#there’s a Chinese restaurant that delivers around the corner we could get that instead

[justaboot]

Advice on getting a job

TV show recommendations (besides DuckTales)

-> Use a resume formatter like “buildmyresume.com.” Build it through the website, it gives great formats and “Duties/expectation” suggestions that really help you pump up your resume and remind you just how much you did and what is considered expertise that you thought was just part of the daily grind. Buildmyresume filters by TONS of niche positions and is a great resource. At the end when it tells you to pay to download the resume, flip it the bird and just recreate it in google docs.

-> Haunting of Hill House is v spooky and I 10000% recommend it. Not really a huge fan of the others in the series but Hill House is art. (Definitely check the content warnings on the show, though, before you watch.)

[space-mermaid-writing]

House Arrest [Loki X Reader] Chapter 2

Summary: You are Clint’s 'little' sister and actually a trained Shield agent. But you gave that up a few years ago and became a Chef, because you wanted a normal live. Then one day Natasha shows up at your door and takes you to the Avenger Tower for a while for security reasons.

Tags: Reader is an former Shield Agent, chef!reader, Reader Barton, 2012 Avenger vibes, everything is still alright, Slice of Life, Avengers Family, Loki has a good heart, still the god of mischief, Slow Burn, mention of food and cooking

Read it on AO3

Chapter 2: Not the new kitchen help

You can now call a cozy apartment with two rooms and a nice bathroom your own. You have stored your things in the bedroom and are now looking around the tower. The living rooms seem to be spread over several levels. Either there are really a lot of people living here or they tried to keep a little space to avoid stepping on each other's toes all the time. Living and working together can be quite a challenge for some people. The floors above consist - judging by the signs - of labs and various development rooms. Most of it is probably technical stuff, but some of the doors also have concerning warnings, and you don't want to spend your first day trying to figure out if they're genuine.

You find the outdoor platform with the big A and see, then it’s connected to some sort of party or lounge room. There are several couch sets and a rather nicely equipped bar. Overall, everything is very spacious and you're sure you can walk around here for a few days without anyone noticing your presence. At least once, you think you've lost your bearings for a moment, but then you find your way back to the elevators. On the other hand, there was surprisingly little going on up here.

All floors below the living area seem to be offices, at least the names of the elevator buttons suggest that. You don't feel like visiting them right now, because the exploration tour has left you pretty hungry. The last meal was also your breakfast this morning and now it's almost afternoon. So you look for the room that interests you the most anyway. And you find it near the lounge: a wonderfully large kitchen with fantastic equipment. You explore it with interest and notice that it‘s visibly little used. Among the people and other beings here, there seems to be no one enjoying cooking. Saving the world probably takes up enough of their time. As you open the refrigerator, a voice suddenly comes from somewhere, startling you briefly at first. "Good afternoon, Miss Barton. If you have any requests regarding the food or ingredients, please let me know." You look around, but can't see anyone. "My name is JARVIS," the voice explains. "I am an A.I. and I am available to assist you." "Uh-huh...hello," you merely reply, processing this information. Jarvis, meanwhile, continues talking. "Welcome to the Tower. The other Avenger members have been notified of your arrival in a memo." "Okay, thanks." It‘s a bit weird talking to a room, but apparently modern technology has already reached the next level here. Hearing nothing more, you start inspecting the contents of the refrigerator. The result is quite sobering. "It's all just fast foods," you grumble. "Would you like to suggest changes in the selection?", Jarvis asks. "Yes! Please and thank you." "You're welcome to make a shopping list, and I'll have everything ordered." Why not? Regardless of whether a computer can really do it, you nod. "Okay." "A personal tablet will be calibrated for you. You can pick it up from Mr. Banner."

A few minutes later you find yourself in the labs on the upper floors. The sterile lit hallway reminds you much more of Shield than the lower floors. You turn a corner and have to go down some stairs that lead you into a large room. Here, tables are jumbled with various types of modern computers and equipment. Further back is a robotic arm soldering a hard drive all by itself with a quiet whir. It’s a dream for any technology enthusiast. From one corner, you hear typing and beeping, followed by quiet murmurs. That's where you turn, looking at the whiteboards on the wall along the way, where complicated calculations and drawings could be seen. Then suddenly, right in front of you, a hologram appears in the air and you stop, rooted to the spot. "Oops!" "Oh, sorry." A head pops up from behind a nearby screen and you recognize Bruce Banner. His face is always shown on the news whenever there's been a shot of Hulk. But now you're more interested in the hologram as you take a closer look. It shows a nebulous, pulsating entity. "What is that?" you ask the scientist. "We got some cosmic stones. This was in one of them." "It's moving. Is it alive?" "Living would be an exaggeration, but there is energy present. My name is Dr. Banner, by the way." He reduzes the size the hologram so it's out of your way. "Barton, nice to meet you." "Clint's sister, I read the file. He never mentioned you though." "I didn't want any attention, but didn't quite work out, I guess." Bruce smiles sympathetically and reaches for a cup of tea, which, judging by his expression after the first sip, seems to be cold. You ask for the tablet you came for, and Bruce looks around searchingly. There are a few of them in the room, but the display of one lights up, drawing your attention. You see your name displayed and simply conclude that it's the right one. Briefly you say thank and goodbye, before you go back to your room and start making a shopping list. Please fresh ingredients and please deliver today.

Afterwards, you browse around a bit. The tablet, like every electronic device in the house, seems connected to the main computer and to Jarvis. You pull up a few files on your new housemates and read them curiously. At least the parts that are publicly available. You also take the opportunity to look for your own name. Because even though you know that your records were officially destroyed when you left, you know that no data is ever really gone. So you're almost surprised when you find only a few sentences about yourself and not even a photo. Mainly it was about your and Clint's entry into Shield at a young age as orphans. You had received a pretty good education, which may have also kept you from going off the rails. Besides hand-to-hand combat and firearms training, your specialty was handling knives, while your brother took up bows and arrows. For foreign missions, you had also had to learn various languages and had chosen the widely spoken Spanish and Russian. But you didn't work for Shield for a long time, instead opting out of your career early on. It just wasn't the life you wanted to lead. So you changed cities and mingled with the civilian population. And before you knew it, your talent with a knife led you into a traditional apprenticeship as a chef. You enjoyed this work more than having to fight to death, and you even expanded your knowledge and skills during a year abroad in France. But there is very little of all this in your records.

You set the tablet aside and stretch out on your new bed. Normally, you would be in full swing at work right now. A glance at the clock reveals that it's already early evening. Rush hour in most of the restaurants. But here? Without a task or a plan, there's not much you can do. On the other hand, a little vacation wouldn't hurt you.

At some point, the tablet gave a soft ping and when you checked, it was a notification that the refrigerator and all the pantries had been restocked. By now you are very hungry and you heard nothing about a joint dinner time, so you decide to cook yourself something. Out of sheer habit and to avoid getting your clothes dirty, you put on a chef's jacket and apron you brought from home and go into the kitchen. There's a radio in one corner that you turn on. Jarvis really did get everything you had asked for. It was a dream come true. Now in a much better mood, you grab a pan and get to work. From the freezer, you pull out a fish, which you gut and fill with fresh herbs. It goes into the pan first. Then it's the turn of the potatoes, which are peeled, boiled and rolled in rosemary.

You're so absorbed in your work - you've just poked a knife into the boiling potatoes to see if they're already done - that you don't notice a visitor, who had entered the kitchen at some point, until he makes himself known. "I'll have the course menu and a white wine to go with it." Somewhat confused, you look up as you hear the man's voice and see Tony Stark standing at the sideboard across from you. He notices your look and returns it with a smile. "I didn't realize we hired a new kitchen help." You frown and take a sharpening rod in your free hand to sharpen your knife while not taking your eyes off Tony. "Oh, I'm not a new kitchen help," you clarify. "I'm a chef." "Excuse me. Then would the chef please serve me the course menu and a white wine?" The trillionaire indicates a polite bow, but you merely turn to the stove and take the potatoes off it. You then retrieve a plate from the cupboard. "Jarvis", you direct your voice to the computer, hoping it’s still listening. "Would you please explain to Mr. Stark that I'm not here to cook for him and that he'll have to order his course menu, if he really wants one, from the Chinese place next door?" "Mr. Stark, I'm supposed to-." "I heard her, Jarvis," Tony interrupts the A.I., eyeing you a little more closely now. "That does make me wonder what you're doing here, Miss...? Aside from the fact that there's no Chinese working next door." "Then you should make one move in there," you replay amused. As you do, you wipe your fingers on the cloth you've hung on the apron at your hip and prep your dish. Just as Tony is about to say something clever, the door opens and another person walks in. You recognize Thor at first glance. "What's that delicious smell in the air?", he asks, looking around curiously. You smile and point to the stove. "I was just cooking. There's still some left for you to take." With that, you want to go to your room, but Tony stops you. "Oh, he gets something, but I don't?", he complains. You shrug your shoulders. "He didn't want a whole menu." With that, you disappear through the door and go back to your living quarters. There you quickly change into something comfy and make yourself comfortable on the couch, where you watch an episode of your favorite show while you eat. A little company would be nice, but you don't feel like meeting more people you don't know yet. And you don't feel like searching for Natasha in this huge complex. So you’re fine with being by your own right own.

