro, that's me," Yangyang points to himself.

"Not me though, I'm safe," Mark nods. "Right, (Y/N)?"

"Yeah, you're good, Mark, no one's ever going to spread rumors about you," you confirmed. In seconds, as if it were natural, you and Mark linked arms. "Best friendship ended with Yangyang, Mark is my new best friend."

"No! You can't do this to me!" Yangyang clasps his hands together. "There's gotta be a way we can hang out still, I'm going back to China soon! There has to be some kind of exception, right?"

"No," Suho answers, trudging out of the meeting room with Seojoon behind him. "Look, NCThree have to do their final schedule tomorrow for Showterview, and after that, (Y/N) is officially off public schedules until the ANiMA comeback," Suho looks over to Seojoon, who nods his head.

"Yeah, pretty much, (Y/N), just so you know, we start recording next week," he says.

"Yeah, I know," your shoulders slumped.

"Hey, look at the bright side of this," Seojoon encourages you. "At least the PR team's going to do something about your rumors."

"Yeah... three years later," you puffed your cheeks out briefly. "Whatever, you're right, I just hope we could nip those already so I can have my name cleared," you shook your head.

"That's the spirit!" Seojoon pats your shoulder. "Well, I have to catch up with Jihyun and Saeron for their little Ronnie's Corner so, (Y/N), take care, yeah? I'm a phone call away if you need help," he grins before walking off. Yangyang watches him leave.

"Hyung's been in an oddly good mood lately," Yangyang whistles.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, he has a girlfriend now, I think," your eyes roll up in thought and Suho clears his throat a little too loud. Immediately, yours and Yangyang's heads turn to him.

"What are you two looking at me like that for?" He asks. Mark looks between the two of you and Suho.

"Am I missing something?" Mark asks. Now you and Yangyang look at each other, the telepathic conversation ensuing.

"Whatever you're both thinking," Suho steps between you both, wrapping arms around your shoulders and ushering you forward, "you're both wrong. Hurry up and get into the car, go home already, go, go!" Suho pushes you both forward and Mark is quick to fall in line with you both.

"Wait, what's going on?" Mark whispers. Just as you and Yangyang turn the corner you spot Seojoon with his phone pushed up against his ear by his shoulder.

"Hello? Hi, babe, yeah, I'm still working right- Ah, baby, I know! I know, I'm sorry, it's just the one schedule with Jie and Ronnie- No! No, of course not, baby, why would I be looking at them like that? They're-" he quickly catches himself when he spots you, "they're my coworkers, you know me and dating people I work with," his voice drops. You turn back and spot Suho lagging behind.

"Wow, Joon's new girlfriend sounds like a piece of work," you hummed. Were you that difficult when you dated Seonghwa the first time? Not really, you think. Actually, maybe your problem was the exact opposite, now that you thought of it.

"Oh my god why is everyone around me starting to get in relationships?!" Yangyang whines.

"It's okay, Yangyang," you pat his back reassuringly. "Not everyone has game."

"Oh fuck you!"

"I keep telling you! I'll set you up with someone!" You continue to tease.

"Like hell, I just want to date someone who doesn't care that I'm an idol!" Yangyang fantasizes.

"Yeah, good luck with that, bud," you snicker.

"Okay, how's your relationship going?" Yangyang scoffs.

"Swimmingly, actually," you cross your arms.

"Yeah? When was the last time you both talked?"

"Well," you pulled your phone out and opened Seonghwa's text. "Right now, actually," you grinned.

You quickly shoved your phone in your back pocket and, just as the three of you got to the exit, you and Seonghwa spotted each other through the glass doors. Bouquet of flowers in his hands and leaning against a black car, he shoots you a small smile. You looked down the hallway and spotted the PR team talking amongst themselves a few steps behind. You place your hands on Yangyang and Mark's shoulders.

"Ah, my boys," you grinned and, immediately, Mark's expression fell while a devious one rose on Yangyang's. "Think you could keep them busy?" You nudged your head back toward the PR team.

"(Y/N), you're already in a lot of trouble," Mark worries.

"It'll be fine," you waved your hand and took his hat. "I'll just borrow this for a bit, yeah?" You smiled. Mark swallows harshly.

"I'll make it worth your while, Mark," Yangyang says. "Just go with my flow, yeah?"

"... If I get in trouble for this," Mark starts.

"You won't," you and Yangyang insisted.

