#sumika x y/n | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nixytea · 2 years ago

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at the will of the waves — y.jw x reader

pairing: yang jungwon x gn!reader

genre: love is hard for wotaku (wotakoi) au, childhood friends to lovers, fluff, slight angst, one-sided pining

inspired by: フィクション - sumika

summary: to pretty much everyone you know, you’re a diligent office worker. but behind closed doors? you’re what society calls an “otaku”: obsessed with manga, anime, gaming and the like. after a traumatising event, you swear to yourself you will never again let anyone find out about this side of you, but what happens when Yang Jungwon, your best friend from middle school and fellow nerd, squeezes his way into your life again and offers you something you cannot reject ?

warnings: OOC, food, weird people, mentions of insecurities, too many anime references, girlboss y/n, inaccurate gaming terminology, maybe if this were on ao3 i'd tag it dead dove do not eat for how badly this would affect my social life if anyone sees this irl

word count: 10.65k

disclaimer: to whoever has the guts to read this: here's a pair of anti-secondhand-embarrassment goggles and a tetra pack of unsee juice, strap in cuz this was written by me six months ago in my "what in the world is romance" era so uh. yeah tldr: this is gross for me to read and edit, i suggest reading it only once to spare your soul.

taglist: @drunkjazed @kange3939 @ahnneyong

track 001 : still into you - paramore track 002: disconnected - 5sos

LEVEL 000: SINGLE PRINGLE NOT READY TO MINGLE

You’ve got a feeling the universe might just hate you. Just a teeny tiny hunch.

Today’s supposed to be a fresh start for you. New job, new coworkers, new outfit -- which you totally didn’t spend two months’ worth of your salary to purchase, no way.

So then why in the name of Eren Jaeger’s left buttcheek are you sprinting towards the train station in three-inch heels?

It’s your first day at work, you can’t afford to be late. “If i can just run a little faster-” you wheeze, frantically swinging your arms. A hiss of the doors and you’re in. “Nice, I’ll be on time at this rate,” you think to yourself. It’s the morning train, so you opt to grasp a handle dangling from the bars overhead. Relief washes over your body, relaxing your overworked calf muscles. Nothing can stop you today.

Yet as your eyes skim across a manga advertisement, you can't help but clench your free hand.

I hope no one finds out this time.

Less than ten minutes later, you find yourself in a waiting room. The door swings open, and a tall woman steps in. She doesn’t seem much older than you, yet she exudes the confidence you’ve only dreamed of having since middle school. You can't help but admire the way everything about her screams elegance and professionalism. That would’ve helped three months ago, you muse internally.

“Nice to meet you. I’m your supervisor, and I’ll be your guide for the next few weeks. We work in the same department.” She offers her hand, a graceful smile spreading across her face. “I hope we get along well.”

You grip her palm in a firm handshake, while secretly scanning her gorgeous face. “Let’s work hard together!’

Your supervisor leads you into the hallway, briefing you as she strides along. Thoroughly engrossed in your new mentor’s advice, you only realise someone else is in the corridor when your shoulder brushes theirs ever so slightly. Yet you continue walking on after a quick apology, attention returning to -

Wait.

You swivel around, disregarding your supervisor’s confused mumble. “Yang Jungwon?!”

The once-fading back of your victim pauses, head lolling to his side. “Y/n?”

Your mind races in overdrive, thoughts scrambling in your head as you force your mouth to say something at all. “H-hey, Jungwon! It’s um, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Last time we met was in middle school!” Your hand lifts in a shaky wave, heart skipping at the glimpse of his familiar smirk. “It’s so unexpected! What are the odds that we’d be working here together?” Avoiding the curious gazes of your supervisor and Jungwon’s colleague, you continue rambling on. “Uhh…let’s catch up over dinner! Don’t be late!” You mentally slap yourself to shut your mouth, and breeze past the two men. Phew, that was close. You cannot let the only person who knows your darkest secret go free. Luckily you’d spotted him on your first day, or who knows-

“By the way, are you tabling at Comic Con?”

You swear you were one word away from a heart attack. “H-haha, very funny. You know I don’t do that stuff, why would you ask that? Bye now!”

“…I’m screwed.”

Eleven hours later, you find yourself at a nearby 24-hour arcade, your focus on the sparkly joystick loosened by years of manhandling.

“The bait’s been set. Passing it over to you now.” You swap places with Jungwon to finally chug your can of Calpis. “Mmmm, that’s the stuff,” you sigh happily, never tearing your eyes away from the screen, where Jungwon’s doing up the finishing touches for the claw machine. He’s always been better at these things than you, but you’d like to believe it’s because he spent more time in arcades than you did when you were kids. You were more into stupid otome games with cheesy endings.

“Got it. Told you it was possible,” Jungwon announces, the collection door swinging open to reveal a fluffy dino stuffie. “Seriously, after all these years you still need my help?”

You let out a derisive snort as you seized the plushie from his hands. “Well, you haven’t changed much either, have you? Nearly told everyone I’m an otaku on my first day. I do have a death wish, mind you.”

His smirk really is the same, you realise, as his dimples emerge as prominently as you remember. It’s actually quite endearing, though you’ll never tell him that. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t have known you’re a closet otaku now? You used to be so blatant about it. ‘Ohmagawsh have you seen the new nyeh nyeh nyeh? The love interests are so hot I’d lick their abs.’ That’s how you sounded like, you know?”

“Stop, someone could hear us and I can say goodbye to my job!”

“Relax, no one’s here. You never used to care so much about people’s opinions, though,” he quips, reaching out to grab a piece of fried chicken. “So? What’s the tragic backstory behind your pathetically closeted fangirling?”

Your elbow accidentally collides with Jungwon’s ribs, nearly pushing him out of the high chair. “I was only like that with you. And it’s…a long story.”

“It’s also a long night.” That was how Jungwon was. Always there, always listening.

You have to take a swig of your Calpis to steel yourself, after all it’s not a story you like to tell. But he’s your best friend, and he’s the only one you’d trust with a fraction of your secret.

“Somewhere during university, I guess the pressure to be a…normal student was pretty high. So I decided to put my uh, unorthodox hobbies into the rhetorical closet?” You pause, lips pinching as you try to avoid his questioning look. Somehow you can’t bring yourself to tell him the whole truth. A part of you begs to confide in him, because you just know he’s the only one who might understand. But…

Jungwon watches you, an emotion you can’t pinpoint brewing in his sharp eyes. “Is that all?”

“Y-yeah. It’s a pretty good reason if you ask me.” Your tone is more defensive than you mean it to be, considering this is meant to be no more than a casual catch-up session with an old friend.

He shrugs, stare boring right through your soul. It’s funny how the guy you haven’t met for half a decade is the one who knows you best, even better than yourself. “I don’t believe you.”

And you crack. It’s surprising, really, that after so many months of holding yourself together it is Jungwon who becomes the catalyst to your spiral. Your vision melts into a blurry kaleidoscope of colours as the words fall from your lips. You tell him everything. About you falling so deeply in love with your boyfriend of three years that you plucked up the courage to tell him about your less-than-perfect lifestyle. About him asking for a breakup in a matter of minutes after the confession. About him telling everyone at your workplace, about people you once considered friends pretending you don’t exist, about being so openly mocked you have no choice but to resign and escape from a nightmare you know was created by your own two hands. And you know telling Yang Jungwon about your dirty laundry isn’t going to turn back time, isn’t going to bring your old life back, but you tell him anyway because it feels safe and right somehow. He feels safe and right.

He always has.

When your world stops spinning and you return to reality, you find yourself sinking your nails into the plushie, eyes stinging slightly, and Jungwon’s hand is on your back, palm rubbing circles into your back. You’ve gotta admit, it feels better than you thought it would. It coaxes more out of you, words you didn’t know were in you before. “I swore off telling anyone I date about being an otaku. Saves me so much more effort and heartbreak.”

He raises his eyebrows, a thin crease forming across his forehead. “What about finding an otaku partner? Saved you the heartache.”

The question instantly sobers you up, your back straightening as if you weren’t on the verge of sobbing your eyeballs out a moment ago. “Hey, that’s just weird! Besides, I’d get zero attention from them.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

The conversation evolves into something more lighthearted, and it’s like the five years between you two was never there to begin with. You spend the rest of the night basking in the waves of nostalgia, reliving the freedom of your childhood.

Hours later, Jungwon checks his wristwatch. “It’s late, I’ll walk you home. We still have work in the morning.”

The walk to your apartment is silent, save for the whistling of the cool night breeze in the city streets. Jungwon’s footsteps are silent - he walks just like a cat, you conclude after watching him slink along your side.

“Thanks for tonight, Yang.”

“Anytime, L/n.”

You continue soaking in the peaceful atmosphere, knowing tomorrow will be a hectic work day. Such a night is hard to come by, but maybe with Jungwon around, things’ll be more fun?

“…me?”

“Hm?” You turn to ask him what he said, but he beats you to it.

“What about me?”

You stare at him in confusion. “What about…you?”

“You said you wouldn’t tell your partner about being an otaku. Then what about me as a partner? I’d help you clear stages in games whenever you needed, I’d support you at conventions, and I wouldn’t judge you for your interests. And while we date, I’ll teach you how to not screw up future dates. You know, some sort of friends with benefits, except the benefits aren’t the usual…you know. You can treat me as practice for relationships. Dump me whenever you find someone you actually like.” Somehow, his face remains clear of any signs of embarrassment as he oh-so boldly states something that shouldn’t seem as simple as he makes it sound.

His proposal shocks you, no doubt. He’s never shown any interest in you romantically, as far as you can remember, so he can’t possibly be hitting on you right now. Besides, Yang Jungwon is a level-headed person, and his offer doesn’t seem so bad the more you think about it.

You reach out to grip his hand in a firm handshake, watching as Jungwon fails to hide the satisfied grin spreading across his face. You’ve got a feeling your face is mirroring his too. “Deal.”

And henceforth, your whirlwind otaku romance begins.

LEVEL 000 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

LEVEL 001: MEET THE HOMIES

You’d think getting a partner would be a life-changing experience that completely shook your world, but Jungwon just wasn’t acting like it was a big deal. You, on the other hand…

Embarrassing as it was, you were hiding from him. Who knows why. It was as though last night was a secret you had to take to your grave.

So here you are, crouched under a table while Jungwon and his friends are messing with their Switches over lunch.

Since you aren’t too far away from their table, you can catch snippets of his conversation with his gaming buddies. And as you stare a little longer, the sudden realisation hits you: you know those guys. They lived in your neighbourhood too, went to the same school, played hundreds of games with you and Jungwon too.

Kim Sunoo, the one whose name Jungwon used to call with more excitement than you’d ever seen before. He was older than you by a year, and he was the reason you and Jungwon started gaming. Every inch of his house was covered in anime posters, Genshin cosplays, full sets of manga volumes and action figurines. Plus, he had a treasure trove of a game collection that lined every wall in his house, something that still amazed you. Apparently, he’d gotten the money through cosplay wig commissions or some voice acting gig (the dude had a honeyed croon every fangirl could swoon for). Cunning, hardworking and motivated. You could see him write those on his resume.

Then there was the dude who hulked over your…boyfriend and Sunoo. Nishimura Riki. If you recalled correctly, Riki was like a little brother to Jungwon, who would take him anywhere and everywhere. His parents owned a dance studio, and Riki had put his skills to good use. Cosplay thirst traps were all your feeds consisted of, and you’d stumbled across Riki’s account one day, featuring the tall boy in a maid outfit. By the looks of it, he worked here. The apron gave it away.

Just how much did you miss?

“Yah! That’s the third time you missed a shot today. And you never miss!” you hear Sunoo whine. “Who are you and what have you done with my talented dongsaeng?”

Riki snickers “Hyung, he’s distracted. Look at him. He can’t focus.” He leans towards Jungwon, a meaningful smile curling on his face. “He logged on late last night, didn’t he? I bet he went on a date.”

Jungwon’s fingers slipped.

“AAAAAAAH JUNGWON-AH WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Sunoo’s wails fill the cafe, earning a hasty shush from Jungwon. “Honestly, you guys are so dramatic. Is it so unbelievable?”

“Ah, but hyung, this is different. You’ve been single your whole life cause you can’t get over-”

“Shut up.”

You hear Jungwon exhale, fingers fiddling with the power button of his switch. “Look, it’s not like that okay? She and I are just dating till she gets an actual boyfriend.”

A pause. Then hysterical laughter begins to echo through the small cafe. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Won,” Sunoo wheezes, slapping his knee so hard you hear the smack ringing in your ears. “You of all people should know these things never end the way you expect it to. Aren’t you supposed to be a shoujo plot expert?”

“What do you even expect me to know? This isnt real life!”

“Hyung, I know a good pick up line you can use on her. Are you an angel? Cause your health bar dropped when you fell from heaven.”

“That sucks, Riki.”

Much as you’d like to watch Jungwon dig a deeper hole for himself with every word that comes out of his mouth, you do have an ounce of pity for him.

You walk over to their table, pulling out a chair. “Oh? Didn’t expect to bump into you here.”

Sunoo falls off his chair in shock, but he just stays on the floor staring at you with almost comically wide eyes. “Y/n?! We all thought you died when you disappeared from our neighbourhood?”

“Died?! I left to study, who told you I died?”

Shaking his head, Sunoo giggles deliriously. “Wait till you find out what Jungwon’s love life is like. Did you know he’s got a…a fake girlfriend?”He barely gets the words out before another fit of giggles knocks him over.

You clear your throat. “I…might know a thing or two.” Jungwon’s head spins towards you, the existential horror evident on his betrayed glare. “Y/n, why would you tell them that?” The boys perk up almost immediately, the sound of Sunoo slamming the table reverberating off the walls as the owner shoots dirty glares at Riki. “No way, his fake girl is you?”

Just as Sunoo is about to tease you even more, Riki comes to your rescue. “Ah, who cares. At least you can game with us now. Hoyoverse ID, please.”

You wince, grinning sheepishly. “Yeah, about that, my ex deleted my account as revenge. I haven’t found time to restart.”

“Sheesh, Y/n, what kind of exes do you have?

“Bitter ones, obviously.”

“So Jungwon’s better than them all?”

“Oi Riki shut your mouth.”

LEVEL 001 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

LEVEL 002: FIRST DATE?!

Being in a relationship requires commitment. That much you’re aware of. Miraculously, so is Jungwon despite his absolute lack of experience.

“So Riki wasn’t joking? You’ve really never dated anyone ? Why?”

Jungwon sighs. If he weren’t so busy with his mouse, he’d probably have glared you down. “Didn’t think I needed it, don’t ask why.”

“Sheesh, okay. So touchy.”

This is how you’ve been spending your after-hours: playing any PVP game that suits your mood with your…boyfriend? Neither of you had really made an effort to give each other any experience dating someone who didn’t spend 24 hours a day thinking of 2D characters.

Jungwon’s fingers fly across the WASD as he continues the conversation. It’s a skill he seems to have acquired after so many years of doing this with Sunoo and Riki. “I think we should stick to the plan we agreed on.”

“What plan? We never planned anything.”

He swallows audibly, eyes darting around the screen of his monitor as his avatar creeps nearer towards his opponent’s “We need to try going on an actual date. Zero gaming references, strictly no mentions of your manga allowed. Practice makes perfect.”

“Practice makes perfect,” you echo. He’s right, you have to admit. It’s been fun having him around to help you level up in your games, but there’s no way you can continue on like this. The arrangement might as well be off, if that were the case.

Right?

You don’t miss the cheeky edge in his voice as he speaks. “You’ll have a harder time than me, so let’s have a bet. If you mention anything anime or manga or video game-related, I get to pick what games we play for a week.”

“Oh come on, there’s no way I’m gonna play Mario Kart for a week. If I win, you have to play a full Mystic Messenger route with me.”

Jungwon groans, falling back against the backrest as he slides away from you. “Now I really need to win.”