After dinner, you continue watching the show, but eventually you realize you're getting tired. It really had been an eventful and long day. So you quickly take your dirty dishes back to the kitchen. But just as you're closing the dishwasher, Tony comes back in and leans against the frame with his arms crossed. "So… you‘re a Barton." Apparently he had spent a few minutes of his precious time gathering information about you and then waited for you to reappear. "Surprised there's another one?" you ask with a smirk. He takes that as a sign that you're not holding a grudge against him. He pushes himself off the door frame and comes closer, now leaning his arms on the kitchen island. "Nothing about Legolas surprises me anymore. Met his wife and kids the other day. Nice family. Are you guys a whole circus?" "Not anymore." You shrug. "So, what’s your deal?", he wants to know. "You left Shield in your early twenties. What's normal life like out there? No one waiting for you to come home?" You turn on the dishwasher and grab a water bottle from the supply. "Life is nice. Often stressful, but I have to worry a lot less about getting killed." You don't answer Tony's last question. It's really none of his business. "That is when you're not being yanked out of that life and brought into the house of superheroes", you add. "You'll get used to it. Both that we're super and that we're heroes. I promise." You laugh at his words. Tony seems to be a real egocentric, but also a humorous person. "Well, let's see", you reply, "Now if the welcome speech is over, I'd like to go to bed." "I won't keep anyone away from their beauty sleep. Good night." You wish him the same, then head back to your room, where you make yourself comfortable on the large bed. The strange surroundings were unfamiliar, but not you don't feel uncomfortable and so you soon fall asleep.

[cracknoir]

i wrote a thing about the night jack died Big Yikes

As I burned rubber the fuck out of there with sirens on my ass, I pondered how I could be so stupid. It was a fucking set-up. Two bikes rounded the corner, high-beams blinded me, I spun out, skidded to the pavement and was chucked through a window. I was immediately met with shouting in a language I didn’t understand, egg-fried rice and broken glass in my hair. I grabbed my gun as I jumped to my feet, waved it around yelling indiscriminately, through the broken window I saw the bikes stop. Four guys hopped off, they had SMG’s. I ducked, bullets tore through the restaurant.

The job had seemed easy enough. The shipping containers had been empty; the cops were there, it was a real mess. Cops were dead. Me and my crew were splintered. Scattered like rats, lost them in the explosion. In the second I spotted my face on the news on the tiny TV in the corner of the Chinese restaurant, I knew I was fucked. I’d been to jail before, sure, but I’d never been to jail for killing six cops, never been made running around the docks with a Kalashnikov. Guess it all had to come crashing down eventually.

The bikers outside had popped some lady, she was looking at me while I was crouched behind the TV, chest heaving, sputtering blood all over her flowery dress. What a fucking mess.

Whenever I was pinned down, whenever I had to do something stupid, I thought of getting home. I think about my kid. I couldn’t concentrate. The lady was dying. There was a break in the fire, I bounced out from my cover and fired, six bullets burst from the chamber, the visor of one of the bike helmets smashed, the dude dropped, my gun clicked. Shit. I ditched the gun, jumped behind the counter and burst into the kitchen. I could see the back door, but instead I waited by the door, ready.

I glanced back to the door, I hated how often I chose fight over flight. I planted myself, centred my weight. Come on, you bastard.

I grabbed the tip of his gun, pointed it to the air, my arm shook violently as he pulled the trigger. He head-butted me, my head clanged off the hard plastic helmet, I stumbled back, catching myself on the counter. Raw chicken stuck to my hand as I reached across to grab the meat cleaver. Before the other could firm up, I drove the cleaver into his side.

I used the cleaver again, brought it down on the other side so as to break the strap of his gun. I sliced through his bicep, the gun dropped to the ground.

With an almighty shove, I grabbed the gun. Another had made it to the doorway, I mowed them both down.

I was speared by another biker, one who had ran in the back door. He slammed me against the wall, ass pressed to the counter, head smashed against a shelf, and gun cracked against ribs. I pushed him off me with my legs, unfortunately the gun went with him. I pulled the meat-cleaver from the dead guys bicep, swung erratically, it cracked into the helmet. I pulled, smashed the guys visor off the counter, bullets wrung out as his grip on the gun tightened. I dragged him around the kitchen, put his face in something boiling on the stove.

I knew I hadn’t killed them all, I had to get out of there.

I ran out the back door.

“Jimmy!” Jack yelled, as I sprinted from the alley. What the fuck was he doing here? It all happened so fast. For half a second, I was relieved to see my friend, for another half, I was pissed that he was here, and not high-tailing it the fuck away from here, then the bike passed. Whizzed clean past, it was so loud, I nearly didn’t hear the hail of bullets.

I was fine. Jack dropped to the floor.  

I wish I could tell you I cradled him as he died, but when I got closer, it was clear he was dead. Jack had nerves of steel, but he wasn’t a mercenary. He got by on luck, and I guess it ran out.

I stole a Fiat. Strapped Jack into the passenger street. I drove around, smoking cigarettes all night. I think, maybe, I wanted to get pulled. Wanted the cops to find me with Jack, covered in blood. But they never did.

I delivered Jack to the funeral home. They knew the score. With dead eyes and dead tongue, I shakily asked for a cremation ceremony. Before I asked, one of the funeral directors asked me if this one meant a lot to me. Maybe I nodded, maybe I just glowered at him, I can’t remember.

What I do remember was Beneventi. He was a rat, back in the day, when Don Lorenzo retired, he swooped in. His son’s in charge now, thinks he’s hot shit, but Beneventi’s really pulling the strings. He had made a pact, I figured, after a couple lines, with the Russians. Tried to wipe me out. Once a rat, always a fucking rat.

I walked into the bar, poured myself a drink. Frankie and Kayleigh were there. They just looked at me. I think they knew, the second I walked in, “Jack’s dead,” I said. Frankie collapsed. It had been a long night. I downed my drink, looked at Kayleigh. She had the same dead look in her eye that had haunted me in the rear-view mirror. “What are you going to do?” She asked,

“I’m going to kill Beneventi. I’m going to make him hurt.”

We sat in silence on the drive over.

“You ready?” I asked her, outside Beneventi’s garage.

“Yeah,” I kicked in the door, Beneventi shit himself. He had been hosing down an apparent torture room, chair in the middle of the room was empty. “Jesus Christ – Jimmy! What the fuck are you doing here?!”

I didn’t answer. Just walked towards him. He scuttled into the corner of the room, I threw the chair out of my way, it crashed into something metal. “Jimmy, please,” Beneventi begged, “I’m just an old man, I didn’t know shit was gonna get so fucked up,” I grabbed him, “it was the Russians, would I steer you wrong, kid?” I spat in his face and threw him to the ground. He got back up, held his hands on.

What proceeded was nearly fifteen uninterrupted minutes of Kayleigh and I wailing on this guy, we threw him around the room like a pinata, burst his face open and broke his fingers, Kayleigh bit his ear off, it was all very cathartic. I was having a great time, really putting my all into it, Kayleigh was like some sort of professional boxer, the way she hit him with that long reach, it was impressive. The mood shifted when Beneventi got his hands on a chainsaw. He pulled the string, Kayleigh and I backed off. Beneventi, with his busted face, tried to say something to me, but none of it registered, I just sent a quizzical look to Kayleigh.

There’s something about being threatened with a chainsaw explicitly that I did not like. Beneventi lurched at me, I dodged out of the way, the chainsaw brushed my shin, I squealed like a pig and punched the wall as some sort of gut reaction – which shattered my knuckle. I saw red, swung my leg back and kicked Beneventi square on the chin with my fucked leg,  Kayleigh grabbed the chair, ran at him. Beneventi held the chainsaw up, went through the chair, missed Kayleigh by inches, I took that opportunity to grab the nail gun and pop one in the back of his knee. He screamed. I grabbed the chainsaw off him. My eye’s met Beneventi’s. I kicked him onto his back. “Make him watch,” I said to Kayleigh, she grabbed him, wrapped her arms around his neck, held his eyes open. I revved the chainsaw.

Kayleigh and I sat outside on the side-walk, head-to-toe crimson, shotgunning cigarettes, eyes wide with shock.

“You just – don’t think that much blood’s in someone,” Kayleigh said.

“It’s fucked,” I said, “you did good in there.”

“I don’t blame you,” Kayleigh said, abruptly.

“You can,” I said, “I do.”

“Do you have any ecstasy?” She flicked one of her cigarettes, I passed her my half-smoked one.

“Yeah, at home,” I sparked a new smoke.

“I need a shower,” Kayleigh murmured, “then we should get really fucked up.”

“Kayleigh,” I touched her shoulder, she jumped. I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

She spoke before I could find my words; “don’t.”  

[lindoig4]

Vancouver

The train (that is apparently known for always running late) arrived in Vancouver at 4am instead of 8am. We got up at around 6:30 and had a leisurely breakfast because the station didn’t open until 8am for us to collect our baggage.  We caught a cab to the hotel, to be told that we couldn’t check in until 4pm!  Never heard that anywhere else - the latest we had heard anywhere before was 2pm.

Anyway, we left our luggage in the baggage room and bought tickets for the HOHO bus - at a 30% discount just for that one day!  Lucky us.

It was a bit drizzly, but they get rain on more than 250 days a year so perhaps it was not unexpected.  We rode the bus around the full circuit and stayed on for another half circuit until we got back to Gastown where we hopped off for a really nice lunch in a hole in the wall place along the main street close to the Steam Clock - a really fascinating piece of historical equipment.

The commentary on the bus was excellent: entertaining and informative and the sights were really great.  The huge Stanley Park and beach areas were particularly beautiful and the whole experience was miles ahead of the equivalent HOHO in Toronto - and so was the city!

By the time we had enjoyed a slow lunch, the rain had almost stopped so we strolled down to the waterfront where we watched a seal frolicking around, presumably for our entertainment.  Two huge cruise ships we berthed there so we wandered around the terminal area and reminded ourselves how much we would hate to be on such a big ship - and these were only about a third as big as the massive floating cities that have been put into service in the past few years.