"Okay, go! We'll cover you," Yangyang nudges you forward and turns to Mark. "Mark! I can't believe you're dating! Are you insane?! In this climate?!" Yangyang shouts.

"Who the hell is Mark Lee dating?!" The PR manager shouts. You ran out of the building quickly.

"Thank you Mark, I love you!" You said quickly. Mark's mouth drops in a shocked frown.

"I... I, ah, um, it's nothing sealed in stone yet!" Mark rushes inside and towards the PR managers.

"Lies, I saw you smacking lips," Yangyang says with a straight face.

"Dude how are you saying that with a straight face," Mark whispers hurriedly. Ah, hell, you'll deal with those two later. Immediately, one of the doors on the car swings open and Seonghwa waits for you to run inside before sliding in himself.

"Oh! Yunho!" You waved your hand shyly. You forgot he was the only one with a license.

"Hi, (Y/N)!" Yunho grins and waves to you on the rearview mirror. "Where to?"

"Ah... let's keep it simple," your's and Seonghwa's hands interlace naturally and he adjusts the hat on your head. "Just the shopping district is fine," he nods.

"Yup!" Yunho presses on the gas just as Suho runs out.

"Jung (Y/N)!" Suho shouts.

"Ah... I'm so screwed when I get home," you buried your face in your hands.

"It's okay, you can just spend the night at our place," Wooyoung mutters quickly. Your head whips back and Wooyoung, San, and Yeosang wave at you. Seonghwa closes your hanging jaw gently.

"Hi, (Y/N)," San smiles.

"I missed you so much," Yeosang whispers.

"What was that?" You didn't quite catch that.

"I said I must shop for Mars," Yeosang quickly covers. You narrowed your glance, but when Seonghwa placed the bouquet in your lap, you faced forward again.

"Before I forget, these are so pretty," you held one of the flowers in your hand. "Wish you were sweet like this the first time we dated," you teased.

"Hey! I got you flowers!"

"Actually, you sent me flowers," you corrected.

"Yeah, there's a big difference, hyung," Wooyoung says.

"Huge difference," San confirms.

"Yeah, one means 'I made time for you' and the other one doesn't," Yeosang chimes in.

"I get it!" Seonghwa speaks up before those three could say anything more. Yunho sped over a speed bump and, instinctively, you gripped onto Seonghwa's hand tighter as well as the door handle next to you. Then, the strangest thing, you swore you heard a groan, but not one that matched any of the boys in the car.

"What was that? Is everyone alright?" You looked around.

"Everything's fine," Yeosang answers cryptically. You wanted to question why Wooyoung and San were looking at the trunk of the car but, deciding against it, you looked forward again.

"Anyway..." you whistled. "You know, I'm just teasing, right?" You nudged Seonghwa's arm.

"Yeah, I know, but you're right, we're trying again so I wanted to start things off the right way this time. You know, less piping hot coffee," he chuckles.

"That was only a couple of times," you chuckled. "But, hmm, you've been getting me all these gifts, I should get you one too, no?" You grabbed your purse and shuffled through the items inside before pulling out a small box. "I know it's not too much, but I wanted to get you something special," you placed it in his hands and small inhales of anticipation could be heard behind you.

"Hyung... open it," Yeosang encourages quietly. Seonghwa, instead, places the box in his pocket.

"I'll open it after these kids get dropped off," Seonghwa chuckles.

"You hate us!" Wooyoung shouts.

"What did we ever do to you, hyung?!" San whines.

"You two wouldn't even be together without me!" Wooyoung defends. You could only laugh, you had to admit that you missed being witness to these petty arguments. At one point, the argument started to muddle, voice powering over each other, Seonghwa slowly growing more flustered as he questions why Wooyoung knows so many details about your relationship, Yunho was simply vibing with airpods on in the drivers' seat. Gently, you gave a quick squeeze to Seonghwa's hand and he turns to you while Wooyoung continues his rant about how Seonghwa owed him more than a meal for introducing the two of you to begin with.

"I think this is our stop here," you pointed outside at the small café that had constantly bore witness to your many dates.

"I think so," Seonghwa leans forward just in case and, when Yunho slams on the breaks, it confirms it.

"Okay, have fun! I'll pick you up around 7!" Yunho unlocks the car.

"Thank you, Yunho!" You smiled.

"Hyung, I'll forward you the bill," Yunho turns to Seonghwa slowly.

