#wonho we are young | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

monsta-x-jagi · 9 months ago

Text

Legal Affairs - Chapter 1

Synopsis: A rookie lawyer helps Wonho while he is being investigated for involvement in black market dealings.

Word count: 2.8k

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You walked through the revolving doors to Useungja Law Firm whose name meant “winner.” One of the best law firms in Seoul, it was known for having a high proportion of successful cases, and specialising in commercial law, civil suits and similar matters. Which is why you were surprised at the new case given to you.

“I thought we didn’t do criminal cases?” You asked your CEO.

“We don’t, but this was a special request, from my friend at the TV station. He wants to make sure his station isn’t caught up in these charges, so he discussed it with the idol’s agency and asked me to look into it.” The CEO replied and gave you the file to flick through. He knew you wouldn’t refuse the case, but he could tell you were feeling nervous.

After a long pause, you asked, “So why me? This feels like an important case.”

“I heard you had something of an interest in dark seedy black market crimes. Plus, you took criminal law classes last semester and I haven’t touched that stuff in over a decade.”

“Wow samcheon (uncle), you really had to make it sound like I have personal experience with the black market huh?” You laughed. “But sure, I will take the case.” You even saluted the CEO for good measure.

He laughed, before his face turned serious again. “Alright, but just one more thing sweetheart. Your mum said you missed out on all the other internships, but working at your old uncle’s firm isn’t pity, okay? I know you’re good, so get out there and prove it, because you’re still a skilled lawyer.”

Your client was a Lee Hoseok, represented by Starship Entertainment. He was part of a large number of idols being investigated for involvement with various black market entities, though nobody had been charged yet. You were simply there as a preventative measure to support him throughout the investigation. Following a party with several guests that included dubious and suspicious people, Le Hoseok and several others had been named as persons of interest.

The door to the meeting room opened soon after you sat down, and two men walked in, with one clearly being Hoseok. His hoodie did a pathetic job of hiding his figure which was clearly the result of many dedicated hours at the gym. You reached over to your drink bottle, telling yourself it’s because you are thirsty after seeing the iced coffee he had in his hand, and not for any other reason. The men sat across from you, and you introduced yourself and the plan for the meeting today.

“Hello. My name is y/n and I will be handling your case. Today, I just want to ask some questions based on what’s in the file. But you can keep talking even outside of those questions. I really just want to hear anything that will help your case, that’s all.”

Hoseok’s manager tapped his arm. He had been zoning out all morning since the manager mentioned his schedule for the day. He studied the lawyer in front of him. You seemed very young, probably younger than him, and he felt a small sense of dread that a rookie was handling his case.

“I didn’t do anything. I swear, I never stole anything, took drugs or hurt someone. I didn’t even do it for someone else.” He blurted out.

He didn’t intend to sound desperate, but he had been so lost in his thoughts earlier that he didn’t even hear your question.

Poor boy. He seemed very out of it. “It’s okay, this is a preventative measure for the investigation. We know nothing happened.” He appeared a little calmer once you said that, so you began listing your plan of action.

“I’m going to request surveillance footage from the TV station where this party supposedly happened. If you keep an inventory of what’s usually in your bags, I'd like to see that too, as well as a list of staff members or guests who were present.”

Hoseok simply nodded and his manager who agreed to provide anything you needed.

Then there was one more thing. You apologetically turned to the manager. “Client-attorney privilege only applies between me and Mr Lee. So for our conversations to be protected, we do technically need to have our consults alone. I hope you understand.”

The manager nodded, and with no hostility, left the room after squeezing Hoseok’s shoulder.

You waited for the manager to leave before continuing your interview with Hoseok. You decided to forego your desire to run your gaze appreciatively all over his body by simply looking down at your notes. You asked your first question. “Do you have any exes I should be concerned about?”

Hoseok almost sputtered his coffee when he heard that, and looked at you questioningly.

“Sorry, I wasn’t hitting on you.” This was a bad habit you needed to fix before heading to a courtroom. You often worded things without necessary context. “What I meant was can you think of anyone that would want to hurt you? I won’t tell your manager about these people if you don’t want to me, by the way,” you added, hoping it made him feel safe.

Hoseok didn’t seem to show much emotion when he answered. His voice was monotone and he didn’t even seem to be in the present. “I’ve had some entanglements, but there aren’t any that I think would want to hurt me.”

You tried not to let the initial lack of rapport with your client bother you as you continued you questions. “Can you tell me how much you drank last night?”

Hoseok looked sheepish. “I don’t remember anything from last night, if I am being honest.”

“That’s okay.” You made a small note in the file and continued. “Did you take any drinks given to you by another person? Like something they mixed, not something that came in a can or bottle?”

Hoseok was silent, thinking. “Probably.”

Your first little theory had formed. If the man didn’t remember anything, maybe he was drugged, possibly by one of those suspicious person, and if he was drugged, he may have been unaware of anything he may have done, including at someone else’s orders or under duress. But you needed more evidence for this theory, so you simply said, “I want you to take a drug test, today if possible. I’ll schedule one.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened in shock. Maybe some frustration too, since he had already told you he was innocent, but he nodded. His agency had ordered him to cooperate, though he would’ve done so even without the order.

The last part of your meeting was introducing Hoseok to the CEO. When your questions were done, Hoseok got up and followed you out of the meeting room and into the elevator.

“Mr Lee, if you have any questions at all, you know you can ask, right? I promise I’m not as scary as I look,” you said, laughing a little awkwardly.

You knew you couldn’t possibly look scary to a man that had the strength to crush your bones into a fine dust, but the atmosphere in the elevator wasn’t exactly bright. You could feel Hoseok looking at you, and you hoped he wasn’t stressing too much about the investigation.

Unknown to you, Hoseok was actually admiring your outfit. You were wearing a light blue floral dress that flared out at your hips pared with a very smart-looking white blazer. It was like you couldn’t decide whether to be at the office or at a picnic, and Hoseok thought it was adorable.

After another bout of silence, you spoke. “Mr Lee, could you enter your number and email address please? I am adding your email to a shared calendar for us. That way, we can keep track of things like important appointments, interviews, etc.”

Hoseok obliged, typing his details into your phone, and you silently congratulated yourself on not making it sound like you were hitting on your client when you asked for his number.

Inside the CEO’s office, your uncle introduced himself to Hoseok with a firm handshake. “Hello Hoseok. I am y/CEO/n. Y/n is well versed in black market cases, and I will also be around to support you, so there is nothing to worry about.”

Hoseok felt a small sense of relief hearing that. Surely if you were known to the CEO, you must be good at your job. The CEO then took his phone from his pocket and turned to you, with an amused smile on his face. Hoseok watched the interaction curiously.

“Y/n, I think your plan for the day is great,” the CEO said to you. “However, there’s something I need you to be careful about."

“Yeah? What?” You asked, with far too little honourifics for a CEO.

Hoseok tensed, expecting an outburst from the man, but was pleasantly surprised when the CEO handed his unlocked phone to you. You stifled a laugh with your hand as you checked the CEO’s phone. Hoseok tried to hide his confused expression at this remarkably affectionate relationship between a rookie and the CEO, but he wasn’t quick enough.

Noticing his quizzical expression, you began explaining. “The CEO has been a mentor to me since high school. We’re very close, so he teases me about every single silly mistake I make.”

You turned the CEO’s phone to face Hoseok. On the screen was a text message saying ‘Hi Mr Lee, it’s y/n. I’m excited to work with you and promise to do my best. I look forward to getting to know you more.’

There was nothing wrong with the message, except that you had texted it to the CEO, and not Hoseok. Seeing that, Hoseok cracked his first genuine smile of the day.

After your idol client left, you went to the Starship Entertainment office. The staff had already been informed to collect footage and any other necessary materials for your investigation. Starship Entertainment also forwarded you the schedules of each Monsta X member for you to conduct interviews with should you need to. When you went to Starship’s office, the list of schedules told you that Yoo Kihyun would be available for an interview.

Kihyun stopped by in between practice and his gym session. He smiled pleasantly and bowed before sitting across from you in a conference room at Starship. “Good afternoon y/n.”

“Great to meet you, Kihyun.” It slipped your mind to call him Mr Yoo. “Let’s start by talking about what Hoseok was doing during the party. Who he talked to, what he ate or drank, just really anything at all that you remember.” You fiddled with you phone to find the recorder app and showed it to Kihyun. “You don’t mind right?”

“Well, usually I record in a studio, but for you I’ll make an exception,” Kihyun said and laughed. He seemed sweet.

Hoseok had arrived at the party together with his members, but spent most of his time with Hyungwon, sitting on the couch and chatting with a few people. Kihyun couldn’t remember who, but there was no animosity there. As for what Hoseok drank, he did get offered drinks by a few people there, but he stuck to his own drink. Hoseok didn’t even leave his drink unattended as far as Kihyun remembers. As for Hoseok’s behaviour before the party, during the show, Kihyun couldn’t recall anything out of the ordinary, except that Hoseok left one of his bags behind in their van, and they had to ask a staff member to go grab it sometime after arriving at the dressing room. Unfortunately, Kihyun wasn’t sure who that staff member might have been.

“Well thank you for your time, Kihyun. Is it okay if I contact you again if I have questions?” You asked as you finished scribbling some notes.

“No worries, let me know if you need anything. I really want to help,” Kihyun said earnestly.

As Kihyun reached the door, you suddenly remembered something. “Is there a hair salon at Starship?"

Kihyun blinked confusedly before answering. “Uh yeah, did you need to go there?"

“I saw Hoseok’s schedule said he’s getting his hair done at 4pm, but I need some of his hair for a drug test. I was hoping the hairdresser could cut some for me without making it obvious.”

Kihyun understood your unasked request. “I can definitely take you to the salon. But there’s one small problem.” You raised your eyebrows at him, waiting for him to finish “Hoseok is planning to bleach his hair, so if you want his hair for a drug test, you gotta be quick."

Your mouth dropped open. “Oh shi- I mean godda-,” you tried not to swear. That drug test would prove your client to at least didn’t consume any drugs, and you were not missing that chance. Kihyun laughed at your crude language, before leading you to the salon.

The hairdresser had draped him and trimmed his hair and was somewhere preparing the bleach and colour. Hoseok’s phone buzzed with a message from Kihyun: DONTT FUICKING BLEACH UR HAIRRR

Was this some prank? Shouldn’t you be working out, little munchkin? Hoseok replied smiling to himself.

No I mean it, its for ur lawyer, Kihyun responded.

Hoseok was confused, but as he motioned for his hairdresser to hold off on the bleaching, the doors to the salon swung open. Behind it was Kihyun, with your slightly puffed out face appearing behind him. At the sight of Hoseok’s still unbleached hair, you breathed a sigh of relief. Kihyun moved aside to let you through, and much to Hoseok’s surprise, you made a beeline for him, or more specifically, his hair.

Your fingers first delicately touched it, before stroking their way through it. Then a second and third time. “Oh, Hoseok, thank god,” you murmured. “It’s safe.”

Hoseok met your gaze in the mirror, raising his eyebrows at you. “You okay there y/n? You uh… don’t get off on people’s hair do you?”

You didn’t register the joke. “No, no, I just got worried we wouldn’t be able to do the drug test. I need your unbleached hair.”

“How much? I’ll get the stylist to cut it for you,” Hoseok said, motioning for the hairdresser to come closer.

You ran your fingers through his hair a few times before holding up your desired sample for the drug test. “Don’t stress, you’ll still look handsome on stage Mr Lee.”

Hoseok looked at your through the mirror, smiling. “Why do you call me Mr Lee?”

“Hm sorry?” Your attention snapped to Hoseok’s face in the mirror. For the first time, you noticed his eyes exuded a sense of kindness you hadn’t seen before.

Hoseok repeated himself. “Why do you call me Mr Lee?”

“Do I have to explain that? You’re my client,” you said.

“True, but you called me Hoseok when you first walked in.”

Your face went blank and Hoseok smirked. Unknowingly, your fingers remained wrapped around a strand of his hair, and your elbow rested on his shoulder.

Hoseok reached out his hand from under the hairdresser’s drape to touch your arm. “You walked in and did this.” His hand mimicked the way you touched his hair when you first walked in on your forearm. “Oh thank god Hoseok is what you said.”

You flinched at his touch, equal parts shocked and embarrassed. He wasn’t sure whether to be hurt or amused when you took a small step away from him.

“In my defence, I was addressing myself, not you,” you said, twisting you lips to side in annoyance.

“Last I checked, your name wasn’t Hoseok, so I don’t know why you would address yourself as that,” Hoseok smirked.

You started chewing your lip then sighed. “Fuck, I didn’t exactly leave the best impression as your lawyer there did I?” You laughed as you spoke, but then suddenly covered your mouth with your hands. “Why did I even do that…”

Hoseok couldn’t help but laugh out loud. You had been so perfectly polite and proper all morning, and that demeanour dissolving was absolutely hilarious. “I never knew my lawyer would have such a crude mouth. Hope it comes in handy in the future.”

You stopped laughing and narrowed your eyes. You returned his smirk. “That is a new version of ‘what that mouth do.’ Good job.” You knew this exchange had lost all sense of professionalism now.

Hoseok laughed along with you but then became serious. He asked, “Surely nobody says things like that to you. You’re a lawyer, you probably date other educated men.”

You shook your head. “Mr Lee, educated or uneducated, any man is capable of being an asshole.”

“Just Hoseok is fine, Miss y/n.”

“Just y/first/name, is fine, Hoseok,” you parroted back. Having grown a little more comfortable, you stepped in a little closer to the seat again. “So, Hoseok, can your hairdresser cut some hair for me?”