We finished the second circuit on the HOHO bus and returned to our room and ate a very nice, albeit very expensive, meal in the restaurant.  I have been hanging out for something spicy so I thoroughly enjoyed a Vindaloo and we shared a bottle of really excellent local cab sav.  Perhaps surprisingly, the Canadian reds are really worth looking out for!

We reckon that Vancouver is a very attractive city, vibrant and progressive, with lots of life and proud of its identity and achievements.  It had a good feel about it and perhaps the moody drizzle set the scene for us in the morning before a bright and sunny afternoon.  All in all, a good day and we were delivered back to the hotel just as the reservations desk opened!

Monday was an adventure day!  We went on a harbour lunch cruise and although we might have been able to get to the starting point on our HOHO ticket (a lot of HOHO tours give you two days for the price of one), timing was a bit tight so we took a cab through some more lovely moody mist and boarded our boat.  I guess there were about 100 of us, but we were on the upper (enclosed) deck, right near the window and close to the door to the forward viewing deck outside - the best seats in the house I think. There was a bit of commentary, but not at all invasive, and the food was excellent too.  We chatted with people on either side of us and they introduced us to Caesars - a bit like spicy Bloody Marys on steroids.  I didn’t think they were that alcoholic, although they said they usually were, but they were certainly delicious and something we might try to make at home.

The scenery was spectacular.  The surrounding mountains were often lost in the clouds, but they were awesome and we passed several islands crowded with huge trees and nesting places for birds, mainly gulls and Canada Geese.  Parts of the shoreline were festooned with mansions, often owned by celebrities unknown to us uncivilised Aussies (I had heard of Steve McQueen though) but there were lots of exotic big hideaways set into the forest and only accessible by boat.  Great for people like Howard Hughes - another name even a pleb like me recognised.  The cruise went along the northern side of the main harbour for several kilometres and into Indian Arm, a delightfully remote stretch hemmed in by mountains and forests.  The rain came and went a few times, drizzles and serious showers, interspersed with short periods of bright sunshine.  The end of the cruise was at Silver Falls where the bow was edged in to within a metre of the shore and everyone crowded in to take photos of a great little waterfall - not quite Niagara, but pretty anyway.

We then returned to the dock where we had boarded by following the southern shore, again with a bit of interesting commentary.  It was a lovely 4 hours in wonderful surroundings - but then came the adventure segment.

We decided to walk along the Harbourside Gardens to the place we wanted to catch the HOHO bus home again and out in the middle of nowhere, it rained.  I am not talking about a huge flooding deluge, but REAL rain such as even the locals who are used to heavy downpours had not seen before.  It pelted down and despite hiding out in the trees in our raincoats, we were drenched in seconds.  We decided that we couldn’t get ant wetter so kept walking another 100 metres to where we could get into the basement of the Convention Centre and tried to reorganise our backpacks a bit.  Alas, too late!  Everything was already wet and there was a pool of water in the bottom of mine.

We ended up walking along a service road under the Convention Centre with cars and trucks whizzing by, water pouring out of broken drains above, below and beside us, and great gushing fountains metres high from flooded stormwater drains underneath the road.  There were big pools of water everywhere and our shoes were soon full.  A guy in a car eventually stopped and told us how to get into a mall from the back door and we finally made it out to the main road and caught the last HOHO for the day.  But wait, there’s more........

There were a few other drowned rats like us on the bus and everyone was talking about the amazing deluge, but off we went on the circuit back to our hotel.  The circuit included Stanley Park and we took a slightly different route at one point and I saw a cute sign at a roadway near a small bridge – ‘Load limit 13 tons, cyclists excepted!’  Not sure how many cyclists would need to divert, but the bus was certainly over 13 ton.  A kilometre or so up the road, a Police car was blocking the r oad because a huge tree had succumbed in the storm and fallen across the road making it impassable.  Quite a few cars were coming up behind us and they were all able to be diverted back along the side road to the 13 ton bridge, but ours and another bus were stuck with nobody guessing how many hours it would be before they could clear the road.

After quite some time, a couple of cops came on motorbikes and escorted the buses back down the one-way road we had come along. There were still cars coming up the hill and several times, they blocked the corners the buses had to negotiate and the cop had to turn them around or reroute them, to allow us to get through.  It was quite an adventure.  Some people were probably stranded at other stops our bus couldn’t reach and we had to take a different route so saw things that we hadn’t seen on the official route.  By now it was after 7.30 and the bus is supposed to finish at 6.30 so once the other passengers alighted where they needed to go, we just told the driver to skip the rest of the route and take us to our hotel by the easiest way she could.  We had started to dry out a little by then, but once we got to our room, we converted it into a Chinese laundry for a bit over 24 hours and got everything almost dry - although I still put damp socks on this morning 2 days later!

We were supposed to go on the seaplane Mail Run next day, a flight to a few islands dropping off and picking up mail and parcels, but I had lots of cramps during the night (too long wearing wet cold shoes and clothes the day before) and Heather had a bad night with a very raw throat (same reason no doubt) so we rang them before 7am and cancelled it.  They wanted to charge us a cancellation fee despite our documentation saying we could cancel up to 15 minutes before the flight with no penalty.  As it happens, we hadn’t paid anything and they didn’t know our credit card details, so they were whistling Dixie anyway so we spent the day in our room recuperating.

We both blogged and Facebooked, sorted and edited photos and I spent a few hours going through all by bird photos identifying some that I couldn’t ID before when I had no internet on the train  I only added about 6 or 7, but it was a fun little job.  We also had to do a complete repack once things were dry (and seal up those few items that weren’t) so we had a full day pottering in the room.

We had enjoyed our ‘to go’ meal the previous night after the storm so went out to the same area and bought a small selection of similar things for dinner and our 4am breakfast next day before catching the bus to Seattle and the train to San Francisco.

[thebarsondaily]

Love By Accident

for @unicornmagic

Title: Love by Accident Author: scintillateworld Rating: T Summary: After avoiding their feelings for months, and accident turns Barba’s and Olivia’s relationship onto a new page. A/N: This is a very simple fic, and even though it’s not super long, I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless. And a Merry Christmas to everyone!

‘’There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.’’

~ Sarah Dessen

‘’Liv!’’

Olivia whipped her head around at the sound of her former colleague’s voice, the Christmas atmosphere suddenly flooding her senses. Her gaze fell down at her son’s hand intertwined with Barba’s.

Her heart melted at the sight as she turned her attention back to Barba. ‘’Yeah sorry, you were saying…?’’

It had been Olivia’s idea to take Noah to the mall for some shopping before Santa’s arrival the following week. Much to her approval Noah had asked for ‘uncle Rafa’ to come along. Ever since his resignation from the DA’s office they had been spending weekends together and late nights drinks at Olivia’s apartment as her son slept peacefully down the hallway from them. All the while she and Barba continued avoiding the obvious feelings between them.

Now though the plan of spending several hours in the busy mall seemed like a horrible idea. Her mind was elsewhere, on their latest case going to trial to be particular and for some reason she couldn’t let this one go.

Barba connected his eyes with hers, a warm expression traceable along his features. ‘’Liv, where’s your head at?’’

She stopped in her tracks and turned to him. ‘’The trial. I wanted to be there for Helena, but I also want to be here with Noah. He just loves Christmas so much.”

He looked at the little boy who released his hand and closed in on the window of the toy store, his mouth opening in awe as he stared into the spacious room as if it was heaven itself.

‘’Momma, can we go inside?’’

Olivia glanced down at her son, smiling widely because the little boy was completely focused on everything inside. ‘’Of course, bud.’’

Barba gently grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her to his side slightly. ‘’Liv, you should go to the Courthouse and be with Helena. I can spent this time with Noah at the mall.’’

She felt incredibly conflicted, but couldn’t turn down the offer at the same time. ‘’Are you sure? You really don’t need to do this for me.’’ she assured. ‘’I can’t ask this from you, Barba.’’

‘’It’s not a problem. Right, Noah?’’ he said as he knelt down in front of him. ‘’Do you want to stay here with me while Mom goes to help someone?’’

‘’Yeah, Uncle Rafa.’’

Olivia whispered a thank you to Barba and gave her son a kiss on his forehead. ‘’I won’t be long. And I’ll be back soon, buddy.’’ she said to him. She then turned to the former ADA, and smiled shortly. ‘’Thanks so much for this. I’ll text you when the hearing is over.’’

‘’Take it easy, Liv. Noah and I will be fine.’’ he told her. ‘’Go.’’ he encouraged.

He watched her hesitate for another moment, but then finally she gave Noah one more kiss on his head before she turned around and made her way to the exit of the mall.

He gave Noah a soft pat on the shoulder. ‘’Let’s go and get some presents.’’

…………………

Several hours later, Barba and Noah were walking into Liv’s apartment with several bags of toys, and both of them wearing a Christmas hat. Noah had insisted on both of them wearing one, and after some convincing he’d caved in and bought them. They had been walking around with them ever since, but Barba quickly found himself not caring because of the time he was spending with the boy.

Just as he closed the door to the apartment his phone rang in his pocket. He set down the shopping bags and picked up his phone. ‘’Noah, want to watch some TV?’’

The boy nodded his head and raced over to the couch and made himself comfortable quickly. He picked up the remote and turned on to the kid’s channel.

‘I should be home in 30 minutes or so depending on traffic’ he read.

Not sure whether he’d be welcome to stay, Barba sent a confirmation text back. He then continued to the kitchen and opened a drawer with several menus of different take-out restaurants. He opted for Chinese and decided to place an order with all of their favorites to be delivered an hour later. He figured Olivia would appreciate the gesture after a rough few hours in court. He still knew her all too well. She was a hard-working mother of a young son, while also being a voice of justice for the victims. She often carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she didn’t share her troubles often.