The following day, you find yourself standing at the gates of a small theme park. Squeals of pure delight fill the air as children dart around visitor’s legs. Pop-up shops line the edges of the park, with colourful carnival booths and cotton candy of every flavour imaginable. In other words, paradise.

Coincidentally, it’s also the place you and Jungwon visited when you graduated from high school, and you can’t help but wonder if he remembers it the way you do.

With Jungwon by your side, you head straight for the merry-go-round. Beckoning towards Jungwon, you swing your legs over a plastic horse. The spinning disc begins to rotate, and your horse bounces you upwards. “Ha, I’m finally taller than you!” you joke cheerily.

He shakes his head fondly, signature smirk curling to reveal his teeth. “In your dreams. Do you remember the first time we came here?”

“Oh yeah, in kindergarten I think? Your sister took us here. We snuck off to the spinning teacups twice.”

“If she hadn’t found us, we’d have gone a third time,” he snorts. “I miss being a scrappy kid. No need to worry if someone’s gonna kill me for my typos, or my parents nagging at me to bring a girl home. Just doing what I want to. Preferably with you.”

You hum absently, pondering on his sudden confession. It’s true, neither of you would have believed it if ten years ago, someone had told you you’d be doing a nine-to-five desk job. “Heh, we used to say we wanted to be game developers. Look at us now.”

“Look at us now.”

The next five minutes make you feel as though the two of you are in your own little bubble, and you are so lost in conversation that you almost don’t notice that the ride has stopped. As you step off the platform, you find yourself wishing this could last forever. Wasn’t so bad, was it?

“C’mon, I wanna try the roller coaster next.” Jungwon nudges you towards the loopy tracks, painted in a blinding white that reflects the bright morning sun. “Last I checked, you’re pretty good with heights.”

With his hand on your shoulders, he steers you towards the winding line of poor souls who don’t know what’s coming. Luckily for you, this isn’t your first time. Following Jungwon’s lead, you march forward. The day’s going well so far, but somehow it just doesn’t really feel like a date. Oh well, that can be built up over time. You squeeze your way through a small crowd, peering over tall shoulders. And as the crowd parts ever so slightly…

It can’t be.

Not far from you, a head of dyed blonde hair glints in the sunlight. As you lean forward, you see the face attached to it. Your ex.

And hand-in-hand with him is another ex-colleague.

You should’ve known, really. They’d been making eyes at each other even while you were dating, so this shouldn’t be a surprise. But as your fingers dig into the sleeves of Jungwon’s sweater, you can’t ignore the way your heart clenches painfully, dread coursing through your limbs as you will your legs to just move along.

For better or worse, Jungwon is a highly perceptive person. He follows your gaze. “Is that…” His voice trails off, hands tightening their grip on your back.

You swallow thickly, trying to tear your eyes away. “Y-yeah. Let’s keep moving, shall we?”

Forcing a smile, you surge forward with greater resolve than ever. Today’s not about him, is it? It’s about you and Jungwon. Right. Today can still be a good day.

“Y/n?”

Jungwon’s voice rings clearly despite the bustling visitors surrounding you. You look up in surprise as his arm wraps around your shoulders, hand squeezing your bicep firmly. An assurance. “Ignore him. Even if he spots you, he wouldn't dare come here.”

“And if he does?”

“He’s just a side character in the grand scheme of things. You’re the main focus today, don’t let him ruin our date…or whatever.”

His words send your heart aflutter, warmth filling your veins like honey. Leave it to Yang Jungwon to make you feel special. “Now say it with me: I am weirdo otaku, and my ex is a smelly normie with no real hobbies.”

You know he means it as a joke, but somehow you can hear your voice growing louder and more confident as you repeat after him for laughs, and you realise that for the first time in months, you are perfectly calm about the whole thing. Maybe it’s the fact that you know for sure he’s in the wrong now. Maybe it’s the fact that Jungwon literally has your back. Either way, you’ve finally found it in you to stand up for yourself.

“Right, I’ve got a date to enjoy with my boyfriend.” Hooking your arm with Jungwon’s, you lead him towards the cotton candy stand. “I can’t stand the sight of that bastard, so let’s go.”

A genuine smile graces Jungwon’s cat-like features, dimples deepening as he gazes at you with so much fondness in his eyes it’s as though you’re the only one in his world. You suppose years of knowing each other gives him that right, but you can’t explain away the tickly sensation in your belly when he looks at you that way. “Well, I’m glad. At least that’s one obstacle we’ve overcome through this amazing plan of ours-“

“And thank you for joining me in the Mystic Messenger grind.”

“What? Since when?” He gapes, horror dawning on his face as he realises the situation he’s gotten himself stuck in.

“Oh, you know exactly what you did.”

“...that doesn’t count.”

“Does too!”

“Does not.”

“Whatever you say, loser. Get ready for a tearjerker marathon, Won. We better stock up on tissues before we start tonight.”

LEVEL 002 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

LEVEL 003: MIXED SIGNALS

You are positively, utterly, tragically, extremely screwed. Why? Because you have a chapter of a doujin to upload. Tomorrow. And said chapter is…nonexistent. And judging by the influx of comments under your discord, the fans aren’t gonna be happy if you don’t keep your promise. Then again, neither are you. You’re actually just excited for this, but to think you might just let your readers down…

You sigh, cracking your knuckles as you flop into the study chair. This is not the time to be panicking, you decide as you pick up your pen. You’ve got the plot down, the action scenes are already looping in your head, plus the cheesy romance factor is definitely, undeniably there. So what’s the issue here? Why is it that as you twirl the digital pen between your fingers, you are staring at a blank canvas?

Death by manga. Not a bad way to go out. You try to squeeze your brain, gulp down a whole cup of hot tea, hot coffee, anything at all. But none of it works. An hour later you are still met with a snowy white expanse across your PC, not a single face, hand, just nothing. Great.

You reach for your phone. Maybe checking the fan art submissions will give you some ideas. But as you pick it up, a notification tone pings, screen lighting up as a message pops into existence. A red heart floats beside the text.

won<3: why r u online on twt rn arent u supposed 2 b asleep

you: omg ur online pls save me n log on 2 discord thx

Almost immediately, your discord alert tone goes off, and Jungwon’s voice blasts from your monitor. “You okay? You should’ve turned in for the night two hours ago. What’s keeping you up?” The concern in his tone is evident, despite the virtual barrier. It feels good, to know someone’s looking out for you. Especially if that someone is Jungwon.

“Listen…you know how my new chapter is up tomorrow? Well, I kiiinda haven’t finished drawing it yet.”

The silence in your room is telling, save for what you think might be Jungwon dropping his bag of chips. “Y/n, you can’t be serious. Share the file with me, we don’t have much time if you want to get any sleep tonight at all.”

“Really? You’ll help? Thank you so so much I’ll buy you dinner tomorrow.” You fiddle with the controls, and it just so happens that Jungwon decides to turn his camera on at the exact same time. His face appears across your screen, and for a moment you forget what you’re supposed to be doing.

Although it’s past midnight, he still looks absolutely gorgeous. With the contacts off, his eyes are their natural black, sharper than when you see him in the mornings. You are about to question why he is so alert today when your eyes fall on his pursed lips, a pretty shade of pink, much like when you were kids. He did grow up well, you’ve got to admit. But instead of his features making you flustered, it seems to make your heart ache instead. It’s an inexplicable feeling, similar to nostalgia. Regret for the years you’ve lost.

“What even…y/n, I don’t think this is called being unfinished. You didn’t even start.” He runs a hand through his auburn hair, expression giving away the exasperation directed at you. “Well, we better get started. Pick your pen up, we’re in for a long night.”

The next two hours are spent brainstorming and you panicking over the lineart, while Jungwon tries to colour in the cover page. Every time you let out an “oops”, you swear you see the cat ears on Jungwon’s headset twitch in annoyance. (Not that it matters, but that’s the headset you got for him for his eighteenth birthday.)

After a while, you settle into a comfortable silence, save for the gentle tapping of your pen’s nib on the screen. “Hey, Won?”

Hearing the hum of acknowledgement from his end, you continue. “Did you…miss me when I left? I know you found out from my mother, but only because I was too scared to tell you on my own.”

There is a pause, where only Jungwon’s even breaths are audible. Finally, he answers your question. “Y/n, you were my best friend. You still are. Of course I missed you.” He says it like it is so obvious, like it is a given for him to care so much about you, platonic or not.

“Weren’t you a little…disappointed by what I was like when we met again that day? I did try to pretend I’d changed.” You’ve never actually told Jungwon that if he hadn’t talked to you that night, you were planning to never approach him again. Back then, you would’ve wanted to pretend he didn’t exist. But that night at the arcade, and how he’d shown you over the past few months that he wasn’t going anywhere, it made you wonder. Why’d you want to stick with me?

“Disappointed? Never. Not in you. You haven’t had it easy since you left our hometown, I know. But from here out, I’m sure you’ve figured out what you want, haven’t you?”

A wave of relief washes over you, the comfort dulling your senses as you rest your chin on the desk. “You’re setting my standards a little too high, you know.” Your eyelids begin to droop, the prolonged exposure to the screen beginning to take its toll on you. Slowly, the world fades to black. “Won, can you wake me in five minutes?” you manage to get out, before your consciousness slips away as you lay your head down.

Unbeknownst to you, Jungwon watches your slumbering figure, a bittersweet tang in his mouth as he admires your fluttering eyelashes, the slight rise and fall of your shoulders, the tiny twitches of your enticing lips, a virtual barrier separating him from your sleeping frame. His fingers trace the image of you cast on his pc, chest cavity clenching painfully as he realises how much more beautiful you’ve become in the five years that passed with regret. “If I had told you back then, would we be what we are now?”

The next day arrives without a hitch. You had to apologise to Jungwon for falling asleep on call, to which he replied with a cheeky eye roll. “If you want to make it up to me, come over to my place tonight. Wii sports isn’t fun as a single-player game.”

You wrap up your work in record time, with your supervisor being so incredibly impressed that she almost tries to assign you extra work, but you manage to run away before she gives you overtime for the third time this week.

Jungwon has been to your place many times, but you haven’t actually visited his apartment before. The times you go over to pick up stuff aren’t counted because you don’t actually go in, and you’re honestly curious to see what your…boyfriend(?)’s taste in interior design is.

After picking up some takeaway from a nearby yakitori place, you and Jungwon make the short trip from the office to his place. “What’s it like? Do you have a whole cabinet dedicated to your vocaloid figurines or something?”

“Nope,” he shrugs, an odd look on his face as he eyes you warily. “I have some…ah never mind.” He stops, and you realise you have reached his front door. He swings the door open, hands fumbling in the dark for the light switch. “Welcome to my apartment. Make yourself at home. There’s some soda in the fridge if you’re thirsty.”

One look into the apartment is all you need to know that Yang Jungwon is the same, tidy creature you’ve always known. The living room is minimalistic, with a deep blue couch in the centre. A small television leans against a wall, some wires disappearing into the back. To the left, a small cloth-covered box sits in the corner, and you assume it is for his gadgets. The kitchen looks extremely new. Too new, even, and knowing Jungwon he’s probably never actually used it before. A short corridor leads to the bedroom, but the lights don’t reach that area.

Jungwon drops the keys into a small basket on the kitchen counter. “Bathroom’s in the bedroom down the hallway. If you want, you can take a shower. I’ll leave a shirt for you. Might not be a good fit though.” He doesn’t even have to look at you to know, since his shoulders are just so broad that if you were to put on his clothes, they’d probably slide right off you. But why does the thought of wearing his shirt make your cheeks burn? You used to do this when you were kids, when you crashed at his house for sleepovers and you forgot your pyjamas. You’d borrow his favourite pyjamas just to watch him pout, but he could never say no to you. And when he began to outgrow you, you were a little disappointed when he decided to just give that set to you since “you seemed to like them so much”.

“I invited Sunoo and Riki, they’ll be over soon. I’ll get the console set up, so you go clean yourself up.”

Without a single protest, you thank him and make your way into the bedroom. You’re dying to wash up after a long day at work. The moment you step in, you are greeted by the pleasant smell of lavender and chamomile. His childhood home used to smell like that too, so the aroma is somewhat nostalgic, and very welcome too. The bed covers are tucked into the sides of the bedframe neatly, its colours matching the couch outside. His favourite colour hadn’t changed all this time. In fact, you’re willing to bet his gaming controller is blue.

As you peer into the washroom, you notice a small bottle of makeup remover, its contents still to the brim. You’d mentioned passing your favourite brand once, and there it is, perched on the bathroom counter. For some strange reason, an odd warmth trickles into your chest as you shut the door.

Your shower is quick but thorough, and as you step out you notice the pile of clothes on the bed. Slipping on the soft fabric, you sniff the sleeves. It smells kind of like the cologne you told him smelled nice on him once. So he did remember. He always did remember the weirdest things, after all.

“Who did?” Jungwon leans into your ear from behind you, his breathy whisper tickling its way into your ears. The sudden assault on your hearing makes your neck twitch away from him, but as you lurch away from him your balance tips. The fabric of Jungwon’s loose T-shirt bunches in your fist as you hold onto him for support, but you end up dragging him down with you. As your back hits the bed, you hear a soft oomph from Jungwon. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” you gasp, turning your head to the left and-

oh.

His face is inches from yours, a proximity that you never would’ve thought possible until now. Every shaky breath between his lips is accentuated with a nervous swallow as you watch him attempt and fail to pry his eyes away from your lips. You gasp audibly, feeling lightheaded despite already being on your back and your fingers are twitching desperately. The odd warmth is back, and your body moves on its own accord, fingers reaching out to Jungwon’s jaw. But as your fingertips are just a millimetre away from his skin, Jungwon seemingly sobers up, abruptly breaking the spell for himself. “S-sorry, don’t know what came over me,” he stutters, sitting up before you can touch him. He moves to get off the bed, but something within you breaks. Without warning, your hand snaps to his wrist, tugging him backwards and it’s all too fast, you shouldn’t be thinking about your best friend like this-

But here you are, leaning in to join your lips with his. It’s not your first kiss, but it may as well be with the way your heartbeat pounds in your ears, adrenaline shooting through your veins as you wrap your fingers around the nape of his neck, pulling him closer. The distance is too little, too much, the electrifying heat unbearable yet so addictive. With your eyes shut, the hesitant brush of his palm on your hip is magnified tenfold, and your heart races as you feel him bury a hand in your wet hair, his thumb grazing your cheek slightly. It’s gentle, it’s sweet, it’s perfect, and you smile against his lips. But before you can lock your fingers with his, everything disappears. He pulls away from every part of you, and it is only then that your eyes flutter open.

“Y/n, I…”

A weight in your chest drops as you see the guilty expression on his face, eyes looking anywhere but you. “You…I’m sorry.”

You shake your head, fingers reaching for his own, but he retracts his hand faster. “Wait, don’t go. We just…you just - okay, what are you saying sorry for again?”

He gulps, throat bobbing as he purses his lips firmly to stop them from trembling. “I think you’re probably just confused since we hadn’t seen each other for a while. Just, let’s not do…that again, or-”

“Or what?!”

“Or I’ll think you actually like me.”

You scan his face, searching for any signs of mischief, but his eyes are still averted, biting his lip like a guilt-ridden cat. Normally you’d think this is cute, but right now nothing but irritation is clouding over any instinct to be calm about whatever’s going on right now. “Jungwon, I literally just kissed you. What else would I mean other than that? People don’t kiss people they don’t like.”

“You’re confused, Y/n,” he sighs, rubbing his temple tiredly. You want those hands on yours right now, but he isn’t going to give it to you and you know it. “You don’t know what you want. Heck, neither of us know what we’re doing. What was this stupid deal anyway? It was selfish of me to even let this happen, I mean it’s been five years. This was just a whole stupid idea to give teenage me what he wanted. You probably don’t even need me in your life, and it’s so stupid of me to want to be in yours like this.”