10 minutes later, you were out the door with Hoseok’s hair in a little ziplock bag. You didn’t know it, but you felt a small buzz as you thought about how you finally established some rapport with your client. Or as ordinary people would call it, chemistry.

#wonho #hoseok #lee hoseok #shin hoseok #monsta x #reader x wonho #reader x hoseok #changkyun #joohoney #hyungwon #shownu #monbebe #minhyuk #kihyun

13 notes · View notes

smolwritingchick · 1 year ago

Text

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 68- Under The Mistletoe

Chapter Summary: BTS attend the MAMA Awards. Jimin and Taehyung aim to get Jennie and Jungkook to kiss under the mistletoe

Words: 8,000+

-----

In Hong Kong, BTS prepared for their performance during the dress rehearsal. They were to collaborate with GOT7, which Jen was thrilled about.

"Hey, Bam Bam, look it's your future girlfriend." Mark teased as they saw Jennie stretching from afar.

"Shush!" Bam Bam playfully shoved him away.

"And you're drooling~," Jackson exclaimed.

After she finished stretching, she spotted the members of GOT7 and waved. Just before Bam Bam was about to approach her, he stopped when he saw Jungkook.

"Babygirl."

"Yes?" she turned around, greeted by Jungkook.

"Hobi Hyung wants to go over the choreography with you to make sure you got it. You know that one part."

"All right."

After the dress rehearsal, Jennie had slipped through Bam Bam's eyes as he wanted to take time to talk to her, but like she always does, she wandered around backstage. She saw Monsta X and approached them with a smile.

"Finally get to meet you guys properly. Hi!" she bowed.

"Jennie Walker! Miss BTS! It's nice to finally meet you properly, too! I'm Jooheon. This is I.M, Hyungwon, Kihyun, Minhyuk, Wonho and Shownu."

"I'm trying not to fangirl but oh my gosh, you guys are friggin badass. I am so looking forward to your performance at the show. I can see you guys making it big, I can just feel it. And I'm proud to announce that I am a monbebe~!"

The members seemed pleased to hear that as they welcomed her with open arms.

"What's your favorite song?" Minhyuk asked.

"Gone Bad is my favorite!"

"Oh really? Can you sing it?" Shownu asked

Jen nodded and sang out Kihyun's part, "Geurae hal mankeum haebwa oneul haruneun. Eodikkaji galji hanbeon nareul jigyeobollae."

"Wow~. I love it." Kihyun applauded.

"Continue." Jooheon challenged

"Okay." she accepted and started feeling herself while rapping to Jooheon, "E eee eee, neon hukhago gayo. E eee eee, neon hukhago gayo."

Jooheon immediately smiled and nodded his head as he rapped with her, "E eee eee, neon hukhago gayo. E eee eee, neon hukhago gayo tto hanbange KO."

She went on while Hyungwon joined in for his verse, "Ppittureojillae. Ppittureojillae ho. Ppittureojillae. Monsta X yeah we rock the show. Ppittureojillae. Ppittureojillae ho. Ppittureojillae. Monsta X yeah we rock the show!"

"We might need to let her be the 8th member of Monsta X, now." Kihyun laughed.

"Ha! I don't think Bangtan will take too kindly to that." she giggled.

"I'm sure we can work something out." Wonho smiled, causing her face to warm up

'Lord Jesus, I was born the wrong year. He's smiling like that on purpose.' she thought.

Wonho was one fine looking guy. Everyone here was.

"So, we heard that Wonho is your bias." Minhyuk teased. "So, who is your bias wrecker? Me, right?"

"No way, it's me," Shownu added.

The members began joking around and trying to impress her with funny poses, making her laugh.

"She doesn't have a bias wrecker because her heart belongs to me, right Jennie?" Wonho wrapped an arm around her and got closer to her face.

"Oh mah God~." she started feeling shy at how close she was to him and covered her face as he chuckled. Once she pulled herself together, she joked, "I know I'm too young for you, but I fit your ideal type because I can make some bombass ramen."

After goofing around, she asked, "Are you fellas nervous for your first MAMA Awards?"

"Very. It's a big moment for us. Do you have any advice?" Shownu asked.

"Honestly I was freaking out during my first MAMA. It's such a big deal, y'know? Huge event. But just have fun with it. You're performing in front of thousands of people and various idols from different companies. Show them who Monsta X is and show them that you guys are here to stay and take over. You're going to do great. I'll be cheering you on."

"Thank you, we'll take that to heart." they bowed.

"I remember your performance from last year's MAMA. You performed with Block B's Taeil. You were really good up there. Great charisma." I.M spoke in English, causing Jen to smile and speak in her Native language

"Aw, really? Thank you. It's still one of my favorite performances I had on stage. You're fluent in English, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"I'm giving you a warning now since we're going to be great friends, you're stuck with me and we'll be having a lot of English conversations together."

I.M chuckled. "I'll mentally prepare. Can we take a picture for Twitter?"

"Yeah!"

Getting in the middle, Jennie posed gleefully as they considered her their new Monbebe. I.M posted the photo on Monsta X's Twitter, 'With Miss BTS herself! She's our new Monbebe! Thank you for supporting us!'

Wandering around again, Jen saw The8.

"Jennie!" he happily waved

"Hey! It's been a while!" she rushed up and pulled him for a hug, surprising him as he shyly hugged her back.

After they pulled away he smiled softly. "You look well!"

"I'm surviving. You look great, excited for Mama?"

"A little nervous but Seventeen is working very hard."

"I saw a snippet of your performance. You guys are great! Mansae is one of my favorite songs."

"Look forward to us performing."

"Trust me, I will."

Once the show began, BTS and GOT7 performed their collab dance. Afterward, GOT7 performed If You Do and soon after, BTS came out to perform Run. Jen wore leather pants and a white leather jacket with the words, 'Love Yourself' and wore that same white butterfly necklace in their starting position. She stood back to back with Jimin.

Run...Run...Run...

Starting off with V walking to the members, they shift. Rapmon starts off and they perform.

dasi Run Run Run nan meomchul suga eobseo

tto Run Run Run nan eojjeol suga eobseo

eochapi igeotbakke nan mothae

neoreul saranghaneun geot bakken mothae

Transitioning to the middle, Jen sang while her hair bounced every time she ran, "Dasi Run Run Run, neomeojyeodo gwaenchanha, tto Run Run Run jom dachyeodo gwaenchanha."

The camera panned to some idols who were watching the performance and it showed some IKON members smiling and lip syncing when Jen sang. One of them covered his mouth to tell one of his hyungs that she looked pretty but some fansites that were filming them caught them and thought it was cute.

(Run)

Jen and Rapmon face each other.

Don't tell me bye bye!

(Run)

"You make me cry, cry!" she patted her hand over her heart

(Run)

"Love is a lie, lie!" they say in unison. "Don't tell me, don't tell me, don't tell me bye bye!" they push each other away

Once the chorus came again, Jen sang first this time as they danced.

chueokdeuri mareun kkonipcheoreom

sansani buseojyeoga

nae son kkeuteseo nae bal miteseo

dallyeoganeun ne deung dwiro

machi nabireul jjotdeut kkum sogeul hemaedeut

neoui heunjeogeul ttaraga

The fan chants could be heard as they noticed various ARMY bombs in the crowd. Jen was having a blast on the stage and before she knew it, the song was about to end.

(Run)

Don't tell me bye bye

(Run)

"You make me cry, cry!"

(Run)

"Love is a lie, lie!"

Don't tell me, don't tell me

Don't tell me bye bye

Later on, the members watched the rest of the show. Jen had stared at Ailee in admiration when she had won best female vocal performance. She was just so beautiful and ARMY was eager to see her reaction to Ailee winning while the members teased her about it. Jen was the first to stand up and applaud when she won as well, with a proud smile on her face.

Jennie also was so proud of Hyuna when she won best dance solo performance. Her life was slayed watching Jessi and Hyuna perform. She enjoyed seeing women take the stage. Hopefully one day she will be able to do that. She saw it as inspiration that she could get there, too.

BTS had won the World Performer award, which was a proud moment for them. Jen hoped that they'd be able to win even more awards as they continued what they were doing. Ever since the Melon Awards, Jen's reactions and dancing to performances have become iconic for those that have fancams of her because they were so amusing to watch and tonight was no exception.

When CL had performed, Jen was mesmerized. The charisma, how the crowd can get behind her instantly, she hoped to be like that one day. Being able to move a crowd like that by herself. She was so hyped that the camera kept filming her while fans said, 'Same, Jennie, same'

Just like everyone else, no one expected 2NE1 to pop up as Jen freaked out, holding onto poor Jin.

"HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!"

Her reaction was bound to go viral as she also wiped a few tears when they performed Fire and I Am The Best.

And of course, once EXO had performed, she had to jam to them. She lipsynced all of Baekhyun's lines as her fansites filmed everything.

"Eodun miro soge gacheotteon. Whoa na Oh, geu eodum sogeseo, nal kkaeweo jun ni moksori deullyeowa, nal dashi taeeonage hae~" she sang out, jamming around.

The members slowly turned to her and were amused. She truly loved Baehkyun. When the lights went out and Chanyeol began rapping fast, Jen got even more hyped as EXO performed a lightsaber dance break. Then, with Drop That, it became a huge party as she danced with Taehyung and Hobi who were near Suho and Chen.

Jump jump jump jump jump jump E.X.O

Jump jump jump jump we are E.X.O

While watching Baekhyun perform, she soon saw him walking towards where she and the rest of the idols were. Her butterflies came back and all those thoughts about keeping her composure were out the window.

She soon noticed him looking her way and began to walk over to her.

'He's coming over here!?' she thought, widening her eyes.

He extended out his hand and she immediately took it, getting pulled forward and they started jumping and dancing together.

"Ah, she is so freaking out right now!" Namjoon laughed.

"I know. I'm surprised she didn't faint." Jin giggled.

Chen and Suho did the same with GOT7 and the rest of Bangtan nearby.

This was a moment that she'll cherish for the rest of her life and the members knew how much this meant to her. Baekhyun smiled at her and made his way back to the stage to regroup with the members. She couldn't wipe that huge smile off her face. It was nothing like being able to get hyped with one of your favorite idols like this.

Chen had blown her away with his high note and she had to lean back and place a hand over her heart.

'MY GOD! How did he do that!?' she thought

And once they performed Love Me Right, Jennie was no more good as she swayed around while standing and clapping along. Her ears were almost ringing from the screams of fans for Big Bang. Their stages were always unique. All of YG artists were. The way they were so composed and had strong charisma. She hoped to get there one day. To that point as a performer.

During the dress rehearsal, she had told G-Dragon that she hoped that BTS could have a longer stage at MAMA, and he told her that they'd get there one day. So she'll continue to work hard and remain patient for their time to shine.

When the camera panned to Jennie with Taehyung bopping to the song, she looked directly at it and smiled, pointing, "Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!"

Spotting Kiyhun and the rest of Monsta X, Jen and Taehyung began to dance with them too. During PSY's Daddy performance, fansites filmed her laughing and asking Hobi and Taehyung how the dance goes, following their moves.

During Gangnam Style the camera caught her again, turning up and dancing around without a care in the world despite everyone watching her. She was dancing similar to how Taeyang was during Gangnam Style a few years ago. The members couldn't help but party with her. Jen feeling herself was such a mood and it made awards shows more enjoyable to watch because of her reactions.

Bam Bam had soon danced his way over to Jennie, tapping her over the shoulder. Once she turned, she danced with him as BamJen shippers were delighted. Jimin was not happy when watching them dance. He felt like his ship was getting ruined and didn't like how close he was to her.

Jungkook glanced up and saw them dancing, feeling some type of way as jealously crept up on him.

"Are you going to sit there or are you going to do something?" Taehyung asked in his ear over the loud music.

Jungkook soon thought about their conversation after the concert,

'Let everyone know that the person you want will be yours and no one is going to change that or interfere with your mission.'

Some idols were glancing at Jungkook, wondering what he was going to do. The gossip about Jungkook's feelings for his bandmate was going around fast. And it was also a known fact that Bam Bam had liked her for quite some time and was very vocal about it. The only thing stopping him right now was the dating ban.

Jungkook stood up and glanced at the 95 Liners who followed him. Dancing to the song, the three of them moved to where Jen was dancing. Jimin and Taehyung watched eagerly as Jungkook gently pulled her away from Bam Bam

"I'll take it from here," the Golden Maknae spoke.

Bam Bam and some members of GOT7 were disappointed that his moment was interrupted. But Jimin and Taehyung had low fived each other as they watched JenKook have a friendly and goofy dance battle, with Bangtan hyping them up. It certainly caught the camera's attention and made JenKook shippers happy.

Watching everyone perform tonight motivated Jen to do better and she had hoped that at next year's MAMA Awards, she would be able to blow everyone away with her charisma with Bangtan. Sometimes she felt like she wasn't doing enough. What can she do to stand out and get people talking about how much she has improved on stage? She will be practicing and working even harder to give a better performance for fans.

After the show, Jungkook went directly to Bam Bam. He wanted to have a long talk about everything.

"Can I speak with you, Bam Bam?" Jungkook asked.

Once Bam Bam agreed, they walked to a private area. "So, what's up, Jungkook?"

"It's about Jennie."

--------

"Thank you!" Jen pulled the table right inside her hotel room.

She was so hungry after the show, she had to order room service. She felt like she deserved a big meal after the pleasant time she had at the MAMA Awards.

Her face during 2NE1's reunion performance was sure to become a new meme as she already saw her face plastered all over Tumblr and Twitter. ARMY did not waste any time to capture her reaction. After eating, she prepared to shower, shutting the bathroom door behind her. Finally, she was able to shower. The whole night exhausted her. It was overall fun but with a big award show like this, it took a toll on her body. But nothing like a hot shower to ease her muscles. Connecting her phone to a portable speaker, she put her music on shuffle and walked into the shower.