Since he started his job as a professor at Colombia University, most of his free time was spent with Olivia and Noah. And he found that slowly their friendship was growing deeper than before with the boundaries of professionalism gone. He finally saw her smile more often and laughing at his jokes. She seemed more carefree during their time together. Despite it being a new normal, he was easily adjusting to their newfound relationship.

There was an ease in knowing someone was there for him. That he could go to Olivia to unwind and have a relaxing time, and the same counted for her. She had often expressed how much she missed him at work, but that him spending time with her small family made up for his missing presence at work.

Over the next half an hour, Barba went about cleaning up the apartment a bit and setting up the dining table for dinner. It was a few minutes later that a key turned in the lock of the apartment and revealed a tired looking Lieutenant.

He leaned against the table as Noah jumped from the couch and happily approached his mother, receiving a warm embrace from her.

Olivia held tightly onto her son until he started to pull back from her embrace. ‘’This Christmas hat looks good on you, Noah.’’ she smirked, looking at Barba at the same time. Seeing a serious man wearing such a thing made her chuckle and she was unable to hide the amusement spreading across her face. ‘’And you Mr. Serious, look at you. Don’t you look lovely.’’

He knew she was trying not burst out into laughter. ‘’Don’t you dare!’’ he warned. “This is a very serious piece of clothing.” he added.

The serious tone of his voice was all it took and she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Noah looking cluelessly between the two adults as he returned to the couch, didn’t help her case. She found herself finding comfort and happiness in Barba’s presence, the stress and horrors of her job being pushed back whenever he was around.

It wasn’t something new, she noted, but the comfortability between them had increased with the more time they spent together.

‘’You look adorable.’’ she said softly as she approached him. She stopped close to him, searching for any anger but there was none. Instead, she found pure bliss, something that she hadn’t seen him express very often.

When he had said he needed to ‘move on’ she had initially been terrified, and angry, and so many other things. But she also understood. Their jobs took something every day, the horrors finding its way into their own personal lives. So as the days passed she had come to terms with his decision, and vowed to keep in touch regularly, not knowing that would ultimately lead to them becoming even closer than before.

‘’Thanks.’’ he beamed. ‘’Noah insisted on starting the festivities early and I couldn’t resist. But of course we have on for you too.’’

He stalked over to the bags neatly stored in the corner of the apartment. He quickly found it and walked back to Olivia, holding the Christmas hat in his hands. He gently pushed a strand of hair back from her face and put the hat on her.

He took a step back, his heart swelling. ‘’Perfect.’’

A silence fell and the tension grew as the two adults stared at one another, not moving an inch. Barba’s gesture seemed to have brought up the feelings they both had been avoiding for several months now.

‘’So traffic wasn’t too bad.’’ Olivia blurted out to cut the tension and move into a different direction.

Barba simply nodded. ‘’Good. That’s good.’’ he murmured. ‘’How was court?

She took a small step back, noticing the disappointment in his tone of voice but she decided to let it go. ‘’Helena did great. She was able to testify without any problems. She’s an incredibly strong woman. It will take time, but she’ll move past this.’’ she said. ‘’Thanks for making me go, Rafa. I needed to do it.’’

‘’You don’t ever need to thank me, Liv.’’ he reminded her. ‘’I’m always here for you.’’

‘’And I for you.’’ she countered.

Before another silence fell between them, he pointed to the table. ‘’I ordered Chinese. It should be here soon.’’ he informed her.

‘’That’s great.’’

…………………

The night wore on quickly, and after Olivia put Noah to bed, Barba had risen from the couch and grabbed his coat.

He waited in the living room for her, his coat hanging loosely on his shoulders. Whatever tension had struck them, it didn’t seem to leave him alone. It made him wonder if they’d ever acknowledge the obvious or ignore it forever. Matter of fact was he didn’t how much longer he could ignore it. Whatever ‘it’ was. The feeling was something he’d never experienced before and it was something he desperately wanted to explore. But his cautious nature kept him from doing so, fearing that his friendship with Olivia would be lost.

Once Olivia returned to the living room, he felt an awkwardness settle within him. ‘’Thanks for today. I had a great time.’’ he said kindly. ‘’I’ll see you soon.’’

Before she could say a proper goodbye he had disappeared from her apartment. The sound of the door closing almost felt like a slap to her face. She shook her head, and tried to shake off the feeling as she settled down on the couch with a glass of wine, trying to process what had just transpired with her best friend.

…………………

The day before Christmas, Olivia was practically being dragged into the direction of Barba’s by apartment by Noah. They moved along the decorated hallway until they reached the correct door.

Noah patiently knocked on the door, and once it opened he flew into Barba’s arms for a welcome hug. It had been on Noah’s insistence that they spent time with him, and even though Olivia didn’t mind, their last time spent together had brought up some feelings she didn’t know how to deal with.

‘’Hi!’’ Barba said warmly as he stepped aside to let the family of two inside. ‘’It’s good to see you.’’

She instinctively placed her bag and coat on the chair in his spacious living room. ‘’You too.’’ she responded. ‘’This one is in a real Christmas spirit, and got me to bring these.’’ she said as she retrieved the Christmas hats from her bag.

He chuckled lowly. ‘’The kid has good taste. I am starting to think he takes after me.’’ he joked.

‘’It wouldn’t surprise me to be honest. He loves spending time with you, Rafa.’’ she told him. ‘’I think he sees you as more than just an uncle.’’

The sentiment took him off guard, but his attention was quickly diverted when Noah was calling out for him from the kitchen.

Olivia followed Barba to his kitchen where she found an entire spread of gingerbread and decorations laid out. Now she realized that he hadn’t been kidding when he had said he wanted to make a gingerbread house together with Noah.

So she let them be and just watched as Noah’s excitement grew bigger by the minute as Barba explained what they were about to do. The scene unfolding before her was something she could look at for a lifetime. It was as close to a father and son moment as anything would ever be.

The perfection of the moment, however was quickly interrupted when Noah was holding up a small chocolate piece of mistletoe in the air.

‘’Kiss!’’ he chanted into the air. ‘’Mistletoe means kiss.’’ he screeched happily.

Olivia was shocked that Noah was aware of the tradition surrounding mistletoe, but in that moment however, she was more concerned. Was he telling her to kiss Barba? Her friend, her best friend even. No, she couldn’t. Even though not being able to and wanting to had become very different things.

Her eyes widened, looking at her son holding the piece of decorative chocolate in his small hands. ‘’Noah!’’ she said in surprise.

‘’Kiss!’’ he repeated.

Instead of doing the obvious, she put a quick kiss to his cheek, but it didn’t seem to be enough for her soon.

‘’Momma kiss uncle Rafa.’’ he insisted.

Barba had been staring at the little boy wide-eyed, unable to make eye contact with Olivia. He was both baffled and endeared by his knowledge of the mistletoe. It was just the worst timing in the world, and he hoped Olivia could somehow defuse the situation before more awkwardness would be mixed into their relationship.

‘’Almost Christmas.’’ Noah cheered, not noticing the tension between the two adults. ‘’Kisses.’’

Instead of talking her son out of it, Olivia took Barba’s hand and softly pulled him towards her. She released his hands and lifted one of her own to cup his cheek, and then she pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. Their eyes closed instantaneously, the act feeling all too natural, yet the newness was still there.

He moved his hand to her waist, gently letting it rest as they pulled apart, their gazes intensely connected as their breathing was unsteady from the simplest of kisses.

‘’Liv,’’ he tried to say but Noah quickly interjected.

‘’Yaay kiss.’’ he excitedly yelled and then he returned his attention back to the decorating the gingerbread house.

What was a quick passing moment for her son, felt like an eternity to Olivia. She swore she felt his lips still on hers even if they no longer were. Her hand brushed her upper lip gently, as one short glance passed between them. She let her hand fall to her side, and walked out of the kitchen in order to catch her breath.

…………………

Later that same evening, Olivia was overlooking the view from Barba’s living room windows. Snow had started to fall that afternoon and had now fully covered the streets of New York.

She heard the familiar sound of his footsteps approaching her, so she turned to face him. ‘’Where’s Noah?’’ she asked.

‘’He’s fast asleep in the guest bedroom.’’ he explained softly as he looked outside at the snow covering the dark city. It added to the Christmas spirit and he only hoped it would be around then as well.

They simultaneously moved to his couch, sitting on opposite ends.

‘’You shouldn’t drive home tonight.’’ he told her, his voice warm. ‘’Take my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.’’

Olivia shook her head. ‘’I can’t ask more from you, Rafael.’’

‘’More from me?’’ he questioned.

She sighed, coming to sit straight up on his all too comfortable couch. ‘’You’ve done so much for us already. I don’t want to ask more of you.’’

He moved over to her, putting his hand atop of hers in a reassuring gesture. ‘’I love having you both here. You couldn’t ever ask to much of me, Liv.’’ he said. ‘’Is your hesitance about what happened?’’ he went on. ‘’The kiss…’’ he whispered softly.

Her first reply was too explain it was all to satisfy Noah, but she couldn’t lie to him. And she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. The kiss had brought up something between them, the thing that had been pushed back by professionalism, and later by the risk to their friendship. But now seemed to be as good a time as any to confront the truth. Their truth.

‘’Was it for Noah?’’ he asked, not really wanting to know the answer. He knew it could potentially break his heart, yet he dared to risk it in that moment.

‘’No…’’ she replied breathlessly.

He used his hand to gently cup her cheek, leaning in and connecting his lips with hers. The force was greater than earlier, the need being expressed by their tongues meeting and dancing together with a great want for more. Minutes passed until he pulled back and rested his head against hers.

‘’We should slow down.’’ he breathed, looking for an opinion from her.