“Are you kidding me? I want you here. I like you, and I want you by my side just like this right now. I’m not leaving again, Jungwon. Do you…did you even like me at all?”

“Yes. Too much. But you’re…” he trails off, a muffled groan escaping his lips as he buries his face into his knees. “If you knew how much I really like you, you’d never be able to leave.”

“Then I won’t-”

The doorbell interrupts you, and Jungwon takes the opportunity to scramble off the bed, leaving you alone in the room. Sunoo and Riki’s loud banter drifts into the small space. As Jungwon’s scent becomes too strong for you to bear in the room, you grab a breather before walking out. “Hey guys,” you murmur, resisting the urge to roll your eyes as Jungwon pretends to be busy with the controllers.

“Were we interrupting something?” Sunoo asks absently, fussing with the snacks he brought from the convenience store downstairs. When neither of you reply him, Riki smirks knowingly. “Lovers’ quarrel, then?”

You smack Riki in the arm. “You’ll regret that when I kick your butt at Wii sports later.”

At your overly confident declaration, Jungwon lets out a loud snort. “Oh yeah, because you’re so good at bowling, Y/n.” His snide comment ticks you off, bringing out your competitive streak. “Oh it’s on, Yang,” you growl, cracking your knuckles in the most menacing angle you can find.

The night is full of laughter, despite the tension between you and Jungwon. It’s easy to ignore, with Sunoo and Riki over, but every now and then you look over at Jungwon, who purposefully maintains his absolute lack of eye contact with you. Which is atypical of him, and you’re sure Sunoo’s already noticed but knows better than to point it out. After rounds and rounds of stupid games that usually end with someone falling over, you flop onto the couch, cracking open a can of marble soda. “That last move was killer. Don’t think I’ll be able to walk tomorrow,” you groan, taking a swig of your soda as if it’s alcohol and you’re a tired mother. (Technically you all can legally drink, but you know better than to do that tonight because Jungwon will freak if you guys throw up in his apartment.)

Riki chuckles, tossing another can across the living room towards Sunoo. “Ha, Y/n’s getting old.”

“I’ll get the Salonpas, you guys sit here,” Jungwon sighs, jumping up from his seat on the couch to the cupboard behind you. He throws a few at your head, and chucks another box at Sunoo, who glares at him like he just said mint chocolate ice cream’s the most disgusting dessert he’s ever eaten.

“You’ll thank me tomorrow, Sunoo.”

Mumbling a string of inaudible words, Sunoo slaps a patch on his shoulder. “What time do you want to sleep?”

“NEVER.”

Jungwon fiddles with a bunch of wires, and the screen of his nintendo flashes across the TV. “Anyone up for a DDLC run?”

“How do you still have this? And why is your progress already two days in?”

“Y/n and I played it the two weeks we were messing with Mysme, so we wouldn’t get bored.”

“Oh nice, whose death did you remember most?”

“Gotta be Yuri’s, I think.”

“No way, Natsuki’s freaked me out more. I nearly threw the game out the window when I saw it.”

“Natsuki?!”

Their quarrelling continues, and you shake your head in amusement. You’ve played the game multiple times, enough to the point nothing about it scares you anymore. When you and Jungwon first played it together in elementary school, you couldn’t sleep for a whole week. Cue the endless sleepovers, where every little creak of the door would jerk you two awake. You remember having to hold Jungwon’s hand under the covers for security.

But now, that memory only serves to remind you of the events that came about a few hours ago. Disconnecting yourself from the conversation, you lean back into the couch, fingers subconsciously drifting to your own lips. The feeling hasn’t really faded, resurfacing every time you think about it too long. As your eyes flutter shut, your mind goes back to what he said earlier. Are you really using him as a rebound? But you still believe, after all this time, that it’s fate who brought you back to him. You need him in your life again, nothing to do with your ex.

Which brings you to the question: where’s the fine line between friendship and romance? Because with every passing day, Jungwon’s every move makes you start to question what he really means to you.

You hear a rustling of fabric, and a small felt blanket is draped over you, the soft material sliding over your toes. “Is she asleep?” you hear Sunoo ask.

Judging by the fact that Jungwon’ voice is nearest to you, you assume he’s the one who gave you the blanket. “Sure looks like it. Guess we bored her to sleep.” The couch cushions sink, and you feel the backrest dip.

“So, Jungwon, what happened before we got here? Did you guys fight or something?”

Jungwon sighs. “It’s…I think I made a mistake with her. She’s mixing up her feelings, and she probably just missed me.” There is an unmistakable bitterness in his words, the way he spits them out with such self-doubt that it makes your heart ache. You want to open your eyes and grab him by the shoulders and shake him awake, but now isn’t the time.

“But Jungwon hyung, I don’t think she just misses you. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. It’s kinda gross. You two are disgustingly cute.”

“It’s not romantic, Riki. She didn’t like me when we were kids, why would she like me now? The least I could do for her is to not get in the way of her future since that’s what we agreed on, but-”

“But do you like her?” Sunoo asks, ripping open a bag of potato chips.

“I don’t know. When we were kids I coud just brush it off as stupid teenage infatuation. I thought I got over her, but the moment I met her again everything felt different. It’s...I don't know. It’s just not the same.” The frustration is evident in his tone, and you have to fight the urge to crack your eyelids open and yell at him. It all hits you for the first time how hard your departure from his life must have hit him. His own best friend (and childhood crush) disappearing without a trace, and not even telling him.

Luckily, Sunoo comes to your rescue. “She returns your feelings, then. She’s back for good, Jungwon. You’re not holding her back, trust me. She’ll stay this time.”

The long pause is almost painful for you, who cannot see the look on Jungwon’s face now. You can picture it, but the curiosity is near unbearable. To your surprise, Jungwon is the one who breaks the silence.

“But…what if she wants to leave again? What then?”

What then? It’s a question begging to be answered, an enigma that should not be. Even Sunoo falls silent at Jungwon's raw, vulnerable confession that he’s scared, terrified even that he’ll lose you someday. No, you want to say. I won’t leave again. But would he believe you? Sunoo might. Riki does. But Jungwon? The one who missed you twice as much as you missed him, the one who took you back in a heartbeat, the one who willingly let himself suffer for a taste of what he thought he couldn’t have. It’s not fair, you decide. It’s not fair that Yang Jungwon is so selfless and aware of every little detail, pretending to be unbothered by everything under the sun. But you know that’s not the truth, that beneath those sturdy shoulders you’ve leaned on for far too long, there is a boy who just wants your love. It’s ironic, really, that the person who hurt him most is the one who has the power to end the years-long torment he’s been put through.

Your thoughts are jumbled in your brain as a restless sleep finally claims you. Just before you nod off, you hear the flip of a switch, the rustling of a mattress being pulled out, and…

A kiss on the forehead.

LEVEL 003 COMPLETE. PROCEED? >YES >NO

SIDE QUEST OPEN! PROCEED? >YES >NO

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

SIDE QUEST XX: MEET THE PARENTS

After that groundbreaking sleepover, a lot of things go unsaid between you and Jungwon. Somehow, there’s a weird gap where you’re eager to talk about what happened that day, while Jungwon seems to want to avoid it completely, contrary to what he said that night. You still pass each other at work, but no text messages ever come in like they used to, inviting you to play whatever mind-numbing game he feels like. It’s the quiet that scares you most, and even though Sunoo called you the other day to tell you not to worry, that Jungwon will come to his senses already, you fear that this is the day Jungwon ends his common sense streak.

You’re beginning to plan on how to get a key to his apartment when you hear a light tapping on your work booth. Swivelling your chair around, you find yourself face to face with the very person who’s been occupying your thoughts. You take a moment to look him up and down, searching for any signs he may be regretting pushing you away that day. But all you see is a sheepish Jungwon, dressed in the cutest pink sweater you’ve ever seen, and the earphones you gave him hanging around his neck. “Um, Y/n…can we talk?”

For a moment, your heart leaps. Is he going to make amends? You jump up, dragging him into a secluded corner. “Is this about…you know?”

“No…I’m sorry. It’s the opposite, actually. It kinda slipped my mind about what we wanted to do over the weekend. Do you still remember?”

Remember? Of course you remember. This weekend, you were supposed to go back to your hometown to visit both your parents. You’d gone back to spend time with your parents before, but never with any of the neighbours who used to dote on you as a child. And after the arrangement you and Jungwon had, you decided to visit his family, where he would introduce you as his girlfriend just to get his parents off his back about “settling down”.

But now that whatever’s between you two is more obvious than ever, it would probably make sense to Jungwon to cancel. Yet a part of you deflates at the thought. “I still wanna go, if that’s what you mean.”

You watch as Jungwon gulps, throat bobbing as he squeezes his hands together. “Won’t you feel a little weirded out? I mean, after…that, I’d understand completely.”

“Hate to break it to you Jungwon-ssi, but the awkwardness is very much one-sided.”

He seems to hesitate for a moment, before speaking up again. “Are you sure-”

“YES. I want your mother’s jajangmyeon. You can’t keep me away from it forever.”

And with that, the deal is done. Ignoring Jungwon’s absolutely manic laugh of disbelief, you slip back into your seat, a plan already beginning to form.

That same weekend, you stand in front of the Yang family’s apartment, a death grip on the handle of the crocker in your hands. Yet when paired side by side with Jungwon, it’s clear almost immediately who’s the stressed one.

“Isn’t the girlfriend supposed to be the scared one when meeting the parents? Why are you the one acting like you’re about to faint in front of your own house?!” you chide, nudging him with your elbow hard enough to throw his balance off. Still, he squeezes your shoulder in what you assume is some awkward show of reassurance. “You don’t have to do this, no one’ll blame you.”

“Now is not the time to be regretting your decisions, so suck it up. You’re the only one with a problem about this.” You can’t help the curt edge in your tone, because try as you might, it’s undeniable that meeting the Yang family after so many years freaks you out. They loved you as their son’s best friend, no doubt, but as a potential future daughter-in-law?

Before either of you can start to get cold feet, you lunge for the doorbell. The button is worn, from years of you, Sunoo and Riki jabbing it every day. From the sound of it, the batteries must’ve been replaced recently, but the melody retains its same nostalgic tune.

Almost immediately, you hear the fumbling of keys in a lock, and the door swings wide open to reveal a familiar face.

“ Jungwon-ah, you’re here-” It’s as though you can pinpoint the exact moment his mother realises who the girl standing next to her son is. “Is that…Y/n? It’s been so long! We’ve missed you so much! Jungwon-ah, why didn’t you tell me you met her? I could’ve organised dinner with her family long ago! Ah, what a wonderful surprise. Come in, come in!” She invites you in without waiting for you to greet her, practically dragging you into the house. “Make yourself at home, although you probably already feel at home. Oh, is this for me? Thank you so much, dear, what a thoughtful child you are!” Accepting the pot of food you prepared, she hurries into the kitchen for a pair of mittens.

You take your time to look around with Jungwon’s supervision. Not much has changed, save for the little white gate barely holding back the family dog. Maeumi (which is the adorable ball of fluff’s name, according to Jungwon) leans against the gate eagerly, barking with sheer joy at the sight of Jungwon. “Do you…wanna pet her?” Jungwon asks awkwardly as he notices you eyeing her in adoration. As he gets a nod from you, he can’t help the chuckle that escapes from him, and he bends down to fiddle with the lock.

Almost instantly, Maeumi bounds into Jungwon’s outstretched arms, licking his face uncontrollably as Jungwon laughs. “So it’s easier for a dog to get a kiss from you than a human, huh,” you mumble softly. Jungwon just rolls his eyes, his cheeks turning visibly red.

You hear the slam of a door. “Why didn’t anyone tell me Jungwon was here…oh Y/n!” Jungwon’s sister runs out of her room, sweeping you into a tight embrace. “Who would’ve guessed, our sweet baby brother brings his childhood sweet-”

“NOONA.”

She giggles deliriously, absently dismissing Jungwon with a wave of her hand. “Come on, Y/n. We have lots to catch up on.”

The rest of the night goes by seamlessly. Dinner is a casual affair, which feels more like a reunion as your parents drop by unexpectedly and end up joining in the conversation. As expected, most of the questions are about you and Jungwon. (“Where did you meet?” “How long have you been dating?”) With Jungwon by your side throughout the meal, you manage to catch him staring at you an absurd number of times, and they always end with him ducking away again. He’s usually confident in these kinds of settings, and he probably would appear so to everyone else, but for some reason you can almost feel the nervousness radiating off him like he’s some sort of weird lava lamp. Still, things go as planned without any slips of the tongue where you might accidentally reveal that your “love lives” (if any) were in jeopardy.

After the plates have been washed and cleared away, everyone shifts into the living room again, all the parents claiming their spots on the large L-shaped sofa. You, Jungwon and his sister seat yourselves on the floor, Maeumi resting on your belly. Surprisingly, the puppy took a liking to you quickly.

As the conversation lulls on, Jungwon leans nearer towards you. “Tired? I can take you home early if you’d like.” In response, you slap his thigh gently. “No one’s going anywhere, stop trying to make me leave before I work my magic on your parents. Too scared they’ll make you keep me?” As expected, Jungwon pointedly ignores you, opting to take a sip of his tea.

Half an hour in, Jungwon’s sister suddenly rises. “Hey Y/n, can you come out to the balcony with me? I want to catch some air.” She hauls you to your feet, tugging you towards the balcony far away from the others. As she locks the door, panic begins to claw up your throat. “Uh, what’s going on?”

She pats your head affectionately, sighing as she tries not to laugh. “Why do you look so scared? I’m not going to kill you, relax. I did, however, want to talk to you about something.” She gazes up at the night sky, leaning against the railing as she smiles softly. “So, Jungwon actually told me about you two way before our parents knew you two were…dating? I dunno, you guys are unlabelled right now aren’t you?”

You nod slowly, joining her on the edge of the balcony. “Honestly, I already know what I want, but Jungwon’s…scared? Worried? Maybe that’s the better word for it, but either way he thinks I’m confused about everything. Which could not be further from the truth, because I’m, uh. You know.”

“Falling in love harder than you expected to?” She sends a knowing smirk your way, one you can make out despite the relative darkness. She’s always been so aware of Jungwon’s life, and the lives of people around him. You’re no exception, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Yeah. It’s funny, really, how we went from friends to…this. I miss when it wasn’t so complicated, but things change. Feelings change, and I guess I don’t want things between me and him to stay the same anymore,” you admit. It’s kind of strange to be venting to your crush’s sister, but she probably knows him better than you. If not her, then who?

She turns to face you properly, a wistful expression on her face as she stares into space. “He tells me it’s just fate that brought you two together again, you know. But if it were just fate, he wouldn’t have carried those headphones you got him all those years ago literally everywhere. I’m willing to bet he’d have spent the rest of his life looking for you.” She’s right, and you know it. It’s not fate that brought you together. It can’t be, because that would mean everything that happened so far can be chalked up to everyone just following some story where you already know the ending. You made this decision on your own, to fall for Jungwon. He chose, years ago, to not let go of his feelings for you. And you refuse to let yourself be tossed around by the waves of life any longer. This time, Yang Jungwon will not disappear from your life, lost to the trials of time.

“Don’t let him out of your sight, Y/n. Dependable as he may seem, he’s still the baby of the family. You’d be surprised at how insecure Jungwon can be, especially when it comes to you. Talk some sense into him, will you?”

The exchange feels like an eternity, yet at the same time too short. You’re not nearly as brave as you want to be, not to mention when it comes to feelings like this. “But the heart wants what the heart wants, doesn’t it?” you muse, earning a pleased look from Jungwon’s sister. “That’s the spirit. You have full permission to punch him in the face if he still doesn’t see sense, got it? Or you can let me do it, I’d be more than happy.”