Meanwhile, back in the room, a sasaeng had crawled out from under the room service table after hearing the shower turn on. They began to place hidden cameras all over the room and called their buddy who was also around the hotel.

"I'm in Jennie's room~! Our plan worked! I finally got in. The video is clear, right? Good." the sasaeng giggled and found her suitcase.

Opening it, they started to examine her personal belongings. They began to take some of her underwear and even took photos of her bra size. After having too much fun with her belongings, the suitcase fell to the floor and made a loud noise.

With Jennie, her stomach dropped, and she stopped everything that she was doing as soon. Hobi was not in the room yet because he was with friends so he couldn't be back yet.

Something was not right and someone was here.

What is she going to do?

Another sasaeng had walked into the room and it so happened to be someone who worked at the hotel. The same woman who had given Jennie her food. She eagerly helped the other person put Jen's stolen items under the table, including her friendship ring.

"We'll meet with the others later. Double check the cameras, and get out of here," she advised and left the room with the table.

Getting out of the shower while leaving it on, she put on a towel and disconnected her phone from the speaker to give Seijin a quick call to frantically tell him that there was someone in her room. After he told her that he was on his way with the others and security, she decided to stay in the bathroom, feeling anxious.

"Jennie~, I know you know I'm here! Come out so we can meet! I'm a huge fan~!" the sasaeng said in a teasing voice.

This was so scary. Never in her life had she ever been in this type of situation. She became anxious when she heard the doorknob rattle as the sasaeng tried to get in. She didn't know if the sasaeng had intentions of hurting her or had some sort of weapon.

After hearing various sasaeng stories, she never thought she would be one to deal with someone breaking in. She hated this feeling. The feeling of being helpless and paralyzed with fear.

"Open up!" the sasaeng yelled, making her flinch and shed a few tears.

The sasaeng didn't want to leave like they were supposed to. They wanted to get noticed by their bias.

Looking around, Jennie grabbed the nearest weapon, a toilet plunger, just in case they attacked her. It wasn't much but it was something. She let out a shriek when the sasaeng began to kick at the door. After a while, they managed to break in and as soon as that door swung open, Jen couldn't even use the weapon.

"Get away from me!" Jen shouted when she was grabbed by the arm.

The sasaeng had a tight grip, digging their nails into her skin, with that sick smile on their face. Seijin and various security guards rushed into the room, to go straight after the sasaeng while Jen screamed.

"No! No! I love her! Let me go! Let me go!" the sasaeng began struggling and managed to get detained while Seijin made sure Jen was all right.

Jennie watched with distress as the sasaeng continued to go crazy. When they were taken away, she, still shaken up, explained what happened while in tears, holding on to Seijin. After he made a few calls, it was certain that Big Hit would be taking serious legal action over this, immediately.

If Jen didn't have her phone with her in the bathroom, who knows what could've happened? Her blood went cold as she still felt that death grip on her arm. She then looked at her suitcase which was open with her items scattered.

Anger soon overcame her, "And they had the audacity to touch my shit?!"

She ran her hands through her wet hair, fearing for the worst of what might have been taken. When she got dressed in her pajamas, there was an investigation of how the sasaeng broke in. Clearly, the sasaeng had some connections in this hotel and someone or more people helped them sneak in.

When the members found out what had happened, they immediately rushed to her room, Namjoon being the first, running in to hug her.

"Are you hurt!?" he demanded with worry.

Jen was not happy. She was mainly angry at herself for being in that type of situation and getting so scared. She was considering taking self defense classes or something to defend herself if God forbid no one was there to save her. The members stayed with her while Seijin filled them in on everything. Yoongi, Namjoon, Jungkook, and Jimin especially struggled to keep their cool, while everyone was concerned for her safety.

Just to see how easily the sasaeng came in from a room service table was not good and they will be increasing security and doing more hotel room checks from now on.

"And we found hidden cameras." Seijin pointed out.

"You're the one with the good news, today, huh?" Jen asked sarcastically, shaking her head. "Man...hidden cameras? Unbelievable...well, I clearly made it because I now have people breaking into my hotel room."

This was sick. What if they filmed her when she was undressed?

Later that evening, Jungkook came back to her room while Hobi was showering. He was still shaken up by what had happened with Jennie. Everyone was. He had wished that he could've protected her.

Noticing something bothering her and decided to ask, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm so sorry..." she murmured, shaking her head as tears appeared in her eyes

"For what?" he asked in alarm.

"I'm so sorry, Kook..."

"Wh-what's wrong?"

"I lost the ring..." she mumbled.

"What?"

"I lost the ring, Jungkook. I-I thought they took it but it wasn't found on them. I dunno where it can be. It's not in the room, the sasaeng doesn't have it. It's gone. Th-they searched everywhere."

His eyes softened as he held her close. "It's okay."

"That friendship ring meant everything to me. Now it's gone."

"It's okay."

"How can you say that so easily?" she looked up.

"Because what we have isn't just a ring. Your safety is worth more than a ring," he responded firmly. "You or a simple ring, I'd choose you in a heartbeat. I'm just glad you're safe. That's all that matters."

There were numerous reports of Jennie being the next unfortunate victim of dealing with a sasaeng as fans had voiced their concern and hoped that she would be okay. It was going to be a while until she got over this but being with the members helped ease the tension.

-------

As a pre-birthday surprise, the members and MPD decided to prank Jin. First was a mission which was to make an acrostic poem with Hong Kong. When Jin was declared the winner, he was shocked.

"Why me?" Jin asked, flustered.

Since he was the winner, he went out with MPD while the production crew gave the members instructions. They were to have the lights off and the members not in the room but only a woman lying in the bed as they hoped that Jin would fall for the plan.

"Yo, V cannot keep a secret. He kept mentioning Jin's birthday." Jen said on camera while they hid in the bathroom.

"He mentioned it twice!" Rapmon added

'Trust me, I know.' Jungkook thought about the various times V almost blurted out his feelings for Jennie.

Thankfully Jimin kept him in check. After a while, Jin came back and entered the room with MPD, only to jump when the girl screamed from the bed. Jin instantly jumped and began shaking.

"What, what, what is going on!?" he exclaimed.

"Happy birthday to you~!" the members walked out with a cake while laughing. Jin continued to stand there, stunned while Jimin held onto him. "Happy birthday to our beloved Jin Hyung! Happy birthday to you!"

"I was so startled!" Jin exclaimed after blowing out the candles. "I was like what? Who's that?"

"Did you fall for our plan?" J-Hope asked

"I did!"

When it was officially Jin's birthday, backstage during a music show, Suga and Jimin started a V-Live and walked over to Jin with a cake. Everyone had sung happy birthday to him.

"Whaaaaaa!" Suga yelled while the members butt in the camera to get in the frame.

"It's so good to be with our members on my birthday. And it's even better to be with our fans. Give me a knife to cut the cake." the birthday boy requested.

"Here you go!" J-Hope pretended that his hand was a knife, pretending to chop the cake while the other members did the same thing.

After getting an official knife, Jin began to cut it.

"It's blueberry yogurt," Jimin informed.

"Looks mighty tasty~!" Jen added.

"Who wants it?" Jin asked

"You first, Jin." J-Hope answered

As soon as he took the first bite, J-Hope said, "Yeeeahhh."

When he ate another piece, the members said, "Yeaaaah."

Another bite.

"Yuuuuuum!"

"It's good, right?" J-Hope asked

And another bite.

"Yuuuuum!"

"So good!" Jin answered with his mouth full.

"53,000 of our fans are with us," Suga announced.

"It's my birthday and I hope you'll be happy too. We'll do our best to show you the best performance today. So please enjoy it." Jin beamed

"Happy birthday! Bye!" they wave goodbye.

After the V-Live, Jen presented Jin with a Mario themed birthday box. "Happy birthday~!"

"For me? And it's Mario? Oh wow, thank you, Jennie." he happily accepted it and sat down with her to open it. "I have been looking forward to getting your birthday box. It was one of my top birthday wishes."

"Oh really? Well, I'm glad this birthday wish came true. I hope you like it."

Opening up the letter, Jin couldn't help but giggle. On the top was a small ship she drew with the pun, 'Oh ship! It's your birthday!'

To my precious Jin,

Ah, you're getting older! But as each year goes by, you get more handsome. Just ask those who call you the car door guy back at the Melon Awards. Thank you for always taking care of me over the years. You have always looked out for me. Even that time when I was embarrassed when my period came unexpectedly and you were there and washed my sheets for me and took me to the store to buy what I needed. And as much as I hated that time when you forced me to take medicine when I got sick for the first time in Korea, I'm glad you did because even though we were just getting to know each other, you were concerned about me and wanted to help me.

You have no idea how proud you make me when I see you dance. I can definitely see the improvement and I hope you can too because your hard work is paying off. You have been working diligently on everything and just know that we appreciate all that you do. I will continue to help you clean and cook for the members. I don't want you to do all the work by yourself. I'll always be there to help you out. Oh yeah, and thanks for increasing my appetite because you were the main one wanting me to eat more when I came here. I want to be a part of Eat Jin soon, so invite me to your show!

Your laugh is one of my favorite things about you. It's contagious and I will continue to tease you about it. I also love your silly dad jokes. I swear I be like the only one laughing because of how silly they are but I always appreciate them. There are times when I think about them and start laughing and then the members stare at me like I'm crazy, haha. Including you! But you're the reason for my random laughter. Happy birthday and I wish you many more happy, safe, and healthy birthdays to come.

Love,

Your precious Jennie

After he had read the letter, he wrapped his arms around her for a tight hug and began giving her kisses all over her face as she tried to escape while laughing.

As the days went by in December, BTS promoted Run on music shows. During one show, V had the opportunity to MC. The members were very eager to watch him in action. Jennie wondered when she'd have that random opportunity to MC for a music show. It seemed a bit intimidating with the script and having to do all this random stuff. But she hoped that when it was her time to do so, it would be fun and a great learning experience.

"Ah shit, I accidentally got foundation on your face." she noticed some of her makeup on the side of Tae's cheek after she kissed him for good luck.

That helped calm his nerves since he was so nervous about MCing and he began to laugh at her struggling to wipe the brown makeup off.

"Stop laughing! I'm tryna help!" she giggled

"Hehehe, thank you, I needed this laugh." He responded as a stylist came to fix his makeup.

"You are going to be just fine. Everyone gets nervous when they do stuff like this for the first time. But you're a natural on camera. You're always so silly and bring in that adorable charm that fans love. We'll be watching you backstage, cheering you on, mkay? Ennie will always support you. Don't forget that."

Taehyung gave her two big kisses on her cheeks as she laughed.

"Oh, my gosh, Tae! You got my makeup on you again!"

And for Inkigayo with Rap Monster MCing, Jen and the rest of the members watched him from backstage.

"Bruh...I dunno what he was so nervous for. If he is, it clearly does not show on camera. Look at how smooth he is. He's doing so well." Jen said for a Bangtan Bomb.

On Music Bank, the members were hoping to get their first win for Run. Some members were asked what they thought about the possibility of getting their first win.

Jen answered, "Prayer is a powerful thing, so I'm praying that we get this first win. And I have faith in ARMY. Things will be fine."

Thanks to ARMY's hard work, Bangtan got first place as the confetti came down on the stage. Fans screamed louder than ever for them as the members broke out into huge smiles, applauding as they received flowers from the MCs. It was nothing like getting a first win and it was something that they will honor every time they get it.

"Thank you ARMY! Love you!" Suga said over the mic.

Receiving the mic, Jen happily shouted, "ARMY, you rock! Thank you!"

"Thank you so much ARMY!" V spoke

"Thank you, everyone! Woo! We won first place!" Jimin waved as their song came on while the other idols left the stage.

Since Bangtan won first place, they wanted Jennie and Jungkook to perform Adult Ceremony to become an adult. So, making ARMY scream louder than they were before, the members continued to slowly bend down and do a little bit of the choreography while singing run and waving.

Rushing off stage, Rapmon happily said, "We got first place! Jungkookie and Ennie are now adults!"

"Thank you!" Suga blew a kiss

"Woo~ First win! Woo! BTS Run first win, woo!" Jennie yelled in front of the Bangtan Bomb camera, grabbing it and giving it a big kiss on the lens.

"We got first place! We got first place!" J-Hope excitedly yelled

"You've worked hard~!" Jungkook waved

"Wow~!" Jin showed off the award, looking at it in awe.

"We won an award!" Jimin said, with Taehyung having his arm around his shoulder.

Backstage, Jimin and Jennie were filmed together with J-Hope making funny faces in the background and hugging Jen from behind.

"Jennie, since you became an adult and won first place, what are your thoughts?" Jimin asked.

"First, ARMY, you did this for us, your hard work and dedication to supporting us is always appreciated. So again, thank you and we love you very much. And since I've become an adult, I can have all the smarties I want without no one telling me no, muhahahah~!" she laughed evilly.

"Muhahahah?" J-Hope questioned

"Muhahaha!" she answered back.

"Muhahahaha~!" he copied her.

"You two are very weird." Jimin laughed.

-------

BTS were on another episode of Weekly Idol, discussing their RUN comeback. For random dancing, Coni mentioned, "As a way to motivate them so they don't make any more mistakes, what about giving a kiss to each other."

"Oh, that's really strong," J-Hope responded as the members looked astonished

"Who? Who?" Suga called out

"Say what now?" Jen added

"That's good, the first person to make a mistake will give a member a kiss on the cheek," Coni said

As the members began to dance, it started simple with no mistakes. But once Boy In Luv came on, it looked like Jungkook had messed up.