Holding onto his hand gently, and gazing back at him intently she felt herself being right at home. With him right there. ‘’This feels right, Rafa. I have wanted this for so long. I’ve loved you for so long…’’ she admitted in a shaking voice. ‘’…but I didn’t want to risk what we have.’’

He was startled, frozen in the same position as the sentiment hit replay in his head. ‘’You love me?’’ he asked in utter shock. Her only response was a soft nod and he felt his entire body relax as the happiness overtook him. ‘’I hope you know I love you too. I love you and I love Noah.’’ he told her lovingly. “All I can think about is you, Olivia. And I want to see where this can go, what we can be.”

All she saw was love radiating from his eyes. The usually witty and sassy ADA was now overtaken by emotion and it almost made her a mess of tears. But in order to express her happiness, she pulled him closer once more and kissed his lips gently.

The moved their lips together in such passion, that Olivia moved her hands onto his shoulders and dragged them along his shirt. They tumbled across the couch as Barba moved to be on top of Olivia, never stopping his kisses. His hands moved along her sides, exploring her curves, wanting more closeness.

In order to catch her breath, Olivia pulled back for a moment. ‘’Maybe we should talk?’’

Barba moved away from, coming to sit down as she pulled herself up to do the same. ‘’Yeah, we should slow down.’’ he said, cursing himself mentally. But he knew it was the right thing to do. She meant so much to him, and he wanted to savor every moment with her, and not just rush into anything. ‘’It’s getting late.’’ he noted as he looked at the clock hanging on the opposite wall.

‘’Almost Christmas.’’ Olivia whispered softly as he rose from the couch.

‘’I will get a blanket and a pillow from the bedroom and then we can all get some sleep.’’ he told her, cupping her cheek for a short moment before moving away from her.

She followed him into the bedroom quietly, trying not to wake up Noah from the deep sleep he was most likely already in. She watched as he moved about his bedroom and grabbed a spare blanket and a pillow.

He stepped back towards her, coming to a halt in front of her. Everything within him told him to kiss her senseless, but he kept himself from kissing her. ‘’If there’s anything you need, let me know. You can grab a sweater or t-shirt from the upper drawer.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ she whispered as she looked to her phone for a moment. ‘’Merry Christmas, Rafael.’’ she said gently, as she leaned forward to place another kiss on his lips.

Midnight had come, Christmas had arrived, and he wondered whether the change in their relationship was a Christmas miracle or simply an accident initiated by her son. But whatever it was, he couldn’t be happier.

He kissed her back deeply, and then pulled back. ‘’Merry Christmas, Liv.’’

And this Christmas would be the first of them together, and with many more to follow.

[jejublr]

seventeen as your valentine

a/n: lmao, i deadass forgot it’s valentine’s day until someone mentioned it :^) beautiful people, i hope you’re having a great day! happy carat day, lovelies~

ps: i’m so late to this from school and cny! i’m so sorry!! i hope you’ll enjoy nonetheless! happy chinese new year to those celebrating!!!

seungcheol

oh, man

we all can see it; seungcheol is that guy

the one who goes all in on valentine’s day

i’m talking about a bouquet of flowers, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, a teddy teddy bear..

the whole shebang

he’s the one that makes the girls go “aww” and the other guys think valentine’s day is a competition lmao

sometimes you wonder if he’s more excited over it more than you are

he low-key just excited to show you some love

would probably bring you to his favorite family-owned restaurant that he frequents often for dinner

he knows the owner well so he’s like a son to them

you ended up having a blast there

and seungcheol would walk with you by the river after dinner, eyes drooping and stomach full, his arm around your shoulder

tucks your hair behind your ear as he thank you for being with him

and it may be cliche and cheesy with this guy at times but he does it so well

jeonghan

deadass forgot that it’s valentine’s day

only got reminded bc seungkwan sent everyone sweet text messages

but boy is smooth bc the moment he found out, he called a flower shop to deliver a bouquet to your work/school asap and make it seem like a surprise

but guess what

you knew he forgot 

disappointing but not surprising

but you forgive him because now your friends and/or co-workers are sending you jealous looks and it’s worth it

#pettycouple4thewin

but let’s be real, jeonghan is a sweetheart

after work/school, he’d pick you up to go shopping with you

brings you to all the stores and buys you the things you’ve been eyeing for a while

spoils you

takes you on that café with the maple latte he’s grown to love

walks you home with your hand in his 

joshua

idk why but he comes across as a pretty simple and personal guy when it comes to celebrating valentine’s day

i don’t see him doing something over-the-top but he’ll definitely do something romantic for the two of you

i’m talking about a candle-lit room strewn with rose petals all over

you’d come home to his beautiful smile and the surprise

“welcome home, sweetheart.”

kisses your cheek as he produces a bouquet of flowers from his back

the dinner table is set up for two with home-cooked meal he made himself and you guys would talk over your meal

anime will probably come up in the conversation whether you want it or not

confirm he’s going to serenade you after dinner

sits with you on the couch, hands picking on his guitar as his soft voice sing to you

“falling for you.. falling for you...”

he’ll glance at you from the corner of his eyes as you get lulled on his shoulder by his honey voice

and you don’t know but he’d wonder how lucky he had ever ended up with someone like you

jun

it may not everybody’s definition of romantic but i see jun bringing you to the amusement park?

idk i feel like he knows he’s a busy guy and he’d want to make good memories with you when he finally has time away from the business

he’ll buy matching headbands with you, take you on all of the rides, and (tries) to win you plush toys from the tents

accuses that the game is rigged when none of the balls hit the target

and had to be pulled away from the stall

take silly photobooth pictures with you

tried to secretly save one for his wallet but you found out

“jun! i don’t look nice in that one!”

“what are you talking about? you look adorable!”

tons of pda while queueing for the rides

y’all are that couple

eating all the food and regretting it because now y’all feel queasy after trying to hold in those corndogs after the roller coaster ride

so you guys just pick tamer rides

decided that he’s a romantic genius for suggesting to on the ferris wheel as the pinnacle of the day

good timing tho bc it’s sunset and it’s pretty to watch from above

you both didn’t say anything throughout the whole ride but he couldn’t stop thinking how beautiful you are with the sun on your face like that

hoshi

barges into your room first thing in the morning

“y/nnnnnn, let’s go on a date!”

“what the frick soonyoung it’s seven.”

ends up lying down on your couch watching cartoons as he waits for you to get ready

brings you to the zoo 

couldn’t stop taking pictures of you with the animals bc you’re both cute

“that monkey looks like you.”

tries to coax you with ice cream when you give him the silent treatment

trying to stop him from feeding the animals

“soonyoung, for the fifth time, do not feed the lion potato chips. how many times do i have to tell you-”

you both play ispy as you sit on a bench overlooking all the animals

pulls you everywhere with him

“y/n, look! it’s a polar bear!”

“let’s go see the giraffe!”

“is that a real lion?”

“does it seem like a human to you.”

is he actually more excited about going to the zoo than you are???

why, yes. yes, he is.

buys you tiger ears from the gift shop

holds your hand throughout the whole date

wonwoo

ignores you the whole day so you went to school/work thinking that he forgot

you knew that it’s not a big deal but you couldn’t help but feel a little upset over the fact that he didn’t seem to care

your bosses ended up dismissing you early and all your girl friends have a date with their significant others so now you’re going home with a long face

was about to unlock your door when wonwoo came out in a rush

in a tux, holding a bouquet of flowers

“uhm, won, what are you doing?”

“what are you doing?”

turns out he purposely ignored you the whole morning so he could surprise you when he pick you up from school/work

so now you’re just confused on why is he wearing a pair of tux while you’re standing there in your jeans and t-shirt

“I thought this is what guys do on Valentine’s day? aren’t we supposed to wear a tux and give flowers?” he blushes

and you couldn’t help but coo at how clueless he seems

you both ended up playing video games the rest of the day

woozi

woozi is one of those special people who needs external push to actually do something cliche-ly romantic

Valentine’s day is one of those rare days when he would actually put effort to woe you

actually took the time and effort to write and produce a song dedicated to you

i’m thinkin about you

called you to the studio and you find him sitting in his seat with the usual sweatpants and t-shirt combo, looking as comfortable

except he’s not comfortable at all

because you’re standing there looking as beautiful as always and he’s been cooped up in his studio for who knows how long trying to finish the song he made for you

and he couldn’t help but feel his stomach churn with nerve as he makes you sit next to him 

he’d hand you a pair of headphones and say “what do you think of this?” as he tries to hide his furious blush

you thought it’s just another song he needed an input on like he’s always done

except that you realized it’s different this time bc the lyrics sounds a lot more personal

it sounded like you

it was a pleasant surprise when you leap up from your seat into him as you press a gentle peck on his cheek

dk

boy didn’t know what to do and ended up without a gift a day until Valentine’s

came up to soonyoung terrified and panicked because it’s tomorrow! and he still has no idea what to give to you!!!

“just give her flowers, everyone likes flowers right” 

almost whacked him in the face because he couldn’t get anymore cliché than that

finally comes up to you with a box of chocolate the next day

didn’t bother to buy you flowers because flowers wilt and he wants you to last forever

plus you can share the chocolate together so it’s a win-win situation, amirite

actually prepared to sing for you from days ago but you could hear him try and sing quitely from the room next door since a week ago

his definition of singing quitely is not quite the same as everyone else

so now you’re sitting on the balcony overlooking the cityscape, not able to hold in your smile as he sing your song to you in the sweetest voice ever

and by the end of the performance kisses you on the temple as you overlook the city lights

mingyu

ah, this pupper

would want the day to be special for you!

i see him bringing you on a picnic to a scenic place

holds your hand throughout the drive with his other hand on the steering wheel

cook and brings you all of your favorite food, from appetizers to desserts

would bring the classic chocolate-covered strawberries minus the chocolate bc he forgot to buy it and swapped it for nutella instead

which was a huge mistake bc now you’re trying to smear chocolate spread on each other’s faces

you end up having a little game of chase around the hills in which you had your picnic on

when you’re finally exhausted, you’d both lie cloud watching on the grass

“look! it’s aji!”