A couple hours later, when the cups are dry, and your eyelids begin to droop, Jungwon pulls you to your feet. “I think it’s about time we leave, Y/n has a busy day tomorrow. I’ll send you home.” Observant as always, Jungwon leads you to the door, waving goodbye to your families. The moment the door shuts behind you, his shoulders slump as though a huge weight’s been taken off. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you home.”

The journey is quiet, but as you reach the door of your apartment, it seems Jungwon has enough of the silence. “That was exhausting,” he groans breathlessly, sliding down the door as he massages his forehead. You decide that this is your opportunity to swoop in.

“But…would you do it again?”

His head snaps towards you immediately, panic flickering briefly across his face as he bites his lip, searching for the right words. “As…whatever we are right now?”

You take a step closer, leaning towards him as you stare directly into his eyes in a sudden rush of confidence. “No, I want something different.”

His throat bobs visibly as he swallows thickly, fists clenching and unclenching as he looks around, anywhere to avoid your intensifying gaze. “Y/n, we talked about this.”

“Correction: you talked, and I just listened. I heard what you told Sunoo and Riki, not that I didn’t already know how you feel.” You gently tug on his collar, bringing his face closer to yours. Your knuckles brush his cheek, and this time you relish the tingles it sends down your arm, straight to your heart. “You don’t need to tell me how you feel. A part of me’s always known. Yang Jungwon, I know you from the inside out. There’s nothing you can do that I haven’t already predicted. And it goes both ways. I’m not asking for the words ‘I love you’, because I already know. So what more do we have to hide from each other?”

Jungwon’s gaze wavers slightly, but try as he might, everything in the moment seems to be screaming, pleading with him to stay. “But you…I don’t want to be the thing that holds you back. I want you to do what you want, go where you want, whenever you want.”

“You’re all I want, Won. I’m not leaving your side again. What makes you think I could leave you behind so easily? I’ve already decided what I want. So be selfish, and ask me to stay.”

As you tighten your grip on his shirt, you step closer towards him, other hand drifting upwards to stroke his cheek. Your thumb traces the ridges of his dimples, slides down the edge of his mouth, and you can feel a surge of adrenaline as his lips part to form a word. Just one word, shaky and no more than a whisper, but it’s more than enough to stop time altogether as a tear falls from his eyes.

“Stay.”

Your vision goes blurry as you slip into his arms, his chin resting on your shoulder as his palms move to your back, pulling you closer. The fabric of his vest presses into your cheek, and your senses are filled with him. It’s too much and too little, all at the same time, his scent overwhelming you as he shakes under you. A garbled sob escapes your throat, and your fingers bunch up the fabric of his clothes for support as you both sway in place.

After what feels like hours, you pull away from his grasp. “You’re so stupid,” you blurt out, but the statement is void of malice as your voice trembles.

“Who’s the idiot who left for so many years and didn’t even try to call me?”

You wipe the tears from your eyes, slapping his arm as you try to calm yourself down. “About that…my mother told me you changed your phone and gave me your new number, but when I tried calling it an old man answered every time. Last night I was clearing my messages but I accidentally tapped into your contact, and then it finally hit me that she gave me a number with one wrong digit. I swear I wanted to call you.”

“You’re an idiot.’

“But I’m your idiot, aren’t I?”

Jungwon doesn’t answer, but you can feel the fondness practically radiating off him as he squeezes your shoulders. “Very funny, Y/n. Go in, you’ve got stuff to do tomorrow.” Just before you disappear into the apartment, you feel a hand block the door from shutting entirely. “I’ll, uh. Call you tomorrow morning. Just in case your alarm clock doesn’t go off, or you roll out of bed, or-”

“Jungwon.”

“Right.” He breathes out, hand slipping through the small crack of the door to pat your head. “Goodnight, Y/n.”

“Goodnight, Jungwon.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“You too.”

“Don’t fall off the bed.”

“I won’t.”

“Don’t sleepwalk.”

“I don’t sleepwalk, you know that.”

“Fine.” As he leaves with a little wave, you pretend to close your door, before poking your head out to watch his silhouette grow smaller as he walks down the corridor. Chuckling to yourself, you finally go inside to wash up and get ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day, one with Jungwon in it. And that alone, and the knowledge that every day from this day forth will never again be void of his presence by your side, is enough to give you the courage to live for tomorrow.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

a/n: so you got to the end! congratulations and condolences. this was an absolute roller coaster and i think i screwed up any semblance of a motif. positive criticism is very much welcome. heck, i think i'll take even the hate, it's all in good fun. yeah nO. i'd be lying if i said i were proud of this but hey, i'll just come up with something better. sorry it took SO LONG, my priorities are a mess. i have more planned. never again will i do something like this, leaving the comedy/fluff to someone else hurhur.

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imma-lil-teapot · 8 months ago

Note

Song Poem Challenge! Put your entire song collection on shuffle, then write down the first line from each of the first ten songs that pop up to create a poem. You must then dedicate the poem to the blorbo or OTP that it most reminds you of! Then tag or send asks to three others people that you think might enjoy the challenge!

Ooh, fun!!! Let's give it a whirl~ 😁

Have quite a lot of Japanese songs (actually more than English 'cause Anime 😅) so Imma add the translations from what I can find online. Just note that sources may vary~ 😅 1. I Just Wanna Hold You Tight [MAR END 1] - Miho Komatsu

Nante HIDOI yume na no

What a horrible dream

2. Ai wa Kusuri [The Apothecary Diaries END 2] - wacci

Tuzurareta moji kara ukabu hyoujou

The expression floating from the written characters

3. Style [Soul Eater END 2] - Kana Nishino

Hajimaru yo kimi to boku wo

Let's begin you and me

4. Can-do Dreamer [Tokyo Mew Mew New S2 END] - Smewthie

Don’t stop! nayandenaide jibun no Style de susumeba ii

Don't stop! Don't worry about it, go ahead with your own style

5. Floria [Natsume Yuujinchou Roku OP 6] - Tomohisa Sako

Jibun ni wa nai mono bakari

All the things I do not have 6. Yajirushi ni Natte! 2013 (Be an Arrow! 2013) [Pokemon Black and White/Best Wishes N OP] - Rica Matsumoto

Tsuppashiru yajirushi hitotsu!

One dashing arrow! 7. Cheer Song [Bakuten Shoot Beyblade END 1] - System B

Haru wa te o furi hohoende

Spring has appeared smiling 8. Ao no Sumika [Jujutsu Kaisen S2 OP] (English Cover) - NateWantsToBattle

The blues of the sky divide the watercolor scene in two 9. Ashes [Deadpool 2] - Celine Dion

What's left to say? 10. No control - One Direction

Stained coffee cup

To absolutely no one's surprise, the majority ended up being Anime-related! 😆 And Y U do dis again, formatting?! Why can we never get along? 😭

Ahem, so, putting it all together~

What a horrible dream The expression flowing from the written characters Let's begin, you and me Don't stop! Don't worry about it, go ahead with your own style All the things I do not have One dashing arrow! Spring has appeared smiling The blues of the sky divide the watercolor scene in two What's left to say? Stained coffee cup

I like how some of these actually correlated into pairs following a theme of sorts. 😁 As for the chosen blorbo or OTP... I wracked my brain and eventually chose... Kiyoka Kudo x Miyo Saimori from My Happy Marriage, for vibes and aesthetic.

Look at them! Look at the babies!!! 💙❤️

Thanks a bunch, lovely nonnie! That was a blast! 😁👏 No pressure Asks will be sent to: @ruiniel @hellovivirose and @darkened-storm

#tag #tags #ask #asks #ask game #anon ask #thankies!!!

9 notes · View notes

heyiwrotesomethings · 2 years ago

Note

Kakegurui - Kirari Momobami × She/Her Reader

Could you possibly do one where Kirari and Sayaka are together like they were planning on getting married. However, the clan elders arranged a marriage with Kirari and Y/n to strengthen the bond between the families. Kirari continues her relationship with Sayaka and is constantly around her so much so that they are together in front of Y/n even though she is married, Kirari absolutely hates Y/n and is awfully rude her at the beginning while Y/n is very sweet and kind towards her even making her breakfast before she leaves the house. Kirari slowly falls in love with Y/n. Until Kirari found out that Sayaka been cheating on her the same day she has to meet the elders. Where she truly realizes she loved Y/n as her wife defend Kirari from elders at a moment of weakness before Kirari absolutely rains down on them. They live happily ever after with a family of their own.

Thank you. You're like my favourite author ever!!! Your stories are so amazing and enjoyable to read. Thank for writing my request Spoken For - Kanae. I enjoy very much, thank you. I just want you to know your the best and I love all of your stories!!! There alway very good!!

Arranged Marriage

Kirari Momobami x She/Her Reader

A/N: Thank you very much! I hope you like this one too! Sayaka cheating?! Idk about y’all, but if someone like Sayaka cheated on me, I’d just give up. She is loyal to the point that it’s a self-destructive flaw. Then we got Kiari over here… she is so difficult! I always gravitate towards how head empty she is in Kakegurui Kari because I love that for her, but it makes her so hard to take seriously. Tried to do better this time, but she has a total Howl from HMC moment. Which seems fitting for her, but I don’t really know. AH! Hope you like it! Word Count: 5,004

Kirari couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She, head of the Momobami Clan, was to marry someone chosen by the elders. Apparently all of her years spent terrorizing the other branches of the family came with a price after all. Now her life was crashing down mere months before she and Sayaka were supposed to be married.

Kirari took a deep breath, not allowing her poker face to slip.

“And what makes you all think you have the power to ask such a thing of me?”

“It has been a legal action written in the laws of our family for generations. Sorry you couldn’t be bothered to read them.” Terano explained with a smug smile.

“If the conditions have been met, and believe me, with your record, they have, the heads of each branch get to chose the spouse themselves.”

“And you expect me to comply?”

“You will if you want to keep your position in this family. Otherwise you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.” Rin chimed in with a cocky grin.

“And what of Ririka?”

“She’s her own person,” Sumika shrugged, “She’s never given us hell like you have. We have no reason to dictate her partner.”

“And you think interfering with my wedding to my dear Sayaka will do what exactly? If you thought I was bad in high school, I will have this family eating itself into nothingness.”

“You can’t,” Terano spoke calmly, “again, a little reading on the the laws and customs of our family would have done you well. With this marriage, you will not be able to pass any decrees without coming to an agreement with the spouse we’ve chosen for you. If you can’t come to an agreement, your legislations will not pass.”

“You really do have everything planned out don’t you, Terano?” Kirari chuckled coldly. “Fine. Call upon whoever you wish, but let it be known that this is far from over.”

Kirari left the conference room and breezed down the hall and out of sight. She found her way to an empty room and after a minute of silently standing in the sunset bathed office, she slammed her fists down on the closest table. Then pounded a couple more times before taking a deep breath and composing herself.

She had to go home and tell Sayaka. She could just imagine the heartbreak. Poor Sayaka had been waiting for their wedding day for years. Kirari shook her head despondently.

No matter. It was just a flimsy piece of paper anyway. Hell would freeze over before she stopped seeing Sayaka. Kirari has seen loveless marriages, heard the gossip of adulterous relationships within the branches of her family. It was just part of having Momobami blood she supposed.

Kirari met her driver out front and signaled him to drive her home. All the while she plotted. She would make her assigned spouse’s life miserable. Perhaps they would find a breaking point that would lead to Kirari getting what she really wanted, to marry Sayaka and make her family pay for dare thinking they could interfere with her life like she was a lowly house pet.

This may just be her most interesting gamble to date.

When she arrived home, heels echoing against the marble floors, Sayaka popped out of the home office, nervous as always when Kirari had to go to family meetings. Though this time the worry was warranted.

“How did it go? What did they want to talk about? Are you okay?”

“Slow down Sa-ya-ka,” Kirari smiled sadly placing a finger over Sayaka’s lips, “let’s sit down.”

They sat down together in a fancy leather loveseat amongst Kirari’s carefully curated aquariums.

“We can’t get married.” Kirari sighed tiredly, looking more like it was a minor inconvenience rather than a life changing statement.

“What…?” Sayaka paled.

“Apparently there’s a silly little statute that allows the family to decide on a spouse for me if there is reasonable belief that I can’t be trusted to make decisions with the family’s best interests at heart.”

“How can you sound so unbothered by this?”

Sayaka, the poor dear, would have collapsed if she hadn’t already been sitting down. She had dedicated years of her life to Kirari, all leading up to this. Kirari was supposed to be marrying her. She was supposed to be her number one. Her one and only.

“What we have is something infinitely more special than what an earthly marriage can convey. If I have to be married to someone else, so be it. But you will always be my first priority, Sayaka.”

Tears welled up in Sayaka’s eyes, causing Kirari to smile as she wiped them away.

“Don’t fret…”

“Can’t we just run away together?” Sayaka hiccuped, burying her face in Kirari’s shoulder.

“I would effectively be disowned, all of my assets liquidated and spilt back amongst the branches. We would have nothing, but coming across it in the most painfully boring way.”

“We can build something new together, Kirari. We don’t need Momobami money. All I need is you.” Sayaka was prepared to live under a bridge if it meant Kirari would be hers and hers alone.

“That’s silly Sayaka,” Kirari chuckled, running her fingers through her now ex-fiancée’s hair, “this is a gamble I have no intention of running from. We may still be married yet.”

Kirari pulled Sayaka into her lap and together they schemed, using the bitterness in their hearts to think of the best ways to annoy the person who would be trying to come between them.

Whatever spouse the family supplied Kirari with, they would need to be resilient to say the least.

***

It felt so surreal to (Y/n), getting married to someone she didn’t really know so she could free her family from the burden of their debts to the Momobami Clan.

Her family made sure to let her know that she didn’t have to do such a thing, but she wanted to help. Maybe it wouldn’t even be that bad. She and Kirari could even be friends. As long as her family could live more comfortably, she could endure anything.

We’re ready to sign the papers, you can come with us now.” Terano beckoned when Yumi opened the door.

“Thank you.” (Y/n) felt butterflies flutter in her stomach as she rose to her feet to follow behind Yumi as Terano rolled ahead.

“I respect your resolve and reasoning for taking this offer, but be sure to protect yourself. Do not show weakness. Kirari is a heartless woman. She will no doubt be looking for a way out of this.” Terano warned.

(Y/n) was one of the first people she had suggested to the committee. She was kind and fair, but also not a push over. They had known each other since childhood, so Terano had a lot of faith in her. She thought that (Y/n) could be the person to keep Kirari in check.

“I’ll be okay, Terano. I won’t forget what I’m doing this for.” (Y/n) smiled.

“Yeah, you can do it (Y/n)!” Yumi nodded excitedly. “Don’t let Kirari try to push you around!”

“I’ll kill her with kindness.” She assured, Terano peered back at her over her shoulder.

“Don’t waste your time. Someone like Kirari would never appreciate the efforts people make to give her comfort.“

“I don’t think it would hurt.” (Y/n) shrugged.

“I just don’t want you to put all this effort into making a working relationship with someone who couldn’t care less. It’s worse than she doesn’t care, she is going to be working against you every step of the way.”

“I appreciate the concern, Terano, but I’ll be alright.” (Y/n) was prepared. Everything Terano was telling her now, she had heard leading up to this day. She could handle whatever Kirari threw her way.

“If you’re certain,” Terano sighed, “Good luck.”

Yumi skipped ahead of them to open the doors of the crowded room. Sitting at the table in the center of it all was Momobami Kirari, legs crossed over the thigh, a cold smile upon her face.

“Not too late to back out.” Kirari teased once (Y/n) took the seat in front of her.

They haven’t even laid eyes on each other for a minute and she was already talking like that? (Y/n) smiled as well.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kirari. I hope we can learn to get along.”

“Hmm,” Kirari hummed, already bored again. “Then if we are going to do this, let’s finish it up quickly,” she motioned to Sayaka seething in the first row, “I intend to take my future wife on a little honeymoon to the Maldives after we wrap up here.”