"Time out, time out. Jungkook!" Heechul exclaimed as they both went to him and J-Hope.

They thought J-Hope's facial expressions were way too obvious and he acted like he didn't make a mistake.

"I was a bit confused," J-Hope admitted.

"Is it better to be kissed by Jungkook or by J-Hope?"

"Wouldn't it be better if they just kissed each other?" V suggested

"WOW!" everyone shouted.

Jennie began laughing loudly as she saw the two poor boys cringing and taking a step back.

"Say, 'Let's not be wrong from now on', then hug and once...twice...do that." Coni demonstrated, kissing Jungkook on the cheek as he cringed.

Jennie giggled at his reaction. He was just too cute. Soon Jungkook and J-Hope held hands and stood in front of each other.

"Hyung, let's...not make mistakes," Jungkook said as they went to hug each other.

"Euahhhhhhhh~!" J-Hope yelled as they reluctantly got close to each other's faces. "This is cruel!"

Once J-Hope had yelled and kissed his cheek, everyone had to push Jungkook's head near J-Hope's cheek to kiss him. The boys were so happy when the torture was over.

"Everyone, this time, instead of a kiss, do one hit on the wrist," Coni revealed the next punishment.

When they continued their next round of random dancing, this time Suga got confused when I Need U came on and sheepishly tried to explain himself. He exposed his wrist out for Jungkook to hit.

"You have to kind of like it!" Heechul explained, demonstrating getting hit and dramatically saying, "Ah!"

It seemed too inappropriate for the broadcast as the members burst out in laughter.

"No, he did not just say that!" Jen laughed.

"That's too weird!" Suga exclaimed and got hit by Jin and Rapmon afterward.

"If you get it wrong the third time, this time, the butt." Coni demonstrated.

Jennie took a step back, exclaiming, "UH! UH!"

"UH UH!" "UH UH!" They replay her shocked sound effect as everyone laughed while she protectively covered her butt with her hands.

"I will knock somebody out," she announced, getting defensive, pounding her fist once against her palm.

Taehyung had accidentally slapped her ass during the War of Hormone era in one performance at a music show. She knew fans wanted the full story of how that happened. She planned to discuss it when she went to talk to JRE in January.

Her ass was not going to get hit by anyone. Not today. Not the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and so on. You have to earn it to touch her ass.

Jimin and Taehyung thought about Jennie messing up and trying to get Jungkook to be the one to give her the punishment, giggling to themselves.

As they danced again, War of Hormone came on and it popped up to Jen's verse.

Of course, it did...

Strutting to the front she danced powerfully.

...but I ain't you baby, you gotta earn that.

Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!

I'll tell you what I want right now!

Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!

I ain't giving it to you right now!

She successfully got the moves right as the chorus continued. She was not letting anyone touch her booty. They can look but they can't touch. If anything, you gotta be her significant other first.

Once Boy in Luv came on, Jimin was finally caught.

"We'll do the last punishment and after that, especially for you, we'll add another on top of that," Coni said. "The two MCs will hug Jimin and-"

"No," Jimin begged. "You don't have to do things like that." he fell to his knees and laughed

"A hug and a kiss," Heechul said while the members laughed and applauded.

Jennie, Suga, J-Hope, Taehyung and Jungkook gave Jimin pats on his butt and then he was hugged from behind by Heechul. When Jimin received kisses on the cheek, the members yelled, continuing to cringe.

During the next segment, BTS received phone calls from various fans who were very excited. The phone lines were down due to the high demand for Bangtan, which bewildered the members. One fan had spoken in English, talking to Jennie and she was moved that the fan was learning English to communicate with her. Jen made the fan feel good when she praised their English skills.

"So, what is this about Jin and Jennie wrestling?" Coni asked

Jin and Jen glanced at each other and laughed while the members thought about the hilarious memories.

"That was a fun day." Jen happily nodded.

"That match didn't count because she cheated. I was supposed to win." Jin exclaimed

"You tapped out. It doesn't get much clearer than that, Jin."

"AHHHHHHH~!" the members said with their loud laughter filling the studio.

They had played the clip of Jennie putting Jin in an armbar and him tapping out while Jin became flustered. His ears got red as he tried to explain himself.

"Will there be a continuation?" Heechul asked. "Round two?"

"I mean, we could. You down?" Jen turned to Jin.

"I still need to win so of course." Jin nodded eagerly.

"I dunno about all that but anyway." she teased as Jin blankly stared at her. "I guess when we have some free time, we'll think of some funny promos and work on what we want to do for Jin vs Jen Part 2. Stay tuned."

As the show went on, with Rapmon struggling to cut an onion, they had their idol on the grill segment. The male members would be called Bulletproof Girl Scouts while Jennie would be called the Bulletproof Boy Scout. They recapped the female idols the boys wanted to get closest to and how Jennie was very interested in EXO. So the plan was to dance to an idol song and they'll be given Korean Beef.

"Jennie! Which EXO song would you like to perform?" she was asked.

"Call me baby~," she answered and stood up.

"Of course." Jimin giggled.

"Yes, we are fully aware that you love this group a lot. Especially Baekhyun." Coni teased.

"I hope that one day I could have the opportunity to collab with an EXO member." she brought up. "That would be so cool. I learn a lot from groups such as them when I watch them perform. It motivates me to work harder. Collabing with a group like EXO, I'm sure I can learn a lot from them. Even if it's just one member, a simple dance collab, or singing together, I'd be grateful."

"EXO if you are watching, what is your answer?" Coni asked.

As the song came on, it started with the chorus after Chanyeol's verse. It looked like she would have to do some eye-opening pelvic thrusts. She even had her hand on her crotch and thrust her hips up. It surprised the members along with her fluent body rolls and movement with the song. The MCs were impressed with her powerful movements and praised her. When Jen watched the rest of the members dance, she immediately covered her mouth when Rapmon danced to EXID's Up & Down.

When it was Jungkook's turn, he mentioned that he wasn't familiar with any IU songs and decided to dance Up & Down instead. Sure enough, being the extra Golden Maknae that he is, the MCs hyped him up while the members laughed. Jennie dropped her jaw when he started to thrust up and down.

"Whoa! Yeah! Whoa! Yeah!" the MCs yelled as he displayed a different personality once again.

'Did you hear what Jennie said on Weekly Idol!?' fans asked under Baekhyun's Instagram.

What got everyone talking was that Baekhyun had only responded with a smiley emoji, causing everyone to flip out at the possibility.

Will SM Entertainment allow a member from EXO to collaborate with Jennie one day?

And will Big Hit allow Jennie to collaborate with a member from EXO one day?

These were questions on everyone's minds and it had been anticipated ever since she released that cover. It looked like they would have to stay tuned to find out.

---------

When Christmas Eve came, Jennie and Jungkook spent the day playing video games in Jungkook's room.

"Jennie, later I want you to help me bake," Jin called out, walking past the room.

"I got you, just let me know!" she answered.

Jin examined the living room of the dorm with a smile. Christmas music was playing softly in the background and the tree was decorated. After a fierce game of rock, paper, scissors, Jin was the one to put the star on the tree.

"And what are you two doing, now?" he asked when Jimin and Taehyung were wandering around the dorm.

"Put one right here...right here...right there...and there..." Jimin placed mistletoes all around the dorm with Taehyung, in hopes to finally get JenKook to kiss.

The 95 Liners wanted this done ASAP.

This needed to happen TODAY.

"Why are you putting so many mistletoes up?" Jin asked

"Shhh, not so loud, you want them to notice?" Jimin shushed him.

"Jennie and Jungkook? Oh my gosh, Jimin, Taehyung, this is not going to work."

"Yeah. You two should give it up. You're doing too much..." Yoongi mumbled from the couch, lying down.

"I don't think that is going to work. Just let it go naturally, all right?" Namjoon added

"Oh come on! This will be a great opportunity!" Taehyung whined.

"I dunno what we are going to do with them." Jin sighed and went to the kitchen.

Later that day, Jen helped Jin with baking tons of cookies and placed the last remaining gifts under the tree. Jungkook joined in to make sure things were in order.

Meanwhile, Jimin and Taehyung watched JenKook's every move, hoping that they would get under one of the many mistletoes they put around the dorm. They waited all day and still had no success in getting them under the mistletoe. It began to frustrate the 95 Liners.

It wasn't until later that evening they finally yelled, "Look who is under the mistletoe~!" when Jennie was right in front of Jungkook who was by the door in the bathroom and they looked up to see a mistletoe on top of the door.

"Oh. Oh wow." Jen chuckled softly.

Jungkook looked shooked once he saw it. He was not prepared as his hyungs were looking on in anticipation and cheering. The pressure was starting to get to him and he began to feel overwhelmed.

"I mean, you wanna...?" Jen's voice brought him back to reality as she was waiting for him to tell her what he wanted to do.

"U-uh, sorry." he quickly rushed away, flustered, going to his room.

That did not sit well with the 95 Liners.

"JEON JUNGKOOOOOOOOOOOK!" Jimin yelled in anguish, falling to his knees.

"NO!" Taehyung rushed after him with Jimin.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

Jennie laughed at how silly they were acting. "Guys, it's all good! Relax!" she reassured. "Anyway, I gotta pee."

She, however, did deep down feel a little disappointed that he decided not to kiss her. But brushed the feeling aside. She shouldn't take it personally. He probably didn't want to be put on the spot like that. She understood.

With Jungkook who was trying to calm himself down in his room, he was a little angry at himself for chickening out but he wanted to kiss her without anyone looking. He wanted to do stuff like that in private. Alone, with no one else around or in another room nearby. But with his hyungs all around him like this, that wasn't going to work.

If they were truly alone, he would relax and show her a real kiss like he always dreamed about.

Once it was past 12am, Christmas Day, Jen had been cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen while everyone else had settled into their room. Hearing footsteps, she glanced up to see Jungkook strolling into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

"Ah, so you finally came out of your room," she called out as she watched him avert his eyes and set the water down on the counter. "Am I that unkissable?" she teased.

As soon as she said that, he looked up, widening his eyes. "N-no! It's not that, i-it's just..."

"Hey, it's fine, don't worry about it. I understand. It's a lot of pressure being put on the spot like that. I'm not one for kissing in front of an audience like that, myself."

"But-"

"Kook, it's fine. Really. I get it."

"I wanted to. I wanted to kiss you."

That caught her by surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to. I still do," he responded and saw her smile instantly from his words.

While JenKook talked, Jimin, Taehyung, and Hobi were spying on them from afar. The three tried not to make any noise as they eagerly watched them.

"What are you two doing-"

"Shh!" they cut Jin off and brought him close to them so he wouldn't get noticed.

"Oh my gosh...if they would just look up already. I planted a mistletoe right in the kitchen." Jimin complained in a hushed voice

"I know~," Taehyung whined.

"Now, what if this doesn't work?" Jin called out

"It will work! It better work!" Jimin grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him.

"W-we can always try New Year's!"

"No! Jimin and I want this done now! Long overdue! One step closer to our wonderful ship to sail." Taehyung replied

Back with JenKook, Jennie looked at him. Something in her stomach flipped and part of her felt thrilled that he wanted to kiss her. Throughout the entire rest of the day after the first attempt, she had that feeling in the back of her mind that she wanted to kiss him. But she couldn't understand why.

Should she be feeling this way?

Jungkook soon looked up and noticed that there was a mistletoe right over him, causing butterflies in his stomach and excitement.

The boys spying on them became so giddy that their cover was almost blown when they saw them find out.

Jennie and Jungkook stood in the kitchen in a comfortable silence, glancing up at the mistletoe and back at each other.

Did she want to kiss him? Should he make a move?

Noticing him trying to figure out what to do, Jennie decided to take the lead, slowly walking forward and gently grabbing his hands. As she looked up at him, she realized how much she loved how her soft hands fit nicely with his large ones and how handsome he looked up close.

Standing on top of his feet, she raised herself up on her tippy toes until she was right at his face. The faint Christmas music was heard in the background as they spent a moment looking at each other.

"Oh my God, oh my God, it's happening..." Taehyung fanboyed with Jimin in quiet voices as they looked on.

Jungkook watched her lean in, closing her eyes and he soon did the same until their lips met, softly. He felt so many emotions as he kissed her and even faintly tasted peppermint on her lips from the candy cane she had eaten earlier.

As soon as they saw them lock lips, Jimin and Taehyung covered their mouths before they screamed for joy. The two fell to the ground, rolling around in excitement while Hobi and Jin were jumping around in glee, back in the bedroom.

Jennie felt something strong behind such a simple mistletoe kiss with her best friend as she gently pulled away, releasing his hands. She felt her heart rate increase while Jungkook felt his cheeks flushed.

"There. Not so bad, right?" she took a step back and smiled softly. "Merry Christmas, Kookie."

Watching her walk to her room to go to bed, Jungkook touched his lips and let out a soft chuckle, overjoyed. Her lips were softer than he expected. Big difference from Rookie King.

Reminiscing on the moment he shared with her, he wanted to kiss her more than just once like they just did. The kiss felt too quick for him and he made a promise that the next time they kissed on the lips, he'd show her a real kiss to prove how much she meant to him.

-----

"Merry Christmas!" Taehyung dove on top of Jennie on her bed as she let out a groan.

It was too early for this. She was just dreaming about Nike finally noticing her and allowing her to endorse their stuff.

"Merry Christmas~!" Jimin ran in to dive on top of Tae, causing her to let out another groan.

"Merry Christmas~!" Jungkook jumped on top of Jimin while Jennie continued to deal with the torture of heavy bodies on her back.

She muffled something against her pillow while the Maknae Line tried to comprehend what she was saying.

"Guys, I think we're crushing her, hehehe." Taehyung giggled as they all got off of her.