“no, that’s a rat!”

lets you sleep on the car ride home and wakes you up with kisses when you reach home

the8

will definitely spoil you

after all, it’s a special day meant to be spent with a special person

would probably leave you a box of present with a dress he picked out for you himself at your door

which doesn’t seem bad bc have you seen this guy’s fashion sense? i’d trust him with my fashion

on a card, it says “hope you have a fantastic day! i’ll pick you up at 7.  i hope you’ll like the dress ;)”

picks you up on time in tux and brings you to a fancy restaurant

orders the best food because that’s what you deserve

doesn’t really do the bouquet of flowers thing and would rather buy you a necklace

because he gucci

which he did and put on for you himself 

after dinner, he’d take you to an art museum and explore the place with your hand clasped in his

he’d walk you back to your place with your hands tucked in the pocket of his coat

seungkwan

he’ll bring you coffee-shop hopping

it’s a thing, okay

you guys would go around the city from café to café hand in hand

you’ll both laugh at the back of the bus and in the subway as he whisper to you funny anecdotes and jokes

people would look at you both with fondness but you wouldn’t notice because he’s looking at you with fondness, too

every time you spot something delicious, he’d take your hand and pull you into the store to try it

“but seungkwan, i’m full!”

“there’s always room for dessert.”

“THIS IS THE THIRD ICE CREAM STORE WE GOT INTO.”

“JUST GET IN.”

at one point on your date, he’d shyly slide out a handwritten letter

couldn’t stop blushing when you read his letter

blushes even more when you jump at him and start showering his cheeks with kisses

dates with this guy will always be simple yet sweet

vernon

like, woozi, is not the type to be too hyped about this kind of stuff

i mean, sure, yeah, he’s still gonna try and do something for you if you’re into it but he’s pretty chill

he’d probably want you to spend the day at home with him, cuddling and watching movies you both have been wanting to watch together

at one point, you’d both get bored of watching so you resort to sharing earphones and you move to the couch for another cuddle sesh

what you didn’t realize is that he actually made you a cd playlist and hid it under one of the cushions

which was not his best idea because you ended up crushing it without realizing

you both laughed at how the cd case was kinda cracked in the middle was the moment he brought it out

“uh, happy valentine’s day, babe. i guess..”

you guys would get your favorite take-outs for dinner and have a mario kart match in your pajamas after that

and spending the special day with vernon may not be anything fancy but you wouldn’t have it any other way

chan

i’m ready to fight anyone who thinks he’s inexperienced

100% sure he knows more than his hyungs does come on man

has more moves than them too

didn’t even ask for advice from his hyungs bc he knows they’re hopeless smh

but when i think about chan, i couldn’t help but think of a park date!!

he’s still gonna bring you flowers but I think he’d be more chill about Valentine’s day 

unlike someone *cough*Seungcheol*cough*

brings you to eat ice cream and you’ll both sit on the bench, people-watching and talking about everything

tries to steal your ice cream when you’re not looking and pinches your cheeks when you pout at him

you both basically turn into giant five-year-olds as you push each other around on the playground swing

will definitely pull you to go on those duck-boat ride around the river

him being the sly nugget he is tries to topple you over into the river

didn’t really work but it did on his favor because you stumble into him

will bring you to a diner nearby after a little stroll around the park

only ordered a milkshake so you guys ended up sharing

sneaks glances at you as he sips from his straw and couldn’t stop holding your hand from across the tabled

[dramacurrent]

Blame this on my uncurable love of Choi Jin Hyuk.  We don’t normally do recaps here at DramaCurrent, but since “Devilish Joy” was picked up by Dramax and not one of the major stations, I knew that it would not receive the recapping love from the other major bloggers.  And I just couldn’t let that happen.  Well, there was nothing else to be done.  I would have to recap this one myself.

But I will leave it up to you whether I keep going.  Comment below if you would like me to continue recapping “Devilish Joy.”  Recapping is a lot of work, so I will need a lot of encouragement (and maybe some wine) if I’m going to keep going.  I present for your drama loving pleasure the first recap of “Devilish Joy” — for the love of Choi Jin Hyuk.

Devilish Joy: Episode 1

We open on the bustling sights of Hainan, China.  A news reporter in voiceover announces that famed Korean neurosurgeon Gong Ma Sung was included in this year’s list of 10 most influential men.  As the reporter talks, we see Gong Ma Sung(Choi Jin Hyuk) looking like a magazine cover as he drives along the Chinese coastline.  As he drives, a colleague calls him to ask if he will still attend their opening ceremony in Korea tomorrow. Ma Sung agrees but says he must meet someone before he can leave.

Meanwhile, another newscaster tells us that the famous actress “Joy” Joo Gi Bbeum(Song Ha Yoon) has arrived in Hainan for filming.  As she speaks, the screen flits between various commercials of Gi Bbeum.  (Gah, she is stunning.)

Although all seems professional on-screen, behind the scenes Gi Bbeum’s entire team is trying to calm down the commercial’s director.  Apparently, he had envisioned Gi Bbeum in a water scene, but she refuses to go in.  One pigtailed female team member tells him it is because Gi Bbeum almost drowned as a child.  (Ah, childhood trauma.  Every drama has to have at least one.) But before things become more heated, she asks if she can try one more time to convince the temperamental starlet.

Inside her dressing room, Gi Bbeum is unpersuaded and pouting.  If her manager keeps asking her to do things like this she won’t renew her contract.  Miss Pigtail assistant relents and heads off to tell the director.  Understandably, the director is livid and takes off in a huff.  Gi Bbeum’s manager too is livid and demands that Joy be brought from her room at once.

Back inside the dressing room, Gi Bbeum walks in circles and whines aloud about a man named “Min Joong” who she is being forced to do a shoot with this evening.  All the while Miss Pigtails follows her around trying to fasten her dress with binder clips.  When Gi Bbeum realizes what the woman is doing she complains.  But Miss Pigtails reminds her that she has lost so much weight recently that she has to tighten the dress somehow.  (How is this a good solution?  Those binder clips are enormous!)

Meanwhile Gi Bbeum’s manager and the detested Min Joong meet in a suspiciously isolated place.  Min Joong looks cocky as he reminds the manager to be sure for “them” to make time for him tonight.  The manager nods and warns him not to make any rumors.  (Yeah, that isn’t suspicious at all.)

Cut back to Ma Sung on the phone in his car.  This time he is speaking with a woman and trying to confirm their meeting today.  The woman apologetically admits “Miss Kent” will be running late.

Now outside, Gi Bbeum and her team members stand idly waiting for their next shoot.  Unfortunately, they receive word that the person they are waiting on is lost, and one team member heads off to find him.  In the same moment Miss Pigtails realizes she forgot to bring the makeup box and heads off to get it.  Both attendants now gone, the beautiful, binder clipped Gi Bbeum is left standing alone in a foreign country.

Naturally, she doesn’t stay put like a sensible person and starts wandering around looking at the architecture around her.  (Actually, I don’t blame her.  Man, this city is beautiful!)  All the while she mutters about her stomach hurting.

At the same moment she steps in front of a large tower we see Gong Ma Sung also step in front of the same tower.  They each stand picturesquely and admire the building.  (Could this be fate I see?)

A few steps further and Gi Bbeum’s stomach problems are really becoming a problem.  Gripping her stomach she begins madly searching for a bathroom.

Finally she locates a restaurant that is open, but a waiter is standing guard at the front.  She tries to explain that she needs to borrow their bathroom, but her English is not up to the challenge and she hops around while stammering random words; “Toilet.” “One, please.”

The waiter tries to explain that the restroom is for customers only, but Gi Bbeum can’t understand him.  “You don’t know me?”  She asks before breaking into one of her more famous songs.  By now the waiter is really confused.  “You know me?” She yells, “You know Joy? Joy? J-O-Y.”  As it happens, Ma Sung has been sitting outside at the same restaurant waiting for his contact, “Joy Kent.”  He hears the name “Joy” and immediately assumes Gi Bbeum is the woman he is waiting for.  (Coincidence much?)

With a look of relief, Gi Bbeum recognizes that Ma Sung is Korean and comes running over to him.  “You know me don’t you?” She asks eagerly.

“Well, I guess you could say that,” he laughs.  Gi Bbeum tries to explain her ‘urgent need’ and asks if he will buy her something to drink so she can get inside the restaurant.  Confused, he agrees to buy it for her. But before Gi Bbeum can return to tell the waiter Ma Sung calls her back.  First she must sign the paper he has for her.  Gi Bbeum assumes he is an eager fan and gives him her sweeping signature across the page.  But, of course, Ma Sung has no interest in her autograph and was trying to get her to sign a contract.

Seeing her scribble wildly across his clean contract, Gong Ma Sung becomes alarmed.  “What is this?” He demands.  Again Gi Bbeum misunderstands, thinking he wants her to personalize the autograph.  She asks for his name.  “Gong Ma Sung” he replies in confusion.  “To Gong Ma Sung” she adds to the top of the contract.

By now, Ma Sung has figured out something is not right.  “HEY!  This is the contract for the Global Research Consortium!”

“The what?” Gi Bbeum asks while grabbing her stomach and jumping up and down.

“Are you really Joy Kent?” He finally asks the important question.