“I see, let’s not keep her waiting then.” (Y/n) said without skipping a beat. She signed the papers and slid them over to Kirari with a smile. “I hope you two have a good time.”

“We will.” Kirari said, her smile growing tighter though it was not at all noticeable. She picked up the pen and signed the papers, sealing their fate.

***

(Y/n) had two weeks to make herself at home in Kirari’s grand, traditional Japanese mansion before she came back from her trip. Well, from the outside it looked traditional, but the renovations inside looked kind of like a globalization nightmare. Though chaotic, (Y/n) supposed it suited Kirari. Nothing she couldn’t get used to. It was better than how she had been living before anyway.

(Y/n) moved into one of the guest rooms suggested by the staff. It was in the same hallway as Kirari’s. The closeness might prove to be a mistake as time went on, but (Y/n) wanted to try to get along and that wasn’t going to happen if they lived on opposite sides of the mansion.

She made herself comfortable and learned how to navigate the mansion and maybe, she hoped, she’d learn about Kirari in the process. She seemed to enjoy fish of all the aquariums were anything to go by. There were gambling dens, a swimming pool, theatre, library, rock garden, even a modest sized (if you could call it that) baseball diamond.

(Y/n) was lounging in the main sitting room as she liked to do. The mansion was so big she would hate to miss Kirari and Sayaka’s return. She was paging through a book full of exotic fish in an attempt to learn about Kirari’s interests when she heard a pair of approaching footsteps and quiet laughter.

When Kirari and Sayaka came into view, their laughter stopped upon seeing (Y/n). Sayaka scowled and Kirari smirked.

“Welcome back.” (Y/n) closed the book. “Have a good trip?”

“We had a marvelous time. Too bad you had nowhere to go.” Kirari said, studying the blue of her nails, painted to match the beautiful shade of the water near their resort.

“Oh I’m fine. Getting used to this crazy place is a vacation in itself. You have everything in here. You just need to build a roller coaster or something and you’ll literally be all set.”

“A roller coaster?” Sayaka scoffed. “What a childish notion.”

“Come Sayaka, ignore her.” Kirari beckoned, making a show of kissing Sayaka a little too sensually in polite company.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes and turned the page in her book.

“Ooo, do you have koi somewhere in here? You seem like you’d have a nice koi pond somewhere.” She asked, ignoring their obnoxious display.

“I wonder.” Kirari answered disinterestedly, leading Sayaka away by the waist once she realized (Y/n) didn’t care about their public make out.

“Guess I’ll just have to look around some more. Are you guys going to be around for dinner?”

“You think we’d want to eat dinner with you?” Sayaka’s face only seemed to get redder the more she had to be reminded that (Y/n) existed.

“It’s just a suggestion. I know you two aren’t going to do anything you don’t want to.” (Y/n) said, putting her hands up in mock defense. “I was thinking the weather is nice so I asked the staff if it would be alright to eat out on the terrace… and you are both walking away… okay good talk.”

Well, it could be worse she supposed. Hopefully they would warm up to her eventually, but she could handle a little antagonism. She understood that Kirari and Sayaka had reason to be upset. This wasn’t exactly the future she imagined for herself either, but it was for the good of her family and apparently for the safety of the Momobami Clan too.

She did managed to find a koi pond eventually. In a whole indoor greenhouse-type room she had somehow overlooked in her previous adventures. Yeah, this place was overwhelming, but very neat.

She took dinner on the terrace, unsurprisingly alone, but she did video chat with Terano and Yumi while she ate to talk about how things were going, so that was nice.

When she went upstairs to retire for the night, the pulsing music and other noises that (Y/n) wished she could unhear that were coming from across the hall made it a bit difficult.

She would have thought they’d have sound proofing in a ritzy place like this. Maybe she’d have to hire somebody to do that. She had more money at her disposal now then her family had in five generations. Maybe more. She could afford to sound proof a couple rooms. Kirari probably wouldn’t notice anyway if she and Sayaka kept making a habit of being anywhere (Y/n) wasn’t.

But for now she had the next best thing, earbuds and an assortment of media. She put on a movie and turned off the lights, falling asleep sometime in the middle.

***

(Y/n) was surprised to see Kirari walking into the breakfast nook early the next morning for two reasons. A, it sounded like she had a busy night to be getting up so early and B, (Y/n) was already in there so by that logic Kirari wouldn’t be caught within a hundred foot radius of the space.

“Making your own breakfast? Strange.” Kirari hummed.

(Y/n) put on her most welcoming smile and gestured to the stove.

“Do you want some? I swear it’s not poisoned. I can make some for Sayaka too if she likes.”

“Sayaka already left to go to work. But she would rather be force fed literal poison than eat something you made I wager.” Kirari chuckled. “But I’m curious.”

It was already early as is. Getting up as early as Sayaka must have sounded absolutely dreadful.

(Y/n) scooped up the food from the pan and set it before Kirari. She actually felt a little nervous in doing so.

“It’s nothing fancy obviously, but the flavor is there.”

“Hm. How quaint. Looks like something that Saotome would make. Is this poor people breakfast then?”

No actually, that would be called no breakfast. Is what (Y/n) wanted to say before taking the plate and eating it in front of Kirari. But she didn’t. This was the most Kirari had said to her since their ‘wedding’.

She shrugged instead then turned to get a new plate ready for herself and changed the subject.

“So Terano and the elders sent some documents they would like us to discuss. Do you have time after breakfast or is there a better time later?”

Kirari didn’t answer instead opting to pick at the breakfast before her, (Y/n) sighed.

“I’m going to get the papers. Be right back.” She took a piece of toast and jogged out of the room.

By the time (Y/n) returned to the nook, Kirari was gone. In her place a half eaten plate arranged as a winky face with its tongue sticking out.

When she turned to her own plate, she found a bite taken out of every item on it.

“Oh come on!” She griped.

Guess she would be making a third breakfast after all.

***

(Y/n) made a habit of giving Kirari breakfast when she showed up to the nook and presented her with whatever paperwork they needed to get done. That was when Kirari was most insufferable, but they did manage to get the work done.

That’s how the first few months went. Though Kirari was oddly more tolerable when Sayaka wasn’t around. She could still be petty, but she wasn’t as rude as when Sayaka was present. It seemed like she was over the arrangement but still needed to seem spiteful for Sayaka’s sake.

Whenever Sayaka was out, which seemed to happen a lot lately, Kirari would usually hang around (Y/n) until she had to go somewhere. She claimed it was out of boredom, but (Y/n) didn’t buy it. They were becoming friends.

(Y/n) was scrolling through her phone on while laying in bed one night when Kirari made an unexpected visit.

“You could at least knock, that would be nice.” She said without looking up from her phone.

“It’s you, I know there’s nothing interesting I’d be walking in on.” Kirari flopped down onto (Y/n)’s bed. “Unfortunately.”

“Couldn’t you be bothering Sayaka right now instead?” (Y/n) asked, moving her legs out from under Kirari’s body.

“She’s working late again.” Kirari frowned.

“Again?” (Y/n) looked up from her phone.

Kirari looked troubled while staring up at the ceiling and didn’t answer. (Y/n) sat up and gave Kirari a sympathetic pat.

“Alright, what do you want to do?”

“Can we play that card fish game you told me about?”

“Go fish? Sure.”

(Y/n) kept Kirari company until Sayaka finally came home in the very early hours of the morning. Kirari abruptly left (Y/n) to greet Sayaka. (Y/n) cleaned up the cards, unable to shake the feeling that something bad was coming to a head.

***

(Y/n) was searching the whole mansion for Kirari. They were supposed to have a meeting with the elders to discuss matters pertaining to family business, but Kirari had inexplicably disappeared when it was time to go. (Y/n) was preparing herself to grovel at the elders feet when her phone rang and Kirari’s name popped up on the screen.

“Where are you? I swear, if you left me to go do this by myself—“

“Sayaka has been cheating on me.”

(Y/n) did a full stop.

Sayaka? Cheating? The woman who dedicated dedicated her whole life to Kirari? Who fell out of a five story building for her? That Sayaka? (Y/n) was almost too surprised to speak.

“Oh Kirari, I’m so sorry.”

“Jabami Yumeko…” Kirari slurred, “Out of all people, I never would have gambled on those odds… who am I kidding, I would have.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Not yet, but I will be.”

“Where are you? I’m coming to get you.” (Y/n) was already halfway out the door.

“Leave me to die.” Kirari moaned dramatically.

“Kirari…”

Kirari hung up and (Y/n) swore. She tried calling back, but Kirari wouldn’t pick up. Fortunately she wouldn’t have to cruise around the city looking for her because not long after she received a text from Ririka telling her she could pick Kirari up at her house.

(Y/n) drove up and her heart ached for Kirari. She didn’t know it was possible to see her look so broken. Kirari was laying on the floor in front of Ririka’s couch, a wine glass raised high over her head. She waved it at Ririka as she walked past her to greet (Y/n). Ririka didn’t take the glass and pulled (Y/n) into the kitchen.

“She looks awful. Poor thing. How did this happen?” (Y/n) asked, peering out at the lump still visible from the doorway.

“Apparently it’s been going on for awhile. Kirari went to Sayaka’s office last night to surprise her and caught them together. She’s been here since one in the morning.”

(Y/n)’s phone rang again and she put it to her ear without looking.

“Hello?”

“(Y/n), gimme some more wine. I know Ririka is hiding it.”

“No more wine. That’s not going to make you feel any better. I’ll talk to you in a minute when I’m back in the living room.” She hung up and heard Kirari moan from the other room.

Before she could talk to Ririka some more, her phone rang again and she answered it with a frustrated huff.

“I know you’re hurting right now, but give me a minute, please!”

“What are you talking about?”

Oh, that wasn’t Kirari.

“Terano! Hi, what’s up?”

“You were supposed to be here half an hour ago. The elders are getting restless.” Terano informed. “Where are you? I can’t even get a hold of Kirari.”

“Is it possible we could reschedule? We are having a little trouble right now…”

“No, it has to be today. I can buy you maybe an hour more, but you had better be here not a minute later. The elders are already fuming.”

“Okay, we’ll be there. Sorry Terano.” (Y/n) shoved her phone back in her pocket with a groan.

“I don’t know what to do Ririka.”

“I’ll try to help you sober her up, but there is nothing I can really do about this.”

“Could you maybe give her some clothes to borrow and put them in the bathroom? I’ll bring her up.”

“If you’re sure.” Ririka nodded and went to do as (Y/n) asked.

(Y/n) went back to the living room and sat down on the floor beside Kirari. She didn’t even look over at (Y/n), she just kept staring despondently at the carpet.

“I’m really sorry, Kirari.”

“For what? Did you sleep with Sayaka too?” She murmured bitterly.

“No.” (Y/n) rubbed the back of her neck. She really didn’t know what to say. There was no time for coddling. If they weren’t standing before the elders in an hour, Kirari would have even more problems.

“Kirari, I know you’re upset. You have every right to be, but we need to get you ready for the meeting with the elders.”

“Sayaka used to remind me about things like that. Now she’s too busy screwing Yumeko to remember I exist.”

“Yeah, well it’s her loss. Come on.” (Y/n) hoisted Kirari off of the ground. “Right now we have to get you ready. When we get home, you can do whatever you want, okay?”

Kirari kept a sullen face, but made no fuss about (Y/n) having to half drag her to Ririka’s bathroom.

“Can you help her with this part?” She asked Ririka.

The older twin nodded tiredly. The sooner she got Kirari’s appearance fixed up, the sooner she could go back to sleep.

“See, doesn’t that feel better?” (Y/n) asked, fixing Kirari’s bangs when she and Ririka emerged half an hour later.

Kirari still looked far from her usual well put together self, but she was at least presentable and didn’t smell terribly of wine and sadness.

“I can’t feel anything.” Kirari numbly declared.

“We’re almost at the finish line. Try to keep yourself going for just a few hours more.” (Y/n) patted Kirari’s back, startled when Kirari lowered her head to rest against her shoulder.

“Thank you for your help, Ririka.”

“Not my first time I’ve had to clean up a Kirari mess. Good luck with the elders.” Ririka gave her sister a water bottle for the road and saw them out and waved to them as (Y/n) drove away.

The trip there was a little scary because (Y/n) thought Kirari was going to throw up, but they made it without having an accident and had about five minutes to spare.

“Okay, try to hold it together Kirari. I’ll do all the talking, okay?”

(Y/n) tugged Kirari along. They briefly saw Terano who looked surprised by the way Kirari was holding herself, but there was no time to ask. She gestured to the double doors and the arranged pair went inside. (Y/n) tried to take control of the situation right away, but the elders immediately took notice of Kirari’s weakened state and descended like vultures.

“Such an obvious display of weak emotion!”

“Is this why we had to wait nearly two hours?”

“You’re supposed to be the head of the clan, yet you show up looking like this?”

“Are you truly worthy of such a position?”

“I knew she would never grow up!”

“That’s enough!” (Y/n) sharply proclaimed, jolting everyone in their seats. Kirari looked at her through the eyelashes of her downcast eyes.

“You people are incorrigible, really! You all think her to be an unfeeling monster that wants to destroy everything, so much so that you felt the need to assign her a spouse to try to keep her in line. But now that she is showing genuine emotion, you all want to stomp it out! It’s completely asinine!”

The elders stared in shock. How dare (Y/n) talk back to them like that after they granted her such an important task that brought her family out of the dirt? A few got ready to shout at her, but she didn’t give them the chance.

“You can’t treat her like that. And you wonder why you feel the need to protect the families… seems like the families need protection from you and how you think things should be dealt with around here!” (Y/n) declared. She felt out of breath, she was ready to keep going if she had to, but Kirari put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

“Thank you, (Y/n), but I can take it from here.”

Kirari seemed to have regained a little life since (Y/n)’s outburst. Her gaze was sharp enough to draw blood and the elders cowered.

She told the elders all the desired points mentioned that were supposed to be discussed and then left them with a warning of the hell that was to come in the following months.

“I have really been wanting to make some changes about the ways our family operates. I’ve been holding off discussing anything with (Y/n), but I think we could find common ground on some issues.”

They elders paled and leapt over themselves to advise (Y/n) on how to conduct herself, but Kirari was already leading her out of the room, their previous obligations met.

Kirari attempted to get into the driver’s seat, but (Y/n) waved her away.

“You are running on alcohol and zero sleep. Also I’m not sure you’ve ever actually driven before. I’m driving.”

Kirari pouted and shrugged, then got in the passenger seat. (Y/n) got in the driver’s seat and took a deep breath.

“Alright. Do you want to go home, or is there somewhere else you’d like to go?”

“Somewhere else?” Kirari tilted her head to the side.

“Yeah, someplace you like that you can’t get the same experience at home. Someplace that manages to make you feel happy or relaxed when all else fails.”

Kirari thought about it for awhile, blue polished fingers tapping against her knees.

“Can we go tomorrow?”

Momobami Kirari, asking (Y/n) for input? She seemed to be genuinely asking too.

“Of course. Whatever you want.”

“Today I want to lounge in my theatre and eat an obscene amount of fast food.”

“That we can do.”

***

The next few months weren’t easy for Kirari. That was to be expected when her girlfriend since high school accused Kirari of not treating her like her number one, but only after she had been caught cheating did Sayaka share that insecurity.

The day after the affair came to light, Kirari and (Y/n) went to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu. They had a good time exploring every inch of the place. Even after they saw everything and their feet ached, they visited their most favorite exhibits once more before heading home.

Day after day they grew closer and Kirari began to fall for (Y/n), through their talks and getting to learn (Y/n)’s perspective, a change was brought upon Kirari. She made sure to make-up for their rough beginnings, wanting (Y/n) to know that she really cared about her before proposing they try turning their relationship into a romantic one.

She hid her nervousness in asking (Y/n) on an official date well, but she couldn’t stop the wide, genuine smile on her face from spreading when (Y/n) accepted her proposition.

Then about two years after that, Kirari popped the question.