She rolled out of bed and stood up. "Ow, my back...why are y'all so damn heavy?"

"Come on, we wanna open up presents! But Jin is making us eat breakfast, first! Let's go! Get a move on!" Taehyung dragged her out of the room to meet with the rest of the members.

Saying their good mornings, they sat to eat.

As breakfast went along, Jimin mischievously asked with a smirk, "So...did anyone get caught under the mistletoe, last night?"

Jungkook instantly narrowed his eyes at him but then glanced at Jennie. She looked unfazed and not bothered by the question.

"What about you Jennie? Kiss anyone last night?" Hobi asked.

"You kissed someone last night?" Yoongi asked with sleep in his voice.

"Who'd you smooch?" Namjoon asked with interest.

"I'm just glad there wasn't any tongue." Jin blurted out

"Wow, you just exposed yourself. You were spying." Jen called out, making Jin flustered.

"Darn it Jin!" Taehyung exclaimed.

"Come on!" Jimin yelled.

"Who kissed who?" Namjoon kept asking.

"She kissed Jungkook last night!" Taehyung announced loud and proud.

Jungkook felt himself blushing and looking down. He could never get a break from his hyungs.

"Did you like the kiss?" Hobi asked with a smile.

"Sorry, but I don't kiss and tell." she smiled and placed her dishes in the sink.

25 notes · View notes

catch-me-hello · 3 months ago

Text

No Mercy: Episode 2: Let’s destroy some young people!

The title of this episode, “Talented Trainee’s 1st Debut Mission,” is blandly generic and does not prepare us for what the episode is truly about. We’re going to be focusing on the two youngest trainees competing in this series, Yoonho and Soekwon. We will also get to know #GUN, but first No Mercy has to introduce the young people so we can see how cute they are before the show eventually stomps on their dreams and feeds the remains to squirrels right in front of them.

Before we get to that, let’s talk opening credits. The second episode begins with a series of news clips showing how popular the first episode was and how the show is a hit. Apparently, Korean audiences love TV shows that leave them sobbing in their banana milk.

We left off with Hyungwon getting ready to perform, but we’ll have to wait a little longer. The show pauses to explain that we are about to see the three “visually shocking trainees.” In K-pop, “visuals” is an actual position in a group, and the three visuals on this series are Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and Wonho.

I love how the editors of this show present our visually shocking trainees. The special effects folks never let us down.

The female judge, who I finally figured out is K-pop idol Hyolyn, is still giggling and squeeing to the point that I think we need to add a hardcore lesbian judge to the panel for objectivity. Still, I understand her reaction. These three guys are uncanny-valley good-looking. It’s almost ridiculous. Once they become part of Monsta X and get professional stylists, it almost hurts to look at them.

Okay, so NOW we’re going to see Hyungwon perform, right? Not yet. The show wants to make sure we understand just how impossibly good-looking these guys are. We get footage of Hyungwon modelling at a fashion show, Wonho working out, and Minhyuk posing in a photo shoot. Here’s the thing, and I want to say this directly to the producers of No Mercy: I understand that visuals are an important part of the K-pop package. But considering your own judges ranked Hyungwon so low because all they saw were the visuals, the style over the substance, maybe stop focusing on their looks so much? Just throwing that out there.

We get a bit of background on these three visual shockers. Hyungwon was nineteen when he first came to Seoul. Now he’s 22 and practicing with nineteen-year-olds. He says if he doesn’t make it this time, it’s over for him. Wonho has been training for three years. He also considers this his last chance because he’s getting too old for this, and his parents are worried. He doesn’t want to keep stressing them out.

Minhyuk has trained with three different agencies, and Starship is the fourth. I thought Shownu had been through the wringer. At one agency, the group Minhyuk joined had their debut cancelled. At another agency, he got cut. He says, with quiet desperation, “I want to make sure I debut before I die.”

I have some consolation watching this because as part of Monsta X, Minhyuk is the one fans love for his manic energy. He’s like a kid who woke up on Christmas Day, had three bowls of Froot Loops, and is now shredding his way through the presents. Maybe he wakes up every morning still unable to believe he actually won No Mercy. If I woke up every morning suddenly remembering that all my dreams had come true, I’d run around dolphin-screaming like a lunatic too.

FINALLY we’re going to see Hyungwon’s performance for the judges. I’m surprised by his song choice: “No Diggity” by Blackstreet. This is a grinding, down and dirty R&B song that feels a bit jarring to me. Hyungwon’s sexuality is mysterious and enigmatic. Watching his performance here, I don’t think he’s figured that out yet. He sings well, but he seems hesitant, like he’s performing sexuality instead of actually being sexy.

The judges definitely notice. They like his singing, but from their comments (at least the English translation of them on the screen), it sounds like they also noticed that Hyungwon doesn’t look completely comfortable in his own skin. They want to see him gain confidence. I’m hoping that we’ll get to see him gain that confidence over the course of the show.

Next up is Minhyuk. We see footage of him working with one of the vocal coaches earlier in the week. He’s dealing with a sore throat. I’m surprised the stress of this show isn’t causing all of them more health problems. If I were a K-pop trainee, I’d be grinding my teeth into powder.

I love the song he’s chosen. It’s one I haven’t heard before – “Same as You,” by Jooyoung. I pause the show to put it on my K-pop playlist. It’s a sunny pop love song that gives Minhyuk a chance to show off the high notes he can hit. But again, the performance lacks confidence. The judges say he was off pitch for most of the song. My heart sinks because he’s already ranked near the bottom. It’s frustrating to see the future winners perform this badly when I know how incredible they can be.

Wonho, who performs “Bad Girl” by Bumkey, has the same problem. When they show him in rehearsal, I laugh when he says that the key point of his performance will be his abs. I am not laughing during his performance when his ab reveal falls flat. His jacket hides his stomach, and even if it had been more clearly visible, it doesn’t change the fact that his voice, like the other visual shockers before him, lacks confidence.

The first comment from one of the judges is, “I’m guessing that performance was supposed to be sexy.” Oof. I cringe so hard, my rib cage gets wedged in my lap.

Next up is Kihyun, performing “Hyeya,” originally recorded by Jonghyun from the group Shinee. This performance is crucial. With Kihyun’s reputation as an outstanding singer in the industry, even as a trainee, his current ranking of Number Eight out of twelve is embarrassing. His pride and reputation are at stake.

I won’t go into too much detail about his incredible performance, as it’s already legendary among monbebes (the Monsta X fan group). Kihyun nails it. His voice is heartbreaking and gorgeous. A couple of judges are fighting back tears. The trainees waiting backstage are slack-jawed. I had to wipe away tears, and this is not even the first time I’ve watched this performance. This is why Kihyun gets most of the attention as a vocalist in Monsta X and in the industry in general. Even if you’re not familiar with K-pop, do yourself a favor and look up this performance on YouTube. It is stunning.

The judges have nothing but praise. The other trainees have nothing but respect. Number One-ranked Shownu looks nothing but nervous. For his sake, I do hope he gets moved down a slot or two, just to take the pressure off. The man is going to wind up with an ulcer.

Now we get into the Background Story part of the episode. Last week it was Shownu. These week, we are looking at the two youngest competitors, both just nineteen years old. They are still in school during the filming of this show. We see the other trainees waking them up in the dorm, making their lunches, and sending them off to school to take the National College Entrance Exam. (When did they have time to study?)

Yoonho joined his first agency in middle school. He has been a trainee for six years already. He says he’s missed a lot of school while chasing his dream, so he doesn’t have a lot of friends there. Growing up, while other kids his age were playing video games and dating, he was practicing dance routines alone for hours, getting such a workout, he would have to change his shirt three times.

The next part blows my mind. One of the judges is being interviewed about Yoonho being a six year industry veteran already, and he says that Yoonho is “an ancestor, a living fossil” in the eyes of the other trainees. A living fossil. I actually yelled at my computer screen, “He’s fucking nineteen!”

We see clips of Yoonho as a child in print ads and television commercials. He looks like an angel. What a sweetie. Little would he know that in just a few years, people older than him would be calling him a fossil.

Like Shownu, he’s watched all the trainees around him debut and leave him behind. He says his parents are exhausted and want him to take up a different career path. He refuses. I think of what I put myself through for over ten years while chasing my dream of being a writer. I get it.

Back to the present for Yoonho’s rap performance. It’s OK. Not great. Then he switches to a funk-disco song for his dance performance, which is much more impressive. The judges have a mixed reaction to the rap but are still encouraging. They seem to like the dancing. Those hours of Yoonho sweating his way through three shirts are paying off.

We see more reaction shots of Shownu backstage. The poor guy. Any more of this, and we’ll be cutting to his empty seat. The camera crew will find him in a bar down the street, drinking himself blind.

Now for Soekwon’s performance. He’s been a trainee for three years, so I’m guessing he’s only considered a grandpa instead of a fossil. (No, I’m NOT letting it go already.) He sings a jazzy pop song, and while I like his voice, there’s no strength in his delivery. There’s no confidence. The judges aren’t impressed. He goes backstage, and suddenly we feel a great distance between him and Yoonho, his closest friend in the dorm. There’s already a six-digit difference in their rankings, and that gap may be about to increase. It’s so uncomfortable to watch.

Thankfully, we are moving on. Next up is someone whose name I find confusing. He goes by #GUN, which I’m not sure how to pronounce. I looked him up. His real name is Song Gun-hee. I don’t get the point of the hashtag because I am old and cranky and get the hell off my lawn and these kids today and their hashtags.

#GUN, age 21, explains that the hashtag is actually a reference to the sharp symbol in music, which makes the note a half-step higher. He says he’s a half-step better than the rest. Piano lessons were a million years ago for me, so I had to look it up, and yes, that is what the sharp symbol looks like. So that means his name is pronounced “Sharp Gun.” I withdraw my earlier criticism. Proceed.

We’re getting some backstory here as well. The film crew follows him when he goes home to visit his mother and grandmother. The scene is very sweet, especially when his grandmother tells him how proud she is of him. OK, I’m starting to like this guy.

We learn about the rough childhood he and his sister had. His parents divorced when he was three. Dad was a rapper. Mom became a single parent. They would sleep in motels and in the mountains. I’m not sure what that last part means, so something may be missing in the translation, but I get the picture. It was not a financially stable upbringing. There was a lot of love, though. I can see it in the way his mother and grandmother believe in him. They share a meal together. His mother wipes away tears when she remembers the tough times, raising the kids by herself. I love this woman. She’s a warrior.

As they talk, I suddenly remember that #GUN is not going to make it on this show. He’s not a member of Monsta X. No Mercy is going to cut this guy in front of his sweet grandma and survivor mom. This show can go pound sand.

It gets worse. He promises them both that he’s going to debut this time. He even has a cousin named Minho who is a successful rapper, so he’s got that family legacy to live up to. And OH GREAT, turns out his father died five months ago, and we get to see him putting flowers on the grave while telling us how his dad wanted him to succeed. If this show were a person, I’d punch it in the face. Why stop there, No Mercy? Why not tell us that he has an incurable disease and only a year to live, and his dying wish is to debut?

Back to the present. #GUN is getting ready to perform, and I just want him to blow everyone away. He may end up getting eliminated, but I want him to go down swinging. I do not want this to be an easy decision for the judges.

#GUN delivers. He gives a venting, raging rap performance that I can feel through the screen. He gets the biggest reactions from the judges and other trainees than we have seen so far, even after Kihyun’s performance.

He’s shrieking out into the darkness of the theater. At the judges, at the world, at the heavens. I am not okay. This show has just introduced us to the family he is anguishing over. We know them. We know what’s at stake for him. I believe every word he spits out.

When the song ends, I am emotionally exhausted. The producers were very smart to make this the last performance of the episode. I don’t think I can take any more.

The judges and the trainees applaud. One of the judges tells #GUN that his cousin Minho has a talent for making people feel burning inside, and #GUN has shown the same talent today. I’ve never heard Minho’s work, but I know what he means. I’m still burning. I don’t know how long this feeling will take to burn off, and I’m not sure I want it to.

#GUN goes backstage, and Jooheon shows him respect and congratulates him.

And then I realize, holy crap, #GUN might outrank Jooheon in this round.

I think Jooheon realizes it too.

I’m kind of glad the episode ends here, and we won’t find out the new rankings until the next episode. I want to sit with this for a while.

#kpop #recaps #survival reality shows #No Mercy #Monsta X #Shownu #Jooheon #Wonho #kihyun #hyungwon #minhyuk

5 notes · View notes

jooheonspinky · 2 years ago

Text

Monsta X Masterlist

Welcome: Thank you for stopping by.

*all works are complete unless otherwise stated*

Shownu x Female Reader

So Beautiful[09.10.2021] {Angst, Smut} After having your first child, you no longer feel sexy with your new mom bod.

Wonho x Female Reader, ft Jooheon x Reader’s Female BFF

Stuck[04.08.2018] (a collaboration with @millie-ionaire05) {Smut}: Your best friend and you work for the most amazing company ever, hiring Kpop artists for events. When fraudsters come into play, the two of you will be stuck scrambling to appease the client and either losing your jobs, or striking on luck.: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |

Wonho x Female Reader, ft Kihyun

The Mummy Prince [10.30.2018] {Halloween Thriller, Smut, one shot}: Y/N starts working at a museum of ancient artifacts. She is excited to put her studies of old languages to use as a new object is brought in.

Losing You [12.21.2020] {angst, magic!au}: Wonho must choose between you or saving the world

Minhyuk x Female Reader

The Black Ribbon[06.12.2018] {Horror/Thriller!au, one shot}: Minhyuk returns after an accident wearing a black choker that he insists must never be taken off.