“Who’s that?” Gi Bbeum says with increasing desperation.  Ma Sung is furious and demands how she intends to take responsibility for ruining his contract, but Gi Bbeum’s “issue” sends her flying off to the bathroom before they can finish talking.

Thankfully the real Joy Kent shows up and signs the contract.  She is very forgiving of the scribbles and the deal goes down without any problems.

Just then Gi Bbeum reemerges and flops down on at different table.  The stoic waiter delivers a large mango juice to her table, pointing at Ma Sung as the buyer.  However, she is completely mortified and, instead of drinking the juice, flees the cafe.

A short way from the cafe Gi Bbeum realizes she is being followed by a group of ruff-looking men.  She dashes into an alley but they follow her and block her path.  (And why did she think an alley was a good hiding place?  She may be cute, but a genius she is not.)  The men jokingly ask in Chinese if she would like to have some “fun” with them.  Just then Ma Sung walks past the alleyway and notices what is going on.

“Daddy!” Gi Bbeum yells to the heavens while covering her ears in fear.

“Yes, Daddy’s here,” Ma Sung says nonchalantly and strolls through them and up to her.  With a lot more concern in his voice he whispers in Gi Bbeum’s ear “On the count of three RUN.  One, two…” and off they go.  Hand-in-hand they race through back alleys, upstairs, and into a dark building the group of thugs in pursuit.

After first tucking Gi Bbeum into a corner, Ma Sung turns to face the thugs.  The image blurs as he tears through them fists and feet flying.  With the bad men neutralized, he again grabs Gi Bbeum’s hand and races out into the alleyways.

Assured they are safe, Ma Sung stops mid way through the alley.  However, Gi Bbeum is terrified and opening Ma Sung’s jacket buries her face in his shirt front.  Ma Sung is both startled and overwhelmed by her closeness.  “Can you get out of there?”  He asks timidly.  But Gi Bbeum is clueless and burrows deeper shrieking “Why, Why? Have we been caught?”

Completely disarmed by her cuteness, Ma Sung jokes.  “I think there are even more men around us now.”  Gi Bbeum responds by shrieking and submerging her face deeper into his jacket.  “Don’t leave me!” She begs. “Promise me, promise me!”  She pleads with big doe eyes.  (The little hops she does there are just the cutest thing ever.)  

By now Ma Sung is completely won over, and promises to stay with her.  (Aw, can we say deeper meaning?)  However he can’t stop himself from laughing which finally causes Gi Bbeum to look around the side of his jacket.  Observing the definite absence of all thuglife, Gi Bbeum questions him, “Was that a joke?”  But instead of replying, Ma Sung again asks if she would mind exiting his jacket.  She immediately jumps back embarrassed.

After readjusting his jacket, Ma Sung notices that Gi Bbeum has lost one shoe.   He leads the way out of the alley and to his car.  As it happens he has a pair of tennis shoes in his trunk which he lends to her — although they are massive on her feet.  Meanwhile Gi Bbeum has been trying to call her staff on Ma Sung’s phone, but they aren’t picking up.  It seems that they turned off their phone for the shoot.  (Really?  These guys are searching high and low for this girl and they didn’t think to take their phones off vibrate in case she called?)

Giant shoes on her feet, Gi Bbeum begins listing off the things she is thankful to Ma Sung for.  She is obviously trying to say ‘good bye,’ but Ma Sung is concerned she may still needs his help.  After reassuring him that she will be fine, Gi Bbeum shuffles off.  But Ma Sung calls her back asking if she has any money.  Of course, she doesn’t.  Does she have a phone?  Also, no.  In the same moment Ma Sung asks if she would like his help and she asks for his help.  They laugh.

The pair begin a search through the various hotels in Hainan to find where she is staying.  Ma Sung strolls along easily, but Gi Bbeum is flapping, flailing, and falling behind him in her too big shoes.

Their search is unsuccessful.  None of the hotels have rooms listed in Gi Bbeum’s name,  (Duh.  What manager would book his super famous star into a hotel under her OWN name?) and by the last hotel Gi Bbeum is exhausted.  By the time Ma Sung gets done asking the front desk, she has fallen asleep on a lobby couch.

For a while Ma Sung sweetly watches her sleep, and then frowns as he notices a scratch on her knee where she fell in his shoes.  A few moments later he wakes her up with a brand new pair of red high heels.  (Best alarm clock ever!) She is delighted and thanks him for “the gift.”  But Ma Sung jokingly assures her they are not a gift.  He expects to be repaid when they find her group.  “Since I’m already borrowing money from you,” Gi Bbeum asks, “can you buy me an ice cream too, please?”  Ma Sung wonders at her shamelessness and heads off to buy ice cream.

A moment later Gi Bbeum sits beside the hotel pool happily eating ice cream and kicking her feet to admire her new shoes.  While she does, Ma Sung is on the phone with his assistant asking her to cancel his flight for this evening.  He considers changing it to a later time, but in the end decides to simply cancel it completely.  (Aw, he doesn’t want to leave her.)

Once he is off the phone, Gi Bbeum asks if he canceled his flight because of her.  He admits he did.  Coyly she suggests that he doesn’t have to feel such a responsibility to her, since they just met.  Unexpectedly Ma Sung agrees, says good-bye, and turns to leave.  This naturally gets the response he wanted and Gi Bbeum goes chasing after him.  “Hold on!  You still need to get reimbursed for your money.  I’m not one to leave my debts unpaid.”  She asks his bank number or his phone number to reach him.  (Yeah, we all know what you really wanted, Gi Bbeum — the hot guy’s phone number.)

But before he can respond, two children come running past them and bang into Gi Bbeum.  Ma Sung reaches to grab her but looses his balance too, and they both fall into the pool.  Underwater, Gi Bbeum begins to panic and passes out.  Thankfully, Ma Sung pulls her to the surface.

Kneeling beside the pool, Ma Sung tries to wake Gi Bbeum.  Thankfully, she coughs and opens her eyes. “Am I alive?” She asks.  (This scene is entirely missing the “kiss of life.”  Boo.)  Instead of being happy however, Gi Bbeum begins crying like a small child.  “I’m so scared of water,” she wails.  Ma Sung’s face grows deeply serious as he holds her reassuringly.  “Don’t worry,” he tells her, “I won’t leave you alone.”

A little later they walk out of the hotel.  Ma Sung has given Gi Bbeum his coat to wear and it too is massive on her small frame.  Ma Sung can’t help himself from laughing at how silly she looks.  Walking up behind her, he wraps his around her and he pulls her sleeves up.  She is flustered at his closeness, which he makes fun of, but diffuses the moment by thanking him again for his help today.

He continues to joke that he only helped her because she is famous, and that he is going to ask for a lot of money in return.  She juts up her chin insisting that she is very capable and he can ask for a lot.  Slightly more serious, he warns that he will ask for a lot [of something.]  She is undeterred and tells him to go ahead.  “Really?” He says sweetly. “Could you give me your heart?”  (fangirls wildly)

At his confession Gi Bbeum hesitates causing Ma Sung to question whether his price was too high.  But shyly Gi Bbeum reassures him it wasn’t.  For a split they stand there uneasily and let the cuteness ooze all over the place.

Suddenly Ma Sung notices a flower growing beside where they’re standing.  He recalls the hairy looking flower from a beachside trip he took as a child.  Gi Bbeum kneels to admire the blossoms while Ma Sung pulls out a business card and begins to draw the flower.  “What is the meaning of the flower?” Gi Bbeum asks.  Ma Sung tells her it represents memories.  They agree it is a fitting flower for their day.

Gi Bbeum returns to her feet and takes off Ma Sung’s coat to return to him.  However, her shirt has not dried and is clinging to her bosoms for all the world to see.  Ma Sung chuckles awkwardly and suggests she really should keep that jacket on.  For a while they joke together playfully, Gi Bbeum embarrassed and Ma Sung laughing at her reactions.

Back at Ma Sung’s car, they again try searching for Gi Bbeum’s team members.  Gi Bbeum assures him that she doesn’t remember anything about where they were.  But in the next instance, when she catches a glimpse of her team, she grabs Ma Sung’s hand and takes off in the opposite direction.

Just as they begin running away an ominous man in black appears, lifts a phone to his ear and tells someone he’s “found the target.”  (I’m sorry, the TARGET?  When did this become a thriller?  Who’s the target?)

Ma Sung and Gi Bbeum finally stop running when they reach a group of street performers.  He asks her if they ran away because she saw the thugs again.  But she confesses it was because she saw her group and didn’t want to be separated from him just yet, especially without having his phone number.  Ma Sung laughs and reminds her that she called her cell from his phone earlier.  At this they both laugh and the cuteness overflows.

The music gives Gi Bbeum an idea and she asks Ma Sung who his favorite singer is?  He supposes that it is Karen Carpenter.  Gi Bbeum can’t let this be, however, and threatens to make him her fan in only three songs.  Cut to Gi Bbeum joining the performers for several sweet songs and Ma Sung looking like a man transfixed.

Some time later the sun has set and Ma Sung and Gi Bbeum slowly make their way up a set of stone stairs.  They look relaxed and comfortable beside each other.  They are discussing whether her performance converted him into her fan.  But Ma Sung has a better idea, “Couldn’t I be your boyfriend?” In Gi Bbeum’s moment of hesitation, he leans in for a kiss.  And then another still deeper one.

Mid-kiss they hear Gi Bbeum’s team calling for her.  (Ooph, I feel bad for her staff now.)  Ma Sung reminds her that she can call him when they get back to Korea, but Gi Bbeum wants to meet again tonight.  They agree to meet up in an hour and she heads off.

While waiting for her return, Ma Sung takes time to snap a photo of the stone stairs.  He again looks at the drawing of the Memory Flower on the business card, and then heads into a nearby tattoo parlor.  The artist tattoos the flower onto Ma Sung’s hand.