“Will you marry me, (Y/n)?”

“…we’re already married?” (Y/n) blinked down at Kirari kneeling before her in front of the arowana tank, her hand in Kirari’s.

“Marry me again, for love this time.”

(Y/n) joined Kirari on the ground and hugged her, her heart leaping for joy when Kirari’s arms quickly snapped forward to copy the gesture.

“Okay.”

***

The Momobami Clan had been fundamentally changed. No more raising children to be gambling prodigies forced to be pitted against their siblings and cousins. No more sneaky, underhanded dealings between branches. The rot was taken out of the family, and the elders that could not change their ways were replaced.

The Momobami Clan was healing. It was slow healing, but healing nonetheless.

Once Kirari was certain they weren’t going to slip back into their old ways, she asked (Y/n) another very important question.

“What do you think about children?”

“I like kids. They’re a lot of work, but the journey can be rewarding. Why? What do you think about kids?”

“Fascinating little things. I don’t know why they make any of the choices they do. I never thought about having any myself. As the therapist says, my upbringing with Ririka was less than ideal for healthy development. I suppose I understood that in a way, which is why I never thought about it. But things are different now, and… I think I want to have children.”

“You sound like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” (Y/n) smiled and Kirari nodded, she took her hand. “Okay, let’s talk about it.”

Before the end of the year, they had adopted a pair of siblings. Kirari could not imagine having them sent off to separate homes, so she resolutely applied to take them both home with (Y/n) supporting her every step of the way. They had never been happier.

#kakegurui oneshots #kakegurui x reader #kirari momobami x reader #kirari x reader #kirari momobami #requests #anonymous

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sweetchup · 4 years ago

Text

Little Fish; Big Fish

Type: Rin Obami x reader

Au?: None

Word Count: About 10,000 words

Warnings: Don’t think I need to say this but just in case, Yumeko and Kirari (Enough said). (This is also Kakegurui so everyone is a little bit insane)

Author note: Why is it always the smiley and soft looking boys that are actually bad guys that I simp for? Someone help.

“Are you nervous?”

Kirari's powerful voice resounds throughout the empty student council room and catches you off guard. At her sudden question, or rather statement, you can’t help but notice that your hands, that were holding your cards, were in fact shaking.

Ever so slightly, you begin to loosen the grip you had on the cards, hoping (practically praying at this point) to stop the shaking. Though, it was a futile attempt in the end as you still had ever so slight small twitches throughout your whole body that gave you away.

How did you get in this mess?

That’s the question you have been asking yourself ever since you got Kirari’s gamble invitation. One, you still haven’t understood why she would give you in the first place. After all, you weren’t rich. Not even in the slightest way. Both of your parents had normal office jobs and the only reason you had even got accepted into this school was due to your grandfather having worked here as a teacher in the past.

There was also the fact you didn’t gamble. Though, it wasn’t just because you couldn’t, it was also because you weren’t interested. The chips used in betting were often millions of yen anyways and you didn’t feel the joy of ending up in debt for the rest of your life. At the very least however, you understood why so many flocked to the thrill of gambling. The many times you ran into Yumeko Jabami and were roped into watching her nonsense with her gang of friends proved that.

But still…., even with being friends with Yumeko Jabami, you were still utterly nothing. Just someone that adorned the school halls. A wallflower that had somehow, through some unknown luck, has avoided becoming a housepet. So, just why were you here. It made no—

The sudden noise of Kirari placing her cards down on the table snaps you out of your thoughts. For the first time since you arrived, you finally gain the courage to glance at her face.

With her electric blue eyes that almost seemed to glow and a small, ever so slightly, smile that graced her also blue lips, you can’t help but gulp. You knew what was about to happen wasn’t good.

“(Y/n) (l/n). That’s who you are, right?” Kirari inquires, leaning back in her chair slightly as she turns her attention to the massive fish tank in the room. “You are the eldest daughter and only child of your (l/n) family name. With most of your family being mere pawns of larger companies. Honestly, your income is hardly a cent compared to other students at our school.”

You bite the edge of your lip slightly. It was the truth but you wished she didn’t have to spell it out so bluntly.

“Yet,...” Kirari turns her gaze back to you, “You still have lasted longer, even better, than others at this school. I wonder how...”

As she finishes her sentence, Kirari reaches over to examine a small box of traditional Japanese sweets. A box she had won off of you in the last round. Even though she had frazed her last sentence as a question, you could tell she already knew her own answer.

“I will admit, the strategy you have come up with to survive is actually incredibly smart. If you are ever forced to gamble, you bet these sweets you bought from some commoner’s shop. Since most students here don't know the price of average items, They over bet what the equivalent price is. Letting you have quite the side profit when you do happen to win.”

“Ah yes… it’s really all I can afford…” You say, letting out a small chuckle at the end in hopes of lightening the room. Which thankfully, on your end, does as Kirari laughs along as well.

“You know... I have something that could possibly help with that ‘wealth problem’ of yours.“

Caught off guard by her sudden statement, you looked at her bewildered.

“What do you mean by that?” You say in an unsure light filled tone, hoping she was just joking.

“Well, I heard from—“

However, before Kirari could finish what she was proposing, the student council doors open with a loud bang. Startling you so much you almost drop your cards. However, Kirari does not even flinch in the slightest. Almost as if she expected that to happen.

“Hello (y/n)!!” Yumi shouts out to you as she pushes Terano into the room along with Ibara following in tow. Once the pinked hair male notices you, he quickly walks, more like runs, over to your side.

“You didn’t lose anything right?” Ibara asks as he peers down at the table of cards. He must have noticed you were gone from morning classes today and had searched to come find you.

“A-ah nothing big. Just two boxes of candy.” You tell your classmate and friend as he checks your bag. Though, your answer doesn’t seem to reassure him in any way.

“I think that’s enough betting for today. Let’s go, break is about to end anyways.” Ibara states as he practically tries to drag you out of your seat.

“O-ok. Well, I better get going then. Thanks for the small game Kirari.” You say, giving the president a small bow as you stand and proceed to grab your bag.

“(Y/n),” You pause at what you are doing when you suddenly feel a hand scooping your cheek, looking up you see Kirari leaning over at the table. “If you want to hear the rest of my proposal, come stop by.”

Almost in a trance, perhaps it was her angelic looks that caused it, you can’t help but nod.

“Good. I will await for your arrival—“

“Kirari,” Kirari is once again cut off as Terano speaks. The two stare at each other, almost as if they are exchanging in some sort of conversation. You can’t tell what was being said but you noticed the atmosphere of the room had grown rather tense.

“Let’s leave…,” Ibara whispers in your ear as he gives your arm a light tug.

“Ok…” You give Terano a small bow and smile in thanks before you leave the room with Ibara. As the door finally closes with a loud thud, Terano lets out a heavy sigh.

“Can’t you for once in your life not treat something as some sort of gamble?”

Kirari can’t help but raise an eyebrow at Terano’s bold statement. It seemed she was right about the fact the other family members have grown attached to (y/n) as well.

“Well, it would be rather boring to watch on the sidelines.” Kirari says as she looks over to her fish tank. Just as she does so, two fishes appear, one big and one small. Even though there was a major difference in size, they weren’t hostile to each other and were actually being careful to not swim too far away from the other. “Rin Obami is painfully obviously in love with (y/n) (l/n) and I have a small hunch she does as well. Yet, neither has confessed and the slow game they are playing is starting to get rather boring. So, I just felt the need to spice things up a little.”

Suddenly, in the tank, another big fish appears and it is heading straight towards the smaller fish. It clearly plans to devour it.

“Still that isn’t your place to interfere.” Terano states pulling Kirari's attention away from the tank. Kirari watches as the girl before her suddenly scoffs, “What am I even saying… you don’t listen to logic anyways. I’m leaving, let’s go Yumi.”

“Okay Terano!”

As the two exit the room, Kirari stares at the closed door for a couple of seconds before turning her attention back to the tank. As she looks, she can’t find the three fish anymore and wonders what happened to them when she looked away. Was the small fish swallowed? Or did it perhaps run far away, leaving the bigger fish side?

Kirari can’t help but bite the edge of her nail in excitement as a sudden new thought comes across her mind.

Maybe…., both ended up being devoured. With the bigger fish attempting to save his smaller friend but failing and both perishing.

Kirari licks her lips as she walks over and presses herself up against the glass. Even in the off chance both of the fish did survive, it was only inevitable that another predator would soon pop up to try to devour the smaller fish again.

“Don’t get devoured so soon (y/n)... I wanna see you and Rin swim around more. Just struggling to stay alive.”

—.—.—.—.—.—.—

“Come on (y/n)! Can’t you tell me what Kirari proposed to you?” Ibara groans as he opens the door to your classroom. Most of the students of the Botan Class were already back from break and had already taken their seats.

“As I said before, I didn’t hear the full thing. Just that she wanted to help with my ‘wealth’ problem.”

After hearing Ibara let out another groan, you decide to just leave his side and walk back to your seat instead. You knew Ibara would still continue to press into you until you told Sumika, or Kawaru, to prove to him you were in fact telling the truth.

“(Y-y/n),” At the call of your name, you tilt your head up to see three of your female classmates standing near your desk. “Did you really get challenged by the President?”

“Hmm? Oh…” You take a glance to look at Ibara, who was two rows away, watching your conversation as well. Knowing that, you felt completely safe to tell the girls the truth, “I did actually. See?”

You pull out the invitation you got this morning to show the girls. As they excitedly go on to ask you questions, you can’t help but feel thankful that Ibara, and actually the rest of the “-Bami” branch families, transferred to Hyakkaou Private Academy.

Before they came, you weren’t treated as bad as a housepet but you were still looked down upon by many of your classmates. The only thing that stopped you from being bullied was your friendly gambles that kept your classmates excited for the next treat you could possibly bring in.

It was actually one of those friendly gambles that caused you to meet Rin and Ibara Obami, who had just transferred into your class, in the first place. Rin had actually thought that, based on your game, you were also from a swindler family. You didn’t quite get what he meant at the time (you actually felt slightly offended at the comment and yelled at him for it). But you soon understood what he was getting at when only a day later, a group of guys offered you way too much money and gifts for a haul of those treats.

Later that day, you begrudgingly apologized to Rin and, eventually over time, became friends with him and the rest of the “-Bami”s.

“Now, now ladies. I’m sure (y/n) can answer all of your questions later.” Speaking of the devil himself, you watch Rin take his seat right next to yours.

“O-ok Rin-sama.” You hold back a scoff as the girls run off, whispering and giggling amongst themselves. Even you, who doesn’t know how to swindle, noticed that Rin has only been buttering them up to use them as pawns later.

“So, (y/n),” Rin starts as he leans a little back in his chair and glances at you, “What happened with you and Kirari?”

“Ah. I’m actually not quite sure. I suddenly got this gamble invitation from her this morning and I know I definitely didn’t do anything recently to grab her attention.” You pick up the invitation to hand it off to Rin, slightly tensing as your fingers accidentally brush his.

Not now (y/n). You told yourself you wouldn’t.

One important thing that you have been trying to deal with recently, other than the chaos of this election of course, is your growing crush on Rin Obami. You tried to stomp it out when it first bloomed up, after all you were falling in love with one of the heirs of the famous Hundred Devouring Families, but that ended up failing... horribly.

After you tried to avoid Rin, and even Ibara eventually, the boys switched to being only hanging out with you in class to basically being by your side every single chance they got. Especially Rin, who even forced you to accompany him when he went to chat or discuss business with the other branch family members at the school.

Which is actually how you eventually became close to Terano and the others.

“How did the match go however?” Rin asks, handing the card back to you with a serious look.

“I didn’t get that far into the match before Terano and Ibara came in. We only got to two rounds, which I lost both to Kirari. However, she thankfully let me bet my sweets so I lost no money.”

“Well that’s good…” Rin says, his eyes quickly flickering to somewhere else in the room before going back to you, “Anything else happen?”

You let out a light laugh before looking up to the male with challenging eyes, “I don’t think I need to say something you already got from Ibara, Obami.”

Rin lets out a sigh and pouts a little, “Why do you always see right through me, (y/n)? And, calling me by my last name, Really?”

“Well, you and Ibara need to stop pressing into me about information that doesn’t exist. I already told everything that happened.”

After you finish speaking, Rin and you stare at each other for a couple of minutes. His blackish-purple eyes scanning for any detections of a lie almost makes you flustered. Though, thankfully before heat starts to travel up your neck, your teacher enters the room and shouts about class starting.

“Yes, Sensei!” The class resounds in unison.

As you lean down to grab out your notes for class, you feel Rin suddenly grab your hand. With Rin leaning over as well to grab his own notes, both of your heads were hidden under the desk. Helplessly, due to a firm grip on your hand, you can’t attempt to move away.

“(Y/n). If Kirari, or actually any the student council, approaches you about that offer again. Promise me that you will instantly come grab me or any of the others.”

Under Rin’s intense look, you can’t help but gulp. Why was he so nervous about you?

“I-I will try…“ You say quickly, averting your eyes from Rin as you use your other hand to pull out your notes. Even as you come back up to a sitting position, Rin still doesn’t let go of your hand.

“(Y/n). I want you to promise me you will definitely come grab us. I don’t want—“

“Obami. (L/n).” The teacher calls out, making you two snap your head to him. As well as making you realize everyone else in the class had been watching what was going on between you two. “I don’t think I have to say this but keep your relationship and hand holding out of my class.”

Hearing snickers and giggles from your fellow classmates, you quickly retract your hand from Rin’s and mumble out an apology.

“Ok. Then, with that squared away, let’s get started with class. We will begin where we left off last time with the sudden…”

As the teacher drones on and on about some history lesson from yesterday, you can’t help but sneak a glance at Rin. To everyone else in the class, he likely looked calmed and focused but you knew he wasn’t. Hell, from where you were next to him, you could practically feel the stress radiating off of him.

You knew the Hundred Devouring Families wasn't a nice family to be in but was Kirari really that dangerous? You knew she was really dangerous to someone average like you but to someone like Rin? Even if he was a branch family, he had a lot of power and money. Likely at least close, if not on par with Kirari.

Still, no matter what you thought, Rin was still stressed out that you were on Kirari’s radar.

Glancing away from Rin, you see the teacher was currently occupied with writing something on the board and the rest of the students weren’t paying any attention to you two whatsoever. However, even with them being distracted, if you tried to talk to Rin and got even the slightest bit too loud you could gain someone’s attention. So, how would you get his attention without interrupting class…

Thinking for a couple of minutes, an idea suddenly comes to your mind.

Shakily, you slip a hand down to your side and move it around a little. You can’t help but feel your stomach flutter when your hand accidently nudges against Rin’s. Which only grows worse as you can almost physically feel Rin’s attention shift from the board towards you.

Letting out a shaky breath, which you hoped Rin didn’t notice, you lightly enrap your hand around his.

“I’ll try to come grab one of you guys. I-It’s just I’m not exactly in a position to refuse someone as powerful as Kirari ....” You whisper out, your eyes still trained on the board as you can’t bring up the courage to look over at him.

You sit there tensely for what felt like forever, waiting for some sort of response. Perhaps your voice was too soft and he didn’t hear you?

However, just as you go to repeat yourself, you nearly end up choking on your own spit. The sudden feeling of Rin entwining his fingers with yours and placing your enwrapped hands in his jacket pocket so no one would notice, sent your heart into a frenzy and you were having a very hard time not melting on the spot right then and there.

Just as you think it couldn’t get any possibly worse for you it does. Your heart nearly explodes out of your chest as Rin casually leans closer to you so he can whisper in your ear. You could even, from how close he was, smell a hint of the expensive cologne he put on every day.

“Okay. I’ll stick by your side from now on then.” Rin whispers quickly, his breath ever so slightly tickling the shell of your ear, before sitting back into a normal position.

You are about to respond how that wasn’t needed in the slightest but before you can the teacher turns back around.