"Right, of course, you will," Seonghwa laughs while you both slide out. As soon as the door shut, the car was speeding off down the street. "I thought that was never going to end," Seonghwa's shoulders fell in defeat and you lead him down the street.

"Well, now that we have each other, why don't we just take our time?" You adjusted the mask over your face before tugging your joined hands.

"Yeah, let's," Seonghwa falls in step with you and, for the first time in a while, it was like nothing had changed. Over the past few weeks you and Seonghwa had been taking things slow, getting caught up with each other, talking things through, sharing small minute things that reminded you of each other. Sure, you hadn't put a label on it yet, but it was enough that you both felt comfortable in each other's presence once again. You'd both been going on smaller excursions, getting lunch together, handing off small gifts to each other, you were both in that flittering moment of enjoying each other and finding new smaller appreciations that you hadn't realized before.

Things were finally looking up for you, well, you and him both.

"Now, let's see what you got me here," Seonghwa took the box out of his pocket with his free hand. "You'll have to forgive me, love, as soon as those three see a target it's hard to get them off my back," he laughs.

"All good, I know a little too much what that's like," you leaned against his arm as he opened the box. Inside was a silver watch with a navy blue face to it. Engraved onto it were two sets of initials, their owners obvious.

"Thank you, (Y/N), I'll cherish it," he removes his arm from yours only to clasp the watch around his wrist. Now, his arm wraps around your waist and he pulls you closer, once again adjusting the hat on your head. "Firstly... let's get you a new hat."

"What? What's wrong with this one?" You pointed to it.

"Ah, well," Seonghwa hummed, his eyes glancing to the side. "It's not yours," he quickly says. You rose the brim a little to look at him, an undeniable tinge of pink over his face that seemed to peek over his own mask.

"Oh! Oh, okay, no, I get it," you chuckled. "For the record, though... Mark's like a brother to me."

"I know, I know, it's just... it doesn't go too well with what you're wearing right now, does it?" You catch a glimpse of your reflection in one of the shop windows. He was right, you didn't even realize the clash of colors since you were rushing out of the company building.

"Well... I was wondering why I felt a couple of people staring," you smiled through the embarrassment. "Right then, goal two for today's date! Buy a new hat," you tugged him into the closest store.

"Two? What was the first one?"

"Isn't it obvious? Have fun with you, of course," you couldn't deny that one of the best parts of being together with Seonghwa was how easily he'd gotten flustered. It was one of his most endearing parts about him. You grabbed the closest hat to you, quickly switching it with the one you had on at that moment to compare. "What do you think about this one?"

"You look good," Seonghwa answers.

"The hat, honey, I'm talking about the hat," you say.

"Oh, that too, then," he looks out the window, "shall I grab us a few snacks for when you're done?"

"Yes, please!" You follow his line of sight to the crepe stand outside. "You know my order, I'll meet you out there!"

You readjusted the hat on your head, trying different styles and looking at different angles before removing it from your head. And, as you took a quick glance at the price tag, that's when you heard the whispers. A small sigh was all you could let out, sure, you expected this to some extent, but to hear your rumors out loud was different than reading them online. Then, after hearing a few jeers on your general appearance, you shifted uncomfortably, trying your best not to draw attention to yourself.

"Oh! Yeona!" A voice chimed next to you. Then, suddenly, a new hat appeared on your head while the girl secured it to hide your eyes. "Girl, I've been looking everywhere for you, you left your hat back there," she says loudly. Or, perhaps more noticeably, she said in English. You tipped your hat slightly and if you could see stars you certainly did now. Chungha shoots you a quick wink and mouths for you to go with it.

"Annie! I'm so sorry, I've been leaving my crap all over the place," you lamented. "Thanks for handing it back to me," you tossed the hat back to it's place and followed her out. As soon as you were out of ear shot of the store, both of your shoulders relaxed. "I owe you one for that one, sunbaenim," you bowed your head quickly and Chungha only laughed.

"No! Don't even worry about it, think of it like idols supporting idols," she insists. "Although, the odds of running into another idol are quite low," she says. You make a move to hand the hat back to her but, in turn, she secures it over your head. "You can keep this one, it looks better on you than it does on me," she insists.

"Well, at least let me repay you then, I'll buy you a coffee," you offered. Chungha hummed and glanced around the square.

"I'll take you up on that offer some time then," she adjusts her coat and turns her head towards her shuffling managers. "Darn, looks like that's my cue, I hope I run into you again soon, (Y/N)," she smiles at you before walking off. You could only wave back.