While waiting, Ma Sung overhears Gi Bbeum’s manager and Min Joong.  Apparently their devious plan is to drug and rape Gi Bbeum that evening.  Ma Sung follows the two dirtbags outside as Gi Bbeum arrives for their meeting at the stone stairs.

Just as Ma Sung follows dirtbags manager and Min Joong across the street a massive truck (of doom) comes out of no where and crashes into him.  Ma Sung is left writhing on the ground in a pool of his own blood while the townspeople watch in curiosity (Does no one ever think to help in these moments?)  while poor Gi Bbeum sits alone on the stairs.

Later that evening the dirtbags follow their plan.  Gi Bbeum has a ruffied drink with Min Joong and then they carry her off to a hotel room.  (Oh no!  Please no!) But the plan doesn’t go exactly like Min Joong had thought it would.  In the next scene we see Min Joong dead on the hotel room floor and Gi Bbeum slowly coming to consciousness while a policeman stands over.

Time jump three years to present day.

Ma Sung stands solemnly in his doctor’s office.  Following the accident three years ago he has received treatment for damage to his brain, but the treatments aren’t working.  He is only getting worse.  The diagnosis is Cinderella Amnesia, a condition where every morning he forgets the previous day.

We see snippets of what Ma Sung has to do to live.  He stands in the mirror writing notes to himself on his chest; he labels each outfit and food with a day of the week; one wall in his house he covers in sticky notes to remind him of his memories he is slowly loosing. (I’m not crying. You are.) and every night he faithfully writes in his journal what happened that day.

Ma Sung sits in his home office reading over his schedule for the day when the phone rings.  It is his chauffeur reminding him that he was supposed to be at a meeting with his Aunts and Uncles.  Ma Sung is startled.  His yesterday self had forgotten to tell him.

In the car on the way to the meeting, Ma Sung chats with his chauffeur.  The driver is annoyed that Ma Sung had not written down what he told him to remember.  Suddenly the driver asks if he can borrow 3 million won from Ma Sung, all the while thinking to himself that Ma Sung will forget he lent it and he will never have to return the money.  Ma Sung agrees, observing sadly how some people take advantage of his mind.

Arriving at the hospital where he works, Ma Sung speaks with his doctor colleague from the beginning of the episode.  Ma Sung wants to start work again on the Healing Village he had planned 3 years ago.  To his friend’s delight, Ma Sung declares it is about time.

More than just his work has changed since his accident, Ma Sung observes.  We see him at a table with his aunt and other female relatives.  Most of them remark that he should start dating, but his aunt reminds them firmly of how much responsibility love has and how Ma Sung’s own father’s carelessness caused his wife’s death.  (Ooph, that is one intense chip on her shoulder.)

Next we see Ma Sung panicking when a floodlight outside his house suddenly comes on.  He gasps as his mind flashes back to a childhood accident.  “I have become alone and pathetic.”  He laments in voice over.  “To me, love is tragedy.”

Flash back to the doctor’s office, his doctor friend asks if he still can’t remember the day of the accident.  “Nothing at all.”  Ma Sung tells him sadly and stares at the tattoo of the memory flower on his hand.

Jump to the airport

Sung Ki Joon(Hoya) has just arrived back in Korea.  Two of his friends arrive to greet him, but X wonders why they didn’t notify all his fans.  His friend shakes his head. “The way you act you’d think you were an actual celebrity,” he tells him.  In response X goes around the airport asking people if they want his autograph.  (Bwahaha!)

Ki Joon gives Ma Sung a call to see if he can meet for dinner that night, but Ma Sung warns him to call his parents and let them know he is back and hangs up on him.  Just then a text arrives on Ma Sung’s phone.  The board is meeting about the children’s rehabilitation facility deficit.  (The who, the what now?  This is the first time we’ve heard about this.)

Meanwhile, Ki Joon arrives at an upscale salon and asks if they have an opening for him.  The girl behind the desk insists they do not, but Ki Joon namedrops his connection to Sunwoo Group and suddenly she finds an opening.  Moments later Ki Joon is sitting in a salon chair wearing a shower cap (Bwahaha!) while the salon staff try to explain to the irate film star Lee Ha Im(Lee Joo Yeon) why her appointment was taken by someone else.

Suddenly one of the salon customers slams her magazine closed.  It is Ma Sung’s aunt (Ki Joon’s mom.) Commanding the offending starlet be brought over to her, Auntie smacks her on both cheeks and commands her to apologize to the salon staff.  Lee Ha Im apologizes tearfully and hurriedly leaves.

At the sound of his mother popping the starlet, Ki Joon wakes up in his chair.  He spies his mother in the chair next to him just as she dials him on the phone and clumsily tries to avoid her notice.  (I love that his name for her in his phone is “Queen Mother” — the same title princes during the Joseon period called their mothers.)

At Sea:

Out at sea on a boat, Gi Bbeum has exchange her starlet glamour for fisherman gear.  She waves at the camera and tries to seems bouncy and exuberant as she exclaims how wonderful the fishing season for spiny red gurnards has been.  “Kiss the fish” her cameraman tells her and she reluctantly, but willingly, does.

Suddenly the cameraman calls “cut.”  “Are you looking down on our internet viewers?” he asks.  When Gi Bbeum vehemently denies this, he suggests she do something more eye-catching for his audience and swallow the fish whole.  Astoundingly, Gi Bbeum agrees to his ridiculous request and films herself swallowing the entire fish whole.  (That is way too gross. I am not a fan of this new jerk cameraman.)  As soon as the cameras stop rolling Gi Bbeum begins to gag and cough violently.

Back on shore, the fisherman whose boat they filmed on gives Gi Bbeum a bag of the red fish.  Gi Bbeum is ecstatic at her reward.  Jerk cameraman gives her all the boxes and bags to carry and they walk away to their car.

Back in the hospital boardroom, Ma Sung listens as the board explains why the children’s rehab center needs to be sold and the money reinvested.  But he cuts off the boardmember mid speech to question how much the children’s center could be sold for and whether its loss would be worth the cost.  Instead, he proposes they focus on raising the salaries of the hospital staff and on raising the quality of care.  His Aunt, the hospital director, agrees and the decision stands.

Meanwhile, Gi Bbeum kneels beside the road coughing and coughing.  Something seems to be stuck in her throat.  (I’m not surprised.  The fish she swallowed was huge.)  Jerk cameraman comes over to her and offers her a talisman.  He tells her that if she will burn it, put it in her water to drink, and dance a special dance, it will get rid of the bone stuck in her throat and her three years of bad luck.  Gi Bbeum doesn’t believe him at first, but after a quick internet search decides he might be telling the truth.  Gentlemanlike, Jerk cameraman walks away to give her room to use the talisman.

However, he wasn’t being a gentleman at all.  Rather, he walked away so he could secretly film her making a fool of herself.  Gi Bbeum finally spies him filming her and angrily lunges at him.

Back in the car jerk cameraman promises Gi Bbeum that he deleted the footage.  But Gi Bbeum is still coughing realy hard.  Cut to the hospital and a doctor pulling fish bones out of her throat.

At the same hospital, a business manager tries to convince Ma Sung to participate in an advertising photo shoot for the hospital which he has planned.  But Ma Sung is not interested, admitting that cameras scare him, and forcefully tells him he will not participate.  But it is no use, the manager tells him, the camera people are already here.  Undeterred,  Ma Sung tells him that he will send them away himself.

Back downstairs, Gi Bbeum and jerk cameraman are walking down the hospital hallway together.  Jerk cameraman decides he needs to run to the bathroom and hands Gi Bbeum his camera to hold in addition to the gear she already was carrying for him.

Taking the opportunity, Gi Bbeum sits down to check whether he really deleted the camera footage of her and the talisman.\ — wich of course he didn’t.  But she doesn’t understand how to use the camera and accidentally activates the flash just as Ma Sung walks by.  Misunderstanding, Ma Sung furiously screams at her “What do you think you are doing?!”  At the sound of his voice, Gi Bbeum looks up and immediately recognizes her lover.

Thoughts:

Well, if that wasn’t the cutest first half!  I loved the way they set up their relationship so we can see right away how wonderful Gi Bbeum and Ma Sung will be together.  So many times dramas will start after the accident so you only see how they are afterwards.  But getting to see their interactions before really made it easy to root for them as a couple.

Which made that second half way more painful.  I know we were supposed to expect that truck of doom (his accident is the basis of the entire story,) but it still startled the heck out of me.  And I was not braced for such a huge change in their lives.

The change in the leads is what strikes me the most about the second half.  For Ma Sung, he has become rigid, angry, and depressed.  It is interesting, but not surprising, that his brain has associated bright lights with danger.  But what is more interesting is that it connects the lights to a childhood trauma and not his recent accident.  It is as if since his brain can’t create new memories, it has locked him in his old ones.

But Ma Sung’s change isn’t really so surprising, considering the struggle he has had with his new condition.  Gi Bbeum’s transformation on the other hand is entirely of her own making.  I couldn’t be more proud of how this starlet has adapted to her new situation.  So many times we see stars in dramas struggle to cope with the slightest inconvenience.  But not this girl.  She has thrown herself into her new life and is making it work at any cost.  What strength of will and character that must take from her.

I’m excited to see where their story heads.  The writer has done an excellent job of getting me to cheer for this couple and I am counting on boatloads more cute from them.

Recap: Devilish Joy Episode 1 Blame this on my uncurable love of Choi Jin Hyuk.  We don't normally do recaps here at DramaCurrent, but since "Devilish Joy" was picked up by Dramax and not one of the major stations, I knew that it would not receive the recapping love from the other major bloggers.