Enchanted Night [03.30.2020] {Fantasy; one shot}: Accepting an invitation to a Halloween beach party, Y/N tags along with her best friend. There, she meets a young man with whom she hits it off with right away. But he is not all that he seems.

Kihyun x Female Reader

Ghost Tour Surprise [10.31.2021] {Halloween, Spooky}: Y/N takes a haunted tour of historical downtown, meeting a strange, yet handsome passenger along the way.

Hyungwon x Female Reader

Rumors[06.19.2018] {Smut, one shot}: You never thought you’d find yourself pinned between the sinks in the women’s bathroom by your crush offering you what you’d always wanted, but here you were, staring up into his face scrambling to keep your cool.

A Midnight Ball on Hallows' Eve [10.16.2019] {Spooky!au, one shot}: You share a dance with a mysterious stranger.

Jooheon x Female Reader

Tamed Hearts: [09.28.2018] {Angst, Fluff}: Do past lives really exist? It’s difficult for Y/N to cling to her beliefs when so much has her leaning towards a yes.: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Regrets: [10.31.2020] {Fantasy, angst, one shot}: This was a ‘finish the story’ challenge using this prompt: Part of me was hoping the ground would just open up and swallow me whole as I watched him approach me. I hadn’t seen him since that night we parted ways, and I was hoping I never would. Seeing him brought back all of those memories that I fought so hard to repress, to forget. ”Hello dear, I thought I might find you here.”

No Regrets: [04.24.2022] {Fantasy, vampire!au, angst, fluff, smut, one shot}: When I can’t let our last goodbye be for forever.

Got my Number: [08.23.2022] {idol!au, fluff, smut, one shot}: A trip to see Monsta X in concert turns out to be so much more than expected.

Jooheon x Gender Neutral Reader

Disturbance:[08.13.2021] {Angst}:A waking nightmare shakes you to your core and Jooheon is there to help calm you afterwards despite the fact you two had not been talking to each other all day.

Changkyun x Female Reader

The Spirit Board[10.29.2018] {Halloween Thriller, one shot}: When Y/N finds an old spirit board while cleaning out her attic, will she still believe that spirits aren’t real?

OT7

Wonho X Female Reader, ft BFF Changkyun, BTS

Lure of the Lore [01.30.2019] {Werewolf, angst, fluff, smut}: Y/N‘s never been a believer in lore, unlike her best friend Changkyun. That is until he drags her to yet ANOTHER exhibit where there is a supposed werewolf locked in a cage made of silver and steel. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Monsta X Cabin in Lure of the Lore [11.25.2019]1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Jooheon X Female Reader

The Draco Prince [09.12.2020]{Fantasy; Inspired by The Witcher series}: Y/N sets on a quest to find the dragon prince. Her goal is to break the curse and return him to his family. This journey finds her befriending several creatures and humans which turn out to be essential to her quest. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

#Monsta X Masterlist #Wonho Masterlist #Son Hyunwoo #Shownu #Lee Minhyuk #Minhyuk #Yoo Kihyun #Kihyun #Chae Hyungwon #Hyungwon #Lee Jooheon #Jooheon #Joohoney #Im Changkyun #I.M #Changkyun #wonho #Lee Hoseok #Monsta X Hoseok

58 notes · View notes

wonhosmistress · 2 years ago

Note

can i hear about Aphrodisia? I've already read the teasers and prologue but i wanna know more🤭or Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy

Aphrodisia is based on a domme! sex worker that opens a dungeon in S. Korea that's only known among a few idols within the Kpop industry. Only those people with memberships or recommendations will be allowed in, and every new chapter/part will contain a new idol. Hyunjin's among others will only have two parts.

This Dungeon is a place where sexually frustrated idols can come and explore their desires without judgment from the public, fans, companies, and friends. 👀

This is the 1st part of this Hyunjin but the 2nd part will contain smut. (You gotta leave the readers on the edge of their seat)🤭

Also, not great when it comes to grammar and editing but disregard that. I will edit it before actually posting it.

Aphrodisia - Hyunjin Pt.1

Hyunjin looked directly at his shoes avoiding eye contact with her once again and fidgeting with the bottle of water in his hands.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't judge obviously by the business I'm soon to run." She smiled at him, placing her right hand on his in a warm yet comforting matter.

"I-i..don't know. I thought I knew what I was doing." He seems disheartened.

Maybe at some point, he felt sure enough to come into the business but there was no way to be sure unless he was honest with her. Which she doubted considering how long it took him to even talk to her. "What do you mean?" She looked interested in what he meant by that. "I guess. I looked up some information online and while some places popped up and yours didn't. I got a recommendation from a friend that knows someone you know and your business."

"Recommendation?" she wondered, a bit confused. "Oh, who was it if you don't mind me asking?" "Wonho." He said. She smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, I know him." "Did he tell you I was going to be here today?" He nodded. She wondered why he didn't come on a day when the dungeon would be open. Until she realized that might have been too much for him to experience for the first time, which made sense why he was now sitting beside her and just now talking to her.

"What was the reason for your visit?" He cleared his throat trying to let out more words but he couldn't and so she decided to take the initiative. "Okay. Let's start with something simple, whatever I ask, just say yes or no, okay?" He nodded in agreement and waited for her. "First things first, what's your name? This isn't part of the yes or no questions." He looked at her trying hard to maintain eye contact but was failing miserably, "Hyunjin." "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hyunjin." She smiled at him. "How old are you; you seem pretty young, and I don't want to move forward unless you clear that up." "23." "Oh wow. You have the physical appearance of a teenager." She mentally sighed in relief, thankful he wasn’t a teenager.

"Now that we got that out of the way." "I'm guessing you know the purpose of this place?" She asked hoping he would know because if that wasn't the case she would have to teach him

"Kinda." He seemed a bit uncertain but that didn't worry her because she would gladly tell him if he was comfortable with it. "Ok great! Since you kinda answered that, does that mean you know what kinks are?" "Yes." "And from those kinks do you have any that you consider embarrassing or disgusting?" "Y-yes." He stuttered trying to look up at her but he couldn't. Hyunjin was trying to determine what made certain kinks disgusting but he wasn't too sure. "Um…what makes certain kinks disgusting?" He asked timidly.

She smiled that he went out of his way to ask at least one question. "Well, it's more complex than that." Oh. Hyunjin wondered what she meant by that. As he fidgeted with his hands trying to distract himself from the sheer embarrassment. "Kinks can be determined from something simple that someone enjoys and brings relaxation or it can be something that was conditioned."

"In the Kink world, we don't consider any kink disgusting. If anyone tells you they're uncomfortable, it's just a matter of finding the right person who would be comfortable and willing to explore that kink with you." She assured Hyunjin hoping that he would feel a bit more at ease.

Did that mean that Hyunjin wasn't disgusting for having such embarrassing kinks? Did that mean he was just trying to convince himself that he was a dominant guy?

"Hyunjin, can you tell me something that you find disgusting?"

Once again, he remained quiet and couldn't bring himself to say that he liked it when strong women degraded him. How he relished being punished after acting out like a complete brat, how he liked to push their buttons to see how far someone would go to make him whine and moan like a needy slut. How he had a love/hate relationship with the fact that he loved being on the verge of tears as he was edged and how he loved being overstimulated.

"Hyunjin." She snaps him out of his embarrassing thoughts. "If you don't tell me. I can't help you out."

She was right but the thing about this unreal situation was that he didn't understand how she could be so comfortable talking about such a taboo topic.

What was it? What lead her to this current position?

He turns his neck slightly looking at her and taking in her soft facial features. "Can I ask you something?" She stared at him. "Yes, go ahead."

The only way for him to feel comfortable talking about anything kink related was for him to at least get to know her a bit. Which she had nothing against, if it were a client she wouldn't reveal much about herself. She needed to be careful in this business. “How did you end up here?” Hyunjin was genuinely curious about what she would say.

"Let's just say I have experience and I've been wanting to open this business for a while now. I wanted people new to the kink world to feel comfortable and so here I am and here it is standing."

So she had more experience than he did and that made him feel smaller than he already did, he felt stupid for not being open with her and so before he even realized he could feel tears streaming down his face. She looked at him speechless at what had transpired and felt bad for him, "oh, Hyunjin." she said in a soft empathetic tone.

Not even saying his name twice would get him to look at her and so she gently grabbed his wrists and pushed them down so she could look at his face. His hands were now resting on his thighs and hers were touching the warm skin on his cheek. "What's wrong?" She looked at his face and it was the first time during this interaction that she noticed how strong yet delicate his features were. His jawline was sharp enough to make any woman swoon over him but it blended well with the rest of his face, his cheeks were just slightly round enough to fit his appearance.

"Y-you probably think I'm stupid for crying over how much experience you have and I don't." He admitted as hung his head low in shame. "Hey, no that's not true. I never would, why would you think that?" She asked, wiping the tears away with her thumb.

Why was she being so kind and understanding?

"You wouldn't believe the number of people I've come across that are either embarrassed about their sexual preferences or completely new to this world. Believe me, when I say that I was once in your position. I was new and I didn't know what to do with all the information given to me."

She was trying to make him as comfortable as possible with the current situation at hand. He looked at her soft yet empathetic expression. “How about I give you a tour of the place and if you're curious, just let me know so I can clear up what happens here?” He nodded in response and after that, she got up, headed toward the black curtain, pushed it back, and extended her hand out.

He remained on the loveseat staring at her waiting patiently for him and could help but stare at her slender hand. Observing how she had her nails done, a coffin style and a black matte coat to top it off. Everything about her seemed so intimidating yet so warming. He stood up and finally took her hand and led him back to the entrance where the front desk was. As soon as she let go of his hand the warm embrace that once enveloped him quickly dissipated; he felt the anxiety and fear from the pit of his stomach and he hated every second of it.

“Are you ready?” He nodded unsure.

#ximes’ inferno #teaser #sub!idol #sub!hyunjin #sub!skz #domme!reader

53 notes · View notes

cirphu · 1 year ago

Text

NAVIGATION

Welcome to the organized chaos :D You’ll find a little bit of everything here, but mostly queer media, kpop & dramas. Remember, I said organized chaos — so I can’t promise things won’t get a little messy.

My Content — click here for my tags

Gifs

Collections: (1) Don't mind me … (2) Favorite kiss scenes (3) Parallels & tropes

Ramblings

Commentary

Meta

General Tags

About Me — things that are deeply relatable

Notes to Self

Faves

Words — quotes, poetry, prose etc.

Art // Fanart

Miscellaneous

The fandom shenanigans start below the cut — only my absolute faves are listed. Everything is organized in alphabetical order and all visual media are categorized by language/region.

This is a living post; last updated 01.15.25

Kpop etc.

Artists whose music I follow closely enough to consider myself a fan — a stan for names italics. I sometimes use kpop, khiphop & krnb as general tags.

Big Bang

BTS

DPR IAN

GOT7

Jackson Wang

Wonho

SHINee

TXT

Zion.T

Series, Dramas & TV Shows

Chinese

Like Love

The Untamed

Guardian

Gym Affairs

Word of Honor

Filipino

Gameboys // Gameboys 2

Like in the Movies

MyDay

Japanese

Cherry Magic

Life: Love on the Line

Minato’s Laundromat

Mood Indigo

Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!

My Beautiful Man

My Love Mix-Up

Old Fashion Cupcake

Senpai, This Can’t Be Love!

The Novelist

Korean

I use kdrama as a general tag

Alchemy of Souls

Beyond Evil

Blueming

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Long Time No See

My Name

Semantic Error

The Devil Judge

The Glory

To My Star // To My Star 2

Tomorrow

Where Your Eyes Linger

Taiwanese

Addicted Heroin

Be Loved in House: I Do

Kiseki: Dear to Me

History: Make Our Days Count

History: Obsessed

History: Trapped

Plus & Minus

See You After Quarantine?

We Best Love

Thai

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Bad Buddy

Between Us

Cherry Magic

Cutie Pie // Cutie Pie 2 You

Friendzone

KinnPorsche

Love By Chance

Love in the Air

Love Sea

Manner of Death

My School President

My Stand-in

Not Me

Pit Babe

Second Chance

The Rebound

The Sign

Triage

Until We Meet Again

Vice Versa

Why R U?

Western

Black Mirror

Bridgerton

Criminal Minds

Game of Thrones

Heartstopper

Scandal

Sense8

Stranger Things

S.W.A.T.

The Sandman

The Witcher

Young Royals

911 // 911: Lonestar

Movies & Short Films

Chinese

I Love You as a Man

Nobody Knows But Me

Korean

Private Lessons

Secret Roommate

Japanese

His: The Movie

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese

Spanish

Trémulo

#mobile navigation

1 note · View note

mountphoenixrp · 2 years ago

Text

We have a returning citizen in Mount Phoenix:

Cedric Rossi, a 31 year old son of Morrigan. He is a K9 Officer with the MPPD.

FC NAME/GROUP: Lee Ho Seok/Wonho, soloist CHARACTER NAME: Cedric Rossi AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 13/11/1991 PLACE OF BIRTH: Lancaster, Britain OCCUPATION: K9 Officer and former Detective at MPPD HEIGHT: 178 cm (5’10”) WEIGHT: 77 kg (170 lbs) DEFINING FEATURES: Bullet scar on his right rib area. Multiple scars on his back, burnt marks on his inner forearms.

PERSONALITY: Being robbed of the right to make his own choices, the relationship with his sister, the military-level training and service at MI6 turned Cedric into a highly disciplined person, focused on his morals, family and objectives. He is kind-hearted, a child at heart when in his comfort zone and mostly reserved when around strangers.

The latter, along with his physique, appearance and job may give the impression that Cedric is a rude or self-centred person, however that is the furthest from the truth. When approached, he will draw a smile but be cautious yet gentle. A soft soul in the body and mind of a muscled detective, Cedric is above anything else, a reserved but loving being.