"(Y/N), got the hat you wanted?" Seonghwa was next to you in seconds, handing you your crepe. Wordlessly, you take it, eyes still glued where Chungha was before. "(Y/N)?"

"Huh? Yeah, and I think I made a new friend too," you answered.

"That's good! Did you exchange numbers?" Again, you were silent.

"Aw, hell!"

~

At that same time.

Jungwoo woke up to the sound of a gavel slamming against wood. It was a sudden start, an unwelcome sound had sent his heart beating faster than before. It was the sound that scared him first, but the location that scared him second. Sitting in a dark room with a single spotlight on him. But then, realization. Could it be? Has he finally made it? After the long and arduous tasks that Chenle had made him do, has he finally made it to the big leagues? Soon, another spotlight shone.

"I call this meeting of the YNSH fanclub to order," Chenle roars. "Wooyoung is taking minutes," another spotlight on the said man typing quickly on his laptop with a pencil tucked behind his ear, "so speak in a clear and concise voice. Now, Jaehyun will read the club announcements." Another spotlight.

"Uh... yeah, so," Jaehyun stands up, papers in his hand, "like, first the election votes for club president are in and, as expected, Chenle won by a landslide."

"It was rigged," Wooyoung mutters.

"Don't be a sore loser, Wooyoung, the people have spoken," Chenle grins. Wooyoung could only glower.

"None of you would even be here without me! Seonghwa and (Y/N) would've never met if I, out of the good of my heart, accepted (Y/N)'s heartfelt chocolate chip cookies that she poured her-" Chenle ends the conversation with the slam of his gavel.

"Jaehyun, continue," Chenle insists.

"Look at you, you've turned the club into a dictatorship," Wooyoung laments.

"Anyway," Jaehyun continues despite the outburst. "Since we've been overextending the electricity bill in the clubhouse, we'll have to use these spotlights Chenle stole from what was left of EXO's Tempo set, try not to leave things plugged in anymore. Also, sign-ups for the potluck are posted on the group Discord under the announcements channel. Please send what you're bringing so we don't have duplicates."

"I swear to god, Jongho, if you bring your bland-ass macaroni again, you will never know peace," Ten scoffs. In seconds, three spotlights.

"Don't you dare say that, Jongho's macaroni is perfect!" San defends, nearly flipping the table over had it not been for Jaehyun holding it down.

"I will admit that I mixed up a few things in the prior recipe, although I'll fix it this time around," Jongho sighs.

"Now for the agenda," Jaehyun speaks over the conversation. "First we'll do Jungwoo's induction ceremony."

"I'm ready," Jungwoo speaks up. After months of trouble, finally, Jungwoo was being inducted into the YNSH fanclub. It had only been rumors he'd heard from the stylists, then he heard other idols talk about the highly exclusive club. Finally, finally, he's here.

"Then, we'll discuss the ominous letter we received at our club doorstep. That is all," Jaehyun sits down and straightens out his papers.

"Jungwoo, after checking all of your qualifications and all of your works, we have... somewhat unanimously agreed to let you into our highly exclusive club," Chenle narrates. Soon, the room was alight with the rest of the members. "Do you swear your entire efforts to be towards the betterment of this club?"

"Why is he making this so serious?" Yunho whispers.

"I don't really know but I'm too scared to ask," Yeseul grimaces.

"Silence in the peanut gallery!" Chenle roars. "Jungwoo, your answer."

"Yes, definitely, absolutely!" Jungwoo nods his head. Chenle hit the gavel a few times.

"Then you are officially inaugurated into the club! We have meetings bimonthly," Chenle says. "You'll be receiving a care basket within the week," he finishes.

"I'm so-" Jungwoo is immediately cut off.

"Moving on, Jaehyun, the letter," Chenle gestures. Jaehyun held up the letter. It had already been opened by him and all it was was a white envelope with a single page inside. "Read it for the club."

"Sure, yeah, uh..." Jaehyun takes his time opening it. "I know of the nature of this club, and I know that, shockingly, the sources in this group are better than most others. I propose a deal between myself and this group where we provide each other with information. To prove my intentions, see the attached flash drive, I believe our intentions are in alignment."

"Whoa," Yeseul huffs.

"Serious much?" Yunho comments.

"Use the flash drive!" Chenle demands.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on," Jaehyun pushed the drive into his laptop and a single file opens with two names and two addresses. Immediately, small gasps fill the room.

Bingo.