“Okay. So, to review…” The teacher looks around the class before finally stopping at you, “...(L/n).”

“Y-yes,” You squeak out, quickly trying to remove your hand from Rin’s before the teacher notices. However, as you attempt to do so, Rin only tightens his grip. Not enough to hurt, but definitely enough so you couldn’t possibly slip your hand out of his without creating a scene.

You give Rin a quick glare, which he of course responds with a smile, before turning your attention back to the teacher as he continues.

“What does Edo mean?” The teacher asks, leaning slightly back against the board.

“Well Sir, Edo could refer to two possible things. The first being the time period named after it, the Edo Period. This was when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate. However, Edo could also mean—“

You suddenly choke up as you feel Rin adjust his grip so he can rub his thumb over the back of your hand. Even though it was such a small, almost trivial, gesture, it caused your brain to go blank. Almost as if it had fried itself.

“U-uh…” You jumble up your words for a couple of seconds before finally composing yourself, “E-Edo could also refer to the previous Japanese Capital, that was called ‘Edo’ before it got changed to ‘Tokyo’ in 1-1868…”

“Excellent! So, Can anybody tell me the name of that Shogunate from the Edo Period?“

As the Teacher turns around to write the answers down on the board, you turn your attention back to Rin, who looked quite proud of himself.

“What’s wrong (y/n)? Flustered much?” Rin whispered out, Jokingly yet also quite mischievously. You swore,

If ‘sadist’ had a picture in the Urban dictionary, it would be a picture of Rin Obami. Especially due to the fact, he took great joy from just messing with you, or sometimes other people.

“It’s your fault, dingbat. Are you trying to get us caught?”

“I doubt we would. I mean look at Ibara, even he hasn’t caught on yet.”

At Rin’s words you swing your head around to take a glance at Ibara. The pink haired brother looked bored out of his mind and only lightened up a little when he noticed your gaze on him. He gives you a small unaware wave in your direction which you return quickly before turning back around.

“Fine, I’ll admit you're correct by that.” You tell him, begrudgingly which he lightly laughs at.

“See~ don’t worry about it.” Rin mutters back and gives you a small wink before turning his attention back to the lesson. Which, after huffing for a second, you soon do as well.

You just wished he would quit messing around with stuff like this…

—.—.—.—.—.—.—

“Oh? What’s going on with you and—“

“Don’t ask.” You mutter out, cutting off whatever Yumeko was going to say as you take a seat next to her for dinner. Still slightly flustered at the fact, Rin insisted he held your hand the entire walk to dinner even though that bastard wasn’t actually having dinner in the dining hall in the first place.

Terano had told him that she wanted a meeting with branch family members only. But, due to his promise in history class, he insisted on at least walking you to dinner if he couldn’t join you. Which you can’t believe he actually did as it was incredibly embarrassing to see your classmates whispering and making kissy faces at you two.

“But, come on (y/n)~ You have to at least tell us what’s going on with you and Rin. We are friends aren’t we?” Yumeko whines, really wanting to know what’s happening.

“Or, at the very least, tell us about what happened between you and the President.” Mary suddenly says as she takes her seat on the other side of you.

“Oh yeah, I heard many people whispering about it in the classroom! I thought it was only a rumor? Well I hoped it was for your sake…” Ryota murmurs out, recalling what he heard before he left for dinner with Yumeko.

Speaking of Yumeko, Ryota noticed her suddenly getting very excited at the thought of the President. Quickly, she grabs your hands, her red crazed staring down at you.

“Oh, (y/n)! Please tell me it was true! I want to hear everything, everything, that happened at that gamble!”

“Well… Um… it wasn’t actually that exciting. I only—“ Just as you go to tell Yumeko what happened, your phone suddenly goes off. “Oh sorry guys, it’s my mom. I’ll be back.”

Quickly excusing yourself from the cafeteria, you answer your phone out in the empty hallway.

“Hello? Mom?“

“O-oh (y/n)! I-I-I’m so sorry!” You can’t help but be shocked as you hear the hiccuping of your mother from the other end.

“Mom? Are you alright? W-what’s wrong? Did something happen?” You worriedly asked. You’ve never, ever, seen your mother get so upset before.

“I-I just found out your father has been cheating on me for years. He actually has a whole-e-e secret family behind our back.” Your mother pauses her sentence as she tries to compose herself from another sob racking through her body.

“O-oh Mom,” You feel terrible yourself. That was your father, of course, and you couldn’t believe he would do something like that to you and your family. “I-If you want, you can call the school and I can get the quickest train home. I might miss class tomorrow but I can at least help you through this!”

“T-Thank you, Honey… but I’m afraid that you can’t.” You are stunned for a second. What did she mean you couldn’t, you could easily make up any missing classwork and homework you would miss.

“Mom what—“ A wretched sob from your mother on the other end of the phone cuts you off.

“B-before your father left, he took out every last cent of our savings-s. We have nothing left and I have to still wait for my paycheck next week!”

Your ears begin to ring as you attempt to process the tumble of words out of your mother’s mouth. You couldn’t quite believe it. You actually didn’t want to believe it and hoped this was some nightmare that you would wake up out of. Everything? All that money your family worked for… was really gone?

“(Y-y/n) sweetie?” Your mother suddenly calls, breaking you out of your daze.

“Y-yes mom?”

“I know this is a lot to ask, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to—“

“Mom I’ll do it! Don’t worry about me!” You quickly reassure, ready to help take off any burden on your mother.

“O-okay. If possible, could you ask one of your friends if we can take out a loan of their money? We just need some to pay for rent and bills for a while and I will instantly try to pay them back.” As your mother finishes explaining the rest, you can’t help but be silent for a couple of minutes. Your brain was racking with any possible other ideas before you finally gave up and answered.

“Y-yeah I’ll try to see what I can do.” As your mother hangs up, you can’t help but collapse to the floor.

A loan from a friend? That your family can pay back? That would be impossible. Your father made a ton more money than your mother and was essentially the main breadwinner of the family. It would take at least a year, maybe even two, for you and your mother to get back on your feet. You can’t afford to pay back that much debt and can’t afford to ask your closest friends to support you for that long. That would just be so wrong… but, you also didn’t know what else you could do.

“You know... I have something that could possibly help with that ‘wealth problem’ of yours.“

Kirari… you could ask Kirari! You didn’t want to but she had already offered you money or financial stability and it was way better than putting your friends in that position. Her offer might also be good enough that your mother and you could get out of the old nasty apartment you rent.

As you get to your feet and are about to try and make your way down the hall, you feel someone grab your arm.

“A-ah. E-Erimi, Sumika. H-hello, how are you?” You can’t help but gulp. You weren’t paying attention to your surroundings while on that phone call, so they possibly could have heard all of it.

“(Y/n)-San, I apologize but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” You freeze at Sumika’s words, “I hope I’m wrong by this but please tell me you're not thinking of going to Kirari about this.”

Shit, Sumika always got it right on the dot when it came to you.

“I-I’m not. I’m just going to try to find Itsuki.” You murmur out, trying to lie even though it was futile. Curse Sumika’s acting and reading skills.

“(Y/n). Please don’t lie about things like this.” Sumika says in a worried tone. However, you can’t bring yourself to continue the conversation you were having with her. Already you were embarrassed enough that this was happening to you in the first place, but it only got worse that likely the “-Bami” family will have to help you again. It mostly made you feel bad since you can’t do anything to repay them for their kindness.

“Sumika, Please I need to do this. I’ll be fine.” You reassure the girl in front of you, lightly grabbing her hand that was wrapped around your wrist, trying to pry it off.

“(Y/n), No. …Erimi!”

Erimi, who was standing on the side worriedly about what was happening, instantly turned to Sumika.

“Erimi, please go grab Terano-san and Rin-san. Please… quickly!” You instantly freeze as you watch Erimi nod before quickly running off and disappearing down the hall. You can’t get Terano and Rin involved. Those two need to save every cent of their money to help buy leftover votes nearing the end of the election. You can’t possibly have them waste all their hard work on you, not after they have been working so hard for it.

… You just can’t afford to be the cause of crushing Rin’s dream like that. You know how much being head of the “-Bami” family meant to him.

“S-Sumika please, I beg of you. Don’t get Rin involved, you know he needs as much money as he can for this election! I will only stand in his way if he helps support me. Please, just le—“

“(Y-y/n),” You can’t help but gasp and freeze as you see a tear roll down Sumika’s cheek. “D-do you really see yourself as a burden to Rin? To us?”

You suck in a breath, ready to answer back but find yourself unable to. Your stomach felt like it was twisted into so many knots that you were about to puke.

Using her free hand, Sumika wipes away her tears and takes a deep calming breath before continuing, “(Y/n), Please don’t think so low of yourself. We all care for you and have never seen you as a burden. Especially Rin. He would feel so guilty if he didn’t help you out in a desperate situation like this. All of us would. I don’t have the right to say this but Rin—“

“Oh my god. Is that Kawaru Natari?”

“Ah! I think it is!”

Suddenly, Sumika’s grip on your hand disappears as you are pushed away by a group of her fans. Even though Sumika is trying to find and call out your name, none of the fans seem to know or care about what’s going on with her. All they care about is trying to get her autograph or at least shake her hand.

Stumbling to your feet, you take a glance at Sumika who was still encircled in her fans. The bubbling feeling of guilt lumps up in your throat as you think… No, you decided about what you should do.

“Sorry Sumika…” You murmur to yourself as you run down the hallway and to the stairs. You had no time to waste because Erimi has likely already notified the others of what is happening.

—.—.—.—.—.—.—

“I-is this the room?” You ask Kirari, taking a look around as you enter a giant room you have never been in. It looked like any other formal dining hall with many white clothed tables decorating the room.

“Yes. After all, you said the others are searching for us and this will likely be the last place they will check,” Kirari says as she walks over and places a bunch of paper packets on the central table, “Let’s get started shall we?”

“Y-yes of course. But first, What is your offer?”

“It’s a thing I like to call a ‘Life Plan’.” Kirari explains, picking up one of the fancy packets to show you. As you flip through it, she continues, “As the name suggests, it’s a plan of your entire happy life. Usually, I give these to House Pets who have no hope of getting out of their debt, but I believe it has the ability to benefit you as well.”

“R-really?” You mutter out, slightly disgusted by the fact this packet says you will marry a 50 year old politician and have 5 children with him, “A-ah!”

You are startled as Kirari plucks the packet out of your hand and suddenly rips it apart, “Don’t worry that one wasn’t for you. Since you are close with my extended family, I have taken much care in picking the best bachelors… that are also around your age.”

“O-oh really? Thanks Kirari,” You tell Kirari relieved, flashing her a thankful smile. Well as thankful as you could. Your heart felt like it was slowly shattering at the thought you were essentially selling yourself off to someone you don’t even know.

Rin…

You quickly shake the thought of Rin out of your mind. You can’t think of him right now, you had to do this for your family. He was your friend, so he should understand. And eventually, though slowly and painfully, that silly crush you have on him will disappear.

However, the more you repeat that to yourself, it sounds like you were just desperately trying to convince yourself of that.

As you begin to walk with Kirari to the table, you speak again, “Are there any of these you specifically want me to start reading first?”

“Well…,” You watch as Kirari pulls out a deck of cards from her pocket, “I think it would be so boring to pick it out normally. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“W-well… I don’t exactly agree. I prefer—“

“(Y/n)!? (Y/n)!? Where are you?!”

“Ibara?” You whisper out, startled as you turn around to the door behind you. After a couple of minutes of more shouting, you see the knob of the door shake, “(y/n)? Are you in there?!”

“Uh—“

You freeze as you feel Kirari wrap her arms around your waist from behind. “Come on, let’s hurry (y/n). They haven’t noticed us yet but we have no time to waste. They could possibly come interrupt us at any time…. and you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

As you feel Kirari’s words sink in, you realize you had to get this done with, rather quickly as well. Meaning, it would take too much time to look through each individual packet, “No…I wouldn’t want that…”

“Good… Come, I’ll explain the game. It’s rather simple.”

You, almost in a trance like state, watch as Kirari shuffles the deck of cards and place them randomly over the table.

“You will slowly pick the cards one by one until a single one remains. Each card represents the matching life plan it is attached to.”

“It’s a fun game of fate!” Confused by the sudden new voice, you see Yumeko entering from the other side of the room from another door. As Yumeko makes her way in front of you, she instantly wraps her hands around yours before speaking again, “Oh (y/n), it will be so much fun! You have to play!!”

“W-what…? I mean, I already am. I have to after all.” You inform the girl, pulling your hands from hers to make your way to the table. You, at first, are shocked that she wanted you to continue but soon realize this was Yumeko Jabami. She was mentally insane and if she could, she would happily switch places with you instantly.

Hesitantly, after shaking your thoughts out of your head, you begin to pick up cards to get rid of. No real pattern in mind.

“(Y/n), be careful not to go too fast. You have to enjoy the process!” Yumeko exclaims, watching intently as you already give Kirari half of the deck that you have collected. “Unless, you are really just leaving it up to fate and luck…? Oh, that would be so fun! (Y/n), you really are a genius!”

“(Y/n)? (Y/n)!” You freeze as you hear someone else burst into the room. Nervously turning around, you spot Ibara and Miroslava at the doors. “She’s over here! Ibara quickly, go grab Rin!!”

As Ibara runs off, Miroslava makes her way to your side, “Kirari this gamble is over with! (Y/n) isn’t taking part in this anymore!”

“B-but Mir—“ “I’m pretty sure (y/n) can speak for herself, Miroslava.”

“You manipulative—“

“(Y/n),” As Miroslava bickers with Kirari, you hear Yumeko approach you from behind, “The President wanted me to tell you that if someone tried to interrupt the game, that you can instead just pick a single card from the rest.”

“O-oh Okay…”

As you reach out to grab a random card near you, you can’t help but feel yourself freeze. Why can’t you just grab it?

Almost in disgust you draw the hand back.

“Don’t worry (y/n). You just have to pick the card that calls to you!”

“The card that calls to me?” As you walked around the table, you didn’t understand what Yumeko meant. The card that called to you? But, they were all the same… none of the life plans were exactly what you wanted either.

After circling the table again, finally one of them catches your attention. There wasn’t anything special about it. There were no scratches, chips, or folds that would draw it to you. But, for some reason, you felt like you needed to pick that one.

Shakily, you pick up the card and hold it close to you. You know you should go give this to Kirari to get this over with but you felt rooted in place. Was this the one you chose? Actually,...

Were you making the right choice to begin with?

“Did you choose one (y/n)?” Yumeko asks from somewhere behind you.

“I-I don’t know… T-this…” You feel yourself suddenly getting choked up as you looked down to the card. You didn’t want to be a wife of some random attractive man with a peaceful happy life…

….You suddenly realized you wanted to be Rin’s.

The egotistical smiley boy that you had an enormous crush on. The one that takes every opportunity to find a way to make you flustered or choked up. The boy you now realize isn’t just a helpless crush but instead someone you have fallen head over heels in love with. The boy you likely—

“(Y/n)...” You are shocked as you are suddenly forcibly turned around.

It took you a second to realize it was in fact him with his normally neat hair pushed out of place and his uniform crooked and crinkled but you soon realize, Rin was right in front of you.

“Rin… I—,“ You stop speaking as you feel him shakily wipe a tear off your face. He looked at you with concerned eyes before glaring at the card in your hand. “H-hey. I—“

You can’t do anything but watch as he angrily grabs the card out of your hand and rips it apart. Taking the card scraps, he throws them up in the air towards Kirari.

“I swear… if you EVER come near me or (y/n) again!”

“Rin, calm down.” Miroslava states as she places a hand on Rin’s chest to stop him from approaching Kirari. Who looked quite amused with his unusual reaction. “Just take (y/n) and—“

“Oh, you picked the 2 of hearts Life Plan (y/n)?” Kirari states, trying to rile up Rin more as she picks up the corner scrap of the card. “I don’t believe I remember who that is… perhaps it was the son of a big medical center? He’s only a year older than you and is quite rich and handsome.”