HISTORY: To be born surrounded by luxury and wealth would be the dream of many. And even though Cedric was thankful for his living conditions, having your basic right to decide the most mundane things felt like a prison bathed in gold. A parent should seek the best for their child, but also respect their wishes and preferences, a part of parenting the Rossi never cared to seek and Cedric had is life planned, from the moment he was brought to the world.

At the age of 15, Cedric saw his days gain a new sparkle of joy, as the family welcomed a new member. His adoptive sister, Willa. Amidst being engulfed by his studies and extracurricular chores, Cedric still found the time to get to know Willa and grow a loving sibling relationship but remained blind to the real treatment Willa received in their house whenever we wouldn’t be present.

His connection with Willa gave the young man the courage to step against his parent, taking the wheel of his life and deciding to focus his excellency in school to reach the path that would lead to him joining the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, the MI6. To his surprise, not long after his own admission, Willa followed his steps, an action that would be welcomed as Cedric became thankful to do his job next to the person he trusted the most. Such loyalty often came inconvenient, as Willa seemed to be more focused in getting herself hurt, mostly while trying to be between him and whatever the danger was.

Such didn’t pass by without repercussions, reaching the point where Cedric gave his little sister a firm ultimatum that if she didn’t start being more careful, he would have her removed from the agency. However with another mission, things got more complicated as Cedric saw his turn to protect Willa, ending up costing his life. He remembers dying, the sight of his sister’s tears, the voice that trembled with the sorrow of the moment, the reveal of the repercussions his death would have on her. With a gasp of air, Cedric opened his eyes again and with no explanation on how such was possible.

Half-gods?

Soon answers came by, but they were rather bitter. Taken into custody under their superiors’ authority, the Rossi family went through endless interrogations, all focused on their past and small details such as Cedric’s birth. Gods and Goddesses? No, that didn’t make any sense, Cedric refused to believe the truth behind his existence and the reality that the world was wrapped into lies. “Mother?” He sighed, watching Mrs. Rossi step away from him, eyes filled with disgust and sorrow.

“Just tell me what do you want from us.” He pleaded, tired and heartbroken to see his family fall apart. Resistance or attitude had never been seen from Cedric, although these were no normal circumstances and family is everything to him. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it–,” they said, as if there was a choice at all. He knew how MI6 worked, there would be no chances in the Rossi leaving through that door without being dismissed of their services or even being imprisoned for simply having a godly heritage they never asked for.

Seek and expose. These were his orders and the target of their mission went by the name of Mount Phoenix. “We have a job to do Willa.” He said calmly, placing his hand on hers with eyes reflecting his frustration but relieved to have her by his side.

Summer of 2023

After living in the island for nearly a year, Cedric's heart grew attached to the people in the island and come to the conclusion he couldn't live under the secrecy of his mission anymore. It was time to bring it all to an end. So he departed to seek out a way to free himself from such prison but it ultimately backfired. Cedric ended up captured and tortured but never released any information about Mount Phoenix.

He was ready to die, to die for the sake of keeping the island's secrets and history. But fate gave him another chance and one of the Goddesses came to his rescue. A coincidence? No. But after blacking out, Cedric found himself in the Asclepius Hospital, back to the place he loved and it was time to come clean and find a new purpose.

PANTHEON: Celtic CHILD OF: Morrigan POWERS: Shapeshifting into a raven, natural battle instincts and enhanced strength.

STRENGTHS:

Military training and discipline.

Enhanced physical condition thanks to his godly heritage but also training.

Intelligent and perceptive. Can hold a conversation quite well while being attentive to the other person’s emotion and body language.

WEAKNESSES:

Internal emotional struggle, being unable to create bonds with anyone aside from his sister.

Will put others’ needs above his own, even if it is harmful to himself.

Cedric is unaware he is capable to transform into a raven, this ability has not been explored nor discovered.

#kpop rp #krp #ksoloist #lee hoseok #wonho #mp; welcome

2 notes · View notes

fortressofserenity · 2 months ago

Text

An inevitable downfall

When the Philippines falls further into apostasy, that's when it falls to China for good. Sort of like how Judah rebelled against God, only to be conquered by Babylon. With more Philippine youths actively seeking to legalise and popularise things like polyamory and gay marriage, which they'll successfully do with the Philippine government approving of them plus Satanism and the like, that's when God allows China to take over us for a very long time in some way. The Philippines will inevitably do this, as to keep up with the west, but at cost of its relationship with God that it'll inevitably be given over to strange gods.

Even before that, I feel there's going to be a Philippine pride parade with people dressed up as demons, the closer we get to the Philippines installing more Satanic temples. First, we have Philippine youths pressuring the Philippine government to legalise both gay marriage and polyamory, then we have Philippine youths pressuring the Philippine government to destroy churches that are opposed to these. Lastly but not the least, Satanism and the like gain a lot of traction among the youth once Christianity is seen as oppressive and passe here. Even more horrifying is that Satanic temples in Metro Manila wouldn't just be visited by teenagers and young adults.

But also by K-Pop celebrities like Wonho and Lisa, maybe out of curiosity, but if you recognise a tree by its fruits, then they really are aligned with the Prince of Darkness. The light will dim a lot in the Philippines, the more it seeks to legalise gay marriage and the like. Boy's love media in the Philippines will become more sexually explicit, with people having sex with demons eventually in those kinds of stories. In fact, there will be lots of love stories in Philippine media involving both men and women falling in love with demons.

As to tell you which god the Philippines is attracted to and it's not the one true God, which goes to show you how apostate the Philippines has become and will turn into. As to permit China to conquer this country forever, eliminating traces of westernisation here for long.

#christianity #bible #faith #the bible #jesus christ #christian #prophecy #end times #the philippines #philippines #china

0 notes

babieken · 2 years ago

Note

HI!!! it’s been too long. i’ve missed chatting with you! i’m doing alright. i moved into a new apartment (i’m not liking it as much now that i live in it sadly) and started grad school. my head is spinning a bit, but i’m staying positive (mostly lol)

how are you??

i’ve never watched an idol survival show. i’ve definitely heard lots of positives and negatives about them, mostly negatives though when it comes to comments about the experiences of groups i’m a fan of now.

i can understand that. i got into monsta x in 2020, and i remember feeling less of a connection when i really dug back into their discography. fatal love is what solidified me being a monbebe along with tracks like destroyer.

that’s so valid omg. i’m definitely curious about how that time was when wonho was still part of mx. reading your tags was so enlightening for me because suddenly things started making sense. i remember watching so many funny moment compilation videos three summers ago and being a bit confused because i couldn’t find similar content that was recent. i’m glad i was able to enjoy vlive content before its end, but what i did see was totally different from what you described from years ago… so formal. i’m not surprised that shifts happened in the fandom too, and it sucks that we lost the ability to enjoy the authenticity older lives provided. (i remember melting over the kihyun cooking moments ☹️ the man he is. i could talk about him all day) no doubt that enhances the fan experience

also, who is mira? i may follow them, but not sure >.< i want to follow all the monbebes

-🚇

It has🥺 ive missed chatting with you too!!! Ahhh moving is always hard even if ur new place is perfect ;;;; congrats!!! Looks like we're both doing kinda similarly jdjfkf i dont think ive mentioned this on my blog before but i also got into grad school and am currently anxiously waiting for my student visa so i can move my ass across the globe...

Yeah 0/10 dont recommend kdkfkd like i totally get the appeal of being with a group from the beginning and seeing their struggles and watching them grow can make the bond stronger but in my case ive always gotten to groups who are already well established and the members are older. Freshly debuting idols are pretty young (especially nowadays) and that is just not for me...

I got a small glimpse of ot7 in 2018🥺 I watched a bunch of mx ray and a lot of interviews and stuff from their promotion era (another thing ive noticed nowadays is the lack of interviews... like weekly idol and similar shows where promoting idols would go to and do a bunch of fun activities and occasionally get mistreated by asshole MCs🤡) and i cherish those memories very dearly. And shoot out was such a good era to experience...

#its so sad that we're never gonna experience those type of vlives again...#but the old ones arent completely lost!!!#a few ppl have created complete archives of them!!!#u can find them if u ask around!!!#i still watch some of their older varieties religiously...#like ILOGU mx in jeju... puppy day... mx daycare...#their appearances on kbob star are so entertaining to watch... seeing them inhale food like hungry soldiers who haven't eaten in months 🤣#easily 90% of our memes were from their unsupervised vlives and mxray #oh also before i forget!!!#mira is @ nuhoney1hunnit !!!#one of my favourite ppl on the hellsite and also in general <3 #speaking of kihyun cooking moment kdjfkdjdj #remember that time he stirred the food with a pen shaped like a tennis racket? kdjfkfj #tbh i rarely watched their vlives in the end... the were just sitting in an empty office talking and there werent subs #i got the good moments from twt with translations anyway #and i wouldnt have to see trolls in the comments either #it was just not the same...#ask #🚇anon

0 notes

victorbutnotreally · 5 months ago

Text

thanks for the tag, darling <3

Vertigo (hannah bahng) I Still Do (Why Don't We) Cherry Wine (Hozier) Ta reine (Angele) Open Mind (Wonho) Red lights (Stray Kids) Birthday (Ten) Under My Skin (TAEMIN) Take Me to Church (Hozier) Nobody's Soldier (Hozier) Ophelia (The Lumineers) Teeth (5 Seconds of Summer) Ride Or Die (KAI) Eat Your Young (Hozier) Achilles Come Down (Gang of Youths) Like Real People Do (Hozier) Love Me Again (Isak Danielson) You're Sexy I'm Sexy (Eric Nam)

np tags: @oimitocat @straykids-2001 @lucianidealz @hw4-l1z @james-is-here @dope--lovers @leezanetheofficial

URL song game with a twist!

Write down your url only using songs from your Top Songs of 2024 playlist and tag as many people as the letters in your url! 🎶🕺

This seems so much fun!! Thanks @ultravioletbrit for tagging me 💜

• S - smoke sprite by So!YoON! ft RM

• I - imgonnagetyouback by taylor swift

• R - RM - moonchild *

• I - it ain’t easy by david bowie

• U - you name it by nils frahm **

• S - so long london by taylor swift

• L - lady stardust by david bowie

• Y - you by the pretty reckless

• L - let you break my heart again by laufey

• U - goo goo muck by the cramps **

* I had to switch to artist instead because I didn’t have a song starting with that letter on my playlist

** I played it on shuffle and wrote down what I got because I didn’t have neither a song or an artist starting with that letter 🥲

This was HARD, I struggled so much with the letter U 😭, I can’t believe I couldn’t find anything that’d fit, but still, I had very few options because I always read with an instrumental piano playlist on the background and literally half my playlist was just piano lol, but still, I had fun, I’d love to see your results!

I’m tagging @lyr-caelum ✨ but anyone can do it!

327 notes · View notes

catch-me-hello · 3 months ago

Text

No Mercy: Episode 10: Confetti at a Funeral

Settle in, class, because we have a LOT to cover today. It’s the final mission and the reveal of Monsta X. We’ll find out what happened to those who were cut from the show. We will also learn how this show revealed way more about the Korean psyche than I had expected. (I had expected none.) It’s been a lot, so let’s just dive right in.

We kick off with a highlight reel. The original twelve. The K-pop Thunderdome. The sailor hats. The cranky expert guy (remember him?), the abs, the rotating number badges, the confessionals, the slingshot move, the shopping districts, the amusement park, the barbecue, the timelines from hell. I can’t believe I’ve covered all this in a two-week period. Seriously, I just looked at the calendar, and I wrote the Episode One recap two weeks ago. I was so young and well-rested then.

So now we’ve arrived at the CJ E&M Center. The show has built a whole new stage for the finale.

This place is HUGE. Exactly how big is this television station? Never mind – that’s not important. Do you realize what this MEANS? (tingling with excitement) It means I get to come up with a new venue name! Let’s see … the stage is massive, with tall LED panels reaching to the ceiling and glowing steps leading from a higher stage in the back to the main stage up front. This is wild. This is exciting. It’s big enough for chariot races. This is … THE K-POP HIPPODROME.

Oh come on, that’s a great name. I originally was going to name it the K-pop Big Top, so consider yourselves lucky.

Back to the show. Our boys, dressed in black and white outfits, are waiting backstage to perform for the crowd they can hear screaming and cheering. There are 600 people in the audience this time. We see them lined up around the block with their banners and lightsticks and signs and cute animal masks. We watch them file into the Hippodrome and surround the stage. A lot of their signs glow in the dark, which is really cool.

When everyone is in, the lights go down to start the show. Are we really moving forward with this? No flashbacks? Dare I hope? YES! The LED screens light up to introduce our trainees like they are already major K-pop stars. We are watching a live concert about to begin. This is over the top, and I love it. Stage fireworks shoot up into the air. No Mercy did not skimp on the stage production.

The LED doors open, and our nine trainees stand like rock stars before their adoring fans. I know it’s the end of the line for #GUN and Seokwon, but at least they get to be a part of this amazing performance and see how much the fans love them.

Hyolyn is back at the judges’ table, as well as Mad Clown, a guy I’m actually going to miss. What a weird dude. We get some information flashed on the screen, saying that these finalists have survived three months of missions. Three months of living crammed together in that dorm, rehearsing at the North Pole, doing confessional interviews, being told by their own mentors that they’re terrible and deserve to be eliminated … (sniff) good times.

K.will welcomes the crowd. We learn that the winners will be chosen by 50% audience votes and 50% judges’ votes. And, of course, because No Mercy loves faking us out, we are doing a flashback after all. I will not miss the raging alcoholics at No Mercy who created this show’s timeline. I hope they all find recovery.