General Tag List: @stopeatread @bat-shark-repellant @raeincitizen @umbralhelwolf @yangsrose @kazooms

NCT Tag List: @cherrylovr @minjiville @resonantcherry 

Prominence: @leesalts @jcngh0-hq @kpopslittles1ut @marsophilia @zwiehe @uzumakioden @mythicalamphitrite @w4yh0me @dear-dreamie @samsemsame @lune1897 @billboard-singer

If you want to be added to either tag list or removed just send me a reply to this post, and ask, or a DM and I’ll add you as soon as possible!

[kyufessions]

chapter six: late for work

word count: 945

tws: mentions of food

a/n: thank y’all for liking this smau, i appreciate it <3

you and ryujin took the elevators up to the fifth floor, with you carrying two dozen flower shaped glazed doughnuts and ryujin with three boxes of random foods you both knew minho loved. the only reason you both knew is because since he had some sort of fame, he did have a kpop profile. granted, there wasn’t much listed on there about him but there was some- mainly about his favorite foods and the basics like his height, birthday, etc.

you and your friend group had been fans of minho for quite some time, always watching when he put out new content and fancams of his from him being a background dancer for multiple idol groups. that’s why when you found out he was chaeryeong’s new dance partner for class, you were all surprised. he was on the rise, why would he need a college degree in dance when he was already a professional dancer? but you weren’t complaining because you were all finally able to meet him, which was exciting to say the least.

as you both exited the elevator when it arrived at the correct floor, you both inhaled sharply to calm your excited nerves. you could hear the sound of music coming from one of the rooms along with the sound of squeaking sneakers against flooring. you both made your way over to the room at the end of the hall, peaking in to see both chaeryeong and minho dancing their hearts out. on the back wall in the corner was a man sitting on the couch with his head buried into a book, wearing a grey sweater and frames that brought out his jawline.

“about time!” chaeryeong exclaimed, stopping in the middle of her dance to run over and help with the boxes of food in her friend's hands.

both minho and seungmin exchanged confused looks, the older moving over to sit next to his friend and chugging down his water. they watched as the three of you walked over to the table in the opposite corner of the room, sprawling out the boxes of food. the mouth-watering food filled the room within seconds, causing both boys' eyes to widen in anticipation.

“uh, chaeryeong?” minho interrupted, calling from across the room. his dance partner turned her head to look at him, a smile still plastered on her face as she did so. “are we allowed to have some too? if not that’s fine i just-“

chaeryeong nodded, waving for both of them to move over to the other side of the room. “they specifically bought enough for everyone, eat up!”

the next hour and a half flew by fast, everyone chattering amongst each other and sharing stories. minho was sharing his story of becoming a professional backup dancer, which is something he rarely ever did especially with people he just met but for some reason he felt like he could trust the other three sitting in front of him. they all talked about being in college and their majors, seungmin being a psychology major along with minoring in english, ryujin studying to become a vet tech, and you being the odd one of the bunch with being a college drop-out and working full time in a local bakery.

you had always loved baking for as long as you could remember, always baking for loved ones when you can and even selling baked goods as a side hustle in middle and high school. word soon got around that you were the best at what you baked and you eventually got offered a part time job at the bakery you now work at. you went from being part time to full time within a year, becoming a manager and even adding in your own recipes on special occasions. the shop owners treated you like their own child, both of them being in their early sixties and married to one another. they even told you they would hand over the store to you one day, which is the reason why you stayed working there because it had always been your dream to have your own bakery. and here you were at twenty three, a little more than halfway there. soon enough, you were able to save up for your own apartment and moved out on your own. three years later and you were living comfortably, enjoying life as much as you could.

“oh shit..” you mumbled, looking over at the clock and quickly gathering your items to stuff them into your small bag.

“what’s wrong?” seungmin asked as he shoved yet another doughnut into his mouth, causing you to look over at him in annoyance.

“kim seungmin, you will be the death of my career.” you joked, closing the one box and holding them both together in your hands. “i have work.”

“wait!” ryujin yelled before you could start walking towards the door, placing a hand on your shoulder. “let’s take a selfie together.”

and you couldn’t say no. i mean, how could you? you never could say no to your friends, even the new ones you just made. and even though you were late for work that day, you still walked in feeling as happy as ever.

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summary: a social media au where culinary college student lee felix stumbles across a local bakery worker that catches his eye. what challenges will they face once that same bakery worker slips felix their number in a box of a dozen cupcakes?

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