“What the fuck are you going on about?” Rin barks out, confused at what she was talking about. Only to get angrier as Kirari lets out a laugh.

“Here. Why don’t you take a look for yourself?” Kirari states as she chucks one of the packets at his feet. He hesitantly grabs it up from the ground and begins to flip through it as Miroslava and Ibara, who had finally walked up to the two, look over his shoulder.

“What the fuck…” Ibara whispers out in disbelief before reading out loud was written on the page to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, “(Y/n) (L/n) will marry the youngest son of a computer company. She will get pregnant right after her wedding at age 19 and will have her first of 3 sons born that following year…”

Kirari can’t help but laugh as she watches the three’s expressions turn even angrier as they flip further and further into the packet. However, instead of addressing them, Kirari turns her attention to you. Making you feel as if you freezed on the spot from her icy blue eyes, “Come here (y/n). Let’s see what life plan you picked out. I want to see if I’m correct—“

“Oh hell she isn’t—!“

Miroslava and Ibara quickly grab onto Rin as he attempts to stop Kirari from grabbing the 2 of hearts' life plan.

“Rin! You can’t attack her, she’s from the main family remember? We can’t lay a physical finger on her!” Ibara mutters out, trying to remind his brother of the rules set in place by the clan.

“I-I don’t care about that! Let me g—“

“RIN! Enough!” Everyone turns their attention to Terano who was currently being wheeled into the room by Yumi. Even she wasn’t attempting to keep a calm persona as you could clearly see a scowl on her face. “(Y/n) hasn’t accepted the life plan yet so she isn’t obligated to follow it. So, calm down.”

Rin freezes under her words but It’s quiet for a couple of seconds before he finally speaks; in a rather bitter tone as well, “Fine…but you better have a plan in mind, Terano.”

“I do. Don’t worry about it.” Terano answers letting a small sigh out as she finally relaxes, “(y/n).”

You jolt a little as Terano suddenly calls you. However, you can’t bring yourself to look at her in the eyes as she is wheeled closer to you, “(y/n)... look at me please.”

Hesitantly, almost like a child who was scolded, you look at her, “We aren’t mad at you. We just don’t get why you would go through this extreme way of getting money when we could easily let you borrow some. I doubt helping support your mother a little would cost that—”

“T-that’s the thing! It’s not going to be a little, Terano.” You blurt out before quickly shutting up once you realize you cut her off. Terano, however, doesn’t look offended in the least.

“What do you mean (y/n)? Please, continue.”

“W-well, my father not only made most of the money in our family but also protected us since we live in a not so great area. Not only would it take my mother about a year or two to get back on her feet in terms of financial situation but someone could easily just come by and steal the money you give to my family.” You explain to the others in the room who seemed to finally realize what you were getting at.

“But, that wouldn’t cost us that much would it?” Ibara asks, trying to still figure out why it was still a problem.

“Well kind of, the basics (y/n)’s family would need is to buy food, pay bills and rent, and other necessities, which we could pay for. The problem comes with things like having security and perhaps unknown debts made by her father. Those would definitely end up stacking up over time.” Miroslava explains to Ibara, who nods at her in understanding, before she continues, “Which makes sense why she would come to Kirari. Not only did Kirari already offer (y/n) a chance of more money, she offered enough that she guaranteed (y/n)’s family to move up in terms of wealth. So, (y/n) not only could skip asking us to support her but she could possibly move to a new apartment or house in a safer area and skip having to pay the necessities of security.”

“Oh I see…” Ibara says before jolting up as he sees Rin suddenly move forward towards you. He quickly grabs his brother before he can move too far away, “Rin! Let’s have Terano handle this.”

Rin turns around to give Ibara a nasty glare, “Ibara, I’m not going to sit around here and do nothing! The Obami family easily has enough money to move (y/n)’s family out of that bad apartment as well as support them.”

“That’s where you are not thinking Rin.” Miroslava states as she steps in to intervene with the brothers’ conversation. “It might be enough to pay for now but think about what will happen towards the end of the election. All of us, especially you, will need a lot of money to pay for those leftover votes people are holding onto.”

“Yeah but it’s fine. I can—“

“Rin. Miroslava’s right. If we pay too much money and some of the other branch families find out the Obami family is low on money, it could cost us. Likely, we could get devoured.”

“But—“ “Oh my, Fate can’t be funny at times…”

The three stop bickering as they hear Kirari speak suddenly and quickly notice she was flipping through the life plan you had picked up. As Kirari walks over to give it to you, Rin has to grit his teeth to stop himself from attacking her.

“Kirari—“ “You were the one to interrupt our gamble, Terano and for the second time today that is. You know…That could possibly get you in a lot of trouble.” Kirari threatens Terano, giving her a look that told Terano she was done playing silly games.

“Ah please don’t! It was my fault, Kirari.” You voiced up, not wanting the possibility of Terano getting booted out of the election. Thankfully, Kirari seems to listen and turns her attention back to you.

“Okay then, if you truly are sorry (y/n). Then, please accept your life plan.” Kirari tells you, using your own words against you. As she passes the life plan into your shaking hands, Rin can’t hold it in any longer and walks over to you two.

“Kirari! Stop this, now.” Rin says, putting a hand on Kirari’s shoulder. Only for her to swat it off like it was some pest.

“Stop what? I know I haven’t done anything wrong. (Y/n) came up to me about this offer, you all are just interfering.”

“That’s only because you put that thought in her head in the first place! In the whole time I have been here, (y/n) looks like she just wants to bolt out of here but is only kept here by the false reassurance you give her! I—“

“I’m not giving her false reassurance. I’m telling her the truth and what she needs to hear.” Kirari interrupts, a smile on her lips as she grabs the Life Plan from your hands, “Her reasoning behind this thing is so simple and straight to the point, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.”

“What are you talking about? I get that she doesn’t want to cause me—“

“Ah, ah, ah.” Kirari says, tutting her finger back and forth in front of Rin, “I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about her inner feelings. The ones that mostly drove her to her current decision.”

You feel your stomach drop at what Kirari was talking about. She doesn’t know about— S-she couldn’t possibly know about your feelings for Rin. And even in the off chance she did, she wouldn’t reveal it to everyone right now,... would she?

“Her inner feelings?” Rin mutters out, confused as his eyes flash to your figure.

“Do I really have to spell this out for you? (Y/n), is in love with you. To her, you were more important than herself. So she simply couldn’t afford to hold you down, possibly costing you this election.”

You feel your stomach drop as it becomes dead silent. You can’t bring yourself to look up from your feet at Rin. You just couldn’t risk the chance of looking at his face and see the possible reaction of disgust or disappointment. As the silence goes on, embarrassment begins to come in waves throughout your whole body. Enough to almost bring you to tears.

You can’t help but choke on your labored breath as you see Rin’s shoes enter your view, “(Y/n)... look up at me…”

You instantly shake your head from side to side. You just couldn’t, couldn’t.

“(Y/n)... Please…” Rin asks again, his cold hands reaching up to grab your warm flushed face. Quickly, you grab his hands to stop him from pulling your head up.

“S-stop Rin. Please… it’s o-okay that you don’t have feelings for me. Don’t feel p-pity on me.” You choke out, starting to struggle on trying not to cry. It’s quiet for a couple of seconds as Rin still struggles to force your head up. Eventually, he seems to give up as he pulls his hands away from your face with a small sigh, “K-Kirari. I will accep—“

However it seems you are proven wrong as before you can finish your sentence to Kirari, Rin picks you up. With both arms wrapped around the back of your thighs, you are forced to hold onto his shoulders for support so you don’t fall forward.

“There you are…” Rin mutters out as he looks up at you, finally able to see your face. He gives you a small smile before jokingly saying, “How many times have I told you to stop jumping to conclusions before you even hear the answer, (y/n)?”

You bite your lip and turn your gaze away from him, “You do the same thing…”

“True but that’s not what we should be talking about right?”

It goes dead quiet as you choose to not answer him.

“…Can you at least look at me…, please?” Rin gently speaks out, basically begging at this point for at least something that confirmed you were listening to him.

“Okay… What should we be talking about then?” You mumble out, hesitantly turning your gaze back down to Rin. Which from what you can see makes him a bit more happier.

“Well first, I should tell you that I… I Love you as well.” Rin confesses. However, instead of making your heart flutter like it should, it makes it ache instead. Balling your hands into fist on Rin’s suit jacket, you can’t help but close your eyes to try to calm yourself down.

“Please Rin…” You say to him, your voice broken and begging him to knock it off, “Please don’t lie about something like this…”

“I’m not lying (y/n). I would never, ever, lie about something like this.” Rin rebuts instantly. Making you open your eyes in shock as he suddenly places you down on one of the tables. You would have ended up falling backwards if it wasn’t for him grabbing onto your shoulders, “(y/n), I’ll admit right now, In front of everyone and you, that I’m a greedy son of a bitch. S-so, If you go and take that life plan, I will make it my life mission to scam that guy’s family out of so much money that it forces him to let you go. Just because, you drive me insane to the point I want to keep you all to myself.”

“H-hey you shouldn’t do that Rin. I—“

“It’s illegal? I could get in trouble? (Y/n)... my whole family business is illegal. We devote our lives to scamming people out of their money and precious items. And, If someone from the Obami family wants something, we will most definitely find a way to get it.” You can’t help but keep silent as you allow Rin’s words to soak in. He wouldn’t actually go through with that right?

“(Y/n), Think of it this way,” Yumeko suddenly speaks up. Your eyes trained to her as she make her way next to Kirari before speaking again, “You can either not take the life plan and run the risk of Rin not being allowed to pay for those leftover votes students will be holding on to at the end…”

You watch in bewilderment as Kirari passes the Life plan to Yumeko.

“...Or, you can accept the life plan you have chosen and we open it up here in front of everyone. Allowing Rin to see who it is and having him make it his life goal to destroy your arranged husband’s life and steal you back from him! …(Y/n)!”

You jolt up in surprise as Yumeko and Kirari look at you with crazed looks in their eyes.

“(Y/n)! It’s essentially a gamble! Will you choose to run the risk of Rin failing his dreams or have your arranged husband being devoured by the Obami family?! The decision of two people’s lives are in your hands!”

You look at the two in bewilderment before struggling to spit out, “You can’t be serious! Rin wouldn’t actually…”

As you turn back to look at Rin, your voice dies in your throat. He had the same crazed look as the other two as he stared down at you. Noticing you are already shaken up, he decides to push it further by leaning down to place a kiss on the corner of your lip.

“(Y/n)...,” Rin whispers out as he pulls away, his kiss making a tingling feeling resound through the surface of your lips as you stare frozen into his eyes, “I hope that with whatever decision you make, you are ready to be stuck with me because…”

Rin tilts his head to the side slightly so he can lean in again.

“...I’m never letting you go…”

As Rin captures his lips with yours, he had only intended to give you a small kiss to signify his promise but found himself wanting, craving, more. Pulling one of his hands up, he entangles it in your hair so that he can lean in further to deepen the kiss.

After a couple of more seconds of kissing you, Rin finally pulls away. He can’t help but gulp at the dazed out expression you give him. He wanted nothing more than to swoop in to give you another kiss but knew he couldn’t. He needed to calm down from the crazed adrenaline rush running through his veins and wait for you to not be as frightened by all this madness.

“So, (Y/n)...” Terano’s voice suddenly rings out. As you look at her, it seemed her and Yumi were the only ones not with a crazed expression on. “What’s your choice?”

“I-I…” You look at the Life plan and gulp. To you the decision was obvious but you still couldn’t get rid of the feeling of your stomach twisting and turning, “I choose… to take the life plan…”

Your stomach can’t help but drop more in guilt. Not only for the fact of allowing yourself to some other man but also allowing whoever was in that plan, life to be ruined…Devoured,... by the Momobami clan.

“You sure?” Kirari asks, wanting you to repeat yourself with more confidence on the gamble you were taking.

“Yes, I don’t want Rin to lose his spot in the election. So, I’m going to choose the life plan.”

“Okay…Yumeko.”

Yumeko turns her attention to the President, a small innocent look on her face.

“Would you do the honor?”

“Of course!” Yumeko shouts out, her expression going back to pure crazed delight. “Ready (y/n)?”

Your voice suddenly feels lost as you watch Yumeko adjust her grip on the life plan, leaving you with no other option than to nod your head as a sign of confirmation. As you watched what felt like Yumeko opening the first page of the life plan in slow motion, your heart was practically thumping out of your chest. Who could it possibly be?

You take your eyes away from the life plan for a moment to look at Rin. You just hoped whoever it was it wasn’t someone at the school. Rin and the other -Bami’s would make their life here a living hell.

Suddenly, Rin’s calm face turned to one of surprise and then, weirdly, he laughed.

“Huh?” You can’t help but let out, unable to understand why he did that until you turned back to Yumeko, “W-wait.. what-t?”

“Holy shit!” Ibara yells out, unable to help himself as he comes up to ruffle your hair, “Look like your my sister in law now, huh?”

“B-b-but… how?” You say in disbelief as you continue to stare at the life plan. Starting to finally coming to terms that you weren’t going insane and that Rin’s school profile picture was in fact staring back at you.

“That is a good question…” Ibara mumbles out, both him and Rin looking at Kirari confused, “How did you get our old man to accept this, Kirari? I can understand if it was me but Rin’s the family heir. He normally wouldn’t allow this kind of stuff.”

Kirari lets out a light laugh, “True, Mr. Obami really didn’t want to accept my proposal when I called him. He almost hung up on me when I told him how (y/n) had nothing to her family name…But...”

Kirari pauses for a second, almost as if she was trying not to laugh, “But, once I explain how (y/n)’s family had a generally healthy medical background and how (y/n) would be able to produce many healthy children in the future. He reconsidered as long as she and her family lived at the Obami family estate so he can keep an eye on (y/n) and teach her a couple things.”

You let out a small groan as you hide your face in Rin’s neck. Purely embarrassed about the fact that's the reason your future in-laws were going to allow you to marry their son. Talk about a first impression…

“Sounds like your father…” Terano sighs out as she looks at Rin and Ibara who are both trying not to laugh.

“Well, on the bright side (y/n), you really lucked out! You got everything you wanted!” Yumeko tells you as she happily passes the life plan off to Rin.

“What do you mean?” You asked confused, sending a quick glare Ibara’s way as he snickers at something written down in the life plan.

“Well, obviously you got to be with Rin and avoided causing someone else’s life to be destroyed by him.” Yumeko explains, holding up one hand to signify the obvious before holding up her other hand to explain the other thing she was getting at, “But, you also gained the thing you were fighting for. With your family forced into moving in the Obami estate, Rin doesn’t have to pay for any of your life expenses that you were so worried about.”

“Oh yeah…” You mutter out as you take a glance up at Rin who was still reading the life plan. You really did end up lucking out. There’s really no downfall in this exact scenario.

“Hey Kirari…” Ibara suddenly speaks up. Based on his expression, it looked like he was thinking something hilarious. Which isn’t always the best when it comes to Ibara, “I think you got something wrong here.”

“Oh?”

Ibara's expression gets even worse as he tries to hold back his laughter before continuing, “Yeah. I doubt (y/n) and Rin are going to have their first kid at 20 when dad is going to likely room them together!”

At Ibara’s inappropriate comment, you can’t help but smack him.

“Ibara!”

“Booooo! That was bad”

“Ibara, That was way too inappropriate!”

“Hey! Come on guys… that was actually— Hey wait don’t leave!”

…You were wrong, there was always a downside to something. One of them being the fact you had to live the rest of your life listening to the Obami brother’s teasing.

#rin obami #obami rin #rin obami x reader #obami rin x reader #obami #kakeguri #kakeguri xx #kakegurui x reader #kakegurui x you #kakegurui x y/n

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