Our trainees are at a photo shoot for 1st Look Magazine with their celebrity mentors. This magazine features famous celebrities and models, so they’re very excited to be included. They look amazing, as always. We then move to the North Pole for final mission rehearsals. Junggigo meets them there. He tells them that in order to find the seven who will form our final band, the mssion will be a 3:3:3 unit battle. And the teams are:

Unit 1: Kihyun, Wonho, and Seokwon

Unit 2: Shownu, #GUN, and Minhyuk

Unit 3: Jooheon, I.M, and Hyungwon

We start with Unit 3. At first, I’m a little concerned that Hyungwon’s low, mellow, smooth vocals wouldn’t hold up against the combined force of Jooheon and I.M’s rapping, but it sounds like they’re trading lines. I can’t wait to see the final performance.

We see our team backstage at the Hippodrome. I.M says, “I wish people would see me as No Mercy’s I.M instead of the guy who came in midway through.” I.M, soon they will be seeing you as the savage maknae of Monsta X.

Time for the performance. They are doing Yella Diamond’s “Interstellar.” We start in pitch darkness with a single flashing light in the middle of the stage. A slow, sexy beat brings Jooheon to the stage as the LED walls show a universe exploding around him. The beat picks up, he starts to rap, and we are off and running.

Hwungwon joins him and trades lines – a smooth vocal and then a rap line, and back and forth. I love it. Then the LED doors slide open, Jooheon yells out I.M’s name, and here he comes, rapping, “No mercy, OK I have no mercy.” Chills. Total chills.

The crowd is swept up in this. Hyungwon comes back and holds his own against the power rap duo. He’s the smooth, soulful center that the rappers swirl around, physically and vocally. He looks more confident than I’ve ever seen him on this show. The song is a total groove, and it’s over far too soon.

The judges, who are giving their critiques in front of the audience, agree with me about Hyungwon’s confidence, and I love seeing him get singled out for praise. They loved the whole performance. This and the prison break are my two favorite performances from this series.

Now for Unit 1: Kihyun, Wonho, and Seokwon. They’ve chosen the song “Hug Me,” by Crush. We see them rehearsing with the female dancers. (These dancers were also with Unit 3, but they mostly marched around in space uniforms with blank expressions, like the models in Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” video, so I didn’t mention them. They really weren’t necessary.)

Wonho is in full flirt mode with the dancers. Kihyun and Seokwon are blushing and stammering, which is kind of weird for K-pop idols. Later, when they are in a confessional together, Wonho says the theme will be “sexy.” Seokwon agrees and then blushes again. Wonho demands to know how Seokwon is going to pull off “sexy” if he keeps blushing like that. “I mean, I’m BORN sexy,” Wonho says. “I’m NATURALLY sexy, so I don’t know how to ACT sexy.”

Wonho, as someone writing from the future, I am happy to report that you have not changed. I’m hoping you never will.

We go back to the Hippodrome, and our boys are dressed in all black. Wonho stands up, and his jeans are so tight, I don’t know how he was able to sit in the first place. They hit the stage, and we’re swept up in a steamy R&B grind. Kihyun and Seokwon seem to have found their swagger, and of course, Wonho is in his element. The girls in the audience are swooning.

The dancers are way better utilized in this performance. In Unit 3’s performance, they felt more in the way.

There’s an interlude where the guys dance in a maze of green lasers, and it’s electrifying. I really hope this is an age 20+ show. This is the sexiest I’ve seen Wonho all season, and he doesn’t show his abs once.

When it ends, the girls in the first few rows may need medical attention. Mad Clown is the first judge to weigh in, and he has nothing but praise. Now I may need medical attention. He says he “had a lot of fun” watching the performance, and then he smiles. Mad Clown, you are a deeply bizarre man. I do hope our paths cross again in my recaps.

Okay, now for Unit 2: Minhyuk, Shownu, and #GUN. We flash back to rehearsals. I will not miss the North Pole. When No Mercy packs up and leaves this place, it needs to be torn down and replaced with a tanning salon. Anyway, Unit 2 renames themselves Age Flip as the result of a rock/paper/scissors game, the stakes of which I do not understand, and I’m pretty sure if the translator writing the subtitles tried explaining it, my screen would just be a wall of text.

The song they have chosen is “So Good” by Jay Park. I like the song, but it’s obvious why #GUN is going to be eliminated. The poor guy just isn’t a dancer. He needs to debut as a solo rap artist.

We get to the stage. This is the most elaborate set design yet – a city street with a marquee and street lights. They have male dancers this time. This is a bright, happy pop song. This puts me in such a good mood. They throw roses out to the audience, and I’m surprised none of these girls have been carried out on stretchers yet.

The performance is not as high-energy as the first two. The song choice may be partially to blame since it’s not very challenging. It just feels a little off. Even watching backstage, Jooheon comments, “Shownu tried to be a lot brighter than he is.”

The feedback from the judges is the same. Honestly, if I were watching No Mercy when it first aired back in 2015, my predictions for the eliminated trainees would be #GUN and Shownu. Thankfully, the judges see the potential in Shownu better than I would have.

Hyolyn says that #GUN should have worn a suit like the other two. The writing is clearly on the wall for #GUN. I respect him for trying the boy band thing, but he’s more of a hardcore rapper.

It looks like we are going to get one more performance from the entire group of trainees. We flash back to the North Pole, where Shownu, Jooheon, and Wonho are watching music videos for inspiration. One of the videos is EXO’s “Overdose,” which is one of my favorite songs and videos from that group. EXO is also one of the first groups that got me into K-pop, so this is a nice bit of nostalgia.

Back to the Hippodrome. K.will announces the final group performance. The song is “No Exit” by Rhymer. The stage lighting is stunning. The dancing is stunning. This looks and sounds like an honest-to-God Monsta X song. The pyrotechnics kick the energy up even higher.

It’s a brilliant final performance, ending with a real bang. I can feel their exhilaration and exhaustion as they take their final bows. Rhymer, one of the judges, praises their performance and says, “If you get eliminated, come to Brand New.” Wow. That’s his own label.

We all know what’s next. Time for the voting. The members line up onstage and say their final words of thanks. I really think Hyungwon believes he won’t be in the final group. There’s a quiet resignation about him. I’m getting that vibe from Minhyuk as well.

They go backstage and wait while the audience and judges vote. Each ballot has all nine trainees’ faces, and voters mark the seven they want to be in the group. The production team interviews some of the women in the voting audience (I hardly see any men). They offer words of support and encouragement to their favorites. Finally one girl just shrieks, “Goooooo!” Yes, sister! I’ve felt that way all season. Let’s do this already.

I’m guessing the judges heard this woman from all the way in the balcony, because they decide it time to form the band. The trainees return to the stage.

Now, here’s where the vibe drastically changes. The audience is not there when the judges announce the winners. The room is silent except for the tense music No Mercy plays over the proceedings. I was expecting the audience to be there to cheer the winners. Without them, this whole thing feels different. Yes, seven trainees are finally about to debut and have their dreams realized. But two of them are about to be devastated in a way that only K-pop trainees can understand, and the silence of the room is really underscoring that.

In American shows, contestants audition, and if they get picked and don’t win at the end, they may be upset, but it was a fun ride for however long the show lasted. On Korean shows like No Mercy, these are trainees who have been in the system for years. This is a chance they’ve sacrified their youth to finally get access to, and if they don’t make it, they have to question whether it’s worth putting themselves back into the system again. This is a way of life that doesn’t really happen in American show business.

As an American, I could spend my entire life trying to make it into show business in Los Angeles or New York, but I would decide my own schedule. I would have a personal life while deciding what auditions to go on, which part-time job to take to keep me financially afloat, and when to take days off so I don’t burn out. That is not the life of a K-pop trainee. If you make it into the trainee system of an entertainment company in Korea, they own you. They own your time, your energy, how many hours you sleep, and whether or not you get one or two precious days off a year. Many trainees have their cell phones taken away. I can’t think of any system in the United States that does that, or even if it would be legal for them to do that. As with many other things I’ve seen on this show, there would be lawsuits.

So when the winners on No Mercy are chosen, it’s not a huge spectacle. When a winner’s name is announced in this finale, the winner does not cheer and dance, because it means that the other trainees just watched another spot get taken away, and the winning trainee is VERY aware of that. This may be an extreme way of describing it, but to me, it looks like survivor’s guilt is mixed with the shock of realizing they’ve won. And to help preserve whatever dignity they can for these trainees, the show takes the audience out of the room.

I wanted to write all this to explain where my head was at while watching the winners get announced. So now that I’ve turned this into a total bummer, let’s see one of the best K-pop groups in music history come together! Yay?

K.will gets ready to announce the final winners. Each one will walk down the steps and stand on a lighted platform. The annoucements begin:

Number One: Jooheon. Boy, did he keep that promise to guard his Number One spot. All the way to the end. He bows, thanks the judges, and makes his way down to the first platform.

Number Two: Shownu. He looks stunned. No more standing back to watch others debut and walk away, surrounded by fans. It’s finally his turn. Not only is he about to debut, he’s going to be a dad to six crazy kids.

Number Three: Kihyun. Makes sense that the mom would be next. He is overcome with relief.

Number Four: Hyungwon. I really wanted to see his reaction. Those beautiful eyes widen in shock.

Number Five: Wonho. And now I’m about to cry. All I can think about is his mom. He’s fighting back tears. And it’s at this point that #GUN knows. I can see it in his face.

Number Six: I.M. When his name is first called, we don’t get a close-up shot of his face because he’s got his hood pulled up, and besides, his reaction is in the way he staggers backward a step. He seems dizzy. He collects himself and takes his place on the platform, keeping his head down.

Number Seven: Minhyuk. He’s frozen in shock. Seokwon has to nudge him to get him to move.

Seokwon and #GUN are devastated. Just a few feet in front of them, all the spaces are taken. They both thank the judges for the opportunity and leave the stage.

We are left with seven shell-shocked trainees, and I’m realizing that they are still not a band. They will need to bond and become a family. Right now, they’re a mess. Kihyun struggles to speak and then just bends over in tears. Jooheon, who has been looking back hopefully at #GUN after each name is called, turns his back to the camera as he cries over his friend not being chosen. I.M keeps his hoodie on and his head down. Even the judges look drained. This is the most traumatized winners circle I’ve ever seen.

K.will tells our band that there’s a lot of work ahead of them. The debut may be guaranteed, but not the success. The judges congratulate them, and now silver confetti rains down from the ceiling. It’s a bit jarring, like a celebration at the scene of an accident. Our idols-to-be shake off the survivor’s guilt and transition into people who realize they get to call their parents with the good news.

We do get to end on an upbeat note, one that brings a smile to my face. Offscreen, the group has been told the name of their band. They gather in front of the camera to introduce themselves with their band name. They are clumsy, all bowing at different times, completely out of sync. They laugh, and Jooheon says, “We’re a mess!” But they pull it together, and we get this great shot:

And boy, did the fans ever support Monsta X.

Okay, so let’s find out what happened to the trainees who got eliminated along the way, according to what I can find on the web.

Kwangji and Yoosu After being eliminated in Episode 5, both Kwangji and Yoosu completed their military service. Both have been mostly quiet since then. According to posts on his Instagram account, Kwangji seems to be building a small home studio.

Minkyun (Mosquito) Minkyun was eliminated in Episode 7, but he’s doing fine. He moved from Starship to WM Entertainment, took the stage name MK, and debuted with a group called ONF (pronounced “on and off”). He’s a lead vocalist and sub rapper with the group, and according to Wikipedia, he eventually dropped the stage name and went back to using his real name, Minkyun. He did have to put his career on hold to complete his military service. He was discharged in June 2023, and ONF made a comeback in October 2023. As I type this, ONF will be releasing their eighth EP Beautiful Shadow in just a few weeks.

Yoonho (the fossil) Yoonho was eliminated in Episode 9, after being the first one to show kindness to I.M and surviving that weird prank his bandmates played on him. He also left Starship and joined A Team Entertainment, and after so many years as a trainee, he joined a group called VAV (Very Awesome Voice) in 2017. The band had already debuted, and he took the stage name Ayno. He had a big role as the group’s main rapper, dancer, vocalist, and visual. They had some moderate success and won a couple of awards in 2018 and 2019. However, just last month, A Team Entertainment announced that they were terminating the group’s contract. No word on what Yoonho will be doing next, but I’m rooting for him.

#GUN Good news here. #GUN stayed at Starship, and happily, he debuted in 2016 as a solo rapper. He has released several singles, his first one (“Crazy Guy”) making it to number five on the South Korean music charts. He also did two collaborations with Mad Clown (that really surprised me) and others in 2016, with one song going to number twelve and the other to number six. As far as I can tell, he’s still making music, and I hope his mother and grandmother are happy and well.

Seokwon Things initially went well for Seokwon. After No Mercy, he got his military service out of the way, and then he moved from Starship to RAIN Company. He finally debuted in March 2021 with a group called Ciipher. He was the group’s lead vocalist under the stage name Tan. Ciipher had a couple of their songs hit the top ten on the South Korean charts. They also won a Korea Culture Entertainment Award in 2021. However, in August 2023, he and several other members left the group. I can’t find what he’s doing now, but thanks to the overabundance of information about K-pop celebrities available online, I can tell you that his blood type is B. Tragically, his Myers-Briggs Personality Type is not available.

___________________________________________________

Next up, I will be recapping Wild Idol, the show with real outdoor survival challenges that brought us the group TAN. I will be taking a break first to go outside and touch some grass. I’ll be back in early April.

WHEW.

#kpop #monsta x #no mercy #finale #recaps #survival reality shows #shownu #jooheon #i.m #wonho #kihyun #hyungwon #minhyuk

4 notes · View notes